IMPROVEMENTS IN COMBINED REAPING AND SHEAF BINDING MACHINES
Year: 1884

page_text: I HENRY JAMES HOGG KING of Newmarket near Stroud Gloucestershire,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN
COMBINED REAPING AND SHEAF BINDING MACHINES to be as follows:-
The principal object of this Invention is to make a Combined Reaping and Sheaf
Binding Machine narrow enough to pass through an ordinary gateway when ready
for work. The combined Reaping and Binding Machines at present in use, being
so wide, that they will not pass through an ordinary nine feet six inches or ten feet
gate without being placed on a seperate transport carriage, or wheels, and also a
change made in the horse shafts.
This seperate transport arrangement adds considerably to the cost of the Machine
and gives a good deal of additional labour besides loss of time in working the
Machine but the greatest advantage derived from the use of a narrow-machine
consists in the saving effected in the width of the roadway which has to be cut
round the crop before the Machine can start work. This is a matter of great
importance particularly in small fields.
To produce a satisfactory working Machine of this description several improve-
ments have had to be introduced which have been the result of a long series of
experiments in the harvest field & workshop.
My first improvement consists in placing the well known elevating aprons and
the cutter bar behind the large travelling wheel, the grain wheel however occupying
a position behind the cutter bar as usual, it being free to move round a centre,
The Machine may however be carried on three wheels in which case the large
travelling wheel is placed behind the elevating aprons; a third, a castor wheel
being placed in front of them, the grain wheel being in the usual position but
being free to move round a centre
It is the position of the elevating aprons in relation to the travelling wheels,
which constitutes an important feature of this Invention.
In the Machine when made with two travelling wheels, the horse shafts make
up the necessary weight to balance that portion of the Machine which is behind
the large travelling wheel so that a considerable strain has to be transmitted
through the framework of the Machine. To enable this strain to be successfully
resisted, diagonal bracing is introduced over the large travelling wheel which
makes the whole structure rigid.

page_text: This framework also serves the further purpose of carrying the reel and gearing
for driving the binder, the reel, and the elevating aprons in a simple manner, the
shaft for lifting the reel, being the centre on which a portion of the driving gearing
uns, thereby considerably reducing the amount of gearing. This arrangement of
bracing and gearing forms the second important feature of this Machine.
The third is the arrangement of gearing for driving the knife which enables it
to be easily removed or replaced and easily lubricated. To effect this the gearing
for working the knife, and the rest of the Machine is placed on the grain wheel
side of the large travelling wheel, and the knife is worked from a crank disc which
is almost close to the elevating aprons the connecting rod passing from the disc or
crank to the end of the knife bar which is carried in a guide which guide is at the
outside portion of the framework and accessable.
The fourth improvement relates to the Binder which has to be so arranged as to
occupy as little horizontal space as possible, while at the same time the seperation
between each sheaf requires to be as perfect as possible To do this vertical space
has to be utilized as a substitute for horizontal. With this object in view, I make
a packer which both aids the crop in its descent from the elevating aprons, and
packs it forward to form a sheaf as well This also saves the use of a butting
apron which we have found in practice to be expensive to keep in order, and to
take a good deal of power to work it from the high speed at which it runs.
This new packer is placed above the platform upon which the sheaf is tied which
makes it more convenient to oil and get at, and the packers consist of two rods
working on two pairs of cranks which I prefer to place, diametrically opposite each
other so that the packers balance one another, the motion of these packers is
similar to the coupling rods of a four wheeled coupled locomotive engine.
By attaching fingers either in a vertical, horizontal, or any other intermediate
position to these rods, the packing can be done in any direction, in this case the
crop is helped downwards and then forward To get the packers over the dead
centres when placed diametrically opposite one another, a connecting rod may be
used or the two sets of cranks may be connected by cog or chain wheels, this
packer is also a very suitable one for making a wide division between the sheaves
in an ordinary Binder by adopting the cut off arrangement for which letters
patent were granted to the present applicant and another (Specification No. 3525.-
1881) the only difference being that two or more fingers are placed in the same
line, on the coupling rod part of the packer. A modification of the Binder above
described may be made by the packer, packing against the lagging arm of the
Binder for which letters patent were granted to the present applicant and others
(Specifications No 5297-1878 & No 198.-1881) the lagging arm automatically
starting the Binder when sufficient crop has been packed against it to form
a sheaf.
.
The 5th (fifth) improvement consists in the shape of the needle, so as to allow
the string to pass through it without coming into contact with the crop which in
the ordinary needle with eyes we have found to be the case this improvement
consists in making a portion of the back of the needle tubular.
A sixth improvement in this Machine consists in a new tension arrangement
which enables a cheaper string to be used as it allows knots and unequal sizes of
the string (such as are found in cheap string) to pass through it without varying
the tension on the string to any material extent. It consists of 2 plates kept
together by an ajustable spring or weight through which the string passes. The
two plates form a long bell mouthed opening so that any knot or inequality passing
through the plates opens them very gradually indeed with the consequent result of
a very slight increase in the tension.

