Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
' 21 96037
~r~UTcAL DRIVE CENTER rlv~, MOWER COND~TIONER
Tocbnic~l Fi~l~
This invention relates to crop harvesting
equipment and, more particularly, to pull-type mowers or
mower/conditioners having a pulling tongue which is
hydraulically swingable from side-to-side as the machine
is being advanced across a field so that the lateral
position of the machine relative to the towing tractor
can be adjusted on-the-go from the tractor seat. More
particularly, the present invention involves a swing
tongue harvester of the aforementioned type wherein
provision is made for driving the operating components of
the harvesting header, such as the crop severing mecha-
nism and the conditioner rolls, through mechA~ical means
coupled with the power takeoff shaft of the towing
vehicle, rather than through a hydraulic drive system.
Bac~ground
Swing-tongue harvesters have become extremely
popular over the years due in part to their ability to be
quickly and easily maneuvered from the tractor seat
around obstacles, through right angle turns, and other-
wise operated in a manner previously reserved only for
self-propelled vehicles. In the case of "center-pivot"
swing-tongue harvesters in which the tongue is pivoted at
or near the transverse center of the machine, the machine
is cApAhle of being used to cut back and forth across a
field in subsequent pACsec as it is shifted first to the
right during one pass and then out to the left on the
return pass.
Having a pulling tongue which is shifted
between relatively sharp angular positions, however,
creates problems in the delivery of driving power from
the tractor to operating components of the machine. One
21 96037
way to accomplish such power delivery is through the use
of a remote hydraulic motor back on the machine which is
coupled with the tractor hydraulics in such a way that
hydraulic power is supplied to the motor through long
flexible lines leading from the tractor back to the
motor. By positioning the hydraulic motor back on the
harvester itself, there is no need to have mec~n;cal
drive lines ext~n~i~g between the tractor and the
harvester which would become subjected to the ongoing
angular movements and turns between the harvester and the
tractor. The hydraulic hoses can instead f~ex to the
extent ~Pcecs~ry to accomplish such angulations, and it
is only necesCAry to have a meçh~nical drive line system
1~A~; ng from the hydraulic motor down to the components
lS to be driven.
However, a hydraulic drive system of this type
is Yp~ncive and has certain power limitations, as well
as other problems. Therefore, it would still be desir-
able, if possible, to have a mech~ical drive line
between the tractor and the harvester which could supply
all of the power needs of the harvester and yet fully
withstand the twists and turns and angular motions
effected by the harvester as it is used and maneuvered in
its most efficient manner.
2S
8umm~rY of the Invention
Accordingly, one important object of the
present invention i8 to provide a mech~ical drive,
swing-tongue harvester in which the operating components
of the harvesting header are powered by a mech~nical
drive line connected to the power takeoff shaft of the
towing vehicle.
ru~ uant to this object, the ~ese~t invention
utilizes a right angle gear box on the harvesting header
3S into which driving power is supplied and out of which
21 96037-
driving power is distributed to the operating components
via belt and pulley arrangements. The output shaft of
the gearbox projects downwardly from the bottom of the
gearbox to define an upright axis about which the gearbox
can be swiveled, such axis being spaced forwardly from
the axis of the swing-tongue which is located back on the
main frame of the machine. The drive line from the power
takeoff shaft of the tractor extends along the tongue and
is s~o~Led in underslung relationship thereto 80 that
the rear end of the drive line is coupled with the input
shaft of the gearbox which extends fore-and-aft. When
the tongue is swung back and forth to reposition the
harvesting portion of the machine, a telescoping section
of the drive line between a a~oL~ing point on the
tongue and the connection with the gearbox telescopically
extends and retracts to accommodate the different axes of
rotation of the tongue and the gearbox. A telescoping
steering linkage connected between the tongue and the
gearbox has the effect of steering the gearbox as the
tongue is swung such that loading is relieved from the
drive line. The anchor point of the steering linkage to
the tongue is a~Loximately equidistantly spaced from
opposite ends of the telescoping section of the drive
line so that substantially equal angles are presented at
opposite ends of the drive line regardless of the swing
angle of the tongue, hence reducing the torsional loading
otherwise experienced by the drive line at the opposite
ends of the telescoping section due to unequal angular
relationships at those locations.
