IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND MANUFACTURE OF AN IMPLEMENT USED IN TILLING THE LAND
Year: 1856

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thomas Lawes at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his. Petition, on the 26th April
1856.
I, THOMAS LAWES, of 32, City Road, in the County of Middlesex, Feather
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND MANUFACTURE OF AN IMPLEMENT USED IN TILLING
THE LAND, to be as follows, namely:
The said improvements refer to an implement called the digging machine,
and consist in the method of lifting the same out of and letting it down again
into the ground, which action is necessary for the purpose of turning round
when the machine is at work, and which is performed by the use of eccentric
wheels, in the following manner:-The machine itself is a wooden frame, about
six or seven feet square, with shafts attached thereto, inclosing an iron cylinder
three feet four inches in diameter by six feet in length, with arms at each end,
and revolving round an axletree or shaft passing through the centre, supported
by two bearings at each, end, one of which is attached to the arms of the
cylinder and the other to the frame of the machine; the entire surface of the
circumference of the cylinder is covered with tines projecting therefrom, seven
or eight inches long, and placed about six or seven inches apart, at each end of
the shaft outside. The frame is fixed and firmly keyed on an eccentric wheel
working out of a centre. The rims or borders of these wheels on one side are

page_text: about seventeen inches from the centre of the said shalft, whilst on the opposite
side it is thirty-three inches, or about six inches further from it than the points
of the tines. When the machine is put to work, that part of the rim which is
nearest to the centre of, the shaft is brought downwards towards the earth; in
this position it is kept firmly locked; this said part of the rim of the wheel
being nearer to the centre than the cylinder, the latter with the whole weight
of the machine bears on the earth and presses the tines into the ground their
full length, then being propelled, revolving forward, they dig and turn up the
earth to the full depth of their length, which is being constantly thrown off by
cleaners, fixed to the frame of the machine behind the cylinder for that
purpose; during this action the wheels are kept locked and suspended to the
shaft, passing over the surface of the ground within about 2 or three inches of
it. When it becomes necessary to turn round, then, by giving half a revolu-
tion to the wheels, the opposite sides of the same are brought downwards
towards the earth, which being about six inches further from the centre of the
shaft than the points of the tines, the latter are lifted completely out of the
ground; in this position the wheels are kept, as before, firmly locked, bearing
the whole weight of the machine, until they are turned, sliding or slipping
round, on the surface of the ground; and the machine thus placed in position to
resume its work, then another half a revolution is given to the wheels, and the
cylinder descends and begins to work again in the manner already described,
so that either to lift the cylinder out of the ground or .to let it down, half' a
revolution must be given alternately to the eccentric wheels, as above stated.
Whilst the machine is at work the cylinder revolves round the axletree or
shaft, but when the half turn is given to the wheels for the purposes above.
nanied, the cylinder is fixed to the shaft and turns with it. This action 'is
performed by a clutch or coupling box placed on the shaft and. to one of the
arms of the cylinder. The wheels are locked and unlocked alternately.by.ani
apparatus fixed on one side of the frame of the machine, communicating with
holes or notches made in the wheel for that purpose; the same apparatus
works the coupling box also at same time. One-sixth part of the circum-
ference of the eccentric wheel is made to the circle of five feet six inches in
diameter; starting from cach end of this part of the same a circular line is
drawn, reducing the other five-sixths to a narrower circle, so as to make the
circle or middle part of this linė come within seventeen inches of the centre of
the shaft, consequently one-sixth part of the circumference of the rim of this
wheel would be thirty-three inches from the centre, whilst the middle or
central part of the rim of the other five-sixths would be only seventeen inches
from it; this forms the eccentric wheel, and is cast in one piece. In order to

page_text: take this machine from one place to another any distance, it is necessary that
the eccentric should be converted into a perfectly round wheel; to effect this
three separate pieces are cast; these three pieces joined and fastened together
form five-sixths of the circumference of a wheel five feet six inches in diameter,
this added to the one-sixth of the same circumference, above named, forming
part of the eccentric, and bolted on to the same, makes a perfectly round wheel
of five feet six inches in diameter; these three pieces can be taken on and off
at pleasure. The above description will shew sufficiently the principle of this
improvement, which will be more elaborately explained in due time by
Drawings, &c., &c., attached to the compleat Specification.
.Given under my hand and seal, this 26th day of April, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-six.