IMPROVEMENTS IN FLOUGHS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Howard, of Bedford, in the County of
Bedford, Agricultural Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN FLOUGHS."
Sealed the 16th August 1870, and dated the 12th April 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Howard at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th April 1870.
I, JAMES HOWARD, of Bedford, in the County of Bedford, Agricul-
tural Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PLOUGHS," to be as follows:-
-
This Invention relates to improvements in the construction of two-
furrow and other ploughs, whereby their manipulation will be facilitated,
both as respects their adjustment to their work and the putting of the
plough in and out of action.
In constructing two-furrow ploughs or ploughs for taking two or more
furrows (in which the plough bodies require to be adjusted relatively to
each other to suit different widths of furrow), I use one or more expand-

page_text: ing frames for carrying the adjustable plough bodies. Supposing the
Invention to be applied to a two-furrow plough, I attach the expanding
frame to a double beam which carries the fixed plough body. Projecting
laterally from this beam, and forming with the beam the framework, are
rectangular bars which are permanently fixed in place, and between
these lateral extensions of the frame is placed the expanding frame
before mentioned, which is of a rectangular form. The ends of this
frame are made fast to the beam by vertical loop screws and nuts, and it
is further secured in position by clamps, which by means of screws and
nuts bind it at its opposite ends to the lateral projections of the plough
frame. A regulating screw fitted to the beam and passing through
the middle of the expanding frame serves by means of nuts thereon
to adjust the frame laterally (when the clamps and loop screws are
slackened), and thus to move the plough body, which it carries either
nearer to or further from the beam, as may be required. The wheel
carriage I fit with vertical sockets for receiving the wheel stems, which
sockets are free to turn in their bearings. These sockets I connect to a
steering bar, which I operate by a steering lever reaching back to the
plough handles; and in order to allow of the shifting vertically of the
land wheel for turning the plough at the land's end, or adjusting the
depth of the furrow, I connect to the stem of that wheel a cranked lever,
which I operate through a hand lever at the other end of the plough,
fixing the hand lever (and consequently the wheel stem) by means of a

page_text: forward end of the plough is rounded to allow of its turning in its socket
for the purpose of throwing the plough body sideways when turning at
the land's end. To keep the plough in position while at work an
ordinary spring catch or drop bolt carried by the beam is used. This
catch falls into a notch in the sliding socket, and is operated by the
attendant when at the handles of the plough by means of a draw rod and
lever, or their equivalent. The wheels' stems are screwed at their upper
ends, and are raised and lowered in their sockets by means of handled
nuts, so that the depth as well as the width of furrow can be adjusted
without the slackening of a single screw.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Howard in the Great Scal Patent Office on
the 12th October 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
HOWARD, of Bedford, in the County of Bedford, Agricultural Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-third year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said James Howard, Her special licence that I, the said
James Howard, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said James Howard, 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 law-
fully 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 PLOUGHS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said James Howard, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and scals, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Howard, 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 Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say) :-
This Invention relates to improvements in the construction of that
class of plough known as two-furrow ploughs, and also of ploughs of the
more ordinary construction, the object being to facilitate their mani-
pulation, both as respects their adjustment to their work and the putting
of the plough in and out of action.
My improvements in the construction of two-furrow ploughs-consist,-
Firstly. In a novel arrangement of expanding frame, whereby the
relative positions of the plough bodies may be adjusted to suit their
work.
And, secondly. To improved means for adjusting and steering the
leading wheels.
The improvements which I will now describe relate equally to ploughs
arranged to take more than two furrows, but to avoid unnecessary
complexity of the Drawings I will explain the Invention as applied to
a two or double furrow plough.
In Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 shews, in side.
elevation, a two-furrow plough constructed according to my Invention;
and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same.
-
The main frame of the plough consists of a beam A, to which are
secured lateral projecting pieces A¹, A³, composed of bar iron, the inner
ends of which are bent inwards at right angles, and rivetted or welded to
the beam. The bar A¹ is cranked and bent upwards to form one of the
plough handles, and a handle of corresponding form is forged on to the
beam A, and these handles are braced together by a strap and transverse
piece to give them the requisite stiffness. The forward ends of the
beam A and the bar A³ are connected together by means of the curved
head a.
The frame thus constituted has a central opening into which
fits the frame B formed of bar iron, the ends of which are bent at right
angles and project through mortices made to receive them in the
beam A. This frame B I call an expanding frame, as it is capable of
lateral adjustment to shift the plough body which it carries nearer to or