In the event that the inventive conce~ts are
utilized in connection with a rotary mower in which a
series of high speed, rotary cutting units are utilized
instead of a straight, reciprocable sickle assembly, the
present invention also contemplates im~Lo~ements in
feeding the cut crop rearwardly into the opening for the
21 96~37
conditioner rolls, particularly at the cutter units at
the opposite ends of the cutter bed. In this respect, it
has been found that cut crop at the endmost units has a
tendency to be flung rearwardly on around and thence
laterally outwardly through the open end of the cutter
bed instead of rearwardly into the conditioner roll
opening. However, in accordance with the present
invention, an impeller plate is mounted directly above
the knife carrier of at least one of the end units and is
of such configuration as to contact the flow of cut crop
material once it has been ~evered by the outboard cutter
unit and to force such material to flow rearwardly and
inwardly into the ~icrh~rge opDning in the in~ e~
manner.
Br~ef Do~cription of the Drawing~
Figure 1 is a top plan view of a ~wing-tongue
harvester constructed in accordance with the principles
of the present invention showing the harvesting portion
of the machine shifted out to the right hand side of the
towing tractor so that the pull-tongue is in its left-
most, angular position, parts being broken away to reveal
details of construction;
Fig. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary cross-
sectional view of the harvester taken along a line
ex~n~i~g fore-and-aft of the machine;
Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, left side elevational
view of the top portion of the harvesting header in the
vicinity of the right angle gearbox and steering linkage;
Fig. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary front
elevational view of the gearbox of the harvesting header
with the drive line and clutch removed to reveal details
of construction;
2 1 96037
Fig. 5 is a transverse cross-sectional view of
the gearbox area taken substantially along line 5-S of
Fig. 2;
Fig. 6 is a fragmentary, top schematic plan
view of the harvester in its Fig. 1 position illustrating
the geometric relationships between the various pivot
points and connection points of the tongue, gearbox,
drive line, and steering linkage which enables the
telescopic section of the drive line to maintain substan-
tially equal drive angles at its opposite ends in all
positions of swinging movement of tne tongue;
Fig. 7 is a top, front, fragmentary perspective
view of the right end portion of the cutter bed of the
harvesting header showing the use of a fe~ing impeller
- 15 on the endmost cutter unit in accordance with the
principles of the present invention;
Fig. 8 is a somewhat schematic, fragmentary top
plan view of the cutter bed illustrating the relationship
between the feeding impellers of the two endmost cutter
units and adjacent structure and me~h~nicm; and
Fig. 9 is a fragmentary, left end elevational
view of the cutter bed.
Detailed Description
The harvester 10 includes an inverted, general-
ly U-ch~pD~ mobile frame 12 having an upper cross beam 14
and a pair of deren~ i n~ legs 16 and 18 at opposite ends
of the beam 14. A pair of ground wheels 20 and 22 are
connected to the lower ends of the legs 16,18, respec-
tively, via respective fore-and-aft wheel arms 24, only
of one of such arms 24 being visible in the drawings (see
Fig. 2). Each of the wheel arms 24 has a transverse,
pivot connection 26 at its forward end with the lower end
of the respective leg 16 or 18, and each wheel arm 24 is
swung about such pivot co~nection 26 by its own hydraulic
21 96037
cylinder 28 so that the frame 12 is effectively raised
and lowered by extPnAing and retracting the cylinders 28,
respectively.
