IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING MACHINES
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Thomas Burgess, of Gower Street, in the
County of Middlesex, at present residing at Madrid, in the Kingdom of
*Spain, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING MACHINES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Thomas Burgess
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
22nd June 1863.
I, CHARLES THOMAS BURGESS, of Gower Street, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, at present residing at Madrid, in the Kingdom of Spain, do .hereby
declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING MACHINES,'
to be as follows: —
This Invention has for its object improvements in reaping machines. In
the Specification of a Patent granted to R. A. Brooman, and dated 18th
November 1861, No. 2896, a method is described of discharging the cut
crop from the platform of a reaping machine by means of the reel which is
employed to lay the standing crop into the teeth cutters. One of the arms of
the reel is for this purpose so arranged that when the beater or board at its
lower end is close to the surface of the platform, that is to.say, when the arm
is vertically or nearly vertically under the shaft, it stops revolving therewith,
and itself turns partly round about a vertical axis, in the course of which
motion the beater sweeps the cut crop off the platform; the arm. then returns

page_text: to its original position as respects the shaft, with which it then again revolves
for a time as if fixed upon it.
According to my Invention, I arrange the parts in such a manner that this
action of the clearing beater can be arrested at will, so that when desired it
may for a time be made to act only like one of the other or ordinary beaters,
revolving continually with the shaft, and acting only to lay the standing crop
into the cutters. The power of stopping for a time the delivery of the crop
from the platform is very useful in reaping fields in which the crop is thin in
places, as then a sufficient quantity to make a proper sized sheaf or bundle
may be accumulated on the platform before the discharge is allowed to take
place. I also by my arrangement produce the compound motion 'in a more
convenient and simple manner than heretofore. I mount on the shaft of the
reel and near one end of it a tube which is able to turn freely; on this tubeI
mount a short axis at right angles with the shaft of the reel, and on this
short axis is fixed the arm of the clearing beater, which is suitably counter-
poised. On the tube.is also mounted a spring catch, the end of which rests
on a flange fixed on the shaft of the reel; this flange is notched, and so long
as the clearing beater arm is revolving with the reel the end of the spring
catch lays in this notch; but, when the time comes for the beater to make its
clearing motion, an inclined stop carried by the frame is caused first to lift the
spring catch out of the notch, and then to hold and stop it so as to retain the
tube whilst the shaft of the reel continues to revolve; the arm is then caused
to rotate partially by a connecting rod, which links an arm on the shaft of the
reel with the arm of the clearing beater. When the beater arm has com-
pleted its partial rotation a cam on the shaft of the reel moves the inclined
stop out of the way, and then as the shaft of the reel continues to revolve, the
clearing beater with its arm assume their original positions, their own weight
tending to cause them to do so. The spring catch immediately falls again
into its notch, where it remains until it is again lifted by the inclined stop as
before, and so the action continues. The inclined stop is furnished with a
spring of sufficient strength to keep it in its place, but this yields when the
cam acts upon it. In order to stop the action of the clearing beater when
desired a treddle is provided, which the driver can work with his foot; this
by means of a connecting rod when it is depressed raises the inclined stop
out of the way, and the clearing beater works throughout the whole revolution
as if it were fixed on the shaft of the reel.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Thomas Burgess in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 22nd December 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
THOMAS BURGESS, of Gower Street, in the County of Middlesex, at present
residing at Madrid, in the Kingdom of Spain, send greeting.
year of
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Charles Thomas Burgess, Her special licence that I, the said
Charles Thomas Burgess, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Charles Thomas Burgess, 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,
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING MACHINES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Charles Thomas Burgess, 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 Charles Thomas Burgess, 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, that is to say:-
.
This Invention has for its object improvements in reaping machines. In
the Specification of a Patent granted to R. A. Brooman, and dated 18th
November 1861, No. 2896, a method is described of discharging the cut
crop from the platform of a reaping machine by means of the reel which is
employed to lay the standing crop into the teeth of the cutters. One of the
arms of the reel is for this purpose so arranged that when the beater or board
at its lower end is close to the surface of the platform, that is to say, when the
arm is vertically, or nearly vertically, under the shaft, it stops revolving there-
T

