Deere + Company

John J Hennen

Mahlon L Love

Jerry L Krafka

Robert D Black

Gerd Bramstedt

Roger A Russ

A main drive for crop cutting, conveying and/or processing components of a self-propelled harvester includes an input shaft which extends crosswise to and is coupled for being driven by a longitudinally extending engine output shaft. The input shaft carries a spring-released, hydraulically-engageable disc clutch, which, when engaged, transfers power from the clutch to a multi-grooved belt drive sheave which is coupled to respective driven sheaves of the crop cutting, conveying and/or processing components by a drive belt. The clutch is mounted on the shaft outboard of the drive sheave and the shaft is provided with a fluid passage that extends inwardly from its outboard end and is coupled in fluid communication with the clutch piston. A slip fitting is releasably coupled to the outboard end of the shaft and is adapted for being coupled to a conduit for conveying fluid to or returning fluid from the clutch piston. The shaft includes splined outboard section located between the fitting and the clutch which is adapted for receiving a dynamometer drive element, once the slip fitting is removed, so that the engine output may be checked without any danger of inadvertent clutch engagement.

Fluid actuated clutch having fluid slip fitting safety interlock

A forage harvester blower includes a blower fan having a plurality of pivotable blades which operate closely to a cylindrical surface of the blower housing. Forge is delivered into the blower housing along a path extending tangentially to an outer part of the blades and exits the housing at a location spaced approximately ninety degrees from the entrance point.

Forage harvester blower

A forage harvester has a cutterhead housing with a rotary reel type cutterhead mounted therein, the cutterhead having a plurality of knives parallel to the cutterhead axis at the cutterhead periphery, the knife edges generating a cylinder as the cutterhead rotates. The cutterhead reduces crop material that is fed into the housing and discharges the reduced material through a discharge opening to a conveying system that conveys the crop material to a crop-receiving vehicle. Removably mounted over the discharge opening is a recutter screen that has an arcuate shape generally concentric with and adjacent to the cutterhead periphery and a plurality of elongated apertures, each aperture having parallel longitudinal edges that extend diagonally relative to the knife cutting edges. The apertures are arranged in two transversely extending rows with the apertures in one row being inclined in one direction from the vertical and the apertures in the adjacent row being inclined in the opposite direction, the opposite angle of inclination of the apertures in the second row counteracting the tendency of the apertures in the first row to move the crop material impelled through the apertures in the direction of inclination. Alternate screens are conventionally provided with different size apertures according to the fineness of cut desired, and the screens are removably mounted in a frame that is adjustable relative to the cutterhead to maintain the optimum minimum clearance between the cutterhead and the recutter screen.

Growing community of inventors

Ottumwa, IA, United States of America

John J Hennen