Deere & Company

Other

Deer & Company

Joel M Schreiner

Kevin Jacob Goering

Timothy Arthur Deutsch

Russell D Copley

Charles Frederick Ostermeier

Donald K Davenport

Jeffrey Scott Wigdahl

Steve H McBee

Wendell Keith Vardeman

Raymond Dean Vardeman

Wendell Dean Vardeman

Mark B Vollmers

James Thomas Noonan

Jeffrey Robert Fox

Francis E Schlueter

Leon F Sanderson

John N Oenick

Marcus A Jacobson

Matthew C Roney

Allen D Hudson

A doffer assembly for a cotton harvester having at least one drum and a spindle. The doffer assembly includes an outer housing and a plurality of doffers adapted to remove cotton from the spindle. The assembly further includes a drive unit coupled to the outer housing for rotatably driving the plurality of doffers independently of at least one drum and spindle. A drive shaft is rotatably driven by the drive unit, and an interface adapter is coupled between the drive shaft and the plurality of doffers. The drive unit may be an electric motor, hydraulic motor, a mechanical drive system, or a combination thereof.

Independent doffer drive system for a cotton harvester row unit

Row unit crop guides

A cotton harvester having a prime mover providing power to the cotton harvester, a controller monitoring a load on the prime mover and storing a load threshold, a drum rotatable about a first axis at a drum speed, a plurality of spindles for harvesting cotton, the plurality of spindles rotatable at a spindle speed and a doffer assembly rotatable about a second axis at a doffer speed. Wherein, when the controller detects a load on the prime mover greater than the load threshold, the spindle speed is reduced.

Cotton harvester power management

A picking unit of a cotton harvester row unit includes a drum rotatable about an axis and a plurality of spindles for harvesting cotton. The plurality of spindles is coupled to the drum. A first drive unit rotatably drives the plurality of spindles. A second drive unit produces electrical power to drive a drive shaft. An output gear is coupled to the drive shaft, and a drum drive gear is coupled to the output gear. The drum drive gear rotatably drives the drum such that the output gear operably transfers power from the drive shaft to the drum drive gear. The drum is operably controlled independently of the plurality of spindles.

Independent drum drive system for a cotton harvester row unit

A scrapping plate arrangement within a cotton picking machine includes a pivotable pressure plate and one or more pivotable scrapping plates. Each scrapping plate may be an assembly that includes a door and a plate member having one or more ribs extending toward a picking drum and configured to pass through respective openings in the pressure plate, permitting each scrapping plate to be positioned selectively into a use orientation.

Cotton picker scrapping arrangement

A row unit for a cotton harvester. The cotton harvester is adapted for forward movement through a field to harvest cotton planted in rows in the field. The row unit includes a unit housing defining a row receiving area and a cotton exiting area. A moistener column door is pivotally coupled to the unit housing. An adjustable compression structure is coupled to the unit housing and configured to exert an adjustable pre-load on the moistener column door, placing the moistener column door in a closed position. The adjustable compression structure is configured to yield to a cotton plug pressure that exceeds the adjustable pre-load, which pivots the moistener column door to an open position. When the adjustable pre-load exceeds the cotton plug pressure, the adjustable compression structure is configured to return the moistener column door to the closed position.

Moistener column door compression structure for cotton harvester row unit

A doffer adjustment device for a unit of a cotton harvester. The unit includes a frame. A drum is rotatably coupled to the frame. A plurality of rows of spindles is rotatably coupled to the drum. A doffer column is rotatably coupled to the frame and configured to remove cotton from the spindles. The doffer adjustment device includes an adjusting member having a shaft portion and a wrench receiving portion. A locking device is coupled to the shaft portion. Wherein, the locking device is yieldable to an input causing rotation of the wrench receiving portion.

Doffer adjustment device for a cotton harvester unit

A light-weight upright shaft () supports cotton harvester doffers (). An internally threaded mounting end () receives a bolt () which is stretchable to a greater degree than the shaft to provide a reliable shaft preload condition that prevents the doffers from spinning relative to the shaft. The shaft may be hollow and may have a diameter greater than conventional shafts to reduce weight and increase the stiffness and thereby increase critical speed. The preload structure does not require a nut and has increased thread engagement.

Reduced mass high speed doffer column with improved shaft preload

A cotton harvester row unit includes belt drive and a variable transmission to reduce noise and optimize spindle and doffer speeds of rotation while permitting spindle drum structure rotational speed to change with changes in harvester speed. In one embodiment, a variable speed motor drives the ring gear of a planetary gear set to vary the ratio of spindle and doffer speed to drum speed. The planetary gear set may be enclosed to also help reduce noise and to decrease grease consumption. Nearly constant spindle and doffer speeds may be maintained over a wide range drum rotational speeds, and the upper speeds may be limited to avoid operation above critical speeds of components. The transmission may be configured to reduce or completely eliminates gear meshing off of the drum centerline to thereby reduce row unit manufacture precision, and a relatively low power motor may be used to adjust the ratio of spindle and doffer speed to drum speed.

Cotton picker unit drive with controllable spindle speed to drum speed ratio and belt drive

A vine shield for a finger-type header with feeder shafts includes a plurality of curved channel-shaped bars having upper ends releasably secured to supports extending transversely over the stripping fingers. A shaft support structure mounts two timed feeder shafts of large radius with feeder fingers projecting between the bars to define overlapping paths which eliminate most of the dead space between the shafts for improved cotton flow rearwardly over the stripping fingers. The channel-shaped bars prevent vine wrapping and open away from the axes of the shafts for improved trash shedding capabilities. The shaft support structure pivots about the rear feeder shaft axis for on-the-go vertical adjustment of the forward feeder shaft to accommodate substantial plant height variations. The feeder fingers are designed for easy attachment and removal and have a symmetrical design so they can be reversed.

Feeder shaft structure for a cotton harvester

A cotton harvester includes up to eight or more brush type row units mounted on a cross auger system having a split cross auger structure with two auger portions for moving material inwardly toward a central location. Cotton is conveyed through the rear of the central location into two separation chambers, one for each auger portion, and into the lower portions of two corresponding conveying ducts which extend upwardly and outwardly at bend locations located just above the rockshaft and below the cab floor. Each duct includes a nozzle directing air upwardly above the bend location so that cotton is sucked into the bend. The ducts extend upwardly at an angle to the vertical direction and include uppermost sections extending rearwardly over the input sections of the two cleaners. The uppermost sections are angled from the horizontal and distribute the cotton evenly over cleaner inlets. A special slip joint with a hinged door on the duct structure permits a greater vertical range of vertical cross auger motion than with previously available devices for better ground clearance and better automatic ground following ability. The cleaners include outermost drives located near operator platforms which extend from the centrally located cab. Drive shield structure is movable to an access position and effectively extends the width of the platforms for maintenance, inspection and repair. A variable speed hydraulic drive is connected to a transverse shaft which in turn is connected at its ends by belts to the outermost drives on the cleaners.

High capacity cotton harvester

A row unit for a cotton stripper includes a unit auger housing with extruded slots punched with a small rim or periphery. The slots are configured such that adjacent row slot centerlines are aligned to give the housing added strength while still providing good foreign material elimination through the slots. The extruded slots eliminate sharp edges and allow trash to easily exit. The extruded slots also provide a smoother surface for conveying the cotton material along the auger housing.

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Ankeny, IA, United States of America

Joel M Schreiner