Improvements in Lawn-mowing Machines.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Feb., 1891.
Complete Specification Left, 31st Oct., 1891-Accepted, 12th Dec., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Lawn-mowing Machines.
I, CRISPUS COTTIS of The Archimedean Iron Works, Epping, in the County
of Essex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
:-
This invention relates, first, to the relative adjustment of the revolving and
stationary cutters of lawn-mowing machines, and has for its object to provide a
simple effective and durable means whereby the revolving cutters may be accurately
adjusted with regard to the stationary cutter as may be required to compensate for
wear, without affecting the spur or chain gearing by which it is driven.
The improvement consists in making the journal bearings of the cutter cylinder
adjustable in a path curved concentrically to the driving wheel so that the vertical
adjustment of the bearings therein will not affect the depth of mesh of the toothed
gear or the tautness of the driving chain as the case may be ; and in effecting this
adjustment of each bearing by means of a tangent screw mounted in the side
frame of the machine and pressed by a movable bearing and set screw into engage-
ment with teeth on the outer periphery of the movable bearing.
The bearing may either roll at the opposite side to the screw upon,
and gear
with, a curved tootlied guiding surface or it may be curved concentrically on both
faces and be fitted to slide in a correspondingly curved slot or groove.
In the latter case the invention comprises the mode of manufacturing and
fitting the bearings, whereby an economy in manufacture and accuracy of fit are
obtained which are unattainable by any other method.
This consists in casting a number of the bearings in the form of a ring, turning
the ring on the inner and outer peripheries, milling the teeth on the outer periphery,
and cutting the ring into as many curved segments as there are bearings cast in it,
the guide slots or grooves in the side frames being milled out to a corresponding
radius.
In either case the bearing is cut across at one side and a tightening screw
provided to take up wear of the journals and bearings.
Dated this 3rd day of February 1891.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Lawn-mowing Machines.
I, CRISPUS COTTIS of the Archimedean Iron Works, Epping, in the County
of Essex, England, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates, first, to the relative adjustment of the revolving and
stationary cutters of lawn-mowing machines, and has for its object to provide a
simple effective and durable means whereby the revolving cutters may be
accurately adjusted with regard to the stationary cutter as may be required to
compensate for wear, without affecting the spur or chain gearing by which it is
driven.
The improvement.consists in making the journal bearings of the cutter cylinder

page_text: adjustable in a path curved concentrically to the driving wheel so that the vertical.
adjustment of the bearings therein will not affect the depth of mesh of the toothed
gear or the tantness of the driving chain, as the case may be; and in effecting this
adjustment of each bearing by means of a tangent screw mounted in the side
frame of the machine and pressed by a movable bearing and set screw into engage-
ment with teeth on the outer periphery of the movable bearing. The bearing may
either roll or slide against a guiding surface curved concentrically with the driving
wheel.
In the case of a sliding bearing, the invention comprises the mode of manu-
facturing and fitting the bearings, whereby an economy in manufacture and accuracy
of fit are obtained which are unattainable by any other method.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this
Specification, wherein
Figure 1 is an inner side view, partly in section, of one of the side frames of the
lawn-mower.
Figure 2 is a similar view of the part to which my invention applies, shewing a
modification.
Figure 3 is a face view of a casting, illustrative of the method of making the
bearings (one of which is shewn in cross-section in Figure 4) for the arrangement
shewn in Figure 1.
A is the side frame, B is the axis of the roller and of the first driving wheel,
.C is the axis of the intermediate gear wheel and pinion from which the revolving
cutter shaft is driven, D is one of the cutter shaft bearings to which my invention
applies.
In Figure 1, it is fitted to slide between the curved surfaces a a¹ of a slot milled
in the frame A both of said surfaces being concentric to the axis C, the sides of
said slot being flanged to retain the bearing laterally. E is a tangent screw
gearing with teeth in the outer periphery of the curved bearing block, this screw
being housed in a cavity cast on the side frame A and held therein by a bearing
bracket F also contained in said cavity and whose notched ends embrace necks e
on the screw E. G is a set screw pressing against the back of the bearing F
whereby the screw E is pressed against the bearing and the latter in turn pressed
against the face a¹ of the guide slot. By this means looseness or wear may be
taken up, perfect steadiness of the bearing block is ensured, and the tangent screw
is always kept in gear therewith. The bearing block is cut across at one side d'
and a tightening screw provided to take up internal wear of the bearing or
journal.
In Figure 2 the bearing D is round externally and has a rolling, instead of a
sliding, motion. To prevent slipping, it has teeth which gear with corresponding
teeth a² on the side of the slot and the bearing is provided with a quadrant
arm H having an epicycloidally-curved and toothed periphery with which gears a
tangent screw E mounted in recesses in the side frame and pressed into gear with
the toothed quadrant H by a set screw G.
The above construction presents the advantage of enabling the user of the
machine to readily remove the cutter cylinder when it needs sharpening without
interfering with the main frame or disturbing the working parts of the machine.
The method of making the bearings, shewn in Figures 1 and 4, consists in
casting a number of the bearings in the form of a ring, as shewn in Figure 3,
the several bearings D being separated by V-shaped openings and merely united
in annular form by inner and outer peripheral bands of metal. The ring is then
turned in the lathe on the inner and outer peripheries until the connection of
fthe bearings, with each other and with the spokes of the wheel, is nearly, 'but
not quite, 'broken, the amount of metal turned off being indicated by the dotted
lines the teeth are then milled on the outer periphery and the ring is then
"cut into as many segments as there are bearings cast in it. The faces and bosses
of the bearings are then milled, turned, and bored, as required to finish them.
The guide slots or grooves in the side frames are milled out to a radius and

page_text: width corresponding to the radius and dimensions of the bearing blocks, which fit
accurately therein.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is;
1. The herein-described means of adjustment of the journal bearings of the
revolving cutters of lawn mowing machines, which consists in fitting the bearing
to slide in a slot curved concentrically to the driving wheel, in combination with
a tangent screw gearing therewith substantially as described.
2. The combination, with the concentrically-guided bearing and tangent screw
gearing therewith, as specified in Claim 1, of the movable bearing and set screw
for pressing the tangent screw into gear and holding the bearing steady in its
guide slot, as described.
3. The herein-described means of adjustment of the journal bearings of the
revolving cutters of lawn-mowing machines, which consists in mounting the bearing
to roll upon and to gear with a guide rack curved concentrically to the driving
wheel in combination with a tangent screw held in gear with a worm-toothed
quadrant on the bearing, substantially as specified.
4. The herein described method of making and fitting the concentrically sliding
bearings referred to in Claim 1 which consists in casting in the form of a ring a
number of bearings with intervening apertures, turning off the peripheral bands of
metal, cutting the worm teeth in the periphery of the ring, separating the bearings,
and finally finishing them separately by ordinary milling and turning operations, as
described.
Dated this 21st
C. COTTIS.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.