US1224761A - Tractor-plow. - Google Patents

Description

G. W. McGlLL.

TRACTOR PLOW. I APPLICATlON FILED APR. 17, ISM.

Patented May 1, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I- WITNESSES.

TTOR/VEV e. w. McGiLL.

TRACTOR PLOW.

APPLICATlON FILED HR. 17. 1914.

Patented May 1, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2 LQQQQFGI INVENTO/f I [WW/W 62 ORIVEY C. o N. m c m n n W m H m o n r s n s r s P 5 R R a M c u r G. W. McGlLL.

TRACTOR PLOW. APPLICATION FILED APR. 17, 1914. 1,224,761.. Patented May1,1917.

. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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GWL GM GEORGE WILLIAM McGrILL, 0F CLEVELAND, MISSOURI.

TRACTOR-FLOW.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 1, 1917.

Application filed April 17, 1914. Serial No. 832,658.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE lVILLIAM MGGILL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cass and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tractor- Plows, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to tractor plows, and my object is to produce a machine of this character which will operate eliiciently and by which practically the entire area of a field may be plowed.

With this general object in view, the invention consists in certain novel and pe culiar features of construction and organization as hereinafter described and pointed out in the appended claims, and. in order that it may be fully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1, is a top plan view of a tractor plow embodying my invention.

' Fig. 2, is a vertical section on the line II-II of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3, is a side view.

Fig. 4, is a detail vertical section of certain parts taken on the line IV IV of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5, is a detail view showing braking mechanism forming a part of the invention.

Fig. 6, is a diagrammatic plan view of the tractor plow, indicating in full lines its position as it reaches the end of a row and in dotted lines its position as it is ready to start in a new direction.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged section of a reversing gear forming a part of the machine.

In the said drawings a skeleton frame of rectangular form embodies an upper part 1 and a lower part 2 mounted at their front ends on a caster 3, and near their rear ends on a pair of carrying wheels 4 journaled on a transverse shaft 5 underlying the skeleton frame and rigidly secured in the lower ends of hangers 6. The hangers are secured to' said frame at a point between side standards 7 connecting the rear ends of the upper and lower parts of the skeleton frame and the U-shaped hanger 8 secured to the opposite sides of said upper and lower parts 1 and 2 of the skeleton frame. Forward of said hanger 8, is a front platform 9 suitably supported at its front end on a rec- 5 tangular frame 10 connecting the front ends of parts 1 and 2, and at its rear end on atransverse bar 11 connecting the sides of part 2 of the skeleton frame. Secured to the platform at their front ends is a pair of stringers 12, the rear ends of said stringers being secured to the axle 5. The upper part of the skeleton frame is provided at its rear end with a U-shaped extension 13 from one-side of which a seat 14 is supported as shown or in any other suitable manner, and lower than and forward of the seat a suitable foot platform 15 is carried by and projects laterally from the lower part of the skeleton frame.

Mounted in any suitable manner upon the stringers 12 is a conventionally illustrated two-cycle horizontal engine 16, and rotatable with the shaft thereof and slidingly mounted thereon in any well known manner are clutch members 17 and 18, adjustable into and out of engagement with companion clutch members 19 and 20 respectively journaled on the engine shaft. Clutch member 17 is connected in the usual manner to a bell crank 21 connected by a rod 22 to a lever 23, suitable latch mechanism 24 being provided for securing the lever at the desired point of adjustment. A similar bell crank 25, rod 26 and lever 27 is provided for adjusting clutch member 18 into and out of engagement with clutch member 20, and said lever is also provided with a latch mechanism28 for securing clutch member 18 in or out of engagement with clutch member 20.

29 is a sprocket wheel rigid with clutch member 19 and 30 a chain connecting said wheel with a sprocket wheel 31 rigidly secured on a transverse shaft 32 journaled in suitable bearings 33 on the lower part of the skeleton frame.

Secured on shaft 32 is a clutch consisting of a slidable member 34 rotatable with the shaft, and a member 35 journaled on the shaft, and rigid with the member 35 is a sprocket wheel 36 connected by a chain 37 with the sprocket wheel 38 forming a part of a differential gearing 39. The differential gearing is of any well known type and is adapted to impart movement to a pair of transversely alined shafts 40 and 41 or to permit either of said shafts to overrun to accommodate turning movements of the machine, and as the construction of the differential is unimportant it is not shown in detail. Shafts 10 and 41 are each provided with similar gear wheels 42 meshing with internal toothed wheels 43 rigid with the carrying wheels 4 for effecting rotation of the latter.

