Patents Assigned to Macdon Industries
  • Header Transport for a Crop Harvesting Machine
    Publication number: 20130305677
    Abstract: A hydraulically driven swather tractor can move in a cab forward orientation in a working mode with a header on the forward end and can be rotated to engine forward in the transport position for more stable higher speed travel. A system is provided for transferring the header from field to transport position automatically from the cab and includes an arm which permanently connects to the header from the tractor independently of the lift and float mounting system such that in the working position the arm remains connected to the tractor and the header while allowing movement of the header relative to the tractor. Also in the transport position, with the header disconnected from the mounting system, the arm extends from the tractor to the mounting system of the header for supporting the forward end of the header for towing the header longitudinally.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 16, 2012
    Publication date: November 21, 2013
    Applicant: MACDON INDUSTRIES LTD.
    Inventor: MACDON INDUSTRIES LTD.
  • Crop Harvesting Machine with Calibration of the Header Float Springs
    Publication number: 20130305674
    Abstract: A tractor has hydraulically driven wheels at a cab end and castor wheels at an engine end. It can be driven cab forward in a working mode with a header on the forward end. It is rotated to engine forward in the transport position for more stable higher speed travel. There is provided a float module with adjustable and calibrated springs on the header which allows the header to float relative to the lift system on the tractor. The float force is adjusted by raising and lowering the lift system in dependence on an angle measurement of the lift position. The lift system includes a lift cylinder and tilt cylinder controlled to change cutter angle while maintaining a sight line to the cutter bar for the operator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 16, 2012
    Publication date: November 21, 2013
    Applicant: MACDON INDUSTRIES LTD.
    Inventor: MacDon Industries Ltd.
  • Sickle Guard Shape for Use in a Sickle Cutter System with Increased Ground Speed
    Publication number: 20130305681
    Abstract: In a sickle cutting system, it has been found that a significant increase in ground speed while maintaining an acceptable level of cutting efficiency as measured by the average stubble length can be obtained by a combination of one or more of the features where the cutting stroke is reduced from the conventional length of 3.0 inches to a value of the order of 2.0 inches; the length of the cutting edge of each knife blade is increased to a length greater than 2.2 inches; the width at the rear of the ledger surface of each guard is increased to greater than 1.0 inches; and the front edge of the blade is formed with an apex to shed crop material to one or other side of the apex.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 17, 2013
    Publication date: November 21, 2013
    Applicant: MACDON INDUSTRIES LTD.
    Inventor: MACDON INDUSTRIES LTD.
  • Roller with Ribs for Driving a Crop Conveying Belt
    Publication number: 20130240331
    Abstract: A crop harvesting header with a cutter bar and a draper assembly has a draper canvas driven by a drive roller with a cylindrical roller body having an outer surface surrounding an axis of rotation of the roller for engaging an inner drive surface of a canvas wrapped therearound. The roller has a plurality of ribs arranged on the outer surface of the roller body extending along a part of the body in an axial direction and angularly spaced around the outer surface. The ribs have a height less than 6 mm and a width less than 6 mm arranged such that the ribs do not engage into any recesses in the drive surface of the canvas.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 6, 2013
    Publication date: September 19, 2013
    Applicants: Kondex Corporation, Macdon Industries Ltd
    Inventors: Daniel Cormier, Francois R. Talbot, Keith A. Johnson, Neal J. Stoffel
  • Roller with Ribs for Driving a Crop Conveying Belt
    Publication number: 20130239535
    Abstract: A crop harvesting header with a cutter bar and a draper assembly has a draper canvas driven by a drive roller with a cylindrical roller body having an outer surface surrounding an axis of rotation of the roller for engaging an inner drive surface of a canvas wrapped therearound. The roller has a plurality of ribs arranged on the outer surface of the roller body extending along a part of the body in an axial direction and angularly spaced around the outer surface. The ribs have a height less than 6 mm and a width less than 6 mm arranged such that the ribs do not engage into any recesses in the drive surface of the canvas.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 6, 2013
    Publication date: September 19, 2013
    Applicants: Kondex Corporation, Macdon Industries Ltd
    Inventors: Daniel Cormier, Francois R. Talbot, Keith A. Johnson, Neal J. Stoffel
  • Draper support of a crop harvesting header
    Patent number: 8511050
    Abstract: A crop harvesting header with a cutter bar and a draper assembly has a draper driven by a drive roller at one end and an idler roller at the other end. The draper is carried on a plurality of support rollers parallel to the first and second rollers for supporting the upper run of the draper at spaced positions therealong. The draper includes a front edge of the upper run of the draper arranged at a position adjacent to but spaced from the cutter bar and there is provided an integral extruded sealing member extending along the cutter bar defining a first stiffer portion attached to the cutter bar and a second flexible blade portion which extends rearwardly from the first portion at the cutter bar to lie over and in contact with a bead along a front edge portion of the draper.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2013
    Assignee: MacDon Industries Ltd.
