| Patent application number | Description | Published |
|---|
| 20080207286 | Rotor for a threshing system of an agricultural combine and method of making the same - A rotor for a threshing system of an agricultural combine and method for making the same, including a main body segment made from a sheet formed into a tube and including specially shaped interlocking edges forming a serpentine joint routed locations where threshing element mounts attach to the rotor. | 08-28-2008 |
| 20080207287 | Off-center pivot/two-bolt vane adjustment for combine harvesters - An improved combine harvester comprises threshing and separating chambers having cover plates on which groups of vanes may be adjusted by individual tie plates utilizing an off-center pivot point for the vanes and a two-bolt system. Said two-bolts being the maximum number of bolts needed to secure each vane wherein one of said bolts is an off-center pivot point while the other of said bolts extends through the cover plate to secure the tie plate for each group of vanes. | 08-28-2008 |
| 20080209878 | Combine harvester power management control - A system and method of controlling maximum available engine power of a combine harvester wherein the engine drives the harvester and additionally powers a threshing mechanism for separating harvested crop into grain and crop residue and at least one further crop processing subsystem that may be selectively configured and disengaged, including a straw chopper engageable for chopping the crop residue and propelling the chopped residue from the harvester, structure configurable for directing the crop residue into the chopper or to bypass the chopper, utilizing a controller for automatically reducing the maximum available engine power as a function of the status of the engagement of the subsystems, particularly the chopper and the configuration of the associated structure. | 09-04-2008 |
| 20080268927 | Apparatus and method for automatically setting operating parameters for a remotely adjustable spreader of an agricultural harvesting machine - Apparatus and a method for automatically recognizing a header connected to a harvesting machine and setting operating and/or adjustment parameters of a spreader of the machine for use with the header. The apparatus includes a memory containing information representative of predetermined spreader settings for at least one header connectable to the harvesting machine, such as a grain header and a corn or maize header. A detector element is operable for automatically identifying a header connected to the machine and outputting a signal or information representative thereof, to a controller automatically operable for using that information for retrieving the stored information representative of the predetermined spreader settings for that header. Input commands and/or information, for instance, relating to crop type, and/or crop and environmental conditions, can also be inputted using either an onboard or remote input device. The controller then responsively controls a crop residue spreader connected to the machine as a function of the retrieved information and any inputted commands or information, if within predetermined permissible ranges. | 10-30-2008 |
| 20080290198 | Knife bank assembly of a counter knife assembly of an integral chopper assembly of a combine harvester - An improved knife bank assembly of a counter knife assembly of an integral chopper assembly of a combine harvester that includes an elongated bracket member that extends between opposed knife bank end plates and has a plurality of spaced retainment mounts securable therealong, with at least one, and preferably two, knife blades being removably connectable to each retainment mount in a side-by-side arrangement. The bracket member is preferably mounted to a shaft member that extends between concave pan side plates to be slidable along such shaft member to permit adjustable positioning of the knife bank assembly and the knife elements thereof relative to the slots of the grate portion, and the retainment mounts are preferably removably securable to the bracket member. The knife elements are removably connectable to the retainment mounts at first and second space mounting points, preferably in such a way that the knife elements are maintained in an extended position by application of a biasing force at the second mounting point but are rotatable about the first mounting point to a displaced or relaxed position if a sufficient force is applied to the leading edge of the knife element to overcome the biasing force. | 11-27-2008 |
| 20080293462 | Concave pan portion of an integral chopper assembly of a combine harvester - A concave pan portion of an integral chopper assembly that includes a concave pan shell portion with a separate grate portion that may be easily installed into and removed from an intermediate opening in such concave pan portion for replacement in the event of undesirable wear thereto, and a separate interruption plate installable downstream from the slots in the grate portion for the purpose of effecting a lower mean length of chop (LOC) as the integral chopper assembly operates. The separate grate portion is configured to be installable to fill the intermediate opening in the concave pan shell portion, with a plurality of slots therethrough positioned side-by-side in the crossways direction to accommodate knife elements that are part of the counter knife assembly. Preferably, such separate grate portion may be crossways adjustable to some degree within the intermediate opening. The interruption plate is configured to extend generally crossways across the concave pan portion, downstream from the slots of the grate portion to project upwardly into and across the passageway between the rotary chopper element and the concave pan portion so as to interrupt the flow of residue past the integral chopper assembly to permit the residue to be chopped into shorter pieces, resulting in a lower mean length of chop (LOC) as the integral chopper assembly operates. | 11-27-2008 |
| 20080293463 | Insertion tool for a rotary chopper element of an integral chopper assembly of a combine harvester - An insertion tool for installing rotary chopper elements in integral chopper assemblies in combine harvesters, which insertion tool includes an elongated open-ended trough-like bed portion of a length, breadth, and depth to sufficiently accommodate the rotary chopper element therewithin, with lift brackets along the sides thereof configured to accommodate the prongs of lifting forks of a forklift. The rotary chopper element may be positioned to rest within the bed portion of the insertion tool for transport to adjacent to the access and installation window of a harvester and for slidable insertion by the insertion tool through such window for installation within the harvester. | 11-27-2008 |
