IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR MOWING AND REAPING
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Washington Charlwood, of 14, Tavistock
Row, Covent Garden, London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINES FOR MOWING AND REAPING."-A communication.
Sealed the 11th December 1857, and dated the 18th June 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Washington
Charlwood at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 18th June 1857.
I, GEORGE WASHINGTON CHARLWOOD, of 14, Tavistock Row, Covent Garden,
London, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINES FOR MOWING AND REAPING," to be as follows:-
In my improved mower and reaper, the framework of the machine and gear
operating the cutters are balancing on the driving wheel as on a centre of
oscilation, whereby the weight of the arm and cutters thereon are counter-
balanced. The tongue or pole by which the machine is drawn is so placed
between the driving wheel and cutter arm or beam as to constitute it a center
draft, and by the application of an adjustable secondary wheel on the side of.
the framing opposite to that of the cutter arm, the tendency found in other
harvesters to sway or swing round against the shoulder of the horse is thus
overcome. By the use of a spring and swing axle carrying the above wheel.
any desired approach of the outer end of the cutter beam to the earth may be.
given, and the tendency of the beam to rise overcome, while it is readily.
:

page_text: accomodated to any irregularities of the surface. This is an important con-
sideration in mowing grass which has to be cut at the foot of the stalk or
stem. The teeth and cutters are of an improved construction, and admit of the
balancing of the cutter blades on an angular bar, by the weight of the slide
bar to which they are attached. The edges are kept in close contact with
stationary shear-shaped blades, and the cutting wet or lodged grass is effected,
while, by the rasp-like or roughened portion of the cutter blades, the soft grass
usually collecting under the front of those blades, and thus clogging the fingers
of the harvester, is rubbed or rasped out from the slot, and choking is
effectually prevented. At the same time the dish-form of the blades affords a
receptacle for admitting oil to the cutter bar and angle bar on which the
blades slide.
Another improvement consists in the construction and form of the finger
wherein the general curve bends the point lower than in other machines, and
causes it to enter freely under lodged or fallen grass instead of sliding over it,
while by constructing the finger constituting the guard of malleable iron, and
the angular edged blade or cutter of cast steel, which' can be replaced or
sharpened when necessary, an efficient and cheap cutter may be produced.
Motion is communicated to the slide bar and cutters from the driving wheel or
master wheel, and its pinion through shafts, bevil gear, and cam. The driving
wheel has cogs on the inner face of the rim, thus producing a large master
wheel, and admitting of large sized cogs and pinion for getting up the requisite
speed, and securing against accident consequent to a small master wheel and
pinion; the gearing is so arranged that it can be disconnected by means of a
lever if the motion of the cutters is to be arrested. The driver's seat is placed
over the driving wheel, and he is thereby enabled by a slight change, of
position to raise or depress the cutter beam, and thus to pass from field to
field with great facility and safety to the cutters. When the machine is used
for cutting grain, a platform for receiving the cut grain is attached to it, and
the cutter beam is raised, as a long stubble is of no consequence. The racker's
seat faces the standing grain, and the platform is fitted with one or more
guides, by which the grain is received, and in which the points, of an ordinary
grain fork used by the racker may be introduced, and the grain passed off the
side of the platform. When the machine is used for mowing, a small wheel
furnished with ribs resting on a slightly slanting bearing is placed at the outer
end at the rear of the cutter beam; this wheel touches the earth with its
inner edge, and when revolving it throws off the grass and forms, a parting
line between the cut and the standing grass.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Washington Charlwood in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 18th December 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
WASHINGTON CHARLWOOD, of 14, Tavistock Row, Covent Garden, London,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing. date the Eighteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said George Washington Charlwood, Her special licence that I, the said
George Washington Charlwood, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said George Washington Charlwood, 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 MACHINES FOR MOWING AND REAPING;"
(a communication from a foreigner' residing abroad,) upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said George Washington Charlwood, 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 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 George Washington Charlwood, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement (that is to say) :-
These improvements relate, firstly, to the peculiar disposition of the tongue
or pole by which the machine is drawn, and to the application of an auxiliary
wheel on a spring axle, by which arrangement the machine is prevented from
swaying or swinging about, and pressing against the shoulder of the horse, as is
the case in other harvesters; the distance between the outer end of the cutter
beam and the ground can be adjusted at pleasure, and the tendency of the
beam to rise can be overcome, while it readily accomodates itself to any
irregularities of the surface.

