IMPROVEMENTS IN BROADCAST SOWERS
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Macintosh Murray, of Barbican, in the City of
London, for the Invention of " IMPROVEMENTS IN BROADCAST SOWERS." A
communication from abroad by David Buist and Charles Alden, both of Phila-
delphia, United States of America.
Sealed the 10th May 1878, and dated the 28th November 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Macintosh Murray
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 28th November 1877.
WILLIAM MACINTOSH MURRAY, of Barbican, in the City of London. " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BROADCAST SOWERS." (A communication from abroad by David Buist
and Charles Alden, both of Philadelphia, United States of America.)
These improvements have for their object to provide, first, an improved dis-
tributing wheel, by means of which the grain or other substance to be sown may be
thrown a greater distance than was heretofore obtainable by machines of this class.
And, secondly, to provide for the hopper a nozzle or delivery end of peculiar con-
struction, by means of which the grain or other matter to be sown will be delivered
to the scatterer in such manner that it will be thrown only from the front half of
said scatterer, thus dispensing with the rear guard or shield heretofore required, said
nozzle being also adjustable, so that when for any reason it may be desired to sow
on only one side of the track of the machine such result may be accomplished.
The improvements accordingly consist in the peculiar construction of the dis-
tributing wheel and hopper nozzle, and in the combination of said parts, as herein-
after more fully described.
The distributing wheel is composed of a flat metallic disc, having curved radial
ribs or partitions, which incline from the surface of the disc backwardly so as to
form an obtuse angle on their front side. The disc is slotted or cut just back of each
of the ribs, and the metal of the disc struck up to form an incline or lift, the edge
of which meets the back of the rib.

page_text: The effect of this construction is that not only are the ribs stayed or braced,
rendering them firmer and more secure than they would otherwise be, but the grain
or other substance scattered by the wheel is given a lifting motion just before it
leaves the disc, whereby it is carried much farther than it would be if said wheel
were not formed with the lift, as described.
The hopper is formed with a removable or rotary neck, which serves as a nozzle
or delivery end. Said nozzle is preferably of the form of a short cylinder with
bevelled or inclined bottom, the lowest edge of which is cut away so as to leave a
curved opening between it and the wall of said cylinder.
The shaft by which the wheel. is rotated passes through a centrally located
elongated slot in the bottom. The nozzle being arranged on the hopper so that the
opening will be forward of a line drawn transversely through the centre of the disc,
the grain or other material fed from the hopper will fall in front of said line, and
will be thoroughly scattered without any portion of it falling back of said line.
By this means the shield or guard heretofore required in the machines in which
the material to be fed was delivered in the centre of the wheel, and was therefore
scattered equally in every direction, is dispensed with. A saving is therefore
effected in the first cost of the machine, and the labor heretofore entailed by the
necessity of picking up the grain thrown against the shield and putting the same
back in the hopper is avoided.
By turning the nozzle around so as to cause the slot to cross a line drawn trans-
versely through the centre of the disc, the machine may be made to sow on either
the right or left side alone, or more to one side than another, the feed being duly
graduated by means of a cut-off slide.
The improvements herein described may be applied to hand as well as wheeled
sowers, and the parts described may be made of metal or any other material.
The Invention may be applied to sowing seed, and to distributing fertilizers, lime,
and so forth.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Macintosh Murray in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
28th May 1878.
WILLIAM MACINTOSH MURRAY, of Barbican, in the City of London.
"IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BROADCAST SOWERS." (A communication from abroad by David Buist
and Charles Alden, both of Philadelphia, United States of America.)
Figure 1 is a side elevation in perspective of a broadcast sower constructed
according to this Invention.
Figure 2 is a vertical section of hopper and scatterer.
Figure 3 is a perspective view of scatterer.
Figure 4 is a perspective view of hopper nozzle.
These improvements have for their object to provide, first, an improved dis-
tributing wheel, by means of which the grain or other substance to be sown may be
thrown a greater distance than was heretofore obtainable by machines of this class.
And, secondly, to provide for the hopper a nozzle or delivery end of peculiar con-
struction, by means of which the grain or other matter to be sown will be delivered
to the scatterer in such manner that it will be thrown only from the front half of
said scatterer, thus dispensing with the rear guard or shield heretofore required,
said nozzle being also adjustable, so that when for any reason it may be desired to
sow on only one side of the track of the machine, such result may be accom-
plished.
These improvements accordingly consist in the peculiar construction of the dis-
tributing wheel and hopper nozzle, and in the combination of said parts, as herein-
after more fully described.
Referring to the accompanying Drawing, A designates the distributing wheel
composed of a flat metallic disc having curved radial ribs or partitions B, B, which
incline from the surface of the disc backwardly, so as to form an obtuse angle on
their front side.
The disc A is slotted or cut just back of each of the ribs B, as shewn at a, and
the metal of the disc struck up to form an incline or lift C, the edge of which meets
the back of the rib at b.
The effect of this construction is that not only are the ribs B, B, stayed or braced,
rendering them firmer and more secure than they would otherwise be, but the
grain or other substance scattered by the wheel is given a lifting motion just before
it leaves the disc, whereby it is carried much farther than it would be if said wheel
were not formed with the lift as described.
D represents the hopper formed with a removeable or rotary neck E, which serves
as a nozzle or delivery end. Said nozzle is preferably of the form of a short
cylinder e, with bevelled or inclined bottom e¹, the lowest edge of which is cut
away, so as to leave a curved opening e² between it and the wall of said
cylinder.
The shaft F by which the wheel is rotated passes through a centrally located
elongated slot in the bottom e¹. The nozzle E being arranged on the hopper D
so that the opening e will be forward of a line drawn transversely through the
centre of the disc A, the grain or other material fed from the hopper will fall in
front of said line, and will be thoroughly scattered without any portion of it falling
back of said line.
By this means the shield or guard heretofore required in machines in which the
material to be fed was delivered in the centre of the wheel, and was therefore scat-
tered equally in every direction is dispensed with. A saving is therefore effected
in the first cost of the machine, and the labor heretofore entailed by the necessity of
picking up the grain thrown against the shield and putting the same back in the
hopper is avoided.
By turning the nozzle E around so as to cause the slot e² to cross a line drawn

page_text: transversely through the centre of the disc, the machine may be made to sow on
either the right or left side alone, or more to one side than another, the feed being
duly graduated by means of the cut-off slide G.
The improvements herein described may be applied to hand as well as wheeled
sowers, and the parts described may be made of metal or any other material.
The Invention may be applied to sowing seed, and to distributing fertilizers,
lime, &c.
What I claim is,—
Firstly. The distributing wheel composed of the disc A, having the lift C and
sloping curved ribs B, substantially as shewn and described.
Secondly. The delivery nozzle composed of the cylinder e, having inclined
bottom e and slot e², substantially as shewn and described.
Thirdly. In combination with a distributing wheel or scatterer of a sowing
machine, a rotary hopper nozzle adjustable so as to bring its feed opening across a
line drawn transversely through the middle of said wheel, and thus cause the latter
to scatter wholly on one side of the track of the machine, or more on one side than
on the other, substantially as shewn and described..
In witness whereof, I, the said William Macintosh Murray, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
MIDDAY
W. M. MURRAY,
(L.S.)