An Improved Implement or Machine for Eradicating Charlock, Thistles, and the like.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd June, 1890
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Apr., 1891-Accepted, 23rd May, 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Implement or Machine for Eradicating Charlock,
Thistles, and the like.
We, WILLIAM HENRY SLEEP, of St. Germans, Agricultural Implement Maker
and TOM BELL BURNS, of Camelford, Ironmonger both in the County of Cornwall,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to an implement for eradicating charlock, thistles, and
the like.
In carrying out our invention we employ a longitudinal bar or beam fitted with
teeth, which bar or beam we attach to the axle of a horse-rake.
The teeth are so formed as to allow the corn or the like to pass through them
uninjured, but will catch any charlock heads, poppies, thistles or other weeds and
pull them up or so injure them as to destroy them, together with their seeds.
The weeds are cleared away from between the teeth by means of a brush, or
pieces of metal revolving over the teeth or, we can for this purpose make use of a
kind of fan.
When the toothed bar or beam is not required for eradicating weeds it can be
removed and the machine used as an ordinary rake.
Dated the 23rd day of June 1890.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Implement or Machine for Eradicating Charlock,
Thistles, and the like.
We, WILLIAM HENRY SLEEP, of St. Germans, Agricultural Implement Maker,
and TOM BELL BURNS, of Camelford, Ironmonger, both in the County of
Cornwall, 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 :—
Our invention relates to an implement for eradicating charlock, thistles, and
the like.
In carrying out our invention we employ a bar or beam fitted with teeth, and
carried by an axle mounted upon wheels.
The teeth are so formed as to allow the corn or the like to pass through them
uninjured, but to catch any charlock heads, poppies, thistles or other weeds and
pull them up or so injure them as to destroy them.
The weeds are cleared away from between the teeth by means of a brush, or
pieces of metal revolving over the teeth, or we can, for this purpose, make use of a
kind of fan.
To enable our invention to be fully understood we will describe the same with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of an implement constructed according to
our invention and adapted to be worked by horse-power:
Figure 2 is a front view of the machine partly in section on the line ; and,
Figure 3 is a plan of the portion of the machine illustrated by Figure 2:
Figures 4 and 5 are a plan and side elevation respectively of some of the teeth
drawn to an enlarged scale:

page_text: Figures 0, 1, 0, 0, 10, 11, 12, 10, 14 and 15 snew amerent OTTIS
may be employed:
UL CCC
Figure 16 is a view similar to Figure 1 of a machine adapted to be operated by
man-power.
Similar letters of reference indiente corresponding parts in the several figures.
a indicates the frame of the machine which is carried upon an axle 6 having
at its ends travelling wheels c, e; d, d are the teeth and is the bar or beam
to which the same are secured, the said beam being carried by hangers or
brackets f, depending from the frame a. These teeth are pointed at their
front ends and formed at their sides with cutting-edges in such a manner that,
when secured to the beam, the said cutting edges will be at some distance
above the upper surface of the said beam so as to form clearance spaces d', d².
The teeth shewn in Figures 4 and 5 are shaped in cross section, as shewn in
Figure 6, but they may be shaped as shewn in Figures 7, 8, 9 and 10, or they
may be made flat, provided they are carried at some distance above the bar e,
either by means of distance-pieces g, g as shown in Figures 11 and 12, or by means
of ribs on the teeth as shewn in Figure 13, or by other suitable means in order to
afford the necessary clearance spaces.
We sometimes fix the flat teeth to the bare and form clearance spaces behind
the cutting edges of the said teeth, as shown in Figures 14 and 15. In this case
we attach to the bar, underneath the teeth, an adjustable roller or a second bar.
The said teeth are secured to the bar e at such distances apart that the stalks of
charlock, thistles or other weeds will, during the travel of the implement, enter
between the teeth until the said stalks are in contact with the bar e or with the
roller in front of the said bar, but so that the heads of such weeds cannot pass
between the said teeth. As the weeds are thus held it follows that, as the
movement of the implement continues, the weeds will either be pulled out of the
ground or so injured as to destroy them, without injuring the blades of corn or grass.
i is the revolving brush which serves to brush the weeds from the teeth, this
clearing of the teeth being rendered possible owing to their arrangement in such a
manner that clearance spaces are formed. The said brush i, as shewn in the drawings,
comprises a series of blades carried on radial arms upon a shaft, driven from the
axle through the medium of sprocket-chains and sprocket-wheels k, k and is
faced with india-rubber or the like or provided with bristles, springs surrounding
the said radial arms serving to press the facing of the blades or the bristles into
contact with the teeth.
In order to adjust the position of the bar e relatively with the ground any suitable
means may be employed. As shewn in Figure 1 this is effected by connecting the
shafts to the frame a by means of a lever and link 12, so that, by adjusting
the position of the lever, the angle of the frame relatively to the shafts will be
correspondingly varied.
In the machine, shewn in Figure 16, adapted to be operated by man-power, the
frame is provided with handles m, and the bar e, with the teeth d, is carried by
hangers which are screw-threaded for adjusting the height of the said bar from
the ground. The brush also in this case is mounted upon and rotates with the
wheel-axle b.
In addition to the revolving brush above described we sometimes arrange a second
brush, behind the toothed-bar and near the ground, for the purpose of clearing
away any weeds that may accumulate around the said bar.
Although we have described our invention as a complete implement or machine
we may, with advantage, arrange our toothed-bar and revolving brush in
conjunction with other implements such, for instance, as a horse-rake.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :
1. An implement or machine for eradicating weeds, comprising a bar having a

page_text: series of teeth with cutting edges secured thereto at short distances apart, the said
teeth being so arranged that clearance spaces are formed adjacent to the rear ends
of such cutting edges, substantially as, and for the purposes, described.
2. In a machine for eradicating weeds, the combination with a bar having a
series of teeth as described of a revolving brush, substantially as, and for the
purpose, specified.
3. The manufacture and use of the improved implement or machine for eradicating
weeds, herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated the 23rd day of April 1891
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, Agents for the Applicants.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, Agents for the Applicants.