AN IMPROVED REAPING, GATHERING, AND BINDING MACHINE
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Edward Austin, of Rookwoods,
Stroud, in the County of Gloucester, Civil Engineer, for the In-
66
vention of AN IMPROVED REAPING, GATHERING, AND BINDING
MACHINE.
Sealed the 28th December 1853, and dated the 24th September 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Edward
Austin at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 24th September 1853.
I, CHARLES EDWARD AUSTIN, of Rookwoods, Stroud, in the County
of Gloucester, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for AN IMPROVED REAPING, GATHERING, AND BINDING
MACHINE" to be as follows:-
A machine applicable to any crop that can be mowed, reaped, or
bagged. It shall not only cut through the stalks of the crop either.
when standing or laid, but shall also gather the crop when cut, and
bind it into sheaves of any desired dimensions; and this operation it
shall perform with the aid of a much smaller portion of manual labour
than is generally required for that purpose.

page_text: In the following description I have, for simplicity, used the word
corn only, for which indeed that form of the machine represented in the
accompanying Drawing is more especially adapted. I use the term
reaping in the same popular sense of cutting crops, in which it is em-
ployed in the titles of the reaping machines already patented. The
letters indicating the different parts in the following description of the
machine have reference to elevation, plan, and section in the accom-
panying Drawing.
8, represents the shafts of the carriage; f, the fore wheel; w, w, the
hind wheels; 7, 7, the circle in which the fore wheel turns as it
changes the direction to be followed by the carriage.
The machine is supported on a frame which can be lowered or raised
in order that the corn may be cut at the required distance from the
surface of the ground. This frame is composed of several longitudinal
bars bound together by a transverse bar, and by a curved bar c, c, bent
horizontally in the form of a circle deficient in one quadrant. One
end of this circular bar is fastened to the machine; the other end
projects in the direction of the forward motion of the carriage. It
forms a sort of frame to the circular space in which the knives k, k,
described below, revolve. To that end of the frame c, c, which projects
in the direction of the forward motion of the carriage a small frame G.
terminating in a point, and supported on a roller, is attached. This
frame, which I call the director, can be elevated or depressed at
pleasure, together with the frame of the whole machine, or sepa-
rately, so as to bring its point to a distance of a foot from the ground,
or to any distance required between that and the surface of the soil.
By means of this simple contrivance, and another of a like nature
attached to the body of the machine, any laid corn which has fallen in
a direction at right angles to that of the motion of the carriage may be
gradually raised from its recumbent position, and directed towards the
knives by which it is to be reaped.
.
In the circle c, c, at the distance from the ground desired, the
scythes, sickles, or knives k, k, which are to cut the corn, revolve hori-
söntally; and above them, and cutting all lines drawn perpendicularly
from them. revolve several cradles k. . which are suspended from the

page_text: upright supports b, b, rising from the frame a, to which the knives k; k,
are attached. The knives in revolving pass between two plates t, t,
which have such a form that every point in their edges comes in
contact only with those stalks of corn which a knife is at the same
moment severing. The cradles k¹, ³, pass above those plates, and
through openings in an opposing curved guide g. (Several knives
project from the frame a, but the construction of the machine does
not allow of more than two being seen in the same Drawing.)
The upright supports b, b, rising from the frame a, to which the
knives are attached, carry a toothed mitre ring m, the teeth of which
work in those of a mitre wheel n, on the spindle of which a drum d, is
fastened to communicate motion by means of an endless band from the
drum p, attached to the driving wheel w, one of the principal wheels
which carry the machine. The frame a, including the uprights b, b;
and the mitre ring m, revolve round a receptacle for the cut corn e, e,
in the form of a cylinder, which is open at the top, and is deficient in
one quarter of its circumference. From the bottom of this cylindrical
receptacle e, e, which is constructed separate from the sides, an upright
bar 7, rises, to the top of which a fork h, is attached. The bottom of
the receptacle carrying the bar 7, with its fork h, can be made to
revolve at certain intervals by the following means:-A rack on the
drum p, acts upon the pinion 1, which communicates a reciprocating
motion to the bell crank 3, which gives a backward and forward
motion to a rod 4, furnished with a rack 5. In the forward motion
the rack 5 acts upon a piuion 6, attached to the bottom of the re-
ceptacle, causing it, together with the bar 7, carrying the fork h, to
revolve. In the backward motion the rack is carried clear of the
pinion. From the drum p, project two racks u, u', which act recipro-
cally on a pinion V, and turn the spindle, on which a drum X, X, is
fastened in two different directions, according as one or other of the
racks u, u', come in contact with the pinion V. The drum X, X, by
means of an endless band, acts upon a lesser drum Y, turning another
spindle in the upper part of the frame, which carries a pulley Z.
Around this pulley Z, a cord is wound, one end of which is attached
to the lower, the other to the upper end of a straight rod 7. This
9

