IM- PROVEMENTS IN REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES
Year: 1873

page_text: In the Matter of the Letters Patent granted to Thomas Culpin, of No. 77,
Upper Thames Street, in the City of London, for the Invention of " IM-
PROVEMENTS IN REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES," bearing date the 17th
day of June 1873.
DISCLAIMER AND MEMORANDUM OF ALTERATION proposed to be,
entered and filed by WALTER ABBOTT WOOD, the Assignee of the above named
Letters Patent to portions of the Specification filed in pursuance thereof,
according to the Statutes in that case made and provided.
″
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WALTER ABBOTT
Wood, of No. 36, Worship Street, in the County of Middlesex, Manufacturer, send,
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Royal Letters.
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of June 1873, did grant unto the above-
named Thomas Culpin, his executors, administrators, and assigns, the sole privilego
to make, use, exercise, and vend, the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING.
AND MOWING MACHINES," within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, during the term of 14 years then next
ensuing:
And whereas the said Thomas Culpin, on the 17th day of December 1873,
within the time prescribed by the said Letters Patent, caused a Specification in.
writing under his hand and seal to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office :
And whereas by an Indenture of Assignment, bearing date the First day of May.
1874, and made between the said Thomas Culpin of the one part, and myself of the
other part, and duly registered at the Great Seal Patent Office, the said Letters
Patent were duly assigned to me and are now vested in me for all the residue of the,
said term of 14 years:
And whereas after the date of the application for the said Letters Patent, and
[Price di

page_text: since the filing of the said Specification, and after the date of the said assignment, I
have ascertained and been advised that the description of the said Invention is too
broad, and contains matter which was not new and original at the date of the
application for the said Letters Patent, particularly the matter secondly enumerated
in the said Specification:
And in order to render the said Specification more definite, clear, and distinct, I
propose to make the several alterations, erasures, and corrections therein as herein-
after contained.
NOW KNOW YE, therefore that I, the said Walter Abbot Wood, by and with
the leave of Her Majesty's Attorney-General do hereby for the reasons aforesaid,
and in order more clearly to define and limit the true nature of the said Invention,
and the means of carrying it into practical effect make the following alterations and
erasures in the said Specification, that is to say :-
I strike out the whole of the lines 27, 28, 29, and 30 at page 4 of the said Speci-
fication as printed by Her Majesty's Printers, and published at the Great Seal
Patent Office 1873, being the whole paragraph beginning with the words "Secondly.
To fitting," and ending with the words "end on, as formerly.".
I strike out at line 31, page 4 of the said Specification printed as aforesaid, the
word "Thirdly," and I insert instead thereof the word "Secondly;" and at line 35
of the said page I strike out the word "Fourthly," and insert instead thereof the
word "Thirdly ;" and at line 3, page 5, I strike out the word "Fifthly," and insert
instead thereof the word "Fourthly."
"
I strike out the whole of the lines 29, 30, 31, 32 at page 7 of the said Specifica-
tion, as printed as aforesaid, being the whole of the paragraph beginning with the
words "Fourthly. I claim," and ending with the words " for the purposes described;
and I strike out at line 33 of the same page 7 the word "Fifthly," and insert instead
thereof the word "Fourthly ;" and at line 3 of the following page, namely 8, I strike
out the word "Sixthly," and insert instead thereof the word "Fifthly."
And I do hereby declare that the said Specification, as amended by the present
Disclaimer and Memorandum of Alteration, shall read as follows:-
$6
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
"CULPIN, of No. 77, Upper Thames Street, in the City of London, send greeting.
"WHEREAS Her Most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
"Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
"thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-sixth year of Her reign,
"did for Herself, Her heirs, and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
"Thomas Culpin, Her special license, that I, the said Thomas Culpin, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Culpin, my.
"executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein.
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the
"United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of
"Man, an Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES,'
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Culpin, my exe-
cutors, or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or
one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
"of the said Invention and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
" months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
"6
tr
$6
"
"NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Culpin, do hereby declare the
"nature of my said Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed,
"to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
"

