IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING AND MOWING - MACHINES.
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Henry Ash, of London, Canada West,
Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING AND MOWING
-
MACHINES. A communication by Nicholas Coones, resident at London,
Canada West..
Sealed the 24th January 1862, and dated the 30th July 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Henry Ash at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
30th July 1861.
I, WILLIAM HENRY ASH, of London, Canada West, Gentleman, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING AND
MOWING MACHINES," (communicated to me by Nicholas Coones, a person
resident at London, Canada West) to be as follows:-
These improvements in reaping and mowing machines will be understood
on reference to the accompanying Drawings, Figure 1 of which is a partial
side elevation, and Figure 2.a plan, partly in section, of the said machine.
a is a wheel, which may be called the driving wheel of the machine, having a
serpentine groove 6 on the inside; c is a rod suspended by the two arms d, d,
which fit into and turn in the stanchions e, e, fixed to the frame f; g, g, are
the shafts. The rod c reaches down into the groove b, so that as the machine
is drawn forward and the driving wheel turned, the end of the rod is drawn
through the serpentine groove, which works it to and fro, and
motion to the connecting rod h, which is attached to the knives.
small wheel on the end of the rod c which just fits the groove, and makes it
work more evenly, and with less friction; i is the platform fastened to the
frame
thus gives
There is a
by the hinge k, which is held by the brace 1; m, m, are the knives

page_text: pinned to the platform at n, so as to turn freely; they are also pinned to the
connecting rod h, which works them backward and forward, and as they are
fixed at the other end, their points work with double the velocity which they
would in the ordinary method; o, o, are rods of a feed wheel or reel, placed
so that they will commence to feed the knives at one end, and come gradually
along to the other, instead of feeding them all at once as those in common
use. p is a wheel fixed on the axle of the driving wheel a, and grooved so as
to hold the strap q, which also passes over the wheel r; s is another strap
which connects the wheel with one on the axle of the feed wheel, so that
when the driving wheel a is turned, and with it the wheel p, the straps set the
feed wheel in motion; t is a lever, with one end fastened to the slide u, and
connected also with the arm d by a short rod, which comes through a cut in
the plate v, on which the slide works. By pressing back the lever, the arm d
is forced out of the stanchion e, and when it is lifted up, the rod c is drawn
clear of the groove, and the knives put out of gear; w is another wheel to
counterbalance the platform, and thus equalize the draught, and it also enables
the machine to be drawn along a road like a cart or any other vehicle when
the platform is turned up, which can be done by means of the hinge-k. The
hinge also enables the platform to accommodate itself to the ground.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed a
by the said William Henry Ash in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 30th January 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HENRY ASH, of London, Canada West, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters's
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Henry Ash, Her special licence that I, the said William Henry Ash,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Henry Ash, 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," (communicated to me by Nicholas Coones, a

page_text: person resident at London, Canada West), upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Henry Ash, 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 Henry Ash, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
that is to say:-
This Invention principally consists in constructing the main bearing wheel of
reaping and mowing machines with a serpentine cam guide or groove on or in
the felloe thereof, and in the employment of a rod suspended inside the driving
wheel, the lower end of which rod fits into the serpentine groove, whereby the
rod is worked backwards and forwards as the driving wheel revolves, and thus
imparts motion to the knives; there is also an appliance for throwing the rod
out of gear.
The Invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying
Drawings.
Figure 1 shows in plan so much of a cutter or knife, with the guards or
fingers through which it moves, as will be necessary to explain how it is made
according to this Invention. The guards or fingers are attached to the
plank D; A is the cutter or knife (which is sickle-edged) attached or rivetted
to the iron bar C, shown at Figure II., also seen at A, Figure III.; the
cutters work to and fro in the space A, Figure II., the points of the cutters
passing from guard to guard, and thus making the whole of the cutter or knife
available for cutting the grain, and for hay, when the table E, Figure XIII.,
is removed.
In the section Figure II., D shows the plank to which the guards B,
Figure 1, are attached. The opening in the guards, shown at E, Figure 1, only:
extends to the under side of the cutter. Figure III. shows the iron bar, before
described, and which may be called the knife bar, to which the cutters are
attached. This knife bar moves in the socket F, Figures III. and IV., by.
the action of the connecting rod E, Figure III., and at R.. Figure XIII.
Motion is communicated to this connecting rod by the revolution of the
horizontal caster H, Figure XII., in the serpentine cam groove E, and which
is shown at E, Figure XII., and at S, Figure XIII. The caster H is-made