page_text: rod
9, slides between guides in a vertical direction, and is caused to rise
and fall by the revolution of the pulley Z, through the agency of the
cord, which forms a connection between them. On this rod are two
projections which act upon the end of a lever 7, causing it to rise and
fall as one or other of the projections strikes it. The rod g, also carries
à prong i, which hangs directly over the receptacle e, e. The lever 1,
acts by means of a link, arm, and spindle on a fork w, which is used in
cjecting the sheaves when bound, causing it, as the straight rod q
ascends, to occupy a position directly over the centre receptacle e, e,
and as the rod a descends to change its position to that represented by
the dotted lines in the "section at C, D."
The fork h, carried by the arm attached to the bottom of the cylin-
drical receptacle e, e, and which is intended to hold the tie of the sheaf,
is fixed on the same spindle as a small spur wheel, and its spindle
revolves in a socket on the end of the upright arm 7, attached to the
bottom of the receptacle. The teeth of this spur wheel at one or two
moments in the revolution of the bottom of the cylindrical recep-
tacle e, e, come in contact with and enter a spiral groove or spiral
grooves cut in a nut or nuts projecting from the internal face of the
receptacle (e, e), and by this means cause the fork to revolve
vertically a certain number of times during a revolution of the bottom
of the receptacle e, e. The fork h, can be made to revolve in either
direction, according to that given to the spiral threads or grooves in
the nuts attached to the surface of the receptacle.
The following description will explain the manner in which the
machine acts: The corn to be reaped is supposed to occupy the inde-
finite space inclosed on the accompanying plan between the line E, F,
and another at any distance G, H. The horse or horses walk along the
side of the uncut corn that is parallel to the line E, F, which line
represents the margin of the uncut corn nearest to the machine. As
the carriage advances the revolution of the drum attached to one of
the hind wheels causes, by means of the connecting band, the revo-
lution of the drum d, on the spindle of the mitre wheel n, which gives
motion by means of the mitre gear to the knives and cradles K, K'.
The knives have such a form that they enter the corn without ma-

page_text: terially deranging it as the machine advances; and they cut the corn,
and draw it towards the machine only when they have entered it to
their greatest extent. As the carriage' advances, one knife after the
other, with its accompanying cradles, enters the corn, and passing
between the plates t, t, which hold the corn to the action of the knives,
completely severs it; while the cradles placed above it, as also above
the plates t, t, carry the corn along the surface of the upper plate t, till
it comes in contact with the fixed vertically placed guide g, which may -
be said to be a continuation of the director G. The cradles gradually
pass through grooves in the vertical guide g; but the corn, which, as it
is carried by the cradles, cannot possibly lie in the same direction, but
must have a position more or less across them, cannot pass through
these grooves, and is therefore gradually drawn towards the cylindrical
receptaclo e, e, in the center of the circle of revolution, which it enters
through the opening o, where the circumference is deficient. In this
manner, cut succeeding cut, the corn is accumulated in the receptacle e.:
(The mitre ring does not interfere with this process, as it is placed
sufficiently high above the floor of the machine to allow corn of any
ordinary length to pass in an upright position below it.)
A boy accompanying the machine takes at intervals a few stalks of
corn from a quantity laid for that purpose on the floor of the carriage,
and successively forms with then a "tie," which he hands to the
"feeder," a man standing on the machine for the purpose of supplying
it with ties, and being otherwise instrumental in assisting the action of
and operations performed by the machine. The feeder operates in the
following manner :-When he has received a "tie" from the boy, who
forms them with one hand, he places the ears of the tie in the fork h,
and the other he slips along the stalks of the tie until he hold the
other end of the "tie" in his hand at arm's length. When a certain
number of cuts have been made (which number depends upon the
thickness of the crop of corn; &c.) the rack 1, on the drum P, which
gives motion to the machine, comes in contact with the pinion 2,
which, by means of a bell crank 3, rack 5, & pinion 6, as before ex-
plained, causes the bottom of the cylinder to revolve once, and with it
the fork h, in which the ears of corn have been placed. The tie is

