US8667A - Improvement in grain-harvesters - Google Patents

Description

THOMAS VAN` FOSSEN,

PATENT OFFICE.

OF LANCASTER, OHIO.

iM PRovEM ENT iN GRAIN-HARVESTERS.

- Speciication forming part of Letters latent No. 8,667, dated January 20, 1852.

To all rwhom it 'may concern:

y y Be it known that I, THOMAS VAN'FossEN,

i The nature of my inventionconsists in certain new and useful improvementsI by which the standing grain, and particularlythat` portionwhich has been beatendown by the action of the wind and lodged between the standing grain, is raised and drawn more eiectually under the action ot' the cutters, wherebythe `possibility of the machine passing over any portion of the grain, either standing or lodged, without cutting it clean will be prevented; and also inan improved arrangementfor separatingV the cut grain, laying it straight, and passing it along upon the"pl ati`orm into the trough or bundle-measurer. l

Myimpro'ved device for bringing the grain more perfectly and eieCtuallytmder. the action `of the cutters consists in providing the com- ,mon reel ingeneraluse witlrhinged wings or slats. with projecting teeth attached to them,

. said wingsV acting with their` own weight as the reel revolves in such a manneras rthe teeth and slats shall assume a vertical position just as they come in contact' with the graimwhich `has the effect, to fall between the, standingV grain and under the beaten-down and lodged grain,.so as to bring all more eli'ectuallytothe vaction of the' cutters.

t My improveddevice for `'passing `thevlcut grain straight along the platform consists,A of

`aseries of teeth or lingers projecting a little above the platform through slotsv in 'the sliding platform. lvSaidwteeth are 'so operated upon as to catch and lay the grain ,straight upon the platform, while the sliding platform passes it along into the trough, from which it is discharged upon the ground. The construction and operation of these aforesaid devices will be hereinafter more t'ully described.

I construct the main frame of my machine pretty much asin the usual manner. Y I have one main wheel,which supports the after part of the machine, and by which the machinery is driven, and it is attached to the shaft extending across the whole width.. of the machine, and two other wheels, (represented in dotted lines,) a c', which are placed under and support the platform.` These front wheels are swivel-jointed and connected by an elbow-rod under the bottom of the platform, (represented in dotted lines,) which can be operated upon by the conductor by the lever b, so as to guide the machine as desired. This arrange- .'ment for steering or guiding the machine can be used or any other suitable device which will answer the same purpose.

The drivingfwheel a has beveled cogs cut on one side of it, say, about three inches' from its circumference, ,to prevent thedirt from lodging or collecting in them. Crossing the shaft of the drivin g-wheel at right angles is a' shaft, c, to which is attached a. small pinion, c/which meshes `intoV the driving-wheel. This shaft crosses the main shaft above, rand is slightly inclined for the purpose of keeping the wheel c2 Vfrom touching the'ground. On the opposite side of the driving-wheel to that of the shaft c, and crossing the main shaft, alsov at right angles and above it, is a.k shaft', d, with a small pinion, d', attached to it, 'which m'eshes into the wheelcz'; and attached to it also'isacrank', d?, to which `is connected` a rod or pitman, e, jointed to a lever under the `bottom of the platform, (shown in dotted lines,)`having its fulcrum on the bottom bed of the platt'ormi-frame, and connectedwith a plateto` which the cnt- `ters are connected,by which arrangement the desired reciprocating motion `to the cuttersi's given. y j

The V,trame onfwhich thev sliding platform rests is formed of two beds, the upperone hav ing slotscut through it corresponding with thosecut iirtlie .platform to allowthe teeth or fingers( to rise and fall.` The sliding platform yisjretained close to the, bedvbfy bolts or screws but slidesfreely `on thejblts in one direc. tion to and fro, and it isA reciprocateld bythe eccentric-rod g, operated by av cani or eccentric on the wheel (,Shown in dotted lines.) y This rod yg is jointed to a projecting arm.` l1, attached to the sliding platform.

