Patents by Inventor Douglas R. Treffer

Douglas R. Treffer has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10863673
    Abstract: A windrower with a header has a conveying medium with first and second portions connected with a pivot joint and moveable across a plural rollers configured to receive crop material from the header and direct the crop material to a side of the windrower to form a windrow on the ground to the side of the windrower. In an operational position and with the frame selected to one of the predetermined angular adjustments, the conveying medium discharges the harvested crop material at an angle of trajectory determined by the selected angular position of the second portion. The windrower harvests crop with the header, receives the mowed crop on the conveyor system, adjusts a rate at which the mowed crop is discharged from the conveyor system, and adjusts an angle of trajectory at which the mowed crop is discharged from the conveyor system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2020
    Assignee: AGCO Corporation
    Inventors: Douglas R. Treffer, Daniel S. Jost, Shane A. Bollinger
  • Patent number: 10785914
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a swathboard control system, comprising: a header comprising fore and aft a cutting assembly and a conditioning system; a forming shield assembly; a swathboard located between the conditioning system and the forming shield assembly, the swathboard pivotably adjustable about a transverse axis; a position sensor configured to sense a position of the swathboard; and a computing system operably coupled to the position sensor, the computing system configured to provide an indication of the position of the swathboard based on feedback from the position sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2020
    Assignee: AGCO Corporation
    Inventors: Douglas R. Treffer, Brendon C. Nafziger, Dane Austin Mosel, Mark M. Glade
  • Patent number: 10506762
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a system, comprising: one or more pairs of oppositely rotatable, laterally extending rolls, wherein for each pair, at least one of the rolls is moveable relative to the other of the rolls; a hydraulic circuit, comprising: a tensioner circuit comprising: for each pair of rolls, one or more pairs of hydraulic cylinders arranged in parallel, each configured to resist movement of the at least one of the rolls at a respective end of the at least one of the rolls; an accumulator arranged in parallel to the hydraulic cylinders; and plural control valves; and a computing system configured to cause the one or more pairs of hydraulic cylinders to adjust the resistance to movement of the at least one of the rolls of the respective pair of rolls by sending signals to one or more of the plural control valves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2019
    Assignee: AGCO Corporation
    Inventors: Mark M. Glade, Douglas R. Treffer, Brendon C. Nafziger
  • Patent number: 10485173
    Abstract: A windrower includes a header having a crop cutting and a crop conditioning mechanism for conditioning crop material severed from the field and for discharging the conditioned material in a rearwardly directed stream as the windrower moves across the field. The windrower has a crop merger attachment with a conveyor configured to receive crop material from the crop conditioning mechanism and direct the crop material to a side of the windrower to form a windrow on the ground to the side of the windrower when in an operation position or to direct the crop material to the ground beneath the windrower when in a nonoperational position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2019
    Assignee: AGCO Corporation
    Inventors: Brendon C. Nafziger, Douglas R. Treffer, Shane Bollinger
  • Publication number: 20190029182
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a system, comprising: one or more pairs of oppositely rotatable, laterally extending rolls, wherein for each pair, at least one of the rolls is moveable relative to the other of the rolls; a hydraulic circuit, comprising: a tensioner circuit comprising: for each pair of rolls, one or more pairs of hydraulic cylinders arranged in parallel, each configured to resist movement of the at least one of the rolls at a respective end of the at least one of the rolls; an accumulator arranged in parallel to the hydraulic cylinders; and plural control valves; and a computing system configured to cause the one or more pairs of hydraulic cylinders to adjust the resistance to movement of the at least one of the rolls of the respective pair of rolls by sending signals to one or more of the plural control valves.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 17, 2018
    Publication date: January 31, 2019
    Inventors: Mark M. Glade, Douglas R. Treffer, Brendon C. Nafziger
  • Publication number: 20190021229
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a swathboard control system, comprising: a header comprising fore and aft a cutting assembly and a conditioning system; a forming shield assembly; a swathboard located between the conditioning system and the forming shield assembly, the swathboard pivotably adjustable about a transverse axis; a position sensor configured to sense a position of the swathboard; and a computing system operably coupled to the position sensor, the computing system configured to provide an indication of the position of the swathboard based on feedback from the position sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 17, 2018
