AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR REAPING Grain and BINDING IT INTO BUNDLES
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Emmet Horton, of Hartford, in the State of
Connecticut, United States of America, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED MACHINE FOR REAPING Grain and BINDING IT INTO BUNDLES,”
Sealed the 12th January 1875, and dated the 26th November 1874.
5
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Emmet Horton at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 26th November 1874, pursuant to the 9th
Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EMMET
HORTON, of Hartford, in the State of Connecticut, United States of
America, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "AN IMPROVED
MACHINE FOR REAPING GRAIN AND BINDING IT INTO BUNDLES," and have
O petitioned Her Majestey to grant unto me, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and have made
solemn Declaration that I am the true and first Inventor thereof.

page_text: Figure 13 is a rear elevation view of the binding apparatus in the
same adjustment as in Figures 11 and 12. With reference to its position.
on the reaping machine this view is an end view from, the end which has
the main driving wheel.
With
Figure 14 is a front elevation view of the binding apparatus.
reference to its position on the machine the view is from the end
opposite the main driving wheel.
Figure 15 is a detail view showing a vertical section of the parts next
to and supporting the knot tying parts. The dotted line x¹³, x¹, shows
the plan of this section (see Fig. 17).
Figure 16 is a detail view of the knot tying parts only in the adjust-
ment which these parts have in the normal position of rest, the position
shown in Figs. 11, 12, 13, and 14. With reference to the whole machine
it is a view from the front.
Figure 17 is a view of the knot tying parts only (a front view as to
the whole machine) after the needle arm has moved up from the normal
position of rest, carrying the twine through the slot in the slotted
disk.
Figure 18 is á view substantially the same as Figure 17, exept that
the slotted disk has made one and one-fourth revolutions (lateral and
forward terms herein-after explained), giving to the twine the twist for
a single knot..
Figure 19 is a view (front as to the whole machine) of the knot tying
parts progressed another step. The disc box, carrying the slotted disk
-with it, has made an one-half longitudinal revolution backward, and the
slotted disk has made one-fourth lateral revolution backward. (The
terms "longitudinal" and "backward" are herein-after explained.) The
needle arm has moved still further forward (meaning toward the end of
the machine opposite the main driving wheel), and has stretched and
tightened the first or single knot.
Figure 20 is a view (front as to the whole machine) of the knot tying
parts progressed another step from adjustment, shown in Figure 19.
The disk has made one and one-fourth lateral revolutions forward
(relatively "forward," that is, it gives twist to the twine), giving twist.
around the point of the needle to the twine for the second knot, the.

page_text: The letter a indicates the main driving wheel, hung upon the stud a¹,
rigid on the frame. a² indicates the small supporting wheel, hung on
stud a³, rigid on the frame. The internal gear 6 is rigid on wheel a, and
meshes into and drives gear b', hung on shaft 6³, having bearings in
box 63, on which shaft is hung bevel gear 64, which when in gear meshes
into and drives bevel pinion bo, hung on shaft having bearings in box 66,
rigid on the frame, on the front end of which shaft is disk b³, bearing
crank pin 6, from which motion is given to the cutter bar through
pitman ¹º. I provide a cover box for disk bª in two parts. The two box
halves a, a, both embrace the shaft box 6, the box half a' being able
to contain box half a³, both are slipped upon the end of shaft box 66, one
within the other, then disk 68 is fastened on its shaft box half, a³ is
pinned to shaft box be so that it cannot turn thereon, and then box
half a¹ is turned up, as shown in Drawing. Bevel gear b' is thrown in
and out of gear by means of clutch half aº, which turns with shaft b³,
but can move upon it longitudinally so as to mesh into clutch half a²,
fast upon side of gear 6. Clutch half a is operated by means of forked
ball lover as (sec Figures 4 and 5), pivoted to side of standard aº, rising
from frame. The forks a" and a" are screw like, and ride the flange at
end of clutch half a. When ball at end of lever is thrown forward, as
shown in Figure 2, fork a" throws clutch in gear, and when ball is
thrown back fork a throws clutch out of gear. Ball lever is intended
to be moved by operator's foot. Fork a" is of somewhat different shape
from a, so that it does not lock the clutch in mesh as fork a locks it
out of mesh, but fork all when in action rests against the flange of its
clutch half, so that when the machine is moved backward the action
and pressure will raise the ball lever enough to allow the clutch to
unmesh, and it remains thus unmeshed till the machine moves forward,
when the weight of the ball lever throws the clutch into mesh again.
As to operating the rake gear con hub of wheel a drives pinion c¹,
shaft of which runs through box c and bears bevel gear c³ driving
bevel gear c¹ on shaft chung in front and rear shaft boxes cº, c²,
which are rigid on the frame of machine. On rear end of shaft c
is disk c loose on the shaft bearing crank pin o from which pitman o
runs to rake arm c" pivoted by a universal joint on standard c¹s
giving a vibratory motion. Rake slides by arms c" on guide
rod, the rod c₁ sliding back and forth in way guides c" on rake
arm The rake brings the grain to the binder which stands in

