IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CULTIVATING LAND BY STEAM POWER
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Fisken, of Stamfordham, in the County of
Northumberland, Presbyterian Minister, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR CULTIVATING LAND BY STEAM POWER."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Fisken at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 29th August 1877..
WILLIAM FISKEN, of Stamfordhamn, in the County of Northumberland, Presby-
terian Minister. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS. FOR CULTIVATING LAND BY STEAM
POWER."
According to this Invention when a traction engine is employed to travel along
the headland of the field that is being cultivated a self-moving anchor is used at
the opposite headland, and a tightening anchor is placed in rear of the engine.
An endless steel wire rope passes from the hauling sheave on the engine to the
sheaves on the distance and tightening anchors, the tightening anchor being used to
give the hauling rope proper tension. The clip sheave or grooved sheave for hauling
the endless rope is placed vertically on the engine, and is driven by a pinion on the
crank shaft.
The clip or grooved sheave can be placed either on the intermediate shaft or on
the travelling shaft of the traction engine, a clutch being used to disconnect the
travelling wheels when the engine is hauling the implement. From the clip sheave
the rope passes round a guide pulley hung on the engine, then along the line of
furrow to the sheave on the anchor on the opposite headland, and it then returns
along the line of furrow to a pulley on the engine, thence round the sheave of the
tightening anchor, and back to the main clip sheave on the engine.
To the main hauling rod or pin of the tilling implement there is fixed a double
jawed longitudinal clip for receiving and gripping the endless rope, This clip is
forme.l of one fixed and two movable plates, which movable plates are hinged at
opposite sides of the fixed plate, and are acted on by a tightening screw, which is

page_text: connected loosely to the centre plate, and when turned draws one or other of the
hinged plates up to or moves it from the centre plate.
The
The screw is worked by the ploughman by means of rods, hand wheels, and a
screw and worm wheel on the screw shaft or axle. The two ropes along the line of
furrow being parts of the endless rope pass through the two clip jaws of the vice
plates as near to the bottom of the longitudinal clip as may be convenient.
ropes are guided into and out of the clip jaws by guide pulleys placed at each end of
the jaw plates. The internal faces of the plates have obtuse curves, the convex parts
of one plate being opposite to the concave parts of the other, and a partial groove to
suit the rope is formed across the curves.
When the ploughman turns the tightening screw the one rope is gripped by the
vice action of the plates, and the other is freed from the clip. The implement is
then hauled along by the gripped rope while the other rope passes freely through its
opened groove. As soon as the implement reaches the headland the ploughman
reverses the gripping screw until the plough stops, and then by continuing to turn
the screw until the other rope is gripped. The plough or tilling implement will
⚫then commence its return motion, the endless driving or hauling rope meanwhile
moving continuously in one and the same direction.
The engine is moved along the headland the required distance by the driver at
each bout. The anchor on the opposite headland is also hauled forward at each
bout by means of winding gear moting on a rope fixed ahead of the anchor, the
winding gear being put in motion by the endless rope sheave on the anchor.
For the purpose of regulating the distance which the anchor is to move, the clutch
which connects the sheave with the winding gear is acted on by one end of a lever
which has its fulcrum near the end close to the clutch or its handle, and the other
end of the lever projects landwards and is prolonged so far that the end of the lever
will move over a space equal to the distance the anchor has to move at a bout when
the outer end of the lever will move over the third part of a circle. To the outer
end of this lever a cord is attached and connected with a weight in rear of the
anchor, so that the ploughman can readily pull the weight forward by the lever as
far as the anchor has to move.
The motion of the lever forward relieves the clutch, and the anchor then moves
forward as far as the weight was pulled. As the end of the lever is held by the
weight so soon as the cord is at tension the motion of the anchor forward (which
tightens the cord) will draw itself out of gear.
The tilling implement can be used to move the lever and weight instead of the
ploughman being required to do so.
When a portable engine is employed then another self-moving anchor is used, the
two guide pulleys are not then required on the engine, but their place is supplied by
the two guide pulleys being placed on the anchor on the headland in line with the
engine. In the case of a portable engine being employed it will be understood that
a greater length of steel rope is required to stretch double all the length and breadth
of the plot to be cultivated, and that it will be fitted with a clip sheave driven by a
pinion on the crank shaft.
When the anchor requires to be held
arrangement of the weight and lever is
prevent the rope unwinding, the forward
steel-rone pulley.
back instead of being pulled forward, the
used to put a stop upon the windlass to
motion being got from the pull on the