| 20090111549 | Combine harvester residue chopper active counter knife assembly - An active counter knife assembly for a material chopper assembly or construction that has a rotary chopper element disposed across a material flow path, including a chopper grate assembly, having a grate portion with spaced generally transverse slots therealong, positionable generally parallel to the rotary chopper element of the residue chopper assembly; a rotatable shaft positionable generally beneath and parallel to the grate portion of the chopper grate assembly, with a plurality of fixed or flail-type knife elements attached to such shaft and positioned thereon to be alignably rotatable through the spaced generally transverse slots of the grate portion of the chopper grate assembly; and a drive mechanism for effecting rotational movement of the counter knife assembly, which drive mechanism is preferably controllable to allow an operator to vary the rotational speed and direction of the rotatable shaft so that the rotatable shaft may be selectably either maintained in an essentially fixed or locked condition or operated to rotate either counter to the rotation of the rotary chopper element of the chopper assembly or in the same tangential direction as the rotary chopper element, thereby controlling to some extent both the throughput speed of the material at the chopper assembly and the quality of the chop by the chopper assembly. | 04-30-2009 |
| 20090255758 | Novel rear deck service ladder and handle assembly for combines - A novel rear deck service ladder and handle assembly for combine harvesters is disclosed having integral latching and height adjustment features. | 10-15-2009 |
| 20090290970 | ADAPTIVE RATE CONTROL FOR FEEDING GRAIN TO A GRAIN UNLOADER CONVEYOR - The control of an apparatus within a grain holding device for feeding grain to an unloader conveyor operable for conveying the grain from the holding device, includes sensing a predetermined condition or conditions representative of capacity of the unloader conveyor for receiving grain, and adaptively controlling the apparatus for feeding grain to the unloader conveyor in advantageous varying manners responsive to the conditions, including to delay initiation of feeding until the receiving capacity is increased, and to match the grain feed to the capacity. The automatic control can be overridden, to allow user control of unloader speed, and can be configured to allow cleanout of the unloader conveyor. | 11-26-2009 |
| 20110070933 | THRESHING SYSTEM INCLUDING THRESHING ELEMENTS HAVING OPENINGS FOR GRAIN PASSAGE - A threshing system for an agricultural harvester including a plurality of threshing elements supported on a rotor at spaced intervals in a generally helical pattern about an outer surface of the rotor, each threshing element including a set of discrete threshing bars including a leading threshing bar proximate the outer surface of the rotor and a succession of threshing bars located progressively farther from the outer surface forming a ramp and defining a wedge shaped opening between the threshing bars and the outer surface, each set of threshing bars extending generally axially along the rotor defining axially extending spaces therebetween sufficiently large for passage of grain therethrough to the wedge shaped opening. | 03-24-2011 |
| 20110094199 | GRAIN CONVEYOR APPARATUS AND SYSTEM INCLUDING SEPARATION CAPABILITY - A grain conveying apparatus and system for conveying and separating elements of a grain mixture of a first minimum size, such as cob pieces, and a second maximum size smaller than the first minimum size, such as grain or corn, including an upper passage having at least one aperture generally smaller than the cob pieces and larger than the grain or corn. As the grain mixture is conveyed through the upper passage, the cob pieces will pass across the apertures, and the grain or corn will pass through the apertures to the lower passage thereby separating the elements of the grain mixture as it is conveyed from a source bin to separate receiving bins. | 04-28-2011 |
| 20110114408 | WORK MACHINE INCLUDING HYDROSTATIC GROUND DRIVE WHICH AUTOMATICALLY PROVIDES INCREASED PROPULSION TORQUE WHEN THE MECHANICAL TRANSMISSION IS IN A HIGH GEAR - A work machine having a mechanical transmission in combination with a hydrostatic ground drive including a primary drive and a secondary drive engageable for providing additional propulsion torque in a power assist mode, the hydrostatic drive automatically providing an increased torque capability when the transmission is engaged in a high speed range, thereby allowing the work machine to accelerate from a complete stop to a high speed range with the transmission in a high speed range without the need to stop to shift the mechanical transmission to accommodate an increased propulsion torque requirement. | 05-19-2011 |
| 20110143827 | HELICAL BAR CONCAVE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING - A helical bar concave comprising a grate having helical mounting framework and helical cutouts to form a percent open area having a helical geometry. Configurable and segmented rub bars are mounted in a helical fashion to a cylindrical helical surface of the grate. A method of manufacturing a helical bar concave from a flat, rolled laser cut arrangement that provides a net helical concave functionality. Laser cutting a flat metal sheet to form helical cutouts defining a percent open area having a helical geometry in combination with configurable rub bars mounted in a helical fashion results in a configurable helical bar concave in which the number or aggressiveness of the threshing surface on the inside radius of the grate may be changed and/or the rub bars may be moved to the outside of the grate to change the percent open area and hence the separation characteristics of the concave. | 06-16-2011 |
| 20110165922 | AIR CURTAIN DISCHARGE PROTECTION FOR AN AGRICULTURAL HARVESTER - A discharge system for an agricultural harvester is disclosed to provide an air curtain that shields straw, chaff and other crop residue from the wind. The system includes a blower adapted for mounting to an agricultural harvester and having an intake side and a discharge side and a plenum fluidly connected to the discharge side of the blower. The plenum is arranged and disposed to distribute air exiting the discharge side of the blower to form an air curtain according to a predetermined profile at a location adjacent discharge that exits a rear door of the agricultural harvester as a windrow. | 07-07-2011 |
