IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES."
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Hammond Bentall, of Heybridge, near'
Maldon, in the County of Essex, Agricultural Implement Maker, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING VEGETABLE
SUBSTANCES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Hammond
Bentall at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Peti-.
tion, on the 28th November 1859.
I, EDWARD HAMMOND BENTALL, of Heybridge, near Maldon, in the County
of Essex, Agricultural Implement Maker, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING VEGETABLE
SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-
My Invention of improvements in machinery for cutting vegetable sub-
stances relates to various improvements in the construction and arrangement
of the parts of machinery intended to be employed for cutting hay, straw,
clover, gorse, tares, grass, and other substances into short lengths as food for
cattle, horses, or other animals. The machine may also be used for cutting
up sugar canes and other vegetable substances.

page_text: One of the objects of my improvements is to simplify the arrangement of
the parts of the machinery, and thereby economise the cost, and render the
machine more compact and convenient than heretofore.
Another object is to render the machine capable of cutting up the vegetable
substances into various lengths, by simply shifting the toothed gearing.
My first improvement consists in making the top part of the framing in one
piece, requiring only to be mounted on any suitable legs or vertical supports.
The upper surface of this framing is planed at all parts where the pedestals
or bearings of the several shafts are fitted; by this means the machine is not
only made much stronger than heretofore, but, by planing and trueing all the
fitting surfaces, any portion of the mechanism that may have become damaged
or injured may be removed and replaced by a new part, which will be found
sure to fit accurately in the proper place. To this end I place the rough
casting of the frame in a planing machine, and I plane the surface thereof
for some of the fittings in one direction; I then reverse the frame in the
planing machine, and plane the surfaces for the other fittings in a transverse
direction. The planing of all these surfaces is effected with the same tool,
and, therefore, all of them are accurately brought to the same plane, so that
the pedestals and bearings of the shafts will accurately fit.
The next improvement relates to the arrangement of the driving gear,
which is so contrived that auxiliary hand power may be applied thereto when
required. To this end, one of the shafts which carries a part of the differential
gearing is prolonged beyond the framing, so that a winch handle may be
adapted thereto, if required. The differential gearing consists of a series of
wheels mounted on separate shafts, and so arranged that one of the sets of
wheels may be pushed out of gear, and another set pushed into gear by means
of a lever and clutch. The wheels must be so arranged that one set of wheels
must be completely ungeared before either of the others can be put in gear.
In order to cut two, three, or more lengths of chaff as required two, three,
or more sets of wheels may be mounted on the differential gearing shafts.
Another improvement relates also to the gearing, and consists in the
employment of a toothed wheel provided with internal teeth, whereby a toothed
nut or pinion connected with the driving gear is actuated. This wheel I
denominate an annular wheel, and, by the employment of such wheel, several
parts of the gearing are covered and concealed from view, while the other
parts are concealed beneath a semicircular hood, which covers all.
The last improvement consists in mounting the upper pressing rollers in
bearings in side levers, which admit of being raised or lowered, as required.
I make use of two pairs of pressing or feeding rollers, and the upper rollers of

page_text: both pairs are mounted in the levers, so that when the latter are raised, the
upper rollers are raised with them. By thus raising the upper feeding rollers,
the distance between them and the lower rollers is increased, and the substance
to be operated upon is drawn between the upper and lower rollers.
The box and mouthpiece of the machine, or those parts through which the
substance to be operated upon is passed to the cutting instruments, are cast
in one piece, which mode of construction adds materially to the strength and
solidity of the machine, and reduces it in weight.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward Hammond Bentall in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 28th May 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
HAMMOND BENTALL, of Heybridge, near Maldon, in the County of Essex,,
Agricultural Implement Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Edward Hammond Bentall, Her special license that I, the
said Edward Hammond Bentall, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others, as I, the said Edward Hammond Bentall, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY. FOR CUTTING
VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Edward Hammond Bentall, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 Edward Hammond Bentall, 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

page_text: following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
--
My Invention of " Improvements in Machinery for Cutting Vegetable
Substances," relates to various improvements in the construction and arrange-
ment of the parts of machinery intended to be employed for cutting hay, straw,
clover, gorse, tares, grass, and other substances into short lengths as food for
cattle, horses, or other animals. The machine may also be used for cutting
up sugar canes and other vegetable substances.
One of the objects of my improvements is to simplify the arrangement of
the parts of the machinery, and thereby to economize the cost, and render
the machine more compact and convenient than heretofore.
Another object is to render the machine capable of cutting up the vegetable
substances into various lengths by simply shifting the toothed gearing.
In the accompanying Drawings I have shewn various views of a chaff-
cutting machine constructed according to my improvements.
My first improvement consists in making the top part of the framing in one
piece, requiring only to be mounted on any suitable legs or vertical supports,
The pedestals or bearings of the several shafts are not fixtures on, or con-
structed or cast with the framing, but are cast separate, and the upper surface
of the framing is planed at all parts where the pedestals or bearings of the
several shafts are fitted. By casting the top part of the frame in one piece,
the machine is made much stronger than heretofore, and by planing and trueing
all the fitting surfaces of the pedestals or bearings, any portion of the mechanism
that may have become damaged or injured may be removed and replaced by a
new part, which will be found sure to fit accurately in the proper place,
In carrying out my Invention, I place the rough casting of the top part of
the frame in a planing machine, and I plane the surface thereof at all parts
where the pedestals or bearings are to be fitted. I find it convenient in
practice, that the places for some of the fittings should be planed in one
direction, then the frame should be turned round in the planing machine, and
the surfaces for the other fittings planed in a transverse direction. The planing
of all these surfaces is effected with the same tool, and therefore all of them
åre accurately brought to the same plane, so that if the under surfaces of the
pedestals and bearings of the shafts are properly made, they will accurately
fit in their places.
The next improvement relates to the arrangement of the driving gear, which
is so contrived that auxiliary hand power may be applied thereto when
required. To this end, one of the shafts which carries a part of the differential
gearing is prolonged beyond the framing, so that a winch handle may be