    Inventors: Daniel Cormier, Francois R. Talbot
  • Reduction in Average Stubble Length of a Sickle Cutter System
    Publication number: 20130205734
    Abstract: In a sickle cutting system, it has been found that a significant reduction in average stubble length, which is calculated based on the distance crop is pushed forwardly without cutting occurring, can be obtained by a combination of one or more of the features where the cutting stroke is reduced from the conventional length of 3.0 inches to a value of the order of 2.0 inches; the length of the cutting edge of each knife blade is increased to a length greater than 2.2 inches; the width at the rear of the ledger surface of each guard is increased to greater than 1.0 inches; and the front edge of the blade is formed with an apex to shed crop material to one or other side of the apex.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 17, 2013
    Publication date: August 15, 2013
    Applicant: MACDON INDUSTRIES LTD.
    Inventor: MacDon Industries Ltd.
  • Reduction in Cutting Inefficiency of a Sickle Cutter System
    Publication number: 20130192188
    Abstract: In a sickle cutting system, it has been found that a significant decrease in cutting inefficiency, which is measured by calculating the area of the cutting process where crop is not immediately cut but is instead pushed forwardly by engagement with a surface of the system, can be obtained by a combination of one or more of the features where the cutting stroke is reduced from the conventional length of 3.0 inches to a value of the order of 2.0 inches; the length of the cutting edge of each knife blade is increased to a length greater than 2.2 inches; the width at the rear of the ledger surface of each guard is increased to greater than 1.0 inches; and the front edge of the blade is formed with an apex to shed crop material to one or other side of the apex.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 17, 2013
    Publication date: August 1, 2013
    Applicant: MACDON INDUSTRIES LTD.
    Inventor: MACDON INDUSTRIES LTD.
  • Pointed Sickle Blade for use in a Sickle Cutter System with Increased Ground Speed
    Publication number: 20130186053
    Abstract: In a sickle cutting system, it has been found that a significant increase in ground speed while maintaining an acceptable level of cutting efficiency as measured by the average stubble length can be obtained by a combination of one or more of the features where the cutting stroke is reduced from the conventional length of 3.0 inches to a value of the order of 2.0 inches; the length of the cutting edge of each knife blade is increased to a length greater than 2.2 inches; the width at the rear of the ledger surface of each guard is increased to greater than 1.0 inches; and the front edge of the blade is formed with an apex to shed crop material to one or other side of the apex.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 17, 2013
    Publication date: July 25, 2013
    Applicant: MACDON INDUSTRIES LTD.
    Inventor: MacDon Industries Ltd.
  • Drive roller with ribs for the draper canvas of a crop header
    Patent number: 8484938
    Abstract: A crop harvesting header with a cutter bar and a draper assembly has a draper canvas driven by a drive roller with a cylindrical roller body having an outer surface surrounding an axis of rotation of the roller for engaging an inner drive surface of a canvas wrapped therearound. The roller has a plurality of ribs arranged on the outer surface of the roller body extending along a part of the body in an axial direction and angularly spaced around the outer surface. The ribs have a height less than 6 mm and a width less than 6 mm arranged such that the ribs do not engage into any recesses in the drive surface of the canvas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2013
    Assignee: MacDon Industries Ltd
    Inventors: Daniel Cormier, Francois R. Talbot, Keith A. Johnson, Neal J. Stoffel
  • Draper seal for crop harvesting header
    Patent number: 8484939
    Abstract: A crop harvesting header with a cutter bar and a draper assembly has a draper driven by a drive roller at one end and an idler roller at the other end. The draper is carried on a plurality of support rollers parallel to the first and second rollers for supporting the upper run of the draper at spaced positions therealong. The draper includes a front edge of the upper run of the draper arranged at a position adjacent to but spaced from the cutter bar and there is provided an integral extruded sealing member extending along the cutter bar defining a first stiffer portion attached to the cutter bar and a second flexible blade portion which extends rearwardly from the first portion at the cutter bar to lie over and in contact with a bead along a front edge portion of the draper.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2013
    Assignee: MacDon Industries Ltd.
