IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR FEEDING THRASHING MACHINES
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Bell, of No. 24, Canwick Road, and
Francis Roper, of No. 43, Monson Street, both in the City of
Lincoln, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
FEEDING THRASHING MACHINES."
Sealed the 2nd August 1870, and dated the 26th February 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Bell and
Francis Roper at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 26th February 1870.
We, THOMAS BELL, of No. 24, Canwick Road, and FRANCIS ROPER,
of No. 43, Monson Street, both in the City of Lincoln, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR FEEDING THRASHING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to convey the crop to be thrashed direct

page_text: the intervention of manual labor into the thrashing machine. For
this purpose we arrange at one side of the thrashing machine a frame
supporting an endless carrying band or surface on to which the crop
to be thrashed is laid by a workman on the stack, and this band or
surface conducts the crop into the thrashing machines and discharges
it on to the top of the beating drum. The outer end of the frame and
of the endless feeding band which it carries can be raised or lowered,
as may be required to suit the height of the stack without deranging
the delivery of the crop from the carrying band or surface into the
machine. We mount at the side of the thrashing machine an horizontal
axis at right angles to the axis of the beating drum and above it. This
axis is rapidly driven_in_any_convenient-manner-and-has-upon it a
drum around which an endless carrying band with teeth on its surface
passes. On the same axis the feeding frame is mounted, and at its
outer end it carries another drum, around which also the endless
carrying band passes. The outer end of the feeding frame. when the
machine is at work may rest on the stack and a hopper is formed upon
it, into which the workman on the stack places the crop. It is taken
from the hopper by the endless band which passes along the bottom of
the hopper and is carried along a trunk or close passage formed on the
feeding frame from which it is discharged on to the top of the feeding
drum. In order to press the crop against the carrying band or surface
a roller with tecth upon it may be provided in the hopper. This roller
may be driven from the endless band or travelling surface.
In some cases we so arrange the apparatus that the sheaves of wheat
or other crop may be laid on the feeding band or surface without untycing
-them. We then provide knives in the trunk or passage along which
the crop is carried to cut the bands. The knives may be of circular
form and be caused to revolve. Sharpeners may be arranged in contact
with their edges to keep them constantly keen. Rollers or instruments
may also be provided to separate the sheaf as soon as the band is cut
and prevent the whole of it descending at once on to the thrashing drum.
The feeding apparatus is so arranged that it may be applied at either
side of the machine.
Our Invention admite of the thrashing dun hoing ontiraly anced

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Bell and Francis Roper in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 26th August 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, THOMAS
BELL, of No. 24, Canwick Road, and FRANCIS ROPER, of No. 43, Monson
Street, both in the City of Lincoln, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said Thomas Bell and Francis Roper, Her
special licence that we, the said Thomas Bell and Francis Roper,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the
said Thomas Bell and Francis Roper, our 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR FEEDING
THRASHING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the
said Thomas Bell and Francis Roper, our executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under our, or their, or one of their hands
and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us or them, 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 we, the said Thomas Bell and Francis Roper,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement, reference being had to

page_text: the Drawing hereunto annexed and to the letters and figures marked
thereon, that is to say :-
The object of this Invention is to convey the crop to be thrashed
direct from the ground or from a stack of any height and to feed it
without the intervention of manual labor into the thrashing machine.
For this purpose we arrange at one side of the thrashing machine a
frame supporting an endless carrying band or surface on to which the
crop to be thrashed is laid by a workman on the stack, and this band
or surface conducts the crop into the thrashing machine and discharges
it on to the top of the beating drum. The outer end of the frame and
of the endless feeding band which it carries can be raised_or_lowered-
-as may be required to suit the height of the stack without deranging
the delivery of the crop from the carrying band or surface into the
machine. We mount at the side of the thrashing machine an horizontal
axis at right angles to the axis of the beating drum and above it. This
axis is rapidly driven in any convenient manner, and has upon it a drum
around which an endless carrying band with teeth on its surface passes.
On the same axis the feeding frame is mounted and at its outer end
it carries another drum around which also the endless carrying band
passes. The outer end of the feeding frame when the machine is at
work may rest on the stack; a hopper is formed upon it into which the
workman on the stack places the crop. It is taken from the hopper by
the endless band which passes along the bottom of the hopper, and is
carried along a trunk or close passage formed on the feeding frame
from which it is discharged on to the top of the feeding drum.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention we will proceed
to describe more fully the manner of performing the same.
In the Drawing hereunto annexed we have shewn part of a thrashing
machine with feeding apparatus, such as is above described, applied
to it.
Figure 1 is a vertical section of the feeding apparatus and part of the
thrashing machine, and Figure 2 is a vertical section taken at right
angles to the section shewn at Figure 1.
In these Figures, a is the beating drum of the thrashing machine;
b is the horizontal axis mounted at the side of the thrashing machine
and at right angles to the axis of the beating drum. On the axis is

page_text: '
a drum around which is passed the spiked endless band c. This band:
also passes around a drum d, carried by a frame e, which forms a trunk,,
and is capable of turning freely around the axis b. The outer end of
the frame e can be raised to any, desired height by the rope or chain f
which passes around a pulley block g carried as shewn by a crane gib h
projecting from the side of the thrashing machine, the axis 6 is driven
continuously from the gearing of the thrashing machine to give a con-
tinuous movement to the endless band c. At the bottom of the trunk e is
a hopper or opening into which the crop to be thrashed is fed either from
the ground or from a stack on to the endless band c, and is by it carried
up the enclosed trunk e and delivered into the hopper k which is above the
beating drum of the thrashing machine. The crop is delivered in
regular quantities from the bottom of this hopper to the beating drum
by spikes which are caused to protrude through the grating m and
drag down the crop. These spikes are carried by a rod or angle bar
jointed to links n and worked to and fro by cranks on the axis o, to
which a continuous revolving motion is imparted from the gearing of
the thrashing machine. Other cranks on this axis also give an oscillating
to-and-fro motion to the axis p which carries spikes p².
If it is desired that the apparatus for feeding a thrashing machine
should be arranged so that the sheaves of wheat or other crop may
be laid on the feeding band or surface without untyeing them, we
then provide knives in the trunk or passage along which the crop is
carried to cut the bands. The knives may be of circular form and be
caused to revolve. Sharpeners may be arranged in contact with their
edges to keep them constantly keen.
If it is desired the feeding apparatus may also be so arranged that
it may be applied at either side of the thrashing machine.
It will be seen that by our Invention the thrashing drum may be
entirely cased in, and the workmen who ordinarily are mounted on
the machine and have to perform the dangerous operation of feeding
the crop on to the thrashing drum are dispensed with and their labor
saved.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention and the manner of
performing the same we would have it understood that what we claim
is, the arrangement of apparatus for conveying the crop from a stack

page_text: of any height or from the ground level and feeding it to the drum
of a thrashing machine, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Thomas Bell and Francis Roper,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-fourth day of
August, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy.