US2483582A - Tobacco sled - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 4, 1949. c. s. HILL 2,483,582

TOBACCO SLED Arrop/vf Y.

C. S. HILL TOBACCO SLED Oc-t. 4, 1949.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed 001;. 24, 1947 llf" Patented Oct. 4, 1949 UNITED 'STATES QFFICE TOBACCO sLED ,charles s. Hill, Hyper/t, u. c. Application October 24, 1945-7, Serial N0. 781,950 g claims. (C1. :n4-5,5) v Y y This invention relates to a tobacco sled and more especially to a tobacco sled having means for raising the bottom portion of the container carried by the sled so that the tobacco leaves vcan betaken out of the ycontainer without the operators having te stoop over and reach far down into the bottom .of the container.

` In the harvesting of tobacco, a sled is drawn along betweentwo rows of tobacco. Operato-rs strip the leaves, beginning at the bottom up as far as they have ripened properly and lay them into a Ylarge container mounted on runners and which is usually .drawn by a mule between the rows of tobacco. When the container has been lled, it is dragged t the place where the tobacco leaves are being fastened onto tobacco sticks by a stringing operation and from thence the tobacco sticks lled with the tobacco leaves are placed in a curing barn for a curing operation.

Heretoiore an ordinary rectangular and elongated container such as a large box has been mounted on suitable runners vand the leaves of tobacco are stripped from the tobacco stalks and laid carefully into the bottom of the box and so on until the box is :filled at which time it is pulled to the point where the tobacco leaves are being Strung Onto the tobacco sticks and then the to- 'bacco leaves are taken out in small bunches and hold against Opposite sides `oi the stick, where an operator wraps a string several times around one bunch and then criss-crosses the string to the other side and wraps several turns of the string around. another bunch of tobacco leaves and so on until the tobacco stick is nlled, at which time the end of the string is secured to the tobacco stick and the sticks are then ready for depositing into the barn.

This operation entails much back-breaking labor in having to stoop clear over and sometimes projecting the head of the operator into the top of the container so that tobacco leaves can be carefully laid along the bottom of the container because these leaves must be kept in straightened parallel condition at all times. Also when the sled has reached the point' of Stringing, the tobacco leaves are removed from the top toward the bottom, and, of course, while removing the tobacco leaves from the top, no stooping is necessary, but as the contents are removed and as the operators have to lean far over to reach the tobacco leaves in the bottom of the container, much stooping is necessary and it is a Very laborious proposition.

It is an object of this invention to provide a tobacco sled having a container mounted on suit- 2 able runners, and the container is in the form of a frame instead of a box, though it could be a box if desired, and on one edge of the frame at the top thereof is mounted a roller and on the opposite ledge .extending longitudinally or" the row of tobacco is another roller which is parallel with the lirst roller, and on these rollers, the ends of a piece .of canvas `or `other suitable strong flexible material are secured and the 4rollers are unrolled until the canvas entirely covers the side walls of the frame and rests on the bottom of the Iframework. This would be the position of the canvas when the framework is filled with tobacco leaves, but preferably, it is better to have the .canvas rst positioned in the position shown in dotted lines in Figure :3 and the'tobaccc leaves are then placed onto this canvas, and then when it is illed to the top of the frame, one or both or" the rollers can be u nrolled to lower the canvas to the position shown in Figure 4, at which time the rollers can be rotated one at a time to gradually raise .the bottom of .the ,canvas portion to thus raise the tobacco leaves and make them easily accessible from the top.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the de- Scripton proceeds .when taken in connection vwith the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a top plan view of the sled with portions broken away;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the sled looking from the .lower side of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an end view of the sled looking from the left-hand end of Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 4-4 in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a detail view showing a portion of the upper left-hand corner of Figure 2 with portions in section;

Figure 6 is a sectional detail view taken along the line 6-6 in Figure 1;

Figure 7 is .a sectional detail view taken along the line I-V'I in Figure 1.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the numerals I0 and II indicate suitable sled runners beveled at each end thereof and having angle bars I2 and I3 secured on their outer and top edges and cross angle bars I 4 are secured between these side angle bars I2 and I3 at each end thereof, and on the end angle bars I4 and I5 are mounted suitable planks I6 and II forming a bottom. Rising upwardly from the angle bars I2 and I3 arecorner angle bars 20, 2|, 22 and 23 and suitable intermediate side angle bars 25 and 26 are secured to these corner angle bars and span the distance between them for strengthening purposes. At the top of the corner angle .bars and spanning the distance therebetween are top bars 28 and 29. This completes the framethe container at the remote ends of the sled.