    Inventors: Daniel Cormier, Francois R. Talbot
  • Rotary disk crop harvesting header with an auger member
    Patent number: 8468789
    Abstract: A crop header has generally horizontal flail disks mounted for driven rotation about generally upright axes. A pair of conditioner rolls is mounted in a discharge opening. A crop converging system includes two over-shot auger elements defined by a common auger shaft with an auger flight carried thereon arranged generally longitudinal of the cutter bar so as to carry the cut crop longitudinally of the cutter bar to the entrance opening. Each auger element is arranged with a forwardmost tangent to the auger flight located behind the axes of the rotary disks and with an outer end thereof spaced outwardly of the respective end of the entrance mouth. The common auger shaft is driven by a common rotary drive with the bottom roll of the conditioner rolls. The augers terminate inwardly of the outer end of the cutter bar to locate the drive inboard of the end plates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2013
    Assignee: MacDon Industries Ltd.
    Inventors: Neil Gordon Barnett, Geoffrey U. Snider
  • Crop Harvesting Machine with Header
    Publication number: 20130125521
    Abstract: A tractor has hydraulically driven wheels at a cab end and castor wheels at an engine end. It can be driven cab forward in a working mode with a header on the forward end. It is rotated to engine forward in the transport position for more stable higher speed travel. There is provided a float module with adjustable and calibrated springs on the header which allows the header to float relative to the lift system on the tractor. The float force is adjusted by raising and lowering the lift system in dependence on an angle measurement of the lift position. The lift system includes a lift cylinder and tilt cylinder controlled to change cutter angle while maintaining a sight line to the cutter bar for the operator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 16, 2012
    Publication date: May 23, 2013
    Applicant: MACDON INDUSTRIES LTD.
    Inventor: MACDON INDUSTRIES LTD.
  • Rotary disk crop harvesting header with an auger for transferring the crop
    Patent number: 8434290
    Abstract: A crop header has generally horizontal flail disks mounted for driven rotation about generally upright axes. A pair of conditioner rolls is mounted in a discharge opening. A crop converging system includes two over-shot auger elements defined by a common auger shaft with an auger flight carried thereon arranged generally longitudinal of the cutter bar so as to carry the cut crop longitudinally of the cutter bar to the entrance opening. Each auger element is arranged with a forwardmost tangent to the auger flight located behind the axes of the rotary disks and with an outer end thereof spaced outwardly of the respective end of the entrance mouth. The common auger shaft is driven by a common rotary drive with the bottom roll of the conditioner rolls. The augers terminate inwardly of the outer end of the cutter bar to locate the drive inboard of the end plates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2013
    Assignee: MacDon Industries Ltd.
    Inventors: Neil Gordon Barnett, Geoffrey U. Snider
  • Swather tractor with frame suspension
    Patent number: 8408567
    Abstract: A swather tractor has a frame defined by a main tractor frame carrying the cab, engine and drive system, rear axle with castor wheels and a transverse front frame assembly mounted at a front of the main frame. The front rigid frame assembly carries the header and comprises a cross member and a pair of upstanding legs each carrying a front ground wheel hydraulically driven so that steering is controlled by the rate of forward movement of the front wheels. In order to provide improved suspension, the main frame is connected to the front frame assembly by a coupling which allows up and down suspension movement of the main frame relative to the front frame assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2013
    Assignee: MacDon Industries Ltd
    Inventors: Leonard Bergman, James Thomas Dunn
  • Guide arrangement for the draper of a combine harvester pick-up
    Patent number: 8402728
    Abstract: A draper assembly for a crop pick-up has an endless draper belt assembly wrapped around a smaller front roller and a larger rear drive roller where the endless draper belt assembly is formed by four endless belts connected side by side at spaced positions along their length for common movement around the rollers. A tracking guide device is defined by a plurality of plastic guide elements mounted in a row on an inside surface of one belt at longitudinally spaced positions along the belt length which cooperates with a groove in the drive roller so that there are least two guide elements in the groove at any point in time. The guide elements are wider than their length and can be fastened through the belt so as to connect to the mounting of some of the fingers on the exterior of the belt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2013
    Assignee: MacDon Industries Ltd.
