IMPROVEMENTS IN ROTARY PLOUGHS
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Tomlinson Bousfield, of Loughborough
Park, Brixton, in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of
“IMPROVEMENTS IN ROTARY PLOUGHS."-A communication from abroad
by William Edward Bleecker, residing at Brooklyn, in the State of
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Tomlinson
Bousfield at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
his Petition, on the 21st June 1872.
I, GEORGE TOMLINSON BOUSFIELD, of Loughborough Park, Brixton,
in the County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROTARY PLOUGHS," to be as follows:-
The first part of this Invention consists in controlling ploughing teeth
pivoted alternately on the two sides of a rotary wheel by cams fastened
to the axle upon which the wheel revolves, moving the teeth from their
vertical position when directly under the axle into position within the
circumference of the wheel in such a manner that the teeth will not be
materially updrawn by the rotary motion of the wheel. The object of

page_text: this part of the Invention is by a sudden sweeping movement of the
ploughing teeth, while the wheels to which they are pivoted are
revolving slowly to uptear a depth of soil equal to the length of a tooth
blade vertically from its bed, throwing it up fast and thoroughly
pulverizing it, and also at the same time to shut up the ploughing teeth
in overlapping order on the sides of the wheels so well sheltered that by
a slight elevation and a quarter of a revolution of the axles upon which
the wheels revolve the machine can be turned and transported on its
outside travelling wheels with perfect safety from all danger of
breakage.
The second part of this Invention relates to the combination of the
wheels having the ploughing teeth pivoted to them, the frame of the
machine and the outside travelling wheels, with the hand levers in such
a manner that the machine can be easily shifted from the travelling
wheels to the ploughing wheels and vice versa, with a very slight
expenditure of power. The object of this part of the Invention is to
secure the facility of turning and transporting the machine on only two
wheels, and to obtain the advantage in ploughing of having the wheels
that carry the ploughing teeth on two axles one in front of the other,
thereby relieving the horses from the weight of the machine.
The wheels carrying the plowing teeth are made hollow; inside the
wheels are placed cams which are firmly keyed to the axles; there are
also placed within the wheels pieces actuated by the cams so made that
they are connected firmly to the teeth, pivoted alternately on the two
sides of the wheel. As the wheels revolve on the ground the weight of
the wheels forces the teeth into the ground, and when the teeth get
directly under the axles and come in contact with stops, they are in
vertical positions. The pieces within the wheels then come in contact
with jogs of the inside cams and the teeth are moved from their vertical
positions suddenly into horizontal positions, while the wheels move
forward a very short distance, uptearing the earth and thoroughly
pulverizing it. The teeth are then moved in overlapping order within
the circumference of the wheels, and held in this position until they get
round again to be operated upon by cams which guide them in entering
the ground.

page_text: which the ploughing wheels revolve. To the frames are attached blocks
to which are securely fastened the axles of the travelling wheels; these
blocks are free to move, enabling the travelling wheels to be raised about
six inches from the ground; the axles are rigidly fastened to the short
ends of the bell-crank levers, the bends of these levers being provided
with studs which work in the bearings of the frame. The upper arms of
the bell-crank levers working in each frame are connected together by
links, so that by pushing or pulling the hand lever fastened to one of
the bell-crank levers both axles move together and the upward motion
raises the wheels a short distance from the ground and at the same time
gives the axles with the cams fastened to them a quarter of a turn back-
ward, by which means the teeth are readily withdrawn from the ground
without the necessity of raising the wheels the full length of the
ploughing teeth.
•
I propose to construct the machines with one or more ploughing
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Tomlinson Bousfield in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 20th December 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
TOMLINSON BOUSFIELD, of Loughborough Park, Brixton, in the County
of Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, Her special
license that I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, my executors,
adininistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George
Tomlinson Bousfield, 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
⋅

page_text: Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROTARY PLOUGHS," a communication to him from
abroad by William Edward Bleecker, resident at Brooklyn, in the State
of New York, in the United States of America, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, 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
Scal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately 1
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, 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 :—
The first part of the Invention consists in controlling ploughing tecth
pivotted alternately on the two sides of a rotary wheel by three cams
fastened to the axle upon which the wheel revolves, one on either side of
the wheel guiding the teeth in entering the ground, and one inside the
wheel moving the teeth from their vertical position when directly under
the axle into position within the circumference of the wheel in such a
manner that the teeth will not be materially updrawn by thic rotary
motion of the wheel. The object of this part of the Invention is by a
sudden sweeping movement of the ploughing teeth while the wheels to
which they are pivotted are revolving slowly to uptcar a depth of soil
equal to the length of a tooth blade vertically from its bed, throwing it
up fast and thoroughly pulverizing it, and also at the same time to shut
the ploughing teeth in overlapping order on the sides of the wheels,
so well sheltered that by a slight elevation and a quarter of a revolution
of the axles upon which the wheels revolve the machine can be turned
and transported on its outside travelling wheels with perfect safety
from all danger of breakage.
up
The second part of the Invention relates to the combination of the
wheels having the ploughing teeth pivotted to them, the frame of the
machine and the outside travelling wheels, with the hand levers in such a
manner that the machine can be easily shifted from the travelling wheels
to the ploughing wheels, and vice versa, with a very slight expenditure of

