IMPROVE- MENTS IN HARVESTING MACHINES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Howard, of Bedford, in the County of
Bedford, Agricultural Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN HARVESTING MACHINES."
Scaled the 4th January 1876, and dated the 12th October 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Howard at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th October 1875.
I, JAMES HOWARD, of Bedford, in the County of Bedford, Agri-
cultural Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN HARVESTING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to improve the construction and to
The first
increase the efficiency of harvesting or reaping machines.
part of the Invention is designed to secure a more perfect action and
bring under the control of the attendant the gathering and raking
appliances used for the double purpose of drawing the crop toward the
The
knives and raking the corn off the platform after being cut.
improved machine is fitted with two pairs of rakes, the rakes of each

page_text: Upon the
pair being coupled together so that the weight of the descending rake is
utilized for the purpose of raising the other. The rakes are guided in
their pathway by a cam so constructed that at the will of the attendant
any rake may be used either as a rake or a gatherer.
improved cam is fitted a centrally pivotted switch piece so constructed
that when the friction roller carried by each rake arm moves between
the switch and the cam the cut corn is swept off the machine platform,
but when the friction roller moves outside and passes over the face of
the switch the rake then acts as a gatherer only, and in passing over
the platform travels above and clear of the cut corn upon the platform.
A peculiar feature of the switch is that when the friction roller,
whether moving inside or outside the switch, has passed the central
pivot it acts upon the tail of the switch to open or close it for the next
following friction roller; thus the normal action of the switch is to
bring into operation a gatherer and a rake alternately. By a suitable
pedal arrangement the attendant ean from his seat upon the machine
move the switch so as to close it, and thereby cause the rakes to act as
gatherers and pass over the cut corn upon the platform.
Another mode of effecting the same object is to construct the
ordinary rake cam with a hinged point, so that by the action of the
pedal arrangement or other lever the cam can be tilted and the rakes
passed clear above the cut corn upon the platform.
The second part of the Invention is designed to remove the objections
to the present form of driving gear, which is liable to get choked with
dirt or stones. Instead of casting the main driving wheel with cogs in
the ordinary manner the rim is constructed with openings through it,
into which the cogs of the pinion gear. By this arrangement any dirt
which might fall into the wheel and clog the gearing would be pushed
out at each revolution by the teeth of the pinion.
The third part of the Invention is designed to obtain a more
advantageous position for efficiently working the gathering and raking
arms or appliances. Motion is given to these by a pair of mitre wheels
gearing direct from the travelling wheel, and not as is generally the
case through the gearing for giving motion to the knives. The main
axle of the improved machine carries on a suitable plate or slide, at the
lower end of which is attached the finger bar, and at the top of the
slide the rake cam is fixed.

page_text: Upon one of the mitre wheels above referred to is cast a long vertical
spur pinion parallel with the slide, and from this pinion the vertical
spindle of the rake arms is driven; as the slide is raised and lowered to
adjust the cutter bar to the required height from the ground the cog
wheel on the rake arm spindle moves up and down in the long vertical
pinion, and thus the gearing of the parts is maintained. By the
foregoing arrangement the separate pillar or stand, which is commonly
carried on the platform and used for the support of the cam and the
rakes, is dispensed with.
The inclination of the cutters in the improved machine can be varied
by the attendant from his seat by a lever carrying at its extremity a
segment pinion which gears into a segment rack constructed upon the
same plan as the driving wheel already described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Howard in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 11th April 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
HOWARD, of Bedford, in the County of Bedford, Agricultural Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said James Howard, Her special licence that
I, the said James Howard, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said James Howard, 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 HARVESTING MACHINES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Howard,
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe
my

