Pointed guard for sickle cutter system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10368484-B2
Application number	US-201715681549-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 21, 2017
Priority date	Aug 21, 2017
Publication date	Aug 6, 2019
Grant date	Aug 6, 2019

Abstract

In a sickle cutting system including a plurality of guard fingers at spaced positions across a cutter bar across which a reciprocating sickle knife passes, each guard finger has a forwardly projecting tip portion in front of a ledger surface and a rearwardly projecting tang portion connected to a rear end of the tip portion and extending therefrom over the ledger surface to a rear edge of the tang portion located over the blade. The lower surface of the tang portion includes a first portion adjacent the tip portion which is generally parallel to the ledger surface and a second portion adjacent the rear edge which is inclined at an angle away from the ledger surface. The width of the tang portion across the rear of the tang portion is equal to or greater than 1.5 inches.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A sickle cutting apparatus comprising:
a plurality of stationary knife guards arranged to be mounted along a cutter bar;
a sickle bar mounted in transversely extending position and arranged to be driven for reciprocating movement relative to said knife guards;
the sickle bar having a plurality of knife blades mounted thereon for movement therewith;
each of the knife blades having a cutting surface for passing across the knife guards;
each of the knife blades having on first and second sides first and second side cutting edges converging toward a forward tip of the blade;
at least some of the knife guards comprising a base portion arranged to be mounted on the cutter bar and at least one guard finger mounted on the base portion so that the guard fingers are arranged to be mounted in a row along the cutter bar;
the guard finger of said at least some of the knife guards having an upwardly facing ledger surface with opposed side edges thereof arranged to provide first and second shearing edges which cooperate with said side cutting edges of said knife blades;
the guard finger of said at least some of the knife guards having an forwardly projecting tip portion in front of the ledger surface;
the guard finger of said at least some of the knife guards having a rearwardly projecting tang portion connected to a rear end of the tip portion and extending therefrom over the ledger surface to a rear edge of the tang portion located over the blade;
a lower surface of the tang portion thus defining with the ledger surface a slot through which the blade passes;
the lower surface of the tang portion including a first planar portion extending across the tang portion from one side edge to an opposed side edge and extending from the tip portion to a position spaced from the rear edge which first portion is generally parallel to the ledger surface and a second planar portion extending across the tang portion from one side edge to an opposed side edge and extending said position to the rear edge which planar second portion is inclined from said position at an angle away from the ledger surface.

2. The sickle cutting apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the second portion of the tang portion is bent relative to the first portion at a transverse line across the tang portion at the front of the second portion so that both the upper and lower surfaces are inclined.

3. The sickle cutting apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the second portion of the tang portion tapers in depth from the lower surface to an upper surface thereof toward the rear edge thereof.

4. The sickle cutting apparatus according to claim 1 wherein a length along the tang portion of second portion from the rear edge to the first portion is shorter that a length of the first portion to the tip portion.

5. The sickle cutting apparatus according to claim 1 wherein a width of the tang portion across the guard finger at the rear end of the tang portion is substantially equal to a width of the guard at the rear end of the tang portion.

6. The sickle cutting apparatus according to claim 1 wherein a width of the tang portion across the rear of the tang portion is greater than 1.2 inches.

7. The sickle cutting apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the width of the tang portion across the rear of the tang portion is equal to or greater than 1.5 inches.

8. The sickle cutting apparatus according to claim 1 wherein cooperation between the blade and the ledger surface of the guard finger defines a transverse rearmost cutting line at which a cutting action occurs and wherein a length of each knife blade from the transverse line to a forwardmost tip of the knife blade is greater than 2.2 inches.

9. The sickle cutting apparatus according to claim 8 wherein a length of each knife blade from the transverse rearmost cutting line to a forwardmost tip of the knife blade is greater than 2.5 inches.

10. The sickle cutting apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the transverse rearmost cutting line is defined by a trash bar attached to the ledger surface of the guard finger and extending outwardly to the sides thereof.

11. The sickle cutting apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the blades have a spacing from tip to tip of 3 inches.

12. The sickle cutting apparatus according to claim 1 wherein each blade is a separate component from each of the other blades with two side edges so that the side edges of each blade lie immediately adjacent the side edges of the next adjacent blades.

13. The sickle cutting apparatus according to claim 1 wherein each knife blade has a front point portion in front of the side cutting edges which front point portion has side edges converging to front apex.

Assignees

• Macdon Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Talbot Francois R

Classifications

• A01D34/16

  Guides for the knife-bar in the ledger-plate · CPC title

• A01D34/14

  Knife-bars · CPC title

• A01D34/135 Primary

  having oppositely movable cooperating knife-bars · CPC title

• A01D34/18 Primary

  Guard fingers; Ledger-plates · CPC title