IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DELIVERY OF THE CUT CROP FROM REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES
Year: 1860

page_text: PROVISIONAL. SPECIFICATION left by John Monteath Douglas at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
31st July 1860.
I, JOHN MONTEATH DOUGLAS, residing in Cupar, Fife, Scotland, Writer, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
DELIVERY OF THE CUT CROP FROM REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES,"" to be as
follows:-
The object of my Invention is to receive the cut corn, or other crop upon
an endless revolving web instead of upon a platform, and to place the web so
and make it revolve intermittently or at intervals in such a manner as to carry
the crop backward and deliver it behind the machine, the intermission of the
web's motion allowing of a quantity of crop suitable for a sheaf or other desired
quantity accumulating on the web while at rest, and when a sufficient quantity
has collected the web being made to travel far enough to deliver the crop thus
accumulated. Thereafter the web may be made to stop and receive another
quantity to be delivered in like manner, and so on, while the machine works.
The intervals between the deliveries of the crop may be longer or shorter as
the person in charge chooses and the state of the crop requires. The inter-
mittent motion may be derived from a toothed or friction wheel fixed on or
driven from the main wheel or axle of the main wheel of the machine, and

page_text: B
working into a pinion whose shaft revolves in a journal formed so as to allow
the pinion to move towards and from the wheel in such a way as to be either
operated-on by-the-wheel or not. On the other end of the pinion shaft there
may be a wheel or drum which either by a belt or by toothed or friction
gearing may give a revolving motion to the chief roller on which the endless
web revolves, and which roller may be placed at the rear of the machine.
The foremost roller of the web may be placed at any convenient distance from
the finger bar and cutters, and may be. made to revolve by the web which
passes round it. A spring or weight or other convenient means can be em-
ployed to keep the pinion back from and out of gear with the wheel in order
that the web may rest. to receive the falling crop. When the person in charge
wishes to deliver the crop he may by any convenient arrangement bring the
pinion into gear with the wheel, and thereby give motion to the web, which
motion will continue till he allow the pinion again to go out of gear. This
alternate action may be effected by means of a ring or collar on the shaft
near the pinion by a rod or cord, from which ring or collar the person
in charge may put and keep the pinion in gear, and on his ceasing to act
thereon the spring or weight or other means employed will put and keep the
pinion out of gear till he again choose to put it in gear. The person in charge
of the delivery of the crop may use lever power if desired in order to act more
efficiently.
Further, the object of my Invention is, when a gathering reel is used on
the machine, to stop the action of the reel while the revolution of the web is
removing the cut crop; this can be done in various ways, for example, the
reel may be driven from the same toothed or friction wheel before described by
means of a second pinion working into it either at another part of its periphery
or by working the one pinion into the outer face of the wheel and the other
into an interior face or bevelled face. The journal of this second pinion
may be made to admit of the pinion going out of gear in the same way as
that of the first, and the two may be so arranged and connected that the same
action of the person in charge puts the one pinion into gear and the other
out of gear. A spring or weight may operate on the second pinion to keep
it in gear except when the action of the person in charge puts it temporarily
out of gear. A pulley on 'the shaft of the second pinion may drive the reel
by means of a belt. Or, otherwise, the two pinions may be kept constantly in
gear with the toothed or friction, wheel above mentioned, and a clutch may
be used on the shaft of each pinion to put the drum and pulley on them respec-
tively into and out of gear, which on this plan would be loose on the shafts.

page_text: Any convenient lever or levers or other means may be employed to do this
simultaneously and alternately. Or, otherwise, the pulley which drives the reel
may be loose on the shaft of the main wheel and put into and out of gear by: a
clutch worked by a lever in the ordinary way, or by any other convenient means.
Or, otherwise, there may be loose on the main wheel shaft both the pulley to
drive the reel and the drum to drive the web, the pulley and drum to be both
put into and out of gear by a clutch or clutches worked by one or more levers,
and so arranged that both the pulley and drum cannot be in gear at the same
time, and that just as the one is put out, the other is put into gear. Or, other-
wise, the drum to drive the web may be fixed on. the axle of the main wheel,
and the driving belt from it may drive a pulley running loose on the axle of
the chief roller of the web, or otherwise so placed and arranged that the drum
and pulley may be kept constantly revolving while the machine works, and
that the pulley may be put into and out of gear with the chief roller by means
of a clutch or other suitable arrangement. The other pulley which drives
the reel may be loose on the shaft of the main wheel, and the two pulleys may
be put into and out of gear alternately and simultaneously, the former with the
chief roller of the web and the latter with the axle of the main wheel by any
convenient arrangement of the lever or levers or other means employed for
the purpose.
The movement of the reel may be altogether stopped during the delivery
of the cut crop so as better to prevent additional crop from falling on the web
during that operation. This may be effected in putting out of gear the pulley
which drives, the reel by moving the pulley away from the clutch and towards
a projecting pin fitted for the purpose so that the pin may enter into any one
of a series of openings in the pulley and stop it, or such pin may be moved
towards the pulley and stop it in the same way, or a pressure may be used
operating as a break on the pulley or pinion or belt which drives the reel.
Or, otherwise, the various methods mentioned for carrying my Invention into
effect in its different parts may be variously combined or altered, or other
convenient arrangements and means may be employed for the purpose of
effecting the delivery from the intermittently revolving web instead of those
above mentioned.
I have not described the remainder of the reaping and mowing machines,
because their general form is now well known.
What I have called the cutters are the angular knives fixed on a recipro-
cating rod of iron or steel which work in front of the machine and cut the crop,
and by the finger bar I mean the bar or bars on which are fixed the fingers

page_text: or guards which project into the crop and hold it while being cut, and through
.which the cutters work. Also, wherever. I have mentioned belts working on
drums and pulleys there may be used instead either cords or other bands
-working on sheaves or pitch chains working on pitch or pointed wheels. The
<rollers and web may be removed from the machine at pleasure so as to allow
it to mow on the plan of letting the grass. or other crop mowed fall directly
-over the finger bar on to the ground.