IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINES FOR PLOUGHING OR CULTIVATING LAND
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Augustus Bryant Childs, of 481, New Oxford Street,
in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINES FOR PLOUGHING OR CULTIVATING LAND."- A commu-
nication from abroad by Zenas Cobb, of Chicago, Illinois, .in the United
States of America.
Sealed the 7th October 1864, and dated the 15th August 1864.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Augustus Bryant Childs
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 15th August 1864, pursuant to the 9th Section of
the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, AUGUSTUS
BRYANT CHILDS, of 481, New Oxford Street, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINES FOR PLOUGHING OR CULTIVATING LAND," and have petitioned Her
Majesty to grant unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her
Royal Letters Patent for the same, and have made solemn declaration that
the same is a communication to me from abroad by Zenas Cobb, of Chicago,
Illinois, in the United States of America.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Augustus Bryant Childs, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification under my hand and seal
fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and in what

page_text: manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following statement
and accompanying Drawings (that is to say):-
The nature of my Invention consists in arranging a frame of woodwork 'to
be supported on two wheels, the axles of which are connected with a metallic
slide moving in proper boxes and operated on by a screw, by means of which
the said frame can be olovated or depressed, as may be required, and to this
main frame, which I term the carriage frame, I suspend by means of pivoting
straps an inner frame, which I term the plough frame, and to the under side
of said framing I attach the plough or ploughs, and by means of adequate
machinery, under easy control of driver, this inner frame can also be readily
lowered or raised.
To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my Invention, I will
proceed to describe both its construction and operation, reference being had
to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, where Fig. 1 is a perspective view
of my machine; Fig. 2, a plan; Fig. 8, a lateral elevation; and detached
views, Nos. 1 to 11 inclusively, details of different parts.
I construct a frame of woodwork a, b, c, d, which I term the carriago frame,
and to which I attach a transverse framing formed of the pieces e, f, g, h, by
bolts passing through the pieces a and c; n, n, are metallic boxes firmly bolted
to the side pieces a and c of the main frame, and through which the axles of
the wheels slide upwards and downwards by the action of the screws o and p,
which pass through nuts set in the bars 9 and h, and are impelled by tho
handles q, q. This arrangement of metallic boxes and sliding axles is moro
fully illustrated on a larger scale in Nos. 1, 2, and 3, where n, n, represents
the box, r, s, the axle, and the metallic slide cast with or firmly attached to s
the axle. No. 3 is a sectional plan taken through the line A, B, No. 1;
u, u, represent cast-iron standards firmly bolted to the under side of the
beams and m; these standards are mado to conform to the mould of tho
plough, and so arranged that the beams and m are in the centre of cach
plough respectively, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3; v is a wooden cross bar s
uniting the forward extremities of the beams l, m, whilst their opposite extre-
mitics are passed through a cast-iron yoke w (see enlarged views, Nos. 4
and 5), and I suspend this plough frame formed of parts l, m, v, and w to
the inside of the carriage frame by four iron straps x, y, z, the upper ends of
which rotate in pivot boxes or journals a, a, a, a, resting on beams a and c, 3
whilst the lower ends are provided with an ero at to fit on the bolts a'
and 6, the former of which (a¹) is supported in ears cast on the under sido of
the yoke w, whilst the latter (6') is secured in the beams and m. These
four straps are bent at y, so that they are perpendicular from to y, and

page_text: inclined from y to a, and opposite to the parts y, y, are studs cast on the
yoke w, with which the straps come into contact, and thus causes them to
partake of any forward motion of the frame a, b, c, d, and the studs c¹, c',
fixed in the upper edge of the beams 2 and m come in contact with the straps
attached to the forward part of the machine at the same time as the straps
placed at the rear end come in contact with the cast studs above mentioned;
and in order, if requisite, to diminishi or augment the fall of such plough
frame, I in some cases attach the upper extremities of these straps to a small
casting attached to the framing by a bolt, and capable of being elevated or
depressed, see Nos. 8 and 9.
To raise the plough framing and ploughs out of the ground, as indicated by
the dotted lines, Fig. 8, I make use of a pinion d' receiving rotary motion
from the handle e', which it imparts to the spur wheel f¹ carrying a small
chain pulley on its hub, the chain from same running downwards obliquely,
and being secured to the yoke w by means of a bolt running through lugs cast
on the yoke, as shewn at g', No. 4; the framework to support this gearing is
composed of three parts, i, j, and k, and I adapt a pawl h³ to the top of post j
to act as a stop on the spur wheel f'.
Nos. 10 and 11 represent another manner of mounting the gearing abovo
mentioned; in this case I replace the timbers i, j, and k by a single upright
timber bolted directly to cross beam f, and united to cross beam e by the
tie rod k; the pinion, spur wheel, and pawl remain the same, and are operated
in the same manner as in the former arrangement, but the chain descending
from the hub of spur wheel passes round a guide pulley Z morticed in back
end of pole j', and from thence is attached to a link terminated by a bolt
head, and passing through a slot made in the cast-iron yoke, instead of being
united, as at g', according to former arrangement; is the driver's seat; j¹, the
pole;,, the whipple trees, and m³, m', the coulters, see Nos. 6 and 7,
these coulters being attached to a timber n¹ bolted diagonally to and under-
neath the beams l, m, of the plough frame, and in working they occupy the
same relative position to the ploughs as in all ordinary ploughs.
The operation of this machine is as follows:-When travelling the wheels
are depressed to the lower part of the boxes n, n, as shewn at Fig. 1, and
this elevates the carriage frame to its greatest height above the surface of tho
ground; the ploughs are then drawn up by means of the handle e', which
winding the chain on the pulley fitted to boss of spur wheel f¹ draws upwards
the plough frame, as represented in dotted lines, Fig. 3, the pawl h¹ serving
to retain the same in their elevated position. On arriving at the field intended
to be ploughed, the screws o and p are turned backward, which depresses the

page_text: carriago frame a, b, c, d; when both wheels in the position of 1, Fig. 3, the
pawl A' is lifted and the ploughs permitted to descend into the ground, as
shown in the same Figure; when the machine has finished one cut, the off
wheel must be depressed to the point m³, Fig. 8, so that the nigh wheel at /'
runs upon the land, and the off wheel at m' runs in tho furrow, thus keeping
the frame of the machine parallel to the surface of the land. The driver can,
when required, at any time quickly withdraw the ploughs from the ground by
means of the handle e', as aforesaid.
What I claim as my Invention and desire to havo secured by Lettors
Patent is,-
Firstly, the arrangement and combination of the frame a, b, c, d, with the
sliding axles in the boxes n, n, operated on by the scrows o, p, for the purpose
of elevating and depressing the said frame.
Secondly, the construction and arrangement of the yoke w for the purposo
of holding the plough frame rigidly in position.
Thirdly, the construction and arrangement of the suspension bars x, y,=,
in combination with the bolts a' and b', and the studs c' and y, for the purposo
of sustaining and holding the ploughs in position.
And, fourthly, the arrangement of the standards u, u, for bringing the
centre of the cut of each plough vertically under the plough beams and m.
In witness whereof, I, the said Augustus Bryant Childs, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
ATTIL DO
A. D. CHILDS. (B)
B.