IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING, COLLECTING, AND SPREADING GRASS, AND FOR SWEEPING
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Ferrabee, of Thrupp, near Stroud, in the
County of Gloucester, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR CUTTING, COLLECTING, AND SPREADING GRASS, AND FOR
SWEEPING."
Sealed the 3rd December 1858, and dated the 7th June 1858.
PROVISIONAL. SPECIFICATION left by the said James Ferrabee at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th June 1858.
I, JAMES FERRABEE, of Thrupp, near Stroud, in the County of Gloucester,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING, COLLECTING, AND SPREADING GRASS, AND FOR
SWEEPING," to be as follows:-
My Invention of improvement's in machinery for cutting, collecting, and
spreading grass, and for sweeping, relates to that class of machinery in which
these operations are effected by means of rotating contrivances adapted for
effecting the intended object.
The leading features of the Invention are, 1st, mounting the rotating
cylinders or rolls on the same axis as the carrying wheels, and arranging the
driving gear in such a manner that a rotary motion in eitlier direction may be
given as desired.
2nd, in constructing the cylinders of moveable sections provided with arms,

page_text: whereby the sections may be moved nearer to or further from the centre, for
the purpose of increasing or diminishing the diameter of the said cylinders.
In reference to the cutting part of the apparatus, I propose, instead of
attaching the fixed blade to a ledger bar screwed to the main framework of
the machine, and mounting the cylinder in bearings also attached to the main
framework as usual, to form a frame or carriage by casting it in one piece of
a curved shape, and I arrange the ledger bar and bonnet to receive the fixed
curved blade, and the ends to receive the cylinder carriages; the cutting parts
are fitted to the carriage, and the whole is attached to the framework of the
machine in such a manner that it can be easily removed and be replaced by
duplicate parts, if necessary.
This arrangement gives great strength to the machine, and ensures perfect
action of the cutting parts.
For adjusting the cylinder to and from the fixed blade, I use a lever link
and two set pins, and so arrange them as to admit of the cylinder being
adjusted from the top side of the machine without using nuts, the carriage
being at the same time rendered quite secure.
To secure the even action of the machine, and to facilitate the turning of
the larger machines, I use between the driving roller and the cylinder one
roll or two or more small rolls that are made to revolve separately or a bar,
or in suitable bearings, and I connect them to levers which extend to the back
of the machine, thereby enabling the attendant to raise the cutting parts
instantaneously, and to regulate the length of the cut when running over
uneven places.
To insure the delivery of the grass into the collecting box, and to prevent
its falling before the cutters, I employ a light revolving board or brush, which
wipes or pushes it forwards into the box.
In constructing machines to deliver the grass behind or before the cutters,
I dispense with the ordinary driving rolls, and mount the whole cutting part
in a suitably arranged framework between the carrying wheels, the cutting
cylinder being so arranged that it may be driven at either end, or both, at
pleasure, and the carrying wheels are so disposed as to have the axis imme-
diately, or nearly so, over or above the axis of the cutters, for the purpose of
following the inequalities of ground.
The length of cut is regulated by turning a handle, or moving a lever, and
the cutting parts are preserved in their proper position by suitable guide rolls.
The whole of the cutting parts are mounted in an independent frame, and are
attached to the axis of the carrying wheels, which also communicate motion
to the driving gear.

