IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Crosskill, of Beverley, in the County of York,
Engineer, and James Gawan Crosskill, of the same Place, Machine
Mawersa
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Crosskill and
James Gawan Crosskill at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 30th March 1860:
We, ALFRED CROSSKILL, of Beverley, in the County of York, Engineer, and
JAMES GAWAN CROSSKILL, of the same Place, Machine Maker, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING AND
MOWING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists, firstly, of a gathering rake for delivering the corn or
other crop after it is cut to either side of the machine, applicable to machines
which are propelled by the horses following them, as well as to machines
drawn by horses preceding them and walking alongside the crop to be reaped.
The rake is worked by means of a crank connected to the main driving wheels
of the reaper by spur gear or other suitable machinery, and is guided in the
proper direction by a sheave or pulley running in a groove of the necessary
form. It is arranged so as to be capable of delivering the sheaves from the
machine at longer or shorter intervals to suit various crops.
Secondly, of a novel method of throwing out of gear the working parts of
reaping and mowing machines, by means of a paul working into a ratchet
attached to the main driving wheel or wheels of the machine; when the paul
is raised the working parts are disconnected, and it is lowered for the purpose
of putting them in motion again,

page_text: Thirdly, of a dividing apparatus for separating the standing corn from that
which is cut and which falls upon the machine. A reciprocating motion is
communicated to the divider by means of gearing from the working parts of
the machine.
Fourthly, of a method of communicating the necessary reciprocating motion
to the knives and cutters of reaping and mowing machines by spur instead of
bevel wheels, which is accomplished by employing a right angle or bell-crank
lever for changing the direction of the motion obtained by the crank shaft, or
eccentric, or other actuating means.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed.
by the said Alfred Crosskill and James Gawan Crosskill in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 29th September 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ALFRED
CROSSKILL, of Beverly, in the County of York, Engineer, and JAMES GAWAN
CROSSKILL, of the same Place, Machine Maker, send greeting."
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord,
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Alfred Crosskill and James Gawan Crosskill, Her special licence that we, the
said Alfred Crosskill and James Gawan Crosskill, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as we, the said Alfred Crosskill and James Gawan
Crosskill, our 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING AND
MOWING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
Alfred Crosskill and James Gawan Crosskill, our executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under our or their hands and seals, or under the
hand and seal of one of us or them, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Alfred Crosskill and James Gawan
Crosskill, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what

page_text: manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
Our Invention consists, firstly, of a gathering rake for delivering the corn or
other crop after it is cut to either side of the machine, applicable to machines
which are propelled by horses following them, as well as to machines drawn
by horses preceding them and walking alongside the crop to be reaped. The
rake is worked by means of a crank connected to the main driving wheels of
the reaper by spur gear or other suitable machinery, and is guided in the proper
direction by a sheave or pulley running in a groove of the necessary form. It
is arranged so as to be capable of delivering the sheaves from the machine at
longer or shorter intervals to suit various crops.
But that the nature of our improvements, and the means we adopt in car-
rying the same into effect, may be fully understood we will proceed to describe
the Drawings annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a reaping machine, constructed according to
our improvements, where the horses are applied behind to propel the machine
forward; Figure 2 is a plan of the upper part of the same; and Figure 3 is a
plan of the lower part, shewing the gearing by which the various parts are
actuated. The same letters indicate the same parts in each of the Figures.
'
A, A, is the framing of the machine; B, B, the wheels, which support the
fore end of the machine; C is the pole, to which the horses are harnessed;
D, D, are the main wheels, one of which is keyed to the shaft or axle E, and
drives the said shaft, the other running loose on the said axle, in order to
allow the machine to turn when required; F is a clutch, sliding on the shaft
E, and worked by a lever G turning on the fulcrum g; H is a toothed wheel,
running loose on the shaft E. By moving the lever G the clutch F can be
caused to engage with the toothed wheel H to which it imparts a rotatory
motion, which is communicated to the shaft J by the toothed wheel I keyed
to the said shaft. By means of the driving band K. passing from one of the
band pullies j,,, fixed on the shaft J over one of the band pullies 11, 12 1³,
fixed on the shaft L, motion is transmitted to the said shaft. The band pullies
,, and 1, 1, 13, being of different diameters, the speed at which the rake
S is driven can be varied. Upon the shaft L are fixed two bevel pinions
L', L, either of which can by means of the lever handles N, N, be caused to
engage with the bevel wheel M. keyed on the shaft O to give a rotatory motion
thereto. The lever handles N, N, are forked at one end to embrace the necks
formed on the respective wheels, whilst they turn on axes n³, n³, and are con-

