Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Apr., 1887
Complete Left, 7th Feb., 1888
Complete Accepted, 23rd Mar., 1888
Communicated from abroad by CYRUS H. MCCORMICK, Junior, of Chicago, in the
County of Cook and State of Illinois, one of the United States of America,
President of the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON F.C.S. M.I.M.E. of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors 6, Lord Street Liverpool in the County of Lancaster, and
323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex Civil Engineer do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
It is desirable in the employment of the modern tying-bill in grain-binders to have
it stop, at the end of the knotting movement, with its jaws trending outward in the
direction of the extended cord-slot through the breast-plate, that the loop may be
strapped therefrom and the ends wrenched from between the jaws by the direct strain
of the sheaf as it is ejected by the discharge arms of the binder. Where this has
been done heretofore it has been necessary either to give the knotter two revolutions in
order to bring the crossed ends of the strands between its jaws or else to cause the holder
to carry these end strands around part way to meet the jaws before they complete
their revolution. This has been accomplished either by arranging the ordinary disk-
holder in such position and actuating it in such direction that it carries the strands
around from the chin of the knotting-jaws towards and past their spindle bending
them around the latter so that they meet the jaws when the latter have finished about
three-quarters of their revolution, or else by mounting the holder in a swinging stock
and carrying it away from the cord-slot after it has received the strands to bend them
substantially the same manner as above over the knotter spindle to anticipate the
coming around of the knitting jaws.
This present invention relates in the main, but not entirely, to improvements upon
the first of these two constructions. In carrying it out the knotter is mounted in
bearings parallel with the face of the tyer-cam and driven and controlled by a gear-
segment and delay-flange thereon in the usual way. The heel of the pivoted jaw is
acted upon by a fixed cam to open it and closed by a spring-cam, as heretofore. A
finger projects from that side of the cord-slot away from the knotter-spindle towards
and underneath the crown of the knotter, and serves as a stop for the cord-strands

page_text: inside of the knotter-jaws which in their revolution carry the cord along the inner
edge of this finger over its end and around into a continuation of the slot on the outer
side thereof, the side of the cord-slot beneath the crown of the knotter being pocketed
or recessed to receive the end of the finger, and underlying it that the strands may
be prevented from slipping past until positively carried past by the revolution of the
jaws. A holder-spindle is mounted in bearings beneath, and practically in the plane
of the tyer-cam so as to trend obliquely inward and upward past the knotter-spindle
and at its upper end said holler-spindle receives a pinion which engages with a
peripheral flange on the tyer-cam which has lateral jogs or deflections, and is cut away
at a suitable point or points to intermittently actuate the pinion as would a worm-
wheel. The lower and outer end of the spindle outside of the knotter receives a
holder-disk, not differing materially if at all from those heretofore used, and of such
diameter that the periphery adjacent to the cord-slot projects thereover slightly into
the plane in which the cord is laid, while its axis, of course, is considerably on the
other side of the tyer-spindle from said plane so that the quarter of a revolution or
thereabouts given it by the tyer-cam in each binding operation, carrying the cord
strands from the plane in which they are laid to a position practically beneath this
axis, will wind them or lap them to a marked extent about the spindle. A holder-
shoe is pivoted to a stud from the knotter-stock- on the opposite side of the cord-slot
from-the.disk and is carried there beneath and pressed against its lower periphery
by a strong spring which may be adjustable in tension, and-its-shank-is-curved and
shaped so as to form a deflector to guide the cord into the first notch of the disk. A
stationary knife attached to the shoe, and turned up at its end, severs the cords
between the di-k and the knotter after they have been tied and as they are carried
therepast in the final movement of the disk. Other features and details of the
improvement will appear from the ensuing description.
In all modern binders a hood or deflector composed of a flexible sheet of metal, one
or more, is secured above the head of the elevator and depends outwardly over the
grain-chute to direct the grain properly towards the binding table. It has been
customary to connect this hood or deflector with the breast-plate by means of a
wooden bar or bridge rigidly bolted between the flanges of said breast-plate and
extending inward until its end rests upon and, it may be, partly depresses the outer
edge of said hood. Sometimes it is desirable that it should press upon the hood with
greater force than at others, or else owing to the bending of the hood or other causes
the latter falls away from the bridge, leaving a gap between, and in the jolting of the
-machine tends to whip up against it, resulting in injury to one or the other, or in
rapid wear. Herein, therefore, this bridge-bar is made adjustable radially upon the
bolt which secures it to the breast-plate, and in obtaining this capability of adjustment
preferably the bar is formed of metal, providing it with a discular hub serrated on its
inner face and matching against an opposing serrated disk, secured to the flange
which receives said pivotal bolt, at the inner end of the breast-plate, so that by
loosening the bolt the bridge-bar may be turned to bring its end higher or lower to
bear against the deflector properly, and then upon tightening the bolt the serration
will be caused to engage and hold the bar firmly in the adjusted position.