    Publication date: January 24, 2019
    Inventors: Douglas R. Treffer, Brendon C. Nafziger, Dane Austin Mosel, Mark M. Glade
  • Publication number: 20190014719
    Abstract: A windrower with a header has a conveying medium with first and second portions connected with a pivot joint and moveable across a plural rollers configured to receive crop material from the header and direct the crop material to a side of the windrower to form a windrow on the ground to the side of the windrower. In an operational position and with the frame selected to one of the predetermined angular adjustments, the conveying medium discharges the harvested crop material at an angle of trajectory determined by the selected angular position of the second portion. The windrower harvests crop with the header, receives the mowed crop on the conveyor system, adjusts a rate at which the mowed crop is discharged from the conveyor system, and adjusts an angle of trajectory at which the mowed crop is discharged from the conveyor system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 27, 2018
    Publication date: January 17, 2019
    Inventors: Douglas R. Treffer, Daniel S. Jost, Shane A. Bollinger
  • Patent number: 10091935
    Abstract: A windrower has a crop merger attachment with a conveyor configured to receive crop material from a crop conditioning mechanism and direct the crop material to a side of the windrower, the crop merger attachment being mounted for adjusting movement between a lowered and a raised position. The windrower has a swathboard mounted for adjusting movement between a fully raised position in which the crop material passes beneath the swathboard for engagement with the merger attachment and a lowered position in which the crop material down to the ground under the merger attachment under the windrower. A control system automatically adjusts movement of the swathboard when movement of the merger attachment is detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2018
    Assignee: AGCO Corporation
    Inventors: Douglas R. Treffer, Brendon C. Nafziger, Mark M. Glade
  • Patent number: 10034426
    Abstract: A windrower with a header has a conveying medium with first and second portions connected with a pivot joint and moveable across a plurality of rollers configured to receive crop material from the header and direct the crop material to a side of the windrower to form a windrow on the ground to the side of the windrower. In an operational position and with the frame selected to one of the predetermined angular adjustments, the conveying medium discharges the harvested crop material at an angle of trajectory determined by the selected angular positon of the second portion. The windrower harvests crop with the header, receives the mowed crop on the conveyor system, adjusts a rate at which the mowed crop is discharged from the conveyor system, and adjusts an angle of trajectory at which the mowed crop is discharged from the conveyor system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2018
    Assignee: AGCO Corporation
    Inventors: Douglas R. Treffer, Daniel S. Jost, Shane A. Bollinger
  • Patent number: 9930824
    Abstract: A windrower has a first dual-path steering mode, causing a left drive wheel and a right drive wheel to concurrently rotate, wherein the rotation of the left drive wheel is in a direction opposite that of the rotation of the right drive wheel and the position of tailwheel casters are not controlled but are permitted unconstrained rotation. The windrower also has a second tailwheel steering mode non-overlapping in operation with the dual-path steering mode, causing the left drive wheel and the right drive wheel to rotate concurrently in only a same direction and the tailwheel casters are steered based in part on tailwheel caster steer position information received from a sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2018
    Assignee: AGCO Corporation
    Inventors: Brendon Nafziger, Daniel J. Soldan, Martin E. Pruitt, Douglas R. Treffer
  • Publication number: 20170318744
    Abstract: A windrower with a header has a conveying medium with first and second portions connected with a pivot joint and moveable across a plural rollers configured to receive crop material from the header and direct the crop material to a side of the windrower to form a windrow on the ground to the side of the windrower. In an operational position and with the frame selected to one of the predetermined angular adjustments, the conveying medium discharges the harvested crop material at an angle of trajectory determined by the selected angular position of the second portion. The windrower harvests crop with the header, receives the mowed crop on the conveyor system, adjusts a rate at which the mowed crop is discharged from the conveyor system, and adjusts an angle of trajectory at which the mowed crop is discharged from the conveyor system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 12, 2017
    Publication date: November 9, 2017
    Inventors: Douglas R. Treffer, Daniel S. Jost, Shane A. Bollinger
  • Publication number: 20170280627
