Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
056192000 | CUTTING AND WINDROWING | 13 |
20090272090 | FLEXIBLE TALL CROP PUSHER - A flexible tall crop knockdown barrier for use with rotary cutting headers in harvesting specialty crops such as grass seed. The knockdown barrier comprises a support frame mounted to the front of the header that extends forwardly and upwardly ahead of the header. A flexible barrier supported by the frame extends downwardly during idle conditions and downwardly and rearwardly as the header is propelled through the crop. The flexible curtain may be rolled around a lower spool and stowed on the support frame when not in use to improve visibility. The knockdown barrier serves to gently lean the crop forward before cutting so as to minimize seed shatter due whipping of the seed head. | 11-05-2009 |
20090313964 | FLOATING SWATHGATE - A floating swathgate for a cutting and conditioning header for a frame-supported tractor in which the angular attitude of the swathgate relative to an airborne stream of crop material being ejected from conditioner apparatus is varied as the header moves vertically with respect to the tractor to optimally direct the crop material toward a rearwardly disposed crop merger conveyor. As the header moves vertically, changes in the angular attitude of the swathgate direct the airborne crop material to generally the same location on the merger conveyor to minimize crop losses that typically occur with a fixed swathgate when the crop trajectory varies directly with the header vertical movement. | 12-24-2009 |
20090320432 | Windrow Merger Lift Mechanism - A windrow merger lift mechanism having on a pair of rotational axes, skewed with respect to each other, to manipulate a merger apparatus between working and non-working positions. When the merger apparatus is in a first, or working position, the lift mechanism positions it to receive crop material from the conditioner rolls with minimal losses. When the merger apparatus is in a second, or non-working position, the lift mechanism positions the merger apparatus to allow crop material to be discharged from the header/conditioner with the same efficiency as a windrower having no installed merger attachment. The skewed axes of the merger lift mechanism optimize the merger position in both the working and non-working positions by moving the merger apparatus in four distinct, but related degrees of motion as the merger apparatus is moved between the positions. | 12-31-2009 |
20110203244 | Windrow merging apparatus - A windrow merger has a frame supporting first, second and third pickup assemblies, with the two outside pickup assemblies foldable between an extended use position and a retracted travel position. Each of the pickup assemblies includes a reversible conveyor providing multiple windrow merging configurations. The pickup assemblies are interchangeable and aligned to define an unobstructed pickup face. | 08-25-2011 |
20110302897 | SWATHGATE WITH ADJUSTABLE CROP GUIDES AND METHOD OF CROP DISTRIBUTION - A crop guide apparatus having a plurality of angularly positionable guide fins projecting generally perpendicularly from a mower-conditioner swathgate into the crop discharge stream as it exits the conditioner apparatus whereby the angular position of the fins influences the lateral direction of a portion of the crop discharge stream and allows the resultant crop stream to laterally convergently or laterally divergently directed. The adjustable guide fins are connected to and extend from the working surface of the swathgate generally perpendicular to the plane of the swathgate. Angular position of the each guide fin may be fixed using a pinned or bolted connections to one of a plurality of holes in the swathgate, or an actuator mechanism may be incorporated to pivot the guide fins on the pivot axes, preferably in a coordinated manner. The crop guide apparatus enables crop cutting, conditioning, and tedding to be performed in a single pass by a single machine. | 12-15-2011 |
20120204529 | WINDROW MERGING APPARATUS - A windrow merger has a frame supporting first, second and third pickup assemblies, with the two outside pickup assemblies foldable between an extended use position and a retracted travel position. Each of the pickup assemblies includes a reversible conveyor providing multiple windrow merging configurations. The pickup assemblies are interchangeable and aligned to define an unobstructed pickup face. | 08-16-2012 |
20120247078 | TINE DRIVE CAM FOR WINDROW MERGER - A windrow merger includes a plurality of rotationally driven tines, a rotation imparted to the tines being a cammed rotation, the camming of the rotation effecting a varying rotational speed of the tines. Further, the windrow merger has an internal drive assembly, the drive assembly being disposed generally in an internal aperture defined internal to a plurality of rotatable tines. | 10-04-2012 |