In bearings in the hanger from the tyer-shaft which serves, in addition to its
function in supporting the breast-plate, as a housing for the spindles of the tying-
head is mounted the knotter-spindle, having at its upper end the usual bevel-pinion
and delay-shoe, the pinion engaging with a gear-section upon the face of the tyer-cam,
of sufficient length to give it a single revolution, and the delay-shoe engaging as
usual with a delay-flange extending around the cam from one end of the segment
to the other. The lower end of the spindle has the usual rigid jaw and pivoted jaw,
the latter being provided at its heel end, outside of the rigid jaw, with an anti-
friction roller to engage with the fixed cam upon the supporting stock, whereby the
pivoted jaw is opened, and with the spring cam whereby it is closed after passing
off of the fixed cam. The relation of the tyer-spindle and its delay-shoe to the
segment and flange and to the tying-jaws is such that upon each revolution of the
tyer-cam these jaws are left in a position trending outwardly and somewhat
gear-

page_text: obliquely in the direction of the cord-slot in the breast-plate, that the knot may
be readily stripped from them by the action of the ejector-arms in sweeping the bound
sheaf from the receptacle.
Lest
The spring-cam, the operative face of which is preferably of cast metal, gets its
elasticity from a long plate spring, constituting its shank, and depending, parallel
with the tyer-spindle, from a seat upon the stock, between which and its lower end
it receives a set screw whereby the pressure of the cam may be adjusted.
the transverse leverage of the revolving knotter at the lower end may twist or
disarrange the cam, it is slotted to receive a pin or flange, from the stock, which,
while not interfering with its play towards or away from the knotter-spindle, will
prevent lateral movement in the direction of its revolution.
Since the knotter stops with its jaws trending outwards in the direction of the
extended slot in the breast-plate provision has to be made to obstruct this slot
that the strands may not escape past the knotter until its revolution commences.
Therefore a finger is arranged to project from that side of the slot away from
the tyer-spindle towards and past the general line of the other side which is recessed
or pocketed to receive the end of this finger, while the depending flange beneath is left
unbroken or is continued by web, overlapped by the end of this finger and some distance
beneath it. The finger is of such length that its end extends to a point abreast of or
slightly beyond the axis of the tying-bill, as shown in figure 8, so that the spindle of
the tying-bill, the finger and the under lying web or flango, practically close the
passage of the cord-slot to the strands extending from the gavel to the holder so long
as the knotter is in its position of rest, but when the knotter revolves these strands
are positively swept around, and being bent over the web are carried from the main
slot, along and past the end of the tying-bill and into the extended portion of said
cord-slot on the other side of said finger. This extended portion is not, or may not
be, directly in line with the main portion of the slot, but is preferably arranged
obliquely thereto at a slight angle, flaring from that side of the tying-spindle past
which the binder-arm moves, and the knotter when it comes to rest stops with its jaws
trending outward practically parallel with this extended slot, that it may cross the
path of the cord, and that the strands may be laid upon its chin in the recession and
accession of the binder-arm, and also that the knot may be wrenched therefrom by a
direct pull when the discharge arms come around to eject the bound sheaf.
For convenience in casting the breast-plate the stop finger is made detachable there-
from being formed integral with a plate which fits into a seat in the upper surface of
the breast-plato at the appropriate side of the cord-slot, and is secured by bolts which
may also serve to secure the foot of the knotter-stock or tyer-frame to said breast-
plate.
