Patent GB-546549-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in agricultural drainage
IPC: E02F5/10
Filed: 1941-03-13
Abstract: 546,549. Laying drain pipes ; excavating. WATSON, G. March 13, 1941, No. 3418. [Class 6 (i)] [Also in Groups XXI and XXVIII] In apparatus for laying pipes for land drainage, a trench 16 just wide enough to receive drainpipe sections 17 adapted to abut end to end is formed by an implement 15, such as a plough, secured to the forward part of a structure 14 mounted in a frame 10 carried by wheels 11 loosely mounted on axles 12, 13. The apparatus may be attached to a tractor by a hook 18 and in order to enable the structure 14 and plough 15 to be lowered to the required depth of the trench 16, the ends 19 are mounted in guides 20 secured to the framework 10 and braced together as at 21, cables 22 passing over pulleys 23 mounted on a cross bar being secured to the ends 19 and to a drum 25 mounted on the shaft of a winch 26 provided with a handle 27. The pipe sections 17 are fed by hand to the flared upper part 34 of a tubular member 28 having integral walls,  an upper vertical part 29 and a curved part 30 terminating in an horizontal portion 31 and being mounted in a casing 32 the lower portion 33 of which extends below the axles 12, 13 to prevent earth removed by the plough from falling into the trench 16. The pipe sections 17 are contained in boxes 39 placed in collapsable carriers 40 supported by bars hinged to the side of the casing 32. To enable the apparatus to excavate a trench having a predetermined radius of curvature the axle 13 is provided with a pivot 46 rotatably mounted in a structure 47 secured to the framework 10 and through a slot in which passes a lug 48 with the upper end of which is engaged a fork 49 provided with a screwed rod 50 passing through a nut member 51 and provided with a handle 52. The implement 15 may be replaced by any suitable trenching apparatus such as a bucket elevator. In a modification, the tubular member 28 is formed of plates 55, Fig. 4, which may be the side plates of the casing 32 and plates 56, 57 welded thereto and curved as shown. The plate 57 is provided with a slot 58 through which may be passed a stick or rod for pressing down the pipe sections 17 or through which may be passed a rubber tyre 68, Fig. 5, carried by a rim 66 which is pressed outwardly by springs 67 bolted round spokes 64 engaging radial openings 65 in the rim 66 and extending from the periphery of a hub 63 mounted on a shaft 62 driven by a chain passing over a pulley 61 and a pulley 59 on the axle 12. In another form the sections 17 in the member 28 are engaged by rotating rubber rollers which enter slots in the member and are driven by a chain from the axle 12. In another form, the sections 17 are mounted in containers provided on an annular carrier adapted to be driven by friction from the axle 12, the periphery of the carrier near each container being provided with a notch with which cooperates a locking lever pivoted to the structure 14 and carrying at one end a balance weight and at the other a roller which projects through an opening in the member 28. As a pipe section drops from a container into the member 28 the roller disengages the lever from its notch so that the carrier can be turned to bring a fresh container over the member 28. The structure 14 may be provided with a disc knife or coulter on each side of the plough to define the width of the trench.