USRE387E - Improvement in seeding-machines - Google Patents

Description

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JONATHAN READ, OF ALTON, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEEDING-MACHINES.-

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 2,4E8, dated March 12, 1842; extended March 1'2, 1856;

Reissue N0. 387, dated August 19, 1856.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I. JONATHAN REAP, of Alton, in the county ofiMadison'hnd State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Harvesting-Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact deseription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which make part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 represents a plan or top view of a reaping-machine embracing my said improvements. Fig. 2 represents an elevation of the left side of the same. Fig. 3 represents an elevation of the front side of the same. Fig. 4 represents an elevation of the rear side of the same. Fig. 5 is a. detached view, representing the outer or left endof an automatic rake to discharge the cut grain fromthe platform, to-

gether-with the mechanism for operating it; tliSO the platform which receives the cut grain and carries it until sutficient has accumulated to form a gavel. Fig. 6 represents a longitudinal section of the rake, the platform of slats and spaces, the screen or roof to receive the' grain that tails while the platform is being cleared by the rake, and guards or strippers to remove the grain at the proper time from the screen and'deposititon the platform. .Eig. 7 is-a detached planot' my improved guard' flngers and sickle. 0f the'remainingfiguresgrepresenting modifications of various parts of my improvements in thereaper, Fig-8 is a detached ,in perspective, ofa modification of (t Fig. 9, is a transverse section of anoth modification of the same. Fig. 10 is modification' of the 'cutting appaj'g. 1 t is a-detached view of a clear-- I (id with the same. Fig. 12 isa plan :gba-rd-plateyalso used with the cutter and guai d'fingers shown: in Figs. 10 and-11. Fig. 13 is a sectional view of the cutter seen in Fig. 10, of the clearing-plate seen in Fig.1l, and the iron guard-plate seen in Fig. 12, showing the manner in which they are united.

., When the left and right sides of the ma- Q chine,. or-any parts thereoflrare mentione this specification, it is to hennderstood-tha it is intended todesignate thosesidesoi: partswhich areggspectievely on the right and; left;

gland-chaff observer sit-an d i n g on t he middleof: 'jtherear side offt el'machine, lookingtoward.

its front side.

My invention consists, amongv other things, of certain improvements in the construction of the sickle and of the guard-fingers, whereby the cutting of the grain is effected with less power and rendered more certain, and the liability of the sickle to clog is diminished.

The improvement in the sickle consists, first, in making the lineof its cutting-edge scalloped or zigzag and serrating this scalloped edge by cutting thereon oblique or jagged teeth, like those usually made on the cuttingedge ofihc hand-sickle, which, however. has never been scalloped; second, in arrangingitsjagged teeth in a number of short series, the teeth in each alternate series pointing toward the opposite ends of the sickle, sothat when the sickle vibrates to the rightthe several series of teeth which point in that direction wilLcnt;and when it vibrates to the left the seriesof teeth pointing tothe left will-lent, so that one half of the teeth will be cutting on one stroke of the sickle and theother half returning preparatoryto cutting on the next stroke.

The improvement in the guard-fingers consists-in making them in the form of a spearh'atL-thatis, making-"that portion of their opposite sides against which the stalks of grain rest while beinggcutitodiverge from the shank at a point at pribehI-ud the edge of the sickle to a poingsqme'fdistance in front of the edge of the sickle, andfrom this last point to converge again until they meet in a point which is'tlrefront extremity ot'the finger. The first or divergent lines diminish the angle between" the sides of the finger and the cutting-edge of. the sickle as much asrequired,'and in allcases make it much less than a right angle, thus causingthe grain to be out in an acute-angled space, while the sides of the finger form shoul- 5 ders thatcounteract in part the t'eiidency of the grain to yield to the pressure of theed'gev of i'the knife to be overrun by it and to escape uncut.

