US3851450A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Forage harvester
Assignee: Deere and Co
•
Filing: 1973-06-01
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Granted: 1974-12-03
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Expires: 1993-06-01
Abstract
Abstract A tractor-mounted forage harvester has a main frame mounted for vertical adjustment on a tractor three-point hitch system and includes a windrow pickup-type harvesting header disposed alongside the right rear wheel of the tractor. The header includes a transverse auger which feeds the crop to a fore-andaft auger, which in turn feeds the crop through a relatively narrow inlet. Two pairs of cooperating feed rolls engage the crop moving through the inlet, the upper roll of the forward pair of rolls and the lower roll of the rearward pair of rolls being vertically adjustable to accommodate different thicknesses of crop material. The feed rolls feed the crop through a cutterhead housing inlet past a transverse shear bar on the upper edge of the inlet to a cylinder-type cutterhead having a plurality of knives rotating at high speed in registry with the shear bar, the knives moving upwardly past the housing inlet to reduce the material and impel it upwardly and rearwardly through a tangential discharge spout into a trailing wagon. The cutterhead is formed by a shaft and a solid one-piece annular member removably mounted on the shaft and having radial portions with the knife-cutting edges formed thereon.
Inventors
- 👤 L Nelson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 15:02
CPC Classifications
A; A01; A01F; A01F29/00; A01F29/06; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S56/00; Y10S56/01
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 26
Claim 1
Independent Claim
190 words
A forage harvester comprising: a mobile main frame mounted for advance over a field; a cutterhead housing mounted on the frame and having a crop inlet and a crop outlet spanning the width of the housing and a discharge spout extending upwardly from the outlet; a crop-feeding means mounted on the frame for moving crop material through the inlet; a forward harvesting means mounted on the frame for removing the crop from the field as the harvester advances and delivering it to the crop-feeding means; a shear bar disposed along the upper edge of the crop inlet; a cylinder-type cutterhead mounted in the cutterhead housing and having a plurality of knives with cutting edges on the cutterhead periphery tracing a cylinder in registry with the shear bar as the cutterhead rotates and having an axial length less than 12 inches; means for driving the cutterhead at a speed above 1,600 RPM so that the knives move upwardly past the inlet at a high velocity to reduce the crop moving through the inlet under the shear bar and impel the reduced crop tangentially upwardly through the outlet and the discharge spout.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
190 words
A forage harvester comprising: a mobile main frame mounted for advance over a field; a cutterhead housing mounted on the frame and having a crop inlet and a crop outlet spanning the width of the housing and a discharge spout extending upwardly from the outlet; a crop-feeding means mounted on the frame for moving crop material through the inlet; a forward harvesting means mounted on the frame for removing the crop from the field as the harvester advances and delivering it to the crop-feeding means; a shear bar disposed along the upper edge of the crop inlet; a cylinder-type cutterhead mounted in the cutterhead housing and having a plurality of knives with cutting edges on the cutterhead periphery tracing a cylinder in registry with the shear bar as the cutterhead rotates and having an axial length less than 12 inches; means for driving the cutterhead at a speed above 1,600 RPM so that the knives move upwardly past the inlet at a high velocity to reduce the crop moving through the inlet under the shear bar and impel the reduced crop tangentially upwardly through the outlet and the discharge spout.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
108 words
The invention defined in claim 1 wherein the crop-feeding means includes a plurality of rotatable feed rolls axially parallel to the cutterhead and including a first feed roll having a fixed axis and disposed adjacently in advance of the shear bar, a second feed roll operatively mounted below the first feed roll adjacent the crop inlet and shiftable toward and away from the first feed roll, a third feed roll having a fixed axis and disposed adjacent to and in advance of the second feed roll and a fourth feed roll in advance of the first feed roll and shiftable toward and away from the third feed roll.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
38 words
The invention defined in claim 1 wherein the crop-feeding means includes a first feed roll and the shear bar has a forward edge immediately adjacent the first feed roll for stripping crop material from the first feed roll.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
115 words
The invention defined in claim 1 wherein the crop-feeding means includes a first feed roll having a fixed axis parallel to the cutterhead axis and disposed adjacently in advance of the shear bar, a second feed roll parallel to the first on the opposite side of the crop inlet and shiftable toward and away from the first feed roll, and a hold-down bar mounted adjacently parallel to the second feed roll and shiftable therewith toward and away from the shear bar to vary the size of the crop inlet opening and to limit the movement of crop material away from the shear bar opposite the movement of the cutterhead knives relative to the shear bar.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
24 words
The invention defined in claim 4 wherein the second feed roll and the hold-down bar are mounted for rocking adjustment about the cutterhead axis.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
18 words
The invention defined in claim 1 wherein the cutterhead is driven at a speed greater than 2,000 RPM.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
73 words
The invention defined in claim 1 wherein the cutterhead includes an axial shaft and at least one annular section removably mounted on the shaft, each annular section including a solid hub portion and a plurality of approximately radially extending knife portions integral with the hub portion and forming said knives at the cutterhead periphery and pockets between the adjacent knife portion for receiving the crop material as it is fed into the cutterhead.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
18 words
The invention defined in claim 7 wherein each knife portion has a relieved area on its advance side.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
23 words
The invention defined in claim 7 wherein each cutterhead section is keyed to the shaft and axially restrained thereon by removable retainer means.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
86 words
The invention defined in claim 1 wherein the cutterhead housing includes opposite upright sidewalls and the cutterhead includes an axial shaft having its opposite ends extending through openings in said sidewalls and journaled in bearings respectively removably attached to the sidewalls, the sidewalls respectively having elongated slots connecting said openings with the rearward ends of the sidewalls, to permit the removal of the cutterhead out the rear of the housing when the bearings are detached from the sidewalls by sliding the shaft rearwardly along the slots.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
217 words
A forage harvester comprising: a mobile main frame mounted for advance over a field; a cutterhead housing mounted on the frame and having a crop inlet, an outlet, and a shear bar spanning the width of the housing adjacent thE inlet; a cylinder-type cutterhead mounted in the housing and having a plurality of knives with cutting edges at the cutterhead periphery registering with the shear bar as the cutterhead rotates; a forward harvesting means mounted on the frame for removing the crop from the field as the machine advances; and a crop-feeding means for moving the crop material from the harvesting means through the inlet and including a first feed roll having a fixed axis parallel to the cutterhead axis and disposed adjacent to an in advance of the shear bar, a second feed roll parallel to the first feed roll on the opposite side of the inlet and mounted for adjustment toward and away from the first feed roll, a third feed roll having a fixed axis parallel to and adjacently forwardly of the second feed roll, and a fourth feed roll parallel and adjacent to the first feed roll and on the opposite side of the inlet from the third feed roll and operatively mounted for shifting toward and away from the third feed roll.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
217 words
A forage harvester comprising: a mobile main frame mounted for advance over a field; a cutterhead housing mounted on the frame and having a crop inlet, an outlet, and a shear bar spanning the width of the housing adjacent thE inlet; a cylinder-type cutterhead mounted in the housing and having a plurality of knives with cutting edges at the cutterhead periphery registering with the shear bar as the cutterhead rotates; a forward harvesting means mounted on the frame for removing the crop from the field as the machine advances; and a crop-feeding means for moving the crop material from the harvesting means through the inlet and including a first feed roll having a fixed axis parallel to the cutterhead axis and disposed adjacent to an in advance of the shear bar, a second feed roll parallel to the first feed roll on the opposite side of the inlet and mounted for adjustment toward and away from the first feed roll, a third feed roll having a fixed axis parallel to and adjacently forwardly of the second feed roll, and a fourth feed roll parallel and adjacent to the first feed roll and on the opposite side of the inlet from the third feed roll and operatively mounted for shifting toward and away from the third feed roll.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
78 words
The invention defined in claim 11 and including a holddown bar mounted adjacently parallel to the second feed roll opposite the shear bar and operatively mounted for shifting with the second feed roll toward and away from the shear bar to vary the size of the crop inlet opening and to limit the movement of the crop material away from the shear bar in a direction opposite the movement of the cutterhead knives relative to the shear bar.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
25 words
The invention defined in claim 11 wherein the shear bar has a forward edge immediately adjacent the first feed roll for stripping crop material therefrom.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
209 words
In a forage harvester having a mobile main frame, a cutterhead housing mounted on the frame and having a crop inlet with a shear bar spanning the width of the housing along a horizontal edge of the inlet, a cylinder-type cutterhead mounted in the housing and having a plurality of knives registering with the shear bar as the cutterhead rotates, improved crop-feeding means mounted on the frame for moving crop material from a forward harvesting means through the crop inlet to the cutterhead and comprising: a plurality of rotatable feed rolls axially parallel to the cutterhead and including a first feed roll having a fixed axis and disposed adjacently in advance of the shear bar, and a second feed roll operatively mounted opposite the first feed roll and on the opposite side of the crop inlet from the shear bar for shifting toward and away from the first feed roll, and a hold-down bar adjacently parallel to the shear bar and spanning the width of the inlet opening and operatively mounted for shifting with the second feed roll toward and away from the shear bar to vary the inlet opening and limit the shifting of crop material off of the shear bars as it is fed to the cutterhead.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
209 words
In a forage harvester having a mobile main frame, a cutterhead housing mounted on the frame and having a crop inlet with a shear bar spanning the width of the housing along a horizontal edge of the inlet, a cylinder-type cutterhead mounted in the housing and having a plurality of knives registering with the shear bar as the cutterhead rotates, improved crop-feeding means mounted on the frame for moving crop material from a forward harvesting means through the crop inlet to the cutterhead and comprising: a plurality of rotatable feed rolls axially parallel to the cutterhead and including a first feed roll having a fixed axis and disposed adjacently in advance of the shear bar, and a second feed roll operatively mounted opposite the first feed roll and on the opposite side of the crop inlet from the shear bar for shifting toward and away from the first feed roll, and a hold-down bar adjacently parallel to the shear bar and spanning the width of the inlet opening and operatively mounted for shifting with the second feed roll toward and away from the shear bar to vary the inlet opening and limit the shifting of crop material off of the shear bars as it is fed to the cutterhead.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
