Reciprocating Patents (Class 56/296)
  • Patent number: 12337493
    Abstract: A cutting element, in particular for abrasive cut material, is provided that includes a substrate that defines at least one cutting wedge which is formed by first and second wedge surfaces that intersect along a wedge edge. A cutting layer that extends over the first wedge surface and defines a cutting edge which lies on the wedge edge when new. The wear resistance of the cutting layer is greater than wear resistance of the substrate. The cutting layer is configured to define a blade-shaped protrusion that projects beyond the wedge edge due to wear of the substrate in the area of the second wedge surface to provide a self-resharpening cutting edge. The cutting layer or part thereof is formed by means of melt-metallurgical modification of an edge zone of the substrate by in-situ precipitation of finely dispersed inherent hard phases from partial melting of the edge zone of the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2025
    Assignee: Gebrüder Busatis Gesellschaft m.b.H.
    Inventor: Wolfgang Lutz
  • Patent number: 12239049
    Abstract: A header for harvesting agricultural crops includes a cutter bar assembly coupled to a header frame, the cutter bar assembly flexible upwardly and downwardly relative to the header frame between opposite ends thereof for contouring to the field. The cutter bar assembly includes a guard bar extending across a front portion of the header frame between the opposite ends thereof, the guard bar split into at least a first lateral section and a second lateral section operatively coupled at a guard bar joint. A protruding element extending from the first lateral section is received by a receiving element on the second lateral section at the guard bar joint to horizontally align the first and second lateral sections of the guard bar between the opposite ends of the header frame while allowing relative lateral movement therebetween during upward and downward flexing of the cutter bar assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2025
    Assignee: MacDon Industries LTD.
    Inventor: Jann Garbald
  • Patent number: 10827673
    Abstract: A header for an agricultural harvester comprising a frame and an epicyclical drive supported by the frame. The epicyclical drive includes a first rotatable wheel having a first substantially vertical rotational axis and a first disk. The first disk includes a first eccentric axis rotatable about the first rotational axis. The epicyclical drive further includes a second rotatable wheel having a second substantially vertical rotational axis and a second disk. The second disk includes a second eccentric axis rotatable about the second rotational axis. The header further includes a first cutter bar directly connected to the first disk and a second cutter bar directly connected to the second disk. Operation of the epicyclical drive results in substantially linear oscillating motion of the cutter bars.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2020
    Assignee: CNH Industrial America LLC
    Inventor: Joel Cook
  • Patent number: 9648804
    Abstract: The knife arm assembly for connecting a sickle drive to the knife of a sickle, has a knife arm including a cavity and an opening at one end that holds a bearing for receiving a knife pin of the sickle, and a shoulder extending at least partially about and defining a second opening at an opposite end of the cavity smaller than the first opening, and a plug disposed in the second end of the cavity adjacent the end of the bearing and enclosing the second opening, the plug being configured to be forceably movable through the cavity toward the first opening and against the bearing for forcing the bearing from the knife arm, providing easy serviceability, protection from dirt, dust, and other contaminants.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Assignee: CNH Industrial America LLC
    Inventors: Joel T. Cook, George E. Korlinchak
  • Patent number: 9545052
    Abstract: The drive has an input rotatable about an upstanding rotational axis and carries a cam followed by a pivot arm pivotable about an upstanding pivotal axis. A power source is connected in rotatably driving relation to the input. The pivot arm connects to a knife assembly of a sickle. The input, cam and pivot arm are generally flat, and the power source is vertically coextensive therewith for incorporation in or below the floor of a header of a plant cutting machine. Rotation of the input causes offset movement of the cam about the rotational axis, resulting in sideward pivoting of the pivot arm and sickle knife. A second cam drive can oppositely drive a second sickle knife, such that opposite forces generated by operation of the drives will be largely canceled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2017
    Assignee: CNH Industrial America LLC
    Inventors: Joel T. Cook, Gary L. Bich, David M. DeChristopher
  • Patent number: 9532502
    Abstract: A sickle drive incorporated into a generally flat package or enclosure or floor. The drive includes an epicyclic mechanism, including a rotatable input element in an upper region of a cavity of the enclosure, and an eccentric element below the input element rotatable eccentrically thereby. A drive arm is connected to the eccentric element for rotation about, and eccentric rotation with, the eccentric element, and extends to a pivot element which can be the only component extending upwardly from the enclosure or floor, such that the shaft will be pivoted by the eccentric movement of the drive arm. A knife arm connects to the pivot element and a sickle knife assembly which will be reciprocated by the pivoting action. A second epicyclic arrangement can be employed such that opposite forces generated by operation of the drive will be largely canceled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2017
