Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Oct., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 2nd Mar., 1895-Accepted, 20th Apr., 1896
I, WILLIAM HENRY SLEEP, of Excelsior Plough Works, Plymouth, in the
County of Devon, Agricultural Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in and applicable to ploughs as hereinafter
more particularly described.
In carrying out my invention I adapt to ploughs a presser wheel having a conical
surface arranged to run in advance of the plough body so as to compress the edge
of the last turned furrow slice, such presser wheel being employed in conjunction
with a furrow-guide.or with a disc upon the axis of the presser wheel to serve as
a furrow guide.
By this arrangement as the plough works my presser wheel acting against the
edge of the last turned furrow slice will bevel the same in such a manner that the
said edge being so bevelled will not interfere with the complete overturning of
the next furrow slice by the plough.
In order that in the case of that class of plongh known as up-end or balance
ploughs the standard of the steering wheel (where a steering wheel is used) shall
always be vertical whichever way the plough is working the steering wheel instead
of being carried directly upon an inclined spill is carried upon a vertical spill
having an arm arranged in a bearing in the inclined spill and on which I also fix a
guide which serves to retain the spill in its vertical position in combination with
the steering handle.
In order to provide for regulating or adjusting the draught I mount the draught
bar in a frame pivotted upon the cross-bar of the carriage, which cross-bar is also
provided with radial lugs against which a bar sliding between the sides of the
draught frame is adapted to impinge in order to limit the movement of the said
frame in either direction. This bar is made to slide in the frame in such a manner
that it may be placed nearer to or further from the centre from which the lugs
radiate so as to permit of a less or greater movement of the said draught frame.
Dated this 1st day of October 1894.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in or applicable to Ploughs.
I, WILLIAM HENRY SLEEP, of Excelsior Plough Works, Plymouth, in the
County of Devon, Agricultural Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to improvements in or applicable to ploughs as hereinafter
more particularly described.
In carrying out my invention I adapt to ploughs a presşer-wheel having a conical
surface arranged to run in advance of the plough body so as to compress the edge

page_text: of the last turned furrow slice, such presser-wheel being employed in conjunction
with a furrow guide or with a disc upon the axis of the pressor-wheel to serve as
a furrow guide.
By this arrangement as the plough works my presser-wheel acting against the
edge of the last turned furrow slice will bevel the same in such a manner that the
said edge being so bevelled will not interfere with the complete overturning of
the next furrow slice by the plough.
In order that in the case of that class of plough known as up-end or balance ploughs
the standard of the steering wheel (where a steering wheel is used) shall always be
vertical whichever way the plough is working, the steering wheel instead of being
carried directly upon an inclined spill is carried upon a vertical spill having an
arm arranged in a bearing in the inclined spill and on which I also fix a stop-guide
which serves to limit the movement of the vertical spill.
In order to provide for regulating or adjusting the draught 1 mount the draught
bar in a frame pivotted upon the cross-bar of the carriage, which cross-bar is also
provided with radial lugs against which a bar sliding between the sides of the
draught frame is adapted to impingo in order to limit the movement of the said
frame in either direction. This bar is made to slide in the frame, in such a manner
that it may be placed nearer to or further from the centre from which the lugs
radiate so as to permit of a less or greater movement of the said draught frame.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe the same by
reference to tlie accompanying drawing, in which :-
Figure 1 is a side elevation of so much of an up-end turn-wrest plough as is
necessary to illustrate my invention:
Figures 2 and 24 shew the sanie in plan with the handles:
Figure 3 is an elevation looking in the direction of the arrow 1 Figure 1 :
Figures 4 to 9 are views of details hereinafter described.
a is the plough beam to which the plough bodies are attached or which are
suitably bent so as to carry the mould boards and other working parts in a well-
known manner, the said beam at its centre being carried upon the cross-barb of the
carriage of the plough by means of the casting shewn in Figures 1, 2 and 3
and in Figures 4 and 5 which latter figures are respectively a section on the
line 4-4, Figure 2, and the line 5-5, Figure 4. The casting c has formed in it
a hole through which the cross-bar 6 (which is square in section) passes so that
the said casting shall not rotate relatively with the said cross-bar. The casting c
may, however, be moved laterally upon the cross-bar in order to regulate the
width of the plough, set-screws d, d being used to fix the casting e in position.
e, e are the halls or handle-bars which are pivotted on the ends of the casting c,
as shewn clearly in Figure 5, so that they may be thrown over according to which end
of the plough is in work, the said handles being locked in either position by means
of a spring-catch engaging with notches in a segmental bar "extending between
the two halves of the beam, the said catch being formed upon a bar sliding
between the handles as shewn in Figure 2, and having connected to it a rod ³
carrying a spring and a cam-lever for operating the catch, as shewn in
Figure 2ª.
g is the draught bar which is carried at the front end of a frame the rear end
of which is also pivotted upon the ends of the beam casting e, as shewn clearly in
Figure 5. When the draught of the plough is reversed this frame swings
underneath the carriage, the movement in either direction being limited by means
of a cross-bar which impinges against one or the other of two sets of lugs j
formed upon the casting e, these two sets of lugs being arranged in approximately
radial positions from the axis of the casting e so that the space between the said
sets of lugs will increase from the centre towards their ends. This cross-bar i is
also adapted to slide in the frame h so that it may be placed nearer to or further
from the casting c as required, the draught frame having the greatest are of
movement when the cross-bar i impinges against points nearest to the tips of the
lugs j, j. It will thus be understood that by altering the position of the said bar i

