AN IMPROVED HARVESTING MACHINE
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexandre Tolhausen, of No. 7, Duke Street, Adelphi,
London, County of Middlesex, Sworn Interpreter at the Imperial Court
of Paris, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED HARVESTING MACHINE."
-A communication from Dewitt Clinton Henderson aud Alexander
Hamilton Caryl, of Sandusky, Ohio, United States.
Sealed the 3rd June 1856, and dated the 18th December 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexandre Tolhausen at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
. 18th December 1855.
"
I, ALEXANDRE TOLHAUSEN," of No. 7, Duke St., Adelphi, London, County
of Middlesex, Sworn Interpreter at the Imperial Court of Paris, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED HARVESTING
MACHINE"being a communication from Dewitt Clinton Henderson &
Alexander, Hamilton Caryl, of Sandusky, Ohio, United States, to be as
follows:
My Invention consists, 1st, in the peculiar manner of driving or operating
the sickle, viz., by suspending a reciprocating sickle bar by means of stirrups
near the ground in front of or behind the driving wheel, in or near the same
plane as a finger bar or sill in combination with a friction roller on the bar.
2nd, in the employment or use of a pressure bar, placed over the surface of
the teeth of the sickle, & arranged so as to allow the pressure of the sickle teeth
upon the fingers to be regulated at pleasure.
3d, in a raking attachment applied to the machine, i.e., operating a rake c
rod with teeth attached, by means; of, a weight & pulley; the weight & pulley
being connected to the rod by chains.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alexandre Tolhausen in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 11th June 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDRE
TOLHAUSEN, of No. 7, Duke Street, Adelphi, London, County of Middlesex,
Sworn Interpreter at the Imperial Court of Paris, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Alexandre Tolhausen, Her special licence that I, the said
Alexandre Tolhausen, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Alexandre Tolhausen, 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
HARVESTING MACHINE," a communication from Dewitt Clinton Henderson and
Alexander Hamilton Caryl, of Sandusky, Ohio, United States, upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said Alexandre Tolhausen, 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 Alexandre Tolhausen, 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:-
The Invention consists, 1st, in the peculiar manner of driving or operating
the sickle.
2nd, in the employment or use of a pressure bar placed over the surface of
the teeth of the sickle, and arranged as will be presently shown, whereby the
pressure of the sickle teeth upon the fingers may be regulated as desired.
'3rd, my Invention consists in a raking attachment applied to the machine,
and operating as will be presently shown and described.
In the annexed Drawings Fig. 1 is a transverse vertical section of my.
improvement (a), (x), Fig. 3, showing the plane of section; Fig. 2 is a

page_text: longitudinal vertical section of do. (y), (y), Fig. 3, showing the plane of section;;
Fig. 3 is a plan or top view of do.; Fig. 4 is a detached front view of the
driving wheel, stirrups, friction roller, and a portion of the sickle bar.
A represents the main frame of the machine, in which frame the driving
wheel B is placed, the axle H of the driving wheel working in proper bearings
on said frame. C is the platform, which is secured to front and back sills
(2), (2), which are connected to the inner side of the main frame A: The
outer end of the platform C is supported by a wheel A', as shown in Fig. 2.
The frame A and platform C are of usual construction, and are arranged or
connected together in the ordinary way. To the front sill of the platform C,
which sill is usually termed the finger bar, there are fingers a¹, the sides of
which are parallel with each other, and the outer ends pointed; the sides or
edges of the fingers are 'beveled on their under sides, and are ground sharp,
so as to form cutting edges. On the finger bar or sill z'a sickle bar b¹ is
placed; to the bar b' teeth c¹ are attached. These teeth are of the usual
triangular form, and are beveled on their upper edges, and ground sharp. The
teeth c¹ work over the fingers a¹; the cutting edges of the sickle teeth and
fingers acting upon the grass or grain similar to a pair of shears.
The end of the sickle bar 6', opposite or underneath the front end of the
main frame A, has a small bar du attached to it, said bar d" projecting.
upwards and backwards from the sickle bar at an angle of about 45°. A friction
roller e is placed on the outer end of the bar d", said roller being fitted in a
zig-zag or serpentine groove f¹, cut through the periphery of the driving
wheel B. The end of the sickle bar 6¹ is suspended by hinged or jointed
stirrups g', 9', to uprights h', h', see Fig. 4. By this arrangement a recipro-
cating motion is given to the sickle bar 61, the sickle being operated with but
little friction, and the power is transmitted from the driving wheel near its
point of contact with the ground, thereby increasing the stability of the
machine, and also diminishing its draught.
To the back part of the sill or finger bar z there are attached projections
,, by which the plates j, j; are attached by screws . The plates j are
connected at their outer ends to a bar , which rests upon the upper surfaces
of the sickle teeth c¹, see Fig. 1. The plates j¹ are each provided with a guide
pin m', which passes through the projections i. By adjusting the screws k' the
pressure of the bar upon the sickle teeth c¹ may be regulated as desired,
and the sickle teeth c¹ may at all times be made to work snugly over the
fingers a¹.
On the main frame A, and the platform C, is placed a rectangular framing D,
of a suitable height, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2; and underneath the platform

