IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas James Smith, of the Firm of Robertson,
Brooman, and Company, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London,
Patent Agents, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING AND
MOWING MACHINES."-A communication from abroad by Cyrus Hall
McCormick, of Chicago, in the United States of America.
Sealed the 7th September 1871, and dated the 3rd July 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas James Smith
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 3rd July 1871.
I, THOMAS JAMES SMITH, of the Firm of Robertson, Brooman, and
Company, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent Agents,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
-
These relate, firstly, to an improved construction of reaping machine
whereby it may easily be converted into a mower.

page_text: Secondly. To apparatus for raising and lowering the finger beam to
regulate the height at which the knives shall cut.
- Thirdly. To apparatus for setting the machine at any angle, and also
for taking up the slack of the reel driving chain.
And, Fourthly. To apparatus for supporting the inner shoe of reaping
and mowing machines, whether the finger beam be made rigid therewith
or jointed to turn up.
The machine is composed of two frames superposed, and with the
upper one pinned to the lower one, so that it can be raised by screw
nuts to vary the draught and to suit the crop to be acted upon. The
rear of the lower frame carries a jointed bar which stretches across the
machine to support the inner shoe in conjunction with straps or bars
springing from other parts of the frame, and these are connected by
rods and chains to a hand lever for the purpose of regulating the height
of cut.
Uprights are arranged on the frame and levers or struts are connected
to determine the angle of the machine for cutting purposes, the struts
being raised or lowered by gearing within reach of the driver. As the
uprights are raised or depressed the reel chain is kept taut by a sprocket
wheel working in a grooved bar, the sprocket wheel being moved by
à rod in connection with a depending bar on which the wheel is
mounted.
There is a friction roller for the reel chain to bear against fitted
on the frame, and the strap or supporting plate is reversible, so that
when the machine is used for mowing purposes only the plate can be
turned round, and a pin on it serves for holding a hand lever in place,
which hand lever acts through a chain and a quadrant-shaped plate for
lifting the knife beam. The hand lever is provided with a catch bolt,
the spring of which takes the strain of the shoe and beam, and prevents
sudden shocks being given to them when travelling over the ground.
The driver's seat is adjustable in a grooved frame or plate attached to
'the top of the machine for balancing purposes, and to permit of it being
so fitted that the driver can reach the hand levers with facility.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas James Smith in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 3rd January 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
JAMES SMITH, of the Firm of Robertson, Brooman, and Company, of
166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent Agents, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-fifth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Thomas James Smith, Her special licence
that I, the said Thomas James Smith, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas James Smith, 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 REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES," (a communication from abroad by
Cyrus Hall McCormick, of Chicago, in the United States of America,)
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas James
Smith, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Thomas James Smith, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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 :-
These relate firstly to an improved construction of reaping machine
whereby it may easily be coverted into a mower.

page_text: Secondly. To apparatus for raising and lowering the finger beam to
regulate the height at which the knives shall cut.
Thirdly. To apparatus for setting the machine at any angle, and also
for taking up the slack of the reel driving chain.
And, fourthly. To apparatus for supporting the inner shoe of reaping
and mowing machines whether the finger beam be made rigid therewith
or jointed to turn up.
The machine is composed of two frames superposed, and with the upper
one pinned to the lower one, so that it can be raised by screw nuts to
vary the draught, and to suit the crop to be acted upon. The rear of
the lower-frame carries a jointed bar which stretches across the machine
to support the inner shoe in conjunction with straps or bars springing
from other parts of the frame, and these are connected by rods and
chains to a hand lever for the purpose of regulating the height of cut.
Uprights are arranged on the frame, and levers or struts are connected
to determine the angle of the machine for cutting purposes, the struts
being raised or lowered by gearing within reach of the driver. As the
uprights are raised or depressed the reel chain is kept taut by a sprocket
wheel working in a groove bar, the sprocket wheel being moved
by a rod in connection with a depending bar on which the wheel
is mounted. There is a friction roller for the reel chain to bear
against fitted on the frame, and the strap or supporting plate is
reversible, so that when the machine is used for mowing purposes
only the plate can be turned round, and a pin on it serves for holding
a hand lever in place, which hand lever acts through a chain and a
quadrant-shaped plate for lifting the knife beam. The hand lever
is provided with a catch bolt, the spring of which takes the strain of
the shoe and beam and prevents sudden shocks being given to them
when travelling over the ground. The driver's seat is adjustable in a
grooved frame or plate attached to the top of the machine for balancing
purposes and to permit of it being so fitted that the driver can reach the
hand levers with facility.
The Invention will be well understood by reference to the accom-
panying Drawings in which Figure 1 shows in side view a reaping
machine constructed and arranged as above recited; Figure 2 being a
plan thereof, and Figure 3.a rear end view; Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,

