Conveyor for a crop harvester
AssigneeThe Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
InventorDavid W. Johnson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Side by side pairs of flexible rubber belts having molded driving lugs on the bottom surface and at least one row of molded cleats with a bore in each cleat on the top surface. The belts are transversely spaced apart with many transverse connecting links positioned in the cleat bores extending between the belts to form a conveying assembly. The conveying assembly is useful in drag or raddle chain conveyors in combines or in round balers to form and compress the large bales.
Claims11
A crop conveying assembly comprising:
- a plurality of side by side, spaced apart, flexible belts;
- and a plurality of connecting links positioned transversely between said side by side belts, each of said belts having an elastomeric body with a top surface, a bottom surface, a high modulus tensile member disposed within said elastomeric body, a plurality of longitudinally spaced lugs integrally molded to the elastomeric body to form the bottom surface, a plurality of longitudinally spaced raised cleats integrally molded to the elastomeric body to form the top surface, a plurality of said cleats having an aperture extending transversely therethrough and wherein the cleats of each belt are positioned such that the apertures therein are transversely aligned with the apertures of an adjacent belt and wherein the plurality of connecting links are positioned to transversely span the space between adjacent belts by removeably engaging the ends of the connecting links within the apertures of the belts.
A flexible conveyor for a crop harvester having a longitudinal direction and a transverse direction comprising:
- (a) a plurality of side by side, transversely spaced flexible belts, each belt having an elastomeric body, a top surface, a bottom surface, and a tensile member substantially inextensible in the longitudinal direction embedded in the elastomeric body, a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart lugs integrally molded to the elastomeric body to form the bottom surface, a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart cleats integrally molded to the elastomeric body to form the top surface, each of said cleats having an aperture extending transversely therethrough, the cleats of each pair of side by side belts being positioned in the transverse direction such that the apertures are aligned;
- (b) a plurality of connecting links positioned transversely of the belts by having each end of each link removably extending into said apertures in said cleats of adjacent belts;
- (c) at least one toothed pulley positioned to meshingly engage said lugs in said belt.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.