The' frame of-this machine, which in its generalform isquad'rilateral, and consists princi- .pgll'y ot'ythe oross-hars-A, A and A and the longitudinal bars AflAfl'A fiaud A", is supported. moved, like an; ordinary cart, by

whfifls fi and Gt, whose axles are respect ittelyrat the endsof-themain cross-bar A, and

t hy th e thills Di," hinged. to the-frame near the axis of the wheels upon which the ne-ofthe 56. HPRVEELTE a;

BEST AVAILABLE COPY slightly-preponderating weight of the forward part of the machine rests. The whole of the main frame of the machine is covered with either a tight or aslatted floor, except a space near the front on the left side for the gavel of cut grain to drop through to the ground when discharged from the platform, as hereinafter particularly described, and a space near the rear on the left side, which is occupiedby the main gearing. The front portion, E, of the flooring-on the righ which is formed of parallel slats 6, running across the machine parallel to the sickle F, constitutes the platform on which the cut grain is gathered by the reel and carried until a sufficient quantity to form a gavel has accumulated. On the front edge of the frame and in front of the platform the cutting apparatus and the dividers G.G G are situated. and immediately abovetheseis placed the reel H. At the left rear corner of the platform a station, I, on the floor for the driver of the horses is arranged, whose duty it is also to regulate the height of the cut and connect and disconnect the cutter F and the reel H with the driving-gear.

Near the station for the driver, and immediately in front thereof, a station, J, is also arranged for the attendant whose duty it is to rake the grain from the platform and to free the reel, dividers, and cutters from any straw or grass'that may be entangledtherewith, and

which if suffered to. would QIOQ' the machine'andrendc fiastoppage fortherpu'r pose of clearing it necessary.

Connected with the inner face of the left supporting-wheel, B, whichis heavy and strong and gives motion to the mechanism that drives the reel H and sickle F, is a spnr-cog'wheel, K, gearing into a pinion, k upon the shaft M. This shaft bears also the beielwheelm, which gears into a bevel-pinion, m, onthe rear end of the shaft N, which turns in suitable beartags in the frame, and drives the sickle F by means of the crank n and connectinga od n.

l The cutter F is made of plate-steel, with a scalloped serrated edge, and it acts in connection with a series of guard-fingers, 0, also serrated and shaped like a spear-head, with protuberant edges, as shown in Fig. 7, and hereinafter more fully described; or these fingers and others with straight edges may be used'alternately, as shown.in Fig. 10. The gearing-shaft M also bears a pulley, m, carryig= the. band h, which, after crossing and pas g over the guide-pulleys h on a standard",;- li?,extends to and encircles the pulley h ontheshafth of the reel H torotate thelat-ter. I This reel consists of the said shaft it, supported in suitable hearings in the standards 0; anda', and of two disks or heads, h, and an intermediatedisk, h, secured upon the shaft, The disks are connected by wires or ribs h", which in the revolutions of the reel press thegrain back against the cutters and deposit it upon the platform. These ribs may me straight between the heads, or they may cross diagonally. The journal of the gear-shaft M is set somewhat loosely inits' hearing at its right end, and is supported at its left end by a standard, m pivoted at the bottom and connected above the shaft, by the link or, to the lever of, which passes through a slot in the frame. By moving this lever the driver can at once turn back the standard at, and thus throw the pinion it out of gear with the wheel K and the bevel-wheel at out of gear with the pinion m, thus stopping both the cutter and the reel while the machine is in motion. A wedge, m is provided, which, being introduced into the slot before or behind the lever m will retain it either in a position to with each other, as may be desired.

