IMPROVEMENTS IN DRILLS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Julius Benn, of Tiffield, in the County of North-
ampton, Superintendent of the Tiffield Reformatory, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN DRILLS."
Sealed the 21st February 1860, and dated the 5th December 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Julius Benn at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 5th
December 1859.
I, JULIUS BENN, of Tiffield, in the County of Northampton, Superintendent
of the Tiffield Reformatory, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DRILLS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in drills used for drilling all
kinds of agricultural and garden seeds, and is also applicable to drills used for
sowing all sorts of pulverized manures and earths. By this Invention it will
be readily seen that the drilling on sides of hills and rough and uneven ground
will not effect the regular supply of seed or manure; also, that certain arrange-
ments heretofore commonly used as a remedy, as well as the constant friction
in the usual shaft and brushes, and irregular action of the rotary cups working
in the seed box are entirely got rid, and a great saving of expensive machinery
effected.
For these purposes an endless chain is used; made of metal, platted or twisted
leather, cord, or string, or of metal and leather, or any other similar material
combined, to be worked by a pulley screwed in the framework of the drill on

page_text: The chain from the
the seed or manure
one side of the seed box, and a roller on the other side.
pulley passes through a cylinder or screened aperture in
box, to and over the roller on the other side of the box, and from the roller
through the sides at the bottom of the box back again to the pulley, and when
both ends of the chain are united forms an endless chain, discharging the seed
or manure through an aperture at the side of the bottom of the box into the
usual receiving tins or other well-known apparatus for conveying the seed and
manure to the soil, and by unscrewing the pulley the drill stops sowing by
loosening the chain.
By this Invention the seed is sown with great regularity, and by a most
simple and well-known arrangement of a graduated pulley worked by a strap
the chain is set in motion, and by shifting the strap to a different tier of the
graduated pulley, the quantity of seed or manure to be sown may be regulated;
and by another easy arrangement one or more of the drills may be instantly
altered (to accommodate any variation in the land) to sow thick or thin, by
turning a screw at the bottom of the aperture in the box, or it may be stopped
working by unscrewing the chain pulley; also, by turning another screw set
opposite the screw pulleys, the drill is put in or out of action.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Julius Benn in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th June 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JULIUS
BENN, of Tiffield, in the County of Northampton, Superintendent of the
Tiffield Reformatory, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Julius Benn, Her special licence that I, the
said Julius Benn, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Julius Benn, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at
all times thereafter 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DRILLS," upon the condition (amongst others)

page_text: that I, the said Julius Benn, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, 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 I, the said Julius Benn, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
The Invention consists in improvements in drills used for drilling all kinds
of agricultural and garden seeds, and is also applicable to sowing all sorts of
pulverized manures or earths. By this Invention the drilling on sides of hills and
rough or uneven ground will not affect the regular supply of seed or manure,
the delivery from the box into the usual tins being direct from the side of the
box near the bottom; the seed or manure is quickly deposited in the ground,
and the same box can be used for all kinds of seed or pulverized manures or
earths, and will empty, if required, within two inches of the bottom before it
requires to be replenished. The quantity of seed or manure to be sown may
be regulated by turning a screw at the seed aperture, which raises or lowers a
slide to be attached to the box, and which slide regulates the size of the seed
aperture or outlet. By fixing a piece of india-rubber or bristles on each side
or on the bottom of the seed aperture, sufficient elasticity may be gained to
prevent the grinding, choking, or stoppage of beans, peas, or manure at the
outlet. The drill box may be made of wood or other suitable material, either
single or compound, or either for drilling in rows or sowing broadcast, and
may be worked by man or horse, according to size.
For these purposes, chains, cords, or straps may be used, which may be
made of leather, metal, or any other suitable material, or a combination of
suitable materials, and of any suitable and convenient shape, size, breadth,
or length, according to the seed or manure to be distributed or sown; the
chains, cords, or straps may be used, as hereafter firstly described, in combina-
tion with pulleys and rollers; or, secondly, in combination with rotary discs
placed on an axle on the side of the box, without the pulleys and rollers, and
the openings or apertures into the box are to be made suitable.
First, the chains, cords, or straps may be made to pass over a roller or
pulley to be placed on one side of the box, through a cylinder or screened aper-
ture in the box, or under or over the box, round another roller or pulley placed
on the other side of the box, then into the box through india-rubber or bristles

page_text: fixed in an aperture at the side of the bottom of the box, passing through
the seeds, corn, or manure through an opposite aperture out of the box, called
the seed aperture or outlet; and when both ends are united, an endless chain,
cord, or strap is formed.
And, secondly, the like suitable chains, cords, or straps may be placed on the
edges or peripheries of rotary common plate discs, or the discs may be used
without the chains, cords, or straps, or with small short pegs fixed on the edge,
which discs may be made of cast iron, zinc, wood, or any other suitable ma-
terial or size, to be fixed on an axle at the side of the box, near enough to
revolve with nearly half their diameters inside the seed or manure box; and
when set in motion will distribute the seed, corn, or manure out of the side of
the bottom of the box into the well-known receiving tins with great regularity,
and in proportion to the speed to be obtained by the usual and well-known
arrangements for regulating the speed.
By fixing bristles or a brush, or an india-rubber valve, inside the box at the
entrance, the seed, corn, or manure is prevented escaping.
The rollers or pulleys and also the discs may all be quickly set in motion of
stopped by a lever attached to the driving axle, or by any other well-known]
arrangement, and each chain, cord, or strap when used with the pulleys and
rollers may be tightened or slackened by a screw, and the discs may also be
stopped or set in motion by a bolt or screw instantly and separately, as may be
required.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the mode or
modes of performing the same, I would have it understood that I do not con-
fine myself to the exact details herein set forth, neither do I claim as of my
Invention any particular material, size or length of the box, chains, cords, or
straps, screws, bristles, india-rubber, pulleys, rollers, and discs, as the same
may be varied according to circumstances; but I claim the mode or modes,
firstly and secondly, as herein-before described, of distributing the seed, corn,
or manure out of the side of the bottom of the box.
In witness whereof, I, the said Julius Benn, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Fourth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty.
JULIUS BENN. (L.S.)