US732180A - Weeding-machine. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED nfim so, 1903.

0 S FELLOWS WEEDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED J LY 14, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 NO MODEL.

PATBNTBD JUNE 30, 1903..

' 0. s. FELLOWS.

WEEDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 14, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 \wnin" H0 MODEL.

NESSES dliornw,

m; Nonms wnzns cc)v PNOTO-LIYHG,WASHINGTON, o c

Patented June 30, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

OZRO S: FELLOWS, OF BATTLEOREEK, MICHIGAN.

.WEEDlNG- MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent No. 732,180, dated June 30, 1903. Application filed July 14, 1902. Serial No. 115,577- (No model.)

To (tZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that LOZRO S.FELLo s,of Battlecreek, in the county of Calhoun and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Weeding-Machines and I hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, ref erence being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

Thislinvention is an improved weeding-ma chine, especially designed to whip or scrape out out weeds and to thin out rows of young plants. The machine, as shown, comprises two oppositely-rotating disk-shaped brushes or series of brushes, preferably made of wires or long very stiff rods or fibers, arranged to rotate oppositely to each other at high and preferably different speeds and operating in a plane at right angles to their path of travel. Said brushes are preferably mounted on concentric nested shafts journaled in a frame hung on the wheeled driving-axle of the machine, and said machine may be propelled by manual power or by horse-power, being shown asa manually-operated machine in the drawings.

A subsidiary object of the invention is to construct one (or both) of the brushes in such manner that it can be arranged to operate as a disk brush or as a segmental brush.

The invention consists in the novel constructions and combinations of parts summarized in the claims, and the accompanying drawings illustrate a practical weeding-machine embodying the invention in the best manner now known to me; but I do not re-' strict myself to the specific constructionv shown therein.

In said drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of the complete machine. Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof. Figs. 3 and 4: are face views of the two brushes. Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the operative parts of the machine. Figs. 6 and 7'are detail views of the wheel-hub clutches.

The axle A of the machine is rotatable and.

is supported on wheels B, which are loosely mounted on the axle intermediate fixed collars a a, the latter having cam or ratchet faces next} the hubs of the wheels adapted to be engaged by pins 1), which are loosely mounted in longitudinal holes in the hubs of the wheels and can slide e'ndwise therein. The collars ahave recesses 51 on their faces next the hubs of the wheels, said recesses being opposite ratchet projections a on collars a, as shown in Fig. 7. When the machine moves forwardly, the pins b, moving with the wheel-hubs, engage projections a on collars a and lock the wheels to axle A, causing the latter to revolve. Upon backward movement of the wheels the pins are forced outward by the beveled rear sides of projections 6%, the outer ends of the pins projecting into the recesses a in the outer collars a, said recesses permitting the pins to move past projections a on the backward rotation of the Wheels without looking the wheels to the axle. The recesses a however, are beveled so as to force the pins inward into position to again engage projections a on the forward'movement of the wheels.

Hung on the axle, intermediate the wheels, is a Y-shaped frame, whose bifurcations O are loosely sleeved on the axle, as shown, while its stem 0 is tubular and extends rearwardly at right angles to the axle, but can be swung vertically relatively thereto. Through the stem 0 extends a tubular shaft D, and extending through shaft D, concentric therewith, is a second shaft E. On the forward end of shaft D is a bevel-gear D, meshing with a larger bevel-gear D keyed to axle A, and on the forward end of. shaft E isa bevelpi'nion E, meshing with a bevel gear E keyed on axle A. The gears D E being opiposite and of different diameters impart opposite rotary motions to shafts D E, the relative speeds of shafts D E depending entirely .upon the size-of the gearing.

On the rear end of the shaft D is fixed a weeding disk or brush, preferably composed of a series of long wires or rods ol, radiating from a hub d, to which their. inner ends are attached by a plate 1 bolted to the face of hub or in other convenient manner. Preferably the wires (1 are slightly bent, so as to dish the brush. While I prefer to use wires, stiff fibers or rods might be used in some instances. I

On the rear end of shaft E is also fixed a brush, which may be similar to brush (1, but,

as shown, is composed of a hub e, to the periphery of which are attached a series of segments e which are capable of being set or turned on the hub so as to break the continuity of the series of brush-rods e and form a segmental brush. The brush-rods 6 preferably have their extremities bent, as at 6 so as to have a greater whipping action on the weeds. The segments 2 are secured to the hub e and may be locked thereto in any adjusted position by means of the eyebolts e and nuts 6, as indicated in Figs. tand 5, said segments 6 having pintles or stems e, which engage the eyes of bolts a as shown. By this construction the continuity of the disklike brush can also be broken by removing one or more of the segments 6 In Fig. 4 only two segments are shown, the brush e not being continuous. The object of thus constructing the brush is to enable it to make skips in the row, which is particularly useful in thinning rows of vegetables, for example, as the brush-segments can be so adjusted that the brush will leave hills or plants at regular intervals in the row as the machine travels thereover. A complete circular brush, like d, will operate continuously along the entire row, while a segmental or gaped brush will leave hills in the row, as is evident. Both brushes (1 e may be made segmental, like brush 6, or both may be made continuous, like brush d, or one brush of each kind may be used on the machine, as illustrated in the drawings.

