Spindle assembly for a cotton harvester

A spindle assembly adapted for mounting in a spindle bar of a cotton harvester, the assembly comprising:

• an elongated nut having an innermost connecting end with threads adapted for being threadingly received in the spindle bar and an outermost end opposite the connecting end, the nut fabricated from a light-weight material having a weight substantially less than steel and including a bore extending therethrough;
• a cotton picker spindle having an axis and supported within the bore of the nut for rotation about the axis, the spindle having a picking end projecting outwardly in the direction of the axis from the outermost end of the nut, wherein the spindle is adapted to fracture at a preselected location adjacent the outermost end of the nut if an obstacle is encountered;
• an elongated bushing having a substantially continuous bearing surface adjacent the threads and outwardly toward the outermost end with a length approximately equal to the length of the bore and positioned within the bore between the connecting end and the outermost end thereby adding reinforcing strength to the nut;
• wherein the nut includes structure for increasing the breaking resistance thereof to facilitate the fracturing of the spindle at the preselected location upon the encountering of an obstacle, the structure for increasing the breaking resistance including a central portion immediately adjacent the threads having a radius at least equal to the radius of a radially outermost portion of the threads;
• and
• wherein the spindle includes a shank bearing portion rotatably supported within by the bearing surface.

A spindle assembly adapted for mounting in a spindle bar of a cotton harvester, the assembly comprising:

• an elongated nut having an innermost connecting end with threads adapted for being threadingly received by the spindle bar and an outermost end opposite the connecting end, the nut fabricated from a light-weight material having a weight substantially less than steel and including a bore extending therethrough;
• a cotton picker spindle having an axis and supported within the bore of the nut for rotation about the axis, the spindle having a picking end projecting outwardly in the direction of the axis from the outermost end of the nut, wherein the spindle is adapted to fracture at a preselected location adjacent the outermost end of the nut if an obstacle is encountered;
• an elongated one-piece bushing having a bearing surface with a length approximately equal to the length of the bore and positioned within the bore between the connecting end and the outermost end to thereby increase the strength of the assembly along the length of the nut;
• wherein the nut includes structure cooperating with the one-piece bushing for increasing the breaking resistance of the nut to facilitate the fracturing of the spindle at the preselected location upon the encountering of an obstacle, the structure for increasing the breaking resistance including a root portion in the threads, the root portion substantially devoid of a V-shaped cross section to thereby reduce the incidence of breakage along the root and provide a tight fit when threadingly received in the spindle bar;
• and
• wherein the spindle includes a shank bearing portion rotatably supported within by the bearing surface.