page_text: thus carried round most of the corn in the cylinder, and the man's
hand on the other end of the tie is gradually drawn up to the fork
as it comes round to occupy its former position. As it passes near
his hand the feeder winds the end of the tie once or twice. round
the ears in the fork, and by pulling in the direction in which the fork
is moving, and by keeping his hand close to that part of the tie
inclosing the corn in the cylinder, he helps the teeth of the spur
wheel on the fork's spindle through the spiral groove fitted to the side
of the cylinder (G), causing the fork h to revolve once or twice, and
thus to form a half hitch or a twist in the tie. When this is performed
the fork takes its former position, and at the same time a rack u, on
the drum p, acts upon the pinion V, which compels the drum X to
form a
partial revolution, causing the drum Y to revolve with it by
means of the connecting band, and consequently the pulley Z, on the
same spindle. The revolution of the pulley Z, causes the rod to
9,
rise; and the prong i, attached to it having entered the corn just tied,
raises the sheaf above the level of the crown. ring m, m.
rises, the lower projection from it strikes and raises the lever 1, which
throws upwards the fork w, the prongs of which enter the raised sheaf
below the tie. At this moment the inner rack u, on the drum p,
passes from contact. with the pinion V, and the outer rack ', on the
drum p, comes in contact with it, giving it a contrary motion, and thus
causing the rod q, to descend. As the rod g descends, the upper pro-
jection from it comes in contact with the lever l, which acts upon the
fork w, on which the sheaf now hangs, and causes it to pass from over
the cylinder, and occupy suddenly its former position, first carrying with
it and then throwing from it the sheaf of corn. The sheaf falls clear
of the machine, either on the stubble at the near side, or on the prong
of a labourer in attendance.
As the rod q
What I claim as peculiar features in this Patent, and either of my
own Invention or application to this specific purpose, are,..
1st, cutting the corn by means of revolving knives or sickles, whose
notion is communicated to them by the forward movement of the
machine, the application of the curve called an evolute to the form of
these knives, the passage of these knives beneath or above a plate or

page_text: between plates fixed to the machine, and the edges of which have.
such a curve as that they meet every point in the edge of the standing:
corn gradually, and at the same time as the knives in their cycloidal
course, and thus, without depressing the corn, come in contact with it.
at the moment in which it is cut by the knives moving in the opposite
direction.
:
2dly, the arrangement of the spiral cradles which gather the corn.
together for cutting, and assisting in arranging it, carry it into a position
convenient for binding, They are so constructed as to assist in picking
up all corn laid in two directions.
3dly, the application of the "director," which, as the carriage pro-
gresses, is gradually thrust below any corn laid in a direction crossing
its motion, and thus raises the bent stalks, and directs them to a position
in which they can be severed by the kuives, and from which they can:
be conducted by the cradles into the receptacle C.
4thly, the application of the fixed spiral guide (9), and its continua-
tion the cylindrical receptacle (e). The "director" is merely a prolon-
gation of this guide.
5thly, the arrangement of binding in sheaves the corn when cut;
that is to say, the application of machinery to the formation of a tie.
such as the labourers use in the West of England for binding the.
corn in sheaves, and which shall be used for that purpose. In the
formation of this tie the lower end of the stalks of corn is made to
pass round the ears at the upper end of them; and then between
the stalks and the sheaf, thus forming what is by sailors technically:
called a half hitch. The ends of the tie can be passed more than
once, if desired, between the stalks composing it and the sheaf, and>
in that case a twist is produced. This operation of tying can be per-/
formed either in the center of the circle round which the knives revolve
while the corn stands erect, or on a platform at one end of the machine:
while the corn is in a reclining position; and the adaptation of that
part of my Invention is therefore applicable to any of the reaping
machines for which Letters Patent have already been obtained.
The mechanical contrivance adapted to perform the operation of.
tying on the platform is explained in the following description:
The letters have reference to Drawing. Nos. 2, 3, & 4. S, represents :
:

page_text: the shafts of the carriage; r, the frame in which the fore wheel f
turns; w, w, the hind wheels; p, the driving drum; c, c, the ring exterior
to the circumference described by the knives K, & cradles K', as
they revolve; g, g, two fixed guides, through which the cradles K pass
in revolving, and along and between which, through the passage O, the
corn is conducted by them to the platform Z. The action of the
cradles on the opposing guides g, g, conducts the corn along the
passage O, 'and deposits it with the aid of a small fan q, which is
made to revolve by contact with the points of the cradles as they
pass, on the trap door w, in the platform Z. This trap door is
formed in two separate portions, each revolving about axes parallel to
one another. When a certain portion of corn has been deposited on
the platform an excentric groove u, on the driving wheel w, commu-
nicates motion by means of the lever V, the link Y, to the arm 7,
which is one of several parallel arms forming a frame seen on the
plan, Drawing No. 4. When this motion is communicated the frame
which, together with a frame similar & opposite 7', I call the com-
presser, closes upon the corn, & compresses it to the form necessary
for binding, and holds it in that form during the action of tying.
Drawing No. 2, represents a section of the compressor in two positions;
the letters of reference are the same. The armı 7, in Drawing No. 2,
turns on the hinge of the trap door, and is attached to a lever 8, which,
by means of the connecting rod 6, gives motion to the opposite side of
the compressor 7', and causes it to close over the corn at the same
moment as that before described, 7. When closed over the corn
the links or connecting rods Y, Y', which are several on either side
of the trap door, form a frame on which the corn cut during the inter-
val of tying is deposited.
To the end of the center arms of one of the compressors 7, an
apparatus of the following description is attached :-A spindle turns in
a socket fixed to the arm 7. At one end this spindle carries a
screw 5, the worm of which is acted on by projections from the inner
sides of the divided end of the link. At the other end a projection
from the spindle at right angles forms a centre for four or more
appendages of the form shewn full size in Drawing No. 5. These
appendages, as the compressors, close together, are pressed by the

