IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM CULTIVATING APPARATUITS PROVISIONAL SPATION
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Fisken, of Stamfordham, in the County
of Northumberland, Presbyterian Minister, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM CULTIVATING APPARATUITS
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Fisken at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th October 1873.
I, WILLIAM FISKEN, of Stamfordham, in the County of Northumber-
land, Presbyterian Minister, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM CULTIVATING APPARATUS," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements on the machinery for culti-
vating land by steam power forming the subject of a Patent granted to
me on the 25th day of April, 1862, No. 1221.
In working the apparatus described under the above Patent, four
attendants at least are required, viz., one at the engine, one at the
plough, and one at each anchor windlass.

page_text: Now the object of the present improvements is to dispense with the
attendant at each anchor windlass, and thereby to reduce the working
staff one half or to two men.
Instead of stopping the action of the windlasses upon the driving rope
at each end of furrow or bout by attendants, the windlasses connected
with the tilling implement are made, with occasional help of the plough-
man, to gear and ungear themselves.
The main hauling drum and the anchor drum are situate at opposite
sides of the driving shaft, and are alternately connected therewith by
clutches which are thrown into and out of action by clutch handles or
bars.
Each windlass is fitted with a lever, which is placed horizontally on
the field side of each windlass. This lever has for its fulcrum an eye in
a moveable stud or bar near the front of the windlass. Through this
eye the lever can be slidden so as to lengthen or shorten it. The lever
lies across the main hauling rope a little farther out than the guide
pulley box. Near to its fulcrum the lever is so connected with the pair
of clutch handles or bars before mentioned that when vibrated it will
throw them in or out of action, as the case may. As the tilling
implement approaches near to a windlass it begins to act upon the
horizontal lever of that windlass by means of a catch or projection on
the hauling rope, and as soon as the lever is moved the proper distance
by the motion of the tilling implement or catch in front of it, the main
drum is thrown out of gear and the forward winding drum is put in
motion, and the anchor windlass moves forward until the end of the
lever which moves the clutch bar passes clear of the catch or projection
on the front of the tilling implement. As soon as the lever is freed
from the catch it is made to move back sufficiently far by means of a
weight or spring acting upon it until it puts the forward or anchor drum
out of gear, but the lever is prevented from moving sufficiently far to
put the main drum in motion. This lever is adjusted lengthwise:in its
fulcrum so that its length behind where the catch in front of the tilling
implement touches it may always be the breadth necessary. for the
forward motion of the windlass for each bout.
The catch or stop which prevents the lever from being pulled back
sufficiently far to put the main drum in motion has a cord attached to
it connecting it with a similar catch or stop on the windlass at the

page_text: opposite end of the field, on which are similar arrangements for putting.
the drums in and out of action. By means of this cord stretching
between the two windlasses and acting on the catches to prevent the
lever putting the main drum into action the ploughman can, from either
windlass or along the furrow, put the other into gear. The ploughman
can also, by means of a signal to the engine man, stop the plough, or by
means of another cord acting on the ends of the levers of both wind-
lasses he can put the one or the other drum out of gear when that is
requisite during the progress of the tilling implement across the field.
When the engine is reversible, the catches on the levers and the cord
connecting them may be dispensed with.
The clutches on the driving shaft are then made to drive only one way,
so that when the engine is reversed to pull the plough the other way the
drum that is required to haul is only in gear. In this case the tighten-
ing apparatus for the driving rope is placed farther from the engine than
either of the windlasses.
The forward motion of the windlass is made straight to the anchorage
ahead of it by having a coulter attached to or connected with the lever
which guides the fore wheels of the windlass, the coulter and lever being
attached to a vertical pin in the centre of the axle of the travelling
wheels. At the top of the pin, and on the point of the steering lever,
there are eyes through which the forward hauling rope passes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Fisken in the Great Scal Patent Office
on the 8th April 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM.
FISKEN, of Stamfordham, in the County of Northumberland, Presby-
terian Minister, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-seventh
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her licirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said William Fisken, Her special licence that I, the