page_text: For sweeping, I employ a revolving brush, either in connection with the
machine or separately, and so arrange it, that it shall deliver the sweepings
into a receptacle either before or behind the brush. I also attach the brushes
in suitable lengths to springs or moveable arms, and mount them on a
revolving framework driven by suitable gearing, the whole being capable of
adjustment to and from the ground; or I attach them to expanding arms
radiating from a centre and retained by suitable springs, so that the diameter
of the brush may be increased or dimished at pleasure, and the whole may be
made to revolve on the same axis as the carrying wheels, and in a direction
either with or against the line of progress.
This mode of mounting a cylinder or cylinders on the same axis as the
carrying wheels, and of arranging the gearing for driving, and of expanding
the arms so as to increase or lessen the diameter of the revolving cylinder, is
applicable to rotary hay-making machines, and also to machines for collecting
couch and other weeds; when used for spreading grass, rakes with teeth of
wood or iron would be attached to the radiating arms instead of brushes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Ferrabee, in the Great Seal l'atent Office on the
7th December 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
FERRABEE, of Thrupp, near Stroud, in the County of Gloucester, Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said James Ferrabec, Her special license that I, the said James
Ferrabee, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said James Ferrabee, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 CUTTING, COLLECTING AND SPREADING GRASS, AND FOR SWEEPING,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Ferrabee, by an

page_text: instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 James Ferrabee, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention relates, firstly, to improvements. in the construction and
arrangement of tho cutting parts of mowing machines, and in the means of
regulating, their action; and, secondly, to improvements in revolving brushes
and rakes, and the application of the same in the manufacture of hay-making.
and sweeping machines.
In the accompanying Drawings, Figures 1 and 2 are elevations of a grass-
cutting machine, showing part of my improvements applied to ordinary mowing
machines. Fig. 3 is an elevation of my improved frame and carriago; and
Figure 4 is a plan of the same.
In Figures 1, 2, and 3, A is the improved carriage or frame made in one
piece and attached to the main frame of the machine by the screw pins a, a.
b is a carriage for carrying the cutting cylinder, and turns on the pin c; d is a
link attached to 6 by a joint and pin; e, e¹, are set screws for adjusting the
cutting cylinder to and from the fixed blade f; g is a lever attached to the
main frame by a joint and pin; h is a link jointed, to the lever g; i is a small
ground roll turning on a spindle running in the end of the link h; k is a handle
with a pawl for retaining the lever g in its place, and is a, rest, for holding a
grinder and sliding on the top of the frame A.
The lever I, with its jointed link h, and the small ground roller i, are for. the
purpose of altering, the length of cut while, the machine is in motion, and for
raising the cutting parts when turning the, machine, or to avoid obstructions.
By relieving the pawl from the rack, and pressing down. the handle of the lever
9, the front part of the machine is raised from, the ground, and. by an opposite
movement of the handle it is again lowered. This, mode of adjustment may,
also be applied to the front guide. wheels m. for, regulating the length of cut,
or those guide wheels,m. may be adjusted by a pinion, and rack, as shown.in
the Drawings, or by an excentric and lever.
The frame A may be made in one piece or of several pieces fitted together,
the object being to support the whole of, the, cutting. parts, with their several

page_text: adjustments in an independent frame, which may be bolted to the main frame
of the machine, and detached at pleasure. By this arrangement great stability
is given to the cutting parts and steadiness in action; sharpening and repairs
are also more easily effected, and the advantage of using a duplicate set of
cutting parts to replace that removed for repairs will be afforded.
The distance of the cutting cylinder from the fixed blade f is regulated by
the adjusting pins e, e', which also retain the cutting cylinder firmly and
securely in its place. By slackening the screw e in the link d, and tightening
the screw e¹ on the carriage b, the cutting cylinder is placed nearer to the fixed
blade, and by a reverse adjustment the cylinder is removed further from the
fixed blade.
That portion of the frame A to which the fixed blade is attached is planed
true, and also the top edge on which the carriage / slides; these two planed.
parts being parallel to each other. To the carriage I fit a grinder mado
from wood covered with emery stone or some other suitable substance; this
grinder traverses on the guide, and by revolving the cutting edges in contact
with it, they may be sharpened.
Fig. 5 is an elevation, and Fig. 6 is a partial plan view of another arrange-
ment of grass-cutter, in which the cutting apparatus is set between the carrying
wheels & immediately below their axle, to allow of the cutting apparatus
following the inequalities of the ground when the machine is at work.
A is one of the carrying wheels revolving loosely on the axle B; a is a cog
wheel running loosely on the boss of the carrying wheel A and driving the
wheel c, when the moveable clutch 6 is thrown into gear with the clutch on
this cog wheel a, so as to set the working parts of the machine in motion; c is
a cog wheel fast on the spindle d, and driven by the wheel a; e is a cog
wheel fast on the spindle d, and driving the small cog wheel f, which is keyed
on the axle of the cutting cylinder C. D is a guide wheel; E is the frame of
the machine; g is a link connecting the frame. of the machine to the main
axle B; his the adjusting lever moving on the main axle B, and connected by
a link to to the cutter frame, and is for the purpose of raising or lowering the
cutting parts; i is a catch, jointed to the lever h, and taking into a rack on
the frame E, whereby the adjusting lever is held in position; C is the cutting
cylinder, which with the fixed blade and their adjustments are supported in an
independent frame and bolted to the main frame of the machine, as already
described in Figs. 1, 2, 3; k is the ground roll which may consist of one
ring or several rings. This ground roll is, carried by a link 7, which works.in
a guide on the frame E, and is connected to the lever m, which lever. extends
to tho under side of the main axle B. The purpose, of the groundi roll k, in

