AN IMPROVED GANG PLOUGH
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Luke Chapman, of Collinsville, Connecticut,
United States of America, for the Invention of “AN IMPROVED GANG
PLOUGH."
Sealed the 14th November 1871, and dated. the 13th June 1871..
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Luke Chapman at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
13th June 1871.
I, LUKE CHAPMAN, of Collinsville, Connecticut, United States of
America, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for " Ax
IMPROVED GANG PLOUGH," to be as follows:-
:-
Figure 1 is a side elevation; Figure 2 is a plan view of the said
plough; Figure 3 is a detached view of the apparatus for lifting and
turning the ploughs.
The letters a and a¹ indicate two wheels of the machine; c is the axle
which is sunk by crank arms at either end below the centres of the
wheels. The letter & indicates the beam on which the ploughs are

page_text: "
hung, constructed preferably of a hollow metal tube. On opposite sides
of this beam are attached sets of ploughs, one set of " right-hand
ploughs and one set of "left-hand" ploughs. At the centre of its length
it is supported by a swivel e turning in the sliding block f and with a
collar upon either side of the same; this sliding block slides on ways in
the standard g; it is attached to the top of the standard by means of the
hydraulic lifting jack composed of exterior parts, barrel g³, piston rod g²,
and handle g³, by means of which the operator can pump the beam & and
the ploughs up to such an elevation that they can be turned over for
purposes that will shortly appear. At the upper corners of the sliding
block fand upon one side are attached bearings f, f¹, in which turns
the shaft h. whereon is the worm i meshing into the worm wheel j
which is a part of the swivel e, and by means of this shaft and its
crank ¹ the beam and the ploughs can be revolved. The standard g
is attached at its foot to the plate k which is pivotted to the plate k¹
beneath it and fast on the axle c, so that standard, beam, and ploughs
can all be partially revolved horizontally, as it is necessary for the beam
to rest obliquely on the axle to put the ploughs at work. This partial
horizontal revolution is effected by having a worm s on the shaft &
turned by the crank and attached to the plate k; it meshes into the
teeth on the plate k¹. From the front end of the beam the arc of a
circle in metal m extends, and from its back to near the centre of the
beam extends the draw bar n, and to the front end of this the power
to draw the ploughs is attached. To the front end of the beam a gauge
wheel o is attached by a crank arm which can be locked in any position
relative to the beam, and thus regulates the height of the end of the
beam.
•
The operation of my Invention is as follows:-The beam and ploughs
are first swung around horizontally at a proper angle to the axle, the
power is applied.and a journey made across the field, the beam and
ploughs are then pumped up by means of the hydraulic jack so as to
clear the ground, and the beam turned over so that the other set of
ploughs will be put at work; the machine is turned around the beam
swung into the proper position oblique to the axle, and the gang is al
ready to plough straight back across the field and leave no dead furrow.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Luke Chapman in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 11th December 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, LUKĘ
CHAPMAN, of Collinsville, Connecticut, United States of America, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Luke Chapman, Her special licence
that I, the said Luke Chapman, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Luke Chapman, 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 "AN IMPROVED GANG
PLOUGH," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Luke
Chapman, my executors or administrators, by an instrument 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
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Luke Chapman, 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, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings.,
making a part of this Specification.
This Invention is an improved apparatus for agricultural use for
plowing with two or more plows, at the same time turning two or more
furrows in the earth at once. It is more particularly intended for use
with steam traction engines, though of course any other power may be
applied.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a side elevation with the wheels and axle in an exactly
reverse position from that of actual use for the purpose of better showing
the form and arrangement_of_the various parts; Figure.2 is a plan. view
of the gang plow in the same position as in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a
detached view on an enlarged scale of the standard which rises imme-
diately from the axle, together with the devices for lifting the plows, for
reversing the sets of plows, and for oscillating them horizontally, the
observer being at the front end of the machine; Figure 4 is a detached
enlarged view of the reverse side of the parts shown in Figure 3.
It is impossible at the time of drawing this Specification to indicate
the exact scale of the Drawings, but it is about 1/10 of an inch to the
foot, and even at this some of the parts may be somewhat out of pro-
portion.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
The letter a indicates the beam to which the plows are hung, made
preferably of a hollow metal tube, on one side of which is attached a set
of two or more right-hand plows a¹, a¹. On the exactly opposite side is
attached a similar set of 'left-hand plows a², a². Both sets are attached
to the beam at such an angle as will make their land sides point straight
forward when the plows are at work. As this beam is reversible it is not
positively necessary that the sets of plows should be opposed to each other,
for it is manifest that the sets might be placed at right angles or other
angles, but it is preferred that they should be placed opposite for the
purpose of balancing each other. Neither is this Invention limited to
just the arrangement and kind of plows indicated above, for with a
reversible beam and the other combined mechanical devices it is adapted
to all kinds and degrees of plowing; for instance, sets of alternate right
and left hand plows may be opposed to each other for the purpose of
cultivating crops after the first breaking, turning back furrows, or in
preparing soil specially for special crops, and suitable arrangements will
also suggest themselves for trench, ridge, and other kinds of plowing,
and for all kinds of work now done by double-furrow and shovel plows
and cultivators. The beam a is hung in the swivel b, which turns in the
sliding block b³ running through the same and collared upon either side
thereof, so that it cannot escape therefrom. The worm gear c forms the

