CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR CUTTING STANDING CROPS
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
"Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR CUTTING STANDING
CROPS." A communication.
Scaled the 11th August 1857, and dated the 4th March 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 4th March 1857.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR
CUTTING STANDING CROPS," to be as follows:-
This Invention of improvements in machines for cutting standing crops
relates, first, to a novel arrangement of the mechanism, through which motion
is imparted from the main driving wheel to the cutter bar of a reaping or
mowing machine; and, secondly, to the employment of a stationary guard plate
fitted to the main or driving wheel of a reaping or mowing machine in such a
manner as to exclude from the interior of the said wheel earth and other sub-
stances by which the mechanism within the said wheel would be likely to become
clogged. The driving wheel of the machine is made with a solid plate uniting
the rim with the hub or axle, and on the outer face of this plate there is a
corrugated or excentric groove extending all round the wheel to. receive a
friction roller that is secured to a sliding bar, the centre of which is arranged
in the same horizontal or nearly horizontal plane as the axis of the driving

page_text: This sliding bar is fitted to work
casting as the pillow block which
wheel, but at a right angle to the said axis.
in two guides, which form parts of the same
supports the bearing of the driving wheel. The rear portion of the sliding
bar also rests upon a raised portion of the same casting, and between the
guides it has attached to it a friction roller, which runs on another portion of
the casting. By the above means the sliding bar is prevented from bending
in any direction.
The sliding motion of the bar is derived from the action of the groove of
the driving wheel upon the friction roller connected with the sliding bar;
the driving wheel being also one of the running wheels, is caused to rotate
by drawing the machine over the ground.
The main platform also has secured to it a strong cast-iron cross piece,
which contains a bearing for the upright axle or fulcrum pivot of a bell crank
or lever, one arm of which is connected to the sliding bar, and the other arm
is connected by a rod with the cutter bar, for the purpose of transmitting
motion from the said sliding bar to the cutters.
A stationary guard plate is adapted to the face of the driving wheel, for
the purpose of excluding from the corrugated or excentric groove of the wheel
all matter which might tend to clog the mechanism within its interior. This
plate fits snugly against the interior of the rim, but not so tightly as to produce
unnecessary friction, and is confined in place partly by being bolted to an
angle plate, which is bolted to the platform, and partly by resting on the
stationary box of the axle of the wheel. It may cover the entire interior of
the wheel; the upper part thereof may be left uncovered, as no earth or matter
likely to clog the mechanism can easily enter near the top of the wheel.
It must be observed that an opening must be left in the plate for the roller
of the sliding bar or the axle thereof to work through.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 4th September 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her reign,

page_text: did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 Inven-
tion for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR CUTTING STANDING CROPS,"
being a communication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said William Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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 Edward Newton, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,.
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
:-
This Invention of "improvements in machines for cutting standing crops
relates, first, to a novel arrangement of the mechanism through which motion is.
imparted from the main driving wheel to the cutter bar of a reaping or mowing
machine; and, secondly, to the employment of a stationary guard plate fitted to
the main or driving wheel of a reaping or mowing machine in such a manner
as to exclude from the interior of the said wheel earth and other substances.
by which the mechanism within the said wheel would be likely to become.
clogged.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 is a side view of a machine for
reaping and mowing with the present improvements adapted thereto; and
Fig. 2 is a plan of the same, with the main or driving wheel and the stationary
guard plate shewn in section. Similar letters of reference indicate corres-
ponding parts in both Figures.
A is the main platform of the machine, on the top of which the boxes a, a¹
of the axle 6 of the main or driving wheel B are secured by bolts c, c, to
pillow blocks d, d'. This platform A also carries the mechanism through
which motion is transmitted to the cutter bar. The driving wheel B is made
with a solid plate C, which unites the rim with the hub or axle; and on the

page_text: outer face of this plate there is a corrugated or excentric groove f, f, (Fig. 1,)
extending all round the wheel to receive a friction roller e (Figures 1 and 2),
that is secured to a sliding bar M, the centre of which is arranged in the same
horizontal or nearly horizontal plane as the axis of the driving wheel B, but
at a right angle to the said axis. This sliding bar M is fitted to work in two
guides g, g, which, with the exception of their cap pieces g, g, form parts of
the same casting as the pillow block d', which supports the bearing of the
driving wheel. The rear portion of the sliding bar M also rests upon a raised
and planed piece h of the same casting, and between the guides g, g, it has
attached to it a friction roller i, which runs on another portion of the casting
d. By the above means the sliding bar M is prevented from bending in any
direction. The sliding motion of the bar is derived from the action of the
groove ff, of the driving wheel B upon the friction roller e; the driving
wheel B being also one of the running wheels, is caused to rotate by drawing
the machine over the ground. The main platform A also has secured to it a
strong cast-iron cross piece E, which contains a bearing for the upright axle or
fulcrum pivot j of a bell-crank or lever F, one arm of which above the bearing
E is connected to the sliding bar M, and the other arm below the bearing E
is connected by a rod O with the cutter bar, for the purpose of transmitting
motion from the said sliding bar to the cutters. N is 'the lower platform,
secured to the main platform A of the machine, for the purpose of carrying
the cutter bar D, the guard fingers k, k, and their appurtenances, and
for receiving the grain or grass as it falls on being cut. This platform
is furnished with the usual fences or guards u, u, for preventing the grain
or grass from falling off the platform at the sides. P is a shoo, secured
to the lower platform N, and serving the double purpose of a support
for the front end of the platform in running over uneven ground in mowing,
and as a means of protection against the clogging of the cutter bar at the
joint of its connecting rod O, and at the place where it passes through the side
of the platform N; S (Fig. 1) is a small wheel applied in the usual manner
to support the outer side of the platform N; T is the raker's seat. A
stationary guard plate R is adapted to the face of the driving wheel for
the purpose of excluding from the corrugated or excentric groove of the wheel
all matter which might tend to clog the mechanism within its interior. This
plate R fits snugly against the interior of the rim of the wheel, but not so
tightly as to produce unnecessary friction, and is confined in place partly by
being bolted to an angle plate H, which is bolted to the platform A, and
partly by resting on the stationary box a' of the axle 6 of the wheel B.
It may cover the entire interior of the wheel, but it is represented in the

page_text: Drawing as leaving the upper part thereof uncovered, which may be done
safely, as no earth or matter likely to clog the mechanism can easily enter
near the top of the wheel. It must be observed that an opening must be left
in the plate R for the roller e of the sliding bar or the axle thereof to work
through. The opening for this purpose is shewn at 7 in Fig. 1.
Provision
is made for allowing the machine to be moved from place to place
without operating the cutter bar by fitting the end of the sliding bar M
to a fork in the upper arm of the bell crank F and employing a loose pin t
to effect the connection. By the removal of this pin t the sliding bar M is
allowed to work without moving the bell crank.
Having now described the Invention of "improvements in machines for
cutting standing crops," as communicated to me by my foreign corres-
pondent, and having explained the means of carrying the same into effect,
what I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid
is,-
First, the arrangement of the sliding bar M in the same horizontal or
nearly horizontal plane as, but at right angles to, the axis of the main driving
wheel B, as described, and combining with the same a bell crank F for the
purpose of giving motion to the cutting apparatus.
Second, the employment of a stationary guard plate applied to the main
driving wheel of the machine, for the purpose herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, the Fourth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFatt,
66, Chancery Lanc.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)