page_text: nected together by a link n³. The shaft revolves in bearings o, o, and
carries at its upper end a lever P having a slot p, in which a pin s¹ on the
gathering rake S engages. A friction pulley 9 turning on the lower part of
the pin s runs between the guides Q, Q. At the upper end of the rake is
fixed a pin s turning in the guide block r, which slides between the guides
R, R. By referring to Figure 2 it will be seen that as the pin s' is moved by
the lever P the pulley 9 moves between the guides Q, Q, that end of the rake
to which the pin s² is attached having a reciprocal motion in a direction parallel
to the length of the machine. As a sheaf is cut the pulley 7 moves along one
side of the guide formed by the plates or surfaces Q, Q, until it arrives at a
(supposing the machine to be working from right to left), whence it passes to b..
while the ends of the rake traverses the delivery platform 4, pushes the cut
sheaf before it and delivers it at one side of the machine. The pulley q now
passes from to c, and the rake S is withdrawn beneath the guard T out of
the way of the next sheaf which is being cut. The pulley then passes from
to a, and the rake again operates as above described. The guard T is for
the purpose of supporting the upper part of the cut crop as it falls from the
cutters, and preventing it interfering with the rake when the said rake is
being withdrawn after having delivered one sheaf preparatory to the delivery
of the next. The pinions L, L³, are so arranged that by moving the handles
N, N, in one direction, the pinion L' engages with the bevel wheel M while
the pinion L is disengaged from the said wheel, and the rake S traverses the
platform from right to left. By moving the handles N, N, in the opposite
direction the pinion L' is disengaged from the bevel wheel M while the pinion
L³ engages
with the said wheel, and the rake S traverses the platform from
left to right.
Figures 4, 5, and 6 represent in front elevation, side elevation, and plan
respectively, a reaping machine of that character where the horses are applied
at the side thereof to draw the same, with parts of our improvements applied
thereto.
A, A, is the framing of the machine; A¹ is that portion of the framing
which supports the gathering rake and mechanism which actuates the same.
The frame A¹ is moveable, and in part turns on the shaft; C, D, is the pole
to which the whippletrees d, d, are attached; E is the driving wheel turning
on the shaft or axle F; G is a support wheel; H is a clutch sliding on the
shaft and worked by a lever I, turning on a fulcrum i. By means of the
said lever the clutch H can be caused to engage with the wheel E, and thereby
to communicate the motion of the said wheel to the shaft F; motion is trans-
mitted by the driving strap J from the band pulley f, fixed on the shaft F to

page_text: the band pulley c, fixed on the shaft C;.K. is a shaft on which is fixed a toothed
wheel L, which gears into the toothed wheel M, fixed on the shaft C; a bevel
toothed wheel N, fixed on the shaft K, gears into and drives the bevel wheel
O fixed on the shaft P, which said shaft carries at one end the lever Q, having
a slot q in which a pin on the gathering rake R engages, and at the other
end a counterbalance lever p. A friction pulley s turning on the pin r³ runs
between the guides S, S. The rake R vibrates upon a pin 12, fixed to the
guide block t, which slides between the guides T, T.
This part of the mechanism in form and operation is essentially the same as'
that of the corresponding part shewn in Figures 1 and 2, with the exception
that it is placed vertically and acts in a vertical or nearly vertical direction.
U is a cam fixed on the shaft K and working against the friction pulley u.
The rake R is represented in the Drawing as at the commencement of its
stroke across the delivery platform V. As the shaft K rotates, the rake R
traverses the delivery platform V, pushing the cut sheaf before it to the edge
of the platform, where it is delivered. The rake now retires, its motion being
guided by the friction pulley s running between the guides s, s. As the.
rake is withdrawn, the cam U rotates, raising the said rake together with the
frame A until they assume the position shewn in dotted lines, when by the
continued rotation of the said cam the said rake and frame are lowered, while
at the same time the rake descends, being guided by the friction roller s, which
now runs in the off-side of the guide formed by the plates S, S, until the said
rake and frame again assume the position shewn in the Drawing, when they
operate as before.
Figures 7, 8, 9, and 10, represent various modifications from the. arrange-
ments shewn by the previous Figures for effecting the desired movements of
the gathering rake. The same letters indicate the same parts in each of these
Figures 7, 8, 9, and 10.
In Figure 7, A is the rake, B is the lever which actuates the same; a pin.
a on the rake A engages in the slot 6 of the said lever; the pin a¹ carries the
friction pulley c, which runs between the guides C, C. The rake vibrates on
the pin a² fixed in the guide block d, which slides between the guides D, D.
Figure 8 represents another modification of parts for working the gathering
rake, in which the upper part of the rake passes through and is guided by a
collar E vibrating upon a pin e; the other parts in connection with the said
rake being essentially the same as those represented in Figure 7.
We sometimes dispense with the lever B and substitute for it a pinion F,
as shewn in Figure 9. The pinion F turns on the pin a¹ on the rake A, and
works into the rack G. Rotatory motion will be communicated to the pinion F

