IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF HAYMAKING MACHINES
Year: 1860

page_text: Sealed the 27th September 1860, and dated the 29th March 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Nathaniel Smith and
Robert Smith at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 29th March 1860.
We, NATHANIEL SMITH and ROBERT SMITH, both of Thrapston, in the
County of Nerthampton, Agricultural Implement Makers, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
HAYMAKING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to improve the construction and operation of
haymaking machines. To this end we secure the spur driving wheels at either
side of the machine to a stud axle. The outer ends of these axles are coned to
receive the travelling wheels, and they work in tubular projections formed on the
"heads" of the machine, and are securely held in position by binding nuts. This
arrangement will permit of the travelling wheels being removed when required
without disarranging the gearing. The tines we mount on separate radial
arms (made by preference of tubular iron), and so set them that they shall

page_text: range diagonally with each other across the machine instead of in a line as
heretofore, the object being to prevent the hay being lifted in large quantities
at a time, and thus to distribute it more perfectly than heretofore, and
equalize the expenditure of power in working the machine. The pressure
springs, which are used for keeping the tines in position, we arrange so that
a spring from one tine bar shall act on tines carried by the bar in advance
thereof. The tine shaft we make hollow with open ends, and affix it to the
"heads" by lock nuts, the inner ones of which fit in sockets cast in the heads.
On this shaft the tine barrels are loosely mounted, and they are raised and
lowered by the aid of a quadrant fixed to the side irons, and gearing into a
pinion carried by a shaft which passes through the hollow tine shaft. A
handle on this inner shaft gives motion to the pinion, and thereby causes it to
move over the quadrant face and raise or lower the tine barrels. For shifting
the pinions of the tine barrels into and out of gear with their respective driving
wheels, a pinion, mounted within the hollow tine shaft, is made to gear into a
pair of racks contained therein, and which project out at opposite ends of the
hollow shaft, and are bent round to envelop respectively the grooved bosses
of the sliding or tine barrel pinions. By turning this rack pinion in one or
the other direction, the simultaneous engaging or disengaging of these sliding
pinions with their driving wheels will be effected.
For lubricating the working parts, we propose to set a lubricator box within
each head of the machine.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Nathaniel Smith and Robert Smith in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 29th September 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, NATHANIEL
SMITII and ROBERT SMITH, both of Thrapston, in the County of Northampton,
Agricultural Implement Makers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Nathaniel Smith and Robert Smith, Her special license that we, the said
Nathaniel Smith and Robert Smith, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said Nathaniel Smith and Robert Smith,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with,

page_text: 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 THE CON-
STRUCTION OF HAYMAKING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that we, the said Nathaniel Smith and Robert Smith, by an instrument
in writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us,
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 Robert Smith, on behalf of myself and
of the said Nathaniel Smith, do hereby declare the nature of our 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 object of this Invention is to improve the construction and operation of
haymaking machines. To this end we secure the spur driving wheels at either
side of the machine to a stud axle. The outer ends of these axles are coned to
receive the travelling wheels, and they work in tubular sockets or projections
formed or cast on the "heads" of the machine. The travelling wheels are secured
in their proper places on the stud axles by binding nuts, so that by simply
removing the binding nuts the travelling wheels can be removed when
required without disarranging the toothed gearing whereby the working parts
of the machine are actuated. The tines are mounted in pairs upon separate
tine bars secured to radial arms (made by preference of tubular iron);
the tine bars, with their tines, are so arranged that they shall range diagonally
with each other across the machine, instead of the tines being arranged in a
line or row, as heretofore. The object of this arrangement of the tines is to
prevent the hay from being lifted in large quantities at a time by several tines
being brought into action simultaneously, as heretofore. The effect of our
improved arrangement will be to distribute the hay more perfectly than is done
by the present baymaking machines, and the expenditure of power in working
the machine will be more equalized. The pressure springs which are used for
keeping the tines in position are so arranged that a spring from one tine bar
shall act on tines carried by the bar in advance thereof. The tine shaft is
made hollow with open ends, and is affixed to the "heads "by lock nuts, the
inner ones of which fit in sockets cast in the heads. On this shaft the tine

