1858-06-07 James Ferrabee Patent No 1277 - Full
A.D. 1858, 7th JUNE. N° 1277. Machinery for Cutting, Collecting, and Spreading Grass, &c. LETTERS PATENT to James Ferrabee, of Thrupp, near Stroud, in the County of Gloucester, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING, COLLECTING, AND SPREADING GRASS, AND FOR SWEEPING." Sealed the 3rd December 1858, and dated the 7th June 1858. PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Ferrabee at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 7th June 1858. I, JAMES FERRABEE, of Thrupp, near Stroud, in the County of Gloucester, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING, COLLECTING, AND SPREADING GRASS, AND FOR SWEEPING," to be as follows:- My Invention of improvements in machinery for cutting, collecting, and spreading grass, and for sweeping, relates to that class of machinery in which 10 these operations are effected by means of rotating contrivances adapted for effecting the intended object. The leading features of the Invention are, 1st, mounting the rotating cylinders or rolls on the same axis as the carrying wheels, and arranging the driving gear in such a manner that a rotary motion in either direction may be 15 given as desired. 2nd, in constructing the cylinders of moveable sections provided with arms,
PAGE 2
Ferrabee's Impts. in Machinery for Cutting, Collecting, & Spreading Grass, &c.
whereby the sections may be moved nearer to or further from the centre, for the purpose of increasing or diminishing the diameter of the said cylinders. In reference to the cutting part of the apparatus, I propose, instead of attaching the fixed blade to a ledger bar screwed to the main framework of the machine, and mounting the cylinder in bearings also attached to the main 5 framework as usual, to form a frame or carriage by casting it in one piece of a curved shape, and I arrange the ledger bar and bonnet to receive the fixed curved blade, and the ends to receive the cylinder carriages; the cutting parts are fitted to the carriage, and the whole is attached to the framework of the machine in such a manner that it can be easily removed and be replaced by 10 duplicate parts, if necessary.
This arrangement gives great strength to the machine, and ensures perfect action of the cutting parts.
For adjusting the cylinder to and from the fixed blade, I use a lever link and two set pins, and so arrange them as to admit of the cylinder being 15 adjusted from the top side of the machine without using nuts, the carriage being at the same time rendered quite secure.
To secure the even action of the machine, and to facilitate the turning of the larger machines, I use between the driving roller and the cylinder one roll or two or more small rolls that are made to revolve separately or a bar, 20 or in suitable bearings, and I connect them to levers which extend to the back of the machine, thereby enabling the attendant to raise the cutting parts instantaneously, and to regulate the length of the cut when running over uneven places.
To insure the delivery of the grass into the collecting box, and to prevent 25 its falling before the cutters, I employ a light revolving board or brush, which wipes or pushes it forwards into the box.
In constructing machines to deliver the grass behind or before the cutters, I dispense with the ordinary driving rolls, and mount the whole cutting part in a suitably arranged framework between the carrying wheels, the cutting 30 cylinder being so arranged that it may be driven at either end, or both, at pleasure, and the carrying wheels are so disposed as to have the axis immediately, or nearly so, over or above the axis of the cutters, for the purpose of O following the inequalities of ground.
The length of cut is regulated by turning a handle, or moving a lever, and 35 the cutting parts are preserved in their proper position by suitable guide rolls. The whole of the cutting parts are mounted in an independent frame, and are attached to the axis of the carrying wheels, which also communicate motion to the driving gear.
PAGE 3
Ferrabee's Impts. in Machinery for Cutting, Collecting, & Spreading Grass, &c.
For sweeping, I employ a revolving brush, either in connection with the machine or separately, and so arrange it, that it shall deliver the sweepings into a receptacle either before or behind the brush. I also attach the brushes in suitable lengths to springs or moveable arms, and mount them on a revolving framework driven by suitable gearing, the whole being capable of adjustment to and from the ground; or I attach them to expanding arms radiating from a centre and retained by suitable springs, so that the diameter of the brush may be increased or dimished [sic] at pleasure, and the whole may be made to revolve on the same axis as the carrying wheels, and in a direction either with or against the line of progress.
