GEAR MOUNTING APPARATUS AND DISC CUTTER ROTOR ASSEMBLY

Abstract: An improved idler gear mounting apparatus (4O) for use in a disc cutterbar (2O) is disclosed. These idler gears (34) transfer rotational power between drive gears (32) operatively associated with disc cutter assemblies (25). The mounting apparatus (4O) comprises a spacer member (42) which engages both the upper surface (37) and the lower surface (38) of the transmission casing (35) to provide radial support thereof and also engages the inner race of a bearing assembly (41) rotatably mounting the idler gear (34). A bolt (46) having a head portion (47) received within a recessed portion (45) of the spacer member (42), extends through the spacer member (42) and is threadably engaged with a securing member (48) which in turn engages the lower surface member (38)of the transmission casing (35). A lip portion (43) of the spacer member (42)engaged with the upper surface (37) of the transmission casing (35) permits the mounting apparatus (4O) to be secured between the upper and lower surfaces (37, 38) of the transmission casing (35) and rotatably mount the idler gear (34). Also an improved disc cutter rotor assembly (25) for use in a disc cuttebar (2O) of the type utilizing a plurality of intermeshed gears (3O) to transfer rotational power is disclosed. This rotor assembly (25) provides a lower profile to facilitate the flow of crop material over the cutterbar (2O) and yet also permits the individual components of the rotor assembly (25) to be serviced and/or replaced. The hub (62) and shaft (6O) are of welded construction and are rotatably mounted via a removable bearing assembly (57) within a bearing housing (55) affixed to the transmission casing (35). The drive gear (32) for the rotor assembly (25) is splined onto the shaft (6O) and retained in place by a fastener and washer assembly (65) to permit the drive gear (32) to be removed from the shaft (6O). A sealed hole (67) in the bottom (38) of the transmission casing (35) permits access to the fastener and washer assembly (65) to permit the drive gear (32) to be removed from the shaft (6O) before removing the rotor assembly (25) from the transmission casing (35).

Description: The present invention relates generally to a disc cutterbar for severing standing crop material by impact action and which utilizes intermeshing gears for the transmission of rotary power between the disc cutter rotary assemblies thereof. Specifically, the present invention is concerned with a mounting apparatus for rotatably mounting an idler gear between the upper and lower surface portions of the transmission casing of such a disc cutterbar. Disc cutterbars of the type as illustrated in FR-A-1.562.886 and EP-A-0.060.600 and utilizing a plurality of intermeshed gears to transfer rotational power through the transmission casing to the rotatably mounted disc cutter units, typically are provided with a pair of idler gears rotatably mounted within the transmission casing between each pair of adjacent disc cutter assemblies. The purpose of this transmission gear configuration is to provide opposing directions of rotation for adjacent disc cutter units. Because of the precise nature of the intermeshed transmission gears in such disc cutterbars, the location of the idler gear mounting is particularly critical. Furthermore, due to the forces imposed on the idler gear mountings, deformation problems are also encountered. With the current tendency to manufacture cutterbars with a low, thin profile to keep the cutting members close to the surface of the ground for minimizing the impedance to the flow of severed crop material over the surface of the disc cutters, a substantial mounting of the idler gears to maintain proper centres and alignment is required. This ideal idler gear mounting is not accomplished with the arrangement according to FR-A-1.562.886 which furthermore also fails to provide a cutterbar with a sufficiently low profile. On the other hand, the arrangement according to EP-A-0.060.600 also has a profile which is higher than what presently is acceptable and moreover has only very limited serviceability to the extent that the idler gears thereof are not easily removable from the assembly. Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide a substantial gear mounting apparatus in a thin profile transmission casing of a disc cutterbar and which, while maintaining ease of serviceability, also enables proper maintaining of the manufacturing centres and alignment of the gears in the power transmission train even when, in operation, high forces are imposed on the various components. According to the invention, a disc cutterbar is provided for severing standing crop material from the ground and which has a plurality of disc cutter assemblies rotatably mounted on a transmission casing housing a plurality of intermeshed power transmission gears including a drive gear associated with each respective disc cutter assembly to effect rotation thereof and idler gears positioned between the drive gears to transfer rotational power therebetween; each one of said idler gears being rotatably mounted within the transmission casing by a mounting apparatus extending between upper and lower surface portions of said casing and comprising: a spacer member positioned within a mounting opening through the transmission casing and radially engaging, on the one hand, a bearing assembly rotatably supporting the corresponding idler gear and, on the other hand, one of the surface portions of the transmission casing; said spacer member further also having a lip portion engageable with said one of the casing surface portions to provide support for said spacer member generally in its axial direction; a securing member having a lip portion engageable with the other of the casing surface portions to provide support for said securing member generally in its axial direction; and a fastener releasably coupling the spacer member and the securing member to each other to tightly fix the mounting apparatus in place relative to the transmission casing; and said disc cutterbar being characterized in that: the spacer member further also radially engages said other one of the casing surface portions of the transmission casing to provide