IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR APPLYING STEAM OR OTHER MOTIVE * POWER TO CULTIVATE THE SOIL, AND TO ACTUATE WHEELED CARRIAGES."
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Leslie, of Turriff, in the County of
Aberdeen, North Britain, Bank Agent and Farmer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR APPLYING STEAM OR OTHER MOTIVE
* POWER TO CULTIVATE THE SOIL, AND TO ACTUATE WHEELED CARRIAGES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Leslie at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
15th July 1862.
I, ALEXANDER LESLIE, of Turriff; in the County of Aberdeen, North
Britain, Bank Agent and Farmer, do hereby declare tho nature of the said
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR APPLYING STEAM OR OTHER
MOTIVE POWER TO CULTIVATE THE SOIL, AND TO ACTUATE WHEELED CARRIAGES," to
be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to the communicating of motive force from a
stationary prime mover to movable cultivating implements, or to wheeled
carriages.
In carrying out the Invention the motive force is in the first instance
imparted by a steam engine or other prime mover to an endless rope or chain
running round guide pulleys placed at convenient points to suit circumstances,
some of such guide pulleys being self-shifting. If, for example, the apparatus
is arranged for cultivating a field, the self-shifting guide pulleys are disposed

page_text: so as to be shifted along the headlands at intervals as the operation proceeds,
the stationary guide pulleys being disposed so as to conduct the endless rope
in the most convenient manner to and from the prime mover. The endless
rope actuates the ploughing or other details in the line across from one self-
shifting guide pulley to the other, but instead of simply drawing or hauling
the implement, as in systems heretofore in use, it is arranged to impart
rotation to wheel gearing fitted upon a frame or carriage to which the
plough or other implement is attached. The simple onward movement of the
implement is obtained by causing the rotating gearing to drive a propelling
wheel or wheels acting like the driving wheels of a locomotive steam engine,
and these wheels are, by preference, formed with spikes or projections to
prevent their slipping over the soil, such spikes or projections being either
fixed or movable, as may be preferred. The first motion shaft of the gearing
is by preference a vertical one, having on its upper end a pulley, round or
partly round which the endless rope is passed, being guided thereon by two
pulleys carried by a self-adjusting frame capable of swinging about the vertical
shaft. The motion of the vertical shaft is transmitted through bevil wheels
arranged with engaging and disengaging details, permitting of the propelling
wheels or other details being driven in either direction. Gearing may be
provided for deriving from the first motion shaft any movements of the appa-
ratus that may be required, so that the labour of the attendant may be reduced
to the mere adjustment at proper times of levers throwing into or out of gear
the various motions required. Thus the frame to which one or more ploughs
may be attached is raised and lowered according to one plan by means of a
connecting rod and crank actuated by means of a worm wheel and worm, and
this motion is contrived so as to throw itself out of gear on reaching its limit
in either direction. For the purpose of turning the frame or carriage at the
headlands, and for steering it as may be desired, there is arranged in connection
with the frame or carriage a steering wheel mounted in the lower forked end
of a vertical spindle, and fitted with bevil or worm wheel gearing, by which it
can be turned into any position. Gearing is also provided for driving the
steering wheel from the first motion shaft, and on disengaging the propelling
wheels and setting the steering wheel at right angles to them the frame or
carriage may be turned round by driving the steering wheel. If it is wished
to turn the furrows all one way, two sets of ploughs with separate raising and
lowering arrangements are provided to be used alternately as the carriage
moves in alternate directions. The self-shifting guide pulleys are provided
with propelling gearing similar to that of the implement carriage, and this
gearing is put in action to shift the pulleys along the headlands at the

