IMPROVEMENTS IN REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Theodore Griffin, of Upper Thames Street,
in the City of London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES."-A communication from abroad by
Walter A. Wood, of Hoosick Falls, New York, in the United States
of America.
ealed the 28th February 1871, and dated the 9th September 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Theodore Griffin
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 9th September 1870.
I, JAMES THEOdore Griffin, of Upper Thames Street, in the City of
London, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "Iм-
PROVEMENTS IN REAPING AND MOWING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates.—

page_text: Secondly. To the construction of the main bearing and driving wheel,
and the parts connected with it, for retaining it between the main
frame.
Thirdly. To special means or apparatus for regulating the height of
the main frame for cutting purposes.
Fourthly. To apparatus for regulating the draft and for raising or
lowering the fingers for diagonal cutting.
Fifthly. To a construction of the combined pitman head, socket, pin,
and nut, so that as the pin or socket becomes worn it can be tightened
up by the nut without fear of getting loose.
The first improvement consists in making the pitman longer than
usual, and carrying it across the main frame and through the bearing
wheel to the outside bar, where it receives its reciprocating motion from
the balance or fly wheel which is driven in the usual manner from the
outside instead of from the inside bar. By this arrangement the weight is
more evenly distributed over the main frame than formerly, and serves
to remove the side strain from the horses. This arrangement is specially
applicable to machines having only one main bearing and driving wheel,
such as hereafter described under the second head of the Invention.
The main bearing and driving wheel is composed of a periphery or band
only with the driving teeth cast or otherwise formed on its inner face.
It is enclosed between two flat rings, which are formed with lugs for
supporting, say, three guide rollers having flanges on them for bearing upon
the cheeks of the teeth base. One of the guide rollers is toothed to act
as a pinion for transmitting the motion from the main driving teeth to the
knife bar as well as the rake mechanism. The flat rings are perforated
for the reception of screw pins or bolts which pass through the main
frame into the holes to regulate the height of it from the ground, and
consequently the height of the knives. The pitman socket is formed
with a conical or tapered hole, and the pin which works in it is shaped
to fit. The nut on the outside which is used to keep them in contact
has ratchet teeth on one portion of it for a spring or paul to take into
and prevent the nut working loose during the working. As the socket or
the pin becomes worn the nut can be tightened up by a key or spanner,
when the spring or paul will drop into fresh teeth and hold the socket
in place.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Theodore Griffin in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 9th March 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
THEODORE GRIFFIN, of Upper Thames Street, in the City of London,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said James Theodore Griffin, Her special licence
that I, the said James Theodore Griffin, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Theodore Griffin, 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 from abroad
by Walter A. Wood, of Hoosick Falls, New York, United States of
America,) upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James
Theodore Griffin, 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 James Theodore Griffin, 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 :-
T
This Invention relates,—

page_text: Secondly. To the construction of the main bearing and driving wheel
and the parts connected with it for retaining it between the main
frame.
Thirdly. To special means or apparatus for regulating the height of
the main frame for cutting purposes.
Fourthly. To apparatus for regulating the draft, and for raising or
lowering the fingers for diagonal cutting.
Fifthly. To a construction of the combined pitman head, socket, pin,
and nut, so that as the pin or socket becomes worn it can be tightened
up by the nut, without fear of getting loose.
The first improvement-consists-in-making-the pitman longer than
usual and carrying it across the main frame and through the bearing
wheel to the outside bar, where it receives its reciprocating motion from
the balance or fly wheel, which is driven in the usual manner from the
outside instead of from the inside bar; by this arrangement the weight
is more evenly distributed over the main frame than formerly, and
serves to remove the side strain from the horses. This arrangement is
specially applicable to machines having only one main bearing and
driving wheel, such as hereafter described under the second head of the
Invention. The main bearing and driving wheel is composed of a
periphery or band only, which has the driving teeth cast or otherwise
formed on its inner face. It is enclosed between two flat rings which
are formed with lugs for supporting, say, three guide rollers, having
flanges on them for bearing upon the cheeks of the teeth base; one of
the guide rollers is toothed to act as a pinion for transmitting the
motion from the main driving wheel to the knife bar, as well as the
rake mechanism. The flat rings are perforated for the reception of
screw pins or bolts, which pass through the main frame into the holes
to regulate the height of it from the ground, and consequently the
height of the knives. The pitman socket or the knife bar is formed
with a conical or tapered hole, and the pin or pitman head which works
in it is shaped to fit the nut on the outside of the tightening pin which
is used to keep them in contact, has ratchet teeth on one portion of it
for a spring or paul to take into and prevent the nut working loose
during the working of the machine. As the socket or the pin or
head becomes worn the nut can be tightened up by a key or spanner,
when the spring or paul will drop into fresh teeth and hold the socket
in place.

