IMPROVEMENTS IN HARVESTING MACHINES
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Howard, of Bedford in the County of Bedford
Agricultural Engineer and Edward Tenney Bousfield of the same place,
Engineer, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN HARVESTING MACHINES
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Howard and
Edward Tenney Bousfield at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on
the 26th August 1882.
JAMES HOWARD, of Bedford, in the County of Bedford, Agricultural Engineer,
and EDWARD TENNEY BOUSFIELD, of the same place Engineer,
"IMPROVEMENTS
IN HARVESTING MACHINES
23
The main object of our present invention is to improve the construction and
increase the efficiency, of the sheaf-binding machine, for which Letters Patent were
granted to us September 22nd 1881, No 4092 but the said invention is also
applicable to other machines of the same class.
Our improvements comprise various novel features of construction as hereinafter
set forth.
In our aforesaid machine the binding table is rigidly secured to the main frame
of the harvester, and the revolving web or "butter" is relied upon for bringing
the sheaf into the proper place on the binding table for the string-band to be
placed around it. It is found, however, that in harvesting short crops the "butter"
web has to be placed at too great an angle to the sheaf to bring the said sheaves
properly into position with regard to the band. It is therefore desirable that
the binding table should be capable of sliding so that it may be placed in the most
advantageous position with regard to the sheaf-band.
The first part of our improvements is designed to provide efficient means for
enabling the driver, without leaving his seat, to adjust the said binding table and
mechanism while the machine is in motion. For this purpose we construct the
frame of our improved binding table and mechanism mainly of two tubes which
lie horizontally and extend from the front to the rear of the machine. The said
two tubes are firmly braced together so as to form a foundation for the binding
ГД Л 71

page_text: .
table and mechanism. One of these tubes occupies a higher position than the
other, and the higher tube rests with a capability of sliding freely in hooks or
brackets fixed to the main frame of the harvester. The lower tube of the binding
mechanism frame which bears nearly the whole of the said mechanism is supported
by one or more vibrating or rocking segments which afford the advantage of a
parallel movement of the frame with very little friction. A lever is connected by
a link, to the upper tube near its forward end, and by suitable connections with,
a hand-lever or other device near the driver's seat; the said frame is placed under
the control of, and may be easily moved to and fro, by the driver
To adapt our improved machine to the varying lengths of the crop which is
being cut we modify the gathering reel driving appliances described in the
specification of our aforesaid patent as follows, that is to say;-Our modification
consists in a jointed arm connector, one extremity of which is centred upon the
axis of the first or driving wheel of the series of chain wheels in the machine
described in the said former specification; the other extremity of the said jointed
connector is centred on the gathering reel shaft, and on a short shaft which forms
what may be termed the elbow joint of the connector we arrange a double chain
wheel. A short chain connects one part of this double chain wheel with the
aforesaid driving chain wheel, and another short chain connects the other part of
the said double wheel at the elbow joint to the chain wheel on the shaft of the
gathering reel of the said machine. This arrangement allows the binding table
frame and gathering reel to be moved independently of each other, and in all
positions maintains an efficient driving connection for the gathering reel.
Another part of our improvements relates to the binding arm. In our machine
described in the said former specification the binding arm has three eyes or
threading holes to guide the twine or string to the point of the binding arm;
now we have found that in the working of the machine these eyes are liable to be
choked with fibres of twine, and by straws and weeds. Therefore, by our present
improvement, we dispense with the two eyes most liable to choke and provide the
binding arm with one eye only near its points and we groove the semi-circular
back of the said binding arm throughout its length to receive the string which
by the sides of the groove is protected at all times from injury by the cut crop
in the rear of the binding arm.
Another part of our improvement is designed to prevent undue wear of the
automatic trip-lever which is actuated by the sheaf-compressor and acts on the
clutch referred to but not shewn in the said former Specification. We accomplish
this result by fixing the exact position at which the binding mechanism shall
complete the revolution of the large or main wheel of a series of spur gear wheels
in the said machine.
We now provide this wheel with a flange with one notch in its circumference;
a suitable pawl is arranged to engage with this notch at each complete revolution
of the wheel; back-lash is thereby avoided and the said trip lever will rest
without vibration upon the stop until released by the pressure of the next
bound sheaf.
