Abstract: An apparatus for merging a pair of windows into a single window for subsequent processing by a forage harvester, square baler or the like. The apparatus includes a main frame, a rotary pickup head for picking up the first windrow, a cross conveyor mounted on the main frame and disposed rearwardly of the pickup head for transporting the first windrow transversely between a windrow receiving end and a windrow discharge end, a hydraulic drive circuit including a cross conveyor drive motor and a pickup drive motor, a speed control mechanism for controlling the speed of the cross conveyor independently of the speed of the pickup head so that conveyor belt speed may be adjusted depending upon the distances between windrows to either discharge or throw the first windrow a further distance or a shorter distance so as to be combined with a second adjacent windrow. There is also disclosed a quick attachment assembly for pivotally and releasably attaching the main frame to a tractor.

Abstract: A straw chopper and spreader assembly for receiving straw from a threshing machine, has a casing enclosing a pair of contra-rotatable flail assemblies. The flails are mounted in different horizontal planes and have blades which overlap so as to shear and chop the straw. At the rear of the casing is a rear outlet defined between a rear skirt and a bottom extension of the casing. The rear skirt is adjustble so as to enlarge or reduce the size of the rear outlet. In addition to discharge through the rear outlet, chopped straw is also discharged laterally through side chutes which have removable end portions so that discharge selectively may be outwardly and upwardly or outwardly and downwardly. Chaff spreading discs are mounted below the assembly and rotates horizontally.

Abstract: A straw chopper and spreader assembly for receiving straw from a threshing machine, has a casing enclosing a pair of contra-rotatable flail assemblies. The flails are mounted in different horizontal planes and have blades which overlap so as to shear and chop the strew. At the rear of the casing is a rear outlet defined between a rear skirt and a bottom extension of the casing. The rear skirt is adjustable so as to enlarge or reduce the size of the rear outlet. In addition to discharge through the rear outlet, chopped straw is also discharged laterally through side chutes which have removable end portions so that discharge selectively may be outwardly and upwardly or outwardly and downwardly. Chaff spreading discs are mounted below the assembly and rotates horizontally.

Abstract: A device for use with a rotating cutting knife of a forage harvester to prevent the production of long cobs. The device includes a support member mounted on each cutting knife having a bevelled front face positioned to engage a cob face and support the cob in its longitudinal dimension as a knife cuts the cob along its lateral dimension. The support member is adjustably mounted on the knife between an operative position wherein the bevelled face of the support member is in substantially colinear relationship with the bevelled face of the knife and an inoperative position wherein the bevelled face of the support member is spaced from the bevelled face of the cutting knife.

Abstract: A forage blower having an upwardly extending, tangential blower outlet transition member which is hinged along one of its sides so as to be swung laterally to thereby expose the inside of the blower housing. By swinging the outlet member laterally, only a very small clearance is required between the upper end of the outlet member and the lower end of the conveying pipe which conveys the material to the top of the silo. The upper end of the outlet member has an upwardly extending lip which facilitates the connection between the upper end of the outlet member and the lower end of the conveying pipe. The hinge arrangement between the transition member and the blower housing is such that the hinge is mounted on and supported by the rim sheet bracket.

Abstract: A forage blower having an upwardly extending, tangential blower outlet transition member which is hinged along one of its sides so as to be moved to thereby expose the inside of the blower housing. The blower housing includes a two-portion rim sheet. A wear liner is secured in one portion of the rim sheet and is located generally in the lower part of the blower housing; this wear liner can be replaced by circumferentially shifting the rim sheet and the wear liner together to an area where the wear liner can be replaced when the blower outlet transition member is moved. The construction of the side walls, rim sheet portion and liner is such that a smooth and unobstructed inner surface of the liner and rim sheet is provided for the material being handled.

Abstract: A forage blower having a power transmission unit which is secured to the side wall of the blower housing and to the hub of the blower fan. The mounting arrangement eliminates components required in prior art machines. The unit can be reversed, end for end, to provide two different speeds to the blower fan.

Abstract: A pickup at the front of a rotary crop baler discharges crop material rearward between crop guiding means comprising a feed roller that propels the material farther rearward. Rearwardly adjacent to the feed roller is a bale forming roller with a diameter about twice that of the feed roller, rotating in the same direction as the feed roller and at the same or a slightly faster peripheral speed. The bale compacting belt assembly has the usual expandable lower stretch defined by two rollers, one of which is spaced above the crop guiding means, the other of which is rearwardly adjacent to the bale forming roller. During an initial stage of core formation that stretch of belt slides on the bale forming roller and cooperates with it, with the feed rollers and with retractable bale forming fingers, to define a bale starting chamber more nearly cylindrical than heretofore.

Abstract: A forage harvester adapted to be drawn by and powered from a tractor includes a feed roll mechanism for receiving and feeding crop material to a cutterhead mechanism which then supplies cut-up crop material to a blower for transfer to a forage wagon. A main drive shaft on the harvester is driven by the tractor PTO and drives the cutterhead mechanism and the blower. A drive mechanism supplies motive power from the main drive shaft to drive the feed roll mechanism and any harvester attachments in forward or reverse and includes a single normally disengaged electrically engageable electric clutch and a solenoid-operated forward/reverse transmission normally spring-biased in forward and shiftable into reverse when its solenoid is energized. Torque sensor devices are provided to mechanically disconnect the feed roll mechanism and any harvester attachment from being driven by the transmission when an overload occurs.

Abstract: A method and means for adjusting a forage harvester shear bar relative to its rotating cylinder. The outer end of the shear bar, the central portion of the shear bar and the inner end of the shear bar can all be selectively adjusted while the cylinder is rotating, these adjustments being made from the outer or operator's side of the harvester and at a common location. All of the shear bar adjusting means are located at one convenient and safe area at the outer or operator's side of the machine and the operator can accurately adjust the outer, central or inner end of the bar by noting the "tick" noise created when the particular end or portion of the shear bar being adjusted touches or comes in contact with the rotating knife of the cylinder.

Abstract: A forage harvester for harvesting crops and reducing them to forage by means of a rotary chopping cylinder which has a plurality of blades around its periphery which cooperate with a shear bar carried on the frame of the harvester. A sharpening device is provided above the cylinder for sharpening the cylinder blades and brackets are also provided for mounting the shear bar when it is to be sharpened, above the cylinder so that the same sharpening device that is used to sharpen the blades of the cylinder can also be used to sharpen the shear bar. Bracket mounting structure is provided for the shear bar to ensure that it is sharpened at the proper angle.

Abstract: A rotary baling machine for forming large cylindrical bales of cut crop material, such as hay which uses a conveyor belt and an oppositely moving containing belt means arranged to rotate the hay and form the bale in a baling compartment as the machine moves over the crop being harvested. The endless containing belt means surrounds the bale as it progressively increases in size and acts to compact the crop being baled to thereby form a bale of proper density. This containing belt means is trained over suitable elongated rollers which extend across the machine and thereby acts to rotatably drive the rollers. Power means are also provided, such as chain and sprocket means to also power drive the rollers. An overrunning sprocket is provided on at least one of the rollers so that possible over-loading or slack in the containing belt means which is caused by differential belt driving speeds, is eliminated.

Abstract: A rotary baler for forming large cylindrical bales of cut crop material such as hay and which uses a conveyor belt and an oppositely moving compacting belt arrangement to rotate the hay and form the bale in a baling compartment. Adjustable hydraulic control means are provided for controlling the tension in the compacting belt to thereby control the density of the bale being formed. The hydraulic control means is such that a lower tension force is maintained in the compacting belts during the critical initial start-up phase, and a higher belt tension is provided during the early bale forming stage, resulting in a finished bale of high density.

Abstract: A machine for forming cylindrical bales of crop material such as hay in which the bale is formed between two oppositely moving endless belts. One of the belts wraps around the bale as the bale is being formed and the tensioned belt contributes to the density of the bale. A pressure roller helps support its bale and penetrates the periphery of the bale to increase its density. Crop deflector means are provided at each side of the interior of the machine so as to reduce the friction between the material and the sides of the machine and thereby prevent excessive tension on the belt and consequently excessive bale density.

Abstract: A mobile forage harvester for harvesting crop material, chopping the material and blowing the chopped material to a receptacle, the harvester having a water supply system for periodically injecting a controllable amount of water into the stream of crop material as it passes through said harvester to thereby minimize gumming up of said material in said harvester.

Abstract: A bale disintegrating apparatus provides a cutter having a plurality of blades extending outwardly from an axis directed generally towards the bale with such knives being rotated about the axis for cutting the fibrous material at a face of the bale. A spider rotates about an axis generally directed towards the bale while one or more of the cutters are mounted to the spider for rotation at axes spaced from the spider axis and cut along the face of the bale. A quill is mounted upon the rotary shaft of the spider and is coupled to operate a cutter at a speed substantially different than the spider speed. The cutter is angularly oriented with respect to the spider while the spider is angularly spaced from a plane normal to the relative movement direction between the bale and the cutting assembly. A chamber surrounds the cutting assembly and a discharge conveyer while constricting panels confine the bale to be properly addressed to the cutting assembly.

Abstract: A shear clutch assembly for a rotatably driven power transmitting shaft and including a shear bolt which is sheared and causes a disconnect in the driving parts for the shaft. The assembly includes a flange rigidly fixed to the shaft and a rotatably driven member, for example, such as a sprocket rotatably mounted on the shaft and connected to the flange by the shear bolt. A reversing drive mechanism is carried by the driver or the driven member and when the power is transmitted in the normal or forward direction, the reversible drive connection is ineffective. However, when the shear bolt means has been severed and dislodged, power can be reversed and this causes the reverse drive connection to become effective for driving in the reverse direction.

Abstract: A chain drive includes a sprocket rotatable in a plane and comprising an even number of wide and narrow tapered teeth and a flexible chain comprising successive links having alternate wide and narrow tooth-engaging link openings, with tooth width and link-opening width being measured in a direction transverse to the plane of sprocket rotation. The arrangement ensures proper registration and engagement of the link opening of each oncoming link with a tooth of appropriate width despite displacement of the oncoming chain flight from the plane of sprocket rotation and thereby prevents disengagement of a loose chain from the sprocket or breakage of a tight chain by the sprocket.

Abstract: A forage wagon or the like having components driven by a power take-off shaft and including apparatus for selectively disengaging the power take-off shaft and the driven parts. The disengaging apparatus includes a safety clutch having a circular drive clutch plate supported on a drive shaft of a power take-off shaft for rotation with the drive shaft and a driven circular clutch plate freely rotatably supported on the drive shaft. The driven clutch plate functions to drive the various driven parts of the forage wagon. In the normal operating condition, a drive pin, aligned parallel to the axis of the drive shaft, is received through bores in both the drive plate and the driven plate such that the driven plate rotates with the drive plate.

Abstract: A baling machine for forming large cylindrical bates of cut crop material and including an improved means for adjusting the relative alignment of a plurality of transversely spaced, parallel belts and minimizing wear of the belts. The conveyor belts are supported for movement in a closed path by a plurality of parallel spaced apart rollers. Means are provided for adjusting the position of at least one end of one of said rollers such that the longitudinal axis of the roller can be moved generally in a plane perpendicular to the plane bisecting the angle defined by the belt wrapped around the roller whereby relative skewing of the belt and roller imparts a force on the belt during movement of the belt and in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the roller.