USRE390E - Improvement in reaping-machines - Google Patents

Description

f. Eem?,

Efe-issued 2215/2/356 mera sheet;

J .Rai ci l Wonder- .'/7'93670 Reisszled .22%, /Z /556 Zd d y f l* rf F. #11 inni-,dgmklr zu ed' PATENT OEETCE.

JONATHAN READ, OF ALTON, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN REAPING-MACHINES..

Specilication forming part of Letters Patent No. 2,488, dated March 1:2, 1.842; extended seven years; Reissue-No. 390` dated August 19, 1856.

DIVISION D.

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JONATHAN READ, of Alton, in the county of Madison and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usefullmproveniente in Harvestiiig-Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which make part of this specification, and in which- Figure l 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 ot' the same. Fig. 4 represents an elevation of the rear side ot' 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 forni a gavel. Fig. G represents a longitudinal section of the rake, the platform of slats and spaces, thescreen or roof to receive the grain that falls while the platformis being cleared bythe rake, and guards orst'rippers to removethe grain at the proper time from the screen and deposit it on the platform. Fig. 7 is a detached plan ot' myimproved guard-lingers and sickle. Oi'the remaining figures, representing modifications of various parts of my improvements in the reaper, Fig. 8 is a detached view, iu perspective, ot" a inoditication ot' the reel; and Fig. 9 is a trans-- verse section of another moditication of the same. Fig. l0 is a plan of a modification of the cutting apparatus, and Fig. l1 is a detached view of a clearing-plate used with the same. Fig. 12 is a plan of the guard-plate, also used with the cutter and guard-fingers shown in Figs. 10 and 1l. Fig. 18 is a sectional view of the cutter seen in Fig. 1U, of the clearing-plate seen in Fig. 11, and the iron guard-plate seen in Fig. l2,showing the manner in which they are united.

Then the-lelt and right sides of the machine, or of any parts thereof', are mentioned in this specitication it is to be understood that it is 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 ot' the machine, looking ltoward its front side.

My invention consists in hanging'the frame ot' the machine upon the axles oi' two supporting-wheels, hinging the thills or tongue hy which the horses draw the machine to the main frame, and connecting with these an adjustinglever, so that from its fulcrum on the one it will project toward the station or seat of the driver on the other, that the driver, who is the sole conductor of the machine, may, without moving from his station, raise and lower the cutters at pleasure during the operation ot' the machine to cut the crop at any desired height from the ground, or to raise the cutter to allow it to pass over stones, stumps, or other obstacles without injury. By this arrangement a single attendant can drive the horses and attend to the raising and lowering of the cutters, thus saving thelahor of another hand, heretofore necessary to attend to the raising and lowering of the cutters when the adjusting-lever was so arranged that the place where it was worked was remote from that which the driver occupied.

Theframeofthis machine,which in its general form is quadrilateral, and consists principally ofthe cross-hars A, A', and A2 and the longitudinal bars A3, A4, A5, and A, is supported and moved, like an ordinary cart, by two wheels, B and C, whose axles are respectively at the ends ofthe main cross-har A,and hy the thills D, (hinged to the frame near the line of the axis ot' the wheels,') upon which the slightly-preponderating weight of the forward part of the machine rests. The whole of the main fraaie of the machine is covered with either a tight or a slatted floor, except a space near the front on the left side for' the gavel of cutl grain to drop through to the ground when discharged from the platfarm, as hereinafter particularly descri hed, and a space near the rear on the lel't side, which is occupied hy the main gearing. The front portion, E, of the flooring on the right, which is formed of parallel slats c, 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 s'uiicient quantity to form a gavel has accumulated.

On the front edge of the frame and in front of they platform the cutting apparatus and the dividers G G Gare situated, and immediately above these is placed the reel H. At the left Arear corner of the platform a station, I, is arranged on the floor for the driver of the horses, whose duty it is also to regulate the height ot' the cut, and connect and disconnect the cutter F and the reel H with the driving-gear.