page_text: the space indicated by dotted lines c¹s to be bound. On under side
of rake arm c" is pivotted the forked pawl c; as the rake moves
toward the binder it stops, so that the forks just rest astride the
saddle c, and as the rake returns to normal position it is lifted by
this pawl so as not to interfere with the grain that is falling on the
table. Disk c³ is loose on its shaft. I will show how it is brought
into action (see Figure 3). The clutch d is fast on shaft c³, thic
locking piece a borne in hub of disk c is pressed back against and
into corresponding seat in end of shaft box o' by the spring d², so
that disk c³ left to itself will always stop in same position. Operator,
by pushing his foot against upper end of lever d³, causes lower end
of lever to push against locking picce d' and move it against tho
action of the spring, so that it is caught by clutch d and carried
around till it comes to its seat in end of shaft box c', when the
spring d² throws it out of mesh, the disk c³ having made one complete
revolution and operated the rake. As the cam point d' comes around
it strikes the lower end of lever d³, pushing it back, and causing it,
through the medium of rod d³, to set in operation a precisely similar
clutch motion on opposite end of shaft c³, causing gear de which
operates the binding mechanism to make one complete revolution
and operate the binder. By putting a cam point similar to d' upon
the hub of gear to operate on rod a³, the whole thing can be mado
automatic.
As to the fork, the disk cs is also a cam giving back-and-forth
motion to the rod d, the front end of which is attached to and
operates the fork which removes the bundles of grain after the binding
apparatus has bound them. This fork is shown in Figures 9 and 10,
the base being secured to the plate d³ (see Figure 1). The forward
end of the rod d is jointed to the car dº, thus giving vibratory
motion to the double swinging arm " which is hung upon. the
stationary upright rod d". The fork arm a bearing the fork d¹³ is
pivoted to and upon the double arm d, and has an up-and-down
movement on this pivot. Upon the rear end of the fork arm d¹³
is hung the truck or friction wheel d" acting in conjunction with
the stationary cam d¹ which is rigidly fixed to the upright rod d".
The arm is prevented by a stop or shoulder at du from falling
lower with reference to the arm d than indicated in Figure 10.
When the rod d' swings the arm d" toward the front of the reaper

page_text: the truck runs up the incline on the top of the cam d" and lifts
the arm (which is now carrying a bundle of grain) till the truck
reaches the forward end of the cam d, when it drops off the end,
letting the whole (meaning arm and arm 12) fall till the socket d¹
strikes against the shoulder ". The arm & returning toward the
rear the truck runs down the incline on the under side of cam dis
and lifts the outer end of arm d, disengaging from the bundle till
the truck reaching the rear end of the cam allows the outer end of
fork d to fall (and the fork enters and engages with another bundle
of grain). The cam c³ is of course so shaped as to cause these motions
of the fork at the proper time relative to the operations of the binding
apparatus.
As to the binder, I have explained how at the proper time the gear d
is caused to make one revolution. It is this single revolution of the
gear that operates the binding apparatus, and binds a bundle of
grain. The gear a meshes into and drives the gear du, shown in
Figures 11, 12, and 13. I will now describe the operation of the
binding apparatus proceeding from this point. The grain being swept
by the rake operated by the reaper within the parti-circle formed by the
slicet metal guard as the grasper arm e pivoted by its butt end in the
frame of the binder swings down and grasps and presses the grain, and
holds it thus till bound, when it swings back, and releases the bundle.
This grasper arm is operated as follows:-On the shaft e¹ is tho clutch
half made to revolve with the shaft, but free to move a certain
distance upon it lengthwise of the shaft. The clutch half e' is pressed
toward the clutch half es by the spring e, the tension of which can be
regulated by the nut e³. The clutch half e³ is upon the hub e (looso
on shaft e', from which extends rigidly the arm e³ jointed at its end
to the pitman e³, the free end of which bears a rack e' meshing into
the pinion e¹, which is upon the hub at the butt end of tho grasper
arm. The shaft e¹, revolving, causes, by means of the engaging
clutch halves the arm e', and consequently the grasper arm, to move
forward till the resistance of the grain overcomes the tension of
spring e, when the clutch balf e* is disengaged from clutch half e³, and
the grasping movement of the grasper arm is stopped. The grain is
held thus grasped by pawl e" striking into ratch e¹ on hub eª. At the
proper time the projection e" on box e", which revolves with shaft e¹,
strikes and raises pawl e", and holds it raised (while the binder is in the