page_text: farther from the fixed plough, which is carried by the beam A. For
this purpose the beam A is fitted with a regulating screw C, the end of
which projects through a hole at the middle of the bar B, and carries
on either side of the bar adjusting nuts C, which serve to retain the
expanding frame in the position to which it is adjusted. The expanding
frame B is further secured to the main frame by means of clips or
clamps b, which embrace both the return ends of the frame B and the
lateral projecting pieces A', A², and through which screw bolts are
passed. When a third plough body is required to be used the beam A
may form the central beam of the plough frame. D, D, are the plough
bodies secured in the usual way to their respective frames; E, E, are tho
coulters. The plough frame is fitted with vertical sockets to receive the
stems and g of the land wheel F and leading wheel G. These stems
are connected through crank arms and links with the jointed steering
lever H, which has its fulcrum at h, and reaches back to the plough
handles; and by means of that lever the wheels are moved simul.
taneously in any desired direction. To allow of the land wheel F being
shifted vertically to determine the depth of furrow to be cut, the stem f
is made capable of sliding in its socket, and it is fitted at its upper end
with a swivel ring or collar, which is coupled by links to a lever I,
which has its fulcrum at i, carried by a bracket standard on the beam A.
This lever terminates in a handle near the plough handles, and it is
provided with a sliding spring bolt , which takes into the teeth of a
segment rack K secured to the beam A and to the adjacent plough
handle, which bolt serves to hold the lever in any desired position. The
sliding bolt is jointed to a small crank lever ², having its fulcrum on the
lever I. This crank lever is so situated that the attendant in grasping
the handle of the lever I will draw down the crank lever and withdraw
the bolt, thus leaving the lever I free to be moved to raise or lower the
land wheel as desired. When the wheel is adjusted to its proper level
the spring bolt will engage with the segment rack and maintain the
wheel in its new position. L is the hind or friction wheel, the stem of
which is held by a loop screw to the rear end of the beam A. From
the above explanation it will be understood that the ploughman while
following the plough can steer the wheels and regulate the depth of
work with facility.
As an improvement in the adjustment of ploughs generally I employ

page_text: wherein Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the carriage; Fig. 2 is a plan view
of the same; and Fig. 3, an inverted plan view.
This carriage consists of an upper and lower bar A, A', which are
braced together at their opposite ends. In the ends of these bars are
formed sokets to receive the stems B, B, of the leading wheels. These
bars form guides for a shifting socket C, which carries the forward and
rounded end of the plough beam D. This socket is traversed hori-
zontally along its guides by means of a traversing screw E for the
purpose of adjusting the width of furrow. This screw E projects through
one end of the wheel carriage, and enters a nut carried by a lateral
extension of the socket C. Tho head of this screw is squared to receive
a key for turning it, and thus imparting the desired traverse motion to
the socket C. The socket C is provided with flanges which embrace
the bars A and A', and serve to keep it in a vertical position. Attached
to or cast on the under side of the sliding socket are horizontal arms
which carry the curved head F for regulating the angle of the draught.
Pivotted to the rear extension of the sliding socket is the regulator or
sliding head G, which receives the draft chain, and which is locked
in the usual way at any required angle to the curved head F. The
forward end of the plough beam is rounded to allow of its turning in its
socket for the purpose of throwing the plough body sideways when
turning at the land's end. To keep the plough in position while at work
an ordinary spring catch or drop bolt carried by the beam is used. This
catch falls into a notch or hole in the sliding socket, and is operated by
the attendant when at the handles of the plough by means of a draw rod
and lever, or their equivalent. The wheel stems are screwed at their
upper ends, and are raised and lowered in their sockets by means of
handled nuts H, so that the depth as well as the width of furrow can be
adjusted without the slackening of a single screw.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements
in Ploughs," 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,-
First. The arrangement of expanding plough frame as described with
reference to Sheet I. of the Drawings.
Secondly. The arrangement of parts above described for stecring the
front or leading wheels and lifting or depressing the land wheel.

page_text: Thirdly. The arrangement of wheel carriage described with reference
to Sheet II. of the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Howard, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, the Eleventh day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
JAMES HOWARD. (L.S.)