Abstract: A chopper system for a sugarcane harvester comprises a chopper and a timing-adjustment tool. The chopper comprises a first chopper drum mounted for rotation about a first axis of rotation and comprising blades, a second chopper drum mounted for rotation about a second axis of rotation and comprising blades that cooperate with the blades of the first chopper drum to sever sugarcane stalks into billets upon rotation of the first and second chopper drums respectively about the first and second axes of rotation, and a gearbox that coordinates rotation of the first and second chopper drums relative to one another to establish a timing of operation between the blades of the first and second chopper drums. The timing-adjustment tool removably mounts to the chopper to adjust the timing of operation.

Abstract: Two separate drive systems for driving a rotary table about an axis of rotation relative to a support member within a predeterminable angular segment. The first drive system can move the rotary table into a starting position and the second drive system is a linear one and has a play-free pre-loaded ball-and-screw spindle drive by means of which the movement of the rotary table is performed within the predeterminable angular segment. The linear drive system can be coupled and uncoupled free from play to and from the rotary table by means of a clamping system, with the linear drive system being connected to the support member and to the clamping system with two play-free joints. A rotary measuring system is mounted at the axis of table rotation to ascertain the table's current angle of rotation.

Abstract: An indexing and transporting mechanism having a plurality of work-holding spindles spaced around a carousel, the carousel being journaled on a machine frame provided with work-performing stations and being indexable to carry the spindles sequentially from station to station, the work-holding spindles being arranged to be indexed through one complete revolution at some stations and not at others by a work-holding spindle orienting and indexing mechanism which consists of a track carried by the machine frame concentric with the carousel journals, projections extending from the work-holding spindles which engage the track to prevent rotation of the work-holding spindles relative to the carousel over part of a revolution of the carousel, the track being interrupted at the stations where indexing occurs, each interrupted portion of the track being mounted on indexable spindles carried by the machine frame, each interrupted portion of the track being arranged to be indexed through one complete revolution while the

Abstract: A rod actuator which includes a d.c. motor, a reduction gearing, a solenoid assembly which is used to define an intermediate stop position, and rotation stops. The angular extent through which an output shaft of the reduction gearing is rotatable is limited by a pair of limit stops. The solenoid assembly includes a plunger which is located intermediate the limit stops. A rotational stop is rotatably mounted on the output shaft and has a projection which is adapted to abut against the plunger to cease the motion of the rotational stop. The rotational stop is mounted on the output shaft so as to be rotatable relative thereto through a small angle by a lost motion, but is driven for integral rotation with the output shaft when such angle is exceeded. A lost motion connector is used so the angles of rotation where the rotation of the output shaft is stopped by the plunger during its clockwise and counter-clockwise rotations will be substantially equal.

Abstract: A hydraulic damper of adjustable damping force type includes a piston working in a cylinder and partitioning the interior of the cylinder into two liquid chambers, a piston rod with one end being connected to the piston and the other end extending to the outside of the cylinder, a liquid passage formed in the piston rod for connecting the two liquid chambers, an opening adjusting member rotatably disposed in the liquid passage for selectively adjusting the effective passage area of the liquid passage between at least three different passage area conditions, and an actuating device for reciprocatingly rotating the adjusting member between two extreme positions and one or more intermediate positions corresponding to respective passage area conditions. Two fixed stops are provided to stop the adjusting member at respective extreme positions, and a movable stop is provided to stop the adjusting member at an intermediate position.

Abstract: An adjustable intermittent incremental advance system is provided having a rotatable shaft for driving a work take-off in a start-stop rotary incremental advance. A clutch disk and brake disk alternately permit or stop rotary motion of the shaft to provide the intermittent advance. A flywheel is attached to the rotary shaft and acts through a crank arm driven by a motor to provide rotary power to the shaft for predetermined incremental movement. First and second sensors provide timed application of the clutch and brake disks to provide accurate incremental advance and prevent accumulated error in length of advance during prescribed periods of operation of the system.

Abstract: A rotatable turret for bringing any selected one of a plurality of tool holders into operative position relative to a workpiece, is characterized in that the turret can be rotated in either direction so that it need follow only the shortest path between the location of the old tool holder and the location of the new tool holder when changing from tool to tool. For this purpose, the turret has a rotatable hub with a plurality of blocks on its periphery slidable relative thereto in directions parallel to the axis of rotation, into and out of slots on a fixed member, the location of the slots corresponding to the operative locations of the tool holders. The blocks are all secured to the keeper ring of an annular electromagnet, whose strength is sufficient to retain the keeper ring attracted when the blocks are out of the slots, but whose strength is insufficient to retain the keeper ring when the blocks are in the slots.

Abstract: In a numerically controlled lathe, two guide bars are located in front of a headstock and extending parallel to the axis of a spindle to guide a saddle theroen. A cross slide is slidably supported by a guideway of the saddle to move a pair of turret heads in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the spindle. Turret indexing means allows indexing of one of the turret heads while a tool receiver fixed on the other turret head assumes in a predetermined cutting area relaive to the axis of the spindle. The saddle has a chip dropping wall formed between a guide bush and the pair of turret heads, with a front portion of the chip dropping wall downwardly slanting toward the front side of the lathe.

Abstract: A machine tool having an indexable turret in which the turret has a plurality of stations for supporting tools and with the tools in the stations being presented individually to workpiece operating position in a respective indexed position of the turret during a work cycle. At least two of the stations of the turret are provided with identical tools, forming a group, and on each work cycle one of the pair of stations is bypassed thereby providing a reserve tool which can be made effective without interrupting the work cycle of the machine. Advantageously, most of the tools carried by the turret are provided in groups so that substantially a complete set of reserve tools is provided. Each tool can be used for a certain number of work cycles, or the machine can be provided with adaptive, or tool sensing, controls which sense the dulling or breaking of a tool, or workpieces taken from the machine can be periodically guaged to determine when a particular tool has worn down to the allowable limit.