Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Oct., 1889-Accepted, 18th Jan., 1890
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and asce
tained in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to machines for digging and picking potatoes and other
roots.
Fig. 1 is a top view of my improved machine.
Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.
Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section of the same.
Figs. 4 and 5 are side and end views of the central lever and ratchet movement for
raising and lowering the machine.
Fig. 6 is a side view of the outside lever and ratchet movement for raising and
lowering the machine.
Fig. 7 is an elevation of the large end of the sifting cone showing the adjustable
shield.
and
Fig. 8 is an elevation of the large end of the sifting cone, showing the screw blades,
Fig. 9 is an elevation of the small end of the sifting cone.
Fig. 10 is a partial side elevation of the sifting cone, showing the side shield.
A is a bar iron frame provided with a cross bar A¹ bolted to the frame and
dividing it into the rectangular front portion for accomodating the wheels and
gearing and the rear portion carrying the sifting cage. A" are two longitudinal
intermediate stays extending from the front cross bar to the cross bar A¹, to both
of which their ends are bolted; these are arched upwards over the axle at all, to
allow the latter to rise above the frame level. The bars A¹¹ carry the stationary
gearing and the foot board. B is the main, axle, it is journalled in boxes b cast
on or attached to the levers B1 pivoted at their rear end to the inside of the side
bars of the frame A by bolts and carrying at their front end segments 611 to
the upper end of which the carrying chain is attached, the front edge of said
segments being hollowed or grooved to accomodate the chain. The chains C pass
under the friction pulleys which are pivoted to the frame A close to the front
edges of the segments but allowing room for the chains between the pulleys
and segments. The other end of each chain is secured to the rim of a chain
wheel CB are castings corresponding to the upper portion of the segments 61
and are secured on the outside of the frame A in line with the segments 611, so
as to form a lateral support to the latter. D is a shaft journalled in T brackets d
secured to the front end of the frame A and having the chain wheels " keyed
upon them. D is a ratchet wheel (figs. 1, 3, 4 & 5) secured to the shaft D by
a set-screw and in a position so that the lever connected with it is handy to the
driver when on the seat. D is a lever pivoted on the shaft D by an oblong eye
and having a dog secured to it which gears into the teeth of the ratchet wheel.
The oblong eye allows the lever to rise and the dog to glide over the reverse side
of the ratchet teeth. A detent is formed by a foot lever d pivoted to the foot-
board A and gearing into the ratchet wheel (figs. 4 and 5) and having a side
projection du at the gear end by which said dog may be depressed by the foot
and ungeared, while pressure on the tail end raises the gear end and brings it
into engagement. Dif (fig. 6) is another ratchet wheel similar to D¹ and similarly
secured, but placed near the end of the shaft. D is a lever with a dog d' similar
to the lever D¹¹ and dog pivoted to the shaft near the ratchet wheel D". A

page_text: lever d³, acting as detent and gearing with the ratchet wheel D1, is pivoted to
the outside of the frame A and is provided with lateral projection d which may
be used as a handle. The levers D' and ' are used only when the driver is
walking, the ratchet wheel D₁ being then loosened from the shaft D by loosening
the setscrew securing it thereto. E is the drivers seat secured to the footboard A
The frame A A¹ may he raised or lowered from the drivers seat by the levers D
and d¹, and when off the seat by the levers D d³, by winding or unwinding the
chains Cupon the wheels (".
F are the main wheels (figs. 1 and 2) which are journalled loose upon the axle Band
aro adjustable thereon in gauge to suit different widths of drills, by collars f secured
to the axle by setscrews and by ratchet wheels falso secured to the axle by set-
screws. The hubs of the main wheels F gear into the ratchet wheels f¹ by means of
a dog in the usual way. G is a sprocket-wheel journalled upon the axle and is
provided with lateral teeth g adapted to engage the teeth of a clutch. H is a disk
clutch provided with one or more lateral teeth adapted to engage the teeth of the
sprocket-wheel G. It is feathered upon the axle B so as to be movable thereon
longitudinally and its hub is provided with a circular groove adapted to engage a
shifting fork. His a spiral spring coiled upon the axle and retained by a collar H
and adapted to push the clutch HL into gear with the sprocket-wheel G. I is the
shifting fork engaging the hub of the clutch H by the groove, its opposite end being
held and guided between the two collars upon a rod or cross bolt l' secured to the
bars A parallel to the axle B and in rear thereof. [¹¹ (figs. 1 and 2) is a bracket
secured to one of the bars A" and bent over at the top at a right angle and provided
with a hub or bearing into which journalled a flat bar I having a suitable neck
and a handle 1 which may be turned so that the edge of the downward projecting
flat bar passes against the fork I against the pressure of the spring H¹, thus shifting
the fork and ungearing the clutch H from the sprocket-wheel G. The rod I' is
screwed at the ends and provided with nuts and acts also as a stay to the bars A¹¹.