page_text: "This Invention is for improvements in reaping and mowing machines, and
"relates,
"
"Firstly. To arranging the gearing within the breadth or tread of the main
wheel, to prevent the gearing clogging or choking with straws or grain that may
"fall over the inner shoe or the inner divider board, as the case may be.
"
"
"
Secondly. To fitting double-action levers or brackets upon the main axle for
carrying the pinion and parts connected with it, so that the knife beam can be
"raised and lowered through an arc of a circle with greater ease than heretofore.
Thirdly. To a combination quadrant motion in which the quadrant acts as a
stop for a lever in one case and as a lifting medium by the lever in another case,
"either one of which can be actuated for raising and lowering purposes as desired.
'Fourthly. To a method of adjusting the driver's seat to permit of his fect
getting within reach of the foot levers and strap.
"
"The Invention will be more particularly understood by the following description
"when read in connection with the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, Figure 1 of
"which is an off side elevation; and Figuro 2 a plan of a machine in or to which
my several improvements before referred to are fitted.
"
"
«
«
"
"
"
"
Figure 3 is a partial elevation from the near side of the machine.
Figure 4 is a perspective view of the working parts with a portion of the
platform of the drop kind in section.
Figure 5 represents (detached) the grain divider and its bearing wheel; and
Figure 6 a detached view of the bolt or catch which I prefer to employ for
holding the off end of the platform at the desired height after being placed in
one or other of the holes in the off shoe, the lever end then falling down and
locking the catch.,
"The machine is constructed with one main driving wheel A, with a broad tread
"and with spokes or arms B, B, from the nave B¹. The inner face of the periphery
"of this wheel has teeth C, C, upon it or on a ring bolted to the wheel, into which
a pinion D on a separate shaft E gears, the pinion D being in a piece with or
"attached to a bevil wheel F for communicating the necessary motion to the
"knives G. The bevil wheel F is arranged with its teeth towards the main wheel A,
so that the bevil pinion and its shaft H with the pitman I is within the tread of
"the main wheel to obviate the necessity of being boxed for preventing the clogging
or choking by straws or grain. This plan also reduces the actual width of tho
"machine, and brings the working parts into an area of compactness not hitherto
"obtainable without interfering with the strength of the machine. The pinion
which gears into the teeth of the main wheel is in a piece with the bevil wheel (or
"attached to it), by which the motion is communicated to the pitman for actuating
"the knives. The main axle J is embraced by a sleeve K of excentric exterior,
" which is itself embraced by a bracket, L, upon the back end of which the main
pinion D is mounted. The sleeve K is capable of being operated by a lever M,
"and it produces a to-and-fro movement of the main pinion D for putting it into
"and for taking it out of gear by drawing it to and from the front of the teeth of
"the main wheel A.
"
=
"The excentric may be detached from the bracket and made to act upon the
pinion from the main wheel axle in a similar manner by the pull-over lever.
*The bracket at the back end is upon the cross shaft E, and forms the support
" for another bracket P, to the fore end of which the inner shoe Q is fitted.
"Instead of the bracket P being in a separate piece from the inner shoe Q, it
"
દ may be and is preferably in a piece with it, as shown. This second bracket or tho
shoe, as the case may be, has a chain R at its front end, which connects a lever S
" with a paul T for dropping into the teeth of a quadrant U, forming part of the
"first bracket L. The pull over of the lever N determines the height of the knife
"beam to an extent within the radius of the lever between the pivot and the
quadrant teeth only. The quadrant is, as before stated, in a piece with the upper
or first-mentioned bracket L, and a separate paul V is attached, which can be
"

