Improvements in Implements for Cultivating Land.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 10th June, 1891
Complete Specification Left, 5th Apr., 1892--Accepted, 7th May, 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Implements for Cultivating Land.
We, THOMAS CHURCHMAN DARBY, of Pleshey Lodge, Chelmsford, in the
County of Essex, and JOHN EVAN STEEVENSON, of St. Nicholas Works, Kings
Lynn, in the County of Norfolk, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
The object of this invention is to improve the construction of implements for
cultivating land.
According to the present invention we provide a new arrangement of apparatus
for carrying and operating the digging forks whereby we obtain a very slow
penetration of the ground for the first few inches from the surface.
By this
arrangement also the raising and lowering of the digging forks and coulters does
not in any way interfere with the crank shaft axis, thereby enabling the crank
shaft to be mounted in bearings fixed to the boiler, and the engines to be fixed
to the boiler or other convenient part and to be directly coupled up with the
crank shaft operating the digging tools.
In this new arrangement the digging tools are mounted in sockets fixed to a
lever mounted at its forward end preferably on the cranks of the engine crank
shaft, and near its rear end, but at the upper part thereof, it is connected by
pin joint to the upper end of a radius link, which at its lower end is pin jointed
to an intermediate part of the length of a lever supporting frame, which at its
front end is mounted on trunnions carried by the boiler. The rear end of the
said lever supporting frame is connected to the piston rod of a hydraulic cylinder
by which the height of such lever supporting frame and consequently the depth
to which the forks penetrate the ground are regulated.
The crauks give a
motion in the path of a circle to the front ends of the fork carrying frames,
which latter are consequently moved in a compound to and fro and rising and
falling motion, thereby causing the forks first to enter the ground slowly at
the required angle, then to increase in speed of motion and to rise in a curved
line, after which they return to their starting point.
The depth of working and the path travelled by the forks can be regulated by
increasing or decreasing the distance between the cranks and the points where the
fork carrying frames are pin jointed to the radius links.
The depth of working is also automatically regulated on uneven ground by
means of a slide resting on the ground and connected by suitable mechanism with
the hydraulic cylinder acting upon one end of the lever supporting frame. A hand
lever is also provided to act on the hydraulic cylinder valve, whereby the lever
supporting frame can be raised so as to raise the digging tools entirely out of the
ground when turning at headlands or travelling on roads.
By the present arrangement all depths of digging will absorb about the same arc
of the cranks, and so a machine can be made having only two digging forks, which
absorb together almost entire circle of cranks.
The crank shaft by suitable gearing gives motion to the main supporting
rollers.
The lever supporting frame is fitted at its rear end with a row of coulters and, if
desired, with a seed and manure drill and mould boards and harrows.
An implement provided with the digging action above described can have the
forks so arranged as to dig between the rows of standing corn planted, say, two
feet apart in wide rows, in which case the supporting rollers will be so arranged as
to tread only upon the open ground, the space between the rollers passing over
standing corn.

page_text: The machine can also be make to dig various widths by adding to or taking from
either or both forks, thereby enabling it to be adjusted for digging between fruit
trees, hops, and other crops.
Dated this 10th Jan of 1901
M
T. C. DARBY.
J. E. STEEVENSON.
By Harris & Mills,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Implements for Cultivating Land.
We, THOMAS CHURCHMAN DARBY, of Pleshey Lodge, Chelmsford, in the
County of Essex, and JOHN EVAN STEEVENSON, of St. Nicholas Works, Kings
Lynn, in the County of Norfolk, Engineers, 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 improve the construction of implements for
cultivating land.
According to the present invention we provide a new arrangement of apparatus
for carrying and operating the digging forks whereby we obtain a very slow
penetration of the ground for the first few inches from the surface. By this
arrangement also the raising and lowering of the digging forks and coulters does
not in any way interfere with the crank shaft axis, thereby enabling the crank
shaft to be mounted in bearings fixed to the boiler and the engines to be fixed to
the boiler or other convenient part and to be directly coupled up if desired with the
crank shaft operating the digging forks.