page_text: said William Fisken, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Fisken, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM CULTIVATING Apparatus,”
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Fisken,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and scals, 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 William Fisken, 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 thereon (that is to
say) :—
This Invention relates to improvements on the machinery for culti-
vating land by steam power forming the subject of a Patent granted to
me on the Twenty-fifth day of April One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-two, No. 1221.
In working the apparatus described under the above Patent four
attendants at least are required, viz., one at the engine, one at the
plough, and one at each anchor windlass.
Now the object of the present improvements is to dispense with the
attendant at each anchor windlass, and thereby to reduce the working
staff one-half or to two men.
Instead of stopping the action of the windlasses upon the driving rope
at each end of furrow or bout by attendants, the windlasses connected
with the tilling implement are made, with occasional help of the plough.
man, to gear and ungear themselves.
The main hauling drum and the anchor drum are situate at opposito
sides of the driving shaft, and are alternately connected therewith by
clutches which are thrown into and out of action by clutch bars.

page_text: Each windlass is fitted with a lever, which is placed horizontally on
the field side of the windlass. This lever lies across the main hauling
rope a little farther out than the guide pulley box. Near to its fulcrum
the lever is so connected with the pair of clutch bars before mentioned
that when vibrated it will throw them in or out of action as the case
may be. As the tilling implement approaches near to a windlass it
begins to act upon the horizontal lever of that windlass by means of a
catch or projection on the hauling rope, and as soon as the lever is moved
the proper distance by the motion of the tilling implement or catch in
front of it, the main drum is thrown out of gear and the forward winding
drum is put in motion to give the windlass the requisite forward motion
to bring it into position for the next bout.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the
improved windlass, and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same.
Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the mode of working the tilling imple-
ment with the aid of a pair of windlasses constructed according to this
Invention.
A is the framing of the travelling windlass; B, the main winding drum
mounted on the axle B¹ and provided with a spur wheel B²; and O is the
forward drum for winding on the anchor rope. This drum is mounted
on the axle C³, which carries a spur wheel C² in gear with a pinion D,
which is mounted loosely on the vertical shaft D¹. Keyed to this shaft
D¹ is a driving pulley D², round which is laid a driving rope D³, Fig. 3,
which passes from the engine E, and is guided by fixed pulleys F to the
windlasses, which are placed facing each other at opposite sides of the
field to be cultivated. B³ is the hauling rope, which passes from the
main winding drum B of one windlass to that of the other, it being
connected to the plough or other tilling implement G in any approved
manner. The spur wheel B° of the winding drum gears with a pinion
D* mounted loosely on the shaft D'.
The bosses of both the pinions D and D* are fitted with clutch teeth,
and on the shaft D¹ slide two clutches H, H', which are intended to
engage respectively with the pinions D, D', and lock them to the driving
shaft. In the annular grooves of these clutches lie pins or projections
fitted to the clutch levers H², H³, which levers are pivotted to a pendent
bracket H* made fast to the framing A. These levers terminate in
rounded ends, which are formed to enter and work respectively in cam.

