Harvesting header having adjustable width, draper belt discharge opening

A harvester having hydraulically shiftable draper sections for left, right or center crop discharge has a pair of movement limiting tangs which are carried by the draper sections at either of one of two selected locations in order to enable the lateral dimension or width of the discharge opening to be varied in accordance with crop conditions. When the standing crop is relatively dense, the tangs are positioned in an inboard location on the draper carriages so that the width of the discharge opening is maximized. Alternately, the tangs can be positioned in outward locations on the carriages for limiting lateral movement of the latter and reducing the width of the discharge opening so that the crop materials under relatively light crop conditions are formed into a dense, interlaced windrow having a central snow and ice shedding ridge. Enlarge deflectors fixed to opposite side portions of the header substantially cover the gap when the draper sections are shifted inwardly so that the majority of the severed crop materials are directed onto the draper sections and toward the discharge opening.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to crop harvesting headers having draper or conveyor 
sections movable in lateral directions for either left, right, or center 
crop delivery through a discharge opening and onto the ground in a 
windrow. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Windrowing headers equipped with conveyors in the form of drapers are 
widely used in certain regions of the world. Typically, draper windrowers 
are provided with at least two independent draper sections which cooperate 
to transversely convey the severed crop materials toward an opening for 
discharging the materials on the ground to form a windrow during 
advancement of the machine. 
In some instances, the draper sections of windrowing headers are shiftable 
in directions laterally of the path of travel of the machine to 
cooperating positions such that the discharge opening is located either 
adjacent the right or left side of the machine or alternately is 
positioned near the center of the header. Hydraulic cylinders are utilized 
to transversely shift the draper sections during the harvesting operation 
so that the discharged crop materials are laid down in a windrow beside a 
previously formed windrow in order that the harvesting machine 
subsequently processing the crop materials will have a larger volume of 
material to pick up along each pass across the field. 
A number of factors are known to affect crop yield and consequently the 
volume of severed crop materials per linear foot of windrow may vary from 
year to year. In instances where crop yield is relatively heavy, the 
discharge opening normally provided by conventional draper harvesters is 
of a width for satisfactorily establishing a well-formed windrow wherein 
the crop materials are substantially interlaced for resisting dispersement 
by wind, and wherein the windrow presents an elongated, central apex 
extending the length of the windrow for preventing collection of snow 
which might otherwise impair the quality of the crop materials. 
There are times, however, when the standing crop density is relatively 
light such as after growing periods when rainfall has been inadequate. The 
less dense windrow formed by the above-mentioned opening of the harvester 
under such conditions is not well formed by comparison and may present an 
elongated depression along the center of the windrow which is susceptible 
to collection of snow and ice. Moreover, the crop materials under these 
circumstances may be insufficently interlaced and as a result may be 
unable to adequately resist scattering due to the influence of driving 
winds. 
In the past, certain manufacturers have attempted to alleviate the 
above-noted problems by providing an extra length of conveyor fabric (such 
as canvas or synthetic rubber) which may be added to the existing draper 
sections to reduce the transverse width of the discharge opening. To 
extend the conveyor sections, the user attempting such a conversion would 
first disassemble the draper and add the additional fabric section, and 
then extend the carriage frame by adding additional members in order to 
stretch the draper to the proper transverse width. However, such a process 
must be normally repeated for each draper section and often entails a 
laborsome task extending over a number of hours. 
Obviously, it would be highly desirable to reduce the time necessary for 
varying the discharge opening width of conventional harvesters. In many 
cases, the header may be put to use each season in a number of different 
fields, and a simplified apparatus for adjusting the discharge width would 
certainly be desirable since crop conditions may vary from field to field. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In accordance with the invention, a harvester header has a pair of draper 
sections which, in addition to being shiftable laterally between 
cooperating positions for left, right, and center delivery of the severed 
materials, are also shiftable through a limited distance of travel away 
from adjacent sides of the machine for narrowing the discharge opening 
when desired. A pair of enlarged deflecting shields connected to opposite 
sides of the header substantially cover the gap between outboard ends of 
the draper sections and respective side portions of the machine when the 
discharge opening is narrowed in order to deflect the substantial majority 
of the crop materials severed in regions adjacent the gap onto the draper 
sections for delivery to the discharge opening. 
In more detail, each of the shiftable draper sections is provided with a 
stop in the nature of a tang which limits lateral movement of the 
respective section toward the associated, adjacent side of the machine. 
