IMPROVEMENTS IN HARVESTING MACHINES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN HARVESTING MACHINES."-A com-
munication from abroad by Lewis Miller, of Akron, Ohio, United
States of America.
Sealed the 9th April 1872, and dated the 15th February 1872.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition
and Declaration, on the 15th February 1872, pursuant to the 9th
Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN HARVESTING MACHINES," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto
me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent

page_text: thereon, so that the platform or grain table and the reel, cutting and
raking apparatus, and mechanism that operate them, may have a rising
and falling or yielding motion independent of the main frame. The
front of the platform can be raised, lowered, or held at any suitable
height by means of a lever G within reach of the driver in his seat H,
the said lever being furnished with an arc, chain, and teeth, in the well
known way. And the rear of the platform can be adjusted and held at
suitable height by means of a chain c, attached to the rear coupling
arm F, the links of which are caught and held in a slotted arm d,
attached to and projecting from the main frame. The platform being
suspended by flexible chains cannot drop below a certain line, but is free
to rise above that plane when any occasion should require it. A clutch
lever e projects through the platform, so that the driven parts may be
thrown out of or into action at pleasure.
A shaft which is rotated by means of a bevel gear wheel on the main
axle, working into a bevel pinion on said shaft f, and which shaft is
furnished with toggle joints as at g, and with a slip joint or connection
at h, extends from underneath the main frame to a point under the plat-
form or grain table D, about central with the said platform, where it is
supported and shielded; at its extreme outer end, or nearly so, it carries
a bevel pinion that gears into and turns a wheel j, supported on a journal
pin that is secured to a bridge plate underneath the platform, and pro-
jects up above the same sufficiently to receive the hub i of the said wheel
j, and to hold a nut on top of the said hub to keep the wheel in place.
To this wheel j, by means of an interposed shock, the rake arm J is
fastened so as to turn with the said wheel, and around a centre of
motion entirely on the platform and in the rear of the cutting apparatus:
To the forward or free end of the rake arm J is pivoted as at la fork or
rake K which is connected to the rake arm J by a coiled spring m that
extends past the pivotal connection, to keep the rake in proper position,
as will be herein-after explained. The rake K is composed of the teeth n,
shield or palm o, elbow lover p, and friction roll q in the rear end of
said lever. Around the wheel j in an irregular path or line is arranged
a cam way or guide r, against which the friction roll q in the rear
end of the lever p, runs and is held by the action of the spring m.
Towards the main frame side of the platform and just outside of the cam
way or guider is another piece or section of guide way 8, which is
intended to protect the rake from being thrown accidentally or by any

page_text: sudden jar against the main wheel B as it is passing. The cam way or
guider is arranged with much care, to give the rake in the course of its
transit around the platform several functional movements in the opera-
tion of the machine.
Over the rake arm J and the cam ways or guides r, s, is placed a table
L which may be fastened to the rake arm J by the screws t, t, so as to
revolve with said rake arm. The revolving table L is mainly circular,
one portion only, viz., that at u, being eccentric, and projecting beyond
a true circular line so as to form a recess for the palm and rear of the
rake to extend into, and be protected by. This revolving table L is
designed to protect the rake arm and cam ways from being clogged by
the falling grain, and the table itself revolves with the rake so as to
carry any straws that might otherwise tend to wind or clog the rake.
Where the outer end of the cutting apparatus meets or passes the
outer grain board M, there is arranged an angle board N, which inclines
backward and outward to prevent the grain from lodging on it as it is
cut and falls thereon. This angle board crowds the grain out of the
extreme corner or point of cutting, and holds it in a position to aid the
fork or rake in gathering it into the gavel, and thus clears the corner of
the platform.
The seat II is supported by a brace O, fastened and braced to the main
frame or main frame platform. To the top of the seat support O is
suspended a case P, within which there is a coiled spring u¹; the latter is
held in this case or cylinder, and as it completely or nearly so, fills the
same, it cannot buckle or get out of the line of weight that it has to
sustain, and may therefore be light and still endure the weight of the
driver. To the under part of the seat there is attached a screw rod w,
which passing in at the top of the cylinder or case P then screws into
and through a winged nut v, which rides on top of the coiled spring u',
and can go up and down with it, but cannot turn around in the case
inasmuch as its wings project into or through diametrical slots in the case
or cylinder, which latter is stationary. The seat can be raised or lowered
at pleasure, by turning it in one direction or the opposite one, and thus
be adjusted to suit the occupant without changing the elasticity of the
spring. Or the rider may swing around in the seat as he may elect in
overlooking the operation of the machine or the ground it is to pass over.
Or if it be desirable or preferable to prevent the scat from turning and