page_text: combination with the link and the lever m is to steady the machine when in
action, and to enable the attendant to raise or lower the cutting parts at pleasure,
as already described in Figures 1, 2, 3; n is the box in which the cut grass is
collected and furnished with a hinged door at the back of it.
Machines on the above plan when drawn by a horse have shafts attached to
the main axle B.
Fig. 7 is an elevation, and Fig. 8 is a partial plan of an expanding rake, as
applied for spreading grass, the same method of driving and expanding being
applicable to sweeping machines, having suitable shields and collecting boxes
attached to the frame.
A is a carrying wheel; B is the main axle extending across the machine;
C is a circular plate fast on the main axle B; D is a portion of the frame
attached to the plate C, and extended to connect with the drawing shafts G;
E is a box connected to the frame D, and to the plate C. a is. an internal
cog wheel or ring of teeth screwed to the carrying wheel A, and b is a cog
wheel driven by the wheel a; c is a cog wheel fast on the hollow axis d, and
driven by the wheel b, or when the action of the rakes is to be reversed by tho
adjustable cog wheel c. F is the expanding rake, more minutely described
hereafter, made fast on the hollow axis d. The other half of the machine is
constructed in the same manner as that above described. As the carrying
wheel A revolves, the internal cog wheel a revolves with it, giving motion to
the cog wheel which drives the pinion c and the rake F.
of action of the machine, and to reverse that action the rake F, with its cog
wheel c must be shifted on the main axle B, rather more than the width of
the cog wheel c and the cog wheel c, which is made wide enough for the
purpose must be placed to gear into the cog wheels b and c; the red circles on
the elevation Fig. 7 show the cog wheels b, c, c.
This is one mode
One method of expanding and contracting the revolving frame so as to place
the rakes or brushes nearer to or further from the ground will be better under-
stood by reference to Figures 9 and 10, in conjunction with Figures 7 and 8.
Fig. 9 is a side elevation, and Fig. 10 is a section (both on an enlarged
scale) of the centre of one of the expanding frames. B is a part of the main
axle; d is a part of the hollow axis; g is the boss of the rake frame F; h, h, h,
are arms fixed in the boss 7, and attached to the ring i; k is a disc moving on
the hollow axis d, and having joint points for receiving the expanding arms
1,1,1; these expanding arms 1, 1, 1, are attached to the disek, and pass through
mortices or slots in the boss 7 and the ring i; m is a worm gearing into a
worm wheel cast on the face of the disc k; n is a plate attached to the boss g
and carrying the worm m; 0, 0, 0, are springs attached to the boss g, and
P

