IMPROVEMENTS IN CUTTING AND REAPING MACHINES
Year: 1852

page_text: ).
LETTERS PATENT to Ralph Errington Ridley, of Hexham, in
the County of Northumberland, Tanner, for the Invention of
IMPROVEMENTS IN CUTTING AND REAPING MACHINES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Ralph Errington
Ridley at the office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
petition, on the 2d October 1852.
I, RALPH ERRINGTON RIDLEY, of Hexham, in the County of
Northumberland, Tanner, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CUTTING AND REAPING MACHINES" to be
as follows:-
My Invention has relation to cutting and reaping machines of the
class described in the Specification of a former patent granted to
me, of date the 9th February 1852, and consists of the improvements
therein, represented in Figures 1, 2, and 3, of the drawings annexed.
Figure 1, being a plan, and Figure 2, a side view of the improved ma-
chine, and Figure 3, a detached view of one of the parts. A, A, is a wooden
frame resting upon the axle C, of the wheels B, B, and upon the vertical
iron bars E, E, to which are attached the small wheels D, D.
upright piece of wood fixed to the extremity of the frame A.
F, is an
G, is a

page_text: spur wheel on the axle C, which gears into a spur pinion II, which is
fixed upon the shaft I. Upon this shaft is a cam wheel J, the peri-
phery of which is represented in Figure 3, as extended in a horizontal
plane, the better to exhibit its peculiar form; this cam wheel runs
between the anti-friction pulleys K, K, which are loose upon the stud
pins k, k, fixed into the bar L, which occupies a position beneath the
frame A, and is shown by the dotted lines in Figure 1.
See Drawing.
This bar terminates in the double eyes, L', L', and to these double
eyes are attached the levers M, M, the opposite ends of which are firmly
fixed to vertical bars N, N, which are secured in a bearing O, bolted to
the frame A; to the lower ends of the vertical bars N, N, arc fixed
levers, one of which only, (marked P,) is seen in Figure 2.
The upright piece F, carries at its lower extremity a plate with mixed
and moveable knives, anti-friction rollers, and oscillating bar, exactly
similar to those described in the Specification of my former Patent, afore-
said, enrolled the 9th August 1852, with this exception, that the plate is
made to bolt firmly to the picce F, instead of being at liberty to move upon
a pivot. To the top of the upright F, is fixed an iron frame Q, which
carries a moveable bearing R, intended to support one end of the axle,
resting upon a similar bearing at the other side of the machine, as described
in my former Specification, aforesaid, and receiving motion in the same
manner as therein described. S, S, are the sides of the machine, which
are covered with sheet zinc, or other smooth material; the zinc is
inclined inwards on both sides, and extends backwards, so that each
side approaches the centre of the machine. T, is a board resting upon
an iron axle (made hollow for lightness) which is shown by the dotted
lines; this axle has its bearings at each side of the machine in eyes
suspended from the framework by means of a bolt passing through
each of them; these eyes are pierced with three holes, all suitable to
receive the bolt, and at such distances from each other that the board
T, can be raised or lowered to suit the height of the knives. U, and V,
are boards fixed upon the arms X, X, X, which project from the axle
of the board T; to one end of this axle is fixed a short arm Y,

