Patents Examined by Robert E. Pezzula
  • Patent number: 6094898
    Abstract: A flexible insert for a cotton stripper finger assembly adapted for stripping cotton bolls from cotton plants planted in narrow row or broadcast configuration. The insert comprises a flexible plastic strip sandwiched between a conventional metal stripping finger and a metal hold-down member. The insert has edges extending outwardly from the metal stripping finger edges to reduce the effective width of the gap between fingers to more efficiently strip cotton bolls from cotton plants having relatively thin stalks. The portions of the insert which project beyond the metal stripping finger are sufficiently flexible to permit efficient stripping of cotton plants with thicker stalks. Since the effective gap width can change with changing plant conditions, the need to change gap-adjusting inserts is eliminated. The plastic material, which preferably is polyurethane having a durometer of approximately 93, resists sap build-up and improves cotton flow over the fingers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2000
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventors: Kevin Jacob Goering, Timothy Arthur Deutsch, David Carl Winter