page_text: nut 4, fastened on the link Y, and the lower ends are thus caused
to come together, & when in this position they form what I shall
designate a cup. On the end of the centre arm of the opposite con-
pressor 71, a fork h¹ is fixed. An attendant on the carriage of the
imachine places the ears of a tie in the fork ', and passing the stalks
round the outside of the cup h*, hitches them with their ends on a sort
of comb i, fixed on the compressor 7. The cut corn is deposited on
this tic. As the compressors close together, the cup h, which is kept
open by the pressure of the surrounding stalks of the tie, is made to
revolve by the projections from the inside of the divided end of the
link Y, working in the screw attached to the cup h. At the instant
the compressors ineet, the ears of the tie enter the cup h, the nut 4
presses on the back of the cup, and causes it to close over the ears, in
which position the loop in the stalks of the tie can no longer retain its
hold on the circumference of the cup, & falls on the stalks just below
the ears. At the moment the ears of the tie are released from the
fork h¹, by the pressure of the sides of the cup h, at the same moment
projections & indentations on the side of the drum p, act upon
the levers 1,, & cause the trap door W, to revolve by means of the
connecting rods 10, and the spur wheels 11, and to close over the
newly made sheaf, which falls on the stubble below.
6thly, the arrangements before described for delivering the complete
sheaf from the machine.
I am not aware that any of the elementary parts of the machine is
a new Invention, but I clain the mechanical combinations before
described for the purpose of effecting the above-mentioned operations as
originating in me.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of September, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the
seventeenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and succes-
sors, give and grant unto me, the said Charles Edward Austin, Her
special licence that I, the said Charles Edward Austin, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as J, the said Charles
Edward Austin, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
ady 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 Inven-
tion for "AN. IMPROVED REAPING, GATHERING, AND BINDING MACHINE,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles Edward
Austin, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 Charles Edward Austin, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:
A machine which is applicable to any cereal or other crop that cau
be mowed, reapod, or bagged. But in the following description I have,
for simplicity, used the word corn only, for which, indeed, it is more
especially adapted. I use the term reaping in the same popular sense
of cutting crops in which it is employed in the titles of the reaping
machines already patented.
The mode in which the crop is cut by my machine is in fact more
like the operation of bagging, and shall not only cut through the
stalks of the crop, either when standing or laid, but it shall also gather
the crop when cut, and bind it into sheaves of any desired dimensions;
and this operation it shall perform with the aid of a much smaller pro-
portion of manual labour than is generally required for that purpose.

page_text: In the following description of the machine the letters indicating the.
different parts have reference to both elevation, plan, and sections in:
the accompanying Drawings...
S, represents the shafts of the carriage; f, the fore wheel; 'W,W, the
hind wheels; r, r, the circle in which the fore wheel turns as it changes
the direction to be followed by the carriage.
;
The machine is supported on a frame, which can be lowered or raised.
a certain distance in order that the corn may be cut at the required dis-
tance from the surface of the ground. This frame is composed of several
longitudinal bars bound together by a transverse bar, and by a curved.
bar c, c, bent horisontally in the form of a circle deficient in one
quadrant. One end of this circular bar is fastened to the machine,
the other end projects in the direction of the forward inotion of the
carriage. It forms the basis of a sort of a circular frame or box ini
which the knives k, k, described below, revolve. To that end of the
frame, c, which projects in the direction of the forward motion of the
carriage, a small frame G, terminating in a point and supported on a
roller, is attached. This frame, which I call the "directer," can be
elevated or depressed at pleasure, together with that of the whole ma-
chine, or separately, so as to bring its point to the distance of a foot
from the ground, or to any distance required between that and the sur-
face of the soil. By means of this simple contrivance, and another of
a like nature attached to the body of the machine, any laid corn which
has fallen in a direction at right angles to that of the motion of the car-:
riage may be gradually raised from its recumbent position, and directed.
towards the knives by which it is to be reaped.
In the circle c, c, at the distance from the ground desired, the scythes,.
sickles, or knives k, which are to cut the corn, revolve horisontally;
and above them, and cutting all lines drawn perpendicularly from them,
revolve several crailles k', k, which are suspended from the upright
supports b, b, rising from the frame as to which the knives are
attached. The knives in revolving pass between two plates t, t, which
have such a form that every point in their edges comes in contact only.
with those stalks of corn which a knife is at the same moment sever->
ing. The cradles k¹, k, pass above those plates, and through openings
'