page_text: having attached to it the bar Y', which rests at the otlier end in an anti-
friction pulley . The bar Y', has attached to it a short lever Z, by
means of a bolt passing through both. This lever Z; has its pivot at a,
and is continued upwards a distance equal to that froni the pivot to the
bolt through the bar Y. The pivot and pulley y, are supported by a bar
bolted to the frame A; b, is a pulley with holes in it at equal distances
from the centre, to receive an iron pin in each; the holes are so. placed
that one, two, three, or four pins may be placed round the wheel at equal
distances from each other; c, is a pin fixed into the bar Y'; d, d,.
Figure 1, are arms fixed to the bars E, E, which are attached to the wheels
D, D. These arms are connected by a bar e, the opposite end being
attached to a lever upon the horizontal bár ff. This bar has a handle
fi, fixed to it, by means of which it can be moved upon its axis. There
is a similar arrangement of parts on the other side of the machine;
h, h, are clutches, which fit into counterparts fixed upon the naves of the
wheels B, B, and slide upon the shaft c, in the ordinary manner. The
mode of operation of the machine is as follows:-When the machine
is propelled forward, and the clutches h, h, are in gear, the shaft C, and
spur wheel G, are made to revolve, and motion is thus given to the spur
pinion H, the shaft I, and the cam wheel J. The effect of tlie, rotation
the bar I, an oscillating
of the cam wheel J, is to communicate to
motion, which is transmitted by means of the levers to the oscillating
bar and knives, as described in my former Specification afore-
said. The cam wheel. gives less friction than is produced by
any other means of communicating an oscillating motion to the
levers. And here I would remark, that I am aware that a cam wheel
has previously been used to give motion to the knives of reaping
machines, but in every instance it has been fixed upon the axle of the
driving wheels, that is, on the first motion axle. I have, however, found
it to be of great advantage to communicate a quicker motion to the cam
wheel than it would have when placed upon the first motion axle, and
for that purpose I have adopted the management of multiplying gearing
above described, which, however, may doubtless be slightly varied. The
corn, when cut, is thrown back upon the board T, and remains there
until one of the pins in the pulley b, strikes the pin c, in the bar Y', by
which the bar is drawn back, and the board T, caused to make a partial

page_text: revolution upon its axis, thereby bringing the corn in contact with the
ground, so that it may be dragged off. If the corn is short, only the
board T, need be used; if it is of moderate length, then the board U, is
employed in addition, and if very long, then the board V, should also be
attached. The boards should be covered with thin sheet zinc, or other
smooth substance, or they may be composed of sheet zinc of sufficient
length, or any other very smooth substance (but I prefer zinc), so that
the corn may be the more readily and certainly removed. As soon as
the ends of the straws have passed the axle of the board T, the
pin in the wheel b, strikes the upper end of the lever Z, which, by
the backward motion of the bar Y, is brought within the circle de-
scribed by the pin, and thus forces the board T, back to its place.
.
It will be easily seen, that, according to the number of pins inserted in
the wheel b, a corresponding number of upward and downward motions
of the board T, will be produced, and thus the delivery may be adjusted
to the density of the crop. The corn, when thus laid on the ground, is
forced
up into a space of about eighteen inches, by the narrowing sides
of the machine, so as to allow the horses to pass on each side of it. If
it be preferred to have the corn laid in a continuous swaith, then the
board T, is removed, and the corn allowed to fall on to the ground at
once, when it is forced up into a swaith by the sides of the machine.
These sides approach sufficiently close to the ground to prevent any
straws from passing under them.
The four small wheels enable the machine to pass easily over ridge
and furrow, as described in my former Specification. When the
machine is to be turned while cutting, the inside large wheel is first out
of gear, and the handle f¹, of the bar f,f, moved, so as to communicate
motion to the bar c, and the similar one on the other side of the
imachine. The levers f", f", which move these bars are fixed in oppo-
site directions; that is, one is fixed upwards and the other downwards,
froin the horizontal bar f, so that when f",f", is moved, one of the bars
is moved forwards and the other backwards, by which means the four
wheels D, D, are turned as required upon their vertical axes, and placed
in a position at an angle to the course of the machine. This arrange-
ment differs from that described in my former Specification, and is an
improvement therein, there being much less gearing to work the wheels,