The machine is provided with handles F, the front ends of which are attached to the sleeved bifurcations O of the frame, as shown, and the handles may be adjustably connected to the stem of the casting by means of the strap f, attached at its lower end to the stem 0 and having perforations in its upper ends, which may be engaged with a bolt f on one handle, as shown. The machine may be propelled by pushing on handles F or by attaehing a draft-animal thereto in any convenient manner.

Operation: The machine is moved along a row which it is desired to weed, and the flexible brushes. pull or whip out the weeds therein. While the straight rods d'act efficiently, rods like 6, having bent or curved ends, as e act more violently. It is not always desirable to have such a violent action, and therefore it is advisable to provide interchangeable sets of brushes for each machine, so that either or both curved or straight rod brushes can be used at will. Also when plants and weeds are small light brushes can be used, while heavier brushes are used for larger weeds. A single brush will act efficiently when geared at high speed; but two oppositely-rotating brushes are more effective. The brushes act diagonally of the row, due to their double motion-t. e., their rotary and linear or traveling motion. Where two oppositely-rotating brushes are used, they help to clear each other more quickly and by striking weeds and plants in opposite directions cut them ofi or tear them out more effectually and easily than a single brush, which in very pliable weeds would tend to bend them.over. The weeder-hrushes will cut more deeply into the center of rows than on the sides and are not liable to clog, discharging what weeds or dirt they may loosen or cut out at the sides of the row.

Having thus described my invention, what I therefore claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent thereon, is-

1. In a weeder, a weeding-brush composed of a hub, a series of independently-adjustable segments attached thereto, and radiating wires attached to said segments; combined with means for rotating the brush, substantially as described.

2. In a weeder, the combination of a pair of independent axially-alined disks, whipping-rods attached to and radiating from said disks, and gearing for independently posi tively rotating said disks during the travel of the machine, substantially as described.

3. In a weeder, the combination of the main axle, the frame, the shafts journaled in the frame, brushes on said shafts having radiating whipping-rods, one of said brushes having independently-adjustable segments carrying the rods, substantially as set forth.

4. In a weeder,'the combination of a rotatable disk-brush having long whipping-rods, and a similar oppositely-rotating .brush cooperating therewith, substantially as described.

5. In a weeder, the combination of a rotat ing brush, composed of radiating rods or wires having their outer ends bent; with an oppositely-rotating brush in axial alinement and juxtaposition therewith, substantially as described.

6. In a weeder, the combination of the axle, the supporting-wheels, a rotatable disk-like brush composed of radiating flexible wires or rods attached to a hub, and gearing for rotating said brush from the axle, substantially as described.

7. In a weeder, the combination of the frame, supporting wheels, the concentric shafts journaled in said frame, gearing for driving said shafts in opposite directions from the wheels, and the adjacent disk-like brushes attached to the ends of the said shafts, substantially as described.

8. In a weeder, the combination of the axle, the supporting-wheels, the frame hung on the axle, the shaft journaled therein, the rotatable disk-like brush composed of flexible radiating wires or rods attached to a hub on said shaft, and gearing for rotating said shaft from the axle, substantially as described.

9. In a weeder, the combination of the wheeled axle, the frame hung thereon, concentric shafts journaled in said frame, gearing for driving said shafts in opposite directions fromthe axle, and adjacent disk-like brushes attached to the ends of the said shafts, substantially as described.

10. The herein-described weeding-m achine,

composed of the wheeled axle, a frame swung upon the axle, concentric shafts journaled in said frame and lying at right angles to the axle, gearing between the axle and the adjacent ends of said shafts for rotating them in opposite directions, and oppositely-facing brushes, attached to the rear ends of said shafts, composed of hubs and wires or rods radiating therefrom, substantially as described.

11. In a weeding-machine, the combination of the axle, the wheels journaled thereon, clutches for locking the axle to the wheels, a frame swung upon the axle, and handles for guiding said frame; with concentrie shafts journaled in said frame and lying at right angles to the axle, gearing between the axle and the adjacent ends of said shafts for rotating them in opposite directions, and oppositely-facing disk-like brushes attached to the rear ends of said shafts composed'of hubs and Wires radiating therefrom, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

. OZRO S. FELLOWS. Witnesses:

FRANK W. WARD, ALBERT B. SIMPSON.

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