The frame 12 is adapted for towing movement
through a long fore-and-aft tongue 30 having a hitch 32
at its front end for pivotal connection to the draw bar
34 of a towing tractor 36. At its rear end, the tongue
30 is journaled on a vertical pivot post 38 which is
fixed to the cross beam 14 of the frame 12 substantially
centrally between its two opposite ends. The pivot post
38 thus defines a first upright pivot axis. Although-the
tong,ue 30 is shown in Fig. 1 in its position of leftmost
swinging movement, it is to be understo,od that it can be
swung about the pivot 38 to an infinite number of angular
positions with respect to the path of travel of the
harvester 10, including a centered position as illustrat-
ed in phantom lines in Fig. 6 and a full rightmost
position which is not illustrated but is the mirror image
of the leftmost position in Fig. 1. In order to effect
such swinging of the tongue 30 from the driver's seat of
the tractor 36, the harvester 10 is provided with a
hydraulic swing cylinder 40 which lies along the backside
of the cross beam 14 and is connected between a mounting
lug 42 on the cross beam 14 (Fig. 1) and a short crank 44
projecting rigidly rearwardly from the tongue 30 hPhin~
the pivot 38. A pair of stops 46 and 48 on the cross
beam 14 are located on opposite lateral sides of the
pivot 38 in position to abuttingly engage the crank 44 80
as to define mech~n~cal limits of swinging motion of the
tongue 30.
Supported by the frame 12 beneath the swing
tongue 30 is a harvesting hPA~r broadly denoted by the
numeral 50. In accordance with the principles of the
present invention, the heA~Pr 50 may be constructed in a
number of different ways to perform a number of different
- ' 2196037
.
--7--
functions. In the illustrated embodiment, the header 50
is designed to both mow or cut the st~ing crop and
condition the crop before returning the cut crop to the
~.o~.d in a windrowed or swathed condition. It will be
understood, however, that the principles of the present
invention are not limited to a machine which both mows
and condition the crop, i.e., to a mower/conditioner.
The header 50 has a frame of its own which can
be described as being of generally open, box-like
construction in a rectangular configuration. Such frame
is broadly denoted by the numeral 52 in Fig. 2 and
includes a pair of upper transverse beams 54 and 56. A
plate 58 interconnects the beams 54 and 56 near the
center of the header 50. A pair of upright, left and
right h~lkheads 60 and 62 (see Figs. 2, 7, 8, and 9) are
located at opposite ends of the frame 52 and ~epen~ from
the beams 54,56 and plate 58. The lower ends of the
hlllkh~c 60,62 are interconnected by a forwardly offset,
transverse cutter bed broadly denoted by the numeral 64
such that the frame 52 is closed at the top, bottom, and
sides, but is open in the middle, between the bulkheads
60,62, to present a generally rectangular crop discharge
opening broadly denoted by the numeral 65 in Fig. 8, and
also shown in Fig. 7. A pair of transverse, cooperating
conditioner rolls 66 and 68 (Figs. 2, 7, and 9) span the
~ h~rge opening 65 in stacked relationship to one
another and are supported at their opposite ends by the
h~lk~eads 60 and 62 for receiving cut material from the
cutter bed 64 and crimping or conditioning the materials
before they are returned to the ground. Viewing Fig. 2
it will been seen that the upper conditioner roll 66 is
driven in a counterclockwise direction while the lower
conditioner roll 68 is driven in a clockwise direction.
The rolls 66 ~nd 68 may take a variety of different
configurations, as well understood by those skilled in
- 2 1 96037
the art and form no part of the present invention, per
se. An elongated, overhead baffle bar 69 (Figs. 2 and 7)
projects outwardly in front of the opening 65 and above
all but the opposite end portions of the cutter bed 64
for assisting in the smooth f~e~ing of severed crop
materials to the conditioner rolls 66,68 from the cutter
bed.