page_text: in an opposing curved guide g. (Several knives project from the
frame, but the construction of the machine does not allow of more
than two being seen in the same Drawing.)
The upright supports b, b, rising from the frame a, to which the
knives are attached carry a toothed mitre ring m, the teeth of which
work in those of a mitre wheel i, on the spindle of which a drum d, is
fastened to communicate motion by means of an endless band from the
drum p, attached to the driving wheel W, one of the principal wheels
which
carry the machine. Instead of the mitre wheel n, and the mitre
ring m, a vertical mitre wheel on the axle of the driving wheels W,
W, may be used, communicating motion to a horizontal mitre wheel
with a drum attached, supported by the frame of the carriage, which
shall give motion to the knives and cradles h, k, by means of an endless
bolt and drum. The frame a, including the uprights b, b, and the
mitre ring m, revolve round a receptacle for the cut corn e, e, in the
form of a cylinder which is open at the top, and is deficient in one
quarter of its circumference. In this cylinder is a false bottom carry-
ing a spiral wall or casing S, Fig. 5, and an upright bar 7, to the top
of which a fork h, is attached. This false bottom carrying the spiral
wall S, and the upright bar 7, which carries the fork h, can be
made to revolve at certain intervals of time by the following means:-
A rack ", on the drum p, acts upon a pinion 1, which communi-
cates a reciprocating motion to a bell crank 3, which gives a backward
and forward notion to a rod 4, furnished with a rack 5. In the
forward motion the rack 5, acts upon the pinion 6, attached to the
bottom of the cylinder, causing it, together with the bar 7, carrying the
fork h, to revolve. In the backward motion the rack is carried clear
of the pinion. The fork h can partially revolve in a socket at the
upper end of the supporting bar 7. It is kept in one position by the
pressure of its own weight or that of a spring against a stop. Thus
in its natural position the fork h, stands above the socket, but on
the application of any small force in the right direction it can be
made to revolve round the side of the socket furthest from the centre
of the receptacle for a distance of about one third of its circumference,
or until the fork h, takes a horizontal position.

page_text: To one of the stays supporting the cylindrical receptacle e, e, is
attached a small upright shaft P, Fig. 5, which works in a socket and
guide, and carries two hooks R, R, placed in a horizontal position, and
of the form shewn in the Drawing, Fig. 5. These hooks are fixed on
the shaft by means of keys, and can be raised or lowered at pleasure
along the shaft by loosening and refixing the keys. A handle is
attached to a small crank arm on the upper end of this shaft; by
which a man employed in managing the machine can cause it to move
through part of one revolution in its sockets. Between the books R,
R, and passing through and below the lower hook, hangs a bent
fork T; it is attached to the shaft by means of a horizontal hinge,
and is so constructed and so placed that when the fork h, is made
to take its horizontal position, as the apparatus to which it is attached
revolves, its outward and longest prong passes under a projection
from the fork T, and raises it until the prong of the fork h can
pass clear under, when the fork T falls again to its natural position.
From the drum p, project two racks w,, which act reciprocally on
a pinion V, and turn the spindle, on which a drum X, X, is fastened,
in two different directions, according as one or other of the racks u, u,
come in contact with the pinion V. The drum X, X, by means of an
endless strap, acts upon a lesser drum Y, turning another spindle in
the upper part of the frame which carries a second drum Z; around
this second drum Z, a cord is wound, one end of which is attached to
the lower, the other to the upper end of a straight rod q.
slides between guides in a vertical direction, and is caused to rise and
fall by the revolution of the drum Z, through the agency of the cord
which forms a connection between them. On this rod are two pro-
jections which act upon the end of a lever 1, causing it to rise and fall
The rod g, also carries
The rod g,
as one or other of the projections strikes it.
a prong i. The prong i, is connected with the rod g, by means of a
hinge or joint, and hangs opposite a slot in that rod, through which a
small arm projecting from the back of the prong, passes, entering,
when the rod is in its lowest position, a slot in the stay on which
the rod q, works. See Fig. 5.
As the prong, rises with the rod q, its projecting arm passes out of

