Patent ID: 8356695
Filing Date: 2013-01-22
Classification: A01D

Abstract:
1. In a gearbox for driving a cutterbar of an agricultural header, the gearbox having a main housing with an interior portion containing at least one drive gear and configured for holding lubricant and a shaft connected to the at least one drive gear by an axially displaceable connector, the shaft extending generally vertically therefrom along an axis, the improvement in the gearbox comprising: a pilot cavity disposed generally above the interior portion; an opening within the housing between the interior portion and said pilot cavity, said opening arranged along said axis and allowing passage of the shaft and the lubricant between the interior portion and said pilot cavity; at least one conduit extending through the housing from the interior portion to said pilot cavity for conveying the lubricant to said pilot cavity; a lubricant deflector having a central axis and a generally planar annulus from which a plurality of tabs extend to define an outer periphery, each of said plurality of tabs having a width and being spaced apart from the adjacent tab creating a gap therebetween, an aperture aligned on said central axis, and a tapered portion extending downward from the annulus to the aperture; and; wherein said tabs are configured to sit in said pilot cavity and configured such that a portion of said at least one conduit is unobstructed by said deflector maintaining a flow path from the interior portion through the conduit and past an upper surface of the deflector toward the aperture.