IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR CUTTING GRASS PLOT EDGES."
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Percy Holt, of Royal Insurance Buildings,
Leeds, in the County of York, Civil Engineer, and William Dawes,
of Kingston Grove, Leeds, in the County of York, Engineer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR CUTTING GRASS PLOT
EDGES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Percy Holt and
William Dawes at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 27th June 1874.
We, HENRY PERCY HOLT, of Royal Insurance Buildings, Leeds, in the
County of York, Civil Engineer, and WILLIAM DAWES, of Kingston
Grove, Leeds, in the County of York, Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention. for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR CUTTING
GRASS PLOT EDGES," to be as follows :—
This Invention consists more especially in certain arrangements of
parts for the purpose of constituting a machine for trimming and picking
up the rough edges or blades of grass left after mowing the plot surface

page_text: to be used in lieu of the hand shears heretofore employed for that
purpose, and may be thus described..
The handles (for driving or pushing) framing, driving drum or drums,
guiding rollers, and other ordinary parts may be similar to or after the
manner of the usual lawn mowers, or any convenient modification thereof,
to suit our special purpose or object, but in addition to or in lieu of some
of them we employ single or double reversed coned fly cutters (driven
in any suitable manner), fixed in some cases at or about an angle of 45°
to the surface of the grass plot, and in others a pair of fly cutters or a
compound cutter so fixed as to produce a similar result, that is, to cut or
trim a certain distance both horizontally and vertically from the angle or
corner of the plot edge.
.
We also employ fixed blades (of a similar outline or contour), against
which the cutters work, which gauge the length and effect the cutting
of the edges and delivery of the grass trimmings into a suitable collecting
box.
The above motions may be obtained by means of band, chain friction,
or toothed wheels, with or without intermediate or "idle" wheels, as the
case may require, and we sometimes attach the before-named edge or
angle cutters to the ordinary lawn mowing machines, to work either
with or without the other cutters, and in this arrangement sometimes we
prefer to use a parallel cutter at any suitable angle to both the horizontal
and vertical planes. This arrangement is also applicable to our new
machines.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letter Patent, 2
filed by the said Henry Percy Holt and William Dawes in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 26th December 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, HENRY.
PERCY HOLT, of Royal Insurance Buildings, Leeds, in the County of
York, Civil Engineer, and WILLIAM DAWES, of Kingston Grove, Leeds, a
in the County of York, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of June,. in the year'
of our Lord' One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the..

page_text: .
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto us, the said Henry Percy Holt and
William Dawes, Her special licence that we, the said Henry Percy
Holt and William Dawes, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as we, the said Henry Percy Holt and William
Dawes, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 In-
vention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR CUTTING GRASS PLOT EDGES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Henry Percy
Holt and William Dawes, our executors or administrators, by an
instrument 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 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 Henry Percy Holt and William
Dawes, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement, that is to say :—
*This Invention consists more especially in certain arrangements of
parts for the purpose of constituting a machine for trimming and picking
up the rough edges or blades of grass left after mowing the plot surface,
to be used in lieu of the hand shears heretofore employed for that purpose,
and may be thus described.
The handles and framing for driving or pushing the machine and
other ordinary parts may be similar to or after the manner of the usual
lawn mower, or any convenient modification thereof, to suit our special
purpose or object, as herein-after shown, but in addition to or in
lieu of some of them we employ single or double reversed coned
revolving cutters, having their axes in some cases at or about an angle
of 45° to the surface of the grass plot, and in others a pair of cutters or a
compound cutter so fixed as to produce a similar result, that is, to cut or
trim a certain distance both horizontally and vertically from the angle or
corner of the plot edge.

page_text: We also employ fixed blades (which also act as guides) of a similar
outline or contour, against which the cutters work which guage the
length and effect the cutting of the edges and delivery of the grass
trimming into a suitable collecting box.
The above motions may be obtained by means of band, chain, friction, 5
or toothed wheels, by preference the latter, driven by a roller of sufficient
breadth to keep the machine steady, and made conical for the purpose of
facilitating the guiding by the causing the before-named blades or guides
to bind towards or against the vertical edge of the grass plot, with or
without intermediate or "idle" wheels, as the case may require, and 1
we sometimes attach the before-named edge or angle cutters to the
ordinary lawn mowing. machines, to work either with or without the
other cutters; and in this arrangement sometimes we prefer to use a
parallel or side cutter at any suitable angle or parallel to either the
horizental or vertical edges. This arrangement is also applicable to our 1
new machines.
To render the foregoing description of our Invention additionally clear
and intelligible we have appended the accompanying Drawing, whereon
Figure 1 is a front elevation; Figure 2 is a side elevation.
a the driving handle; the driving roller, made conical, with the 2
largest diameter towards the edge of grass to be cut; c, frame;
d, driving axle pinion and single coned cutter; e, knife edge and guide;
f, front guide; g, collecting box.
Figure 3, double coned cutter and knife arrangement.
Figure 4, single coned cutter and knife arrangement, with horizontal 2
driving axis, more particularly to attach to old machines.
Figure 5, side or parallel cutter arrangement, applicable to either old or
new machines.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or 3
carried into effect, we wish it to be understood that we do not confine
or restrict ourselves to the precise details or arrangements which we
have described or referred to as many modifications and variations may

page_text: therefore claim as the Invention secured to us by the herein-before in
part recited Letters Patent is, the arrangement and construction of a
machine for cutting or trimming the edges of grass plots or borders,
wherein we employ special cutters, blades, and driving rollers after the
manner herein-before explained, illustrated, and set forth.
In witness whereof, we, the said Henry Percy Holt and William
Dawes, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this. Twenty-third
day of December, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-four.
Witness,
WILLIAM NATHANIEL WYNN,
1, Carlisle Terrace,
North Street,
Leeds.
HENRY PERCY HOLT. (L.S.)
WILLIAM DAWES.
(L.S.)