US13683A - Improvement in seed-planters - Google Patents

Description

E. MCCORMICK.

Corn-Planter. v No. 13,683. Patented Oct 16. 1855 AM. PHDi'O-LITHB. C0. .Y. (DSBDRNES PROCESS) UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

E. MCCORMICK, OF CONNELLSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEED-PLANTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 13,683, dated October 16, 1555.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, EBENEZER McGoRMtoK, of Oonnellsville, in the county of Fayette and State ofPennsylvania, haveinvented and made certain new and useful Improvements in the Construction of Corn-Planters and Seeders; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the method of construction and mode of operating the, same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and making part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a plan of the machine, Fig. 2, a vertical section thereof in the plane 0000, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the same in the plane yy, Fig. 1; Fig. 4, view of a part dc-. tached.

Like letters designate corresponding parts in all the figures.

In the construction of my machine a suitable frame-work, W W, is secured to the axle, which is borne by two wheels, A A. The seedboxes H H, drill-teeth R R, and their appendages are secured to a distinct frame composed of an upper cross-bar, G, and an under bar, F, connected with each other and also with a rocking shaft, E, by suitable rods, ff, substantially as represented. The shaft E turns in hearings on the frame-work W W, so that its own frame may be raised and lowered within certain limits for the purpose of elevating the drill-teeth when required, and also for regulating the depth at which the seed are to be planted. For the purpose of raising this frame E G, and in order to retain it at any height, I make use of a device of a peculiar construction, which device may be called a cam-lever, as at N, Fig. 3, with a fulcrum or axis, S, attached to the side of the bar G near the center beam of the frame-work \V W. The extended. or long part of this lever has projections or handlesr 1', by which the driver on the seat D may control the lever at pleasure. This lever has its eccentric or cam or ring part of uniform thickness and size throughout its circumference, and around it is fitted aloop or collar, 61, secured to said middle beam, W W, of the frame-work. By raising the arm 1' r of the lever the ring or eccentric or cam part will slide through its collar (1, and thus force the fulcrum S farther from said collar d, which movement will of course raise the bar G and the rest of the frame with it. Owing to the annular or ring form of the eccentric or cam lever, and it its circumference fits properly in to the collar (1, the lever is thereby caused by the hugging or clasping of the collar to remain in any position to which it is brought without catch, stop. or ratchet device, and thus it is managed or operated with the greatest facility, even by the foot, and will not get out of order, as any additional device for retaining the frame in any position would be liable to. The costand complexity of such additional devices are also dispensed with.

The seed-boxes H H are divided longitudinally into two compartments by a partition, i,

directly under which is the aperture l, which conveys the seed to the drill-tooth. The seed of both or of all the seed-boxes is fed to these apertures by means of a single transverse sliding plate or bar, I, which is provided in each seed-box with two vertical apertures, m a, through it of sufficient capacity to hold any number of grains of seed required to be deposited ineach hil'. The distance between the apertures m and n is just sufficient to reach from beneath the partition i into the compartments on either side, and the extent of reciprocating motion given to the bar should be the same as this distance, so that each aperture may be brought alternately into the compartment, receive the seed, and return to a position directly over the aperture 1, into which it allows the seed to fall by the movement of said bar. The lower edges of the partitionsiz' should terminateinsomeelasticoryieldingsubstancep p-such as bristles 'or india-rubber-- in order that no impediment may be offered to the movement of the bar I by any of the seeds projecting out of the apertures m n, and at the same time that they may extend sufficiently close to said bar to prevent any seed not in said apertures being driven into the apertures l 1. Motion is communicated to the bar I by means of a lever, L, arranged substantially as shown in the drawings-viz., with a vertical shaft vibrating in bearings on the frame, an arm at the lower end bent so as to reach to and be inserted into the bar, and a winch, S, at the upper end, by which the driver actuatcs it as often as the seeds are to be deposited.

In order to furnish a sure guide to the driver when to deposit the seeds, I cross-mark the ground by first passing the machine over it at right angles to the direction in which the rows posits seed when moved in either direction, so

are to be planted. Forthis purpose I add a shoe or drag, B, consisting of a simple oblong block of wood, connected with the machine by a link, a, so that it will ride freely over the ground, and kept in proper position by two guides, b b, as shown in Fig. 4. It is situated equidistant from the wheels A A; or, if the machine is wider than twice the required distance between two adjacent hills, the number of drags is increased accordingly, so that their distances from each other and from the wheels shall be alike and equal to the desired distance apart at which the hills are to be planted. Thus arranged, the machine is passed over the ground, the last rut of the previous turn serving as a path in which the near wheel is to pass in the next turn till the whole ground is thereby marked off. The drill-teeth are raised away from the ground during this preliminary cross-marking. The machine is then arranged for planting by removing or hoisting out of the way the drag or dragsB and letting down the drill-teeth sufficiently for depositing the seed at the required depth. When planting, the driver causes the seed-bar to move and deposit the seed at each moment when crossing one of the marks made by the drag or wheel, as above described. This he. will be able to do with precision after a little practice. The seed-bar, arranged as above described, de-

that it requires but a slight effort of the driver to work it.

The seed-boxes H H are placed half way between the wheels A A and thedrag B, so that the distance between them and the wheels is equal to half the distance between the rows. By this arrangement the rows are spaced 01f with great precision by simply taking care to let the near wheel in each turn across the ground travel in the last wheel-rut of the previous turn. Ground planted in this manner can be cultivated both between the rows and crosswise. Rollers C C may be employed for passing over the rows after the seed is deposited.

For the purpose of enabling the wheels A A to mark the ground distinctly, and to remove turfs, stalks, or other obstructions from where the seed is to be. deposited, I attach a broad blade or scraper, P, to the frame-work by rods 0 e, just in front of each wheel, and allow it to extend downward just far enough to sweep or graze the surface of the ground. Such a device is not required before the drag B, as it will clear its own track.

I also employ another device for clearing away obstructions from the drill-teeth R It whenever they collect there. It consists of an arm, M, projecting down close by the side of each drill-tooth, as represented. These arms are attached to a single horizontal rod or shaft, which is provided with another arm, 9, projecting upward, and from the upper end of the latter a rod, h, extends back to the side of the seat D, or to such a position as to enable the driver to reach it. He can thereby cause the arms M M to vibrate and 'keep the drill-teeth free from obstructions without quittinghis seat.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

So arranging the drag B, with its link and guides, and the wheels A A with regard to a seeding and covering apparatus, such as described, as that they shall be guides and markers for directing the dropping of the seed at stated intervals. as set forth.

EBENEZER MCCORMICK. [L. s.]

Witnesses:

JOHN S. HOLLINGSHEAD, STEPHEN HEDGE.

Images