The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 20, 2001
Filed:
May. 27, 1999
Bradley James Watts, Eldridge, IA (US);
David Walter Kmoch, Geneseo, IL (US);
Thomas G. Teller, Faribault, MN (US);
Jay T. Hulscher, Golden Valley, MN (US);
Deere & Company, Moline, IL (US);
Abstract
A draper belt tensioning mechanism for a harvesting platform includes a linkage having a bell crank coupled to the belt idler roller to move the idler roller away from the drive roller when the bell crank is rotated to tension the draper belt. A strut coupled to the bell crank and a spring biasing the strut produces the force to tension the belt. The linkage, except for the spring, is enclosed within the belt envelope. A spring gauge is positioned adjacent the spring to readily determine if the spring is compressed to the desired length. In a preferred embodiment, the spring and gauge are located to be visible by a machine operator.