Parallel to said rod and between it and the cross bar A¹ and journalled in boxes
secured to the bars A" is a shaft J carrying, keyed to it opposite the sprocket-
wheel G, a small sprocket-wheel G¹, by means of which and the pitch chain G motion
is given to the said shaft. The same shaft has a mitre wheel J' keyed upon it,
gearing into another mitre wheel J11 keyed upon the sifting cone shaft and giving
motion to the latter and the cone.
K is the shoe held on the curved bracket K' which is secured to the frame A
close to the front of the cone, and is further secured by a brace K" bolted to the
frame A.
The rear end of the frame A A³, is carried upon a castor L secured to the frame
bar L'.
pass.
M is the cone or cage shaft journalled upon the rear end of the frame A and in the
intermediate cross bar A¹ and carrying the mitre wheel J from which it receives
motion. N is the sifting cone or cage, consisting of open ends or rings to which the
shaft M is secured by bars or spiders, which said ends are connected by longitudinal
bars or wires n close enough together to prevent the potatoes or other roots to be
gathered from passing between them and sufficiently wide apart to allow the soil to
As its name implies it is made conical the front end being larger than the rear
end. The bars n are stayed centrally by a hoop n¹. The interior of this cone or cage
is fitted with two archimedean screw blades N' running continuously from end to end,
making a turn and a half, and with two additional short ones N₁ extending into the
cage only some 6 inches from the front end towards the rear. The front end of the
cage, (see fig. 7), is partially closed by an adjustable sector plate or shield O centered
upon the shaft M and held at the top by a bar O' having its upper end o riveted to
the upper corner and its lower end being slotted and adjustably secured to the cross
bar A by a setscrew o" passing through the slot o' into said cross bar. This plate or
shield serves the purpose of preventing the material at the front edge of the cage
from falling out. The rear end of the cage, (see fig. 9), is partially closed by a plate P
removably secured to the rear cross bar of the frame A, closing the lower portion of

page_text: the mouth of the cage. The rear ends of the screwblades N₁ are formed into
brackets by turning the ends at a right angle and making them wider so as to
form a discharge chute when raised over the cross bar of the frame A. The shield or
plate P is only used when the potatoes are to be gathered into receptacles placed
upon projections all provided at the rear of the frame. If not to be gathered the
shield P may be removed and a chute placed at the rear of the cage so as to throw
them all in a row. Q, fig. 10, is a side shield, consisting of a piece of sheet metal.
secured to the frame bar A at that side of the sifting cone towards which the
lowermost portion of the cone turns, being at the left of the driver. It is bent to
the curvature of the cone so as to prevent any earth which passes through the
side of the cone being thrown out sideways, said plate guiding the same towards
the centre, to prevent the covering up of the lifted potatoes or the unlifted
drills. .
The tongue T is secured to the front cross bar of the frame A by gussets or
in other convenient manner.
It has been pointed out in the above that the frame A may be raised or lowered
at will by drawing down or allowing to rise (by the weight of the frame) the
segments in which the axle is journalled by means of the levers D1 and D* d³,
the former to be used when the driver is on the seat and the latter when walking.
The cage or cone can be thrown in or out of motion by means of the crank handle i
which shifts the fork I and engages or disengages the clutch H from the sprocket-
wheel G. The shoe K lifts the potatoes and soil and throws all into the mouth of the
cage along which it travels between the screw blades and is sifted and the potatoes
are thrown out at the back.
