Improvements in Mowing and Reaping Machines.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Mar., 1887.
Specification Accepted, 24th May. 1837.
COME LEID SITOTTICATION.
Improvements in Mowing and Reaping Machines.
We, SQUIRE S. TURNER, Farmer Mexico, County Mexico United States of America,
STERLING P. TURNER, Columbia Mexico County, Farmer, SQUIRE F. MASTIN JOHN
H. BURT, SAMEL M. TURNER, JOHN H. TURNER, Farmers, all of Mexico, Mexico
County, United States of America, 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:-
Our invention relates to the manner of combining the knife-supporting bar with
the shoes or inner shoe and divider of the cutting apparatus, whereby the endless-
platform carrier is adapted to travel around said bar with its forward edge close up to
the line of cut, and thereby to prevent dragging of the butts in the inward movement
of the grain, whereby, also, the rollers for the endless-chain cutters and for the plat-
form carrier are adapted to be connected to the same shaft.
It further relates to a novel construction of knife-supporting bar and knife-sections,
and to the arrangement of adjustable guards or covers in connection with the knife
and knife-supporting bar, as will be explained.
In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan view of so much of a platform-
frame and its attachments as is necessary to show my improvements. Fig. 2 represents
a transverse vertical section through the shoe, taken just in rear of the knife-sections
and looking toward the points thereof. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the
shoes with the knife-adjusting devices, the position of the knife-supporting bar being
indicated in dotted lines. Fig. 4 represents a vertical section through the knife-
sections and their supporting-bar; Fig. 5, a perspective view of one of the
knife-sections and one of the coupling hooks or links detached. Fig. 6 is a plan
view showing two of the knife-sections and their coupling-link; Fig. 7, a perspective
view; Fig. 8, a transverse vertical section through one of our improved knife-sections,
showing the joint between the cutter and link portions thereof; and Fig. 9 represents
a section through the knife-supporting bar and knife guards or covers,

page_text: A and A represent the shoes or divider and inner shoe of the cutting apparatus,
the latter being in practice connected with the main or truck frame of the machine in
any usual or preferred manner.
B is a knife-supporting bar, which may be attached at its ends to the shoes A
and A¹ for use in mowing, but which in reapers we prefer to support above the shoes
upon angle-irons a, secured to the shoes near their inner adjacent sides, in such a
manner as to provide for the passage of the endless-platform carrier around the bar B
and to leave room outside of the angle-irons and bar for the endless-knife rollers, as
shown.
In reaping-machines we prefer to arrange the supporting standard or uprights in
front of the knife, as indicated at A2, in such manner that the outer rollers, C and C³,
mounted upon or secured to shafts C³, journalled at their forward ends in or secured
to slotted standards D D', adjustably connected with the uprights A², may extend by
the ends of the bar b to form or receive the carrier-rollers. By this arrangement of
the standard A2 and roller-adjusting devices, in connection with the angle-irons a, we
are enabled not only to extend the rollers C and C to form the endless-platform-
carrier rollers, as shown but also to depress said rollers sufficiently to bring their
upper surfaces into the same plane with the line of cut. The carrier-rollers are by
preference slightly larger than the knife-rollers, to permit the carrier-apron to pass
freely around the bar B from end to end, and the construction described permits the
forward edge of said carrier to be brought up close to the heel ends of the knife-
sections and down close to the line of cut, thereby not only removing all obstructions
from the path of the forward edge of the carrier, but adapting the latter to readily
receive the falling grain. By placing the standards A2 in front of the knife and its
rollers, said standards are made also to protect the rollers and their actuating-gearing
from the falling grain.
Guiding-rollers E and E' are mounted upon stud-shafts rigidly secured to slotted
standards E, adjustably connected with the uprights A, and so arranged as to guide
and hold the cutters in their movement through the lower portion of their path up
snugly against those moving through the upper part of said path.
The knife-supporting bar B is shown in cross-section, Fig. 4. It consists of a
rectangular bar provided on its forward edge with a tongue, B, extending the whole
length of the bar, and beveled at its forward edge at 6 from both its upper and lower
sides to an edge, as shown.
The tongue B is grooved from end to end on both its upper and its lower face
at and b², to accommodate the links connecting the knife-sections and adapt the
latter in rear of their cutting-edges to rest snugly upon and move in contact with
said faces of the tongue, with their heel ends abutting snugly against shoulders 6³,
formed at the junction of the tongue B³ with the main portion or body B of the bar.
The knife-sections consists each of two parts-one the cutter proper, F, which in its
cutter portion resembles in shape those of an ordinary scalloped cutter, and a
rectangular open-link portion, F, which forms a part of a link of the endless chain.
The end bars, ff, of the link portion are rounded, as shown, and the rear longitudinal
bar,, which may be either round or rectangular in form at its junction with the end
bars, and, is notched or cut away at on its lower face, to permit the passage
over it of an open hook, g, on one end of a link, G, when the knife-section and said
link are held at an acute angle one with the other. By constructing the link portions
of the knife-sections and the coupling-links as described the knife-sections can be
readily removed from the endless chain for sharpening or renewal when required, and,
being thus easily separated, can be much more easily handled for grinding than when
they are permanently connected. The forward longitudinal bar, f³, of the link
portion of the knife-sections do not require to be cut away or notched, as the coupling-
hook or link can be always applied from the rear, and said forward bar, upon which
the cutter portion F is formed or to which it is applied, and upon which the principal
strain on the link falls, can thus be made of any width necessary to give the desired
strength to the link. In some instances, instead of coupling the knife-sections closely
together by the same double hook, as shown in Fig. 6, we find it desirable to interpose

