IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Finney Belfield, of Primley Hill, Paignton, in
the County of Devon, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES."
Sealed the 9th April 1861, and dated the 2nd January 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Finney Belfield
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 2nd January 1861.
I, JOHN FINNEY BELFIELD, of Primley Hill, Paignton, in the County of
Devon, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to improvements in reaping and mowing machines,
and consists of a series of keen cutting edged knives linked together in the
form of an endless chain, the cutting edge of which moves continuously in one
direction transversely to the advancing motion of the machine. This endless
chain of knives is placed in a horizontal plane, & immediately above such
chain of knives I dispose an endless chain of hooked prongs, which project
beyond the cutting edge of the knives and travel in an opposite direction;
these prongs are fitted in an endless chain of boxes, within which they recede
when they leave the line of the cut, and are again projected therefrom when
again entering upon it, suitable parts being adapted to ensure such action.
Beneath the cutting knives are disposed a series of straight prongs or fingers
which project in advance of the knife. These prongs, which are fixed on the
frame of the machine, enter and hold the crop to be cut below the knives,
whilst the curved prongs above gather it and press it up to the cutting edges.
The endless chain of knives, as also the chain of boxes containing the curved
travelling prongs, are mounted on suitable chain wheels receiving the necessary

page_text: motion from the travelling wheels of the machine, or otherwise, the axis of
such chain wheels being in vertical positions to suit the position of the chain
of knives and travelling prongs.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Finney Belfield, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
2nd July 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
FINNEY BELFIELD, of Primley Hill, Paignton, in the County of Devon, Gentle-
man, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
John Finney Belfield, Her special licence that I, the said John Finney Belfield,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Finney Belfield, 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 Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said John Finney Belfield, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment 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 John Finney Belfield, 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, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My Invention relates to improvements in reaping and mowing machines,
which consist of a series of keen cutting knives linked together in the form of
endless chains, the cutting edge of which moves continuously in one direction
transversely to the advancing motion of the machine. This endless chain of

page_text: knives is placed in a horizontal plane, or nearly so; immediately above such
chain of knives I dispose an endless chain of hooked prongs, which project
beyond the cutting edge of the knives & travel in an opposite direction;
these prongs are fitted in an endless chain of boxes, or it may be merely broad
links of the chain, within which they recede when they leave the line of the
cut, and are projected therefrom when again entering upon it, suitable parts
being adapted to ensure such action; or in place of the endless chains a straight
knife and bar armed with hooks may be made to revolve parallel to themselves
round points at either end of the same. Beneath the cutting knives are
disposed a series of straight prongs or fingers, which project in advance of the
knives. These prongs, which are fixed on the frame of the machine, enter
and hold the crop to be cut below the knives, while the curved prongs above
gather it and press it up to the cutting edges. These straight prongs are,
however, not indispensible, and may be omitted as detracting very little from
the efficiency of the machine. The endless chain of knives, as also the chain
of boxes containing the curved travelling prongs, are mounted on suitable
chain wheels receiving the necessary motion from the travelling wheels of the
machine, or otherwise, the axis of such chain wheels being in vertical positions
to suit the position of the chain of knives & travelling prongs. This machine
may be of any suitable width, so as to be applicable for one or two horses.
For one horse it will be furnished with single shafts, & for two horses with
double shafts, each so adjusted as to allow of the horse or horses working
either so as to draw the machine (to the field for instance) or push it while
reaping. The machine rests on one heavy driving wheel & two sledges of
iron turning on vertical axes permitting of altering their position and direc-
tion, whereby to effect the steerage. The horse shafts, which are made to
turn in a similar manner, also accommodate themselves to turning corners.
The principal driving wheel & the two sledges constitute three points of
support, which ensure a firm bearing & also permit of the machine adapting
itself to uneven ground. The driving wheel, with clutch on its shaft (for
throwing in and out of gear), is furnished with toothed gear at each end, that
on the near side to drive the knives at a speed of say about two and a half to
one forward, that on the off side to drive the grippers at a speed of say one
and a quarter to one; one wheel, consequently, of each chain will alone be
driven, the others serving as mere idle wheels. Thus the knives will move
from right to left and towards the standing crop, and the grippers from left to
right in the same direction as the sideway delivery, and away from the standing
crop. I effect the side delivery by a series of bells kept in place by ropes at the
upper edge running in grooves, & of which I propose to make the upper ones