page_text: position of rest) freeing the grasper arm which is returned to position of
rest by spring e", which also holds pawl e" to its work. The guard e¹
serves to keep pitman es down upon its pinion, the pin e" projecting
from the side of the pitman, and following along the under side of the
guard.
Immediately after the grasper arm swings down, and grasps the grain
into a bundle, the needle arm ƒ pivoted in the frame of the binder
swings up through a slot cut for it in the sheet metal guard into position
indicated in dotted lines in Figure 11. This needle arm carries upon
one side near its free end a right angular hollow needle f¹ through
which the twine f* coming from spool f' underneath the guard, its
tension regulated by screw f*, passes to bind the bundles. The needle
arm is operated from gear d" through the medium of connecting rod ƒ³
jointed to lever f', which is jointed at its other end to a stationary
support, and bears on one side between its two ends, a truck covered
pin projecting into cam groove", the shape of which is such as to give
the needle arm the movements herein described for it. When the grain
is swept into the binder the twine is (previously) fastened by one end
into a twine-hold on the face of the slotted disk (parts herein-after
described), and runs thence down and through the twine needle to the
spool (as seen in Figure 12), and the grain being swept into the binder
pushes back the twine and causes it to partially encircle the grain.
When the needle arm moves up, as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 11,
the twine wholly encircles the grain. That which I have spoken of as
the slotted disk is denoted by the letter g, and its slot by g'; it admits
of variations in some respects, but it is essential that it should rotate,
and be slotted from one side to an open center. In the present mechanism
this disk is bourne by and partly in the disk box 7", being secured in place
by screw cap g³, thus allowing the disk to rotate freely.
The rotations of the slotted disk are given by the bevel pinion g' mesli-
ing into a sunken bevel gear on the face of the disk, and having one large
tooth to fill slot g². In the description of the operation of the knot
tying parts I speak of the rotation of the slotted disk in the disk box as
lateral revolutions, and I term that direction of this revolution which
gives twist to the twine forward. The disk box has itself a rotation,
and in such rotation carries the slotted disk with it; this latter kind of
rotation I term longitudinal, whether speaking of the disk or disk box,

page_text: and that direction of this revolution which moves the top of the disk box
away from the main driving wheel I term forward. The disk box.is
borne upon the end of the sleeve shaft g, on the other end of which is
the gear 7, which is operated by a rack 9³, giving the rotations of the
disk box. The sleeve shaft 9° encloses and rotates upon the shaft g³, to
which pinion gʻ is fixed and bears the pinion h, which is operated by
rack h¹, and gives the lateral revolutions of the slotted disk. Shaft gº finds
an end bearing in the part 2 part of the frame, and the sleeve shaft 5ª
finds a bearing in similar part ³. The rack is upon the end of
rack arm k*, which is pivoted at its rear end to frame of binder, and has
its motions given by cam groove in the side of gear disk d" acting on
The rack is on
a truck covered pin on the side of the rack arm.
the end of the rack arm h', which is pivoted at its rear end to frame of
binder, and has its motions given by cam groove ³ acting on a truck
covered pin projecting from side of rack arm. The shape of these two.
cam grooves is such as to give the slotted disk and disk box the
movements herein described for them.
When the needle arm first moves up the slotted disk is in the position
represented in Figures 16 and 17, the position of rest with the slot in
the disk pointing towards the front of the reaper. When the needlo
arm thus moves up the twine needle passes through the center of the
slotted disk and past it toward the main driving wheel, assuming the
position shown in Figuro 17. The two ends of the twine are thus
carried past each other, as is done by a person in tying a knot with his
fingers. When I say the "ends " I am speaking of that point in the
twine proceeding from the twine needle as an end while it is not really
an end, but is practically so for the purposes of this description. The
slotted disk now makes one and one-fourth lateral revolutions forward,
giving twist to the twine for a single knot, and leaving the slot in the
slotted disk pointing down, as shown in Figure 18. In giving twist to
the twine for this first and single knot the end of twinc held by the twine
hold on the face of the slotted disk is twisted around the twine coming
from the point of the twine needle. The disk box now make an onc-half
longitudinal revolution backward, carrying the slotted disk with it. The
5 slotted disk makes an one-fourth lateral revolution backward, leaving
the slot pointing to front of reaper, and the needle arm moves still
further toward the main driving wheel, stretching the first knot, the
needle drawing its end in one direction, and the car hº on the disk box
.

