Cutter assembly with knife guard and knife guard holder

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10973170-B2
Application number	US-201615294294-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 14, 2016
Priority date	Oct 14, 2016
Publication date	Apr 13, 2021
Grant date	Apr 13, 2021

Abstract

A cutter assembly includes a knife guard holder to be removably connected to a cutter bar, a knife guard and an interface between the knife guard holder and the knife guard. The knife guard may have a knife channel to slidably guide a cutter knife. The interface extends between the knife guard holder and the knife guard to locate and releasably retain the knife guard with respect to the knife guard holder.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A cutter assembly comprising:
a knife guard holder comprising:
rear fastening apertures for receiving fasteners to removably connect the knife guard holder to a cutter bar;

a knife guard having a knife channel to slidably guide a cutter knife, the knife guard comprising a plurality of fingers integrally formed as a single unitary body; and
an interface between the knife guard holder and the knife guard to locate and releasably retain the knife guard with respect to the knife guard holder.

2. The cutter assembly of claim 1 , wherein the knife guard comprises:
a metal cutter surface along a floor of the knife channel; and
a polymer outer body supporting the metal cutter surface and forming an upper surface of the knife channel.

3. The cutter assembly of claim 1 , wherein the knife guard comprises:
a metal insert forming a floor of the knife channel, the metal insert comprising apertures; and
a polymer outer body projecting through the apertures and underlying the metal insert.

4. The cutter assembly of claim 1 , wherein the interface comprises:
a plurality of frustro-conical projections extending from one of the knife guard holder and the knife guard; and
a plurality of frustrated-conical cavities extending into the other of the knife guard holder and the knife guard and corresponding to the plurality of frustrated-conical projections.

5. The cutter assembly of claim 1 , further comprising:
the cutter bar;
a knife hold down; and
a fastener extending through the knife hold down, through the cutter bar and through the knife guard holder.

6. The cutter assembly of claim 1 further comprising:
the cutter bar;
a second knife guard holder removably connected to the cutter bar;
a second knife guard having second knife channel to slidably guide the cutter knife, the second knife guard comprising a second plurality of fingers integrally formed as a single unitary body; and
a second interface between the second knife guard holder and the second knife guard to locate and releasably retain the second knife guard with respect to the second knife guard holder.

7. The cutter assembly of claim 6 , wherein the interface comprises:
a plurality of wedges integrally formed as a single unitary body with one another as part of and extending from one of the knife guard holder and the knife guard;
a plurality of wedge shaped cavities formed within an integrally formed single unitary body, the plurality of wedge-shaped cavities corresponding to the plurality of wedges and extending from the other of the knife guard holder and the knife guard, the plurality of wedge-shaped cavities releasably receiving respective ones of the plurality of wedges to locate and releasably retain the knife guard with respect to the knife guard holder.

8. The cutter assembly of claim 1 , wherein the interface comprises a first portion integrally formed as a single unitary body with the knife guard holder and a second portion integrally formed as a single unitary body with the knife guard, wherein the cutter assembly further comprises:
the cutter knife; and
a knife bar supported and fastened to the cutter knife, wherein the knife bar extends over the first portion of the interface.

9. The cutter assembly of claim 1 , wherein the knife guard holder further comprises an upstanding wall cooperating with the knife guard to form a knife bar channel, the cutter assembly further comprising:
a knife bar received within the knife bar channel; and
the cutter knife secured to the knife bar and extending over the upstanding wall.

10. The cutter assembly of claim 1 , wherein the interface is configured to releasably retain the knife guard with respect to the knife guard holder without a fastener.

11. A cutter assembly comprising:
a knife guard holder to be removably connected to a cutter bar;
a knife guard having a knife channel to slidably guide a cutter knife; and
an interface between the knife guard holder and the knife guard to locate and releasably retain the knife guard with respect to the knife guard holder, wherein the interface comprises:

a wedge extending from one of the knife guard holder and the knife guard;
a wedge shaped cavity extending from the other of the knife guard holder and the knife guard, the wedge-shaped cavity releasably receiving the wedge to locate and releasably retain the knife guard with respect to the knife guard holder; and
a magnetic material proximate one of the wedge and the wedge-shaped cavity, wherein the other of the wedge and the wedge-shaped cavity comprises a ferrous material, the ferrous material and the magnetic material being magnetically attracted to one another to retain the wedge within the wedge-shaped cavity.

12. The cutter assembly of claim 11 , wherein the interface further comprises:
a detent coupled to one of the knife guard holder and the knife guard; and
a catch coupled to the other of the knife guard holder and the knife guard, the catch being received within the detent.

13. The cutter assembly of claim 11 , wherein the interface further comprises:
a retention pin extending through the wedge-shaped cavity and the wedge within the wedge-shaped cavity.

14. The cutter assembly of claim 11 , wherein the interface further comprises:
a detent coupled to one of the knife guard holder and the knife guard;
a catch coupled to the other of the knife guard holder and the knife guard, the catch being received within the detent; and
a retention pin extending through the wedge-shaped cavity and the wedge within the wedge-shaped cavity.

15. A cutter assembly comprising:
a knife guard holder to be removably connected to a cutter bar;
a knife guard having a knife channel to slidably guide a cutter knife, the knife guard comprising a plurality of fingers integrally formed as a single unitary body; and
an interface between the knife guard holder and the knife guard to locate and releasably retain the knife guard with respect to the knife guard holder, wherein the knife guard holder comprises three wedge-shaped cavities and wherein the knife guard comprises:

a polymer body comprising:
the plurality of fingers, the plurality of fingers comprising:
first and second outer fingers; and
a central finger between the first and second outer fingers and having the knife channel; and

three wedge-shaped projections corresponding to the three wedge-shaped cavities and wedged into the three wedge-shaped cavities;

a first metal cutter plate continuously extending across the first and second outer fingers and the central finger, the metal cutter plate forming an upper surface of the first and second outer fingers and a floor of the knife channel; and
a second metal cutter plate supported by the central finger and forming a ceiling of the knife channel.

16. The cutter assembly of claim 15 , wherein the first metal cutter plate comprises extensions encapsulated within each of the first and second outer fingers in the central finger, the extensions being received within each of the three wedge-shaped cavities of the knife guard holder.

17. The cutter assembly of claim 15 , wherein the knife channel of the knife guard extends above each of the three-wedge-shaped apertures.

18. The cutter assembly of claim 15 , wherein each of the three wedge-shaped cavities face in a first direction and wherein the knife guard holder comprises at least one second aperture extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the at least one second aperture to receive a fastener fo

Assignees

• Deere & Co

Inventors

• Neely Jesse R
• Laudenbach Lucas
• Mccunn Gregory S

Classifications

• A01D34/18 Primary

  Guard fingers; Ledger-plates · CPC title

• A01D34/04

  with cutters at the front · CPC title

• A01D34/14

  Knife-bars · CPC title

• A01D34/015 Primary

  Cutting mechanisms not covered by another group · CPC title

• A01D34/16 Primary

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