    Assignee: CNH Industrial America LLC
    Inventors: Joel T. Cook, Ryan T. Gahres, Gary L. Bich, David M. DeChristopher
  • Patent number: 9192097
    Abstract: A floor seal for a forwardly facing opening through a floor of a plant cutting machine through which a knife arm extends for side to side reciprocating movement for driving a sickle of the machine as the machine is moved forwardly for performing a plant cutting operation. The floor seal includes a stationary outer peripheral seal element engaged with a peripheral edge of the floor about the opening and carrying a cover element in covering relation to the opening about the knife arm and defining and bounding a forwardly facing aperture containing the knife arm and an inner peripheral seal element carried in the aperture by the cover element bounding and forming a barrier to entry of loose material or sealed condition about the knife arm and movable side to side therewith relative to the outer seal and cover.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: CNH Industrial America LLC
    Inventor: Joel T. Cook
  • Patent number: 9043954
    Abstract: An agricultural harvester (100) comprises a self-propelled vehicle (102); a feederhouse (104) disposed on the front of the self-propelled vehicle (102); a driveshaft (114), the driveshaft (114) having a proximal end supported for rotation on the feederhouse (104) about an axis of rotation, the driveshaft (114) having a distal end that is extendable from the proximal end; and a first coupler (116) fixed to the distal end, said first coupler (116) being configured for engagement with a second coupler (118), said second coupler (118) being disposed on an agricultural harvesting head (106) to drive a reciprocating knife of the agricultural harvesting head (106).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2015
    Inventors: Aaron S Ritter, Paul D Marvin
  • Patent number: 8789351
    Abstract: A harvesting machine includes a harvesting header with a header frame, a cutterbar assembly attached to the header frame along the length thereof and configured to cut a crop, and a draper assembly positioned behind the cutterbar assembly and operable to receive severed crop material from the cutterbar assembly. The draper assembly includes a center draper that delivers crop material to a feeder house of the harvesting machine and oppositely spaced side drapers that deliver crop material to the center draper. The harvesting header is operable to flex and thereby follow an uneven terrain.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2014
    Assignee: AGCO Corporation
    Inventor: Gagan Sethi
  • Patent number: 8393135
    Abstract: A harvesting machine includes a harvesting header with a header frame, a flexible cutterbar assembly attached to the header frame along the length thereof and configured to cut a crop, and a conveyor assembly positioned behind the cutterbar assembly and operable to receive severed crop material from the cutterbar assembly. The conveyor assembly includes a fore-and-aft draper with a draper frame swingably supported on the header frame at a pivot where the draper frame projects forwardly from the pivot, such that the draper frame is operable to swing relative to the header frame. The fore-and-aft draper includes a draper belt supported on the draper frame to present a rearwardly moving run for conveying the crop rearwardly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2013
    Assignee: AGCO Corporation
    Inventors: Robert Honas, Christopher T. Sauerwein, Randy Lohrentz
  • Patent number: 8347594
    Abstract: A draper platform (100) has a knife drive (250) for driving a knife assembly (140) that is supported on and between two adjacent support arms (246) that pivot with respect to each other and with respect to the frame (102, 104, 106) of the draper platform (100) to which the two adjacent support arms (246A, 246B) are pivotally connected. two resilient mounts couple opposing sides fo he sub-frame to the two adjacent support arms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2013
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventors: Benjamin M. Lovett, Benjamin J. Schlesser, Bruce A. Coers, Austin William Hughes
  • Patent number: 8225590
    Abstract: A harvesting machine includes a harvesting header with a header frame, a flexible cutterbar assembly attached to the header frame along the length thereof and configured to cut a crop, a plurality of laterally spaced apart support arms, and a conveyor assembly positioned behind the cutterbar assembly and operable to receive severed crop material from the cutterbar assembly. The support arms are pivotally coupled to the frame for swinging movement about a laterally extending axis so that the flexible cutterbar assembly is operable to flex along the length thereof in response to changes in terrain as the header is advanced. The cutterbar drive includes a forward gearbox drivingly connected to the cutterbar assembly and supported on an outer support arm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2012
    Assignee: AGCO Corporation
    Inventors: Christopher T. Sauerwein, Randy Lohrentz
  • Patent number: 8151547
