Harvesters – Motorized harvester – Having driven means for handling or treating crop
Patent
1981-12-21
1984-03-06
Eskovitz, Jay N.
Harvesters
Motorized harvester
Having driven means for handling or treating crop
56DIG1, A01D 4700
Patent
active
044346050
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to mower conditioners of the type in which a conditioning rotor is arranged with its axis substantially horizontal so as to receive cut crop and treat it mechanically, for example by laceration or bruising, as it passes the crop rearwards onto the ground to dry.
A mower conditioner is disclosed in United Kingdom patent application No. 2000952 in which a conditioning rotor is mounted on a rotary mower behind two crop cutting drums arranged alongside one another so as to rotate in opposite directions about vertical axes and feed cut crop rearwards therebetween. The conditioning rotor is removably connected between two side walls so as to allow the mower to be used either with or without the conditioning rotor. A bearing unit is connected to each side wall so as to lie within the space beween the side walls, and the conditioning rotor is connected by screw fasteners between the two bearing units. The bearing unit on one side is connected through a drive connection to the drive mechanism of the two crop cutting drums.
A disadvantage with this known mower conditioner is that the conditioning rotor, once removed, cannot be readily reconnected to the bearing units. The rotor has to be lifted into position and the bearing units rotated to align the apertures for insertion of the screw fasteners. Generally this will be a two man operation.
A further disadvantage is that the bearing units are still present between the side walls within the path of the cut crop when the conditioning rotor is removed and this can impair crop flow.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a mower conditioner with a crop conditioning rotor that is mounted between two side walls so that it can be readily removed and reconnected, and does not leave anything to impair crop flow when removed.
According to one aspect, the invention consists in a mower conditioner in which the conditioning unit is supported at each end in bearings that are secured to side support walls between which cut crop passes rearwards, and in which the rotor is driven through a coaxial drive spindle at one end, the drive spindle being axially disengageable from the rotor and the bearings being detachably secured to the side support walls so that the rotor can be readily removed by withdrawal of the drive spindle and release of the bearings, the opposed faces of the side support walls being left free of all projections thereafter.
According to another aspect, the invention consists in a mower conditioner in which the conditioning rotor is supported at its ends in bearing units that are secured to side support walls by releasable fastening means including a pair of coaxial fasteners defining an axis, parallel to that of the rotor axis, about which the bearing units and rotor can swing downwards until the rotor contacts the ground, thereby facilitating removal and re-attachment of the conditioning rotor.
To attach the rotor it is rolled into position between the side support walls and the bearing units are angularly positioned for insertion of the coaxial fasteners. The rotor can then be lifted and swung about the axis of the coaxial fasteners until the bearing units are positioned for insertion of further releasable fasteners. The same procedure is carried out in reverse to remove the rotor. Preferably, quick-release fasteners are used, for example, lockable pins. By these means it is possible for an operator to remove and re-attach the conditioning rotor single-handed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a mower conditioner according to the invention,
FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the drive end of the mower conditioner of FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 is a rear elevation of the mower conditioner of FIG. 1, and,
FIG. 4 is the axial section of the bearing assembly at the drive end of the conditioning rotor taken along the plane 4--4 in FIG. 2.
BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTIO
REFERENCES:
patent: 3672132 (1972-06-01), Scarnato
Eskovitz Jay N.
Farris Robert L.
Massey-Ferguson Services N.V.
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