IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING MACHINES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Williani Trotter, of South Acomb, in the County
of Northumberland, Farmer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
REAPING MACHINES."
Sealed the 15th. July 1859, and dated the 18th January 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Trotter at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th January 1859.
I, WILLIAM TROTTER, of South Acomb; in the County of Northumberland,
Farmer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MÉNTS IN REAPING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a péculiar construction and arrangement of certain
parts of reaping machines, whereby such parts are capable of adjusting or
accommodating themselves more readily to inequalities in the surface of the
ground, and the machine requires less power to work it than reaping machines
of the ordinary construction.
.
According to this Invention, the table on to which the cut corn 'falls 'is
attached by means of hinges to a beam or bearer, which is pivotted at its
centre on' to the side of the main frame of the machine, thus allowing the
table and the supporting wheel at the outer end of the same to rise or fall
according to the nature of the surface of ground over which the machine is
traversed, and admitting also of the table being turned up vertically against

page_text: the side of the machine when the same is not in use or is required to be
moved from one locality to another. The cutter frame, with its knives or
cutters, are also free to be raised or lowered by reason of the pivot above
referred to. The knives or cutters are actuated by a connecting rod attached
at one end to a crank, and at the other to the cutter bar, universal joints
being employed at the junctions for the purpose of affording facility for the
relative adaptation of the cutter bar and connecting rod, however much the
height of the cutters may be varied. The machine is drawn by a horse in the
front, and is fitted with a pair of driving wheels in place of using one such
wheel only, as is usually the case in machines drawn from the front. By
using two wheels greater facility is afforded for shifting the machine about.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Trotter in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
18th July 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
TROTTER, of South Acomb, in the County of Northumberland, Farmer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said William Trotter, Her special license that I, the said William
Trotter, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Trotter, my executors, administrators, or. assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-.
MENTS IN REAPING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said William Trotter, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Trotter, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be

page_text: performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following:
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figure marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to a peculiar arrangement and construction of
certain parts of reaping machines, whereby such parts are capable of adjusting.
or accommodating themselves more readily to inequalities in the surface of the
ground, and the machine requires less power to work it than reaping machines
of the ordinary construction.
According to this Invention, the table upon which the cut corn falls is'
attached by means of hinges to a beam or bearer, which is pivotted at its'
centre on to the side of the main frame of the machine, thus allowing the table'
and the supporting wheel at the outer end of the same to rise or fall according
to the nature of the surface of the ground over which the machine is traversed,
and admitting also of the table being turned up vertically against the side of
the machine when the same is not in use or is required to be moved from one
locality to another. The cutter frame, with its kuives or cutters, is also free
to be raised or lowered by reason of the pivot herein-before referred to. The
knives or cutters are actuated by a connecting rod, attached at one end to a
crank, and at the other to the cutter bar, a species of universal joints being
employed at the junctions for the purpose of affording facility for the relative
adaptation of the cutter bar and connecting rod, however much the height of
the cutters may be varied. The machine is drawn by a horse in the front,
and is fitted with a pair of driving wheels in place of using one such wheel
only, as is usually the case in machines drawn from the front. By using two
wheels, very great facility is afforded for shifting the machine about.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I shall
now proceed to describe certain modifications under which my improvements
may be judiciously carried out in actual practice, reference being had to my
Sheet of illustrative Drawings hereunto attached, and to the letters and figure
marked thereon, that is to say:
The Figure on my Sheet of Drawings represents a geometrical perspective
view of my reaping machine complete, but with one of the traction shafts
slightly broken away to show more clearly the crank details for working the
cutters. The main framing and gearing of the machine is carried upon a pair
of large ground supporting and driving wheels A, which are loose on their
axle B, and connected thereto only by ratchet wheels and catches. Each.
wheel has along the inside of its boss or nave a ratchet wheel C keyed upon
the axle, and the inner face of the wheel boss carries a hinged spring detent,
the direction being such that as the wheels revolve in working, the ratchet