    Abstract: A cutting assembly for a header of a plant-cutting machine includes a blade assembly fastened to a head assembly, which is configured to be drivingly connected to a motor. The cutting assembly is suitable for mounting proximate to the center of the header, in an end-to-end relation with another cutting assembly. Removal of the blade assembly from the head assembly can be efficiently effected by releasing or removing a small number of fasteners, thus allowing an operator to readily remove or replace the blade assembly as needed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2012
    Assignee: CNH America LLC
    Inventors: Gary Bich, Beau A. Carlson, Luke A. Schroeder
  • Publication number: 20110308224
    Abstract: A finger bar for a header has a knife bar with at least two partial rails which are interconnectable at the end faces thereof, and a cutting system which can move back and forth in an oscillating manner, is attachable to the knife bar, and is deflectable transversely to the longitudinal axis thereof, in the vertical direction, and the partial rails are interconnectable in a form-locking manner on the end faces thereof that face each other.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 20, 2011
    Publication date: December 22, 2011
    Inventors: Dominik Buermann, Stefan Liedmeier
  • Patent number: 8024915
    Abstract: A harvesting machine includes a harvesting header with a header frame, a cutterbar assembly attached to the header frame along the length thereof and configured to cut a crop, and a draper assembly positioned behind the cutterbar assembly and operable to receive severed crop material from the cutterbar assembly. The draper assembly includes a center draper that delivers crop material to a feeder house of the harvesting machine and oppositely spaced side drapers that deliver crop material to the center draper. The harvesting header is operable to flex and thereby follow an uneven terrain. The draper assembly includes a draper belt carried by pivotable support arms. The cutterbar drive includes a forward gearbox drivingly connected to the cutterbar assembly and supported on an outer support arm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2011
    Assignee: AGCO Corporation
    Inventors: Christopher T. Sauerwein, Randy Lohrentz
  • Publication number: 20110099964
    Abstract: A reciprocating knife assembly of an agricultural implement includes first and second elongate reciprocating knives disposed along a leading edge of an agricultural implement, the reciprocating knives being disposed end to end and extending colinearly for simultaneous reciprocation in opposite directions, the first and second reciprocating knives being supported for sliding movement on the agricultural implement in a lateral direction generally perpendicular to the direction of travel of the agricultural implement as it travels through an agricultural field harvesting crop, a first bell crank coupled to the first reciprocating knife to reciprocate said knife, a second bell crank coupled to the second reciprocating knife to reciprocate the second reciprocating knife, and a common drive coupled to the first and second bell cranks to drive both the first and second bell cranks in opposite directions simultaneously.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 29, 2009
    Publication date: May 5, 2011
    Inventors: Bruce Alan Coers, Daniel James Burke, Ryan Patrick MacKin, James Kelley Adamson, Mark L. Pearson
  • Patent number: 7861505
    Abstract: A cutting assembly for a header of a plant-cutting machine has an elongate blade support bar including a first elongate segment that can engage a second elongate segment by interlocking. Overlying the elongate blade support bar is a plurality of blade sections, including first sub-plurality of blade sections overlying a first lengthwise portion of the first elongate segment, and a second sub-plurality of blade sections overlying a second lengthwise portion of the first elongate segment and a third lengthwise portion of the second elongate segment. An elongate attach bar overlies the first sub-plurality of blade sections, and a spanning bar overlies the second sub-plurality of blade sections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2011
    Assignee: CNH America LLC
    Inventors: Ryan Figgins, Karl Klotzbach
  • Patent number: 7836671
    Abstract: A harvesting machine includes a harvesting header with a header frame, a cutterbar assembly attached to the header frame along the length thereof and configured to cut a crop, and a draper assembly positioned behind the cutterbar assembly and operable to receive severed crop material from the cutterbar assembly. The draper assembly includes a center draper that delivers crop material to a feeder house of the harvesting machine and oppositely spaced side drapers that deliver crop material to the center draper. The harvesting header is operable to flex and thereby follow an uneven terrain. The draper assembly includes a draper belt carried by pivotable support arms. The cutterbar drive includes a forward gearbox drivingly connected to the cutterbar assembly and supported on an outer support arm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2010
    Assignee: AGCO Corporation
    Inventors: Christopher T. Sauerwein, Randy Lohrentz
  • Patent number: 7743592
