Deere & Company

Floyd Pascal Hicks

Timothy Arthur Deutsch

Jerrell William Harden

Richard Lee Forest

Russell Jerrell Harden

Billy Paul Brown

Crop severing and gathering structure is pivotally connected to the forward end of a cotton row unit housing adjacent a row receiving area. A cutter severs the lower portion of cotton plants offset from the row receiving area of the row unit. A conveyer includes a pair of opposed belts with gripping features which embrace the lower portions of the stems of the cotton plants and move the severed plants in a generally upright position into the row of standing plants that is entering the row receiving area. The severed cotton plants intertwine with the standing row at the front of the housing as the conveyor moves the plants against one side of the row. The standing row with intertwined plants enters the row receiving area, and tandem picking drums located on the same side of the row as the severing and gathering structure remove cotton from both the standing row and the severed plants. The opposed belts have surfaces which enhance the gripping and conveying of the severed plants, and rotating brushes above the cutters help gather and hold the plants in the upright position for cutting. The pivotal connection allows the severing and gathering structure to be adjusted to the desired lateral position for a given plant spacing and to be lifted out of the way for convenient access to areas in and near the housing, including access to the row unit door structure. Plant gatherers at the leading end of the severing and gathering structure can be adjusted for alignment with the forward direction when the lateral position of the structure is adjusted for different plant spacings.

Growing community of inventors

Ramer, AL, United States of America

Floyd Pascal Hicks