IMPROVEMENTS IN GRAIN BINDERS
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Otis Skinner Gage, of No. 228, Upper Thames Street, in
the City of London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN GRAIN BINDERS."
A communication from abroad by Cyrus Hall McCormick, of Chicago, Illinois,
in the United States of America.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Otis Skinner Gage at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 29th June 1878.
OTIS SKINNER GAGE, of No. 228, Upper Thames Street, in the City of London.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN GRAIN BINDERS." A communication from abroad by Cyrus
Hall McCormick, of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States of America.
This Invention relates to and constitutes an improvement upon the well-known
"McCormick binder," as exemplified in Letters Patent, No. 4065, 4066%, and
410070
.
The object of the first part of this Invention is to automatically lock and unlock
the reciprocating binding carriage of a grain binding machine at each end of its
stroke, and simultaneously to hold and release the binder arm, in order to lock it in
its uplifted position when moving forward to grasp a bundle, and to release it at the
proper time to enable it to effect that operation, which ends are obtained by com-
bining with an intermittently rotating crank, actuated by a driving chain a locking
stop, which simultaneously locks the binding carriage and engages with a stop on
the crank which actuates the binder arm.
The object of the next part of the Invention is to prevent derangement of the
twisting mechanism by the stretching or wearing of the driving chain, which
irregularities are compensated, according to this Invention, by mounting the lug
upon which the pawl of the gear wheel which drives the differential gear, twister,
and cutter, acts upon a movable plate, pivoted concentrically upon the differential
wheel, and providing it with adjusting mechanism, so that the teeth of the differ-
ential wheel can be adjusted to compensate variations in the length of the driving
chain.
The next part of this Invention relates to that part of the mechanism which gives
the half revolution to the twister on the forward movement of the binding head;

page_text: Its object is to prevent breakage or derangement of the mechanism should the
operator, in oiling the twister gearing; Carelessly leave the pin which locks the
differential gear in a line between the stud or push bar, which actuatos said pin and
the hub of the differential gear wheel, which liability is obviated by pivoting the
stud or push bar, so as to allow it slight lateral play and providing it with a spring
which normally retains it in its proper position, but 'yields when it encounters a
rigid obstacle.
In the accompanying Drawings, which represent so much of a McCormick binder
with the improvements applied thereto as is necessary to illustrate the subject matter
herein claimed,-
Figure 1 represents a plan or top view; Figure 2 a rear elevation thereof, showing
the parts in the position they occupy at the moment the binder arm begins to move
forward in its uplifted position; Figure 3 represents a similar view of the opposite
side of the same, partly in section on the line 1, 1, of Figure 1.
Figure 4 represents a plan or top view of the differential gear, the crank, the
locking stop, and traversing carriage, on the line 2, 2, of Figure 5, with parts broken
away to show the internal construction more clearly.
Figure 5 represents a view in elevation of the parts shown in Figure 4, partly in
section, on the line 3, 3, of said Figure.
Figure 6 represents a vertical diagonal section through the differential gear on i
the line 4, 4, of Figure 4.
Figure 7 represents a view in elevation of the devices for tightening the driving
chain; and Figure 8 a vertical transverse section therethrough on the line 5, 5, of
Figure 7.
A represents the binder frame, provided with ways a, a, upon which the
binding carriage B reciprocates, with a rack a² for actuating the twisting
mechanism. The binding carriage is reciprocated by means of a driving chain C
running over sprocket wheels D, D', and driven in usual well-known ways. The
chain is tightened to compensate wear by means of an adjusting screw d, Figure 7,
which controls the movable bearing in which one of the sprocket wheels is mounted. 3
Apin e on the driving chain works in a slot in one arm E¹ of an elbow crank E,
mounted on a stud axle b of the traversing carriage.