page_text: 11, and 12 are views of some of the parts in detail, all of which are
particularly mentioned hereafter.
A, B, are two frames, one of which A is hinged or jointed at C to the
other B so that it can be raised or lowered as desired by the screw pin D,
the lower end of the screw pin being turned to form a claw or hook
for taking into the eye E on the back end of the lower frame which is
supported by the axle of the main bearing wheels F, F, one of which is
on either side of the machine, both of these wheels are toothed internally
for communicating the necessary rotative movement to the pinions G, G,
on the shaft H which passes through the hinge bearings C, C. The
rear end of the lower frame carries a strap or plate I which is bent
downwards and formed with a lug J for pinning the inner shoe K to
the strap, being strengthened by a tie L to resist the diagonal strain
upon the knife beam when the machine is at work; this tie L may
however be dispensed with. Attached to the inner shoe is another strap
or tie M either rigid or loose according to whether the shoe is a fixed
or turn up one, its upper end is firmly bolted to an upright or strut N,
upon which the chain wheel O and cam P are mounted for transferring
the necessary motion to the chain Q from the sprocket wheel R on the
main axle S, by which the reel arms or gathering blades and the rake
are actuated, the motion being obtained therefrom and independently
of the knife driving mechanism, so that the strain or the action of one
is not dependent upon or subservient to the other in any way. At the
upper part of the upright is a clip or lug T through which a pin can
be passed for holding one end of a plain or a jointed bar or stay U,
the lower end of which is provided with teeth for a pinion V to gear
into, by the turning of which in one direction or the other the bar can
be raised and lowered to suit the angle at which the knives shall cut,
the pinion V being on the end of a connecting picce W pinned to the
fore end of the upper frame. There is a guide plate X on the bar or
stay U to guide it up and down the connection W and to cause the
stay to work parallel thereto, the pinion V is on a spindle with a toothed
disc into which a spring paul Y takes to hold the stay, and consequently
the upright N and the knife beam in the required position, the spring
paul forming part of a hand lever by which the spindle can be turned.
This is shown in detail in Figures 5 and 6. The slackness or tautness
of the chain is compensated for by an additional sprocket wheel Z on

page_text: a slide plate A¹ which works in a grooved plate B', the plate A¹ being
suspended from a link C¹ by a pin or bolt D' driven into the upright N,
it moving to the front or to the rear automatically through a rod E¹
looped or pinned to the front of the frame A and to the link C', as in
Figure 4, or be shifted by hand as in Figure 12. The collar of the
lower sprocket wheel R has connected to it a clutch to enable it to be
thrown out of gear when required to stop the rotation of the reel blades
and the rake blade; the chain is prevented slipping off this wheel by
a roller arranged in a clip or bearing as seen in detail in Figures 7 and 8
bolted on the upper frame, across the back of the frame is a plate
bar F for supporting the forward end of the inner shoe K, it being
jointed thereto, so as not to interfere with the turning up of the knife
beam and the platform G', when necessary the platform being secured to
the shoe as well as the knife beam if the shoe be a jointed one or bolted
to it if a rigid one. The upper sprocket wheel carries the sleeve H'
through which the journal arm of the rake blade passes, its motion being
determined by links connected to a bowl I' working in the cam race J¹,
the plate of which is fixable on the upright to govern the position at
which the rake teeth shall approach the knives before, over, or at the
rear of the fingers K³.
The driver's seat L' and the footboard are upon a bar M', the
lower end of which is adjustable in a slotted plate N¹ on a plank
set at an angle, and the shifting of this seat fore or aft enables
the machine to be balanced in order to reduce the draught to a
minimum. Separate views of the grooved or slotted plate N¹ with the
bar M' are shown in Figures 9 and 10. The knife bar is actuated direct
through bevilled gearing O', P₁, and the pitman shaft Q', to which the
crank pin with the pitman rod R' is attached preferably by brasses
held in position in a clip or fork at its end and by a strap piece secured
by screw nuts as shown, the outer end of the knife beam with the
divider S¹ being supported by a wheel T' set at an angle by its connection
with a plate U¹, the plate having on its inner face a series of teeth to
take into corresponding teeth on a plate on the outer shoe, the two
being fixed to regulate the height of that end of the knife beam by
a tightening nut. There is a spring V₁ attached to the front of the
lower frame B, and its free end bears loosely upon the back transverse
bar and out of action, it being held in position by a clip staple W₁, and

page_text: a cap as seen in Figures 12 and 13. I have before referred to the
screw pin D detailed views of which are shown in Figure 14, and I
prefer that its tightening nut X' should work upon the face of an
overhanging plate Y' of the form shown in Figure 15, but any other
mode of connecting the adjustable pin can be adopted as found desirable,
its object being, as before explained, for regulating the height or the
distance of the upper frame A from the lower frame B.
The machine as described is suitable for reaping purposes only, but by.
removing some of the parts and adjusting others it can be transformed
into a machine for mowing, as is hereafter explained, and as shown in
Sheet 4, Figures 16 to 19, inclusive.
It will be seen that the upright N, with the gathering and rake
blades, the chain, the sprocket wheels, and other reaping accessories, and
also the platform are removed, and that other levers, bars, and appliances
are attached, some of which are shown in detail in Figures 20 to 24.
The bearing, Figures 7 and 8, is replaced upon the top frame, but in a
reverse position; that is, with the roller a to the inside, and the pin b to
the outside, to enable the lever c, Figure 22, to be fitted on it, as shown
in Figure 17, for the purpose of raising and lowering the cutting
apparatus, the handle being within reach of the driver when perched
upon the seat I, which in this case can be shifted, if desired, to the
central part of the frame or kept in its old position; the bent end of this
lever has a chain d linked to it, which passes over a quadrant-shaped
and pivotted plate e, Figure 23, and to which it is secured, so that its
pull can actuate another chain fattached to the hinder joint of the inner
shoe K, the forward joint being held as before by the brace or stay E'.
The purpose of this lever is to enable the driver to lift the finger beam.
There is a lever g pinned to the side of the lower frame for determining
the height of cut or set of the knives, the lever being provided with a
catch bolt h, which takes into one or other of a series of notches formed
in a plate i, shown detached in Figure 20, the bolt being retained
therein by the pressure of its spring j; on the pin on which this lever
is mounted is one end of a strap or connecting picce 1, the other end of
which is pinned to the shoe and to the same pin, over which the free
end m of the lever g, Figure 21, takes, it being forked for the purpose of
easy adjustment. The spring V referred to in the description of the
reaping machine is in this instance employed for regulating the degree

page_text: of pressure which the shoe K shall exert upon the ground, or to clear it
altogether if necessary, its free end n having an aperture in it for
passing a bolt o through, so that it can be connected with the rear end
of the upper frame, the distance between the two frames being regulated
by the screw nut with which the end of the bolt is furnished, the
threaded end of the bolt passing up through a plate p, or in lieu of that
the bolt may be holed, as in Figure 24, and its rise and fall be
determined by a lever q. The mode of driving the knife bar is the same
as for the reaping machine, and need not be repeated; but it will be
understood that the same inner shoe is used both for reaping and
mowing, so that the appendages attached to it, and also the platform
can be turned up, should that however be required the reel and rake
arms need only be removed; it will thus be seen that as a reaper this
arrangement is of vast importance, it enabling the machine to be
brought into very narrow compass for passing through field gates with-
out disturbing the posts or interfering with the hedges, as well as for
passing along highways, road, and lanes, many of which are too narrow
for ordinary vehicles to pass into or along, whereas this machine will
pass almost into any ordinary doorway, an advantage not possessed by
other reaping machines to which recl and rake blades are arranged upon
a horizontal spindle.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,—
Firstly. The general arrangement of parts comprising a reaping
machine and the mode of operating the same, as herein-before described
and shewn.
Secondly. I claim the general arrangement of parts comprising a
mowing machine and their method of action, as hercin-before described
and shown.
Thirdly. I claim the special means as described by which the reaper
is transformed into a mower, and vice versâ, as described and shown..
Fourthly. I claim the apparatus herein-before described and shown by
which the finger beam can be raised and lowered to regulate the height
of the knives for cutting operation.
Fifthly. I claim the apparatus herein-before described and shown for
setting the machino at an angle to the horizon, fogether with the special

page_text: appliances for taking up and letting out the reel and rake driving
chain.
Sixthly. I claim the apparatus as herein-before set forth for sup‍
porting the inner shoc of a reaping and a mowing machine, whether the
finger beam be made rigid therewith or hinged thereto to turn up.
And, Seventhly. I claim the several modifications of parts or details
of reaping and mowing machines, as herein-before set forth, particularly
the rack and disc mechanism for operating the jointed bar pinned to the
upright or strut N.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas James.Smith, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, this Second day of January, One thousand
cight hundred and seventy-two.