Deere & Company

Daniel Stephen Hoffman

Bryan Ray Yanke

Duane M Bomleny

Shreyas P Modak

Anthony M Hasenour

Corwin Marcus Puryk

Justin C Freehill

Matthew R White

Alex Brimeyer

Aaron Scott Ritter

Joshua R Pierson

Anthony J Washburn

Nicholis R Fitzpatrick

Benjamin M Lovett

Michael L Vandeven

Paul J McCredie

Douglas John Bollin

Gregory Scott McCunn

Jixin Chen

Brent A Augustine

Amy C Berg

Cristiano Engelmann

Adam L Heeren

Adam J Beals

Anthony J Knepper

Cory Minnick

Christopher Krueger

Krishna S Potiuri

Kris Loff

Krishna S Potluri

Rodrigo Carlesso

Bryan R Yanke

Christopher L Krueger

A harvesting machine includes a cutter head having a cutter bar for cutting crop from a ground surface and a rotatable reel located above the cutter bar. Reel arms of the reel each include a plurality of fingers thereon to engage the crop. The cutter head also has an actuator configured to adjust a pitch of the fingers with respect to the reel arms. A controller is operably connected with the cutter head and is configured to receive an input on a cutter head posture relative to the ground surface, with the input on the posture of the cutter head including one or more of a height of the cutter head or an angle of the cutter head relative to the ground surface. The controller operates the actuator to automatically control the pitch of the plurality of fingers based on the received input on the posture of the cutter head.

Harvesting machine cutter head with automated posture-based reel finger pitch adjustment

Systems and apparatuses for detecting an amount of steering articulation of a steering system are disclosed. The systems and apparatuses may be applied to steering systems of agricultural header transport systems. The systems and apparatuses may include a first component moveable with a first steering component and a second component that is movable with a second steering component. The first component and the second component may interact to generate a notification that a selected amount of steering articulation has occurred or is about to occur. The notification may be provided to an operator, such as in the form of a visual, audible, or haptic output.

Position detectors for steering systems of agricultural header transport systems

A harvesting head for a collection machine that harvests material. The head includes conveyor belts to transport material towards the collection machine, and blower heads to help prevent material from falling off the conveyor belts. The conveyor belts can include a feed belt that feeds material towards the collection machine, and a side belt that carries material towards the feed belt. Blower heads can blow across the side belt and towards the center of the feed belt. Blower heads can be located below the side belt. Blower heads can be located near the front of the feed belt and blow towards the collection machine. A feed drum can move material towards the collection machine, and blower heads can blow across the feed drum and towards the feed belt or collection machine. Blower heads can be movable, or have adjustable flow rate, velocity, direction or spread.

Grain loss prevention system using air blowers

A harvester head reel may include a bat support and an extendable bat supported by the bat support. The extendable bat may have a first segment and a second segment overlapping the first segment. The harvester head reels may further include a first finger extending from the first segment and a second finger extending from the second segment.

Harvester head reel with extendable bat

Example draper heads may include an endless belt conveyor and a catch pan disposed adjacent to the endless belt conveyor to collect crop material and defining a uniform gap formed between at least a portion of the catch pan and a portion of an endless belt of the endless belt conveyor located adjacent to the catch pan. A cleat formed on the endless belt cooperates with the catch pan to transport the collected crop material onto the endless belt. The catch pan may include a contoured end that conforms to a shape formed by the endless belt at an end of the endless belt conveyor.

Loss catch and recirculation system for draper head

A draper belt for a head of a harvester that is to extend about a roller having an outer groove encircling the roller and may include a web and an elastomeric belt guide. The web may have a first surface to carry crop material and a second surface to face the roller. The elastomeric belt guide may extend from the second surface and may include downwardly projecting teeth.

Draper belt

An agricultural harvesting head comprises a frame that supports a cutter configured to cut an agricultural product. The agricultural harvesting head also comprises a set of laterally extending and forward tilted feeding tracks that guide the cut agricultural product to a center of the agricultural harvesting head. The set of feeding tracks comprise a base web of elastomer-impregnated fabric, elongated cleats that extend upward from the base web and extend across substantially the entire width of the base web and a plurality of textured protrusions that extend upward from the web between adjacent elongate cleats. The textured protrusions protrude upward from the base web a distance sufficient to catch and hold grain rolling downhill in a direction perpendicular to the direction of travel of the feeding track and extend over substantially the entire width of the base web. A center feeding track configured to receive the cut agricultural product from the set of laterally extending feeding tracks and guide the agricultural product into a body of an agricultural harvester.

