IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CULTIVATING LAND, PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS IS APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Perkins, of Hitchin, in the County of Hertford,
and Thomas Burall, of Peterborough, in the County of Northampton, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CULTIVATING LAND, PART
OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS IS APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES."
Sealed the 29th October 1878, and dated the 3rd May 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Perkins and Thomas
Burall at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 3rd May 1878.
THOMAS PERKINS, of Hitchin, in the County of Hertford, and THOMAS BURALL,
of Peterborough, in the County of Northampton. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR CULTIVATING LAND, PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS IS APPLICABLE TO OTHER
PURPOSES."
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for cultivating land,
part of which improvements is applicable to other purposes.
In cultivating land by steam power it is usual to pass the rope by which the
implement is hauled over the land around a pulley mounted upon a carriage, having
in lieu of wheels sharp iron discs, which cutting into the ground prevent the carriage
yielding sideways to the strain upon the hauling rope, but nevertheless allow the
pulley carriage to be moved onwards as the work progresses. In order to enable
these pulley carriages to travel on roads, and to and from their work, ordinary road
wheels, somewhat larger in diameter than the discs, are then placed upon the axles,
and to admit of these wheels being put on it is usual to raise the body of the
carriage by means of jacks.
To facilitate the putting on and taking off of the road wheels we form each wheel
with a slot or opening in it, in which the box or bush receiving the axle is able to
slide from the centre of the wheel outwards towards the circumference. When the
wheel is in use a key holds the box or bush at the end of the slot and in the
centre of the wheel, but when it is desired to allow the carriage to rest upon its
disc wheels the keys are knocked out.

page_text: To remove the road wheels they are lifted until the box or bush is brought to
the outer end of the slot near the periphery of the wheel, and in this position the
wheel can be drawn off sideways, leaving the box or bush upon the axle, the outer
end of the slot in the wheel being enlarged to admit of this.
When it is wished to again mount the carriage upon the road wheels the wheels
are slipped on so that the boxes or bushes enter the slots, and spikes are clipped
on to the wheels, which by penetrating the ground will prevent the wheels
skidding; then the carriage is drawn forward, and as the wheels roll round the
boxes or bushes slide into their places in the centres of the wheels, and they are
then secured by replacing the keys. These arrangements are applicable where-
ever it is frequently required to raise a carriage body or frame on to wheels for
travelling.
In order to raise the tines of the cultivating implement out of the land the
frame of the implement is arranged with upright or inclined sockets upon it, which
receive stems rising from the axle boxes on the axle of the main wheels. A pair of
pinions is also carried upon the axle, one near either end; and the frame has an
horizontal axis mounted upon it, carrying curved racks opposite the pinions. There
is also a treddle on the axis, and the driver of the implement by putting his foot
upon the treddle can bring the curved racks into contact with the pinions, when in
consequence of the rotation of the pinions the racks at once commence to climb up
the pinions, carrying the frame and the tines with them. The sockets upon the
frame slide up the stems upon the axle boxes, and when the tines are fully raised
spring bolts or pawls fall into notches in the stems and lock the frame fast.
the bolts are withdrawn by means of a lever handle provided for the purpose the
tines come down again into the land.
When
It is convenient to provide two curved racks and two treddles upon the axis to
work with each pinion, so that a small part of a rotation communicated to the axis
by means of the treddle may suffice at any time when the tines are in work to
bring the pinions into gear with the racks for lifting the tines.
A hand lever may be used in place of a treddle; in that case a ratchet wheel and
pawl may be fitted at the bottom of the lever, so that one lever only. would be
needed.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Thomas Perkins and Thomas Burall in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 2nd November 1878.
THOMAS PERKINS, of Hitchin, in the County of Hertford, and THOMAS BURALL,
of Peterborough, in the County of Northampton. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR CULTIVATING LAND, PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS IS APPLICABLE TO OTHER
PURPOSES."
