Improvements in Appliances for Severing the Ears from Sheaves of Corn Preparatory to Thrashing.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 13th June, 1899-Accepted, 2nd Sept.,
1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Appliances for Severing the Ears from Sheaves of
Corn Preparatory to Thrashing.
I, CHARLES HARPER, of Woodbridge, near Guildford, in the Colony of Western
Australia, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:―
The object of this invention is to provide a simple and efficient means whereby
sheaves of corn may be beheaded or what is generally termed "headed," that is,
the heads to be cut off from the rest of the stalks in order that only such grain
bearing heads may be subjected to the subsequent threshing or winnowing action,
so reducing or concentrating the grain bearing body to the lowest possible mini-
mum preparatory to the threshing treatment.
It is therefore obvious that by means of my invention I am enabled to save
much time and power in the operation of threshing with the consequence that
the cost is materially reduced as well as that the stalks are of more commercial
value as a bye product as say for chaff purposes by their not being bruised and
chopped as is now the case through their subjection to the threshing action.
The invention essentially consists in the use or employment of a circular saw
or knife, or other cutting device mounted upon a revolving shaft or spindle which
latter may be operated by a pulley from the threshing machine or other source
of power as the case may be.
The edge of the revolving cutter or saw is made of a sickle tooth style, that is
the edge is finely serrated or say file toothed. The object of using this form of
tooth to overcome the difficulty experienced in cutting owing to the resiliency
or non-resisting properties of the sheaves.
The saw with its shaft may be mounted on a table or frame and the sheaves
which are to be headed are fed on to an inclined travelling platform which
delivers the sheaves right up or "home" against the teeth or cutting edge of
the saw or knife as the case may be.
This travelling platform is composed of battens which are secured to travelling
bands, and such battens are provided with pegs or prongs which hold the sheaves
in position during their journey.
Upon the sheaf being headed the grain heads fall into a suitable hopper and
from thence to the threshing drum whilst the headless sheaves of straw fall off
the table and by preference on to another travelling platform which conveys
them to the stack or other place as may be determined upon.
This appliance may be fitted to either portable or stationary threshing machines
or may be separate therefrom and used as an accessory in which latter case the
heads would be elevated to the feed hopper of the threshing drum.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the appliance shewing the sheaves as being
delivered against the saw to be headed and subsequently conveyed away on the

page_text: Figure 2 is a part view showing the hopper for receiving the separated heads
for their subsequent delivery to the beater drum of the thresher.
In these two figures the outline of the saw is denoted by dotted lines.
Figure 3 is a plan view of the header.
Figure 4 shows in detail the sickle tooth formation of the saw or cutter.
Figure 5 shows the application of an endless toothed band as an alternate
cutting agent.
The arrows indicate the directions in which the sheaves and heads are travel-
ling.
In Figures 1 to 4 the circular cutter is denoted by the letter A, having the
sickle or serrated toothed edge as A².
This saw by its spindle A3 works in ordinary bearings as A', which may be
hung or arranged in any suitable manner, such as being attached to its own saw
frame or to the body frame of the threshing machine as the case may be.
The saw is provided with its driving pulley as A. The sheaves are in the first
instance delivered as say by hand on to the primary and fixed platform B from
whence they are fed on to the travelling apron. This travelling platform feeds
the sheaves to the saw, and it is constituted by the endless bands C to which latter
are secured the transverse bars or laths as C³. These bands C pass over their
guide pullies C³, which latter receive the necessary motion by the driver pulley D
and belt D³.
This said travelling platform is provided with retention prongs or fingers as E,
whose object is to hold the sheaves during their downward travel, and also to
press them against the edge of the cutter.
In Figures and 5 the travelling apron is shown to be constructed in one
continuous sheet as E2. F is the cutting table on to which the sheaves are
delivered and on which they rest only during such time as the heading operation
takes place. This table F gives a rigidity to the sheaf during the heading opera-
tion, and it is of a lesser width than the feed apron in order to allow the head of
the sheaf to hang over during its decapitation.
In this cutting table F are suitable openings as F2 for to allow the edge of the
saw and the prongs E to clearly pass through as shown in Figure 3. Similar
openings are also formed in the primary platform B for the passage of the prongs.
The separated heads drop into the receiver or hopper G from whence they are
led away by the shoot G³ to the beater drum as G3 of the threshing machine.
J is the discharge apron on to which the headed sheaves fall for to be conveyed
away to the stack.
It is at the same time obvious that the headless sheaves may be allowed to
drop where else required so obviating the use of the discharge apron as J. The
sheaves in general are denoted by the letter M while that one which is being
headed is marked N.
In Figure 5 the alternate use of a continuous cutting band as P is shown
passing over the guide pulleys P2 in ordinary manner.
It is apparent that the disposition and arrangement of the various parts of this
header appliance is variable so as to suit existing threshers to which it is attached
or with which it may be used as an auxiliary.
The mode of using the invention as is illustrated herewith is briefly described
as follows:
In the first instance the sheaves M are delivered on to the primary platform B
from whence they are fed by the attendant on to the travelling apron as C who
uses the necessary discretion, so as to place the sheaves in such a position there-
on that all of the heads in the sheaf are taken off by the saw as it is understood
that the grain stalks are of various lengths so resulting in the heads not being
of a uniform level.
This apron C is placed at an incline in order to facilitate an automatic feed
action, such apron carries the sheaves and delivers them on to the cutting table
as F where they remain during the separating action, and it is found that the

page_text: super-incumbent weight of the descending body of sheaves combined with the
carrier prongs E assist in pressing the sheaf well home against the saw so main-
taining a self-feeding action, whereupon the overhanging heads fall into the
receiver G and by the shoot G2 to the beater G3, while simultaneously the head-
less sheaf as N falls or is pushed off its rest F by the succeeding sheaf on to the
travelling discharge apron J as shown.
By means of the prongs E combined with the super-incumbent weight of the
descending sheaves and the table F a rigidity is imparted to the sheaves during
the heading action so that a clean and uniform cut is effected and without any
drag or tare-away of certain of the stalks.
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:-
1. In a sheaf-heading machine the use of a revolving saw as the cutting or
separating agent substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth and as
illustrated in Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.
2. In a sheaf-heading machine the use of a revolving or band saw having its
cutting edge of a serrated or sickle toothed formation substantially as and for
the purposes herein set forth and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
3. In a sheaf-heading machine the use of a continuous band saw as the cutting
or separating agent substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth and
as illustrated in Figure 5 of the accompanying drawings.
4. In a sheaf-heading machine having a circular or band saw as the separating
agent whose cutting edge is of a sickle tooth or serrated formation in combination
with a fixed cutting table and a travelling feed apron for the sheaves, and a
receiver for the grain heads, the whole substantially as and for the purposes
herein set forth and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
101
1
1000
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.