page_text: power. The object of this part of the Invention is to secure the facility
of turning and transporting the machine on only two wheels, and to
obtain the advantage in ploughing of having the wheels that carry the
ploughing teeth on two axles, one in front of the other, thereby relieving
the horses from the weight of the machine.
In the accompanying Drawings Figures 1, 2, and 3 are drawn to a scale
of one inch to the foot, and Figures 4, 5, and 6, two inches to the foot.
Figure 1 is a side elevation; Figure 2 is a sectional elevation through
the line A, A, in Figure 3; Figure 3 is a plan with the platform and
girders removed; Figure 4 is a front elevation of one of the ploughing
wheels; Figure 5 is a section of one of the ploughing wheels through
the line B, B, in Figure 6; and Figure 6 is a side elevation of one of the
ploughing wheels.
The side frames a and a¹ arc fastened together by the girders or tic
beams a³ and a³, and are provided with bearings at their lower ends,
which support the boll-crank levers b, b, carrying the axles c and c¹
upon which the ploughing wheels d, d, revolve. To the frames a and a¹
at a' and a³ are pivotted the blocks e and e¹, to which are securely
fastened the axles of the travelling wheels fand f¹. These blocks e and
e are free to move through a quarter of a circle, enabling the travelling
wheels and f¹ to be raised about 16 inches from the ground, and when
the blocks are in such position that the travelling wheels fand f¹ arc on
the ground and supporting the machine the lower ends of them are so
constructed as to embrace a part of the frames, thereby making the
axles of the wheels f and f¹ very firm when travelling. The hand
leverse and e³ are secured to the blocks e and e¹ and are used to move
the wheels and f¹ to or from the ground; they are held in position
by the spring catches or locking pieces e, e³, fastened to the frames a
and a¹.
The wheels d, d, carrying the plouging teeth g, g, are made hollow,
and the sides d³, d', are secured to the other sides, which are provided
with flanges forming the peripheries of the wheels, by screws, as shewn
at Figures 1 and 2, but more plainly at Figure 6. Inside the wheels d, d,
are placed the cams h, h, which are firmly keyed to the axles c and c'.
The pieces i, i, also placed within the wheels, are so made that they have
bearings in both sides of the wheels and project alternately beyond the
outsides of the wheels, which projecting part is made square so as to fit

page_text: into square holes made through the bosses of the ploughing teeth g, I›
the two being secured together by either pins or screws. Immediately
alongside of the wheels d, d, are the cams j, j, which are also keyed to the
axles c and c¹; these cams control the ploughing teeth in entering the
ground by acting upon the studs g', ', projecting from the sides of the
teeth as the wheels d, d, revolve on the ground, the weight of the wheels
forces the teeth into the ground, and when the teeth get directly under
the axles and come in contact with the stops they are in vertical
positions, the pieces i, i, within the wheels then come in contact with
the jogs of the cams h, h, and the teeth are moved from their vertical
positions suddenly into horizontal positions, while the wheels move
forward a very short distance, uptearing the earth and thoroughly
pulverizing it; the teeth g, g, are then moved in overlapping order
within the circumference of the wheels, and held in this position by the
cams h, h, until they get round again so as to be operated upon by the
outside cams j,j, as fully shewn at Figure 6. The axles c and c¹ aro
rigidly fastened to the short ends of the bell-crank levers b, b, the bends
of these levers being provided with studs which work in the bearings at
the lower ends of the frames a and a'; the stud of one of the forward
bell-crank levers stands out beyond the frame a and to it is keyed the
hand lever . The upper arms of the bell-crank levers working in each
frame are connected together by the links and , so that when the
front axle c is moved by pushing or pulling the hand lever the rear
axle moves with it, and the upward motion raises the wheels a short
distance from the ground, and at the same time it gives the axles with
the cams fastened to them about a quarter of a turn backwards, by
which means the teeth are readily withdrawn from the ground without
the necessity of raising the wheels the full length of the ploughing
teeth. The ploughing wheels are held in cither position by the spring
catches or locking pieces and holding the hand lever k.
partitions o, o, are suspended from the under side of the platform or
from the girders a² and a³ and hang down between the ploughing
wheels so that the soil thrown up by the front wheels does not come in
contact with the rear ones, they also insure the ground being left in a
level condition, as the soil thrown up by each wheel has to fall in their
respective tracks.
The

page_text: obstructions or to place part or whole of the weight of the machine
on the ploughing teeth; they are operated by the hand levers e* and e³,
as already described.
The shafts m, m, are secured in sockets cast in the girders a² and a³,
and the platform n, n, is fastened on the tops of the girders. The object
of this platform is to supply a standing space for the driver, or a scat
may be placed thereon.
By making the ploughing wheels larger a cam inay be placed inside
of them to take the place of the outside cams, thereby covering up all
the working parts.
The Drawings shew five ploughing wheels, two on the front axle and
three on the rear one, arranged so that each wheel with its ploughing
teeth shall tear up about seven inches in width of soil. I propose to
construct some of the machines with only three wheels, one placed on
the front axle and two on the rear.
The Inventor is aware that spades and similar devices have been
pivotted on the peripheries of wheels; but what is claimed and desired
to be secured by Letters Patent is,―
First. Controlling and working ploughing teeth pivotted alternately
on either side of rotating wheels by means of cams constructed sub-
stantially as herein-before described.
Second. The combination of the levers e, e³, and blocks e and e¹ with
the lever and axles c and c¹ carrying the ploughing wheels constructed
and operating substantially as herein-before set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, have
hereunto set my hand and scal, this Ninth day of December, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-