page_text: IR LJU
catches take the axle round with them, whilst in backing the wheels work
entirely clear of the axle. The axle is supported in bearings set on the top of
the longitudinal bars of the machine, and carries at its centre a spur wheel D
which runs loose, but is thrown into gear with its shaft by an ordinary clutch
(not shown in the Drawing) when required to work the machine. This wheel
is in gear with a spur pinion E fast on a back parallel shaft F, which latter
carries a bevil wheel G in gear with the bevil pinion H; this pinion is fast on
the after end of a longitudinal shaft I running in the end bearings on the
framing, and carrying at its extreme after end a fly wheel J, whilst on its front
end is a short crank K, the pin of which is pointed to one end of a wooden
connecting rod L; the other end of this rod is jointed at M to the cutter
bar N, which thus receives the necessary traverse for the cutting action.
The joints of the connecting rod are both of the "universal" class, that is, to
say, they afford the means of free working at the junction points, however, the
adjustment of the height of the cutters may be varied. The inner side of the
reaper frame has attached to it a longitudinal wooden bar O, resting upon a
pivot or centre support projecting from the main frame directly below the
centre of the main axle, and in a line directly coincident with the axis of the
stud of the ground wheel T; the ends of this bar have liberty to move freely
up and down in clasps or holders P; to this wooden bar O the wooden cutter
frame Q, carrying the table 'R, on which the cut corn falls, is attached by
hinges S. The outer end of the cutter frame and table is carried by the
small ground wheel T. In a line with the points of the cutters is a wheel or
roller U, carried by a stud on the forward end of a lever, which is centred on
a stud carried by a standard or pillar at V, set on the wooden bar O; this s
lever extends back to a segmental bar or plate W, also on the wooden bar O
this segmental plate being perforated, whilst the lever is fitted with a pin
capable of being sprung into any desired hole in the plate. When the
handle X at the back end of the lever is elevated, the forward wheel or plain
pulley U is pressed down upon the ground, and this action consequently raises 3
the front end. of the wooden bar O, causing it to turn upon its centre in the
frame, and hence the cutters are also elevated. In this way the attendant can
at any time adjust the height of the cutters so as to reap high or low, as may
be wanted, whilst the joints connected with the action of the crank K work
equally well and freely without reference to this adjustment. The traction 3
shafts Y, by which the horse draws the reaper, are attached to the hind portion
of the main frame by hinged joints Z. Nearer the front, the shafts have a
transverse bar a, carrying a central stud pin capable of entering holes in the
upper end of a perforated bar b, supported on diverging legs carried by the
i

page_text: front of the frame. This admits of the main frame being raised or lowered at
pleasure; and this adjusting action can also be used for setting the height of
the cutters. The hinges S by which the cutter frame and cut-corn platform,
or table are attached to the main frame, not only allow the ground wheel T to
rise or fall according to the inequalities of the ground, but also permit the
table to be raised to a vertical position, in which it can be retained by a stay.
In this condition the reaper can be removed from field to field or elsewhere
with great ease, as it can then pass through narrow gateways; by their means,
too, the table can be detached from the reaper frame in a very expeditious:
The board on which the attendant sits when the reaper is at work
is placed across the frame. It will thus be understood that the cutters are at
liberty to move up or down in a line parallel with an axial line drawn from
the stud centre of the ground wheel T to the centre of the supporting pivot or
stud of the wooden bar O, whilst they can rise and fall just as the ground
wheel T rises and falls with the irregularities of the ground surface; and,
further, that they can be set up altogether end wise upon the hinges S as a
centre. The cutter knives, sixteen in number, are arranged on what is known
as "Hussey's principle," but various forms of cutters may be used.
manner.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that what I consider to be novel
and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the general arrangement and construction of reaping machines,
whereby the cutting parts of such machines are rendered capable of adjusting
themselves readily and with accuracy to the inequalities of the ground, and
whereby such machines are capable of being worked with a smaller expendi-
ture of power than hitherto, as herein before described.
Second, the system or mode of arranging and constructing reaping machines
wherein the table upon which the severed corn falls as it is reaped is attached
by means of hinges or other joint connections to a beam or bearer, which is
itself pivotted or centred to the side of the main frame of the reaper for the
purposes herein-before described.
Third, the system or mode of arranging and constructing reaping machines
wherein the cutters are adjustable as to height from the ground upon a trans-
verse pivot or stud centre.
Fourth, the system or mode of arranging and constructing reaping machines,
wherein the cutter frame and severed-corn table can be turned up on hinges
or other connections, as herein-before described.

page_text: Fifth, the application and use in reaping machines of "universal" or
differential joints, as herein-before described, between the crank driver and the
cutters.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Trotter, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of July, One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-nine.
5
WILLIAM TROTTER. (L.S.)