Improvements in Implements for Cultivating Land.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Nov., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 27th Aug., 1891-Accepted, 21st Nov., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Implements for Cultivating Land.
We, THOMAS CHURCHMAN DARBY of Pleshey Lodge, Chelmsford in the
County of Essex, and JOHN EVAN STEEVENSON of St. Nicholas Works, Kings
Lynn in the County of Norfolk, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
The object of this invention is to improve the construction of implements for
operating upon a considerable breadth of land at one time.
The row of forks or cultivating tools which are to act upon the width of land to
be acted upon at one time we carry by a frame at the rear end of an engine
similar to an ordinary agricultural engine as in digging machines heretofore
proposed.
The frame we make with side wings capable of being detached or turned up or
to one side or placed at the back, to allow of the machine travelling on narrow
roads.
The side wings we make capable of turning upwards on horizontal axes when the
machine is in action, in this way a machine can be made to dig, roll, drill scarify or
the like very uneven ground.
In place of the frame being in three sections it might be in two only each
capable of turning on a horizontal axis and of being detached or turned out of
the way.
The sections are supported on broad rollers in a line with one another. The
roller axles and the crank shaft on each section used for giving movement to
digging forks we place so that their central lines pass through the central line of
the horizontal hinge joints by which the outer sections are jointed to the central
one. The rollers and crank shaft of the central section have motion transmitted to
them from the engine and the rollers and crank shafts of the side wings are driven
from them through universal joints.
When three sections are used the rollers of the central section form the support
for the rear end of the engine used for driving the implement.
To equalize the weight of the machine upon all the rollers we use springs to
force the side wings downwards so reducing the weight on the rollers of the central
section and increasing the weight on the outermost rollers.
The frames of the two side wings may for this purpose have a coiled spring
extending across the space between them and thrusting against each frame at points
above the hinge joints which connect them to the central section. The spring may
be supported by a rod passed through it and the ends of the rod may be made to
extend through eye bolts jointed to the frames or balance weights may be used to
attain the same object.
When the side wings have to be turned upwards for travelling the spring may be
taken away and a rod with right and left handed screw threads substituted for it
and made to screw into nuts carried by the frames. The joints upon which the
frames are so turned upwards may be nearer to the central line of the implement
than those upon which they turn when in action.
The front of the engine is supported by rollers as well as the three sections and
together the rollers pass over the whole of the ground which the implement acts on.
By supporting the implement on broad rollers in this way the land will be pressed
on but lightly and with perfect uniformity.
In order to enable digging machines to be worked faster without throwing the
spits of earth violently backwards we give to the digging forks an improved motion.
Heretofore the digging forks have been jointed at their upper ends to a crank

page_text: on the crank shaft which drives them and have at a point intermediate of their
length been jointed to a link which at its other end has been jointed to the
frame, this link has been made to extend forwards from the stem of the fork to
the frame.
With this disposition of the parts the forks as they descend into the ground also
move backwards and when they have descended to their lowest point the backward
movement continues and even increases and the spits of earth in rear of the forks
being now entirely detached they are thrown backwards frequently a distance of
3 or 4 feet and uneven work is consequently produced, the distance to which the
spits are thrown being irregular.
We give motion to the forks in such a manner that in place of the backward
motion of the forks continuing or increasing after they have descended to their
lowest point, the speed of the backward movement is diminished and so that very
shortly after the forks have descended to their full depth they are made to rise in
an approximately vertical path so that the spits of earth are quickly turned over
and not thrown violently backwards or a plate in the rear of the forks might be
used to arrest the backward movement of earth.
We prefer to give this improved movement to the forks by setting the links to
which they are jointed to pass backwards to the frame instead of forwards as
heretofore.
In this way also the forks can be set to dig much nearer to the rollers than
heretofore.
In order to be able readily to lift the digging apparatus to regulate the depth of
working and automatically maintain uniform depth of working when passing over
uneven ground and also to lift the digging tools entirely off the ground when
turning at a headland or travelling past any obstacle we carry the digging tools
and their driving gear by a frame which can be turned around the axis of the
supporting rollers or other axis to or from which motion is transmitted to or from
the digging gear.