page_text: "
"released to allow the lever, and with it the quadrant, to be pulled over to alter
"the angle at which the two brackets may be. By this method the knife beam
can be raised or lowered to a greater extent than that permitted by the chain R.
"It also allows of the machine being set as to height of cut from the same quadrant
as that from which the raising and lowering to pass hillocks is effected.
<<
<<
<<
*
«
"The outer end of the main axle J is clipped by the shoulder of a bar W, whose
opposite end is attached to tlie fore carriage X of the machine. The bar W is on
edge, and a sliding clip Y is placed over it, which can be bolted firmly at any
part of its length for fixing the seat Z nearer to or farther from the hand lever M
"and foot plates or straps Z¹, so that men with short legs or men with long legs
can adjust the seat Z to suit, sliding it and its clip Y along the bar W.
"The platform shown is of the drop kind, with slats or laths for delivering the
" straws from off it in an easy manner, which platform, with the finger beam and
"knife bar is hinged to the inner shoe in such a manner that the whole can be
" turned up into nearly a vertical position for the machine to pass along narrow
lanes and through narrow gateways without hindrance.
"
66
་ ་
"In most cases I purpose fixing temporarily a small wheel upon the inner shoe
"after the platform is lifted or turned up to run upon the ground, and thereby
balance the machine while travelling or while being moved from place to place;
but this extra wheel can be dispensed with by arranging the platform, and the
"off shoe to fall over the main wheel a little when the man can adjust his seat to
"balance the machine for travelling upon the main wheel only.
"
"
*
"The fold-up platform forms no part of my Invention, that having been pre-
viously Patented by Mr. I. T. Griffin, of 77, Upper Thames Street, London, in the
year 1871.
"The lever M has a weight on its free end, so that it will remain in the position
"shown in Figure 1 while the machine is in work, the claw a of the pivoted bolt
"
"
taking under the edge of the bracket L, and prevents the main pinion D getting
accidentally out of gear. There is another claw b on the bolt, and this when the
"lever is pushed back takes the back edge of the bracket L, as in Figure 4, to
"prevent the pinion getting into gear with the main wheel, such as when the
"machine is moving along a road, or from one place to another.
"
"And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,-.
66
Firstly. The combination of the several parts, as set forth and shown in or to
"the same machine used for reaping and mowing purposes, with the exception of the
fold-up hinge of the platform.
Secondly. I claim the setting or arranging the driving mechanism within the
" tread of the main bearing wheel of a reaping or a mowing machine, as and for
"the purposes set forth.
tt
If
#
Thirdly. The employment of a double-action lever or bracket in a reaping or a
mowing machine, in the manner described, for regulating the height of the knife
bar or beam for cutting and other purposes, as set forth.
"
Fourthly. I claim the employment of a double-motioned quadrant or rack in or
"to a reaping or a mowing machine, substantially as shown, whereby said quadrant
can act as a stop or as a lifting medium when moved by a lever, as and for the
purposes described.
Fifthly. The method of and appliances for facilitating the shifting and fixing of
"the driver's seat, as and for the purposes described.
**In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Culpin, have hereunto set my hand
" and seal, this Sixteenth day of December, One thousand eight hundred and
" seventy-three.
THOMAS CUIT DIN

page_text: part thereof respectively intended to extend the exclusive right granted by the said
Letters Patent, and that these Presents shall not extend the said exclusive right in
any way whatever.
In witness whereof, I, the said Walter Abbott Wood, have hereunto set my
hand and scal, this
day of
'
One thousand eight hundred
I hereby grant my fiat, giving leave to the above-named Walter Abbott Wood
to file in the Great Seal Patent Office, with the Specification to which the same
relates, the above-written Disclaimer and Memorandum of Alteration.
Dated this Twenty-fifth day of November, One thousand eight hundred and
comantiz civ

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Culpin, of No. 77, Upper Thames Street;
in the City of London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING
AND MOWING MACHINES."
Scaled the 12th December 1873, and dated the 17th June 1873.

page_text: motion is communicated to the pitman for actuating the knives, to
prevent the gearing clogging or choking with straws or grain that may
fall over the inner shoc or the inner divider board, as the case may be.
Secondly. To fitting an eccentric strap or sleeve upon the main axle,
so that by moving a lever, over the main wheel pinion can be drawn out
of and put into gear by a sliding motion in the direction of the face of
the main wheel teeth, instead of end on as formerly.
Thirdly. To fitting double action levers or brackets upon the main
axle for carrying the pinion and parts connected with it, so that the
knife beam can be raised and lowered through an arc of a circle with
greater ease than heretofore. .
Fourthly. To a combination quadrant motion, in which the quadrant
acts as a stop for a lever in one case, and as a lifting medium by the
lever in another case, either one of which can be acted upon for raising
and lowering purposes, as desired.
Fifthly. To a method of adjusting the driver's seat to permit of his
feet getting within reach of the foot levers and strap.
i
.
The machine is constructed with one main driving wheel with a broad
tread, and with spokes or arms from the nave. The inner face of the
periphery has teeth upon it, or on a ring bolted to the wheel, into which
a pinion on a separate shaft gears, the pinion being in a piece with or
attached to a bevil wheel for communicating the necessary motion to
the knives. The bevil wheel is arranged with its teeth towards the
main wheel, so that the bevil pinion and its shaft with the pitman is
within the tread of the main wheel to obviate the necessity of being
boxed in to prevent clogging or choking by straws or grain. This plan
also reduces the actual width of the machine, and brings the working
parts into an area of compactness not hitherto attainable without
interfering with the strength of the machine. The main axle is
embraced by a sleeve of excentric exterior, which is itself embraced by
a bracket, upon the back end of which the main pinion is mounted.
The sleeve is capable of being operated by a lever, and it produces a to-
and-fro movement of the main pinion for putting it into and for taking
it out of gear, by drawing it to and from the front of the teeth of the
main wheel, The eccentric may be detached from the bracket, and.

