A Machine for Gathering and Binding Corn into Sheaves.
Year: 1894

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A Machine for Gathering and Binding Corn into Sheaves.
I, ADAM CARLISLE BAMLETT, Agricultmal Engineer, of Thirsk, Yorkshire,
lo hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows :-
The object of this invention is to gather coin crops that have been laid on the
ground in a continuous swathe or in a line of small sheaves, such as can be made
by a self-aking reaper,
The machine is carried on two wheels and is provided with a spindle on which
are mounted discs, carrying a series of packing prongs actuated by cams, these
discs 1otate under a sheet on cover which has apertures through which the prongs
piotiude
Immediately over this sheet on cover the knotting apparatus is mounted.
A second sheet on cover is mounted over the first one the space between the
second being sufficient to allow the plougs to rotate freely
When the machine is drawn forward the rotation of the pache prongs lift the
swathe from the ground and carries it upwards and over the first mentioned sheet
iron cover until it is stopped by the compresser pong mounted on or near the
needle spindle, the shape of the cam allowing the packing prongs to fall below the
-heet on cover.
This compressor prong is held partly in position by a spung and when sufficient
corn has accumulated to form a sheaf the yielding of the compressor spring starts
the binding mechanism and at the same time allows a hinged part of the cam to be
depressed so that the packing prongs cease to bring up more corn until the binding
and discharging of the sheaf is effected which brings the hinged part of the cam
into position and allows the packer prongs to bring up corn to form the second
sheaf and so on.
In order to prevent damage to the packing prongs when working on unlevel
ground the under part of the cam is lunged and kept in position by a spring so that
whenever the packing prongs strike the ground the hinged part of the cam will
yield and thus prevent injury to the packer prongs.
The machine is drawn by a horse harnessed to one side of it.
The driving gear consists of a hollow main axle on which the road wheel is
loosely mounted, within this hollow axle a sprudle is mounted carrying at one end a
atchet disc and at the other end a gear wheel which in turn drives the spindle
carrying the packer prongs and the binding mechanism.
A pawl mounted on the road wheel serves to engage or disengage with the latchet
disc before mentioned.
Dated this 24th day of December 1894.

page_text: 1, ADAM CARLISLE BAMLETT, Agricultural Engineer, of Thirsk, Yorkshue,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
The object of this invention is to gather corn crops that have been laid on the
ground in a continuous swathe or in a line of small sheaves, such as can be made by
a self-aking teaper
The machine is carried on two wheels and is provided with a spindle on whicn
are mounted discs, carrying a series of packing prongs actuated by cams, these
discs rotate under a sheet iron cover which has aperties through which the prongs
protrude
Immediately over this sheet iron cover the knotting apparatus 18 mounted.
A second sheet iron cover is mounted over the first one the space between the
second being sufficient to allow the prongs to rotate freely.
When the machine is drawn forward the rotation of the packer prongs lift the
swathe from the ground and caries it upwards and over the first mentioned sheet
iron cover until it is stopped by the complesser piong mounted on or near the
needle spindle, the shape of the cam allowing the packing prongs to fall below the
sheet iron covel.
This compressor prong is held partly in position by a spring and when sufficient
coin has accumulated to form a sheaf the yielding of the compressor spring starts
the binding mechanism and at the same time allows a hinged part of the cam to be
depressed so that the packing piongs cease to bring up more con until the binding
and discharging of the sheaf is effected which bungs the hinged part of the cam
into position and allows the packer prongs to bing up corn to form the second
sheaf and so 011.
In order to pierent damage to the packing prongs when working on unlevel
ground the under part of the cam is hinged and kept in position by a spring so that
whenever the packing prongs strike the ground the hinged part of the cam will
yield and thus prevent injury to the packer prongs.
The machine is drawn by a horse harnessed to one side of it.
The diving gear consists of a hollow main axle on which the road wheel 19
loosely mounted, within this hollow axle a spindle is mounted carrying at one end
a ratchet disc and at the other end a gear wheel which in turn dives the spindle
carrying the packet prongs and the binding mechanism.
A pawl mounted on the road wheel serves to engage or disengage with the ratchet
disc before mentioned.
In order that my said invention may be fully understood and readily carried into
effect I will proceed to describe the diawings annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a plau, showing some of the parts of a machine constructed in
accordance with my invention.
Figures 2 and 3 show parts of the framework of the machine.
Figure 4 is an elevation and Figure 5 is a plan of the driving wheel and paits
in connection therewith; these aud the following figures are drawn to a larger
scale than Figure 1.
Figure 6 shows a section of the machine taken on the line 6-6, in Figure 1.
Figures 7, 8, 9 and 10 show the detail of one of the compound cams which serve
to control the lifting and packing prongs.

