IMPROVEMENTS IN CUTTING HAY, STRAW, AND OTHER VEGETABLE MATTERS FOR THE FOOD OF ANIMALS
Year: 1842

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
GARDNER, of Banbury, in the County of Oxford, Ironmonger, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-seventh day of October, in the sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said James Gardner, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Thomas Gardner, my exors, adiñors, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said James Gardner, my exors, admors, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at
all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town
of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CUTTING HAY,
STRAW, AND OTHER VEGETABLE MATTERS FOR THE FOOD OF ANIMALS;" in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said James Gardner, shall
cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that, in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
James Gardner, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described

page_text: and ascertained in and by the following statement thereot, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say:-
My Invention consists,-
First, in constructing Machinery for Cutting Hay, Straw, and other
Vegetable Matters for the Food of Animals with a mouth-piece divided into
two parts, in order that the cut may be made near the axis of motion. of the
knife or knives.
And, secondly, my Invention consists of applying the axis of the knives of
chaff-cutting machines in such manner that the knife or knives on such axis
will make a cut at opposite sides of the axis in each revolution, and consi-
derable advantage will be obtained by this arrangement. And in order that
my Invention may be fully understood and readily carried into effect, I will
proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed, in the various Figures
of which the same letters are used to indicate the same parts wherever they
occur.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 represents a front view of a chaff-cutting machine made according
to the first and second parts of my Invention (part of the axis of the knives
and part of the framing being removed that the other parts may be more
readily understood). Figure 2 is a side section of the machine; Figure 3 is a
plan of the machine; Figure 4 shows a front view of a double or divided
mouth-piece separately; Figure 5 shows a plan of a double or divided mouth-
piece with part of the knife axis; Figure 6 shows a side view of the mouth-
piece with the side plates with the bearings for the axes or necks of the rollers;
Figure 7 shows a side view of the mouth-piece separately; and Figure 8
shows a front view of the feed rollers, showing how motion is communicated to
the axes of the feed rollers by means of a worm on the knife axis taking into
worm wheels affixed on the axes of the rollers. a, a, is, the framing of the
machine; b is the trough in which the hay, straw, and other vegetable matters
to be cut is placed. This trough is divided into two compartments by the par-
tition. c, the two compartments communicating with the two mouth-pieces,
there being a space between the mouth-pieces, to receive the knife axis d, as is
shown. On the axis d is affixed the worm or screw e, which takes into and drives
the worm wheels f, f, on the axes of the feed rollers g, g, there being four rollers
g, g, two for each mouth-piece; and by changing the worm e for another more
or less oblique the length cut off may be varied, the teeth of the worm wheels
being found suitable for working different worms, as is well understood. The

page_text: axis & turns in bearings at d', d. i is the crank handle, by which motion is
communicated to the axis d, and consequently to the various parts of the
machine. j,j, are arms carrying knives, which are affixed to the axis d, and
it will be seen that each knife in its revolution will make two cuts, one off the
materials fed through one mouth-piece, and the other cut off the materials fed
through the other mouth-piece.
And I would remark, that although three knives are shown, one or more
may be used. k; k; are the two mouth-pieces through which the matters
are to be cut are fed by means of the rollers g, g. I would here remark,
that although I have been particular in shewing and describing the various
details of a machine made according to both my improvements, yet I do
not confine myself thereto, as the parts may be varied, so long as either
of the two peculiarities of construction be varied,-first, the having a
divided or double mouth-piece; and, secondly, in applying the axis of the
knives in such manner that each knife may make a cut at opposite sides of
its axis of motion. Although I prefer, in carrying out the first part of my
Invention, to use only one axis with a knife or knives, as above described, yet
I do not confine myself thereto, as the advantages derived from using two
mouth-pieces and cutting near the axis of motion of the knives may be
retained by employing two axes, each with a knife or with knives. And
this arrangement will be understood by a description of the parts of a chaff-
cutting machine, shewn in Figures 9, 10, and 11, in.which the same letters
of reference are used to indicate the same parts as those already described.
Figure 9 is a plan of all the parts except the trough and the wood framing,
shewn in the previously described Figures of the Drawings. k, k, is the
divided or double mouth-pieces through which the vegetable matters to be cut
are fed by the feed rollers. d is the main axis, turning in bearings as before
explained, and it has the worm or screw affixed to it for giving motion to the
feed rollers; but in place of the knives being affixed on the main or driving
axis d, that axis, by a cog wheel affixed thereon, gives motion to two other
axes d', d, by means of cog wheels fixed on their axes, and the knives
are affixed to arms carried by the axes d², d, all which will readily be
understood by examining the Figures of the Drawing now under description.
Figure 10 is a front view of the double or divided mouth-piece separately,
with bearings for the ends of the axes d². Figure 11 shews a front view
of the feed rollers, and the means of communicating motion thereto, which are
similar to those shewn at Figure 8.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the best means I
am acquainted with for performing the same, I would wish it to be understood