IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR DIGGING AND GATHERING OR COLLECTING POTATOES, TURNIPS, AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL Roots
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Cocks, of Monk's Hall, Gosberton, near
Spalding, in the County of Lincoln, Gentleman, for the Invention
of "IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR DIGGING AND GATHERING
OR COLLECTING POTATOES, TURNIPS, AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL Roots.”
Sealed the 29th October 1872, and dated the 22nd May 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Cocks at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
22nd May 1872.
I, THOMAS COCKS, of Monk's Hall, Gosberton, near Spalding, in the
County of Lincoln, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR DIGGING and
GATHERING OR COLLECTING POTATOES, TURNIPS, AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL ROOTS,"
to be as follows:
The object of my Invention is to save labor and time in digging
and collecting from the ground, potatoes, turnips, and other agricultural
roots.

page_text: My improved machine consists of a framing mounted on wheels, the
fore part being adjustable vertically to suit the depth below the surface
at which roots of various kinds usually grow. At the front part of the
framing is placed a grubber consisting of a number of tines, which enter
the ground and are placed in an inclined position, and sufficiently near
together to lift up all the roots, say potatoes. As the machine is drawn
along the land the tines will grub up the potatoes, and these latter
with their stalks or haulm, and a portion of soil, will rise up the
inclined tines a short distance, when they will be caught by an endless
revolving chain, carrying projecting tines, or forks, or pins, which will
carry the roots, soil, and haulm on to a horizontal riddle, to which a
shaking motion is communicated. The roots will travel along this
riddle (through which the soil will drop on to the ground beneath) until
they reach the other end, where there is a kind of porcupine roller
armed with teeth set so wide apart that all the potatoes will pass
between them. The porcupine roller will lift up and remove the haulm
or stalks, and either throw them out of the machine on to the ground, or
it will deposit them on a platform, from whence they may be removed
by the attendant, and carted out of the field. The roots, which will
pass between the teeth or tines of the porcupine roller, will be conducted
into a box, basket, or other suitable receptacle placed at the back of the
machine for the purpose. Or if desired they may be received in the
buckets of an elavtor consisting of a Jacob's ladder device similar to
that employed in elevating corn from a thrashing machine to a stack.
By means of this elevator the roots may be taken from the machine, and
deposited in a cart which is drawn along beside the machine.
If it be desired to simplify the machine the elevator may be dispensed
with, the roots deposited in hand buckets, so that they may be easily
removed and emptied by the attendant into a cart which may accompany
the machine.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Thomas Cocks, Her special licence that I,
said Thomas Cocks, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Thomas Cocks, 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 "IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR DIGGING
AND GATHERING OR COLLECTING POTATOES, TURNIPS, AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL
RooTs," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas
Cocks, 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 Cocks, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say):
The object of my Invention is to save labour and time in digging
and collecting from the ground, potatoes, turnips, and other agricultural
roots.
Fig. 1 in the accompanying Drawing represents a plan view of the
machine, and Fig. 2 a sectional elevation of the same.
on
It will be seen that the machine consists of a framing a, a, mounted
wheels a, a, the fore part being supported on steering wheels
adjustable vertically to suit the depth below the surface at which roots
of various kinds usually grow. At the front part of the framing a, a, is
placed a grubber 6 consisting either of a number of tines or of a hollow
scoop, as shewn in the Drawings. This grubber enters the ground, and.
b

