CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SEEDING GRAIN
Year: 1852

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
JORDAN GATLING, of the City of New York, United States of America, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Fourth day of May (One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-two), in the fifteenth year of Her reign, did;
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Richard
Jordan Gatling, my exors, adñors, and assigns, Her especial license, full
power, sole privilege, and authority, that I, the said Richard Jordan Gatling,
my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Richard Jordan
Gatling, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in the Islands of
Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies
and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR SEEDING GRAIN;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that
I, the said Richard Jordan Gatling, shall cause a particular description of the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and im-
mediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by
the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Richard Jordan Gatling, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and the manner the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the present Specification thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed; that is to say,
My Invention consists of an improved machine or machines to be used for
seeding or depositing in the ground grains or seeds, and along therewith such
manures as may be conducive to the germination thereof, as guano, bone dust,
&c. The machine consists of a carriage upon which are mounted reservoirs
or hoppers, to contain the substance to be deposited in the ground, with means
of governing the feed or quantity to be distributed; and also the ploughs for
opening the furrows as the machine progresses. There are also attached to
the wheels and other parts, appliances for regulating the depth of the drill, also
for stopping and starting, raising and lowering, certain parts to clear obstruc-
tions and to avoid risk of injury.
Figure 1 of the Drawings annexed is a perspective view of this machine.
Figure 2 a vertical longitudinal section of it. Figure 3 is a top view of one
side or half. Figure 4 is a section of one of the reservoirs or hoppers.
The wheels are attached to an axle divided into two parts, so combined that
each half axle can be made to revolve with its wheel or not at pleasure. This
is effected by means of a clutch upon the axle near the nave of the wheel,
which clutch may be put in or out of gear at will. Each axle extends to the
centre cross bar of the body of the machine, as seen at a, Figure 3. The
clutch is at b, and is operated by a lever b', coupled with a cam 6", attached
to the regulating shaft at the back of the machine. The clutch moves upon a
feather on the axle, and the coupling or uncoupling of the wheel is effected by
sliding the clutch along, so that the stud shown upon it shall enter the opening
in the nave fitted to receive it when the wheel and the axle are to revolve
together, and be withdrawn when the axle is to remain stationary. The
hoppers c, c, are more or less in number and size, according to the work to be
done; as represented in the Drawings, there are two sets, of three in a set,
arranged parallel to the axle, a set on each side. To each hopper there is
attached a conveyor or spout d, and a mould board or drill plough.
The spout
consists of a spindle or shaft, having a spiral groove upon a part of it, which
groove commences at one end, and may be continued rather more than half
way across the hopper. The conveyor lies in a channel at the bottom of the
hopper (this channel is best seen in Figure 3, at d'). The spiral end termi-
nates in an aperture in the front of the hopper, from
materials to be deposited in the ground are delivered.
which aperture the
Over this aperture a

page_text: valve e is fixed capable of being contracted or enlarged, as may be required.
The opposite end passes through the side of the hopper, and terminates near
the axle. On the end is a bevil wheel which gears into a like bevil wheel
placed upon the axle, as seen at i, i. Thus, by the rotation of the wheel end of
the axle, motion is imparted to the conveyors. The bottoms of the hoppers
are inclined towards the conveyors so as to cause the seeds to flow upon them
from all points. At fis a spout of leather, or other suitable material, which
connects the hopper with the drill plough, of which it may be considered as an
extension, the division being made for purposes of adjustment as described. In
some cases the ploughs extend to the hoppers in one piece, as shewn in the
modification represented in Figure 5. The ploughs are of metal casting's
made hollow, the lower part terminating in the mould board, as shewn at g.
The interior or hollow part forms the spout to guide the seed from the hoppers
to the drills, as indicated by the dotted lines, Figure 2, from which it will be
seen that the seeds drop through immediately at the heel of the mould board,
the earth closing up immediately after and covering them. The ploughs are
hinged to the frame of the carriage in such manner that they can be raised or
lowered by the attendant, either singly or all together, and different angles may
also be given to them. The raising and lowering is effected by the chains m, m,
which are attached at one end to the ploughs as shewn, and after passing over
sheaves, terminate at the back end of the machine, where they are fastened to
the pulleys n, n, placed upon the shaft o. This shaft lies parallel to the axles,
and like them is divided into two parts meeting at the centre framing. Near
the inner end of each shaft is a pulley p, (see Figure 8) which serves to give
motion to the shafts for raising and lowering the ploughs. A chain passes round
each, which is attached to handles p¹, p", a handle to each shaft. When the
handles are in the position seen at p', Figure 1, the ploughs are lowered into the
ground; when in the position shewn at p", they are raised out of the ground, and
may be raised still higher to clear any obstruction by carrying the handle over
to rest against the back framing of the machine. In that position the wheels
are thrown out of gear with the axles. The ploughs have only to be held up,
and the machine may be driven to the field for operation. Either handle may
be worked separately. The raising or lowering of one of the handles operates
upon all the ploughs on one half of the machine; but there is also a provision
by which each separate plough may be raised or lowered without operating the
handles. The ends of the chains m, m, are not fastened to the pulleys n'by a
permanent attachment, but are held in place by rings, as shewn at m¹ in the
last link of the chain, the chain passing through a hole formed by a strap over
the groove of the pulley, the enlargement caused by the ring holding the end