page_text: I HENRY JAMES HOGG KING of Newmarket near Stroud Gloucestershire
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN
COMBINED REAPING & SHEAF BINDING MACHINES and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :—
The objects and general outline of this Invention having been described in the
Provisional Specification-I now proceed to explain more fully the details of the
same and for this purpose I hereunto append 2 Sheets of Explanatory Drawings.
Figs 1-2 & 3 show side and end Elevations and plan of the narrow width
Machine and Fig 4 an enlarged end view of the packers (in the drawings only the
novel parts are conspicuously shown)-The cutter bar and aprons are placed behind
the Travelling Wheel 1 the crop after being elevated by the aprons falling upon
the platform 2, being aided in its descent by the horizontal fingers on the packers 3
and 4 (see fig 4) The vertical fingers 5 & 6 work within the bow of the needle
and pack the crop against the starting gear.
In fig 1 are shown the cranks 7-8 & 9 which drive the duplicate cranks 10-
11 & 12 through the connecting rods 13-14 & 15: the connecting rod 15 being on
cranks at right angles to the others to help them over the centres as I prefer the
packer cranks to be diametrically opposite.
The chain wheel 17 on the first motion shaft drives 16 through the medium of
the chain 18-16 running loose on the reel support 19-16 has a bevel wheel cast
on the side of it which drives the aprons the packers and the binder 20 is a chain,
driving the reel, 22 is the crank disc, which drives the knife through the connecting
rod 23 which passes accross the back of the travelling wheel 1 to the end of the
knife bar 24. The end of the knife is made into a slide which works at the end of
the cutter bar in a box, so that the slide can be easily oiled and the knife readily
taken out and replaced.
The diagonal bracing consists of 2 tubes or bars, which run from the front of the
Machine as shown in Figs 1 & 2 to the wrought iron plate which carries the main
gearing and reel, and 2 similar tubes or bars pass to the back of the main frame-
work just above the cutter bar, thereby forming a bracing which makes the whole
Machine very rigid.
Fig 5 shews an arrangement the object of which is to obtain a wide separation
between the sheaves 1 is a wheel on the cam shaft of binder 2 or 3 being cranks
coupled together with the connecting rod 4 on which are cast the packer fingers 5
& 6. 7 is a rod or point which cuts off the supply to the binder a little before the
needle 8 passes below the platform 9. The crop is then swept forward by the
packers the needle passing considerably below the platform 9, to give time for
the crop to be swept forward before it comes up again or the needle may be made
to pause in the position shown while the packers continue to work Fig 7 shows a
modification of this arrangement 5 & 6 being two fingers cast on one packer worked
by a single crank, 7 is a needle working between the two packers the front portion

page_text: of which brings the crop forward and the back keepa it back The front of the
needle 7 is shown passing beyond the point of the needle 8.
Fig 6 shows an arrangement in which the packer 6 packs the crop against the
lagging arm 7. of the binder described in the specifications 529778 and 1981 the
lagging arm being connected with the starting gear of the Binder which starts when
a sufficient quantity of the crop has been collected to form a sheaf The sheaf is
thus packed in one position and tied up in another.
Fig 8 shows a modification of this plan, the back of the needle 8, being hinged
at 10 the lower portion being held in position and supported by the grooved
roller 12 which is connected with the starting gear.
The packer 5 accumulate the crop against the back of the needle till it starts the
binder, when the needle falls and the supply is cut off by the lever 7 which may be
worked off the needle shaft as shown or in any other convenient way.
In figs 5-6-7 & 8 only one set of packers is shown in order to simplify the
drawings and only 2 packing fingers are shown on each rod, but this number may
be increased if desired also.
The packers may be placed above the platform instead of below.
Fig 9 shows the string tension arrangement.
The twine passes up through a hole in the casting 1 & 2 and passes under the
small casting 3 which is pressed downwards by the spring 4 which can be adjusted
by the Thumb screw 5. The string then passes to the needle.-The shape of the
casting 1 & 3 at 6 requires to be such that the opening is very gradual, so that
any unevenness in the string leaves the casting 3, very gradually.
The new arrangement for threading the needle is shown in Fig 8, the string
passing up through the holes marked 11 & 12 in the front portion of the needle
instead of the back.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1st Placing the elevating aprons behind the travelling wheel 1.
2nd The system of bracing over the large travelling wheel for transmitting the
strain from the back to the front of the Machine.
3rd The arrangement of gearing for driving the binder and aprons in which the
reel support 19 used as a bearing for the chain wheel cap 17.
4th The arrangement of gearing for driving the knife by placing the crank disc
on the inside of the Machine and the knife guide on the outside which makes it
convenient for getting the knife out and oiling.
5th The arrangement of packers shown in figs 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7 & 8 in which
the packers fingers may be placed in any position on a rod which forms a
connecting rod between two sets of cranks of which the above figures are
examples.
6th Packing behind the lagging arm as shown in figure 6 or on the back of the
needle as shown in fig 8 so that the sheaf is packed in one position and tied in
another and a long division made between the sheaves.
7th Passing the string up the front of the needle as shown in figure 8.
8th The tension arrangement shown in figure 9.
9th The two or more tingered packer worked with the crank shown in figure 7.