Near the station of 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 Iany straw or grass that may be entangled therewith, and which, if suffered to accumulate, would clog the machine and render a stoppage forrthe purpose of clearing it necessary.

Connected with the inner 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 spur-cog whee1,K, gea-ring into a pinion, 7c, upon the shaft M. This shaft bears also the bevel-wheel m, which gears into a bevel-pinion, m', on the rear end of the shaft N, which turns in suitable bearings in the frame and drives thesickle F by means of the crank n and connecting-rod a, The cutter F is made of plate-steel with a scalloped serrated edge, and it acts in connection Vwith a series of guard-fingers, O, also serrarated and shaped like a spear-head with pro tuberant edges, as shown in Fig. 7, and he-rein. after more fully described; or thesetingers and others with straight edges may be used alternately, as shown in Fig. 10. 'lhe gearing-shaft ,M also bears a pulley, m2, carrying the band h, which, after crossing and passing over the guide-pulley h on a standard, h2, extends to and encircles the pulley h3 on the shaft h4 of the reel H to rotate the latter. rlhis reel consists of the said shait h4, supported in suitable bearings in the standards a and a', andl of two disks or heads, h5, and an intermediate disk, h, secured upon the shaft. The disks are connected by wires or ribs h7, which in the revolutions of the reel press the grain back against the cutters and deposit itupon the platform. rThese ribs may run straight between the heads, or they may cross diagonally.

rlhe journal of the gear-shaft M is set somewhat loosely in its bearing at its right end, and is supported at its left end by a standard, m3, pvoted at the bottom and connected above the shaft by the link m4 to the lever m5, which passes through a slot in the frame. By moving this lever the driver can at once turn back the standard m3, and thus throw the pinion k 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 in motion. A wedge, m6, is provided, which, beingintroduced into the slot before o r behind the lever m5, will retain it either in a position to hold the wheels and pinions in orout of gear with cach other, as may be desired. e

The mechanical rake is formed with arms Z,

which perform the double office ofhandles for the rake-teeth anda screen or roof, the function of which will presently be described. These arms are connected by cross-bars Z', 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 arerattached at their ends to the right and left ends of two of the arms Z, and pass around the pulley Z4 on the shaft l5. This shaft rests in suitable bearings resting on the cross-bars A and A2, and is provided with a winch, Z6, by the handle of which the attendant turns the shaft in one direction, and winding the left end 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 ofi' the gavel of grain from the platform, and drops it through the opening in the floor upon the ground. A cord, Z7, attached at one end to the left side bar, A3, of the frame, aml at the other to one of the cross-bars Zl of the rake, determines the extent of 'its motion in either direction.

The rake-teeth Z8, instead of being attached to a common head, are each in this instance attached to thc right end of one4 of the arms Z. These teeth are so hinged to the arms that while they will readily fold up in passing to the right by any obstruction they meet, as shown in Fig. 6, they cannot be pressed to thc right or outward beyond a certain acute anglesay eighty degrecs(shown in the dotted lines, Fig. 6.) Uonsequently they willreadily iiex'cr 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 permit the rake-teeth to extend below the grain, and thus prevent it from being overrun, the platform E is constructed not of an even iioor, but of anumber of slats c, with slots between them, in which the raketeeth work, as already described. The gavel of grain,being thus rakedoff, is dropped on the ground immediately at the left end ot' the platform, and inside of and out of the path ot' the drivingwheel, as well as outside of the path in which the horses travel while the mat-v chine is cutting the next swath. l

0n the right side of the platform E isa fence orguard, 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 P2, are placed, which, however, descend no lower than the top ot' the cross-bars Z, that connect the arms ofthe 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 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 andof the reel, where they are armed with wedge-shaped iron caps G G G2, which enter the standing grain and serve respectively, guard G to divide that to be out from that to be left standing, guard Gr2 to guide within the stroke of the cutters the grain to be cnt on the lelt 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 0.'