    Abstract: A windrower has a crop merger attachment with a conveyor configured to receive crop material from a crop conditioning mechanism and direct the crop material to a side of the windrower, the crop merger attachment being mounted for adjusting movement between a lowered and a raised position. The windrower has a swathboard mounted for adjusting movement between a fully raised position in which the crop material passes beneath the swathboard for engagement with the merger attachment and a lowered position in which the crop material down to the ground under the merger attachment under the windrower. A control system automatically adjusts movement of the swathboard when movement of the merger attachment is detected.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 16, 2017
    Publication date: October 5, 2017
    Inventors: DOUGLAS R. TREFFER, Brendon C. Nafziger, Mark M. Glade
  • Patent number: 9736983
    Abstract: A windrower with a header has a conveying medium with first and second portions connected with a pivot joint and moveable across a plural rollers configured to receive crop material from the header and direct the crop material to a side of the windrower to form a windrow on the ground to the side of the windrower. In an operational position and with the frame selected to one of the predetermined angular adjustments, the conveying medium discharges the harvested crop material at an angle of trajectory determined by the selected angular position of the second portion. The windrower harvests crop with the header, receives the mowed crop on the conveyor system, adjusts a rate at which the mowed crop is discharged from the conveyor system, and adjusts an angle of trajectory at which the mowed crop is discharged from the conveyor system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: AGCO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Douglas R. Treffer, Daniel S. Jost, Shane A. Bollinger
  • Patent number: 9480198
    Abstract: A drawbar hitch mechanism has a fore-and-aft extending receiver, a gearbox assembly coupled to the receiver and a tongue assembly attached to the gearbox assembly. A first pivot mechanism couples the receiver with the gearbox assembly for side-to-side movement about a longitudinal axis of the receiver. A draft arm is configured to disperse draft loads between the tongue assembly and the receiver. A second pivot mechanism couples the gearbox assembly and the draft arm. The second pivot mechanism is oriented such that it pivots about an upright axis such that the gearbox assembly and second pivot mechanism enable pivoting movement of the tongue assembly relative the receiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2016
    Assignee: AGCO Corporation
    Inventors: Douglas R. Treffer, Martin E. Pruitt, Jeffrey Funk, Shane A. Bollinger
  • Publication number: 20160309655
    Abstract: A windrower with a header has a conveying medium with first and second portions connected with a pivot joint and moveable across a plural rollers configured to receive crop material from the header and direct the crop material to a side of the windrower to form a windrow on the ground to the side of the windrower. In an operational position and with the frame selected to one of the predetermined angular adjustments, the conveying medium discharges the harvested crop material at an angle of trajectory determined by the selected angular position of the second portion. The windrower harvests crop with the header, receives the mowed crop on the conveyor system, adjusts a rate at which the mowed crop is discharged from the conveyor system, and adjusts an angle of trajectory at which the mowed crop is discharged from the conveyor system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 19, 2016
    Publication date: October 27, 2016
    Inventors: Douglas R. Treffer, Daniel S. Jost, Shane A. Bollinger
  • Publication number: 20150334910
    Abstract: A drawbar hitch mechanism has a fore-and-aft extending receiver, a gearbox assembly coupled to the receiver and a tongue assembly attached to the gearbox assembly. A first pivot mechanism couples the receiver with the gearbox assembly for side-to-side movement about a longitudinal axis of the receiver. A draft arm is configured to disperse draft loads between the tongue assembly and the receiver. A second pivot mechanism couples the gearbox assembly and the draft arm. The second pivot mechanism is oriented such that it pivots about an upright axis such that the gearbox assembly and second pivot mechanism enable pivoting movement of the tongue assembly relative the receiver.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 11, 2015
    Publication date: November 26, 2015
    Inventors: Douglas R. TREFFER, Martin E. PRUITT, Jeffrey FUNK, Shane A. BOLLINGER
  • Publication number: 20150223386
    Abstract: A windrower has a first dual-path steering mode, causing a left drive wheel and a right drive wheel to concurrently rotate, wherein the rotation of the left drive wheel is in a direction opposite that of the rotation of the right drive wheel and the position of tailwheel casters are not controlled but are permitted unconstrained rotation. The windrower also has a second tailwheel steering mode non-overlapping in operation with the dual-path steering mode, causing the left drive wheel and the right drive wheel to rotate concurrently in only a same direction and the tailwheel casters are steered based in part on tailwheel caster steer position information received from a sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 11, 2015
    Publication date: August 13, 2015
    Inventors: Brendon Nafziger, Daniel J. Soldan, Martin E. Pruitt, Douglas R. Treffer