page_text: completion of each traverse, the implement carriage being shifted at the same
time by suitably manoeuvring its steering details. Apparatus for sowing and
covering seed may be attached behind the ploughs, or if it is not wished to
plough and sow simultaneously, the ploughs may be removed, and the sowing
apparatus substituted for them when required. Similarly grubbing tines or
other cultivating implements may be fitted to the carriage along with or in
place of the ploughs; or a revolving cultivator with teeth or tines 'arranged
round an axis may be attached to the carriage, and be geared so as to turn
in the same direction as the propelling wheels, or in the opposite direction.
The propelling wheels themselves may also be used for cultivating with a
suitable arrangement of tines or blades upon their peripheries, in other words,
such revolving cultivators may be rendered self-propelling. Finally, various
cultivating apparatus, such as common or revolving barrows, hoes, rollers, or
reapers may be attached to and drawn by the propelling carriage, and any
motions required for the details of any implement may be derived from the
first motion shaft of such propelling carriage.
In applying the improved arrangements according to one modification to
actuate a wheeled carriage, the endless rope actuated by a stationary prime
mover acts on a vertical first motion shaft with self-adjusting details, such as
are herein-before described, such first motion sbaft being passed through a
hollow vertical spindle carried by the framing of the carriage, but so that it
can be turned. The lower part of the vertical spindle is formed into a fork
with bearings for the axle of a pair of propelling wheels, which serve both for
propelling and for steering. The propelling action is communicated to tho
wheels through bevil gearing from the vertical first motion shaft, described as
passing through the hollow spindle, and the steering action is obtained by
worm wheel or bevil gearing fitted to the hollow spindle, whereby the wheels
can be shifted into any position. The direction of the carriage's motion can
be reversed by simply turning the hollow spindle with the propelling wheels
half round.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alexander Leslie in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
15th January 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
5 LESLIE, of Turriff, in the County of Aberdeen, North Britain, Bank Agent
and Farmer, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Iler most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand 'eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Alexander Leslie, Ler special licence that I, the said Alexander
Leslie, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Alexander Leslie, iny 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 Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR APPLYING STEAM OR OTHER MOTIVE POWER TO CULTIVATE THE
SOIL, AND TO ACTUATE WHEELED CARRIAGES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Alexander Leslie, 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 Alexander Leslie, 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 in writing, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to the communicating of motive force from a
stationary prime mover to movable cultivating implements, or to wheeled
carriages.
And in order that my said Invention and the manner of performing the
same may be properly understood, I have hereunto appended two Sheets of
explanatory Drawings to be herein-after referred to in particularly describing
my improvements, and representing a modification of arrangements and
apparatus embodying them.
In carrying out the Invention the motive force is in the first instance
imparted by a steam engine or other convenient primo mover to an endless
rope or chain running at a comparatively high velocity round guide pulleys
placed at convenient points to suit circumstances, some of such guide pulleys
being by preference self-shifting. It has been formerly proposed to com-
municate the power of a stationary prime mover to cultivating apparatus by
means of a rope running at a comparatively high velocity; but it is the

page_text: object of the present Invention to apply the power so transmitted in a more
satisfactory manner than has been hitherto attained.
The general system of working which it is proposed to adopt will be under-
stood from the Diagrain, Figure 1, Sheet 1, of the accompanying Drawings,
wherein the parallelogram A, B, C, D, represents a field being cultivated. A
self-shifting guide pulley P is disposed so as to be shifted along the head-
land A, B, a similar self-shifting guide pulley P' being arranged to shift along
the opposite headland D, C, whilst stationary guide pulleys p are disposed so
as to conduct the endless rope R in the most convenient manner from and to
the prime mover, and over the self-shifting guide pulleys P, P'. The prime
mover is supposed to be stationed at any convenient distance in the direction
of the corner A, and the guide pulley P, p, furthest from that point is by
preference made a self-shifting one, so that it may be moved to take up any
slack the rope may have. The endless rope R actuates the ploughing or other
details at E in the line across from one self-shifting guide pulley P to the
other P', but instead of simply drawing or hauling the implement, as in
systems heretofore in use, it is arranged to impart rotation to wheel gearing
fitted upon a frame or carriage to which the plough or other implement is
attached. The simple onward movement of the implement is obtained by
causing the rotating gearing to drive a propelling wheel or wheels acting like.
the driving wheels of a locomotive steam engine, and these wheels are, by
preference, formed with spikes, tines, or projections, to prevent their slipping.
over the soil, such projections being either fixed or movable, as may be
preferred.
Figure 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, and Figure 3 is a plan of a
modification of my improved apparatus; whilst Figure 4 is a front elevation
of a portion of the steering details. The framing consists, in this example, of
two side pieces 1 connected by cross pieces 2, 8, 4, and having constructed
thereon a rectangular open frame composed of four corner uprights 5, with
longitudinal pieces 6, and cross pieces 7, 8, 9, 10, the latter serving for the
attachment of the bearings or other parts of the various gearing details. The
first motion shaft 11 of the gearing is a vertical one, revolving in bearings
upon the cross pieces 7, 9, and having on its upper end a comparatively large
sized pulley F, supposed to be removed in Figure 3, but shown separately in
plan in Figure 5. The endless driving rope R is passed completely (or partly)
round this pulley F, being guided thereon by pulleys 12, carried by a
quadrantal frame 13, which is mounted loosely upon the shaft 11, so as to be
free to swing round and accommodate itself to any position the rope may tend
to take. On the lower end of the pulley shaft 11 there is a bevil wheel 14,