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 pass over stones or other obstacles, and also ihatthe machine may beadj'usted foranyheight at which it is desired to cut the stubble, the l'rame is hung or balanced upon the axes ofthe wheels B and C, and a regulating-lever, R, is nsed to turn itto swingthecutters np and down. This lever is pivoted, as shown in Fig. 2, to the frame by the pin r, nponwhich it may betnrned, and it has a shoulder, `Fr', which rests upon the right side of the thills D. This shoulder acts as a sliding fulcrum, which, when the handle r2 ofthe lever is depressed, will slide forward and raise the cutters, and when the handle is raised will slide back and lower th'e cutters. The handle r2 is raised or depressed by the driver` standing on the tloor at his station at I, while at the same time he drives the horses. The handle ot' this lever passes through a slot in a standard, i, at-the side ofthe drivers station, where by means of a pin, 2, and a series of holes in the standards it is retained in any desired position.

The dilerent parts of this machine are so arranged, as shown in Fig. l, thata place or stand, J, is provided for the attendant who rakes,

and another, i, l'or the attendant who drives,

where their weight is chieiiy borne by the wheels, anduhere the raker has under his iniinediate control the handle of the rake-winch 16and the driverv has under his control the handle r2 ot' the adjusting-lever R and the gearing and nngearing lever m5.

An advantage ot'. the scalloped cutter over one with a straight edge is that it is not so quickly or so 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 ofthe machine tends to cause the sickle to push the grain forward, press it down, and override it. This difficulty, however, in the scaloped bladeis 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 fingersv in the shape of a spear-head, so that their edges retreating or converging toward their shanks may render theangle between the edge in one direction.

of the blade and the edge ot' the fingers more acute, and afford a shoulder against which the grain is held while being cut; and as an additional security these retreating edges are armed with serrations, which, inclining backward, eiiectually prevent the grain frornslipping forward and escaping` from the cutter. This construction of the linger is shown in Figs. 1, 7, and 10. The edge ot' 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 directionin which they point or are inclined, the sicklewonld be. less effective on one stroke than on the other ifthe serrations allinclined This difficulty is avoided hy giving to the sickle a stroke equal to the distance between the centers of the lingers, and at the same ,time serrating itin short sections, the teeth ofone section leaning in one direction and those ot' the next section leaning in the oppositedirection, those points which reach the centers of the fingers at the extremes ot the strokes being those at which the change of direction in theinotion ofthe sickle is made and from which the serration is reversed. Thus in each stroke all the serrations which act with the iingersin thatstroke will advance with their points foremost toward the edges ofthe fingers.` In the scalloped sickle the points of reversal ot' the serrations will ot' course be, as represented in the drawings, at the projecting and retreating angles ot' the blade.

The combination, with the spear-head tinger, ofthe scalloped sickle with reversed servrations constitutes, it is believed, the most et'- .ticient cutting apparatustbraharvester hitherto known. y 1

It has been found in practice that the speed at which a reaping-machine can with most et'- iiciency be used and the cutter operate most successfully is too great for the strength of a raker walking by the side ot' the machine to keep up with it and rake the grain from the platform. Consequently the limit thus placed upon the speed is not only a loss ot' time, but a drawback upon the ethciency of the cutting. For these reasons it becomes necessary so to arrange the several parts of the reaper that a stanti or seat may be provided t'or the raker, las 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 ot' any tangled grant that may become fastened upon them. -v

The fatigning nature ofthe labor in manipulating a hand-rake, Iand the want of regularity, thoroughness, and neatness with which its duty is often performed, have made it an important object to accomplish the discharge ot the grain in gavels by mechanical means.