The upper end of the frame we attach to the rod of a piston which works in a
hydraulic cylinder fixed to the main frame.
By admitting water under pressure to one end of the cylinder the tools can be
raised or to the other end they can be lowered.
The admission of water to either end we control by a slide valve which can be
shifted by a lever.
To automatically maintain uniform depth of working we couple one arm of the
lever to an upright which is free to rise or fall and at the bottom has a foot upon
it which rests upon the ground just in front of the digging tools. As the rod rises
or falls it shifts the valve and so causes the digging implements to be raised or
lowered accordingly. To raise the implements when turning at a headland the
valve lever may be moved by hand. In place of using a hydraulic cylinder to lift
or lower the digging mechanism, the shifting of a valve by hand or by the rising
and falling of the rod might be caused to put into action other forms of engine to
effect the same object. For steering and locking the front wheels we also in some
cases use a steam or hydraulic cylinder.
In order to enable accurate digging to be performed we so arrange the digging
forks or tines and the rocking levers which control their movements that a straight
drive (including the travel of the machine) into the ground is given to the point of
the tine and the tine we make of such a curved form as compensates for the angular
and circular motion of the crank end of the fork head while digging so that during
the downward stroke the front of the tine may bear against the hard ground and
keep the machine from running and also enable digging to be done with much less
power than heretofore.
By a properly constructed mechanism the points of the tines do not commence to
descend until in a correct direction for digging enabling deeper digging to be done
with the same crank by starting earlier in the crank circle and doing away with
the necessity for springs and swivelling tine sockets.

page_text: With digging machines it is necessary that they should be capable of being
adapted to treat all kinds of soil and sometimes the ground will be so hard that
only a short spit can be dug with the power at command. Now if the digging
tines are left with the same action as for digging a long spit there will be such a
rake or backward movement as to absorb all the power at command making it
nearly as hard to dig a short spit as a long one. We overcome this difficulty by
holding the stem of each tine in a socket which is so inclined that when the tine
has made about half its downward stroke it lies in a direction approximately at
right angles to the inclined cut that is being made into the ground by the tine. In
this way the point of the tine can be brought nearer to or further from the fulcrum
of the arm that carries it and more or less in or out of line with the fulcrum and
crank pin centres by shifting the tine endwise in the socket and the amount of
backward rake can so be diminished or increased as required.
To keep the forks or tines square and prevent any twist coming upon the crank
pins which work them we make the arms or connecting links which control the
movements of the forks double so as to come one on either side of each fork
stem and we make them with long bearings-preferably we form them both in one
piece together with a long tubular spindle common to both of them.
In some cases we apply strong coulters to the rear end of the frame to resist the
upward and forward thrust of the forks and to hold the frame down. One way of
doing this is to alternate one coulter to one tine so that the tines drive the earth by
the coulters thereby pulverising the soil and by making the coulters adjustable just
so much resistance can be attained as will keep the machine from being unduly
pushed forward by the levering action of the forks and as the greater number of
the coulter points are laid bare and take a bite of the solid land just before the
tines enter a maximum of effect can be attained with a minimum of resistance-
each of these coulters may have an arm projecting from behind with studs or blades
projecting from them at the sides to pulverise the ground. In place of using fixed
coulters for breaking the clods of earth against the tines revolving coulters may be
used to effect the same object. In some cases we make the rollers as water rollers
so that they may be weighted for strong land and be emptied of water for travelling
and light land.
We also use a row of small harrow points or coulters in front of the rollers to
break the surface earth and enable the digging to be more perfectly done.
The coulters may be made to extend rearwards from vertical axes so that they
may swivel freely and allow of the machine being turned easily at the ends of a
field. Coulters may also be placed in front of and behind the digging forks as well
as between them as before described.
The coulters behind the forks may have mould boards in rear of them to leave
the land in ridges ready for potato or root planting or for standing through the
winter.
We also drive both the rollers and the crank shaft used for giving motion to the
forks from one shaft driven by change wheel gear from the crank shaft of the engine..
and we provide other change gear for transmitting motion from the shaft, to the
shaft used for giving motion to the diggers so that the speed at which the rollers
We also use
are driven may be varied without varying the speed of the forks.
worm and worm wheel gearing for driving the rollers.
