USRE970E - Improvement in grain and grass harvesters - Google Patents

Description

UNITED e STATES l kPATENT Oi-ricas JACOB SWARTZ, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

`iivl'PRovEMi-:NT IN GRAIN AND GRASS HARVESTERS.

lSpecification forming part of Letters Patent No. 11,951, dated November 14, 1854;' Reissue No. 970, dated June 5, 1860.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JACOB SWARTZ, of the city of Buffalo, county of Erie, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improveinentsin Harvesting-Machines, and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to theletters of reference marked thereon.

My invention relates to that kind of harvesting-machine ,in which the heel of the guardiinger bar is attached to the main frame (which carries the cutters driving crank-shaft) by a hinged or adjustable coupling arm or arms, which carry said heel in an arc when its vertical position isvaried, while the main frame occupies the same horizontal plane or vertical position 5 and my invention consists in a reorganization ot' and substitution ot' dii'erent and additions of new parts in the machine, de-

signed to etfect important benelits in its operation and advantages in its uses, and all of which one fully and clearly set forth in the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part ot' this specification, Figure l represents aperspective'view of my improved machine.`

Fig. 2 representsa front elevation of the same, showing the cutting apparatus down on the ground for mowing; and Fig. 3 represents a similar elevation with the nger bar held above the ground, as for reaping.

Similar letters denote the same parts in the dili'erent views.

A is the main frame ot' the machine, and B is the main driving and supporting wheel,

which is hung on a horizontally-arran ged shaft, y

1), hung in suitable boxes, A and A2, at the rear side of the frame A. v

On one face or side of the wheel B is formed or arranged the-main drivin g-gear b, (see Fig. p

1,) which drives a bevel-pinion, a, on shaft D2. This shaft is arranged in proper bearings near `the inner side ot' the frame A, and has fastcned 'cuits forward end the'main drivingcrank L, from which motion isimparted to the reciprocating cutter-bar Y throughthe medium which will be understood by the following description, viz: On each side of the forward end of the shaft D2 is arranged an upright stand or post, E and F, fast to the main frame A." In the upper end of one of thesey stands, E, is pivoted, at 2, one end of a short armor bar, G, and -near the bottom of the other stand, F, is pivoted, at 6, a lever, S. To the upper end of lever or arm S is pivoted, at 1, one endoi a short arm, H, which is connected by a pivot, 3, to die end of arm G, and the same piu 3 couples to the two adjacent ends ot' arm Gr and H oneend of pitman J, which is connected at its other end to the-wrist-pin 9ct crank L, and to the lower end of lever S is pivoted one end of aA pitinan, R. rl"he object of attaching this end of the pitnian some distance below the frame is that itshall be more nearly parallel (horizontally) with the cutterbar than in this class 'of harvesting-machines as they have been constructed heretofore, by which arrangement the heel of the cutter-bar (when its vertical position is varied)` moves more nearly in a perpendicular line than it otherwise would. rlhe other end of pitman l is attached to the heel ot' the cutter-bar, and is fartherabove the heel of the cutter-bar than as heretofore in this class of harvesters, for the double purpose of keeping the pitinan more nearlyin a horizontal position, and also for raising this end of it above the mown grass to prevent its entanglement with the grass while passing over it. The pitman, being nearly parallel with the cutter-bar, vibrates said bar and cutters with less power than when ata greater angle to it. It will no'w be seen that as the shaft-D rotates itscrank will cause the Vpitman J to vibrate the pin 3 up and down in the arc of a circle struck from the pin 2, and that this causes the piu l to swing in the arc `of a circle struck from the pin 6, and also the lower end of the arm S to vibrate in the arc of a circle struck from said pin 6, which will cause the pitman R to reciprocate the cutterbar Y.

C is the finger-bar, and g its fingers, and g2 the divider, which is made wider and extends farther forward than one of the fingers for separating and dividing that to be cut from that to be left standing.

