Macdon Industries Ltd

Kondex Corporation

Francois R Talbot

Daniel G Cormier

Tyler James Maes

Keith A Johnson

Bruce Robert Shearer

Neal J Stoffel

Rheal G Remillard

Thomas R Fox

Karl Bernard Hundt

Eric Grenier

Romain Etienne Guy Coudiere

Daniel Cormier

Karl B Hundt

Eric A Grenier

Roger L Patterson

Geoffrey U Snider

David J Jordan

Lance Willer

Eric Alain Grenier

Dory Parsonage

Thomas Russell Fox

Romain Eg Coudiere

Romain Etienne Coudiere

Daniel G Comier

Rheal Remillard

A sickle cutting apparatus having a plurality of knife guards and a sickle bar having a plurality of sickle knife blades driven for reciprocating movement relative to the knife guards. The length of the cutting edge of each knife blade from a transverse rearmost cutting line at which a cutting action occurs is increased to a length greater than 2.2 inches; the width at the rear of the ledger surface of each guard is increased to greater than 1.2 inches; and the front edge of the blade is formed with an apex to shed crop material to one or other side of the apex.

Sickle cutter apparatus for cutting crop

A reel includes a plurality of bats and an end shield plate mounted on the end of the reel at the crop divider which has a peripheral edge radially inward of an outer tip of the fingers with an apex at each of the bats and portions which are recessed from a straight line joining the apexes. Each of the endmost fingers of the bats has a base which is axially inside the end plate and is bent longitudinally of the reel to define an outer tip which is axially spaced from the base to a position beyond the radial plane of the end plate. A plurality of molded paddle blades are mounted to project outwardly from the end surface to clear crop away from the space between the outer face of the end plate and the divider.

Crop harvesting reel with paddles on an end plate to reduce crop collection

In a harvesting header having a main frame divided into a center portion and two wing portions connected for pivotal movement about axes and including a rear wall. A reel is mounted on first and second reel arms and a rear auger is mounted at the top of the rear wall. The reel and the auger are also divided into three sections arranged end to end along the rear wall. The joint in the auger is arranged not at the axis but at a position spaced inwardly of the axis so that a first flight of the auger extends inboard of the first reel arm and a second flight of the auger extends inboard of the second reel arm to carry the crop engaging the first flight past the first space to the center portion of the header frame.

Three-section crop header with drapers and top cross auger

A vertical crop divider knife is mounted at each end of the cutter bar of a header and stands upwardly from the end to cut crop tending to collect over the end divider. Each divider knife includes a drive linkage in the housing for communicating drive to the knife sickle bar. Each divider housing has a mounting assembly for coupling to a cooperating mounting assembly on the housing of the crop divider knife structure by which the crop divider knife structure is readily attachable to the crop divider housing using a hook coupling at the bottom and a latch at the top for operation and releasable from the crop divider housing when not required. The divider housing carries a hydraulic motor and a forwardly facing output coupling mounted on the divider housing which automatically meshes with an input coupling on the knife housing when the knife drive housing is installed.

Crop harvesting machine

In a crop harvesting header with a center section and two wings where each wing is pivotal relative to the center section about a pivot axis extending in a generally forward direction which includes a balance system to maintain a balanced ground force distribution across the width of the header there is provided an automatic adjustment system for maintaining proper balance. The system includes a sensor which repeatedly, over a time period during which the header is operating, detects data relating to the positions, distance from the ground or weight applied to the ground of each wing frame portion, a processor arranged in response to the sensed data to calculate a value representative of the positions and an adjustment mechanism for effecting an adjustment of the balance system in response to the value.

Crop header with wing balance calibration

A crop harvesting header with a cutter bar and a draper assembly has a draper which includes a front edge of the upper run of the draper arranged at a position adjacent to but spaced from the cutter bar and there is provided a sealing member extending along the cutter bar. The sealing member is includes a bracket and a strip of flexible material where the bracket does not include any rearwardly extending biasing portion and the strip, when free from loading forces, contains a distortion from a flat form so that the second edge portion is distorted from a plane of the first edge portion in a direction toward the edge portion of the upper run.

Draper canvas seal

Blade for a sickle

A draper having an additional strip of a resilient material attached on to the outer surface of the base layer at the front edge is connected at ends to form a continuous loop by a coupling comprising a first and second end edge which are turned so as to stand upwardly from the band and a clamping assembly clamping the upwardly standing edges together. The additional band at each end of the canvas is recessed from the outer surface and a strip portion formed of a flexible continuous strip material extending longitudinally of the additional band connects the two ends. The strip is bolted at each end to the recessed portion and has a thickness so that its outer surface is slightly less than that of the additional band thus forming in effect a continuation of the band bridging the ends of the canvas.

Connecting ends of the draper conveyor of a harvest header

Pointed guard for a sickle

Stub guard for a sickle

In a sickle cutting system, including a plurality of guard fingers in a row across a cutter bar with each guard finger having an upwardly facing ledger surface and a plurality of hold-down members with each hold-down member comprising at least one hold-down finger, the guard fingers and hold down fingers thus forming cooperating overlying pairs between which the blades pass in the cutting action the guard fingers having no portion elevated above the ledger surface thereof in front of the tip of the blade and the guard fingers and blades having lengths from the cutter bar arranged such that a forwardmost tip of the guard finger is forward of the tip of the blade.

Stub guard for a sickle cutter system

In a sickle cutting system, it has been found that a significant reduction in average stubble length, which is calculated based on the distance crop is pushed forwardly without cutting occurring, can be obtained by a combination of features where the length of the cutting edge of each knife blade is increased to a length greater than 2.2 inches; the width at the rear of the ledger surface of each guard is increased to greater than 1.2 inches; and the front edge of the blade is formed with an apex to shed crop material to one or other side of the apex. Each blade has at least one cut out opening through the blade extending from a rear edge of the opening adjacent to but spaced from a rear edge of the blade toward the tip.

Blade for sickle cutter system

In a sickle cutting system including a plurality of guard fingers at spaced positions across a cutter bar across which a reciprocating sickle knife passes, each guard finger has a forwardly projecting tip portion in front of a ledger surface and a rearwardly projecting tang portion connected to a rear end of the tip portion and extending therefrom over the ledger surface to a rear edge of the tang portion located over the blade. The lower surface of the tang portion includes a first portion adjacent the tip portion which is generally parallel to the ledger surface and a second portion adjacent the rear edge which is inclined at an angle away from the ledger surface. The width of the tang portion across the rear of the tang portion is equal to or greater than 1.5 inches.

Pointed guard for sickle cutter system

A harvesting header is operable in a first mode of operation by engagement of a skid at the cutter bar for cutting along the ground. A gauging system operable in a second mode includes four ground engaging members supporting the header such that the cutter bar skid plate is at a controlled distance from the ground. The ground engaging members include a long skid and removable gauge wheels are carried on an elongate beam pivoted adjacent the cutter bar and extending to the rear of the frame and adjustable by an upstanding telescopic mast up to a position to allow the cutter bar to run on the ground. A resilient suspension can be provided at the rear of the beam at the junction to the post. The location under the table allows a very high adjustment of the cutter bar in the second mode.

Growing community of inventors

Winnipeg, Canada

Francois R Talbot