Support arrangement for cotton harvester row units

In a cotton harvester including a fore-and-aft extending main frame supported for forward movement over a field having rows of cotton plants, and a fore-and-aft extending row unit having a center of gravity, said row unit including a plant passage for receiving a row of cotton plants and harvesting structure for removing cotton from the plants, row unit support structure comprising:

• lift structure pivotally connected to the main frame for vertical movement with respect thereto;
• means for supporting a transversely extending beam forwardly of the lift structure for movement vertically therewith;
• means for suspending the row unit from the transverse beam including roller means connected to the row unit generally above the center of gravity for rolling the row unit transversely on the transverse beam;
• and
• means for maintaining a preselected attitude of the row unit with respect to the transverse beam including second roller means offset a substantial distance from the first roller means and connected between the row unit and lift structure.

In a cotton harvester including a fore-and-aft extending main frame supported for forward movement over a field having rows of cotton plants, and a fore-and-aft extending row unit having a center of gravity, said row unit including a plant passage for receiving a row of cotton plants and harvesting structure for removing cotton from the plants, row unit support structure comprising:

• lift structure pivotally connected to the main frame for vertical movement with respect thereto;
• means for supporting a transversely extending beam forwardly of the lift structure for movement vertically therewith;
• means for suspending the row unit from the transverse beam including roller means for rolling the row unit transversely on the transverse beam;
• means for maintaining a preselected attitude of the row unit with respect to the transverse beam;
• and
• a second transversely extending beam, means for connecting the second beam to the lift structure at a location offset in the fore-and-aft direction from the first beam, said second beam extending generally parallel to the first beam, and wherein the means for maintaining a preselected attitude includes second roller means supported by the second transverse beam and connected to the row unit.

In a cotton harvester including a fore-and-aft extending main frame supported for forward movement over a field having rows of cotton plants by a pair of transversely spaced drive wheels, and a plurality of fore-and-aft extending row units, each row unit having a center of gravity and including a plant passage for receiving a row of cotton plants and harvesting structure for removing cotton from the plants, row unit support structure comprising:

• an upright bracket connected for vertical movement to the forward end of the main frame;
• a main connecting beam extending forwardly from the upright bracket;
• a transverse beam supported generally in cantilever fashion from the forward end of the main connecting beam;
• means for suspending the row units in transversely spaced relationship from the transverse beam including means for moving the suspended units transversely along the beam to thereby facilitate conversion of the harvester between a wide row harvester and a narrow row harvester and to permit areas between the units to be opened up for servicing of the units.