To render the differential inoperative, a lever 44 is suitably pivoted on a post 45 and connected at one end in the customary manner to the clutch member 34, and connected at the other end by a link 45 to a crank 46 on a transverse shaft 47 journaled in bearings 48 mounted on the upper part of the skeleton frame; said shaft having a second crank 49 connected by a link 50 to a lever 51 supported from frame extension 13 in any suitable manner adjacent seat 14; said lever having suitable latch mechanism for securing it at the desired point of adjustment. The operation of said lever not only serves to throw the clutch members 34 and 35 into and out of operation, but also effects through the action of the chain or flexible connection 52, the clamping of a brake band 53 anchored at one end to a cross bar 54 mounted on the main frame, upon a reversing gear casing 55 journaled on drive shaft 32, and a sleeve 55 also journaled on said shaft. Keyed on a shaft 55 journaled in and carried by the casing is a gear wheel 55 and a sprocket wheel 55, the latter being connected by chain 55 to a sprocket wheel 55 keyed on shaft 32. Wheel 55 meshes with gear wheel 55 rigidly mounted on sleeve 55.

The casing has a friction clutch member 55*, adapted to be engaged at times by a member 56, mounted to slide on and turn with shaft 32, the said member 56 being adj nsted as usual by a lever 57 mounted upon a post 58 on cross bar 54 which also supports the post 45 hereinbefore mentioned, and connected by a link 59 with the steering lever 60 supported from the platform 9, an operating rod 61 leading from said lever to point adjacent to the drivers seat.

62 is a cross link pivotally connecting lever 57 with the lever 63 mounted on a post 63 on cross bar 54, and lever 63 is connected in the usual manner to a sliding member 64 of a clutch mechanism mounted on shaft 32, the other member 65 of the clutch being journaled on the shaft and equipped with a sprocket wheel 66 connected by a chain 67 with a sprocket wheel 68 011 shaft 40.

For transmitting power from the reversing gear to the left-hand carrying wheel, to,

turn the same backward, a sprocket wheel 69 is mounted rigidly on sleeve 55, of the reversing gear and is connected by achain 70 with the sprocket wheel 71 on shaft 41.

Above chain 70 is a sprocket wheel 75 mounted on a short shaft 76 journaled in the lower end of a frame 77 hingedly mounted at its upper end in a manner hereinafter explained. Pivoted to said frame 77 is a link 78 pivoted to the crank arm 79 of a rock shaft 80 journaled in bearings 81 on the up per part of the. skeleton frame, and said shaft is provided with a crank arm 82 connected by a link 83 to a lever 84 adjacent lever 51. so that by means of lever 84 the frame 77 can be raised or lowered until sprocket wheel 75 comes into engagement with chain 70, and said lever 84 is adapted to be secured at the desired point of adjustment by any suitable latch mechanism, as shown at 85.

Rotation imparted to shaft 76 by engagement of sprocket wheel 75 with chain 70, is transmitted to a spocket 86 on shaft 76 and thence through chain 87 and sprocket wheel 88, to a shaft 89 on which said frame 77 is hinged. Shaft 89 is journaled in bearings 90 and in bifurcated bearing standards 91 mounted on cross bar 92, and secured on said shaft 89 are three worm gears 93, 94 and 95 meshing with worm wheels 96, 97 and 98 respectively, rigidly secured on longitudinal shafts 99, 100, and 101, journaled at their front ends in standards 91 and at their rear ends in frame extension 13. It will be noted by reference to Fig. 2, that worm wheels 96 and 97 are of the mutilated type, the former having fewer teeth than the latter. Projecting from shafts 99, 100 and 101 respectively, are crank arms 102, 103 and 104, connected by chains 105, 106 and 107 to plows 108, 109 and 110, which plows are positively limited as to downward movement by chains 111 connecting the plow beams to cross bar 54, the front ends of the beams being connected in the usual manner as at 112 to the hanger 8.

By thus positively limiting downward movement of the plows, the chains 105, 106 and 107 are relieved of the weight of the plows so that the torsion springs 113 secured on the shafts 99, 100 and 101 are free to turn said shafts to effect engagement of the worm wheels thereon with the worms so that the latter when operated to raise the plows will, as hereinafter explained, immediately take hold of the worm wheels.

Assuming that the plows are lowered to operative position as shown, that the various clutches occupy the positions which are indicated in Fig. 1, that the frame 77 is raised to hold sprocketwheel 75 out of engagement with chain 70, and that the brake-band is relaxed, it will be seen thatthe operation of the engine will transmit power through clutch members 17-19, and sprocket wheel 29, chain 30 and sprocket wheel 31 to the drive shaft 32, which shaft will transmit power through engaged clutch members 34, 35 and sprocket wheel 36, chain 37 and sprocket wheel 38 to the diflerential gear, which in turn and in the usual manner, will impart movement at equal speed to shafts 4 0 and 41 and thereby through pinions 42 and wheels 43 effect forward travel of the tractor and the production of a furrow by each plow. Steering is accomplished by the mediately thereafter manipulation of rod 61, sufficient forward movement of the same throwing clutch mem bers 64.65 into engagement and thereby imparting accelerated movement to shaft to deflect the machine to the left through sprocket wheel 66, chain 67 and sprocket 68. Suflicient rearward movement of lever 60 disengages clutches64 -65 and throw the slidble member 56 of the reversing gear into engagement with the journaled member 55 thereof and thus effect accelerated movement of shaft 41 through gear 69, chain 70 and gear 71. 1

