Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 1st May, 1896
Complete Specification Left, 27th Jan., 1897-Accepted, 27th Mar., 1897
I, AUGUSTA ANTONIA SNURE of Lakefield, in the County of Jackson, State of
Minnesota, U.S.A., Milliner, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
The appliance of this invention comprises a horizontal frame mounted upon
travelling wheels, a toothed driving wheel fixed on the wheel axle, a pinion
driven by the toothed wheel said pinion being fixed on a transverse shaft upon
which are carried two jaws so as to rotate with the shaft and also so pivotted
thereon that they may open from and close towards one another, this movement
being determined by a wedge piece fixed to the horizontal frame, the jaws closing
together and grasping the bean plant when turning towards the ground and
uprooting the plant whereupon the wedge piece ncts to open the jaws and release
the uprooted plant. The jaw parts are two in number each with a jaw at each end
80 that upon each revolution of the same two uprooting operations will take place.
The bean plants are guided to the jaws by guide rails or runners fixed to the
underside of the front part of the horizontal frame.
Dated this 1st day of May 1896.
THOMAS R. SHILLITO,
89 Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.
I, AUGUSTA ANTONIA SNURE of Lakefield in the County of Jackson, State of
Minnesota, U.S.A., Milliner, 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:-
In the accompanying drawing Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the bean harvester
of this invention. Fig. 2 an underneath view of the same. Fig. 3 a transverse
sectional view. Fig. 4 a perspective view of a detail.
1 is a supporting frame preferably constructed of flange or angle metal and
having journalled on it a transverse axle 2 carrying wheels 3 one of which is
provided with a spur wheel 4. The axle is placed a little abaft the middle of the
frame and the front portion of the latter is supported by a pair of runners 5
having their upper ends secured to the front end of the frame 1 and connected at
or near their rear ends with the frame by braces 6. 7 is a draught pole secured to
the front of the supporting frame. The runners 5 converge rearwardly slightly
and are adapted to direct the beans to a pair of rotating double wedge shaped
gripping levers 8 fulcrummed at their centres on a transverse shaft 9 carrying a
pinion 10 and receiving motion from the spur wheel 4.

page_text: Il are the triangular or wedge shaped jaws of the gripping levers 8 said jaws
being open at their inner faces and adapted to engage bean plants and uproot them,
the engaging parts of the jaws being provided with rubber or like strips 12 to
avoid bruising the beans.
As each pair of jaws 11 approaches the ground they move towards each other
and engage the plants, hy reason of those parts of the levers which are uppermost,
being forced outwards by a wedge 13 disposed vertically in the rear of shaft 9
and extending above and below the same. The wedge holds the jaws in contact or
engagement with the plants until they come in contact with the upper part of the
wedge thereby giving the levers a sufficient length of pull to uproot the beans.
The wedge may be supported in any suitable manner and is preferably provided
with a shank extending rearward to the back of the frame as shewn.
In order to prevent friction resulting from the contact of the gripping levers
with the wedge, the former are provided adjacent to the jaws with antifriction
rollers 15 mounted in the space between the sides of each lever and projecting
sufficiently from the levers to engage the wedge.
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. In a bean harvester, the combination of a supporting frame, a transverse
shaft, the similar rotating gripping levers fulcrummed on the transverse shaft and
provided at their ends with triangular jaws open at their inner sides, and a wedge
disposed vertically and arranged in rear of the transverse shaft and adapted to
separate one pair of jaws, whereby the other pair is caused to grip plants, sub-
stantially as described and shewn.
2. In a bean harvester, the combination of a supporting frame, carrying wheels,
a pair of runners arranged at the front end of the frame, a transverse shaft, gearing
connecting the shaft with one of the carrying wheels, the rotating gripping levers
centrally fulcrummed on the shaft and provided at their ends with triangular jaws
open at their inner faces, the vertical wedge arranged in rear of the shaft and
adapted to separate one pair of jaws, to cause the other pair to clamp plants, and
rollers mounted on the levers and arranged to engage the wedge, substantially as
described and shewn.
3. In a bean harvester, the combination of a frame, runners arranged at the
front of the frame, the double wedge shaped levers fulcrummed intermediate of
their ends on the same shaft and touching at one end and separated at the other
end and working in the space between the runners, the wedge arranged to separate
the levers and means for rotating the latter, substantially as described and shewn.
Dated this 27th day of January 1897.
THOMAS R. SHILLITO,
89 Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.