Header cutting angle adjustment mechanism
AssigneeSperry Corporation
InventorsLarimer J. Knepper, James W. McDuffie, Robert A. Wagstaff
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A mechanism for selectively adjusting the cutting angle of a combine header relative to the ground is disclosed wherein a front face member is pivotably mounted to the forward end of the feeder house for rotation about the forward transverse axis of the crop conveyor within the feeder house. Structure is provided to adjustably lock the front face member into one of a plurality of alternative rotated positions. With the disclosed mechanism, the header cutting angle can be adjusted relative to the ground without increasing the distance between the header and the crop conveyor, thereby maintaining the efficiency of the crop conveyor to engage crop material and transport it rearwardly.
Claims22
A feeder house extending from a mobile combine base unit for transferring harvested crop material collected by a detachable header to said base unit for further harvesting treatment, said header including a transversely disposed cutting means for severing crop material from the ground, said feeder house comprising:
- a frame;
- an elongated forwardly extending body portion supported by said frame, said body portion having a forward end adjacent the header, a rearward end adjacent the base unit, and a passageway therethrough between said forward and rearward ends;
- a crop conveying means housed within said passageway for transporting said crop material rearwardly to the base unit, said crop conveying means including a transverse rotatable shaft member adjacent and substantially parallel to said forward end, said shaft member defining a transverse axis substantially perpendicular to the line of travel of said combine, said transverse axis being rearward of the header;
- and
- a front face member selectively movably attached to said body portion for selective rotative movement in a fore-and-aft direction relative to said body portion, said front face member projecting forwardly for connection to the header such that the header is movable with said front face member, said front face member including stabilizing means for selectively restricting and controlling said movement about said transverse axis, whereby the angle of cut of the header cutting means relative to the ground can be selectively varied according to the extent of fore-and-aft rotative movement of said front face member relative to said forward end.
In a feeder house operably extending from a combine base unit for transferring crop material, collected by a forwardly positioned detachable crop harvesting header, from said header to said base unit, said feeder house having an elongated body portion including a forward end adjacent said header, a rearward end adjacent said base unit and a passageway therethrough interconnecting said forward and rearward ends;
- a crop conveying means operably positioned within said passageway for transporting said crop material rearwardly towards said base unit, said crop conveying means including a rotatable transverse shaft member rearward of and adjacent to said forward end, said shaft member defining a transverse axis parallel to said forward end;
- and drive means for driving said crop conveying means, the improvement wherein said feeder house comprises:
- a front face member pivotably attached to said transverse axis, said front face member including a header connecting means for detachably connecting the header to said feeder house and a stabilizing means for restricting and controlling pivotal movement of said front face member about said transverse axis in a plurality of alternate rotated positions.
In a combine for harvesting crop material having a mobile base unit;
- a crop treating means housed within said base unit for harvestingly treating the crop material;
- a detachable header forward of said base unit including a crop cutting means for severing crop material from the ground;
- a vertically adjustable, forwardly extending feeder house interconnecting said header and said base unit, said feeder house having a forward end adjacent said header, a rearward end adjacent said crop harvesting means and a passageway therethrough between said forward and rearward ends for movement of crop material from said header to said crop treating means;
- an endless chain and slat apron conveyor operably housed within said feeder house passageway for transporting crop material rearwardly from said header to said crop harvesting means, said conveyor including a rotatable transverse shaft member adjacent said forward end for supporting, at least in part, said apron conveyor, said shaft member defining a transverse axis rearward of said header;
- a feeder house lift means for adjusting the vertical position of said feeder house and attached header relative to the ground;
- and drive means for driving said crop treating means and said crop conveying means, an improved feeder house comprising:
- a front face member selectively movably attached to said feeder house adjacent said forward end, said front face member being rotatably movable in a fore-and-aft direction relative to said feeder house, said front face member including a header connecting means for detachably connecting said header to said feeder house and a stabilizing means for limiting the extent of rotational movement of said front face member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.