This Invention has for its ohject improvements in apparatus for cultivating land,
part of which improvements is applicable to other purposes.
In cultivating land by steam power it is usual to pass the rope by which the
implement is hauled over the land around a pulley mounted upon a carriage, having
in lieu of wheels sharp iron discs, which cutting into the ground prevent the carriage
yielding sideways to the strain upon the hauling rope, but nevertheless allow the
pulley carriage to be moved onwards as the work progresses. In order to enable
these pulley carriages to travel on roads, and to and from their work, ordinary road
wheels, somewhat larger in diameter than the discs, are then placed upon the axles,
and to admit of these wheels being put on it is usual to raise the body of the
carriage by means of jacks.
To facilitate the putting on and taking off of the road wheels we form each wheel
with a slot or opening in it, in which the box or bush receiving the axle is able to
slide from the centre of the wheel outwards towards the circumference.
When the
wheel is in usc a key holds the box or bush at the end of the slot and in the
centre of the wheel, but when it is desired to allow the carriage to rest upon its
disc wheels the keys are knocked out.
To remove the road wheels they are lifted until the box or bush is brought to
the outer end of the slot near the periphery of the wheel, and in this position the
wheel can be drawn off sideways, leaving the box or bush upon the axle, the outer
end of the slot in the wheel being enlarged to admit of this.
When it is wished to again mount the carriage upon the road wheels the wheels
are slipped on so that the boxes or bushes enter the slots, and spikes are clipped on
to the wheels, which by penetrating the ground will prevent the wheels skidding;
then the carriage is drawn forward, and as the wheels roll round the boxes or
bushes slide into their places in the centres of the wheels, and they are then secured
by replacing the keys. These arrangements are applicable wherever it is frequently
required to raise a carriage body or frame on to wheels for travelling.
In order to raise the tines of the cultivating implement out of the land the frame
of the implement is arranged with upright or inclined sockets upon it, which
receive stems rising from the axle boxes on the axle of the main wheels. A pair of
pinions is also carried upon the axle, one near either end; and the frame has an
horizontal axis mounted upon it, carrying curved racks opposite the pinions. There
is also a treddle on the axis, and the driver of the implement by putting his foot
upon the treddle can bring the curved racks into contact with the pinions, when in
consequence of the rotation of the pinions the racks at once commence to climb up
the pinions, carrying the frame and the tines with them. The sockets upon the
frame slide up the stems upon the axle boxes, and when the tines are fully raised
spring bolts or pawls fall into notches in the stems and lock the frame fast. When
the bolts are withdrawn by means of a lever handle provided for the purpose the
tines come down again into the land.
It is convenient to provide two curved racks and two treddles upon the axis to
work with each pinion, so that a small part of a rotation communicated to the axis
by means of the treddle may suffice at any time when the tines are in work to
bring the pinions into gear with the racks for lifting the tines.
A hand lever may be used in place of a treddle; in that case a ratchet wheel and
pawl may be fitted at the bottom of the lever, so that one lever only would bo
needed.

page_text: In order that our said Invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into effect we will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a carriage for supporting a pulley, by which the
hauling rope is guided in its passage from the engine to the plough or imple-
ment.
This carriage is provided with the disc wheels a, which cutting into the land
resist the side strain of the rope upon the pulley. The pulley, which is not shown
in the Drawing, is arranged in its usual position on the body of the carriage; bare
the axles of the disc wheels a, and these, when the carriage is not at work, but has
to travel from place to place, receive other wheels c, c. One of the spokes of each
of these wheels is so formed as to provide a slot or opening c¹, in which the box or
bush & upon the axle b is able to slide from the centre towards the circumference of
the wheel.
When the carriage is intended to travel upon the wheels c the bush d is held in
position in the centre of the wheel by the key e. When it is desired to let the
carriage down on to its disc wheels a the keys c are knocked out, the frame falls,
and the wheels c are lifted off; the outer end of the slot or opening in the wheel is
large enough to let the bush d escape.