To the top of the right-hand angle bars 2l and 23 in Figures 1 and 2 are xed suitable bearings 32 and 33 and to the top portions of the corner angle bars 20 and 22 at the left-hand in Figures 1 and 2, are removable mounted suitable bearings 35 and 36. Mounted in the bearings 32, 33, 35 and 36 are the restricted ends 31 of the rollers 40 and Y 4I and the other ends of the rollers are likewise restricted and mounted for rotation in the bearings 32 and 33.

Each of the portions 31 which penetrate the removableV bearings 35 and 36 has a collar 44 thereon and a hole is formed through the collar 44 and the portion 31. Each of the bearings 35 and 36 has a suitable vertically disposed hole therethrough and the portions 31 have a suitable transverse bore therethrough so that pins 41 may be Vpassed through the bearing portions 35 and 33 and through the portions 31 to hold the rollers 4U and 4l against rotation.

A suitable crank arm 48 may be passed through the holes 45 in the collars 44 and through the ends 31 of the rollers 40 and 4l whereby rotation may be imparted to the roller in which the crank 48 is mounted after the pin 41 has been removed fromthe portion 31 of that particular roller. By turning the crank. 48, this particular roller will be rotated, and the canvas will be rolled around or let off from the 'particular roller.- This canvas is indicated by reference character 50 and has its two ends fastened byA tacking or otherwise, not shown, to the rollers 40 and 4|. Thus, with one of the pins 41 in position as shown in Figure 6 Yand with the crank in position on the other roller, rotation of the roller in one direction with the pin 41 removed for that roller in which the crank is disposed will unwind or wind up the canvas 5B and cause it to be lowered toward the position shown in Figure 4 or elevated to the position shown in Figure 3 or even elevated all the way to the top of the framework, if desired.

The bottom angle bars have secured thereto suitable hitch members 52 and 53 so that the sled can be pulled in either direction along between the rows of tobacco.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, and although specic terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only, and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being dened in the claims. Y

VI claim:

4 1. An improvement in a tobacco sled comprising a framework having a pair of sled runners on the lower surface thereof and having a pair of rollers disposed longitudinally along the opposite side edges thereof and a flexible sheet member having its ends attached to the rollers and projecting down into the framework, said framework having bearings at each end of the rollers for rotatably supporting the rollers, said framework having a bottom portion therein against which the canvas may be lowered, said improvement comprising each of the rollers hav- 'ing a transverse hole therethrough through which a crank may be inserted for imparting rotation to the rollers, the bearings at one end of the framework having vertically disposed holes and each-of the rollers having a transverse bore therethrough coinciding with the holes in lthe bearings so that aV pin may be inserted through the holes in the bearings and the hole in the roller for holding it against rotation.

2. An improvement in a sled comprising a rectangular framework open at its top and having a bottom and having a pair of spaced runners mounted on the bottom thereof, a hitch disposed at each end of the framework for drawing the same between tobacco rows, said framework having bearing members at all four upper corners thereof, a roller disposed along each side edge of the framework and rotatably mounted in said bearings, a, flexible canvas member having its ends secured to said rollers and being adapted to fall downwardly inside the framework and to rest on the bottom of the framework, said improvement comprising each of Said bearings in one end of the framework having a vertically disposed hole therethrough and a hole in the rollers where they pass through the bearings and into which a pin may be inserted after passing through the hole in the bearing for holding the rollers against rotation, each of the rollers at one end thereof projecting beyond the bearings, and having a collar thereon and a transverse hole passing through the collar and the roller whereby a crank may be inserted in either one of the rollers at a time for imparting rotation thereto to raise or lower the lower portion of the canvas to thereby regulate the height of the bottom portion of the canvas onto which tobacco leaves are adapted to be deposited, when the pin for a particular roller has been removed therefrom topermit rotation of the roller by the crank.

CHARLES S. HILL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this pat-ent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 842,765 Byrd Jan. 29, 1907 1,195,776 Burnham Aug. 22, 1916 1,726,139 Blasco et al Aug-27, 1929 2,143,662 Schwarz Jan. 10, 1939

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