page_text: with, and itself turns partly round about a vertical axis, in the course of which
motion the beater sweeps the cut crop off the platform; the arm then returns
to its original position as respects the shaft, with which it then again revolves
for a time as if fixed upon it.
According to my Invention, I arrange the parts in such a manner that this
action of the clearing beater can be arrested at will, so that when desired it
may for a time be made to act only like one of the other or ordinary beaters,
revolving continually with the shaft, and acting only to lay the standing crop
into the cutters. The power of stopping for a time the delivery of the crop
from the platform is very useful in reaping fields in which the crop is thin in
places, as then a sufficient quantity to make a proper sized sheaf or bundle
may be accumulated on the platform before the discharge is allowed to take
place. I also by my arrangement produce the compound motion in a more
convenient and simple manner than heretofore. I mount on the shaft of the
reel, and near one end of it, a tube, which is able to turn freely; on this
tube I mount a short axis at right angles with the shaft of the reel, and on
this short axis is fixed the arm of the clearing beater, which is suitably
counterpoised. On the tube is also mounted a spring catch, the end of which
rests on a flange fixed on the shaft of the reel; this flange is notched, and so
long as the clearing beater arm is revolving with the reel the end of the spring
catch lays in this notch; but when the time comes for the beater to make its
clearing motion, an inclined stop carried by the frame is caused first to lift the
spring catch out of the notch and then to hold and stop it, so as to retain the
tube whilst the shaft of the reel continues to revolve, the arm is then caused
to rotate partially by a connecting rod, which links an arm on the shaft of the
reel with the arm of the clearing beater. When the beater arm has com-
pleted its partial rotation, a cam on the shaft of the reel moves the inclined
stop out of the way, and then the shaft of the reel continues to revolve, the
clearing beater with its arm assume their original positions, their own weight
tending to cause them to do so; the spring catch immediately falls again into
its notch, where it remains until it is again lifted by the inclined stop as
before, and so the action continues. The inclined stop is furnished with a
spring of sufficient strength to keep it in its place, but this yields when the cam
acts upon it. In order to stop the action of the clearing beater when desired
a freddle is provided, which the driver can work with his foot, this, by means
of a connecting rod, when it is depressed, raises the inclined stop out of the
way, and the clearing beater works throughout the whole revolution, as if it
were fixed on the shaft of the reel.
And in order that my said Invention may be most fully understood and

page_text: readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto
annexed.
Figure 1 is a front view of a portion of a reel of a reaping machine con-
structed and arranged according to my Invention, together with parts in
connection therewith; Figure 2 is a section taken at the line 1, 1, Figure 1.
a, a, is one of the reel posts, which are fixed to the frame of the machine
in the same position as in other reaping machines; 6 is the reel shaft carried
thereby, and driven by a chain passing over the chain wheel c, as is now
common; d is a socket or shoe keyed on the shaft b, to it is fixed the centre
of the reel, which carries the arms of three ordinary beaters, which revolve
continuously with the shaft b; e is a tube, capable of turning freely on the
shaft b, it has on it lugs e', e', in which the pin f is held; this pin serves as an
axis for the moveable beater arm g, and about it the arm makes a partial
rotation when the pin is in a vertical or nearly vertical position, so that the
beater h at its lower end may sweep over the platform of the machine. The
beater h may be permanently fixed on the arm g, it is more convenient,
however, to provide for a slight adjustment, as the Drawing shows. i is a bar
or catch, having a centre or axis on the tube e at i', about which centre it is
able to move up and down at either end radially to the axis b. The end of
the bar i which is nearest the reel is pressed upon by a spring k, causing it
to bear against the edge of the socket or shoe d, which has a notch in it at d¹,
into which the end of the bar or catch i drops, and so long as it remains there
.the beater h is held parallel to the axis, in a similar position to that in which
the other three beaters are permanently fixed; d* is an arm on the socket or
shoe d, to the end of which a link is attached by a universal joint, and the
other extremity of the link is connected by another universal joint with the
arm g of the moveable beater; m is an incline on the post a; it is centered
thereto at m³, and held down by a weight n suspended from its outer end.
As the shaft 6 revolves, together with the tube è, the tail of the bar or catch i
comes against the incline m, and its outer end is thus lifted immediately
afterwards, the projection m³ on the incline m stops the end of the bar or
catch i, and with it the tube e, the axis 6 still continues to revolve, and the
arm d³ travelling on pushes the benter arm g before it, and so causes it to
move around on the pin f, during which motion its beater h sweeps the
platform; when this is done, a cam o on the shaft 6 comes round and lifts the
incline m, so as to let the tail of the bar, or catch i escape past it, and when
this takes place the india-rubber spring p draws back the arm g to its first
position, the weight of the arm and beater tending also as the rotation