page_text: grooves made in a pair of transverse clutch bars I, I, (see the detached
view Fig. 4). These bars are similar in construction, with the exception
that the projection made in the bar to receive the cam groove projects
upwards from the bar I and downwards from the bar I. This change is
simply for convenience of arrangement. The clutch bars I and I' are
each provided at their inner or field side ends with two stop pins, between
which plays a vibrating lever K, which is carried by a swivel socket
picce K', and is adjustable longitudinally therein.
The vibrating levers K of the two windlasses (see Fig. 3) are connected
together by a cord K³ for the purpose to be presently explained. The
windlasses are made fast to their respective anchors by means of a rope
C³, which is led off the forward or anchor drum C, and passes through
an eye in the transverse pin of the fore axle and through an eye or over
a guide pulley carried by the steering lever L. This lever is made fast
to the transverse pin, which also carries at its lower end a coulter M that
acts as a rudder and serves to guide the windlass in its forward course.
I have said that the hauling rope B³ is connected to the tilling implement
in any usual manner, it is, however, provided with two stops G¹, Gª,
which serve to throw the windlass drums into and out of action, as
desired. The Diagram, Fig. 3, shews the plough as advancing in the
direction of the black arrow and nearing the headland, at which timo
the lever K of the windlass that is being approached is standing out at
an extreme distance from the windlass. As the plough comes up to the
windlass the stop G2 of the hauling rope B³ will strike the lever K and
press it into the dotted position 1. In making this movement the lever
will force inwards the clutch bar I, and thereby raise the lover H³ and
throw its clutch into action; the effect of this will be to cause the drum
C to wind up the anchor rope C³, and thereby to traverse the windlass
along the headland. No sooner, however, has this motion commenced
than the lever K will, by the continued advance of the stop G³, be forced
into the dotted position 2 of Fig. 2; at which time the rotation of the
winding drum B will be suspended. When the windlass has under the
forward impetus given to it by the winding up of the anchor rope moved
alcad sufficiently far for the tail of the lever K to clear the stop G³, the
rotation of the drum C will be suddenly arrested. This result is attained
by the action of a spring N attached to the framing, and bearing upon
the tail end of the clutch bar I. This spring will have a limited action,
and will serve to throw the lever K from the dotted position 2 (Fig. 2)

page_text: to the dotted position 1. The clutch bar, in making this back move-
ment, will depress the clutch lever H³ and disengage its clutch from
the driving pinion D, which will then cease to give rotation to the
drum O.
The action of the clutch bar I' is similar to that of the clutch bar I,
but it comes into action somewhat later owing to the distance apart of
the stop pinsof that bar (between which the lever K plays) being greater
than that between the stop pins of the bar I. The bar I' when moved
inwards will lift the lever H³ and disengage its clutch from the pinion D'.
The drum B will therefore be free to give out slack rope when the
windlass on the opposite headland is thrown into action. This is done
by the attendant on the cultivator, who, when ready to start his imple-
ment on its back traverse, pulls on the cord K³ and brings the lever K
of the windlass at the distant headland into the dotted position 3 of
Fig. 3. The effect of this motion will be that the lever K will engage
the clutch H' with the pinion D*, and cause the winding drum B of the
distant windlass to wind up the hauling rope and traverse the implement
in the direction of the red arrow. This will continue until the stop-G¹
strikes the lever K, when the same motions as those already described
will be repeated in this windlass and with like results.
It will be understood that the forward motion of the windlass is made
straight to the anchorage ahead of it by the connection of the coulter
M with the lever L, which, by adjusting itself to the pull of the rope C³,
will guide the fore wheels of the windlass and turn the coulter in the
line of the draught.
I have said that the levers K are adjustable longitudinally in their
sockets. This is for the purpose of adapting the traverse of the wind-
lasses to the width of bout required. Thus by lengthening the levers
the traverse of the windlasses will be proportionately lengthened, and
vice versa, as the stoppage of the winding up of the anchor rope takes
place when the lever K has passed the stop on the hauling rope, as
already explained.
In describing the action of my improved apparatus I have assumed
that the engine E is stationary, and that it works the driving rope always
in the same direction, but it will be readily understood that by slight
and obvious modifications a reversing engine may be used with my
improved windlass.

page_text: Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of " Improvements
in Steam Cultivating Apparatus," and explained the manner of carrying ·
the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in
part recited Letters Patent I claim,—
First. The arrangement of apparatus above described for automatically
starting the windlass to take up a new position and arresting its progress
when it has moved the required distance for the next bout, and for
stopping the plough or cultivator as it reaches the headland.
* Secondly. The means described for guiding the windlass in its forward
course.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Fisken, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Sixth day of April, in the year of our