US 6,668,534 B2Granted

Auger fingers for harvesting assemblies, and combines

AssigneeDeere & Company

InventorsRonald Leo Sheedy, Fredrick Samuel Ward, Keith Thomas Dennehy, Kyle John Tingle

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Abstract

Intake fingers and finger assemblies for use with intake portions of harvesting assemblies, on harvesting machines such as combines, haybines, bailers, corn pickers, and the like. The fingers and finger assemblies cooperate with crop-gathering augers, and crankshafts inside the augers, in feeding cut crop material toward discharge portions of such harvesting assemblies. The fingers extend and retract through apertures in the auger cylinder according to an eccentric mounting of the finger crankshaft inside the auger cylinder. A respective finger comprises a reinforced polyester or polyurethane shaft, and a polyurethane sleeve overlying a crop-engaging end portion of the finger, such as along 50% to 80% of the length of the shaft. The shaft is reinforced with fiberglass or other fiber, the composition of the sleeve comprises polyester-based thermoplastic polyurethane, and the sleeve has a hardness of about Shore D-45 to about Shore D-70.

Claims29

Dependent claims

An elongate intake finger (46) for use with an intake portion of a harvesting assembly, said intake finger (46) having a length, and a finger outer surface, and comprising:

(a) an inner longitudinal reinforced polymeric shaft, said inner shaft (58) having a proximal end (54) to be mounted to such harvesting assembly, and a distal end (56) to extend away from such harvesting assembly, and to engage crop material, and an inner shaft outer surface, the composition of said inner shaft comprising polymer selected from the group consisting of thermoset polyesters and thermoplastic polyurethanes, and an effective amount of reinforcing fiber inclusions therein sufficient to provide at least incremental additional resistance to separation of a broken piece of said intake finger from a remainder portion of said intake finger;
and
(b) an outer sleeve (60) made of sleeve material polymer, overlying and secured to the outer surface of said inner shaft (58), and extending, from a locus at or proximate the distal end (56) of said inner shaft (58), along the length of said inner shaft (58), said outer sleeve (60) comprising a thermoplastic polyurethane composition;
whereby said fiber-reinforced inner shaft (58), and said outer sleeve (60), in combination, define said elongate intake finger (46).

1 more element

A harvesting assembly, for use on a harvester, said harvesting assembly comprising:

(a) a support structure;
(b) crop material detachment apparatus;
(c) an auger (30) comprising a generally hollow cylinder (32) having first and second ends, and flights, extending from adjacent the first and second ends, at an outer surface of said cylinder (32), for conveying crop material toward a central section of said auger (30), said cylinder (32) having apertures (42) therein, extending to an interior cavity (37) disposed inwardly of said cylinder (32);
and
(d) an intake finger assembly in the cavity (37), said intake finger assembly comprising a plurality of elongate intake fingers (46) having finger outer surfaces, a finger crankshaft (44), and finger bearings (48) mounting said fingers to said crankshaft (44) for rotation of said fingers (46) about said crankshaft (44), said finger assembly, including said crankshaft (44), cooperating with said auger cylinder to extend and retract said fingers (46) through the apertures (42) as said auger (30) rotates about a central longitudinal axis,
said fingers (46) comprising fiber reinforced polymeric inner shafts (58) having proximal (54) and distal (56) ends, and shaft outer surfaces, and wherein the polymeric compositions of said inner shafts (58) are selected from the group consisting of thermoset polyesters and thermoplastic polyurethanes, and wherein said inner shafts (58) are reinforced by an effective amount of reinforcing fiber inclusions sufficient to provide at least incremental additional resistance to separation of broken pieces of said intake fingers (46) from remainder portions of said intake fingers (46), said intake fingers further comprising outer sleeves (60), made of sleeve material polymer, and overlying and secured to the outer surfaces of said inner shafts (58), and extending from loci at or proximate distal ends (56) of said fiber-reinforced polymeric inner shafts (58) remote from said crankshaft (44), toward said crankshaft (44), said outer sleeves (60) comprising thermoplastic polyurethane compositions, whereby said fiber-reinforced inner shafts (58), and said outer sleeves (60), in combination, define said elongate intake fingers (46).

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.