IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR ELEVATING STRAW AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Fellowes and Henry Hemfrey, both of
Spalding, in the County of Lincoln, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR ELEVATING STRAW AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE."
Sealed the 19th January 1864, and dated the 1st August 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Fellowes and
Henry Hemfrey at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 1st August 1863.
We, THOMAS FELLOWES and HENRY HEMPREY, both of Spalding, in the
County of Lincoln, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR ELEVATING STRAW AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCE," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for elevating
straw and other agricultural produce. For these purposes endless ropes,
chains, or bands are employed, to which several apparatus are applied, each of
which collects a quantity of straw or other agricultural produce, and having
collected such quantity the parts of the apparatus are arranged to close
towards each other, and to retain the collected quantity securely till the appa-
ratus has been raised by the movement of the endless ropes, chains, or bands to
the highest position, where the parts of the apparatus are caused to relax their
hold of the straw or other produce, and allow it to drop on to a stack or other
surface whercon it is desired to deposit such straw or other produce. The
endless ropes, chains, or bands, are carried by two or more pullies or wheels
kept at the desired distance apart, in order that one or more pulleys may be
in the position where the straw is supplied from a thrashing machine or

page_text: otherwise, and the other pulleys held in a position above the stack or other
surface on to which the straw or other produce is to be deposited when it has
been raised. Each apparatus for collecting and holding a quantity of straw or
other produce consists of two main frames or parts, the under one of which is
so formed that it will by passing under a platform or surface collect any straw
or other produce deposited thereon. It is preferred that this under frame
should be composed of canvas or wire netting or other light openwork. Above
this lower frame there is an upper one composed of parallel teeth or ribs which
turns on a hinge or axis, so that it may be opened out at a distance from the
under frame when such under frame is receiving a quantity of straw or other
produce from the cradle or surface on to which such produce has been deposited,
and provision is made for closing the upper frame of the apparatus towards the
lower frame when it has collected the straw or produce on to it, and further
provision is made for opening such upper frame when the apparatus comes to
the bigbest position, in order that the quantity of produce held by the apparatus
may be deposited. Each apparatus is connected to the endless ropes, chains,
or bands at a point between the two rollers. The straw or other product is
deposited on to a cradle, which is situated at the lower end of the endless ropes,
chains, or bands, and is inclined to a like angle to that of the endless ropes,
and the endless ropes pass under the inclined cradle, so that as the forward
part of the under frame of each apparatus passes under such cradle it receives
the straw or other produce placed thereon, and having done so the upper
fame of the apparatus is caused to close towards the lower one, so as for a
time to embrace or hold the collected quantity between the upper and lower
frames. The several collecting and holding apparatus are attached to the
endless ropes, chains, or bands at a suitable distance apart so that they may
come into action in succession. The endless ropes, chains, or bands are caused
to rotate by giving motion to the lower pulleys or wheels, and the endless
ropes, chains, or bands are held extended, and the upper ends thereof arc
raised to the desired height by means of a pole or otherwise..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Fellowes and Henry Hemfrey in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 1st February 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, THOMAS
FELLOWES and HENRY HEMFREY, both of Spalding, in the County of Lincoln,
send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Ier heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said Thomas Fellowes and Henry Hemfrey, Her special licenco
that we, the said Thomas Fellowes and Henry Hemfrey, our executors;
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Thomas Fellowes
and Henry Hemfrey, our 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 "In-
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS POR ELEVATING STRAW AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCE," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Thomas
Fellowes and Henry Hemfrey, our executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand and
seal of one of us or them, 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 we, the Thomas Fellowes and Henry Hemfrey,
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 thereof, that is to say: -
This Invention consists in a peculiar combination of apparatus for taking up
and carrying to a stack or other place straw or other agricultural produce.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a plan view of parts of the apparatus, and Figure 2 a side
elevation of the apparatus combined according to our Invention. The straw
or other agricultural produce is placed or received from a thrashing machine
into a cradle or receiver, which is composed of parallel bars from which the
straw or other produce is taken by frames which pass under the bars composing
the cradle, and by reason of the two parts of which these frames are composed
the straw or other produce which has been received will be removed from the
cradle, and will be held securely by the taking frames till they arrive at the
highest position, when the parts of which the frames are composed will Lo
opened, and thus release the quantity of straw or other produce, and the samo

