IMPROVEMENTS IN AGRICULTURAL DRILLS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Henry Bellamy, of Ross, in the County
of Hereford, Agricultural Implement Maker, for the Invention of
** IMPROVEMENTS IN AGRICULTURAL DRILLS."
Sealed the 30th November 1875, and dated the 7th June 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Henry Bollamy
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 7th June 1875.
I, THOMAS HENRY BELLAMY, of Ross, in the County of Hereford,
Agricultural Implement Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN AGRICULTURAL DRILLS," to be as
follows:
My Invention consists of the several constructions and arrangements
of parts of the said drills herein-after described, whereby the said drills
are made to work more efficiently and are more completely under
control than drills of the ordinary construction.
Drills constructed according to my Invention may be used for planting
clover and other small seeds at the same time as wheat or other corn.

page_text: In lifting the coulters I dispense with the ordinary chain apparatus
and support the said coulters by one end of a lever. The depression of
the other end of the said lever raises the said coulters.
I provide the opposite end of each coulter bar to that carrying the
coulter with a bow or loop, through which bow or loop a rod passes, so
that while the coulters may be raised by the said rod simultaneously
they may rise and fall independently of each other within a short range
to suit the inequalities of the land over which the drill is drawn.
My Invention consists further in combining a dial and indicator or
pointer, as herein-after explained, with mechanism used for regulating
the rate at which the corn is delivered by the drill. The mechanism
referred to consists of a rotating feeding barrel by which the grain is
delivered in the following manner :-The shaft of the said feeding
barrel carries at one end a wheel, on the outer face of which several
concentric series of teeth are made. A vertical shaft driven by bevil
gearing from the principal shaft of the drill carries a pinion which is
capable of sliding on the shaft carrying it, and which by being raised.
higher or lower gears with one or other of the concentric series of teeth
referred to. When it is in gear with one of the series near the centre of
the shaft of the barrel carrying them a more rapid rotation is given to
the barrel delivering the grain than when it is geared to one of the series
more distant from the said centre, and the rate of the delivery of the
grain may thus be regulated.
The necessary rising and falling motions of the pinion are effected by
a rack worked by a bevil wheel, and the rate of delivery of the grain is
indicated by a pointer on a dial, the position of the said pointer being
determined by the position of the rack. The dial is, by preference,
fixed vertically, and by means of bevil gearing the required motion is
communicated to the pointer traversing the said dial. The bevil pinion
by which motion is given to the feeding mechanism is thrown out of
gear by the mechanism by which the coulters are raised, the said feeding
mechanism being thrown out of gear a little before the coulters rise.
In order to plant clover and other small seeds at the same time as
wheat or other corn I attach to the drill a hollow drum with brushes of
the ordinary kind. This hollow drum is situated horizontally, and is
driven by a band and pulleys from the principal shaft of the drill.
Instead of brushes on the hollow drum cups may be used. Clover or

page_text: other small seeds being placed in the said hollow drum the rotatory
motion required to deliver the said seeds is given by the motion of the
drill.
The said apparatus for planting clover and other small seeds may be
thrown out of gear when it is not required to be used in combination
with the corn feeding mechanism by the removal of the driving band.
ท
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Henry Bellamy in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 3rd December 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
HENRY BELLAMY, of Ross, in the County of Hereford, Agricultural
Implement Maker, send grecting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Henry Bellamy, Her special
license that I, the said Thomas Henry Bellamy, my executors, admini-
strators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Henry
Bellamy, 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 AGRICULTURAL DRILLS," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Henry Bellamy, 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 Henry Bellamy, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the

page_text: same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
-
My Invention consists of the several constructions and arrangements
of parts of the said drills herein-after described, whereby the said drills
are made to work more efficiently and are more completely under control
than drills of the ordinary construction.
Drills constructed according to my Invention may be used for planting
clover and other small seeds at the same time as wheat or other corn.
In lifting the coulters I dispense with the ordinary chain apparatus
and support each coulter by one end of a lever. The depression of the
other end of the said lever raises the said coulter.
I provide the opposite end of each coulter bar or lever to that carrying
the coulter with a bow or loop, through which bow or loop a rod passos,
so that while the coulters may be raised by the said rod simultaneously
they may rise and fall independently of each other within a short range
to suit the inequalities of the land over which the drill is drawn.
My Invention consists further in combining a dial and indicator or
pointer, as herein-after explained, with mechanism used for regulating
the rate at which the corn is delivered by the drill. The mechanism
referred to consists of a rotating feeding barrel by which the grain is
delivered in the following manner :-The shaft of the said feeding barrel
carries at one end a wheel, on the face of which several concentric scries
of teeth are made. A vertical shaft driven by bevil gearing from the
principal shaft of the drill carries a pinion which is capable of sliding on
the shaft carrying it, and which by being raised higher or lower gears
with one or other of the concentric series of teeth referred to. When it
is in gear with one of the scries near the centre of the shaft of the barrel
carrying them, a more rapid rotation is given to the barrel delivering
the grain than when it is geared to one of the series more distant from
the said centre, and the rate of the delivery of the grain may thus be
regulated.
The necessary rising and falling motions of the pinion are effected by
a screw and screw box, and the rate of delivery of the grain is indicated
by a pointer on a dial, the position of the said pointer being determined
by the position of the rack; the dial is by preference fixed vertically,
and by means of bevil gearing or a toothed wheel the required motion is

