Year: 1885

page_text: I, JOHN TEN BROOK CAMPBELL of Rockville in the County of Parke and State
of Indiana, United States of America, Surveyor and Civil Engineer do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a cultivator whose object is to facilitate and promote
thoroughness in cultivating small plants loosening the soil and covering grain.
The cultivator consists of a horizontal revolving frame or wheel carried by the
lower end of a vertical shaft mounted in the main frame, beneath which the
horizontal frame or wheel revolves. This wheel or frame consists of a hub and
radial arms whose outer ends are bent twice at right angles to form bearings one
above the other for the shanks of the cultivator teeth to turn in. These teeth
project downwards from the underside of the revolving frame or wheel and are
flattened at their lower ends and form blades which are curved in their own plane
and project out of the axial line of the shank so as to have a tendency to trail on
the ground like a caster.
The swivelling or caster like motion of the blades is limited by lever arms fixed
on their shanks, and stops on the arms of the revolving frame, so that the teeth of
the revolving frame, which are towards one side of the cultivator, will be presented
more or less flatwise to the line of advance, whilst those towards the other side
will be presented edgwise, thus producing a difference of resistance, which causes
the revolving motion of the frame as it is drawn over the ground. In order that
this motion may be reversed, the lever arms on the shanks are adjustable with
regard to their stops.
To adapt the blades for stony ground, their shanks are made with a coil between
the blade and the bottom bearing, to give elasticity and enable them to yield when
they strike an obstruction.
The main frame in which the shaft of the revolving frame is mounted, is formed
of a rear-bar front bar draw-bar and brace-bar.
The rear bar and the front bar can be formed in one piece or separately, and
rigidly connected together.
The rear bar and the front bar incline upward from the foot of the vertical shaft,
and the forward part of the front bar is curved upward in the form of a slotted
quadrant, to which the correspondingly curved rear end of the draw bar is adjust-
ably bolted. The upper ends of the rear bar and the front bar, are connected by
the brace bar in which the upper end of the vertical shaft is supported.

page_text: The revolving cultivator is guided in a straight line by a steering wheel, turning
in a forked spindle mounted in bearings in an arm or bracket fixed to the rear bar,
and in the upper end of the rear bar itself.
To this spindle is attached a bracket provided with a pair of handles to control
the guiding wheel or rudder, and thus guide the machine. A spiral spring is
applied upon the spindle, between the upper member of the said bracket and the
rear bar, to raise the rudder and its spindle after they have been pressed down-
ward, to cause the former to take a firm hold upon loose soil. The upper part of
the spindle is notched and engages with the eye in the rear bar to hold the rudder
and its spindle, in any position to which they may be adjusted.
With this construction, when the cultivator is drawn forward, that side of the
circular revolving frame upon which the blades of the teeth are prevented from
swinging back, will be held by the said blades from moving forward, while the
other side will move forward more quickly, the teeth describing curved lines, and
their blades swinging back and offering less obstruction to the advance of that side
of the circular frame, each tooth checking the part of the circular frame to which
it is attached, as soon as the rotation of the said frame, has brought the said tooth
into such a position, that the advance of the cultivator will cause the blade of the
said tooth to engage with the ground and serve as a pivot about which the circular
frame swings forward.
The machine is designed to be so arranged that the rapidly moving part of the
circular frame will be next the row of plants.
With this construction also, the curved forward sweep of the teeth will cause
the said teeth to push all clods and lumps away from the plants, and at the same
time to thoroughly loosen the soil.
The cultivators can be used singly, a single horse being attached to the
draw bar.
Or two cultivators can be used at a time, the draw bar being attached to the
carriage frame of an ordinary wheel cultivator.
Or a single cultivator can be connected with an ordinary turn plough, to pulverize
the farrow slice as it is turned.
When used as a harrow, the circular frame can be made large, in which case the
number of radial arms should be increased.
Dated this 99nd dew of September 1885

page_text: Improvements in Revolving Cultivators.
I, JOHN TEN BROOK CAMPBELL of Rockville in the County of Parke and State
of Indiana United States of America, Surveyor and Civil Engineer do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
The object of this Invention is to facilitate and promote thoroughness in culti-
vating small plants, loosening the soil, and covering grain.
This Invention relates to a cultivator constructed of a horizontal revolving
frame carried at the lower end of a vertical shaft mounted in the main frame and
provided with teeth having projecting blades and with stop arms and pins and a
rudder whereby the said circular frame will be made to revolve causing the part
of the said circular frame next the row of plants to move forward faster than the
advance of the machine which can be made to travel in a straight line as will be
hereinafter fully described.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this
Specification in which figure 1 is a plan view of one of my revolving cultivators;
figure 2 is a side elevation of the same partly in section and part being broken
away; figure 3 is a side elevation of one of the cultivator teeth enlarged and
showing a modification Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts
in all the figures.
A are radial arms, ten more or less in number each one foot more or less in length
and attached at their inner ends to a hub B which revolves upon the lower end of
a short vertical shaft C the radial arms and the hub forming a wheel or circular
frame. The frame of the machine is formed of the rear bar D, the front bar E, the
draw bar F, and the brace bar G. The rear bar D and the front bar E can be
formed in one piece or separately and bolted or rivetted to each other or otherwise
rigidly connected together The rear bar D and the front bar E incline upward
from the foot of the vertical shaft C or from points at a little distance from the
said shaft and the forward part of the front bar E is curved upward upon the arc
of a circle twelve inches more or less in diameter. The rear bar D and the front
bar E are strengthened in position by the brace bar G the forward end of which is
bolted, rivetted, or otherwise firmly secured to the forward end of the front bar E
and its rear end is bolted, rivetted, or otherwise secured to the rear bar D at a
little distance from its rear end. To the brace-bar G, a little in front of its centre,
is attached the upper end of the vertical shaft C. The outer ends of the radial
arms A are bent upward at right angles and then inward at right angles to form
bearings for the shanks of steel teeth H the lower parts of which are bent to the
rearward and are widened vertically as shown in figure 2. When the cultivator is
intended for stony ground the teeth H are made with a coil I as shown in figure 3
at the lower sides of the arms A to allow the said teeth to yield should they strike
a stone, root, or other obstruction; and thus prevent the said teeth or the frame
from being broken. The sections of the shanks of the teeth H that pass through
the bearings in the radial arms A are made round so that they will turn freely, and
the sections between the upper and lower bearings are made square to correspond

