Patent · US Expired

Wide cut harvester having rotary cutter bed

US5463852A · kind A · utility

34Cited by
17References
66Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateApr 28, 1994
Grant dateNov 7, 1995
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 28, 2014

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10S56/11
  • WIPO fieldOther special machines
  • WIPO sectorMechanical engineering

Abstract

A harvester which uses a rotary style cutter bed has a series of rotary cutters extending across the path of travel of the machine and rotatable about individual upright axes. Part of the cutter bed is a flat gear case containing a train of intermeshed spur gears that serve to distribute power between the cutters above the gear train. Each end of the gear case has a hollow, gearless extension welded thereto which supports at least one additional outboard cutter that receives its driving power exteriorally of the gear case. One embodiment uses a mechanical drive to bring power to the upright shaft of the cutter having the first spur gear so that the cutters with gears receive all their power from the driven cutter. The outboard cutters not having gears are driven by exterior, over-the-top drive mechanism coupled with the shafts of the first and last geared cutters, such drive mechanism alternatively taking the form of timing belts with timing sheaves, chains and sprockets, gear box and universal joint couplings or a spur gear train. As an alternative to a mechanical drive, the cutter bar may utilize a pair of hydraulic motors coupled with the shafts of the first and last cutters hav…

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