The header 50 is supported for up and down
swinging movement beneath the tongue 30 by a pair of
lower support links 70 and 72 (Figs. 1, 2, and 8), each
of which is pivotally connected at its rear end to a
cranked connection point 74 on the corresponding wheel
arm 24 and at its front end via a pivotal connection 76
to the header 50. A centrally disposed stabilizing link
78 (Figs. 1, 2, and 3) pivotally connects the upper rear
portion of the header 50 with a dep~n~ing lug 80 on the
cross beam 14 so that the header 50 is supported in a
three-point arrangement. Long flotation springs 82 and
84 at opposite ends of the h~er 50 connect the bulk-
heads 60 and 62 with correspon~;ng, upwardly and outward-
ly angled posts 86 and 88 at opposite ends of the cross
beam 14. In this manner, the header 50 is floatingly
supported for up and down movement relative to the frame
12 hene~th the tongue 30 as rises and falls are encoun-
tered in the terrain during advancement of the harvester.The links ?0,72, and 78 ~wing up and down with the h~ r
50 during such movement. For over-the-road travel, the
cylinders 28 are ext~n~ from their retracted positions
of Fig. 2, whereby to cause the wheel arms 24 to swing
downwardly and forwardly in counterclockwise directions
about the pivots 26 ~ r--~h i ng the header 50 forwardly and
upwardly with the assistance of the flotation springs 82
and 84.
A mech~nical driveline broadly denoted by the
numeral 90 extends along and is rotatably ~u~u~ ~ ed by
2 1 96037
;
g
the tongue 30 for delivering driving power from the
tractor 36 to the operating components of the harvester
10. At the front end of the driveline 90, a relatively
short telescoping section 92 has a front constant velo-
city joint 94 which connects to the power takeoff shaft
96 of the tractor 36, and a rear constant velocity joint
98 that connects with the front end of an intermediate
section 100 of the driveline. The constant velocity
joints 94 and 98 are commercially available from a number
of sources and are well understood by those skilled in
the art. The intermediate section 100 is suspended
h~ne~th the tongue 30 by suitable hangers such as the
hanger 102 shown in Fig. 2.
The intermediate section 100 extends slightly
rearwardly beyond the hanger 102 and at its rear end has
a st~nA~rd universal joint 104 with a long telescoping
section 106 that is preferably housed within a protec-
tive, telescoping shield 108 well under~tood by those
skilled in the art and commonly commercially available in
the agricultural mac~in~ry industry. A second ~t~n~rd
universal joint 110 is provided at the rear end of the
telescoping section 106, which U-joint 110 is connected
via a combination slip and overrunning clutch 112 to the
input shaft 114 of a st~n~rd right angle gearbox 116.
The st~n~rd universal joints 104 and 110 are commercial-
ly available from a number of so~es and are well
understood by those skilled in the art.
The gearbox 116 is not mounted on the tongue
30, but is instead ~ Led by the header S0 in direct
frontal alignment with the tongue pivot 38. Although not
illustrated in the drawings, it will be understood that
within the gearbox 116, a pair of suitable bevel gears
are provided to provide a right angle driving connection
between the input shaft 114 and an upright, downwardly
exten~ing o~ L shaft 118 slightly visible in Fig. 2 and
21 96037
--10--
shown in more detail in Fig. 5. The ouL~u~ shaft 118 has
a double sheave unit fixed thereto presenting a large
sheave 120 and a small diameter sheave 122 immediately
therebelow. The sheaves 120 and 122 are used to supply
driving power for the operating components on the header
50, as will subsequently be described.
The o~L~u~ shaft 118 passes through the sheaves
120 and 122 and into a suitable bearing 124 in the top
plate 58 of header frame 52, as illustrated in Fig. 5.
Although the shaft 118 projects from the bottom of the
gearbox 116, it does not support the weight of the
gearbox 116. Instead, the gearbox 116 is carried by a
cradle broadly denoted by the numeral 126 having an open,
generally rectangular, rigid, frame loop 128 that has two
stiff, upright side brackets 130 and 132 that support the
loop 128 on edge and are rigidly fixed at their lower
ends to the header frame 52.
