IMPROVE- MENTS IN LAWN MOWERS OR MACHINES FOR CUTTING GRASS
Year: 1885

page_text: I, JOHN HOPWOOD of Stockport Great Moor, Mile End, Stockport, in the County
of Chester, Hatter, do hereby declare the nature of said invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN LAWN MOWERS OR MACHINES FOR CUTTING GRASS" to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object to enable a lawn mower with rotary cutters to
operate on a lawn close to a wall or to stems of trees, flowers or the like, for which
purpose the driving gear ordinarily arranged at the side of the machine is dispensed
with and in lieu thereof gear is provided at a position intermediate between the
ends of the rotary cutter or series of knives as I will now proceed to explain.
The knives or cutters are carried by a shaft supported at its ends in bearings or
split steps adjustable by screws. Each under step can be either cast with or fitted
on the frame. On the shaft near to its ends are wheels or pullies on which the
knives or cutters are fastened. In an intermediate position on the same shaft is a
wheel having as many teeth as there are knives or cutters. These teeth are nearly
flat at their outer ends or peripheries and are slotted or otherwise suitably shaped
to receive and hold the knives or cutters which must of course be tightly fitted.
On a counter shaft above the cutters is another but larger toothed wheel which is
fitted upon the shaft inside the frame. Its teeth are of sufficient length to gear
with those of the toothed wheel on the cutter shaft and so as to clear the knives
or cutters.
Motion is transmitted to the larger toothed wheel from ordinary grass rollers
such as are fitted to mowers or from wheels having projections or lugs to bite in
the ground the motion being transmitted by means of a chain or otherwise.
1007
W. LLOYD WISE,
Applicant's Agent.

page_text: I, JOHN HOPWOOD, of Stockport Great Moor, Mile End, Stockport, in the County
of Chester, Hatter, 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 has for its object to enable a lawn mower with rotary cutters to
operate on a lawn close to a wall or to stems of trees, flowers or the like, for which
purpose the driving gear ordinarily arranged at the side of the machine is dispensed
with and in lieu thereof gear provided at a position intermediate between the
ends of the rotary cutter or series of knives or cutters.
Motion is transmitted to the larger toothed wheel from ordinary grass rollers such
as are fitted to mowers or from wheels having projections or lugs to bite in the
ground, the motion being transmitted by means of a chain or otherwise.
Referring to the accompanying sheet of illustrative drawings Fig. is a side
view of a machine for cutting grass according to this invention; Fig. 2 is an end
view of the same, a portion of the roller d being supposed to be removed to show
the working parts of the machine.
Fig. 3 shews inter alia one of the bearings in which the rotary cutter shaft
revolves. Fig. 4 is a view of the same at right angles to Fig. 3.
a. a are the side frames of the machine and may be made in sections suitably
connected together. These frames carry a shaft or axis f, upon which there are
fixed one or more grass rollers e. e. which are supported in adjustable brackets
fastened by means of set screws on the frame a. a. Upon the shaft f and between
the rollers there is mounted a toothed wheel g driven from the shaft by a pawl p
and ratchet wheel o, in the well known manner. This wheel g gears with another
toothed wheel h on the second motion shaft i, which is also supported in adjustable
brackets fastened by means of set screws on the frame a, a, and the motion is
transmitted to the cutter shaft m by the wheel which gears with a wheel Z.
These wheels / and are of peculiar form and enable the cutter shaft (which is
supported in divided brasses or bearings p. q either cast or fitted on the side, or
frame of the mower, and round which the cutters revolve) to be driven without
interference with the continuity of the knives n. n. d is an adjustable front roller
(or it may be a series of rollers on one shaft) either plain or grooved or ribbed,
and b. b are the handles of the machine.
As the axes of rotary cutters are alike, by reversing them both edges of the
blades can be used.
Instead of arranging the driving gear centrally it may be arranged in any other
position so long as it does not project laterally beyond the knives or cutters.
Fig. 5 illustrates its application at one side of the machine. There may be driving
gear at both sides.
The rotary cutters may be sharpened or ground by either emery or sand which
is placed on the stationary knife r, (which can be adjusted to the rotary cutters
by the set screw 8,) and the cutters then turned by a small handle which can be
inserted through a hole on one side of the machine.

page_text: As will be evident a box or receptacle may be applied to the machine to receive
the cut grass et cetera, and handles may be fitted to the front of the machine if
desired.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. In lawn mowers or machines for cutting grass, arranging the gear for driving
the rotary cutter or cutters between the ends of such rotary cutter or cutters so as
to enable the same to operate on a lawn close to a wall or to stems of trees, flowers
or the like.
2. A lawn mower with driving gear intermediate between the ends of the cutters
constructed, arranged and operating substantially as described with reference to the
drawings Figs. 1 to 4, or modified as indicated in Fig. 5.