Improvements in Mowing Machines.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Nov., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 22nd Mar., 1895-Accepted, 24th May, 1895
THUVIDIONAL STECIPIE
Improvements in Mowing Machines.
I EDMUND ERNEST BENTALL of Heybridge near Maldon in the County of
Essex, Agricultural Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows :-
The object of this invention is to effect an economy in the construction and
maintenance of mowing machines, and to provide a simple arrangement of gearing
for varying the speed of the cutting blades in relation to that of the travelling
wheels.
In place of the heavy casting now commonly used in this class of machines, the
travelling wheel axle is fitted into bushes carried by a light wrought-iron tube, the
ends of which are fitted, the one to a cast framing forming bearings for the geared
shafts and supporting a diagonal tie rod, and the other to a T socket which carries
a second tie rod leading to the front of the machine.
The rims of the travelling wheels are formed in sections, being cast in malleable
iron, with lugs near their extremities. These lugs are intended to receive serow
bolts, which not only connect the rim sections together, but make them fast to their
radial arms, which may be of wrought metal secured to their bosses in
convenient way.
any
The segments are cast with transverse ribs for taking a hold of the ground, and
they may be U shaped in cross section, for the sake of lightness. The object of
thus constructing the wheels in sections, is to provide for the renewal of the rims
when worn, or otherwise injured by use.
In order to simplify the speed gearing, and to avoid the necessity for carrying
extra change or idle wheels, it is now proposed to transmit the motion through spur
or bevil gears No constructed as to provide for varying the speed by simply
reversing their position on one or both of the speed motion shafts.
This
When the travelling wheel is provided with an internal ring of teeth, a pinion
mounted on the outer end of a short horizontal shaft gears therewith, for the purpose
of driving a bevil wheel of two diameters on the inner end of that shaft.
wheel gears with one of two bevil pinions on the shaft carrying the crank plate
which imparts motion to the finger bar.
By simply reversing the bevil wheel of two diameters on its shaft, and bringing
it into gear with the second pinion on the crank plate shaft, the speed of rotation of
that shaft relatively to that of the travelling wheels, will be increased or diminished
desired.
The means for doing away with the extra change wheels or idle wheels, admits
of various modifications. Thus, for example, when the axle of the travelling wheels
is fitted with a bevil wheel for transmitting motion to the cutter bar, that wheel
may take into a bevil pinion carried by a short shaft fitted with a spur wheel
of two diameters, and the shaft of the crank plate which drives the cutter bar boing
furnished with a spur pinion of two diameters for gearing into the spur wheel, it
needs only that the spur wheel should be reversed on its shaft, to change the rate
of speed of rotation of the crank plate. Again, where the travelling wheel axle
carries a spur wheel for setting in action the change motion, that spur whoel may
gear into a pinion carried by a shaft, on the inner end of which is mounted a spur
wheel.

page_text: If this spur wheel gears into a spur pinion carried by a short shaft which
transmits motion,.through bevil,gears, to the shaft of the crauk plate, it will only be
Decessary to shift the spur wheel and pinion of the two-speed motion shafts, from
one shaft to the other, to vary the rate of traverse of the cutter bar.
The same result is readily obtained by mounting the shaft which is driven
directly from the travelling wheel axle, in a rocking frame, or in excentric bearings.
A spur wheel on the shaft.thus-driven.gears into a spur pinion of two diameters,
mounted so as to slide upon a second chauge motion shaft. By shifting the
excentrically mounted-shaft. nearer to or further from the second change motion-
shaft, and moving the sliding pinion correspondingly to gear with the spur wheel, a
varying motion may be imparted thereto, this second shaft being fitted with a bevil
wheel in gear with a bevil pinion on the shaft of the crank plate which actuates the
cutter bar.
The sliding pinion of two diameters may be carried by the excentrically-mounted
shaft, and genr with the spur wheel on the travelling wheel axle.
Dated this 1st tlay of November 1894.
'NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.
EDMUND ERNEST BENTALL of 'Heybridge near 'Maldon in the County of
Essex, Agricultural Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly 'described and
'ascertained in and by the following statement:—
The object of this invention is to effect. an economy in the construction and
maintenance of mowing machines, and to provide a simple arrangement of gearing
for varying the speed.of.the.cutting blades in relation to that of the travelling
wheels.
The. invention relates,. firstly, to means for.reducing the weight of the ¡framing;
secondly, to an improved construction of travelling wheel; and thirdly, to the
simplifying of the driving goar.
In place of the heavy casting now commonly usod in this class of machines, I now
propose to fit the travelling wheel.axle in bushes carried by a light wrought-iron
tube. To oue end of this tube is fitted a .cast framing rforming bearings for the
geared shafts, and supporting a diagonal tie rod, and to the other end of the tube
attach a T-shaped socket casting, which carries a second tie-rod-leading to the
front of the machine.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is.aplan view of so much of a mowing machine.as will serve to .illustrate
the first head of the invention.
