IMPROVEMENTS IN MOWING AND REAPING MACHINES
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William MoIntyre Cranston of No 36 Worship Street
Finsbury in the county of Middlesex for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS
IN MOWING AND REAPING MACHINES partly communicated to him from
abroad by the Walter A Wood Reaping and Mowing Machine Company of
Hoosick Falls in the state of New York in the United States of America and
partly invented by himself
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William McIntyre Cranston
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 26th April 1883.
WILLIAM MINTYRE CRANSTON of N° 36 Worship Street Finsbury in the
County of Middlesex "IMPROVEMENTS IN MOWING AND REAPING MACHINES
(Partly communicated to me from abroad by the Walter A. Wood, Reaping and
Mowing Machine Company of Hoosick Falls in the State of New York in the
United States of America and partly invented by myself)
This Invention relates to special features in or connected with mowing and
reaping machines notably
1. For ensuring the rotation of the gearing from the action of the main wheel
while moving in the working direction and a freedom of the gearing from any
backward or reverse motion of the machine.
2. For establishing a connection and disconnection of the main wheel and the
pinion by a throw over action of a lever, the pinion frame, or support moving
about the main axle on which the support is mounted.
For carrying the knife and cutter bar from the main axle and steadying its
rising and falling action by a curved plate working through a slotted plate
fixed to the pole iron, said cutter bar being rigidly set by.stay.or tie rods
affixed to the curved plate.
. For carrying the back mitre wheel whose socket has a sleeve, upon.a fixed pin
or axle the front of the socket having pauls which engage in teeth on the
inner face of the pinion collar at any part of its rotation. The pinion collar
may have a sprocket wheel affixed or teeth formed thereon for actuating the
reel chain if desired,

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William MoIntyre Cranston in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
26th October 1883.
IN
WILLIAM MCINTYRE CRANSTON of N° 36 Worship Street Finsbury in the
county of Middlesex IMPROVEMENTS MOWING AND REAPING MACHINES
Partly communicated to me from abroad by the Walter A Wood Reaping and
Mowing Machine Company of Hoosick Falls in the state of New York in the
United States of America and partly invented by myself
This invention relates to special features in or connected with mowing and
reaping machines notably 1 For ensuring the rotation of the gearing from the
action of the main wheel while moving in the working direction and a freedom of
the gearing from any backward or reverse motion of the machine.
This invention will be clearly understood by the annexed drawings in which
the several features before mentioned are incorporated or arranged in combination
to the same machine (a mower) but are equally applicable to a reaper by
substituting the combined sprocket and spur wheel for the plain surface and spur
wheel as hereafter described
Figure 1 shows in detail a series of pauls A, A, A with bulbs on their inner
ende lodged in recesses (of corresponding shape) of lugs B B projecting radii from
a collar C forming part of a casting having a spur pinion D on its opposite side as
at Figure 2. The bulbs of the pauls are simply dropped into the recesses and the
pauls are free to fall to engage into teeth E formed within the shell F of the
casting to ensure its rotation when the machine travels forward, said pauls being
free to ride over them when the machine is moved backwards from any cause in
the field so as to stop the working action of the knives or cutters. This release
of the pauls is automatic and the instant the machine moves forward again one
or other of the pauls drop into and engage with the teeth and the cutters
recommence their action.
Figure 3 represents the same casting but instead of the shell F being plain as
for a mowing machine it has sprocket teeth G upon its circumference for a chain to
work over for operating the gathering reel by which the grain straws are gathered
on to the platform of a reaping machine in any well known manner.
The axle or shaft H by which the casting C is carried is fixed and the casting C
is loosely mounted upon it.
The invention relates Secondly to establish a connection and disconnection of
the main wheel and the pinion by a throw over action of a lever the pinion frame
or support moving about the main axle on which the support is mounted.
This will be understood by Figures 4 and 5 which show sufficient of a machine
for the purpose and with the paul arrangement just described fitted thereto.
H' is the main axle supported by the main wheel I which is mounted loosely
thereon said axle carries, by an arm J projecting from a crank plate K as part of
same, the front frame L by a bolt M' which passes through. The arm J is situated
at a lower level as shown by the elevation Figure 6. The upper part of the
plate K is extended at N and is slotted for the pin P of a hand lever Q to work in,
said lever, being pivotted to a portion of the back frame R. This ensures the pin
in the slot acting as the pivot on which the back frame R is forced to the front.
said frame moving in a circular direction which lifts the pinion D clear of the
driving teeth S of the main wheel I and vice versa the front frame L'being also
forced in a circular direction towards the back by reason of its attachment to the
bolt M at the arm J.

page_text: The front end T of the front frame L carries a quadrant U and the lever V by
which the angle of the cutters can be set and by which the inner shoe can be
lifted or set at the desired elevation above the ground, the lever V being connected
to the chain V.
When the pinion D is in gear with the teeth of the main wheel I for the forward
motion of the machine the pauls A A by engaging in the teeth E of the casting C
causes the bevil wheel W to turn and communicate motion to the pitman X and
knives, through the bevil pinion Y and shaft this being partially enclosed in a
sleeve Z forming part of the back frame R.
The knife bar and finger bar are carried by the front end of the back frame
from the main axle H¹ and are steadied in their rising and falling action by the
curved plate a working through a slot in or by a plate attached or fixed to the
pole iron or front frame L said cutter bar being rigidly attached to the back frame
by an extension piece d and held by stay or tie rods b c affixed at angles to the
back frame R and to the curved plate a.
Having now described the nature of the said invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed I declare that I claim.
First The paul arrangement as shown and the method by which the loosely set
pinion can be operated as and for the purpose or purposes set forth
Secondly The suspension of the back frame from and below the journal of the
main axle as and for the purpose set forth and substantially as shown in
the annexed drawings.
Thirdly The method of operating the back frame for engaging and disengaging
the spur pinion in and from the teeth of the main wheel as set forth
Fourthly The curved plate a passing through a slot of the pole iron or front frame
and its connection in the manner described by stay or tie rods to the end
of the extension piece by which the cutter and finger bars are carried as
set forth and as shown in the annexed drawings
Fifthly I claim The combination of the several features before set forth in or to
a mowing or to a reaping machine as far as they will apply thereto as
described
In witness whereof I the said William McIntyre Cranston have hereunto set
my hand and seal this twenty third day of October in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty three.
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STORA