Having now particularly described and' ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim. is:
1. A potato digger consisting of a bar iron frame carrying a platform, the gearing,
shoe and a sifting cage, and supported at the rear by a castor wheel and near the
front by wheels at an adjustable height, an axle journalled in levers having their rear
end pivoted near the rear of the front portion of the frame and within the same and
having their segmental fronts attached to chains secured to chain wheels upon a shaft
carrying ratchet wheels held by detents and operated by hand levers, wheels journalled
upon the axle and operated by ratchet connections and adapted for lateral adjustment,
a sprocket-wheel journalled upon the axle, a clutch feathered upon the axle and pressed
into gear by a spring and controlled by a shifting fork controlled by an operating
device, a shaft parallel to the axle and in the rear thereof carrying a smaller sprocket-
wheel and geared to the other sprocket-wheel by a pitch chain, said shaft carrying a
mitre wheel, the conical sifting cage composed of ends connected by longitudinal
wires or bars and having a shaft journalled longitudinally upon the rear portion of the
main frame and carrying a mitre wheel gearing in the mitre wheel upon the rear
cross shaft, said cage having internal archimedean screw blades and provided with
shields at the front rear and on one side, and a shoe K carried on a bracket K¹
secured to the frame in front of the cage, substantially as set forth.
2. In a potato digger, the combination of the bar frame A A' A", the longitudinal
bars A" being arched over the axle to allow the axle to rise above the level of the
frame, and carrying a platform A, the axle B journalled in the levers B', the levers B
having segmental front ends 6" and having their rear ends pivoted at the rear of the
front portion of the frame and to the inside thereof and the upper end of each of the
segments having the end of a chain secured thereto, the platform A secured upon
the bars A, a shaft D journalled upon the front of the frame A, chain wheels C
secured to said shaft, chains each having one end secured to one of the chain
wheels C and the other to the segments and passing over a friction pulley C¹,
ratchet wheel D¹ secured upon the shaft D by setscrew and having detent d' gearing
into it, lever D pivoted upon the shaft by an oblong eye and having a dog d
adapted to engage the teeth of the ratchet wheel, substantially as set forth.

page_text: 3. In a potato digger, the combination with the frame A A¹ A" and foot board A¹¹¹
the shaft D journalled thereon, chain wheels C keyed to said shaft, ratchet wheel D"
⚫ secured upon one end of said shaft by setscrew, a lever D* pivoted to said shaft by an
oblong eye and having a dog d' adapted to engage the teeth of said ratchet wheel, a
detent pivoted to said frame A and engaging the teeth of said ratchet wheel and
having a handle do, substantially as set forth.
4. In a potato digger, the combination of the frame A A¹ A", the lovers B¹ and
axle B, the wheels F journalled upon said shaft and connected therewith by a ratchet
movement, the sprocket wheel G journalled upon said axle and provided with lateral
teeth adapted to be engaged by a clutch, the clutch H feathered to said axle and
adapted to engage said sprocket-wheel and controlled by a shifting fork, the spring H¹
held by a collar on said axle and adapted to push the clutch H into gear, the shifting
fork 1 engaging said clutch H and held at one end upon a rod, the rod or bolt I'
holding one end of said fork and secured to the bars A" parallel to the axle B, the
bracket I secured to one of the bars A" and having a hub or bearing i", the flat
bar journalled in said bracket and provided with handle and adapted to bear
with one edge on the shifting fork I and press the same so as to push the clutch H out
of gear, substantially as set forth.
5. In a potato digger, the combination of the frame A A¹ A" and levers B¹ the
axle B carrying the sprocket-wheel G, the shaft J journalled to the bars A" parallel
to the axle B, a small sprocket-wheel G₁ keyed upon said shaft and geared to the
sprocket-wheel G by a pitch chain G", the cage shaft M journalled upon the rear part
of the frame and connected by mitre gear to the shaft J, the mitre gear J J upon
the shafts J and M, substantially as set forth.
6. In a potato digger, the combination of the frame A A¹, the bracket K¹ braced
by a brace K and carrying the shoe K and the shoe K secured to said bracket,
substantially as set forth.
7. In a potato digger the combination of the frame A A' A", the conical sifting
cage N having open ends mounted upon a shaft M journalled upon said frame and
connected by gearing, said ends connected by longitudinal bars or wires n and
held by a hoop n¹ and said cage provided with internal archimedean screw
blades N N and with an adjustable front shield O, and side shield Q, substantially
as set forth.
8. In the sifting cage of a potato digger the combination of the central shaft M,
the open ends N connected by longitudinal bars or wires n held by a hoop n¹, said
ends varying in diameter being large in front and small at the rear so as to give a
conical shape, the archimedean screw blades N' extending through the cage and the
short screw blades N, the front shield O held adjustably to the cross bar of the frame
by a slotted bar O¹ pivoted to suid plate, and the side shield Q secured to the frame,
substantially as set forth.
Dated this 29th day of January A.D. 1889.
HERBERT HORNER.
Per A. Harvey,
His Attorney.