C is the finger-bar, which has i a shoe or shield, C', permanently attached to or formed on its heel or end adjacent to the main frame. Said shoe or shield has formed in it a guide for thek heel of the cutter-bar when vibrating, and' extends no farther from the fingers than does the heel of the finger-bar, and also runs crank-shaft, whether on the forward of and extends above the points of the fingers for pressing down the cut grass when passing over it while the machine is used as a mower, and preventing its entanglement'. by the heel of the cutter or finger-bar.

C shows the upward slope of the end of the finger-bar whereit connects withthis shoe or shield at Fig. 1. In the upper port-ion of j shoe O are formed cavities to receive ears .fr m',

that project from the yielding or adjustable coupling-arm Q, and said shoe is connected, after the fashion of two parts of a hinge. with said bar Q by a stud or arbor, e, (see Figs. l and 2,) which runs at right angles to the line of the finger-bar C and coupling-arm Q, but parallel(horizontally)with them,t`orpermitting the finger-bars fingers to always retain a horizontal position while having their vertical position varied.

P is a post or bar connected to the shoe C' at its lower end, and coupled at its upper by a pin, u, to the vibrating end oarm I, whose other end is pivoted at rto the stationary post F.

The hinged or adjustable coupling-arm Q, which is hinged to the finge-bar at-one end, as already described, is hung at its other end on a shaft or arbor,f, supported in the arms T and I, which extend down from the main frame A the proper distance to have the shaft or 'arborf at the proper relative place with that of arbor e, and its distance above the pin t to cause the lingers and cutters to preserve their same relative position in relation to each other -when' the cutting apparatuss vertical position is varied, which is a great disideratum to the perfect working of this class of harvesters.

0n one side of stud E projects a plate, N, in which risv formed a circular vertical slot, O, into which the set-screw in lever I works. On the outer side of 'frame A is formed a retaining-nger, c, (see Fig. 1,) which drops v into grooves in the end of shaft D and retains it longitudinally in-such position as to hold .f

the main gear I) in or out of mesh with pinion a.

The operation of my improved machine will readily be .seen to be as follows, viz: When the cutting apparatus is to be put in motion the gear b is placed in gear with pinion a, and there held by dropping clutch e in the proper groove lin shaft D, and when out of motion in the other groove in shaft D for keeping it out. As all the working parts of my machine either lie parallel with each other, or at right angles to each other, or nearly so, it will readily be seen that the heel of the finger-ba-rC, the vibrating end of the hinged or adjustable coupling-arm Q, and cutter-driving pitman R will be at the same angle to the cuttersjdriving ground for mowing or raised above it for reaping, and thereby all twist or strain in any ofthe working parts is prevented, which is of great value in this class of machines; and, also, it will -be seen that the guard-tin gers always occupy the same horizontal position relative to the ground, whether on it for mowing or above it for reapj ing, andthat when the machine is used for vmowing the heel of the lnger-barand vi- 'vertical slot O is lnade; and, also, it will be observed, that the attendant can at pleasure, by tightening the set-screw d, hold the heel of thc ingenbar at various distances above the'ground for reaping or moving the machine from placing to place, as illustrated at Fig. 3; and it will be further understood that the fingers and cutters maintain the same relative relation to each other, whether the iinger-bar be on the ground for mowing, or raised above it for reaping, when the main frame occupies the same longitudinal and vertical position, which is of great practical value, as without it no machine can be made to Work properly; and, further, it will be seen that by having my iiuger-bar extend no farther from the tingers than the shoe or shield does, 'and by the shoe forming a guidefor the heel of the cutter-bar and ruiming forward of and above the points of the fingers, I avoid the diculty of dragging the cut grass forward by the heel of s the cutter anditinger bar when mowing; and, again, it will be seen, that by the employment of a divider at the end of the finger-bar, which is of' greater width in front of the finger-bar than one of the fingers, and which has no other connection with the main frame than that derived through the linger-bar, and whichis brought to a point both vertically and horizontally, the grass or grain to' be cut will be better' divided and separated from that to be left standing than by machines .of this class as heretofore constructed with which I am acquainted. p l

The hinged or adjustable coupling-arm Q is made broad for giving it lateral strength against being strained or thrown out of its proper parallelism.

