IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR REAPING AND MOWING
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughts-
man, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR REAPING
AND MOWING."A communication.
Sealed the 8th April 1859, and dated the 29th December 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
29th December 1858.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR REAPING
AND MOWING," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in the arrangement of harvesting
machines, and also in some of the details of construction. The carrying wheels
are mounted on trunnions projecting from a pair of end frames or brackets,
which are also fitted with segment racks. These brackets are jointed to
the main frame by a horizontal shaft, which has its bearings in the main
frame, and carries spur and bevil wheels for transmitting motion from one of
the carrying wheels to the operating parts of the machine. A pair of brackets
fixed to the main frame carries a horizontal shaft fitted with segment racks,
which gear into those fixed on the side frames. When, therefore, this shaft
is rocked, the fore part of the main frame will be raised or lowered. Hinged.

page_text: to the side of the main frame is an intermediate frame with which the cutter
frame is connected, and in a line (or nearly so) with the axis of these hinges
is the crank shaft for actuating the cutter blades. By this arrangement the
finger bar is relieved from dragging upon the ground, and allowed to conform
to uneven surfaces without materially varying the throw of the cutters through
the guards. Instead of making the finger bar of a flat plate, it is now
proposed to give it an "ogee" form in cross section, so that the base of the
guard fingers may be placed on the upper side thereof, and at the same
time support the cutter bar in rear of the front curve of the finger bar.
Mortices are made in the front of the bar to receive the fingers, and these
fingers are formed with wings or lips, which project laterally and serve to
support the cutters. In order to raise and lower the finger bar at pleasure,
a rod placed beneath the bar and capable of moving therewith carries at its
outer end au arm on a pin, projecting from which is a carrying wheel. By
means of a lever attached to this rod the arm is rocked, the axle of the wheel
forming the fulcrum, and thus the finger bar is raised or depressed as desired.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 29th June 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special license that I, the said
Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, 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 MACHINERY FOR REAPING AND MOWING," being a com-
munication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Alfred Vincent-Newton, by an instrument in writing, under my hand and seal,

page_text: 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 Alfred Vincent Newton, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent,
relates, first, to connecting the finger bar to the main frame by means of ai
intermediate frame, the said intermediate frame being hinged to the main
frame (front and rear) on a line (or nearly so) with the crank shaft, as herein-
after described.
Second, to a peculiar mode of raising and lowering the main frame, so as to
adapt the machine to mowing and reaping.
Third, to the mounting of the cutter bar in rear of the front edge of and
over the finger bar, so as to allow the cutting edge of the cutters to cross the
edge of the finger bar, and clip the grass or other crop as near as possible to
the finger bar.
"
"
Fourth, to the construction of the finger bar and guard fingers, and the
manner of securing the guard fingers to the finger, bar, and of operating the
cutters therein, which improvements present the following distinguishing
features, to wit:1. The finger bar is made of wrought iron in an "ogee
form. 2. The base of the guard finger is made to conform to the "ogee'
form of the finger bar, so as to rest upon the upper side thereof, and support
the cutter bar, a mortice being made through the front curve of the finger bar,
through which mortice the guard plate passes, the under part of the slot in the
guard finger being on a level with the upper edge of the finger bar.
3. A lip
projects from either side of the lower half of the guard finger, for the purpose
of supporting the cutters, and preventing them from being drawn down
enough to cut the edge of the guards, and so that they will pass easily and
smoothly through the guards. 4. A rod extending under the finger bar is
connected to a wheel at the outer end, and a lever at the inner end of the
finger bar, so that the height of the finger bar and cutters may be adjusted
at pleasure.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of improve-
ments as combined and arranged for a mowing machine; Fig. 2 is a plan of
the same; Fig. 3 is an elevation of the inside shoe, showing its connection

