IMPROVEMENTS IN LAWN MOWING MACHINES
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Aaron White Cook Williams and Caleb M⚫Kinney
Talcott, of the Firm of Williams and Company, of No. 1, City Road,
in the County of Middlesex, Merchants and Manufacturers, for the
"
Sealed the 2nd September 1870, and dated the 16th May 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Aaron White Cook
Williams and Caleb McKinney Talcott at the Office of the Com-
missioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 16th May 1870.
We, AARON WHITE COOK WILLIAMS and CALEB M'KINNEY TALCOTT,
of the Firm of Williams and Company, of No. 1, City Road, in the
County of Middlesex, Merchants and Manufacturers, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LAWN MOWING
MACHINES," to be as follows:-
Our said Invention relates to further improvements upon the machine
described in the Specification of an Invention for which Letters
Patent have been granted to the said Aaron White Cook Williams,
bearing date the Fifth day of January, in the year of our Lord One

page_text: thousand cight hundred and sixty-nine, No. 37, and which machine is
now commonly known as the "Archimedean lawn mower."
Our present Invention relates, first, to a noiseless device for connecting
and disconnecting the roller and the revolving cutter, so that when the
machine is drawn backward and is not cutting there will be none of the i
clicking sound occasioned by the ordinary ratchet apparatus.
Secondly. It relates to the arrangement of an excentrix at the rear of
the handle for adjusting the same to any desired elevation, instead of the
chain and series of holes heretofore used in the said machine for that
purpose.
Thirdly. The said Invention relates to the employment of elastic or
jointed bearing pieces at the front of the machine, instead of the shoes
described in the said former Specification.
The aforesaid friction device is composed of an elastic ring made of
cast iron or other suitable metal, which is fitted within the periphery of
a toothed wheel which runs loose on the roller journal or the end of the
roller shaft. This ring is split or open on one side, so that it may expand
and contract sufficiently to hold or release the wheel. The said ring and
its recess in the wheel are slightly dovetailed or bevelled inward so as to
prevent the sliding of the wheel laterally away from the ring. On the a
end of the roller is a pin or stud, on which is a small lever which has an
arm projecting between the opening or slit in the ring. When the
machine is moved forward the lever acts upon the ring in such a manner
as to cause it to expand and bind tightly in the recess in the wheel, and
through the intermediate gearing the rotating cutter is then operated.
When the machine is drawn backward the lever no longer presses on
the ring, which then contracts and releases the wheel and the cutter
will cease to rotate. The aforesaid lever is provided with a small spiral
spring, which is also attached to the end of the roller, and which tends
continually to keep the lever up to its work. The lever also has, by a
preference, a secured arm which bears against the boss of the wheel
and keeps the said lever from getting out of place.
The excentric for adjusting the handle is supported in and between
jaws projecting from a metal socket in which the handle is inserted.
The periphery of the said excentric so arranged to bear against a bar
extending across the machine, and the socket is fitted to turn on another
bar. By turning the excentric the handle is raised or lowered, and the
]

page_text: said excentric is secured when properly adjusted by means of a screw
which compresses the jaws and causes them to pinch and bind the
excentric between them.
The spring or jointed bearing picces are attached at one end to the
under side of the front of the side pieces of the frame. The other end
of the spring or jointed piece passes up through a slot in the side piece.
A set screw is passed down through the frame and bears against the
spring or jointed piece at or near the centre of the same. By turning
these screws the front of the machine is raised or lowered upon the said
bearing picces, and the height of the cut is regulated accordingly.
,
In some cases I make one or more of the toothed wheels of the
material known as xylonite to still further diminish the noise.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Aaron White Cook Williams and Caleb McKinney
Talcott, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 15th November
1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc, AARON;
WHITE COOK Williams and Caleb MºKINNEY TALCOTT, of the Firm of
Williams and Company, of No. 1, City Road, in the County of Middle-
sex, Merchants and Manufacturers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of May, 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 Aaron White Cook Williams and Caleb M*Kinney
Talcott, Her special licence that we, the said Aaron White Cook Williams
and Caleb McKinney Talcott, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as we, the said Aaron White Cook Williams and Caleb'
McKinney Talcott, 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LAWN MOWING MACHINES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that wc, the said Aaron White Cook Williams and

