Pivotal knife mounting arrangement

Details Pivotal knife mounting arrangement Pivotal knife mounting arrangement

2003-03-12

2004-12-28

Bryant, David P. (Department: 3726)

Harvesters

Cutting

Rotating-cutting-disk type

C056S295000, C056SDIG002, C030S276000, C030S351000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06834486

ABSTRACT:

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a pivotal mounting arrangement for mounting a knife to a rotary disc, which makes replacement, or reorientation of the blade possible using only common tools.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Knives used on rotary disc mowers contact the crop material at high speeds, in order to cut effectively. This results in inherent dulling and wear. At times these knives contact other objects such as the ground, rocks etc. causing additional wear. As a result the knives must routinely be maintained.
The knives are pivotally mounted to discs, in a manner to reduce impact loading on the sharpened edge when striking an obstacle.
FIGS. 1-4
illustrate a prior art mounting arrangement. Mower disc assembly
10
includes knife adapter
30
that is attached to the bottom side of disc body
20
, retained with bolt
15
which passes through aperture
26
of disc
20
and into threaded aperture
36
of knife adapter
30
. The knife adapter
30
can alternatively be welded to disc body
20
. Knife adapter
30
further includes a cylindrical aperture
32
that is located concentric with a cylindrical aperture
22
of the disc body
20
, together defining the pivot axis of knife
50
. Knife
50
includes a cylindrical aperture
52
, sized to allow sleeve portion
12
of bolt
14
to pass through allowing sufficient clearance so that the knife
50
will pivot freely. The mounting arrangement is completed by installing bolt
14
through the aperture
52
of the blade
50
, then through the aperture
32
of knife adapter
30
, and finally through aperture
22
of disc body
20
, and into its mating nut
16
.
The top side of the disc body
20
is in contact with the material being cut, functioning to lift and propel the cut material away from the knife. It is exposed to significant wear, along with any components located on the top side of the disc
20
, such as nut
16
. If nut
16
is subjected to sufficient wear, the hex configuration of its outer surface can be degraded to the point that a wrench no longer mates adequately to allow removal. In order to protect the nut
16
from this excessive wear prior art mounting arrangements have included a wear protector
17
mounted on the top of the disc body, to protect the nut
16
from this excessive wear.
Disc
20
is adapted to provide for this mounting arrangement by providing mounting surface
24
on disc body
20
for supporting wear protector
17
. The disc
20
further includes a transition area to the raised portion
28
. This raised portion
28
tapers such that at the far outer diameter of the disc
20
, it does not exist. At lesser diameters the raised portion is increasingly larger. This raised portion
28
, and the transition area between it and the mounting surface
24
, provides protection for bolt
15
, which thus does not require a wear protector.
The knife adapter
30
often includes a tab
34
that prevents full rotation of the knife
50
, in order to control its location, in order to avoid interference with other components of the machine.
This mounting arrangement requires that the several pieces be disassembled with wrenches in order to maintain the knives which is costly and difficult due to the number of knives on a machine.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided an improved mounting arrangement for a knife to a disc for use on a rotary disc cutter that eliminates the need for a threaded connector and the associated nut, providing a positive retention method on the top side of the disc. In addition it provides a method of removing the knife from the disc without the use of wrenches, simply requiring a tool to pry, such as a screw driver. A further feature is a low profile retainer that does not need to be protected by a wear protector.


REFERENCES:
patent: 2939264 (1960-06-01), Kontis
patent: 3755999 (1973-09-01), Meyer et al.
patent: 4313297 (1982-02-01), Maier
patent: 4860525 (1989-08-01), Chee
patent: 5271212 (1993-12-01), Anderson
patent: 6305153 (2001-10-01), Neuerburg
patent: 6357215 (2002-03-01), Thorne
patent: 2002/0194829 (2002-12-01), Petersen
patent: 0 517 645 (1992-12-01), None

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