additional radial support for the corresponding idler gear; and both the upper and lower surface portions of the transmission casing have corresponding indentations through which the mounting opening passes and for respectively receiving the lip portions of the spacer member and the securing member therein. In a preferred embodiment, one of said spacer and securing members has a recessed portion and the fastener is in the form of a bolt extending through said one of said spacer and securing members. Said bolt has a head portion which engages said one of said spacer and securing members within said recessed portion thereof and threadably engages the other one of said spacer and securing members. O-rings associated with the spacer member and the securing member seal the mounting apparatus to prevent the leakage of fluid from the transmission casing. The indentations in the transmission casing are so that the idler gear mounting apparatuses do not substantially project above or below the surfaces of the transmission casing on the one hand and the inner races of the bearing assemblies rotatably mounting the idler gears on the corresponding spacer members may be tightly clamped between said indentations in the upper and lower surface portions of the casing on the other hand. The present invention thus provides spacer members which extend completely through the transmission casing to engage both the upper and lower surfaces thereof whereby both the upper and lower surfaces of the casing provide radial support for the idler gears and thus a substantial mounting of the idler gears is obtained. This, in turn ensures that the manufacturing centres and alignment of the idler gears in the power transmission train are properly maintained. Yet this mounting apparatus also maintains an ease of serviceability, is durable in construction, inexpensive of manufacture, facile in assemblage and simple and effective in use. The advantages of this invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed disclosure of the invention, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a disc mower-conditioner incorporating the principles of the instant invention; Fig. 2 is a left side elevational view of the disc mower-conditioner seen in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a view of the disc cutterbar as seen along lines 3-3 of Fig. 2, with the extraneous harvester structure removed; Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the disc cutterbar seen in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of the disc cutterbar taken along lines 5-5 of Fig. 4; and Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the cutterbar taken along lines 6-6 of Fig. 5 to show the structural details of the idler gear mounting apparatus. Referring now to the drawings and, particularly, to Fig. 1, a top plan view of a crop harvesting machine, commonly referred to as a disc mower-conditioner, incorporating the principles of the instant invention, can be seen. As best seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the disc mower-conditioner 10 is supported over the ground G by a wheeled frame 12. The embodiment as shown in the drawings is commonly referred to as a pull-type machine and, therefore, is equipped with a draft tongue 13 and a PTO driveline 14 to input rotational power from a pulling tractor (not shown). The machine 10 is provided with a header 15 floatingly supported from the frame 12 in a conventional manner. The header 15 is provided with a disc cutterbar 20, described in further detail below, and a conditioning mechanism 16, including an upper roll 17 and a lower roll 18, positioned immediately rearwardly of the cutterbar 20 to receive and condition severed crop. Conditioned crop material which is discharged from the conditioning mechanism 16 is engaged with the rearwardly converging baffle shields 19 that deposit this conditioned crop into a consolidated windrow upon the ground G in a conventional manner. An overall view of the disc cutterbar 20 is best seen in Figs. 3 and 4. The power input shaft 22 receives rotational power from the PTO driveline 14 and transfers the rotational power through a series of intermeshing power transmission gears described in greater detail below and rotatably powers the operation of the disc cutter assemblies 25, each of which has a pair of outwardly extending knives 27 that engage the standing crop material and, by rotation along a circular path exhibited by the arc 21, affect a severing thereof from the ground. The disc cutter assemblies 25 at the respective ends of the cutterbar 20 are provided with a hat-shaped divider drum 29 to facilitate the flow of crop material over the cutterbar 20 and inwardly toward the conditioning mechanism 16. Referring now to Figs. 3-6, particularly to Fig. 5, the structural details of the power transmission train 30 and the disc cutterbar 20 can best be seen. Each disc cutter assembly 25 is provided with a detachably connected cutter disc 26 which carries the knives 27 for engagement with the standing crop material. The power input shaft 22 delivers rotational power to a power transmission train 30, including a drive gear 32 associated with each respective disc cutter assembly 25 and a pair of idler gears 34 mounted between adjacent drive gears 32. The provision of two idler gears 34 between adjacent drive gears 32 permits the adjacent disc cutter assemblies 25 to be rotated in opposing directions. Referring now to Figs. 5 and 6, the idler gear mounting apparatus 40 can best be seen. The transmission casing 35 is formed with an indentation 36 in both the upper surface portion 37 and the lower surface portion 38 through which the mounting hole 39 passes. Each idler gear 34 is rotatably mounted on the apparatus 40 by a bearing assembly 41. The mounting apparatus 40 includes a spacer member 42 having a lip portion 43 and a shank portion 44 defining a recessed portion 45. The spacer member 42 extends completely through the mounting hole 39 in the transmission casing 35 and engages both the upper surface portion 37 and the lower surface portion 38 along its shank portion 44 to provide radial support for the spacer member 42 and thus the mounting apparatus 40. The inner race of the bearing assembly 41 is mounted on