CERTAIN IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND ARRANGEMENT OF HAND RAKES AND HORSE RAKES, AND IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
SMITE, of Stamford, Lincolnshire, Agricultural Implement Maker, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Third day of July, in the eighth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Henry Smith; Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Henry Sinith, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
and such others as I, the said Henry Smith, my executors, administrators,
or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales,
and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND ARRANGEMENT OF HAND RAKES AND HORSE
RAKES, AND IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES;" in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Henry
Smith, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to
describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and

page_text: immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in
and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Henry Smith, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had
to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say):—
My Invention of Improvements in the Construction and Arrangement
of Hand Rakes and Horse Rakes, and in Machinery for Cutting Vegetable
Substances consists, in the first place, in an improved and more advantageous
method of arranging the various parts of horse and hand rakes for raking
ground and collecting refuse or extraneous matters that it may be desirable to
remove; and, secondly, in a novel or improved arrangement of parts con-
stituting machinery for cutting chaff, together with various improved modes of
driving the said machinery. The first part of my Invention, viz., the improve-
ments in horse and hand rakes, consists, firstly, in a novel mode or modes of
arranging the levers, whereby the teeth or tines of horse and hand rakes are
raised off the ground for the purpose of being cleared. Secondly, in mounting
hand rakes on running wheels, whereby they may be transported from place to
place with greater facility; and also in mounting the teeth or tines of hand raķes
in bearings independently of each other, instead of affixing or attaching them
rigidly to a horizontal bar, as has been the case heretofore. The second part
of my Invention, viz., improvements in machinery for cutting chaff, relates to
an improved form of knife or cutting instrument; and also in an improved
mode of working those parts of the machine by which the material to be cut
is brought forward and compressed in order to be operated upon by the knife
or cutting instrument. This part of my Invention also includes various novel
modes of driving or actuating the chaff-cutting machinery, either in combination
with or in place of the ordinary winch handle. These novel modes consist of
various arrangements of levers, whereby a rotary motion may be com-
municated to the axle on which the knife or cutting instrument is mounted.
In order that my various improvements may be fully understood, I have
shown in the accompanying Drawings different views of the implements, and
will now proceed to describe their construction and arrangement.
The Figures in Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings represent various
views of my improvements upon hand rakes. Fig. 1 is a plan or bird's-eye
view of a hand rake, constructed upon my improved plan. Fig. 2 is a

page_text: transverse vertical section of the same, showing the arrangement of levers;
whereby the teeth or tines are raised from the ground. Fig. 3 represents
another plan view, but the teeth and apparatus for raising the same are
removed, in order more clearly to show the form of the framework upon which
they are supported. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the same, with some of the
moveable parts also removed. The skeleton framing a, a, a, a, is constructed
of iron, and is mounted on wheels b; b, as seen in the Figures. It is moved
about by the means of the handle c, c; and the teeth or tines d, d; d, d;
Figs. 1 and 2, are fixed separately in sockets e, e, which are mounted loosely
on the long horizontal rod or shaft f, f, Figs. 3 and 4. The construction of
the teeth and sockets, and the mode of connecting them together, will be best
scen in the detached views, Figs. 5. The teeth or tines of the rake pass over
the back horizontal bar a* of the framing, which bar is thereby made to act as
a clearer to the teeth which are allowed to rest upon the ground when at work,
as seen in Fig. 2; but when it is desired to raise them up, either to clear
them or to remove the implement to another locality, this object is effected by
simply pulling down the hand lever g, g, into position shown by dots in Fig. 2.
This lever, or rather pair of levers, have their fulcrum at and turn upon the
horizontal rod or shaft f, f, and carry at their lower end and at about right
angles thereto a pair of arms h, h, to the outer ends of which a horizontal rod
or bar i is attached; and when the hand lever g is depressed, the bar i comes
into contact with the under side of the teeth, and raises them all simultaneously
off the ground. When it is required to maintain the teeth in this position, as
would be the case while the implement is being removed, the catch of tho
rod j,. which is connected to the handle c, c, is dropped over the bar i, and
effectually prevents the teeth from descending, as is shewn by dots in Fig. 2;
and when the teeth are to be brought into operation; it will only be necessary
to release the catch of the rod j, and suffer the hand lever g, g; to resume its
original position. Figs. 6 and 7 represent plan and sectional views of another
node of raising, the teeth. a, a, is the framing, as in the preceding Figures,
nd c, c, the handle, whereby the implement is drawn along; h, h, are a pair
f arms which turn upon the horizontal shaft f, f, and carry at their outer ends
horizontal bar i, i, by which the teeth, are raised. Instead of raising the
rms h, h, by means of levers affixed to their inner ends, a pair of rods k, k,
re attached at one end to the arms h, h, and at the other end to a
andle 7;, and when it is required to raise the teeth, this object is effected by
rawing the handle / and rods k, k, up into the position shown by dots in Fig. 7,
nd dropping the handle into a catch m on the handle c of the ruke.
igs. 8 and 9 represent plan and side views of another mode of raising the

