IMPROVEMENTS IN MOWING AND REAPING MACHINES
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical
Draughtsman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MOWING AND
REAPING MACHINES."-A communication from abroad by James
Green, of Boston, in the State of Massachusetts, United States of
America.
Sealed the 22nd December 1869, and dated the 13th July 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 13th July 1869.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MOWING AND
REAPING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object to improve the construction of
mowing and reaping machines so as to diminish the friction, and thus
increase the efficiency of the machines by rendering a larger proportion

page_text: of the propelling power available. The axle for the running wheels
is divided into two parts, and the wheels are mounted loosely thereon.
One half of the axle is fixed, and the other is made capable of receiving
an endway motion for the purpose of throwing the cogged ring which
its wheel carries in and out of gear with a pinion on the crank shaft
with which the cutter bar is connected. A stud on this moveable axle
enters an inclined slot made in a horizontal plate or slide, which slide
is operated by a hand lever. The rocking of this lever therefore will
shift the driving wheel and put it in or out of gear with the cutter
bar pinion as desired. The running wheels are made much larger in
diameter than usual in harvesting machines, and the crank to which
the cutter bar is connected has a longer throw than usual, so that the
stroke of the cutter bar is about double in length. The finger bar is
hinged to the front end of a bar connected to the rear end of the frame
and extending to the front thereof and held down by means of a spring.
A chain pendent from a bell crank hand lever connects also with the
front part of this bar and serves to lift the finger bar over any obstruc-
tion they may meet with. The cutting edges of the knives are by
preference made at an angle of 45°, and the ends of the fingers or
guards are upturned to facilitate the forward progress of the machine.
The running wheels are constructed with an internal grooved .rim
within which is placed an india-rubber tyre, then over these a wooden
tyre or felloes, and this tyre is clothed with a sectional iron tyre that
breaks joint therewith and is made secure by bolts that enter the
felloes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 13th January 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the 3
County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,

page_text: give and grant unto me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special
licence that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, ad-
ministrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred Vincent
Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MOWING AND REAPING MACHINES," being a com-
munication, to, me from abroad by James Green, of Boston, in the State
of Massachusetts, United States of America, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I,, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or
one of their hands. and seals, 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 Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing here-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that. is. to.
say):
This Invention has for its object to improve the construction of
mowing and reaping machines so as to diminish the friction, and thus
increase the efficiency of the machines by rendering a larger proportion
of the propelling power available than heretofore, and it consists in
lengthening the stroke of the cutter bar, and in the construction and
combination of the various parts of the machine by which this is
successfully and effectually accomplished, as herein-after more fully
described.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 is a side view of the improved
machine, one of the drive wheels being removed; Fig. 2 is a top view
of the same part of one of the drive wheels being in partial section to
show its construction, and Fig. 3 is a cross section of the cutter bar
and cutters taken through the line x, x, Fig. 2.
A is the frame or platform of the machine, which is made firm and