page_text: communicated to the pointer traversing the said dial. The bevil pinion
by which motion is given to the feeding mechanism is thrown out of
gear by the mechanism by which the coulters are raised, the said feeding
mechanism being thrown out of gear a little before the coulters rise.
In order to plant clover and other small seeds at the same time as
wheat or other corn I attach to the drill a hollow drum with brushes of
the ordinary kind. This hollow drum is situated horizontally, and is
driven by a band and pulleys from the principal shaft of the drill.
Instead of brushes on the hollow drum cups may be used. Clover or
other small seeds being placed in the said hollow drum the rotatory
motion required to deliver the said seeds is given by the motion of the
drill.
The said apparatus for planting clover and other small seeds may be
thrown out of gear when it is not required to be used in combination
with the corn feeding mechanism by the removal of the driving band.
I will now describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings the
manner in which my Invention may be carried into effect.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation, and Figure 2 in back elevation
a portion of an agricultural drill containing parts of my improvements.
Figure 3 represents in side clevation drawn to a larger scale mechanism
constructed according to my Invention for lifting the coulters, and for
throwing the feeding mechanism into and out of gear. The said
Figure 3 also exhibits my arrangement, whereby clover or other small
seeds may be planted at the same time as wheat or other corn.
In Figures 1 and 2 the coulters are represented raised and the corn
feeding barrel of the drill thrown out of gear; and in Figure 3 the
coulters are represented in their depressed or working position, and the
corn feeding barrel in gear with the driving mechanism.
Figure 4 represents an arrangement for adjusting the position of the
wheat or corn box of the drill.
Figures 14, 15, and 1° represent separate parts of the apparatus.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts.

page_text: short arms a², a³, of the coulter levers a, a, a, a², are depressed, as
represented in Figure 1, the opposite arms a, a, of the said levers are
raised and the coulters lifted; and when the short arms a³, a³, of the said
levers are raised, as represented in Figure 3, the opposite arms a, a, and
the coulters on them are depressed ready for usc. The end of the short
arm a of each coulter lever is provided with a bow or loop a*, through
which a rod c passes, so that while the coulters may be raised by the
said rod c simultaneously, as herein-after described, they may rise and
fall independently of each other within a short range to suit the
inequalities of the land over which the drill is drawn. The coulter
levers a, a, are acted upon for simultaneously raising or depressing the
coulters b, b, by the following mechanism:-At the rear of the drill is a
hand lever d provided with a spring bolt e taking into notches in the
curved bar represented. The said hand lever d is connected through
the connecting rod f with the cranked lever g, g², (shown separately in
Figure 1) oscillating or rocking on the centre h, the arm g² of the said
lever being connected to a vertical frame i carrying at its bottom the
rod c, which passes through the eyes or loops a', a', of the coulter
levers a, a². When the hand lever d is moved into the position
represented in Figure 1 the frame i is depressed by the change of
position of the rocking lever g, g³, and the bar c acting against the
bottoms of the loops a* depresses the short arms a³, a³, of the coulter
levers and simultaneously raises the coulters, as represented. When the
hand lever d is moved to the position represented in Figure 3 the short
arms a, a, of the coulter levers are raised and the long arms a, a,
depressed, and the coulters take the positions represented in the said
Figure 3, and are ready for use. By the motion of the hand lever d the
feeding mechanism herein-after described is at the same time thrown
into or out of gear with the driving shaft.
I will now describe the mechanism for regulating the rate and indi-
cating the rate at which the corn is delivered by the drill. On the
horizontal shaft k of the rotating feeding barrel working in the seed
box is the ordinary toothed wheel m, having a series of concentric
teeth. n is the pinion on the vertical shaft p, which pinion n by sliding
on its shaft can be made at pleasure to gear with any one of the series
of teeth of the concentric toothed wheel m. The shaft p carrying the
pinion n has on its end the bevil pinion q, which gears with the bevil
wheel on the axle of the driving wheels 8. The rising and falling of

page_text: the pinion n on the shaft p so as to regulate the speed of the toothed
wheel m, and consequently the rate of the delivery of the grain by the
feeding barrel 1, are effected by the screw & carrying a fork u, which
engages with the collar on the sliding pinion n. The said screw t
works in a screw box w, and by rotating the said screw box the screw t
is made to rise or fall thereon, and by means of the fork u to raise or
lower the pinion n, and cause it to gear with one or other of the con-
centric series of teeth of the toothed wheel m.
.
In order to indicate the position of the pinion n with respect to the
teeth of the wheel m the following mechanism is used:-Outside the
framing of the drill is a dial x having on it the numerals 1 to 7,
corresponding with the number of concentric series of teeth of the
wheel m. Traversing the said dial x is a pointer y, the axis of which
carries a toothed wheel z which gears with a rack 2 carried by the
screw t, which adjusts the position of the pinion n. The screw t, arm u,
and rack 2 are shown detached from the drill in Figure 1. On raising
or lowering the screw t a corresponding motion is given to the rack 2,
which rack gearing with the pinion on the axis of the pointer y
causes the said pointer to indicate on the dial the position of the
pinion n with respect to the wheel m, and consequently the rate of the
delivery of the grain by the feeding barrel in the seed box 7.
In the Drawing it will be seen that the pointer y is opposite the
numeral 3 of the dial, thereby indicating that the pinion n is in gear
with the third series of concentric teeth of the wheel m from the cir-
cumference of the said wheel.
By combining with the grain delivering mechanism of the drill the
indicating mechanism represented the rate of the delivery of the grain is
read off with great facility, and convenience in the use of the drill results.
The vertical shaft p, by which motion is transmitted from the driving
wheels 8 to the feeding barrel, is thrown into and out of gear in the
following manner :-The pinion q which gears with the bevil wheel r on
the driving shaft slides on the shaft p, and is pressed into its normal
position by a coiled spring p². The forked end 3 of the lever 3, 3*,
engages with a collar on the pinion q, and the opposite forked end 3* of
the same lever embraces an arm 4 situated at the side of the drill, and
turning on the same centre has the cranked lever 9, 9³. The said arm
4 (shown separately in Figure 1º), is connected to the vertical frame i,

page_text: by which the coulter levers are raised and lowered. The arm 4, and
also the cranked lever 9, 9³, are capable of vertical and horizontal
adjustment on the frame i by means of cotters and cotter holes, as
represented. When the hand lever d is moved for the purpose of raising
or lowering the coulters as before described, the operation of the arm 4
upon the levers 3, 3ª, causes the said lever to throw the pinion 9 out of
gear or put it into gear with the bevil wheel r, so as thereby to arrest or
start the delivery of the grain simultaneously or nearly so with the
raising or lowering of the coulters.
In order to adjust the position of the grain box I mount it upon an
arm 5, to which the bottom of the independent hand lever 6 is jointed,
as represented in Figure 4. The said hand lever 6 is situated side by
side with the hand lever d at the rear of the drill. By moving the hand
lever 6 in one or other direction the grain box / may be made to take
either a vertical position or an inclined position, the adjusted position of
the grain box being maintained by the bolt 7 of the hand lever 6
engaging with the notched bar 8. The shaft of the rotating barrel
working in the grain box 7 passes through the slot 10, and assists in
supporting the said box.
For the purpose of planting clover or other small seeds at the same
time as wheat or other grain I combine with the ordinary grain box 7,
and below the said box, a clover box 12, represented in Figure 3, in
which box 12 a hollow drum 13 carrying brushes or cups works. The
said hollow drum 13 is rotated by means of a driving band passing over
a pulley on the end of the said drum, and also over a pulley 14 on the
end of the shaft k of the feeding barrel in the seed box l. The clover
box 12 is provided on its under side with cups for delivering the clover.
When clover is not required to be planted with the grain it is only
necessary to remove the driving band from the pulleys of the two boxes
7 and 12 to disconnect the clover box from the grain box 7.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I
do not limit myself to the precise details herein described and illustrated,
as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of the
Invention, but I claim as my Invention of improvements in agricultural a
drills,―

page_text: First. The construction and combination of parts substantially as
herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings
for raising and lowering the coulters of the drill, that is to say,
supporting the coulters by means of levers operated upon by mechanism
actuated from a hand lever at the rear of the drill, also the arrangement
of parts whereby the coulter levers and coulters carried thereon may risc
and fall within a limited range independently of each other for the
purpose described; also the arrangement of parts described and illus-
trated for throwing the grain delivering mechanism into and out of gear
with the driving shaft.
Secondly. The combination with or adaptation to mechanism for
regulating the rate at which the corn or other grain is delivered of
indicating mechanism constructed substantially as hercin-before described
and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings for indicating the rate of
the delivery of the said corn or other grain.
Thirdly. The combination with drills of a supplementary or additional
sced box and brushes or cups working therein for planting clover or
other small seeds at the same time as wheat or other corn, the said
supplementary or additional seed box being worked from and capable
of being readily thrown out of gear with the principal corn box at
pleasure, as herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawings.
Lastly. The combination with drills, constructed as herein-before
described, of mechanism for adjusting the position of the grain or
principal seed box, as described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Henry Bellamy, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this First day of December, in
the ycar of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.
THOMAS HENRY BELLAMY. (L.S.)
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.