AA are the travelling wheels, mounted loosely on their common axle. A is a
wheel with internal teeth keyed.to the travelling wheel axle, and connected 'by a
ratchet wheel. and pawls with the adjacent wheel A, for the purpose of receiving
rotary motion therefrom. The travelling wheel axle also turus in bushes fittatl.to
a wrought iron.tube.B.
C is a cast iron.frame(secured by bolts.and muts to the tube B, and fitted with
bearings for.the.reception of.a.short shaft c, running.parallel with travelling wheul
ašle.
The outer.end.of.thisishaft.c carries a spur piuiou c', gearing into the ring of
internal teeth carried by the wheel.A. This. pinion chis.capable of sliding on its
shaft, for the purpose of throwing it out of action when desired.
The shaft c also carries a bevel wheel c", which, through a bevel pinion & on the

page_text: crank shaft D, transmits motion from the travelling wheel A to the crank plate,
which actuates the cutter bar.
C is a wrought iron tubular strut bolted to the casting 'C, and projecting
towards the front of the machine, for the purpose of carrying, with the aid of
another strut to be presently referred to, the casting C³, to which the finger bar D¹
is hinged.
E is a T shaped socket casting made fust to the wrought iron tubo B, and
serving to carry a tubular strut E!, which connects with the casting C¹ before
mentioned.
The draught pole (not shown in the drawing) is bolted to a socket casting which
may be hinged to the tube B, enclosing the travelling wheel axle, or to ‘lugs '1, 1, ou
the castings C, E, in the usnul way.
From this description it will be seen, that the heavy casting heretofore used to
form the framing of the mowing machine is superseded by the wrought iron tube,
and the tubular struts which carry the cast iron supports for the hinged bar and.
the gearing.
Figs. 2, 3, and 4, illustrate my improved construction of wheel constituting the
second head of my invention.
Fig. 2 is a partial side view of the wheel, composed of segment pieces of malleable
cast iron, connected by wrought iron arms to a cast iron boss.
Fig. 3 is a partial vertical section of the wheel, shewing two segments of the
rin, as viewed from the direction of the boss; and
Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the wheel rim, taken in the line 1, 2, of
Fig. 2.
In these figures, FF are the malleable cast iron wheel rim segments, formed
with lugs near their extremities, and a little out of centre of the breadth of tho
segment. These lugs are drilled to receive screw bolts or rivets, which serve not
only to connect the segments together, but make them fast to the radial arms GG,
which will be preferably rolled trough-like in cross section. The arms G may be
secured to their bosses II in any convenient way. The segments F are cast with
transverse ribs for taking a hold of the ground, and they will be preferably made
trough-shaped in cross section, as shown, for the sake of lightness.
The object of thus constructing the wheels in sections is to provide for the
renewal of the rins, when worn, or otherwise injured by use.
The third head of my invention is illustrated at Figs. 5 to 10, both inclusive.
In order to simplify the speed gearing, and to avoid the necessity for carrying
extra change or idle wheels, it is now proposed to transmit the motion through
spur or bevel gears carried by one or two speed motion shafts, such gears being so
constructed as to provide for varying the speed by simply shifting or roversing
their position on one, or it may be two, of the speed motion shafts.
The menus for doing away with the extra change wheels, or idle wheels, admits
of various modifications.
The drawings show, in plan views, arrangements of gearing modified to suit
varying circumstances.
Fig. 5 shows an arrangement suited to a machine in which the framing shown at
Fig. 1 is employed, A A being the travelling wheels loose on their axle, and A' the
internal gear wheel keyed on the travelling wheel axle. This wheel A' is connected
to the adjacent wheel A by a ratchet wheel and pawls, as usual. B is the tube
through which the travelling wheel axle passes, and C the enst iron framing
carrying the change gear. The travelling wheel being connected, as above
mentioned, with an internal ring of teeth A, it is caused to transmit its motion to
the crank shaft D through a sliding pinion el mounted on the outer end of a short
horizontal shaft e, for the purpose of driving a bevel wheel c³, of 'two diameters, on
the inner end of that shaft.
This wheel gears with one of two bevel pinions & d' on the shaft D, carrying
the crank plate which imparts motion to the finger bar. By merely reversing the
bevel wheel c, of two diameters, on its shaft, and bringing it into gear with the

page_text: second pinion d', the speed of rotation of the crank shaft relatively to that of
the travelling wheels will be diminished as desired.
Fig. 6 shows a modification suited for mowers which have their travelling wheel
axle fitted with a bevel wheel for transmitting motion to the cutter bar.