    Abstract: A connection arrangement between a mowing sickle drive and a linear reciprocating mowing sickle has a first metallic connection element (4). The first connection element (4) forms either one component with the mowing sickle (1) or serves to connect the same. The first connection element (4) is at least partially formed annularly and includes a circular cylindrical bore (6), which defines a longitudinal axis (5). The first connection element (4) is slotted and includes a clamping mechanism (11) to change the cross-section of the bore (6). A metallic ring (14) has a circular cylindrical outer face (19) to nest in bore (6). A hollow spherical inner face (18) is on the intermediate ring (14). The intermediate ring (14) has at least one slot on its circumference. A rotational rolling member bearing has an outer metallic bearing ring (20) and is closed in a circumferential direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2010
    Inventors: Günter Schumacher, Heinrich-Günter Schumacher
  • Patent number: 7543434
    Abstract: Controlled gap thin blade shear process to cut grass using a low energy sickle mower. A thin dull blade moves without interference across a stator. Blades and stators are not biased or pressed together while cutting, but rather the cutting blade is guidingly supported by upper and lower stators formed and positioned to maintain forceably a total controlled gap (Z) therebetween of preferably 1-5 mils. The cutting blade is thin (10-50 mils). Tensile failure of grass is avoided. Torque management system performs motor load monitoring and modulation of blade position. To reject obstructions and clean the blade, the blade can reverse, jitter, or reciprocate. Instead of attempting to slice or slam through obstructions using a high torque prime mover, a low energy low torque prime mover is utilized with intelligent reversing, obstruction clearing, and blade cleaning that saves energy, reduces noise, rejects obstructions, and prevents blade damage or operator injury.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2009
    Assignee: Global Neighbor Inc.
    Inventors: Jonathan A. Jackson, Kordon E. Krofft
  • Publication number: 20090038285
    Abstract: A reciprocating knife cutter system for an agricultural cutting platform has reciprocating knife cutters having cutter bars with adjacent ends that are coupled together by a coupler that maintains the adjacent ends of the cutter bars in a predetermined relative position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 9, 2007
    Publication date: February 12, 2009
    Inventors: Benjamin Max Lovett, Bruce Alan Coers, Sheldon Joseph Grywacheski, Ryan Scott Heriyn, Corwin Marcus Raymond Puryk
  • Patent number: 7478522
    Abstract: A reciprocating knife cutter system for an agricultural cutting platform has reciprocating knife cutters having cutter bars with adjacent ends that are coupled together by a coupler that maintains the adjacent ends of the cutter bars in a predetermined relative position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2009
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventors: Benjamin Max Lovett, Bruce Alan Coers, Sheldon Joseph Grywacheski, Ryan Scott Heriyn, Corwin Marcus Raymond Puryk
  • Publication number: 20080173001
    Abstract: A double knife, that can be unitary or consisting of two separate knives, is configured to be mounted on a reciprocating bar of a reciprocating knife. The double knife comprises two cutting sections extending in a forward direction which is perpendicular to the direction of reciprocation. Each of the cutting sections has two lateral faces with serrated cutting edges. The serrations of one cutting section are offset in the forward direction from the serrations of the other cutting section. The two cutting sections can be provided on a single double knife or on separate knives. Preferably, the stroke of the knives is larger than their width, such that a guard finger interacts with two cutting sections and the wear of the guard finger is reduced, since each of the cutting sections interacts with different locations of the guard finger.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 7, 2007
    Publication date: July 24, 2008
    Inventors: Ryan Scott Herlyn, Jerry Alan Sandau
  • Patent number: 7401458
    Abstract: The compact sickle drive mechanism is adapted to incorporated into or beneath a floor or pan of a header at a location between and spaced from the sides or ends of the header, and can be configured for reciprocatingly driving two knife assemblies disposed in end to end relation, in opposite directions, such that potentially vibratory forces, including those generated by the moving masses of the knife assemblies, at least substantially cancel one another and thus are not transferred to structure of the header. As a result, the overall width of the header and structure thereof can also be reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2008
    Assignee: CNH America LLC
    Inventor: Edward H Priepke
  • Patent number: 7373769
    Abstract: A wear shield is attached to a cutter bar and is formed from a molded wear body having a front mounting portion bolted onto the guards of the cutter bar by the guard mounting bolts with recesses for the guard fingers and a front edge of an upper planar mounting surface clamped onto the guard bar. A rear covering portion is cantilevered rearwardly from the front mounting portion underlying a bottom plate of the cutter bar for engaging the ground so as to underlie and protect the bottom plate. Resilience in the wear shield forces the rear part against the bottom plate of the cutter bar to avoid the necessity for a rear fastener. A series of the wear shields is arranged side by side across the cutter bar with two side edges each for locating adjacent a side edge of a next adjacent wear shield.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2008
    Assignee: MacDon Industries Ltd.