page_text: teeth, which is effected by means of cams. n, n, are two cams mounted on
the axles of the running wheels, and revolving with them; and o, o, are two
bent arms, the outer ends of which carry the horizontal bar i, whereby the
teeth are raised, as in the outer instances. The arms o, o, are mounted loosely
on the horizontal shaft' f, and their inner ends are enclosed between two
pins p, p, situated at the extremities of a lever q; q, which is worked by means
of the handle g. As one end of the lever q is raised and the opposite end'
depressed, it shogs or forces the arms o, o, sideways on to or above the cams n, n;
and as these latter revolve they raise the said arms, and with them the teeth
or tines, which are thereby cleared by the bar a* of the framing. The cams
continuing to revolve will allow the teeth to descend again, but, if required,
they may be kept suspended by means of a rod with a hook at the end, similar
to that shown at j, in Figs. 2. Figs. 10 and 11, in Sheet II., represent two
views of my improved horse rake. Fig. 10 is a plan or horizontal view of the
machine; and Fig. 11 is a transverse vertical section. a, a, a, a, is the
framing; b, b, the running wheels; c, c, the shafts. The teeth or tines are
fixed in sockets and mounted separately on the horizontal rod or shaft f, as in
the hand rake. The teeth are raised off the ground by means of the bent
levers 9, 9, which also turn on the shaft f; and when their inner ends are
depressed by the lever h, the outer end raises the teeth. The levers h are also
bent or curved, and of a peculiar shape, as seen in the Drawing, and are not
connected by any joint to the levers g, but simply bear against the upper edges
of the latter. The levers hare mounted on the ends of the shaft which carries
the hand lever i. The attendant walks behind the rake, and when it is
required to raise the teeth he pulls down the handle i, and thereby depresses
the inner end of the bent levers g; as shewn by dots in Fig. 11. The levers g, g,
are furnished with a weight 2, as a counterbalance to the weight of the teeth,
and to assist in raising them. When the teeth are raised, they may be
retained in an elevated position by means of the hooked rod y. Fig. 12
represents in section a modification of the above plan, in which the teeth or
tines are placed in front of the machine instead of at the back. The rod f, f
on which the teeth are mounted is situated at the back part, and a very similar
arrangement of levers is employed to raise the teeth, which object is effected
by pulling down the handle i, and by that means raising the horizontal bar at
the outer end of the lever g, g, as in the former instance. This peculiar
construction of rake I intend to employ for collecting or gathering dead leaves
twitch sticks, or stones. And this arrangement of parts may be employed
either for a horse or hand rake. h, h, is a trough or box, into which the
leaves, twitch, or other matters that are raked up by the teeth are collected.

page_text: The several Figures in Sheets III., IV., V., and VI., represent my improve-
ments upon machinery for cutting chaff. The improvements consist first, in
the employment of a novel form of knife. Secondly, in an improved mode of
working the various parts connected with the mouth or feeding part of the
apparatus.. Thirdly, in an improved mode of driving or actuating the entire
machine. The two first improvements are shewn in Sheets III. and IV., and.
the latter in Sheets V. and VI. Fig. 12, Sheet III., represents a plan view of
the machine, as seen from above. Fig. 13 is a side elevation, and Fig. 14 an
end elevation of the same. Fig. 15 is a longitudinal section taken through.
some of the working parts; and Fig. 16 is a transverse section taken in. the.
line A, B, of Fig. 12. Fig. 17 is a horizontal section, for the purpose of
shewing more clearly the position of certain of the working parts, by the
agency of which the rotary motion of the feeding rollers, and also the vertical.
action of the jaw or mouth piece, is effected. Similar letters of reference are
marked upon corresponding parts in all the Figures. A, A, is the framework
of the machine, which may be constructed of wood or iron, as may be con-
sidered most advisable; B, B, is the trough or box in which the material. to,
be cut is placed; C1, C2, C3, are the fluted feeding rollers, the upper ones of.
which are mounted, in moveable bearings made in vertical sliding. rods, so
that the thickness of the feed may be regulated at pleasure. An ordinary fly-,
wheel carries the knife or cutting instrument D, the form of which is best seen:
in the end view, Fig. 14. The fly wheel is mounted on one end of the main.
shaft a, which turns in bearings c, c, in the brackets b, b, connected to the,
framework, as seen in Fig. 15; ratchet wheels,,, furnished with proper
palls or clicks, are mounted on the shafts of the feeding rollers C. The two,
front rollers, C, and C³, are actuated in the following manner: on the axle of.
the lower feeding roller or bent lever k, is mounted the upper feeding roller,.,
being also furnished with a bent lever k², all of which parts are best seen in
Fig. 15. The outer end of the lever rests upon and is supported by a roller
at the end of the lever h, which is connected by a rod g to the crank fat the.
outer end of the main shaft a. The fulcrum of the lever h is situated at :.
(see Figures 15 and 17), and, if required, an additional lever y may be con-
nected to the end of the lever h, for the purpose of applying an auxiliary,
power, or in fact driving the machine alone. It will be seen that as the lever
vibrates up and down it raises the tail or end of the lever k' with it, which,
by means of the pall l', forces round the rachet wheel 3, and thereby the
ower feeding roller C³, and the upper end of the lever bears against and
orces back the lever k, and by means of the pall forces. round the ratchet
wheel of the upper feeding roller; an additional pall actuates the back

