IMPROVEMENTS IN APPLYING MOTIVE POWER TO ACTUATE PLOUGHS AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Fowler, junior, Robert Burton, and David
Greig, all of Cornhill, in the City of London, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPLYING MOTIVE POWER TO ACTUATE PLOUGHS AND OTHER
AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS."
Sealed the 3rd May 1859, and dated the 3rd November 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Fowler, Robert
Burton, and David Greig, at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 3rd November 1858.
We, JOHN FOWLER, junior, ROBERT BURTON, and DAVID GREIG, all of
Cornhill, in the City of London, do hereby declare the nature of the
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPLYING MOTIVE POWER TO ACTUATE PLOUGHS
AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in applying motive power to
actuate ploughs and other agricultural implements, and consists in so arranging
the ropes by which the implement is hauled to and fro over the land, that
when the implement arrives at the headland at the end of each traverse over
the land, it may be turned round either entirely or partially by the action of
the traction rope. If it be desired to turn the implement entirely in this
manner, the end of the traction rope is attached near one of the hinder corners
of the implement, and is led round the back of the implement, and along one
of its sides to a clutch in front, by which it is held while the implement.is
doing its work. When it is desired to turn at the end of the traverse, the

page_text: traction rope is released from the clutch, and it then in unwinding itself from
the implement turns it half round, so as to reverse its position ready for the next
traverse over the land, at the same time it winds the return rope partially round
the implement, and when this is made fast in the clutch, it is ready to become
the traction rope.
When it is required to turn the implement only partially
round by the action of the traction rope, a similar arrangement of clutch is
employed, but the traction rope in place of being led partly round the imple-
ment as before explained is attached to one of its front corners, so that when
the traction rope is liberated it draws the implement into a position inclined
to its work, and the turning is in this case completed by the return rope of
the traverse over the land just completed, as soon as it becomes the traction
rope.
In some cases also we so apply the motive power as by means of it to raise
the tines, cutters, or tilling instruments out of the land. For this purpose the
tines, cutters, or tilling instruments are provided with levers or other instru-
ments such as have been hitherto employed for raising such tines, cutters, or
tilling instruments out of the land by hand, and such levers or instruments are
connected to the clutch before mentioned, in which the traction rope is held.
This clutch is made capable of sliding a distance to and fro in guides, and
while the work is going on the clutch is held at the inner end of its course by
a catch which is liberated when it is desired to raise the tines, cutters, or
tilling instruments out of the land; or in place of this arrangement the traction
rope is passed round a drum, which when the implement is in its work, is
locked so as to prevent it revolving, but when it is desired to raise the tines,
cutters, or tilling instruments this drum is set free, and in revolving winds up
a cord or chain, and thus raises the tines, cutters, or tilling instruments.
. In arranging portable engines with winding drums for giving motion to
agricultural implements by means of hauling ropes, we, in place of arranging
both the winding drums in the space under the boiler between the fore wheels
and the hind wheels, mount one only of the drums in this position, and place
the other between the two fore wheels immediately over the locking motion,
one only of these. drums is driven by the engine, and the rope is passed round
the pair of drums several times in an oval coil, thus O, as has been the
which
practice heretofore; but in order to obtain sufficient bite on the rope,
it is difficult to do with this arrangement, the rope which ordinarily is led
away from the loose drum is again passed round the driven drum, and is
brought out between the two drums. By this arrangement, in whichever
direction the engine be winding, the rope passes on to the driven drum before
it. comes on the loose.drum..

page_text: In some cases when using two drums, round which the rope is taken either
in an oval or other form of coil, we mount the axis of one of the drums in a.
horizontal or inclined position in place of vertically.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Fowler, Robert Burton, and David Greig, in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 3rd May 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wе, JOHN.
FOWLER, junior, ROBERT BURTON, and DAVID GREIG, all of Cornhill, in the
City of London, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters.
Patent, bearing date the Third day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said John Fowler, Robert Burton, and David Greig, Her special
licence that we, the said John Fowler, Robert Burton, and David Greig, our
executors, administrators, and assigns; or such others as we, the said John
Fowler, Robert Burton, and David Greig, our 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 APPLYING MOTIVE POWER TO ACTUATE PLOUGHS
AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
we, the said John Fowler, Robert Burton, and David Greig, our executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our or their hands and
seals, or under the band and seal of one of us or them 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 John Fowler, on behalf of myself and
the said Robert Burton and David Greig, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in applying motive power