page_text: capable of gearing with either of two bevil wheels 15 on a transverse shaft.16
below. These bevil wheels 15 are both fixed on a tubular boss fitted with a
feather to the shaft 16, and acted upon by a forked lever (not shown in the
Drawing), by which either of the bevel wheels may be put into gear with the
bevil wheel 14, and cause the rotation of the shaft 16 in one direction or the
other accordingly, as is well understood. On the shaft 16 there is a pinion 17
in gear with a carrier wheel 18, carried by a stud upon the side frame piece
and this latter wheel 18 drives a spur wheel 19, fast on what may be termed
the propeller shaft 20. The wheels 17, 18, and 19, are indicated by red
circles in Figure 2. The propeller shaft 20 is mounted in bearings attached
to the ends of the side frame pieces 5, and has upon it four propeller wheels
21 fitted with tines or projecting points 22, which enter and as it were take
hold of the soil, so as to obtain a sufficient fulcrum or resistance for the
propelling force. The proportions of the gearing details are such that the
propelling wheels turn much more slowly than the driving pulley F, and in
proportion as the speed is reduced so is the strain or propelling force increased.
The proportions shown in the Drawings are such as I believe to be well suited
for practical operations, but it will be obvious that they may be modified in
different cases, being dependent upon the relation between the motive power
as imparted to the endless driving rope R, and the work to be dono by means
of ploughs or other implements or apparatus. A frame 23 fitted with
ploughs 24 is represented as being hauled by the propelling apparatus,
being connected by its side shafts or bars 25 directly to the propeller, shaft 20.
To prevent the propelling wheels 21 from interfering with the turning of the
apparatus at the headlands, they are not fixed, rigidly upon their shaft 20, but
are mounted so as to be capable of being thrown loose on the shaft, and out of
connection with each other when necessary by incans of a lever 26. This
lever 26 acts by its forked end on a spindle 27 working through the propeller
shaft 20, which is made hollow to receive it, the spindle 27 acting on the
wheels 21 by means of cross keys 28, as shown in the detached transverse and
longitudinal sections in Figures 6 and 7. The tubular propeller shaft 20 is
made with slots to one side of each wheel 21, and the keys 28 are entered
through these slots and fixed in the central spindle 27. The slots in the
tubular shaft 20 are large enough to allow of a movement of the central
spindle 27, with its keys 28, whereby these are made to either engage or be
clear of snugs 29, formed for the purpose on the wheels 21, and by these
means these wheels 21 may be fixed or loose on the shaft at pleasure.
Gearing may be provided for deriving from the first motion shaft any move-
monts of the apparatus that may be required, so that the labour of the

page_text: attendant may be reduced to the mere adjustment at proper times of levers
throwing into or out of gear the various motions required. Thus the frame
23, 25, to which the ploughs are attached is raised and lowered by means of a
pair of connecting rods 30, which pass up to cranks upon a transverse shaft 31
mounted on brackets 82 above. On the shaft 31 there is a worm wheel 33,
actuated by a worm on a spindle 84, driven by means of bevil wheels 85 from
the first motion shaft 11. Que end of the worm spindle 34 is supported by a
transverse iron frame piece 36 (which also serves to support other details to
be herein-after described), whilst the other end is supported by a vertical plate
or bar 37 jointed at its upper end to a lever 38 on a transverse spindle 39
carried in the opposite side frame pieces 6. A spring 40 is applied to the
spindle 39 to tend to hold up the worm spindle 34 out of gear, but when
required the plate 37 is drawn down by means of a handle at the bottom of it,
so as to put the worm and wheel in gear, and the plate is held in that position
by a projection on it engaging in a notch upon a catch plate 41 fixed to the cross
piece 3. On this catch plate 41 there is jointed a bent lever 42, arranged to
act on the catch projection, and bent over so as to be itself acted upon by
one of two pins 48 fixed at diametrically opposite points upon one face of the
worn wheel 33. Supposing the worm and wheel to be set in gear so as to
elevate the plough frame, the movement will continue until the cranks are at
their highest point, by which time one of the pins 43 will have been brought
round to lift the lever 42, and thereby throw off the plate 37, whereby the
worm spindle will have been drawn up out of gear. A spring 44 draws the
plate 37 constantly against the catch plate 41. With these arrangements
the attendant bas merely to throw the elevating motion into gear, and can
then give his attention to other matters instead of having to watch for the
completing of the movement in order to throw it out of gear at the proper
moment. The same also takes place when the plough frame has to be
lowered, except that ho has to release a catch provided to hold the plough
frame in its elevated position. For the purpose of turning the frame or
carriage at the headlands, and for steering it as may be desired, there is pro-
vided a steering wheel 45, which is both adjusted and propelled by gearing
actuated from the first motion shaft 11. This steering wheel 45 is mounted
in the lower forked part of a vertical spindle 46, fitted to turn in bearings 47
upon the cross frame piece 10. The spindle 46 is moved into any required
position for steering by means of a worm wheel. 48 fixed on its upper end,
this worm wheel being actuated by a worm 49 on a horizontal spindle 50,
carried in, bearings on the cross frame piece 10, and in the iron frame picce 36.
A hand wheel may also be fixed on the spindle 50 for steering by hand. For