page_text: The method of carrying the Invention into effect is represented in
the accompanying Drawings, in which Figure 1 shows a partial side view
of a mowing machine with the improvements before referred to applied,
Figure 2 is a partial plan, Figures 3 and 4 are partial sectional views of
the main bearing wheel on an enlarged scale, while Figures 5 and 6 are
detached views of the pitman head and ratchet nut with the cone stem
in position. Similar letters of reference correspond in all the Figures.
a is the frame of the machine composed of side beams with end picces
b, b, to make it of rectangular shape, the side beams a, a, have the
bearings or supports for the journals of the axle or shaft c of the gearing
pinion d, which takes into the teeth of the main bearing wheel e, situated
between the frame; this wheel is as before stated of special construction
and is composed of a simple band of metal with teeth on the inner
periphery and it is kept in place by rollers f,f, and d, supported by two
flat rings secured to the side beams. The rollers are flanged or have
projecting rings i, i, upon them to bear against cheeks j, j, formed at the
sides or the base of the teeth of the main wheel e for the purpose of
keeping the wheel in working order, the spindles or pins of the rollers
being held in lugs k, k, projecting from the inner edge of the ring
plates h, h. The rollers ff, are plain on their central parts, but the
roller d has teeth upon the central part, and these form the pinion before
spoken of for transmitting the motion to the knives, as well as to the
reel if this arrangement is fitting to a reaping machine. The flat ring
plates are holed at one or more portions of their surface to enable them
to be bolted to the side beams, and thus regulate the height of the frame
from the ground, thus by changing the bolts into different holes the
varying heights of the knives can be adjusted to suit different kinds of
grain. The bolts need not however be passed through both the plates
and the side beams as in many cases the bolts, plain or screwed, can be
fitted into the holes in the rings, and the beams rest upon their projecting
ends. I fit a jointed lever on the rings and connect it by a link to the
beams, by this means the attendant can without descending from his
seat raise or lower the frame bodily by shifting the lever. This plan will
be of advantage in passing over uneven or stoney land, as by it the
attendant can lift the knives to clear the obstacle in an instant without
stopping the horses. The shaft on which the pinion is fitted has a bevil
wheel m on its outer end gearing into a bevil pinion n on the pitman
shaft o by which the reciprocating action of the knives is governed; this

page_text: gearing is on the outside of the machine and the pitman rod passes
through the hollow of the main wheel at or near the imaginary axis of it.
The inner shoe of the knife beam is secured to the inside frame in the
usual manner, and supports the inner end of the platform p which in
the machine shown is hinged and made to rise by a spring after it has
been depressed by the foot of the attendant acting upon the stirrup q
for delivering the cut crop from it. The fore end of the shoe has the
guard rails and shield attached to it for leading the grain to the knives,
and to prevent clogging or choking at that part. I pin a lever on the
front of the main frame and carry it back to the rear to bring its handle
within reach of the attendant, and it is by the lowering or the raising of
this lever that the_angle-of-cut-can-be-determined; the fore end of it is
connected by brackets to the draw bar attached to the pole and its
movement causes the front of the frame to rise and fall without interfering
with the draught. This lever can be fixed at any point by the catch
Figure 7 taking into any of the notches provided on the edge of the guide
bar which is pinned to the frame ats. The socket or the knife bar
is conical on its interior and the pitman head which fits in it is shaped
to correspond, the working faces are kept in contact as they become
worn by screwing up the tightening nut by means of a spanner or
key. The exterior of a portion of the nut having teeth upon it for the
spring or a paul to drop into to prevent it working loose while the
machine is travelling.
It must be understood that each or any of the above-mentioned
improvements can be fitted to other constructions of reaping or mowing
machines, whether such machines have one or two bearing wheels as
well as those with other systems of platform. The foregoing being only
given in connection with a one-wheeled machine for the purpose of
showing how they can be applied.
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,--
Firstly. Fitting or arranging all the foregoing improvements to a
machine for reaping or mowing as described and shown.
Secondly. I claim the construction of wheels of reaping and mowing
machines in the manner and for the purposes described and shown.
Thirdly. I claim the mode of raising and lowering the main frame in
the manner described and shown.

page_text: Fourthly. I claim making the pitman head or pin and socket of conical
form, for the purpose herein-before described and shown.
Also the employment of a ratchet nut to the pitman head for a spring
or paul to take into to prevent the nut working loose, substantially as set
forth.
I also claim arranging the whole of the improvements in or to one
machine or separating them for use on several machines as before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Theodore Griffin, have here-
unto set my band and seal, this Ninth day of March, One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-one.
JAMES. T. GRIFFIN. (L.s.)