page_text: Caleb McKinney Talcott, our executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under our, 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 Scal Patent Office within six calendar 5
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE THEREFORE, that I, the said Aaron White Cook
Williams, for myself and the said Caleb McKinney Talcott, do heraby
declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained 1
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawings forming a part of this Specification :-
Our said Invention relates to further improvements upon the machine
described in the Specification of an Invention for which Letters Patent
have been granted to the said Aaron White Cook Williams, bearing date 1
the Fifth day of January A.D. 1869, No. 37, and which machine is now
commonly known as the "Archimedean lawn mower.”
Our present Invention relates, first, to noiseless devices for connecting
and disconnecting the roller and the revolving cutter, so that when the
machine is drawn backward and is not cutting there will be none of the 2
clicking sound occasioned by the ordinary ratchet apparatus.
Secondly. It relates to the arrangement of an excentric at the inner
end of the handle for adjusting the same to any desired clevation, instead
of the chain and series of holes heretofore used in the said machine for
that purpose.
2
Thirdly. The said Invention relates to the employment of clastic or
jointed bearing pieces at the front of the machine, instead of the shoes
described in the aforesaid former Specification.
The aforesaid noiseless devices are arranged at one end of the roller,
and connect and disconnect the same automatically, as the machine is 3
reversed, with a wheel which drives the cutters, as herein-after described.
The excentric for adjusting the handle is supported in and between
jaws projecting from a metal socket, in which the handle is inserted.
The periphery of the said excentric is arranged to bear against a bar
extending across the machine, and the socket is fitted to turn on another 3
bar. By turning the excentric the handle is raised or lowered, and the
said excentric is secured, when properly adjusted, by means of a screw,

page_text: which compresses the jaws and causes them to pinch and bind the
excentric between them.
The springs or jointed bearing pieces arc attached at one end to tho
under side of the front of the side pieces of the frame. The other end
of the spring or jointed piece projects upward above the side piece. A
set screw is passed down through the frame and bears against the spring
or jointed piece at or near the centre of the same. By turning these
screws the front of the machine is raised or lowered upon the said
bearing picces, and the height of the cut is regulated accordingly..
In some cases we make one or more of the toothed wheels of the
material known as xylonite to still further diminish the noise.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a plan or top view of our improved lawn mowing machine;
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section on the line x, x, Figure 1; Figure 3
is a vertical section on the line y, y, Figure 1, shewing the silent
connecting devices; Figure 4 is a vertical transverse section on the
line 5, 5, Figure 3; Figures 5 and 6 illustrate a modification of these
devices; Figures 7 and 8 illustrate another arrangement of the silent
connecting mechanism; Figure 9 shows the handle and its means for
adjustment detached from the machine. Like letters indicate the saine
parts throughout the Drawings.
A is the frame of the machine, which may be of cast iron or other
suitable material; B is the roller; C is the revolving cutter. The latter
is preferably formed with three blades projecting from the horizontal
axis D. E is the fixed blade or cutter.
As herein-before stated a part of our Invention relates to an excentric
for adjusting the handle or rod of the machine to any desired height;
a is the said handle; is the excentric, which is supported in and
between the jaws c¹ formed on the metal socket c, which turns on the
bar d, and into which the handle a is inserted. The socket c is kept in
place laterally on the bar d, but with a capability of turning partially
around thereon by means of a screw c³, whose point enters a groove d'
in the bar d. The periphery of the said excentric is arranged to bear
against another bar e extending across the machine. By turning the
excentric 6 upon its pin or stud b' it is obvious that any portion of its
periphery may be brought to bear upon the bar e, and therefore the

