Harvester header with belt length adapting mechanism

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9538707-B2
Application number	US-201514792980-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 7, 2015
Priority date	Jul 11, 2014
Publication date	Jan 10, 2017
Grant date	Jan 10, 2017

Abstract

A header for an agricultural harvester has a frame with a floor surface and an auger to laterally transport crop material towards a central aperture, wherein a cutter bar forms the leading edge of the header and is moveable via a slide between a retracted and an extended position, the header further includes a belt conveyor for transporting crop material from the cutter bar to the auger, the belt conveyor is provided with a belt-length-adapting mechanism so that the length of the belt is changeable between a short track and a long track respectively corresponding to the retracted position and the extended position.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An agricultural header comprising
a frame adapted to be connected to an agricultural harvester, the frame comprising a floor surface substantially defining the width of the header, wherein an auger is mounted to the frame above the floor surface, the auger being provided to laterally transport crop material towards a central crop-receiving aperture;
a cutter bar forming the leading edge of the header, the cutter bar being mounted to the frame via a slide so that the cutter bar is moveable between a retracted and an extended position; and
a belt conveyor for transporting crop material from the cutter bar towards the auger, the belt conveyor extending between a first shaft that is mounted to the frame at a predetermined distance from the auger and a second shaft that is mounted to the slide at a predetermined distance from the cutter bar, and wherein the belt conveyor is provided with a belt-length-adapting mechanism so that the length of the belt between the first shaft and the second shaft is changeable between a short track corresponding to the retracted position and a long track corresponding to the extended position of the cutter bar, wherein the belt conveyor comprises at least a third shaft and a fourth shaft respectively connected to the slide and the frame, wherein the third and fourth shafts, together with the first and second shafts, form the length-adapting mechanism.

2. The header according to claim 1 , wherein the first shaft is positioned at least partly above the floor surface.

3. The header according to claim 1 , wherein the fourth shaft is positioned in front of the floor surface.

4. The header according to claim 3 , wherein the third shaft is positioned underneath the floor surface.

5. The header according to claim 1 , wherein one of the shafts is powered to drive the belt conveyor.

6. The header according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the third and fourth shafts is spring-mounted to apply a tension to the belt.

7. The header according to claim 1 , further comprising a fifth shaft mounted to one of the slide or the frame such that when the slide is in the retracted position, the fifth shaft is positioned in front of and lower than the fourth shaft.

8. The header according to claim 1 , further comprising distance sensors mounted in a proximity of the cutter bar to measure the distance between the header and the ground surface.

9. The header according to claim 1 , wherein the belt conveyor comprises multiple segments adjacently positioned along the width of the header so that the multiple segments extend over substantially the complete width of the header, wherein each segment of the belt conveyor is driven to transport crop material from the cutter bar towards the auger.

10. The header according to claim 5 , wherein powered shafts of multiple segments are coupled so that the multiple segments can be driven via a single motor.

11. The header according to claim 1 , further comprising a base plate connected to the slide and to the cutter bar, wherein the base plate extends underneath the floor surface.

12. The header according to claim 11 , wherein the base plate extends underneath the conveyor so that the conveyor is protected by the base plate.

13. The header according to claim 1 , further comprising a reel.

14. The header according to claim 1 , further comprising an actuator to operate the slide by moving the slide with respect to the frame thereby moving the cutter bar from the retracted position to the extended position and also changing the length of the conveyor belt from short track to long track and vice versa.

Assignees

• Cnh Ind America Llc

Inventors

• Borry Stijn

Classifications

• A01D41/148 Primary

  Telescopic headers · CPC title