Improved Contrivances for Steering Ploughs more particularly Rotary Disc Ploughs and also for Adjusting the Depth of their Cut
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Nov., 1897-Accepted, 11th Dec., 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
"Improved Contrivances for Steering Ploughs more particularly
Rotary Disc Ploughs and also for Adjusting the Depth of their Cut."
I, GEORGE FREDERICK REDFERN, of the firm of G. F. Redfern & Co., The
General Patent Office, No. 4, South Street, Finsbury, in the County of London,
Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (A communica-
tion to me by Walter Chamberlain Peacock, of No. 325, Collins Street, Melbourne,
in the colony of Victoria, Merchant) and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement,
This invention relates to contrivances for steering ploughs, more particularly
disc ploughs, and also for adjusting the depth of their cut, and its object is to
provide more efficient and convenient mechanism for effecting these objects than
has hitherto been employed.
According to this invention the land and front furrow wheels of disc ploughs
are carried on blocks arranged to slide vertically in guides provided for that
purpose in standards or brackets which are bolted or otherwise attached to the
main frame of the machine, said vertically sliding blocks being provided with
a rack with which a worm mounted within said bracket or standard can engage.
The spindle of said worm is fitted at its upper end with bevelled mitre gear
whereby motion may be imparted to it from a rod and crank handle extending
to near the driver's seat. In order that these land and front furrow wheels may
be steered as well as raised and lowered, the vertical portions of the bent spindles
upon which they are mounted are squared or sided and these sided parts pass
through correspondingly shaped holes in arms or short levers which latter are
prevented from moving vertically by projecting lugs or brackets on the fixed
standards or brackets above referred to, but can be turned round so as to impart
motion to the spindles and therefore to the steering wheels carried by them.
In order that the requisite movement may be imparted to said short arm or
lever and also to the steering wheels, one or other of said arms is connected by
short rods to the end of a quadrant rack or to a bar or arm projecting therefrom,
whilst the quadrant rack gears with a worm wheel, the spindle of which is led to
within a convenient distance of the driver's seat, and is fitted with a crank handle
to enable it to be conveniently rotated. The two steering arms or levers through
which the vertical portions of the spindles of the steering wheels pass are con-
nected by a rod or rods so that the two wheels can be moved in unison by the one
worm and quadrant rack without interfering with their vertical adjustment, or,
if preferred, the mechanism can be used for steering only one wheel of the plough.
A modification of this invention consists in the use of a stout bent arm secured
to the spindle or spindles of the steering wheel or wheels and projecting through
an eye in the end of a rod, whereby the two arms of the two steering wheels are

page_text: connected together, said rod being also connected to a quadrant rack to which
as above mentioned motion is imparted by a worm.
The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention:―
Figure 1 is a plan of a disc plough fitted with my improvements.
Figure 1 is a similar view of part of Figure 1 showing a slight modification of
this invention.
Figure 2 is a vertical transverse section on line 2-2 Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a plan of the front part of said plough illustrating a modification
of the steerin part of this invention.
Figure 4 is a side elevation of this modified steering gear.
The same letters of reference indicate the same or corresponding parts in all
the Figures.
A represents a vertical cast iron or other bracket which is bolted or otherwise
secured to each of the side bars B of the main frame of the plough. This bracket
is constructed with under-cut guides as indicated at a down each side to receive
a vertically sliding block C provided with lugs C through which the vertical
portion of the drive wheel spindle passes. This vertical portion D of said
spindle is squared or otherwise sided except where it works within the lugs C¹.
The inner face of the block C is made in the form of a segment of a circle with
projecting teeth C² spaced at regular intervals to correspond to the pitch of the
worm or screw E which fits and works within a recess e near the lower end of the
fixed bracket A.
A spindle e having its lower end squared where it passes through the worm E
works through lugs on the bracket A and is fitted at its upper end with a small
bevelled wheel or mitre pinion F gearing into another wheel F1 having a long
rod or spindle f leading to near the driver's seat, at which end said rod or spindle
is fitted with a crank to enable it to be easily rotated so as to communicate motion
through the pinions FF and spindle e¹ to the worm E and thence through the
vertically sliding block C to the land or front furrow wheel as the case may be.
The mechanisin used for steering land and furrow wheels consists mainly of a
quadrant rack G which is mounted upon a stout stud or pin g extending between
two lugs gg projecting from the bracket or standard A. The worm His
arranged to gear with this rack G and is fitted with a rod or spindle leading to
near the driver's seat, where it is formed with a crank handle whereby it can be
rotated. This rack G is connected by short rods i to an arm or lever I through
which is passed the sided part 1 of the steering wheel spindle and said lever I
is retained in its horizontal position by means of projecting lugs on the bracket
or standard A.
In order that the two steering wheels may work together the arms or levers I
are connected together at their ends by rods 22. Those may be divided and
telescopically connected as shown, in order that their lengths may be adjusted to
suit different sized ploughs or different positions of the steering wheels upon the
plough, it being obvious that the brackets A carrying said wheels can be shifted
nearer to or further from the front or wider portion of the frame.
Instead of using two rods 22, only one need be employed as illustrated in
Figure 1 in which case only one-half of each arm or lever I and only one of the
rods are required.
A modified arrangement of the means for connecting the two steering wheels
together is shown in Figures 3 and 4 wherein the bent arm I is attached prefer-
ably to the upper end of the spindle D and is passed through an eye in the end
of a stout bar 2 which serves to connect the two arms together, without however
preventing them being moved into various angular positions. The worm H and
rack G are provided as before one end of said rack being coupled by the rod i to
the connecting rod which serves to move both the wheels simultaneously, the
rod being prevented from vertical movement by guides whilst it admits of
the wheels being raised or lowered without affecting the connection between the
two spindles as will be readily understood,

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. The herein described contrivances for steering ploughs, more particularly
rotary disc ploughs, and also for adjusting the depth of their cut consisting of
the various parts constructed arranged and operating substantially as and for the
purposes herein described and explained and as illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
2. In contrivances for adjusting the depth of cut of ploughs a vertically slid-
ing toothed block (such as C) carrying one of the wheels upon which the plough is
supported in combination with a worm (such as E) upon a vertical spindle (such
as e) mounted on a bracket supported upon the main frame of the plough sub-
stantially as and for the purposes herein described and explained and as illus-
trated in the accompanying drawings.
3. In contrivances for adjusting the depth of cut of ploughs a vertically sliding
toothed block (such as C) together with a worm (such as E) engaging with the
teeth thereof in combination with bevelled or mitre pinions (such as F F¹) having
a rod or spindle (such as f) leading to near the driver's seat and fitted at its
end with a crank handle substantially as and for the purposes herein described
and explained and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
4. In contrivances for steering rotary disc and other ploughs a bent spindle
(such as D 1) having its vertical portion squared or otherwise sided in combina-
tion with an arm or lever (such as I) through which said sided portion is passed.
together with a quadrant rack (such as G) connected to one or both ends of said
arm and operated by a worm (such as H) substantially as and for the purposes
herein described and explained and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
5. In contrivances for steering rotary disc and other ploughs a pair of wheels
having bent spindles (such as D) D¹) the vertical parts of which are sided and
passed through arms or levers (such as I) whose ends are connected together by a
rod or rods (such as 22) in combination with a worm and quadrant rack (such
as HG) the latter being connected to said arms or levers substantially as and for
the purposes herein described and explained and as illustrated in the accompany-
ing drawings.
6. In contrivances for steering rotary disc and other ploughs a bent spindle
(such as D D¹) carrying one of the steering wheels and fitted with a bent arm
(such as I) passing through an eye in the end of a connecting rod (such as 22)
said rod being moreover connected to a quadrant rack (such as G) actuated by a
worm (such as H) substantially as and for the purposes herein described and
explained and as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this ninth day of November One thousand eight hundred and ninety-
G. F. REDFERN & Co.
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.