IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING. MACHINES
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Gill, of Newtyle, in the County of Forfar..
North Britain, Draper, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING.
MACHINES."
Sealed the 22nd December 1857, and dated the 10th July 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Gill at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 10th July
· 1857.
I, JOHN GILL, of Newtyle, in the County of Forfar, North Britain, Draper,.
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN.
REAPING MACHINES," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to the arrangement and construction of machinery,
impiements, or apparatus to be used for performing the agricultural operation
of reaping, whereby such operation may be effected in a manner superior to
that hitherto accomplished. Under one modification of these improvements, the
reaper consists of an open horizontal frame carried upon three ground wheels,
so that it accommodates itself fully to the irregularities of the ground, or the
winding turnings necessary to be followed during the reaping operation. The
horses are harnessed to the framing at the back end of the machine, so that
they push it before them into the grain to be cut. This back portion is
supported by a single central ground wheel of large diameter, whilst the front
and directly acting part of the implement is carried upon a pair of smaller

page_text: ground wheels, contrived so as to be capable of turning easily upon a central
vertical guide spindle. The actuating motion for the reaping action is derived
from the large ground wheel which carries a bevil wheel on one side or face,
which bevil wheel is in gear, with a bevil pinion on the end of a longitudinal
crank shaft. The crank on the forward end of this shaft actuates a cross slide
connected to a pair of parallel longitudinal vibrating levers, jointed at their
back ends to a fixed cross rail of the framing, whilst their opposite front ends
are jointed or connected to the transverse line of cutter block. At the very
front, where the cutting action occurs, there is a transverse rail of cast iron,
carrying a set of spurs or fingers, between which the standing grain enters as
the machine is pushed up into cut. The knives or cutters are separate pieces
of smooth cutting edged pieces of steel, and they are each rivetted upon iron
foundations, which again are sunk down at the proper distances apart in a
transverse block of hard wood. The cutters are held down and borne up by
a surface of brass acting on iron; these details are so arranged, that the
knives just clear the lower edges of the spurs, or slightly touch them. Thus,
as the cutters pass across the gaps formed by the spurs, the grain is severed.
As the grain is cut it falls upon an inclined plane carried by the main framing,
being thrown back thereon by a reel driven from the main central shaft.
Thence the grain is carried over to each side of the machine by a roller and
travelling belt arrangement, which finally delivers the grain into side recesses.
The bottoms of these recesses are formed of divided revolving platforms, which
turn on their centres as the grain accumulates upon them, and thus throw
down the grain in proper heaps on each side of the path of the machine.
The cut grain may be thrown either to both sides, or to one side only in a
similar way. The swivelling actions of the two small front wheels are geared
together, so that the two work in concert. The back portion of the framing is
balanced by weight, so as to relieve the front wheels.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Gill in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 9th 3
January 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
GILL, of Newtyle, in the County of Forfar, North Britain, Draper, send
greeting.
WHEREAS IIer most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters 3
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of July, in the year of our Lord One

page_text: thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of Iler,
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Gill, Her special licence that I, the said John Gill, my.
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Gill, 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 REAPING
MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John
Gill, my exccutors 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 John Gill, do hereby declare the
nature of my 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, that is to say:-
It consists of certain arrangements and combinations for the purpose of.
producing an improved form of machine for reaping purposes.
In order more clearly to illustrate these improvements, and to describe fully,
the nature of the Invention, the accompanying Drawings are appended to.
this Specification, and reference must be made to the different Figures in
the Drawings to render the description clear and intelligible. The various.
dimensions, size, figure, and even arrangement may be modified, and even
to a certain extent changed, and some of the motions or actions may be.
obtained by similar known means, and hence, for some of the combinations,.
other known combinations producing the same results may be substituted,
while some of the parts may be omitted from the machine when not wanted;
nevertheless, the general principles and arrangement made use of to produce
the action of the machine as a whole must always be retained. The machine.
is symetrical about a central axis, that is to say, on each side of a central line.
its parts are similar, and may be said to consist of pairs.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
:
1

