Abstract:
A combine header transport trailer for transporting a combine header. The trailer includes mechanical jacks for raising and lowering the header bar thereon and for moving the header bar inwardly and outwardly with respect to the trailer.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This is a Continuation-In-Part Application of application Ser. No. 13/915,135, filed Jun. 11, 2013 entitled COMBINE HEADER TRANSPORT TRAILER. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to a combine header transport trailer and more particularly to a combine header transport trailer which may be used to transport combine headers of various sizes and shapes. More particularly, this invention relates to a combine header transport trailer wherein the header bar of the trailer is easily adjustably moved inwardly, outward, upwardly or downwardly with respect to the trailer by means of a pair of header bar adjustment assemblies, each of which include a mechanical jack. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Combine header transport trailers have been utilized for several years for transporting combine headers, after they have been removed from the combine, from one location to another. It is desirable to detach the header from the combine so that the combine and the header may be separately moved over roads to one location to another. If the header is not removed from the combine, the width of the header on the combine makes it extremely hazardous to transport the combine from one location to another. 
     In most of the prior art combine header transport trailers, the header is positioned endwise on the trailer with the lower rearward end of the header being supported on a pair of back stops or brackets secured to one of the longitudinally extending frame members of the trailer frame with the underside of the header being supported by a longitudinally extending header bar at the other side of the trailer. Some combine header transport trailers have the capability of being able to adjust the position of the header bar to accommodate headers of different sizes and shapes. However, in the prior art transport trailers of which Applicants are aware, no one has previously provided a means for vertically and horizontally adjusting the header bar by means of mechanical jacks. Further, Applicants are not aware of anyone who has been able to move the header bar horizontally with respect to the frame of the trailer and to also vertically raise or lower the header bar through the use of the same pair of mechanical jacks. 
     The combine header transport trailer of the co-pending application represents a significant advance in the art and which has met with success. However, the electrically operated screw actuators of the co-pending application are fairly expensive and increase the cost of manufacturing the trailer. Further, the electrically operated screw actuators thereof require that a source of electrical power such as batteries be available. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key aspects or essential aspects of the claimed subject matter. Moreover, this Summary is not intended for use as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. 
     A trailer is provided for the endwise transport of a combine header with the combine header having a forward end, a rearward end, a first end, and a second end. The trailer includes an elongated wheeled frame having a forward end, a rearward end, a first side and a second side. The wheeled frame includes elongated first and second horizontally spaced-apart and longitudinally extending frame members which have forward and rearward ends. A plurality of spaced-apart cross-members, having first and second ends, are secured to the first and second frame members and extend transversely therebetween. 
     The trailer includes a first elongated and transversely extending header bar support member which has inner and outer ends. The first header bar support member has its inner end pivotally secured, about a horizontal axis, to one of the cross-members rearwardly of the forward end of the wheeled frame. The first header bar support member extends towards the second frame member with the outer end of the first header bar support member being disposed laterally outwardly and above the second frame member. A first slider assembly is selectively longitudinally slidably adjustably mounted on the first header bar support member with the first slider assembly including a locking pin for selectively locking the first slider assembly to first header bar support member. A first support is provided which has upper and lower ends. The upper end of the first support is pivotally secured to the first header bar support member between the inner and outer ends thereof. The lower end of the first support is selectively vertically adjustably secured to the respective cross-member. 
     The trailer also includes a second elongated and transversely extending header bar support member which has inner and outer ends. The second header bar support member has its inner end pivotally secured, about a horizontal axis, to one of the cross-members forwardly of the rearward end of the wheeled frame. The second header bar support member extends towards the second frame member with the outer end of the second header bar support member being disposed laterally outwardly and above the second frame member. A second slider assembly is selectively longitudinally slidably adjustably mounted on the second header bar support member with the second slider assembly including a locking pin for selectively locking the second slider assembly to the second header bar support member. The trader also includes a second support having upper and lower ends. The upper end of the second support is pivotally secured to the second header bar support member between the inner and outer ends thereof. The lower end of the second support is selectively vertically adjustably secured to the respective cross-member. 
