Crop gathering reel assembly

An improved crop gathering reel assembly for a harvesting machine, comprising:

• an elongated tubular drive member rotatably mounted to said machine;
• at least one pair of spaced apart unitary spiders;
• a plurality of tine-carrying bars extending generally parallel to said tubular member and interconnecting said spiders;
• joint members mounting said spiders to said tubular member for universal articulation relative thereto about a pair of orthogonally arranged axes;
• and
• means mounted to said machine adjacent one of said spiders and being engaged therewith for maintaining said spiders in generally parallel planes disposed at generally equal predetermined oblique angles relative to said tubular member such that, upon predetermined rotation of said tubular member, said spiders rotate therewith within said planes and concurrently universally articulate relative to said tubular member about said axes so that said tine-carrying bars will engage and sweep crop laterally and toward said harvesting machine.

An improved crop gathering reel assembly for a harvesting machine, comprising:

• shaft means mounted to said machine for rotation about a transverse axis;
• at least one crop-engaging reel section extending along said shaft;
• spaced apart joint members mounting respective opposite lateral ends of said reel section to said shaft means for universal articulation relative to said shaft means;
• and
• means stationarily mounted to said machine adjacent one of said lateral ends of said reel section and in engagement therewith for positioning said opposite ends of said reel section at a predetermined oblique angle relative to said transverse rotational axis of said shaft means such that, upon predetermined rotation of said shaft means, said reel section rotates therewith with its ends disposed at said angle relative to said shaft means and concurrently universally articulating relative thereto so as to engage and sweep crop rearwardly and laterally to said harvesting machine.

An improved crop gathering reel assembly for a harvesting machine, comprising:

• shaft means mounted to said machine for rotation;
• a pair of crop-engaging reel sections extending along said shaft means and having adjacent inner ends and remote outer ends;
• means mounting each of said ends of said reel sections to said shaft means for universal articulation relative to said shaft means;
• and
• means mounted to said machine for slanting said respective inner and outer ends of one of said reel sections at a predetermined first angle relative to said shaft means and for slanting said respective inner and outer ends of the other of said reel sections at a second angle relative to said shaft means being opposite to said predetermined first angle such that, upon predetermined rotation of said shaft means, said reel sections rotate therewith with their ends disposed at said respective first and second angles relative to said shaft means and concurrently universally articulating relative thereto so as to engage and sweep crop in a converging manner toward said machine.