An Implement for Cultivating, Dressing, and Sowing Land.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Jan., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 26th Oct., 1889-Accepted, 14th Dec., 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Implement for Cultivating, Dressing, and Sowing Land.
I CHARLES VAN HAM of Rue van Hobeke, Antwerp in the Kingdom of Belgium,
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to machines for cultivating land, and the improvements
consist:
First. In providing a rotary apparatus to serve in lieu of plough bodies, the said
apparatus being formed of wheels furnished with knives some of which are placed in
the same plane as that of the wheel, the others being placed in planes inclined to the
right and left of the plane of the wheel. These wheels can be lowered as required in
such a manner that their knives can be made to penetrate more or less deeply into the
ground and as they revolve the soil is worked in a better manner than can be effected
by a plough which only cuts and turns the soil. It will be obvious that if several of
my wheels be placed upon one shaft with spaces between them a piece of land more
or less wide can be worked at each bout. The cutter wheel shaft is carried by two
beams pivotting on the axle of a roller to which is attached toothed gearing or a
chain pulley which drives the said shaft. A frame or pole is attached to the same
shaft and allows the roller to be drawn by horses, or by other means, and a suitable
screw or rack arrangement attached to the frame is provided to allow of raising and
lowering the shaft of the cutter wheels.
Secondly. In the combination with the said cutter wheels of devices which allow
of performing at once several operations which hitherto have been carried out
successively. For this purpose I place on the frame in front of the roller and
consequently of the knife or cutter wheels which follow it, a box from which manure
is distributed, which manure is mixed with the soil as the knives cut up the soil upon
which the manure has fallen. On the same frame, behind the knife or cutter wheels
I place a kind of rake or harrow for levelling the earth turned up by the knives; and
behind this rake or harrow I place (also attached to the frame) a seed drill, and
lastly I couple to the frame a rolling apparatus which rolls the soil just after it has
received the seed.
I can also place in front of the roller which carries the frame, a smaller wheel
turning on a vertical shaft, such wheel serving on reaching the end of a field to
facilitate the turning of the apparatus.
Datele acil
I
1000
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Implement for Cultivating, Dressing, and Sowing Land.
1, CHARLES VAN HAM, of rue van Hobeke, Antwerp, in the Kingdom of Belgium,
Gentleman, 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 :-
:-
This invention relates to machines for cultivating land and in order to enable the
improvements to be clearly understood I will proceed to describe the same by reference
to the accompanying drawing, in which-
Figures 1 and 1 are a side elevation and plan respectively of an implement
constructed according to this invention.
The improvements consist :-
Firstly. In providing a rotary apparatus to serve in lieu of plough bodies, the said
apparatus being formed of wheels A furnished with knives, some of which are placed

page_text: in the same plane as that of the wheel, the others being placed in planes inclined to
the right and left of the plane of the wheel. These wheels can be lowered as
required in such a manner that their knives can be caused to penetrate more or less
deeply into the ground and as they revolve the soil is worked in a better manner than
can be effected by a plough which only cuts and turns the soil. It will be obvious
that if several of my wheels be placed upon one shaft C with spaces between them a
piece of land more or less wide can be worked at each bout. The cutter wheel shaft
is carried by two teams D pivotting on the axle E of a roller F to which is attached
toothed gearing or a chain pulley G (or two sets of toothed gearing or chain
pulleys G may be employed) which drives the said shaft. A frame H with pole is
attached to the same shaft and allows the apparatus to be drawn by horses, or by
other means, and a suitable screw or rack arrangement such as I attached to the frame
is provided to allow of raising and lowering the cutter wheel shaft.
Secondly. In the combination with the said cutter wheels of devices which allow
of performing at once several different operations which hitherto have been carried
out successively. For this purpose I place on the frame H in front of the roller and
consequently of the cutter wheels which follow it, a box J from which chemical
manure is distributed, which manure is mixed with the soil as the knives cut up the
soil upon which the manure has fallen. On the same frame behind the cutter wheels I
place a kind of rake or harrow K, formed of tines of iron or steel, for levelling the
earth turned up by the cutters; and behind this rake or harrow I place (also attached
to the frame) a seed drill L, and lastly I couple to the frame a rolling apparatus M
which rolls the soil just after it has received the seed.