page_text: distance between the pin and the said bar may be increased or
diminished, and the handle a is proportionately raised or lowered. The
said excentric is secured, when properly adjusted, by means of the pin b¹,
which is screwed into one of the jaws, or is provided with a nut, and
which compresses the jaws c' and causes them to pinch and bind the 5
excentric b between them.
Heretofore these handles or rods have been made of wood, the end
being fitted into the socket and secured therein by a pin passed through
the socket and rod. It has been found that these wooden handles are
liable to shrink or contract, so that although when new they may fit 1
properly and be firm in the socket, yet in a little time, in certain
conditions of climate and temperature, they will become loose and will
greatly impair the convenient working of the machine. Furthermore,
the cross piece or hand bar at the end of the handle is liable to work
loose and be displaced, which is another cause of annoyance to those 1
using the machine.
To remedy these inconveniences we make the handle a of metal
tubing (preferably iron), which not being liable to shrinkage will
never become loose in its socket, and which moreover is slender and
more sightly in appearance than a wooden bar. We fasten this handle a 2
in its socket c by means of a thumb screw g. The cross piece or bar a¹
is of wood; the end of the tube a is inserted in a hole bored in the said
cross piece, and a rivet h is passed through the cross piece and tube.
In this manner we obtain a strong, durable, convenient, and cheap
handle for our improved machine. The springs i are attached at ¹ to 2
the under side of the side pieces of the frame A. The said springs are
curved or bent upward at their outer end as shewn in Figure 2, and the
ends of the frame pass through slots in the springs to keep the latter
properly in place. The upward tendency of these springs is counter-
acted by the adjusting screws j, which are passed through the frame and 3
fitted in screw threads therein, or in nuts properly arranged on the
frame. By turning these screws in one direction the springs i may be
pressed down, and by turning them in the other direction the springs are
allowed to rise. By this means the front of the machine is raised or
lowered upon the said springs, and the height of the cut is regulated 3
accordingly.
To diminish the noise of the machine in working we form the toothed

page_text: and durable, and which not being sonorous or resonant breaks the
continuity of the vibrations that would exist if there were a complete.
metallic connection between the roller and cutter. The " xylonite "
has the peculiar combination of properties which adapt it to the purpose
of our Invention. Other materials may be used which would be equally
noiseless, but no such material known to us at present possesses the
required strength or toughness, durability, and capability of being
worked with the ordinary tools used in the manufacture of such
machinery. We therefore use the "xylonite" for this intermediate
wheel, but may employ any non-resonant substance which we may find
to be in other respects suitable for the purpose. Furthermore, as we
have discovered that the "xylonite" is so perfectly adapted for the
construction of toothed or gearing wheels, we in some cases make the
other wheels of lawn mowing machines of "xylonite" for the purpose
of further diminishing the noise of the working of such machines.
By means of the devices which we employ as a substitute for the
ordinary ratchet for connecting the roller with the revolving cutters we
still further diminish the noise of the machine in working and entirely
prevent the disagreeable clicking which has hitherto usually accompanied
these machines, and which in some cases prevents their use.
The silent connecting device shewn in Figures 3 and 4 is composed of
an elastic ring made of cast iron or other suitable metal, which is
fitted within the periphery of a toothed wheel m. This wheel fits loosely
on the roller journal or the end of the roller shaft. The ring is split
or open on one side, so that it may expand and contract sufficiently to
hold or release the wheel m. The said ring and the recess in the wheel
are slightly dovetailed or bevilled inward to prevent the sliding of the
ring laterally away from the wheel. On the end of the roller is a pin
or stud m² whereon is a small lever or pawl m³, which has an arm m³
projecting between the opening or slit in the ring 7. When the machine
is moved forward the lever acts upon the ring in such a manner as
to cause it to expand and bind tightly in the recess in the wheel, and
through the intermediate gearing the rotating cutter is then operated.
When the machine is drawn backward the lever no longer presses
on the ring, which then contracts and releases the wheel, and the
cutter will cease to rotate. The aforesaid lever is provided with a small
spiral spring, which is also attached to the end of the roller, and which
tends continually to keep the lever up to its work. The lever also has