The tongue of the machine may be secured to the main frame A, on either side ot' the [nain wheel B, or ina line with it, in whichever position will best conduce tothe proper balancing and preventing side draft in the machine.

It will be seen that by the arrangement ot levers by which the motion of crank L is conveyed to the cutter-bar the latter is caused to reciprocate or slide four times (that is twice one way and twice the other) to one revolution ot crank L.'

I do not wish to be understood 'as claiming broadly, neither the retaining of the guardfingers of a harvester in parallel lines of motion while the finger-bar rises and falls, nor the feature of limiting the motion of the finger bar, nor a device for holding the/cutting apparatus above the ground.

To recapitulate, the following may be understood as explaining the several features of novelty in operation and construction of and practical advantages arising from my invention. p

y -at any given elevation above the ground for falling has its position longitudinally changed vertically.

By the combination ofthe finger-bar with the l coupling-arm Q and the main frame ofthe machine, the whole arranged substantially as before described, it will be seen that the fingerbar, in having its position (relatively to the main frame) changed, is moved always in such a manner that its forward and rear edges move in -vertical planes, and so that its lingers move np and down the same distance at both ends, always being parallel with the ground, and so that the finger-bar is at the same time shifted slightly longitudinally, in consequence of the coupling-arms end vibrating in an arc otY a circle; and it will be further seen that while the cutting apparatus is capable of rising and falling in the manner just explained its extent of motion is limited by means of the pin d sliding in slot o; and it will be understood that in lieu of the pin d and slot 0 limiting` the eX- tent of vertical play to the vibrating end of arm Q, (which carries v'the nger-bar,) any other equivalent device may be employed; and it will be furthur seen that by tightening or setting the piu or screw d fast at any given point in slot 0 the finger-bar will be retained rigidly reaping or for moving lthe machine from place to place.

It will further be seen that although the linger-bar is connected to the end of the vibratable coupling-arm Q, and hence in rising and relatively to the main frame, the relation of the cutter-harto the linger-bar is not materially altered, because the heel of the fingery bar moves in the arc of a largecircle, the ceilter of'which is nearly coincident with the center of'pin in outer end of the pitman which vibrates the cutter-bar.

It will be understood that the shoe C is so arranged with the fingerbar that its side comes even with the heel ot' said finger-bar, and that it has formed in it a slot to guide the heel 'of the cutter-bar; and said shoe is so formed as to run in advance of and above the points of the lingers and press down the cut grass, and thus prevents entanglement with the heels of the finger and cutter bars; and it will be seen that the coupling-arm Q carries the shoe C up and down in an arc sidewise, but its back and front ends equal distances Having described the construction and operation of the several features of my inven tion,

what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. -The combination of the main frame A, carrying the cutting apparatus, and the fingerbar U, with the vibrataole coupling-arm Q, the whole constructed and operating substantially as hereinbefore described, and for the purpose set forth.

2. In combination with thev main frame A, vibratable coupling-arm Q, linger-bar G,shoe or shield C', upright postP, arm I, hinge-pins u and v, the guidingslot o, and set-screw d. or their equivalent, the whole arranged and e operating as hereinbefore specified, for each or all ofthe purposes set fortln 3. rIhe combination of the main frame A, linger-bar C, and cutter-bar Y, when the fingerbar is connected to the main frame by the vibratable coupling-arm Q, and the Whole is arranged so that the relation between the linconstructed and operate substantially as specifled, for theipurpose set forth.

5. The combination ot' the short finger-bar U and the shoe or shield C', connected to the main frame by a hinged coupling-arm, With the main frame A, when the several parts are constructed, arranged, and operate in the manner and for the purposes specified.

6. The combination of the short linger-bar C, the shoe C', divider g2, and main frame A, when the said linger-bar, shoe, and divider are each constructed in the peculiar manner specitied, and the whole arranged together and with the main frame, as and for the purposes herein described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal this 27th day ot' March, 1860. u

HENRY A. SWARTZ, ABRAM S. SWARTZ.

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