In order to facilitate the release of the bound sheaf from the knotter-mechanism
the binding table is made with its discharging board at a lower level than the part
of the table on which the sheaf is bound.
Another part of our improvement is designed to obviate the necessity for
dropping sheaves in the track of the horses when turning at the corners of the
plot being cut
We effect this object by attaching to the binding table a jointed sheaf-cradle
provided with a lever, under the control of the driver, so that the bound sheaf,
when it is falling from the binding mechanism, may be caught on the said
cradle, and dropped in such a position as to leave a clear space for the horses to
turn without treading on the bound sheaves on their next round.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said James Howard and Edward Tenney Bousfield in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 24th February 1883.
JAMES HOWARD of Bedford in the County of Bedford Agricultural Engineer
and EDWARD TENNEY BOUSFIELD of the same place Engineer "IMPROVEMENTS
IN HARVESTING MACHINES
"
The main object of our present invention is to improve the construction and
thereby increase the efficiency of the sheaf binding machine, for which Letters
Patent were granted to us September 22nd 1881 No 4092, but the said invention is
also applicable to other machines of the same class.
Our improvements comprise various novel features of construction as hereinafter
set forth and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a side elevation and Figure 2 a front elevation of a machine to which
our said improvements are applied.
Figure 3 is an elevation showing parts of our improvements drawn to an
enlarged scale.
Figure 4. is a transverse section of the binding arm on the line xx Figure 3
drawn to an enlarged scale
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the drawings.
In our aforesaid machine the binding table is rigidly secured to the main frame
of the harvester, and the revolving web or "butter" is relied upon for bringing
the sheaf into the proper place on the binding table for the string or band to be
placed around it. It is found however that, in harvesting short crops, the "butter"
web has to be placed at too great an angle to the sheaf to bring the said sheaf
properly into position with regard to the band. It is therefore desirable that the
binding table should be capable of sliding so that it may be placed in the most
advantageous position with regard to the sheaf band.
The first part of our improvements is designed to provide efficient means for
enabling the driver without leaving his seat to adjust the said binding table and
mechanism while the machine is in motion. For this purpose we construct the
frame of our improved binding table and mechanism mainly of two tubes a a,
which lie horizontally and extend from the front to the rear of the machine. The
said two tubes are firmly braced together by the bars a', or otherwise, so as to form
a foundation for the said table and mechanism. One of these tubes occupies a
higher position than the other, as clearly shown in Figure 1, and rests with a
capability of sliding freely in hook-shaped hangers or brackets 6 fixed to the main
frame of the harvester. The lower tube a, which bears nearly the whole weight of
the said mechanism, is supported by one or more vibrating or rocking bearings, in
the form of segments, one of which is shown at c with its pivot at c'. These
segments have their bearing surfaces c² concentric with their pivots c', and therefore
afford the advantage of a parallel movement of the frame a a with very little
friction. The surface is provided with a pin or tooth c³ which enters a hole in
the tube a, and serves to keep the segment and tube in their proper relative
position. The said frame is placed under the control of the driver by any
convenient arrangement which enables him to easily move it to and fro. In
Figure 1 we have shewn a rack a connected with the frame and geared with a
pinion a³, whose shaft a is provided with a handle a conveniently arranged in
proximity to the driver's seat. We sometimes use instead of this rack and pinion
a link extending from a lever (which is connected to the frame a a) to a hand lever
near the driver's seat.

page_text: To adapt our improved machine to the varying lengths of the crop which is being
cut, we modify the gathering reel driving appliances described in the specification
of our aforesaid patent as follows, that to say, we employ a jointed arm connector e
one extremity of which is centred upon the axis of the first or driving wheel f of a
series of chaini wheels arranged as in the machine described in the said former
specification; the other extremity of the said jointed connector e is centred on the
gathering reel shaft g; and on a short shaft i, which forms what may be termed the
elbow joint of the connector, we arrange two chain wheels; j' secured to the said
shaft, or a double chain wheel. A short chain k connects the chain wheel j, or one
part of the double chain wheel, with the aforesaid driving chain wheel f, and
another short chain / connects the chain wheel j', or the other part of the double
wheel, to the chain wheel on the shaft g of the gathering reel. This arrangement
allows the binding table frame and gathering reel to be moved independently of
each other into any required position, while maintaining an efficient driving
connection for the gathering reel.
