USRE695E - Improvement in grain-harvesters - Google Patents

Description

3 Sheets ,Sheet I.'

T. D. BURRALL.

lGrain Harvester.

Reissued Aprii 26, 1859.

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Reis-sued April 26,1859.

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. 3 SheetsSheet 3. T. D. BURRALL.

' Grain Harvester. No. 695. Ressued April 26,51859.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS D. BURRALL, OF GENEVA, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEM ENT .'IN G-RAIN-HRVESTERIS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 9,614, dated April 5, 1853; Reissue No. 695, dated April 26, 1859.

DIVISION A.

wide, and 'extended about three feet on one side, beyond that part ot' the apron on which the grain falls, to make room for the rakers seat, and to attach the apron to the frame of the driving-wheel and gearing, which frame may be4 of any suitable form to hold the gearings. To the front end of this frame is attached a perch or pole tive or six feet long, the fore end of it resting on the axle-tree of a twowheeled carriage drawn by horses; or the pole maybe extended to a suiiicient length and the team attached directly to it without the carriage. To the front end ot' the apron or finger-board I fasten cutter-guards, of iron, through slots in which the cutter works. The cutter consists of steel plates ground to an edge on two sides-say five inches long and three inches wide at the hase, tapering to a point-riveted to an iron bar,which receives a reciprocatingr or vibrating motion from the main wheel by means of cog-gearings working a crank and pitman connected with the end of the bar.

In the drawings annexed, Figure 2 is aside view of the machine. jcction or birds-eye view of the same; Fig. 4, the bed-piece and movable box which holds the lowerend of the crankshaft,in perspective; Fig. 3, a side view of the small wheel and sector attached to the outer side of this apron.

[My driving-gear consists of astrong wheel, of wood or iron, a, from three to three and a halt' feet in diameter, and from six to seven inches tread, rotating on an iron shaft or axle,

b, firmly bolted at each end to iron posts c,

which torm apart of the frame above mentioned. Attached to the arms o f the drivingwheel is a bevel-wheel, d, from twenty to thirty inches in diameter, drivinga horizontal shaft, e, by means of a pinion,f, the back jour nal of which is stepped into a box on the main Fig. lis a plane proshaft, and the .front end is held by the neck in a movable box, which will he described hereinafter. On the front end of this shaft is a bevel-wheel, g, from twelve to sixteen inches in diameter, driving a perpendicular shaft, It, byapinion, fi. Thelowerend of this shaft forms a crank,j, giving motion to the cutter-bar lo by means of a pitman or connectingrod, l. On the top of this shaft is a balance-wheel, m, which by its compensating-power gives an equa-ble motion and relieves the machine from the jerk of the cranky'. In addition to this use, the balance-wheel, as arranged, forms a convenient lever for turning the wheels for oiling, or for moving the machine for other purposes.

In order to throw the machine out of gear when required, the upperjournal of the crankshaft is secured hya box toa lever,n,extended across the front of the frame, one end of the lever hinging on a bolt or joint and the other playing in a slot and held in place by a shifting pin, o, the end forming a convenient handle by which it can be thrown in or outof gear by the raker, who sits upon a seat, p, just behind it. This rakers seatpis so arranged and located that the occupant can reach into the standing grain with his rake, and, when tangled, draw it to the cutters, and by the same or a succeeding operation, and by an easy and natural quarter-turn of his rake, deliver itonto the ground. 1n order to render the lower end of this shaft It movable and yet secure, the neck is heldin amovable box,g, having ajournal, fr, at each end of the box, resting in corresponding sockets in a cast-iron bed-piece, s, which is bolted to the linger-board. In this way it is held firmly, while it shifts freely.

In order to adjust the cutting-edge to the variousheights required, the rear sides ofthe iron 'posts before mentioned, to which the ends of the axle of the main wheel are bolted, are so shaped as to form segments ot' acircle the center of which, t, is at the point of contactof the pitch-circles of the front wheels, g, and pinion ,that when the main shaft b is bolted, at any height required, upon thc post c, carrying the hind end of the second shaft along with it, the front wheel and pinion be kept in mesh; but to do this two things are necessary: rst, that the teeth in the wheel and pinion have aconvex face; and, secondly, that the neck of the horizontal shalt E -be held in a movable or sliding box, a, suitably adjusted, the'bottom of which forming the segment ot a circle, the center of which, t, is formed in the same point as that of the circle on the posts cto wit, the point of contact ofthe pitch-circle ofthe front wheel and pinion. This box is heldin place, when adjusted, by a screw-bolt passing through a bridge-tree, o, on which it rests.