page_text: will drop on to the stack or other receiving surface. Two endless wire ropes
bands, or chains are used, and they pass partly round two pairs of parallel
grooved pulleys, which are situated respectively one pair below the cradle and
the other pair over the stack or other receiving surface.
a, a, are the parallel bars which compose the bottom of the cradle; these
bars are fixed at one of their ends to the bar b, which is carried by the two
arms c, c, which are arranged at their other ends to turn on the axis of the
In order to adjust the
pulleys d, d, which receive the endless wire ropes e, c.
position of the cradle for different angles according as the endless ropes or
bands rise more or less quickly, the arms f, f, are used, and stop pins at 9 pass
through holes in such arms and through holes in the side framings. The
cradle is supposed to be situated at the end of the straw shaker of a thrashing
nachine, and the straw therefrom descends into the cradle, but it will be
On the
evident that the cradle may be arranged to be filled by other means.
ends of the bar bare fixed arms h, and the upper ends of the arms h carry a
light flap i, below which the straw or other produce is introduced into the
cradle. In the Drawing the sides of the cradle are not shown to be enclosed,
but it is preferred that the cradle should be enclosed at the sides. The endless
ropes, bands, or chains receive motion by an endless belt or strap j from the
thrashing machine, which acts on the drum or pulley k on the axis k¹, which
by bevil gear, as shown, gives notion to the pulleys d, thereby affording
facility for setting the pulley k at any desired angle to the axis of the pulleys d,
At
or such axis may receive its motion in any other convenient manner.
intervals frames are fixed to the endless ropes or bands, which we will call
taking and delivering frames, each pair of such frames consists of, first, of a
surface, which in the Drawing is composed of a series of parallel bent bars 1, 1,
which may be arranged to be readily applied to and removed from the endless
ropes or bands by having clips or saddle pieces at their ends partly to embrace
the ropes, and by set screws such clips or saddle pieces are fixed to the ropes
or bands. By such means a light open frame is produced, on to which a
quantity of straw or other produce is received, as hereafter explained, when
such frame is passing under the cradle. This receiving frame may, however,
be composed of network or wirework, or otherwise. The second part of these
framings consists of a frame of parallel teeth m on the bar n, which at its ends
is attached to the endless wire ropes or bands. These pairs of taking and
delivering frames are affixed at suitable intervals on the endless wire ropes,
bands, or chains. 0, 0, are the two pulleys, which are raised to the bigbest
position required; this may be done by two poles mounted on a carriage, as
shown in the Drawing, in which the poles are shown to be capable of being raised

page_text: and lowered; or a pole or poles may be arranged, as represented by Figure 3,
either in or on one or more sides of a stack, or otherwise. We would, how-
ever, remark that the means by which the upper pulleys are to be supported
forms no part of our Invention. In the working of the apparatus the two
parts of which the taking and delivering frames are composed is as follows:-
As the fore parts of the frame 1, 1, come under the lower pulleys they are, by
the bending of the ropes or bands round those pulleys, caused to assume a radial
position, and such is the case in respect to the bar n which carries the teeth m,
by which the teeth will be moved back as if on an axis from the bars of
which the other frame is composed, hence as the teeth m enter between the
bars of the cradle at the lower part of such cradle the teeth will drive forward
the straw from the cradle on to the other part of the frames, which is, as
before stated, made of light parallel bars, or of network or wirework, or
otherwise, the flap giving way as the teeth m push the straw or other produce
from the cradle on to the frame; then as the parts of the frame leave the
pulley they will come into the same plane, and the teeth m will then turn
towards such frame and will come nearer to such frame, and the straw or
other produce will be retained between the teeth m and the lower frame.
When the frames come to the upper pulleys the parts of the frames will again
assume radial positions, and the teeth m will fall back as if on an axis, and so
release the straw or other produce and allow it to drop.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, we would have it understood that we make no claim to
any of the mechanical parts separately; but what we claim is the combination
of what we have called the taking and delivering frames or apparatus with tho
cradle or receiving apparatus, as herein explained.
In witness whereof, we, the said Thomas Fellowes and Henry Hemfrey,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Thirtieth day of January, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.