On the other side of the holder-spindle from the cord-siot through the breast-plate
the tyer-frame has an oblique bearing or bearings, beneath the tyer-cam and practically
in the same plane therewith or parallel with said plane. This receives the holder-
spindle of sufficient length to bring its outer end some distance outside of the knotter
and near to the breast-plate and its inner end close to the periphery of the tyer-cam
inside of the knotter. To said outer end is pinned the holder-disk of the usual form
and having herein, for the purpose of this description, four notches equidistant from
cach other. A boss from the tyer-frame on the further side of the cord-slot in the
breast-plate affords a pivot for a holder-shoc, which passes beneath the disk and
embraces slightly more than the space between two of its notches. The shank of this
shoe is curved, so as to deflect the cord into the receptive noich of the disk, and it is
pressed against the periphery of the disk by a spring adjustable in stress by means of
a set screw acting upon end.
The diameter of the holder-disk is such that its periphery where it first meets the
shoe is over the cord-slot in the breast plate and practically in the plane in which the
cord is laid, and as its axis is on the other side of the tyer spindle from this plane and
beneath the tyer-cam it will generally be depressed at the lowest point in its periphery
below the surface of the breast-plate, which for this reason is cut away to receive
the shoe and the disk.

page_text: Since the holder-disk must turn towards the shoe, which first meets it at about its
horizontal diameter, and since it has but four notches, it follows that it will make a
quarter of a turn in the aggregate for each binding operation, and that, receiving the
cord-strands at one end of its horizontal diameter it will carry them down to the
lower end of its vertical diameter which will be directly or almost directly beneath
the tyer-cam, and therefore a marked distance to that side of the tyer-spindle and
jaws. Hence these strands will be wrapped or bent definitely around the tyer-spindle
by this movement of the holder, so that the tyer-jaws will meet them upon completing
about three-quarters of a revolution, and being already opened by their fixed cam,
which is slightly in precedence of its usual location, they will pass on each side of
them, and immediately closing will grasp them. The cord-strands or ends from the
knot are however severed slightly before the holder-disk completes its quarter revolu-
tion, and just after they are seized by the tying jaws, this being accomplished by a
knife secured to the shank of the holder-shoe by means of a longitudinal slot and
clamping bolt, so that it may be adjusted to compensate for wear, or, to properly
time it. The end of this knife is turned up towards the axis of the holder-disk
against the inner side of which it comes, and formed with a cutting edge which
intercepts the cord-strands just in advance of the stoppage of the disk, or just before
it has completed its quarter revolution and against which they are sheared, the new
end or spool-strand, being retained and belayed to the next or receptive notch by the
ensuing recession of the binder-arm.
In order to give the requisite movement to the holder-disk the inner end of its
spindle has a pinion which for each quarter revolution of the disk to be accomplished
unbrokenly might have but four teeth, or the same number of teeth as notches in the disk,
but herein is provided with eight teeth, or just double the number that there are notches in
the disk so as to have an interval of delay after an eighth of a turn. This pinion engages
with a rib or flange upon the periphery of the tyer-cam, having an initial oblique
reach succeeded for a distance corresponding with the interval between the severing
of the cord and the starting of the tyer and holder in the ensuing binding operation
by a reach so described as to act as a delay-ledge and hold the pinion stationary and
the holder disk consequently immovable, this, at a point corresponding relatively to
the initial movement of the knotter, being followed by a short ledge having the initial
movement to the holder-pinion, turning it the distance of one tooth or one-eighth of
a revolution, then has a straight reach which holds it stationary until the knotter has
completed about three-quarters of its revolution and its jaws are passing or about to
pass on each side of the cord-strands or end strands when it delivers the pinion to the
oblique initial reach of the first flange by which the pinion is turned another tooth,
completing the quarter revolution of the holder-disk carrying the cord-strands finally
home between the open knotting jaws and shearing them against the knife and
severing them, when both knotter and holder stop and the discharge arms strike the
bound sheaf and sweep it from the machine, pulling the knot from the holder-jaws
in so doing.
Since the bolder-pinion is turned by oblique flanges or by a worm motion, and
intermittently held stationary by straight flanges, it is evident that either the inter-
dental spaces must be of a generally oblique trend or else the teeth must be set so
far apart as to accommodate both the straight reach and the oblique reach of the
actuating flange, whichever happens for the moment to be passing through. It is
impractical to set them thus far apart because it would lead to wabbling and defective
action, and were the flanks and faces of the teeth set obliquely to the axis of the
pinion from side to side, the wear from the oblique reaches of the actuating flange,
which imposes all the labor on the pinion, being distributed through the whole width
of the tooth, would affect the engagement of the straight or delay-flange, causing it
to become loose and therefore fail to hold the pinion steady. The straight flange also
would have only an edge of each of the two flanking teeth to bear upon in performing
its office and would itself rapidly wear away these edges. Therefore these teeth are
cut as regular spur teeth with their faces parallel with the axis to admit the straight
reaches of the actuating flange, then frou about the center of the teeth, measured

page_text: from the sides of the wheel, the faces and flanks are beveled to alternate sides
at an angle corresponding with the oblique reaches of the actuating flange.
