Improvements in Mowing and Reaping Machines.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Sept., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 17th June, 1896-Accepted, 1st Aug., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Mowing and Reaping Machines.
I, EDWARD PRATT, of the Albert Ironworks, Uxbridge, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My present invention relates to mowing and reaping machines, of the kinds
ordinarily used in which moveable cutting knives, more or less triangular in shape,
are made to move backward and forward against similar blades. It has for its
object a novel method of forming and attaching the cutting knives and the bar
which carries them, so that the knives can be very readily removed and replaced,
and their sharpening by grinding is greatly facilitated.
Such triangular cutting blades are ordinarily fixed upon a bar which carries
them, by means of screws, rivets, or the like devices, whereby cousiderable time
is occupied in fixing, removing, and replacing them, so that it has become
customary to sharpen them by filing them when in their places instead of grinding
them, the steel edges being left sufficiently soft for the purpose, whilst if sharpened
by grinding they may be hard but it then becomes necessary to remove them from
the machine before they can be properly ground.
By my invention, I bend over the back edge or base of the triangular tooth so
that it forms a tubular socket parallel with the bar which carries the teeth, and
I make the bar of such shape in cross section that it corresponds with that of
the socket formed upon the tooth, so that the latter can be fitted one after
another upon the bar, until a sufficient number have been so arranged, and they
are then held firmly and securely by one or more nuts, keys, or equivalent
fastenings upon the end of the bar.
The section of the bar, and of the sockets, may be rectangular, more or less
elliptical, or of any other suitable shape, and the ends of the adjoining sockets
may be notched or so shaped as to fit and lock into each other.
No rivets or screws being necessary to attach the blades to the bar, the surfaces
are free from projections or roughnesses; and the bar itself may consist of two or
more parts, halved into each other, and rivetted or otherwise attached together;
and in this way the outer end carrying the fastening may be removed and replaced
without removing the entire bar.
The improved cutting blades constructed and fixed in the method described, are
simple and cheap, and they are very durable and remain sharp for a long time,
whilst when necessary they can be very easily removed and sharpened by grinding,
and then replaced.
.
1005

page_text: Improvements in Mowing and Reaping Machines.
I, EDWARD PRATT, of the Albert Ironworks, Uxbridge in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the
following statement and accompanying drawing, that is to say :-
My present invention relates to mowing and reaping machines, of the kinds
ordinarily used in which moveable cutting knives, more or less triangular in shape,
are made to move backward and forward against similar blades. It has for its
object a novel method of forming and attaching the cutting knives and the bar
which carries them, so that the knives can be very readily removed and replaced,
and their sharpening by grinding is greatly facilitated.
Such triangular cutting blades are ordinarily fixed upon a bar which carries
them, by means of screws, rivets, or the like devices, whereby considerable time
is occupied in fixing, removing, and replacing them, so that it has become
customary to sharpen them by filing them when in their places instead of grinding
them, the steel edges being left sufficiently soft for the purpose; whilst if they are
sharpened by grinding, they may be hard but it then becomes necessary to remove
them from the machine before they can be properly ground.
By my invention, I use tubular heels to the blades, and I make these tubular
heels fit freely upon a bar of corresponding section, one end of which carries the
bar-head by which the bar and teeth are driven backward and forward, whilst its
other end is provided with a nut or fastening, by which the several teeth are held
firmly together between the barhead and the nut.
The accompanying drawing is in illustration of my invention; Figures 1 and 2
being a plan and end view respectively of a triangular tooth; Figures 3 and 4
being a front view and plan respectively of a square bar (shewn broken off) having
the triangular teeth fitted upon it; Figure 5 an end view of a tooth to fit upon a
bar of different section; and Figures 6 and 7, and 8 and 9 shewing methods which
I adopt for strengthening the sockets upon the teeth.
I prefer to make the socket upon the triangular tooth a by bending over the
back edge or base of the latter so that it forms a tubular socket c, parallel with
the bar d which carried the teeth a, and I make the bar d of such shape in cross
section that it corresponds with that of the sockets e formed upon the teeth, so that
the latter can be fitted one after another upon the bar, until a sufficient number
have been so arranged, and they are then held firmly and securely by one or more
nuts e, or by keys, or equivalent fastenings upon the end of the bar d.
C
The section of the bar d, and of the sockets c, inay be rectangular, more or less
elliptical, or of any other suitable shape, and the ends of the adjoining sockets may
be notched or so shaped as to fit and lock into each other.
As no rivets or screws are used to attach the blades a to the bar C, the surfaces
are free from projections or roughnesses; and the bar d itself may consist of two
or more parts, halved into each other, and rivetted or otherwise attached together;
and in this way the outer end carrying the nut or fastening e may be removed and
replaced without removing the entire bar. In order to strengthen the socket a
I prefer to use the arrangement illustrated in Figures 6 and 7, in which the edge
of the plate forming the socket c, is provided with one or more tongues which fit
into corresponding holes or mortises in the tooth a, their ends being hammered or
rivetted down. When a socket is made as described upon the knife blade, the bar
upon which it is fitted is thereby raised to the extent of the thickness of the lower
side of the socket. To remedy this and to still further strengthen the socket c,
1 crank or bend down the plate a forming the tooth, as illustrated in Figures 8

page_text: and 9, the cranked or bent down part holding in position the edge of the plate-
which forms the socket c, and preventing it from springing open.
The improved cutting blades constructed and fixed in the method described, are
simple and cheap, and they are very durable and remain sharp for a long time,.
whilst when necessary they can be very easily removed and sharpened by grinding,
and then replaced.
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. In mowing and reaping machines, the method of attaching the cutting blades.
to the bar which carries them, by bending the back of the tooth round so as to
form a socket which fits upon the bar, a sufficient number of such socketted blades
being fitted upon the bar, and held in position by a nut or fastening at the end of
the latter, substantially as described and illustrated.
2. The cutting blade for mowing and reaping machines, consisting of a
triangular blade, the back edge of which is bent round so as to form a socket
which fits upon the knife bar, in combination with a tongue or tongues / fitting in
a corresponding hole or holes in the blade, substantially as and for the purpose
described, and illustrated in Figures 6, 7, 8, and 9 of the accompanying drawing.
3. The cutting blade for mowing and reaping machines, consisting of a
triangular blade, the back edge of which is bent round so as to form a socket
which fits upon the knife bar, the blade being cranked or bent down at m
substantially as and for the purpose described and illustrated in Figures 8 and 9
of the accompanying drawing.
Dad thin 17th dow of June 1896.
EDWARDS & Co.,
65 and 66, Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicant.