IMPROVEMENTS IN HAY AND CHAFF CUTTING MACHINES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Howell, of Creekmore, near Poole, in the
County of Dorset, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN HAY AND
CHAFF CUTTING MACHINES."
Sealed the 29th October 1867, and dated the 1st May 1867:
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Howell at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 1st
May 1867..
I, JOHN HOWELL, of Creekmore, near Poole, in the County of Dorset, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN HAY
AND CHAFF CUTTING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar arrangement of the feed motion of hay
and chaff cutting machines whereby a stop or pause is made in the feed roller
whilst each cut is being made, and consists in the employment of a single crank,
cam, or eccentric, or a pair of diametrically opposed cranks, cams, or eccentrics
on the shaft or spindle carrying the knife wheel, such cranks or cams actuating
by means of a connecting rod or rods one or a pair of levers, which reciprocate
longitudinally on suitable supports, and vibrate also on pivots in such supports.
Two moveable bolts with inclined or bevelled end sliding longitudinally in a
socket, and kept pressed outwards by a helical or other spring are carried by
the single lever, or each bolt is on a separate lever; these sliding bolts work
alternately on a wheel, the face of which is notched, and as such notched wheel
is carried by the feed roller spindle a stop or pause in the feed is effected

page_text: during the time the machine is making a cut, the notched wheel having an
intermittant motion of one or more notches at a time according to the length of
chaff to be cut. In the back or reverse motion of the lever or levers the bolt
is pressed inwards by the notch on the wheel till it arrives at the next or alter-
nate notch, and so on. By this Invention the use of the ordinary regulating
cog wheels for giving the required speed to the feed rollers is dispensed with
and greater power is obtained.
}
Another part-of-my-Invention has reference to the cutting mechanism.,..ad
consists in the employment of a cutting blade baving a longitudinal recipro-
cating parallel motion in lieu of a rotatory motion as heretofore; this
blade, which may be perfectly straight on its cutting edge, is connected at each
extremity to an oscillating link suspended from fixed centres in the framing
of the machine. A longitudinal reciprocating motion is imparted to the blade
by a connecting rod coupled to one of the before-mentioned links and to a
crank on the main shaft. The blade not only moves forward and backward
longitudinally, but also has a rising and falling motion so as to cut downwards
through the hay or chaff at each reciprocation. Both these improvements
may be combined in one machine, or either of them may be used separately,
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Howell in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
1st November 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HOWELL, of Creekmore, near Poole, in the County of Dorset, send greeting."
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria; by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
John Howell, Her special license that I, the said John Howell, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Howell, my executors, administrators, or 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 Kingdoni of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN HAY AND CHAFF CUTTING
MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Jolin Howell,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under ny hand

page_text: and seal, 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 John Howell, 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,
reference being had to the accompanying Drawings; and to the letters and
figures marked thereon, that is to say.:-
My said Invention relates, firstly, to a peculiar arrangement of the feed
motion of bay and chaff cutting machines whereby a stop or pause is made in
the feed roller whilst each cut is being made, and consists in the employment
of a single crank, cam, or eccentric, or a pair of cranks, cams, or eccentrics
on the shaft or spindle carrying the knife wheel, such cranks or cams actuating
by means of a connecting rod or rods one on a pair of levers which vibrate on
pivots in: suitable supports. Two moveable bolts or palls with inclined or
bevelled ends pressed inwards by springs are carried by the single lever, or
each bolt. is carried by a separate lever; these bolts or palls work alternately.
on a ratchet wheel carried by the feed roller spindle, a stop or pause in the
feed thus effected during the time the machine is making a cut, the notched
wheel having an intermittent motion of one or more notches at a time
according to the length of chalf to be cut. In the back reverse 'motion
of the lever or levers the bolt or pall is pressed inwards by the notch on the
wheel till it arrives at the next or alternate notch, and so on. By this Inven-.
tion the use of the ordinary regulating cog wheels for giving the required speed
to the feed roller's is dispensed with and greater power is obtained:
.
The second part of my Invention has reference to the cutting mechanism,
and consists in the employment of a cutting blade having a longitudinal reci-
procating parallel motion in lieu of a rotatory motion, as beretofore. This
blade, which may be perfectly straight on its cutting edge, is connected at
each extremity to an oscillating link suspended from fixed centres in the
framing of the machine. A longitudinal reciprocating motion is imparted to
the blade by a connecting rod coupled to one of the before-mentioned links
and to a crank on the main shaft. The blade- not only moves forward and
backward longitudinally, but also has a rising and falling motion so as to cut
downwards through the hay or chaff at each .or at every alternate reciproca-
tion; both these improvements may be combined in one machine, or either of
them may be used separately!
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall now

