Agco Corporation

Robert Honas

Christopher T Sauerwein

Randy Lohrentz

Douglas A Voss

Bernard Dean Regier

Gagan Sethi

Brian J Hollatz

Eduardo De Oliveira Cristal

Richard C Eckrote

A harvesting header includes a header frame, a flexible cutterbar assembly, and a draper assembly. The cutterbar assembly is mounted to the header frame and includes a plurality of skids. Each of the skids has a lower margin configured to engage the ground such that the skids cooperatively cause flexing of the cutterbar assembly along the length thereof in response to changes in terrain as the header is advanced. Each skid presents a skid surface extending from the lower skid margin.

Skid plate for crop header having flexible cutterbar

A harvesting machine includes a harvesting header with an adapter, a header frame, a cutterbar assembly attached to the header frame along the length thereof and configured to cut a crop, and a draper assembly positioned behind the cutterbar assembly. The draper assembly includes a fore-and-aft draper that delivers crop material to a feeder house of the harvesting machine. The fore-and-aft draper includes a draper frame swingably supported on the header frame at a pivot to project forwardly therefrom and a draper belt supported on the draper frame to present a rearwardly moving run for conveying the crop rearwardly.

Flexible draper header with feeder house adapter and center deck

A harvesting machine includes a harvesting header with a header frame, a flexible cutterbar assembly attached to the header frame along the length thereof and configured to cut a crop, and a draper assembly positioned behind the cutterbar assembly and operable to receive severed crop material from the cutterbar assembly. The draper assembly includes a fore-and-aft draper and side drapers, with at least part of the draper assembly being rigidly supported on the header frame. A center section of the cutterbar assembly is rigidified so as to be restricted from flexing, while the side sections of the cutterbar assembly flex and follow the changes in terrain.

Flexible draper header with relatively rigid center section

A harvesting machine includes a harvesting header with a header frame, a flexible cutterbar assembly attached to the header frame along the length thereof and configured to cut a crop, and a conveyor assembly positioned behind the cutterbar assembly and operable to receive severed crop material from the cutterbar assembly. The conveyor assembly includes a fore-and-aft draper with a draper frame swingably supported on the header frame at a pivot where the draper frame projects forwardly from the pivot, such that the draper frame is operable to swing relative to the header frame. The fore-and-aft draper includes a draper belt supported on the draper frame to present a rearwardly moving run for conveying the crop rearwardly.

Draper header having center draper coupled to cutterbar

Flexible draper header having center draper

A harvesting machine includes a harvesting header with a header frame, a cutterbar assembly attached to the header frame along the length thereof and configured to cut a crop, and a draper assembly positioned behind the cutterbar assembly. The draper assembly includes a fore-and-aft draper that delivers crop material to a feeder house of the harvesting machine. The fore-and-aft draper includes a draper frame swingably supported on the header frame at a pivot to project forwardly therefrom and a draper belt supported on the draper frame to present a rearwardly moving run for conveying the crop rearwardly. The fore-and-aft draper includes a counterbalance mechanism coupled between the header and draper frames to counteract the weight of the fore-and-aft draper about the pivot.

Spring flotation for center deck of draper header

An agricultural header assembly broadly includes a header and a header transport assembly. The header is disposed in a transport orientation when a rigid beam thereof is out of vertical alignment with the header center of gravity. The transport assembly includes first and second pairs of spaced apart wheels shiftably connected to the rigid beam for movement between a transport position and a field position. The first and second pairs of wheels define respective first and second midpoints therebetween when in the transport position. The first and second midpoints are each disposed in general vertical alignment with the header center of gravity when the header is in the transport orientation to substantially balance the header on the transport assembly.

Agricultural header transport assembly

A harvesting machine includes a harvesting header with a header frame, a cutterbar assembly attached to the header frame along the length thereof and configured to cut a crop, and a draper assembly positioned behind the cutterbar assembly. The draper assembly includes a center draper that delivers crop material to a feeder house of the harvesting machine. The center draper includes a draper frame swingably supported on the header frame at a pivot to project forwardly therefrom and a draper belt supported on the draper frame to present a rearwardly moving run for conveying the crop rearwardly. The center draper includes a counterbalance mechanism coupled between the header and draper frames to counteract the weight of the center draper about the pivot.