When it is desired to make a sharp turn at a corner of the field, to turn the machine from the position shown in full to the position shown in dotted lines Fig. 6, the operator operates lever 51 to effect the disengagement of clutch members 3&1 and 35 to throw the differential out of action and imthe slack is taken out of connection 52 and the brake band 53 engages the reversing gear casing and through the customary action of the same under such circumstances, reverses the direction of rotation of sprockets 69, chain 7 0 and sprocket 71 and thereby effects backward rotation of shaft 11 and causes the machine to back around with the right hand wheel 4 as the pivot to the position shown by the dotted lines above referred to. Immediately before lever 51 is operated to effect the backward movement of the machine, lever 84 is operated to effect depression of the swing frame 77 to cause the wheel 75 to engage and be driven by sprocket chain 70 and thereby through sprocket wheel 86, chain 87 and sprocket 'wheel 88, impart rotation to transverse shaft 89, which shaft through the intermeshing of its worms with the adjacent worm wheels effects movement of the crank arms 102, 103 and 104: as indicated by dotted arrows Fig, 2, that is to say, effects unequal movement of said crank arms in the same direction because of the difference in the number of teeth on their respective worm gears. This action of the crank arms raises the plows out of the ground, all of the plows being raised substantially the same distance, though the turning action of shaft 101 continues for a short time after the turning of shaft 100 ceases, the movement of said shaft also terminating after that of shaft 99 ends as will be readily understood, and before the machine has backed around to said dotted line position, the plows are completely elevated.

The machine being turned to face in the proper direction, the brake lever 51 and lever 84: are thrown to their original positions and the relaxing of the brake band causes clutch member 34 to reengage clutch member 35 and thereby effect the advance of the machine through the differential as will be readily understood, and in this connection it will be apparent that the caster 3 automatically assumes the proper position as such advance movement begins, and that the operation of shaft 4C1 operates sprocket wheel and hence effects reverse movement of shaft 89 and worm wheels 96, 97 and 98 to effect the lowering of the plows, the plows 108, 109 and 110 successively attaining their depressed positions through the greater range of movement required for their respective crank arms 102, 103 and 10a and because of the varying lengths of chains 105, 106 and 107, doubled or wound over their respective shafts 99, 100 and 101.

The parts are so proportioned that as plow 108 attains its depressed position it enters the ground at the inside of the furrow from which it was raised as above eX- plained, plow 109 entering the intermediate furrow and the plow 110 the innermost furrow as said plows respectively attain their depressed or operative positions. It will therefore be seen that by means of this tractor the corners of a field can be plowed without loss of time.

In'traveling to or from a field it may be desired to travel at a greater rate of speed than is attained during the plowing operation. To do this power is transmitted from the motor through clutch members 18 and 20 and sprocket wheel 72, chain 7 3 and sprocket wheel 74 to shaft 32, and is then transmitted as hereinbefore explained to the differential gearing and by the latter to the wheels 4.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced a tractor plow embodying the features of advantage enumerated as desirable, and I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be restricted to the exact details of construction shown and described but reserve the right to make all changes falling within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim 1. The combination of a tractor, a plurality of plows connected to the tractor to be pulled thereby, means for suspending the plows from the tractor and positively limiting downward movement of the former, a shaft journaled on the tractor above each plow, connections between each shaft and one of said plows for raising the plows when their respective shafts are turned in the proper direction, and a shaft journaled on 1 the tractor and geared to the first-named shafts for turning the same different dis tances and lifting the plows simultaneously equal distances; said shaft when reversely turned causing successive reverse movement of said first-named shafts and consequently successive lowering of their respective plows.

2. The combination of a tractor, a plurality of plows connected to the tractor to be pulled thereby, means for suspending the plows from the tractor and positively limiting downward movement of the former, a shaft journaled on the tractor, a worm secured on said shaft for each plow, a shaft journaled on the tractor for each plow thereof, a worm wheel secured on each of the lastnalned shafts and provided with different numbers of teeth, independent means for holding said worm wheels in engagement with their respective worms, and means for turning the worm shaft in one direction to rotate the worm-wheel carrying shafts different distances, and for turning said wormcarrying shaft in the reverse direction to effect successive reverse movement of said worm-wheel carrying shafts.

3. The combination of a tractor, a plurality of plows connected to the tractor to be pulled thereby,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for a flexible connection be-' tween the tractor and said plows to limit downward movement of the latter, a shaft j ournaled on the tractor above each plow, a crank arm on each shaft, a flexible connection between each crank arm and its respective plow, and a shaft journaled on the tractor and geared to the first-named shafts for turning the same different distances and lifting the plows simultaneously equal distances; said shaft when reversely turned causing successive reverse movement of said first-named shafts and consequently successive lowering of their respective plows.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE WILLIAM McGILL. Witnesses:

FORREST MYERs, JOHN A. BRADLEY.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. c.

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