In order to prevent the traversing carriage from running faster than the chain, or
in other words, to prevent the slotted crank from over-running its driving pin,
which is apt to be the case when the traversing carriage is inclined, a locking 3
latch Fis mounted upon a pivot f, intermediate of its length, upon the slotted
arm E of the intermittently rotating crank E. The outer end of this latch moves
vertically in a guide flange e, on the slotted arm, and is provided with a stop f' to
limit its descent. When in its lowest position its end abuts against the driving
pin and holds it at the extremity of the slotted arm, thus locking the driving pin 4
and carriage together. A spring f2, bearing on the opposite end of the latch, tenis
to hold the parts in their locked position. This latter end of the latch is also
provided with a toe, which alternately enters notches g, g³, in a disc G, connected
with a pitman G¹, which actuates the rock shaft H, which carries the binder arm
and compresser through the medium of a crank h, as is well understood.
s The binder arm is locked in its elevated position and automatically released at
the proper time simultaneously with the release of the driving pin by the rotation
of the elbow crank E, E', which takes place as the driving pin passes around its
sprocket wheel.
The carriage is held stationary at each end of its stroke while the binder arm is 5
closing around the bundle, and in opening by pins o and a half shell O on the elbow
crank.
The differential gear wheel K, which drives the cutters and twisting mechanisın,
is for convenience of construction made in two sections or discs, bolted together.
Experience has demonstrated that, as the relation of the teeth of the twister pinion 5
to the mouth of the cutter head is dependent upon the relation of the stationary
rack to the differential gear, and as this relation in turn is dependent upon the length

page_text: of the driving chain, the wearing or stretching of the driving chain sometimes
throws the teeth of the sectional twister or cutter into improper relation. This
objection is obviated by mounting the lug l, upon which the paul m of the driving
gear M acts to move the differential gearing, and consequently the twister pinions
upon a plate L, mounted concentrically upon the axis of the differential wheel, and
capable of a slight turning movement thereon. A stud n on this plate extends up
through a slot in the differential gear, and provided with a set screw n', abutting
against a lug o¹ on the gear, to adjust the relation of the .lug with its driving
pawl.
A clamp nut n² on the stud n serves to lock the parts securely in position when
adjusted. By this mode of construction, when the chain becomes worn, it may be.
shortened by taking out a link, and still the proper relation of the teeth of the
cutter pinion will be preserved.
The organization of this machine is such that as the twisting mechanisin moves
forward to carry the wire around the bundle, a half turn is given to the twister
pinion to carry the first wire that enters the jaws of the twister around to its back,
Bo as to be opposite the second wire which enters. This operation is caused by a
stud pin p, on the differential gear K abutting against the stud or push bar S on a
fixed portion of the frame.
In machines hitherto manufactured this stud is rigid; consequently, if the operator
should carelessly leave the stud pin p out of gear with the latch, or in a line between
the hub of the differential gear and the stud 8, it might break the machine. To
obviate this difficulty the push bar S works upon a pivot 8, and is allowed a slight
lateral or horizontal play, being maintained in its normal position by a spiral
spring 8 (see Figures 1 and 3). Under this construction, when the stud p strikes
the push bar S squarely, and is in proper position, the differential wheel K is rotated,
but when the pin is out of position it strikes upon the sloping side of the push bar,
which yields laterally, and thus prevents injury to the differential gear.
81
The operation of these improvements will readily be understood from the foregoing
description.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim as the Invention communi-
cated to me by my foreign correspondent is,-
First. The combination, substantially as herein-before set forth, of the recipro-
cating binding carriage, the slotted intermittingly rotating crank mounted thereon,
the traversing driving chain carrying a pin working in a slot of the crank arm, the
locking latch pivoted upon the crank arm, and simultaneously acting upon the pin
of the driving chain, and the pitman which actuates the binding arm, whereby the
binding carriage and binding arm are automatically locked in position, and released
at the proper moment by a single instrumentality.
Secondly. The combination, substantially as herein-before set forth, of the lug on
the turning plate, and mechanism for securing said plate when adjusted, mounted
upon the differential gear, whereby the proper relation of the parts of the twister is
preserved, notwithstanding variations in the length of the driving chain.
Thirdly. The combination, substantially as herein-before-set forth, of the recipro-
cating intermittingly rotating differential gear actuating the twister and the laterally
yielding push bar, whereby breakage of the twister gearing is prevented.
In witness whereof, I, the said Otis Skinner Gage, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of June, One thousand eight hundred and
casants night
-
OTIS SKINNER GAGE. (L.S.)