Improvements connected with Sickle Heads and Pitman Holders of Mowing, Reaping, and Harvesting Machines.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Nov., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 5th Aug., 1891-Accepted, 19th Sept., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements connected with Sickle Heads and Pitman Holders of
Mowing, Reaping, and Harvesting Machines.
I, THOMAS CULPIN, of 11 Trelawn Road, Brixton, Surrey, Agricultural
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention facilitates the operation of connecting the pitman and of detaching
the same, and permits this operation with the cutter bar in any position, it also
avoids the friction incident to the ordinary arrangement of these parts; further, it
furnishes an effective stop for the sickle and pitman when the cutter bar is raised
to the vertical position.
To carry out this invention, I make a special sickle head, which in addition to
the usual eye for the pitman, has a second eye. In this second eye the end of a
cranked lever is inserted and is held in position by a spring. It can be easily
moved over by the hand against the action of the spring.
When the lever is lifted, the pitman can be readily inserted into the sickle cyc
and when released, the cranked head, under the action of the spring, falls behind
the pitman and effectually secures it in position. The lever must be again lifted
to detach the pitman. The cranked head of the lever has a projection downward
to meet a projection upon the cutter bar, the main shoe, or the pitman holder.
These projections come together only when the cutter bar is in the vertical
position, they then form an effective stop for supporting the sickle and pitman in
the right position when travelling.
1
11000
H. GARDNER,
Patent Agent, 166, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the said Thomas Culpin.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements connected with Sickle-heads and Pitman-holders of
Mowing, Reaping, and Harvesting Machines.
I, THOMAS CULPIN, of 11 Trelawn Road, Brixton, Surrey, Agricultural
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement :-
This invention has for object, certain improvements in or connected with sickle-
heads of mowing, reaping, and harvesting machines to enable the crank end of the
pitman rod to be easily detached therefrom or attached thereto at any position of
the sickle-head, and also to facilitate the removal and placing in of the sickle to the
finger bar.
For the purpose of my invention, I make the sickle-head with two eyes, one for
the reception of the pitman crank, and one for the reception of a trigger action
lever and bolt which can be retained in position by a spring for holding the pitman
crank in place in its eye without interfering with its free motion for drawing the
sickle to and fro at the same time be capable of an easy lift to clear the pitman
crank when said pitman crank has to be removed or returned to its working
position.
The invention will be understood by the annexed drawings.

page_text: Figure 2, a side elevation of the front.
Figure 3, side elevation of the back.
Figure 4 an inner end view of a combined sickle-head and pitman-holder of a
mower, reaper, or harvester.
Figure 5, a detached perspective clevation of the trigger action bolt.
A, is a head securable to a knife bar in the usual manner.
B, block with pitman eye.
C, pitman rod with crank in block B.
D, swelling or projection in advance of block B and on head A, said projection
having a hole through it about parallel horizontally with that of the pitman eye in
block B.
E, bolt in eye of projection D.
F, locking pin passed through bolt D with both ends extended.
G, coiled spring encircling bolt D and having the ends resting on the sickle-
head A. and on lug H of trigger lever respectively.
1, trigger lever on bolt E.
J, neck to support sickle-head when turned up, such as when the machine is
travelling from field to field, or is stowed away.
K, stop to limit the motion of trigger lever I.
The action is as follows; supposing a knife bar has to be removed from, or one
replaced in position in the finger bar. An attendant first applies his thumb of one
hand to the trigger I and pulls it forcibly towards him until the pin F rests upon
the upper cheek of the stop K, this carries the lug H over and away from the
crank of pitman rod C, the attendant then grasps the pitman rod with his other
hand and wrenches the crank sideways out of the eye, and then allows the trigger
to return under the action of the coiled spring G until the lower end of the pin F
bears against the other face of the stop K. The knife bar can now be withdrawn
from the finger bar along with the pitman holder A and the trigger lever 1, bolt E,
spring G, and lug H, as a single article can go back.
To place a knife bar or sickle in position in a finger bar it only necessitates the
pulling over of the trigger lever to permit of the pitman crank being put in and
then letting go the trigger.
By this invention, the pitman can be readily detached with the bar in any
position.
I am aware that a short cranked bar has been fixed to the side of a sickle-head
to prevent the pitman crank coming out of the eye while the machine was at work
but this bar was immovable and from the position of the crank bar it was only
possible to disconnect the pitman by turning up the cutter bar, the knife bar then
dropping below and away from the cranked bar when no provision is made for
supporting the knife in position.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A. sickle-head with two eyes, one for the crank of the pitman rod to move in,
and one for the bolt of a locking device to move in, said locking device being
provided with a trigger plate, a lug, a coiled spring, and pin which limits the
turning motion, the whole constituting a means by which the pitman rod crank can
be held in place and enable the pitman rod crank to be readily removed from the
knife eye in any position.
2. A loose fitting turnable device adapted for rotation over and away from the
crank of a pitman rod, as a locking and releasing appliance, substantially as
specified.
3. Providing a sickle-head with stops or projections for a turnable device to
abut against, said device being movable in and from an eye or pivot hole and
controlled by a spring encircling the axle of said device and with the ends of the

page_text: spring resting, one on a lug of the device, and the other end on upper surface of
the sickle-head without being affixed thereto, as specified.
4. Providing sickle-head with a movable device having a trigger head, a lug, and
a projection controlled by a spring as a means for securing the pitman crank in the
eye of the sickle-head, and for enabling a pitinan to be readily disconnected, and be
replaced from a finger bar at whatever position the cutting appliance may be, as
specified.
The 5th d...
J
A
1001
H. GARDNER,
Patent Agent, 166, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the said Thomas Culpin.