    Inventors: Francois R. Talbot, Daniel G. Cormier
  • Patent number: 7275358
    Abstract: A flexible trash guard for a sickle bar mowing apparatus that sits between the hold-down and the stud plate, thus eliminating the “hair pinning” of crop matter in the opening of the hold-down clip where the stud passes through the opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2007
    Assignee: CNH America LLC
    Inventors: Edward A. Blakeslee, Barry E. Smith
  • Patent number: 7124567
    Abstract: A knife section for use with a reciprocating cutter bar assembly of an agricultural machine includes a mounting base. A first knife extends outwardly from the mounting base. The first knife has a first linear extent from the mounting base. A second knife extends outwardly from the mounting base. The second knife has a second linear extent from the mounting base different than the first linear extent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2006
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventors: James Kelley Adamson, David Patrick Cress
  • Patent number: 7121074
    Abstract: A counterbalancing epicyclic sickle drive has a pair of oppositely rotating weights that offset the inertial forces of the sickle during its abrupt acceleration and deceleration at opposite ends of its path of travel. One of the weights rotates with the main shaft of the drive about its longitudinal axis, while the second weight is fixed to an oppositely rotating crankshaft that orbits about the axis of the main shaft in eccentric relationship thereto. The weight on the main shaft is heavier than the weight on the crankshaft so as to offset changes in inertial forces produced by the crankshaft weight during increased acceleration of its center of gravity at opposite ends of its elliptical path of travel about the axis of the main shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2006
    Assignee: ACCO Corporation
    Inventors: Bernard D. Regier, Jeffrey S. Funk
  • Patent number: 6886316
    Abstract: A mowing blade that performs an oscillating linear motion, has a blade bar, with at least two bar sections that are located one behind the other along a longitudinal axis. The front faces of the sections abut one another and have respective recesses. The thickness of the bar sections is reduced in recessed areas. A connecting fish plate, which can for example be constructed from a high strength material, is placed in the recesses. The blade sections, bar sections and fish plate are connected by cap screws and securing nuts. A blade section covers the butt joint between the two bar sections. The configuration enables absorption of inertial forces caused by the backwards and forwards reciprocating motion and compressive forces that result from the motion in the connection region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2005
    Inventor: Heinrich-Günter Schumacher
  • Patent number: 6886317
    Abstract: Low energy non-interference unbiased shear process employing a thin dull blade laterally moving between upper and lower stators. Blades and stators are not biased or pressed together while cutting, as is done with a pair of scissors. Instead, the dull cutting blade is guidingly supported by said upper and lower stators, and the upper and lower stators are sized and formed such that a thickness of a cutting zone (M) formed therebetween exceeds the thickness of a blade zone (VZ) formed by the dull cutting blade, by a total controlled gap (Z) of preferably between 1 and 5 mils (0.0254-0.127 mm). The cutting blade is preferably thin in relation to grass cross section, preferably 10 to 50 mils (0.254 mm-1.27 mm). This arrangement provides two true shearing sites for grass at upper and lower leading edges of the blade. Adequate blade swipe frequency is provided, with gentle C-shape blade profiles yielding self-cleaning blades with lower running friction. Tensile failure of the grass is avoided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2005
    Assignee: Global Neighbor Incorporated
    Inventors: Jonathan A. Jackson, Kordon E. Krofft
  • Patent number: 6874303
    Abstract: A grass trimmer includes a fixed cutter device secured to a housing and having one or more stationary cutter blades extended out of the housing, a movable cutter device rotatably secured to the fixed cutter device and having one or more cutter blades movable relative to the stationary cutter blade of the fixed cutter device to conduct cutting operations by an eccentric member of a rotary member. A drive shank is secured to the rotary member, and a power tool may engage with the shank, to drive the rotary member and the eccentric member relative to the movable cutter device, and to move the movable cutter device relative to the fixed cutter device in reciprocating action.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2005
    Inventor: Chung Jeng Yang
  • Patent number: 6857255
