IMPROVE- MENTS IN HARVESTING MACHINES
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Bernhard Samuelson and William George Manwaring, of
Banbury, in the County of Oxford, Engineers, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN HARVESTING MACHINES."
Sealed the 25th February 1879, and dated the 30th September 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Bernhard Samuelson and
William George Manwaring at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on
the 30th September 1878.
BERNHARD SAMUELSON and WILLIAM GEORGE MANWARING, of Banbury, in the
County of Oxford, Engineers. 'IMPROVEMENTS IN HARVESTING MACHINES."
"
Our Invention of improvements in harvesting machines relates, firstly, to the
raking device of that class of machines in which the rakes revolve on a central
shaft and remove the cut crop from a segmental platform, and this portion thereof
consists in modifications of the device for suspending the action of the rakes during
the progress of the machine at the will of the attendant. These modifications are
essentially variations of the apparatus described in our Patent No. 3578, of 12th
September 1876.
✓
In the first of these modifications, which applies to those cases, where the
approaches to the bridge piece are fixtures, we dispense with one of the two rollers
forming part of the raking device, and we attach a single roller to the rake arm in
such a way that it is capable of being made to slide thereon by the attendant during
the progress of the machine so as to take either of two paths, and thus to enable
the rakes to act in one case simply as gatherers, but in the other case to remove the
cut crop from the platform. We also apply the modes of producing this sliding
motion to the second roller when that roller is retained.
Another modification is in the mode of moving that part of the bridge piece
which is towards the front of the machine when the same is not a fixture, and it
consists of a lever which is so hinged as to have both a lateral and vertical radial
motion, the lateral motion being under the control of the attendant, causing the
ID 1031

page_text: lever to come into or escape contact with the roller on the rake arm, whilst the
vertical motion controls a portion of the bridge piece and takes place only if the
lever has been brought into contact with the roller.
The second part of our Invention relates to the apparatus in harvesting machines
which lifts the crops before it is cut, and it consists in placing one or more joints in
the course of the length of the so-called dividers and corn lifters, each of such joints
being by preference covered with a sheath. The dividers and corn lifters may also
be but are not necessarily jointed when they are attached to the main body of the
machine and to the cutter bar.
The third part of our Invention applies to those harvesting machines in which
the cutter bar is hinged to a lever or frame lying in the front of or behind the main
frame of the machine, and it consists of a mode of lifting such cutter bar and at
the same time preventing the joint from acting. We effect this by so shaping the
said lever or frame that it shall present a projection on its under side, against which
projection a stud is made to bear, such stud being attached to another lever or bar,
the lower end of which is hinged to the cutter bar, while the upper end is controlled
by the attendant.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Bernhard Samuelson and William George Manwaring in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 29th March 1879.
BERNHARD SAMUELSON and WILLIAM GEORGE MANWARING, of Banbury, in the
County of Oxford, Engineers. "IMPROVEMENTS IN HARVESTING MACHINES,"
Our Invention of improvements in harvesting machines relates, firstly, to the
raking device of that class of machines in which the rakes revolve on a central shaft
and remove the cut crop from a segmental platform, and this portion thereof consists
in modifications of the device for suspending the action of the rakes during the
progress of the machine at the will of the attendant. These modifications are
essentially variations of the apparatus described in our Patent, No. 3578, of the
Twelfth September, One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
In the first of these modifications, which applies to those cases where the
approaches to the bridge piece are fixtures, we dispense with one of the two rollers
forming part of the raking device, and we attach a single roller to the rake arm in
such a way that it is. capable of being made to slide theroon by the attendant
during the progress of the machine so as to take either of two paths, and thus to
enable the rakes to act in one case simply as gatherers, but in the other case to
remove the cut crop from the platform.
This modification is shewn in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Fig. 1 is a side view of
the rake cam fitted with a fixed bridge and guard plate; Fig. 2 is a side view of
the rake head and rake shaft, with the contrivance for shifting the position of the
cam roller in the rake shaft socket; Fig. 3 is an end view of rake shaft socket with
cam roller and shifting apparatus; Fig. 4 is a plan of the moveable and fixed guide
pieces for shifting the cam roller; Fig. 5 is a side view of the same guide pieces.
