IMPROVEMENTS IN AND TRANSMITTING MOTIVE POWER FROM CERTAIN PARTS TO CERTAIN OTHER PARTS OF LAWN-MOWING, GRASS-CUTTING, AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL, HORTI- CULTURAL, AND FARMING MACHINES
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Edward Boyd, of Hither Green, Lewisham,
in the County of Kent, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN AND TRANSMITTING MOTIVE POWER FROM CERTAIN PARTS TO CERTAIN OTHER
PARTS OF LAWN-MOWING, GRASS-CUTTING, AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL, HORTI-
CULTURAL, AND FARMING MACHINES."
Sealed the 7th August 1860, and dated the 25th February 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Edward Boyd,
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 25th February 1860.
I, JAMES EDWARD BOYD, of Hither Green, Lewisham, in the County of
Kent, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AND TRANSMITTING MOTIVE POWER FROM CERTAIN PARTS TO
CERTAIN OTHER PARTS OF LAWN-MOWING, GRASS-CUTTING, AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL,
HORTICULTURAL, AND FARMING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
The total or partial abolition of the present cog wheel or spur gear or other
machinery, and the substitution therefor of discs, wheels, drums, rollers,
spindles, shafts, or other shaped gear upon which are placed rings, rims, belts,
strips, or other shaped pieces of caoutchouc, india-rubber, or other elastic sub-
stances, whether vegetable, animal, or mineral. The discs, wheels, drums,
rollers, spindles, shafts, or other shaped gear, whether of iron, wood, or

page_text: other material are to be corrugated, toothed, or otherwise cut, or scored, or
shaped, if necessary, and when arranged are brought into contact or made to
impinge upon each other, either on their peripheries, sides, or ends, the effect
of which is that by means of steam, animal, hand, or other power, a pressure, or
driving, or motive power is obtained, and the discs, wheels, drums, rollers,
spindles, shafts, or other shaped gear thereby made to propel, move, impel, or
assist to put into motion or operation the machinery above referred to; it is not
necessary that both or all or any of the wheels, discs, drums, rollers, spindles,
or shafts coming in contact or pressing on each other should have the india-
rubber or elastic material thereon, so that the contact be sufficient to grip, bind,
press, or keep up the motion; and in order to complete these improvements I
propose to and claim to alter or reconstruct the machinery in such a manner
as may best tend to fully carry out the improvements claimed; and I declare
that I claim these improvements for all agricultural, horticultural, & farming
machines, whether driven by steam, animal, hand or other power, and the
Invention for the use of all elastic substances which may be thereto applied
for the purpose of obtaining a noiseless and elastic power or motion in
machinery generally.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Edward Boyd, in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 21st August 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
EDWARD BOYD, of Hither Green, Lewisham, in the County of Kent, Gen-
tleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most. Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of February, in the year of our, Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give. and grant unto me, the said
James Edward Boyd, Her special licence that I, the said James Edward
Boyd, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said James Edward Boyd, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN TRANSMITTING MOTIVE POWER FROM CERTAIN PARTS TO CERTAIN OTHER

page_text: PARTS OF LAWN-MOWING AND GRASS-CUTTING, AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL AND HOR- -
TICULTURAL AND FARMING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that
1, the said James Edward Boyd, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their; or one of their hands and seals;
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention;.
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the samo
to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months-
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Edward Boyd, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
In place of or in substitution of the ordinary tooth or cog wheels, or pinions
or spur gear machinery I employ other teeth or cog wheels, or pinions or spur
gear machinery as follows:-The wheels or pinions instead of having the or-
dinary teeth or cogs on their peripheries, sides, or ends will other other shaped
teeth, cogs, pins, or pegs of iron or other metal, or wood, or other material of a
round, or oval, or taper, or pointed or other shaped character, cast, wrought,
fitted, screwed, or otherwise fixed or placed either on their peripheries or
laterally, or on the side or face of such pinion or wheel. On some or all of
these teeth, cogs, pins, or pegs are placed certain outer shields, pads, coverings,
or rings, tubes, bands, rims, belts or other shaped or constructed pieces of
caoutchouc, india-rubber, vulcanized or otherwise, or any other suitable or
elastic, pliant, yielding, sileut, or non-sonorous, or noiseless substance or
material, whether vegetable, animal, or mineral. These outer coverings, or
rings, or appliances when fitted on the teeth, cogs, or pegs aforesaid will be
secured and prevented from falling or working off by means of a shield,
button, screw head or other arrangement, stay, or preventative to all or any
of such teeth or coverings, or else by a disc or plate on shoulder, or some other
contrivance placed on the ends of the pins, or pegs, or cogs, or on the opposite
side to the face of the lateral wheel or pinion shoulder supporting the teeth,
cogs, pins, or pegs aforesaid, and by being so placed to be screwed or otherwise
fastened or attached so as to form another side or lateral support to the ends
of the teeth, cogs, pins, or pegs, and which latter will give the wheel the
appearance of having teeth on its periphery. This pinion or wheel when so
constructed is now placed in its position upon a revolving or other .shaft,
motion to which is imparted by means of propelling the grass mower or other
machine or machinery forward or backwards, or otherwise; this propulsion
moves the iron or other driving roller or rollers, or some other driving shaft or.

