IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Dennison, of Lancaster, in the County of
Lancaster, Joiner, for the invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING AND
MOWING MACHINES."
Sealed the 17th October 1862, and dated the. 19th April 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Dennison at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 19th
April 1862.
1, ROBERT DENNISON, of Lancaster, in the County of Lancaster, Joiner,
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction, arrangement, and com-
bination of machinery or apparatus for reaping corn..or. mowing grass, und
consists in the employment of a series of shears, the blades of which are
alternately. connected at their rear ends to two laterally sliding bars; placed one
above the other, the to-and-fro lateral motion of. such. bars giving the requisite
cutting action to the shears. These bars are actuated by suitable cam surfaces
formed on a horizontal drum or barrel, to which a rotatory motion is trans-
mitted by suitable gearing from a drum. which supports the main weight of
the machine. Smaller wheels are provided for supporting the front or cutting
part of the machine when at work. The corn or grass is collected upon and
discharged from the platform, which is at an angle of about 45° with the surface
of the ground, by means of one or more sets of endless chains provided with
Price $3

page_text: prongs or forks at suitable intervals, which work through openings in the
platform, and collect and discharge the corn or grass lying thereon. This
machine is intended to be driven by a horse placed at the rear or hind part,
and is provided with suitable appliances for raising the cutters from the
ground when turning or when not at work.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Dennison in the Great Seal Patent Oflice on the
18th October 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
DENNISON, of Lancaster, in the County of Lancaster, Joiner, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Robert Dennison, Her special licence that I, the said Robert Dennison,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as 1, the said
Robert Dennison, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that
1, the said Robert Dennison, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Robert Dennison, do hereby, declare
the nature of my said Invention, 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:-
My Invention relates to a peculiar construction, arrangement, and com-
bination of machinery and apparatus for reaping corn, mowing grass, or
cutting other crops, and consists in the employment of shear cutters arranged
in alternate series upon and fixed to two laterally sliding bars or carrier frames

page_text: placed one above the other, the reciprocating lateral motion of the said bars to
which the shear blades are fixed or hinged giving the requisite cutting motion
thereto. The shears or cutter bars are actuated by means of suitable gearing
in connection with and driven by the main wheels of the machine, or by a
drum. upon the main shaft, or a drum or drums upon or driven by the main
wheels, which carry the machine, or one of them. Smaller wheels are pro-
vided, when required, for supporting the front part of the machine where the
cutters are placed, and upon which they rest and run when at work. Sloping.
backwards and inclining upwards from the top of the cutter bars a platform
is formed, upon which the grass or corn is received as it is mown or reaped,
and from which it is discharged or cleared by the mechanism herein-after
described, either to the right or left side, as circumstances may require: This
platform is inclined at an angle of about 45°, and is traversed laterally with pro
jecting prongs working along suitable lateral openings therein from left to
right, or vice versa, according as the swarth or corn collected thereon is
required to be discharged. These lateral openings are formed one above the
other transversely from end to end in and completely through the platform,
and at each end of the said openings pullies or stud wheels for driving a
hinged chain are fitted; round these wheels hinged chains, in which projecting
prongs are fixed at certain intervals, and passing through the openings in
the platform are driven by a second set of wheels in the centre of the machine
behind and under the platform; and as motion is given to these wheels the
prongs clear the surface of the platform of the crop collected thereon.
fore part of the machine (or cutters) is provided with suitable mechanism for
raising it or them from the ground when turning at the headlands, or when
not at work. The machine is intended to be worked or propelled by horse or
other power applied at the rear.
The
The accompanying Drawing illustrates the improvements of my said
Invention, and shews a machine as constructed upon the principle herein
described.
Fig. is a plan, and Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a complete machine;
For convenience of reference
Fig. 3 shews a set of shear cutters detached.
the same parts of the machine are lettered with similar letters, in each
Figure.
A, A, are the main wheels. by which the machine is supported. and upon
which it moves when propelled; B is the main shaft or axle, upon which or
with which the main or driving wheels turn; C. C'. are two single or double
corrugated disc wheels, which are keyed on to the shaft B and turn, therewith,
or are made to run loose, and be fixed by a drop pin or key when, the machine