20120297744 | HAYMAKING MACHINE PROVIDED WITH A HITCHING DEVICE WITH AN INCLINED PIVOTING AXIS - The present invention relates to an agricultural haymaking machine intended to be hitched to the lower arms of a tractor, comprising a frame supported on the ground by wheels and at least one work device connected to the frame, the frame being in its front part in pivoting connection with a hitching device configured to be connected to the two lower arms, the center of gravity of the machine being situated between the wheels and the hitching device. According to the invention, the projection of the axis of the pivoting connection, on a plane which is substantially vertical and substantially parallel to the direction of advance, has an inclination towards the direction of advance following a direction of the ground upward. | 11-29-2012 |
20140096498 | ADJUSTABLE WINDROW ASSEMBLY FOR AN AGRICULTURAL VEHICLE - An agricultural vehicle includes a chassis and a windrow assembly carried by the chassis. The windrow assembly includes a windrow chute and a width adjustment device operatively mounted to the windrow chute. The windrow chute includes a discharge panel and a pair of side walls attached and movable relative to the discharge panel. The width adjustment device includes a manual adjustment member mounted to the discharge panel, and a pair of linkages with each linkage interconnecting between the manual adjustment member and a respective side wall. | 04-10-2014 |
20140260168 | CONTINUOUS WINDROW MERGER - A continuous windrow merger has a frame that supports center, right and left pickup assemblies. The pickup assemblies each include a pickup head and a conveyor assembly. The pickup head has a cylindrical reel and a plurality of tines extending radially outwardly from the reel. The pickup head is arranged to pickup and deliver crop material rearward to the conveyor assembly. The conveyor assembly has a draper belt with an upper surface arranged to receive crop material from the pickup head and transfer the crop material in a lateral direction. The draper belt is mounted with the upper surface sloping downwardly and rearwardly from the pickup head. The merger has a folded configuration for transport in which the right and left wing frame sections extend generally vertically above the center frame section. The frame can be attached to the front of a self-propelled traction unit or towed behind a tractor. | 09-18-2014 |
20140366502 | SWATH ROLLER WITH CONTROLLED ANCHORING FORCE - A swath roller apparatus is adapted to be attached to a swather, where the swather is operative to cut standing crop plants and lay cut plants in a swath as the swather moves along the ground in an operating travel direction. A drum is rotatably attached to an axle that is adapted to be movably attached to a rear portion of the swather such that the axle is oriented substantially horizontally and perpendicular to the operating travel direction, and such that the drum moves up and down and rolls along a top of the swath exerting a downward anchoring force on the swath. A bias element is operative to exert a bias force on the axle, and a bias force control is operative to vary the bias force to vary the anchoring force. | 12-18-2014 |
20160066509 | WINDROW SHIELD CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A HEADER OF AN AGRICULTURAL HARVESTER - An agricultural harvester is provided which includes a chassis and harvesting wheels, transport wheels and windrow shields connected to the chassis. The transport wheels are deployed in concert with the windrow shields in order to avoid damage to the windrow shields during placement of the transport wheels into an operative, ground contacting position. A first actuator opens and closes the windrow shields for field and transport operations and windrow shield positioning mechanisms are configured to dispose the windrow shields in a plurality of cut crop opening widths when the window shields are in an open position. The first actuator is operated remotely in-cab to eliminate need for the harvester operator to dismount the harvester and open and close the windrow shields for field and road transport operations. The windrow shield positioning mechanisms may be manually adjusted or automatically adjusted in-cab. | 03-10-2016 |
20160183471 | SWATH ROLLER WITH CONTROLLED ANCHORING FORCE - A swath roller apparatus is adapted to be attached to a swather, where the swather is operative to cut standing crop plants and lay cut plants in a swath as the swather moves along the ground in an operating travel direction. A drum is rotatably attached to an axle that is adapted to be movably attached to a rear portion of the swather such that the axle is oriented substantially horizontally and perpendicular to the operating travel direction, and such that the drum moves up and down and rolls along a top of the swath exerting a downward anchoring force on the swath. A bias element is operative to exert a bias force on the axle, and a bias force control is operative to vary the bias force to vary the anchoring force. | 06-30-2016 |