page_text: relatively with the casting e the position of the draught bar g will be correspondingly
varied to suit the different requirements of ploughing.
is the steering wheel, and the spill or standard for the same which instead
of rotating in a socket in the cross-bar e of the carriage and being inclined is,
according to my invention, carried and rotates in a bracket pivotted by an
arm in a bearing, in an inclined spill 1. As shewn in Figures 1, 2 and 3, this
spill is, connected to one end of the bar and carries a disc m forming a furrow
guide. The steering wheel also serves as the furrow wheel. m³ is the land.
wheel attached to the other end of the bar b.
is the lever by means of which the steering wheel is moved, the said lever
having one end notched as shewn at Figure 6 (which is a side elevation of the
handle end of the lever) and arranged to work in conjunction with a notched
plate o on the halls or handles e, e for enabling the position of the said lever to be
adjusted as desired, the said notched plate being shewn most clearly in Figure 7
which is a section on the line 7-7, Figure 2A..
Although I have shewn this steerage as applied to the furrow wheel it is to be
understood that it may, if desired, be arranged in conjunction with the land
wheel m'.
In the operation of reversing the plough the ploughman after disengaging the
lever n from the edge of the notched' plate o, with which it has been in engagement,
pulls the said lever to bring the standard of the steering wheel to the opposite
side of the central cross-bar b from that which it had previously occupied and then
after reversing the handles throws over the lever n so that its notched end engages
with the other edge of the notched plate so that on up-ending the plough the
standard 4 will again be brought into a vertical position.
In order to limit the movement of the wheel standard 4º in either direction when
the lever is pulled as described, I fix to the spill a guide composed of two
し
plates p, p² Kaving stops p², p² at the ends, the back part of the bracket & sliding
between the said plates and impinging against the said stops.
Dotted lines in Figure 1 shew the position of the standard 2º when pulled over
in one direction.
In order to press the edge of one furrow slice before another furrow slice is laid
against it, I provide the wheel 9 of the shape of the frustum of a cone. When
used this wheel 9. which is shewn in Figures 8 and 9 in conjunction with its standard
and a furrow guide (Figure 8 being a side elevation and Figure 9 a front elevation)
replaces the usual furrow wheel and by pressing against the edge of the furrow
slice last laid bevels the edge of the same, as shewn clearly at 9° in Figure 9,
so that this edge shall not interfere with the complete overturning of the next
furrow slice by the plough. It is to he understood that in practice no opening
will be left as at qº, the pressure of the wheel 9 against the furrow slice last turned
serving to fill up such opening.
In using the wheel it is necessary to provide a furrow-guide m in order to
keep the presser-wheel y up to its work. This furrow-guide may be a small disc
mounted at the end of the same spill upon which the presser-wheel is mounted
as shewn; or it may be a disc carried upon the same axis as the presser-wheel
itself and capable of being relatively adjusted thereto in order to adapt the said
wheel to be used for different widths of ploughing..
The presser-wheel shewn in Figures 8 and 9 is intended to be used upon a plough
without a steering arrangement but it is to be understood that if desired the said
wheel may be arranged in conjunction with the steering arrangement shewn in
Figures 1, 2 and 3, in which case the said presser-wheel would also act as the
steering wheel.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The combination with a plough of a presser-wheel having a conical surface

page_text: adapted to run in advance of the plough body and to compress the edge of the last
turned furrow slice, the said wheel being arranged in conjunction with a furrow-
guide substantially as, and for the purpose described.
2. In an up-end or balance plough in which the draught bar is carried by a frame
pivotted upon the main cross-bar of the carriage, an adjustable bar sliding upon
the said frame and adapted to engage with lugs upon a casting also carried
upon the said cross-bar of the carriage, the movement of the adjustable bar
relatively with the lugs serving to adjust the position of the draught bar, substantially
as hereinbefore described.
3. In an up-end plough, the combination with the carriage of a vortical standard
.carrying one of the travelling wheels of the plough and pivotted to an inclined spill
forming part of the carriage frame, the said vertical standard having a lever
connected to it and being capable of rotating in a bearing so that it may be used
for steering the plough, substantially as described.
Dated the 2nd den of March 1905
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
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