page_text: change the direction of the machine; Figure 2 is a detailed plan of half tho
machine, taken a little beyond the central axis, shewing the various parts in
working order; this Figure is projected from Figuro 3, which is a sectional
elevation of the machine, showing in detail parts which cannot be seen in
Figure 2; Figure 4 is a back or end sectional elevation of Figure 2, shewing
the ends of the rollers on which the revolving cloth turns; Figure 5 is a plan
of the knives or cutters, and of the block in which they are fixed; Figure 6
is an enlarged section of the front bar in which the cutter blocks are placed;
Figure 7 is a detailed sectional end view of the slide attached to the cutter
blocks, and of the slot link in which the eye or pin of the crank moves and
rotates; Figure 8 is a sectional elevation of the front wheels, shewing the
bearings, and the rings through which the machine is acted upon by the
wheels. The same letters in each Figure represent the same or similar parts
of the machine.
Referring more particularly to Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, a', a², a³, a', a³, &c.,
are the various parts of the framing, which may be of wood, or, if
pre-
ferable, metal might be substituted; their dimensions will vary according
to the size of the machine; the machine to which the following description
refers is about eight and a half feet wide from the centre of the outside guard
to the outside guard, and this size of machine I prefer. Upon the bars a², a²,
which are about eight and a half inches apart, and framed into the cross bars
a, a', the bearings of the main or driving wheel b are fixed; this wheel is
about four feet in diameter, and six inches tread, or thereabouts, the axle of it
turns in the blocks which are bolted to the under side of the bars; b', b', are
the front wheels supporting the machine, and serving also to guide and turn
it;,, are toothed sectors, having levers and handles, as shewn in Figures
1, 2, and 3, by means of which the guiding wheels are acted; these wheels
are constructed as follows:-The wheel has its axle and bearing upon a ring
having teeth in a part of its circumference which gear into the sector; this last-
mentioned ring is attached and gears into another ring above it, which latter
ring is either attached to or forms part of the front bar or cutter box A, and
is thus by means of the bars a³, as, firmly connected to the framing of the
whole machine. Upon the spokes of the driving wheel, and either fastened
to them or cast with them, is a toothed bevel wheel e, into which the bevel
pinion gears; a shaft or spindle in this pinion supported on the blocks m, m, 3
bas at its other extremity a cranked axle 7; the eye or pin of the crank turns
in a slot link, forming part of a slido B (see Figures 2 and 7). The object of
this arrangement is to give an alternate motion to the cutting blades K, K,
which vibrate from one large finger or guard n to another n.

page_text: The construction and action of the cutting parts of the machine are as
follows: A is the front bar or cutter box, made of the forin shewn in
Figure 7, in the hollow of which the cutter blocks having the cutters,
attached are placed; these cutter blocks are made of hard wood, and have
the blades of the form shewn in Figure 5 bolted to them in the centre,
screwed on the outer edge; the form of the blades may vary, but I prefer them
to be three inches broad where they intersect the cutter block, tapering to
one inch at the point, and struck like the old reaping hook; the thickness at.
the centre where the bolt passes through about one-quarter of an inch, and
thinned to one thirty-second of an inch. The number of the projecting guards
are as three to one of the cutting knives, except on the side of the centre
guard, which acts doubly, and is of the form shown in the plan, Figure 2. In
Figure 6, v, v, are mallable slides rivetted to the under side of the slide box;
the blocks being inserted in the box on the said slides, are held in their
position by the inetal stops and plates y, y, screwed to the under side and edges
of the cutter blocks, embracing closely the upper, lower, and inner sides of the
said slides v, v; B is a slide connected with the cutter blocks, 2, by means
of the iron plate and its projecting rod e', which latter is perforated at its
extremity to allow the screwed pin on the end of the slide to pass through
it; d is a fly nut for fixing the rod c¹ to the slide B; the slide has the slot
link B' attached to it, or forming part of it, for the eye or pin of the crank to
work in; it will therefore be evident, that if the motion be conveyed to the crank,
the pin working in the slot link will cause the slide, and through it the cutter
blocks and knives, to vibrate backwards and forwards in the cutter box. The
crank shaft is so arranged and hung to the inside of the framing of the main
wheel, the pinion working in the bevel wheel c, that the crank itself working
the slide B shall be just sufficiently distant from the front bar as to work clear
of it; the radious of the crank should be such, that one revolution will cause
the knives to move from one of the large guards to the other, and return, their
centres passing one another a quarter of an inch or so. On the other side of
the bevel wheel e is another bevel pinion i of the same size as f, mounted on
a shaft, which has the pulley ; at its other extremity; p is a pulley on the
roller r, and p a pulley on the roller 2; the pinion i working in the wheel c
gives motion to the pulley j, which, acting by means of the cords o' (see
Figure 4,) gives motion to the pulley p' on the roller r¹; another cord o, crossed
and passing round the pulley on the roller gives a contrary motion to this
roller; passing over the rollers and, and round the smaller rollers 2-
and is an endless cloth, or bands having stretching rods s, s, s, to keep the
cloths always extended; the rollers, r, have their extremities enlarged, and.