page_text: 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 James Howard, do hereby declare
the nature of my 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 hereunto
annexed and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say)
The
The object of this Invention is to improve the construction and to
increase the efficiency of harvesting or reaping machines. The first
part of the Invention is designed to secure a more perfect action of and
to bring under the attendant's control the gathering and raking
appliances used for the double purpose of drawing the crop toward the
knives and of raking the corn off the platform after being cut.
improved machine is fitted with two pairs of rakes, the rakes of each
pair being coupled together so that the weight of the descending rake is
utilized for the purpose of raising the other. The rakes are guided in
their pathway by a cam so constructed that at the will of the attendant
any one of the rakes may be used either as a rake or a gatherer. Upon
the rake cam is fitted a centrally pivotted switch piece, so constructed
that when the friction roller carried by each rake arm moves between
the switch and the cam the cut corn is swept off the machine platform,
but when the friction roller moves outside and passes over the face of
the switch the rake then acts as a gatherer only, and in passing over the
platform travels above and clear of the cut corn upon the platform.
By a suitable pedal arrangement the attendant can from his seat upon
the machine move the switch so as to close it, and thereby cause the
rakes to act as gatherers and pass over the cut corn upon the platform.
In Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings the mechanism for
actuating and controlling the action of the rake or gathering arms is
shown.
Fig. 1 is a transverse section of so much of a harvesting machine as
will serve to explain the first head of my Invention. Fig. 2 is a
partial plan view of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the rake cam
detached.

page_text: A, A, indicate a pair of rake arms fitted into sockets which are
hinged as usual to arms carried by a rake shaft B. The sockets of
these rake arms are connected together by a link rod C in order that the
rake arms may balance each other and facilitate the bringing of the
rakes into action; or in lieu of these link rods springs may be used for
casing the descent of the rakes on to the platform. D is the rake cam,
and E the switch, the action of which serves to place the rakes (as they
are brought round to their work) in the position to act as gatherers.
The switch E works on a pivot pin e, which fits in a socket of the cam
casting. Keyed to the lower end of this pin is an arm e¹, through
which the switch is rocked to close it against the bowle a of the
advancing rake arms A. When this switch is closed it constitutes
virtually a lateral extension of the cam D, and the bowle a, instead of
passing over the cam D (in the revolution of the rake arms) as shown
at Fig. 1, passes over the switch E, as shown by red lines in that Figure,
and the rake arm is thereby prevented from falling to the drawn position
of Fig. 1 (which is the raking position) and caused to move in the more
clevated position shown by red lines in the Figure, in which position it
will gather the corn and press it towards the cutters.
The arm e¹ is connected by a link to a bell-crank lever e², and from
this lever passes a chain or cord to a pedal within reach of the foot of
the attendant who sits as usual on a raised seat.
The rocking of the bell-crank lever by the depression of the pedal
closes the switch or brings it to the acting position, and when the pedal
is released from pressure the switch will be opened by a counteracting
spring e connected at one end to the cam casting and at its other to the
arm e¹.
A peculiar feature of the switch is that on disengaging the spring
e the friction rollers a will, whether moving inside or outside the switch,
on passing the central pivot, act upon the tail of the switch and open
or close it as the case may be for the next following friction roller.
Thus the normal action of the switch, when not controlled by either the
spring or pedal, is to make the rakes serve as gatherers and rakes
alternately.
Another mode of causing the rakes to act as gatherers or as rakes as
desired by the attendant is to construct the ordinary rake cam with a
hinged joint, so that by the action of the pedal arrangement or other