In some machines we use engines with their connecting rods coupled up directly
on to the crank shaft of the digging forks thus doing away with any intermediate
gear whatever between the engine and the digging mechanism which will reduce
friction and there being no fly wheel a cushioning action will be given to the forks,
reducing sudden shocks and so greatly reducing the risk of breakages caused by
tree roots or large stones.
Dated this 22nd day of October 1890
T. C. DARBY.
J. E. STEEVENSON...

page_text: Improvements in Implements for Cultivating Land.
We THOMAS CHURCHMAN DARBY of Pleshey Lodge, Chelmsford in the County
of Essex, and JOHN EVAN STEEVENSON of St. Nicholas Works, Kings Lynn, in
the County of Norfolk, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of our invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The object of this invention is to improve the construction of implements for
operating upon a considerable breadth of land at one time.
The invention is represented in the accompanying drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a rear view and Figure 2 is a side view of a digging or cultivating
machine, some of the parts being omitted from each view for the purpose of obtaining
clearness in the drawings.
Figure 3 is a side view representing the digging apparatus and its driving
mechanism.
Figure 4 is a side view and Figure 5 is a rear view of the mechanism for auto-
matically lifting and lowering the digging frame and tools as the implement passes
over uneven ground and for enabling the same to be effected by hand.
The row of forks or cultivating tools 1, which are to act upon the width of land
to be acted upon at one time, we carry by a frame 2 at the rear end of an engine
similar to an ordinary agricultural engine, as in digging machines heretofore
proposed.
We make portions of the apparatus carried by the frame 2 detachable, as will be
hereinafter described, to allow of the machine travelling on narrow roads, and we
support the frame 2 upon broad rollers 3 extending in a line with each other, and
the front of the boiler 4 is also supported by a roller or rollers 4ª, so that together
the rollers 3 and 4ª pass over and rest upon, as nearly as possible, the whole of the
ground which the implement acts on.
By supporting the implement on broad rollers in this way,
on but lightly.
the land will be pressed
Coulters 5 and a hinged plate 6 in the rear of the forks, are used to arrest the
backward movement of earth.
In order to be able readily to lift the digging apparatus to regulate the depth of
working, and automatically maintain uniform depth of working when passing over
uneven ground, and also to lift the digging tools 1 entirely off the ground when
turning at a headland or travelling past any obstacle, we hinge the frame 2, carrying
the digging tools 1 and their driving gear, at 4, to the rear end of the boiler 4, so
that said frame can turn around the axis of the supporting rollers 3.
The upper end of the frame 2 we attach by pin joint 7 to the rod 8 of a piston,
which works in a hydraulic cylinder 9 fixed to the boiler 4.
By admitting water under pressure to one end of the cylinder 9 the tools can be
raised, or to the other end, they can be lowered.
The admission of water to either end of the cylinder 9 we control by a slide or
other valve, which can be shifted by a rod or lever 12.
We preferably use a hydraulic cylinder 9 on each side of the frame 2, but if
desired only one may be used.
To automatically maintain uniform depth of working, we employ uprights 11,
which are free to rise or fall, and at the bottom are provided with feet 11, which
rest upon the ground just in front of the digging tools. These uprights are attached
to levers 10" fulcrummed at 10° and connected to a horizontal bar 10, to which
latter is connected a lever 10%, which is jointed to the lower end of the rod 12. As
the uprights 11 rise or fall, they shift the valve 14 and so cause the digging imple-
ments to be raised or lowered accordingly. In the arrangement shown in the
drawings, the forward lever 10' is connected, at a point about coincident with the

page_text: hinge 4, to the vertical sliding rod 12, which latter is provided with a rack to gear
with the teeth on the segment lever 13 operating the hydraulic valve 14.
To raise the implements when turning at a headland, the valve lever 13 may be
moved by hand by simply lowering the rod 12 and fixing it in position by a split
pin 12. In place of using a hydraulic cylinder to lift or lower the digging
mechanism, the shifting of a valve by hand, or by the rising and falling of the
uprights 11, might be caused to put into action other forms of engine or apparatus
to effect the same object.