page_text: proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall
refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings; the same
letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the Figures.
Figure 1 represents a front elevation of a chaff-cutting machine with my
combined improvements, attached; Figure 2 is a corresponding plan of the
same; Figure 3 is a front elevation of a chaff cutter provided with my improved
feed apparatus, but otherwise of the ordinary. construction, and the rest of the
Figures are enlarged details of the feed mechanism.
A is the main standard or support of the machine to which are bolted the
trough B and the requisite bearings for carrying the driving shaft C and the
feed mechanism, -which-I--have-here-represented_in_combination with my
improved cutter, although I propose sometimes to use such parts of my Inven-
tion-separately. The improved feed mechanism consists of a peculiar mode of
working a pair of rollers, which may be of the ordinary construction, and
which are situate in the usual manner in the mouth of the trough (one of
these rollers D only is seen in my Drawings.. In lieu of imparting a con-
tinuous rotatory motion to these rollers I cause them to rotate intermittantly,
so as to make a pause or dwell during the time the knife whether of the
ordinary or of my improved arrangement is making its cut. On the spindle E
of the lower feed roller there is keyed a ratchet wheel F, which may or may
not be bevelled, as shewn in my Drawings; and into the opposite teeth of this
wheel there engage two palls or bolts a, a', carried respectively on the two:
arms G, G, of the horizontal vibrating lever H (Figures 4, 5, and 6). The
palls are each free to move on a fulcrum b; b¹, of its own in the arms G, G₁
and are held in contact with the ratchet teeth by the blade springs C, C¹. These
palls are provided with projections 6", 6", beyond the fulcrum b for the purpose
of effecting the stop motion of the feed rollers without arresting the action of
the cutter, for which purpose the projections 6" are forced inwards or towards
each other, whereupon the palls will be disengaged from the ratchet wheel.
The lever H vibrates on a horizontal pin or fulcrum I carried by a bracket or
support I' in the stand of the machine, and its free end is jointed to a vertical
rod or link K, which is connected to a crank L on the driving shaft C. The
roller spindle E is prolonged to the outer edge of the stand, where it is sup-
ported in a suitable, bearing d, and carries a small spur wheel M in gear with
_a.corresponding.spur wheel at M¹ fast on a short shaft N, also working in the
bearing d; and connected to the spindle E¹ of the upper feed roller by the
intermediate inclined spindle O and universal joints e and e¹. It will thus be
seen that whatever motion is imparted to the lower feed roller will be trans-
mitted through the gearing M, M¹, to the upper roller.. The opposite end of

page_text: the spindle of the upper roller is left square for the facility of turning the same
when required by hand by the aid of a spanner or lever.
As the knife P in Figures 1 and 2 is arranged to make two cuts during
every revolution of the main shaft, as will be hereafter described, it follows
that the feed rollers should also receive two impulses during the same period,
and therefore two palls a, a', are used situate on opposite sides of the ratchet
wheel, so that when a vertical vibrating motion is imparted to the feed lever H
one pall will be in action during the first half revolution of the crank crank L,
and the other pall during the second half, thus giving two impulses to the rollers
during the complete revolution of the crank; this would result in nearly a
continuous motion of the feed rollers without sufficient pause or dwell between
each impulse for the completion of the cut; to obtain this I make a slot f in
the upper part of the link or connecting rod K, as shewn in detail at Figure 7,*
in which slot the pin of the crank L works. The length of this slot is so
arranged as to enable the crank pin to elevate and depress alternately the
connecting rod just before it reaches the half stroke, and give a corresponding
impulse to the feed rollers which remain at rest during the time the crank is
performing the intermediate portions of its revolution, or is traversing the
slot f. The ends of the palls are bevelled, as shewn in Figure 6, in order
that they may readily slip over the ratchet teeth during the back stroke and
take up a fresh tooth or teeth for the succeeding stroke. The amount of feed
at each stroke of the lever H may be varied by altering the position of the
fulcrum of such lever, to facilitate which two or more pin holes (shown clearly
in Figures 4 and 5) are made in the lever and its supporting bracket; and the
joint or fulcrum pin is inserted into one or other of such holes, according to
the length of feed required, as the nearer the fulcrum is to the palls the
shorter will be the feed, and vice versa. When the knife is disposed so as
only to make a single cut for every revolution of the driving shaft, then one
pall only need be employed.
I shall now proceed to describe the second part of my Invention, which bas
reference to the cutting mechanism. P is the knife, which is perfectly
straight, and which is caused to reciprocate longitudinally, but always remains
in a horizontal position. This knife is bolted to a holder Q, which is con-
nected at each end to a rocking lever R, R, carried by the brackets S, S¹,
bolted to the stand of the machine; to one of these levers there is jointed a
link T, which connects the lever with the crank U on the driving shaft C. As
the crank U revolves it imparts a reciprocating longitudinal motion as well as
a vertical motion to the knife, the combination of the two motions producing a
most effective draw cut through the straw or other substance to be cut. In

page_text: Figures 1 and 2 the point of connection g between the link T and the rocking
lever R is disposed so near to the, working centre of such lever as to cause
the throw of the knife to be sufficiently great to bring it above the mouth of
the trough at each stroke or half revolution of the crank, consequently the
knife will make two cuts for each complete revolution of the crank U. If a
single cut only be required for each revolution of the crank then the con-
necting point g must be lowered so as to reduce the throw or traverse of the
knife. This machine may be driven either by hand or by power. In my
Drawings I have shewn a handle V attached to the fly wheel W on the
inner shaft.
Having now-described-and--particularly_ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel
and original, and therefore claim as tbe Invention secured to me-by-tho-
herein-before in part recited. Letters Patent is,-
First, the general construction, arrangement, and combination of machinery
or apparatus for cutting hay and chaff, substantially as herein-before described
and illustrated by my Drawings.
Second, the peculiar combination of mechanism for driving or actuating
the feed rollers of chaff-cutting machines, as herein-before described..
Third, the application and use to and in chaff-cutting machines of a straight
knife carried by a rocking lever at each end, operating substantially as berein-
before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Howell, have to this my Specifi
cation, set my hand and seal, the Twenty-eighth day of October, One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the said
John Howell, in the presence of
ALFRED A.. ALLEN,
Accountant,
· Poole.
JOHN HOWELL. (L.S.)