AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF HORSE-HOES, APPLICABLE ALSO TO DRILLS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Taylor, of Swanton Novers, Thetford, in the
County of Norfolk, Farm Bailiff, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT
IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF HORSE-HOES, APPLICABLE ALSO TO DRILLS."
Sealed the 27th August 1858, and dated the 25th June 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Taylor at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 25th June
.1858.
I, JOHN TAYLOR, of Swanton Novers, Thetford, in the County of. Norfolk,
Farm Bailiff, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN
IMPROVEMENT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF HORSE-HOES, APPLICABLE ALSO TO DRILLS,'
to be as follows:-
The chief object of this Invention is to simplify the construction of horse-
hoes, and to give to the attendant more complete command over such imple-
ments when in work than heretofore. For this purpose I mount the hoes on
independent levers, which are severally jointed to the forward end of a balance.
frame. This frame has for its fulcrum (by preference) the axle of the
running. wheels, and it is also made capable of sliding laterally thereon.
The steering rod by which these two movements are communicated to the:
frame, passes from the front to the rear of this frame, and rests in' suitable>
bearings carried by the frame, which bearings permit. of its receiving an
axial motion from the hand of the attendant. On the inner or forward end
of the steering rod is keyed a segment rack which gears into a rack on the

page_text: axle of the running wheels, and the outer end of the rod is fitted with a hand
wheel or handles. When therefore a lateral motion is required to be given to
the hoes to get them into the proper position for working, it will only be
necessary to turn the steering rod to the right or left, and the whole of the
hoes will by reason of the gearing be shogged in the required direction.
When the hoes are required to be lifted so as to be clear of the ground, or
for the purpose of changing the angle of inclination of the cutting edge of the
hoes, the guide rod is pressed upwards by the attendant, when acting as a
lever it will raise the hoes, the movement being facilitated by the counter-
weight of the portion of the frame which lies on the forward side of the
axle, or centre of the rocking motion. Instead of the segment and straight
rack, other gearing, as a pulley and chain, or their equivalent, may be employed
for imparting the lateral motion to the balance frame. The above described
arrangement applies also to drills, and serves to facilitate the adjustment of
the coulters while those implements are in operation.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Taylor in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 24th
December 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
TAYLOR, of Swanton Novers, Thetford, in the County of Norfolk, Farm
Bailiff, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Taylor, Her special license that I, the said John Taylor, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Taylor, 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 "AN IMPROVEMENT IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OF HORSE-HOES, APPLICABLE ALSO TO DRILLS," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said John Taylor, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain

page_text: 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 Taylor, do hereby declare the
nature of my 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 chief object of this Invention is to simplify the construction of horse-
hoes, and to give to the attendant more complete command than heretofore
over the implement when in work, so that while guiding the hoes he may
instantly throw them up out of action, and thus avoid the liability common to
horse-hoes, of even the most approved construction, of their swaying about and
cutting up the crop during the time requisite for lifting the hoes free of the
ground. These advantages I attain by mounting the hoes on independent
levers, which are severally jointed to the forward end of a balance frame,
which is both capable of rocking and sliding upon its fulcrum, and can there-
fore be moved both vertically and horizontally by the same guiding shaft
or lever..
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 shews in plain view a horse-hoe
constructed according to my Invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the
same taken in the line 1, 2, of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an end elevation shewing
the gearing for giving the lateral motion to the balance frame; and Fig. 4
is a sectional view of the compound axle on which the carrying wheels are
mounted. a, a, is the balance frame, which has for its fulcrum the axle of the
carrying wheels. This axle is composed of three parts, viz., the shafts b, b,
and the coupling tube, and is thus made capable of expansion and con-
traction to facilitate the adjustment of the wheels breadthwise to the work.
This axle carries also the draught frame c of the implement. The balance
frame a, it will be understood, is mounted loosely on the axle b, and it
receives its motions from a steering rod or lever d, which turns in bearings
provided for it on the frame. To the forward end of the balance frame, the
slotted bar is secured for receiving the levers f, which carry the hoes g.
On the inner or forward end of the steering rod d' is keyed a segment rack h;
which gears into a worm rack cast on the tubular coupling 6* of the axle,
and the outer end of the rod is fitted with a hand wheel or handle for the
attendant to grasp while the implement is in use. When a lateral motion is
required to be given to the hoes to get them into the proper position for

page_text: working, it will only be necessary to turn the steering rod in its bearings to
the right or left as the case may be, and the whole of the hoes will by reason
of the segment rack gearing into the fixed worm rack be shogged in the
required direction, and to the amount requisite to bring the several pairs of
hoes into the proper position relatively to the rows of the growing crop. In
order to lift the hoes clear of the ground, or for the purpose of changing the
angle of inclination of the cutting edge of the hoes, the guide rod is pressed
upwards by the attendant, when, acting as a lever, it will raise the hoes, the
movement being facilitated by the counterweight of the portion of the frame
which lies on the forward side of the axle b, or centre of the rocking motion.
Instead of the segment and the straight rack, other gearing as a pulley and
chain, or their equivalent, may be employed for imparting the lateral motion
to the balance frame.
In
To facilitate the lateral adjustment of the carrying wheels, I cast the
coupling tube * with an internal worm, as shewn in the section Fig. 4; and
fit on the ends of the shafts b, b, a pin or pins for taking into the worm.
the normal state of the compound axle, the several parts will be held firmly
together by the binding screws 1, 1, but when I require to expand or con-
tract the axle I slacken these binding screws, and also the binding screws 2,
which fix the draught frame c to the axle, and turn the implement round on
one or other of the wheels; the effect of which movement will be to rotate the
shafts 6 in the coupling tube to the right or left hand according to the direc-
tion of the movement given to the implement, and thus expand or contract the
axle to any required amount; 3, 3, are retaining screws for keeping the
shafts b, b, within the coupling tube. To keep the hoes free of the ground
when the implement is travelling over roads or to its work, a metal loop i is
fixed to the steering rod, and the hind end of the tool box k is fitted with a
hook to receive the loop. A hasp 7 (Fig. 3), also attached to the box may be
used to prevent the loop being jerked off the hook, the hasp being brought
under the elevated steering rod, and secured in position by a pin or wedge..
The above described arrangement of balance frame applies also to drills,
and serves to facilitate the adjustment of the coulters while those implements
are in operation. The mode of applying the improvement to this class of
implements will be obvious to any practical mechanic, and therefore no
special description will be needed.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "An Improvement in
the Construction of Horse-hoes, applicable also to Drills," and explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that
under the above in part recited Letters Patent, I claim the application to

page_text: horse-hoes and drills of a frame for carrying the hoes and the coulters of the
respective implements so mounted and fitted that by means of a steering rod
or lever attached thereto, both a rocking, and a lateral or sliding motion may
be imparted to the frame, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Taylor, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-third day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
JOHN TAYLOR. (L.S.)