Each tang is removably coupled by bolt to the underside of a carriage 
supporting one of the draper sections, and the carriage has an additional 
set of apertures for receiving the tang mounting bolts when it is desired 
to change the width of the discharge opening. Powered shifting of the 
draper sections is thereafter limited by the tangs which together 
determine the width of the discharge opening. 
Preferably, a single hydraulic cylinder and piston assembly is utilized to 
shift both of the draper sections. When either left or right discharge is 
desired, the draper sections are bolted together for simultaneous movement 
by the piston and cylinder assembly. On the other hand, when a central 
discharge is desired, the draper sections are disconnected from each other 
and a keeper releasably engages the tang of one section for retaining the 
latter in position while the hydraulic cylinder and piston assembly is 
utilized to maintain the lateral orientation of the other draper section 
in spaced apart relation to the first section. 
Optionally, a third, somewhat smaller draper section may be provided on one 
side of the header in order to establish working room for double windrow 
harvesting operations. The smaller draper section is releasably connected 
by bolts to a frame portion of the machine, and additional apertures are 
provided for varying the lateral orientation of the smaller draper section 
and adjustment of the discharge opening when needed. The position of the 
limiting tangs mounted on the adjacent, hydraulically shiftable draper 
section is coordinated with the possible positions of the smaller draper 
section to eliminate the formation of any substantial gap between the two 
sections and ensure that the conveyed materials reach the desired 
discharge opening of the header.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
Referring initially to FIG. 1, the harvester 20 broadly includes a 
propelling vehicle such as a tractor 22 and a header 24 coupled to the 
tractor 22 for movement across a field and along a path of travel. A 
reciprocating sickle assembly 26 extends along the front of the header 24 
for severing standing crops as the harvester 20 is advanced, and a reel 28 
is supported by a frame 30 of the header 24 for the purpose of sweeping 
standing crops toward the sickle assembly 26 and directing the severed 
crop materials in a rearwardly direction as the header 24 is advanced. 
The header 24 has a conveyor 32 which comprises three independent conveyor 
sections, namely right conveyor section 34 and left conveyor section 36 as 
well as a smaller conveyor section 38 as can be best understood by 
reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The larger conveyor sections 34, 36 are also 
shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and each include a separate subframe or carriage 
40, 42 respectively which rotatably carries a number of conveyor rollers 
such as rollers 43. Each of the sections 34, 36 has a draper 44, 46 
respectively which is trained about its associated rollers 43 for 
loop-wise movement in directions laterally of the path of travel of the 
harvester 20. 
The draper 44 of the right conveyor section 34 is driven by a hydraulic 
motor 48 which is illustrated in FIG. 4. On the other hand, the draper 46 
for the left conveyor section 36 is driven by a hydraulic motor 50 which 
is shown in FIG. 5. 
Both of the carriages 40, 42 are mounted for shifting movement in 
directions laterally of the direction of advancement of harvester 20. One 
side of each carriage 40, 42 has an elongated structure 52 (such as is 
shown in FIG. 1) that has a "Z" shape in transverse configuration and 
which slidingly engages matingly inclined surfaces of a support 54 
associated with the sickle assembly 26. Each carriage 40, 42 slides during 
lateral shifting movement over nylon blocks 56 which are fixed to inclined 
channels 58 forming a part of the harvester frame 30. 
Turning now to FIG. 5, a means for selectively shifting the left conveyor 
section 36 comprises a hydraulically operated piston and cylinder assembly 
which includes a cylinder 60 and a doubleended piston member 62. One end 
of the piston member 62 is connected to a bracket 64 fixed to one end 
portion of the left conveyor carriage 42, while the opposite end of the 
piston member 62 is coupled to a bracket 66 that is, in turn, fixed to the 
remaining end portion of the left conveyor carriage 42. The cylinder 60 is 
supported by a member 68 that comprises a part of the header frame 30. 
When it is desired, for example, to shift the right conveyor section 34 in 
lateral directions simultaneously with similar movement of the left 
conveyor 36, a number of bolts (not shown) may be utilized to couple the 
end of the left conveyor carriage 42 near hydraulic motor 50 to the 
adjacent end of the right conveyor carriage 40 near motor 48. In this 
manner, both of the sections 34, 36 are shifted together by the piston 
member 62 for discharge of crop materials conveyed by the drapers 44, 46 
to one side or another of the header 24. Alternately, if center discharge 
of crop materials is desired, then the bolts are removed to uncouple the 
sections 34, 36, and the latter are instead spaced apart in the manner 
shown in FIG. 2 for presentation of an essentially central, rectangular 
discharge opening 70. 
A means for limiting the extent of laterally outbound movement of the right 
conveyor section 34 comprises a U-shaped tang 72 that is bolted to the 
underside of the right carriage 40 as can be seen by reference to FIGS. 7 
and 8. As the right conveyor section 34 is shifted toward the smaller 
conveyor section 38, the tang 72 rides up and over an inverted V-shaped 
keeper 74 that is fixedly connected to one of the frame channels 58. The 
right carriage 40 hops up as the tang 72 rides over the keeper 74, and the 
right carriage 40 comes to a halt once the tang 72 engages a corner 
portion of the adjacent frame channel 58. 
A means for selectively varying the lateral dimension or width of the 
discharge opening of header 24 (and for limiting the extent of outbound 
movement of the right conveyor section 34) comprises a pair of bolt holes 
76, 78 that are formed in the underside of the right carriage 40 for 
enabling the orientation of the tang 72 to be changed relative to the 
carriage 40 in a lateral, or elongated direction. When, for instance, the 
bolt supporting the tang 72 is inserted through bolt hole 76, the extent 
of laterally outward movement of the right conveyor section 34 is limited 
to the orientation shown in FIG. 2. If, instead, the bolt supporting the 
tang 72 is inserted through bolt hole 78, outward movement of the right 
conveyor section 34 is limited to the position shown in FIG. 3 such that a 
central discharge opening 80 of the header 24 is somewhat smaller in width 
than the discharge opening 70 illustrated in FIG. 2. 
Although not shown in detail, the left conveyor section 36 has a tang 82 
somewhat similar in configuration and function to the tang 72 for limiting 
outbound movement of the left carriage 42. The position of the tang 82 on 
the left conveyor section 36 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and the tang 82 
comes into contact with one of the frame channels 58 during shifting of 
the section 36 to thereby limit further outbound movement of left carriage 
42. 
The left carriage 42 is formed with two bolts holes similar to holes 76, 78 
so that the position of the tang 82 can be varied in a lateral direction 
relative to carriage 42. Thus, adjustment of the position of tang 82 on 
the carriage 42 also enables the width of the discharge opening of the 
header 24 to be varied as desired. The changeover can be effected in a 
relatively short period of time, inasmuch as only a single bolt is 
utilized to couple the tangs 72, 82 to the respective sections 34, 36. 
The tang 82 associated with the left conveyor section 34 does not cooperate 
with a keeper similar to keeper 74. Instead, the hydraulic cylinder 60 and 
piston member 62 are utilized to hold the left conveyor section 36 in 
place, with the tang 82 in abutting contact with the frame channel 58 so 
that the left conveyor section 36 does not jostle about or shift 
accidentally during operation of the header 20. As should now be 
understood, the keeper 74 functions to prevent such unintentional movement 
with regard to the right conveyor section 34. 
The smaller conveyor section 38 is shown in FIGS. 2-4, and 6 and is 
positioned between the right conveyor section 34 and the adjacent side 
portion of the header frame 30. The conveyor section 38 includes a 
rubberized or fabric draper 84 that travels in an endless loop about 
rollers that are rotatably supported by a carriage 86. The carriage 86 
includes a lower, somewhat Z-shaped structure 88 that rides along the top 
of the sickle assembly support 54 for guiding the movement of the conveyor 
section 40 when the latter is shifted in lateral directions. 
The small conveyor section 38 can be laterally positioned in either of two 
orientations as can be appreciated by comparison of FIGS. 2 and 3. The 
conveyor carriage 86 is coupled to the header frame 30 by two bolts which 
extend through the carriage structure 88 and the sickle assembly support 
54 in the manner shown in FIG. 6. Another pair of bolts 92 extends through 
an upright shield 94 that is fixed to the carriage 86, and the bolts 92 
are connected to a bracket 96 fixed to a beam 98 that comprises part of 
the header frame 30. 
The bracket 96 as well as the sickle assembly support 54 are formed with a 
pair of laterally spaced apart holes 99 for reception of each bolt as 
shown in FIG. 4. Thus, the smaller conveyor section 38 can be bolted to 
the header frame 30 in the orientation shown in FIG. 2, or alternately in 
the orientation illustrated in FIG. 3 by selection of the proper bolt 
holes 99 and alignment of the carriage 86 with the selected set of holes 
99. 