page_text: machinery, on the sides or other parts of and connected with which is another
such padded or covered shaft, pinion, or wheel, or else some other spurs, or
wheels, or other gearing apparatus having cogs or teeth of a knuckle or other
shape on its periphery or otherwise; these spurs or wheels will be made and
arranged to work into or otherwise to press, grip, bind, or bear upon the teeth,
cogs, pins, or pegs of the shielded or padded pinion or pinions first above re-
ferred to; and at the opposite end of the shaft containing the padded or covered
pinion will be another spur or other wheel either covered or padded; as before
described, or a wheel without such padding or covering having on its peri-
phery, or otherwise, cogs or teeth of a knuckle or other 'suitable or convenient
shape or form; this latter appliance will in its turn work into or come in
contact, work, or revolve into another padded or covered pinion or other
arranged wheel. This latter pinion or some other pinion or wheel is set or
arranged or fastened on to the spindle or shaft containing the cutting knives,
and the machine on being propelled or put into motion by means of steam,
animal, hand, or other power, the cutters are also set in motion and revolve
silently by means of the gearing and working of the covered pinions and spur or
other wheels before referred to, and which, as they rotate and the teeth strike,
interlace, or combine with each other; the junction or contact or blow therefrom
is silently received upon the elastic or other padded coverings to the teeth and
a silent motion is obtained. To prevent friction to the rubber or other cover-
ings they are placed loosely on each tooth so as to revolve on leaving the spur
or other wheel, or they can be fitted tight if driving by friction is considered
desirable. If necessary the action can be arranged vice versa by putting the
covered teeth, pins, or pegs on the spur or larger wheel, and by making the
pinion or lesser wheel to contain the knuckle or other shaped tooth or wheel,
and work the cutters and other parts as before. It is not absolutely necessary
that more than one such covered or padded pinion and spur wheel be em-
ployed, but as greater power is obtained by using more than one I claim to
employ one or more sets of driving or gearing machinery constructed as before
described, one or all of which can be fitted with the rubber or other shields.
The driving or gear wheels and pinions can be made of iron or other metal,
mineral, wood, vulcanite, gutta percha, or any other suitable substance or
material; and I claim the right to apply india-rubber or other elastic appliances
to wheels made upon the ordinary spur and pinion, or any other plan or
description of gearing, and whether on their peripheries or otherwise.
Having described how I obtain a silent or noiseless motion with the pinion
and spur gear or wheel machinery, I now proceed to arrange and silence other
portions of the machine, and divest them of their liability to noise, and which

page_text: would otherwise render imperfect the improvements before described. The
grass box or apparatus for receiving the grass, and which is placed in front of
the cutters, because the grass when cut, is propelled forward and thrown in
advance of the knives, is liable to considerable vibration, oscillation, and noise,
and consequently to militate against my improvements before referred to; I
therefore claim to insulate it in its bearings by applications of india-rubber, or
any other non-sonorous, or noiseless, or insulating material, and which can be
placed either on the grass-receiving apparatus, or on the machine holding such
grass-receiving apparatus.
I also claim the right for the better working of my improvements to abolish
and supersede the necessity for the use of the grass-receiving box or apparatus
in front, and in lieu claim to receive the grass when cut into an apparatus in
the rear; for this purpose I arrange the machine either by reversing the throw
or action of the knives or cutters, whereby the grass will be thrown or
deposited in the rear..
Or, I claim another and equally successful arrangement by having a plat-
form, guard receiver, or shelf, either stationary or revolving, whereon the grass
is caught or arrested in its forward delivery, and is thence conveyed or pro-
pelled back in an opposite direction, the grass will then fall on, or be received
or moved by a travelling or endless band or apron, or brushes, or archimedean
screws, or any other propelling, revolving, delivering, gathering, or collecting
agent or application, and so made as to be capable of travelling and moving,
or otherwise collecting in unison with the cutting or other propelling apparatus
of the machine, and carried into the rear, so that as fast as the grass is cut it is
at the same or other rate of speed being received and carried into the rear of
the machine, and thero made to fall, enter, or go into wide-mouthed or other
shaped bags, sacks, boxes, baskets, or other receivers, made of canvas, linen,
cotton, sacking, flannel, hair, or other matting, or any other fibrous or other
material, whether of a vegetable, animal, or mineral, or metallic substance;
these receiving apparatus are made to fix, attach, or hook, or suspend on the
shafts or handles, and so soon as filled can be detached or unhooked or un-
fastened instantaneously, and another empty bag, sack, box, basket, or other
apparatus affixed in lieu, without the necessity for stopping the machine and
emptying the contents, which is now the case where only one box or other
apparatus is used; or, if preferred, the grass can in like manner be made to
travel, enter, and fall into a receiver in front of the cutters.
I also claim to alter the circumference of the knives and shafts, which
by being increased to the size of the iron rollers in the rear, the knives will
take a larger sweep or revolution than at present, and throw or drive the grass