Grain saving agricultural harvesting head

An agricultural harvesting head includes a laterally extending frame with several spaced apart float arms pivotally coupled to the frame at their rear ends, and a reciprocating knife fixed to the forward ends of the float arms, wherein the float arms are constrained to pivot with respect to the frame about pivot points that are lower than the reciprocating knife.

Agricultural harvesting head with float arm pivots below reciprocating knives

A roller support for draper belt supporting rollers of a harvester header may include a base, a first post extending from the base in a direction to support a first roller, a second post extending from the base in the direction to support a second roller, an arm extending from the base in the direction between the first post and the second post and a wear structure supported by and immovable relative to the arm. The wear structure may have a wear surface facing downwardly.

Draper belt roller support

An agricultural harvesting header includes a first frame portion and a second frame portion moveably connected to the first frame portion. An upper control arm is pivotally connected to the first frame portion and pivotally connected to the second frame portion. A lower control arm pivotally connected to the first frame portion and pivotally connected to the second frame portion. The connection between the first frame portion, second frame portion, upper control arm, and a lower control arm forms a roll center positioned at or below ground level.

Roll center for attachment frame control arms

A draper platform for mounting on a feeder house of an agricultural combine may include a frame, a center belt conveyor to carry cut crop material rearwardly towards a center opening in the frame through which crop may be fed into a feeder house, a left side belt conveyor to carry cut crop material to the center belt conveyor, a right side belt conveyor to carry cut crop material to the center belt conveyor, at least one elongate reciprocating knife assembly extending along a front edge of each of the center belt conveyor, the left side belt conveyor and the right side belt conveyor, a conveyor drum above the center belt conveyor and a central roller baffle. The central roller baffle may include a rotatable support rotatably supported above the conveyor drum and a crop driver removably mounted to the rotatable support.

Draper platform with reconfigurable central roller baffle

A draper platform for mounting on a feeder house of an agricultural combine may include a frame, a center belt conveyor to carry cut crop material rearwardly towards a center opening in the frame through which crop may be fed into a feeder house, a left side belt conveyor to carry cut crop material to the center belt conveyor, a right side belt conveyor to carry cut crop material to the center belt conveyor, at least one elongate reciprocating knife assembly extending along a front edge of each of the center belt conveyor, the left side belt conveyor and the right side belt conveyor, a left side top cross auger above the left side belt conveyor, the left side top cross auger having a right inner end, a right side top cross auger above the right side belt conveyor, the right side top cross auger having a left inner end opposite to and spaced from the right inner end and a conveyor drum above the center belt conveyor below a space between the right inner end and the left inner end.

Draper platform with removable central roller baffle

An agricultural harvesting head includes a frame on which two endless belt side conveyors are mounted. The return run of the side conveyors is supported on long support strips surmounted by plastic wear strips that are mounted on top of support arms. The support arms extend forward from the rear of the frame to support a reciprocating knife mounted to the front of the agricultural harvesting head.

Polymer used as draper belt contact surface

A conveyor belt for an agricultural harvesting head includes a base web of elastomer-impregnated fabric; elongate cleats that extend upward from the base web and extend across substantially the entire width of the base web; and a plurality of textured protrusions that extend upward from the web between adjacent elongate cleats, wherein the textured protrusions are organized in rows of pockets between adjacent cleats and extend over substantially the entire width of the base web.

Textured draper belt for an agricultural harvester

A draper platform () for mounting on a feederhouse of an agricultural combine comprises an elongate reciprocating knife assembly () at a forward edge of the draper platform (). A left side endless belt conveyor () is disposed behind the reciprocating knife assembly on the left side of the draper platform () and a right side endless belt conveyor () is disposed behind the elongate reciprocating knife assembly () on the right side of the draper platform (). A center endless belt conveyor () carries the cut crop material rearward towards a central rear aperture () in the frame (). A conveyor drum () is mounted above and in front of the central rear aperture (). Conveyor members () are located at crop transition zones () between the left side endless belt conveyor (), and the conveyor drum (), and between the right side endless belt conveyor () and the conveyor drum ().

Growing community of inventors

Bettendorf, IA, United States of America

Daniel Stephen Hoffman