page_text: it is placed in an inclined position, and is suspended from the axle b¹.
If the grubber consist of tines they should be sufficiently near together
to lift up all the roots, say potatoes. As the machine is drawn along
the land the grubber 6 will pass under the potatoes or other roots, and
these latter with their stalks or haulm, and a portion of soil, will by the
forward motion of the machine be carried up the inclined face of the
grubber, which for a short distance is made in the form of a grating, as
seen best in the plan view, Fig. 1. A greater part of the earth will pass
through the grating of the grubber, and then the roots and stalks will
be caught by the endless revolving chain 6* carrying projecting tines,
forks, pins, or buckets, the bottoms of which are open work. These
travelling buckets will carry up the roots, together with a portion of the
soil and haulm, and deposit them on to a horizontal riddle c, to which a
shaking motion is communicated by means of a crank or pin d³ on the
end of the shaft d, which is driven by bevilled gearing 63 on the axle 6',
to which motion is imparted from the carrying wheels a¹, a¹, by the
toothed gearing shewn in the Drawings. The roots will travel along
this riddle c, which is formed of two sieves, one placed above the other,
through which the soil will drop on to the ground beneath. The upper
sieve, which is coarse, will allow the roots to drop through on to the
lower one, along which they will roll until they reach the other end,
where they will fall into the buckets of an elevator e, e, (receiving
motion by the chain c¹ from the shaft 6',) consisting of a Jacob's ladder
device similar to that employed in elevating corn from a thrashing
machine to a stack. By means of this elevator the roots will be lifted
up and dropped on to a shoot f, whence they will be deposited in a cart
which is drawn along beside the machine.
If it be desired to simplify the machine the elevator may be dispensed
with, and the roots deposited in hand baskets, so that they may be easily
removed and emptied by the attendant into a cart which may accompany
the machine.
Referring again to the grubber b it will be seen that above the scoop
or grubber 6 is a pointed instrument or tool g with an inclined cutting
edge. This tool is jointed at its hinder part to the grubber b, and is
capable of being fixed at any desired height (according to the depth at
which the grubber is working) by means of a set screw and slot, as seen
best at Fig. 2. The grubber with this addition is suspended from the
framing a of the machine by chains h, which are attached by their upper

page_text: end to pullies h¹, h¹, on the cross shaft h², which is capable of being
rotated by means of a key or winch, and of being maintained in any
given position by means of a ratchet and pawle. It will now be under-
stood that by rotating the pulley shaft h³ the grubber 6 and its accessories
may be raised or lowered as may be required; that is, it may be lifted
entirely out of the ground as when out of work and travelling along a
road, or it may be lowered to any extent to admit of the scoop or
grubber 6 passing under the roots, and lifting them out of the ground.
b
By this construction of grubber, with the two points as described
above, the machine may be made to take up one or two rows of roots
simultaneously, the scoop 6 passing under the roots, and the pointed
instrument g dividing or cutting off the rows of stalks or haulms, or
partially separating them from the tubers, and (by its inclined sides)
will during the onward movement of the machine cast or throw on both
sides of it the greater part of the stalks or haulm, together with any
weeds that it may meet with during its progress. From this it will be
understood that such of the stalks and haulms as are not thrown on one
side by the instrument g will be carried up with the inclined row of
travelling buckets, the edges of which are provided with projecting
tines, as shewn at Figure 2. The stalks and haulms after being carried
up by the travelling buckets will be thrown over at the top, and will
fall on to the upper riddle, down which they will pass until they come
against the triangular frame c*, which will throw them off on both sides
of the machine as it travels along."
”
It will be obvious that the extreme front end of the grubber or
scoop may be modified in form, and made either flat, round, half-
round, or V shaped, as may be preferred.
As a modification the grubber, which in the above-described arrange-
ment is provided with a chain of buckets for carrying up the roots and
baulms to the riddles, may be furnished with a chain carrying tines or
forks only, and be caused to travel in the opposite direction to that of
the before-described arrangement, and a fixed riddle or sieve c¹ is
arranged immediately below the tines or forks of the endless chain (as
shewn by blue lines in the Drawing) to support the roots and haulms
during their elevation to the riddle c, on which they are deposited for
separation, as before described. By this means the earth taken up by
the scoop may be more quickly and completely separated from the
roots.

page_text: Having now described my Invention of "Improved Machinery or
Apparatus for Digging and Gathering or Collecting Potatoes, Turnips,
and other Agricultural Roots," and having explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by
Letters Patent as aforesaid, the arrangement and construction of parts
herein set forth for digging or grubbing up from the ground, potatoes,
turnips, or other agricultural roots, and depositing them on an endless
chain of buckets, cups, tines, or other equivalent devices, whereby they
are carried forward to a sieve or riddle, from whence (when separated
from the soil and stalks) they are conducted to a sack, basket, barrow, or
other receptacle, or are lifted or elevated by a second endless chain, and
finally deposited in a cart, as herein set forth.
Ր T
soid Thomas Cooke hawa haocounto not
THOS. COCKS. (L.S.)