Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 31st Dec., 1887
Specification Accepted, 10th Feb., 1888
We. WILLIAM NEWZAM NICHOLSON and ARTHUR THOMAS ALLCOCK, both of
Newark upon Trent, in the County of Nottingham, Engineers, do hereby declare
the nature of our said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
he particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Our Invention has for its object improvements in what are known as self-acting
Horse Rakes in which the teeth are lifted as the Horse progresses by means of pawls,
pivoted on the rocking frame, engaging with ratchet wheels formed on the naves of
the travelling wheels, or actuated thereby.
In order to describe our invention we have hereunto appended two sheets of
drawings shewing in part sectional elevation so much of a self acting Horse rake as is
necessary for that purpose.
In carrying out our invention we pivot the pawls A to the rocking frame B in
the usual manner and on them we form projecting tappets a, made concave on one of
their faces. When the rocking frame B that carries the rake teeth Tand the pawls A,
is locked in the proper position for raking, as shewn in Fig. 1, by any of the usual
arrangements of levers, one of which is shewn at C, the concave faces of the pawl
tappets a are concentric to the axle D of the rake and the pawls A are out of gear
with the ratchet wheels E. These for the sake of clearness in the drawings are shewn
in dotted lines.
On the axle D, or any other convenient stationary part of the rake frame, we fix
sectors F having their peripheries concentric to the axle and engaging with the
concave faces of the pawl tappets a, thus the pawls A are prevented from turning
round on their pivots on the rocking frame B and are locked fast out of gear with the
ratchet wheels E. When, as shewn in Fig. 2, the rocking frame B that carries the
teeth T and the pawls A is depressed, and the rake unlocked so that the teeth can be

page_text: ifted, the concave faces of the pawl tappets a slide round the fixed sectors F until
they are below them. The pawls A are then free to turn on their pivots to fall into
gear with the ratchet wheels E and lift the teeth T of the rake by the onward progress
of the Horse.
When the teeth T have been raised to the required height as shewn in dotted lines the
pawls A are put out of gear with the ratchet wheels E by a fixed cam H in the usual
manner, and fall down against stops bon the rocking frame as shewn in dotted lines in
Fig. 3. The rocking frame B and the teeth T then fall back to the position shewn in full
lines in Fig. 3, the stops are constructed as usual but allow the pawls A to fall over
till their centres of gravity are outside their pivots, and they tend to fall away from
the ratchet wheels instead of to them as is the case with rakes hitherto made. When
the rocking frame B and the pawls A have returned to the position shown in Fig. 3,
the concave faces of the pawl tappets a come into contact with the under sides of the
sectors and the pawls are turned round on their pivots until the concave faces of
the pawl tappets a are presented to the convex edges of the sectors F and sliding
up them lock the pawls fast in the position for raking shewn in Fig. 1.
By thus giving a positive motion to the pawis, after they are disengaged from the
ratchet wheels and the teeth are falling they may be allowed to take a much widen
angle from the ratchet wheels during the return of the teeth than has hitherto been
practicable and all danger of their coming prematurely into is avoided.
gear
In Figures 4 and 5 sheet 2 the Sectors F instead of being fixed to the axle or
frame of the rake are mounted on the axle D so that they may be rotated thereon,
and motion is given to them from the lever e of the rocking frame B by means of the
link c. lever L and the toothed quadrants M and N, so that the Sectors F and the
rocking frame B rotate in different directions as shewn in Fig. 5. The axis of
the quadrants M is carried by any convenient part of the stationary frame of the
rake by preference the castings which hold the stripper frame 0.
Figure 4 shows the rocking frame 13 and the teeth T in their proper position for
raking and the pawls A locked fast. In Figure 5. the rocking frame B is shewn
slightly depressed and the rake unlocked. As the rocking frame B and the
pawls A move in an opposite direction to the Sectors it will require to be
inoved through only half the space for the pawls to clear the rotating sectors that
it would were the sectors fixed as shewn in Figures 1. 2 and 3.
The Cams H for putting the pawls out of gear with the ratchet wheels may
also rotate with the Sectors F, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5. and as they
move in an opposite direction to the rocking frame B. the inclination of their
faces presented to the pawls A may be made at a less angle than usual.
In self acting Horse Rakes of ordinary construction after the rake is unlocked
and the pawls are in gear with the ratchet wheels, there is a liability if the Horse
goes back instead of forward of the teeth falling down and the rake relocking,
whilst the pawls still remain in gear; should the horse then go forward without
the pawls being cleared by hand, the wheels will be skidded and the teeth cannot
be raised. Our improvements render such an occurrence impossible, as, after the
rake is unlocked and the pawls A have fallen into gear, see Figures 2 and 5. the
upper sides of the pawl tappets a project beyond the lower sides of the Sectors F
and should the Horse go back they will come in contact with them and prevent the
rake from relocking so that when the horse again goes forward the teeth will be
lifted as usual and no attention required to prevent the wheels skidding.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said Inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. In a Self acting Horse Rake" the use and application of the Sectors F for
operating the pawls, substantially as described and for the purposes set forth.
AL
2. Self acting Horse Rake” the use and annlication of the wax tannels o

page_text: to the ordinary pawls A in combination with the sectors F substantially as described
and for the purposes set forth.
3. In a
"Self acting Horse Rake" giving a positive motion to turn the pawls
round their pivots towards the ratchet wheels, on the return of the teeth to the
raking position substantially as described and for the purposes set forth.
4. In a "Self acting Horse Rake," the method of preventing the Rake relocking
whilst the pawls are in gear with the ratchet wheels, substantially as described and
for the purposes set forth.