While the loop 128 is fixed and stationary
relative to the header frame 52, the gearbox 116 is not,
and instead can swivel about an upright axis coinciding
with the axis of rotation of the G~uL shaft 118. Such
swivelling axis is defined for the gearbox 116 by an
upper trunnion 134 in the horizontal top portion of the
frame loop 128 and by a coAY;Al, lower trunnion 136 in
the lower horizontal part of the frame loop 128. The
axis defined by the trunnions 134,136 thus presents a
~econ~, upright pivot axis on the harvester 10, such
~econ~ axis being located in direct fore-and-aft align-
ment with the tongue pivot axis 38 and spaced forwardly
therefrom.
It is desirable to pivot the gearbox 116 about
its pivot axis 134 in response to swinging of the pull-
tongue 30 80 as to keep the input shaft 114 of the
gearbox 116 at least generally aligned with the telescop-
ing section 106 of the driveline 90. For this purpose,
21 96037
the gearbox 116 is provided with steering structure 138that interconnects the tongue 30 and the gearbox 116 so
as to transmit swinging motion of the tongue 30 to the
gearbox 116. As shown particularly in Figs. 2 and 3, the
steering structure 138 comprises a tl~h~ r, telescopic
linkage consisting of an inner section 140 and a concen-
trically disposed outer section 142. The inner tube 140
has at its forward end a ball and socket swivel connec-
tion 144 with a bracket 146 on the underside of the
tongue 30. The opposite end of the inner tube 140 is
~lidingly received within the outer tube 142, which has
a pair of laterally spaced apart, downwardly projecting
ears 148 that straddle a rigid, ~llh~lAr housing 150
projecting forwardly from the gearbox 116. The housing
150 protectively encircles the stAnAArd universal joint
110, the clutch 112, and the input shaft 114. The
lowermost ends of the two ears 148 are provided with
aligned, horizontal pivots 152 that ron~ect the ears 148
with the front end of the housing 150. It will be noted
that the pivots 152 are aligned horizontally with the
universal joint 110 of the driveline 90.
Fig. 6 shows the geometric relationship between
the tongue 30, the driveline 90, and the steering
structure 138. It will be noted that the connection
point 144 of the steering structure to the tongue 30 is
approximately equidistantly spaced from both of the U-
joints 104 and 110. Thus, regardless of the angular
position of the tongue 30, the angle "a" at the U-joint
104 between the telescoping section 106 and the interme-
diate driveline section 100 is always approximately equal
to the angle "b" at the universal joint 110 between the
telescopic section 106 and the input shaft 114. As a
result of this equal angle relationch~p at the two
universal joints 104 and 110, loading on the driveline is
3S the same at both points such that no untoward torsional
21 96037
-12-
forces are introduced into the driveline at those
locations.
With reference to Fig. 1, it will be seen that
the smaller drive sheave 122 located beneath the gearbox
116 is entrained by an endless, flexible belt 154 that
extends over to the left end of the header across the top
portion thereof where it entrains a driven sheave 156
fixed to an input shaft 158 of a right angle gearbox 160.
The gearbox 160, in turn, is drivingly coupled with an
upright chain case 162 which, through sprockets and drive
chains not illustrated, is drivingly coupled with the
conditioner rolls 66 and 68 for supplying driving power
thereto in the direction earlier described.
The larger sheave 120 located immediately below
the gearbox 116 is entrained by a ~conA endless,
flexible belt 164 that extends over to the right end of
the header 50 to entrain a horizontal sheave 166 at that
location. An upright driven shaft 168 is fixed to the
sheave 166 for rotation thereby and extends downwardly
through the he~r frame 52 to the mower bed 64 for
supplying driving power thereto.
