Deere + Company

Michael Lee Pearson

Jeffrey Robert Fox

Robert Matthew Bares

Timothy Arthur Deutsch

Virgil Dean Haverdink

Jeffrey Scott Wigdahl

Richard David Zaun

David Carl Winter

John D Long

Steve A Junge

Gary L Warnsholz

Cotton harvester frame structure includes main structural members elevated to approximately cab floor level and extending horizontally rearwardly in a planar fashion over the engine compartment and the rear axle. The structural members attach to the central portion of the rear axle to provide added clearance for larger wheels and tires. The single elevated plane of the main frame structure provides simplified attachment of a power module including a transversely mounted engine. Access areas under the main structural members are of sufficient minimum width and height to allow an operator or an assembler to stand fairly erect while accessing most areas of the power module and a harvester fan.

Cotton harvester chassis configuration

A chassis-mounted round baler particularly useful with an on-board cotton module building system includes a bale release gate frame section connected to a forward frame section by a four bar linkage to define a gate path that allows the folding of the baler into both field transport and shipping configurations while maintaining desirable operating, transport and shipping heights. The gate linkage incorporates a self latching feature wherein a small vertical movement of the gate as the gate cylinders are operated releases a gate latch member from a forward frame member during gate opening and reengages the gate latch with the forward frame member during closing. The gate interacts with the bale handler to provide a stop for the baler gate when the baler gate is placed into a cradle on the handler.

Baler gate linkage and latch structure

A hood receives a stream of material including a mix of cotton, air and debris from an air delivery system on a cotton harvester. A forward deflector directs the mixture towards the rear of an accumulator. The deflected mixture passes under finger grates which retains cotton but allows some of the air and light trash to pass through out of the stream. A curved rear deflector forces the remaining mix downwardly towards the accumulator and prevents build-up on receptacle walls. Air and light debris change direction abruptly at the bottom of the rear deflector and exit through an inlet area and upwardly directed path at the back of the deflector. The momentum of the heavier cotton prevents cotton from making the tight turn around the bottom of the deflector and directs the cotton towards the receptacle or accumulator. The inlet area can be adjusted or closed completely to prevent cotton loss in certain conditions.

Separation hood for a cotton harvester

Lower spiked rollers in the bottom of a cotton accumulator are inclined in the downstream direction towards an opening and rotate in the same direction to pull cotton down to the opening. An upper spiked roller located above the opening and above the last of the lower spiked rollers is only partially exposed to the cotton in the accumulator. The upper roller meters the cotton and tears apart clumps. An opening above the upper roller defines an upper discharge opening over the main discharge opening. When in a non-rotating condition, the spiked rollers act as a floor for the accumulator and prevent egress of the cotton through the openings.

Cotton feeding roller structure

A duct support and transition structure for the air system of a cotton harvester includes a plurality of upright telescoping duct sections connected to a vertically adjustable support tube extending transversely between the sections providing lateral support for the ducts. Hydraulically operated slide structure connected to the support tube moves the sections vertically between operating and transport positions and eliminates duct binding problems. A telescoping harvester basket supports forwardly extending hood structure. The hood structure opens downwardly towards the upper ducts and includes grates for exhausting air and debris. The ends of the ducts open upwardly rather than rearwardly into the hood structure. The basket can move to and from the dump position without interference from the ducts, and the hood structure reduces cotton loss without need for side shields.

Duct support and transition structure for a harvester

A harvester includes an integral two-section baling device with the section movement designed to provide both a bale discharge function and a transport height reduction function. In one embodiment, one section of the device includes rollers which follow a downwardly sloped ramp as the sections are opened relative to each other. The sloped ramped additionally serves as a portion of a finished bale handler and bale support. In a second embodiment, an additional hydraulic cylinder system controls the downward movement of the opened sections towards the transport position. Existing baler functions are advantageously utilized to provide transport height reduction with a minimal amount of additional hardware, and the operator can switch between transport and operational modes quickly and easily.

Harvester with bale forming chamber having a transport mode

Cotton accumulator structure includes an upright storage area supported behind the cab of a cotton harvester. A screened upper cover area is supported above the storage area by hydraulic cylinders which move the cover between a raised harvest position and a lowered storage position for reduced transport height. As harvested material is directed through ducts towards the storage area, debris can exit through the screened cover. The lower end of the storage area includes an opening for egress of the cotton. Several shafts having timed projections are journalled for rotation adjacent the opening about parallel axes. The shafts, when not rotating, generally close the lower end and prevent cotton from falling through the opening. To meter the cotton from the storage area to an operating on-board processor, a drive is activated to rotate the shafts. Preferably, the shafts are driven in counter-rotating fashion so that a given shaft rotates in the opposite direction from the next adjacent shaft, and projections on the shaft pull cotton from the storage area. Cotton is uniformly distributed from the storage area onto a belt extending from the processor which preferably is part of a compacting system on a baler or module builder located downstream of the storage area opening. The storage area facilitates continued harvesting during processor unloading and allows the processor to run only as needed to periodically unload the storage area.

Cotton harvester with accumulator

A combination wheel shield and ladder for an agricultural vehicle such as a sprayer includes a deformable plastic body with a profile designed to control the path of deflection and to return the body to original shape after deflection. The shield is mounted on a steel framework also designed to help control deflection and assure return to the original shape. A bail limits maximum shield deflection and increases the strength of the framework. A ladder is incorporated into a plastic wheel shield extension A combination handle-step structure located above the wheel and special platform structure located on the drop axle provide convenient access to the operator's station for all adjusted positions of the drop axle.

Wheel shield and ladder for a spray vehicle

Locking structure for a harvester basket having an upper basket portion telescopingly received within a lower basket portion. Channel lock-ups are located at three of the four corners of the basket. Each lock-up includes two channels, one channel having a length equal to the extension length of the upper basket portion and the other half that length. The two channels are connected together by a pivot pin in the middle of the long channel. One end of the long channel is connected by a pivot pin to the basket and one end of the short channel is connected by a pivot pin to the top of the upper basket portion. As the upper basket portion is raised or lowered, the channels pivot about the middle of the long channel. Approaching the raised position, the upper portion of the long channel may be used as a lever to urge the upper basket to the final extended position. The upper channel portion is received against the upper portion of the short channel, and a quick-lock pin is inserted through the upper ends of the channels adjacent the upper edge of the basket to secure the basket in the telescoped position.

Cotton basket extension latch

A depth sensing skid arrangement for an implement including a spring steel depth skid connected to a shank which in turn is pivotally connected to a shank support bracket including a spring trip arrangement which permits backing of the implement without damage to the skid or shank. The shank support bracket in turn is connected to a transverse beam operably connected to valve control structure for operating a hydraulic cylinder to maintain a preselected depth of penetration of earth-working tools mounted on the frame. To provide an averaging effect, two resilient depth skids are transversely spaced on the beam.

Depth sensing skid assembly

To form a furrow for row guidance systems, a shank is mounted on a frame forwardly of a wheel which includes a V-shaped tire. The shank opens the ground and the tire crushes clods and packs the sides of the furrow. Depth bands on each side of the tire shape the edges of the furrow and prevent loose dirt from rolling back into the furrow. When utilized to reform a furrow, the frame is pivotally connected to the implement for rocking about an upright axis to allow the wheel to trail and average out guidance system corrections and driver steering corrections so that the reformed furrow will be more accurate for the next operation.

Growing community of inventors

Ankeny, IA, United States of America

Michael Lee Pearson