page_text: adapted thereto if required. The differential gearing, whereby the several
parts of the machine may be driven at different speeds according to the length
of cut required, consists of a series of wheels of different diameters, and
mounted on separate shafts, and so arranged that one of the sets of wheels
may be pushed out of gear and another set pushed into gear, either by hand or
by means of a lever and clutch. The wheels must be so arranged that one set
of wheels must be completely ungeared before cither of the others can be put
into gear. In order to cut two, three, or more lengths of chaff as required;
two, three, or more sets of wheels of different diameters may be mounted on
the differential gearing shafts, so that by pushing the one or the other into
gear, the required length of chaff may be produced.
Another improvement relates also to the gearing, and consists in the employ-
ment of a toothed wheel provided with internal teeth, whereby a nut or pinion
connected with the driving gear is to be actuated. This wheel I denominate
an annular wheel, and by the employment of such a wheel I am enabled
advantageously to reduce the size of some of the toothed wheels, and also to
make the machine more compact than heretofore. Several parts of the gearing
are also covered and concealed from view by means of this annular wheel, while
the other parts are concealed beneath a semicircular or curved wrought-iron
cover, which covers all the differential gearing.
The last improvement consists in mounting the upper pressing rollers in
bearings in side levers or arms, which admit of being raised or lowered simul-
taneously as required. I make use of two pairs of pressing or feeding rollers,
and the upper rollers of both pairs are mounted in bearings in the levers, so
that when the latter are raised, the upper rollers are raised with them.. By
thus raising the upper feeding rollers, the distance between them and the lower
rollers is increased, and the substance to be operated upon is drawn between
the upper and lower rollers, and fed forward to the knives or cutting
instruments.
The box and mouthpiece of the machine, or those parts through which the
bay, straw, or substance to be operated upon is passed to the cutting instru-
ments are cast in one piece, which mode of construction adds materially to
the strength and solidity of the machine, and reduces it in weight.
In the accompanying Drawings I have shewn all these improvements as
applied to a chaff cutting machine. Fig. 1 is a side elevation; Fig. 2 is a
plan view; Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section of the machine; Fig. 4 is a
partial section shewing the mode of adapting the annular wheel to its work ;
and Fig. 5 is an elevation of the annular wheel and the pinion which it
actuates. a, a, a, a, represent the lower parts or standards of the framing;

page_text: b, b, the upper part which is cast all in one piece. The upper surface of this
framing is placed on all parts where the bearings or pedestals c, c, c, c, are to
be fitted; d is the main shaft of the machine; and e is the flywheel on which
are secured the knives or cutters in the usual manner. On the main shaft d
is a clutch worked by a lever g, and arranged to take into a clutch box at
the back of the bevilled wheel h which turns loose on the shaft d, but when
acted on by the clutch will drive the bevil wheel i on one end of the shaft j,
which carries the moveable pinions k, k, k, of the differential gearing. The
other end of this shaft projects beyond the framing, and is fitted to receive
a winch handle so that it may be turned by hand labour when required. The
pinions k, k, k, are capable of being slidden along the shaft ; as indicated by
the dotted lines in Fig. 2, so as to bring one of them into gear with one or
other of the differential wheels m, m, m, on the shaft n. This operation may
be effected either by hand, or by means of the lever l as shewn in the Figures.
The outer end of the shaft n carries a pinion o, which gears into and drives
the annular wheel p, provided with internal teeth as shewn in Fig. 5. The
axle of this wheel p is supported in brackets r (Fig. 4), fixed on the upper
surface of the top framing b. At the opposite end of the axle q is mounted
the roller q, which is the lower one of the pair of front nipping rollers. The
axle also carries a pinion s, which gears into and drives a similar pinion t
with the same number of teeth on the end of the jointed shaft t*. At the
opposite end of this shaft is the upper roller t2 of the front pair of nipping
rollers. The rollers forming the back pair of nipping rollers u, u', are driven
by gearing u, u*, actuated from the shafts of the front pair as seen in.
Figs. 2 and 3. The bottom rollers are driven in a similar manner, but their
bearings are fixed, whereas the journals of the top rollers turn in bearings in
the lever or arms v, v (Fig. 3), which are jointed to the weighted lever whose
fulcrum is at a, and is attached to the framing. The box and mouth-piece of
the machine is seen at y, y, and is made or cast in one picce, and is secured
to the framing by means of screws or bolts as shewn in the Drawing.
Having now described my Invention of improvements in machinery for
cutting vegetable substances, and having explained the manner of carrying
the same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent
as aforesaid,
1st, the mode herein set forth of constructing the framing of chaff cutting
machines.
2nd, the mode herein set forth of constructing and arranging the differential
gearing.
3rd, I claim the use of the annular wheel p, or any analogous contrivance

page_text: with internal teeth so arranged as to hide or cover up a portion of the gearing
as set forth.
4th, I claim mounting the upper pressing or nipping rollers in side levers
so as to admit of them being raised and lowered simultaneously as required.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Hammond Bentall, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of May, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
E. H. BENTALL. (L.S.)