The mechanical rake is formed with arms I, which perform the double office of handles for the rake-teeth, and a screen or roof, the func' tion of which will presently be described. These arms are connected by cross-bars l, and provided with slides 1 which work in grooves on-the inside of the front cross-bars, A and A The rake is driven bybands or cords Z (see Figs. 5 and 6.) which are attached at their ends to the right and left ends of two of the arms 1, and pass around the pulleys L on the shaft l This shaft rests in'suitable bearings resting on the cross-bars Aand A and is provided with a winch, Z, by the handle of which the attendant turns the shaft in one direction, and, winding the left ends of the bands upon the; pulleys, thrusts the rake over the platform E, and'zh'y reversnrg the motiouof the handle withdraws the rake again, brings off the gavel of grain from the platform, and drops it th rough the opening in the floor upon the ground. A cord, l attached at one end to the left-side bar A of the frame and at the other to one of the crossbars Lof the rake, determines the extent of its motion in. either direction. The rake-teeth 1, instead of being attat'hcd to a common head, are each in this instance attached to the right end of one of the arms Z.

while they will readily be folded up in passing to the right by any obstruction they meet, as shown in Fig. 6, they cannot be pressed to angle-say eighty-degrees, (shown in the dotted lines, Fig. 6.) Consequently they will readily flex or fold inward to raise their points to pass over the grain during the forward motion of the rake, but unfold and hang down to catch and sweep the grainofl' -t-he platforms during the return of the rake.

In order to permit; the rake-teeth to extend below the grain, and thus prevent it from being overrun, the platform E is constructed 0, with slots between them, in which the rakeof grain, beingthus raked ofi, is dropped on the grouudimmediately at the left end of the platform, and-inside of and out of the path of the driving-wlieeifas well as outside of the path in which the horses travel while the machine-is cutting the next swath. I

hold the wheels and piuions in or out-of gear These teeth are so hinged to the arms that v the right or outward beyond a certain acutenot of an even floor, but of a number of slats teeth work, as already described. 'The gavel.

pass over stones or other obstacles,iand also will slide back and lower the critters.

holes in the standard it is retained in any de- I l, and the driver has under his control the On the right side of the platform E is a fence or guard, P, to prevent the grain from falling or being pushed over upon the ground, which guard is provided with slots, through which the ends of the arms and the rake-teeth may pass, and thus get beyond the grain on the platform before returning to sweep it oi). At the center of the platform, and also at the left side thereof, similar guards or strippers, P P are placed. which, however, descend no lower than the top of the cross-bars t, that connect the armsof therake. These guards serve the purpose of clearing off and depositing on the platform any grain which may fall upon the arms while acting as a screen or roof to intercept the falling grain during the traverse of the rake, as shown in Fig. 6. In front of the rake these three guards all descend nearly to the cutter, and extend forward of it add of the reel. where they are armed with wedgeshaped iron caps G G G which enter the standing grain and serve respectively guard G to divide that to he cut from that to be left standing, guard G to guide within the stroke of the cutters the grain to be cut on the left side of the swath, and guard G to separate the grain to be cut into two parcels, which are afterward still further subdivided by the fingers O.

In order that the cutting apparatus may be raised and lowered at pleasure by the driver, who is the sole conductor of the machine, to

that the machine may beadjusted for any height at which it: is desired to cut the stubble, the frame is hung or balanced upon the axes of the wheels B and G, aud'areguiatinglever, R, is used to turn it to swing the cutters up and down. This lever is pivoted, as shown in Fig. 2, to the frame by the-pin 1, upon which it may be turned, and it has a shoulder, 1', which rests upon the right side of the thills 1). This shoulder acts as a sliding fulcrum, which, when the handler of the lever is depressed, will slide forward and raise the cutters, and when the handle is raised,

The handle 1" is raised or depressed by the driver standing on the floor in his station at I, while at -the same time he drives the horses. The handle of this lever passes through a slot in a standard, i, at the side of the drivers station, where by means of a pin, i and a series of sired position.

