Improvements in Chaff-cutting Machines.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 17th May, 1887.
Specification Accepted, 28th June, 1887.
Improvements in Chaff-cutting Machines.
I, THOMAS LEMON, of The Hayes, Cardiff, in the County of Glamorgan, 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, which relates to chaff-cutting machines, consists in arrangements of
mechanism, under which the construction of such machines is simplified, the use of a
jointed spindle in connection with the upper feeding roller being, among other things,
dispensed with, and the working parts made easily accessible.
Under one arrangement, there is at one side of the machine, which may conve-
niently be termed the right hand side thereof, a train of five toothed wheels. At the
opposite side of the machine, which may conveniently be termed the left hand side
thereof, is situated the usual bevel wheels and pinions operated from the shaft of the
fly wheel as ordinarily. Behind the bevel wheel and carried on the same axis there-
with is a pinion which gears with a toothed wheel centred upon a shaft or spindle
which extends across the machine and, at the other end, carries a pinion constituting
one of the toothed wheels of the train aforesaid. Two other wheels of the train are
on the axes of the two feed rollers respectively. The remaining two wheels are
carried upon axes secured to one of the side cheeks of the machine. They are placed
one over the other, are in gear with each other, and are free to run loose on their
axes. The uppermost of them gears with the toothed wheel carried, as aforesaid, on the
axis of the upper feed roller. The undermost gears with the toothed wheel carried on
the axis of the lower feed roller, and with the driving pinion. As usual, the upper
feed roller is capable of rising, within limits, to accommodate inequalities in the feed,
and, in order to admit of this without interruption of the feed, the teeth of the wheels
are of such length that when the upper roller is raised the toothed wheel on its axis
is not drawn out of gear with that below. The degree to which the upper roller is
capable of rising is controlled by the links through the medium of which it is raised
as hereinafter more fully described.

page_text: Under another arrangement, there is carried on the shaft which extends across the
machine from the bevel gearing above referred to, a bevel wheel which gears with
another bevel wheel carried on a spindle arranged vertically in bearings on the
"cheek."
By means of a worm, fixed upon the spindle, rotary motion is imparted to the
toothed wheel of the lower feeding roller. The upper feed roller is rotated by a
similar worm which is free to rise and fall on the spindle about which it is prevented
As the
from rotating independently by a feather which couples it to the spindle.
upper roller rises in obedience to an increased depth of fodder fed from the cheeks
the upper worm rises and thus is kept in gear with the toothed wheel on the axis of 1
the upper
roller.
This arrangement is adapted for altering the length of cut by change of bevel
wheels.
Referring to the accompanying sheet of illustrative drawings, Fig. 1 thereon
represents a side view of a chaff-cutting machine fitted with one arrangement of
mechanism comprised in this invention. Fig. 2 represents a plan of the machine.
At the side opposite to that shown at Fig. 1 is situated, as seen at Fig. 2, the usual
bevel gearing which is fitted with clutches for reversing as is well understood. The
bevel gearing is driven from the shaft a of the fly wheel b. At the back of the
bevel wheel c and concentric therewith is a pinion d which with a toothed
gears
wheel the shaft e¹ of which extends across the machine and carries at the other end
a pinion which drives the train of wheels g, h, i and k. Of these and are carried
upon axes fixed to the cheek 1 and are free to run loose. The toothed wheel i is
secured to the axis of the upper feed roller A; and the toothed wheel k upon the axis
of the lower feed roller B.
e
As usual, the upper feed roller is free to rise within due limits to accommodate
itself to irregularities in the feed. The bearings of the upper roller are formed for
this purpose in side links which are connected as usual to a lever and balance weight.
The teeth of the wheels are of such length as to allow the roller to rise to the usual
extent without throwing the wheel i out of gear with the wheel h.
Upon the shaft e¹ are the notched discs ; for carrying the web whereby the fodder
is fed to the rollers in the usual manner.
As a convenient means of altering the length of cut, that is to say, of altering the
lengths into which the fodder is divided by the knife, there may be cast on the outer
face of the wheel g a toothed wheel with a smaller number of teeth, and, when it is
desired to alter the length of cut the pinion f is removed and another pinion with
teeth corresponding to the wheel cast on the outer face of the wheel is substituted
and made to gear with the wheel cast on the outer face of the wheel 9.
g
At Fig. 3 is represented an alternative method of providing for inequalities in
feeding. Under this arrangement a vertical spindle m is carried in bearings on the
side cheek and is rotated by means of the bevel gearing n n' of which the wheel n'
is carried on the shaft which extends across the machine and is indicated in Fig. 2 by
the letter e¹. The spindle m carries two worms o and p of which o is fixed and gears
with the toothed wheel k of the lower feed roller, and p is free to slide vertically on
the spindle m as the upper roller and its toothed wheel i rise and fall with the
varying depth of feed. The worm p is prevented from turning upon the spindle m
by the key or feather fitting into it and into the body of the worm.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In a chaff-cutting machine the use of a train of toothed wheels for imparting
rotary motion to the feed rollers, consisting of a pinion d concentric with and carried
up on the same axis as the bevel wheel c, (as distinguished from the bevel pinions)
employed in driving chaff-cutting machines, the pinion d gearing with the toothed
wheel e the shaft of which extends to the opposite side of the machine and is there
fitted with a pinion by which rotary motion is transmitted to the toothed wheels g, h, i
and constructed, arranged and operating so as to permit the upper feeding roller

page_text: to rise with increased depth of feed without obstructing the rotation of the said
feeding roller, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2
of the accompanying sheet of drawings.
2. In a chaff-cutting machine the use, for imparting rotary motion to the feed
rollers, of worms such as o and p gearing with toothed wheels secured to the axes of
the feed rollers, the worms being carried on a spindle such as m placed vertically at
the side of the machine opposite to that at which the usual bevel gearing is situated
and rotated by means of bevel gearing situated at the lower end of the said spindle on
which the upper worm p is free to rise and fall with the upper feed roller and the
toothed wheel in accordance with variations in the depth of feed, substantially as
hereinbefore described with reference to Fig. 3 of the appended sheet of drawings.
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Agent for the Applicant.
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Agent for the Applicant.