IMPROVED MEANS OF AND APPARATUB FOR COLLECTING AND REMOVING HAY AND OTHER CUT FIELD CROPS
Year: 1873

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by George Gibbons and Edward
Paget at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 8th April 1873.
We, GEORGE GIBBONS, of Tunley, near Bath, and EDWARD PAGET, of
Burnett, near Bristol, both in the County of Somerset, Farmers, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED MEANS OF
AND APPARATUB FOR COLLECTING AND REMOVING HAY AND OTHER CUT FIELD
CROPS," to be as follows:-
-
The object of this Invention is mainly an apparatus or vehicle
whereby hay or other cut field crops can be collected automatically and
without manual labour.
The Invention chiefly consists in attaching by hinging or otherwise to
the front of a waggon of any suitable shape or size a skeleton frame or
rake the front end of which runs freely upon the ground and under the
hay or other crop to be collected. The waggon is drawn from the axle
of the two front wheels or from any part of the waggon close thereto by
horses or other power, and as the waggon (with the frame or rake

page_text: projecting therefrom and with its lower end passing over the ground)
travels the hay or other crop collects upon the frame or rake and is
gradually and automatically pushed into the waggon. This rake or
frame is formed of strips of wood or metal or both combined, each of
which moves freely upon a back bar, by which the rake is attached to 5
the waggon. The bottom ends of these strips are slightly turned up in
a convenient curve to prevent them entering into the ground.
In some cases we use a cross bar near the points of the strips attached
to the two outside ones and passing under the others and at both ends of
this cross bar there may be a little wheel for the purpose of enabling the 1
rake or frame to easily pass over the ground. At or about the same
position on the strips as the cross bar just mentioned we may attach to
each of them a little wheel with the same object.
In order to raise the rake or frame from the ground when the waggon
is sufficiently full or it may be desirable to change the course, we simply 1
back the horse in order to give enough slack for the purpose, and pass
the draught ropes or chains under the two front corners of the rake, and
there attach them so that when the draught again commences the frame
or rake is lifted from the ground by tilting it or otherwise.
Or by another method the draught ropes or chains are unhooked from 2
the waggon and passed under the axles of the front wheels of the
waggon and thence led to the front corners of the frame or rake where
they are attached. On the draught being then applied the frame or
rake would be forcibly drawn back upon the waggon and held there so
long as the draught continued and the position of the ropes or chains 2
remained the same.
The apparatus or vehicle is preferably supported on low wheels so as
not to be above 18 inches to 2 feet from the ground.
For unloading the vehicle we affix a frame at its end with tines or
teeth depending therefrom, these take into and sweep the hay or other g
cut crop to the other end of the vehicle on ropes or chains attached to
the frame being drawn upon.