Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Feb., 1887
Complete Left, 10th Nov., 1887
Complete Accepted, 13th Dec., 1887
We, CHARLES EDMUND TAUNTON and JOHN WORTHY BATTERSHILL, both of
27, Ryland Road, Birmingham, Warwickshire, Engineers, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention of certain improvements in seed drills has reference to those seed
drills in which a revolving cylinder having depressions on its periphery is employed at
the bottom of a hopper which said depressions receive in rotation a certain quantity
of the seeds contained in the hopper and discharge them at regular intervals into the
furrow.
The first of our said improvements consists in so constructing the revolving
cylinder or seed roll which receives the seeds that it can be employed for sowing seeds
of different sizes and in different quantities. This we effect by employing in the
periphery of the said seed roll two or more rows of depressions or cups side by side
instead of a single row, the depressions forming any particular row being of a different
size and situated at different distances apart from the depressions in either of the
other rows. The seed roll is capable of adjustment end ways on its spindle and it can
be fixed in any required position on the spindle by means of lock nuts at each end or
by a set screw or other suitable means so as to bring any particular row of depressions
under the opening from the hopper. By moving the seed roll endways and fixing it
so that any particular row of holes will receive the seeds from the hopper a larger or
smaller quantity of seeds can be sown and dropped at any particular distance apart as
may be required according to the size and distance apart of the holes forming the
particular row which is receiving the seeds from the hopper. The opening at the
bottom of the hopper is made preferably of the same width as the largest depression
in the seed roll, and in order to facilitate the fixing of the seed roll so that any parti-
cular row of holes will exactly agree with the said opening in the hopper lines are
drawn round the seed roll through the centre of each row of holes and a pointer is
fixed to the hopper or to the frame of the machine, the point of the pointer agreeing
exactly with the contre line of the opening in the hopper. When one of the lines on

page_text: the seed roll agrees with the pointer then the particular row of holes through which
that line passes exactly agrees with the opening in the bottom of the hopper.
Another of our improvements which applies more particularly to hand machines has
reference to the construction of the hopper and the body or main framing of the
machine. This is carried out as follows:-We provide a body or main framing
preferably of cast iron having the form of a shoot with a boss or bearing at each side.
The top of the shoot part takes the seed roll, the spindle of which passes through the
bosses or bearings at each side, a pair of wheels on which the machine runs being
provided and fixed on the spindle, one wheel at each side of the machine. The shoot
part of the body is open underneath so as to allow the seed to fall from the seed roll
into the rut made by the coulter which latter is fixed to and carried by the lower part
of the shoot. At the rear of the shoot part is formed a socket into which fits the
handle or pole by which the drill is pushed or drawn along. The seed hopper is
curved underneath so as to fit on to the seed roll and it is hinged to the body of the
machine so that it can be thrown back when required in examining or setting the seed
roll. The hopper is secured in its position above the seed roll by a screw opposite its
hinged side by means of which the distance of the hopper above the seed roll can be
accurately adjusted so that the hopper will just touch the roll and prevent any seeds
escaping or getting jammed between it and the roll. We prefer to place the said
adjusting screw directly in a line with the centre of the hole in the bottom of the
hopper and to hinge its bottom end to the body casting and to fix the said pointer
thereto so that the said screw can be swung back to release the hopper and at the
same time bring the pointer close up to the face of the scod roll to indicate the position
at which the roll is to be fixed on the spindle.
A further improvement consists in the employment of a piece of india-rubber in the
hopper as hereinafter described as a wiper to prevent any seeds being carried round
by the seed roll except what are actually contained in the depressions or cups in the
periphery of the roll. The said piece of india-rubber is made preferably in the form
of a strip of square section and is secured in a box-like recess or slot in the side of
the hopper by means of a set screw so that it can be set down on to the seed roll and
removed and replaced when required. By making the india-rubber strip square in
cross-section it will last a long time in wear as either of the four sides can be used, it
being only necessary when one side is worn to remove the strip and turn it round to
expose a fresh side to the seed roll. The ends or parts of the seed roll which are not
covered by the hopper are protected from dirt and wet by loose covers which are
hinged to the brackets or side bosses of the seed roll axle or to the hopper or are
otherwise suitably fixed so as to be readily turned up to examine the roll when
required.
We have described our improvements as applied to a drill for sowing seeds in one
rut or furrow only but they can be similarly applied to machines which sow seeds in
two or more ruts or furrows at the same time.
Dated this 9th day of February 1887