page_text: there is placed a rod E, the ends of which are fitted in grooves. a, a, in the
front and back sills of the platform, as shown in Fig? the ends of the rod E
being allowed to slide freely in the grooves d, a.The rod E has teeth b attachéd
to it, which teeth; when the rod is moved in a certain direction; extend upward
through longitudinal grooves c-made in the platform.C. To the rod E a short
arm d-is attached, having a weight e at its end, and, underneath the platform. C
there is attached a rod or bar F, the ends of which are bent.in airight,angular
form, so as to form a "jog "at each end, as shown clearly by: the dottedt .line
in Fig. 3. To each end of the rod E a chain f is attached. These chains at
the outer side of the rod "pass 'underneath pulleys:g at the outer end of the
platform, and then upward over pulleys h, at the upper and outer endrof.the
framing D; the chains then pass over pulleys i at the opposite or inner: end of
the framing, and are attached to a pulley G, which is placed loosely on the
axle H of the driving wheel B: The chains fat the opposite or inner side of
the rod E pass underneath pulleys k at the inner side of the platform, and then
upward over pulleys on the upper part of the framing D, and. have a weight I
attached to them, which weight is placed between uprights j, j; attached to the
main frame A. J is a clutch operated by a lever K. This clutch is of the
usual construction, and connects at certain times the pulley G with the axle H,
as will be presently shown. To the inner side of the pulley' G a pin .m is
attached; and to the outer side a cam n, which acts upon the lever K, as 'will
be presently shown. To the outer side of the main frame A à vertical lever L
is attached, which has a spring:o bearing against it, as shown in Fig. 1. The
lever K is a spring lever, and presses upon the outer side of the lever G.-
When the rod E is at the outer end of the platform C, the pulley G is not
connected with the axle H, and the pin m is in à recess or notch p, in the
lever L. As the machine is drawn along, the rod E will therefore be stationary,
'as the pulley G does not turn with the axle H, and the teeth b' of the rod E
will be in a vertical position, and pass up through the grooves e in the platform
C. When a sufficient quantity of cut grain is upon the platform C, the driver
pushes forward the upper end of the lever L, and the weight I will con-
sequently descend, and the rod E and teeth 6 will be drawn quickly from the
outer to the inner end of the platform C, and the grain will be raked off the
inner end of the platform by the teeth 6, which are kept in a vertical position
while passing in this direction, in consequence of the weight e sliding back upon
the bar F. When, however, the rod E reaches the inner end of the platform,
the weight e will pass off the "jog" at the inner end of the bar F, and
descend or drop down by its own gravity, and the teeth 6 will also fall below
the grooves c, as shown in red, Fig. 2. As the weight I descends, the pulley G

page_text: will of course be turned in a reverse direction to the axle H, the cam n keeping
the clutch J free from the pulley G; and when the rod E is brought to the
inner end of the platform, the cam n will be free from the lever K, so that the
clutch J will connect the pulley G with the axle H, and the pulley G will
consequently turn with the said axle, and the weight I will be raised, and the
rod E, with its teeth depressed, drawn back to the outer end of the platform,
and the weight e will be raised by a spring q up through the "jog" at the
outer end of the bar F upon the said bar, and the teeth 6 will be in a vertical
position, and pass up through the grooves c, ready for the return movement,
when the driver actuates the lever L. When the rod E reaches the outer end
of the platform C, the pin m on the wheel enters the notch or recess p in the
lever L, and the weight I and rod E are kept in proper position thereby.
Having thus described the nature and particulars of the said improved
harvesting machine, I desire it to be distinctly understood that I do not confine
myself to the precise details as herein described; but I claim as new and of
my Invention,
1st, suspending the reciprocating sickle bar b¹ by means of the stirrups g¹, g',
near the ground in front of or behind the driving wheel, in or near the same
plane as the finger bar or sill z, in combination with the friction roller e¹ on
the bar d; the whole being arranged and operated in the manner and for the
purpose set forth.
2nd, the adjustable pressure bar I, arranged as herein described in com-
bination with the sickle teeth c¹ and fingers a¹, for the purpose specified.
3rd, operating the rake, that is, the rod E, with teeth 6, attached by means
of the weight I and pulleys G; the weight and pulley being connected to the
rod E by chains f, and otherwise arranged, substantially as shown and
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexandre Tolhausen, have hercunto
set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.