page_text: to revolve to in order to lessen the friction in working in the cam groove men-
tioned. In Figure XVI., the rod M, which is also seen at Figure X., is
shown on a larger scale. This rod M is free to move up and down at the
pleasure of the driver when on the seat C, by pressing on foot on the lever
at F, thus raising the part marked H, Figure XII., out of the groove when
it is desired to cause the cutter to cease working. The rod E, Figure III.,
also shown at P, Figure 10, can be renioved to R, Figure X., at pleasure, to
lessen the speed of the cutters. J, Figure X., is a slot through which the
rod P, Figure VI., passes outward; this rod is attached to the plank D,
Figure I., shewn also at N, Figure VI., to which the cutters are attached,
and can be raised or lowered by means of the nut Y. The plate shewn at
Figure XI. is the same as that shown at K, Figure VI., with the moveable.
parts taken away so as to show the construction of the plate, Figure XI.
being the inside, and H, Figure X., the outside view of the plate. At Z,
Figure VI., is a chain and pin or cotter for keeping the lever in the position
required. The wheel shown in Figure-V-II, can-be raised_or_lowered in the
plate D, so as to bring the table level when raised or lowered by means of
the nut Y, Figure VI. The plate D, Figure VII., is.. turned outward at the
bottom so as to enable the off-side A to be secured to the part D, Figure I.,.
and to the table E, Figure XIII.; this table is formed with ledges, under-
neath (shown at F, Figure II.), upon which is nailed an inch board, covered
with zinc as far as the line between F and E, Figure-XIII.. The side A,
Figure VII., is square to the table horizontally, but inclining outward from.
the perpendicular to about 3 inches. The guard bar F, Figure VII., is for
the purpose of throwing off the straw or hay from the wheel, a plan of which
is shown at Figure IX.; the wheel revolves in the space B. The point A is.
for the purpose of dividing the grain or hay to be cut, the part cut being
thrown in the direction D, Figure XIII., and D, Figure 9. There is a belt
at P, Figure XII., passing to E, Figure VIII., and extending from the.
wheel A, Figure XII., to the wheel B, Figure VIII. The wheel A is on the
same axletree as the driving wheel, Figure XII.; the revolving of this driving
wheel, therefore, causes the wheel B, Figure VIII., to revolve, and with it
the reel, Figure VIII., shown also at D, Figure VII., the revolving of which
reel brings the grain up to the cutters. The knives or cutters shown at A,
Figure 1, are not in one continued piece, but separate from each other, so
that should one of them get broken, it can be replaced without disturbing the
others
Figure 1 shows the plan, and Figure II., the section of guards, chamfered
to a line on the under side. The flange M, Figure III., is for the purpose of

page_text: strengthening the plate, and is a continuation of R, Figure VI. and M,
Figure IV. The guards B, Figure II., are attached to D by large screws on
the under side. The ledges F of the table, and E, the boarding of the table,
are secured to D by plates and screws; the table is inclined upward at an
angle, as shown at E and F, Figure II. The socket A, Figure V., is the
same as R, Figure XVI., in which the upright bolt B works up and down.
L, Figure XVI., is a lever shewn also at L, Figure XVIII., and is attached
to the upright bolt B, Figure XVI., so that by pressing on F, Figure X.,
this bolt can be raised. The upright part S, Figure VI., is constructed so
that the lever H, Figure VI., may be raised or lowered, and kept in its place
by a cotter or pin. F, Figure XVI., may be removed to G, Figure XVI., if
desired; this part F is also shewn at E, Figure III., and at P, Figure X.
The wheel B, Figure VI., is constructed, by preference, of wood, and the
wheel A, Figure XII., of iron. The spokes of the driving wheel are on the
outside edge, as shewn at Q, Figure XIII., so as to give room to the rod M,
Figure X., or B, Figure XVI., to work inside clear of the driving wheel.
The driver sits at C, Figure X., and the raker at D, the latter having one foot
on the footboard G, and the other at K, Figure XIII. D, Figure XVII.,
shows the same as D, Figure VII. The axle of the driving wheel passes
through P at Q, Figure VI., and also through the plate A at C, Figure XI.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim, as my improve-
ments in reaping and mowing machines,-
First, obtaining the motion of the cutters or knives by means of a ser-
pentine cam groove on the felloe of the driving wheel, whereby a lateral motion
is imparted to the bar which carries the cutters or knives, as herein-before
described.
Second, the construction and method of action of reaping and mowing
machines, substantially in manner herein-before described with reference to
the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Henry Ash, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighth day of January, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-two.