Improvements in Apparatus for Farm Cultivation.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 27th July, 1898-Accepted, 26th Nov., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Farm Cultivation.
I, OLIVER IMRAY, of Birkbeck Bank Chambers, Southampton Buildings, in the
County of London, Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention (as communicated to me from abroad by Albert Augustus Barnhart, of
No. 180, St. James Street, in the City of Montreal, in the Province of Quebec,
Dominion of Canada, Commercial Traveller) and in what manuer the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This invention relates to power driven machines to be used in cultivation and
harvesting, and the object thereof is primarily, to provide a machine that will be
carried upon the same traction wheels, whether travelling along a roadway or in
use for cultivation or harvesting; secondly, to provide a ready means for varying
the speed at which the machine may be required to travel, and incidentally to
improve and simplify the general construction of such machines and the construction
and arrangement of the operating and operated parts thereof.
To these ends, the invention may be said, briefly, to consist, firstly, in providing
carrying and propelling mechanism for an agricultural machine that will be utilised
whether the machine travels over a farm section or from one farm to another along
a roadway, such carrying and propelling mechanism being so controlled that it may
cause the machine to travel in any desired direction; secondly, in the novel
arrangement and combination of the working tools and the mechanism for driving
same whereby they can be individually or collectively raised out of engagement
with the surface over which they may be travelling, or removed entirely from the
machine, or the operation of such tools instantaneously stopped at any time. Other
features of novelty and utility art embraced in my invention and for full
comprehension thereof and of the foregoing, reference must be had to the
accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which like symbols
indicate the same parts, and wherein
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of an apparatus for farm cultivation and harvesting
constructed according to the present invention, the frame being illustrated partly
in section.
Fig. 2 a transverse vertical section.
Fig. 3 a plan view thereof.
Fig. 4 a detail transverse vertical sectional view of one of my improved steering
pedestals.
Fig. 5 a similar view of one of my improved spindle operating sleeves.
Fig. 6 a detail plan view of one of the spindle lifting lovers.
Fig. 7 an enlarged detail side elevation illustrating the point of connection of one
of the levers with the spindle, and
Fig. 8 a plan view thereof.
Fig. 9 a detail section of clutch mechanism.
The main frame, b, of the machine, is preferably of inverted U form, oblong aud
rectangular in plau view.

page_text: The horizontal portion of this inain frame is decked or provided with a platform
as at b, and carrios two pairs of bearings 62 62 and 63 63, located, one pair at each
end, and each pair being braced together by a bridge section 6*.
A horizontal
driving shaft, c extends from one end to the other of this frame, and is carried in the
bearings 62, 62, 63, 63, while the central portion of this shaft is operatively connected
to any improved form of engines (not shewn) supported upon the deck or plat-
form and located on either side of and adjacent to such portion of the shaft.
The frame of the machine is supported upon four traction wheels e, e¹ e2 shown on
the drawings, and e³ not shown, these wheels being mounted in the lower forked
end of four sleeves f, of which (together with their carrying and operating parts
and parts carried thereby), being precisely similar in construction only one will be
described in detail.
This sleeve f is of straight cylindrical form and has a forked section f¹ secured
to or formed in one with the lower end thereof and having bearings f2 ƒ³ for an
axle fupon which one of the traction wheels e is rigidly mounted, the bearings
having anti-friction rollers f³.
A toothed wheel fo is fixed upon one end of the axle f4 and a retaining collar f
is fixed on the other end thereof the wheel fo gearing with an idler f³ mounted
upon a stud f in the prong of the fork.
The idler f gears with a pinion f10 fixed on one end of a spindle f¹¹ mounted in
bearings in the prongs of the fork, and prevented from moving longitudinally by
& pin 12 passed through one of the prongs and through a peripheral groove fix of
the spindle. A vertical spindle g within the sleeve f bas fixed on its projecting
lower end a mitre-pinion g¹, gearing with a second mitre-pinion f18 fixed on the
spindle f. The upper end of the spindle extends through the deck or plat-
form 6 and is provided with a feather sliding in a groove, of a wheel g² which
rests upon the platform b¹.
A washer g³ on the spindle, g, rests upon the top of the sleeve fand a helical
spring g, encircles the spindle and bears between the washer g³ and a collar gü
provided with a reduced portion or boss entering an opening in the frame.