. The different parts of this machine are so arranged, as shown in Fig. 1 that a place or stand, J, is-provided for th'vattendant who rakes,.-and another, I, for the attendant who drives, where their weight is chiefly borne by the wheels, and where the rake: has under his immediate control the handleofthe rake-winch handle 1' of the adjusting-lever R and the gearing and ungearing lever m An advantage of the scalloped cutter over one with a straight edge is that it is not so quickly or easily dulled, or, rather, that, on ac countof the shear out with which it operates, it cuts more easily, and so keen an edge is not requisite. An amountot' use which would rendera straight-edge sickle unfit for further service would not seriously impair the efiiciencv ofascalloped-edge sickle. The advancing motion of the machine tends to cause the sickle to push the grain forward, press it down, and override it. This-tditficulty, however, in the scalloped blade is compensated by the bite upon the grain due to its oblique approach to the fingers, and this compensation is still further increased by making the fingers in the shape of aspear-head, so that their edges, retreating or converging toward their shanks, may render the angle between th g te; me blade and the edges of the tingers' Qacute, and atlord a shoulder against wh grain is held while being cut; and as an additional security these retreating edges are armed with serrations, which, inclining backward, effectually prevent the grain from slipping forward and escaping from the cutter. This construction of the fingeris shown in Figs. 1, 7, and 10 The edge of the sickle itself is also serrated, as well as scalloped, which gives a far better cutting-edge than has heretofore been used. It is evident that if the serrations render the cutting more certain when they advance against the fingers in the direction in which they point for are inclined the sickle would be less eliective on one stroke than on the other, if the serrations all inclined in one-direction. This difficulty is avoided by giving to the sickle a stroke equal to the distance between the centers of the lingers, and at the snne time serrating it in sh rt sections, the teeth of one section leaning in one direction and those of the next section leaningin the opposite direction, those points which reach the centers of the lingers at theextremes of the strokes being those at which the t-hangc of direction in the motion of the s ckle is made and'froin which the serralinn is reversed. Thus in one! stroke all the serrations which act with the lingers in that stroke will advance with their points foremost toward the edges of the fingers. In the scalloped s ckle the points of reversal of the serrations will of course be. as

represented in the drawings, at the projecting.

and retreating angles of the blade.

The combination. with the'spear-hctid finger, of the scallt'figed sickle with reversed serrations constitutes, it is believed, the most efiicient cutting apparatus for a harvester hitherto known.

It has beenfound in practice that the speed at which a reaping-machine can with mostefliciency be used and'the cutter operate most successfully is too great for the strength ofa raker walking by the machine to keep up with it and rake the grain from the platform. Uonsequeu tly the limit thus placed upon the speed is not only a loss of time, but a. drawback upon the edici'ency of the cutting. For these reasons it becomes necessary so to a:range the several keep the same separate from the gavel.

parts of the reaper that a stand or seat may be provided for the raker. as already described, on which he can ride, and where, at the same time, he may be able by a rake to discharge the grain from the platform, and also be ready at once to relieve the reel. cutting apparatus, or dividers of any tangled grain that may become fastened upon them. i

The fatiguing nature of the labor in manipulating a hand-rake, and the want of regularity, thoroughness, and neatness with which its duty is often performed, have made it an important obj: ct to accomplish the discharge ofthe graingavels by mechanical means. I have constructed for this purpose a mechanical rake, which, during the filling ofthe bed or platform, is drawn back to the left, but when a suffit-ient quantitynfgrain has been reaped to form a gavel the attendant turns the winch Z and with i'tthe shaft Fahd pulleysl, which, through the cords Z draw the rake from the left; and thrust the arms 1 to the right over the platform, the rake-teethl folding up as they pass over the grain, till the ends of the arms pass through the vertical slots in thet'ence P, when the teeth i untold again and fall into nearly an upright; position, beyond which they cannot pass toward the right. The rake is then withdrawn by reversing the winch Z. Its teeth seize the grain and draw it from the platform and deposit it in a gavel upon the ground between the let't; side ot' the platform and the track of the driving-wheel, as already set forth.

To secure the act-ion of the rake-teeth upon all the grain upon the platform, the latter is constructed of a number of slats, or provided 1 with a number of slots, along which the teeth pass, and, reaching thus below the grain, entirely remove it. \Vhile the rakeis discharging the grain its arms extend over the platform like a roof to receive the falling grain and The guards 1" P strip off the arms what grain may have fallen thereon during their passage to and fro and leave it upon the platform to make part of the next gavel. The left; guard, 1.", only would ordinarily be sufficient for this purpose.