have constructed for this purpose a mechanical rake, which during the lilling ofthe bed or platform is drawn back to the left but when a sufficient quantity of grain has been reaped 'to form a gavel the attendant turns the winch l and with it the shaft 1.5 and pulleys l,which,

through the cords 3, draw the rake from the left and thrust the arms l to the right over the platform, the rake-teeth 18 folding up as they pass over the grain till the ends ot' the arms pass through the vertical slots in the fence P, 'when the teeth L unfold again and fall into To secure the action of therake-teeth upon all tbe'gran olrthe platforln,the latter is coilstructed of a number of slats or provided with a number ot' slots, along which the teeth pass, and reaching thus below the grain entirely remove it. While the rake is 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' P2 strip oft' the arms what grain may have fallen thereon during their passage to and fro, and leave it upon the platform to make part ofthe next gavel. The left'guard, P2, only would ordinarily be sufcientfor this purpose.

In deciding where,with reference to the machine, the gave] or bundle of grain raked from the platform should be deposited upon the ground, two objects are to be held in viewviz., 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, ot' raking the grain from the platform in a straight line at right angles to the stalks; and, secondly, depositing it where it will not hc 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 cuttingthe 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 draft usuallyattendant upon reapers and mowers in which the horse is in advance of the. machine. This I 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 thatlinc. Thus the resistance ofthe driving-wheel on the lettside of the horses balances the resistance of the cutting `and ot' the supporting-wheel on the right, making the draft even and parallel to the line of motion of the machine.

Beta een the end of the platform and of-the gearing, and immediately behind the horses, there is left a clear space, where the gavel can be deposited by the rake, as already fully set forth. v

iron plate.

above the top ot the iron plate.

Aand backward ou its rear side.

Certain modifications in the construction of Y the reel and of 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 point being carried foremost. Both sides of these cutters are sharp, with sickle-teeth reversed or inclining backward. rlhe back of each cutter is fastcnedY to the top of the front cross-bar A2 by a bolt, t', on which it plays freely. A little forward of the center of each cutteris another bolt, t2, connecting with the vibrating bar T. As the bar T vibrates the points of the cutters t are thrown to and fro, cutting the grain against the shoulders o. The distance between the bolts t and t2 is sufficient to allow the points of the cutters to play nearly twice as far as the vibratory bar T moves. A flat plate of thin iron rests on the critters, and is permanently attached to the top of the front cross-bar A2. (This plate is better seen in Figs. l2 and 13.) Above each cutter a semicircular slot, t4, Fig. 12, is cut through the A small iron stud, t5, is permanently fastened to the top ot' each cutter', and extends up through each slot a short distance 0n the top of each stud there is a clearing-plate, t, Fig. 1l, of the same size as the cutter t, Fig. 10, but having deep circular notches, Fig. 11, on each side, curved backward'from thepoint. The back of cach clearing-plate is bent down, so that the back end is held by the saine bolt that holds the back of each cutter. By this arrangement the clearing-plates move with the cutters and keep the cutters clear of the falling grain.

The reel, instead of being formed with ribs of wire and heads, as represented in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, is constructed, as represented in Figs. 8 and 9, with thin slats or ribs of wood. From the periphery ot' each head u a number of arms, u', extend radial, as in Fig. 8, or tangential, as in Fig. 9,v forming an angle of ynot more than twenty-two 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 On the ends of these arms are placed slats a3, of thin wood or other suitable material, extending the whole length otl 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 ofthe modifications thereof, what Iclaim In combination with the main frame of the machine, hung or balanced on the supportingseat on the other, so that the driver, who is `In testimon yv whereof I have hereunto subthe sole conductor of the machine, lnay from scribed my name. said stand, by this arrangement, raise or depress the cutter at pleasure, during the oper- JONATHAN READ. ation of the machine, for cutting grain at any suitable height above the ground or for pass- In presence ofing,1 over any intervening obstacles, substan- GEO. S. GARMIOHAEL,

tially as described. i WVM. G. PINCKARD.

Images