We sometimes arrange upon the shaft.g of the gathering reel a double chain
wheel, the two parts of which are of different diameter, in order to vary the speed
of the said reel with relation to the cutting mechanism; in this case the upper arm
of the joint e is provided with an adjustable slide e¹, held in position by a bolt or
other suitable means, whereby the chain ¹ may be tightened or slackened when it
is moved from one part of the chain wheel to the other.
Another part of our improvements relates to the binding arm. In our machine
described in the said former specification the binding arm has three eyes or
threading holes to guide the twine or string to the point of the binding arm; now
we have found that in the working of the machine these eyes are liable to be choked
with fibres of twine, and by straws and weeds. Therefore by our present improve-
ment we dispense with the two eyes most liable to choke, and provide the binding
arm m with one eye only near its point, as shown at m¹, and we groove the back or
outer surface of the said binding arm throughout its length, as at m³, Figure 4, to
receive the cord or string, which by the sides of the groove is protected at all
times from injury by the cut crop in the rear of the binding arm. As the back of
our binding arm is a segment of a circle concentric with the point on which the
said arm rocks or vibrates, we are enabled to arrange the string guide m* so that
it will always be too near the grooved back of the binder arm to allow the string
to escape from the groove m², in any position of the said arm; we are thus enabled
to dispense with guide rollers or the like on the arm.
Another part of our Improvements is designed to prevent undue wear of the
automatic trip-lever, which is actuated by the sheaf compresser and acts on the
clutch referred to but not shown in the said former specification. We accomplish
this result by fixing the exact position at which the binding mechanism shall
complete the revolution of the large or main wheel of the series of spur gear wheels
in the said machine.
We now provide this wheel n with a flange n* which has a notch at n', as shown
in Figure 3; a suitable pawl o is arranged to engage with this notch at cach
complete revolution of the wheel, which turns in the direction of the arrow, the
said pawl being pressed into the notch by the spring o¹ or other suitable means.
By this device back lash is avoided, and the said trip lever which is shown at p
will rest without vibration upon the stop p³ until released by the pressure of the
next sheaf.
In order to facilitate the release of the bound sheaf from the knotter mechanism,
the binder table is made with its discharging board at a lower level than the part
of the table on which the sheaf is bound.
Another part of our improvements is designed to obviate the necessity for
dropping sheaves in the track of the horses when turning at the corners of the
field or plot being cut.
We effect this object by attaching to the binding table or other part a jointed
sheaf cradle q (which is preferably a bar of wrought iron bent to the desired

page_text: shape) suspended from suitable pivots at q'; this cradle is connected by means of a
rope q2 with a foot lever r pivoted at and under the control of the driver, so
that the bound sheaf, when it is falling from the binding mechanism, may be
caught on the cradle, when the latter is in the position shown in dotted lines in
Figure 2, and held by the said cradle until it can be dropped in such a position, as
to leave a clear space for the horses to turn without treading on it on their next
round. When not in use the cradle q will remain in the position shown in full
lines in Figure 2.
Having thus fully described our said invention and shewn how the same may
be conveniently and advantageously carried into practice, we wi-h it understood
that we claim.
First. The combination with the frame which supports the binder table and its
mechanism, of the rocking or vibrating segmental bearing or bearings, substantially
as, and for the purpose, set forth.
Second. The combination with the binding mechanism and gathering reel, of the
jointed connector which allows the said mechanism and reel to be moved inde-
pendently of each other, whilst in all positions thereof an efficient driving connection
for the reel is maintained, substantially as set forth.
Third. A binding arm, the back of which is grooved and has the form of a semi-
circle or the segment of a circle concentric with the pivot on which the said arm
oscillates, in combination with the fixed string-guide, in such a manner, that, in all
positions of the said arm, the string will be retained in its place without the use of
rollers or similar devices upon the arm, all substantially as set forth.
Fourth. The combination with the wheel n of the spring-pawl arranged to
operate as, and for the purpose, described.
Fifth. In combination with binding mechanism, the sheaf cradle or carrier
arranged under the control of the driver, for the purpose specified.
In Witness whereof I the said James Howard for myself and on behalf of the
said Edward Tenney Bousfield have hereunto set my hand and seal this
Twenty-second day of February in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and eighty three.
JAMES HOWARD
(L.S.)