A harvesting machine includes a harvesting header with a header frame, a cutterbar assembly attached to the header frame along the length thereof and configured to cut a crop, and a draper assembly positioned behind the cutterbar assembly. The draper assembly includes a center draper that delivers crop material to a feeder house of the harvesting machine and oppositely spaced side drapers that deliver crop material to the center draper. The center draper includes a draper frame swingably supported on the header frame at a pivot to project forwardly therefrom and a draper belt supported on the draper frame to present a rearwardly moving run for conveying the crop rearwardly. The center draper includes a counterbalance mechanism coupled between the header and draper frames to counteract the weight of the center draper about the pivot.

Agricultural header transport kit

A harvesting machine includes a harvesting header with a header frame, a flexible cutterbar assembly shiftably mounted to the header frame, and a draper assembly supported on the header frame behind the cutterbar assembly to flex therewith. The draper assembly includes a pair of side drapers and a fore-and-aft draper located between the side drapers. The cutterbar assembly includes a relatively inflexible center section and relatively flexible side sections on opposite sides of the center section.

Draper head with flexible cutterbar having rigid center section

A harvesting machine includes a harvesting header with a header frame, a cutterbar assembly attached to the header frame along the length thereof and configured to cut a crop, and a draper assembly positioned behind the cutterbar assembly. The draper assembly includes a center draper that delivers crop material to a feeder house of the harvesting machine and oppositely spaced side drapers that deliver crop material to the center draper. The center draper includes a draper frame swingably supported on the header frame at a pivot to project forwardly therefrom and a draper belt supported on the draper frame to present a rearwardly moving run for conveying the crop rearwardly. The center draper includes a counterbalance mechanism coupled between the header and draper frames to counteract the weight of the center draper about the pivot so as to reduce the load of the center draper on the cutterbar assembly.

The arcuate processing assembly of a combine harvester may be pivotally adjusted generally radially toward or away from a rotary processing device to adjust the operating clearance between the periphery of the rotary device and the assembly. Simultaneously with such adjustment of the assembly as a whole, in a compound pivoting action one arcuate member of the assembly is also pivoted relative to the other arcuate member to properly reshape the threshing region for the adjusted running clearance.

Combine harvester processing system having adjustable members

The rotary beater has a number of untwisted, flat, feeding plate segments angularly disposed about its periphery. The plates are arranged in a left-hand group and a right-hand group so oriented that they converge the crop material centrally as they feed and accelerate the crop material rearwardly toward and through the inlet of an axial flow threshing rotor assembly. The feeding segments of each group are arranged in diametrically opposed sets containing at least one segment each, and the sets of one group are offset circumferentially 90&deg; from the sets of the other group. Each segment has a hardened crop-engaging face, and the segments are all detachably bolted to the drum of the beater to facilitate removal and replacement when worn or damaged.

Replaceable feed segment for the beater of a combine harvester

The cleaning apparatus of a combine harvester has an oscillating sieve assembly and an oscillating pan assembly beneath the sieve assembly. The sieve assembly comprises a pair of superimposed sieves, both of which are mounted on the same frame for oscillation in unison and always in the same direction. The pan assembly comprises a clean grain pan and a tailings return pan both mounted on a common frame that is separate from the frame of the sieve assembly so that the pans oscillate separately from the sieves. The sieve and pan assemblies are mounted and driven in such a manner that the feed stroke of each assembly is in the same direction as its direction of conveyance, so as to maximize their ability to deliver materials in the intended direction. The clean grain pan, and optionally also the tailings return pan, is corrugated along its upper feeding surface with the corrugations inclined forwardly in the conveying direction so as to maximize the feeding action while minimizing retrograde movement of the materials thereon.

Growing community of inventors

Newton, KS, United States of America

Robert Honas