This mode of mounting a cylinder or cylinders on the same axis as the carrying wheels, and of arranging the gearing for driving, and of expanding the arms so as to increase or lessen the diameter of the revolving cylinder, is applicable to rotary hay-making machines, and also to machines for collecting couch and other weeds; when used for spreading grass, rakes with teeth of wood or iron would be attached to the radiating arms instead of brushes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed by the said James Ferrabee, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 7th December 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES FERRABEE, of Thrupp, near Stroud, in the County of Gloucester, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of June, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said James Ferrabee, Her special license that I, the said James Ferrabee, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Ferrabee, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there- after 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 MACHINERY FOR CUTTING, COLLECTING AND SPREADING GRASS, AND FOR SWEEPING," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Ferrabee, by an
PAGE 4
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 Ferrabee, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per- formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention relates, firstly, to improvements in the construction and arrangement of the cutting parts of mowing machines, and in the means of regulating their action; and, secondly, to improvements in revolving brushes and rakes, and the application of the same in the manufacture of hay-making and sweeping machines.
In the accompanying Drawings, Figures 1 and 2 are elevations of a grass- cutting machine, showing part of my improvements applied to ordinary mowing machines. Fig. 3 is an elevation of my improved frame and carriage; and Figure 4 is a plan of the same.
In Figures 1, 2, and 3, A is the improved carriage or frame made in one piece and attached to the main frame of the machine by the screw pins a, a. b is a carriage for carrying the cutting cylinder, and turns on the pin c; d is a link attached to b by a joint and pin; e, e', are set screws for adjusting the cutting cylinder to and from the fixed blade f; g is a lever attached to the main frame by a joint and pin; h is a link jointed to the lever g; i is a small ground roll turning on a spindle running in the end of the link h; k is a handle with a pawl for retaining the lever g in its place, and I is a rest for holding a grinder and sliding on the top of the frame A.
The lever g, with its jointed link h, and the small ground roller i, are for the purpose of altering the length of cut while the machine is in motion, and for raising the cutting parts when turning the machine or to avoid obstructions. By relieving the pawl from the rack, and pressing down the handle of the lever g, the front part of the machine is raised from the ground, and by an opposite movement of the handle it is again lowered. This mode of adjustment may also be applied to the front guide wheels m for regulating the length of cut, 35 or those guide wheels m may be adjusted by a pinion and rack, as shewn in the Drawings, or by an excentric [sic] and lever.
The frame A may be made in one piece or of several pieces fitted together, the object being to support the whole of the cutting parts with their several
PAGE 5
adjustments in an independent frame, which may be bolted to the main frame of the machine, and detached at pleasure. By this arrangement great stability is given to the cutting parts and steadiness in action; sharpening and repairs are also more easily effected, and the advantage of using a duplicate set of cutting parts to replace that removed for repairs will be afforded.
The distance of the cutting cylinder from the fixed blade ƒ is regulated by the adjusting pins e, e1, which also retain the cutting cylinder firmly and securely in its place. By slackening the screw e in the link d, and tightening the screw e1 on the carriage b, the cutting cylinder is placed nearer to the fixed blade, and by a reverse adjustment the cylinder is removed further from the fixed blade.
That portion of the frame A to which the fixed blade is attached is planed true, and also the top edge on which the carriage l slides; these two planed parts being parallel to each other. To the carriage l I fit a grinder made from wood covered with emery stone or some other suitable substance; this grinder traverses on the guide, and by revolving the cutting edges in contact with it, they may be sharpened.
Fig. 5 is an elevation, and Fig. 6 is a partial plan view of another arrangement of grass-cutter, in which the cutting apparatus is set between the carrying wheels & immediately below their axle, to allow of the cutting apparatus following the inequalities of the ground when the machine is at work.