As illustrated in Figs. 2 and 7, the driven
shaft 168 has a universal joint coupling 170 at its lower
end with the right endmost cutting unit 172 of the cutter
bed 64 for supplying rotary driving power to the unit
172. It will be appreciated that, although not illus-
trated in the drawings, the cutter unit 172 has a
vertical shaft cQ~eGted to and leading downwardly from
the universal joint coupling 170 into a flat, horizontal
gear case 174 that extends across the lower front margin
of the header 50 and generally forms the lower transverse
extremity of the cutter bed 64. Within the gear case
174, a line of intermeshi~ gears may be provided
correspon~ in number and position to the number of
cutter units 172 disposed in the series across the front
2 1 96037
-13-
of the header and forming part of the cutter bed 64. As
an alternative to the intermeshing gears, belts and
pulleys or driveshafts with bevel gears may be utilized,
although in the preferred embodiment flat, intermeshing
spur gears are selected. Details of construction of the
gear case 174 and the cutter units 172 are not set forth
herein in view of the fact that those skilled in the art
are well acquainted with constructional details of cutter
beds of the type exemplified by the cutter bed 64.
Suffice it to point out that each of the cutter
units 172 includes a generally oval ~hApD~, generally
flat, formed metal carrier 176 (for a plan view, see Fig.
8) that has a pair of swingable knives 178 at its
opposite longit~ nAl ends. The knives 178 are pivotally
secured to the carrier 176 in the usual manner and
project out radially during rotation of the carrier 176.
As is best noted by viewing Fig. 8, the cutter
units 172 are spaced along the gear case 174 at such
distAncec that the circular paths of travel described by
adjacent carriers in the series overlap one another.
Moreover, the adjacent carriers 176 are oriented 90~ out
of phase to one another so that as the longitl~in~l axis
of one carrier is ext~nAing fore-and-aft, the longitudi-
nal axis of the next adjacent carrier is exten~ing side-
to-side, and vice versa. The intermechi~g gears within
the gear case 174 beneath the carriers 176 maintain the
cutter units 172 in ~G~r timed relationship with one
another.
It will also be seen from Fig. 8 that adjacent
cutter units 172 in the series rotate in opposite
directions relative to one another about their respective
upright axes. Thus, as indicated by the arrows 180 and
182 with respect to the leftmost cutter unit 172 in Fig.
8, sl~cceccive pairs of the cutter units 172 along the bed
64 cooperate to sever the stAn~i~g crop engaged by the
21 96037
leading edge of the bed 64 and transfer it rearwardly
over the top of the bed 64 and into the openi~g 65 for
engagement by the conditioner rolls 66 and 68. From the
conditioner rolls 66 and 68, the cut crop is thrown
rearwardly to deflector shields 184, as shown in Figs. 1
and 2, which deflect the crop and direct it downwardly
onto the ~L O~ld .
The cutter units 172 at the left and right ends
of the bed 64 may experience more difficulty in deliver-
ing the cut materials rearwardly into the opening 65 than
the other cutter units 172. This is due, in part, to the
fact that the op~n; ng 65 to the conditioner rolls 66,68
is narrower than the cutter bed 64 is long. As will be
noted from Fig. 8, the boundaries of the opening 65 are
defined by portions of the abutments 60 and 62 which are
located to the inside of the axis of rotation of the
endmost units 172. Consequently, in some conditions,
there is a tendency for the end units 172 to sweep the
cut material on around and transversely out the open ends
of the cutter bed 64 in front of the upright wall
portions 60a and 62a of the abutments 60 and 62. To
prevent this from occurring, at least one and preferably
both of the end units 172 are provided with specially
configured impeller plates 186 located immediately above
the carriers 176 and dia~.-e~ 90~ out of phase with such
underlying carriers. Each of the impeller plates 186 is
elongated, presenting a pair of longit-l~ i nA 1 1 y eXt~nA i n~,
asymmetrical lobes 188 and 190 which are identical to one
another but are diametrically opposed to each other and
project outwardly from opposite sides of the same axis of
rotation. Each of the lobes 188 has a straight trailing
edge 190 that extends parallel to the longit~inA 1 axis
of the impeller body and terminates in an outermost tip
lg2 that is located in a retarded position with respect
to the longit~l~inAl axis of the impeller body relative to
21 96037
-15-
the direction of rotation of the body. Each lobe further
includes and arcuate, outwardly bowed leading edge 194
that extends from the tip 192 arcuately forwardly and
inwardly to the approximate midpoint of the impeller body
where it merges with the trailing edge 190 of the
opposite lobe 188. It will be noted that the radius of
curvature of the leading edge 194 is approximately the
width of the impeller body along its midpoint between the
two lobes 188 and that the axis of curvature is located
at the approximate intersection of the trAil;ng edge 190
on one lobe and the leading edge 194 on the other lobe.