page_text: with the intermediate frame, and also the lever for raising and lowering the
finger bar; Fig. 4 is a view of the under side of a portion of the guard finger;
Fig. 5 is an edge view of the same; Fig. 6 is a front elevation of a portion of
the finger bar, showing the mortises through which the guard fingers pass;
Fig. 7 is a plan view of the under side of the finger bar, shewing also the
guards, the outside shoe, and the rod and wheel for raising and lowering the
finger bar.
.
Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the platform and reel attachment, for the
purpose of converting the mower into a reaper. Similar letters of reference
denote the like parts in each of the Figures. A is the driving wheel, and A'
bearing wheel mounted on stud axles, carried by the rack frame K, which
frame is hinged to the main frame B; C is an intermediate frame, which also
includes the castings D, D', and is used to connect the cutting part of the
machine to the main framing B; E represents the inside shoe, to which the
finger bar is bolted. This shoe E is also bolted to the intermediate frame C,
and the intermediate frame by means of the castings D, D', is hinged to the
main frame (as shown) by the bolts F, F, so that the whole will hinge
or turn on the bolts F, F, which are situate in line, or nearly so, with
the crank shaft H, and a perfect adaptability of the finger and cutters to
unlevel ground is thereby effected without materially varying the throw of the
cutters through the guards. The crank shaft H receives motion for working
the cutters from the driving wheel A in the following. manner-G is a shaft
turning in bearings on the main frame B, and carrying at one end a spur
pinion G' in gear with the ring of teeth with which the driving wheel A is
provided. This shaft also carries a bevil wheel G², which gears
pinion on the shaft g', which lies at right angles to the shaft G.
also carries a spur wheel, which gears into a spur wheel on the
and thereby gives rotary motion to that shaft. The shaft g' is
in its bearings for the purpose of disconnecting the gearing. It is held in
position by a forked catch g2, which is hinged to the frame B, and is to be
raised free of the shaft when the machine is required to be thrown out of
action. h' is a cross shaft carrying at its extremities the toothed segments I
and I, which gear into the segment racks L, L2, on the wheel frame K, and
hence the driver by lifting on the lever n can raise and lower the main frame
at pleasure; J and J' are standards which support the shaft h¹ and segment
gear I and I. These standards are bolted firmly to the main frame. The
frame K, which is made of cast iron, has for its fulcrum the shaft G. On
raising or lowering the main frame by means of the segment gearing, the
lever n may be fixed at any point on the arch O by means of the pin p, and
into a bevil
This shaft g¹
crank shaft H,
made to slide

page_text: thereby fix the frame at any height desired. Qis a wrought-iron finger bar
made in an <<
ogee" form, which form may be readily given it at the rolling
mill. By adopting this form of finger bar, great strength and stiffness; with
the use of a minimum amount of metal, may be ensured, and also the guards
may be secured thereto in a better manner, and make a more perfect cutting
apparatus than heretofore. R represents a round bar of iron placed in the
curve on the under side of the finger bar, and connected to the small wheel S by
means of the fixed arm T. The lever U is connected to the inner end of the bar
R, so that by rocking the lever the wheel S may be moved in a manner to raise
or lower the finger bar. V represents a curved bar of iron bolted to the frame C,
with notches cut therein for the purpose of holding the lever (and thereby the
wheel) at any desired point. W represents the guard finger, which is made
of malleable cast iron. It is fastened to the finger bar by passing through the
mortise e in the front curve, and fits upon the upper side as represented in
Fig. 5.
The cutters Y are supported on the guards and over the finger bar,
so that the cutters will cross the upper edge of the finger bar, and clip the
grass in close proximity thereto. The lower part of the guard finger (forming
the slot) is on a level with the upper edge of the finger bar. a represents a
lip projecting from the lower half of the guard finger and below the slot, for
the purpose of supporting the cutters, as herein-before stated. In the
practical operation of mowing machines which have their cutters arranged to
cut against the lower half of the guard, the cutters are liable to be drawn
down by the grass, insomuch as to cut the edge of the guard and dull the
cutters, and thereby reduce the efficiency of the machine, and it is in order to
remedy this difficulty that this device is proposed to be employed. Z is the
track clearer for turning the mown grass inwards, so as to make a clear track
for the shoe E when cutting the succeeding swath, and Z2 is an outside shoe
or divider, it being connected to the outer end of the finger bar, and serving
the ordinary purposes of such a device.
For converting the mower into a reaper, the arrangement shewn at Fig. 8
is connected with the cutter bar, so that it may rise and fall with it.
The
inner end of the reel axle should be carried by a standard hinged to the front
of the framing B, so that its parallelism with respect to the cutters may be
maintained whatever the vertical movements of the cutter bar may be owing
to the irregularities of the ground on which the machine may be working.
By means of the segment rack arrangement it will be readily understood that
the operating parts of the mechanism may be raised free of the ground when
the machine is travelling to or from its work.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improvements in

page_text: Machinery for Reaping and Mowing," as communicated to me by my foreign
correspondent, and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I
wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent
I claim,
Connecting the finger bar to the main frame by means of an intermediate
frame which supports the finger bar, the same being hinged to the main frame
on a line (or nearly so) with the crank shaft that works the cutter bar, for
the purpose of relieving the drag of the finger bar upon the ground, and
allowing it, to conform to uneven surfaces, without materially varying the
throw of the cutters through the guards, substantially as herein set forth.
Second, I claim making the finger bar of an "ogee" form in cross section,
so that the base of the guard fingers may be placed on the upper side thereof,
and at the same time support the cutter bar in rear of the front curve of the
finger bar, substantially as herein set forth.
Third, I claim the arrangement of mechanism, substantially as herein
described, for raising and lowering the main frame of the machine.
Fourth, I claim the combination of mechanism above described, for the
purpose of raising and lowering the finger bar.
Fifth, I claim the lip x projected from the side of the guard finger, for the
purposes substantially as herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-ninth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)