IMPROVEMENTS IN GIVING MOTION TO PLOUGHS AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Fowler, junior, of Havering, near Romford,
in the County of Essex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN GIVING
MOTION TO PLOUGHS AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS."
Sealed the 23rd June 1857, and dated the 1st January 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Fowler at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 1st January
1857.
I, JOHN FOWLER, junior, of Havering, near Romford, in the County of
Essex, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
GIVING MOTION TO PLOUGHS AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS," to be as
follows:-
Heretofore when ploughs and other agricultural implements have received
motion by means of ropes wound round capstans or drums, driven by steam or
otherwise, two of such capstans or drums have usually been mounted on the
same horizontal axis, or on axes parallel to each other, which arrangements
are in practice found to be inconvenient. Now, this Invention consists in
mounting such capstans or drums on separate axes placed at an angle to each
other.
My Invention also consists in moving the pulley anchors along the head-
lands, by the power of the engine acting through, the same rope as that which
draws the plough. These anchors are plates or discs of metal, which can be

page_text: drawn through the land with much greater facility in one direction than in the
other. The rope from the winding apparatus passes first over a stationary
pulley and then over the moveable pulley on the headland, from which it
passes at right angles to the plough; thus, when the strain is on the tackle
there is a tendency to draw the anchor of the moveable pulley towards the
fixed pulley. To overcome this tendency, the anchor of the moveable pulley
is secured to an additional or supplemental anchor, which prevents it from
moving while the plough is travelling; but when it is wished that this anchor
should be drawn along the beadland, it is only necessary to slacken the tackle
which secures it to its supplemental anchor, and then the strain on the rope
which draws the plough will cause it to move forward.
My Invention also consists in a method of supporting and carrying the rope
by which the plough is drawn, so as to prevent the rapid wear of the tackle,
which takes place when the rope lays on the land. For this purpose I
employ stationary posts or uprights, each of which carries a pulley mounted in
a bearing, which can slide up and down the post or upright. To this bearing
a cord is attached, and passes over a small roller at the top of the post or
upright to a weight. The rope which draws the plough passes over the pulley,
mounted as above described, and when the rope is slack the weight draws up
the pulley and raises the rope, and when the strain comes on the tackle the
weight is overcome and the rope descends nearer to the land. In order to
carry that portion of the rope which is between the two pulleys.on the head-
lands (where the apparatus above described cannot conveniently be used, as it
would have to be moved for each passage of the plough), I employ supports
attached to and travelling with the rope.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Fowler in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 1st July
1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
FOWLER, junior, of Havering, near Romford, in the County of Essex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Fowler, Her special licence that I, the said John Fowler, my

page_text: executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Fowler, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN GIVING MOTION
10 PLOUGHS AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said John Fowler, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and scals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be
filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Fowler, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:
1eretofore when ploughs and other agricultural implements have received
motion by means of ropes wound round capstans or drums, driven by steam or
otherwise, two of such capstans or drums have usually been mounted on the
same horizontal axis, or on axes parallel to each other, which arrangements
are in practice found to be inconvenient. Now, this. Invention consists in
mounting such capstans or drums on separate axes, placed at an angle to each
other.
My Invention also consists in moving the pulley anchors along the head-
lands by the power of the engine acting through the same rope as that which
draws the plough. These anchors are plates or discs of metal, which can be
drawn through the land with much greater facility in one direction than in
the other. The rope from the winding apparatus passes first over a stationary
pulley and then over the moveable pulley on the headland, from which it
passes at right angles to the plough; thus, when the strain is on the tackle
there is a tendency to draw the anchor of the moveable pulley towards the
fixed pulley. To overcome this tendency, the anchor of the moveable pulley
is secured to an additional or supplemental anchor, which prevents it from
moving while the plough is travelling; but when it is wished that this anchor
should be drawn along the headland, it is only necessary to slacken the tackle
which secures it to its supplemental anchor, and then the strain on the rope
which draws the plough will cause it to move forward.
My Invention also consists in a method of supporting and carrying the rope

page_text: by which the plough is drawn, so as to prevent the rapid wear of the tackle,
I
which takes place when the rope lays on the land. For this purpose.
employ the stationary posts or uprights, each of which carries a pulley
mounted in a bearing, which can slide up and down the post or upright. To
this bearing a cord is attached, and passes over a small roller at the top of the
post or upright to a weight. The rope which draws the plough passes over
the pulley, mounted as above described, and when the rope is slack the weight
draws up the pulley and raises the rope, and when the strain comes on the
tackle the weight is overcome, and the rope descends nearer to the land.
And in order that my said Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto
annexed.
The
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a plan of two capstans or drums, mounted on axes placed at an
angle to each other, according to my Invention. a, a, is a wooden frame,
carried by the road wheels b, b; and c and d are the two capstans or drums,
mounted on the axes e and f; the axis e also carries the pulley g, which is
driven by a belt or strap passing round the driving drum of a steam engine.
capstan c runs loose on the axis e, but it can be made fast to the axis by
the clutch / sliding longitudinally on the axis, which is made square for the
purpose. is a handle for moving the clutch h, and it also moves the bevilled
wheel into and out of gear with the bevilled wheel k. Thus it will be seen
that either one or other of the capstans c and d can be caused to wind up its
rope, and while one drum is winding the other drum will allow its rope to run
off freely. By placing the winding drums at an angle the one to the other a
smaller number of pulleys will be necessary in some arrangements of the
tackle for directing the ropes than is required when drums mounted on.hori-
zontal axes parallel to each other are employed.
Figure 2 shews the general arrangement of the tackle which I employ
when the power of the engine is to be applied to move forward the pulley
anchors by means of the rope which draws the plough. a is the winding
apparatus driven by the steam engine, and which is placed at the end of one
of the headlands; 6 is a fixed pulley opposite to it on the other headland;
c, c, are pulley anchors, which may be carriages mounted on disc wheels
cutting into the land, as is described in the Specification of former Patents.
granted to me; or they may be carriages mounted on coulters or plates, which
also in a similar way cut into the land, and so anchor the pulleys attached to
them. d is the plough or tilling instrument. The pulley anchors c, c, are

page_text: made fast during the time that the plough or tilling instrument is travelling to
the posts or fixed anchors e, e, by means of ropes having a series of loops or
eyes formed in them, which drop over hooks attached to the pulley anchors,
and when the plough or tilling instrument arrives at one of the anchors the
rope which connects it with the post or fixed anchor is detached, and the hook
on the pulley anchor is shifted to the next eye of the rope. The plough or
tilling instrument then returns to the other end of the land, and when tho
strain is brought on the tackle to draw it again to the first pulley anchor, this
will move forward as far as the rope allows, and then the ploughing or tilling
recommences.
I will now proceed to describe the standards which I use to support the
rope along its course from the winding apparatus to the moveable pulleys on
the headland.
Figure 3 is a side view, and Figure 4 is a front view, of one of such
standards. a, a, is a wooden pole, one end of which is driven into the
ground; is a metal slide, capable of working up and down on the pole a;
c is a pulley mounted on a stud axis d, carried by the slide ; e is a pulley at
the top of the pole a, over which passes the rope f, attached at one end to
the slide band at the other to the sand bag or weight g. It will be seen that
when the strain is on the rope it will press on the pulley c, so as to draw it
towards the lower end of the pole a; and on the contrary, when the rope is
slack the weight g will draw the pulley c towards the upper end of the pole a,
and so the rope will always be kept off the land.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Fowler, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
W. CARPMAEL, Jun.
JOHN FOWLER, Jr. (L.S.)