page_text: the purpose of driving the steering apparatus there is a second motion shaft 51
carried vertically in bearings in the frame piece 36, which shaft receives
motion from the pulley shaft 11 by means of a pair of spur wheels 52. On
the second motion shaft 51 there is fitted a connected pair of bevil wheels 53,
which can be shifted by means of a forked lever (not shown) so as to drive in
either direction a bevil wheel 54 fast on the end of the shaft 50, already
described as shifting round the steering spindle 46. When the apparatus is
to be turned the steering wheel 45 is set at right. angles, as indicated by
dotted lines in Figure 3, and being propelled by means yet to be described,
carries that end of the carriage round as far as may be necessary. The
steering wheel 45 is propelled by means of a bevil wheel 55 on its axle, driven
by a bevil wheel 56 on a short vertical spindle carried in a bearing on one side of
the fork, and having at its upper end a spur wheel 57 in gear with a combined
spur and bevil wheel 58, which is loose on the steering spindle 46. This
arrangement provides for the propelling power being communicated without
being affected by change of position of the steering wheel. The wheel 58 is
driven by a bevil wheel fast on a shaft 59, carried in bearings attached to the
cross frame pieces 10 and 4, and itself driven by means of bevil wheels 60 from
the second motion shaft 51. One of the bevil wheels 60 is made movable into
or out of gear by a forked lever (not shown), so that the steering wheel may
be propelled or not at pleasure. If necessary the steering wheel 45 may be
provided with. tines. or projections to give it a hold of the ground. The
steering wheel is represented as between the propelling wheels and the
ploughs, but it may be placed at one side of the ploughs, or beyond them,
which will give it a greater leverage power for turning the apparatus round.
The self-shifting guide pulleys (P, P',) are provided with propelling gearing
similar to that of the implement carriage, and this gearing is put in action to
shift the pulleys along the headlands at the completion of each traverse. Thus
when the implement carriage arrives at either headland it is turned a quarter
round, and then it and the two self-shifting guide pulleys are made to move
simultaneously and equally the necessary distance along the headlands, the
gearing of each being suitably proportioned for that purpose. The guide pulleys
are afterwards stopped, and the implement carriage is turned a quarter round
aguin, and is then made to commence a new ploughing traverse across from
one pulley to the other. One of the self-shifting guide pulleys P is shown in
elevation and partial section in Figure 8, Sheet 2 of the accompanying.
Drawings, and in plan in Figure 9. The pulley P is fixed on the upper end
of a vertical shaft 11, the endless driving rope R being guided upon it by a
suitable modification of the swinging frame 12, 13. On the lower end of the

