Apparatus for use in Ploughing Land by Steam Power.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Jan., 1893-Accepted, 8th Apr., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Apparatus for use in Ploughing Land by Steam Power.
I, RUDOLPH DOLBERG, of Rostock, in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg
Schwerin, German Empire, Manufacturer 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 :-
My invention relates to an apparatus which has for its purpose to provide means
for ploughing land by means of portable engines, instead of employing road-
locomotives, as usually hitherto.
My invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying
drawing, in which:
Fig. 1 is a side-elevation.
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view.
Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of my apparatus in combination with a portable
engine.
In the drawing the apparatus is illustrated in the position ready for ploughing.
The road locomotives, employed hitherto for ploughing, have the great disad-
vantage, that they are too heavy for the transport to the field, where they shall be
used. On loamy or marshy soil the transport of a locomotive is nearly impossible
and requires at all events great costs and much work, in as much as the road is not
inconsiderably damaged by the transport of the weighty locomotive. Besides this
mostly the small bridges and passages of ditches are not constructed strongly
enough to bear heavy loads such as locomotives.
All these disadvantages are effectually avoided by my apparatus allowing to
plough with ordinary portable engines, which, on account of their lightness, may be
easily transported on each ground.
The portable engine is still combined with a supporting frame and two truck-
carriages and operates in the following manner:
The frame a, rolling during the transport on wheels w and other wheels arranged
at the other ends of the frame and not shown in the drawing, is put over a track-
way in such a manner, that the latter is lying in the middle of the frame. Then
the fore-wheels, not shown in the drawing, are taken off and the portable engine b
is driven up from this side on the frame a.
After this a truck-carriage p, rolling on the track-way, is driven against the
fore-part of the frame a. This truck-carriage p is provided in the middle with a
projecting bolt t, over which the supports with a corresponding hole is put. The
support & overlaps the frame a on both sides and is connected therewith by the
spindles and the nuts u¹, by screwing of which the fore-part of the frame is thus
raised that it is hovering over the ground and weighing on the truck-carriage p.
The wheels w at the other end of the frame are not taken off during the ploughing,
but the hind carriage is so much raised by turning the screws w₁ that a second
truck-carriage d can be rolled under the frame. The truck-carriage d being
brought into the position, shown by the drawing, the screws w¹ are turned back in
such a manner, that the hind carriage too is bearing on the truck-carriage d. By
continuously turning the screws wit is reached that the wheels w too are freely
hovering over the ground and all the parts of the frame a are directly supported by
the carriages p and d, without touching the ground.
The moving of the plough is effected by the rope y moving to and fro between
the two portable engines. The rope y is rolled on the drum c, being operated by
the driving-wheel of the portable engine. On the driving-shaft there is mounted the

page_text: chain-wheel driving the chain-wheel q¹ by means of chains so that the shaft f and
the toothed-wheel g are thereby set in rotation.
The drum c is turned by the toothed wheels h kl, the engaging and disengaging
of the drum being effected by the coupling . The motive mechanism of the whole
apparatus is the following: On the driving-shaft a chain-wheel o is mounted,
driving by means of chains the wheel o', which is arranged on the truck-carriage d
and connected with the wheels of the same by chains. Thus, by the rotation of
the shaft f, the carriage d and the frame a bearing thereon is moved on the track-
way. The coupling in connection with the reversing gear zzz serves for the
forward and backward movement of the whole apparatus.
The rope y, as shown by the drawing, is conveyed from the vertical drum c to
the horizontal pulley m and then close by the ground, to the opposite engine.
Coals and water are kept in especial vessels on the back-side of the frame a.
The rails, on which the apparatus is rolling, are thus arranged, that they protrude
somewhat fore and aft and may be taken up on one side and put before on the
other, when the apparatus is moving forward. In this manner a continuous rolling
on rails is made possible, without a great provision of rails.
The sleepers are provided at their lower part with projections r, penetrating into
the ground, on account of their sharp edges and the weight of the whole apparatus
pressing on the track-way. By the arrangement of these projections and by the
broad side-faces of the sleepers a lateral displacement of the rails is effectually
prevented.
The dismounting of the whole apparatus is naturally performed in the same
manner as the mounting. The wheels ware lowered by means of the screws w³,
the truck-carriage d is removed, the fore-part of the frame put to the ground by
turning the nuts u', and after the removal of the supports and the truck-carriage p
the portable engine may be drawn off again from the frame a After this a pole
with wheels is mounted on the fore-part of the frame a, so that the same, now
bearing on fore- and hind-wheels, may be easily transported like the portable
engine.
A great advantage of my system above described consists in its cheapness, the
farmer or landlord being able to use for ploughing the portable engine which he
still employs for other purposes, like thrashing etc., whilst he is seldom in possession
of a locomotive, on account of which the ploughing system with locomotives is
obviously much more expensive than my improved system.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. An apparatus for ploughing with portable engines to the system of two
engines, consisting of a frame a supporting the portable engine 6 and bearing on
two truck-carriages p and d, substantially as described and for the purpose set
forth..
2. In the apparatus claimed under head 1:
A supporting frame a in combination with a lifting-apparatus, consisting of the
spindles and the nuts u¹ at the fore-part of the frame a, and the screws w¹
arranged at the hind-wheels to of the frame a, substantially as described and for the
purpose set forth.
3. In the apparatus claimed under head 1:
The connection of the wheels of the truck-carriage with the driving-wheel of the
portable engine by means of a chain or rope, and a coupling-device, consisting of
the coupling a¹ in combination with the reversing gearzzz for the forward and
backward movement of the whole apparatus, substantially as described.
4. In the apparatus claimed under head 1:
The combination of rails with sleepers, provided at their lower side with pro-

page_text: "
jections for preventing the lateral displacement of the track-way by the lateral
traction of the driving-rope y, substantially as described.
Dated this 17th day of January 1893.
RUDOLPH DOLBERG,
By Geo. H. Rayner,
37, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.