     The trailer further includes an elongated and longitudinally extending header bar having a forward end and a rearward end. The header bar is mounted on the first and second slider assemblies and extends therebetween. 
     A first header bar adjustment assembly is provided which is used to selectively move the first slider assembly inwardly or outwardly on the first header bar support member to move the forward end of the header bar inwardly or outwardly with respect to the first header bar support member. The first header bar adjustment assembly may also be used to selectively raise or lower the outer end of the first header bar support member to raise or lower the forward end of the header bar. 
     A second header bar adjustment assembly is also provided which is used to selectively move the second slider assembly inwardly or outwardly on the second header bar support member to move the rearward end of the header bar inwardly or outwardly with respect to the second header bar support member. The second header bar adjustment assembly may also be used to selectively raise or lower the outer end of the second header bar support member to raise or lower the rearward end of the header bar. 
     It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide an improved combine header transport trailer. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide a combine header transport trailer wherein the header bar thereof may be easily adjusted through the use of a pair of mechanical jacks. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide a trailer of the type described wherein a pair of mechanical jacks may be used to not only move the header bar laterally outwardly or inwardly with respect to the trailer but which may also be used to raise and lower the header bar with respect to the trailer. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide a combine header transport trailer wherein the header bar thereof may be adjustably moved inwardly, outwardly, upwardly or downwardly by one person without tools. 
     These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the following figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise specified. 
         FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of the trailer of this invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a partial front view of the trailer of this invention prior to the header bar adjustment assembly being mounted thereon; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the header bar adjustment assembly of this invention; 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of the header bar adjustment assembly of this invention; 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view illustrating the manner in which the header bar adjustment assembly may be secured to the header bar support member; 
         FIG. 6  is a partial perspective view illustrating the header bar adjustment assembly being used to move the header bar inwardly or outwardly on the header bar support member; 
         FIG. 7  is a front view of the header bar adjustment assembly being used to move the header bar inwardly or outwardly on the header bar support member; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view illustrating the manner in which the header bar adjustment assembly may be used to raise or lower the header bar; and 
         FIG. 9  is a partial front view illustrating the header bar adjustment assembly being used to raise or lower the header bar. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Embodiments are described more fully below with reference to the accompanying figures, which form a part hereof and show, by way of illustration, specific exemplary embodiments. These embodiments are disclosed in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. However, embodiments may be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense in that the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims. 
     The trailer of this invention is designated by the reference numeral  10  and which is designed for the endwise transport of a combine header  12 . Header  12  is conventional in design and includes a forward end  14 , rearward end  16 , and opposite ends. Trailer  10  includes a wheeled frame  18  having a forward end  20 , a rearward end  22 , a first side  24  and a second side  26 . Wheeled frame  18  includes a first elongated and longitudinally extending frame member  28  and a second elongated and longitudinally extending frame member  30  which is horizontally spaced from frame member  28 . A cross-member  32  is secured to and extends between frame members  28  and  30  rearwardly of the forward end  20  of the frame  18 . Cross-member  32 ′ is secured to and extends between the frame members  28  and  30  at the rearward end of the frame  18 . A plurality of other spaced-apart cross-members also extend between the frame members  28  and  30  in conventional fashion. 
     The numeral  33  refers to a header bar support structure at the forward end of the header  10  which is associated with cross-member  32  as will be discussed in more detail hereinafter while the numeral  33 ′ refers to a header bar support structure at the rearward end of the trailer  10  which is associated with cross-member  32 ′. Inasmuch the header bar support structure  33  on cross-member  32  is identical to the header bar support structure  33 ′ on cross-member  32 ′, only the header bar support structure  33  on cross-member  32  will be described in detail with identical header bar support structure on cross-member  32 ′ being designated by “′”. 
     A running gear or rear wheel assembly  34  supports the rearward end of the frame  18 . A wheeled hitch  36  is provided at the forward end of frame  18  in conventional fashion. A pair of identical header support brackets  38  and  40  are secured to frame member  28 , as seen in  FIG. 1 . 