page_text: Certain Improvements in Seed Drills.
WC, CHARLES EDMUND TAUNTON and JOHN WORTHY BATTERSHILL, both of
27, Ryland Road, Birmingham, Warwickshire, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
Our invention of certain improvements in seed drills has reference to those seed
drills in which a revolving cylinder having depressions on its periphery is employed
at the bottom of a hopper which said depressions receive in rotation a certain quantity
of the seeds contained in the hopper and discharge them at regular intervals into the
furrow.
The first of our said improvements consists in so constructing the revolving cylinder
or seed roll which receives the seeds that it can be employed for sowing seeds of
different sizes and in different quantities. This we effect by employing in the periphery
of the said seed roll two or more rows of depressions or cups side by side instead of
a single row, the depressions forming any particular row being of a different size and
situated at different distances apart from the depressions in either of the other rows.
The seed roll is capable of adjustment endways on its spindle and it can be fixed in
any required position on the spindle by means of lock nuts at each end or by a set
screw or other suitable means so as to bring any particular row of depressions under
the opening from the hopper. By moving the seed roll end ways and fixing it so that
any particular row of holes will receive the seeds from the hopper a larger or smaller
quantity of seeds can be sown and dropped at any particular distance apart as may be
required according to the size and distance apart of the holes forming the particular
row which is receiving the seeds from the hopper. The opening at the bottom of the
hopper is made preferably of the same width as the largest depression in the seed
roll, and in order to facilitate the fixing of the seed roll so that any particular row of
holes will exactly agree with the said opening in the hopper, lines are drawn round
the seed roll through the centre of each row of holes and a pointer is fixed to the
hopper or to the frame of the machine, the point of the pointer agreeing exactly with
the centre line of the opening in the hopper. When one of the lines on the seed roll
agrees with the pointer then the particular row of holes through which that line passes
exactly agrees with the opening in the bottom of the hopper."
Another of our improvements which applies more particularly to hand machines has
reference to the construction of the hopper and the body or main framing of the
machine. This is carried out as follows:-We provide a body or main framing
preferably of cast iron baving the form of a shoot with a boss or bearing at each side.
The top of the shoot part takes the seed roll, the spindle of which passes through the
hosses or bearings at each side, a pair of wheels on which the machine runs being
provided and fixed on the spindle, one wheel at each side of the machine. The shoot

page_text: part of the body is open underneath so as to allow the seed to fall from the seed roll
into the rut made by the coulter which latter is fixed to and carried by the lower part
of the shoot. At the rear of the shoot part is formed a socket into which fits the
handle or pole by which the drill is pushed or drawn along. The seed hopper is curved
underneath so as to fit on to the seed roll and it is hinged to the body of the machine
so that it can be thrown back when required in examining or setting the seed roll.
The hopper is secured in its position above the seed roll by a screw opposite its hinged
side by means of which the distance of the hopper above the seed roll can be accurately
adjusted so that the hopper will just touch the roll and prevent any seeds escaping or
getting jammed between it and the roll. We prefer to place the said adjusting screw
directly in a line with the centre of the hole in the bottom of the hopper and to hinge
its bottom end to the body casting and to fix the said pointer thereto so that the said
screw can be swung back to release the hopper and at the same time bring the pointer
close up to the face of the seed roll to indicate the position at which the roll is to be
fixed on the spindle.
A further improvement consists in the employment of a piece of india-rubber in the
hopper as hereinafter described as a wiper to prevent any seeds being carried round
by the seed roll except what are actually contained in the depressions or cups in the
periphery of the roll. The said piece of india-rubber is made preferably in the form
of a strip of square section and is secured in a box-like recess or slot in the side of
the hopper by means of a set screw so that it can be set down on to the seed roll and
removed and replaced when required. By making the india-rubber strip square in
cross section it will last a long time in wear as either of the four sides can be used,
it being only necessary when one side is worn to remove the strip and turn it round
to expose a fresh side to the seed roll. The ends or parts of the seed roll which are
not covered by the hopper are protected from dirt and wet by loose covers which
are hinged to the brackets or side bosses of the seed roll axle or to the hopper or are
otherwise suitably fixed so as to be readily turned up to examine the roll when
required.
Fig. 1 on the accompanying drawings represents in front sectional elevation a seed
drill to be worked by hand embodying our improvements and Fig. 2 is a side sectional
elevation of the same; Fig. 3 represents a side elevation of the same with the hopper
thrown back for examining the seed roll and Fig. 4 shews the seed roll and part of
the axle of the machine and the pointer separately.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the Figures.
y
is
A is the seed roll mounted on the axle B on the outer ends of which are the
wheels C¹, Con which the machine runs. D is the body or main framing of the
machine which is in the form of a shoot with a boss or bearing dat each side
(preferably made separate from the centre part as shewn) for the axle B to revolve
in. e is the upper part of the body which is curved to fit under the seed roll and
fis the lower open part through which the seed falls. G is the coulter the shank of
which fits in a hole in the body where it is secured by the set screw 2 by which
the coulter can be adjusted up or down according to the depth of rut required.
the socket part of the body in which the lower end of the handle I fits. The
handle I is shewn broken off in the drawings but it is made of convenient length for
grasping in the hands for pushing the machine along. Jis the seed hopper (provided
with a hinged cover J') which hopper is hinged to the body D at j¹ so that it can be
thrown back (as shewn by Fig. 3) when required in examining or setting the seed
roll. is the narrow opening in the bottom of the hopper J through which the seeds
pass on to the seed roll. K is the adjusting screw in front of the hopper, the lower
end of which screw is hinged to the body at k¹, and P, 2 are two adjusting nuts on the
screw K between which is a lug 3 formed on the hopper. By moving these nuts up
or down the screw K, the seed hopper can be adjusted and fixed just to touch the seed
roll and when the nuts are slackened from the "lug the screw can be turned on its
jointed end and the hopper turned back as shewn by Fig. 3
The seed roll A has six circumferential rows of cups or depressions which are