page_text: Secondly, to an improved construction, form, and arrangement of the move-
able cutters, and of the stationary fingers or guards, which admit of the
moveable cutter being kept in close contact with the shear edge of the finger
or guard, whereby the cutting of wet or lodged grass can be readily effected,
the clogging of the cutting apparatus is prevented, and facilities afforded for
oiling the same.
Thirdly, to a peculiar arrangement for disconnecting the gearing by means
of a lever when the motion of the cutters is to be discontinued.
Fourthly, to the peculiar disposition of the driver's seat, by which the
driver is enabled, by a slight change of position, to raise or depress the cutter
beam, and thus to pass from field to field with great facility and safety to the
cutters.
Fifthly, with regard to the machine, when used for mowing, to, a small
wheel furnished with ribs, resting on a slightly slanting bearing, and placed at
the outer end at the rear of the cutter beam, which wheel touches the ground
with its inner edge, and when revolving throws off the grass and forms a
parting line between the cut and the standing grass; or, in the place of such a
wheel, to a board placed in a slanting position at the outer end of the rear of
the cutter beam.
In order that this Invention may be more easily understood and readily
carried into effect, I will now proceed to describe the same, reference being
had to the annexed Sheet of Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon; but, first, I wish to observe, that whether the machine be used for
mowing grass or for cutting grain, the main features of it, that is, the driving
and cutting apparatus, remain the same, and that so far, therefore, one
description serves for both.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation, Fig. 2 a ground plan, and Fig. 3 an end view,
of a machine, to which these improvements are applied. The frame A of the
machine to which the horse is harnessed, and to which the working parts are
attached, is supported in the first place upon a broad wheel 1, which, to
prevent its slipping, is armed on its external circumference at regular intervals
with a number of ribs 1, whilst it constitutes at the same time an internal
spur wheel 1. Into this internal spur wheel gears the pinion 2 upon the
shaft 3, at the other end of which shaft is also mounted the bevil wheel 4, the
latter gearing into the pinion 5 (see Figs. 2 & 3) upon the shaft 6. Upon the
opposite end of the shaft 6 the disc 7. (see Figs. 1 & 2) is keyed, into which
the excentric pin 7 is fixed, and upon which one end of the connecting rod 8
hinges, whilst the other end of it hinges upon a pin attached to the cutter
bar 9 (see Fig. 2). To this bar the cutters or blades 10 (shown full size in

page_text: Figs. 4 & 5) are rivetted or screwed, and they project to some extent over
the bar 9 at their base (see Figs. 6 & 7), and are supported on either side
of it by a pair of rails a, a, formed by the junction of the flanges or ribs 11";
which are cast to the fingers or guards 11 (shown full size in Figs. 6, 7,
& 8.) The number of these fingers or guards corresponds with the number
of the blades or cutters 10, and they are attached to the finger-board
12 by the flanges 11° and bolts, the finger-board 12 being in its turn fixed
to the frame shoe 13, whereby the cutting apparatus is connected with
the frame A. To the frame A are also fixed the bearings of the shaft of the
driving wheel 1, those belonging to the shafts 3 & 6 the pole guide 14 and
the raised driver's seat 16, and it derives additional support from an auxiliary
wheel 17, which is placed upon an elastic or spring axle 18. The pole guide
14 is placed in such a position between the driving wheel 1 and the cutter
beam, that the pole 15, by which the machine is drawn, passes, when the
machine is in motion and at work, through the centre of effort; in con-
sequence of which, and owing also to the action of the auxiliary wheel 17, the
tendency which is found to prevail in other harvesters to swing round against
the shoulder of the horse is counteracted. The object of the auxiliary wheel
17 and its spring axle 18 is further to allow the cutter beam to accomodate
itself readily to any inequality of the surface, and to check its tendency to
rise; and it will be perceived, that the driver can, by a slight change of
position on his elevated seat 16, which occupies the whole width of the frame
A, either raise or depress the cutter beam, and thus pass from field to field
with great facility and safety to the cutters.
When the machine is used for mowing grass, a small wheel furnished with
ribs, and resting on a slightly slanting bearing, may be placed at the outer end
and rear of the cutter beam. It touches the ground with its inner edge, and
when revolving throws off the grass and forms a parting line between the
cut and the standing grass; or, instead of this wheel, a track-board 19,
furnished with a handle 19, may be hinged to that part of the outside shoe!
20 which projects beyond the outer end of the finger-board. The cutters 10,'
owing to their peculiar shape, to the manner in which they are fixed to the
bar 9, and to the mode in which the bar 9 is guided between, and the cutters
10 supported on the rails 11° (see Figs. 6 & 7), are so balanced, that the edge
of the cutter 10 is kept in close contact with the shear edge X, X; of the
finger or guard 11 and as the upper face of the cutter is raised and
roughened. similarly to a rasp, the soft grass which usually collects upon it,
and is apt to clog the sheath or space between the edge X, X, and the pro-
tecting blade 11, through which the cutter passes and repasses whilst the