page_text: the slot in the stay, and comes in contact with the stay itself, which thus
pushes the prong i forward, and causes it to project over the recep
tacle e, e.
The prong i, continues thus to project until the rod q, has
attained the limit of its upward motion, when the projecting arm falls
into another slot in the stay, and thus during the downward motion of
the rod y, reverses the position of the prong i, and causes it to lie flat
against the rod.
9
The lever 1, acts by means of a link, arm, and spindle, ou a fork W,
for ejecting the sheaves when bound, causing it, as the straight rod.
ascends, to occupy a position directly over the centre receptacle, and as
the rod descends to change its position to that represented by the dotted
lines in the "section at C, D," Fig. 4.
This part of the machine, which forms the tying apparatus, may, if it
be preferred, be thus varied, and the small shaft P, carrying the hooks
R., R, will then become unnecessary, and the process will be performed
by means of a small fork h. See Fig. 5 a.
The fork h, carried by the arm 7, attached. to the bottom of the
cylindrical receptacle, and which is intended to hold the tie of the
sheaf, is fixed on the same spindle as a small spur wheel, which spindle
revolves in a socket on the end of the upright rod or arm 7. The
teeth of this spur wheel, at one or two moments during the revolution
of the bottom of the cylinder, come in contact with and enter a spiral
groove or spiral grooves cut in a nut or nuts projecting from the internal
face of the cylinder e, e, and by this means cause the fork to revolve
vertically a certain number of times during a revolution of the bottom
of the cylinder. The fork h can be made to revolve in either direc-
tion, according to that given to the spiral threads or grooves in the
nuts attached to the surface of the receptacle e, e. In this case the
motion must be conveyed to the frame (a) holding the knives k, k
by the vertical mitre wheel on the axle of the driving wheel, described
above as a possible substitution for the mitre ring m, and the mitre
wheel n, shewn in the Drawings,
The following description will explain the manner in which the
machine acts-The corn to be reaped is supposed to occupy the inde-
finite space enclosed on the accompanying Plan between the line E, F,

page_text: and another at any distance G, H. The horse or horses' walk along
the side of the uncut corn that is parallel to the line E, F, which line
represents the margin of the uncut corn' nearest to the machine.
As the carriage advances, the revolution of the drum p attached to
one of the hind wheels causes, by means of the connecting band, the
revolution of the drum d, on the spindle of the mitre 'wheel, which
gives motion, by means of the mitre gear, to the knives and cradles k, k¹.
The knives have such a form that they enter the corn without ma-
terially deranging it as the machine advances, and they cut the corn
and draw it towards the machine only when they have entered it to
their greatest extent. As the carriage advances, one knife after the
other, each with its accompanying cradles, enters the corn, and pass-
ing between the plates t, t, which hold the corn, to the action of the
knives, completely severs it; while the cradles placed above there,
as also above the plates t, t, carry the corn along the surface of
the upper plate t, till it comes in contact with the fixed vertically
placed guide g, which may be said to be a continuation of the director G.
The cradles gradually pass through grooves in the vertical guide g;
but the corn, which, as it is carried by the cradles, cannot possibly lie
in the same direction, but must have a position more or less across
them, cannot pass through these grooves, and is therefore gradually.
drawn towards the cylindrical receptacle e, e, in the centre, which it
enters through the opening O, formed by the deficiency in the circum-
ference of the receptacle. In this manner, cut succeeding cut, the
corn is accumulated in the receptacle e. (The mitre ring does not inter-
fere with this process, as it is placed sufficiently high above the floor of
the machine to allow corn of any ordinary length to pass in an upright
position below it.)
If the firstly described tying apparatus is employed a man stands on
the machine, who is instrumental in tying the sheaves. He holds the
handle attached to the small vertical shaft P, Fig. 5, and when a suffi-
cient quantity of corn has been cut and collected in the receptacle e, e,
he pulls this handle, which causes the shaft P, and with it the 'hooks
R, R, partially to revolve and pass through that portion of the cort
nearest to them, seizing with their points several of the nearest stalks

page_text: of corn, and drawing them some distance from the mass collected in
the receptacle. The false bottom to the receptacle e, e, then revolves,
and with it the fork h, which passes above the upper hook R, and
catches in passing the upper part of the stalks which have been drawn
out of the rest of the corn, and are caught in the hooks R, R.
In performing its revolution the straws are gradually drawn through
the fork h, until it reaches the ears, which it shall be regulated to do
the moment before it has formed one complete revolution. The strain'
produced by the passage of the stalks through the fork h, causes it to
move outwardly through a part of one revolution, until it comes in
contact with a stop on the socket, when it shall have assumed a hōri-
zontal position, and its points do not rise above the level of the socket
in which it turns, and are several inches inferior to its former position
above that socket.
In this position, still retaining the ears in its jaws, it passes under
the upper hook R, on the shaft P, and at the same instant its outer
prong passes behind the projection from the hook T, raising that hook,
and causing it to catch on its end the lower part of the stalks hanging
on the hooks R, R, and to bring it within the upper part of those
stalks which have been laid horizontally round the corn in the recep-
tacle e, by the passage of the fork h, thus causing the lower part of the
stalks to twine round the hooks R, R, between which are the ears of
the same stalks held in the fork h. The handle is then pushed by the
man in attendance, and the hooks R, R, recede, and pass out of the
loop thus formed in the stalks, allowing it to fall over the ears, and
thus to form the tie of the sheaf.
In the formation of this tie the lower end of the stalks of corn is
made to pass round the ears at the upper end of them, and then
between the stalks and the sheaf, thus forming what is by sailors
technically termed a half hitch. The ends of the tie can be passed
more than once, if desired, between the stalks composing it and the
sheaf, and in that case a twist is produced.
If the variation in the tying apparatus secondly described be em-
ployed a boy accompanying the machine takes at intervals a few stalks
of corn from a quantity laid for that purpose on the floor of the

