Im- PROVEMENTS IN REAPING MACHINES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Andrew John Murray, of Albany Road, Camber-
well, in the County of Surrey, Esquire, for the Invention of "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN REAPING MACHINES."
Scaled the 28th October 1868, and dated the 16th May 1868..
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by thic said Andrew John Murray
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,.
on the 16th May 1868.
I, ANDREW JOHN MURRAY, of Albany Road, Camberwell, in the
County of Surrey, Esquire, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
My Invention of improvements in reaping machines. relates to
that class of reaping machines which are propelled from behind in
contradistinction to those machines which are drawn by a horse
harnessed between shafts at the side:

page_text: machine, so that the machine may be turned to the right or left
independently of the direction of the propelling power. To effect this
the pole is made to turn on a central vertical pin fixed in one of the
cross bars of the framing, and another pin (attached to a nut through
which passes transversely a horizontal screw) works in a vertical slot
in the pole. On one end of the screw is a hand wheel, whereby the
screw may be turned so as to cause the nut to traverse either to the
right or left, and thus make the pole take a different angle. The pole is
provided at its outer end with a running wheel and tackle, to which
the horse is to be harnessed. This wheel and its appendages acts as
a counterbalance on the pole to the front part of the machine. The
inner end of the pole is capable of being moved up or down the vertical
pin which forms its centre of horizontal motion. The cutting arrange-
ment is attached to the forward or projecting end of the main frame
of the machine, which of course has its centre of motion on the axle
of the running wheels on which is secured a toothed wheel, whereby
the cutting knives and other working parts of the machines are actuated
through the intervention of a crank shaft and connecting rods attached
to the ends of a vibrating T lever which is jointed to the reciprocating
knife bar. The grain or stalks as they are cut fall on to an arrangement
of travelling endless webbing or strap extended over two sets of pullies,
one on each side of the frame, and actuated by bevil toothed wheels
which are driven by means of band wheels actuated by the main driving
wheel on the running wheels, as already explained. By thus balancing
the cutting arrangement by means of the pole, which is capable of
vertical as well as horizontal adjustment, the distance of the cutting
knives from the ground may be regulated and adjusted with accuracy.
This adjustment is effected by means of a hand lever which works on
a pin fixed to the main framing. The inner end of this hand lever is
connected by a link to a rocking lever, the other end of which is
connected by another link to the eye at the inner end of the pole, so
that by depressing the hand lever (and by so doing also depressing the
inner end of the pole) the outer or cutter bar end of the machine will be
raised from the ground.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Andrew John Murray in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 16th November 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ANDREW
JOHN MURRAY, of Albany Road, Camberwell, in the County of Surrey,
Esquire, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Andrew John Murray, Her special
licence that I, the said Andrew John Murray, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Andrew John Murray,
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 REAPING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Andrew John Murray, 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 same 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 Andrew John Murray, 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, reference being had to the Drawing
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thercon (that is
to say):
" relates to
My Invention of "Improvements in Reaping Machines
that class of reaping machines which are propelled from behind in contra-
distinction to those machines which are drawn by a horse harnessed
between shafts at the side.

page_text: My various improvements are shewn in the several Figures in the
accompanying Drawings, in which Fig. 1, Sheet I., is a side elevation.
and Fig. 2 a plan view of a reaping machine. constructed according to
my Invention.
My first improvement relates to a novel mode of guiding the machine,
which is effected by changing the horizontal angle of the pole with
the machine, so that the machine may be turned to the right or left
independently of the direction of the propelling power.
To effect this the pole a is made to turn on a vertical centre pin b
fixed in one of the cross bars c of the framing h. Another vertical
pin (attached to a nut d through which passes transversely a horizontal
screw e) works in a vertical slot a¹ in the pole. On one end of the
screw e is a hand wheel e', whereby the screw may be turned so as to
cause the nut d to traverse either to the right or left, and thus make
the pole a take a different angle. The pole a is provided at its outer end
with a running wheel and tackle or shafts g to which the horse is to
be harnessed; this wheel f and its appendages acts as a counterbalance
on the pole to the front part of the machine which carries the cutting
gear. The inner end of the pole a is capable of being moved up or
down the vertical pin b which forms its centre of horizontal motion,
the fulcrum or centre of the vertical motion of course being on the
screw e. This adjustment is effected by means of a hand lever j which
is keyed on to a pin or short shaft j; mounted in bearings in the main
framing; jis a short lever which (being also keyed fast on to the pin
or shaft j) forms in fact a prolongation of the lever j; the inner end
of this lever jis connected by a link k to a lever in on the rocking
shaft m; a similar lever m³ also keyed on the same shaft m¹ is connected
by a link or chain to the inner end of the pole a, so that by depressing
the hand lever j the inner end of the pole will be depressed, and the
framing will be rocked on the axle i (of the running wheels) which
forms its centre of motion. The outer or cutter bar end of the machine
will thereby be raised from the ground, as indicated by the red lines in
Fig. 1.
Fig. 3, Sheet II., is a side elevation and Fig. 4 a plan view showing
a modification of the arrangement shewn in Sheet I., and shewing also
the frame for carrying the rotary corn gatherer. In this arrangement
the horizontal motion of the pole a on the vertical pin 6 is effected by
means of a chain n which passes round a pulley o, and its ends are