page_text: .
machine is in operation, is continually being removed. As the finger or guard
11 is, moreover, to some extent recessed at 6 (see Figs. 6 & 7), it forms a
receptacle for the oil which is intended to grease the rails a, a, upon which the
cutters 10 slide. The curve and general form of the fingers or guards 11 is
such that their points bend lower than those of other machines of a similar
kind, in consequence of which they enter freely under lodged or fallen grass
instead of sliding over it. The fingers or guards 11 are made of malleable
iron and the blades or cutters 10 of cast steel, so that they can be sharpened
when necessary, or separately replaced by new ones, and thus a cheap and
efficient cutting apparatus is produced.
For the purpose of admitting of the cutter motion being disengaged when
not required, sufficient space is left between the bevil wheel 4 and that side of
the frame A, and the journal of the shaft 3 is left long enough to admit of the
bevil wheel 4 being drawn out of gear with the pinion 5, by means of the cap
21, which is fixed to the lever 21, partly embracing the disc 22, which is
keyed upon the shaft 3. When the cutting apparatus is required to be in
operation, the lever 21 (see Fig. 3) is pressed into the notch or recess c in the
bracket 23 by the spring 23b; but when the cutting apparatus is required to
be thrown out of gear, the lever 21 is pressed downwards, and after being thus
liberated moved sideways into the notch d.
.
When the machine is used for cutting grain, the cutter bar, finger-board,
and frame-shoe are placed in front instead of behind, the position of the
gearing being of course reversed to suit this arrangement. A platform is
attached to the machine, upon which the cut grain is thrust by a kind of reel,
which is driven from a pulley on that side of the driving wheel which is
nearest to the cutter bar. The spring axle 18 and wheel 17 are omitted, and
instead of them a wheel is mounted on a framing connected with the outer
frame shoe, which, as well as the inner one, is of a somewhat different shape,
to suit the particular disposition of the apparatus. A foot-board and small
seat, facing the standing grain, are attached to the frame connected with the
outer frame shoe for the accomodation of the raker, and the platform is fitted
with one or more guides, by which the grain is received, and in which the
points of an ordinary grain fork, used by the raker, may be introduced, and
the grain passed off the side of the platform. The change of position of the
cutter bar and the removal of the spring wheel are, however, not matters of
absolute necessity, as the machine with certain modifications may be used for
cutting grain with those parts left in the positions in which they are shown in
the Drawing.
Having now described the nature of the said improvements, and the

page_text: manner in which the same are or may be carried into effect, I wish it to be
understood that what I claim as the Invention intended to be secured to me
by the above in part recited Letters Patent is,-
Firstly, the placing the pole or tongue (marked 15 in the annexed Sheet of
Drawings) by which the machine is drawn in such a position that when the
machine is at work the pole passes through the centre of effort, in the manner
and for the purposes herein-before described.
Secondly, the application of the auxiliary wheel, marked 17 in the annexed
Sheet of Drawings, placed upon an oscillating and elastic axle, marked 18 in
the annexed Sheet of Drawings, in the manner and for the purposes herein-
before described.
Thirdly, the peculiar construction of the cutter blades, marked 10 in the
annexed Sheet of Drawings, and shown in detail in Figs. 4 & 5.
Fourthly, the peculiar form and construction of the finger or guard, marked
11 in the annexed Sheet of Drawings, and shown in detail in Figs. 6, 7, & 8.
Fifthly, the peculiar method of guiding and balancing the cutter blades in
combination with the finger or guard, as represented in detail in Figs. 6, 7,
& 8 of the annexed Sheet of Drawings.
Sixthly, the peculiar disposition of the driver's seat (marked 16 in the
annexed Sheet of Drawings), which extends over the whole width of the frame,
and the object of which disposition has been herein-before explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Washington Charlwood, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of December, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
GEORGE W. CHARLWOOD. (L.S.)