IMPROVEMENTS IN TILLING IMPLEMENTS
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Howard, of Bedford, in the County of Bedford,
Agricultural Engineer, and Edward Tenney Bousfield, of the same Place,
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN TILLING IMPLEMENTS.”
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Howard and Edward
Tenney Bousfield at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 3rd
April 1876.
JAMES HOWARD, of Bedford, in the County of Bedford, Agricultural Engineer,
and EdwARD TENNEY BOUSFIELD, of the same Place, Engineer.
"IMPROVEMENTS
IN TILLING IMPLEMENTS."
The first part of our Invention relates to improvements in harrows of the class
described in a Patent granted to John Summerton, and dated October 17th 1862,
No. 2803, and assigned to J. & F. Howard, our object being to improve their con-
struction and increase their efficiency.
As heretofore made the tripod pieces of such harrows when put together for work
leave open spaces between them; but according to our Invention these spaces are
divided up by suitable parts or links which are suspended from the tripods, and
serve to act upon the ground, like the tines of the tripods, thereby greatly adding
to the efficiency of the implement.
Heretofore the tripods have been made of cast iron connected together by
wrought links. By our improved method of construction we first make a special
kind of frame of a rod or rods of wrought iron or steel bent so as to form suitable
hooks and eyes for connecting the tripods together, and upon these wrought frames
the teeth of the tripods are cast in such manner as to give rigidity to the frame.
It will thus appear that with our improved tripods no loose connecting links, as
heretofore used, are required.
Another part of our improvements in tilling implements relates to a novel method
of constructing the frames and fastening the teeth or tines of the ordinary harrow,
and other tilling implements, in which detachable teeth or tines are used.
We accomplish our object by making junction sockets to take the longitudinal
and cross bars which form the frame, and also to receive the vertical teeth or
tines.
The frame bars are first fitted into the junction sockets, the bars being notched

page_text: that they may lock together at the intersections. These bars are also notched to
allow of the travel of each socket locking with them when driven into place, and
keying them in their sockets. Transverse pins will serve to secure the tines in
their sockets. The frame and tine bars may be of any desired section. Square
bars set anglewise to each other are very convenient as the securing notches at the
intersections are easily made.
The last part of our Invention has for its object improved means for lifting the
tines of harrows, and other tilling implements out of action. In a former Patent
granted to us, May 8th, 1872, No. 1405, methods are described for raising tilling
implements by means of the pull of the draught horses upon them; but in these
cases, the frame being lifted mainly at one point, it was thereby tilted, and the
appliance was therefore not suitable for regulating the depth of the tines or shares
in working.
By our improved means of lifting the tinos we retain the advantage of lifting
the implement out of work by the pull of the draught, and we obtain a parallel
lift of the frame. We thus secured the double advantage of lifting the tines
out of action, and regulating their depth when in work. This we offect in the
following manner -Supposing the frame carrying the tines to be mounted on
three wheels (that is, with a leading or steering wheel in front and a pair of wheels
in the rear) the rear wheels are fitted on a cranked axle, and the vertical stem of
the leading or steering wheel is connected to a bell-crank lever. For raising and
lowering this wheel vertically the upper arm of the bell-crank lever is attached by
a connecting rod to a lever arm keyed on the cranked axle of the rear wheels.
The draught link is attached to the bell crank. The hand lever for adjusting the
depth of the tines, and for raising and lowering the frame by hand when required,
is geared to the cranked axle by a pair of quadrants, or it may be made to act
directly upon the cranked axle.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by the
said James Howard and Edward Tenney Bousfield in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 3rd October 1876.
JAMES HOWARD, of Bedford, in the County of Bedford, Agricultural Engineer,
and EDWARD TENNEY BOUSFIELD, of the same Place, Engineer.
"IMPROVEMENTS
IN TILLING IMPLEMENTS."
The first part of our Invention relates to improvements in harrows of the class
described in a Patent granted to John Summerton, and dated October Seventeenth
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, No. 2803, and assigned to James and
Frederick Howard, our object being to improve their construction and increase their
efficiency.
As heretofore made the tripod pieces of such harrows when put together for work
leave open spaces between them, but according to our Invention these spaces are
divided up by suitable parts or links, which are suspended from the tripods, and
serve to act upon the ground, like the tines of the tripods, thereby greatly adding
to the efficiency of the implement.
In Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 shows in plan view a portion
of a "Summerton" harrow with our improvement applied thereto, and Fig. 2 is an
clevation of the same. In these Figures a, a, are the tripods made of cast iron,
and connected together as usual by means of rings of wrought iron b. The spaces
enclosed by these tripods we now divide up by means of links c, c, and we thus
obtain additional acting surfaces for the harrow.
Instead of tripods made of cast iron, and connected together by wrought links
as heretofore, we propose as a further improvement to make a kind of frame to
carry the tines from a rod of wrought iron or steel bent so as to form suitable
hooks and eyes for connecting the frames together. Upon these wrought frames
we cast the teeth or tines so as to give rigidity to the frame.