page_text: made to act upon the pinion from the main wheel axle in a similar
manner by the pull-over lever.
.
1
The bracket at the back end. is upon a pin or bolt, and forms the
support for another bracket, to the fore end of which the inner shoe is
fitted. This second bracket has a chain at its front end, which connects
a lever with a pawl for dropping into the. teeth of a quadrant forming
part of the first bracket. The pull over of the lover determines the
height of the knife, beam to an extent within the radius of the lever
between the pivot and the quadrant teeth only. The quadrant. is as
before stated in a piece with the upper or first-mentioned bracket, and a
separate paul is attached which can be released to allow the lever to be
pulled over to alter the angle at which the two brackets may be. By
this method the knife beam can be raised or lowered to a greater extent
than that permitted by the chain; it also allows of the machine being
set as to height of cut from the same quadrant as that from which the
raising and lowering to pass hillocks is effected.
E
"
The outer end of the main axle is clipped by the shoulder of a bar,
whose opposite end is attached to the fore carriage of the machine: Tho
bar is on edge, and a clip is placed over it which can be bolted firmly at
any part of its length for fixing the seat nearer to or farther from the
hand levers and foot plates or straps, so that men with short legs or
men with long legs can adjust the seat to suit by sliding it and, its clip
along the bar.
1
$
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Culpin in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 17th December 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
CULPIN, of No. 77, Upper Thames Street, in the City of London, send
.greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-sixth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and

page_text: grant unto me; the said Thomas Culpin, Her special licence that I, the
said Thomas Culpin, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Thomas Culpin, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed;
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and
Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING AND MOWING
MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas
Culpin, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Culpin, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings here-
unto annexed, that is to say :-
This Invention is for improvements in reaping and mowing machines,
and relates,-.
Firstly. To arranging the gearing within the breadth or tread of the
main wheel, to prevent the gearing clogging or choking with straws or
grain that may fall over the inner shoe or the inner divider board, as the
case may be.
Secondly. To fitting an excentric strap or sleeve upon the main axle,
so that by moving a lever over the main wheel pinion can be drawn out
of and put into gear by a sliding motion in the direction of the face of
the main wheel teeth, instead of end on as formerly.
Thirdly. To fitting double-action levers or brackets upon the main
axle for carrying the pinion and parts connected with it, so that the
knife beam can be raised and lowered through an arc of a circle with
greater ease than heretofore.
Fourthly. To a combination quadrant motion in which the quadrant
eats as a ston for a lever in one once and as a lifting medium by the

page_text: lever in another case, either one of which can be actuated for raising
and lowering purposes, as desired.
Fifthly. To a method of adjusting the driver's seat to permit of his
feet getting within reach of the foot levers and strap.
The Invention will be more particularly understood by the following
description when read in connection with the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings, Figure 1 of which is an off side elevation, and Figure 2, a
plan of a machine in or to which my several improvements before
referred to are fitted; Figure 3 is a partial elevation from the near side
of the machine; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the working parts
with a portion of the platform of the drop kind in section; Figure 5
represents (detached) the grain divider and its bearing wheel; and
Figure 6 a detached view of the bolt or catch which I prefer to employ
for holding the off end of the platform at the desired height after being
placed in one or other of the holes in the off shoe, the lever end then
falling down and locking the catch.
The machine is constructed with one main driving wheel A with a
broad tread, and with spokes or arms B, B, from the nave. B'. The
inner face of the periphery of this wheel has teeth C, C, upon it, or on a
ring bolted to the wheel, into which a pinion D on a separate shaft E
gears, the pinion. D being in a piece with or attached to a bevil wheel F,
for communicating the necessary motion to the knives G. The bevil
wheel F is arranged with its teeth towards the main wheel A, so that
the bevil pinion and its shaft H with the pitman I is within the tread of
the main wheel, to obviate the necessity of being boxed for preventing
the clogging or choking by straws or grain. This plan also reduces the
actual width of the machine, and brings the working parts into an arca
of compactness not hitherto obtainable without interfering with the
strength of the machine. The pinion which gears into the teeth of the
main wheel is in a piece with the bevil wheel (or attached to it), by
which the motion is communicated to the pitman for actuating the
knives. The main axle J is embraced by a sleeve K of eccentric
exterior, which is itself embraced by a bracket L, upon the back end of
which the main pinion D is mounted. The sleeve K is capable of being
operated by a lever M, and it produces a to-and-fro movement of the
main pinion D for putting it into and for taking it out of gear by