The wheel g gears with au intermediate pinion or idler 9 mounted on a stud g
projecting from the platform 61, and this idler in turn gears with a pinion g³ fixed
on a vertical spindle g journalled at one end in the platform 6' and having fixed on
it a bevel wheel 910 near the main driving shaft c on which a pair of beve!
pinions c², c², are mounted loosely and normally gear with the wheel c being engaged
to or disengaged from the shaft by clutches c3 c so that the travel of the machine
can be stopped or the direction of travel can be reversed at will.
The sleeves, f, revolve in bearings forined in cross pieces h¹ secured to the frame
at its corners and are also guided on the spindles g. The steering is effected as
follows. Pinions f14, f15 f10 and f17 fixed on the four sleeves f about midway of
their height; four vertical spindles f18, f10, 20, shewn on the drawings, and f" not
shewn, are journalled in bearings on the frame adjacent to these pinions and have
fixed on them long pinious f22 which gear with the pinions f¼4, f, f16, and 17;
pinions and four bevel pinions f21, 25, f20, shewn on the drawings, and f not
shewn. A pair of horizontal hollow spindles f, f, are mounted one at each end
of the machine in bearings f30, carried on the frame.
Bevel wheels f, f32f33 and 34 gearing with the respective pinions f24f25f6 and 27
and formed with clutch faces f35 are mounted loosely upon the hollow spindles ₤28
and with clutches f36 sliding along the hollow shafts having key f37 passing
through slot 38 into spindles carried inside the hollow shafts and moved
longitudinally by means of levers f jointed to their ends and pivotted on the frame
at f¹. A series of vertical spindles f, ff, and f adjacent to the spindles f18f19, 20
and are journalled at their lower ends and guided at their upper ends respectively
in bearings f 48 carried and formed respectively оп the frame. Said
spindles f, f3, f and f, have their upper ends projecting a short distance above
the platform 61 in order to allow of independent individual adjustment of the
traction wheels, and they have fixed on them pinions f" gearing with the pinions f³.

page_text: A pair of sprocket wheels fs and f fixed on the spindles f and are connected
by chains and a third sprocket wheel fixed upon the spindle f2s is connected
by chain fs to a sprocket-wheel fit fixed upou a spindle carrying a hand-wheel fo
and mounted in a bearing bracket f7 upon the platform.
Tool operating spindles k are guided in sleeves ¹ longitudinally slotted at 2 and
having their upper ends suspended from a beam k³ extending longitudinally and
centrally from one log to the other of the frame.
The sleeves while free to rotate in bearings in the beam are supported by
collars and have fixed on their upper ends bevel wheels (see Fig. 5) while their
lower ends are braced by a stay extending longitudinally and detachably
connected at either end to the legs of the frame, preferably by bolts /.*.
Collars are mounted loosely one upon each of the sleeves k¹, and connected to
the spindles by pins passing through the slots the sleeves and spindles thus
revolving together, while the spindle can be raised or lowered.
A counter shaft m has fixed on it bevel wheels m* gearing with the bevel
wheels on the upper ends of the sleeves ¹, and this counter shaft m extends
longitudinally and centrally, being journalled in bearings m¹ m² on cach end of the
frame.
The shaft m projects beyond its bearings and has spur wheels m² m² fixed on
each end these wheels gearing with pinions m³ m* connected to the main driving
shaft c by a feather and groove c¹³. These pinious m³ m' are formed with laterally
projecting hub sections m³ m³ having grooves m³ in which engage arms of
levers ms me fulcrumed at m10 on the frame, the other arms of the levers ms 12"
(Fig. 3) are connected by rods m11 m2 to a lever m¹s at opposite sides of and equi-
distant from its fulcruin at m. This lever has a handle m15 by the movement of
which the pinions m³, m', can be moved either into or out of gear with the
wheels m² m³, so as to put the tool-carrying spindles into or out of operation.
The kind of tools carried and operated by the spindles depends upon the work
required to be done, such tools being preferably interchangeable with other forms of
tools. The tools illustrated are those considered best adapted to be used in preparing
the soil, by loosening it to receive seed, potatoes &c., and such tools consist each
of a disc o having a central boss of fixed to the lower end of the spindle. Four
downwardly projecting blades o², curved to correspond to the circumference of the
disc to which they are pivotally secured by screwed ends entering holes in the discs
and secured by nuts o*. A number preferably three inclined plates of are fixed
inside the blades oº.
The machine as described is adapted to loosen the subsoil without forming it
into furrows and without turning it ovor, and as formation of furrows is desirable
simultaneously with the loosening of the soil, as in the plauting of potatoes, when
the surface is preferably first loosened, the potatoes, are dropped or otherwiso
placed in a line upon the loosened soil, and the soil is then banked up over them.
