IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Manwaring, of Banbury, in the County of
Oxford, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING AND
MOWING MACHINES."
Sealed the 25th July 1865, and dated the 18th May 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Manwaring at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th May 1865.
I, WILLIAM MANWARING, of Banbury, in the County of Oxford, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
REAPING AND MOWING MACHINEE," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to reaping and mowing machines, with or without
flexible cutter bars, and,-
First, as to those having flexible cutter bars. In these I use two driving
wheels, on which I carry a gearing frame, by preference cast in one piece,
which frame is so constructed that the bearings of the various motion shafts
are integral portions of the casting or castings of such frame, and the crank
shaft is partially or wholly enclosed within such casting or castings. In order
to hold up the flexible cutter bar from the ground I attach to the lifting lever

page_text: which raises the gearing frame and cutter bar a pawl, falling into a suitable
notch on the front part of the draught frame, which pawl is again disengaged
by a portion thereof being brought into contact with a projection suitably
placed on the said frame. The joint which allows of the cutter bar yielding
sideways is constructed of two cups, by preference with chilled surfaces,
attached to or forming part of the gearing frame, between which cups is hung
an extension of the shoe carrying the cutter bar; the pivots of this extension
are also by preference chilled.
Second, as to those machines having rigid cutter bars. In machines of
this construction having a trussed main frame and revolving rakes, I place
the wheel which actuates the rake shaft (and of which the said shaft is the
centre) between the upper and lower portions of such trussed frame.
And, third, as applicable to machines with flexible or rigid cutter bars having
a manual delivery of the cut grain. My Invention consists of an improvement
in the traversing apparatus described in the first part of the Provisional
Specification of Daniel Pidgeon and myself dated the Eighth of February One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, Number 327, viz:-I make the
whole platform hinged or pivotted in the usual way. In that platform I
make a slot or slots, in which I cause rake teeth to move from side to side at
intervals. I further hinge or pivot a portion of the said platform so that I
can cause such portion to lift the grain clear of the teeth previous to its
discharge from the platform by the attendant. The respective motions are
so arranged that the grain is prevented falling into the teeth while they are
returning sideways towards the standing crop.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Manwaring, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
10th November 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
MANWARING, of Banbury, in the County of Oxford, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Manwaring, Her special licence that I, the said William
Manwaring, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Manwaring, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should

page_text: 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, and exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
NENTS IN REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Willian Manwaring, 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 William Manwaring, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
My Invention relates to reaping and mowing machines, with or without
flexible cutter bars, and,
First, as to those having flexible cutter bars. In these I use two driving
wheels, on which I carry a gearing frame by preference cast in one piece,
which frame is so constructed that the bearings of the motion shafts are
integral portions of the casting or castings of such frame, and the crank shaft
is partially or wholly inclosed within such casting or castings.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation, and Fig. 2 a plan of the gearing frame of a
machine constructed according to this part of my Invention. M in both
Figures is the first motion shaft, and C (dotted in both Figures) the crank
shaft. C is enclosed within a tubular portion of the frame F and has its
bearings in that portion, whilst M is shown in Fig. 2 running in f, f, portions
of the said frame. In order to hold up the flexible cutter bar from the ground
I attach to the lifting lever which raises the gearing frame and cutter bar
a pawl falling into a suitable notch on the front part of the draught frame,
which pawl is again disengaged by a portion thereof being brought into contact
with a projection suitably placed on the draught frame. In Fig. 1, D is the
draught frame, and L the lever for raising the gearing frame, and with it the
cutter bar C¹; but the arrangement of the lever, pawl, notch, and projection,
is shown on an enlarged scale in Figs. 3 and 3a. In Fig. 3 the lever L is
shown in two positions; that towards the left hand is in its position when the
cutter bar is on the ground; the pawl p, resting in the notch n, prevents the
lever from falling still further back, and limits the descent of the gearing

