IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR REAPING
Year: 1852

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
WILLIAM SMITH, of Little Woolstone, in the County of Bucks, Farmer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,
by Her Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster
the Eighteenth day of September One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-two, in the sixteenth year of Her reign, did for Herself, Her
heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said William Smith,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said William Smith,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Smith, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time, and
all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and law-
fully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales,
and the town of Berwick upon Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR REAPING;" in which said Letters Patent is con-
tained a proviso that I, the said William Sinith, shall cause a particular
description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, to be enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of
Chancery, within six calendar months next and immediately after the

page_text: date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Smith, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described
and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference
being had to the drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and
letters marked thereon, that is to say:
This Invention consists in the employment of rotatory cutters, such
as herein shown and described, with suitable angular guides, and it also
consists of using endless straps and apparatus for receiving and carrying
the cut corn to the side of the machine, and to deposit it in a form to
be tied up. And in order that my said Invention may be most fully
understood and readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the
means pursued by me.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1, is a plan of a reaping machine constructed and combined
according to my Invention; Figure 2, is a side elevation thereof;
Figure 3, shows a plan of two of the angular guides used, with the
cutters full size; Figure 4, shows a section thereof; and Figure 5, shows
an upper and under side view of the form of cutter employed by me,
full size. In each of these figures the same letters are used to indicate
the same parts: a, a, is the framing of the machine, the nature of which
is clearly shown in the drawings: b, is the axle on which the two
wheels c, c, are fixed, and the frame a, a, is suspended by bearings d, d,
from the axle: on the axle b, is fixed a bevelled tooth-wheel e, from
which is derived the motions for the other parts of the machine, as
hereafter explained: f, is a steering wheel in front, f', being an arm
and f, a lever by which the steering wheel may be moved by a person
attending the machine. This machine is arranged for one horse, and it
is to be harnessed to the arms g, g. The action of this machine is such
that the standing corn is first laid away from the machine, in order to
make each straw to incline from the machine when the cutters come up
to make their cuts on the straws within their action, and such laying
of the corn is obtained by means of the bar h, which is carried by the

page_text: two arms h, h, which have each a sector with holes through it, as shown,
and by means of which, and the apparatus hereafter described, the extent
of laying of the standing corn may be regulated: ", are pins or bolts
which pass through the arms i, i, into the sectors at the ends of the
arms h', ', as shown, and thus is the bar h, retained at any desired posi-
tion: the arms i, i, are fixed to the axis i', which turns in bearings
at i, i, and the arms i, i, can be raised or lowered to any desired posi-
tion by means of the chain i3, which at one end is affixed to the arm it,
on the axis i; it then passes over a guide pulley is, and is then made
fast to a barrel i, fixed on the axis i, which may be turned by a handle
placed on the square end of that axis, and it will be retained by means
of a ratchet-wheel and click i³, all which will readily be understood on
examining the drawings: j, is an endless band or strap, having pro-
sections j', fixed thereon as shown, by means of which the corn will be
inoved towards one side of the machine, and they will deposit it con-
veniently to be collected and tied into bundles. I would remark, that I
am aware that endless bands or straps have before been used in reaping
machines; I do not, therefore, claim the same, excepting when making
part of the combined machine herein described. This band or strap is
carried by the two drums or cylinders k, k, and the axis of one of these
cylinders or drums receives motion by means of the shaft 7, which at
one end has a bevelled toothed wheel fixed thereon, which receives
its motion from the toothed wheel fixed on the axle b. The shaft 7,
turns in bearings at 1', and is connected to the axis of the drum or
cylinder k, by means of an universal joint, as shown. The cutter appa-
ratus also receives motion from the shaft 1, by means of the bevelled
toothed wheel m, which gives motion to the upright axis n, as shown.
On the lower end of the axis n, is a chain wheel o, which gives motion
to the endless chain p, which gives motion to the several chain wheels
fixed on the axes of the cutters q, q, the nature of which is clearly shown
in the drawing, and the manner of their working in combination with
the angular guides 1, 1, will readily be traced, on examining the drawing.
Each of the rotatory cutters 4, consists of six curved blades (or other
members may be used), which I prefer to be notched at their edges,
somewhat like a sickle, as is shown; and at the inner angles formed
between the angular guides I prefer that there should be fixed

page_text: cutters s, s, as shown. The endless chain o, in addition to its driving
wheel, and the wheels on the axes of the rotatory cutters, also works on
another chain wheel o', as shown.
The drawing clearly shows the nature of the platform which carries
the several cutters; and a workman, from the above description, aided
by the drawings, will readily understand the construction and mode of
working of the several parts.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner
of performing the same, I would have it understood, that I do not con-
fine myself to the details herein shown and described, so long as the
peculiar character of the machinery be retained, and I make no claim
to the well known mechanical parts separately.
But what I claim is the mode herein described of constructing and
combining rotatory cutters and apparatus into a reaping machine.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Smith, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of March One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.