IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING MACHINES
Year: 1866

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Girvan at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 22nd June 1866.
I, JOHN GIRVAN, of Cairnduff, in the County of Antrim, Ireland, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING
MACHINES," to be as follows:-
These improvements are more particularly applicable to that class of
machines which are driven with a face wheel and pinion, and consists, first,
in delivering the grain at the side in sheaves clear of the horse's track. This
is accomplished by enlarging one end of the axle of the driving wheel, the
axle being stationary and carrying the pinion shaft across the centre of the
driving wheel and through the enlarged part of the axle, the shaft having
suitable bearings on both ends of the frame and on the axle of the driving
wheel; the frame in form is an elongated square, and made of cast iron with
flanges at the ends to come asunder convenient for fitting in the axle of the
driving wheel; the driving wheel may be placed at the other end of the
machine if desired by the purchaser. A screw is fastened on the upper end
of the shaft and works in a wheel; the shaft of this wheel is placed at right
angles to the pinion shaft, and may be either placed horizontally or at an
angle, and at the other end of the shaft is placed a pair of bevel or mitre
wheels; these wheels are carried on suitable bearings made on the frame of
the machine, and on the cross shaft is placed the revolving rake; the wheel
on the cross shaft is loose, it being driven with a clutch. A spiral spring

page_text: placed on the shaft keeps the clutch in its place, and a screw nut on the shaft
tightens the spring, so that any undue power coming on the rake would throw
it out of gear; the rake has teeth at both ends, and the teeth work through a
circular railed bottom; this bottom is carried on a frame and placed on pivots
on one side of the centre to allow it to drop with its own weight; the side of
the rake is made longer, and a roller is placed at each end; next the teeth a
circular piece is placed on the railed bottom for the rollers to work on; an
open space is left between the driving wheel and the railed bottom for the
sheaf to drop in, the railed bottom being placed at an angle, and the speed of
the rakes being properly calculated, each rake will gather the sheaf off the
circular, railed bottom and drop it into the recess at the side of the driving
wheel as the machine moves forward; a piece of iron is to be fastened to the
frame of the driving wheel, and pins projecting out for the teeth of the rake
to pass through, so that it may pull off any stalks of grain that the rake might
lift; in a field where the grain is very thin a single rake may be used, or
where the grain is very thick three or four rakes may be placed on the shaft ;
the rake can be easily detached by unscrewing a nut; the side of the rake is a
little bent in order to place the roller a little behind the rake, so that the rake
may clear the way for the roller, and pins are placed in the edge of the railed
bottom next the knife; when the machine revolves the roller will act on the
railed bottom and raise it in front to the level, the pins holding the falling grain
until the sheaf is properly divided, and when the sheaf is gathered and dropped
into the recess the roller leaves the circular piece, and the railed table drops
with its own weight on a spring; the bottom or table can be raised or lowered
by shifting a pin at each side, and can be easily taken off, if required, when
mowing grass, and can also be made stationary, if required, by putting in
another pin through the bottom and through the end next the small wheel;
and there may be, if required, a close bottom or closed grooves below the
railed bottom to prevent stalks of grain from dropping through and the stalks
of grain being picked out by the teeth of the rakes; and on the other end
of the rake axle rakes may be placed to rake the ground; these rakes being
hinged a short distance from the head and provided with a spring capable
of carrying the weight of the head.
The second part of the Invention consists in a peculiar arrangement of
placing the horse close to the cutting part of the machine, so that there will
be less of a twist on the horse; the shafts rest on the axle and are capable of
moving on it, and are forced together by a circular piece outside the wheel,
and that part of the shaft which rests on the inner end of the driving wheel
is carried to the centre of the circular piece of cast metal in which the shafts

page_text: are placed, so that the horse is placed nearer the cutting part of the machine.
The pinion is thrown out of gear by a lever and clutch in the usual way; and
some machines may be made by placing a shaft and pinion at each side of the
axle, and using a second clutch and lever, and driving the rake shaft with a
left-handed screw; the cutting part will be the same as that used in other
machines.