Abstract: A main frame carries a movable part for raising and lowering by means of a hydraulic cylinder, and a blocking member is selectively movable into a position between the piston rod end of the cylinder and a stop on the movable part for preventing accidental descent of the movable part.

Abstract: In a forage harvester, a pan-like shield wraps the underside of the lower forward feed roll of a feed roll assembly having opposed upper and lower pairs of feed rolls. The pan is disposed so that particles of material, such as corn or sorghum kernels, which may become separated from a mat of material being fed through the rolls and pass downwards in front of the forward lower feed roll or between the front and rear lower rolls are intercepted by the pan and recirculated by the forward roll between the roll and the pan and re-presented to the inlet side of the feed roll assembly so that those particles have another opportunity to be fed through with the mat of crop material to the cutterhead.

Abstract: An agricultural tractor includes a rearwardly extending drawbar connected to a hitch member on the tongue of a trailing implement through a hitch adapter that includes a housing mounted on the rearward end of the drawbar and connected thereto by a vertical pin extending through a vertical bore in the housing and the drawbar, the rearward end of the adapter being pivotally connected to the implement tongue by a vertical pin, the axis of which is equidistant from the front and rear universal joints of a PTO hook-up assembly that connects the tractor power take-off to the implement driveshaft.

Abstract: Harvested crop material is fed to the cylindrical cutter-head of a forage harvester by a feeding assembly consisting of opposed pairs of upper and lower feed rolls. The articulated upper roll assembly floats to accommodate variations in the flow of crop material. The downstream upper feed roll is carried on a pair of opposite radius arms which are rigidly coupled by a transverse leveler shaft, providing a stable frame and minimizing cocking or twisting of the roll. A second pair of feed roll arms is pivotally connected to the radius arms and extends forward to support the upstream feed roll which is journaled on a shaft rigidly connected between the feed roll arms. A stop and biasing arrangement provides that each upper roll may float independently, the articulation of the feed roll assembly being such that upward movement of either roll or the rolls together is subject to the restoring force of a tension spring.

Abstract: A forage harvester has a rotary cylinder type cutterhead mounted in a housing with opposite side walls, crop material being fed into the cutterhead in a generally radial direction over a shear bar adjacent the cutterhead periphery. The shear bar is mounted for fore and aft adjustment toward and away from the cutterhead periphery to maintain the optimum clearance between the cutterhead and the shear bar by means of a mechanism that includes a pair of bell cranks respectively pivotally mounted to support members on the opposite walls, with one end of each bell crank being connected to the shear bar through a fore and aft link while the other end of the bell crank threadably receives the threaded portions of a vertically elongated rod that is rotatably supported adjacent the housing side wall and has an easily accessible head adjacent the top of the housing, whereby rotation of the rod causes the bell crank to rock on its pivot to cause linear fore and aft adjustment of the shear bar.

Abstract: An agricultural implement has a forwardly extending tongue connectible to the drawbar of a towing tractor and includes a fore and aft drive shaft that is disposed above the tongue and adapted to be connected to the PTO output shaft of the tractor by a PTO hookup assembly that includes front and rear universal joints respectively connectible to the implement drive shaft. When the hookup assembly is not connected to the tractor, the front end of the assembly is supported on the implement by a support that includes a support member swingably mounted on the implement tongue for shifting between a folded storage position and an upright operative position. A hook-like retainer member is mounted on the upper end of the support member and is shiftable between a generally upright position, wherein it is capable of receiving the central body portion of the hookup assembly, and a canted position wherein the hookup assembly cannot be withdrawn from the retainer member so that the hookup assembly is locked to the support.