Ax IMPROVED HORSE HOE FOR USE IN AGRICULTURAL PURSUITS
Year: 1841

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN WHILE,
of Burton-in-the-Wolds, in the County of Leicester, Farmer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-ninth day of September, in the fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John While, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said John While, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, and such others as I, the said John While, my executors, adminis-
trators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "Ax
IMPROVED HORSE HOE FOR USE IN AGRICULTURAL PURSUITS;" in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said John While, by an Instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within four calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John While, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the

page_text: manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon
(that is to say):
:-
My improved horse hoe consists in a peculiar and novel arrangement of
apparatus containing vibratory cutters moving laterally, whereby one or more
rows of turnips or other plants may whilst growing be hoed or cut crossways
of the drilled line, and the land hoed lengthways at the same time between the
lines of drills for the purpose of being cleared of weeds; and if the crop should
be irregular or thin in some places, and therefore not require any cross
cutting, the vibratory action of my improved cutter or cutters may for this
purpose be instantly suspended (without interrupting the progress of the
machine) by the mere pressure of the thumb of the conductor, and as instantly
brought into operation again when required; and these vibratory cutters may
be adjusted so as to cut or hoe the lines of drilled turnips or other crop at any
desired intervals or distances apart. The mechanical arrangement of the
machine is also such as to admit of its being employed as a scarifier by
displacing the vibratory cross cutting blades and introducing spear-shaped
hoes in the same situations.
Having thus briefly pointed out the principal features of my improved horse
hoe, and the advantages resulting from its employment, I proceed to describe
more particularly its peculiar construction, reference being had to the Sheet of
Drawings hereunto annexed, in which Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of the
machine, having two vibratory hoes or lateral cutters; Fig. 2 is a horizontal
or bird's-eye view of the same; and Fig. 3 an end elevation as it would appear
from the back part of the machine, the handles being in section. Similar
letters of reference, be it observed, denote corresponding parts in all the Figures.
The framework of the carriage (which in the Drawings is represented as
made of iron, but may if required be constructed of wood or other suitable
material) is shewn at a, a, a, a, a, a. It will be seen on inspecting the
horizontal view, Fig. 2, that the framework consists of three straight longi-
tudinal iron bars a, a, a, which are connected together by transverse bars or
rods b, b, securely fixed to the central longitudinal bars, and toward their ends
to the longitudinal side bars, by means of screws, bolts, and nuts, wedges, or
any other convenient modes of fastening the parts together. At the front
extremity of the central longitudinal bar a is placed the tug iron c, from
which the horse or horses are to draw. The running wheels d, d, are securely
fixed by means of screw nuts or other contrivances on to the horizontal axle e,
which axle is connected to the framing by pendant bracket arms f,f, and g,

page_text: keyed into the longitudinal bars. Transverse bars h, h, passing through
sockets in the framing or longitudinal bars a, a, a, and properly securod
thereto, carry at their outer extremities scrapers i, i, for the purpose of cleaning
off any clods of earth which might otherwise adhere to the rims of the running
wheels, and impede their progress, or cause the progress to become irregular.
The blades of the hoes or cutting instruments, which cut lengthways of the
furrows, for the purpose of clearing the land from weeds, are shewn at j,ÌÌÌ
and k, k. They should be of different shapes, as represented in Fig. 2, but
their form is not of importance. The blades j, j, are, by means of their vertical
stems affixed in pairs by keys or other means to sockets in the outer longitu-
dinal bars of the framework a, a, and are so placed as to form an opening or
space between them, as seen in the back view of the machine at Fig. 3, which
opening or space is for the purpose of allowing the blades to pass along the
ground so as to leave the row of drilled turnips untouched by them. This pair
of hoes is represented detached in elevation at Fig. 4. The blade of the
other hoe k is spear pointed, and fixed by its stem to the middle longitudinal
bar in a similar way. The stems of the transverse or vibratory cross cutting
hoes 7, 1, (represented in elevation detached at Fig. 5. and the plan of the
blade at Fig. 6) are suspended by joints from pendant bracket arms m, m, as
shewn in the machine at Figures 1 and 3, which bracket arms are held in
sockets and keyed at the hinder parts of the two outer longitudinal bars,
forming the framework. These hoes 1, 1, are made to oscillate laterally
toward the right and left on their joints (as shewn by the red lines in Fig. 3)
by the following means. Two longitudinal shafts n, n, extend along the under
part of the frame on the same level as that of the axle of the running wheels.
The extremities of these longitudinal shafts are mounted and turn in loops or
sockets seen at o, o, in the fore part of the machine, and at p, p, in the hinder
part. The loops or sockets o, o, are formed at the ends of swinging levers or
arms 9, 7, hanging on joint pints inserted into the pendant bracket g. This
part of the apparatus is shewn detached at Fig. 7, which represents the
pendant bracket g, as seen from behind, with the swinging levers 9, 9,
appended thereto; and Fig. 8 is a side view of the same. The loops or sockets
p. p, which support the back ends of the shafts n, n, are affixed to the pendant
arm r, at the back part of the middle longitudinal bar a.
In the hinder parts
of the shafts n, n, are formed cranks at s, s, and to the fore parts of these
shafts bevil pinions t, t, are affixed, taking into the teeth of the bevil wheels
u, u, on the shaft e of the running wheels. To the cranks s, s, are appended
connecting rods v, v, which rods are forked as shewn in Fig. 2, and between
the fork of the rod the stem of the vibrating hoe is inserted and held in

