AN IMPROVED CORN AND SEED DRILL
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Preece, of Leominster, in the County of
Hereford, Implement Maker for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED CORN
AND SEED DRILL."
Sealed the 7th January 1864, and dated the 8th July 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Preece at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th July 1868.
I, THOMAS PREECE, of Leominster, in the County of Hereford, Implement
Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IN-
PROVED CORN AND SEED DRILL," to be as follows:-
In constructing this improved corn and seed drill I attach the seed box to
the frame of the machine instead of fixing it upon the top of the corn box, as
hitherto invariably practised.
Secondly, I place at the back of the machine a hand lever keyed upon a
shaft, having a cam at each end, which cams act upon two side levers,, which
(when the hand lever is depressed) throw the driving wheels out of gear and
stop the delivery of the seed; the depression of the hand lever at the same
time raises the coulters out of the ground by means of two other levers keyed
on the same shaft and connected to the coulter bar. The raising of the hand
lever will have the contrary effect of placing the driving wheels into gear, and
at the same time throwing the coulters down into their working position:

page_text: This hand lever is under the control of the person attending the machine, and
gives him a great advantage, as by one motion of the lever he can throw the
machine either into gear or out of gear instantaneously, and a great amount of
time and labor is thereby saved.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Preece in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
8th January 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
PREECE, of Leominster, in the County of Hereford, Implement Maker, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the 27th year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Thomas Preece, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas
Preece, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I; the.
said Thomas Preece, 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 Invention for
"AN IMPROVED CORN AND SEED DRILL," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Thomas Preece, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
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 Thomas Preece, 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 follow-
ing statement in writing, and on reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, that is to say:-
In constructing this improved corn and seed drill I attach the seed box to
the frame of the machine instead of fixing it upon the top of the corn box, as
bitherto invariably practised.

page_text: Secondly, I place at the back of the machine a hand lever keyed upon a
shaft, having a cam at one end, which acts upon a side lever, which (when the
; hand lever is depressed) throws the driving wheels out of gear and stops the
delivery of the seed; the depression of the hand lever at the same time raises
the coulters out of the ground by means of two other levers keyed on the same
shaft and connected to the coulter bar. The raising of the hand lever will
have the contrary effect of placing the driving wheels into gear, and at, the
same time throwing the coulters down into their working position. This hand
lever is under the control of the person attending the machine, and gives him
a great advantage, as by one motion of the lever he can throw the machine
either into gear or out of gear instantaneously, and a great amount of time, and
labor is thereby saved.
Such being the nature and object of my said Invention for "An Improved
"Corn and Seed Drill," I will now proceed to describe more in detail the
manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried into
practical effect, and in order that the same may be distinctly understoo:l, I
have annexed hereunto a Sheet of Drawings illustrative thereof, and have
marked the same with figures and letters of reference corresponding with those
in the following explanation thereof, that is to say:
On the annexed Drawing, Figure 1 represents a side view, and Figure 2 a
back view, of my improved corn and seed drill.
a, a, is the seed box, which is attached to the frame of the machine instead
of being fixed upon the top of the corn box, as hitherto practised. The seed
is worked by brushes inside the box, fixed upon a spindle driven by means of
the spur wheels b, b, c, c, from the spur wheel d, d, fixed on the nave of one of
the wheels which carry the machine. The wheel b, b, is fixed on the end
of the brush spindle, and the intermediate wheel c, c, is so mounted as to be
capable of being thrown into and out of gear when required, thus stopping the
delivery of the seed, as hereafter described. e, e, is a hand lever placed at the
back of the machine and keyed upon a shaft f, f, at the end of which is fixed
a cam g, 9, which is so connected to the intermediate wheel c, c, that upon
depressing the hand lever e, e, the wheel c, c, is thrown out of gear, and it is
thrown into gear again by raising the same. On the shaft f, f, are also keyed
two other levers h, h, which are connected to the coulter bar, so that the
depression of the hand lever e, e, also raises the coulters out of the ground at
the same time that it stops the delivery of the seed, and the raising of the
said hand lever throws the coulters down into their working position at the
same time as it throws the spur wheel c, c, into gear with the spur wheels b, b,
and d, d, and effects the delivery of the seed; at the reverse end of the shaft

page_text: ff, is a quadrant i, i, provided with holes, by passing a pin into one of which
the machine can be fixed and held either in or out of gear.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention for "An
Improved Corn and Seed Drill," together with the manner in which the same
is to be or may be performed or carried into practical effect, I would remark,
in conclusion, that I claim as my Invention the improved corn and seed drill
as above described and shown in the annexed Drawings; and particularly I
claim fixing the seed box to the frame, and so arranging and connecting a
hand lever thereto and to the coulter bar, that one movement of the said hand
lever shall raise the coulters out of the ground and stop the delivery of the
-seed, and vice versa.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Preece, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of January, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-four.