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US 6,658,828 B2Granted
Mowing implement including mowing units connected to carrier frame exclusive of windrowing device
AssigneeDeere & Company
InventorRoger Franet
Life of this patent
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AssigneeDeere & Company
InventorRoger Franet
Estimating the term…
A mowing arrangement includes a tractor carrying a front-mounted mower unit and towing a mobile carrier frame having left and right mower units mounted to opposite sides of the carrier frame. In a first embodiment, the carrier frame is box-shaped in plan view. A pair of mower unit support arms are respectively mounted to forward outer locations of the carrier frame for pivoting vertically between horizontal first positions, wherein they dispose the mower units in respective operating positions, and vertical second positions, wherein they dispose the mower units in raised transport positions. Right and left swath formers, in the form of flat belt conveyors, are respectively mounted to outer rear locations at the opposite sides of the carrier frame by support structures permitting the swath formers to be moved horizontally between operating positions wherein they intercept crop discharged by the mower units and convey the crop inwardly to deposit it in respective swaths on opposite sides of the swath deposited by the front-mounted mower unit. In a second embodiment, the right and left mower units are mounted to the opposite ends of a beam forming the main structural member of the mobile carrier frame, these mowing units being mounted for movement between operating positions and transport positions alongside a draft tongue projecting forwardly from a center front location of the beam. In this embodiment, the swath formers are mounted for vertical movement between operative and non-operative positions.
In a mowing implement including a mobile central frame, a pair of mowing units respectively mounted to opposite sides of said central frame, and at least one swath former being associated with one of said pair of mowing units, the improvement comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
With two or more cutters: means for directing the cut crop
With means for collecting, gathering or loading mown material: with auxiliary means, e.g. fans, for transporting the mown crop
Delivering mechanisms for harvesters or mowers: with conveyor belts
Harvesting
Term ended 30 Dec 2020 (estimated)
USPTO file history isn’t available for this patent, so only indexed dates are shown.
The present invention relates to a mowing implement with at least two mowing units, at least one swath former and a mobile carrier frame.
EP-A1-0 882 386 discloses a mowing implement with two mowing units, each of which is attached by a cantilever arm to a chassis so as to pivot vertically. Each mowing unit is provided on its downstream side with a conditioning unit that conveys the conditioned crop into a hood extending at an angle to the direction of operation. The inclination of the hood is selected in such a way that a swath of crop can be formed in the center between two mowing units. Furthermore, at the outlet of the hood, a sheet metal component is provided that can be pivoted vertically and extended into the stream of the crop so as to deflect the latter. The vertically pivoted suspension of the mowing and conditioning units on the chassis makes it possible to attain a great width of the mowing cut on the field and to develop a width for transport on public roads within allowable width limits.
The problem underlying the invention is seen in the fact that with wide mowers a larger sideways offset deposit of the crop is not possible.
FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a tractor equipped with a front and two rear mowing units with the rear mowing units being mounted to a mobile frame and having horizontally pivoted swath formers.
FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a mobile frame constructed in accordance with a second embodiment, and having two mowing units mounted thereto and with which are associated vertically pivotable swath formers.
Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a train 10 comprising a towing vehicle 12, usually an agricultural tractor, carrying a front mower 14, and a mowing implement 16 including a mobile frame adapted for being hitched to the towing vehicle 12.
During operation, the train 10 is moved across a field with crop to be mowed and has a mower width of several meters, in particular up to nine meters. During transport operation on the road, it is brought to a total width that is permitted by road traffic regulations.
The front mower 14 is of conventional configuration and is at least as wide as the towing vehicle 12, so that during its operation a strip is cut freely ahead of this. For that matter, the front mower 14 is only an advantageous component, not a necessary one; with a corresponding configuration of the mowing implement 16 it can also be omitted.