Improvements in Guards or Fingers for Mowing and Reaping Machines.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Aug., 1891
Complete Specification Left. 27th Aug., 1891-Accepted, 17th Oct., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Guards or Fingers for Mowing and Reaping
Machines.
I, JOHN EDWARD GREAVES, of Berdiansk, South Russia, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to the fingers or guards of mowing and reaping machines.
Guards or fingers, as heretofore constructed, are provided with straight or nearly
straight edges which, in conjunction with the knife-sections, serve, during the
reciprocation of the knife, to cut the grass, straw or other material.
In practice it is found that the grass or straw being cut is very apt to slip away
from the knife, especially if the knife is somewhat dull.
The chief object of my invention is to prevent the grass or material being cut
from thus slipping and to this end I provide the edges of the slots in the fingers,
through which the knife reciprocates, with teeth or projections either upon the top
or bottom of the slot, or upon both the bottom and the top.
Dated the 7th day of August 1891.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Guards or Fingers for Mowing and Reaping
Machines.
I, JOHN EDWARD GREAVES, of Berdiansk, South Russia, 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:-
.
My invention relates to the fingers or guards of mowing and reaping machines.
Guards or fingers, as heretofore constructed, are provided with straight or nearly
straight edges which, in conjunction with the knife-sections, serve, during the
In practice it
reciprocation of the knife, to cut the grass, straw or other material.
is found that the grass or straw being cut is very apt to slip away from the knife,
especially if the knife is somewhat dull.
The chief object of my invention is to prevent the grass or material being cut
from thus slipping and to this end I provide the edges of the slots in the fingers,
through which the knife reciprocates, with teeth or projections either upon the top
or bottom of the slot, or upon both the bottoin and the top.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe the same with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figure 1 is a side view of a finger or guard provided with my improvements;
and,
Figure 2 is a plan of the same, the projections or teeth being upon the bottom
edges of the slot :
Figures 3 and 4 are views similar to Figures 1 and 2 respectively, but having
the projections or teeth upon the top edges of the slot; and,
Figures
and 6 are similar views, but shewing teeth on both the top and
bottom edges of the slot.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.
u, a indicate the fingers or guards, b, the slots formed therein, c, e the steel-
plates with which the bottoms of the slots are usually faced, and d the rivets

page_text: for holding the said plates in position. These parts, however, are of ordinary
construction and require no description.
e, e, e indicate the projections or teeth provided according to my invention.
As shewn in Figures 1 and 2 these teeth are formed upon the edges of the
plate c, but they may, if desired, be formed upon the body of the finger. As
shewn in Figures 3 and 4 the teeth e, e are formed upon the tongue constituting
the upper side of the slot, the said teeth being integral with the said tongue;
whilst in Figures 5 and 6 teeth are formed upon both the tongue and the plate c.
It is to be understood that any desirable number of teeth may be employed.
Some further advantages of my invention, in addition to that of preventing
the slipping of the material to be cut against the fingers, are that as the grass
cannot get away the knife does not require to be driven so fast as with ordinary
fingers and that, as the gearing can thus be driven more slowly than heretofore,
the power required is also less and consequently also the wear and tear of the
machine itself.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what 1
claim is
1. A finger or guard for mowing and reaping machines, having teeth or
projections adjacent to the edges of the slot through which the knife reciprocates,
substantially as, and for the purpose, described.
2. A finger or guard for mowing or reaping machines having upon the edges
of its bottom side or its top side or of both its bottom and top sides teeth or
projections arranged substantially in the manner hereinbefore described.
3. A finger or guard for mowing or reaping machines having teeth or
projections formed upon the edges of the plate forming the facing of the slot
upon which the knife reciprocates substantially as described.
Dated the 27th day of August 1891.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4 South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.