AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR SOWING SEED OR FERTILIZING MATERIAL OR OTHER SUBSTANCES. BROADCAST
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles William Cahoon, of the State of Maine, of
the United States of America, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
MACHINE FOR SOWING SEED OR FERTILIZING MATERIAL OR OTHER SUBSTANCES.
BROADCAST."
Sealed the 30th August 1858, and dated the 24th June 1858.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Charles William Cahoon at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 24th June 1858, pursuant to the 9th Section of the
Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
"
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
WILLIAM CAHOON, of the State of Maine, of the United States of America,
do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention of "AN IMPROVED MACHINE.
FOR SOWING SEED OR FERTILIZING MATERIAL OR OTHER SUBSTANCES BROADCAST ;
consisting of a rotary hollow circular chamber or discharger revolving on a
horizontal axis, and throwing the seed or other material by the centrifugal
force imparted to it by the rapid revolution of the chamber from the outer
edge of the same in a plane vertical or nearly vertical to the ground; also.
consisting of a flaring or funnel-shaped rotary discharging chamber operating
as above stated, and having, when such funnel or flaring form is used, either
helical flanches or straight plates inserted therein to regulate and control the
flow of the grain, seed, etc., through the chamber; also consisting of a com-
bination of either of the above forms of discharging chamber operating as

page_text: above stated, with a disc or shield placed before the eduction mouth of the
discharger for the purpose of preventing the inward flow of the air into the
same; and also consisting of a combination of either of the above forms of
discharging chamber operating as above stated, and whether with or without
such disk or shield, with a hopper containing either a seed agitator, or a
means of regulating the flow of seed out of the eduction opening from the
hopper into the discharger, or both; and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say), reference being bad to the annexed Drawings,
making a part of this Specification, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical
section of my improvement; x, x, Figure 2, indicating the plane of section;
Figure 2 is a back view of ditto; similar letters of reference indicate corre-
sponding parts in the two Figures.
The Invention consists in the novel means employed for discharging broad-
cast the seed or fertilizing material. The object is attained by employing a
rotating tubular chamber as a discharger, which is placed horizontally below
the hopper connecting with the discharger, and arranged as will be herein-
after fully described. The rotating discharger is placed in such position that
its outer edge from which the grain, etc., is thrown, will be in a plane vertical
or nearly vertical to the horizon.
To enable others skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my
Invention, I will proceed to describe it.
A represents a framing, which may be of rectangular form and constructed
in any proper manner to support the working parts. The framing A may be
mounted on wheels B, or it may be placed within the body of an ordinary
vehicle, and have motion communicated to it from one of the wheels of the
vehicle. I prefer, however, to have the framing mounted on wheels, as shown
in the Drawing. On the upper part of the framing A, a seed hopper C is
placed. This hopper may be of any convenient form, and have a slide 6 at its
bottom, as shown in Figure 1. Within the hopper C a rock shaft c is placed
longitudinally, and the shaft has a series of teeth d attached to it. The shaft
is operated by having a crank e at one end, to which crank a connecting
rod is attached, the connecting rod being secured to a crank pulley g
attached to one side of the framing A; D is a shaft which is placed trans-
versely on the upper part of the framing A. On one end of this shaft two
pullies h, i, are attached, and a pulley j is placed on the shaft near its center.
The crank pulley 9 is driven by a belt k from the pulley h on the shaft D, and
the shaft D is driven by a belt 1 from a pulley m attached to the inner side of
one of the wheels B; E represents a shaft which is placed longitudinally in