To regulate the height of the outer end of the apron, I use a sector of cast-iron, ir, Fig. 3, having a radius ot' about tit'teen inches, with an arm or axle (for a wheel of about sixteen inches diameter) on the lower end of the segment, by means ot which the wheel i's raised or lowered, and it is held in place by a bolt, y, through a corresponding plate attached to the frame or apron and to the dividing-board.

In the machine as above described the grain is discharged in the rear. To render it convertible, so as to discharge the grain at the side, it' preferred, I attach to the rear of the apron l, Fig. 1, as described, an extra apron, 2, having a curvedback, 3, about twelve inches high, which forms a continuation or extension ot' the dividing-board 4, which separates the cut from the uncut grain. This apron extends back about three feet on the side next the raker, and is so shaped (forming nearly the segment of a circle) as to enable him, by a gentle sweep of his rake, to lay the grain directly in rear of the driving-wheel. The apron is attached by screw-bolts 7 througlr arms underneath to the main apron No. 1, and may be removed at pleasure. Again, it has been lfound on trial that in cutting damp grain of some kinds'the cutter is liable to clog by the lodgment of small fibers oi' straw and tine grass in the cavities ot' the guards, as-described. Several modes ot'remedying this difeulty have been devised and patented. In one the guards are left open on the top of the cutter-bar to let the tine grass pass oil'. In another a hole is made through the teeth. VBoth answer the purpose; but the one weakens the guards, the other the teeth. My modeis tor cut a notch, 5, from the back corners of each knifesay three-fourths of an inch long and on'efourt'h wide-(and also notches may be cut on the front edge of the cutter-bar, four to six inches a'part,) which does., the work better and weakens nothing;` or the teeth may be set vabout a quarter of an inch apart, so as to.

leavef'a space betweenthem. This'answers the. same purpose, though not as neatly. Again, when my machine is drawn by attaching the team directly to the pole', I place a seat for the driver, 6, Fig. 2, on the hinder part of the frame, back of the wheel, so as to counter- `balance the weight ofthe forward part of the machine, thus `giving the choice of driving with a carriage or without, as preferred. s The mode of operating my machine and the use andadvantages of my improvements are obvious on inspection. v

A good grain-reaper should possess the following requisites: First, it should cnt the grain without clogging; second, the cutting-edge' should be easily adjusted to eut at the various heights required and be thrown out ot' gear at pleasure; third, it should lay the grain neatly for binding, in the most convenient manner, at the least labor of men and team. The first of these requirements is obtained in a very perfeet manner by the notches in the back corners ot' the teeth of the knives, as described. In mine the apparatus described for varying the height ofthe cut and that for throwing the working parts out of gear answers the second purpose stated.' Thirdly, to discharge the grain from the apron, the most easy and convenient mode, doubtless, is to slide-it ot'fdirectly in the rear (as is done by Husseys reaper) wherever the grain is lit to bind and men are at hand to take it up; but when the grain is too wet or green to bind, or hands are wanting to do the work in time, it becomes necessary to discharge the grain at the side and far enough removed from the standing grain to leave room for the team and machine to pass for the next swath without treading on the grain. AIn this respect McGormicks Virginia Reaper7 has had an advantage over Hnsseys in popular estimation. Both these modes are eected by my convertible reaper. Without the extra apron for side raking it discharges the grain in the rear aswell as Husseys, with it at the side, far better than McCormicks, inasmuch as it leaves the grain in better condition for drying and binding, and this, too, with much less labor to the raker, as he is conveniently seated at the center ot' motion for raking and passes the grain from the aprons by an easy quarter-turn movement of his rake, while in McUormieks, from the position ofthe raker on the extreme end of the nger-board, it requires the strength of a powert'ul man to discharge the sheaf and a good deal ot practice to lay it in order fit for binding.

` Having thus fully described the nature and object ofV my invention, what I claim therein as new, and desire to sec ure -b y Letters Patent,

1. The additional apron to convert the usual rear discharge into a side discharge of the cut grain, substantially as herein described.

2. The combination ot the curved supports and the adjustable journal-box piece to preserve the relative positions ot the cogs in the miter-gearing, and at th'e same time allow ot1 raising and depressing the driving-wheel, substantially as described.

3. The notches in the back corners of each I knife to prevent clogging or lodginent of fine grass in the cavities of the guards, said notches eii'ecting a good purpose and not weakening k the cutter, as herein represented.

THOMAS D. BURRALL.

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