Apparatus and method for conditioning crop materials
US7958708B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 17, 2005 |
| Grant date | Jun 14, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 2, 2027 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA01D43/102
- WIPO fieldOther special machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
As crop materials are severed from the field, they pass through two successive pairs of counter-rotating conditioning rolls before being returned to the ground. The front rolls are preferably ribbed, metal rolls wherein the ribs of one roll are intermeshed with those of the other roll so as to crimp the stems of the crop materials as they pass between the rolls. The hard metal ribs also aggressively feed the materials rearwardly into the second set of rolls, which are preferably compressive surface rolls made of rubber or the like and provided with wide, intermeshed bars about their periphery. The tension mechanism for the rolls includes single-acting hydraulic cylinders that squeeze the rolls together to the extent permitted by adjustable stop structure used to set gaps between the rolls. In typical operations, the gap between the rear rolls is set to be considerably smaller than the gap between the front rolls. Great flexibility in the degree of conditioning experienced by the crop materials is achieved by the nature of the rolls and the ease with which roll pressure and spacing can be adjusted.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.