    Abstract: A reciprocating cutting blade includes a body portion having an top surface, a bottom surface, a longitudinal axis, a first working portion extending at an angle to the longitudinal axis and defining a first cutting surface, a second working portion extending at an angle to the longitudinal axis and defining a second cutting surface. A laser-hardened region extends along at least part of one of the first and second working portions, and preferably along at least part of both of the first and second working portions. The working portions can be serrated to include alternating teeth and roots. The teeth can be laser hardened more than the roots.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2005
    Assignee: Fisher-Barton LLC
    Inventors: Richard L. Wilkey, Darrel Lee Turner
  • Publication number: 20040216440
    Abstract: A sickle knife system includes two reciprocating sickles each cooperating the same fixed knife guards and each extending across the full width of the cutter bar. The guards have slots approximately twice the height of the guard of a conventional single sickle arrangement so that the two sickles can be run one on top of the other inside the guards. The width of the sickle blades at the rear edge is similar to that of the guard near the rear of its cutting edge. The blades of the top sickle are sharpened to cut against the top surface of the slot and the blades of the bottom sickle are sharpened to cut against the bottom surface of the slot. The two sickles are run out of phase, preferably about 90 degrees, so that as a result, when one sickle is near the end of its stroke within the guard where it decelerates, stops, then accelerates in the opposite direction, the other sickle is starting its cut against the side surface of the next guard.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2004
    Publication date: November 4, 2004
    Inventor: Francois R. Talbot
  • Patent number: 6708476
    Abstract: An adjustable double sickle cutterbar assembly using sickle bar hold-downs that minimizes the interference to the flow of cut crop material rearwardly in the header, thus to reduce the catching of cut crop material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2004
    Assignee: New Holland North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Edward A. Blakeslee, Emmett F. Glass
  • Publication number: 20030074875
    Abstract: Crop harvesting headers include a sickle knife having a cutter bar defining a flange projecting forwardly from the header frame structure and extending across the header frame structure with a plurality of knife guards mounted on the cutter bar at spaced positions thereon so as to project forwardly therefrom. Each knife guard has at least one guard carrier lug for attachment to the flange by a bolt passing through a hole in the lug and a corresponding hole in the flange with a head on one end of the bolt and a nut on the other end of the bolt for clamping the lug to the flange. On crop harvesting headers of this type, it is often desirable to have the ability to change the knife guard angle to suit the crop and ground condition and this is obtained by providing a first elongate bar type shim located between the lug and the flange and a second shim located on the bolt.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2001
    Publication date: April 24, 2003
    Inventor: Francois R. Talbot
  • Patent number: 6543211
    Abstract: Crop harvesting headers include a sickle knife having a cutter bar defining a flange projecting forwardly from the header frame structure and extending across the header frame structure with a plurality of knife guards mounted on the cutter bar at spaced positions thereon so as to project forwardly therefrom. Each knife guard has at least one guard carrier lug for attachment to the flange by a bolt passing through a hole in the lug and a corresponding hole in the flange with a head on one end of the bolt and a nut on the other end of the bolt for clamping the lug to the flange. On crop harvesting headers of this type, it is often desirable to have the ability to change the knife guard angle to suit the crop and ground condition and this is obtained by providing a first elongate bar type shim located between the lug and the flange and a second shim located on the bolt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2003
    Assignee: MacDon Industries Ltd.
    Inventor: Francois R. Talbot
  • Patent number: 6510681
    Abstract: Sickle cutting systems of the type used in mowers and other harvesting machines. A sickle is shown consisting of 1½ inches blade spacing with serrated or smooth knife sections, a knifeback bar and a knife head, a plurality of knife or sickle guards with alternate long and short prongs or fingers spaced at two inches of any number that are mounted to the support bar of a mower, harvesting machine, or the like and provide a cutting surface for the sickle, adjustable hold-down clips that hold the knife sections down to the cutting surface, and a driving mechanism with a three-inch stroke such as a wobble joint, a pitman type, or other device which can convert rotary motion to reciprocating motion. In a second embodiment, a staggered sickle cutting system is provided that demonstrates the benefits of the sickle cutting system with even greater efficiency and reduces sickle stress and vibration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2003
    Assignee: Alamo Group Inc.