page_text: Fig. 3 shows in plan view, and Fig. 4 in side elevation, a harrow constructed
according to this part of our Invention, and Figures and 6 are plan and edge
vews on a larger scale of one of the frames of which the harrow is composed.
By reference to Fig. 5 it will be seen that d is a round rod of iron or steel, from
which the frame is constructed, it being first bent into a form somewhat resembling
a link to produce the eyes e, e, at the opposite sides of the frame. From this link
the opposite ends of the rod extend in a zig-zag fashion until they terminate in a
pair of parallel hooks f, f, Figures 5 and 6. and g₁ are the tines cast upon the
bent rod d that forms the tine frame in such position that while standing at equal
distances apart they will ensure to the frame the requisite rigidity. In putting
together the frames thus prepared the two hooks of each frame will enter the eyes
of two adjacent frames, as shown at Fig. 3, where the hooks of the frame 1 enter
respectively eyes in the frames 2 and 3, and so on throughout the series of frames
composing the harrow. It will thus appear that in our improved harrow no loose
connecting links as heretofore used are required. In the spaces formed by the
connected frames we insert links as shown at h, h, Fig. 3, and in elevation at Fig.
3*, for the purpose explained with reference to Figures 1 and 2. If, however, it is
thought desirable, we may connect the tine frames together in the manner shown
at Figures 7 and 8, in which, in place of hooks, the ends of the rods forming the
frames are converted into eyes to receive the ends of the linked portion of the
frames, rings being then used to maintain the connection between the parts.
Another part of our improvements in tilling implements relates to a novel
method of constructing the frames and fastening the teeth or tines of the ordinary
harrow and other tilling implements in which detachable teeth or tines are used.
We accomplish our object by making junction sockets to take the longitudinal
and cross bars which form tho frame, and also to receive the teeth or tines.
The frame bars are first fitted into the junction sockets, the bars being (if
thought desirable) notched that they may lock together at the intersections. These
bars are notched to allow of the tine of each socket locking with them when driven
into place and keying them in their sockets. This part of our Invention is
illustrated at Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13.
Fig. 9 shows in plan view a harrow of the ordinary kind (with detachable teeth
or tines) constructed according to our Invention.
Figures 10 and 11 are plan and side views on an enlarged scale of a socket
suitable for receiving a tine and a longitudinal and cross bar of the harrow when
arranged obliquely to each other, and for permitting of their locking together.
Figures 12 and 13 are diagrams showing how the bars are locked in their sockets
by the tine.
The socket casting i, i, is formed with three sockets, two horizontal, to receive
the square bars and l, and one vertical to receive the tine m. The tine socket
communicates with both the horizontal sockets to allow of two angles of the tine
projecting therein and locking into notches formed in the bars k and 7, and if
thought desirable the horizontal sockets may communicate with each other to allow
of the interlocking of their respective bars.
It will be understood that the frame bars and tines may be of any desired
section, square bars set anglewise to each other are very convenient, as the securing
notches at the intersection are easily made.
The last part of our Invention has for its object improved means for lifting the
tines of harrows and other tilling implements out of action. In a former Patent
granted to us May Eighth, One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, No. 1405,
methods are described for raising tilling implements by means of the pull of the
draught horses upon them, but in these cases the frame being lifted mainly at one
point, it was thereby tilted, and the appliance was therefore not suitable for regu-
lating the depth of the tines or shares in working.
By our improved means of lifting the tines we retain the advantage of lifting
the implement out of work by the pull of the draught, and we obtain a parallel
lift of the frame. We thus secure the double advantage of lifting the tines out of

page_text: nction and regulating their depth when in work. This improvement is illustrated
in Sheet II. of the Drawings, Fig. 14 being a side elevation and Fig. 15 a plan
view of the implement. A is the tine frame, to which the tines a are fitted as
usual. This frame is mounted upon three wheels, B being the leading or steering
wheel, and B, B', the rear wheels. These wheels B¹ are mounted on a crank axlo
C, which has its bearings in bracket arms A¹ attached to the frame A. The axle of
the steering wheel B is mounted as usual in the fork of a stem D, which is con-
nected to a bell-crank lever D', having its fulcrum on the forward part of the
frame A. The upper arm of this bell-crank lever is connected by a rod E with an
arm F keyed on the cranked axle C, and to the upper arm of the bell-crank lever a
draught link G is also connected. His a hand levor mounted on a fulcrum at the
rear end of the implement for adjusting the depth of the tines and for raising
them out of and lowering them into work. Connected with this hand lever is a
quadrant I, which gears into a quadrant I' keyed on to the crank axle C. The
hand lever H is provided with a spring bolt as usual for taking into the notches of
a sector rack K and holding the tine frame at any desired clevation. When the
hand lever H is locked in the depressed position of Fig. 14 the tine frame will be
held in its elevated position, but when the lever is unlocked the tine frame will fall
by its own weight into the working position.
It will now be understood that when it is desired to raise the tines out of work:
it will only be necessary to unlock the hand lever, and the pull of the horses
(supposing the implement to be in work) will, by drawing forward the bell-crank
lever D, ensure the parallel lift of the tine frame. The hand lever may however
be used both to lift the tines out of work and to regulate the depth of penetration.
Having now set forth the nature of our Invention of "Improvements in Tilling
Implements," and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, we wish it
to be understood that under the above recited Letters Patent we claim,-
First. The application to the "Summerton " harrow of links or acting surfaces for
dividing up the spaces between the tripods, as and for the purpose described.
Secondly. Manufacturing flexible or chain barrows from tine frames, constructed
as above described.
Thirdly. The means above described for connecting together the bars and tines of
the ordinary harrow and other tilling implements in which detachable tines aro
used.
Fourthly. The arrangement of mechanism above described for raising the tines of
tilling implements out of work.
In witness whereof, we, the said James Howard and Edward Tenney Bousfield,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, the Thirtieth day of September, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six