page_text: strong; B and D are the axles for the carrying wheels. The axle B is
stationary and is securely attached to the frame or platform A, and upon
its journal the drive wheel C revolves. The axle D slides longitudinally
in bearings d' attached to the frame or platform A, but it does not revolve
in said bearings. The axle D has a projection formed upon its upper
side which passes through an inclined or diagonal slot in the slide E,
so that by moving the said slide E longitudinally by means of the
lever F connected with it the axle D may be moved longitudinally to
throw the drive wheel out of or into gear with the cutters; G is the
other drive wheel which revolves upon the journal of the moveable
axle D. The drive wheels C and G are made about twice as large as
the ordinary drive wheels of reapers and mowers. To the inner side of
the drive wheel G is attached a gear wheel H, the teeth of which mesh
into the teeth of the pinion I attached to the crank shaft J. By making
the drive wheels C, G, large, and of about double the size of ordinary
drive wheels, and by enlarging the stroke to about double the ordinary
length, the pinion I admits of being made so large as to have sufficient
strength and at the same time receive the requisite velocity without
the interposition of any intermediate gearing, thus greatly simplifying
the construction and diminishing the friction in operating the machine.
The shaft J revolves in bearings attached to the frame or platform A,
and has a crank K formed upon it, to which is pivotted the end of the
connecting bar L, the other end of which is pivotted to the cutter
bar M to operate the cutters m'. The crank K is made about twice the
length of the ordinary crank, so as to give the cutter bar M a stroke
of about twice the length of the ordinary stroke. The cutting edges
of the cutters m' are made upon an angle of forty-five degrees as shewn
in Fig. 2. This angle is found by experiment to be the one most
effective; the angle of the cutter edges may vary from forty-five degrees
in either direction, but the effectiveness of the cutters will be diminished
in the proportion of such variations; N is the finger or guard bar upon
which the cutter bar M slides back and forth, and to which the fingers O
are attached in the ordinary manner. The fingers or guards O are made
curved as shown in Figures 1 and 2, to enable the machine the more
easily to pass over unevenness of surface or obstructions and thus still
farther diminish friction. The fingers or guards O may be placed at
about the same distance apart as the fingers or guards of ordinary
mowers and reapers. In this case the long stroke of the cutters will
carry the said cutters through the space of two or more of the fingers

page_text: or guards. The fingers or guards O may be placed at a distance apart
equal to the length of the stroke if so desired. The draft strain upon
the cutters is sustained by the bar P, the rear end of which is connected
with the rear part of the frame or platform A, while its forward part, to
which the finger bar N is hinged, is held down by the spring Q. One
end of this spring is attached to the forward part of the said bar P, and
the other end is attached to the frame or platform A, or to some suitable
support attached to said platform; R is a bent lever which is pivotted at
its angle to the forward part of the frame or platform A, and the lower
or short arm of which is connected with the forward end of the bar P,
by a short chain S, so that the said bar and the attached finger bar and
cutter bar may be raised from the ground when desired or when neces
sary to pass over obstructions; T is a spring catch attached to the frame
or platform A to catch upon the finger bar N when raised into a vertical
position to hold the finger and eutter bars away from the ground when
desired. The rim c¹ of the central or solid part of the wheel C is made
with a groove in the middle part of its face, in which groove is placed a
rubber tire; c, c, are the wooden felloes or tire which is made in sections
and which rests upon the rubber tire c²; c', is the iron tire which forms
the tread of the wheel, and which is also made in sections and the outer
or convex surface of which is corrugated to prevent slipping and to
enable the wheel to take a firm hold upon the ground. The iron tire c',
and wooden tire or felloes should break joints, and they are secured to
the rim c¹ by bolts and nuts as shewn in Fig. 1. The drive wheel G is
made in the same manner as the drive wheel C, except that it has the
gear wheel H attached to it.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "improvements
in mowing and reaping machines, as communicated to me from abroad,
and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to
be understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I
claim,―
First. Operating the cutters of mowing and reaping machines in the
manner and by the means above described.
Secondly. So constructing the driving parts of a mower or reaper
that intermediate gearing may be dispensed with, the gear wheel
attached to the drive wheel meshing directly into the pinion of the
crank shaft, substantially as herein shewn and described, and for the
purpose set forth.

page_text: Thirdly. Forming the fingers or guards O curved, or with their
forward ends turned upward, substantially as herein shewn and described
and for the purpose set forth.
Fourthly. Constructing the drive wheels of mowers and reapers sub-
stantially in the manner herein shewn and described, that is to say, with
a grooved rim c', rubber tire c³, wooden sectional tire or felloes, c³, and
sectional iron tire c', as and for the purpose set forth..
Fifthly. Throwing the drive wheel of a reaper and mower in and out
of action by means of the slide E, slotted diagonally and connected
with the sliding axle of said wheel, substantially as. herein shewn and
described and for the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton,, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Thirteenth, day of January, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)