page_text: Figures 11 and 12 show in elevation and in plau, the controlling arm on the axis
of the binding needle.
Figure 13 is an elevation of some of the parts and shows especially how the
action of the cams which govern the lifting and packing prongs is made dependent
on the binding mechanism.
Figure 14 is also an elevation and it shows especially the way in which the axis
of the binding needle and the axis which drives the knotter are started and made
to revolve as soon as a bundle sufficient to form a sheaf has been collected.
Figure 15 is a perspective view of the machine in its work.
«is the outer framing of the machine and a' a' are the shafts for the horse by
which it is drawn. bare the carrying wheels, the wheel b also serves to diive
the mechanism The wheels are free to tuin on tubes a fixed to the framing_
a3 and a are castings fixed on the tubes a, they are connected by bolts a' a' a'
passing from side to side of the machine. These fixed parts also support the inner
and the outer sheet on covers and d and other parts The driving wheel carries
a pawl which can engage with the teeth of a ratchet wheel c. The axis of the
ratchet wheel passes through the tubulai axis of the carrying wheel and carries a
pinion e which is thus driven. The pinion e' can however be put out of gear for
travelling by means of a lifting levere which can turn about the same centre as
the pawl and is furnished with a lug which by moving the lever can be made to
come underneath the pawl and lift it out of the ratchet teeth The lever at its
further end is so formed that it can spring laterally, it may as the diawing shows
be so formed as to allow the axle to pass though it Upon the spokes of the wheel
notches are formed with which the lever engages so that it may be retained in
position either to hold the pawl out of gear on to permit it to engage with the teeth
of the ratchet.
Upon the bolt a a hollow spindle is carried and it is driven by a pinion upon
it which engages with the pinion e'. The discs f³ f2 are fast with the spindle f
and they carry axes g'g' on which the prongs g g are fixed. The same axes g' are
provided with arms gg, and rollers at the ends of these arms bear upon cams h
which are mounted loosely on the spindles and held in place by links * passing
to the though bolt a. The prongs gy travelling 1ound in the ducction indicated
by the arrow in Figure 6 pick up the cut crop from off the ground and carry it up
to the space between the covei plates and d. The packing prongs 9, 9 project
through slits in the plate c and they drive the crop before them until it approaches
the compiesse prong and then the packing prongs drop beneath the surface of
the cover plate c, the form of the cams being such as to permit them to do so.
も
Each of the cams h has two hinged pieces upon it, the part h¹ is held in place by
asping which only yields when one of the prongs in passing meets with an
obstacle upon the ground, it then allows the pawl to give way and so breakage
which might otherwise occur is avoided. The other moveable part h³ of the cam
is designed to yield whenever a sufficiently large bundle of the crop has been
accumulated against the compressor prong to form a full sized sheaf.
During the binding of this sheaf, the parts of the cams allow the packing
prongs to fall earher within the cover plate c and then the crop lifted by the
packing prongs accumulates in the lower part of the passage between the cover
plates and d, and there it remains until the binding of the preceding sheaf 18
completed, and it has been delivered at the back of the machine The binding of
the sheaf takes place whilst it is held against the compressor prong i, and is
accomplished much in the same way as is described in the Specification of my
Patent No. 17396 in the year 1892. The compressor prong is carried upon au
axis on which also the binding needle (see Figure 13) is mounted. The axis ¹
also has upon it an arm which by a sping connecting rod is connected with a
crauk pin on the side of a wheel & During the collection of the material to form
a sheaf, the wheel k remains at rest with the parts in the position shown by the full
lines of tho drawings, but during the operations of binding and tyeing the wheel k
makes a complete revolution, it is caused to do so in the following way :—By a

page_text: train of wheels indicated by dotted lines, the wheel & is geared with the wheel /
which is loose upon an axis, which also carries the chain pinion m, and the
aims mm which are fast with the pinion. The pinion is driven by an endless
chain which also passes around a chain wheel f³ upon the spindle /
Pivotted upon
the side of the wheel there is a trigger supported by a spring . The wheel
remains at rest so long as the trigger abuts upon the end of the aim for then
the arms mm travel round without coming into contact with the trigger, but
when, in consequence of the pressure of the bundle against the prong, the prong
together with the axis and the aim yield slightly, then the trigger escapes
past the lower end of the arm and immediately assumes a position, such that a
part of the trigger stands m the path of the arms m¹ m² oi rather of the small
rollers mm² which these arms carry. The aims m' then give movement to the
wheel, and so in turn to the wheel A, which makes one revolution before its move-
ment is stopped by the end of the arm again intercepting the tigger
During
this rotation, the binding, tyeing, and the delivery of the sheaf takes place, by
the partial rotation of the axis the needle is made to cany its string upwards
behind the sheaf and present it to the tyemg hook of an Appleby knotter, the parts
of which are driven from the axis of the wheel h. The string is cut, and the sheaf is
dropt in the usual manner; it is guided as it falls in such manner as to be out of
the way when the machine next comes round.
The arm also controls the position of the parts ³ of the cams h; it caries a
roller upon which a lever arm n abuts. The same axis n¹ which cairies the lever
arm n, also carries other lever_arms n², n³, and these by links are connected with
the parts of the cam / Thus dung the binding and tycing the parts h³ of
the cams are removed out of action and are replaced as soon as the tycing needle
has retired out of the way. as is an indicating arm attached to the shaft, a bar
hangs from it, and the machine should be so driven that the bai just passes over
the crop midway of the length of the straw on where it is desited that the string
should be passed around it.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 declare that what I
Catan is:
1. A machine substantially as described in which rotating prongs lift the cut
crop from the ground and cairy it to binding and tyeing mechanism, and in which
the prongs are so governed by cams, that they operate continuously to lift the crop
so long as the machine is at work but cease to carry the crop up to the binding and
tyeing mechanism at the times when this mechanism is in operation.
2 A machine substantially such as is herein descubed, and is illustrated by the
annexed drawings.
Dated this 18th day of September 1895.