In this new arrangement the digging tools are mounted in sockets fixed to a lever
mounted at its forward or upper end preferably on the cranks of the engine crank
shaft, and near its rear end, but at the upper part thereof, it is connected by pin-
joint to the upper end of a radius link, which at its lower end is pinjointed to an
intermediate part of the length of a lever supporting frame, which at its front end
is mounted on trunnions carried by the boiler. The rear end of the said lever
supporting frame is connected to the piston rod of a hydraulic or steam cylinder,
by which the height of such lever supporting frame, and consequently the depth to
which the forks penetrate the ground, are regulated. As a modification the radius
link may be connected to a sliding frame which can be raised and lowered by a
screw or other suitable means. The cranks give a motion in the path of a circle to
the front or upper ends of the fork carrying frames, which latter are consequently
moved in a compound to and fro and rising and falling motion, thereby causing
the forks first to enter the ground slowly at the required angle, then to increase in
speed of motion and to rise in a curved line, after which they return to their
starting point.
The depth of working and the path travelled by the forks can be regulated by
increasing or decreasing the distance between the cranks and the points where the
fork carrying frames are pin-jointed to the radius links.
A hand lever is provided to act on the hydraulic cylinder valve, or a hand wheel
is applied to the screw, whereby the supporting frame can be raised so as to raise
the digging tools entirely out of the ground when turning at headlands or travelling
on roads.
By the present arrangement all depths of digging will absorb about the same arc
of the cranks, and so a machine can be made having only two digging forks which
absorb together almost the entire circle of cranks.
The crank shaft, by suitable gearing, gives motion to the main supporting
rollers.
The lever supporting frame, or the digging lever, is fitted at its rear end with a

page_text: row of counters, and I desired with a seed and manure and more on
harrows.
Figure 1 is a side elevation and Figure 2 is a rear view partly in section of a
digging machine constructed according to the present improvements.
Figure 3 is a side elevation,
Figure 4 is a rear elevation,
Figure 5 is a rear elevation partly in section, and
Figure 6 is a plan of parts, showing a slight modification.
We will first describe the arrangement represented at Figures 1 and 2.
a a are the digging tools or tines, which are caused to enter the ground very
slowly for the first few inches from the surface; these tools a are fixed in sockets
formed in bars a' fixed to the rear or lower ends of levers a², which, at their forward
or upper ends, are mounted on the cranks of the engine crank shaft b, and
somewhat near their rear ends, but at the upper part thereof, they are connected
by pin-joint a³ to the upper end of the radius links c. These radius links at their
lower ends are pin-jointed to an intermediate part of the length of a lever sup-
porting frame d, which at its front or forward end d' is mounted on trunnions
carried by the boiler e. The rear end of the lever supporting frame d is connected
by pin-joint d to the piston rod f' of a hydraulic or steam cylinder f, the valve f
of which can be operated by hand by means of the lever 3, thereby enabling the
height of such lever frame d, and consequently the depth to which the forks a
penetrate the ground, to be regulated as desired, and when required the said
supporting frame d can be so raised as to raise the digging tools a entirely out of
the ground when turning at headlands or travelling on roads.
The engines for driving the digging tools or tines a, and for propelling the
machine, are mounted on the boiler e and in the arrangement shown are coupled up
directly with the crank shaft b, which is mounted in bearings fixed to the
boiler e.
The coulters h are fixed in sockets formed in a bar h¹ fixed to the rear end of the
lever supporting frame d, and they, with the digging tools a, are capable of being
raised and lowered by the means hereinbefore described, and the digging tools are
capable of being operated without interfering with the axis of the crank shaft b.
The implement is carried at the front by a roller i, which is controlled by a screw
steering rod, by which the attendant is enabled to steer the implement, and the
rear of the implement is supported on rollers j mounted in bearings fixed to plates
or frames e descending from and fixed to the rear end of the boiler.
The engines g, through the crank shaft b, give a motion in the path of a circle to
the front ends of the levers a³, which latter, being supported as hereinbefore
described, are consequently moved in a compound to and fro and rising and falling
motion, thereby causing the forks a to enter the ground in a straight line and pass
through and rise out therefrom in the paths indicated by the dotted lines, according
to the height of the supporting frame d and the distance between the cranks and
the joints a³ of the levers a² with the radius links c. This last mentioned adjustment
can be effected by fixing the pin joints a³ at the upper ends of the radius links c to
another point of the slots a, as indicated by the dotted circles, or by an extensible
slide or portion adjustably attached to the front ends of the levers a², and carrying
the crank bearings.