page_text: of the chain in place. On the back cross strip are a series of hooks r opposite
to each pulley n.
When, therefore, it is desirable to raise a plough up by
itself, the attendant draws the chain through the hole formed by the strap
over the groove of the pulley, and puts the ring m¹ over the hook r. The
object of raising a single plough is to avoid suspending the operation of one
half of the machine for clearing a temporary obstruction in the way of a single
plough; for, by moving one or both of the handles to raise the ploughs, the
wheels are also uncoupled from the axles, and the feed ceases. Now, altho
when a single plough is raised the feed goes on, and of course is deposited on
the surface of the ground, yet it is more economical to lose the grain from
one drill than to lose the space in the ground of all the drills, were it necessary
to raise all the ploughs to clear one of them. In addition to the chains for
supporting the ploughs, there are also braces t extending forward to the cross
bars, as shewn from t. A crutch extends to the shank, and is fastened a
little below the main bearing. This crutch is graduated with holes to receive
pins, by which the distance between the points of support can be increased or
diminished, and thus the angle of the ploughs can be varied at pleasure. The
mode of operating with the machine is as follows:-Everything being pre-
pared, the machine is placed at the entrance of the field or plot of ground to
be sown.
The grain, say wheat, is put into the hoppers, the valves e are shut
down, so as to contract the delivery apertures to the proper degree for wheat.
The attendant then carries the reins of the team to the back of the machine,
following it as he drives along in a position ready to operate the handles or
the chains in case he perceives any obstructions. The rotation of the con-
veyors d causes the seed to be carried toward the mouth of the delivery
apertures in a determinate quantity, regulated by the speed and the size of the
spiral grooves. The seeds, falling through the spouts f, are delivered in the
drill in single grains, and at certain distances apart, thus depositing every
grain exactly as it should be, in order to ensure the greatest yield, while the
waste from the old mode of seeding is entirely avoided. In addition to cereal
grains, this machine will plant cotton as well as all descriptions of garden seed,
and will properly deposit various kinds of manures in the earth in the exact
places required to produce the most beneficial effect.
The modification, shewn in Figure 5, is based upon the same principles as
the machine just described, but it is of simpler construction in some of its
parts. The principal variation is in the mode of attaching the ploughs, which
in the modification are placed behind the axle, as are also the hoppers, so that
in order to clear an obstruction it is only necessary to raise the frame by
means of the handles at the back. The chain-work is thus superseded, and

page_text: also the appliances necessary for disconnecting the axles from the wheels.
Either machine may be employed with advantage as a "cultivator," after the
seed has vegetated, by running the ploughs between the drills.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is the
improved seeding machinery represented in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, and herein-
before described, in so far as regards the combination of means and arrange-
ments, whereby the delivery apertures are contracted or enlarged according to
the size of the seed to be deposited, and the seed is deposited in rows or
drills, and in single grains, at regular distances apart; and whereby also, one
plough of a number may be raised out of action, in order to clear an
obstruction, without stopping or interfering with the working of the others.
I claim also the modification of the said machine, as represented in Figure 5,
and before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Jordan Gatling, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of June, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-two.
RICHA
JORDAN
(2.5.)
CATLING.
DIGITADD
RI
MUHA
זו תתמז
ATTATOR
JON
GATLING.
Witnesses,
SAMUEL H. MAYNARD, N° 5, Wall St.
LEONARD W. BRAINARD, J.
Taken and acknowledged by Richard
Jordan Gatling (party hereto) at
New York, in the United States of
America, this Twelfth day of June,
وو