The retreating faces and flanks aro beveled towards that side of tho pinion
which first receives the oblique roaches, and the advancing faces and flanks are
beveled towards that side from which said reaches depart, thus the straight reaches of
the actuating flange are received between two parallel straight faces of successive
teeth, one of the faces extending to half the thickness of the advancing face of its
tooth on that side of the wheel from which the flange approaches, and the other face
diagonally opposite, extending to one-half the thickness of its tooth on that side from
which the flange departs while the obliquo reaches engage with obliquo faces of
opposing teeth, one oblique face extending from the straight face of its tooth or from
the center of said tooth on the retreating face, to that side of the pinion from which
the oblique reach approaches, upon the other oblique face diagonally opposite, and the
retreating face of the other tooth, extending from the straight face of that tooth to
the side from which the oblique reach of the flange departs. By this construction the
oblique faces of these teeth, which receive practically all the labor and all the wear,
may be worn away until they have eaten up all or nearly all of the straight faces
without affecting the steadiness of the engagement between the straight reaches of
the flange and said pinion, so that if an oblique reach should rest loosely in the inter-
dental spaces of the teeth and fail to turn the pinion the proper distance, it will
nevertheless be turned to that distance as the succeeding straight reach enters
between the teeth, and thereafter held stationary until the coming around of another
oblique reach.

page_text: Communicated from abroad by CYRUS H. MCCORMICK, Junior, of Chicago, in the
County of Cook and State of Illinois, one of the United States of America,
President of the M'Cormick Harvesting Machine Company.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON F.C.S. M.L.M.E. of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors 6 Lord Street, Liverpool in the County of Lancaster, and 323, High
Holborn in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performel, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
It is desirable in the employment of the modern tying-bill in grain-binders to
have it stop at the end of the knotting movement, with its jaws trending outward in
the direction of the extended cord-slot through the breast-plate, that the loop may be
stripped therefrom and the ends wrenched from between the jaws by the direct strain
of the sheaf as it is ejected by the discharge arms of the binder. Where this has
been done heretofore it has been necessary either to give the knotter two revolutions,
in order to bring the crossed ends of the strands between its jaws, or else to cause
the holder to carry these end strands around part way, to meet the jaws before they
complete their revolution. This has been accomplished, either by arranging the
ordinary disk-holder in such position and actuating it in such direction that it carries
the strands around from the chin of the knotting-jaws towards and past their spindle,
bending them around the latter so that they meet the jaws when the latter have
finished about three-quarters of their revolution, or else by mounting the holder in a
swinging stock and carrying it away from the cord-slot after it has received the
strands to bend them in substantially the same manner as above, over the knotier-
spindle to anticipate the coming around of the knotting-jaws.
The invention relates in the inain, but not entirely, to improvements upon the first
of these two constructions. In carrying it out, the knotter is mounted in bearings
parallel with the face of the tyer cam, and driven and controlled by a gear-segment
and delay-flange thereon in the usual way. The heel of its pivoted jaw is acted upon
by a fixed cam to open it, and closed by a spring-cam as heretofore. A finger projects
from that side of the cord-slot away from the knotter-spindle towards and underneath
the crown of the knotter, and serves as a stop for the cord-strands inside of the
knotter-jaws which in their revolution carry the cord along the inner edge of this
finger, over its end, and around into a continuation of the slot on the outer side
thereof, the side of the cord-slot beneath the crown of the knotter being pocketed or
recessed to receive the end of this finger, and underlying it that the strands may be
prevented from slipping past until positively carried past by the revolution of the
A holder-spindle is mounted in bearings beneath, and practically in the plane
of the tyer-cam so as to trend obliquely inward and upward past the knotter-spindle
Jaws.