page_text: by preference a second arm, which bears against the boss of the wheel
and keeps the said lever from getting out of place.
In the modification of the connecting device shewn in Figures 5
and 6 the pawls m² are supported in the recesses or notches o formed in
the end of the roller B. These recesses are so formed that the free end
of the pawls m may move for a short distance in the arc of a circle,
which cuts the inner periphery of the wheel mat the point 1 as indicated
by the dotted lines 2-3, consequently the end of the pawl cannot pass
this point.
It must be borne in mind that the wheel m is loose on the
gudgeon B' of the roller B and therefore will not turn with the roller
except when its connection therewith is established by the pawls m³. The
arrow indicates the direction in which the roller turns when the machine
is cutting, and it will be seen that the pawls m³ are so arranged that when
the roller is turned in the direction of the arrow the pawls which are
kept up to the periphery of the wheel m by light springs o' are so acted
that they tend to turn outward in the aṛcs 2, 3, and to cross the
line of the periphery of the wheel, but as their crossing this linc is
impossible the effect of this action is to cause the pawls to grip the
wheel tightly and lock the wheel m and roller B together. On the other
hand when the machine is drawn backward the roller turning in the
opposite direction moves the pawis inward and away from the line of
the periphery, thereby instantly releasing the wheel and depriving the
cutters of motion. It will be obvious that as the gripping or locking
is effected entirely by the frictional contact of the surfaces there will
be no perceptible noise at this part of the machine in either the forward
or backward motion of the same.
upon
In Figures 7 and 8 we have shown an ordinary ratchet wheel and
pawl which are rendered noiseless by the following contrivance :-On
the roller or its journal we fix the ratchet wheel p, and in front of the
said wheel we place the arm q which carrics the pawl m³. This arm is
fitted loosely on the roller journal. The pawl is formed with an exten-
sion at the back, and its extremity m' lics in the notch m³ of the wheel m;
a small spring 2 is placed between the journal and the arm q to
produce just sufficient friction between these parts to cause a slight
movement of the arm with the journal and raise and drop the pawl_m²
when the machine is reversed. When the machine is moved forward
in the direction of the arrow, the part m' of the pawl acts on the
side of the notch of the wheel m; and the point me is 'dropped into the

page_text: teeth of the ratchet wheel. When the machine is drawn backward the
reverse action of the roller raises the pawl and keeps it out of gear
with the ratchet wheel till the machine is again moved forward.
Having thus fully described our said Invention, and shewn how the
same may be conveniently and advantageously carried into practice, we
wish it understood that we claim,—
First. The silent friction devices at the end of the roller operating to
connect and disconnect the same with the gearing which transmits the
motion to the cutter substantially as set forth, for the purposes specified.
Second. Adjusting the handle of a lawn mowing machine by incanṣ
of an excentric or cam arranged at the lower or inner end of the handlo
and operating substantially as set forth.
Third. The excentric or cam b, the socket c with jaws c', the bars d
and e, and pinching screw arranged in combination with the handle a,
substantially as set forth for the purpose specified.
Fourth. Providing the front of the machine with adjustable springs
in combination with the screws or equivalent devices, substantially
as set forth for the purpose specified.
Fifth. A wheel formed of "xylonite" or other strong and non-
resonant substance introduced at some part in the gearing connecting
the roller B and the rotating cutter C for the purpose set forth.
Sixth. A lawn mowing machine with the devices for effecting the
convenient adjustment of the handle and regulating the length of the
cut, and with means for preventing the noise of the machine in working,
substantially as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Aaron White Cook Williams, have
hereunto set my hand and scal, this Fifteenth day of November,
in the year of our Lord Onc thousand eight hundred and seventy.
Witness,
H. E. JONES.
AARON WHITE COOK WILLIAMS. (L.S.)