page_text: carriage, and successively forms with them a tie, which he hands to
the feeder, a man standing on the machine for the purpose of supply-
ing it with ties, and being otherwise instrumental in assisting the action
of and the operations performed by the machine.
The feeder operates in the following manner-When he has received
a tic from the boy who forms them with one hand he places the ears of
the tie in tlie fork h, and the other he slips along the stalks of tlie tie
until he holds the other end of the tie in his hand at arm's length.
When a certain number of cuts have been made (which number
depends upon the thickness of the crop of corn, et cetera,) the rack,
on the drum which gives motion to the machine, comes in contact
with the pinion 1, which by means of a bell crank 3, rack 5, and
pinion 6, as before explained, causes the bottom of the cylinder to
revolve once, and with it the fork , in which the cars of corn have
been placed. The tie is thus carried round most of the corn in the
cylinder, and the man's hand on the other end of the tie is gradually
drawn up to the fork as it comes round to occupy its' former position.
As it passes near his hand the feeder winds the end of the tie once or
twice round the ears in the fork, and by pulling in the direction in
which the fork is moving, and by keeping his hand close to that part
of the tie enclosing the corn in the cylinder, he helps the teeth of the
spur wheel on the fork's spindle through the spiral groove fitted to the
side of the cylinder (e), causing the fork h; to revolve once or twice,
and thus to form a half hitch or a twist in the tye. In either case
when the tie has been made the fork takes its former position, and at
the same time a rack u, on the drum p, acts upon the pinion V, which
compels the drum X to form a partial révolution, causing the drum Y
to revolve with it by means of the connecting band, and consequently
the drum Z on the same spindle. The revolution of the drum Z causes
the rod to rise, and the prong i to project, which, having entered the
sheaf just tied below the band, raises the sheaf above the level of the
crown ring m, m. As the rod rises, the lower projection from it
strikes and raises the lever 1, which throws upwards the fork w, the
At this moment
prongs of which enter the raised sheaf below the tie.
the inner rack w, on the drum p. passes from contact with the pinion V:
B

page_text: As
and the outer rack u, on the drum p, comes in contact with it, giving
it a contrary motion, and thus causing the rod q, to descend, reversing
the position of the prong, as described above, and causing it to lie flat
along the rod g, till such time as it shall be caused to re-ascend.
the rod q descends, the upper projection from it comes in contact with
the lever 1, which acts upon the fork w, on which the sheaf now hangs,
and causes it to pass from over the cylinder, and occupy suddenly its
former position, first carrying with it, and then throwing from it, the
sheaf of corn.
The sheaf falls clear of the machine either on the stubble
at the near side, or on the prong of a labourer in attendance.
The operation of tying can be performed either in the centre of the
circle round which the knives revolve while the corn stands erect, or on
a platform at one end of the machine while the corn is in a reclining
position, and that part of my Invention is therefore applicable to any of
the reaping machines for which Letters Patent have already been
obtained.
The mechanical contrivance adapted to perform the operation of
tying on the platform is explained in the following description. See
Figs. 6, 7, 8, and 9. Letters s, 8, represent the shafts of the carriage;
,, the fram in which the fore wheel f, turns; W, W, the hind wheels;
P, p, the driving drum; c, c, the ring exterior to the circumference
described by the knives k, and cradles k', ', as they revolve; g, g, two
fixed guides, through which the cradles k¹, k, pass in revolving, and
along and between which, through the passage o, the corn is conducted
by them to the platform Z. The action of the cradles on the opposing
guides y, 9, conducts the corn along the passage o, and deposits it with
the aid of a small fan q, which is made to revolve by contact with the
points of the cradles as they pass on the trap door w, in the platform Z,
Fig. 6. This trap door is formed in two separate portions, each revolving
about axes parallel to one another, and notched into one another in
such a manner that the stalks of corn laid upon them cannot fall between
their edges. The trap door w, is also divided transversely by spaces,
which allow the passage of the arms of the frame next to be described.
When a certain quantity of corn has been deposited on the plat-
form an excentric groove u, on the driving wheel W. communicates

