USRE2611E - Improved method of raising and lowering the cutters of harvesters - Google Patents

Description

J. F." BARRETT. Operating Harvester Cutters. No 2,611. a Reissued' May 14,1867.

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UNITED STATES PATENT QFFIGE.

0. WHEELER, JR, OF AUBURN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNEE, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, OF JONATHAN F. BARRETT.

IMPROVED METHOD OF RAISING AND LOWERING THE CUTTERS 0F HARVESTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 13,205, dated July It), 1855; IclSSllB No. 2,61 1, dated May 14, 1867.

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit knownthat I, JONATHAN F. BARRETT, of the town of North Granville, county of Washington, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mowing and Reaping Machines; andI do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of my said invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, and making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a plan of the machine. Fig. 2 is a side elevation. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line as 00.

Like characters of reference in the several figures denote like parts of the machine.

The nature of my invention consists in the arrangement of the drivers seat, frame, and cutting apparatus with reference to each other, together with the method of attaching the team to the machine, the objectbeing to secure to the driver great facility in controlling and directing his team, while the cutters can freely rise above or fall below the plane over which the supporting-wheels are passing, the-drivers seat preserving its position uninfluenced by the up-and-down motions of the cutting apparatus; and, also, so arranging the same that the driver can, with great ease, raise the cutters to pass obstacles in the path of the machine.

To enable others to make and use myinvention, I will proceed to describe the same with reference to the drawings.

Upon the axle G are mounted the two supporting-wheels A and B, of equal, or nearly equal, diameters, the Wheel A being furnished with projections 19 p, the object of these projections being to take hold of the ground over which the wheel is drawn, to prevent it from dragging on the ground, and thereby insure to it a rotary motion about the axle Gr whenever the machine is moved over the ground. The wheel B also turns freely upon the axle G. The wheel A is furnished with a cog-wheel, G, which is rigidly connected to it, and, of course, partakes of the motion of the wheel A, and which, by means of devices hereinafter described, communicates motion to the cutters.

At a suitable place, inside of and near to the two wheels A and B, is secured to the axle G,

by means of an eye, the sides L L of the frame of the machine. The sides L L of the frame extend forward of thefront face of the wheels of the machine. Upon the shaft E, and rigidly connected therewith, is the pinion D, which engages with and is turned by the main cogwheel 0. Inside of the side pieces L nearest the wheel A, and upon the shaft E, is mounted the scored pulley F, which, by means of the belt or cord Q, gives motion to a system of rotary cutters, P, P, P, and P, placed upon the finger-bar. These cutters, when set in motion by the forward motion of the machine through the rotation of the wheel A, pinion D, and wheel F, and the movements of the band K, sever the stalks of grass or grain against the fingers O O 0 upon the finger-beam. The draft-frame, by which the machine is drawn, is attached to the main axle, the connection beiug made to said axle by a hinge or pivot, in such ,a way as that the rear end of said connection may turn freely on the said axle. It is so connected, also, as to allow the path of the team to be entirelyoutside of the standing crop, in order to prevent the trampling down of the crop by the advancing team. The thills H, in the drawings, represent a portion of the draft-frame. The drivers seat I is placed upon the draft-frame, with a foot-board, J.

The end of the finger-bar K nearest the team is provided with ametallic shoe-piece, d, which curves upward at its forward end, to enable the cutters more readily to pass over any loose grass that may lie in its path. The front upper portion of this shoe is connected by a flexible cord or chain, c, to the front end of the lever M, which lever is hung beneath the thills, and is movable about its fulcrum b, and its rear arm attached by a joint, 0, to the rod f. The rod f passes through the bar g and foot-board J, and has on its upper extremity r a cross-piece, h, for the reception of the drivers foot. The chain 0 may be adjusted in length, so as to control the cutting apparatus in its downward movement within any desired limit.

The vertical side guardN prevents the falling grass from entangling the band Q. The slotted guard-teeth 0 are secured to the front edge of the finger-bar K, and are made of diffcrent lengths, to conform to the curvature in the finger-bar corresponding to the periphery of the same, and also to bring their points in the same right line. P P are rotary cutters,

secured to pulleys t, as shown in Fig. 1, and are set in motion by the forward movement of the machine, as before described.

' The operation of the machine is as follows: The machine is driven forward in the usual manner, the projections 10 on the wheel A insuring the rotation of the band-wheel F, as inmachine the finger-bar K rests upon the shoe (1, which shoe rests upon and glides over the surface of the ground; and should the fingerbar and cutting apparatus thereto attached meet with either furrow or ridge in its path, it would, by reason of its being pivoted through the side pieces L L upon the main axle, drop down or rise up, as circumstances may require, independentofthe position of the wheels A and B, within the limit allowed by the flexible connection between the draft-frame and the shoe d,- and in case a fixed obstruction should occur in the path of the machine, like a stump or a fixed stone, the driver in his seat can, by means of the lever, immediately raise the cutters over the obstruction, and thereby prevent injury to the cutters; and it will be noticed, further, that the wheels Aand B, and the side pieces L L, upon which the shaft E is mounted, having a common center of motion,

the cog-wheel O- and pinion Dwill always be engaged, so as to impart constant motion to the cutters, whether the machine is drawn over a perfectly plain surface, or over an unpassing obstructions. that the position of the driver relatively to ,even surface, even should the frameof the machine be constantly tilted up and down upon the axle. It will be noticed, also, that the tilting motion of the frame does not influence in the least the driver s seat, which is controlled by the draft-frame. 1f the drivers seat were mounted on the frame that carries the cutters he would be influenced by its tilting motion, and it would be difficult to preserve a proper balance of the frame and cutting apparatus. It would also be diflicult for the driver to control the cutting apparatus in It will also be. observed the cutting apparatus (which moves in ad vance of him) is such that he can watch the cutters and guard against obstructions, and, at the same time, his position is one of ease and safety.

The machine herein described is more particularly designed for mowing grass; but the same construction, with slight modifications, is equally applicable to harvesting grain.

Having thus fully described the nature, object, and purpose of myinvention, what I claim therein as new, and desire to seoureby Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the frame carrying the cutting apparatus, vibrating abontagearcenter, and the vibrating draft-frame. A

2. The combination of the frame carrying the cutting apparatus, vibrating about a gearcenter, witha vibrating draft-frame and the lever, or its equivalent, for raising and lowering the cutting apparatus attached to said draft-frame.

3. The combination of the draft-frame attached dircctlyto the axle of the driving-wheels JONATHAN F. BARRETT.

Witnesses:

W. GAY, WILLIAM B. TIBBrrs.

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