page_text: with the square eyes of the arms J which are fitted loosely upon the said square
sections. The arms J project diagonally with respect to their eyes, and to the
arms A are attached pins K in such positions that the said arms J will strike
against them when the teeth H have turned so far in one direction as to bring the
blades of the said teeth H into radial positions but will allow the said teeth to
turn freely in the other direction until the arms J come in contact with the edges
of the upright parts of the radial arms A. When it is desired to have the circular
frame A B revolve in the other direction the arms J are raised, turned bottom side
up, swung over the pins K, and allowed to drop at the other side of the said pins K.
The revolving cultivator is guided in a straight line by a rudder wheel L journaled
in the forked lower end of the vertical spindle M, the lower part of which turns
in a bearing in the rear end of an arm or bracket N, bolted rivetted, or otherwise
secured to the inclined rear bar D, the upper part of the spindle M turning in the
rearwardly projecting upper end of the inclined rear bar D. To the upper end of
the spindle M is fixed the upper arm of a bracket O the lower arm of which is
attached to the middle part of the said rudder spindle M. To the rear end of the
bracket is attached the centre of a bar P the ends of which are bent rearwards
and upwards to serve as handles to control the rudder wheel L and thus guide the
machine. Upon the upper part of the rudder spindle M between the upper arm
of the bracket O and the bar D is placed a spiral spring Q to raise the rudder
wheel L and its spindle M after they have been pressed downward to cause the
rudder wheel to take a firm hold upon loose soil. The upper part of the spindle M
is notched as at R and engages with the eye in the rear bar D to hold the rudder
wheel and its spindle in any position to which they may be adjusted. The rear
end of the drawbar F is curved downward to the arc of a circle to fit against the
curved upper end of the front bar E to which it is attached by a bolt S passing
through a short longitudinal slot in the curved upper end of the front bar E so
that by loosening the bolt S the forward end of the draw bar F can be raised or
lowered as may be required. When the cultivator is drawn forward that side of
the circular revolving frame A B upon which the blades of the teeth H are
prevented from swinging back by the arms J and pins K will be held by the said
blades from moving forward while the other side will move forward more quickly
the teeth describing curved lines and their blades swinging back and offering less
obstruction to the advance of that side of the circular frame, each tooth H checking
the part of the circular frame to which it is attached as soon as the rotation of the
said frame has brought the said tooth into such a position that the advance of the
cultivator will cause the blade of the said tooth to engage with the ground and
serve as a pivot about which the circular frame A B swings forward.
The machine is designed to be so arranged that the rapidly moving part of the
circular frame A B will be next the row of plants The curved forward sweep of
the teeth H will cause the said teeth to push all clods and lumps away from the
plants and at the same time to thoroughly loosen the soil. The cultivators can be
used singly, a single horse being attached to the draw bar F. Or, two cultivators
can be used at a time, the draw bar F being attached to the carriage frame of an
ordinary wheel cultivator. Or, a single cultivator can be connected with an
ordinary turn-plough to pulverize the furrow slice as it is turned. When used as a
harrow, the circular frame A B can be made large in which case the number of
radial arms should be increased.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is;
1. The combination in a revolving cultivator, of a fixed frame, a horizontal
circular frame pivoted to the said fixed frame, teeth swivelled in the said circular
frame, and stop arms and pins whereby the said circular frame will be made to
revolve, causing the part of the said circular frame next the row of plants to move
faster than the advance of the cultivator, as set forth.

page_text: 2. In a revolving cultivator, the combination with the radial arms of the pivoted
circular frame A B and the teeth H having rearwardly projecting blades, of the
stop arms J and pins K substantially as herein shown and described whereby the
blades of the teeth upon one part of the circular pivoted frame will engage with
the ground, and the blades of the teeth upon the other part of the said circular
pivoted frame will swing back and cause very little obstruction to the forward
movement of the said frame, as set forth.
3. In a revolving cultivator, the teeth H made substantially as herein shown and
described with projecting blades on their lower ends and with or without spring
coils on their shanks, whereby the said teeth when in one position will be
obstructed by the soil and when in another position can move through the soil
freely, as set forth.
4. In a revolving cultivator, the combination with the radial arms A of the
pivoted circular frame and the teeth H, of the stop-arms J, having eyes and the
stop-pins K, substantially as herein shown and described whereby the said teeth
will be turned successively into position to be obstructed by the soil and then
allowed to swing back as set forth.
5. In a revolving cultivator, the combination with the rear bar D of the fixed
frame and the arm N attached to the said bar, of the revolving rudder L, the rudder
shaft M, the bracket O attached to the said rudder shaft, the bent handle bar P
and the spiral spring Q placed upon the said rudder shaft, substantially as herein
shown and described whereby the said revolving cultivator can be readily guided
and controlled, as set forth.
6. In a revolving cultivator, the combination with the curved and slotted forward
end of the front bar E, of the fixed frame of the draw bar F having a correspond-
ingly curved rear end and the bolt S, substantially as herein shown and described,
whereby the point of draft attachment can be readily raised or lowered as set
forth.