    Inventors: Xinzhan Yang, Max R. Bloom, Gail I. Schwenke
  • Patent number: 6467246
    Abstract: A double knife section for a reciprocating sickle bar mower is provided with two knives. Each knife is provided with a base portion extending in the transverse direction and a knife portion extending in the longitudinal direction. The base portion is provided with at least two mounting holes. The knife portion is provided with two cutting edges. The knife is also provided with a series of breakage holes defining transverse breakage zones which allow a knife to break before damaging the knife guard holding the knife. The holes are sized to allow for breakage of the knife before breaking the guard.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2002
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventor: Paul John McCredie
  • Publication number: 20020035827
    Abstract: Sickle cutting systems of the type used in mowers, other harvesting machines and the like are disclosed. A sickle is shown consisting of 1½ inches blade spacing with serrated or smooth knife sections, a knifeback bar and a knife head, a plurality of knife or sickle guards with alternate long and short prongs or fingers spaced at two inches of any number that are mounted to the support bar of a mower, harvesting machine, or the like and provide a cutting surface for the sickle, adjustable hold-down clips that hold the knife sections down to the cutting surface, and a driving mechanism with a three-inch stroke such as a wobble joint, a pitman type, or other device which can convert rotary motion to reciprocating motion. In a second embodiment, a staggered sickle cutting system is provided that demonstrates the benefits of the sickle cutting system with even greater efficiency and reduces sickle stress and vibration.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 4, 2001
    Publication date: March 28, 2002
    Inventors: Xinzhan Yang, Max R. Bloom, Gail I. Schwenke
  • Patent number: 6341482
    Abstract: A cutting blade is provided for a reaper which can easily position members to be welded, can reduce a welding distortion, can fully ensure the strength of a shank member and can easily be manufactured. The cutting blade comprises a bar-shaped shank member having axially extending grooves formed on an outer peripheral face of a tip portion and having a base end to be fixed to the reaper, and a plate-shaped blade member having a notch portion formed on a base end, wherein the tip portion of the shank member is fitted in the notch portion of the plate-shaped blade member in such a manner that edge portions of the notch portion are fitted in the grooves, and the fitted tip portion of the shank member is welded to a portion of the plate-shaped blade member which is located around the tip portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2002
    Assignee: Kawasaki Jukogyo Kubushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshiro Yamane, Kazuhiko Takemoto, Tadao Yashirodai
  • Patent number: 6338237
    Abstract: It is an object to provide a power driven portable reaper comprising a guard structure for guarding the portable reaper when the portable reaper is to be temporarily put on the ground or during a reaping work. A power driven portable reaper (A) comprises an engine (20) on a base end thereof, a rod member (22) which is elongated forward from a tip side of the engine(20), an impact force generating unit (24) for converting rotation into reciprocation, and a cutting blade (26) provided in a tipmost portion thereof, a plurality of pipes (1A, 1B, 1C) are provided around the engine (20) so as to surround an outer circumference of the engine (20) in a direction from a tip of the engine (20) to a base end of the engine (20). A guard member is provided to be protruding outward from the reaper in the vicinity of the input force generating unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2002
    Assignee: Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshiro Yamane, Kazuhiko Takemoto, Tadao Yashirodai
  • Patent number: 6216429
    Abstract: A harvesting platform having a frame and a cutterbar supported by the frame, a reciprocal knife that moves relative to the cutterbar, a drive motor having a rotary input and a linearly reciprocating output shaft. The output shaft is coupled to the knife for reciprocating the knife and a one piece mounting bracket is coupled to the cutterbar and the drive motor to establish the position of the drive motor relative to the cutterbar. The bracket has machined surfaces engaging the drive motor and the cutterbar to establish the relative positions of the drive motor and the cutterbar within the machining tolerances. This provides proper alignment of the drive motor output with the cutterbar that is necessary for an in-line drive motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2001
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventor: Paul John McCredie
  • Patent number: 6070401
    Abstract: A device for preventing rocks and dirt from entering a combine including a plurality of grain saver dam sections secured to a bracket by a bolt, bushing, mounting bracket and nut. The grain saver dam section includes a series of cutout sections and horizontal support sections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2000
    Inventor: William A. Johnson
  • Patent number: 5896732
    Abstract: A side sickle for a lawn tractor including a sickle having a first end pivotally coupled with respect to the lawn tractor. The sickle adapted to transfer between a stored orientation and a horizontal orientation wherein the sickle is extended perpendicular with respect to a side of the tractor. The sickle has a plurality of reciprocating blades.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 27, 1999
    Inventor: Curtis R. Dean
  • Patent number: 5787786