page_text: and because the wheels can be placed at a greater angle to the path
of the machine than was capable of being effected by the former
method.
The means by which the height of the knife is regulated are as
follows-, (Figure 2,) represents one end of the knife-plate, which,
it will be seen, has upon it an upright piece with three holes through it.
These serve for bolting the plate to the vertical frame F, at different
heights. When it is required to cut very low, the plate is bolted by
the highest hole, when to leave a moderate stubble, then through the
centre hole, and when it is wished to cut high, the bolt is passed
through the lower hole; there being but one hole in the frame F, of
course the plate and knife will rise with each removal of the bolt.
The levers are constructed similar to those described in my former
Specification, to allow of the raising of the knives; m, m, are thin bars of
iron fixed to the knife-plate, one at each end, by means of which any
corn laid across the path of the machine is raised. The horses are
attached to the machine by a pole, and the machine is propelled forward
by them.
And having now described the nature of my said improvements, and
the manner in which the same are to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is,
First, the general arrangement, combination, and adaptation of parts
constituting my improved cutting and reaping machine, as represented
in the drawing, and before described.
Second, the means whereby the corn is laid in a continuous swaith,
or in bundles within the framework of the machine, as before
described.
Third, the improved arrangement for turning the machine, as before
described.
Fourth, the arrangements by which the knives can be set at different
heights, as before described.
Fifth, the employment in cutting and reaping machines of a cam
wheel, revolving at a higher speed than when placed upon the first
motion axle of the machine, for giving motion to the levers by which
the cutting knives are actuated, as before described.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in-pursuance of the conditions of the Letters -Patent
filed by the said Ralph Errington Ridley, in the Great Seal
Patent Office, on the 2d April 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
RALPH ERRINGTON RIDLEY, of Hexham, in the County of Northumber
land, Tanner, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by. Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the
year of Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs, and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Ralph Errington Ridley, Her special licence,
that I, the said Ralph Errington Ridley, my executors, administrators,
and. assigns, or such others as I, the said Ralph Errington Ridley, 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
CUTTING AND REAPING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Ralph Errington Ridley, by an instrument in writing
under my hand 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 Ralph Errington Ridley, 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 thereof, reference being had to the drawings hereunto
annexed that is to say:
My Invention has relation to cutting and reaping machines of the
class described in the Specification of a former Patent for England granted
to. me, of date the Ninth February One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-two, and consists of the improvements therein represented in

page_text: Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, of the drawings annexed. Fig. 1, is a plan
and Fig. 2, a side view of the improved machine, and Figs. 3, 4,
and 5, are detached views of separate parts. A, A, is a wooden frame,
resting upon the axle C, of the wheels B, B, and upon the vertical bars
E, E, to which are attached the small wheels D, D. F, is an upright
piece of work fixed to the extremity of the frame A. G, is a spur wheel
upon the axle C, which gears into a spur pinion, II, which is fixed upon
the shaft I. Upon this shaft is a cam wheel, J, the periphery of which
is represented in Fig. 3, as extended in a horizontal plane, the better to
exhibit the peculiar form. This cam wheel runs between the anti-
friction pulleys K, K, which are loose upon stud pins, k, k, fixed into a
bar, L, which occupies a position beneath the frame A, and is shown by
the dotted lines in Fig. 1. This bar terminates in the double eyes L', L',
and to these double eyes are attached the levers M, M, the opposite ends
of which are firmly fixed to vertical bars N, N, which are secured in a
bearing O, bolted to the frame A. To the lower ends of the vertical
bars N, N are fixed levers, one of which only (marked P,) is scen in
Fig. 2. The upright piece F, carries at its lower extremity a plate with
fixed and moveable knives, anti-friction rollers, and oscillating bar,
exactly similar to those described in the Specification of my former
Patent aforesaid, enrolled August Ninth, One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-two, with this exception, that the plate is made to bolt firmly to
the piece F, instead of being at liberty to move upon a pivot. To the top
of the upright F, is fixed an iron frame, Q, which carries a moveable
bearing R, which is intended to support one end of the axle of a gathering
wlicel, the opposite end of the axle resting upon a similar bearing at the
other side of the machine, as described in my former Specification
aforesaid, and receiving motion in the same manner as therein described.
S, S, are the sides of the machine, which are covered with sheet zinc or
other smooth material; the zine is inclined inwards on both sides, and
extends backwards, so that cach side approaches the centre of the ma-
chine. T, is a board 'resting upon an iron axle (made hollow for light-
ness) which is shown by the dotted lines. This axle has its bearings
at each side of the machine in eyes suspended from the frame-
work by means of a bolt passing through cach of them; these eyes