For steering and locking the front wheels, we also, in some cases, use a steam or
hydraulic cylinder 15. In the drawings a hydraulic steering cylinder 15 is used, and
it has connected to its ends, tubes 16, which are connected at their opposite ends to
a valve 17, the lever 18 of which is connected, by a link 19, to a treadle 20, which
is held in its central or normal position by springs 21, but which can be operated
by the attendant's foot from the tender.
In order to enable accurate digging to be performed, we so arrange the digging
forks or tines 1, and the rocking levers which control their movements, that a
straight drive, (including the travel of the machine), into the ground is given to
the point of the tine, and the tine we make of such a curved form as compensates
for the angular and circular motion of the crank end of the fork head while digging,
so that during the downward stroke, the front 1 of the tine may bear against the
hard ground and keep the machine from running, and also enable digging to be
done with much less power than heretofore.
By a properly constructed mechanism, the points of the tines do not commence
to descend until in a correct direction for digging, enabling deeper digging to be
done with the same crank by starting earlier in the crank circle, and doing away
with the necessity for springs and swivelling tine sockets.
With digging machines it is necessary that they should be capable of being
adapted to treat all kinds of soil, and sometimes the ground will be so hard that
only a short spit can be dug with the power at command. Now if the digging
tines 1 are left with the same action as for digging a long spit, there will be such a
rake or backward movement as to absorb all the power at command, making it
nearly as hard to dig a short spit as a long one. We overcome this difficulty by
holding the stem of each tine in a socket 1b, which is so inclined that when the tine
has made about half its downward stroke, it, the socket 1b, lies in a direction
approximately at right angles to the inclined cut that is being made into the ground
by the tine. In this way the point of the tine can be brought nearer to, or farther
from, the fulcrum 1d of the arm 1 that carries it, and more or less in or out of line
with the centre of the fulcrum 1d and the centre of the crank 22 by shifting the tine
so be diminished or
endwise in the socket, and the amount of backward rake can
increased as required.
To keep the forks or tines 1 square, and prevent any twist coming upon the
cranks 22 which work them, we make the arms or connecting links 23, which
control the movements of the forks 1, double, so as to come one on either side of
each fork stem or socket 1b, and we make them with long bearings; preferably we
form them both in one piece, together with a long tubular spindle 23ª, common to
both of them.
In some cases we apply strong coulters 5 to the rear end of the frame 2, to resist
the upward and forward thrust given by the forks 1 to the machine and to hold the
frame 2 down.
One way of doing this is to alternate one coulter 5 to one tine 1, so that
the tines 1, drive the earth by the coulters 5, thereby pulverizing the soil, and,
by making the coulters adjustable, just so much resistance can be attained as will
keep the machine from being unduly pushed forward by the levering action of the
forks 1, and as the greater number of the coulter points 5 are laid bare and take a
bite of the solid land just before the tines 1 enter, a maximum of effect can be
attained with a minimum of resistance. The coulters 5 are carried by heads or
sockets 5" at the end of arms 5b mounted on centres 5°, and the depth of the coulters

page_text: is regulated by an adjustable screwed rod 5ª and nuts 5º, the said rods being pin-
jointed to the frame 2 at 5'.
In place of using fixed coulters for breaking the clods of earth against the tines,
revolving coulters may be used to effect the same object.
The coulters behind the forks may have mould boards 58, (shown by dotted lines)
extending from the rear of them, to leave the land in ridges ready for potatoe or
root planting, or for standing through the winter, or for burying green crops, and,
if desired, small harrows 5 may be attached to the drill pipe 35ª, and by means of
chains 5', such harrows may be adjusted or raised entirely off the ground when
digging.
?
24 are the cylinders for driving the crank shaft 22*, and their connecting rods 25
are coupled up directly on to the crank shaft giving motion to the digging forks, 1,
thus doing away with any intermediate gear whatever between the cylinders 24
and the digging mechanism, which will reduce friction, and, there being no fly
wheel, a cushioning action will be given to the forks, 1, reducing sudden shocks
and so greatly reducing the risk of breakages caused by tree roots or large stones.
We also drive the rollers, 3, from the crank shaft, 22*, by means of a bevel
pinion, 22, on such shaft, which takes into a bevel wheel, 26, on one end of a cross
shaft 27, the other end of which is provided with a bevel pinion 28, which takes into
a bevel wheel, 29, formed on a box 30, enclosing differential gearing, by which
motion is given to the rollers, 3, on each side thereof. The bevel wheel 26 is loose
on its shaft, but it has fixed thereto a toothed pinion 31, and is capable of being
fixed to rotate with such shaft 27, by means of a pin passed transversely through
such wheels, 26, and 31 and through a toothed wheel, 32, fixed rigidly to the
shaft, 27. If desired however a slower speed can be given to the rollers, 3, by
interposing change wheels, 33, to communicate motion from the pinion, 31, to the
toothed wheel, 32, in which latter case the pin connecting the wheels, 26, 31 and 32
is removed.
By the above means the speed at which the rollers, 3, are driven may be varied
without varying the speed of the forks.
Figure 1 represents the machine arranged for working to its maximum width, but
when desired to narrow the machine, the outer cranks, 22, outer arms, 23, with their
tubular spindle 23ª, and outer fork stems or sockets 1, can be removed from their
various axles, and the outer rollers, 3, can be unbolted from their carrying discs or
flanges then, by pushing the axles, 34, of the tubular spindle, 23, through their
bearings until they meet in the middle of the machine, the latter is narrowed to the
width of the frame, 2.
35, is a seed and manure drill, which is carried by the coulter arms 5b, whose
worm wheels, 36, and worm, 37, are operated by a rotating shaft 38, which is
connected by universal joint to the worm and receives motion by means of the gear
wheel 39, which is driven from the gear wheel 32.
40, is the starting lever, 41, the reversing lever and apparatus, and, 42, are the
levers connected to the fire doors, 43, by which the latter can be opened and
closed.
•
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In implements for cultivating land, the connection of the frame, 2, carrying
the cultivating implements, by hinge joints 4b, to the rear of the engine 4, and the
connection of the upper part of said frame 2, by pin joint, 7, to the piston rod, 8, of
a hydraulic cylinder 9, so that by operating the hydraulic valve gear, the frame, 2,
may be caused to turn around the axle of the rollers, 3, and thereby adjust the
depth of work of the forks or lift them entirely off the ground, substantially as
herein shown and described.
2. In combination with the parts referred to in Claim 1, the uprights 11 resting
by their feet 11 on the ground and communicating motion to the hydraulic valve

page_text: gear for automatically lifting and lowering the digging tools, as the implement
passes over uneven ground, substantially as herein shown and described.
3. In implements for cultivating land, the coupling up of the engine piston
rods, 25, directly with the digger crank shaft, 22*, so as to obtain a direct action of
the engine upon the forks, substantially as herein shown and described and for the
purpose stated.
4. In implements for cultivating land, the combination with the digging forks, 1,
of coulters behind such forks, substantially as herein shown and described and for
the purpose stated.
5. In implements for cultivating land, the combination with the digging forks, 1,
and coulters, of a hinged plate, 6, behind the coulters so as to prevent the earth
from being thrown too far back when digging at a high speed, substantially as
herein shown and described.
6. In implements for cultivating land, the hydraulic cylinder, 15, connected with
the steering gear and actuated by a valve, 17, operated by a foot lever, 18, on
tender, substantially as herein shown and described.
7. In implements for cultivating land, an extended roller base resting upon
almost all the ground worked by the machine, substantially as herein shown and
described.
8. In implements for cultivating land, a fork socket to enable the fork tines to
be adjusted therein, combined with the peculiar arrangement of the fork head
lever, 1b, the axis, 34, of the connecting or radius links, 23, and the crank axis, 22*,
whereby the fork tines are caused to make a straight cut into the ground and then
quickly to rise out therefrom, substantially as herein shown and described.
Dated 1:
day of August 1901
T. C. DARBY.
J. E. STEEVENSON.
By Harris & Mills,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents.