Deere & Company

Roger Franet

Larry Neil Smith

Lionel Guiet

Hubert Defrancq

Daniel Kem

Damien Faivre

Matthew Mentzer

David Demesmay

Jean Francois Boucher

Paul Belat

A windrow merging implement with a pick-up, a conveyor and a connecting hitch or structure is provided in combination with a mowing vehicle, with the connecting hitch being releasably secured to a rear end of the vehicle chassis. The mowing vehicle is operative to form windrows of crop in one or more of three locations, namely, a central location passing longitudinally between the wheels of the vehicle and one on each side of the vehicle. The windrow merging implement may be positioned at either side of the vehicle for picking up the windrow deposited there, and includes a conveyor structure for either depositing the picked up windrow upon or alongside the centrally deposited windrow. Also disclosed is an embodiment where the windrow merging implement picks up and displaces transversely the centrally deposited windrow. A further embodiment discloses two windrow merging implements which respectively pick up the windrows at the opposite sides of the vehicle and convey them inwardly so as to be combined with the centrally located windrow.

Windrow merging attachment

A pull-type mower-conditioner has a windrow grouper mounted to its main frame by a mounting frame that is swingable between lowered working and raised non-working positions. The grouper includes a conveying arrangement defined in part by a belt conveyor mounted to the mounting frame for free pivotal movement, between angularly spaced stops, about a transverse horizontal axis. When the mounting frame is in its working position, the crop-receiving surface of the conveyor is inclined at a slight angle downward toward the rear of the mower-conditioner with gravity holding the conveyor in position against one of the stops. When the mounting frame is in its non-working position, gravity holds the conveyor in a position rotated against the other of the stops, the crop-receiving surface then being almost vertical so that the grouper is almost within the length of the mower-conditioner.

Windrow grouper with pivotable platform

A mowing arrangement includes a main, mobile frame to which a base or first carrier part or frame is mounted for being pivoted vertically by a remotely operable hydraulic motor. Mounted to the base carrier frame is a second carrier part to which arms supporting opposite side and front mowing units are attached. The front-mounted mowing unit is mounted to the second carrier part through the agency of a fourth carrier part, in the form of a parallelogram linkage that includes the support arm for the front-mounted mowing unit. The second carrier part is mounted for pivoting about a transverse, horizontal axis so that the cutting angles of each of the mowing heads can be remotely adjusted by pivoting the second carrier part. A third carrier part is fixed for movement with the second carrier part and supports a drive transmission having output shafts respectively coupled for supplying power to the three mowing heads.

Cutting angle adjustment for mowing heads

The vehicle part of a self-propelled forage harvester includes a chassis supported on front and rear sets of wheels. A mower-conditioner unit is mounted to the front of the chassis and mounted to opposite sides of the chassis are second and third mower-conditioner units. Mounting each of the second and third mower-conditioner units to the chassis is a support arm having a first end region mounted to the chassis, either forward of the rear set of wheels, in accordance with a first embodiment, or rearward of the rear set of wheels, in accordance with a second embodiment, with the support arms being configured so that the first and second mower-conditioner units extend generally in transverse alignment with the rear set of wheels, when the support arms are in lowered working positions, and are disposed in positions above the individual wheels of the rear set of wheels when the support arms are in raised transport positions.

Self-propelled agricultural vehicle

A mowing arrangement includes three mowing units with which are associated a drive system including transmissions associated with each unit that are alike to the extent that the mowing units may be easily exchanged with one another. Specifically, one of the mowing units has an angle drive transmission while the transmissions on the other two mowing units are belt or chain drive transmissions. All transmissions are mounted for easy replacement whereby the angle drive transmission may be replaced by a belt or chain drive transmission like the other mowing units if it is desired to use the front mowing unit as a side mowing unit. A drive system variant includes two angle gear boxes used as a power-receiving transmission, with the result that all of the mowing units can be constructed exactly the same.

Mower arrangement having multiple mowing units and drive system therefor

A mowing arrangement includes a tractor carrying a front-mounted mower unit and towing a mobile carrier frame having left and right mower units mounted to opposite sides of the carrier frame. In a first embodiment, the carrier frame is box-shaped in plan view. A pair of mower unit support arms are respectively mounted to forward outer locations of the carrier frame for pivoting vertically between horizontal first positions, wherein they dispose the mower units in respective operating positions, and vertical second positions, wherein they dispose the mower units in raised transport positions. Right and left swath formers, in the form of flat belt conveyors, are respectively mounted to outer rear locations at the opposite sides of the carrier frame by support structures permitting the swath formers to be moved horizontally between operating positions wherein they intercept crop discharged by the mower units and convey the crop inwardly to deposit it in respective swaths on opposite sides of the swath deposited by the front-mounted mower unit. In a second embodiment, the right and left mower units are mounted to the opposite ends of a beam forming the main structural member of the mobile carrier frame, these mowing units being mounted for movement between operating positions and transport positions alongside a draft tongue projecting forwardly from a center front location of the beam. In this embodiment, the swath formers are mounted for vertical movement between operative and non-operative positions.