page_text: drawing it to and from the front of the teeth of the main wheel A.
The eccentric may be detached from the bracket, and made to act upon
the pinion from the main wheel axle in a similar manner by the pull
over lever.
The bracket at the back end is upon the cross shaft E, and forms the
support for another bracket P, to the fore end of which the inner shoe Q'
is fitted. Instead of the bracket P being in a separate piece from the
inner shoe Q, it may be and is preferably in a piece with it, as shown.
This second bracket or the shoe, as the case may be, has a chain R at its
front end, which connects a lever S with a paul T for dropping into the
teeth of a quadrant U, forming part of the first bracket L. The pull
over of the lever N determines the height of the knife beam to an
extent within the radius of the lever, between the pivot and the quadrant
teeth only. The quadrant is, as before stated, in a piece with the upper
or first-mentioned bracket L, and a separate paul V is attached, which
can be released to allow the lever and with it the quadrant to be pulled
over to alter the angle at which the two brackets may be. By this
method the knife beam can be raised or lowered to a greater extent than
that permitted by the chain R. It also allows of the machine being set
as to height of cut from the same quadrant as that from which the
raising and lowering to pass hillocks is effected.
The outer end of the main axle J is clipped by the shoulder of a
-bar W, whose opposite end is attached to the fore carriage X of the
machine. The bar W is on edge, and a sliding clip Y is placed over it,
' which can be bolted firmly at any part of its length for fixing the seat Z
nearer to or farther from the hand lever M and foot plates or straps Z¹,
so that men with short legs or men with long legs can adjust the scat Z
.to suit, sliding it and its clip Y along the bar W.
The platform shown is of the drop kind, with slats or laths for
delivering the straws from off it in an easy manner, which platform with
the finger beam and knife bar is hinged to the inner shoe in such a
manner that the whole can be turned up into nearly a vertical position
for the machine to pass along narrow lanes and through narrow gateways
without hindrance.
In most cases I purpose fixing temporarily a small wheel upon the

page_text: ground, and thereby balance the machine while travelling, or while
being moved from place to place, but this extra wheel can be dispensed
with by arranging the platform and the off shoc to fall over the main
wheel a little, when the man can adjust, his seat to balance the machine
for travelling upon the main wheel only.
1
$17.
1.
; The fold-up platform forms no part of my Invention, that having been
previously Patented by Mr. J. T. Griffin, of 77, Upper Thames Street,
London, in the year 1871.
TRACTOR
(. . )
100.
The lever M has a weight on its free end, so that it will remain in
the position shown in Figure 1 while the machine is in work, the
claw a of the pivotted bolt taking under the edge of the bracket L, and
prevents the main pinion: D getting accidentally out of gear. There is
another claw b on the bolt, and this when the lever is pushed back
takes the back edge of the bracket L, as in Figure 4, to prevent the
pinion getting into gear with the main wheel, such as when the machine
is moving along a road, or from one place to another.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,―
Firstly. The combination of the several parts, as set forth and shown,
in or to the same machine used for reaping and mowing purposes, with
the exception of the fold-up hinge of the platform.
Secondly. I claim, the setting or arranging the driving mechanism
within the tread of the main bearing wheel of a reaping or a mowing
machine, as and for the purposes set forth.
Thirdly. The employment of a double-action lever or bracket in a
reaping or a mowing machine in the manner described, for regulating
the height of the knife bar or beam for cutting and other purposes, as set
forth.
Fourthly. I claim the employment of an eccentric strap or sleeve
upon the main axle of a reaping or a mowing machine, when such strap
or sleeve is caused to operate in the manner and for the purposes
described.
Fifthly. I claim the employment of a double-motioned quadrant or
rack in or to a reaping or a mowing machine, substantially as shown,

page_text: whereby said quadrant can act as a stop or as a lifting medium when
moved by a lever, as and for the purposes described.
Sixthly. The method of and appliances for facilitating the shifting and
fixing of the driver's seat, as and for the purposes described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Culpin, have hereunto set ŏ
my hand and scal, this Sixteenth day of December, One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-three.