Deere + Company

US Government As Represented by the Secretary of the Army

William P Wohlford

Bernard Brandt Poore

Nicolae V Orlandea

LaVern B Hovenga

Michael Joseph Verhulst

Michael James Mellin

James R Allen

Howard V Beitel

Gary Raymond Dustin

A rotary cutterbar includes a gear case containing a series-parallel set of gears including idler gears and pinion gears for driving the cutting discs of the cutter units. The gear case includes top and bottom walls and the idler gears are each received on a hub including an enlarged upper end located in a hole provided in the top wall and a threaded lower end screwed into a hole provided in the bottom wall. The hubs each have a plastic outer shell encasing a metal insert extending axially within the shell, with the shell forming the sole contact between each hub and the gear case whereby vibrations and shock loads respectively due to gear tooth contact and a cutter knife contacting an obstacle are absorbed by the shell to lessen the transmission of noise and the magnitude of the impact force. O-ring grooves are provided in the plastic shell and receive o-rings for preventing leakage from the gear case through the holes in the top and bottom walls. The top end of the metal insert is provided with an internal socket and an external hexagonal surface, with the socket being provided for receiving a complementary shaped wrench which is used for installing the hub by screwing it into the threaded hole and with the exterior surface providing a non-rotational surface to assist in maintaining good physical retention of the insert within the plastic shell.

Rotary blade cutterbar including plastic idler gear support hub with metal insert

A supervisory system includes a plurality of remote sensing units for positioning under the weight of an item to be monitored. The sensor unit includes a resistor connected in parallel with a switch which is held open by the weight of the article, but which will close when the article is removed from the sensor unit. A cable connects each sensor unit to a monitoring circuit which includes a DC potential source, a square wave generator, an impedance network, a comparator circuit and an alarm signal generator. The comparator circuit activates the alarm signal in response to certain changes in the sensor unit or in the cable.

Tamper-resistant supervisory system

A flexor for an endless track includes a tensile load-carrying core encapsulated in an elastomeric case and being in the form of a single plate wrapped lengthwise by a core having a tensile pre-load.

Endless track flexor having cord reinforced tensile load-carrying plate

An endless track is composed of a plurality of link sections embodying flexors which interconnect and permit flexure between adjacent links. Connected between confronting ends of the link sections outboard of the flexors are torsional restraint assemblies which include a combination of rigid and elastomeric members which resist forces tending to twist the flexors or tending to bend the flexors into an S-shape while permitting flexure between adjacent links about a normal center of articulation, as when the track passes around a drive sprocket, for example.

Restraints for controlling undesired deflection of track link sections

A drawbar pickup system includes a drawbar in the form of a shaft rotatably coupled between aft ends of a pair of draft links, and a latch fixed to the shaft to define an aperture therebetween. A hook is fixed to an implement tongue so that it opens towards the drawbar. The drawbar is rotatable to a position wherein the hook can be inserted into and removed from the aperture and to a position wherein the latch member engages the bight portion of the hook to prevent separation of the hook from the drawbar. A locking mechanism is operable to rotate the drawbar and to releasably hold the drawbar in its positions.

Tractor/implement hitch

A flexor having its opposite ends clamped between respective link and grouser of adjacent track link sections includes a tensile load carrying core in the form of a pair of thin, generally rectangular plates. The ends of the plates where clamping bolts pass through are reinforced by a thickened section which diminishes in a direction toward the center of the plates. The opposite outer surfaces defined by the reinforcement is parabolic and terminates adjacent the midpoint between the opposite ends of the flexor. The reinforcements control the bending of the flexor so that the bend is a smooth circular curve, having the largest radius possible for a given length of flexor.

Flexor for sections of endless track

The respective ends of the link and grouser of a track link section are shaped so that an enlarged middle portion of a flexor extending between adjacent track link sections is embraced by the link and grouser ends in such a way that the radius of flexure of the flexor is controlled and such that no open volumes ever exist, between the flexor and link and grouser ends, which would allow debris to enter and alter the desired controlled radius of flexure.

Track section having cooperating flexor, link and grouser design for

A track-laying tractor drive track is composed of a plurality of sections which each include a link and a grouser bolted together in sandwiching relationship to a pair of side-by-side disposed flexors, the bolts passing through holes provided adjacent the ends of the flexors. The flexors are generally flat rectangular members and the link and grouser have generally flat mounting surfaces which engage the opposite sides of the flexors adjacent their ends. A given flexor may be replaced by removing the bolts associated therewith and by then dislodging the flexor sideways from between the link and grouser. The neighboring flexor to the one removed keeps the track held together so that replacement may be accomplished without the need of tools to hold the track together.

Endless track embodying track sections including flexors

A track-laying tractor drive track is composed of a plurality of sections which each include a link and a grouser bolted together in sandwiching relationship to a pair of side-by-side disposed flexors. The flexors each include a plurality of superposed, resilient plates encased in an elastomeric material. A lost motion connection between the plates and the link and grouser acts such that tensile loads are simultaneously carried by at least two plates both when the flexor is flat and when the flexor is bent without the plates becoming overstressed when bent. Each link includes first and second transverse bars respectively, adapted for entering adjacent receptacles formed by the teeth of a drive sprocket. A wear cap is held in place on the first transverse bar by adjacent grousers of the track while the second transverse bar includes teeth for cleaning material from the sprocket receptacles.

Track section including flexors

Disclosed are two types of track sections respectively having link assemblies interconnected by pivot joints and by resilient flexors. In both types of track sections a sprocket-engaging portion is provided for being engaged by teeth of a track drive sprocket, and a receptacle-cleaning portion is provided for entering receptacles defined by adjacent ones of the sprocket teeth and includes beveled or wedge-shaped ribs for forcing material from the receptacles. The sprocket-engaging portions of adjacent track sections are spaced apart by a distance at least approximating twice the pitch of the sprocket whereby an unused receptacle exists between each adjacent pair of sprocket-engaging portions which is meshed with the sprocket, and the receptacle-cleaning portions are located so as to enter the unused receptacles.

Sprocket receptacle cleaner embodied in a track section

A track section of a track-laying tractor drive track includes a track link having a sprocket-engageable member defined by a base in the form of a generally semi-cylindrical bar and a wear cap removably received on the bar. The wear cap is in the form of a cylindrical segment having its opposite ends separated by more than 180 degrees and when mounted in place on the base, the opposite ends of the wear cap are respectively located in close proximity to a grouser removably secured to the track link and adapted to be located in close proximity to a grouser of an adjacent link whereby the wear cap is retained in position as long as the grousers are in position.

Track link including removable sprocket-engaging wear cap

A track section of an endless traction drive track includes a track link including a wear component including rail portions for engaging support rollers and a sprocket-engaging portion for being engaged by the track drive sprocket. The track link includes a base portion, and the track link is secured to a grouser so that end portions of a pair of rectangular flexors are sandwiched between the link and grouser. The base and wear components are releasably held together by some of the fasteners which secure the track link and grouser together so that the wear component may be replaced without requiring the breaking of the drive track.

Drive track link including separable wear and base components

Provided are three joint assembly embodiments which each employ one or more threaded pivot pins for joining the leading ends of a first pair of track links with the trailing ends of a second pair of track links and for supporting a bushing adapted for engagement by a drive sprocket. In a first embodiment, the interior of the bushing and the leading ends of the second pair of links are threaded and receive a pair of threaded fasteners and the trailing ends of the first pair of links are pressed on the opposite ends of the bushing. A second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that only one threaded fastener is used, the opposite ends of the exterior of the bushing are threaded and the trailing ends of the first pair of links are respectively threadedly received thereon. Also, a split wear bushing is removably received on the first-mentioned bushing. A third embodiment is similar to the second in that only one fastener is used however one end of the fastener is not threaded and has the trailing end of one of the second links received thereon.

Joint assembly for links of endless track

A high velocity driver is made with a liner between the propellant and li gas medium within a cartridge casing. This casing is reduced in length and made wider to accommodate the same desired gas and propellant volume. The liner is folded over so as to form a cylinder of propellant between a central cylinder and an annular cylinder of light gas medium. The explosive gases from the propellant thus expand the liner against the light gas medium in two directions, thereby utilizing more explosive gas energy to compress the light gas medium and thus create a higher velocity ejection of the projectile from the gun barrel.

Telescoped explosive driver

A two stage telescoped launcher wherein propellant compresses a gas which turn ejects a projectile from a gun launch tube. The two stages are telescoped to shorten the gun and to permit breech loading of the projectile.

Growing community of inventors

Bettendorf, IA, United States of America

William P Wohlford