USRE389E - Improvement in reaping-machines - Google Patents

Description

PATENT OFFICE.

JONATHAN READ, OF ALTON, ILLlNOlS.

IMPROVEMENT IN REAPlNG-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 2,488, dated March 12,' 1842; evtended seven years;- Reissue No. 389, datedvAugust 19, 1856.

To all whom it may concer/n.:

Be it known that I, JONATHAN READ, of Alton, in the countyof Madison and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in HaNesting-Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which make part of this specifica-- tion,'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 saine. Fig. 3 represents an elevation ot' the fiont side of the saine. Fig. 4L represents an elevation of the rear side of the same. Fig'. 5 is a detached view, representing the outer or left end of an automatic rake to discharge the cut grain from the platform, together with the mechanism for operating it, also the platform which receives the cut grain and carries it until sufficient has accumulated to form a gavel. Fig.(irepresei1ts alongitudinal section of the rake, the platform of slats and spaces, the screen or roof to receive the grain that falls while the platform is beingv cleared hy the rake, and guards or strippers to remove the grain at the proper time from the screen and deposit it on the platform. Fig. 7 is a detached plan ol' my improved guard-fuigers and sickle. '0f the remaining figures,rep resenting modifications of various parts of my improvements in thereaper, Fig. S is a detached view, in perspective, ot' a modification of. the reel, and Fig. 9 is a transverse section of another modiiication of the same. Fig. 10 is a plan ofa modilication ofthe cutting apparatus, and Fig. 1l is a detached view of a clearingplate used with the same. Fig. 12 isa planof the guard-plate, also used with the cutter and guard-'iingers shown in Figs. 1U and 11. Fig. 13 is a sectional view of the cutter' seen in Fig. 10, of the clearing-plate seen in Fig. 11, and the iron guard-plate seen in Fig. 12, showing the manner vin which they are united.

When the left and right sides of the machine, or any parts thereof, are mentioned in this specitication it is to be understood thatitis intended to designate those sides or parts which are respectively on the right and left hand of an observer standing on the middle of the rear side of the machine, looking toward its front side.

DIVISION U.

My invention consists in combining with the. reel which gathers the grain to the cutters and lays it on the platform a station or place on the frame for the raker where, with his weight supported mainly by the drivin g\vlieel,he may ride during the performance of his labor and be in a position where he can with a fork or other instrument free the reel or cutting apparatus in case either shall become obstructed by the entanglement of grain upon it..

' The frame of this machine, which in its general form is quadrilateral, and consists principally of the cross-bars A, A', and A2 and the longitudinal hars A3. A4, A5, and A, is snpported and moved, like an ordinary cart, by two wheels, B and O,.whosc axles'are respectively at the ends of the main cross-bar A, and by the thills l), (hinged to the frame near the line ofthe axis` of the wheels,) upon which the slightly-preponderating Weight of the forward part of the machine rests. The whole otA the main frame of the machine is covered with either a tight or a slatted door, excepta space near the front on the left side for the gavel of cnt grain to drop through to the ground when discharged from the platform, as hereinafter particularly described, and a space near the rear of the left side, which is occupied by the main gearing. The front portion, E, ofthe flooring on the right, which is formed of parallel slats e, 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 Gi2 are situated, and immediately above these is placed the reel H. At the left rear corner of the platform a station, I, is arranged on the door forthe driver of the horses, whose duty it is also to regulate the height ot' the. cut, and connect and disconnect the cutters F and the reel H with-the drivin g-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 entangled therewith, and which, it' suffered to accumulate, would clog passes through a slot in the frame.

e y een the machine and renderastoppage for the purpose of clearing it necessary.

Connected with theinner face of the left supporting-wheel,B,which is heavy and strong, and gives motion to the mechanism that drives the reel H and sickle F, is a spurcog wheel, K, gearing'into a pinion, 1r, upon the shaft M. This shaft bears Ialso the bevel-wheel, m, which gears into a bevel-pinion, m', on the rear end of the shaft N, which turns in suitable bea-rings in the frame and drives thesickle F by means of the crank a and connecting-rod n. The cutter F is made of plate-steel with a scalloped serrated edge, and it acts in connection with a sel'ies of guard-fingers, O, 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. l0.- The gearing-shaft M also bears a pulley, m2, carrying the band lt, which, after crossing and passing over the guide-pu]- leys h' on a standard, h2, extends to and encircles the pulley h3 on the shaft h4 of the reel H to rotate the latter. This reel consists of the said shaft h4, supported in suitable bearings in the standards c and d', and of two disks or heads, h5, and an intermediate disk, h5, secured upon the shaft. The disks are connected by wires or ribs hi, which in the revolutions of the reel press the grain back against the cutters and deposit it upon platform. These ribs may run straight between the heads, or they may cross diagonally.

The journal of the gear-shaft M is set somewhat loosely in its bearings at its right end, and is supported at its left end by a standard, m3, pivoted at the bottom and connected above the shaft by the link m4 to the lever m5, which By Inoving this lever the driver can at once turn back the standard m3, and thus throw the pinion 7c out of gear with the wheel K and the bevel- Wheel m out of gear with the pinion m', thus stopping both the cutter and the reel while the machine is in motion. A Wedge, mf", is provided, which, being introduced into the slot before or behind the lever m5, will retain it either in a position to hold the wheels and pinions in or out of gear with each other, as may be desired.

The mechanical rake is formed with arms l, which perform the double oftice of handles for the rake-teeth and a screen or roof, the function of which will presently be described. These arms are connected bycross-bars l', and provided with slides Z2, which work in grooves on the inside of the front cross-bars, A and A2. The rake is. driven by bands or cords Z3, (see Figs. 5 and 6,) which are attached at their ends to the right and left ends of two of the arms l, and pass around the pulleys l* on the shaft l5. This shaft rests in suitable bearin gs resting on the cross-bars A and A2, and is provided with a winch, l, 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 by reversing the motion of the handle withdraws the rake again, brings o' the gavel of grain from the platform, and drops it through the opening inthe floor upon the ground. to the let't side bar, A3, of the frame and at the otherto one of the cross-bars l of the rake, determines 'the extent of its motion in either direction.

The rake-teeth l, instead of being attached to a common head, are each in this instance attached to the right end of one of the arms l. These teeth are so hinged tothe arms that while they will readily be foldied up in passing to the right b v any obstruction theymeet, as shown in Fig. 6, they cannotsbe pressed to the right or outward beyond a certain acute anglesay 'eighty degrees, (shown in thedotted 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 grain oft' the platform during'the return of the rake. y.

In order to pcrlnit the rake-teeth to extend 4 below the grain, and thus prevent it from bing overrun, the platform E is constructed not of an even floor, but ot a number of slats c, with slot-s between them, in which the raketeeth work, as already described.. The gavel of grain, being thus raked off, is dropped on the ground immediately at the left end ofthe platform, and inside of and out of the path of the driving-wheel, as weil as outside ot" the path' in which the horses travel while the ma! chine is cutting the next swath.

On the right side ofthe platform E is a fence or guard, P, to ptevent the grain from falling or being pushed over upon the ground, lwhich guard is provided with slots through which the ends of the arm and the rake-teeth may pass, and thus get beyond the grain on the platform before returning to sweep it oll'. At the center of the platform, and also at the left side thereof, similar guards or strippers, P P2, are placed, which, however, descend no lower than the top of the cross-bars Z, that connect the arms of the rake. 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 thel 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 and of the reel, where they are arm ed with wedge-shaped iron caps G G G2, which enter the stan din g grain and serve respectively, guard G to divide that to be cut from that to be lett standing, guard G2 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 cutinto two parcels, which are afterward still further subdivided by the fingers O.