page_text: notches cut diametrically opposite, so as to allow the rods to rotate; t, t,
Figure 2, are the revolving platforms placed at a lower level than the roller ;
the platforms are in pairs, or in two halves, cach half being mounted upon
the axis 7, 7; they may be of deal or sheet iron; the axis passes through the
centre of each half. The cut grain on alighting from the revolving cloth on
the platforms is carried on to the centre part of the first half, and is guided
thereon by the bevel bar a and the iron plates a, a, a, which have the same
slope as the bar a²; n, n, n, are pikes of iron projecting beyond the platforms.
as far as nearly to meet the opposite halves, the points of each set passing the
other about 2 inches, prevent the grain from falling through when the
platforms are depressed. There are platforms at each side of the machine,
and the space occupied by each is about one-sixth of the breadth of the
machine. It is not necessary, however, that there should be platforms, since,
when these are omitted, the grain falls to the ground direct on leaving the
revolving cloth; ench balf of the platform turns on its own axis, and the cut
grain being precipitated on to the parts beyond the axis, they would be con-
tinually forced into a vertical direction were they not prevented by the iron
rods. The main wheel has two pins projecting from its arms diametrically
opposite, which, in turning, take hold of a projection from the centre of the
crank, to whose extremities the iron rods are attached moveably, thereby
lifting the crank far enough to draw the bolts clear of the edges of the
platforms when the weight of the accumulated grain causes them to revolve.
The bolts attached to the slide work over the platforms when at rest, as far as
the nearest axle, but on the edge rising when the bolts are drawn back, the
succeeding stroke passes under the edge and forces it round, when the weight
of the grain is not sufficient, till again stopped by the bolts, which have been
replaced by a spring which is fixed upon it, and embraces a projection from
the iron rod above it, so as to bring it to its position whether the machine goes
backwards or forwards. w, w, are the wheels of the platforms, which produce
the motion of rotation from from one to the other. In Figure 4, is seen in
section, the triangular cover M, which is of deal or sheet iron; this cover
spreads over the driving wheel, the crank axle, and slide, and at the same time
seperates the cut grain, passing one part over the platforms of the one side.
of the machine, the other part over the other side.
Mounted upon the axle of the driving wheel (see Figure 3), is a pulley, from
which, by means of a cord, motion is conveyed to the wheel or fan, or reel g
in the front of the machine, which said reel or fan is for drawing the grain
towards the machine. The bar or bearer upon which the machine is mounted
is so arranged as to allow it to be elevated or depressed according to the.

page_text: curve.
ground the machine is moving upon; the action of this will be understood
from the Drawing, Figure 3, where the bearer is shewn moveable in the slots
1, h, with the guide nuts similar to the action of a trammel for describing a
There are four sets of arms required for this fan wheel, two for
each half; these pairs are connected at by blades, making an angle with
the axis of about fifteen degrees, giving them a spiral form, and producing a
continned action on the grain. A circular are F, of cast or mallable iron, is
fixed to the lower side of the pole, and has a weight suspended from a pulley
travelling on its upper edge, to regulate the pressure of the front wheels on
the ground when it rises and falls. The iron rod h, fixed at right angles to
the pole, and to which the power is applied, with its pulley i and the weight
k, is to counterbalance the effects of the draft chains upon the back end of the
pole, so that when the power is applied, the back end of the pole may not be
raised, the pulley and weight rolling up instead. On the rod connected with
the slide B are the small cranks L, L, L, which turn easily on their axes, so
as to rise and fall by the resistance of the grain, and are for pushing forward
the lower part of the stalks of the cut grain until they pass beyond the axle of
the innermost half of the revolving platforms.
Such is the description of the various parts of my improved machine. When
in actual operation its action is as follows:-The motive power being applied
to the pole, rotation is produced in the driving wheel, and transmitted by the
bevel gear to the crank, and to the pulleys, the cloth rollers, and front reel;
the former causes the cutters or knives to vibrate and cut the stalks of the
grain, the latter draws it up on the revolving cloths, which in their turn
deliver it to the revolving platforms, or on the ground when these are
omitted.
Having now described my Invention, and the mode of carrying it into effect,
that which I claim and wish secured by the before in part recited Letters
Patent are, the before-mentioned combination and arrangement of parts, sub-
stantially as lescribed in this Specification, and illustrated by the accompanying
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Gill, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Seventh day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
JOHN GILL. (L.S.)