page_text: are pierced with three holes, all suitable to receive the bolt, and at such
distances from each other that the board T, can be raised or lowered
to suit the height of the knives. U, and V, are boards fixed upon the
arms X, X, X, which project from the axle of the board T; to one end of
this axle is fixed a short arm, Y, having attached to it the bar Y., which
rests at the other end in an anti-friction pulley y. The bar Y', has
attached to it a short lever, Z, by means of a bolt passing through both.
This lever Z, has its pivot at a, and is continued upwards, a distance
equal to that from the pivot to the bolt through the bar Y. The
pivot and pulley y, are supported by a bar bolted to the frame A:
b, is a pulley with holes in it at equal distances. from the centre, to
receive an iron pin in cach; the holes are so placed that one, two,
three, or four pins may be placed round the wheel at equal distances
from each other; c, is a pin fixed into the bar Y'; d, d, Figure 1, are arms
fixed to the bars E, E, which are attached to the wheels, D, D; these
arms are connected by a bar e, the opposite end being attached to a
lever upon the horizontal ff; this bar has a handle f', fixed to it,
by means of which it can be moved upon its axis. There is a similar
arrangement of parts on the other side of the machine; h, h, are clutches
which fit into counterparts fixed upon the naves of the wheels B, B, and
slide upon the shaft C, in the ordinary manner of such apparatus. The
mode of operation of the machine is as follows:-When the machine is
propelled forward and the clutches h, h, are in gear, the shaft C, and
spur wheel G, are made to revolve, and motion is thus given to the spur
pinion H, the shaft I, and the cam wheel J. The effect of the rotation
of the cam wheel J, is to communicate to the bar L, an oscillating
motion, which is transmitted by means of the levers to the oscillating
bar and knives, as described in my former Specification' aforesaid. The
cam wheel gives less friction than is produced by any other means of
communicating an oscillating motion to the levers. And here I would
remark, that I am aware that a cam wheel has previously been used, to
give motion to the knives of a reaping machine, but it was fixed
upon the axle of the driving wheels, that is, on the first motion
axle. I have, however, found it to be of great advantage to com-
municate a quicker motion to the cam wheel than it would have

page_text: when placed upon the first motion axle, and for that purpose
I have adopted the arrangement of multiplying gearing, above de-
scribed, which, however, may be varied. The corn, when cut, is
thrown back upon the board T, and remains there until one of the
pins in the pulley b, strikes the pin c, in the bar Y', by which the bar is
drawn back, and the board T, caused to make a partial revolution upon
its axis, thereby bringing the corn in contact with the ground, so that it
may be dragged off. If the corn is short, only the board T, need be used;
if it is of moderate length, then the board U, is employed in addition;
and if very long, then the board V, should also be attached. The boards
should be covered with thin sheet zinc or other smooth substance, or they
may be composed of sheet zinc of sufficient strength, or any other very
smooth substance (but I prefer zinc), so that the corn may be the more
readily and certainly removed. As soon as the ends of the straw have
passed the axle of the board T, the pin in the wheel b, strikes the upper
end of the lever Z, which, by the backward motion of the bar Y', is brought
within the circle described by the pin, and thus forces the board T, back
to its place. It will be easily seen that according to the number of pins
inserted in the wheel b, a corresponding number of upward and downward
motions of the board T, will be produced, and thus the delivery may be
adjusted to the density of the crop. The corn, when thus laid on the
ground, is forced up into a space of about eighteen inches, by the narrow-
ing side of the machine, so as to allow the horses to pass on each side of
it. If it be preferred to have the corn laid in a continuous swaith, then
the board T, is removed, and the corn allowed to fall on to the ground
at once, when it is forced up into a swaith by the sides of the machine.
These sides approach sufficiently close to the ground to prevent any
straws from passing under them. This plan of delivering the cut corn may
be slightly varied, so as to be adapted to other reaping machines, or to
different modifications of mine. If, for, instance, but one horse was used
in the machine, it would be necessary to lay the corn on one side of the
path of the machine; or if applied to reaping machines that are pulled
by the horses, it might be thought advisable to lay the corn on one side,
so that the horses, when coming round the field, may not tread upon the
corn; in such cases the narrowing may be all on one side. There are