page_text: nd at its upper end said holder-spindle receives a pinion that engages with
peripheral flange on the tyer-cam which has lateral jogs or deflections, and is cut
way at a suitable point or points to intermittently actuate the pinion as would a
vorin-wheel. The lower and outer end of the spindle outside of the knotter receives
holder-disk, not differing materially, if at all, from those heretofore used, and of
such diameter that the periphery adjacent to the cord-slot projects thercover slightly
into the plane in which the cord is laid, while its axis, of course, is considerably on
the other side of the tyer-spindle from said plane so that the quarter of a revolution
or thereabouts given it by the tyer-cam in each binding operation carrying the cord-
strands from the plane in which they are laid to a position practically beneath this
axis, will wind them or lap them to marked extent about the spindle. A holder-shoe
is pivoted to a stud from the knotter stock on the opposite side of the cord-slot from
the disk and is carried there beneath and pressed against its lower periphery by a
strong spring which may be adjustable in tension, and its shank is curved and shaped
so as to form a deflector to guide the cord into the first notch of the disk. A stationary
knife attached to the shoe, and turned up at its end, severs the cords between the disk
and the knotter after they have been tied and as they are carried therepast in the
final movement of the disk Other features and details of the improvement will
appear from the ensuing description.
In the drawings :-
Figure 1 is an end elevation of a binding attachment involving the invention,
sectioned through the binding table and seen from the rear in the present instance,
though with a different style of machine, it might be seen from the front.
Figure 2 is a section on the correspondingly numbered line in the preceding figure,
seen from the stubble-side.
Figure 3, a transverse section, as indicated by like numerals in the preceding
figure.
Figure 4, an irregular section on the line similarly numbered in the first figure and
seen from the inner or grain side.
Figure 5, a top-plan view of the breast-plate detached.
1
Figure 6, a section through tying-head and breast-plate upon the lines indicated by
like numerals in the 2nd, 4th and 5th, figures.
Figure 7, a bottom plan view of the breast-plate, broken away at one end to explain
the adjustable bridge which rests upon the outer edge or deflector.
Figure 8, an enlarged detail view of the tying-head and adjacent portion of the
breast-plate, in section as indicated by like numerals in the first figure, and seen
from above.
Figure 9, an irregular transverse section through the breast-plate, enlarged, on the
line indicated in the succeeding figure.
Figure 10, a top-plan view of that portion of the breast-plate adjacent to the
tying-head enlarged and with the stop-finger in the cord-plate removed.
Figure 11, an enlarged detail view of said stop finger.
Figure 12, an enlarged detail view of the holder and cutter, detached and seen from
the side.
Figure 13, an enlarged detail view of said holder and cutter seen from above in
the plane of the holder-lisk.
Figures 14 and 15, enlarged detail views of the spring-cam for the pivoted tying-jaw,
seen respectively from the rear of the machine and from the grain side, and the latter
being partly in section; and
Figure 16, a diagrammatic view partly in projection to explain the method of
operating the holder-pinion by the peripheral flange on the tyer-cam.
*A, represents the binding-table or decking; B, the overlying breast-plate having
Aanges, B, depending from each side of the cord-slot therethrough; C, the needle-
shaft, and the binder-arm or needle keyed thereon; D, the tyer-shaft journalled as
usual in an overhanging arm of the post-frame or main-bracket, and carrying the
tyer-cam D, above the binding-throat; E, the discharge arms rigidly secured to
said shaft mediately or immediately so as to be brought around in its revolution

page_text: and sweep the bound sheaf from the binding-throat; E', a bracket sleeved upon the
tyer-shaft and depending therefrom to the breast-plate to which its feet are bolted
that it may serve as an outside support therefor; and F, is a bar or timber
overhanging from the front or rear of the binder and serving as the inside support
for said breast-plate, all of which, except in certain details hereinafter explained, do
not or need not differ materially from corresponding elements of binders heretofore
in use.
