Deere & Company

Glenn D Head, Jr

Mark A Johnston

David Carl Winter

Ronald M Steilen

Vernon E Rettig

Marvin L Bigbee

Jeffrey J Postal

Louis P Bredesky, Jr

William C Le Master

The present invention is directed to a flexible and resilient intermediate support member for supporting the grain box of a grain drill. The intermediate support member comprises a vertical frame member rigidly secured to the grain box and a horizontal frame member rigidly mounted to a transverse support frame. A guide pin projects upwardly through the horizontal frame member and engages the bottom of the vertical frame member. The guide pin is formed by a bolt and a spacer, that are slidably mounted to the horizontal frame member. An engagement nut is mounted to the threaded end of the bolt engages the bottom portion of the vertical frame member. A bearing washer is located between the engagement nut and the spacer. A spring is positioned between the bearing washer and the horizontal frame member. A trapping washer located between the head of the bolt and the spacer is used to trap the guide pin to the horizontal frame member.

Flexible and resilient supports for a grain box

Press wheel gangs are pivotally connected to an implement frame by an upright pivot bracket which permits each gang to rock about both a fore-and-aft extending axis and an axis transverse to the forward direction. A pivot at the lower end of the bracket and above the forward central portion of the gang permits the gang to rock about the fore-and-aft axis to move over small obstacles and uneven terrain. The entire gang can rock upwardly about the transverse axis over larger obstacles or extremely rough terrain to eliminate extreme stressing of the gang press wheels and to assure uniform soil-firming characteristics. A compression spring assembly connected between the frame and the upper end of the bracket yieldingly biases the gang into soil-firming relationship with the ground.

Pivoting spring-cushioned press wheel gang assembly

A two-wheeled trailer hitch supporting two three-point hitch mounted implements side-by-side for field operation. The implements are mounted on outriggers which are foldable forwardly to narrow the unit for transport. A pair of rigid diagonal drag links movable fore-and-aft by a cylinder-activated slide block is connected to the outriggers for pivoting them approximately ninety degrees between the field and transport positions. Lift frame structures selectively engage the three-point hitch linkages to raise the implements on the respective outriggers. The lift frame structure is disengaged from the linkages when the implements are lowered for greater flexibility in the field-working position.

Multiple implement hitch and transport

A cotton picker spindle having a thin ceramic coating for increased smoothness and hardness.

Cotton picker spindle

A flow drilling tool including a blunt-ended prepunch portion for punching a circular slug from the workpiece as the tool is rotated and moved axially with respect to the workpiece. Thereafter, a circular forming portion is rotated in contact with the workpiece to increase the length and diameter of the punched hole. The prepunch permits formation of a rimmed hole in a single step by eliminating predrilling. Variations and irregularities in the length and thickness of the rim portion surrounding the hole are reduced, and ragged tapered surfaces on the rim portion are eliminated. The axial location of the hole relative to the workpiece is controlled by adjusting the speed of rotation of the tool and the axial pressure of the tool against the workpiece, and by preheating the workpiece.

Growing community of inventors

Des Moines, IA, United States of America

Glenn D Head, Jr