page_text: over such roller or rollers, and into an apparatus intended to receive it, either
in the rear or front.
I also claim to alter. the shafts so as to cause them to curve upwards instead
of downwards, as at present, whereby greater power is obtained over the
machine, and greater depth will be obtained for the grass-box, bag, sack, or,
other receiver.
Another liability the machine has to noise is, when the spindles of the knife
shafts, are too small for their bearings, or become loose on their bearings after
wear; this I claim to rectify by means of a set screw and cone at one or both
ends of the spindlo or shaft, similar to a lathe sew screw and cone, and I abolish,
if necessary, the present mode of fitting and making the revolving cutters,
which is done by placing a series of cutting knives on a spindle or shaft,
and at times become loose and noisy, and I claim to substitute in lieu
thereof one steel or iron shaft or cutter or archimedian screw, or twisted
like an auger, with cutting edges, and which edges will come into contact
with the grass and ledger blade of the machine, and cut the grass
equally as effectively as the old system proposed to be abolished. The
advantage gained by my plan will, be greater ease and facility in making the
cutters and less liability to vibration and noise, in other respects the screw
knife or knives will be propelled in the same manner, and be fixed, if neces-
sary, in the same method as under the old principle, which admits of the
cutters or knife shafts or spindles having the motive power at one or both
ends thereof.
I also claim to have a stop or other means of arresting the liability of
setting the edges on the ledger blade as at present done by people ignorant
of the machine, and whereby much noise is engendered. The curved back
or screen, or fender, or knife-guard, which at present is fitted at the back
or rear of the revolving knife or knives, or cutters, and which is used as a
guard, and also to assist in collecting and propelling forward and giving a good
curve, sweep, or impetus to the throw or discharge of the grass, is often, when
in use, clogged or choked up and noisey, in consequence of accumulations
thereon of wet grass and other substances which often gather so as to prevent
the working of the machine thereby. I therefore claim to arrest the noise and
prevent or remove the accumulations by fixing the said curved back or screen,
or fender, or knife-guard, by causing it either to slide, move, or fit into grooves,
slots, or other bearings, or it can be fitted on hinges or otherwise arranged by
a bolt or some other fastenings at the bottom, top, or sides, so that at any
time, either by sliding out the curved back or screen, or fender, or knife guard,
or by unfastening or otherwise opening the same, the interior thereof can be

page_text: got at and cleaned as often as it becomes foul, clogged or choked with any
accumulation, or otherwise.
I also claim to construct lawn mowers on the same principles as meadow
mowers and reapers, in which event the ordinary shaped oscillating, vibrating,
or travelling reaper, or mowing knives, will be substituted by a spear or
tongue-shaped knife or knives, which will be corrugated, or wrinkled and
arched or curved inwards or upwards towards the point; this will give a better
and more secure and firm cutting leverage or surface, and at same time prevent
liability of knives becoming fractured by contact with stones or other impedi-
ments; the grass as it falls in the rear will be taken up by the travelling
apparatus before-described for the collection of grass herein. The points or
fingers through which the knives work, and against the edges of which the
crop is cut, are to be made hollow, and being cast, or otherwise made in sections
or other shaped part or pieces, will upon being fixed or rivetted together, afford
greater strength than at present obtained by the ordinary points or fingers
now in use; or, instead of the curved teeth herein-described for the working
into said fingers or points, the fingers and points and cutting apparatus last
described can be superseded by one or more endless bands of steel furnished
with saw or other shaped teeth or cutters, and revolving and working by means
of an eccentric, oscillating, or horizontal, or other motion, the grass or grain or
other crops will be made to come between the teeth or cutters on the bands,
which, working in opposite directions to each other, will immediately cut off all
material brought in contact between such teeth.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and claims, and
improvements therein, and how and in what manner the same are to be carried
out, I hereby declare that I claim the several improvements, modifications,
and alterations herein described and claimed for all lawn-mowing, grass-
cutting, reaping, and other agricultural, horticultural, and farming machines
and machinery, wherein sileut machinery is necessary, desirable, advantageous,
or can be applied.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Edward Boyd, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
JAMES EDWARD BOYD. (L.S.)