Rotary crop inverter
AssigneeCNH America LLC
InventorKenneth R. Underhill
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The apparatus is a farm machine that inverts crop windrows using only the raking tines of a conventional rotary rake machine. The tines engage and move an existing windrow, and invert the windrow as the crop is being disengaged from the tines. The inverting machine accomplishes the inverting by imparting motion to the discharging crop that has a vector of motion that is in the same direction as the movement of the inverter machine. This causes the crop to move faster than the machine itself and inverts the windrow by pushing the disengaging crop over the crop that was previously discharged.
Claims5
A farm machine for inverting crop windrows comprising:
- an arm assembly which revolves in a horizontal plane around an axle affixed to the farm machine;
- arms attached to the arm assembly and extending from the axle;
- raking tines attached to each arm, the tines having a peripheral velocity due to revolution of the arm assembly, and as the farm machine moves over a windrow with a machine direction and a machine speed, engage crop on the ground at a first location on the arm assembly's revolution path and discharge the crop at a second location on the arm assembly's revolution path;
- and
- a tine control apparatus that determines the position of the first and second locations on the arm assembly's revolution path so that the tines engage and move a windrow, and as the tines discharge the crop, the crop is inverted from its previous condition;
- wherein the tine control apparatus positions the second location on the arm assembly's revolution path so that a component of the tine peripheral velocity parallel to the direction of travel is substantially in the same direction as the machine direction when the crop is being disengaged from the tines.
A farm machine for inverting crop windrows, said machine capable of being moved by an agricultural vehicle at a machine speed, said farm machine comprising:
- an arm assembly which revolves in a horizontal plane around an axle affixed to said farm machine;
- arms attached to the arm assembly and extending from the axle;
- raking tines attached to each arm having a peripheral velocity due to revolution of the arm assembly that, as the farm machine moves over a windrow, engage crop on the ground at a first location on the arm assembly's revolution path and discharge the crop at a second location on the arm assembly's revolution path;
- and
- a tine control apparatus that determines the position of the first and second locations on the arm assembly's revolution path so that the tines engage and move a windrow, and as the tines discharge the crop, the crop is inverted from its previous condition;
- wherein a component of the tine peripheral velocity parallel to the direction of travel is generally the same direction as the movement of the vehicle moving the farm machine when the crop is discharged from the tines.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.