A is a fixed bridge piece, having a lip A¹, which projects over that part of the
ordinary cam B which is nearest the platform; A2 is a fixed guard plate or lip
which projects over the cam B in a similar manner, and is placed in front of the
fixed bridge piece A; R is one of the usual friction rollers attached to the sliding
bracket D, which works in grooves in the rake shaft socket E, this latter being
hinged at F on the rake head G; H is a spindle working in the bearing I, this
bearing being fixed to or part of the sliding bracket D. On the top of this spindle
is a fixed stud or pin I¹, and mounted loosely on its lower end is a friction roller I²,
which runs in an adjustable guide for the purpose to be presently explained. In
the rake shaft socket are two notches J, J', to receive the locking pin I, which fixes
the position for the time being of the sliding bracket D. K is a moveable guide
piece working upon a pivot K' on the fixed guide piece K2, which guide piece is
made fast to a stay or other convenient portion of the framing of the machine.
The fixed guide piece K² is formed with an inclined plane L, which as the friction
roller I² passes over it lifts the spindle H in its bearings and disengages the locking
pin I from its notch. In Fig. 2a the moveable guide piece K and fixed guide
piece K2 are shewn in section. In Figures 4 and 5 the friction roller I² is shewn
passing up the inclined plane L or fixed guide piece K².
Those arms which are intended to act either as rakes or gatherers at the pleasure
of the driver carry the roller 12 and its connections with the slide D, but those
which are intended to act as gatherers only are not furnished with such a roller and
connections.
When the friction roller 12 comes into contact with the inclined plane L of the
fixed guide piece K³ it causes the spindle H to lift the stud I¹ out of whichever of
the notches J, J¹, it happens to be in, and this raised position it retains until the
rake arm in its revolution is clear of the guide pieces K, K2, when the spring S¹ will
cause it to drop into the notch over which it stands at the time. If now it is
intended to make any one of the rakes into a gatherer while the machine is in

page_text: motion the driver, by means of the cord or its equivalent C attached to the end of
the moveable guide piece K, compresses the spring S, which keeps the moveable
guide piece open when not operated upon by the driver. The stud 1¹ being
unlocked as before described, the part K, K, of the moveable guide piece K will be
brought to bear upon the friction roller I2, and cause it through the spindle H and
shifting bracket D to shift the cam roller R into the dotted position of Fig. 2. It
will then be so placed as to run on to the bridge piece A, thus converting the rake
into a gatherer. The rake arm in its next revolution will cause the friction roller I²
to come. into contact with the lip L' of the guide piece K, and to be moved back
so that the locking pin 11 will again slide towards the notch J', in which it will
remain, unless it is brought back to the notch J by contact with the moveable guide
piece K, the position of that guide piece being, as has been before said, under the
control of the driver. When the spring S is released by the driver the guide piece K
will return to it normal position.
Another modification is in the mode of moving that part of the bridge piece
which is towards the front of the machine when that part is not a fixture, but a
hinged guide, and it consists of a lever which is so hinged as to have both a lateral
and a vertical radial motion, the lateral motion being under the control of the
attendant, causing the lever to come into contact or escape contact with the roller
on the rake arm, whilst the vertical motion controls the hinged guide, and takes
place only if the lever is in contact with the roller.
Figures 6, 7, and 8 shew this modification of the contrivance for effecting the
control of the rakes. Fig.. 6 is a side view of the cam with bridge piece guard
plate and apparatus for operating the shifting guide; Fig. 7 is a plan of same with
the front guard plate removed; Fig. 8 is an end view of the locking apparatus.
A is a fixed bridge piece having a lip A', which projects over the part of the ordinary
cam B nearest the platform. This bridge piece is attached by preference to the
cam B, and it has at the front end a hinged guide C and at the other end another
hinged guide C¹ pivotted to the bridge piece A at e, e', respectively. A² is a fixed
guard plate or lip, as before described; R is one of the usual friction rollers attached
to a sliding bracket, which works in grooves on the rake shaft socket, as shewn and
described in Figures 4 and 5 of our Specification, No. 3578, September Thirtieth,
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
On the inside of the cam B is a lever L working upon the pivotted pin P, as on
a fulcrum, and hinged to another lever L' at D. This latter lever L¹ is fixed upon
the pin P; S is a coiled spring upon the pin P for pressing the lever L inwards, and
on the other end of the pin P is fixed a flat spring St, which bears up the small
friction roller R' attached by a pin P¹ to the hinged guide C; M is a bell-cranked
lever pivotted upon the bracket E at P. This bracket E is fixed to the cam B, and
to M is attached a cord or its equivalent W, which passes to the driver. F is a stud
or projection on the bell-cranked lever M, which stands up in the space between the
levers L and L'; G is a bracket or bearing fixed to the cam B for carrying the
pin P; H, H', are projections on the lever L and bracket E respectively, and are
used for the purpose of holding down the lever L out of action when all the rakes
are required to sweep the platform in order to form a swathe. The action of this
mechanism is as follows:-The cam roller R having been set to travel on the inner
path by means of a sliding bracket, as described in our former Specification,
No. 3578, passes over the projecting or raised portion D of the lever L, which lies
above the cam B, and in so doing depresses it, thus acting through the lever L' on
the pin P, to which it is keyed. The rocking of this pin causes the spring S¹ to
rise, and thus lift the hinged guide C into the position shewn by the dotted lines at
Fig. 6. The cam roller will then pass under the guide C along the lower cam B,
and the arm which it controls will rake off the crop from the platform. When
however the driver wishes to convert the rake into a gatherer, only while the
machine is in motion, he draws the projection D on the lever L out of the path of
the cam roller R by causing the stud F on the bell-crank lever M to press against

page_text: the inner side of the lever L and force it outwards clear of the path of the
roller R, when the vertical motion of the lever L will not take place, and conse-
quently the hinged guide C will remain in its place and the roller R will ascend
the guide C on to the bridge picce A. If the rakes are all required to rake off the
platform in order to form a swathe, the lever L is depressed by the attendant before
starting the machine, and locked by means of the projections H, H', and kept locked
by the spring S.
