Cotton picker spindle moistening apparatus

An apparatus for moistening an axially extending, rotary cotton picking spindle having an inner end and a distal end, said moistening apparatus comprising a horizontally oriented pad connected to an upstruck support arranged proximate to said cotton picking spindle to dispense moistening fluid thereto, said pad having a rubber body presenting a spindle wiping face along one side thereof, said body defining horizontally extending fluid passage means which communicate with a spindle moistening fluid supply source, said passage means including a series of fluid discharge ports, with more ports opening to said spindle wiping face toward the inner end of the picker spindle than open to said spindle wiping face toward the other end of the picker spindle such that the dispensing of moistening fluid is greater at the inner end of the spindle than at the distal end of the spindle.

A moistening assembly for a cotton harvesting unit having axially extending, vertically spaced rotary cotton picker spindles, each picker spindle having an inner end and a distal end, said moistening assembly comprising:

• an upright support arranged proximate the picker spindles;
• and
• a series of moistening pads which fluidically communicate with a moistening fluid supply source and are attachable to the support one above the other in vertically spaced relation, wherein each of said pads defines a top opening for attaching said pad to said support, a spindle wiping face, and fluid passage means configured to dispense more moistening fluid toward an inner end of said picker spindle than is dispensed to a distal end of the spindle.

An apparatus for distributing a moistening fluid to a plurality of vertically spaced, axially extended picker spindles arranged to move along a predetermined path, each picker spindle including an inner end and a distal end, said moistening apparatus comprising:

• a supporting standard arranged proximate to the picker spindles;
• and
• a vertical series of substantially identical, individual moistening pads equal in number to the number of picker spindles, means attaching each pad to said support standard and defining a passageway for allowing moistening fluid to pass to said pad, each pad defining a top opening, a spindle wiping face disposed beneath said opening against which a picker spindle passes while moving along its predetermined path, and a fluid distributing channel opening to said spindle wiping face such that more moistening fluid is applied toward an inner end of said picker spindle than is applied toward its distal end, said fluid distributing channel includes a series of ports, with more ports being provided in said pad toward one end of said spindle than are provided in said pad toward an opposite end of said spindle.

A moistening assembly for a cotton harvesting unit having axially extending, vertically spaced rotary cotton picker spindles, each picker spindle having an inner end and a distal end, said moistening assembly comprising:

• an upright support arranged proximate the picker spindles;
• and
• a series of moistener pads which fluidically communicate with a moistening fluid supply source and are attachable to the support one above the other in vertically spaced relation, wherein each of said pads defines a top opening for attaching said pad to said support, a spindle wiping face, with one side edge of said pad being disposed closer to said upright support than is an opposed side edge, and fluid passage means opening to said spindle wiping face such that more moistening fluid is applied toward the inner end of said picker spindle than is applied to the distal end of a spindle, said fluid passage means including a series of fluid discharge ports opening to said spindle wiping face, with more ports being provided toward one edge of said pad than an opposed edge of said pad.