page_text: is in operation; D. D¹, are two levers, which are mounted upon and turn
partially about the centre E, E. The ends F, F¹, of these levers are forked,
so as to receive the corrugated disc or vane of the wheels C. C. By the
rotation of these corrugated wheels a reciprocating lateral motion is given to
the levers D, D¹, and is transmitted thereby to two parallel cutter bars G, G';
G, the upper bar, carries one set of shear blades; Hand G. the under bar,
carries a similar set of blades or prongs; H', the cutter bars, are connected
with the levers by the short arms 1, 1', and are hinged or jointed at K, K'.
When the wheels are made to turn upon the axle they are fitted with a
ratchet wheel and pawl, so as to lock, and turn with the axle when required,
and to lock for turning in either direction.
Fig. 3 shews a set of cutters upon the same principle of construction, but made
so that each blade or shear cutter turns upon its own centre; these centres are
shewn at L, L, L, &c., and M, M, M, &c., the former belonging to the upper
series, and the latter to the lower series of shear blades or shear blades and
prongs, as the case may be. The shear blades are made two-edged, or to cut on
both sides, so as to have a double action when in motion. The motion is given
by the parallel bars G, G', and levers D, D, precisely as before described, only.
that instead of the blades or blades and prongs being fixed as before men-
tioned, in this case they are attached to the bars, so as to move
or turn
slightly about the pins or centres N, N. These prongs are made so as to
attach to and be readily detached from the chain, in order that their number
can be increased or diminished; when it is required to discharge the crop in
sheaves a lesser number being used, and when it is required to discharge the
crop, such as grass in swarths, a greater number can be added. Instead of
making the short arms I, I', straight, and giving the motion to the cutter bars
by means of levers, as shewn in the Drawing, I also propose to use disc
wheels with a corrugated or waved groove in the side or sides, giving a lon-
gitudinal motion to two connecting rods to take the place of the levers D, D,
and transmit the required motion to the cutters by means of cranked or bent
levers attached thereto at one end, and to the connecting rods at the other;
and, if necessary, the cranked levers can be placed outside of the main
frame 0, 0, 0, &c., as required, and these rods, or the levers before mentioned,
may be actuated directly by the main wheels by a cam, crank, or otherwise.
By forming the driving wheel with a flange having a corrugated groove in the
inside, the necessary motion of the cutters may be transmitted directly through
the levers coloured red, and one of the wheels only, and one long lever only,
will be sufficient for the purpose; O, O, is the bottom main frame of the
machine supported by the wheels, and the main shaft by the main bear-

page_text: ings A, A; P, P, are the side frames of the inclined platform, upon which
the grass, grain, or other crop is received from the cutters. In this platform,
which is inclined at any convenient angle (generally at about 45°), open-
ings Q. Q. Q, are left through which the rake prongs R, R, R, which should
bend downwards at the points, are passed from the under side, and along
which openings the said projecting prongs traverse, or are made to move by
suitable gearing from side to side of the platform, and from right to left, or
vice versa. By the motion of these projecting rake prongs the crop is
discharged on the right or left side of the machine, as it may be required.
The ends of these prongs at the back of the platform are formed with a double
bend or T-head; one end of each bend is attached to and forms part of an
endless chain. The number of chains is regulated by the number of openings
in the platform, at the sides of which the pullies 1, 11, 2, 21, & 3, 3', are fixed.
These pullies are formed with dead pins or otherwise for propelling a chain of
any required form at the periphery, and the chains carrying the prongs are
passed round them, and also carried round the 3 similar pullies 1, 2, 3, on
the vertical shaft. S, which is turned by the toothed pulley or wheel T. The
wheel T is driven by the main shaft train of gearing U. U, U, &c. The two
wheels U1, U2, have each a lateral motion along the main shaft by a hand
lever, so that the motion when transmitted from the wheel U delivers the
crop on one side of the platform, and when transmitted from U delivers it on
the other side thereof; V is the top or head frame of the machine; and X
brackets or braces, to which the shafts W are attached, and where the horse
is harnessed when animal power is used. By balancing the machine upon
the main wheels, and hinging the shafts, as shewn at A, A; (red lines and
letters) with dead or draw pins B, B, the machine can be adjusted to any
height for work, and be lifted clear of the ground for convenience of removal
from place to place; Y. Y', are the levers for regulating, reversing, or
stopping the action of the machine; and Z. Z, are the wheels by which the
cutters are supported, and upon which they can be raised or lowered as
required. I further propose to so mount the entire machine and balance the
same that the weight of the cutters and fore part shall act as a counterpoise
to the hinder portion, or as nearly so as may be.
Having thus described and explained the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same may be performed, I hereby further declare
that I do not confine myself to the precise form, dimensions, or mechanism
shewn upon the Drawing, for actuating the different parts of the machine, as
the same may be materially modified in giving effect to my said improvements,
that is to say:-

page_text: 1st, in forming. and actuating shear blade cutters with a double recipro
cating two-edged cutting action.
2nd, the receiving and clearing platform, recessed, grooved, and fitted with
traversing, projecting, or other clearing rake prongs.
3rd, the cam or corrugated single or multiple gearing or combination o
mechanism for giving the required motion.
4th, the balancing principle of construction.
In witness whereof, 1. the said Robert Denison, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of October. in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
ROBT. DENNISON. (L.S.)