Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Dec., 1886.
Specification Accepted, 25th Jan., 1887.
[Communicated from abroad by ALFRED G. COMPTON, of the City, County, and State
of New York, United States of America, Professor of Applied Mathematics.]
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON Fel Inst P.A. of the Agency for Foreign Patent
Solicitors 6, Lord Street, Liverpool in the County of Lancaster, and 323 High Holborn
in the County of Middlesex Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The object of this invention is to provide a simple, economical, and convenient
means for removing weeds, such as plantains, or any objectionable plant or growth
from lawns or fields; and it consists of the devices hereinafter shown and described.
In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1, is a side elevation view of the invention,
and Figure 2, is a front elevation of the same.
Similar letters refer to similar parts in the two figures.
a is a rod serving as the handle of the machine, and is made of wood, or any
suitable material. It is preferred to make this handle long enough to enable a person
to use the machine without stooping or bending over, and it should be made thick
enough to have sufficient strength for the use to which it is put.
bb are two metal rings, preferably made of iron, encircling the rod a and fastened
to it, one at the lower end of the rod, and the other some little distance above the first.
From the two rings project the converging arms or braces, c c, uniting at their outer
ends and serving to support the bar d, which bar is preferably made of iron. The bar d
extends horizontally on both sides of the braces c c for several inches, or any suitable
distance. On the ends of this bar the knife carrying frame is pivoted. This frame
consists of the two arms e e, pivoted on the ends of the bar d, respectively, and the
cross piece f connecting the arms e e at their free ends. The arms may be brought
within a short distance of each other at their pivoted ends, and then bent or curved
near their free ends to escape or pass around the rod a.
is the blade of the knife. It projects downward from the cross piece f, to which
it is firmly attached, preferably by means of screws or bolts passing through slots in

page_text: the knife, allowing the knife to be adjusted for any desired purpose, or allowing knives
of different sizes to be placed in the machine. The whole blade or knife is curved, as
shown. It is preferable to make this curvature such as the blade would have, if it
were part of the wall of a hollow cylinder, of which the bar d was the axis. The
edge of the knife is preferably slanted or inclined, as shown in Figure 2, to enable the
knife to enter the ground more readily.
his a foot-piece, and is shaped something like the sole of the foot. This foot-piece
is firmly attached to the cross piece f.
In place of the foot-piece there may be used a straight rod pivoted to the cross-
piecof, and similarly pivoted on a collar or sleeve sliding on the upper part of the
rod a, and moved by the hand of the operator, as shown in Figure 3.
i, is a spring of considerable strength, and is attached at its upper end to the rod or
handle a, and at its lower end to the foot-piece h, or the cross-piece f. The spring is
so placed that when in its normal condition it holds the supporting-knife frame with
the knife and the foot-piece up from the ground. Any other suitable means of raising
the knife may be employed.
k, is a spike, or pointed, or rounded piece of metal, or suitable substance, attached
to the lower end of the handle a, or to the lower ring, b, so as to project down in a line
with the handle. The lower end of the handle may be sharpened or rounded, and thus
serve as a spike.
When the machine is used, it is pressed down upon the weed or plant that is to be
cut, so that the spike k sinks into the ground far enough to hold the lower end of the
handle in position, and keep it from slipping. Then the foot-piece his pressed down
by the foot, and the knife is thus forced into the ground, and cuts through the roots
of the weed.
The rings bb, the braces c c, and the rod d are preferably made in a single casting,
as also are the arms e e, the cross-piece f, and the foot-piece h.
.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by my foreign
correspondent I declare that what I claim is:-
1. A weed-cutting machine consisting of a rod or handle having a projecting arm
or portion near its lower end, to some part of which projecting arm or portion a
knife carrying frame or lever is pivoted, and a knife attached to said frame or lever,
the knife frame being pivoted at a point sufficiently near the end of the rod, to enable
the knife to pass freely under the end of the rod, and beyond that end for any desired
distance, and a spring or other suitable means for raising the knife carrying frame or
lever with the knife, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
2. A weed cutting machine consisting of a rod or handle, having a projecting arm
or portion near its lower end, to some part of which projecting arm or portion a knife
carrying frame or lever is pivoted, and a knife and a foot-piece attached to said frame
or lever, the knife frame being pivoted at a point sufficiently near the end of the rod to
enable the knife to pass freely under the end of the rod, and beyond that end for any
desired distance, and a spring or other suitable means for raising the knife-carrying
frame or lever with the knife, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
3. A machine for cutting out weeds, or the like from the ground, consisting of the
handle a, the metal rings & b, the braces c c, the bar d, the arms e e, the cross piece f,
the knife g, the foot-piece h, the spring i, and the spike k, substantially as and for the
purposes set forth.
WM. P. THOMPSON & CO.,
Agents for the Applicant.