page_text: to actuate ploughs and other agricultural implements, and consist in so
arranging the ropes by which the implement is hauled to and fro over the
land, that when the implement arrives at the headland at the end of each.
traverse over the land it may be turned round, either entirely or partially, by
the action of the traction rope. If it be desired to turn the implement
entirely in this manner, the end of the traction rope is attached near one of
the hinder corners of the implement, and is led round the back of the
implement and along one of its sides to a clutch in front, by which it is held
while the implement is doing its work. When it is desired to turn at the
end of the traverse, the traction rope is released from the clutch, and it then
in unwinding itself from the implement turns it half round, so as to reverse
its position ready for the next traverse over the land, at the same time it
winds the return rope partially round the implement, and when this is made
fast in the clutch it is ready to become the traction rope.
Figure 1 is a side elevation, and Figure 2 is a plan, of a cultivator, having
apparatus attached to it, by means of which it may be turned by the action
of the traction rope, or rope which for the time being is drawing the imple-
ment. a, a, is the frame of the implement, to which tines b, b, are fixed, in
any convenient manner, as heretofore. On each side of the frame a slotted
passage, is formed, through which the axle c passes. d, d, are wheels mounted
on this axis. The front of the frame a is carried by a pair of small wheels e, e,
having flanges, which cut into the land, so as to keep the implement steady.
The wheels e, e, have a locking motion, and are governed by cords passing to
a small drum on the vertical axis f, which has a steering wheel f¹ mounted
on its upper end, as the Drawing shows. An opening a¹ is formed at the
front of the frame to. receive a clutch for holding the hauling rope. The
clutch consists of two pulleys, one of these is seen at g; they are both
mounted on the same pin or axis 9', which projects on each side of the short
horizontal axis h. This axis passes through the frame.a, at the. front and
back of the opening a, in which it is capable of turning. i, i, are two drums,
on which the slack of the traction rope is wound. The hauling rope passes
from its drum round the guards j,, and is hitched over one of the pulleys g
in this manner the implement travels until it arrives at the headland, when
(the tines having been raised as is herein-after described) the steersman, who
stands on the tailboard k, by means of a lever l, the centre lines of which
are shown, withdraws the bolt m from contact with the short arm h¹ on the
axis h, and allows this axis to rotate, and the hauling rope consequently to
escape from the clutch. This rope then assumes the position shown in dotted
lines.in., Figure 2, the steering wheels are at the same time put round, and

page_text: the implement turns. When the turning is effected the engine is stopped;
and the clutch pulleys are again locked by the bolt m. The rope which up
to this time has been the slack rope, and which is now to become the hauling
rope to take the implement back, has, during the operation of turning, been
wound partly round the implement, and lays against its guards j, j. This
rope is now hitched over the clutch pulley, and the implement is ready to
return. The turning of the implement, as above explained, may be facilitated
by preventing the wheel opposite to the hauling rope from moving forward
while turning; this may be done in any convenient manner. When it is
required to turn the implement only partially round by the action of the
traction rope a similar arrangement of clutch is employed, but the traction
rope, in place of being led partly round the implement as before explained, is
attached to one of its front corners, so that when the traction rope is liberated
it draws the implement into a position inclined to its work, and the turning is
in this case completed by the return. rope of the traverse over the land just
completed, as soon as it becomes the traction rope.
Figure 3 is a side view of part of a cultivator constructed in this manner,
and Figure 4 is a plan of the same. In this arrangement the traction rope
passes from the clutch at the front of the implement to one of the guide
pieces A at one of its front corners, and the slach or return rope passes to
the guide piece A at the other corner; B is a drum on which the slach of
the rope is taken up, one of the ends of the rope being wound round it; the
other end of the rope is fastened to any convenient part of the frame, the
inner ends of the pieces A, A, however, at the two sides of the implement, are
the points at which the traction rope is in substance attached, as the rope
never moves from these points while the implement is at work. The turning
is effected by releasing the hauling rope from the clutch as before, but in the
arrangement here shown this only turns the implement partly round, and the
turning is completed by the other rope when it comes into action, and before
it is placed in the clutch.
In some cases we so apply the motive power, as by means of it to raise the
tines, cutters, or tilling instruments out of the land. For this purpose the traction
rope is passed round a drum, which, when the implement is in its work, is
locked so as to prevent it revolving; but when it is desired to raise the tines,
cutters, or tilling instruments, this drum is set free, and, in revolving, winds
up a cord or chain, and thus raises the tines, cutters, or tilling instruments.
Figures 1 and 2 also show this arrangement; the drums i, i, on which the
ropes are wound, are furnished with hooks 1, 2, and each drum is furnished
with a chain attached at one end to the drum by one of the hooks , and at the