page_text: travel fastest, so as to ensure, if possible, that the ears of corn shall move off
in advance of the stems or butts of the cut corn. The knives are screwed on
an endless chain which carries them, they are furnished with three sets of
holes for the purpose of bringing them forward as they wear. The pins of the
gripper chain are shouldered so as to act also as the centres on which the
grippers hang and turn, the shoulders keeping the two sides of the chain at the
proper distance. The grippers themselves are kept to their work by a fixed bar
which fills the space between them and the pegs at the back of the chain, and
which is bracketed to the front bar of the wooden frame, and when they reach
the end of this they strike a roller at the end of the guard, which makes them
revolve and drop back into the chain till they are again brought into contact
with the other end of the bar, which pushes them out and again into gear.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 of the annexed Sheet of Drawings represents a side view of a reaping
machine constructed according to my Invention; & Fig. 2 a plan of the
same; Fig. 3 represents a plan of the cutting parts of the apparatus on an
enlarged scale, with the platform or covering part removed; Fig. 4 represents
a transverse section of Fig. 3 through the line a, b, being through the axis of
the wheel giving motion to the gripping-apparatus,-while-Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8_&_9,_
represent detached parts in detail. c, c, is the framework of the machine,
which in the illustration represented is of a small machine adapted for one
horse; it is furnished with a yoke piece d, to which the shafts e, e, are
attached; this may, however, be adapted for two horses. The yoke piece d
moves round on its pin f, if required for tractive purposes or for steering, or
it may be fixed thereto in order to be pushed by the horse instead of being
pulled, pushing being the manner in which it acts while reaping or mowing.
This frame c, c, mounted principally on a broad heavy wheel g, whose axis h
is fitted in suitable bearings in the frame c, c; this wheel is furnished with
projecting ribs on its periphery to take hold of the soil, being for the purpose
of actuating the cutting parts of the apparatus in addition to supporting the
machine, as well understood in reaping & mowing machines; this wheel g
forms one point of support of the machine, the others consisting of two sledges
or skids i, i, on which the cutting apparatus immediately rests; this apparatus
as before mentioned, consists of an endless chain B of sharp edged knives k, k,
either linked together in the form of an endless chain, or preferably fixed on
an endless chain, in either case so as to present a continuous sharp cutting
edge. This endless chain of knives is in part separately represented at Fig. 5
in plan, and in edge view at Fig. 6, as will be seen; it consists of a series of

page_text: thin steel blades k, rounded & overlapping each other at the ends, & fixed to
the chain B by two screws (by changing the holes the knives can be advanced
as they wear out); they are thoroughly sharpened on the straightedge, &
round the ends to a certain extent. The endless chain of knives k is disposed
on two chain wheels m, m, one immediately over each sledge i, on which
wheels the chain of knives lies, & by one of which it is actuated. These
chain wheels, as will be seen in the plan, are adapted to receive and support
the chain on its flat side, being provided with projections to enter between the
joints of the links, which projections form the support of the flat side of the
links, & also the teeth by which the chain is driven. The chain wheels are
mounted on axes n, n, fitted in bearings p, p, fixed to the framework c, such
bearings being disposed between the upper chain wheels q, q, & the lower
ones m, m, see plan, Fig. 3, & section, Fig. 4, the axes n, n, being fixed and
common to both the upper and lower chain wheels, but so bent or inclined
above that the upper wheels revolve in a plane different to that of the lower
wheels. These latter are disposed in a plane parallel with the ground, or
nearly so, while the upper pair of wheels are in a plane, inclined considerably
from front to back, by which disposition the fore part of the wheels m & q,
and the endless chains A & B at that point are brought in close proximity,
while in the rear ample room is provided between the upper & lower wheels
for the framework to support them, and to which the vertical axis n, n, are
secured by bearings p, p, before mentioned. The upper chain wheels 9, 9,
support and actuate the endless chain, to which the gripping instruments r
are attached; a detached portion of this chain is separately represented in
plan at Fig. 7, and in edge view at Fig. 8; in the latter view the gripping
instruments are omitted; this is a double-link pitch chain, that is to say,
each link consists of two plates, one upper & one lower one, between which
the grippers are mounted, being fitted on the joint pins of the chain. The
lower plate of each link is of considerable breadth in the middle of its length,
and carries at back a pin s, between which and the grippers the fixed bar a'
lies which keeps them in action, and which also prevents the chain from being
dragged forward out of its place. t, Fig. 4, represents an upper flange, fixed on
wheels g, by which the chain A is kept in position. These wheels 7, 9, support
and actuate the chain A in same manner as described with reference to lower
chain wheels m, m, & chain B. In order to prevent sag in the chains A & B,
between their points of contact with their respective wheels m', q, I apply a
support to each, extending between those points; this support is fixed to
the front part of the wood frame c, &, as represented in cross section at Fig. 9,
showing a partial cross section of the front of the frame, with cross section of