26 words
The invention defined in claim 14 wherein the second feed roll and hold-down bar are mounted for shifting in unison about the axis of the cutterhead.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
169 words
In a forage harvester having a mobile main frame mounted for advance over a field, a cutterhead housing mounted on the frame and having an outlet and a crop inlet with a shear bar along one edge of the inlet, and a crop-feeding means for moving crop material from a forward harvesting means through the inlet, the combination therewith of an improved cutterhead journaled in the cutterhead housing and comprising: an axial shaft having its opposite ends journaled in bearings mounted in the opposite cutterhead housing sidewalls; and at least one annular section removably mounted on the shaft and including a solid hub portion and a plurality of approximately radially extending knife portions integral with the hub portion, the knife portions each having a generally longitudinally extending cutting edge at the cutterhead periphery generating a cylinder as the cutterhead rotates in registry with the shear bar, the spaces between adjacent knife portions forming pockets for receiving crop material as it is fed over the shear bar into the cutterhead.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
169 words
In a forage harvester having a mobile main frame mounted for advance over a field, a cutterhead housing mounted on the frame and having an outlet and a crop inlet with a shear bar along one edge of the inlet, and a crop-feeding means for moving crop material from a forward harvesting means through the inlet, the combination therewith of an improved cutterhead journaled in the cutterhead housing and comprising: an axial shaft having its opposite ends journaled in bearings mounted in the opposite cutterhead housing sidewalls; and at least one annular section removably mounted on the shaft and including a solid hub portion and a plurality of approximately radially extending knife portions integral with the hub portion, the knife portions each having a generally longitudinally extending cutting edge at the cutterhead periphery generating a cylinder as the cutterhead rotates in registry with the shear bar, the spaces between adjacent knife portions forming pockets for receiving crop material as it is fed over the shear bar into the cutterhead.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
23 words
The inventioN defined in claim 16 wherein each knife portion has a relieved area on its advance side interiorly of the cutting edge.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
30 words
The invention defined in claim 17 wherein each cutterhead section is keyed to the shaft and axially restrained by removable retainer means operatively connecting the cutterhead section and the shaft.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
43 words
The invention defined in claim 16 wherein at least two different angular spacings are provided between adjacent knife-cutting edges to vary the interval between succeeding impacts between the knife-cutting edges and the crop material as the cutterhead rotates at a relatively constant speed.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
178 words
A forage harvester comprising: a mobile main frame mounted for advance over a field; a cutterhead housing mounted on the frame and having a crop inlet less than 8 inches wide spanning the width of the housing and a tangential crop outlet with a discharge spout extending upwardly from the outlet; a forward harvesting means mounted on the frame for removing the crop from the field as the machine advances; a crop-feeding means mounted on the frame for moving crop material from the harvesting means through the crop inlet; a horizontal shear bar spanning the crop inlet along one edge; a cylinder-type cutterhead mounted in the cutterhead housing and having a plurality of knives with cutting edges on the cutterhead periphery tracing a cylinder in registry with the shear bar as the cutterhead rotates; means for driving the cutterhead above 2,000 RPM so that the knife-cutting edges engage the crop moving through the inlet past the shear bar to sever the crop, the knives impelling the severed crop tangentially through the outlet and upwardly through the discharge spout.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
178 words
A forage harvester comprising: a mobile main frame mounted for advance over a field; a cutterhead housing mounted on the frame and having a crop inlet less than 8 inches wide spanning the width of the housing and a tangential crop outlet with a discharge spout extending upwardly from the outlet; a forward harvesting means mounted on the frame for removing the crop from the field as the machine advances; a crop-feeding means mounted on the frame for moving crop material from the harvesting means through the crop inlet; a horizontal shear bar spanning the crop inlet along one edge; a cylinder-type cutterhead mounted in the cutterhead housing and having a plurality of knives with cutting edges on the cutterhead periphery tracing a cylinder in registry with the shear bar as the cutterhead rotates; means for driving the cutterhead above 2,000 RPM so that the knife-cutting edges engage the crop moving through the inlet past the shear bar to sever the crop, the knives impelling the severed crop tangentially through the outlet and upwardly through the discharge spout.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
72 words
The invention defined in claim 20 wherein the cutterhead includes an axial shaft and an annular section removably mounted on a shaft, said annular section including a solid hub portion and a plurality of approximately radially extending knife portions integral with the hub portion and forming said knives, the space between the adjacent midportions defining pockets for receiving the crop material as it is fed into the cutterhead past the shear bar.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1977-12-02 | 1978-06-03 | 1978-12-03 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1981-12-02 | 1982-06-03 | 1982-12-03 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1985-12-02 | 1986-06-03 | 1986-12-03 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |