US 12,453,307 B2Granted

Rotary cutter-bar with blade sensor

AssigneeDeere & Company

InventorsDarin L. Roth, Joshua D. Graeve

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Abstract

A mower implement includes a cutter bar extending along a central bar axis. A rotating blade assembly is mounted on the cutter bar. The rotating blade assembly includes a disc rotatable about a disc rotation axis relative to the cutter bar, and at least one blade pivotably mounted to the disc. A blade sensor is mounted on the cutter bar. The blade sensor has a sensing field, and is positioned to detect movement of the at least one blade of the rotating blade assembly through the sensing field during each rotation of the disc about the disc rotation axis. A diagnostic controller receives the data signal from the blade sensor and is configured to analysis the blade signal and identify a fault in the rotating blade assembly. The diagnostic controller may then notify an operator of the identified fault.

Claims8

Dependent claims

A mower implement comprising:

a cutter bar extending along a central bar axis;
a first rotating blade assembly and a second rotating blade assembly mounted on the cutter bar, each of the first rotating blade assembly and the second rotating blade assembly including a respective disc rotatable about a respective disc rotation axis relative to the cutter bar, and at least one respective blade pivotably mounted to the respective disc of each of the first rotating blade assembly and the second rotating blade assembly;
a blade sensor mounted on the cutter bar and having a sensing field, wherein the blade sensor is positioned to detect movement of the at least one respective blade on the respective disc of the first rotating blade assembly and the at least one respective blade on the respective disc of the second rotating blade assembly through the sensing field during each rotation of the respective disc about the respective disc rotation axis of the first rotating blade assembly and the respective disc about the respective disc rotation axis of the second rotating blade assembly.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.