For this purpose soil-turning tools p preferably of "double-mould-board" form
are carried at each end of the machine with the cutting edges of each set facing
the machine in order that one set may follow and act upon the side after it
has been loosened by the tools on the spindle k, in whatever direction the machine
may be travelling, while the other set of turning tools can be raised clear of the
soil.
The construction of those turning tools and their carrying parts is as follows:
Upon the front and rear sides of the machine are brackets p' with holes in their
projections p2 and there are brackets ps with projections p socured to such legs
of the machine frame near the lower ends. The lower brackets p have holes for
spindles px upon which are fixed pinious p. The turning tools p, any number
of which may be used, are, as before mentioned, of "double-mould-board" form
are bolted to a plate 2 extending lengthwise from end frame to end frame.
Each end of this plate is fixed to vortical bar p' having rack teeth 210 and holes
through then.

page_text: The teeth of these bars 2 gear with the pinions p5 being held in gear by
pins p2 and p13 which pass through holes in the projection pt. By rotating the
spindles p (which are provided with crank handles p (for that purpose) the
tools p may be raised or lowered and cau be held by inserting a pin p through
holos in the bar and bracket. In order to resist the strain on the tools p
the plate 8 is near each end connected by a chain p to the framing of the
machine.
It is desirable to raise some of the spindles kor all at once when the machine
has to travel. For this purpose levers pivotted on a bar n¹, have arms ³ forked
as at no (see Fig. 8) to the sleeves engaging under the collars while the other
arms which are longer than the arms n³ and project over same, terminate in
handles, and have extended portions n° these being recessed to form sockets to
receive bars so that the levers n can be operated from either side of the machine.
This lever mechanism just described, enables any individual spindle to be raised
from the ground. In order that all the spindles k may be raised at once, collars Ax
grooved at loose on the sleeves are connected together by bars 10, 10,
connected rigidly to one another and to the collars x by bolts 11. By raising
any of the collars 8, all of the spindles will be raised as will be obvious by
reference to Figs. 7 and 8.
Additional levers can, of course, be used to effect this raising of all the spindles,
but it is considered preferable to use the lever n for that purpose, and this is done
by pivotting an arm 2 on the arm n³ and forming its lower end as a hook 13 taking
under one of the bars ko, while the upper end is slotted to engage a stud ¹ ou a
rod fitted to slide along the arm n, in brackets 15x. When it is desirable to
raise only the spindle to which a lever is directly connected, without disturbing
the remaining spindles the rod is drawn thus disengaging the hook 13 from
the bar 10.
The sleeves are maintained in a vertical position by brackets p fixed to the
underside of the platform . These brackets have horizontal bottom pieces 22x
supporting a longitudinal stay ko having holes p³x for the passage of the spindles k.
A curved piece has holes 5x at different heights to receive a pin 2 which
may be inserted after the lever n has been raised in order to support it. Angular
pieces p serve to support the pivots n¹.
Platforms 8 and 81, which are supported between the legs of the frame by
hangers s bolted at $3 to the frame work of the legs, provide a foot board at both
sides of the machine from which the operator can work all of the levers.
When the machine is to be put in operation for planting potatoes and if it is to
travel in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figs. 2 and 3, the turning tools, at
what will then be the front of the machine, are raised clear of the soil and the tools
at the rear lowered into the soil. The potato planters which may bo of any well
known construction, form no part of my invention and are thereforo neither shown
nor described, will preferably be supported upon the platforins 8 and 8'.
The supply from the planter at the front of the machine is shut off while that at
the rear is opened.
When the machine is started the operation thereof is first to thoroughly loosen
the soil and after the potatoes have been placed in a line by the planter, to turn or
bank the soil over them.
It is in many cases desirable to use the engines, and propelling and steering
mechanism without the tools which with their supporting parts can be removed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim
in respect of apparatus for farm cultivation is :-
1. A frame; traction wheels adjustable for travelling in any direction; means for
rotating and adjusting the wheels, for the purpose set forth.
2. Gearing for rotating the traction wheels and turning them individually or
collectively, substantially as described with reference to the drawings.

page_text: 3. A travelling frame, means for propelling said frame, rotable spindles carrying
tools to act upon the soil; means for individually or collectively adjusting said
tools, with relation to the soil, and means for rotating said spindles.
4. The soil loosening tools and soil turning tools, and means for carrying said
tools, substantially as described.
5. In combination with the tool carrying spindles connected thereto, platforms
carried by the frame forming foot boards near the layers, for the purpose set forth.
6. A. machine for farm cultivation constructed and operating substantially as
described with reference to the drawings.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.