page_text: Y.
feeding roller. When the lever ' has been raised to the highest point it is
allowed to descend again by its own weight, and the length of the chaff is
regulated by the distance which this lever is allowed to descend. When at
its lowest point it rests upon a bar or rod a (Figures 13, 15, and 17), which is
supported at any particular height by lodging it in one of the teeth of the
rack It is well known that the materials to be cut into chaff must be com-
pressed or consolidated by the jaws during the operation of cutting, and also in
order to feed properly, regularly, and with facility, it is necessary that these
jaws should be loosened at intervals for the purpose of pushing the materials
forward, this object is effected in the present machine in the following manner:―
The lower feeding roller is mounted in fixed bearings, but the two upper ones
turn in bearings made in the vertical sliding rods t¹ and t, which are connected
at their lower ends to the weighted lever v, Fig. 13. The upper or moveable
jawo of the mouth is connected to two side rods (u, u, Fig. 16), which
descend, and are attached to the horizontal bar q, q, which carries at its centre
an antifriction roller r. This roller works in a slot forward at the end of an
elbow lever s, s, the upper end of which is also furnished with an antifriction
A cam d on the
roller that bears against the tail of another elbow lever e.
main shaft a works against an antifriction roller placed at the inner end of the
elbow lever e, and, by raising the inner or upper end of this lever, the lower end
is forced inward, and carries with it the upper end of the lower lever 8, s, the
fulcrum of which is at w at the lower end of the vertical sliding rod t. By
this it will be perceived that the slotted end of the levers will be depressed
and carry down with it the cross bar 9, 9, and upper jaw o, o, and by that
means compress the materials at the mouth of the trough, and hold them
tightly and firmly while they are being cut. When the knife has finished the
cut, and another length of material is required to be fed forward, the upper
jaw is loosened by the smaller radius of the cam d coming round and allowing
the levers e, e, and s, s, to resume their quiescent position, and then the spring p
forces up the bar q, q, and by means of the vertical rods u, u, the upper jaw o
is loosened, another length of material is immediately pushed forward by the
feed rollers, and, upon the larger radius of the cam d coming into contact with
the lever e, the upper jaw is again forced down during another cut. Owing to
the peculiar shape of the knife or cutting instrument it is necessary that the
jaws should be kept closed for from two thirds to three fourths of a revolution
of the fly wheel. The time of the jaws remaining closed is regulated by the
Other mechanical
shape of the cam, which actuates the moving parts.
arrangements may be employed for effecting the compression of the materials
and working the moveable jaws. Another plan of compressing the materials