page_text: a blank link or link-section, as shown at H, Figs. 1 and 2, about equal in length to
one of the knife-sections, but without the cutter portion thereof, and adapted to be
united to the coupling-hook in the same manner. The blade or cutter portion of the
knife-section, instead of extending directly forward from the bar 3 of the link
portion in the same plane with the latter, is connected with said bar by an inclined
or obliquely-arranged portion, F2, formed on the link portion and conforming to the
bevel on the forward edge of the tongue B', in such manner as to bring the faces
of the opposing cutters projecting forward of such edge and from opposite sides of the
tongue into close shearing relation as they move by each other in opposite directions.
The inclined portion 1, uniting the link and blade, rests upon the bevel of the
tongue, and serves to prevent the points or angles of the blades from catching one
another as they pass around the driving-rollers or sprocket-wheels. To insure this
action the side corners of the triangular blades may be cut off, as indicated at 5.
The blades and link portions may be formed together in one piece; but for economy
of manufacture and to facilitate repairs we prefer to make them separate-the link
portion with its inclined shank portion F of malleable cast-iron or other suitable
material, and the blades F of steel. The blades, in such construction, are provided
each with a rearwardly-projecting inclined tongue, i, of dovetail form, matching a
socket or groove, i, of corresponding form in the shank F2, and secured therein by
rivets at or other suitable fastening. This construction enables me to detach broken
blades or links and to substitute others for them.
J and J represent two sickle guards or covers secured to the bar B outside of the
knife or sickle, and extending one over and the other under the latter to the heel of
the cutting portions thereof: They are grooved at and to accommodate the chain-
links, and inclined in front of said grooves to conform to thevels of the tongue B',
and are provided at their ends with angular arms or tongues j³, which project
forward and are secured to the shoes A and A-one to the upper and one to the lower
face of the shoe, at each end-by means of set-screws or other suitable fastenings, as
shown. Suitable washers, k, are interposed between the ends of these arms and the
shoes, and when the parts become worn, by removing one or more of the washers and
tightening the set-screws or fastenings; the forward edges of the-guards or covers may
be drawn closer together, and so made to draw the oppositely-moving cutter sections
into close shearing relation to each other. These covers serve to protect the knives
and to prevent straw and other obstructing material from becoming caught by and
interfering with the action of the chain portion thereof.
Krepresents a tank, shown secured to the rear face of standard A2, but which in
practice may be supported at any suitable point on the machine, designed, when the
machine is in operation, to be filled with water, and provided with a pipe a k, having
a cock, ¹, for regulating the escape or flow of water from the tank, said pipe
conducting the water to and keeping the cutters moistened sufficiently to prevent the
gumming matter exuding from the grass or grain from adhering to the cutters. It
also serves to keep the cutters from heating. The pipe k may be made to convey the
water to any convenient portion of the endless-chain cutter for this purpose.
The grain-platform frame, aside from the features specifically described, may be
constructed and connected with the main or wheel frame in any usual or preferred
manner.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is:-
1. The endless-chain cutter and platform-carrier, in combination with the knife-
supporting bars secured to the shoes or inner shoe and divider by means of angle-
irons, for the purpose and substantially as described.
2. The knife-supporting bar, in combination with the endless-apron rollers, the
endless-platform carrier driven thereby and arranged in rear of the knife-supporting
bar, and the endless-chain cutter arranged in front of said bar and driven by said
rollers, substantially as described.

page_text: 3. The combination, with the endless-chain cutter, of the knife-supporting bar
provided with the forwardly projecting tongue having the beveled edges corresponding
to the inclined shanks of the cutters or knives, and grooves on its upper and lower
faces for the links of the chain to move in substantially as described.
4. The knife-supporting bar provided with the forwardly-projecting tongue, grooved
on its upper and lower faces, and having the double bevel at its forward edge,
substantially as described.
5. The combination, with the knife-supporting bar provided with the grooved and
bevel-edged tongue, of the endless-chain cutter, the knife portions of which are
connected with the chain-link portion by inclined dovetailed shanks, substantially as
described.
6. The combination, with the endless-chain cutter and its grooved supporting-
bar, of the grooved guards or covers made adjustable to take up wear, substantially as
described.
7. The combination, with the endless-chain cutter, of the supporting-bar having the
grooved and beveled tongue, and the grooved guards or covers made adjustable to
take up wear, substantially as described.
Dated this 23rd day of March 1887.
HORN & SON,
Agents
on behalf of the Applicants.