In all modern binders a hood or deflector composed of a flexible sheet of metal,
one or more, is secured above the head of the elevator and depends outwardly over
the grain-chute to direct the grain properly towards the binding-table. It has been
customary to connect this hood or deflector with the breast-plate by means of a
wooden bar or bridge rigidly bolted between the flanges of said breast-plate and
extending inward until its end rests upon and, it may be, partly depresses the outer
edge of said hood. Sometimes it is desirable that it should press upon the
hood with greater force than at others, or else owing to the bending of the hood to
other causes the latter falls away from the bridge, leaving a gap between, and in the
jolting of the machine tends to whip up against it, resulting in injury to one or the
other, or in rapid wear. This bridge-bar F is therefore made adjustable radially
upon the bolt, which secures it to the breast-plate, and in obtaining this capability of
adjustment it is preferred to form the bar of metal, providing it with a discular
hub,, serrated on its inner face and matching against an opposing serrated disk,³,
secured to tho flange which receives said pivotal-holt, at the inner end of the
breast-plate, so that by loosening the bolt, the bridge-bar may be turned to bring its.
end higher or lower to bear against the deflector properly, and then upon tightening
the bolt the serration will he caused to engage and hold the bar firmly in the adjusted
position.
In bearings in the hanger from the tyer-shaft, which serves, in addition to its
function in supporting the breast-plate, as a housing for the spindles of the tying-head
is mounted the knotter-spindle G, having at its upper end the usual bevel-pinion g,
and delay-shoe g the pinion engaging with a gear-section Gupon the face of the
tyer-cam of sufficient length to give it a single revolution and the delay-shoe engaging
as usual with a delay-flange G extending around the cam from one end of the
segment to the other. The lower end of the spindle has the usual rigid jaw, g² and
pivoted jaw, the latter being provided at its heel end, outside of tho rigid jaw, with
an anti-friction roller, g' to engage with the fixed cam, G³, upon the supporting stock,
whereby the pivoted-jaw is opened, and with the spring cam G', whereby it is closed
after passing off of the fixed cam. The relation of the tyer spindle and its delay-
shoe to the gear-segment and flange and to the tying-jaws is such that upon each
revolution of the tyer-cam these jaws are left in position trending outwardly and
somewhat obliquely in the direction of the cord-slot in the breast-plate, that the knot
may be readily stripped from them by the action of the ejector-arms in sweeping the
bound sheaf from the receptacle.
The spring-cam, the operative face of which is preferably of cast metal, gets its
elasticity from a long plate spring G constituting its shank, and depending,
parallel with the tyer-spindle, from a seat, y upon the stock, between which and
its lower end it receives a set screw, g whereby the pressure of the cam may be
adjusted. Lest the transverse leverage of the revolving knotter at the lower end may
twist or disarrange the cam, it is slotted as at 7 to receive a pin or flange g from the
stock, which, while not interfering with its play towards or away froin the knotter-
spindle, will prevent lateral movement in the direction of its revolution.
commences.
Since the knotter stops with its jaws trending outwards in the direction of the
extended slot in the breast plate provision has to be made to obstruct this slot that
the strands may not escape past the knotter until its revolution
Therefore, a finger H, is arranged to project from that side of the slot away from the
tyer-spindle towards and past the general line of the other side which is recessed or
pocketed as at h, to receive the end of this finger while the depending flange beneath
is left unbroken, or is continued by a web h' overlapped by the end of this finger and

page_text: some distance beneath it. This finger is of such length that its end extends to a point
abreast of or slightly beyond the axis of the tying-bill, as shown in Figuro 8, 50 that
the spindle of the tying-bill, the finger and the under-lying web or flange practically
close the passage of the cord-slot to the strands extending from the gavel to the
holder so long as the knotter is in its position of rest, but when the knotter revolves,
these strands are positively swept around, and being bent over the web are carried
from the main-slot H', along and past the end of the tying-bill and into the extended
portion, ² of said cord-slot on the other side of said finger. This extended portion
is not, or may not be, directly in line with the main portion of the slot, but is
preferably arranged obliquely thereto at a slight angle, flaring from that side of the
tying-spindle past which the binder-arm moves, and the knotter when it comes to
rest, stops with its jaws trending outward practically parallel with this extended slot,
that it may cross the path of the cord, and that the strands may be laid upon its
chin in the recession and accession of the binder-arm, and also that the knot inay be
wrenched therefrom by a direct pull when the discharge arms come around to eject
the bound sheaf.
For convenience in casting the breast-plate, the stop-finger is made detachable
therefrom, being formed integral with a plate H' which fits into a seat h³ in the
upper surface of the breast-plate at the appropriate side of the cord slot, and is
secured by bolts h, which may also serve to secure the foot of the knotter-stock or
tyer-frame to said breast-plate."