As a result of this special configuration of
the impellers 186 and their out of phase relationship
with the underlying carriers 176, loose crop material
that has been seveled by the end cutting units 172 and
their next adjacent inho~rd cutting units is engaged by
the leading edge 194 and directed inwardly toward the
center of the or~ning 65, instead of tenAi~g to carry
around and out the opposite ends of the cutter bed.
Having the l~ g edges 194 of the impeller plates 186
contoured in the illustrated manner encol~rages proper
release of the severed materials to the or~ni ng 65,
rather than carry around of such materials.
It will also be noted that each of the end
cutting units 172 includes an upright, generally cylin-
drical imp~lling cage 196 that helps in directing the
severed materials rearwardly and inwardly into the
~icr~Arge op~ning 65. As illustrated in Figs. 2, 7, and
9, each of the impeller cages 196 includes a pair of
superimposed, vertically spaced apart flat rings 198 and
200 that are concentric about the axis of rotation of the
cutter unit 172. An upper series of upright, circumfer-
entially spaced apart spacer tubes 202 are disposed
between the upper ring 200 and the lower ring 198, while
a corresponding series of lower, circumferentially
21 96037
-16-
spaced, upright spacer tubes 204 are located between the
bottom ring 198 and the top surface of the impeller plate
186. The lower tubes 204 are axially aligned with the
upper tubes 202 such that long bolts 206 may be extended
down through the assembly of tubes and spacers to
threadably secure the same and the underlying impeller
plate 186 down to a hub or collar 206 located beneath the
impeller plate 186 and secured to the underlying carrier
176.
Tt should be apparent from the foregoing that
the harvester 10 provides for center pivot mowing and
conditioning, yet a merhAnical drive to the operating
components of the hPA~r 50. As a result of the equal
angle relationship illustrated in Fig. 6 at the opposite
ends of the telescoping driveline section 106, the
tendency to develop rotational speed differentials at
opposite ends of the telescoping section 106 is minimized
~uch that untoward 10A~;n~ is avoided and useful operat-
ing life is prolonged. Furthermore, the mechA~ical drive
available in the harvester 10 permits the use of rotary
cutting devices which may sometimes require the addition-
al driving power through such mechAnical drives, such
rotary cutter mech~An;~m being particularly desirable in
some-crop conditions more so than others. Through the
use of the specially configured impeller plates 18~ on
the left and right end cutter units 172, the ~e~ncy to
unintentionally carry severed crop material around and
out the opposite ends of the cutter bed 64 i~ dramatical-
ly reduced. If desired, a number of protective, rubber-
ized curtains 206 (Fig. 2) may be provided about thefront and side margins of the h~A~er 50. Such curtains
206 hang from a pair of front pAnPl~ 208 and 210 across
the front of the h~A~r 50 which are hinged along their
rear extremities to permit the panels 208,210 to swing up
to access positions. Other curtains along the side
21 96037
~ -17-
margin of the header 50 are supported at the outer
extremities of opposite panels 212 and 214, which,
likewise, are hinged along their inner margins to permit
swinging up into access positions and for narrower
roading width.
Although preferred forms of the invention have
been described above, it is to be recognized that such
disclosure is by way of illustration only, and should not
be utilized in a limiting sense in interpreting the scope
of the present invention. Obvious modifications to the
exemplary embodiments, as hereinabove set forth, could be
readily made by those skilled in the art without depart-
ing from the spirit of the present invention.
The inventors hereby ~tate their intent to rely
on the Doctrine of Equivalents to determine and assess
the reAco~Ahly fair scope of their invention as pertains
to any apparatus not materially departing from but
outside the literal scope of the invention as set out in
the following claims.