page_text: several slight and obvious modifications of my plan, which may be made
to suit the form of machine used.
The four small wheels D, D, enable the machine to pass-easily over
ridge and furrow, as described in my former Specification. When the
machine is to be turned while cutting, the inside large wheel is put out
of gear, and the handle f', of the bar f,f, moved so as to communicate
motion to the bar e, and the similar one on the other side of the
machine; the levers f", f", which move this bar, are fixed in opposite
directions, that is, one is fixed upwards and the other downwards from
the horizontal bar f. so that when f", f", are moved, one of the bars is
moved forwards and the other backwards, by which means the four
wheels D, D, are turned, as required, upon their vertical axes, and placed
in a position at an angle to the course of the machine.
This arrange-
ment differs from that described in my former Specification, and is an
improvement therein, there being much less gearing to work the wheels,
and because the wheels can be placed at a greater angle to the
path of the machine than was capable of being effected by the former
method.
Motion may be communicated to the knives by a different arrange-
ment from that already described. Instead of the cam wheel J, upon
the shaft I, a spur wheel is fixed upon that shaft, which gears into a
spur pinion which is keyed upon a shaft which passes under the frame
nearly into the same position as the bar L, shown by the dotted lines;
each end of the shaft terminates in a crank. Figure 4, is a plan of the
plate upon which the knives are fixed, and Figure 5, a section through
the dotted line in Figure 4. This plate differs from that previously
described, by having the projecting pieces B, B, on the back of it; stud
pins C, are fixed into the projecting pieces, and on these pins are loose
pulleys D, D, with a groove in the periphery of each. The motion is
communicated to the oscillating bar and the knives attached to it, by
connecting rods from the cranks; these connecting rods have each a
chain or other flexible rod or cord fixed to their other ends, which
chains pass over the pulleys D, D, (the edge of the chain fitting into
the grooves in the pulleys), and are attached to the oscillating bar; the
cranks being set opposite to each other, so that when one is pulling the

page_text: other is pushing; a reciprocating motion is thus given to the connecting
rods, and through them and the chains to the oscillating bar and knives.
The connecting rods are in two pieces, one end of each of the pieces
being formed with a long socket, which is screwed, the sockets of one
set of ends with a right-hand thread, and the other sockets with a left-
hand thread. The connecting rods are united by bolts, by means of
which they can be easily shortened or lengthened, as desired. The
bolts have set screws for preventing them from turning when the
machine is working.
The means by which the height of the knife-plate and knife is
regulated are as follows:-, (Figure 2.) represents one end of the
knife-plate, which, it will be seen, has upon it an upright piece with three
holes through it; these serve for bolting the plate to the vertical frame F,
at different heights; when it is required to cut very low, the plate is
bolted through the highest hole; when to leave a moderate stubble,
through the centre hole; and when it is wished to cut high, the bolt is
passed through the lower hole; there being but one hole in the frame F,
of course the plate and knife will rise with each removal of the bolt.
The levers are constructed in a similar manner to those described
in my former Specification, to allow of the raising of the knives; m, m,
are thin bars of iron fixed to the knife-plate, one at each end, by
means of which any corn laid across the path of the machine is raised.
The horses are attached to the machine by a pole, and the machine is
propelled forward by them.
And having now described the nature of my said improvements, and
the manner in which the same are to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is,
First, the general arrangement, combination, and adaptation of
parts constituting my improved cutting and reaping machine, as repre-
sented in the drawing, and before described.
Second, the means whereby the corn is laid in a continuous swaith,
or in bundles within the framework or path of the machine, as before
described.
Third, the improved arrangement for turning the machine, as before
described.

page_text: .
Fourth, the arrangements by which the knives can be set at different
heights, as before described.
I
Fifth, the employment in cutting and reaping machines of a cam
wheel revolving at a higher speed than when placed upon the first motion
axle of the machine, for giving motion to the levers by which the cutting
knives are actuated, as before described.
Sixth, the arrangement of cranks, connecting rods, and chains, or other
flexible substance, whereby motion is given to the cutting knives, as
before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Ralph Errington Ridley, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of
March One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
R. E. RIDLEY. (L.S.)