page_text: motion by means of the lever V, and the link Y, to the arm 7,
which is one of several parallel arms forming a frame seen on the
Plan, Fig. 6, which, together with a similar and opposite frame 7, I
call the compressor. The arm 7, turns with the whole frame on one
of the hinges of the trap door, and communicates its motion to the
similar frame turning on the opposite hinge of the trap door by means
of a lever attached to it 8, and a bent connecting rod or link 6. When
motion is thus communicated to the compressor it closes over the corn
laid on the platform, and compresses it to the form required for binding,
detaining it during the action of tying.
Figs. 7, and 8, represent a section of the compressor and trap door
in two positions; the letters of reference are the same. When the
compressor is closed over the corn, the links or connecting rods Y, Y¹,
which are several on either side of the trap door, form a frame on
which the corn cut during the interval of tying is deposited.
To the end of the centre arm of one of the frames of the compressor
an apparatus of the following description is attachéd :-A spindle turns
in a socket fixed to the end of the arm 7, which is formed Y shaped,
as seen in Plan, Fig. 6. A screw 5, is formed on one end of this
spindle, the worm of which is acted on by projections from the inner
side of the divided end of the link Y, which is also shaped like the end
of the arm 7. At the other end a projection from the spindle at right
angles forms a centre for four or more appendages of the form shewn
full size in Fig. 9. The upper ends of these appendages as the com-
pressors close together are pressed by the stud 4, fastened on the link Y,
and the lower ends are caused by this pressure to come together, and
form what I shall designate a cup, a receptacle for the ears of corn
during the action of tying. On the same arm of the compressor 7, is
fixed a a comb-shaped inverted hook i. On the upper end of the
centre arm 7 of the opposite frame of the compressor a fork h¹ is fixed.
An attendant on the carriage of the machine places the ears of a tye,
prepared for him from a few stalks of the cut corn, in the fork h', and
passing the stalks round the outside of the cup h, hitches the ends of
them on the comb or hook i. The corn when cut is deposited on
this tie. As the compressors close together, the cup h, which is kept

page_text: open by the pressure of the surrounding stalks of the tic, is made 'to
revolve by the action of the projections from the inside of the jaws of
the link Y, on the screw attached to the cup h, and to form a twist
in the tie between the comb i, and the cup h; and when the com-
pressors meet the 'fork ', takes a position just below and opposite the
mouth of the cup h. (See Fig. 8.) Thereupon the ears of the tie held
by the fork ', enter the cup h; and the projection or stop 4, on the
link Y, presses on the back of the cup h, and causes it to close over
the ears, when the loop in the tie can no longer retain its hold on the
circumference of the cup, and falls on the stalks just below the ears
held in the cup h, while at the same moment the ears of the tie are
released from the fork ', by the action of the sides of the cup in closing.
Fig. 8, shews the relative position of fork h', and cup 7, when they
come together. At the cessation of this action projections and inden-
tations on the side of the driving drum p, act upon the levers 1, 1,
Fig. 6, and cause the trap door w, to revolve by means of the con-
necting rods 10, and the spur wheels 11, and to close over the newly
made sheaf which falls on the stubble below. The compressors are
then caused to re-open by the contrary action of the excentric groove u,
on the lever V, and allow the corn accumulated (during the operation
of tying) on the frame above then formed by the links Y, Y, to fall on
the trap door w. As they open, and before they separate, however, the
attendant hitches the ears of a new tie in the fork ', and winding the
ends of the stalks round the cup h, hitches them in the comb or hook i.
This tie, therefore, lies below all the stalks of corn in the trap, and is
ready for binding the next sheaf.
What I claim as peculiar features in this Patent, and either of my
own Invention or application to this specific purpose, are--First, cutting
the corn by the backward movement of revolving knives or sickles,
whose motion is cominunicated to them by the forward movement of
the machine; the application of the curve called an evolute to the
form of these knives; the passage of these knives beneath or above a
plate, or between plates fixed to the machine, and the edges of which
have such a curve as that they meet every point in the edge of the stand-
ing corn gradually, and at the same time as the knives in their cycloidal

page_text: course, and thus, without depressing the corn, come in contact with it
at the moment in which it is cut by the knives moving in the opposite
direction.
Secondly, the arrangement of the spiral cradles which gather the
corn together for cutting, and assisting in arranging it, carry it into
position convenient for binding. They are so constructed as to assist
in picking up all corn laid in two directions.
Thirdly, the application of the director, which, as the carriage pro-
gresses, is gradually thrust below any corn laid in a direction crossing
its motion, and thus raises the bent stalks and directs them to a posi-
tion in which they can be severed by the knives, and from which they
can be conducted by the cradles into the receptacle c.
Fourthly, the application of the fixed spiral guide g, and its con-
tinuation, the cylindrical, receptacle e, in the centre of the cutting
apparatus. The director is merely a prolongation of this guide.
Fifthly, the arrangement for binding into sheaves the corn when
cut; that is to say, the application of machinery to the formation of
a tye such as the labourers use in the West of England for binding
the corn in sheaves, and which shall be used for that purpose.
Sixthly, the arrangements described for delivering the complete sheaf
from the machine.
I am not aware that any one of the elementary parts of this machine
is a new Invention; but I claim the mechanical combinations before
described for the purpose of effecting the above-mentioned operations
as originating in me.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Edward Austin, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of March,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
four
CHARLES E. AUSTIN. (L.S.)