To take the pulley carriage out of work and to remount it upon the wheels c, c,
a spike fis made to clip on to the periphery of each of the wheels, in the manner
represented in Figure 1ª, and also in the sectional view Figure 2. The wheels
being thus armed and replaced so that the boxes or bushes d are in the outer ends
of the slots in the wheels the carriage is drawn forward a short distance, when the
axle and bush assumes in succession the positions indicated in Figures 1b, 1º,
and 1d. When the position of Figure 2d is arrived at the keys e are driven in, and
the carriage is then ready to travel.
It is obvious that the arrangement above described can be adopted in other cases
where it may be desired from time to time to lift a carriage body or frame on to
wheels, and at other times to remove the wheels to allow the frame or carriage to
rest more steadily on. the ground, or with any other object.
Figure 3 is a side elevation of a cultivator, so arranged that the tines can be
raised at any time when the implement is at work, at the pleasure of the workman;
Figure 4 is a plan of the same implement, and Figure 5 is a back view of some of
the parts.
The frame of the implement carries the tines; it is provided in front with a
steering wheel capable of being controlled by chains and a hand wheel in the usual
way, which the Drawing indicates. The hinder part of the frame is mounted upon
a pair of wheels upon an axis which is carried in bearings or axle boxes formed at
the lower ends of the stems A, A. These stems are held in sockets formed on the
frame, and when the sockets are in the position in which the parts are represented
in the Drawing the tines penetrate to their greatest depth, the sockets being shown
resting against the axle boxes at the lower ends of the stems A.
When the implement is at work the frame can at any time be lifted by means of
the two curved racks B, B; these are both fixed upon a tube C, and when desired
can be made to engage with the pinions D, D. The pinions D, which have inclined
or ratchet-like teeth, are fixed upon the axis E of the main wheels, and they turn
as the wheels revolve. The stems A have notches or teeth formed in them, with
which the pawls F, F, can be made to engage. The pawls are controlled by the
lever handle G, which is mounted on the same axis H with the pawls. The axis H
is carried upon the frame of the implement in suitable bearings, and it is surrounded
by the tube C, upon which the two curved racks B, B, are fixed.
The workman riding upon the seat of the machine when he desires to raise the
tines places his foot upon one or other of the two curved racks B, and overcoming
the slight friction of the tube C upon the axis H, he presses the racks against the

page_text: pinions D, causing them to engage in the manner represented in Figure 3. As the
implement travels on, the racks climb up the pinions, lifting the frame and tines at
the same time until ultimately the last tooth escapes over the top of the pinion.
As the frame rises the stems A draw out of their sockets, and the pawls F, F, fall
in and prevent their return. When by means of the lever handle Ġ the pawls are
drawn out and the stems are released the tines again enter the land, and they may
be allowed to descend to their full depth or stopped sooner by allowing the pawls
to engage with the teeth in the stems when the desired depth is reached.
The power to regulate the distance which the implement shall drop and the
depth it shall work is obtained by arranging the teeth on the stem, as shown in the
Drawings. It will be seen that the position in which the handle G is held deter-
mines the depth to which the tines enter.
The curved racks B are so formed that they serve conveniently as treddles for
the foot of the workman, and for greater convenience they are made in pairs so
that the operation is completed in half a revolution, otherwise the workman would
have to move the curved racks an inconvenient distance in order to bring them into
action.
Having thus described the nature of our said Invention and the manner of per-
forming the same, we would have it understood that we claim,--
First. The arrangements facilitating the lifting of pulley carriages and other like
vehicles on to travelling wheels, and the removal of the said wheels, substantially as
described.
Second. The arrangements for lifting the tines or tilling tools of cultivating
implements by pinions or equivalent parts on the axle, which are made to engage
with curved racks or equivalent parts upon the frame, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, said Thomas Perkins, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this First day of November, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-eight.
THOMAS PERKINS. (L.S.)