page_text: is shewn in Sheet IV., and will be explained hereafter, when I describe the
arrangement represented in that Sheet. Being enabled to keep the materials
compressed during more than half a revolution of the fly wheel is of the
greatest importance when a knife with a long cutting edge is employed, as
without this object is effected a knife of this construction cannot be used.
I therefore consider that keeping the jaws closed during from two thirds to
three fourths of a revolution of the fly wheel, when employed in combination
with my improved knife, forms an important feature of my improvements, and
I therefore wish to claim it. The machine may be driven by manual labor or
horse power; in the Figures in Sheet III. it is represented as intended to bo
actuated by horse power, part of an universal joint being shown as connected
with the fly wheel. By the employment of the peculiarly shaped knife above
described, I am enabled to construct machines of greater width than is ordi-
narily done, but the same length of cutting edge may be applied to narrower
machines, always provided that some mechanical arrangement, either that
above described or some other equivalent one, such as a weight or spring, as
shewn in Sheet IV., is employed for keeping the jaws closed and the materials
tightly compressed while the knife is cutting.
In Sheet IV. I have shewn another construction of chaff-cutting machine, in
which, however, some of the improvements shewn in the former machine are also
included. The principal improvements in Sheet IV. consist in moving the feeding
trough backwards and forwards, and employing only one feeding roller, which
is worked in connection with the trough. By these means I am enabled to
construct a much more simple machine than those generally used. Fig 18,
Sheet IV., represents a side elevation of the machine. Fig. 19 is an cleva-
tion of the opposite side. Fig. 20 is a plan or view of the machine, as seen
from above; and Fig. 21 is an end elevation. a, a, is the main shaft of
the machine on which the fly wheel and knife, or cutting instrument, is
mounted, as seen in the plan view. On the opposite end of the main shaft
a crank b is placed, to which a rod c is connected'; the lower end of this rod
carries a small roller, which bears against the upper edge of a slotted lever'd;
which turns on a fulcrum at 1, immediately beneath the trough or box B of
the machine, and which is made slightly tapering, as seen in the plan view,
Fig. 20; a chain pulley e is mounted' in suitable bearings and furnished with
a chain, the ends of which are fastened to the bottom of the trough, which is
mounted on small rollers, as seen in Fig. 18. The axle of this chain pulley
extends out on one side of the machine, and carries a rod or lever f, which
may be fastened by means of a pin or cotter at any distance along the said
axle. The opposite end of this rod or lever is inserted in the slot made in the

page_text: lever d before mentioned, and of course moves up and down with it; it will
therefore be evident that, as the main shaft revolves and carries round the crank
6 at its opposite end, the outer end of the slotted lever d will be depressed by
the rod c, and will thus communicate a vibratory motion to the rod or lever f,
and by this means cause the pulley e to turn on its axle, and pull back or
forth the trough or box to which it is connected by the chains. The feed-
ing roller is mounted in two sliding vertical rods h, h, and is weighted
beneath by means of the lever i, which has its fulcrum on the cross bars j
to which the lower ends of the vertical sliding rods h, h, are connected. The
inner end of the lever i, which, as before mentioned, bears on the cross bar j,
and by that means weights the roller g, is connected to the lower end of the
rods k, k, which work the moveable jaw of the mouth, and by that means
raises the jaw when the material to be cut is fed forward. By referring to
Fig. 18 it will be seen that the roller 9 carries at one end a ratchet wheel 1,
to which is firmly keyed on to its axle. It also carries a lever m, which is fur-
nished at its upper end with a pall m*, whereby the ratchet wheel is driven.
The lever m is connected at its lower end by means of a rod n to the trough
or box, and as this latter is moved forward the lower end of the lever is
pushed forward, thereby causing the pall at its upper end to force round the
ratchet, and by that means the feed roller, which it will now be understood
only moves or turns on its axis when the trough is moved forward.. It will be
recollected that the movement of the trough is produced by the upward
and downward movement of the rod or lever f, and therefore the length of the
traverse of the trough will depend entirely upon the distance that the lever f
rises and falls; this is regulated by moving this lever along the axle of the chain
pulley, and thereby regulating its situation in the slot of the lever d. By this
means the length of the chaff can be varied as may be desired. The materials
to be cut are compressed by means of a cam, as in the other machine, but some
varied in this machine. The cam o on the main
other of the moving parts are
shaft revolves against and depresses the spring lever p, which turns, on a
centre 2 in the bracket 9 connected to the framework of the machine. This
spring lever p is furnished with a small antifriction roller, against which the
cam o revolves, and the other end of this lever is bent under and presses down
the roller r, which is situate at the lower part of the side rods s. s, that carry
the presser plate t, as seen in the end view. It will now be understood that
whenever the larger radius of the cam d bears against and thereby depresses
the inner end of the lever p, that the lower end of this lever will force down
the roller r, and of course with it the presser plate, which will thereby con-
dense or compress the materials under operation. Fig. 22 represents a partial

