US106721A - Improvement in mole-ditching machine - Google Patents

Description

A. PETERSON.

Ditching Machine. No. 106N721. Patented Aug. 23, 1870.

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ALFRED PETERSON, OF STOGKWELL, INDIANA.

Letters Patent No. 106,721, dated August 23, 1.870.

IMPROVEMENT IN MOLE-DITCHING- MACHINE.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same I, ALFRED Pn'rsnsou, of Stockwell, in the county of Tippecanoe and State of Indiana, have invented certain Improvements in llIole-ditching Machines, of which the following is a specification.

Nature and Objects of the I ncention.

The first part of my invention relates to construction and arrangement of the framework to which the for operating the capstan, the object being to provide for an easier and more expeditious removal of the cap stan forward as the ditcher is drawn up to it.

Description of the Accompanying Drawing. Figure l is a side elevation of a mole-ditching machine and removable capstan embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a top or plan view oft-he same. Fignre3 is a plan view of the lever for operating the capstan.

General Description.

The ditcher is composed of the beam A, the forward end of which is supported by the axle and trucks B O, the cutter D and mole E, attached by the upper end to the piece F, which is hinged at its forward end to the beam A, as shown, the uprights G, cross-beam H, and adjusting-screw I.

The beam A is made broad at the rear end, to have a bearing'upon the ground, in order to prevent the beam A from canting or tripping, and this, combined with the manner of attaching the beam to the axle 1i, supports the cutter D in an upright position.

The forward endof the beam is also hung to the under side of the axle B, so as to bring it as close to the ground as practicable, the design being to support itahont three inches off the ground.

The upper end of the cnttenhar D is pivoted in 'the piece, as shown, and the position of the latter is regulated by means of the adjusting-screw I.

The mole E is so iormed and attached to the cutterbar, and the latter is attached to the frame in such a manner that, as they are drawn through the ground, the upper part of the mole presses or compacts the earth in the upper part of the drain, so as to form a compact arched earthen support thereto, at the same time leaving the bottom of the drain uncompressed, and hence porous, to admit the free ingress of the water from the bottom of the drain, thus avoiding danger of its being disintegrated or washed out by an excess of water.

The capstan is mounted on a frame, J, the latter being supported on wheels K, to make it easily transportable.

The forward axle is hung by cars, attached to its top and pivoted in the forward ends of the side timbers of the frame, as shown, so arranged that the axles and trucks may-be turned up, as indicated by the dotted lines in figs. l and 2.

The rear axle is hung in hearings to the under side of the side-flame timbers, the outer ends of the axle being bent into the form of a crank, so that these wheels may also he turned up, as shown.

The object of this arrangementofthe axles is to provide a ready mode of letting the frame J down. so that the feet L will engage with and entcrthc ground as the draw-rope M is wound upon the spool N, and thus hold the capstan firmly in position, and also so that, when it is desired to move the capstan forward, by turning the tin-ward wheels down by means of'the tongue O, the forward end of the frame will be raised, and thereby drawing the fin'ward feet L out of the ground.

Now, by starting the capstan-trucks forward, the rear wheels will be.tnrned back by friction upon the ground until the arms of the axle rcst against the stops P, at the same time drawing the rear feet L out of the ground, when the truck may be moved forward to the desired position. The lever-bar Q, in the mean time having been removed, the rope or chain M is un wound from the spool N as the capstan moves forward. When the capstan-truck has been moved to the position desired, the axles are again turned up, allowingthefeet L to enter the ground when the above-described operation is repeated.

The feet L, instead of being rigidly fixed to the frame, as is commonly done, are hinged to the frame, as shown, so that they may fold backward when the capstan-truckis moved forward, thus avoiding the necessity of prying them out of the ground, and thereby facilitating the removal of the capstan. The feet are prevented from turning backward by means of the chains or cords c.

- In order to make the wooden spool N upon which the rope. or chain M is wound in a substantial man ner, and so that it will run as light as practicable,'I-

The lever is made in two parts, the head-piece '1 having a casting, a, set in its edge, pierced with a square hole to receive the upper end of the shaft.

A stirrup t is attached at one end of the piece to receive the end of the lever-bar Q, and a hooked piece, V, at the other end, to hold it in place, the design of this construction being to secure great strength, combined with convenience for removal of the leverbar Q, when required. I

The ad\"antage claimed for the improvementherein described consists, first, in attaching the inole E directly to the cutter D, and in combination therewith the arrangement of the adjustable piece F, hinged to the beam A, and to which the cutter is attached by its upper end, the wholebeing designed and arranged to compact the earth in the upper part of the drain in such a manner as to form substantial smooth-arched wall, that will be less liable to disintegrate than drains made by the mole-ditchers heretofore in use; and second, in the arrangement and combination of the hinged feet L with the axles R and the wheels K, constructed and operating to make the capstan employed to oper ate the ditcher, so as to render it more easily transportable.

Witnesses DANIEL W. KNEFLER, O. F. MAYHEW.

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