Improvements in Mowing and Reaping Machines.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Feb., 1891-Accepted, 28th Mar., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Mowing and Reaping Machines.
I, GEORGE EDWARD ROWE, of Ilchester, in the County of Somerset, Farmer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying drawing, that is to say :-
My invention relates to mowing and reaping machines in which a knife bar
carrying blades or knives is made to reciprocate rapidly backward and forward by
means of a crank actuating a connecting rod jointed to an eye or heel upon the knife
bar. It has for its objects improvements in such mowing machines, by which the
height at which the cutting takes place can be adjusted by the driver from his seat.
whilst the machine is in motion; also by which the fingers against which the cutters
work can be firmly fixed to the finger plate and can be removed and replaced or
others substituted for them when desired also an improved detachable swath board,
by which the grass first cut is removed out of the way so that the machine can be
more readily used to cut the grass necessarily left on commencing a field.
The accompanying drawing is in illustration of my invention.
Figure 1 is a side view of a mowing machine, Figure 2 a plan of the same, and
Figure 3 a front view of the finger bar.
a is the main axle carrying the main supporting wheels b, b, and driving by means
of the toothed wheels c and beveled wheels d which are carried upon a balanced
frame e upon the axle a, a crank actuating a connecting rod g which drives the
knife bar backwards and forwards in the usual way. is the finger bar, and i the
fingers, against which the knife blades carried by the knife bar reciprocate back-
ward and forward.
A is a lever turning upon a centre D upon the frame which carries the finger
plate, the upper end of this lever A. being provided with a handle which can readily
be operated by the driver sitting upon the seat k, and is provided with a catch
working in the toothed segment 7 so that its position can be readily adjusted and
fixed by the driver. The outer end of the lever A carries the leading wheel B, in
the outer side of which is arranged the end of the guide m by which the grass is
directed to the knives. The finger plate is hinged to the suspended frame e at n
inside the main road wheel b, so that the width of the machine is thereby reduced, the
weight more evenly distributed, and the horses allowed to move closer to their
work. o is a pole provided with the usual attachments for the horses and p is the
usual lever operating the chain » by which the entire mowing apparatus is raised or
lowered.
E is an extra detachable swath board by which the grass first mown is moved
out of the way.
In mowing machines as ordinarily constructed and used, the knife bar reciprocates
in steel-lined grooves in separate pointed fingers having flanges which are fitted
upon and bolted to the finger plate, the separate flanges, or projections upon them,
abutting against each other so as to form a series extending along the plate, whilst
any one or more can be removed at any time for repair or to have fresh ones
substituted. In this method of arrangement, however, the separate fingers are very
likely to get loose and to be shifted from their proper position when in motion.
By my present invention I make upon the surface of the finger bar h a number of
grooves or recesses s at right angles to its front edge, and preferably somewhat
dovetailed in cross-section. Upon the face of the flange which is formed upon the
finger as described, I make one or more projecting ribs corresponding in cross
section with the grooves or recesses just described and fitting into the latter. Each
of the flanges is provided with one, two, or more, of such projecting ribs, as may be

page_text: found advisable, and these when driven into the corresponding grooves in the finger
plate, hold the finger perfectly firm: and immoveable, and it can be further fixed by
one or more bolts or set screws passing through it and through the plate.
Instead of fitting the grooves in the fingers with steel linings for the knife bar to
work in, which linings are liable to get loose, I prefer to make the entire pointed
finger of steel, and instead of making it more or less round or oval in cross section,
I make it cross-shaped in section, the edges of the cross being sharp so that they
tend to cut any grass or other obstruction which may accumulate upon them.
By this means the finger plate and fingers are stronger more durable, and more
efficient and easily removed and replaced, than has ordinarily heretofore been
the case.
When the mowing or reaping machine is in operation, the driver from his seat
can readily raise or lower the entire finger plate and knife bar by means of the
handle A, and can adjust them and fix them at any desired height without trouble,
and they can independently of this movement be entirely raised or lowered in the
usual way when required by the handle.
The additional removeable swath bar E by removing out of the way the grass
first cut, enables the usual method of shifting it by hand to be dispensed with, and
the method of hinging the finger plate inside the track of the adjacent road wheel/,
instead of outside as is ordinarily the case, in combination with the hinged frame e
balanced upon the axle of the main road wheels, enables the necessary adjustments
to be effected without throwing weight on the horses, and as the driving gear is
kept as close as possible to the outer road wheel b, a sufficiently long connecting
rod g can be used, by which the cutting bar and knives work more smoothly and
are more durable.
I do not confine myself to the precise method of arranging the lever A in
combination with the leading wheel B and the frame e, which may be varied more
or less according to the different conditions and purposes for which the machine is
to be used, but
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
a,
1. The combination of the frame e hinged to the main axle the leading wheel B,
the knife bar C, and the adjustable lever A, substantially as and for the purpose
set forth and shewn in the drawing.
2. The finger plate provided with dovetailed grooves or recesses into which the
fingers are fitted and fixed, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
3. The combination of the finger plate provided with dovetailed slots into which
the fingers are fitted and fixed, and the hinge n upon which the finger plate turns,
inside the track of the, adjacent road wheel b, substantially as set forth and shewn
in the drawing.
4. The combination with the finger plate hinged at n, inside the track of the
adjacent road wheel b, with the extra detachable swath board E, substantially as
and for the purpose set forth and shewn in the drawing.
Dated this 26th day of February 1891.
EDWARDS & Co.,
35, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.