page_text: marked a', a*, aº, a², aº, a" shewn more clearly by Fig. 4 (but a smaller or larger number
of rows may be employed) the cups in any particular row being either larger than, or at
different distances apart to, the cups in any other row. The cups in rows a³, a' are
larger than the cups in rows a¹, a and the cups in rows a³, a are larger still. The
spindle or axle B and the seed roll A are screw threaded to facilitate the adjustment
of the seed roll on the axle to bring any particular row of the cups under the
opening to receive seeds from the hopper. The exact position of the seed roll for
any particular row is obtained when the centre line of that row coincides with the
pointer m which corresponds with the centre of the opening j2.
By the seed roll having several rows of cups of various sizes and at different
distances apart as above described the machine can readily be altered to sow seeds of
different sizes and in different quantities and at various distances apart as may be
required according to the particular kind of seed being sown.
N is the india-rubber wiper which prevents any seeds being carried round by the
seed roll except what are actually contained in the cups. This wiper is preferably
made as a square strip so that it can be turned round to bring either one of the four
sides in contact with the seed roll. The wiper fits into a hole
P outside the hopper in
which it can be adjusted and where it is secured between the hopper side and a piece
of sheet metal by the adjusting screw 9 acting upon the latter. The lower
end of the wiper projects into the inside of the hopper and is tangental to the
seed roll.
O, O are the two loose covers which protect those parts of the seed roll not covered
by the hopper. These covers are hinged to the bearings on the body at pl, p² so that
they can be turned up when the hopper is required to be swung back, and the extreme
ends of the covers are preferably arranged to fit on to corresponding lips formed on
the seed roll.
The axle B projects far enough at each side of the machine to allow the wheels C¹, C²
being adjusted and fixed thereon by the set screws c¹ to suit different widths between
the rows of seeds.
We have described our improvements as applied to a drill for sowing seeds in one
rut or furrow only but they can be similarly applied to machines which sow seeds in
two or more ruts or furrows at the same time, two or more openings for the seed
being provided, in the bottom of the hopper at equal distances apart and a
corresponding number of sets of rows of cups being provided in the seed roll
so that similar rows of holes in each set will be taking seeds at the same time.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:
1st. In a seed drill, arranged for a single furrow, in which a revolving cylinder or
seed roll having cups or depressions on its periphery is employed at the bottom of a
hopper for the purpose of receiving seeds in the cups and dropping them into the
furrow, the improvements hereinbefore described by which the quantity of seeds sown
together and the distances apart of the seeds or lots of seeds can be varied, and by
which the machine can be arranged to sow seeds of different sizes, that is to say, the
employment in the periphery of the seed roll of two or more circumferential rows of
cups or depressions the cups in any particular row being either larger than, or at
different distances apart to, the cups in the other row or other of the rows,
the seed roll being adjustable end wise on its spindle so as to bring any particular row
of cups to receive seeds from the hopper substantially as hereinbefore described.
2nd. In a seed drill of the kind referred to in Claim 1, but arranged to sow seeds
in two or more furrows at the same time, the employment in the periphery of the seed
roll of two or more similar sets of circumferential rows of cups or depressions the
cups in any corresponding rows in different sets being either larger than, or at different
distances apart to, the cups in any other of the rows, the seed roll being adjustable
endwise on its spindle so as to bring any particular corresponding rows of cups to
receive seeds from the hopper substantially as hereinbefore described.

page_text: 3rd. In a seed drill, the combination with the seed roll, of the shoot-like body D
provided with bearings for the seed roll axle, and the hopper J fitting on the
seed roll and hinged at one side to the body and having means substantially as
described for securing and adjusting the shoot from the seed roll all substantially as
herein set forth.
4th. The combined adjusting screw K and pointer m arranged for the purposes and
substantially as set forth.
5th. In a seed drill of the kind referred to in Claim 1 the employment with the
seed roll of a tangental piece of india-rubber of square or other cross section in
contact with the said seed roll for the purpose of wiping off the seeds standing above
the cups or depressions therein as the said seed roll revolves substantially as herein-
before described.
6th. A seed drill constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described
and illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
T: 01007
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicants.