Deere + Company

Kenneth L Kirkpatrick

Ken K Oka

Dalton Harold Spicer

A laterally yieldable or 'bendable' hitch pole is provided for the steering mechanism of a trailing vehicle to minimize or prevent breakage of the hitch pole during sharp turns negotiated by the draft vehicle, especially during backing of the trailer. The invention is especially applicable to trailers having steering mechanisms of the Ackerman type. The hitch pole is typically swingable between right and left stops and breakage or other damage occurs when the pole encounters one or the other of the stops and turning forces are still applied. The invention provides a two-piece hitch pole having its end-to-end parts connected in such manner as to enable 'bending' of the hitch pole in those situations with subsequent recovery of the pole to its normal attitude.

Laterally yieldable hitch pole for trailing vehicles

A simple draft stabilizer is provided for a pull-type harvesting implement having a trailing and transversely extending harvesting header. The stabilizer includes a vertically adjustable earth-penetrating disk blade carried by and to one side of the fore-and-aft extending drawbar. The blade is supported for rotation about a generally horizontal axis and imparts a sidewards force that counters the fallback forces generated by the offset harvesting header. The blade is also mounted to rotate about an axis substantially transversely aligned with the axes of revolution of the wheels supporting the harvesting header to permit sharp turns and avoid skidding damage to the supporting wheel and its mounting structure.

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Welland, Canada

Kenneth L Kirkpatrick