US95175A - Improvement in potato-diggers - Google Patents

Description

JAMES WHEELER, or DoWAGIAG, MICHIGAN.

Letters Patent No. 95,175, dated September 21, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN PoTATo-DIGGERS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame.

Toall 'whom 'Lt may concer-a Be it" known thatl, JAMES WHEELER, of Dewagiac, in the county of Cass, and Statey of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Machine for Digging Potatoes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construetiou and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making apart of this specification, in which- Figure l is atop view, and

Figures 2 and 3 are detached sections.

4'lhe nature of my invention consists in constructing a potato-digger,of-thatclass which is usedovithout carrying-wheels or beam, the team being hitched similar to the manner of hitching to a common roadscraper.. Y

To enable others skilled in the art to-inake and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation. l

In the accompanying drawingsv Arepresents a broad iron hoop, open on the under side. Y i J i The part of the hoop above the line of its horizontal `diameter' forms a semicircle, to which are attached -the handles B Brand draughthbail C.

The open ends and lower part of said hoop are curved backward from the vertical line of the upper 'pal-t, and form shares, with their cutting-edges turned in\vard,las seen at D D, and gradually approach each other as they extend backward, the rear ends ofwhich nearly meet, leaving an opening of not'more than two inches. The outer edge of' each share is provided with holes, in which the iron rods l 2.34 5 6'7 8 9 10 are fast- Aeneld, to form a screen.

'.llhcrear ends of said rods are supported by the shaft Ela-nid sufficiently elevated to come a little above the su'rfaee'of the ground. This screen is agitated by a rocking motion, produced -by the cam-'wheels on the ends of shaft E.

Said cams are so arranged that when the longest radius or diameter of lone is iu a vertical position, the longest diameter of the other will be in a horizontal position,.holding one end of shaft E higher thanv the other, but as the cams roll forward, the high end is thrown-down, and thc other end thrown up, causing a rocking motion of the rear end of said screen, for the purpose of separating the potatoes from the dirt.

The circle of the hoop Ashould be made sufliciently large to embrace the entire breadth ofthe potato-hill.

It will be seen-that the space of earth left undisturbed by the rear ends of' shares D D will prevent the mass of earth and potatoes from drawing forward as the shares l) D are drawing under the outer edges ofthe potato-hill; Vand the rods of which the screen is composed should be sufficiently close as to gather all the lpotatoes of consequence.

H H represent braces, 4extending from the hoop A to the handles B IS, for the support ofthe handles.

In this invention the bow or hoop A forms the main body of the machine, with shares D D in one piece, combining great simplicity with strength and durability, and its mode of operation is too obvious to need further description.

Having thus fully described my invention,

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, i'sl A 1. The construction ofthe bow or hoop A, with its shares D D in one piece, as 'and for the purposes set forth.

2. In combination with the hoop A and shares D D, the screen, composed of the rods 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10, (or any suitable uumbcr,)the shaft E, cam-wheels uy a, handles B B, braces H H, and bail C, when constructed, arranged, and combined as set forth.

v JAMES WHEELER.

Y Witnesses:

S. H. WHEELER, S. BOWLING.

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