On the other side of the holder-spindle from the cord-slot through the breast-plate
the tyer-frame has an oblique bearing or bearings, i, beneath the tyer-cam and
practically in the same plane therewith or parallel with said plane. This receives the
holder-spindle I, of sufficient length to bring its outer end some distance outside of
the knotter and near to the breast-plate, and its inner end close to the periphery of
the tyer-cam inside of the knotter. To said outer end is pinned the holder-disk K,
of the usual form and having herein, for the purpose of this description, four notches, k,
equi-distant from each other. A boss, K', from the tyer-frame on the further side of
the cord-slot in the breast-plate affords a pivot for a holder-shoe, K2, which passes
beneath the disk and embraces slightly more than the space between two of its notches.
The shank of this shoe is curved, as at k¹ so as to deflect the cord into the receptive
notch of the disk, and it is pressed against the periphery of the disk by a spring k
adjustable in stross by means of a set screw k³ acting upon end.
The diameter of the holder-disk is such that its periphery where it first meets the
shoe is over the cord-slot, in the breast-plate and practically in the plane in which the
cord is laid, and as its axis is on the other side of the tyer-spindle from this plane
and beneath the tyer-cam, it will generally be depressed at the lowest point in its
periphery below the surface of the breast-plate, which for this reason is cut away as
shown to receive the shoe and the disk.
Since the hokler-disk must turn towards the shoe, which first meets it at about its
horizontal diameter, and since it. has but four notches, it follows that it will make a
quarter of a turn in the aggregate for each binding operation, and that, receiving the
cord-strands at one end of its horizontal diameter it will carry them down to the
lower end of its vertical diameter which will be directly or almost directly beneath
the tyer-cam, and therefore a marked distance to that side of the tyer-spindle and
jaws. Hence these strands will be wrapt or bent definitely around the tyer-spindle
by this movement of the holder, so that the tyer-jaws will meet them upon completing
about three-quarters of a revolution, and being already opened by their fixed cam,
which is slightly in precedence of its usual location, they will pass on each side of
them, and immediately closing will grasp them. The cord-strands or ends from the
knot are, however, severed slightly before the holder-disk completes its quarter
revolution, and just after they are seized by the tying-jaws, this being accomplished
by a knife L, secured to the shank of the holder-shoe by means of a longitudinal
slot, and clamping-bolt, so that it may be adjusted to compensate for wear, or to
properly time it. The end of this knife is turned up towards the axis of the holder-
disk against the inner side of which it comes, and formed with a cutting edge, 12
B

page_text: which intercepts the cord-strands just in advance of the stoppage of the disk, or just
before it has completed its quarter revolution and against which they are sheared, the
new end or spool-strand, being retained and belayed to the next or receptive notch
by the ensuing recession of the binder arm.
In order to give the requisite movements to the holder-disk the inner end of its
spindle has a pinion M which for each quarter revolution of the disk to be
accomplished unbrokenly might have but four teeth, or the same number of teeth as
notches in the disk, but herein is provided with eight teeth, or just double the number
that there are notches in the disk so as to have an interval of delay after an eighth of
a turn. This pinion engages with a rib or flange N, upon the periphery of the tyer-
cam, having an initial oblique reach, n, succeeded for a distance corresponding with
the interval between the severing of the cord and the starting of the tyer and holder
in the ensuing binding operation by a reach also described as to act as a delay-
ledge and hold the pinion stationary and the holder-disk consequently immovable,
this, at a point corresponding relatively to the initial movement of the knotter being
followed by a short ledge N having at the outset an initial oblique reach n² which
gives the initial movement to the holder-pinion, turning it the distance of one tooth or
one eighth of a revolution, then has a straight reach which holds it stationary until
the knotter has completed about three quarters of its revolution and its jaws are
passing or a out to pass on each side of the cord-strands or end strands when it
delivers the opinion to the oblique initial reach of the first flange, by which the
pinion is turned another tooth, completing the quarter revolution of the holder-disk
carrying the cord-strands finally home between the open knotting jaws and shearing
them against the knife and severing them, when both knotter and holder stop and
the discharge arms strike the hound sheaf and sweep it from the machine, pulling the
knot from the holder-jaws in so doing.