page_text: still let it rest and ride upon the coiled spring, it can be done by turning
the dog x so that its point or nose will take into the slot y, cut in the
screw rod or shank w, and in this position the seat will still rest upon
the spring, but it cannot be turned around without first moving the dog
r out of the slot y, but it can play up and down with or on the spring as
it'eate and menta
screw rod or shank w, and in this position the seat will still rest upon
the spring, but it cannot be turned around without first moving the dog
r out of the slot y, but it can play up and down with or on the spring as
It'acts and re acts.
The rake herein described though simple in its construction and
operation, accomplishes many desirable results, as I shall proceed to
state. It moves the grain first towards the grain side of the machine,
and then in a circular movement to the place of delivery, where it is
thrown off by an arrangement of mechanism placed entirely upon the
platform and in rear of the cutting apparatus. It carries with it a
revolving shield or table upon which the grain falls, and thereby
prevents all possibility of the grain becoming entangled with the gearing,
rake arm, or rake. In entering the grain to remove the gavel, the palm
or part o first moves the grain, and then the fork n comes into action
reaching forward and passing along the finger bar in a line parallel to
the said bar or nearly so, and when the gavel is delivered the points of
the fingers or forks n point backward, so as to leave or be withdrawn
from the gavel without disturbing it. This position and action of the
rake is shewn in dotted lines Figure 2. The spring m which is con-
nected to the rake and rake arm holds the lever p or its roller to the
cam way that regulates the outward thrust of the rake, so that the rake
is always moving with a defined positive motion. The sectional guide
way 8, where there is any liability of the rake being injured, is a
sufficient protection against such liability. That the rake or fork may
take all the grain from the platform there is a raised portion along in
rear of the cutters upon which the butts of the cut grain drop and rest,
and the rake or fork moving below and in rear of this raised portion,
takes all the grain lying upon the platform. What I have termed the
palmo also acts as a compressing board, and as the highest portion of
this board is in advance of the fork as it moves along the finger bar, it
prevents any part of the gavel from crowding up on to the arm or rake,
which would cause "trailing or dragging" and make imperfect gavels.
This compressing board follows and extends below the shield or revolving
table, and thus prevents any grain from gathering under the arm of the
rake as it moves around to take and deliver the gavel. When the fork
or rake enters the grain in the space between the driving wheel and the

page_text: falling grain, it does so with the fingers or tines of the fork or rake
pointing backward and toward the driving wheel, so as to prevent the
fork from crowding the grain forward as it enters to remove the gavel.
This position of the rake and its fingers preparatory to its sweeping off the
gavel, is shewn in dotted lines in Figure 2.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the
same, I wish it understood that I claim,-
In clearing the platform or grain table of a harvesting machine of the
cut grain, the moving of the grain first across the front of the platform
from the main frame side towards the outer or grain side thereof, and
thence back or around to the delivery point, substantially as described.
I also claim in combination with a rake arm that is moved around a
centre of motion on the platform, and in rear of the cutters and a cam
way around the said centre of motion, a rake or fork pivoted to the outer
end of the said arm, the said rake or fork having an elbow or bell-crank
lever with a friction roll to run against the cam way, to give the fork its
outward thrust, substantially as and for the purpose described.
I also claim in combination with a rake arm and fork, or rake moving
around a centre of motion on the platform and the fork or rake moved
on the said arm, a shield or table that revolves with the said arm and
rake, to protect them from being clogged by the grain, substantially as
described.
I also claim in combination with a revolving rake arm, rake, or fork
and shield, or table, the projection u on the said shield, behind and under
which the palm or compressing board o of the fork moves, so as to
prevent any grain from entangling on the rake or rake arm, substantially
as described.
I also claim such an arrangement of rake arm, pivoted fork, or rake
and cam way, that when the gavel is swept clear around to the point of
delivery, which is in rear of the platform and between its rear portion
and the rear of the main frame, the fingers or tines of the said fork or
rake shall point backward, and the continued motion of the said fork
shall slip or draw the fingers or tines out of the gavel without disturbing
its compactness, substantially as described.

page_text: I also claim in combination with a rake or fork that moves the grain
first toward the grain side of the machine or platform, and thence
around to the point of delivery at the rear, inside of the said platform,
the angle board N for moving the grain that falls there, and generally
clings or lodges there, into a position where the fingers or tines will take
it and carry it around and deliver it with the gavel, substantially as
described.
I also claim in combination with the support O, and case or cylinder P
attached thereto, and containing a coiled spring u' and winged nut o, the
seat H and its screw shank or rod w, passing into the said case and
through the said nut, so as to ride and be adjustable on the said spring,
substantially as described.
I also claim in combination with the seat and its screw shank or rod
and the nut and spring in the case a longitudinal slot or groove in the
said screw rod and the dog x on the case or cylinder so that the seat
may
ride upon the coiled spring without turning around with its rod or
shank, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of February, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
two
Witness,
EDWARD C. JACKSON.
W. ROBT. LAKE. (L.S.)