IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES
Year: 1884

page_text: I WILLIAM JAMES BURGESS of Brentwood in the County of Essex, Engineer
do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING
AND MOWING MACHINES" to be as follows:-
In reaping and mowing Machines as commonly constructed the cutter bar is
secured to a Shoe which is hinged to a bracket or frame in such manner that it
may be turned upwards into a vertical position for travelling The bracket or
frame is also made capable of turning on a horizontal joint at its front or in some
cases at its rear end so that the Shoe and cutter bar may adapt themselves to
inequalities of the ground or so that the cutter bar may be set higher or lower as
may be required. The crank shaft used for giving a reciprocating to and fro
movement to the knife has also been carried in bearings upon the bracket and
various ways have been adopted for enabling the Shoe which carries the cutter bar
to turn upwards upon a joint concentric with the crank shaft.
According to my Invention I make the exterior of the bushes of the two bearings
of the crank shaft to form the pins or pivots upon which the Shoe turns. The shoe
I form with two lugs standing up from it which are made to enter slots formed
across the bearings The hollow bushes when inserted into the bearings pass
through holes formed through the lugs above mentioned and form the pivots around
which they can turn.
When the machine is provided with a reel for laying or delivering the Crop as it
is cut I also make the crank shaft to carry a worm (or it might be other gear
wheel) in the space between the two bearings and I cause this worn to gear with a
worm wheel on an upright shaft carried by the hinge shoe and give motion to the
rake shaft from this upright axis. The reel axis I also carry by the shoe so that
whenever the cutter bar is turned upwards the reel may move with it..
Dated this 2nd day of August 1884.

page_text: I WILLIAM JAMES BURGESS of Brentwood in the County of Essex, Engineer
do, hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING
AND MOWING MACHINES and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
"
In reaping and mowing machines as commonly constructed the cutter bar is
secured to a shoe which is hinged to a bracket or frame in such manner that it may
be turned upwards into a vertical position for travelling-The bracket or frame is
also made capable of turning on a horizontal joint at its front or in some cases at
its rear end so that the shoe and cutter bar may adapt themselves to inequalities of
the ground or so that the cutter bar may be set higher or lower as may be required―
The crank shaft used for giving a reciprocating to and fro movement to the knife
has also been carried in bearings upon the bracket and various ways have been
adopted for enabling the shoe which carries the cutter bar to turn upwards upon a
joint concentric with the crank shaft.
According to my invention I make the exterior of the bushes of the two bearings
of the crank shaft to form the pins or pivots upon which the shoe turns. The shoe
I form with two lugs standing up from it which are made to enter slots formed
across the bearings. The hollow bushes when inserted into the bearings pass
through holes formed through the lugs above mentioned and form the pivots around
which they can turn.
When the machine is provided with a reel for laying or delivering the crop as it
is cut I also make the crank shaft to carry a worm (or it might be other gear
wheel) in the space between the two bearings and I cause this worn to gear with
a worm wheel on an upright shaft carried by the hinge shoe and give motion to
the rake shaft from this upright axis. The reel axis I also carry by the shoe so.
that whenever the cutter bar is turned upwards the reel may move with it.
Figure 1.shews a side elevation partly in section, and Figure 2 a back view of
apparatus arranged in the above manner-Iu these figures A is the shoe to which
the cutter bar is secured. B. B is the bracket to which the shoe is jointed-In the
drawing this bracket is shewn as being able to turn on a joint B₁ at its forward
end as in reaping and mowing machines heretofore made by me and commonly
known. C is the crank axis used for driving the knife in the ordinary well known
way D D are the bushings of the bearings in which the crank shaft turns EE are
lugs standing up from the shoe A; they are received as shewn in slots formed
transversely of the bearings and the bushes D D pass through holes formed
through them. F is a worm or it might be other form of driving wheel on the
crank shaft-G is a worm wheel with which it gears and which serves to drive the
axis of the rakes.
In Figure 2 the axis of the rakes is shown to be horizontal and to be carried at
the top of a standard rising upwards from the shoe.-the worm wheel is on a
vertical axis carried up the standard and which at its upper end drives the rake
axis by a pair of bevil wheels.
If a vertical rake axis were used then the worm wheel would be secured on the
lower end of this axis.
If the machine is simply to be used as a mowing machine then no reel is required
and no worm is provided on the crank axis.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:
(1) In reaping and mowing machines making the exterior of the bushes of the
bearings of the crank shaft used for giving motion to the knife serve also as pins
or pivots for the shoe to turn upon substantially as described.
(2) In reaping and mowing machines giving motion to the reel axis from a
worm or other driving wheel on the crank axis used for giving motion to the knife
substantially as described.
(3) The construction of reaping and mowing machines substantially as herein
before described and illustrated in the drawing annexed.
Dated this 26th day of November 1884
CARPMAEL & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.