In order that the cutting apparatus may be A cord, Z', attached at one endtime he drives the horses.

raised and lowered at pleasure by the driver, who is the sole conductor of the machine, to pass over stones or other obstacles, and also that the machine may7 he adjusted for any height atwhich it is desired to cut the stubble, the frame is hung or balanced upon the axes ofthe wheels B and C, and a regulating-lever,l

1t, 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 r', upon which it may be turned, and it has a shoulder, r", which rests upon the right side ot' the tliills l). This shoulder acts as a sliding fulcrum, which, when the handle r2 of the lever is depressed, will slide forward and raise the cutters, anil when the handle is raised will slide back and lower the cutters. The handle r2 is raised or depressed by the driver standing on the lioor in his station at I, -while at the same The handle of this lever passes through aislot in a standard, t, at the side otl the drivers station, where by means of a pin, i2, and a series ot holes in the standard itis retained iii any desired position.

The different parts of this machine are so arranged, as shown in Fig. l, that a place or stand, J, is provided for the attendant who lakes, and another, I, for the attendant who drives, where their weight is chieiiy borne by the wheels, and where the raker has under his immediate control the handle ofthe rakewinch l, and the driver has under his control.

the handle r2 ot' the-adjustinglever It and the gearing and ungearing lever m5.

vAn 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 account of the shear cut with which it operates, it cuts more easily, and so keen an edge is not requisite. An amount of use which would render a straight-edged sickle unfit for further service would not seriously impair the efficiency of a scalloped-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 difficulty, however, in the scalloped blade is compensated hy the bite upon the grain due to its oblique approach to the fingers, and this compensation is still further increased by making the lingers in the shape of a spear-head, so thattheir edges retreating or converging toward their shanks may render the angle between the edge of the blade and the edges ot' the fingers more acute, and aiford a shoulder against which the grain is held while being cut; and as an additional security these retreating edges are armed with serrations, which, inclning backward, eifectually prevent the grain from slippingL forward and escaping from the cutter. This construction ot' the finger is 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 direcvcannot pass toward the right.

tion in which they point or are inclined, the

-sickle would be less effective on one stroke the strokes heilig those at which the change A of direction in the motion of the sickle is made and from which the serration is reversed. Thus in each stroke all the serrations which act with the lingers in that stroke will advance with their points foremost toward the edges of the fingers. ln the scalloped sickle the points ot' reversal ot' the serrations will of course be, as represented in the drawings, at the projecting and retreating angles ofthe blade.

The combination, with the spear-head finger, of the scalloped sickle with reversed serrations constitutes, it is believed, the-"most et'- ficient cutting apparatus fora harvester hitherto known.

It has been found in practice that the speed at which a reaping-machine can with most eflciency be used and the cutter operate mostsuccessliilly is too great t'or the strength ot' a raker walking by the machine to keep up with 1t and rake the grain from the platform. Gonscquently the limit thus placed upon the speed is not only a loss of time, but a drawback upon the efficiency ot' the cutting. For these reasons it becomes necessary so to arrange the several pai-ts of the reapei that a stand or seat may be provided toil the raker, as already described, oii which he can ride, and where at the saine time he may be able, by a rake, to discharge the grain Iroin the platform, and also be ready at once to relieve the reel, cutting apparatus, or divider ot'any tangled grain that may become fastened upon them.

The fatiguing nature ofthe labor in manipulating a hand-rake, and the want of regularity, thoroughness, and neatiiess with which its duty is often performed, have made it an iinportaut object to accomplish the discharge ot' the grain in gavels hy mechanical means. l have constructed for this purpose a mechanical rake, which during the tilting ofthe bed or platform is drawn hack to the left; but When asufcient quantity ot" grain has been reaped to form a gavel the attendant turns the winch ZG and with it the shalt L5 and pulleys Z4, which, through the cords Z3, draw the rake from the let't and thrust the arms l to the right over the platform, the rake-teeth t8 folding up as they pass over the grain till the ends of the arms pass through the vertical slots in the fence l?, when the teeth la unfold again and fall into nearly an upright position, beyond which they .The rake is then withdrawn by reversing the winch Z6. I ts teeth seize the grainland draw it from the platform, and deposit it in agavel upon the ground,

betwee`n the left side of the platform and the track of the driving-wheel, as already set forth.

To secure the action ofthe rake-teeth upon all the grain on the platt'orm,the latterisconstructed ot' a number of slats or provided with a number of slots, along which the teeth pass andqreaching 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 keep the same separate from the gavel. The guards P IZ strip oi' the arms what grain may have fallen thereon during their passage to and fro, and leave itupon the platform to make part ofthe next gavel. The left guard, P2, only would ordinarily be suiiicient for this purpose.

In deciding where, with reference to the machine. the' gave] or hundle of grain raked from the platform should be deposited uponl the ground, two objects are to be held in viewviz., the greatest lreduction of the space over which the grain is to be raked, and the ,ad vantage, so far as even and clean work is concerned, of raking the grain from the platform in a straight line at iight angles to the stalks; and, secondly, depositing` it where it will not be liable to disturbance either from the wheels during the cutting of the same swath or from the horses during the succeeding passage of the machine in cutting the next swath. These two advantages I have succeeded in uniting at the same time that I relieve the horses in a great measure from the oppressive side dratt usually attendant upon reapers and mowers in which the horse is iu advance of the machine. ThisI have accomplished by placing the main driving-wheel outside. of the line ot' draft., the opposite side of the machine being e 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 ot' the cutting and ot' the supporting-wheel on the right, making the draft even and parallel to the line of motion of the machine.

Between the end ofthe platform and the gearing and immediately behind the horses there is lelt a clear space, where the gravel can he deposited by therake,as already fully set forth.

Certain modifications in the construction of the reel and of the cutting apparatusare described as follows: Instead ot' one vibrating cutter, I provide one vibrating bar, T, Fig. 10, to which a number ot' small cutters, t, are attached, each made of plate-steel and nearlyin the shape of a heart, the points being carried' foremost. Both sides ofthesecutters are sharp, with sickle-teeth reversed or inclining backward. The back of each cutter is fastened to the top of the front cross-bar A2 by a bolt, t', on which it plays freely. A little forward of 4 ase Y the cutters, and is permanently attached to the top of. the front cross-bar A2. (This plate is better seen in Figs. 12 and 13.)' Above each cutter a semicircular slot, t4, Fig. 12, is ont through the iron plate. 'e A small iron stud, t5,

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. 0n the top ot" each stud is aclearing-plate, te, Fig. 11, of the same size as the cutter t, Fig. l0, but having deep circular notches, Fig. 11, on each side, curved backward from the point. The back ot' each clearing-plate is bent down, so that the back end is held by the sanne bolt that holds the backot'eaeh cutter. By this arrange ment the clearing-plates move with the cutters and keep the cutters always clear of the falling grain.

I The reel, instead of being formed with ribs ot' wire and heads, as represented in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, is constructed, as represented in Figs. 8 and 9, withl thin slats or ribs of wood. From the periphery of each head a a number of arms, u', extend radial, as in Fig. 8, ortangential, as in Fig. 9, forming au angle of' not more than twenty-two degrees with aline drawn through the center ot' each head. These lastmentioned arms incline down andrforward on the front side of the reel and up and backward on its rear side. On the ends ot' these arms are placed slats a3, of thin wood or other suitable material, extending the whole length of the reel, and wide enough to draw in the grain to the cutters and deliver it upon the platform.

Having thus described my improvements as applied to one form of harvesting-machine and some of the moditications thereof,what I claim 1s- The combination of thereel forgathering the grain to the cutting apparatus and depositing it on the platform,witn the seat or position for raker located and arranged, substantially as described, to enable the raker to ride and rake the grain from the platform and free the reel and cutting apparatus from obstruction, as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name.

JONATHAN READ. In presence of Gao. S. CARMICHAEL, WM. Gr. PINCKARD.

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