page_text: catching and drawing the other end in the opposite direction; this
position of parts is shown in Figure 19; the first knot is now complete.
The needle arm now retreats away from the main driving wheel, bringing
the twine needle and its end of twine back through the slot in the disk,
leaving the needle just projecting through the slot, and the slotted disk
again makes one and one-fourth lateral revolutions (practically) forward,
giving the twist to the twine for the second knot, the twist being made
around the point of the twine needle. This position of the parts is
shown in Figure 20. The needle arm now retreats a little further
away from the main driving wheel, thus drawing and stretching its end
of twine, the other end being caught and stretched by the stretcher i
hung on same shaft with pinion driven by rack lever, operated
by cam 3³, and held to its work by spring , thus drawing and
stretching the second knot, the disk box having made about one-fourth
longitudinal revolution forward, and slotted disk making about one-
oighth lateral revolution forward; this position of needle arm, disk,
disk box, and stretcher is shown in Figure 21. The cutting of the twine
is also shown in Figure 21, and I will describe the operation.
Just before the stretcher i comes down to its work the forked twine
retainer m, hung on same shaft with pinion m³, driven by rack lever m²,
operated by cam &, and held to its work by spring ", comes down, the
fork falling astride the end of twine coming from twine needle, and
carrying the twine across the stationary knife m³, the moving knife m
appertenant to twine retainer comes down and severs the twinc, the
fork of the twine retainer holding the twine after it is cut, all shown in 1
Figure 21. The needle arm now moves forward, entering the twine-
hold on the face of the slotted disk, raising its spring latch, releasing the
old end of twine, and entering and fastening a fresh end for a fresh
bundle. The stretcher i moves a little further so as to draw the old end
of twine out from the twine-hold, the twine needle having raised the
látch of the twine-hold so as to permit this release; this position
of the parts is shown in Figure 22. In this connection I will
explain the construction and operation of the twine-hold, which is on
the face of the slotted disk (see section of this twine-hold in Figure 25)..
The body n of the twine-hold is mortised straight through, and in the
mortice is hung the latch ¹ operated by spring n². The twine needle
entering presses back the latch, relcasing the old end of twine, and
retreating, leaves a fresh end fastened under the latch. The needle arm
now retreats to position of rest (shown in Figures 11 and 12), the disk

page_text: 21. The combination of the pivoted needle arm f, connecting rodƒ³,
lever fe, bearing pin on its side, and cam groove f".
22. The combination of the ear h° with the disk box.
23. The combination of the twinę stretcher i, pinion », rack lever ³,
and cam ³.
24. The forked twine retainer m constructed and operating substantially
as described.
25. The combination of the forked twine retainer m, pinion m³,
rack lover m³, cam 2³, stationary knife m³, and moving knife m².
26. The combination of the slotted disk and the twine-hold upon its
face, composed of the mortised body n, latch n', and spring n³.
27. The twine support o pivoted to the cap plate of disk box, and
operating substantially as described.
28. The combination in the binder of the vibratory grasper arm, having
movements substantially as described, with the vibratory needle arm
having movements substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Emmet Horton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four
Witnesses,
WILLIAM EDGAR SIMMONDS.
JOHN JOHNSON.
AMOS WHITNEY.
EMNET HORTON. (L.S.)