I can also place in front of the roller which carries the frame a small wheel N
turning on a vertical shaft, such wheel serving on reaching the end of a field to
facilitate the turning of the apparatus.
In
Figures 2 and 2ª show respectively an elevation and a plan of a modified form of
apparatus. The inner peripheries of the wheels C which carry the apparatus are
provided with teeth which operate pinions mounted on the cutter wheel shaft which
can be raised and lowered by a rack and pinion arrangement I. D, D are pivotted
oscillating supports in which the cutter wheels are mounted. O is a ballast box.
this arrangement the wheels themselves act as rollers for rolling the soil; the seed
drill (not shown in the drawing) is placed at the back of the apparatus. The cutters
are mounted in such a manner as to allow of their following the movement of the
apparatus when it is advancing, receding and turning on itself. For this purpose the
knives A are fixed to a tube Cor hollow shaft which slides upon the axis; the tube C
is divided at its centre into two parts thus forming two tubes, each carrying cutters and
the pinions for operating them and capable of turning in different directions.
Figures 3 and 3 are respectively an elevation and a plan of a further modification
whereby the apparatus can, when it is necessary to pass from one furrow to another,
move laterally in either direction without turning. The apparatus is carried on four
drums which also serve as rollers. At the end of each furrow I place on the soil two
rails P made of two planks placed one upon the other and reaching to the adjacent
furrow; the rails lie in planes which are parallel to the axes of the four wheels or
rollers. Between each two planks are placed round bars or small rollers whereby on
the apparatus being pushed transversely the upper plank carrying the apparatus moves
over the rollers together with the apparatus to the adjacent furrow.
In order to move the apparatus on a road the two wheels F, F are raised and
I then adapt to the apparatus a small guide wheel N in such a manner that it alone
touches the ground in front.
Figure 5 illustrates the manner in which the cutters are mounted on the wheel in
order that they may oscillate automatically on their axes according to the direction of
rotation of the cutter wheel. Each laterally projecting or side cutter B or C is
adapted to turn on a pivot; b and c are stops which limit the extent of movement of
the cutters. By these means the cutters can be automatically inclined in the direction
of rotation and will be stopped sometimes by the stop b¹ and sometimes by the stop c
according to the direction of rotation; the cutters A are fixed.

page_text: Figures 4 and 4" are an elevation and a plan respectively of an apparatus similar to
that shown in figures 1 and 1ª but instead of employing chain pulleys for communi-
cating movement to the cutter wheels I make use of ordinary spur gearing which may
be modified as desired in order to vary the speed of rotation of the cutter wheels.
Figure 6 shows the development of a revolution of the cutters and of their cutting.
Figure 7 shows the work accomplished by a revolution of the cutters, A¹ being a
view of the surface and B a sectional view; all the soil being thus perfectly divided
is carried back by the movement of rotation.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. An implement for cultivating, dressing and sowing land comprising one or more
wheels A, provided with cutters B inclined in different directions, the laterally
inclined cutters being pivotted so as to be automatically inclined in the direction of
rotation, stops being provided to limit the extent of their movement, which wheels
are fixed on a shaft C (divided or not) carried by two beams D pivotting on the fixed
axle of a frame H, so that by means of a suitable screw or rack and pinion
arrangement attached to the said frame the beams may be inclined as may be desired
whereby the cutters are caused to enter the ground to a corresponding degree, the
cutter wheels being driven from toothed gearing or chain pulleys fixed on the
shaft Cand on the axle E of the wheels F, which allow of the whole apparatus being
moved along by any suitable motive power, substantially as hereinbefore described
and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
2. In an implement such as that described the use of a rake or harrow such
as K fixed to a frame H bebind the cutter wheel for levelling the soil turned up by
the said wheel, substantially as herein before described.
3. The application to a frame such as H of different apparatuses placed in front
of or behind the cutter wheel for spreading chemical manure over the surface of
the soil not yet turned up, for sowing the ground which has just been turned up by
the cutters and levelled by the rake or harrow K, and for rolling the soil thus sown,
in such a manner that the implement can perform at once the various cultivating
operations, substantially as hereinbefore described.
Dated the 26th day of October 1889.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.