page_text: continues to produce this motion. The further end of the spring p is attached
to an arm q fixed on the tube e, and the outer end of this arm carries a weight
to counterpoise the beater h. At r is the driver's seat, and s is a treddle, by
means of which the incline m may be lifted sufficiently high to clear the tail
of the bar or catch i, and when it is so lifted the tube e with the moveable
beater arm revolve continuously, and no discharge of the cut crop takes place
from the platform of the machine. Similarly also machines made in accordance
with the Specification of Brooman's Patent, before referred to, may have
apparatus applied, by which the clearing action may be arrested when the
quantity on the platform is insufficient to make a sheaf.
Figure 3 shows a front view, partly in section, of the reel post with a stationary
cam course t upon it, as is described in the Specification of the said Patent,
together with the mechanism I apply for arresting the action of the said cam
when desired. This I do by making it revolve with the shaft 6 when it is
desired that the cam shall not act to produce the discharging action. The
cam t is made with a long boss t¹ upon it, as is more clearly seen at Figure 4,
in which some of the parts are shewn separately on a larger scale; this boss
passes through the reel post a, which forms a bearing for it, in which it can
turn but not move longitudinally. On the boss t'a clutch u is able to slide,
but a feather prevents the clutch rotating independently of the boss, and
around the other end of the clutch is a collar v with pins v¹ upon it, these pass
through the post a and enter holes in the cam t, and so hold it stationary
against the post. When the clutch is moved outwards the pins v² are drawn
back so as to free the cam, and simultaneously the teeth of the clutch take into
corresponding clutch teeth on the chain wheel c, and the cam t then revolves
with the axis, and being carried round at the same speed as the roller on which
it at other times acts, it follows that it is rendered inoperative. The clutch
teeth are irregularly arranged so that the clutching can only be effected at one
point in the rotation. The pins v¹ are also irregularly arranged, so that there
is only one position in which the cam can become fixed to the post. The length
of the pins v¹ is such that the cam becomes clutched to the chain wheel just
before the pins free it, and the pins are rounded at the end so that they may
not catch.
Figure 5 shows the gear for working the clutch, together with the relative
positions of the reel post a, driver's seat r, and treadles, which latter actuates the
clutch fork w, as the Drawing clearly shows.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of per-
forming the same, I would have it understood that I do not confine myself to

page_text: the exact details described; but what I claim is, the arranging apparatus for
discharging the cut crop from the platform of a reaping machine in the
manner herein-before described, and illustrated by the Figures 1 and 2 of the
Drawings.
I also claim the combining a reel carrying a clearing beater with apparatus
so arranged that the clearing action may be arrested when necessary to allow
of the accumulation of, a sufficient quantity of the cut crop on the platform, as
herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Thomas Burgess, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
C. T. BURGESS. (L.B.)