page_text: connection therewith by a joint pin, as shewn most evidently in Fig. 3. It will
now be perceived that as the running wheels d, d, with their axle e, revolve
the bevil wheels u, u, will cause the pinions t, t, to give rotary motion to
the shafts n, n. The cranks s, s, as the shafts n, n, revolve will consequently
move to and fro the forked rods v, v, and these rods by means of their connec-
tion with the stems of the hose 1, l, will cause these hose to oscillate laterally
upon their joints, as shewn by the red lines in Fig. 3. Now, it is these
oscillating movements of the vibrating hoes 1, 1, produced by the advance of the
machine over the land, that causes the blades of the hoes to cut laterally at
intervals into the lines of drilled turnips, and thereby to thin the crop in
such parts as may be required. On the vibratory speed or frequency of the
oscillating movements of these hoes 1, l, will depend the quantity of the turnips
hoed up, or the distances apart at which the hoes shall cut into each line, and
this may be regulated by changing the speeds of the wheels and pinions u and t.
For general purposes I do not find it necessary to remove the pinions t, t, from
the shafts and substitute others, but merely to slide the pinions on the shafts,
so that they may be brought into gear with the larger or smaller circles of
teeth on the faces of the wheels u, u, as the speed may require. If from a
deficiency in the crop, or from any other cause, it should be found necessary
to suspend occasionally the action of the cross-cutting or vibratory hoes 1, 1, that
may be instantly effected by depressing the thumb levers w, w, close to the
handles. To these thumb levers are attached rods and chains, or cords, x, x, x,
passed under and over guide pullies, and connected at their reverse ends to
the bottom parts of the swinging levers q, q, as shewn best in Fig. 7, Then,
on depressing the thumb levers w, w, the rods and chains, or cords, x, x, x, will
draw the swinging levers outward, as represented by the red lines in Fig. 7,
and by so doing draw the pinions t, t, on the shafts n, n, out of gear, with the
bevel wheels u, u, and bring them into the position shewn by the red lines in
Fig. 2, thereby suspending the rotations of the shafts and stopping the action
of the hoes. When the conductor takes his thumbs from the levers w, w, the
springs y, y, immediately press the pinions t, t, into gear again, with the
wheels u, u, in their original positions, and the hoes 1, 1, are made to vibrate
as before, In Figures 1 and 2 are represented lateral catch springs 2, %,
attached to the pendant bracket g, which springs z, z, are for the purpose of
catching the teeth of the pinions t, t, when they are drawn back, and holding
the crank shafts n, n, firmly, so that they may not be allowed to turn, by which
means the blades of the vibratory cutters j, j, will be kept up on one side of
the line of turnips, and consequently be prevented from cutting the crop as the
machine passes over it. By removing the vibratory hoes 1, 1, and their pendant

page_text: arins m, m, and replacing them by fixed spear-pointed cutters similar to the
central hoe k, the apparatus may be made to act as a scarifier for cutting up
weeds, and in place of the hocs l, l, there may also be substituted at any time
other forms of blades, having longer cutting surfaces if required, in order to
thin the turnips to a greater extent than can be affected by means of the cutters
represented in the Figures. I have shewn in the Drawings accompanying this
Specification a machine having two vibratory cutters 1, 1, mounted in the hinder
part of the frame, and which may be called a double hoe. I wish, however,
to observe, that I do not intend at all times to confine myself to two such
cutters, as a single hoe may be constructed having but one vibratory cutter,
or a greater number of vibratory cutters may be introduced, and in other
positions, without deviating from the principle of my improvement, even
though the framework may be required to be different in form to suit such
adaptation. But I claim the invention and adaptation of vibratory cutters to a
machine for hoeing turnips and other crops by reciprocating lateral movements,
and the connecting mechanism by which the said vibratory cutters are mado
to act through gear communicating with the running wheels of the machine,
and also the means by which their actions may be occasionally suspended, as
stated above.
In witness whereof, I, the said John While, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-two
JOHN (L.B.) WHILE.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Twenty-fifth day of
January, in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid John While came before
our Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained, in form above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute in that case made and provided.
Inrolled the Twenty-ninth day of January, in the year above written.