Since the holder-pinion is turned by oblique flanges or by a worm motion, and
intermittently held stationary by straight flanges, it is evident that either the inter-
dental spaces must be of a general oblique trend or else the teeth must be set so far
apart as to accommodate both the straight reach and the oblique reach of the
actuating flange, which ever happens for the moment to be passing through. It is
impractical to set them thus far apart because it would lead to wabbling and
defective action, and were the flanks and faces of the teeth set obliquely to the axis of
the pinion from side to side, the wear from the oblique reaches of the actuating
flange, which imposes all the labor on the pinion, being distributed through the
whole width of the tooth would effect the engagement of the straight or delay-flange,
causing it to become loose and therefore fail to hold the pinion steady. The straight
flange also would have only an edge of each of the two flanking teeth to bear upon
in performing its office and would itself rapidly wear away these edges. The teeth O,
are therefore cut as regular spur-teeth with their faces parallel with the axis to admit
the straight reaches of the actuating flange, then from about the centre of the teeth,
measured from the sides of the wheel, the faces and flanks are beveled to alternate
sides at an angle corresponding with the oblique reaches of the actuating flange.
The retreating faces and flanks are beveled towards that side of the pinion which first
receives the oblique reaches, and the advancing faces and flanks are beveled towards
that side from which said reaches depart, thus the straight reaches of the actuating
flange are received between two parallel straight faces of successive teeth, one of the
face o extending to half the thickness of the advancing face of its tooth on that side
of the wheel from which the flange approaches and the other face o' diagonally
opposite, extending to one half the thickness of its tooth on that side from which tho
flange departs, while the oblique reaches engage with oblique faces of opposing teeth,
one oblique face o² extending from the straight face of its tooth or from the centre of
said tooth on the retreating face, to that side of the pinion from which the oblique
reach approaches, and the other oblique face o diagonally opposite, upon the
retreating face of the other tooth, extending from the straight face of that tooth to
the side from which the oblique reach of the flange departs. By this construction
the oblique faces of these teeth, which receive practically all the labor and all the

page_text: wear, may be worn away until they have eaten up all or nearly all of the straight
faces without affecting the steadiness of the engagement between the straight reaches
of the flange and said pinion, so that if an oblique reach should rest loosely in the
interdental spaces of the teeth and fail to turn the pinion the proper distance it will
nevertheless be turned to that distance as the succeeding straight reach enters betweep,
the teeth, and thereafter held stationary until the coming around of another oblique
reach.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is
--
1. The combination substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the tying-bill and
mechanism which gives it a single revolution and stops it with its jaws trending
outward in the direction of the cord-slot, of the finger projecting from one side of the
cord-slot beneath and slightly in advance of the tying-bill, and the pocket on the
other side, into which the end of said finger enters, having a continuous bottom
merging into the ledge beneath the cord-slot, whereby the cord strands are bent over
said ledge in order to pass the end of the finger.
2. The combination substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the tying-bill, and
mechanism which gives it a single complete revolution and stops it with its jaws
trending outward in the direction of the extended cord-slot, of a rotary cord-holder
on the outer side of said tying-bill and actuating mechanism giving the holder-disk
a partial turn to carry the cord-strands transverse to the tyer-spindle, then stopping
it temporarily while the tying-jaws come around, then moving it onward again to
complete the fraction of a revolution due to each binding operation.
3. The combination substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the tying-bill, and
mechanism which gives it a single complete revolution and stops it with its jaws
trending outward in the direction of the extended cord-slot, of a rotary cord-holder on
the outer side of said tying-bill and actuating mechanism giving the holder-disk a
partial turn to carry the cord-strands transverse to the tyer-spindle, then stopping it
temporarily while the tying-jaws come around, then moving it onward again to
complete the fraction of a revolution due to each binding operation and a stationary
knife against which the crossed ends of the cord are carried in a second and final
movement.
4. The combination substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the tying-bill and
tyer-cam of the inclined holder-spindle directed from the outer side of the tyer-spindle
inward past it, beneath the tyer-cam, the pinion at the inner end of said spindle, the
holder-disk at the outer end thereof, the shoe co-acting with said disk and the delay-
ledges and oblique teeth on the periphery of the tyer-cam engaging with the pinion,
whereby said holder-spindle is rotated.
5. The combination substantially as herein before set forth, with the tyer-cam and
its peripheral flanges having oblique reaches succeeded by straight or delay-reaches,
of the holder-pinion having its teeth formed with straight faces and flanks to about
half their thickness and with oblique faces and flanks to the other half, arranged
alternately to one side and the other whereby wear is reduced.
Dated this 6th day of February 1888
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.