page_text: are carriages for receiving the rakes or brushes (as the case may be) and they
are jointed to the expanding arms 1, 1, 1.
It will be seen that as the disc & turns in one direction, the arms 1,1,1, will
project further from the centre of motion, and as the disc turns in the opposite
direction the arms will be drawn in. In order, therefore, to alter the diameter
of the expanding frame a suitable handle is applied to the worm m, which
being turned causes the disc & to turn also.
Figures 11 and 12 are clevations, and Figures 13 and 14 are partial plans,
of sweeping machines with an expanding brush. The red circles indicate the
pitch lines of the driving wheels.
Figure 15 is an elevation of a sweeping machine, with two-brushes revolving
in opposite directions.
At Figures 11 and 12, A is the back for receiving the sweepings, forming
also the frame of the machine. B is a swivel wheel in an adjusting carriage
for supporting and guiding the machine; C is a carrying wheel; a is a part of
axle, and D is a part of frame; b is a cog wheel attached to the carrying
wheel C and driving the cog wheel c; d is a cog wheel on the same axle as c,
and driving the cog wheel e, which is fast on the axle f of the expanding brush
E; 9, 9, are discs grooved or recessed to receive the expanding arms h, h, h.
These discs are fast on the hollow axle f; i is a scroll wheel turning on the
axle fand held by a set pin; ke is a shield in one piece, or two or more pieces,
moving on the joint 7, and regulated by a set pin m; and n is a hinged flap
in the box a.
When the machine is in motion the brush will revolve in the direction of the
arrow, and by its action, governed by the curved shield, the sweepings will be
carried round and thrown into the box from the upper side of the brush. The
shield being hinged, yields to any unfavorable obstruction. The diameter of the
brush may be increased or diminished by turning the scroll wheel i on its axle.
On Figure 15, A is the box for receiving the sweepings, and forming also
the frame of the machine; B is a carrying wheel; C is a pulley fast on the
same axle as B; D, D, are revolving brushes with a púlley on the axis of each.
A band is passed partly round the driving pulley C, once round the pulley on
the small brush, and partly round the pulley on the large brush, and as the
machine is set in motion the brushes revolve in the direction of the arrows,
and by their combined action the sweepings are delivered into the box A.
Suitable adjustments are provided for regulating the distance of the brushes
from cach other, and of both of them from the ground.
In conjunction with these brushes an apparatus may be applied and used
for sprinkling water before the brushes to lay the dust.

page_text: The brushes may be driven by suitable gearing instead of a band or by
a toothed chain working on suitable wheels, and the mode of carrying the
receiving box A may be otherwise varied.
-
Fig. 16 is an elevation, and Fig. 17 is a plan of a sweeping machine,
showing the brush driven in the same way as the cutting cylinder of an
ordinary mowing machine, and will be readily understood by inspecting the
Drawings.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in
Machinery for Cutting, Collecting, and Spreading Grass, and for Sweeping,"
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,―
First, the mounting in an independent frame, which I prefer to be cast in
one piece, the fixed blade and the cutting cylinder and means for adjusting the
same, so that the whole may bo readily affixed to or detached from the main
frame of a mowing machine, and thus admit of the employment of a duplicate
set of cutting parts.
Second, the mode of adjusting and retaining the cutting cylinder by means
of two set screws, a jointed link, and a carriage, as shewn at Fig. 2.
Third, the connecting the ground roll or the adjustable guide wheels to
suitable levers, so that the length of cut may be varied by the attendant while
the machine is in motion, and by which also the cutting parts may be raised
to facilitate the turning of the machine, or to avoid obstructions.
Fourth, supporting the cutting parts of mowing machines between the
carrying wheels from which the cutting cylinder derives its motion, and in
such a position that the axis of the cutting cylinder will lie in the same vertical
plane, or nearly so, as that of the carrying wheels, for the purpose above set
forth.
Fifth, the use of expanding revolving brushes or rakes mounted and
revolving on the same axis as tho carrying wheels, in the manner and for the
purpose above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Ferrabec, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Sixth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
JAMES FERRABEE. (L.S.)