A is one of the carrying wheels revolving loosely on the axle B; a is a cog wheel running loosely on the boss of the carrying wheel A and driving the wheel c, when the moveable clutch b is thrown into gear with the clutch on this cog wheel a, so as to set the working parts of the machine in motion; c is a cog wheel fast on the spindle d, and driven by the wheel a; e is a cog wheel fast on the spindle d, and driving the small cog wheel f, which is keyed on the axle of the cutting cylinder C. D is a guide wheel; E is the frame of the machine; g is a link connecting the frame of the machine to the main axle B; h is the adjusting lever moving on the main axle B, and connected by a link to to the cutter frame, and is for the purpose of raising or lowering the cutting parts; i is a catch jointed to the lever h, and taking into a rack on the frame E, whereby the adjusting lever is held in position; C is the cutting cylinder, which with the fixed blade and their adjustments are supported in an independent frame and bolted to the main frame of the machine, as already described in Figs. 1, 2, 3; k is the ground roll which may consist of one ring or several rings. This ground roll is carried by a link 1, which works in a guide on the frame E, and is connected to the lever m, which lever extends to the under side of the main axle B. The purpose of the ground roll k, in
PAGE 6
combination with the link I and the lever m is to steady the machine when in action, and to enable the attendant to raise or lower the cutting parts at pleasure, as already described in Figures 1, 2, 3; n is the box in which the cut grass is collected and furnished with a hinged door at the back of it.
Machines on the above plan when drawn by a horse have shafts attached to the main axle B.
Fig. 7 is an elevation, and Fig. 8 is a partial plan of an expanding rake, as applied for spreading grass, the same method of driving and expanding being applicable to sweeping machines, having suitable shields and collecting boxes attached to the frame.
A is a carrying wheel; B is the main axle extending across the machine; C is a circular plate fast on the main axle B; D is a portion of the frame attached to the plate C, and extended to connect with the drawing shafts G; E is a box connected to the frame D, and to the plate C. a is an internal cog wheel or ring of teeth screwed to the carrying wheel A, and b is a cog wheel driven by the wheel a; c is a cog wheel fast on the hollow axis d, and driven by the wheel b, or when the action of the rakes is to be reversed by the adjustable cog wheel e. F is the expanding rake, more minutely described hereafter, made fast on the hollow axis d. The other half of the machine is constructed in the same manner as that above described. As the carrying wheel A revolves, the internal cog wheel a revolves with it, giving motion to the cog wheel b which drives the pinion c and the rake F. This is one mode of action of the machine, and to reverse that action the rake F, with its cog wheel c must be shifted on the main axle B, rather more than the width of the cog wheel c and the cog wheel e, which is made wide enough for the purpose must be placed to gear into the cog wheels b and c; the red circles on the elevation Fig. 7 show the cog wheels b, c, e.
One method of expanding and contracting the revolving frame so as to place the rakes or brushes nearer to or further from the ground will be better under- stood by reference to Figures 9 and 10, in conjunction with Figures 7 and 8. Fig. 9 is a side elevation, and Fig. 10 is a section (both on an enlarged scale) of the centre of one of the expanding frames. B is a part of the main axle ; d is a part of the hollow axis; g is the boss of the rake frame F; h, h, h, are arms fixed in the boss g, and attached to the ring i; k is a disc moving on the hollow axis d, and having joint points for receiving the expanding arms 1, 1, 1; these expanding arms 1, 1, 1, are attached to the disc k, and pass through mortices or slots in the boss g and the ring i; m is a worm gearing into a worm wheel cast on the face of the disc k; n is a plate attached to the boss g and carrying the worm m; 0, 0, 0, are springs attached to the boss g, and p, p. p.
PAGE 7
are carriages for receiving the rakes or brushes (as the case may be) and they are jointed to the expanding arms 1, 1, 1.
It will be seen that as the disc k turns in one direction, the arms 7, 1, 7, will project further from the centre of motion, and as the disc turns in the opposite direction the arms will be drawn in. In order, therefore, to alter the diameter of the expanding frame a suitable handle is applied to the worm m, which being turned causes the disc k to turn also.