    Inventor: Bruce Kidd
  • Crop harvesting header with rotary disks and impellers for transferring the crop inwardly to a discharge opening
    Patent number: 8341927
    Abstract: A crop header has generally horizontal flail disks mounted for driven rotation about generally upright axes. A pair of conditioner rolls is mounted in a discharge opening and a transfer roller is mounted behind the disks and in front of the nip. At each end, two disks are mounted outwardly of the discharge opening each rotating so that its blade moves inwardly and each carries an impeller to carry the crop inwardly. A third disk is arranged so that a line forward of the end of the discharge opening intersects the third disk inward of the axis of the third disk. The third disk rotates so that its blade moves outwardly so that the crop tends to pass between the second and third disks. A pair of impellers are mounted behind the second disk and move inwardly to carry the cut crop to the discharge opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: MacDon Industries Ltd
    Inventor: Neil Gordon Barnett
  • Rotary disk crop harvesting header with an auger member
    Patent number: 8307620
    Abstract: A crop header has generally horizontal flail disks mounted for driven rotation about generally upright axes. A pair of conditioner rolls is mounted in a discharge opening. A crop converging system includes two over-shot auger elements defined by a common auger shaft with an auger flight carried thereon arranged generally longitudinal of the cutter bar so as to carry the cut crop longitudinally of the cutter bar to the entrance opening. Each auger element is arranged with a forwardmost tangent to the auger flight located behind the axes of the rotary disks and with an outer end thereof spaced outwardly of the respective end of the entrance mouth. The common auger shaft is driven by a common rotary drive with the bottom roll of the conditioner rolls. The augers terminate inwardly of the outer end of the cutter bar to locate the drive inboard of the end plates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2012
    Assignee: MacDon Industries Ltd.
    Inventors: Neil Gordon Barnett, Geoffrey U. Snider
  • Swather with automatic reel control
    Patent number: 8291684
    Abstract: In a swather formed by a tractor and attached heeder for cutting standing crop to form a swath, reel speed and optionally draper speed are controlled relative to ground speed by a control system including a manually operable input and display available to the operator. The control system can be used in an automatic mode to set an index value for an actual difference in reel speed relative to ground speed and to vary reel speed accordingly. In this mode a manually operable control varies the index. The control system can be switched by the operator to manual in which case the same control varies the actual reel speed. Minimum reel speed can be set by the same control and when operative the automatic system does not allow reel speed to fall below the minimum set value despite the values of index and ground speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2012
    Assignee: MacDon Industries Ltd.
    Inventors: Rheal G. Remillard, James Thomas Dunn, Don MacGregor, Brent Gabriel, Leonard Bergman
  • Draper canvas with a shaped edge
    Patent number: 8291686
    Abstract: A crop harvesting header with a cutter bar and a draper assembly has a draper canvas with an edge portion across a front edge to cooperate with a rearwardly projecting element of the cutter bar extending over the upper run of the draper canvas to engage the upper surface of the edge portion to form a seal to inhibit entry of dirt or crop between the cutter bar and the draper canvas. The edge portion of the canvas is thicker and is canted upwardly at an angle of the order of 10 to 20 degrees. There is also provided a bead on the canvas on the surface opposite the strip within the width of the strip. The arrangement can be symmetrical with a strip at each of the front and rear edges spanned by the slats extending between them.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2012
    Assignees: MacDon Industries Ltd, Legg Co. Inc.
    Inventors: Daniel Cormier, Ronald L. Marler