Abstract: A blade assembly normally driven by a power takeoff shaft has a frame normally displaced in a travel direction and provided with a pair of blade carriers horizontally reciprocal transverse to the direction. The drive unit comprises a right-angle transmission having a horizontal input connected to the power takeoff shaft and a vertical output, a vertical shaft offset from the output and having a pair of angularly offset eccentrics, and a belt drive interconnecting the transmission output and the vertical shaft. A pair of relatively long actuating arms extending in the direction flank the transmission and shaft and have rear ends pivoted on the frame and front ends connected to the respective blade carriers. A pair of respective connector plates extending transversely of the direction have respective inner ends carried on the eccentrics and outer ends connected to the arms between the ends thereof.

Abstract: A pickup head for long-stalk crops, generally grown in rows, such as corn, especially for a field chopper or harvester, has a multiplicity (more than three) of mouths each aligned with a respective row and adapted to guide the crop into the throat of the machine. According to the invention, each of the mouths is provided with a respective guide channel, two of the guide channels merging ahead of the throat along the path of the crop toward the latter. Along each of the guide channels prior to the merger, a respective chain or other advancing mechanism is provided, the advancing mechanism of one of the channels continuing beyond the merger point to the throat of the machine. The arrangement permits a large number of rows to be swept although the throat of the machine is substantially narrower than the width of the intake side of the pickup head.

Abstract: A row-crop harvester has a frame displaceable in a predetermined travel direction and formed with a plurality of forwardly open throats each provided with a respective conveyor chain each in turn spanned over a respective drive sprocket. Each such drive sprocket is carried on a respective drive shaft having a drive gear that meshes with the drive gears of the conveyor chains to each side. Each drive shaft with its respective sprocket and gear are together mounted in a respective housing bolted to the frame of the harvester and having a mounting flange whose outer periphery corresponds to the pitch circle of the respective drive gear. A main gear meshing with one of the drive gears rotates all of these drive gears simultaneously, and each conveyor chain has a stretch exposed in a respective throat of the machine which is opposite the stretch of the flanking chains for backward advance of cut crop.

Abstract: A row-crop harvester has a frame displaceable along the ground and formed with a plurality of forwardly opening throats at each of which is provided an endless conveyor chain spanned over a drive sprocket and an idler sprocket. A fluid cylinder mounted on the frame is provided for each of the idler sprockets so that when this cylinder is pressurized it can urge the respective idler sprocket away from the respective drive sprocket and tension the respective conveyor chain. A pressure-responsive switch is connected to each of the fluid cylinders and to a magnetic clutch between the drive for the chopper and drive sprockets for the harvester. When the pressure drops suddenly in any of the cylinders, as happens when a chain breaks, his pressure-responsive switch will respond and open the clutch to shut down the harvester.

Abstract: An agricultural machine displaceable in a predetermined travel direction and having relative thereto a plurality of forwardly extending arms forming forwardly open throats for receiving respective rows of a crop during harvesting thereof has a position-detecting system comprising a feeler pivoted about an upright axis underneath each of the arms. Each feeler is an elastically flexible plate carried on a rigid arm connected to the respective pivot and each plate has a pair of lateral edges each exposed in front of a respective one of the throats flanking the respective plate. The feelers are all mechanically connected for joint pivoting by a common link that is connected to a signal generator in turn connected to the steering system of the agricultural machine.