page_text: rear one of these collars, and into it meshes the worm c¹, which is upon
the shaft hung in bearings c³ attached to the upper corners of the
sliding block, and actuated by the crank arm c*, by means of which the
operator of the machines can reverse the positions of the two respective
sets of plows and put either set at work as he desires. The sliding
block slides vertically on ways in the open interior of the standard d;
it is suspended from the top of the standard by means of an hydraulic
lifting jack composed principally of the exterior parts, barrel d', piston
rod d, and handle d³. Of course this sliding block and its dependant
plows might be suspended herein by a screw or other common lifting
device of great power, but the device presented is the one preferred for
its power and ease of operation. By means of this hydraulic jack the
plows can be raised or lowered by the operator as desired. The standard d
at its foot rests on and is attached to the bed plate f, which is pivoted
horizontally on the axle plate just beneath it, which latter is firmly
fastened to the axle g. At one side on the outer circumference of the
bed plate is hung the shaft f* actuated by the crank ƒ³ and having a
worm f' thereon meshing into the worm teeth fs attached to the axle
plate whereby the operator may oscillate the bed plate f, and with
it the standard and plows, so as to make the beam a observe any desired
angle with the axle g. On the outer circumference of the axle plate f¹
are three stop marks i, i,, which will be traveled over by the pointed
end of the bed plate f when it is revolved horizontally on the axle
plate f¹. These three stop marks indicate the three positions which it
is desirable for the beam a to observe with reference to the axle g at
different times. When the pointer fe is on the stop marked i and the
set of right-hand plows is undermost the machine is in proper position
for putting this set of plows at work. When the pointer ƒ is upon the
stop marked and the set of left-hand plows is undermost then the
machine is in position for putting this set of plows at work. When the
pointer fe is on the stop mark the beam is at right angles to the axle
and is in position for being drawn from one place to another, the drawing
power being attached at the front end a³ of the beam. When the
pointer fe is upon the stop mark ¹, and it is intended to move the plow
from one place to another, then the beam & should be turned so as to
have both sets of plows project out horizontally therefrom. From the
front end of the beam d the arc of a circle o extends, whose center
is directly over the pivot which attaches the bed plate f to the axle
plate ƒ', and on this are slides the band o¹, which can be set at any point

page_text: on the arc by the set screw o², and to the front of which is attached a
link o³ to which the drawing power is to be attached when the machine
is at work. From the back of the band o¹ a draw rod o' runs back to
near the standard d and attaches to the beam a. Practically the band o'
is set at such a point on the arc o that the draw rod o* will be straight
over the line of draft when the plows are at work. Just in front of
the plows is a gauge wheel m attached by the crank arm m¹ to the
beam a, its shaft m² running through the beam a and firmly attached
to the circular plate n, which has a lock pin n¹ which can be moved-out
and in, and abutting against a circular face on the projections, in which
circular face are a number of round holes into which the inner end of
the lock pin n¹ can catch so as to lock the wheel m at any desired point
in its revolution around the shaft m², thus regulating the height at
which the front end of the beam a shall be from the ground. When
the sets of plows are reversed the position of this gauge wheel m is to
be correspondingly reversed. The axle is hung below the centres of
the wheels x, x, by means of arms g¹, g³.
I

page_text: stantially as described, and the whole hung on a main axle (9) permanently
sunk below the level of the centres of the supporting wheels, substantially
as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Luke Chapman, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourth day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy-one.
LUKE CHAPMAN. (L.S.)