page_text: lever the cam can be tilted and the rakes passed clear above the cut
corn upon the platform.
This modification is shown in Sheet II. at Fig. 4, which represents in
sectional clevation so much of the harvesting machine as will serve to
explain the action of the hinged cam. In this Figure F is the sliding
frame to which the cam D is hinged. In this case the cam, instead of
fitting close to the rake shaft, is cast with a central hole sufficiently
large to permit of its being lifted on its hinge to the raised position
shown in red lines in the Figure. This lifting of the cam is effected by
means of a tail picce or arm d, which is connected like the arme of the
switch piece E in the first described arrangement with the pedal before
mentioned. When, therefore, it is desired that the revolving rakes shall
act as gatherers the attendant depresses the pedal and thereby lifts the
cam D from its horizontal position, causing it to present an elevated
surface to the passing friction bowles a and maintain the rakes while
passing over the crop at the proper elevation for gathering.
The second part of the Invention is designed to remove the objections
to the present form of driving gear, which is liable to get choked with
dirt or stones. Instead of casting the main driving wheel with cogs in
the ordinary manner the wheel is cast with a rim pierced with a ring of
holes, into which the cogs of the transmitting motion pinion gear.
This improvement is shown in the sectional plan view Fig. 5 and in
sectional elevation at Fig. 6, Sheet III. In these Figures G is the
travelling wheel which is cast with a concentric pierced rim or flange
G', the holes through which taper outwards and serve to receive the
teeth of a spur pinion H, which takes its motion from the rotation of
the travelling wheel and communicates the same as will be hereafter
described to the cutter bar. By this arrangement any dirt which might
fall into the wheel and clog the gearing would be pushed out by the
teeth of the pinion.
The third part of the Invention is designed to obtain a more
advantageous position for the rake shaft with respect to the working of
the gathering and raking arms or appliances. This part of the Invention
is shown in the plan view Fig. 5, in the partial sectional elevation
Fig. 6, and in the side elevation Fig. 7. In these Figures I is a vertical
plate, to which the axle I' of the travelling wheel G is firmly fixed.
To this plate is fitted a [slide K that is capable of adjustment vertically

page_text: through a pinion k, which it carries, gearing into a rack i cast on the
plate I.
At the lower end of the slide K is attached the finger bar L,
and at the top of the slide (see Fig. 1) the rake cam D is fixed.
Through the socket of the rake cam passes the rake shaft B, which
is carried by bracket bearings on the slide K, as shown best at Figures 1
and 7.
Motion is given to the shaft B of the gathering and raking arms or
appliances by a pair of mitre wheels gearing direct from the travelling
wheel, and not, as is generally the case, through the gearing for giving
motion to the knives.
Mounted loosely on a boss of the plate I, and concentric with the
axle I, is a ratchet wheel g carrying a mitre wheel g¹, and into this
mitre wheel gears a mitre wheel g³ on a vertical shaft ³, having its
bearings on the plate I.
The ratchet wheel is provided to receive a pawle g* pendent from one
of the arms of the wheel G (see Fig. 7), which pawle, as the wheel G
moves forward, gives an axial motion to the ratchet wheel g and mitre
wheel g', and so to the mitre wheel g².
Upon the mitre wheel g² is cast a long vertical spur pinion g* (see
Fig. 6) parallel with the slide K, and from this pinion the shaft B of
the rake arms is driven through a spur wheel 6 (see Fig. 7). As the
slide is raised and lowered to adjust the cutter bar to the required height
from the ground the spur wheel on the rake shaft B moves up and
down on the long vertical pinion, and thus the gearing of the parts is
maintained. By the foregoing arrangement the separate pillar or stand.
which is commonly carried on the platform and used for the support of
the rake cam and the rakes is dispensed with.
The motion for working the cutter bar is transmitted from the pinion
Hthrough a mitre wheel H' keyed on the same shaft to a bevilled
pinion keyed on the crank shaft P of the cutter bar.
The inclination of the cutters in the improved machine can be varied
by the attendant from his seat. For this purpose there is fitted to the
shaft M a stud pin, which forms the fulcrum for a hand lever N that is
made fast to the hub of a segment rack N'. This rack is constructed
on the same principle as the rim of the wheel G before described, and
into it take the teeth of a segment rack O made fast to the slide K.

page_text: The shaft M is jointed to the slide K at the point m, and when
therefore the lever N is pulled over in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 7,
the cutter bar will be tipped to the desired angle, which angle will be
maintained as long as required by fixing the lever to a sector plate N³
by means of the spring bolt n.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "
Improvements
in Harvesting Machines," 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. The application to the rake cam of the switch E operated by
the means and for the purpose above described.
Secondly. The hinged rake cam for varying the action of the rakes,
as described.
Thirdly. The application to reaping machines of the self-clearing
gearing, as described.
Fourthly. The adjustable slide for carrying the rake cam, rake shaft,
and finger bar, and also the gearing for imparting motion to the cutter
bar, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Howard, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Fourth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
JAMES HOWARD. (L.S.)