Abstract:
A header for a combine or a harvester comprising a center portion of said header having a feeder house position disposed to direct cut crop from the center portion to a feeder house when the header is mounted on the feeder house. At least one lateral portion of the header is attached to the center portion by a frame hinge. A draper comprised of a frame and a belt disposed to rotate over the frame extends from the lateral portion to the center portion having a draper hinge. A cutter having a curving portion is disposed at a leading aspect of the header to cut crop. The frame hinge, draper hinge and curving portion along the same axis are parallel to a direction of travel of the combine or harvester. The lateral portion can raise and lower relative to the center portion by rotation around the axis.
Abstract:
A knee joint assembly for an agricultural implement or a vehicle includes a relatively short knee casting with an apertured end of rectangular cross section which is inserted in a mating steel knee tube. The apertures in the casting end align with beveled apertures in the side walls of the knee tube. Steel pins of length approximately equal to the spacing of the side walls are pressed into the casting through the beveled apertures. Groove welds then secure the steel pins to the knee tube. The casting is relatively small and does not require any welding. Inexpensive ductile iron and common steel tubes can be used for most or all of the assemblies on a machine. The apertured end of the casting includes concave walls to accommodate knee tube concavity and weld flash on the inside of the knee tube.
Abstract:
A power-driven lawnmower having a main chassis supporting an operator, a pair of forward drive wheels, and a steering wheel utilizes a floating mower deck which covers or houses at least one driven mower blade. The deck is connected to the main chassis by a pair of arms terminating in ball joints affixed to the mower deck which is supported on ground engaging wheels such that the mower deck follows the contour of the ground. A flexible drive belt is connected to a constant power take off element on the main chassis and to the drive mechanism on the deck such that belt is entrained over a constant distance due to the connection of the arms to the chassis and the mower deck. A zero turning radius rear steering mechanism is operatively connected to the steering wheel and to a mechanism for disengaging one of a pair of forward drive wheels from motive power from the engine during a turn, thereby enabling the maneuverability of the machine, and a foot operated reversing mechanism is provided which can readily be engaged to reverse the direction of travel of a power-driven lawnmower. For safety concerns the mower is equipped with a gravity actuated brake which stops movement of the mower and the blade when the gas pedal is released. When the gas pedal is pressed again the vehicle moves forward again with the mower running again. Vehicle remains stopped if foot pedal is pressed into neutral position. Mower runs full rpm's when gas pedal is depressed allowing shuttle action in trimming forward or rearward by command of clutch pedal operated by left foot. Mower is disengaged by a hand-operated lever on left side.
Abstract:
A ground-engaging shoe assembly is provided for a power mower in which a mower blade is rotated in an upright shaft. The ground-engaging shoe includes a hub support assembly which is secured to the mower housing of the power mower. A ground-engaging shoe assembly is secured to a bearing housing which is located at the lower end of a hollow rotatable shaft, the ground-engaging shoe assembly including a bearing within which the hollow shaft rotates, whereby the ground-engaging shoe assembly is stationary. The bearing housing is adapted selectively to accept different ground-engaging shoes. An adjusting bolt extends through the hollow shaft and is secured at its lower end to the bearing housing An upper tower housing is adapted to transfer loading weight through the adjusting bolt to the bearings. The adjusting bolt is vertically-adjustably-secured at its upper end with respect to the upper tower housing by means of a locking-type nut. Thus, the cutting height of the mower blade is adjusted by loosening the locking-type nut, and by turning the adjusting bolt, e.g., by means of a slot at its upper end, thereby safely and easily adjusting the height of the mower blade by raising or lowering the ground-engaging shoe.
Abstract:
The present invention provides variable force traction enhance systems for vehicles. The systems include one or more hydraulic cylinders connected to an implement and fluidly connected to one or more hydrostatic transmissions. The hydraulic cylinders actuate the implement in response to changes in the hydraulic fluid pressures in the hydrostatic transmissions. The actuated implement automatically shifts weight to vehicle drive wheels to improve traction and automatically prevents a rear end of the vehicle from bucking.
Abstract:
A lawn mower includes an elongated forwardly open housing having an endless belt entrained therein about a pair of pulleys mounted at opposite ends of the housing. A plurality of C-shaped, channel-like cutting elements are mounted transversely on the outer surface of the belt to cut the lawn as the housing is moved across the lawn on a plurality of rollers. The housing is divided into a plurality of sections which are pivotally interconnected so that the housing sections may pivot relative to each other due to uneven ground. Guide members are provided within the housing to maintain the opposed reaches of the belt parallel to each other during such pivoting of the sections. The cutting elements may also be a plurality of wires embedded in the belt and extending outward from one side of the belt in the plane of the belt.
Abstract:
A combine including a harvesting head position control system is disclosed herein. The control system includes a position transducer for producing signals representative of the location of the head relative to the combine, an operator control switch, and a controller coupled to the position transducer and the control switch. The controller controls the raising and lowering of the head by controlling a hydraulic valve which controls the flow of fluid to hydraulic cylinders which raise and lower the harvesting head. More specifically, the controller permits the operator of the combine to momentarily toggle the switch to automatically raise the harvesting head, and monetarily toggle the switch to automatically lower the harvesting head at speeds proportional to the distance between the actual position of the harvesting head and the desired position of the harvesting head.
Abstract:
A mowing machine has a machine frame, front and rear wheels rotatably mounted on the machine frame, a control handle mounted on the machine frame, and a cutting assembly suspended by the machine frame for angular movement about a swing axis extending along a direction in which the mowing machine can travel straight. The front and rear wheels comprise single wheels, respectively, so that the mowing machine is two-wheeled. The machine frame, the front and rear wheels, and the control handle jointly serve as a non-swingable section, and the cutting assembly serves as a swingable section, the swingable section being suspended in offset relationship to the swing axis, the swingable section including a guide member for keeping the cutting assembly spaced from ground. The mowing machine may further include an angular range limiting mechanism for limiting the range of angular movement of the swingable section. The angular range limiting mechanism is capable of selecting one, at a time, of a plurality of modes representing respective angular ranges, the modes including a mode whose angular range is substantially nil with the swingable section being fixed to the non-swingable section.