page_text: on the 28th
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Fisken in the Great Seal Patent Office
February 1878.
WILLIAM FISKEN, of Stamfordham, in the County of Northumberland, Presbyterian
Minister. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CULTIVATING LAND BY STEAM
POWER."
According to this Invention when a traction engine is employed to travel along
the headland of the field that is being cultivated a self-moving anchor is used at the
opposite headland, and a tightening anchor is placed in rear of the engine.
An endless steel wire rope passes from the hauling sheave on the engine to the
sheaves on the distance and tightening anchors, the tightening anchor being used to
give the hauling rope proper tension. This arrangement is shown in diagram plan
at Fig. 1 of the accompanying Drawing, the cultivator being attached to the hauling
rope. The clip sheave or grooved sheave for hauling the endless rope is placed
vertically on the engine, and is driven by a pinion on the crank shaft.
The clip or grooved sheave can be placed either on the intermediate shaft or on
the travelling shaft of the traction engine, a clutch being used to disconnect the
travelling wheels when the engine is hauling the implement.
In this Figure A is the traction engine travelling along the headland of the field
to be cultivated; B, the anchor travelling on the opposite headland; C, C, the
hauling rope passing from the engine to the travelling anchor, and back to a guide
pulley on the engine, and thence round the sheave on the tightening anchor D (which
înaintains the rope at tension during the action of the apparatus) and back to the
engine; E is the cultivator, which is capable of working in opposite directions
without the direction of traverse of the hauling rope being required to be reversed.
From the clip sheave a on the engine the rope passes round a guide pulley a¹
hung on the engine, thence along the line of furrow to the sheave b, on the anchor
B, on the opposite headland, and it then returns along the line of furrow to a loose
pulley a² on the axle of the pulley a', thence round the sheave d of the tightening
anchor D, and back to the main clip sheave a on the engine.
The means which I employ for attaching the hauling rope to the cultivator is
shown in side elevation at Fig. 2, in end elevation at Fig. 3, and in horizontal
section at Fig. 4, the section being taken in the line 1, 2, of Fig. 3.
To the main hauling rod or pine of the tilling implement there is fixed a double
jawed longitudinal clip F for receiving and gripping the endless rope. This clip is
formed of a fixed plate fand two moveable plates f, f, which constitute the grip-
ping jaws. The moveable plates are hinged to the fixed plate at opposite sides
thereof, and are acted on by a horizontal tightening screw f³, which is connected
loosely to the centre plate in such manner that when turned it will have no end-
way motion, but by passing through threaded holes in the hinged plates will draw
one of these plates up to the centre plate, and move the other therefrom.
This screw is worked by the ploughman by means of a hand wheel f4, on the
axle of which is mounted a worm f5, which gears into a worm wheel fo, keyed on
to the head of the screw. That part of the hauling rope C which passes to and
from the anchor B, is gripped by the clip F, longitudinal grooves being made in the
gripping surfaces for that purpose as near to the bottom of the clip as may be con-
venient. The ropes are guided into and out of the clip jaws by guide pulleys g
mounted at opposite ends of the gripping plates. The better to ensure the gripping
of the rope the half grooves which secure the leading and return rope are made with
undulations as shown at Fig. 4, those in the fixed plate being the counterpart of the
undulations in the hinged plates,

page_text: It will now be understood that when the ploughman turns the tightening screw in
one direction the leading rope will be gripped and the traverse of the implement
will be towards the anchor; when, however, he reverses the direction of the
tightening screw, the return rope will be gripped and the implement will be caused
to traverse in the opposite direction.
The engine is moved along the headland the required distance by the driver at
each bout. The anchor on the opposite headland is also hauled forward at each
bout by means of winding gear acting on a rope fixed ahead of the anchor, the
winding gear being put in motion by the endless rope sheave on the anchor in the
manner well understood.
For the purpose of regulating the distance which the anchor is to move I employ
the following contrivance:-The clutch on the travelling anchor B, by which the
axle of the sheave b. is connected with the winding gear, is acted on by a lever H
(see Fig. 1) to throw it out of gear and thereby arrest the progress of the anchor.
This lever has its fulcrum on the axle of the clutch, and its free end projects land-
wards and is prolonged so far that the end of the lever will move over a space equal
to the distance the anchor has to move at a bout; this will require the lever to move
over, say, one-third part of a circle, more or less; to the outer end of this lever a
cord is attached which is connected with a weight in rear of the anchor for the
purpose of putting a drag upon the lever as the anchor moves forward.
Fig. 5 shows in vertical section, and Fig. 6 in plan view, the arrangements for
throwing the clutch into and out of action; b' is the axle of the sheave b, and
surrounding this axle is a sleeve h, which forms the axle of a spur pinion h¹, and
also the fulcrum for the lever H; a notch formed in the lower end of this sleeve fits
a pin 2 projecting from the axle b¹, and situate below the lever H is a fixed cam H¹,
so formed on its upper edge as to lift the lever H as the anchor is advanced. A
flange on the upper end of the sleeve h bears upon the lever, and as the lever is
raised by means of the fixed cam the sleeve will be raised also until its notch
disengages from the pin h² of the axle b'. When this takes place the rotation of
the pinion h¹ will cease, and the anchor will then remain at rest.
.
Supposing now that the implement has completed a bout, and it is desired to
advance the anchor, the ploughman will move forward the drag weight by means of
the lever to the distance required for the next traverse of the anchor.
This motion forward of the lever re-engages the clutch, and the anchor then
moves forward until the drag of the weight causes the lever to ascend the cam and
again lift the clutch out of action.
When a portable engine is employed, then a second self-moving anchor is used.
The two guide pulleys above mentioned as required on the engine are now mounted
on the anchor on the headland in line with the engine. This arrangement is shown
in the diagram, Fig. 7.
In this arrangement it will be understood that a greater length of steel rope
is required to stretch double all the length and breadth of the plot to be cultivated,
and that the portable engine will be fitted with a clip sheave driven by a pinion on
the crank shaft.
The second travelling anchor in this arrangement is to be fitted like that
shown at Fig. 1, with the weighted lever and cam for throwing the clutch out of
action.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in Appa-
ratus for Cultivating Land by Steam Power," and explained the manner of carrying
the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited
Letters Patent, I claim,-
First. The means above described whereby I am enabled to impart a to-and-fro
motion to the tilling implement without reversing the direction of traverse of the
hauling rone

page_text: Secondly. The means above described for regulating the forward motion of travel-
ling anchors.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Fisken, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, the Twenty-sixth day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
WILLIAM FISKEN. (L.S.)