page_text: barrels are loosely mounted, and they are raised and lowered in the ordinary
manner by the aid of a quadrant fixed to the side irons and gearing into a
pinion carried by a shaft which passes through the hollow tine shaft. A
handle on this inner shaft gives motion to the pinion, and thereby causes it to
move over the quadrant face and raise or lower the tine barrels, so as to bring
the tines nearer to or further from the ground, as is well known in haymaking
machines. In order to throw the working parts of the machine in or out of
gear, the pinions of the tine barrels must be shifted laterally, so as to throw
them into or out of gear with their respective driving wheels; for this purpose
a pinion (mounted within the hollow tine shaft) is made to gear into a pair
of racks contained therein, and which project out at opposite ends of the hollow
shaft, and are bent round to envelope respectively the grooved bosses of the
sliding or tine barrel pinions. By causing this rack pinion to rotate in one or
the other direction, the simultaneous engaging or disengaging of these sliding
pinions with their driving wheels will be effected.
In order to lubricate the working parts of the machine, a lubricator box is
adapted to each head of the machine, and other lubricating boxes aro
adapted to the axles of the intermediate pinions as will be hereafter more fully
explained.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 is a vertical section of our improved
haymaking machine, taken through the tine barrels and the tubular sockets of
the travelling wheels; Fig. 2 is a partial front elevation, shewing the diagonal
arrangement of the tines; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the parts shewn in
Fig. 2.
a, a, is a hollow shaft (called the "tine shaft "), extending from side to side
of the machine, and upon which the tine barrels b, b, are placed. The "heads"
c, c, of the machine are also secured by means of lock nuts on the hollow
shaft a, the ends of which pass through tubular sockets c', c', cast on or forming.
parts of the respective heads. The heads c, c, are formed of hollow boxes, in
which are placed the driving wheels d, d, and pinions e, e, whereby the tine
barrels b, b, are actuated. A tubular socket c² is cast on each of the heads c,
for the purpose of receiving the stud axle f, on one end of which is keyed one
of the driving wheels d, and on the other or squared end of this stud axle is
secured the running or travelling wheel g by means of a jam nut g'. A lubri-
cating box is adapted to each of the heads, and serves to lubricate the stud
axle f and driving wheel d, and through it some of the other working parts of
the machine. Blocks i, i, are cast or fixed on the tine barrels b, for the
purpose of receiving the arms j, to which the tine bars are secured. In
place of making the arms of the tine bars of bar iron, as seen at j,j, in the

page_text: Figures, these arms may be formed of iron tubing, as seen at * in Fig. 1.
The tine bars are jointed to the arms or j by pins or studs, on which they
are allowed to turn, but are maintained in their proper positions by means of
flat springs 1, 1, (seen best in Fig. 3,) one of the ends of which bear against
the back of peculiarly shaped shoes m, which are flanged at the sides and are
bent back at one end, so that when the tines are forced back the shoe may
still have a perfect elastic bearing against the spring, whereby the tine bar will
be brought back to its normal position immediately the force or pressure on
the tines is removed. The springs 1, 1, are fixed at the points 2, 2, to arms j,
in advance of the tine bars, against which they are intended to act, and the
tail of each spring is made to extend beneath and bear against one of the other
springs, which will be sustained and strengthened thereby. It will be seen on
referring to Fig. 2, that in place of arranging the tines in lines containing
several tines in a row, as is now the case, one or more tines is or are fixed on
short bars arranged in diagonal rows, so that when the tine barrels are set in
motion only one or two tines will be brought into operation at a time. It will
be understood that as the machine travels over the ground, and the running
wheels are thereby caused to rotate, the stud axle with the toothed driving
wheel will also be caused to rotate, and if the pinions e, e, are in gear with the
driving wheels d, d, the tine barrels will be set in motion. When the machine
is to be transported from one locality to another along the road, the pinions e, e,
must be thrown out of gear with the driving power or the intermediate
reversing wheel. This is effected by means of the racks n, n', and pinion o
(Fig. 1), which latter is mounted on a stud fixed to some convenient part of
the frame, and is actuated by means of a suitable handle or winch, not shewn
in the Drawing. Upon setting the pinion o in motion in the direction of the
arrow, the rack n will be pushed in and will move the pinion e laterally into
the position shewn by red lines in the Drawing, and at the same time the
rack n will be drawn out in the direction of the arrow, and by means of the
long rod will pull back the other pinion e at the opposite end of the machine
into the position indicated by red lines. The two pinions will thus be thrown
out of gear with the driving power, and the wheels d, d, will then rotate
without actuating the other working parts.
Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the intermediate or reversing pinion of a hay-
making machine, shewing the mode of lubricating the same. As the use of
and mode of applying these pinions in haymaking machines is well known, I
have not thought it necessary to shew it applied to a machine. p is the pinion;
9 is a conical box, which forms the spindle on which the pinion rotates, and
being hollow and provided with a lid, it is capable of receiving a good supply of

page_text: lubricating material, which as it is required will escape out of a hole made in
the box, and will lubricate the outside of the spindle.
Having now described our Invention of "Improvements in the Construction of
Haymaking Machines," and having explained the manner of carrying the same
into effect, we would observe that some of the working parts of our improved
haymaking machine may be considerably modified without departing from the
nature and object of our Invention; for instance, the tines may be arranged
diagonally round a skeleton framework in the form of an open cylinder, or they
may be attached to separate wheels or discs; we do not therefore mean to
confine ourselves rigidly to the precise arrangement or construction of parts
above described, but that which we consider to be new in the above-described
haymaking machine, and therefore desire to secure by Letters Patent as
aforesaid, is,―
First, the mode herein set forth of arranging the tines so that they may be
brought into operation in succession, as above described.
Second, we claim the mode herein set forth of arranging the springs 1, 1, and
adapting them to the tine bars.
Third, we claim the mode herein set forth of constructing the heads c so
that the driving gear may be enclosed therein, and the running or travelling
wheels removed from the machine without interfering with the driving gear.
Fourth, we claim the modes herein set forth of lubricating the working
parts of the machine.
Fifth, we claim the mode herein set forth of throwing the working parts in
and out of gear.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Smith, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, the Twenty-ninth day September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
ROBERT SMITH. (L.S.)