page_text: frame and cutter bar by means of the chain c, c¹. When it is desired to raise
the cutter bar the attendant pushes forward the lever in the direction of the
arrow until the pawl falls into the notch n¹. At the back of the pawl is a
small spring. Fig. 3a is a section of the draught frame at x, showing a
grooved piece G, which allows a stud on the pawl to pass through its groove,
when the lever is pushed forward as has been described. When it is intended
to let the gearing frame and cutter bar fall again, the attendant pushes the
lever still further forward until the spring forming a portion of the pawl comes
into contact with the projection V, Fig. 3, on the draught frame, this causes
the stud on the pawl to ride on the top of the grooved pieces g, instead of
passing through the groove, and the pall is thus prevented falling again into
the notch . This is the second position of the lever and pawl shown in
Fig. 3. The lever is now free to return to its first position. According
to a second method of preventing the pawl p from falling into the notch n¹
when it is required to lower the cutter bar, I dispense with the grooves g and
spring forming part of the pawl. In the latter case, when the lever is pushed
forward by the attendant the pawl itself strikes against the projection V, and
raises itself from the notch n', the pawl is pivotted so stiffly to the lever L that
it remains elevated while the lever returns to its first position, and the required
check to the downward movement of the cutter bar and gear frame is given
by the lever itself coming into contact with the pulley P, over which the
chain c, c', runs. A second chain (omitted in the first position of the lever
as the chain c, c¹, is in its second position) is attached to the lever at o and
connects it with a spring Z attached to the draught frame or its prolongation
D' (for which the draught pole may serve). This spring is intended to
counterbalance the weight of the gearing frame and cutter bar. It enables
the attendant to lift them with greater ease, and to hold them at any
desired point while the pawls are disengaged; this is best effected by his
resting his foot against the lever. The joint which allows the cutter bar
yielding sideways, making it what in reaping and mowing machines is
technically called a flexible bar, is constructed as follows:-I, Figs. 1 and 2,
is a prolongation of the shoe at the end of the cutter bar C, which prolonga-
tion is hung between cups 1, 2, of which the foremost is an integral part of
the gearing frame, and the bindermost a separate casting bolted to the frame.
I prefer to chill the inside of these cups.
The second part of my Invention relates to machines having rigid cutter
'bars, a trussed main framework, and one or more revolving rakes for deliver-
ing the crop. In these machines I place the wheel which actuates the rake
shaft, and of which the said shaft is the centre, between the upper and lower

page_text: portions of such trussed frame. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the gearing frame
of a machine having a rake or rakes propelled by the shaft S (the rakes are
not shown). On the shaft S is keyed the wheel w actuated by a train of
gearing from the driving wheel W, the wheel w being placed between the
upper and lower portions of the trussed frame F. The trusses at each extre-
mity of the frame are shown, the intermediate ones are removed for the sake
of showing the gearing more distinctly.
The third part of my Invention is applicable to machines with flexible or
rigid cutter bars, having a manual delivery of the cut grain, and consists in
an improvement of the traversing apparatus described in the first part of the
Provisional Specification of Daniel Pidgeon and myself, dated the Eighth
of February, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, videiicet, I hinge
or pivot the whole platform in the usual way; in that platform I make a
slot in which I cause rake teeth to move from the dividing shoe across a
portion of the width of the platform towards the raker and back again at
intervals. I further hinge or pivot a portion of the said platform so that
I can cause such portions to lift the cut crop clear of the teeth previous
to its discharge from the platform by the attendant. Figs. 5 and 6 are
side elevations, and Fig. 7 a back elevation showing the apparatus for
carrying out this portion of my Invention. P in Figs. 5 and 6 is the
platform pivotted at p. Q is a quadrant attached to the main frame. When
the platform drops from its position in Fig. 5 to that shown in Fig. 6 a pinion
attached to the platform revolves on the quadrant, and gives motion to
a belt carrying teeth. The position of thes teeth is shown to the left hand
of Fig. 7, when the platform is in the position shown in Fig. 5, but the belt
carries them in the direction of the arrow as the platform falls, and vice versa.
The crop is carried sideways with these teeth, so as to form a bundle or sheaf,
which is thrown off the platform by the attendant. The belt carries two
tappets h, h¹, Fig. 7 (one of which is also shown in Fig. 6). These tappets
act alternately and at the proper intervals on the lever a, Fig. 6, causing the
shaft y to make part of a revolution, and the forked lever with its friction
pulley to lift up and sustain the hinged portion of the platform as long as
required to prevent the grain falling into the teeth while they are returning
towards the standing crop.
Having now described my Invention, and those arrangements which I
prefer for carrying it into effect, I would let it be understood that I do not
confine myself to the precise details shown, but I claim with respect to the
first part of my Invention,-
1. The combination of two driving wheels and a flexible cutter bar with a

page_text: gearing frame, by preference cast in one piece, which frame is so constructed
that the bearings of the motion shafts form part of the casting or castings
composing the gearing frame, and that the crank shaft is partially or wholly
enclosed within such casting or castings.
2. Sustaining the gearing. frame and cutter bar by means of a pawl attached
to the lifting lever, which pawl is engaged in a suitable notch in the draught
frame or its prolongation, and disengaged by a projection on the same frame,
the attendant in raising the gearing frame and cutter bar being by preference
assisted by a spring, which partly counterbalances the weight thereof.
3. Hinging the cutter bar to the gearing frame by means of a prolongation
of the main shoe pivotted between two cups.
And with respect to the second portion I claim (in machines having a rigid
cutter bar a trussed main frame and a revolving rake or rakes) placing the
wheel which actuates the rake shaft, and of which the said shaft is the centre
between the upper and lower portions of the said trussed frame.
And with regard to the third portion I claim the arrangement of the teeth,
tappets, slot, and pivotted portion of the platform as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Manwaring, have bereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventh day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
WILLIAM MAN WAKING. (L.8.)