Deere + Company

Marlyn Lee Jerke

David L Wolf

Gerald Eugene Goman

Ronald N Grimstad

Glenn L Myers

William E Stokes

A mechanism for absorbing impacts encountered by a mower deck coupled with a vehicle, including an arm operatively coupled with the vehicle, a longitudinally extending first tube member coupled with the arm and defining a generally linear axis which extends rearwardly and inwardly toward the vehicle, a second tube member operatively coupled with the mower deck, the first tube being slideably received within the second tube for allowing the second tube to shift linearly along the axis as the mower deck encounters frontal impact loads, a compression spring positioned within the tubes for biasing the second tube and mower deck forwardly with respect to the first tube, and the second tube member is allowed to pivot with respect to the first tube member for allowing the mower deck to pivot from side to side to follow undulating ground contours.

Impact absorbing mower deck mounting mechanism

A mechanism for mounting a mower deck to a vehicle, the mechanism including a first member which pivots about a first pivot mechanism as the mower pivots to ride over ground undulations. When raised by the operator, the deck will pivot about the first pivot mechanism until the first member abuts a second member supported by a second pivot mechanism. As the deck continues to be raised it will pivot about the second pivot mechanism. A link coupled between the vehicle frame and the second member causes the second member to also pivot about a third pivot mechanism which swings the deck rearwardly as it is raised.

Wing deck mounting and lift mechanism

A multirow harvester header comprising a plurality of pairs of crop conveyors. Each conveyor pair corresponds to a single row of crop and is used to converge and convey a single row from a standing position in the field into the crop receiving throat of the harvester attached to the rear of the header. A first and second pair of the conveyors is inclined transversely and downwardly in a direction toward a third and fourth pair of the conveyors. The third and fourth pair of conveyors are inclined transversely and downwardly in the direction of the first and second pair of conveyors. The second and third pair of conveyors are vertically spaced above and in overlapping relationship respectively with the first and fourth pair of conveyors. The transverse inclination and overlapping relationship of the conveyors enables the rear drive shafts of each pair of conveyors to be closely spaced together in front of the crop receiving throat of the harvester. The transverse inclination also enables the forward ends of the conveyors and associated crop cutters to be positioned at an equal distance above the ground and in a transverse vertical plane at the forward end of the header. Additional space adjacent the harvester throat is saved by driving two of the conveyors of the first and second pair of conveyors from a common rear drive shaft and by driving two of the conveyors of the third and fourth pair of conveyors from a common drive shaft. Sealed gear cases are provided for the conveyor drive means.

Harvester header with transversely inclined, overlapping conveyors

A hitch adapter connects a tractor drawbar to an implement hitch pin and includes a cast housing having top and bottom walls and a forwardly open chamber that receives the rearward end of the tractor drawbar. The housing has a pair of vertical openings elongated in a transverse direction and receiving vertical bolts having nuts at their lower ends which are tightenable to clamp the housing between the head of the bolt and the nut. The shanks of the bolts are disposed on opposite ends of the drawbar and are shiftable laterally in the openings to engage the opposite side of the drawbar to limit lateral movement of the housing relative to the drawbar, the nuts being tightened to clamp the bolts in the selected position. Serrated surfaces are provided on both the top and bottom of the housing around the openings, and each bolt is provided with a pair of washers having serrated surfaces that respectively engage the serrated surfaces on the top and bottom of the housing. The serrations on said surfaces run in a fore and aft direction, and when the nuts are tightened on the bolts to clamp the serrations on the washers onto the serrations on the housing, lateral slippage of the bolts along the slot-like openings in the housing is eliminated.

Growing community of inventors

Cedar Falls, IA, United States of America

Marlyn Lee Jerke