Figures 11 and 12 are elevations, and Figures 13 and 14 are partial plans, of sweeping machines with an expanding brush. The red circles indicate the pitch lines of the driving wheels.
Figure 15 is an elevation of a sweeping machine, with two brushes revolving in opposite directions.
At Figures 11 and 12, A is the back for receiving the sweepings, forming also the frame of the machine. B is a swivel wheel in an adjusting carriage for supporting and guiding the machine; C is a carrying wheel; a is a part of axle, and D is a part of frame; b is a cog wheel attached to the carrying wheel C and driving the cog wheel c; d is a cog wheel on the same axle as c, and driving the cog wheel e, which is fast on the axle f of the expanding brush E; g, g, are discs grooved or recessed to receive the expanding arms h, h, h. These discs are fast on the hollow axle f; i is a scroll wheel turning on the axle f and held by a set pin; k is a shield in one piece, or two or more pieces, moving on the joint 7, and regulated by a set pin m; and n is a hinged flap in the box a.
When the machine is in motion the brush will revolve in the direction of the arrow, and by its action, governed by the curved shield, the sweepings will be carried round and thrown into the box from the upper side of the brush. The shield being hinged, yields to any unfavorable obstruction. The diameter of the brush may be increased or diminished by turning the scroll wheel i on its axle. On Figure 15, A is the box for receiving the sweepings, and forming also the frame of the machine; B is a carrying wheel; C is a pulley fast on the same axle as B; D, D, are revolving brushes with a pulley on the axis of each. A band is passed partly round the driving pulley C, once round the pulley on the small brush, and partly round the pulley on the large brush, and as the machine is set in motion the brushes revolve in the direction of the arrows, and by their combined action the sweepings are delivered into the box A. Suitable adjustments are provided for regulating the distance of the brushes from each other, and of both of them from the ground.
In conjunction with these brushes an apparatus may be applied and used for sprinkling water before the brushes to lay the dust.
PAGE 8
Specification. Ferrabee's Impts. in Machinery for Cutting, Collecting, & Spreading Grass, &c.
The brushes may be driven by suitable gearing instead of a band or by a toothed chain working on suitable wheels, and the mode of carrying the receiving box A may be otherwise varied.
Fig. 16 is an elevation, and Fig. 17 is a plan of a sweeping machine, showing the brush driven in the same way as the cutting cylinder of an ordinary mowing machine, and will be readily understood by inspecting the Drawings.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in Machinery for Cutting, Collecting, and Spreading Grass, and for Sweeping," and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim,-
First, the mounting in an independent frame, which I prefer to be cast in one piece, the fixed blade and the cutting cylinder and means for adjusting the same, so that the whole may be readily affixed to or detached from the main frame of a mowing machine, and thus admit of the employment of a duplicate set of cutting parts.
Second, the mode of adjusting and retaining the cutting cylinder by means of two set screws, a jointed link, and a carriage, as shewn at Fig. 2.
Third, the connecting the ground roll or the adjustable guide wheels to suitable levers, so that the length of cut may be varied by the attendant while the machine is in motion, and by which also the cutting parts may be raised to facilitate the turning of the machine, or to avoid obstructions.
Fourth, supporting the cutting parts of mowing machines between the carrying wheels from which the cutting cylinder derives its motion, and in such a position that the axis of the cutting cylinder will lie in the same vertical plane, or nearly so, as that of the carrying wheels, for the purpose above set forth.
Fifth, the use of expanding revolving brushes or rakes mounted and revolving on the same axis as the carrying wheels, in the manner and for the purpose above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Ferrabee, have hereunto set my hand and seal, the Sixth day of December, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
JAMES FERRABEE. (L.S.)
LONDON:
Printed by GEORGE EDWARD EYRE and WILLIAM SPOTTISWOODE,
Printers to the Queen's most Excellent Majesty. 1858.
PAGE 9
Diagrams supporting Patent No. 1277
PAGE 10
Diagrams supporting Patent No. 1277