AN IMPROVED CORN SHEAFING AND BINDING MACHINE
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Hicken, of the Town and County of
Bedford, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED CORN SHEAFING AND
BINDING MACHINE.”
Sealed the 4th October 1872, and dated the 12th April 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Hicken at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th April 1872.
I, THOMAS HICKEN, of the Town and County of Bedford, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED CORN SHEAFING
AND BINDING MACHINE," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to apparatus to be applied to a reaping machine
for receiving the corn as it is delivered from the platform and binding it
into sheaves.
The machine consists of a revolving cage or receiver of suitable form
mounted on a horizontal shaft in a frame attached to the framing of
the reaping machine. The corn is partly supported in a recess in the
circumference of the cage or receiver, by which it is gathered into a

page_text: bundle and partly on a table forming a continuation of the reaping
machine platform, near the delivery edge of which the table and rotary
cage are disposed so as to be supplied with corn at each stroke of the
machine rakes. Simultaneously with the gathering of the corn into a
bundle to form a sheaf a cord is wound once or more round the same
by an arm revolving concentrically round the receiver and provided with
a spring clip which grips and draws the cord from a reel and carries it
round the bundle. Both the receiver and cord carrier are driven by
suitable gearing from a main shaft operated by the reaping machine.
A cord guide is provided to bring the cord in a position to be caught by
the revolving arm each time a sheaf is to be bound, said guide being
operated by a cam to remove the cord out of the way immediately after
it has been caught to allow of its being wound one or more times round
the sheaf. The ends of the cord are secured by means of a double
hook-shaped needle mounted to slide in a fixed bracket, which needle
is so situated that when it is moved forward each time a sheaf is
completed it will first catch the cord leading from the reel to the sheaf
and carry a bight thereof with it between the sheaf and the cord
encircling same, and then sever the cord at the bight by means of a
knife pivoted to the needle and jointed to its supporting bracket. On
its return movement the needle catches the other end of the cord which
is held by the clip of the rotating arm, detaches it therefrom, and passes
it between the sheaf and the cord encircling same, thereby making fast
both ends; the sheaf, which is now complete, being delivered by the
continued rotation of the cage or receiver. The ends of the cord may
be afterwards tied or knotted by hand for further security if necessary.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Hicken in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 12th October 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS 30
HICKEN, of the Town and County of Bedford, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-fifth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and 35

page_text: be caught by the revolving arm each time a sheaf is to be bound, said
guide being operated by a cam to remove the cord out of the way imme-
diately after it has been caught to allow of its being wound two or
more times round the sheaf. The ends of the cord are secured by means
of a double hook-shaped needle mounted to slide in a fixed bracket,
which needle is so situated that when it is moved forward cach time a
sheaf is completed it will first catch the cord leading from the recl to
the sheaf, and carry a bight thereof with it between the sheaf and the
cord encircling same. The cord is then severed at the bight by means
of a knife or cutter mounted in the bracket which supports the needle.
On its return movement the needle catches the other end of the cord
which is held by the clip of the rotating arm, detaches it therefrom, and
passes it between the sheaf and the cord encircling same, thereby
making fast both ends, the sheaf which is now complete being delivered
by the continued rotation of the cage or receiver. The ends of the
cord may be afterwards tied or knotted by hand for further security if
reanisite.
Figure 1 shows an elevation of one arrangement of the apparatus,
Figure 2 a plan of the same, and Figure 3 an end view of the 20
receiver.
The apparatus is to be fitted to the reaping machine near the deli-
very edge of the platform, as in Figure 4, which shows in elevation
another and simpler arrangement attached to the "International
Reaping Machine" patented by Howard and Bousfield, 19th of August 2
1870, No. 2295. Figure 5 is a plan of the same. The same letters of
reference indicate the same parts in all the Figures.
Referring to Figures 1, 2, and 3, A. is the revolving receiver, con-
sisting of two end plates of the form shown in Figure 3 or other suitable
shape connected by cross bars or wire netting to form a cradle or series 3
of cradles, to each of which sufficient corn is delivered to make a sheaf
as they are brought successively opposite the rakes. The receiver is
mounted on a horizontal shaft A' supported at one end in a frame B
attached to the framing of the reaping machine platform. C is a spur
wheel keyed on shaft A', with which gear a pinion D' on a shaft D 3
driven from any convenient part of the reaping machine for imparting
the requisite motion to receiver A and the other parts of the apparatus.

page_text: E is a continuation of the reaping machine platform on which the sheaf
is partly supported when in the receiver; F is the revolving arm or cord
carrier by which a cord is wound round the sheaf. It is mounted to
rotate freely on shaft A', and is driven from shaft D by a spur wheel D³
keyed on shaft D gearing with a pinion F', to which arm F is fixed, the
relative proportions of the gear wheels by which the receiver and arm F
are driven being such that the arm makes two or more complete revolu-
tions for each recess or cradle of receiver A.
In the apparatus shown there are three recesses, and consequently
arm will make six or more revolutions to one of receiver A. The
extremity of the arm is provided with a fork in which is a spring clip a
to catch and grip the cord which it draws from a reel beneath the plat-
form E, and carries round the sheaf. G is a cord guide provided with a
pair of rollers between which the cord is led from the reel. This guide
is fitted to slide in a slotted plate beneath the platform E, and is shifted
as shown in dotted lines to bring the cord into position to be caught by
arm F cach time a fresh sheaf is to be bound, the guide being moved
back out of the way whilst the cord is being wound round the sheaf.
G' is a cam on shaft D by which the cord guide is operated. II is the
needle by which the ends of the cord are secured. It is mounted in a
guide bracket I fixed to the framing, and is operated by cams K, K³, on
a spur wheel L driven by a wheel M on shaft D. At the extremity of
the needle is a hook d to catch the cord on its movement, a second
hook c catching the other end of the cord on the return movement
of the needle. In the same bracket I is mounted a knife or pair of
cutters N for cutting the cord, the stems of both needle and cutter
being fixed to the same part O embracing the cams K, K'. P is a
link jointed to bracket I by which the movable blade of the cutter is
operated. When the cord has been passed two or more times round
the sheaf by arms F the needle H and cutter N are brought forward by
cam K. The hook d of the needle catches that part of the cord which
leads from the cord guide G, and pushes a bight thereof under the cord
which has been passed round the sheaf at the same time that the knife
or cutters sever the cord at the bight. On the return movement the
hook c of the needle catches the end of the cord which is held by the
clip of arm F, detaches it therefrom, and draws it also under the sheaf
tie. By the continued rotation of the receiver the sheaf is delivered on
to the ground, and the ends of the cord may be tied by hand for further
security if requisite.

page_text: In the simplified arrangement shown in Figures 4 and 5 wheels L, M,
and the greater part of shaft D are dispensed with. The needle and
scissors are mounted in a bracket I fixed in framing B, and operated
from wheel C by cams K, K', on the same. Both the needle and cutter
stems are bent as shown so as to allow the arm F to pass above the
extremities of the needle and cutters. P is the link or connecting rod
for operating the cutter blade. The shaft D is driven from the inter-
mediate shaft of the reaping machine, through which motion is imparted
to the cutter bar from the axle of the carrying wheels R.