page_text: other end to a drum. c, on the axle c; this axle is also furnished with other
drums c², c, and chains pass from these to the frame of the implement. When
it is desired to raise the tines, the steersman, by means of one of the levers n,
the centre lines of which are shown, lifts a paul n' out of the teeth of the
ratchet wheel formed on the periphery of the drum on which the end of the
hauling rope is wound; this drum then revolves, causes the axis c also to
revolve and winds on the drums the chains attached to the tine frame,
and thus the tines are raised. When the implements stops, the slack let out
may be at once taken up again, or else the chain may in order to let the tines
again enter the land, be moved from one hook to the next; and this process
may be continued until the accumulation of slack becomes such as to be in-
convenient when it must be taken up by winding it again on the drum.
Another method of carrying out this part of our Invention, viz., the apply-
ing the hauling power to raise the tines, cutters, or tilling instruments out of
the land is shown at Figures 3 and 4. In this arrangement, pinions are
mounted on the axle and racks on the frame of the implement; and when it
is desired to raise the tines, the axle is clutched with the wheels, and the pinions
are caused to run up the racks on the frame.
For the modification above described we have obtained Provisional Protec-
tion on our Petition dated 24th January 1859..
The methods above described are those which we prefer in carrying out
this part of our Invention; but other methods may be adopted; as, for
example, the tines, cutters, or tilling instruments, may be provided with levers
or other instruments such as have been hitherto employed for raising such
tines, cutters, or tilling instruments out of the land by hand, and such levers
or instruments may be connected to a clutch in which the traction rope is held;
this clutch is made capable of sliding a distance to and fro in guides, and while
the work is going on the clutch is held at the inner end of its course by a
catch which is liberated when it is desired to raise the tines, cutters, or tilling
instruments out of the land.
In arranging portable engines with winding drums for giving motion to
agricultural implements by means of hauling ropes, we, in place of arranging
both the winding drums in the space under the boiler between the fore wheels
,and the hind wheels, mount one only of the drums in this position, and place
the other between the two fore wheels immediately over the locking motion;
one only of these drums is driven by the engine, and the rope is passed round
the pair of drums several times in an oval coil, thus O, as has been the
practice heretofore; but in order to obtain sufficient bite on the rope, which
it is difficult to do with this arrangement, the rope which ordinarily is led

page_text: away from the loose drum is again passed round the driven drum, and is
brought out between the two drums. By this arrangement, in whichever
direction the engine be winding, the rope passes on to the driven drum before
it comes on the loose drum.
Figure 5 is a plan of a portion of a portable engine with winding drums:
arranged in this manner. a and are two winding drums, the drum a is
mounted under the boiler c, the upper bearing of this drum is carried by the
plate d, which is bolted to an angle iron flange on the boiler as is shown at
Fig. 6, which is a side elevation of a modification herein-after described of
the arrangement in Fig. 5, and the lower bearing is carried by a piece of angle.
iron e, which connects the fire box of the engine with the pan or plate of the
locking motion in front; the angle iron e is also bolted to the plate d, so that
this plate takes the whole of the side strain, it is made in one piece and is
slotted out to receive the drum; the drum a has a toothed wheel formed or
fixed to it, as is shown at a¹, and is driven by a pinion f, mounted on a vertical
axis, the centre line of which is shown at g, this axis is driven by bevilled
gear from the main shaft of the engine. The drum b is mounted immidiately
over the locking motion, and the pin of the locking motion serves as the axis
of the drum; to the under side of the smoke box of the engine a piece of boiler
plate his bolted, this plate is bent to a trough-like form as is shown, and has
fixed to it the casting i through which the pin j of the locking motion passes;
I prefer that the drum a should have three grooves on it, and the drum b, two
grooves, but the number of grooves may be increased if preferred; the hauling
rope k is led round the two drums a and b in an oval coil as heretofore, except
that the end which is ordinarily led away from the loose drum b is taken
again round the drum a, and is brought out between the two drums, thus, in
whichever direction the engine be winding, the hauling rope passes first on to
the driven drum. A modification of the arrangement above described is
shown by the side elevation Figure 6, and the plan Figure 7; for this modifi-
cation Provisional Protection has also been granted to us on our Petition
dated 24th January 1859. It differs from that already described in that one
of the grooves is removed from the drum b, and an additional drum is mounted
under the fire box at 6' the hauling rope (in whichever direction it be traced,)
passes first three-quarters round the drum a, then half round one of the end
drums b, b', afterwards it passes to the drum (6 or 6) at the other end of the
engine, and then it again passes three-quarters round the driven drum, thus
in this modification also, in whichever direction the engine be winding, the
hauling rope passes first on to the driven drum, and thus a better bite is

page_text: obtained on the rope, than when, as heretofore, the rope is led off on one side
from the lose drum.
In some cases when using two drums round which the rope is taken either
in an oval or other form of coil, we mount the axis of one of the drums in
a horizontal or inclined position in place of vertically.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Fowler, jun', have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Second day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
W. BRASIER..
JOHN FOWLER. JUN'. (L.S.)