     Although the drawings illustrate two of the cross-members having header bar support structures thereon, additional header bar support structures could be provided if so desired. Header bar support structure  33  includes a first header bar support member  42  having an inner end  44  and an outer end  46 . Header bar support member  42  includes a top wall  48  and side walls  50  and  52 . The inner end  44  of header bar support member  42  is pivotally secured to cross-member  32  by a pivot pin  54 . Side wall  50  of header bar support member  42  has an opening  56  formed therein with sidewall  52  having an opening formed therein which registers with opening  56  and with the openings being adapted to receive pivot pin  58  extending therethrough. Pivot pin  58  has a bore  59  formed therein as seen in  FIG. 5 . 
     The numeral  60  refers to an upstanding support which is comprised of spaced-apart plates  62  and  64  having a plate or bar  66  extending therebetween. The upper end of plate  62  has an opening  68  formed therein which registers with opening  70  formed in the upper end of plate  64 . Plate  62  has a plurality of vertically spaced openings  72  formed therein which register with a plurality of vertically spaced openings  74  formed in plate  64 . The upper end of support  60  is received between the side walls  50  and  52  of header bar support member  42  and is pivotally secured thereto by pin  58 . Pin  58  extends through opening  56  in side wall  50  of header bar support member  42 , through opening  68  of plate  62  of support  60 , through opening  70  of plate  64  of support  60  and through the opening in side wall  52  of header bar support member  42  which registers with opening  56 . A conventional cotter key or hairpin cotter (not shown) is inserted through the bore  59  in pin  58  to maintain pin  58  in position. The lower end of support  60  is adjustably vertically secured to cross-member  32  by pin  76 . 
     Side wall  50  of header bar support member  42  has a plurality of spaced-apart openings  78  formed therein which register with openings formed in side wall  52  of header bar support member  42 . The numeral  80  refers to a slider assembly which is selectively slidably adjustably mounted on header bar support member  42  by locking pin  82 . Slider assembly  80  includes upstanding walls  84  and  86  which define a pocket  88  therebetween which receives header bar  89  therein. Slider assembly  80  also includes spaced-apart side walls  90  and  92  which slidably embrace header bar support member  42 . Side wall  90  has an opening  94  formed therein. Side wall  92  has an opening formed therein which registers with opening  94 . Pin  82  extends through opening  94 , through one of the openings  78  in side wall  50  of header bar support member  42  through the opening in side wall  92  which registers with opening  94 , and through an opening in side wall  52  of header bar support member  42  which registers with opening  78 . A cotter key or hairpin cotter maintains pin  82  in place. 
     The numeral  96  refers to a header bar adjustment assembly which is used with header bar support structure  33 . An identical header bar adjustment assembly is used with header bar support structure  33 ′ and is designated by the reference numeral  96 ′. Since header bar adjustment assembly  96 ′ is identical to header bar adjustment assembly  96 , only header bar adjustment assembly  96  will be described in detail, with “′” indicating identical structure on header bar adjustment assembly  96 ′. Although it is preferred that a pair of header bar adjustment assemblies be used, a single header bar adjustment assembly  96  could be first used to adjust the forward end of the header bar and then be used with header bar support structure  33 ′ to adjust the rearward end of header bar  89 . 
     Assembly  96  includes a generally inverted U-shaped bracket  98  which includes a top wall  100 , an outer side wall  102  which extends downwardly from the outer end of top wall  100 , and an inner side wall  104  which extends downwardly from the inner end of top wall  100 . As seen, side wall  104  has a cut-out  106  formed therein. Clevis  108  is secured to the inner side of side wall  104  adjacent the lower end thereof by welding. The numeral  110  refers to a clevis pivot pin which may be inserted through clevis  108  and held therein by hairpin cotter  112 . 