the shank portion 44 of the spacer member 42 between the upper surface portion 37 and the lower surface portion 38. To fix the mounting apparatus 40 in place on the transmission casing 35, a bolt 46 passes through the spacer member 42 such that the head portion 47 of the bolt 46 is received within the recessed portion 45 of the spacer member 42. A specially formed securing member 48 including a lip portion 52 for engagement with the lower surface portion 38 of the casing 35, is threadably engaged with the bolt 46 to tightly draw the mounting apparatus 40 together. The securing member 48 engages the lower surface portion 38 of the transmission casing 35 while that the lip portion 43 of the spacer member 42 engages the upper surface portion 37 of the transmission casing 35 to permit the mounting apparatus 40 to squeeze the casing 35 against the bearing assembly 41. The special shape of the securing member 48 fits within the shank portion 44 of the spacer member 42 and extends outwardly thereof to engage with its lip portion 52 the lower surface portion 38 of the casing 35. O-rings 49 positioned between the lip portion 43 and the upper surface portion 37, as well as between the securing member 48 and the lower surface portion 38 and between the securing member 48 and the shank portion 44 seal the idler gear mounting apparatus 40 against the transmission casing 35 to prevent the loss of lubricating fluid from within the casing 35. The idler gear mounting apparatus 40 thus described permits a stable, substantial mounting for the idler gear 34 while also permitting an ease of serviceability to the bearings 41 and gears 34. It will be understood that changes in the details, which have been described and illustrated to explain the nature of the invention, will occur to and may be made by those skilled in the art upon a reading of this disclosure. As an example, it will be appreciated that the securing member 48 rather than the spacer member 42 may be provided with a recessed portion 45 for receiving the head portion 47 of the bolt 46, which, in this case threadably engages with the spacer member 42 rather than with the securing member 48.

Claims: A disc cutterbar (20) for severing standing crop material from the ground having a plurality of disc cutter assemblies (25) rotatably mounted on a transmission casing (35) housing a plurality of intermeshed power transmission gears (30) including a drive gear (32) associated with each respective disc cutter assembly (25) to effect rotation thereof and idler gears (34) positioned between the drive gears (32) to transfer rotational power therebetween; each one of said idler gears (34) being rotatably mounted within the transmission casing (35) by a mounting apparatus (40) extending between upper and lower surface portions (37,38) of said casing (35) and comprising: a spacer member (42) positioned within a mounting opening (39) through the transmission casing (35) and radially engaging, on the one hand, a bearing assembly (41) rotatably supporting the corresponding idler gear (34) and, on the other hand, one of the surface portions (37, 38) of the transmission casing (35); said spacer member (42) further also having a lip portion (43) engageable with said one of the casing surface portions (37, 38) to provide support for said spacer member (42) generally in its axial direction; a securing member (48) having a lip portion (52) engageable with the other of the casing surface portions (37, 38) to provide support for said securing member (48) generally in its axial direction; and a fastener (46) releasably coupling the spacer member (42) and the securing member (48) to each other to tightly fix the mounting apparatus (40) in place relative to the transmission casing (35); and said cutterbar (20) being characterized in that: the spacer member (42) further also radially engages said other one of the casing surface portions (37, 38) of the transmission casing (35) to provide additional radial support for the corresponding idler gear (34); and both the upper and lower surface portions (37, 38) of the transmission casing (35) have corresponding indentations (36) through which the mounting opening (39) passes and for respectively receiving the lip portions (43, 52) of the spacer member (42) and the securing member (48) therein. A disc cutterbar (20) according to claim 1 characterized in that said spacer member (42) and said securing member (48) are sealingly engaged with the transmission casing (35) to prevent a loss of lubricating fluid therefrom. A disc cutterbar (20) according to claim 2 characterized in that : the spacer member (42) comprises a shank portion (44) radially engaging the upper and lower surface portions (37, 38) of the transmission casing (35) within said mounting opening (39) therein and the inner race of the bearing assembly (41) is mounted on the shank portion (44) between said upper and lower surface portions (37, 38) in a manner to permit the mounting apparatus (40) to squeeze said inner race between these upper and lower surface portions (37, 38) at said indentations (36) therein. A disc cutterbar (20) according to any of the preceding claims characterized in that the spacer member (42) comprises a recessed portion and the securing member (48) has a portion which radially engages the spacer member (42) within said recessed portion thereof. A disc cutterbar (20) according to claim 4 characterized in that the spacer member (42) and the securing member (48) sealingly engage each other to prevent a loss of lubricating fluid from the transmission casing (35). A disc cutterbar (20) according to any of the preceding claims characterized in that : one of said spacer and securing members (42, 48) has a recessed portion (45); and the fastener (46) is in the form of a bolt extending through said one of said spacer and securing members (42, 48); said bolt having a head portion (47) engaging said one of said spacer and securing members (42, 48) within said recessed portion (45) thereof and threadably engaging the other one of said spacer and securing members (42, 48).

Inventors: HOWELL, EDMUND O., KOCH, EARL E., VOLER, FRANJA F.
Applicants: FORD NEW HOLLAND, INC. (A DELAWARE CORP.)
Application year: 1987
Main classification: A01D34
IPC codes: A01D34