IMPROVE- MENTS IN AUTOMATIC SEED DRILLS FOR SOWING OR DEPOSITING GRAIN AND SEEDS OF ALL KINDS
Year: 1878

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Edwin Powley Alexander at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 11th December 1878. A cominuni-
cation from abroad by Paul Béranger, of Evreux, Department of Eure, in the
Republic of France, Engineer.
EDWIN POWLEY ALEXANDER, of 14, Southampton Buildings, in the County of
Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and British and Foreign Patent Agent. " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN AUTOMATIC SEED DRILLS FOR SOWING OR DEPOSITING GRAIN AND SEEDS
OF ALL KINDS." A communication from abroad by Paul Béranger, of Evreux, De-
partment of Eure, in the Republic of France, Engineer.
This Invention relates to certain peculiar constructions and arrangements of parts
of automatic seed drills, and has reference more especially to a simple and effective
arrangement for lifting and depressing the several shares as required; also to an
arrangement for effecting the automatic guiding or directing of the machine; and
lastly, to a peculiar arrangement of adjustable bearing whereby the several change
or spare bearings hitherto rendered necessary with the various gear wheels employed
in driving the shaft of the distributor are dispensed with.
In the said improved automatic seed drill the usual levers carrying the shares,
also the well known arrangement of distributor and its spur gearing are used as in
the English drills; the supports for the shares and the compressers (which latter
serve to depress or force the shares down when the ground is hard) are fixed by
bolts between two T iron fraines.
The improved arrangement for lifting the several shares consists of a drum or
barrel round which are wound the lifting chains, which barrel carries a grooved
pulley and ratchet wheel. Round the said grooved pulley there is wound a chain
band, which also passes round another pulley in connection with a spur wheel, both
pulley and spur wheel turning loose on an axle free to move, or be adjusted round
a fixed centre by means of a hand lever in order to bring the spur wheel in or out
of gear with one of the driving wheels of the drill, by which means the drum or
barrel is turned and the shares lifted simultaneously. In order to lower the shares
the ratchet wheel on the barrel is released by lifting a pall lever which at the same
time applys a brake in order to regulate the descent of the shares. The movement
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page_text: of the compressers is also accomplished by the drum, their chains being wound in
the reverse direction to that of the lifting chains, and brought into action by
depressing a hand lever.
The automatic guiding or controlling of the course of the drill is effected by a
horizontal lever fixed behind the back of the draw gear in the fore part of the
drill, which lever arm engages with the forked upper end of a vertical arm keyed
on a rocking shaft, causing the said shaft to turn to the right or left by the lateral
movement of the horizontal arm. This movement of the rocking shaft is assisted
by an upright counterweighted lever. An upright clutch lever is also mounted on
the rocking shaft, and operates upon the spindle of two bevel pinions, causing one or
the other thereof to gear with a central horizontal bevil wheel; this wheel drives
an upright drum round which pass two chains leading respectively to the two ends
of the fore axle of the machine. The two bevil pinions are driven by a spur wheel
from one of the driving wheels of the drill, such spur wheel being thrown in or out
of action by a hand lever as required. Thus when the line of draught is towards
the left, the horizontal lever arm on the draw gear will move towards the right, and
the corresponding bevil pinion will be brought into gear by the rocking shaft,
thereby causing the steering drum and chains to draw the fore axle to the right.
By means of a hand wheel and spindle carrying a bevil wheel in gear with the
horizontal bevil wheel on the axle of the steering drum, the machine may be readily
turned or guided by hand when required.
The change or spare bearings hitherto employed with the different gear wheels
for driving the axle of the distributor are dispensed with by substituting an adjust-
able bearing having ratchet teeth formed along each side, engaging between two
upright series of rack teeth, the teeth on one side of the bearing being depressed
half a tooth higher or lower than those on the other side, so that by turning each
bearing its height may be readily varied to a great nicety. By having the rack
teeth numbered to correspond at each side of the machine the uniform height of
both the bearings can be readily ensured.
In order to empty the seed box an opening is provided at its lower exterior por-
tion, which is closed by a hinged lid forming when open a species of spout or trough
into which the seed may be collected when required. A lever handle with hinged
detent worked by a gripping lever serves to elevate the seed box and throw the
distributor out of gear.