     Assembly  96  also includes an elongated, manually operable or mechanical jack  114  having a base end  116  and a shaft end  118 . An extendable and retractable shaft  120  extends from shaft end  118  of jack  114  in conventional fashion. Shaft  120  is manually extended and retracted by the side mounted crank  122 . As seen, the outer end of shaft  120  is selectively pivotally secured to clevis  108  by the pivot pin  110 . Jack  114  has a collar  124  welded to one side thereof which extends transversely therefrom. The enlarged inner end  126  of pivot pin  128  is received within collar  124  and is held therein by pin  130 . A hairpin cotter  132  may be secured to the outer end of pivot pin  128 . 
     Initially, prior to the header  12  being placed onto the trailer  10 , the header bar support member  42  will be in a fixed position as determined by the support  60 . The slider assembly  80  will also be in a fixed position relative to the header bar support member  42  by pin  82 . If it is desired to longitudinally move the slider assembly  80  inwardly or outwardly with respect to the header bar support member  42  to accommodate a particular header  12 , the pivot pin  128  of jack  114  will be pivotally secured about a horizontal axis, to header bar support member  42  by inserting pivot pin  128  through opening  56  in side wall  50  and through the opening in side wall  52  which registers with opening  56 . Hairpin cotter  132  is then attached to the exposed outer end of pivot pin  128 . Bracket  98  is then positioned on header bar  89 , as seen in  FIG. 7 . The shaft  120  of jack  114  is then extended or retracted so that the outer end of shaft  120  may be pinned to clevis  108  by means of pin  110 . The shaft  120  is then manually extended slightly to relieve the pressure on pin  82 . Pin  82  is then removed so that slider assembly  80  is free to be moved with respect to header bar support member  42 . If slider assembly  80  is to be moved outwardly on header bar support member  42 , shaft  120  is then extended from jack  114  which causes slider assembly  80  to be moved outwardly on header bar support member  42  until it is in the desired position. If the slider assembly  80  is to be moved inwardly on header bar support member  42 , the shaft  120  is retracted into jack  114  which causes slider assembly  80  to move inwardly on header bar support member  42  until it is in the desired position. When the slider assembly  80  is in the proper position, pin  82  is inserted through slider assembly  80  and header bar support member  42  to maintain the slider assembly  80  in that position. 
     If it is desired to raise or lower the outer end of header bar support member  42  and the header bar  89  thereon, the shaft  120  of jack  114  is normally disconnected from clevis  108 . The bracket  98  is then placed onto the frame member  30 , as seen in  FIG. 9 . The shaft  120  is then again connected to clevis  108  by pin  110 . Shaft  120  is then extended slightly to remove pressure on pin  76 . Pin  76  is then removed. If the outer end of header bar support member  42  is to be raised, shaft  120  of jack  114  is extended which raises the outer end of header bar support member, slider assembly  80  and header bar  89 . If the outer end of header bar support member  42  is to be lowered, shaft  120  of jack  114  is retracted which causes the outer end of header support member, slider  80  and header bar  89  to be lowered. When header support bar member  42  is in the desired position, pin  76  is again inserted through the appropriate opening  72  in plate  62  and the appropriate opening  74  in plate  64 . 
     The header bar adjustment assembly  96 ′ at the rearward end of the trailer  10  is then utilized to adjust the rearward end of the header bar  89 . Although it is preferred that a pair of the header bar adjustment assemblies be utilized, the header bar adjustment assembly  96  could also be used at the rearward end of the trailer. 
     If the header bar adjustment assemblies  96  and  96 ′ are to be left on the trailer  10  after adjusting the header bar  89 , the header bar adjustment assemblies would be positioned, such as seen in  FIG. 6 , so that jack  114  is essentially parallel to header bar support member  42  and positioned somewhat below the top wall  48  of header bar support member  42  so that the header  12  will not come into contact with jack  114 . 
     Thus, it can be seen that the combine header transport trailer of this invention accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives. The header bar adjustment assembly(ies) of this invention permits one person to quickly and easily adjust the header bar upwardly, downwardly, inwardly and outwardly without tools. 
     Although the invention has been described in language that is specific to certain structures and methodological steps, it is to be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific structures and/or steps described. Rather, the specific aspects and steps are described as forms of implementing the claimed invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be practiced without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.