Mechanical drive center pivot mower conditioner

Abstract

A swing-tongue harvester has a hydraulically controlled pulling tongue that can be operated from the tractor seat to change the lateral position of the machine relative to the towing tractor, notwithstanding the presence of a mechanical drive line which extends along the tongue and branches down to a gearbox carried by the header for driving the operating components of the header. Telescoping steering linkage between the swing tongue and the gearbox causes the box to swing responsively with the tongue when the tongue is swung to any of its angular positions, thus keeping the input shaft of the gearbox oriented properly toward the driveline along the tongue. The connection points for the steering linkage between the tongue and the gearbox are such that a telescoping section of the driveline bridging the tongue and the input shaft of the gearbox has equal angles maintained at its universal joints at opposite ends of the telescoping section to reduce unequal loading at those locations. Specially configured impeller plates associated with the left and right, endmost rotary cutting units on the cutter bed of the header assist in proper delivery of the cut materials rearwardly into the discharge opening of the header.