A represents the bevel wheel which takes into and drives a bevel pinion e',
carried by a short shaft e mounted in the framing C, and made fast to its shaft by
a sliding clutch. This shaft carries also a spur wheel e', of two diameters, which
gears into a pinion d, of two diameters, mounted on the crank shaft D.
A glance at Fig. 6 will shew that it needs only to reverse the position of the spur
wheel on its shaft, to change the rate of speed of rotation of the crank plate.
Fig. 7 shows a slight modification of the last described arrangement, the wheel o³,
of two diameters, carrying, in this case, a ring of spur teeth and a ring of internal
teeth, into either of which a pinion d, of one diameter only, may be made to gear,
the radius of the ring of internal teeth exceeding that of the ring of spur teeth by
the diameter of the spur pinion d.
For altering the speed, it is only necessary to reverse the position of the wheel c*
on its shaft, and bring either its ring of internal teeth or external teeth, as the case
may be, into gear with the pinion d.
Fig. 8 shews the travelling wheel axle fitted with a spur wheol A for setting in
action the change motion.
This spur wheel gears into a loose pinion e' carried by a shaft e, to which it is
lucked by a sliding clutch, and on the inner end of this shaft is mounted a spur
wheel is a short shaft mounted parallel with the shaft c, and carrying, on its
inner end, a pinion e, in gear with the spur wheel is a bevel wheel on the
opposite end of the shaft c, gearing into a bevil pinion d on the crank shaft D.
In adapting this arrangement to the change of speed, it will only be necessary to
shift the spur wheel and pinion e' of the two speed motion shafts, from one shaft
to the other, to vary the rate of traverse of the cutter bar.
The same result is readily obtained by mounting the shaft driven directly from
the travelling wheel axle, on a rocking frame, or in excentric bearings, as shown at
Figs. 9 and 10, both figures being represented in partial section.
Fig. 9, is a fixed shaft mounted in excentric rocking bearings carried by the
fixed frame C. Loose on this shaft is a spur pinion c¹, which receives motion from
the travelling wheel axle, through the driving wheel A' in gear therewith.
A second spur wheel, also loose ou the shaft e, carries clutch teeth, which lock
into similar teeth on the pinion e'. The spur wheel gears into a spur pinion e*,
of two diameters, mounted so as to slide upon a second change notion shaft c³.
By shifting the excentrically mounted shafte nearer to or further from the
second change motion shaft, and moving the sliding pinion c* correspondingly to
gear with the spur wheel c³, a varying rotary motion may be imparted thereto.
This second shaft is fitted with a bevil wheel e, which gears with a bevel pinion d
on the shaft D of the crank plate (which actuates the cutter bar), and consequently
transmits the desired motion to the cutter bar.
In Fig. 10, the pinion e' of two diameters, is shown as carried by a loose sleeve
on the excentrically mounted shaft c, and gearing into the spur wheel A on the
travelling wheel axle. Mounted loosely on this sleeve, and secured to it by a
sliding clutch, is the spur wheel e, in gear with a pinion et on the shaft c', which
transmits motion, through the bevil wheel e, pinion d, and shaft D, to the crank
which drives the cutter bar.
For varying the speed of the cutter bar, it is only necessary to shift the two-
diameter pinion el on its sleeve, to bring the larger or lesser diameter opposite the
spur wheel A', make the pinion arm fast on its sleeve, and turn the excentric shaft c
in its bearings, to bring the pinion into gear with the wheel A'.
For imparting this excentric motion to the shaft e, for the purpose of changing
the speed, a handle c is fitted to the shaft c, as shown at Figs. 9 and 10.
To secure this shaft in either of its extreme positions, the bandle is fitted with a
locking piu c'.

page_text: Fig. 1 shows a further modification of the change motion gear, in which the
shaft c is mounted in excentrics c³, carried by, and capable of turning in, the
frame C.
In this case two handles c are required (one for each excentric) for setting the
shaft in either of its extreme positions.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inveu-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In place of the heavy casting composing the frame of the mowing machine,
the arrangement of parts described with reference to Fig. 1, consisting of a bushed
tube for receiving the travelling wheel axle, such tube carrying two cast frames,
one of which carries the speed wheels and a diagonal tie rod, while the other
carries also a tie rod, which tie rods meet in, or arc secured to, a casting provided
to carry the hinged finger bar.
2. The construction of travelling wheel as above described, the rim being formed
of segments of cast malleable iron attached to radial arms, and readily detachable,
when worn or broken, for the purpose of being replaced by new castings.
3. The means above described with reference to Figs. 5 to 11, for avoiding the
use of idle wheels in the speed gearing of mowing machines, and effecting the
desired change by simply shifting or reversing the position of one or more of
the working gears.