Each side of the header 24 is provided with a shield or deflector 100, 102 
for directing crops severed by the outmost end portions of the sickle 
assembly 26 onto adjacent regions of the conveyor sections 38, 36 
respectively. The inclined orientation and the somewhat trapezoidal 
configuration of the deflectors 100, 102 can be understood by reference to 
FIGS. 1-3, and the deflectors 100, 102 are larger in width than prior art 
deflectors to ensure that a substantial portion of the crop severed by 
endmost regions of the sickle assembly 26 are properly directed to the 
conveyor sections 38, 36 without falling through the gap which is present 
between the latter conveyor sections and adjacent side regions of the 
header frame 30 when the conveyor sections 34, 36, 38 are shifted inwardly 
to present the smaller discharge opening 80 that is depicted in FIG. 3. 
The draper 84 of the smaller conveyor section 38 is driven for closed loop 
movement by means of a belt 104 that is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 6. The 
belt 104 extends around a pulley 106 that is secured to a shaft of one of 
the rollers supporting the draper 84, and the belt 104 is also trained 
about two idler pulleys 108 and another pulley 110 that is connected to a 
drive shaft 112. The pulley 110 is shiftable along the length of shaft 112 
when it is desired to move the smaller conveyor section 38 either 
laterally inward or outward, and an elongated key 114 interconnects the 
drive shaft 112 and pulley 110 while a set screw 116 is provided to 
releasably retain the pulley 110 in the selected position on drive shaft 
112. 
The drive shaft 112, along with a similar drive shaft 118 that is shown in 
FIGS. 2, 3, and 5, together provide power to the sickle assembly 26. 
Inboard ends of the drive shafts 112, 118 have U joint couplings which are 
connected to respective shafts such as shaft 120 (see FIG. 1) that, in 
turn, are together coupled to a drive shaft powered by tractor 22. 
Finally, the conveyor sections 34, 36 are each provided with an upright 
shield 122 which functions in a manner similar to the shield 94 of the 
smaller conveyor section 38 to deflect crops severed by the adjacent 
regions of the sickle assembly 26 onto the uppermost reaches of the draper 
below. The shields 122 are each fixed to one of the carriages 40, 42 for 
lateral movement therewith as the conveyor sections 34, 36 are shifted 
toward or away from the center of the header 24, and each shield 122 has 
an upper rolled edge which can be seen in FIG. 1 for sliding engagement 
with the side of beam 98. 
OPERATION 
In use, the drapers 44, 46, 84 travel in cooperating, rotative directions 
to convey severed crop materials toward the discharge opening. When, for 
example, the sections 34, 36, 38 are positioned for central discharge in 
either the orientation shown in FIG. 2 or the orientation shown in FIG. 3, 
the uppermost reaches of the drapers 44, 46, 84 travel in a respective 
direction to urge the crop materials toward the discharge opening 70 or 
80. On the other hand, if the right conveyor section 34 is bolted to the 
left conveyor section 34 for simultaneous movement during operation of the 
cylinder 60 and piston member 62, drapers 44, 46 travel in the same 
rotative direction for side discharge of the crops. 
The hydraulic motors 48, 50 are interconnected with the controls for the 
hydraulic circuit providing fluid to the cylinder 60 so that the rotative 
direction of travel of the drapers 44, 46 is switched to an opposite 
direction as the sections 34, 36 are shifted from one side of the header 
24 to the other for side crop discharge. For the latter operation, the 
hydraulic hoses connected to the hydraulic motor 48 are reversed so that 
the drapers 44, 46 travel in the same direction instead of the opposite 
direction necessary for proper operation during central crop discharge. 
The draper 84 of the smaller conveyor section 28 always rotates in the 
same direction, since the draper 84 instead powered for movement by means 
of the drive shaft 112. 
The width of the discharge opening may be varied in accordance with crop 
conditions whether or not the header 24 is set up to provide central crop 
discharge or alternating right and left crop discharge. In brief, the 
operator need merely change the position of the smaller conveyor section 
38 by inserting bolts 90, 92 in different holes, and then reposition the 
tangs 72, 82 in alignment with the proper, corresponding holes of the 
carriages 40, 42. The tangs 72, 82 thereafter limit outboard movement of 
conveyor sections 34, 36 so that the discharge opening (whether right, 
left or central) is of a proper width to form a well interlaced windrow 
having an elongated, central ridge or peak.