Patent · US Expired

Retrofittable sensing unit for row crop harvester guidance system

US4663918A · kind A · utility

10Cited by
7References
6Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateSep 6, 1983
Grant dateMay 12, 1987
Priority date
Expiry dateSep 6, 2003

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10S56/15
  • WIPO fieldOther special machines
  • WIPO sectorMechanical engineering

Abstract

A sensing unit for a row crop harvester guidance system is simply attachable and retrofittable to commercially available headers. The header comprises first and second crop dividers, each having a pair of sidewalls. A crop receiving passageway is formed between the dividers. The sensing unit comprises a rotatably mounted crop engaging arm biased into a crop engaging position in which the arm is disposed in the passageway. For mounting the unit includes a frame member which is fixed to the divider sidewalls with either bolts or clamping plates. Forwardly converging edges of the frame member are received within a tip on the forward end of the divider. The unit may be alternately fixed to dividers having different sizes and corresponding to different row spacings.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.