Mowing implement including mowing units connected to carrier frame exclusive of windrowing device

A vehicle, in the form of a self-propelled forage harvester, has a three-point hitch assembly mounted to its forward end in place of the cutter head. A mower together with a rotary tine crop conditioner is coupled to the three-point hitch. Located in a zone between the upper and lower three-point hitch links, as viewed from the side, is a belt conveyor mounted to a hitch support structure for vertical pivotal movement between a raised, non-operative position and a lowered operative position. When in its non-operative position, the conveyor parallels the upper link and is disposed for letting cut crop discharged by the conditioner fall to the ground along a path that passes between front and rear pairs of support wheels of the forage harvester. When in its operative position, the conveyor is disposed at a 45&deg; angle to the horizontal so as to be in the path of the cut crop discharged by the conditioner, the conveyor having a lateral extent such as to deposit the crop in a windrow located outside a selected one of the front pair of support wheels.

Conveyor arrangement positioned within mower suspension links

A mower-conditioner includes a conditioning device which is mounted for being selectively shifted transverse the direction of travel so as to be offset relative to the longitudinal centerline of the mowing device. Associated with the conditioning device is a crop guide device which may be selectively adjusted to cause a narrowed stream of conditioned crop to be deposited to opposite sides of a longitudinal centerline of the conditioning device.

Mowing implement

A self-propelled mowing vehicle includes a chassis supported on front and rear pairs of transversely spaced wheels. At least a front-mounted mowing unit is attached to a front end of the chassis and operates to deliver cut crop to a longitudinally extending first section of a flat belt conveyor assembly which includes at least a second section that receives crop from the first section and delivers it transversely. In accordance with a first embodiment, the first conveyor section terminates at the rear sides of the front pair of wheels and the second conveyor section extends perpendicular to a longitudinal centerline of the vehicle and is mounted for sliding movement so as to selectively deliver crop to either side of the vehicle. In accordance with another embodiment the first conveyor section extends to the rear end of the vehicle and the second conveyor section is mounted for pivoting about an upright axis so as to selectively deliver crop to opposite sides of the vehicle or to strew the crop across its full range of movement. In accordance with still another embodiment, the conveyor arrangement includes second and third fixed conveyor sections located transversely to and on opposite sides of the vehicle centerline, with the first conveyor section being divided so as to divide the transported crop into two streams which are respectively deposited onto the second and third conveyor sections. Opposite side mowing units may be used with the front-mounted unit and when so used the second conveyor section operates to lay crop closely beside windrows formed by the first conveyor section so that the double windrows may be gathered by a wide pickup of a machine for further processing the crop.

Self-propelled mowing vehicle and conveyor arrangement for combining swaths of cut crop

A mower-conditioner includes a header suspended from a mobile, main transverse frame by a pair of lower links, a single upper link and a pair of counterbalance springs. The upper link incorporates a threaded spindle to which a crank is coupled for changing the effective length of the upper link which extends between respective bearings carried by the main frame and the header and in this way pivots the header about the horizontal transverse axis defined by the bearings at the forward ends of the lower links so as to change the cutting angle of the cutter bar incorporated in the header. The upper link is mounted for sliding through the bearing carried by the header so as to permit the header to pivot upwardly about the axis in response to the cutter bar coming into contact with an obstacle during cutting operation. A coil compression spring is received on the upper link and biases it to its full effective length, the spring acting to cushion any impact of the cutter bar with an obstacle tending to tilt the header and acting to return the header to its original position once the obstacle is passed. Counterbalance springs are coupled between opposite ends of the main frame and opposite sides of the header, the springs being substantially vertically oriented with their lower ends coupled close to the bearings at the fronts of the lower links which bearings are in turn displaced only a short horizontal distance from the center of gravity of the header so as to minimize the moments about the bearings due to the weight of the header and the force of the counterbalance springs.

Suspension for a mowing unit

A coupling arrangement includes an inverted u-shaped frame having opposite legs joined by a transverse bight portion. The lower draft links of a tractor three-point hitch are connected to lower ends of the legs of the frame for pivoting about a horizontal transverse axis. Located centrally between the frame legs along the bight portion of the frame is an angle member having a horizontal limb defining a first link and being joined to a vertical limb defined in part by an upwardly projecting bearing axle. An implement draft tongue includes a forward extension to which upwardly and downwardly projecting bearing axles are fixed along a vertical axis. The coupling arrangement includes a second link spaced vertically above the first link and having ball joints in its opposite ends respectively mounted to the bearing axle of the angle member and the upwardly projecting bearing axle of the draft tongue. A ball joint is mounted in the first link and is received on the downwardly projecting bearing axle of the draft tongue. Accordingly, the first and second links and the ball joints they carry act to transfer tensile and compressive loads between, and permit universal movement between, the implement and the tractor.

Coupling arrangement

Flail

A draft tongue for a powered implement is designed for optionally including a first or a second coupling structure adapted for connection to draft links off a towing vehicle. The first coupling structure includes a gear transmission having an input shaft for connection, by means of an articulated power shaft, to the power take-off of the towing vehicle, and being mounted for swivelling, relative to an output shaft, about a vertical axis. The second coupling structure simply includes a support for a pin that is universally connected to an elongate member having opposite ends adapted for being coupled to the draft links of the towing vehicle.

Growing community of inventors

Sarreguemines, France

Roger Franet