The crank shaft gives motion to the rollers; by means of gear wheels kl, the
latter of which, by pinions fixed on its axis, gives motion to rings of internal
teeth fixed to the rollers j. Means are provided for shifting the wheel k into and
out of gear with the wheel l.
We will now describe the modification represented at Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6, in
which like parts are indicated by similar letters of reference to those employed in
the previous figures.
In this modification the lever a² carrying the digging tools at is mounted in a
more nearly vertical position, and the engines for driving the crank shaft bare

page_text: mounted on the top of the boiler e.
The implement is practically a traction engine
of suitable design fitted with the digging implements and means for operating the
same....
--
The crank pins operating the levers a², instead of being fixed rigidly to or
forming part of the crank shaft b, as in the first described arrangement, are in the
modification now being described, carried by one half of each of the divided
clips fixed on the bosses 63 of the fly wheels fixed on the ends of the crank
shaft b; by this arrangement the clip is allowed to slip on the boss and damage is
thereby prevented to any of the parts in the event of any sudden stoppage of the
fork, which may be caused by a hidden rock or root of a tree or other impediment
being struck by the digging tools.
་
The levers a carrying the digging tools a are supported and controlled in their
motions by radius links c pin jointed to a supporting frame d capable of sliding in
dovetail guides carried by the tender side framings e', and such frame d is capable
of being raised and lowered, for the purposes herein before referred to by a screw m
provided with a hand wheel m³, or by a steam or hydraulic cylinder. The
coulters in the present modification are carried by rods h² passing between the
tines a and fixed to a bar h³ carried by brackets d³ fixed to the lower part of
the supporting frame d.
The clips can be detached from the bosses of the fly wheels to enable the
engine to be run without giving motion to the digging forks. We also propose to
use crank clips & having pins of various throws to facilitate digging at different
depths.
The gearing for propelling the implement is arranged as follows:-
A compound pinion k, formed with three different sized pinions, is mounted on
the crank shaft with capability of being slidden thereon and yet of receiving
motion therefrom; one or other of these pinions k gives motion, through an idle
wheel n, to a toothed wheel l, which, by means of a pinion mounted on its axis
and gearing into a toothed wheel j' fixed on the axis of one of the rollers j, gives
motion to the latter. The idle wheel n is capable of being moved to and fro along
the slot to enable it to be placed in gear with either of the pinions k and yet to
remain in gear with the wheel and the pinion l' is capable of being slidden along
its axis to place it either in or out of gear with the wheel j'.
By the arrangement of gearing above described the implement can be readily
made to travel at either of three different speeds, so as to suit the character of the
work, or for travelling on roads.
Different shaped coulters can be used for various purposes; for instance, when
the ground is full of twitch, wire grass, and rubbish, the end of the coulter may
terminate just below the ground line, so that the grass will not collect at the point
but be left on the surface.
The outer ends of the bars a¹ of the digging fork levers a² are connected by hinge
joints a to the fixed portions thereof, so as to enable them to be turned back to
enable the implement to pass through confined openings or spaces or for travelling
along roads. This hinged part is fixed in position for work by means of the tine a*,
which passes through sockets formed in such hinged part and in the fixed part, and,
by the removal of the said tine a*, the hinged part can be readily turned back, as
indicated by dotted lines at Figure 6. The outer ends of the coulter bar h³ are
also made removable for similar purposes.
The crank shaft b is placed in such position relative to the work as to give a
direct thrust without causing undue pressure on the rocking arm. The path of the
digging tines is of such horizontal length, as will be seen by the diagram x, as to
absorb as little power as possible. The digging by this means can be done at a
much larger number of spits per minute than heretofore.
In the arrangements of machinery herein shown and described the tines make a
straight drive into the ground and recede before the point is level with the surface
of the ground.

page_text: We would here remark that the digging levers hereinbefore referred to may if
desired be driven by a crank shaft receiving motion through gearing from the
engine crank shaft instead of being directly coupled up with the latter.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:
In implements for cultivating land, the combination with a boiler and engines
and crank shaft carried thereby, of digging tools carried at the rear ends of lever
frames, which, at their front ends, are connected to cranks or crank pins on the
engine crank shaft, or on a crank shaft driven thereby, and near their rear ends, are
connected by radius links to an adjustable frame carried by the boiler and capable
of being raised and lowered, substantially as herein shown and described and for
the purpose stated.
1 1000
THOMAS C. DARBY.
JOHN E. STEEVENSON.
By Harris & Mills,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.