    Abstract: A dual hydraulic oscillator for the reciprocating cutter of an agricultural machine is provided. The dual oscillator has two pistons reciprocating in opposite directions and a single pilot valve, with resynchronization performed twice per cycle of the oscillator. Also provided is a single or dual hydraulic oscillator comprising a cylinder having first and second opposed ends. A reversing pilot valve is provided for controlling flow of pressurized fluid to at least one of the first and second cylinder ends. The pilot valve includes first and second pilot passages for controlling the reversing operation of the pilot valve. A piston reciprocates between first and second positions in the cylinder. The piston has an inner bore. The bore has first and second circumferential logic grooves. An inner logic mechanism is slidably received in the bore.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 4, 1998
    Assignee: Sauer-Sundstrand - Control Concepts
    Inventor: Kenneth W. Zeuner
  • Patent number: 5778727
    Abstract: A wobble drive for imparting reciprocating motion to a sickle bar includes a wobble drive shaft rotatable about a first axis and having a cylindrical wobble section formed about an axis making an angle of about 14.5.degree. to the first axis. A toroidal wobble shaft bearing housing is mounted on the wobble section by a set of wobble bearings having their outer races pressed into the bearing housing. An output yoke is coupled to the wobble shaft bearing housing for transmitting the oscillatory motion of the housing, caused by rotation of the drive shaft, to a swing arm fixed to an end of a shaft portion of the yoke. The coupling of the yoke to the wobble bearing housing is accomplished by a pair of headed spindle pins inserted, from the inside out, through pin bores provided at diametrically opposite locations in the wobble shaft bearing housing, and into respective yoke bearings mounted in the ends of a pair of yoke limbs that are joined to the yoke shaft portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 1996
    Date of Patent: July 14, 1998
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventors: Craig Allen Richardson, James C. Walters, Jerry Lee Krafka, Daniel J. Goodman
  • Patent number: 5463857
    Abstract: A double knife stubble cutting machine is provided for cutting stubble after a harvesting action into three separate pieces including a standing stubble piece and two cut pieces. The device comprises a frame having a center section and a pair of wing sections with the wing sections being pivotal about a horizontal axis upwardly to a transport position. The frame defines a tool bar across the full width of the frame which carries a pair of sickle knife support bars downwardly of the tool bar and arranged so that one sickle knife is forwardly of and upwardly of the second sickle knife. Both knives are open and free from support elements between the knives so that the cut material can be discarded back to the ground after cutting without any transverse movement or blockage. The harvesting action therefore allows the minimum amount of straw to be taken by the combine harvester so that the standing stubble element is cut into three pieces of equal length.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 1994
    Date of Patent: November 7, 1995
    Inventor: Ken Blosser
  • Patent number: 5157906
    Abstract: A drive motion transmitting assembly is mounted to a mowing implement which also mounts a power drive source having a rotary output drive shaft and a reciprocatory sickle bar. The assembly include a motion converting member, a plurality of idler members, and a drive motion transmitting flexible arrangement. The motion converting member is rotatably mounted about an axis and is drivingly interconnected to the output drive shaft for rotating about the axis upon rotation of the output drive shaft. The motion converting member has a portion spaced from the axis which undergoes orbital movement about the axis as the motion converting member rotates about the axis. The idler members are rotatably mounted both adjacent to and remote from the sickle bar and the motion converting member and in spaced relation to one another for guiding the transmission of drive motion from the motion converting member to the sickle bar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 1991
    Date of Patent: October 27, 1992
    Inventor: Roy W. Abrahamson
  • Patent number: 5054277
    Abstract: The invention relates to a reaping-cutter blade for reaping cutters of harvesting machines, with an orifice (11) made, if appropriate, in the base edge, wherein two or more orifices (12) are provided in the blade leaf in front of the cutter bar (4). The orifices can at the same time appropriately have walls which, on one side of the blade, are at an angle of less than 90.degree. relative to the plane of the blade leaf.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 1990
    Date of Patent: October 8, 1991
    Inventors: Gustav Schumacher, II, Gunter Schumacher
  • Patent number: 5054276
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a cutting blade for a mowing apparatus, which comprises a pair of first and second pivotal cutting wheels slidably superposed with each other and each provided with a number of grass cutting edges along its circumference, each of the teeth having a major surface, two side edges and an outer periphery edge; and mechanism for reciprocatingly rotating each cutting wheel in opposite directions through a predetermined angle, respectively. At least one of the side edges of each of the teeth of the cutting wheels is defined by an inclined surface forming an acute angle relative to a major surface of the tooth so as to form a cutting edge, and the outer periphery edge is defined by a plane substantially perpendicular to the major surface of the tooth. Namely, there is no sharp edge in the outer peripheries of the teeth of the cutting wheels or the free ends of teeth.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 1989
    Date of Patent: October 8, 1991
    Assignee: Komatsu Zenoah Company
    Inventors: Akio Terai, Minoru Wada