IMPROVEMENTS IN LAWN MOWING AND ROLLING MACHINES
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Barnard, John Bishop, Charles Barnard,
junior, and Godfrey Barnard, of the Norfolk Iron Works, Norwich,
Engineers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LAWN MOWING AND
ROLLING MACHINES."
Sealed the 6th November 1863, and dated the 19th May 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Barnard, John
Bishop, Charles Barnard, junior, and Godfrey Barnard at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 19th
May 1863.
We, CHARLES BARNARD, JOHN BISHOP, CHARLES BARNARD, junior, and
GODFREY BARNARD, of the Norfolk Iron Works, Norwich, Engineers, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LAWN
MOWING AND ROLLING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
In constructing lawn mowing and rolling machines in which two drums are
employed, we make the drums loose and free to revolvo in one direction on
the drum shaft, and fix two ratchet wheels (or other equivalent contrivance)
fast on the shaft; these ratchet wheels are acted on by palls attached to the
drums in such manner that when the machine is moved forward, the drum
shaft revolves; but when the machine is drawn backward, the drum shaft
remains stationary. By this arrangement the levers hitherto used for engaging

page_text: and disengaging the drum from its shaft are cutirely dispensed with. An
ordinary ratchet and spring pall may be used, but wo prefer to make the palls
silent in their action, for which purpose we attach to them a spring embracing
the shaft, so that when the machine is moved forward, the pall is brought into
contact with the ratchet wheel and retained there, but when the machine is
drawn backward, the palls are lifted and kept out of contact with the teeth,
until the forward motion is recommenced, when the palls again come into
action.
To communicate motion from the drum shaft to the spiral cutters, we
employ a friction wheel on the drum shaft acting upon an intermediate friction
wheel (baving by preference an india-rubber periphery) to which there is
attached a similar wheel, but of a different diameter; these wheels are carried
on a stud fixed in a radial arm attached to the side frame of the machine, and
free to move up and down, and in the direction of its length, in order that it
may adjust itself between the wheel on the drum shaft and a small friction
pinion on the shaft which carries the cutters. We enclose this gearing in a
suitable case to protect it from dirt and injury.
Part of these improvements is also applicable to lawn mowing and
rolling machines having only one drum, in which case the drum may be
made fast on its shaft, and the intermediate wheels be made to rise out of
contact with the drum wheel, when no motion of the cutters will take
place.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Barnard, John Bishop, Charles Barnard, junior, and
Godfrey Barnard, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 19th November
1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, CHARLES
BARNARD, JOHN BISHOP, CHARLES BARNARD, junior, and GODFREY BARNARD, of
the Norfolk Iron Works, Norwich, Engineers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Charles Barnard, John Bishop, Charles Barnard, junior, and Godfrey
Barnard, Her special licence that we, the said Charles Barnard, John Bishop,

page_text: Charles Barnard, junior, and Godfrey Barnard, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as we, the said Charles Barnard, John Bishop,
Charles Barnard, junior, and Godfrey Barnard, our 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 LAWN MOWING AND ROLLING MACHINES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Charles Barnard, John Bishop,
Charles Barnard, junior, and Godfrey Barnard, our executors or administrators
by an instrument in writing under our, or their hands and seals, or under
the hand and seal of one of us, or them, 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 immediately after the dato of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Barnard, on behalf of
myself, and the said John Bishop, Charles Barnard, junior, and Godfrey
Barnard, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
In constructing lawn mowing machines in which two drums are employed,
we make the drums loose and free to revolve on the drum shaft, and fix
two ratchet wheels (or other equivalent contrivance) fast on the shaft ;
these ratchet wheels are acted on by palls attached to the drums in such
manner that when the machine is moved forward the drum shaft revolves,
but when the machine is drawn backward the drum shaft remains stationary.
By this arrangement the levers hitherto used for engaging or disengaging
the drum from its shaft are entirely dispensed with. An ordinary ratchet
and spring pall may be used, but we prefer to make the palls silent in
their action, for which purpose we attach to them a spring embracing
the shaft so that when the machine is moved forward the pall is brought
into contact with the ratchet wheel, and retained there; but when the
machine is drawn backward the palls are lifted and kept out of contact
with the teeth until the forward motion is recommenced, when the palls
again come into action.
To communicate motion from the drum shaft to the spiral cutters, we
employ a friction wheel on the drum shaft, acting upon an intermediate

page_text: friction wheel (having by preference an india-rubber periphery) to which
there is attached a similar wheel, but of a different diameter; theso wheels
are carried on a stud fixed in a radial arm attached to the side frame of
the machine on the drum side, and free to move up and dawn, and in
the direction of its length, in order that it may adjust itself between the
wheel on the drum shaft, and a small friction pinion on the shaft which
carries the cutters. We enclose this gearing in a suitable case to protect it
from dirt or injury.
Part of these improvements is also applicable to lawn mowing and
rolling machines having only one drum, in which case the drum may be
made fast on its shaft, and the intermediate wheels be made to rise out of
contact with the drum wheel, when no motion of the cutters will take
place.
And in order that the manner of performing this our Invention may be
more fully understood, reference is had to the annexed Drawings, and to
the letters and figures marked thereon.
Figure 1 is a side view, and Figure 2 a plan view, of so much of the machino
as is necessary to show the nature of our improvements therein; Figure 3 is
an end elevation, and Figure 4 a section showing the arrangement of the
drums and drum shaft, when an ordinary pall and spring are employed;
Figure 5 is an end elevation, and Figure 6 a section showing the drum and
drum shaft fitted with the silent palls; Figure 7 is a plan (partly in section)
showing the wheels j, k, and the radial arm m and stud 1; Figure 8 is a side
view of the radial arm m. The same letters are used to denote similar parts
in each of these Drawings.
a, a, are the drums which run loose upon the shaft b; c, c, are ratchets
fixed on the drum shaft b; d, d, are palls, one of which is centred on each of
the drums a, a, and kept in contact with the teeth of the ratchet wheels by
springs e, e; the teeth of the ratchet wheels being set in such directions that
when the machine is moved forward, the revolution of the drums a, a, by means
of the palls and ratchet wheels, gives motion to the revolving cutters. When
the machine is drawn backward the palls will slip over the teeth without
turning the shaft, the cutters will therefore remain stationary. With the fore-
going arrangement of palls, however, a certain amount of "clicking " noise
will be made in drawing the machine backward, to prevent this, we employ an
arrangement, shown in Figures 5 and 6, which renders the palls and ratchets
silent in their action. Each of the palls d, d, is formed with a tail having a
projecting stud f which is acted upon by a spring g, which spring clips the

page_text: shaft b with sufficient force to create friction enough to move the pall into and
out of gear with the ratchet wheel.
The action is as follows:-When the drums turn in the direction of the
arrow, that is, during the forward motion of the machine, the stud in the tail
of the pall will be pressed against the left-hand side of the spring, which, by
the resistance arising from the friction on the shaft, will keep the point of the
pall in gear with the teeth of the ratchet wheel, when by drawing the machine
backward the drum revolves in an opposite direction, the stud on the tail of
the pall is pressed against the right-hand side of the spring, by which means
the pall will be lifted and held out of contact with the ratchet wheel, until the
motion is reversed.
Motion is given to the revolving cutters by the following arrangement :-
Upon the shaft 6 is fixed a friction wheel g', mado (by preference) of cast
iron. A similar but smaller wheel h is placed on the shaft i of the revolving
cutters. Between these two wheels is placed a friction wheel (which may
be advantageously covered with india-rubber) this third wheel is of a diameter
rather greater than the distance between the peripheries of the wheels g¹
and h.
By this arrangement the revolution of the wheel g' in the forward motion of
the machine will drag down the intermediate wheel, so as partially to jam it
between the wheels g' and h, and thus give motion to the cutters. The greater
the resistance of the cutters, the tighter will the intermediate wheel be jammed
between the wheels g' and h, and the driving power correspondingly increased.
On the contrary, if the machine be moved backward, the revolution of the
wheel g will lift the intermediate wheel out of contact with the wheel h, and
consequently no motion will be given to the cutters. The foregoing arrange-
ment of a single intermediate wheel, although not shown in the Drawing will
be readily understood by what is about to be described.
Instead of a single intermediate wheel two are shown in the Drawing
(forming a compound wheel) placed side by side; the one j bearing against g',
the other k bearing against h. The wheels j and k which are united together,
being of different diameters, enables a greater speed to be given to the
cutters than when a single intermediate wheel is employed. To render the
compound intermediate wheel j, k, more steady in its action, it is carried by
a stud 1, fixed on an adjustable arm m attached to the side frame of the
machine, as shown in Figures 7 and 8.
The friction gearing is enclosed in a suitable case to protect it from dirt and

page_text: The machine herein-before described and shown has two drums, but it will
be evident that our improvements may be applied to lawn mowing machines
in which one drum only is employed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Barnard, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-threc.
Witness,
WM. BADDELEY,
Patent Agent,
13, Angell Terrace,
Islington.
CHARLES BARNARD. (L.s.)