page_text: view of a machine in which the moveable jaw is pressed down by means of a
helical spring enclosed in a box placed immediately below. The jaw is raised
up (for the purpose of allowing a fresh supply of material to be pushed for-
ward) by means of a cam o, which, in this instance, acts in an exactly opposite
manner to that described in the other instance. A rod u, furnished with a
cross piece v at bottom, descends from the side rods of the presser plate
through the box and spring, which, by bearing against the cross piece v, always:
keeps the materials compressed, except when the cam o comes into action. If:
required, a heavy weight may be employed in place of the helical spring.
In Sheets V. and VI. I have shewn different means of actuating chaff-cutting
machines by hand labor, by the employment of various arrangements of levers'
in place of, or as an assistance to, the ordinary winch handle. Fig. 21,
Sheet V., represents an end elevation of a chaff-cutting engine, which is
intended to be driven by an arrangement of levers. The hand lever a has
its fulcrum at 1, in a bearing or bracket bolted on to one side of the framing;
the vibratory action of this lever is communicated by the connecting rod 6 to
the lower lever c, which works in a bearing 2, also fixed to the framework of
the machine; the other end of the lever c is connected by the rod d to the.
crank e on the main shaft, which is thereby made to rotate and carry round the.
fly wheel and knife, or cutting instrument affixed thereto. Fig. 22, Sheet VI.,;
represents another arrangement of levers for effecting a similar purpose, being
merely a modification of that above described. In this instance either one:
or two hand levers a, a, may be employed, their fulcrum 1 being situate
in bearings on one of the side standards: The motion of the hand levers is
communicated to the lower lever c by the connecting rod b, which is attached,
to the lower lever near its centre; the fulcrum of the said lever being at its
end and situate in one of the side standards; rotary motion is communicated to:
the main shaft in the same manner as in the former Figure. Figs. 23 and 24;
Sheet V., represent plan and side views of a mode of actuating a chaff engine
by means of levers a, a, furnished with palls or clicks f, f, which are made to
take into the teeth of a ratchet wheel y, which is keyed or otherwise fastened
on to the main shaft of the machine; by alternately raising and depressing the
levers a, a, the ratchet wheel on the main shaft will be forced round; and by
that means be made to actuate the whole machinery. It will be understood:
that the right-hand lever a drives the ratchet round by being depressed, but:
the left-hand lever must be drawn up to effect the same object: Fig. 25,
Sheet VI., represents an end view of a machine with a somewhat similar
arrangement, but in which the power is transferred by depressing both levers,
cach of which acts upon a separate rachet wheel. A, is the main shaft of the

page_text: machine, the outer end of which turns in bearings in a framing outside the fly
wheel, upon the axle of which one of the ratchet wheels g is mounted, the other
ratchet wheel g✶ is mounted in bearings in the outside framing by the side of the
other ratchet, and carries on its axle a toothed wheel h", which gears into and
drives a similar toothed wheel h on the axle of the ratchet wheel g. Each of
the, levers a, a, is furnished with palls, whereby the rachet wheels are forced
round, and by means of the gearing h, h*, the power of both levers is com-
municated to the main shaft A.
Having now described my various improvements, and the manner of carry-
ing the same into effect, I would observe, that in order to make my improve-
ments more clearly understood,, I have found it necessary to show and describe
various parts which have been heretofore known and used for similar purposes.:
I do not, however, intend to claim any such parts as constituting any part of
my Invention; but that which I consider as new, and therefore wish to claim:
as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent, is,
First,. constructing hand rakes with moveable teeth or tines, that is with.
teeth placed on a shaft independent of each other, and mounting the imple-
ment: upon running wheels, and also raising the teeth of hand rakes from the
ground by means of levers, as shewn in Sheet I.
Secondly, the peculiar, arrangement of levers for effecting the same object.
as: applied, to horse rakes, as shewn in Sheet. II.; also placing the teeth or tines.
of both horse and hand rakes in the front part of the machine, whereby I am.
enabled: to gather, or collect and carry away dead leaves,, twitch sticks, and:
other extraneous matters,, as above mentioned.
Thirdly, as regards chaff-cutting machines, I claim the peculiar shape of the
knife or cutting instrument; together with the various mechanical arrangements.
of parts; shewn for actuating the feed rollers, and working the moveable. jaws.
for compressing the materials, while being cut..
Fourthly, I claim the mode of constructing chaff-cutting machines, as shown
and: described in.reference to Sheet II., particularly moving the trough forward-
and backward for the purpose of assisting the delivery of the materials to be cut,.
and whereby I am enabled to work the machine with one feeding roller only;.
and also the mode of working, the said feeding roller in connection with the
moving trough.
Fifthly, in relation to my, improved mode of driving chaff-cutting engines by
means of vibrating levers in place of the ordinary winch handle..
I wish it to be understood, that I am aware that this description of machinery
has. been heretofore actuated by an arrangement of levers, I do not therefore

page_text: wish or intend to claim an exclusive right to the broad principle of applying
this particular mechanical power to the aforesaid purposes, but I confine my
claim to the peculiar arrangement of parts shown and described in Sheets V.
and IV. of the Drawings, as applied to this particular purpose.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Smith, have hereunto set my
band and seal, this Third day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-five.