The teeth or fingers h.' are attached to shafts extending across the bed frame', working through staples driven in the under side of the saine, and their inner ends are bent in the form of cranks, which pass through staples orholes at in a rod or beam, k. 'This rod k has a long slot cut throughit at one end, through which the projecting arm 7L passes, and by which the platform, as it reciprocates, will draw the rod k back and forth, and raise and depress the 'teeth or fingers h', so that they will be depressed or drawn under when the sliding platform has arrived at the end of its stroke, and be raised ab'ove the platform, as represented in the drawings, so as to prevent the platform from carrying the grain back-,when at the end of `the returned stroke or motion of the platform. Thus by the combined action of the sliding platform and teeth the grain is alternately retained by the teeth and passed along by the platform into the trough.

Ou each end of the `platform are ledges! l, which assist in keeping the grain straight, and from the frame to the upper bed of the platform-frame are 'braces m m, which arrest the grain and throw it over the ledge L onto the platform.

lI construct my trough of sheet-irou--tbat yis to say, the frame of ita-and have it long enough to receive the grain, and suspend it`on one side of the machine at the end of the plate form between a shoulder cut on the gatherer n and a projecting arm, n. formed o canvas or other suitably-pliable-substance, o e side of which is secured to the 'side ofthe machine,.and the other side to the troughframe, so that the inner edge or frame of the trough, wlhen thetrough is canted, will straighten the bottom and discharge the contents ofthe trough. The manner in which I connect this trough with the machinery to dischargcitat intervals is by attaching a small wheel, o, to the end of the main shaft with a pin, p, inserted in it,"near its periphery, which, at each revolution of the main shaft, will impinge against a short arm or lever, q, which presses on a little lip or projection on the short arm of the lever r, the long arm of which is connected with the frme'of the trough by a short connecting-rod, s. The action of the pin p on' the lever calnts the trough and discharges its contents; buta spring, t, secured to the frame, springs the trough. up again ready to receive another bundle of grain. The number of times which it will be necessary to empty this trough of coursemust depend upon the size of the machine; for an ordinary-sized machine once in each revolution o f the main shaft or driving'- wheel will besuicient. This will drop the bundles about every ten feet; but should it be required to empty .the trough at any time itis in the power ot' the conductor to do so by pulling the string u.

The reel I construct as in the'usual manner, wit-h the exception of providing the wings T he bottom ofit is or slats with teeth, and having them hinged or jointed to arms. The wings are all hinged vin one direction-that is to say,on opposite sides of the arms-so that they will fall in a vertical position as the reel revolves, just be,- fore entering the grain, and as they draw the grain under the action of the cutters they willassume a straight line with the arms at atime when most serviceable in' that position to retain the grain while under the action of the cutters.

- Immediately under the slats and attached to the arms of the reel, are small brackets or shelves c for the wings or slats to rest or lodge against, so as to prevent them from falling comfpletely over and to keep them in a vertical position as the reel comes in contact with the grain. The desired motionis communicated to this reel by a band passing round a pulley on its shaft from one ofthe driving-wheels.

I` attach the shafts, between which the horses or animal-power is geared, to the center beam of the machine, just in rea-r of the platform, which has the effect of applying the power 1n a line which will have a tendency to keep the machinel close to the ground and propel 1t with ease and regularity. Whereas, if the shafts were short and attached immediately to the outer or after beam, the power would not be appliedto advantage,'as the 4machine would v have a tendency to rise behind, Sto.

The front or steering wheels I propose to Y exchange for larger or smaller ones, as the case may be, for the purpose of raising'the r platform higher or depressing it nearer to the ground for different kinds of grain or grass.

g Some parts of Vmy machine I have deemed it unnecessary to describe particularly, as they are constructed in the manner of machines in general use, and any intelligent mechanic will` understand how to construct it by refer.

ence to the drawing.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim therein as new, and desire to se-A cure by Letters Patent, is

1. Constructing the reel with hinged or jointed slats, having teeth projecting from them, whereby the grain is more eiectually;

collected, raised, and drawn into the action of the cutters, substantially as described.

.sliding platform, which teeth rise and fall at the desired time, alternately arresting and re leasing the cut grain, whereby the reciprocating motion of the platform will keep the cut 2. The combination of the. teeth with the

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