The rakes which are required to act permanently as gatherers have their cam
rollers R shifted to the outer path by means of a sliding bracket, as described in
our before-mentioned Specification.
The second part of our Invention relates to the apparatus in harvesting machines
which lifts the crop before it is cut, and it consists in placing one or more joints in
the course of the length of the so-called dividers and corn lifters, each of such
joints being by preference furnished with a sheath or protector. The dividers and
corn lifters may also be but are not necessarily jointed where they are attached to
the main body of the machine and to the cutter bar. Fig. 9 is a side view of a corn
lifter and Fig. 10 is a plan of the same. This arrangement is applicable to the
terminal corn lifters usually called dividers. A is the joint formed in the length of
the corn lifter, and similar in construction to the joint ordinarily used to couple the
corn lifter to the main body of the machine; B, B, are side plates forming a pro-
tection for the joint A from dirt or straw. The plates are rivetted by preference.to
the forward portion of the corn lifter.
The third part of our Invention applies to those harvesting machines in which
the cutter bar is hinged to a lever or frame lying in the front of or behind the main
frame of the machine, and it consists of a mode of lifting such cutter bar by the
attendant and at the same time stiffening the hinged joint and preventing it from
acting. We effect this by so shaping the said lever or frame that it shall present a
projection on its under side, against which projection a stud is made to bear, such
stud being attached to another lever or bar, the lower end of which is hinged to the
cutter bar, while the upper end is controlled by the attendant.
Fig. 11 is a plan of a harvesting machine with the cutter bar lying in front of
the main framing.
Fig. 12 is a side view of the same.
Fig. 13 is a detailed plan view on an enlarged scale of the cutter bar with main
shoe and arrangement of levers for controlling the vertical movements of the
cutter bar.
Fig. 14 is an end view of the same.
A is a part of the main shoe of a harvesting machine, to which is attached the
cutter bar B, and C is a jointed lever hinged by a pin C to the main frame C2 of
the machine, and also hinged to the main shoe by the pin D. On the under side of
the lever C is a projection E; F is a fixed stud on a short lever G, which lever is
pivotted to the main shoe at H, and to the upper end of the lever G is attached a
chain or its equivalent, which is within the control of the driver, as shewn in
Figures 11, 12, 13, and 14,
When the lever G is in the position as shewn by the dotted lines in Fig. 14, the
cutter bar B is free to rock on the pin D, but when the attendant by tightening the
chain causes the lever G to bring the stud F to bear against any portion of the pro-
jection E, the cutter bar B is held rigidly by the lever G so as no longer to be free
to oscillate on the pin D.
We also form on the under side of the jointed lever C a second projection E.
This latter projection is so placed as to control the extent to which the cutter bar
can move downwards in the direction of the arc shown by the arrow when the
chain is slack by means of the stud F coming into contact with the said pro-
jection E¹.
Having now described the nature of our Invention of "Improvements in Har-
vesting Machines," and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, we

page_text: wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent we
claim,―
First. The modifications of apparatus for controlling the rake arms so as to cause
them to act either as rakes or gatherers, as described.
Second. The dividers or corn lifters jointed in the course of their length, as
'described.
Third. The arrangement of mechanism and shaping of lever or frame, as above
described, for stiffening the cutter bar joint.
In witness whereof, I, the said Bernhard Samuelson, have heréunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-seventh day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine.
R SAMTIELSON
B. SAMUELSON
(L.S.)