Individual needle protection system
AssigneeDeere & Company
InventorNathan A. Chaney
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A binding system for an agricultural harvesting machine may include a binding mechanism securing binding material around a crop package and a delivery device coupled to the binding system and including an overload relief component. The delivery device wraps binding material around a portion of the crop package and provides binding material to the binding mechanism. The overload relief component releases the delivery device from the binding system upon encountering a predetermined overload condition.
Claims8
A binding system for an agricultural harvesting machine, the binding system comprising:
- a binding mechanism for securing a binding material around a crop package;
- a delivery mechanism operable to deliver the binding material to the binding mechanism, the delivery mechanism including a lift arm, a support member, a needle frame attached to the support member, a lift link interconnecting the lift arm and the needle frame, and at least one needle attached to the needle frame, wherein each respective one of the at least one needle includes:
- a base;
- an attachment device disposed opposite the base with the needle frame disposed between the base and the attachment device;
- a pivotal connection interconnecting the base and the attachment device, wherein the pivotal connection allows rotational movement between the base and the attachment device;
- and
- a fastener securing the attachment device to the base, wherein the fastener is operable to yield in response to a pre-determined force to allow the base to rotate relative to the attachment device and detach the respective needle from the needle frame.
An agricultural harvesting machine comprising:
- a compression chamber;
- a plunger having a compression surface with a channel, the plunger moving in a reciprocal motion into and out of the compression chamber to compress crop material into a crop package with the compression surface;
- a binding mechanism for securing a binding material around the crop package;
- a delivery mechanism operable to deliver the binding material to the binding mechanism, the delivery mechanism including a lift arm, a support member, a needle frame attached to the support member, a lift link interconnecting the lift arm and the needle frame, and at least one needle attached to the needle frame, wherein each respective one of the at least one needle includes:
- a base;
- an attachment device disposed opposite the base with the needle frame disposed between the base and the attachment device;
- a pivotal connection interconnecting the base and the attachment device, wherein the pivotal connection allows rotational movement between the base and the attachment device;
- and
- a fastener securing the attachment device to the base, wherein the fastener is operable to yield in response to a pre-determined force to allow the base to rotate relative to the attachment device and detach the respective needle from the needle frame.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.