page_text: secured to the cross bar c of the framing h; the pulley o is fixed on or
forms part of a sleeve shaft o', on the upper end of which is keyed a
hand wheel o³, whereby the sleeve shaft o' and pulley o may be turned
and the machine steered or guided in either direction. Additional
chains p, p, connect the cross bar c to the horse gear g, g, so as to cause
these parts to act together.
In the arrangements shewn in Sheet II. the horizontal screw e is
dispensed with, and the fulcrum for the vertical motion of the pole a is
formed by the cross bar c, which instead of being morticed and tenoned
into the frame h, as in Sheet I., is capable of turning on centres c¹, c¹.
The vertical motion of the framing of the machine on the centre of
this cross bar is obtained by means of a worm q at the lower end of
a sleeve shaft q', carrying at its upper end a steering wheel q'; the
worm gears into a vertical sector rack which passes through a hole
in the pole a, and is capable of travelling horizontally on a curved rail 8
fixed to the segmental part of the framing of the machine. It will
now be seen that by turning the hand wheel q2 in either direction the
framing of the machine may be rocked on its centre of motion i as
in the other arrangement. The wheel f which supports one end of
the machine turns in bearings in a fork, tho stem of which passes up
through the sleeve shafts q' and o', and carries at its upper end a steering
lever f', whereby the wheelf may be turned in either direction to assist
in steering the machine.
Fig. 5, Sheet III., is a side elevation and Fig. 6 is a plan view of
another modification whereby the same objects of guiding the machine
and raising and lowering and thereby adjusting the cutting apparatus
may be effected. In this arrangement the manoeuvring of the front
framing of the machine is effected by means of toothed gearing instead
of by chains and pullies, as shewn in Sheet II. A toothed sector rack t
is fixed on the outer end of the triangular frame u, the inner end of
which is secured to or near the axle i of the running wheels; a vertical
shaft o turning in bearings one the pole a carries at its lower end a
pinion o which gears into the sector rack t, so that by turning the
shaft o and pinion o¹ by means of the hand wheel or lever o³ above the
sector rack may be turned round horizontally in either direction for
the purpose of guiding the machine. An idle or intermediate wheel v
is in gear with the pinion o', and also with another sector rack w
attached to the shaft or horse gear g, so that both the racks and w will

page_text: act in concert. The pole a is supported at its outer end by the wheel f
as in the other instances. In the present case the wheel only acts as
a support for the pole a, but if desired it may be used (as in Fig. 3) to
assist in steering the machine, in which case the pinion o' would be
keyed on a sleeve shaft, and the stalk or stem of the steering wheel f¹
would pass up through it and be provided at top with a hand wheel or
lever for turning the wheel in either direction. The vertical or rocking
motion of the framing of the machine on the axle i of the running
wheels (as its centre of motion) is effected by means of the vertical
tangent screw x which works in a nut x¹ fixed on the end of the
framing, and turns in fixed bearings in the stationary triangular
framing u. It will be evident therefore that by turning the hand
wheel at the upper end of the tangent screw x, the inner end of the
framing may be raised or lowered as may be required, and the
position of the cutting apparatus accurately adjusted.
The cutting apparatus in all these arrangements is attached to the for-
ward or projecting end of the main frame h, h, of the machine, which
of course has its centre of motion on the axle i of the running wheels,"
on one of which is secured a toothed wheel, whereby the cutting
knives and other working parts of the machine are actuated through
the intervention of a crank shaft and connecting rods attached to the
ends of a vibrating T lever which is jointed to the reciprocating knife
bar. The grain or stalks as they are cut fall on to an arrangement of
travelling endless webbing or straps extended over two sets of pullies, one
on each side of the frame, and actuated by bevil toothed wheels which
are driven by means of band wheels actuated by the main driving
wheel on the running wheels, as already explained. As the cutting
and gathering mechanism does not materially differ from that usually
employed in this class of reaping machinery I have not considered it
necessary to indicate all these parts in the Drawing. By counter-
balancing the cutting arrangement by means of the pole and its
appendages the framing which is capable of vertical as well as horizontal
adjustment may be so operated that the distance of the cutting knives
from the ground may be regulated and adjusted with accuracy.
Having now described my Invention of " Improvements in Reaping
Machines," and having explained the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as
aforesaid,―

page_text: First. The mode herein set forth, or any mere modification thereof,
for guiding reaping machines.
Second. The mode herein set forth, or any mere modification thereof,
for adjusting the position of the cutters by causing the framing of the
machine to rock vertically on centres of motion as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Andrew John Murray, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Sixteenth day of November,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
eight.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lanc.
A. J. MURRAY. (L.S.)