page_text: the endless chains A & B. One only of each pair of chain wheels is driven,
carrying the grippers on the left, in Fig. 3, while the knife chain B is
driven on the right; the former receives motion through the bevil wheel u,
fixed on the axis h; this wheel takes into a pinion v, fixed on shaft w, on the
other end of which shaft is another bevil pinion a, which takes into a circle of
teeth cast on the under side of the wheel 7, and thereby driving the upper
chain A in the direction of the black arrows. The chain B is driven in the
direction of the red arrows by the gearing 1, 2, 3, 4, 1 being a spur pinion,
receiving motion from a spur wheel fixed on axis h, and imparting motion by
the bevil gear 2, 3, to shaft 5; a pinion 4 is fixed on shaft 5, which gears
a circle of teeth cast on one of the wheels m, and imparting motion thereto,
as will be seen, and readily understood by reference to Fig. 4.
in
The action of the machine is as follows:-The horse being yoked so as to
push the machine before him in the direction of the blue arrow and against the
standing crop (beginning of course at one side of the field), the driving wheel g
communicates motion to the endless chains A & B, the one B in the direction
of the red arrow & towards the standing crop at the side of the machine, the
,other A in the opposite direction. The knives k attached to B, having a sharp
sickle edge cut the crop, which at same time is held up against and carrried
along the cutting edge-by-the-grippers-r,-these-grippers-being-thrown-out.on
the left at the beginning of the cut by a fixed bar a³, best seen in the cross
,section, Fig. 9, and plan, Fig. 3, which bar extends along the whole front of
the machine, being above the broad part of lower links of chain A, and lying
in a space between pin s and the back of the grippers 7, the grippers are in
consequence thrown out & kept out during their traverse across, the front of
the machine; on arriving at the opposite side (on the right), they come in
contact with a roller and guard plate o, which throws them inwards, where
they remain until they again arrive at the beginning of the cut, when they are
projected as before, and so on, thus a sharp cutting action from which the
crop cannot escape, is continuously maintained throughout the whole front of
the machine, which effectually mows or reaps any standing crop to which it
may be opposed. C is a platform, covering the wheels m & q. & extending
the breadth of the machine, on which the crop would fall if no means were
provided for its delivery. To effect the delivery, I mount two inclined
rollers D, D', as seen in the side view, Fig. 2, and dotted in the plan, Fig. 2;
one of these is driven by a band 6 from the shaft 5, suitable pullies being
fitted for the purpose, as seen; on these inclined rollers are mounted a number
of endless bands or straps 7, 7, running in grooves formed therein, of different
diameters, & each furnished with short aprons, which lap one over the other,

page_text: & so form an endless sheet or surface on which to receive the cut crop. The
motion communicated to the first inclined roller D actuates the whole of the
bands 7, & so produces a side delivery, delivering the crop on that side
towards which the grippers rare progressing. The roller D may be of one
piece throughout its length, but D' should be of short sections, independent of
each other, so that each band 7 works freely & independently thereon, whereby
a quicker motion will be imparted to the upper bands than to the lower ones,
so that the heads of corn (if such is the crop being cut) will move off more
quickly than the stems or butts.
In order to steer the machine, I connect the two skids or sledges i, i, by a
cross bar at their rear ends, and by the application of a lever thereto, or other
suitable means, vary their position in the line of direction it is desired to travel,
and so effect a kind of steerage.
In order to sharpen the knives k, k, while the machine is in motion,
I dispose a suitable grinding stone nearly horizontal, and of which the side can
be either occasionally brought in contact with the lower surface and edge of
the knives, or kept there continuously by means of a lever or otherwise, on
which it is mounted; the stone is also capable of free motion on its axis,
whereby the whole of its surface is in turn presented to the knives which are
thereby thoroughly sharpened, and the wear on the stone also rendered
uniform, see Fig. 10.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of per-
forming the same, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself to
the precise details of reaping & mowing machines represented in the
Drawings, which may be varied without departing from the character &
principle of iny Invention, and that what I claim as my Invention to be
protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is the arrange-
ment and construction of reaping & mowing machines in which continuous
or intermittent cutting action is maintained assisted by gathering prongs or
grippers travelling in an opposite direction, operating in manner & as
herein-before described, & represented in the Drawings annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Finney Belfield, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
J. F. BELFIELD. (L.S.)