In deciding where, with reference to the machine, the gavel or bundle of grain raked from the platform should be deposited upon the ground, two objects are to be held in view-viz, the greatest reduction of the space over which the grain is to be raked, and the advantage, so far as even and clean work is concerned, of raking the grain from the platform in a straight v, hne at right angles to the stalks; and,.sec-

BEST AVAILABLE COPy have accomplished by placing the main driving-wheel outside of the line of draft, the opposite side of the machine being supported by a wheel inside of that line. Thus the resistance of the driving-wheel on the left side of the horses balances the resistance of the cutting and of the supporting wheel onthe right, making the draft even and parallel to the line of motion of the machine.

Between the end of the platform and the gearing, and immediately behind the horses, there is left a clear space, where the gavel can lfoe deposited by the rake, as already fully set ort 1.

Certain modifications in the construction of the reel and ot' the cutting apparatus are described as follows: instead of one vibrating cutter, I provide one vibrating bar, T, Fig. 10, to which a number of small cutters, t, are attached, each made of plate-steel and nearly in the shape of a heart, the points being carried foremost. Both sides of these cutters are sharp, with sickle-teeth reversed or inclining backward. The back of each cutter is fastened to the top of the front cross-bar, A by a bolt, 1, on which it plays freely. A little forward of the center of each cutter is another bolt, t connecting with the vibrating bar T. As the bar T vibrates the points of the cutters t are thrown to and fro,cuttiug the grain against the shoulders 0. The distance between the boltt and it is sutficient. to allow the points of the cutters to play nearly twice as far as the vibratory bar T moves. A fiat plate, 'f, of thin iron, rests on the cutters and is permanently attached to the top of the front cross-bar, A (This plate is better seen in Figs. 12 and 13.) Above each cutter a semicircular slot, t, Fig. l2,is cut: through the iron plate. A small iron stud, i is permanently fastened to the top of each'cutter, and extends up through each slot a short distance above the top of the iron plate. On the top of each stud is a clearing-plate, t, Fig. 11, of the same size as the cutter t, Fig. 10, buthaving deep circular notches, Fig.11, on each side, curved backward from the point. The back of each clearing-plate is bent down,so that the back end is held by the same bolt that holds the back of each cutter. By this arrangement the clearing-plates move with the cutters and .keep the cutters always clear of the falling grain. Theree], instead of being formed with ribs of wire and heads, as represented in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, is constru" ed, a represented in Figs. 8 and 9, with thi'i. i -ribs of wood. From the periphery of. dit-dead u a number of arms, u, extend rarirai, as in Fig. 8, or tangential, as in Fig. 9, forming an angle of not more than twentytwo degrees with a line drawn through the center of each head. These last-mentioned arms incline down and forward on the front side of the reel, and up and backward on its rear side. On the ends of these arms are placed slats u of thin wood or other suitable material, extending the whole length of the reel, and wide enough to draw in the grain tothe cutters and deliver it upon the platform.

Having thus described my improvements as applied to one Form of harvesting machine and some of the modifications thereof, what I claim is- 1. The sickle with its cutting-edge, when both scalloped and serrated.

2. Reversing the serrations on the edge of r the sickle in short sections, substantially as herein set forth.

3. While disclaiming guard-fingers such as shown in Scotts machine,represented in plates 47 S and 479 of Brewsters Edingburgh Encyclopedia, volume 17 I claim constructing the guard-fingers in the shape of a spear-head for the purpose of affording a shoulder on each edge against; which the grain will be held,thus counteracting its tendency to slip from the action of the sickle and forming an acute-angled space in front of the edge of the sickle to render the severing of the grain more easy an'l certain.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto sub scribed my name.

JONATHAN READ.

in presence of- GEO. S. GARMICHAEL, WM. G. PINCKARD.

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