page_text: by a shaft formed in parts connected together by universal joints. The upper
end of the rake is guided in the same manner, as shewn in Figure 8.
Figure 10 represents another modification of parts for operating the gather-
ing rake, in which an endless chain and a lappet wheel are substituted for the
lever B. The chain H is attached to the pin a' on the rake A, and passing
over pulleys I, I, receives motion from the lappet wheel K, the teeth of which
engage in the links of the said chain; the upper part of the rake is guided by
radius rods L, L, which vibrate on fixed centres 1, 1, and are connected to the
opposite ends of the link M, which oscillates on the pin a².
Our Invention consists, secondly of the dividing apparatus for separating the
standing corn from that which is cut and which falls upon the machine. This
part of the improvements is represented separately by Figures 11, 12, 13,
and 14, where the same letters indicate the same parts wherever they occur.
Figure 11 is a side elevation of a portion of a reaping machine having a
divider applied thereto, and Figure 12 is an end elevation of the same. A is
the delivery platform; B, the cutters; C, the side of the machine next the
standing crop, and to which the divider is applied; D is the divider, which, whilst.
conical in the direction of its length, may in its cross section be of a triangular
or other form, and it is carried by a shaft E working in bearings e, c. On the
upper end of the shaft E is fixed a lever F, connected by the rod G to the
crank h on the shaft H, from which it receives a reciprocating motion. Rota-
tory motion is communicated to the shaft H by the toothed wheel I, fixed on
the said shaft, which engages with the toothed wheel J, fixed on the shaft K.
The wheels I and J are fixed eccentrically on their shafts, so as to give the
divider an irregular motion to enable it to shake off the corn more efficiently.
The shaft K may be driven by a band L passing from the band pulley M fixed
on the reel shaft N over the band pulley O fixed on the shaft K. Although
we have represented the pulley O as being driven by a strap or band passing
over a pulley on the reel shaft, the said pulley may be driven from any
convenient part of the machine.
Figures 13 and 14 represent in side and end elevations respectively a modi-
fication of the dividing apparatus in which the toothed wheels I and J
(Figures 11 and 12) are dispensed with, and the crank shaft carries a band
pulley O, which is driven direct from the band pulley M.
The third part of our Invention consists of a method of communicating the
necessary motion to the knives or cutters of reaping and mowing machines by
spur instead of bevel wheels, which is accomplished by employing a right angle
or bell-crank lever for changing the motion obtained by the crank shaft, or
excentric, or other actuating means.

page_text: We will first describe this part of our Invention as applied to the machine
shewn in Figures 1, 2, and 3, of the accompanying Drawings. U is a strip of
metal, the serrated edge of which constitutes the cutters. The cutters U slide
between the fingers V, and are worked by a stud u which is fixed on the under
side of the said cutters, and takes into a slot w in the bell-crank lever W, to
receive reciprocating motion therefrom. The lever W turns upon the fulcrum
X, and is worked by a connecting rod Y-from the crank Z, which said crank
is driven by a pinion 1 on the crank shaft, engaging with the toothed wheel 2,
keyed to the shaft J. 3 is a fly wheel fixed on the crank shaft Z, to equalize
the motion of the said shaft.
We will now describe the application of this part of our Invention to the
machine represented in Figures 4, 5, and 6, of the Drawings.
The cutters W slide between the fingers X, and are worked by a pin w
fixed on the said cutters, and taking into a slot y in the bell-crank lever Y, to
receive reciprocating motion therefrom. The lever Y turns upon the fulcrum
Z, and is worked by a connecting rod 1 from the crank 2. Teeth 3 on the
inner circumference of the band pulley f engage with and drive the pinion 4
on the shaft 5, and a toothed wheel 6 keyed on the shaft 5, engaging with
the pinion 7 on the crank shaft, gives a rotatory motion to the said shaft.
8 is a fly wheel fixed on the crank shaft, to equalize the motion of the said
shaft.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, we wish it to be understood that we do not claim
the various mechanical parts separately considered, nor do we limit ourselves
to the precise details herein-before described, so long as the peculiar character
of the improvements be retained substantially as explained.
In witness whereof, we, the said Alfred Crosskill and James Gawan
Crosskill, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-sixth day
of September, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
sixty.
Witness,
EDMUND CROSSKILL.
ALFRED CROSSKILL.
(L.S.)
JAMES GAWAN CROSSKILL. (L.S.)