page_text: first motion shaft 11 there is a bevil wheel 14, arranged to gear with either of
two bevil wheels 15 on a worm spindle 65, the worm on which drives a worm
wheel fast on the shaft 20 of the two propelling wheels 21. The steering
wheel 45 is arranged much as in the implement carriage, and the description
and references herein-before given apply to both, excepting that in the case of
the self-shifting pulley the worm 49 for setting round the steering spindle 46
is actuated by a band wheel 66. It may, however, if preferred, be actuated as
in the implement carriage. The wheels of the self-shifting pulleys may be
made with broad flat teeth, such as are indicated by the dotted lines in
Figure 8, to enable them the better to resist the transverse strain of tho
rope R, whilst to counteract the tendency of the rope's strain to turn over the
pulley carriage, a weight may be applied to the axle or other convenient part
on the outer side.
The arrangements as described, and with a single set of ploughs are suitable
for ploughing the land in the same manner as with horses; but if it is wished
to lay the furrows all one way two sets of ploughs must of course be used. In
that case two plough frames are adjusted alongside of each other, and are
raised and lowered alternately. Instead of the ploughs a frame with
cultivating tines may be used; or a revolving cultivator may be driven from
the first motion shaft; or the propelling wheels (21) may be used for
cultivating the soil, there being fitted to them suitable steel teeth, tines, or
blades. Similarly sowing apparatus may be attached to the carriage instead
of ploughs or other cultivating implements, and the ground already ploughed
may be sown and afterwards harrowed by harrows drawn by the machine; or
the machine fitted with revolving harrows or cultivators for producing a fino
tilth may draw after it a common corn drill, or other sowing apparatus in the
same way as such apparatus is drawn by horses. In like manner clod
crushers, rollers, or other agricultural implements may be drawn over the
soil by the machine or self-propelling carriage, and amongst others, reaping
machines may be actuated thereby, whilst any motions required for the
details of any implement may be derived from the first motion shaft of the
propelling carriage.
In general, all but the lighter operations of agriculture may by the herein-
before described arrangements be brought conveniently and satisfactorily
within the range of steam, water, or other like power, whilst the arrangements
possess the important advantages of great economy and easy adaptability to
the various requirements and circumstances of farming. The land may be
ploughed with one set of ploughs as easily as with horses, and the attendant
seated on the machine or carriage in front of the steering wheel, or in any

page_text: other convenient position can without leaving his seat start, stop, or reverse
the machine, turn to the right or left, and completely round if necessary, the
machine being in fact more completely under his control than a pair of horses
would be.
In a modified form my improved arrangements for propelling by means of
a quickly running endless rope are suitable for actuating in any direction over
a limited area wheeled carriages, such, for example, as carts or waggons for
conveying or distributing farm produce or materials.
A modification of my driver for wheeled carriages is represented in front
elevation in Figure 10 on Sheet 2 of the Drawings. It is provided with two
driving wheels 71, which may be fitted with spikes if necessary, and which are
on an axle 72, turning in bearings in the lower forked ends of a tubular
spindle piece 73. This spindle piece 73 is mounted in the carriage in
any convenient way, (in a pole 74, for example, projecting forward a little
from the carriage or waggon frame 75,) and on the upper end there is a
worm wheel 76 actuated by a worm spindle and hand wheel 77 at the side,
whereby the propelling wheels can be set in any position required in steering.
Down through the tubular spindle piece 73 there passes a shaft or spindle 78,
having fixed upon its upper end the pulley 79 to receive the driving rope R,
and with the swinging guide frame 80, as in the other modifications. On the
bottom end of the shaft 78 there is a bevil wheel 81, which gears with a com-
bined bevil wheel and pinion 82 running on a stud upon the spindle piece 73,
and gearing with a spur wheel 83 on the propelling axle 72. A lever (not
shown) may be adapted to the wheel 83 to put it into or out of gear as may
be required, and provision may be made as in the implement carriage for
throwing one or both wheels 71 loose on the axle to facilitate turning. It will
be obvious that a single central propelling wheel may be substituted for the
two, 71, described, and that other details of the arrangement may be more or
less modified whilst still acting in the same way. With the arrangement
described the direction of the carriage's motion can be reversed when required
by simply turning the spindle piece 73 with the propelling wheel or wheels
one-half round.
-
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is or may be performed, I have to state that I do not
restrict myself to the precise details berein described or delineated, and
that I do not claim every separate detail herein described and delineated; but
that what I believe to be novel and original, and claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
1. The applying of motive power transmitted by a quickly running rope to

page_text: cultivating apparatus and wheeled carriages by means of mechanism, combined
and arranged substantially as herein-before described.
2. The combining of a swinging frame having guide pulleys with a large
pulley on a vertical shaft, to be acted upon by the endless rope, substantially
as herein-before described.
3. The turning of the machine and the elevating and lowering of the
implement frame by motions derived from the vertical first motion shaft.
4. The effecting of the progressive motion of the carriage or machine with
the ploughs or other implements by propelling wheels actuated by means sub-
stantially such as are herein-before described, and the fitting of such wheels
with engaging and disengagind details, substantially as herein-before described.
5. The providing of the guide pulleys at the headlands and the "slack"
pulley with gearing and propelling wheels, whereby they are rendered self-
shifting, substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Leslie, have hereunto set my
hand and seal this Tenth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
ALEX. LESLIE.
(L.B.)