page_text: the framing A. On the outer part of the shaft E a funnel-shaped chamber F
is secured. This chamber, which I term a "discharger," may be constructed
of sheet metal, and its back end, which has the smaller diameter, communi
cates with a bent tube G which is attached to the lower end of the hopper, as
shown clearly in Figure 1. On the inner end of the shaft E a pulley n is
placed, and a belt o passes around the pulley, and also around a pulley j on
the shaft D. It is obvious, however, that in place of a crank and pulley con-
nections for the purpose of communicating motion to the several parts of the
machine gearing and other equivalent mechanism may be employed, the means
of communicating the motion necessary to work the essential parts of the
machine constituting no part of its claim to novelty. To the inner surface of
the discharger F hilical flanches p are attached; three are shown in the
Drawings, but more or less may be used as occasion may require; and to the
outer end of the shaft E a circular disk H is attached to the shaft, a short
distance from the mouth or outer end of the discharger F, and is a trifle larger
in diameter than the mouth or outer end of the discharger. The flanches P
may be of greater or less width as may be desirable.
The operation is as follows:-The seed or other material is placed within
the hopper C, and the slide 6 is drawn out to a certain distance, so as to allow
the seed to pass down into the discharger F, the slide 6 regulating the
flow of the seed into the discharger. . As the machine is drawn along the
vibrating teeth d agitate the seed within the hopper, and prevent it from
clogging or choking. A rotary motion is given the discharger F by the belt o
from the shaft D, and the seed is thrown broadcast from the outer end of the
discharger F by the revolutions of the same.
The office of the flanches is to intercept the direct flow of the grain, seed,
etc., as it leaves the connecting tube G, and by retaining it in the discharger
until the necessary centrifugal force is communicated to it; these flanches
prevent a too copious discharge of the seed at the lowest point of the
revolving chamber.
There is also shown in the Drawings, Figures 3 and 4 (Figure 3 of which is
a longitudinal section of the discharger, while Figure 4 is an end view of it),
a mode of constructing and placing triangular plates a, a, &c., within the
funnel-shaped discharging chamber F upon bars b, b, radiating from the axle
of the chamber to its inner surface. The plates so placed may be used as
substitutes for the flanches above described, that is to say, when the plates as
constructed and placed in the Drawing are used, the flanches are unnecessary. -
The plates are also the cheapest to construct. When the discharging chamber
is made flaring or funnel-shaped, as shown in the Drawing (Figures 1 and 2),

page_text: these devices, viz., the flanches or the plates, or their respective equivalents,
greatly assist the operation of sowing the seed, etc., in a uniform fall upon the
ground in the manner above stated.
The disk prevents the air from rushing into the mouth of the discharger,
and thereby intercepting the proper discharge of the seed. Its office having
been described it is only necessary to remark here that its use is essential only
when there is a current of wind acting against the discharger to drive the
grain, seed, etc., back.
This Invention is extremely simple, and the seed or fertilizing material will
be discharged in a very even manner, in fact the distribution may be nicely
graduated. It possesses great advantages over shaking or reciprocating screens
and similar devices which have been employed for effecting the desired result,
and is also superior to the horizontal rotating wheels, which distribute or
throw the seed all around in front as well as in the rear of the machine; and
in those cases where the seed is prevented from being thrown in front of the
implement, the centrifugal force is in a manner destroyed. I would further
remark that while I prefer the funnel-shape for the discharger, which with its
accompanying flanches or their equivalents or the plates, as shown in Figures
3 and 4, or their equivalents, gives the best result of any form of circular
discharger placed in the same relations; yet, I do not confine myself to that
precise form, for the principle or characteristic of this part of my Invention
consists in a rotary hollow chamber or discharger, having its outer end turning
rapidly in a plane vertical or nearly vertical to the horizon, and thereby com-
municating a centrifugal motion to the grain, seed, or other material, and
throwing it from the circle formed by the outer edge or periphery of the
discharger, while it (the grain, seed, etc.,) is under the force of the centrifugal
motion. The effect that is due to the vertical position of the circle formed by
the outer edge or periphery of the discharger is a very important one, for that
position, aided by the devices above described for regulating the flow of the
grain, etc., when a funnel-shaped chamber is employed, enables the machine
to scatter the grain, etc., with a very high degree of uniformity over a very
wide path or tract of ground, whether level or hilly, and thus constitutes a
material improvement over previous machines for sowing grain, seed, etc.,
broadcast. It is moreover obvious that the essential and important features
of this machine may be used either on a carriage drawn by any motive power,
and operated by the same power, or by hand; or a smaller machine embracing
them may be made to be carried on the person of a man, and turned by a
crank by the person who carries it. In either form the operation of the
machine is the same.

page_text: I do not claim the slide b, nor the rock shaft c, with teeth d attached for
stirring or agitating the seed within the hopper separately; neither do I claim
distributing or sowing seed broadcast by means of centrifugal force effected by
the rotation of wheels or cylinders irrespective of the construction and arrange-
ment herein shown; but having thus described my Invention, what I claim as
new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is, an improved broadcast sowing
machine constructed substantially in the manner or in either of the modes,
and to operate as herein-before specified, that is to say, to discharge by
centrifugal force, seeds or materials in a plane vertical or nearly vertical to the
horizon, and across the path of movement of the machine, over the surface on
which it may be used by any of the means above described or their equi
valents.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my signature and seal, this
First day of June, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-eight.
CHARLES WILLIAM CAHOON. (L.S.)