Abstract:
The invention comprises a point and cover assembly for a row crop header including a point; a cover coupled to the point with a hinge; a latch fixed to the cover, the latch having a first spring-loaded latch pin for pinning the cover to a first row unit, a second spring loaded latch pin for pinning the cover to a second row unit, and a member coupling the two latch pins together that is operable by one hand to release both latch pins; and a point support fixed to the cover, the point support comprising an elongate member fixed at its rear end to the cover and having an adjustable point rest at its front end for supporting the point at a plurality of different heights.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates to corn heads for agricultural combines. More particularly, it relates to the gathering points and deck covers for the corn heads. Even more particularly, it relates to structures for supporting the point in a plurality of different vertical positions.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     With current corn heads the gathering points must be jackknifed or manually locked for transport and service. This is a time consuming process especially with large heads. This arrangement for supporting the points and covers restricts access to the row unit and hinders cleanout.  
         [0003]     Most of these machines have cumbersome hardware to hold down the deck cover. They cannot be quickly opened or closed for cleanout or repair. The machines that do offer quickly engageable latches for points and covers typically have a single latch in the middle of the cover that blocks access to row units.  
         [0004]     The system for adjusting the height of a gathering point above the row unit and ground that requires special tools or has loose cumbersome hardware. This makes adjusting the point height a time consuming process.  
         [0005]     Furthermore, if two cover release latches are used to secure the deck cover, the farmer must use both hands just to release the cover and has no hands left to lift the cover. This means that two people are required to raise the deck cover and gathering points instead of just one person.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, a point and cover assembly for a row crop header is provided, comprising a point; a cover coupled to the point with a hinge; a latch fixed to the cover, the latch further comprising a first spring-loaded latch pin for pinning the cover to a first row unit, a second spring loaded latch pin for pinning the cover to a second row unit, and a member coupling the two latch pins together that is operable by one hand to release both latch pins from the first and second row units; and a point support comprising an elongate member fixed at its rear end to the cover and having an adjustable point rest at its front end for supporting the point at a plurality of different heights.  
         [0007]     2. The adjustable point rest may include a quick coupler operable by one hand to adjust the height of the point. The quick coupler may include a spring loaded pin operable by one hand of the operator to adjust the height of the point. The member may extend laterally and the two latch pins may extend from either end of the member. Each of the two latch pins may be provided with a coil spring to hold each latch pin in a locked position in which the cover is held down. The two latch pins may be configured to engage apertures in two corresponding pin receivers that are fixed to two adjacent row unit control arms. The point and cover assembly may further include an adjustable point rest mounted on the front of the cover. The adjustable point rest may further comprise a fine adjuster for adjusting the position of a first bracket with respect to the elongate member and a spring pin configured to adjust the position of a second bracket with respect to the first bracket, and further wherein the second bracket may have a point support surface for supporting the front of the point in a plurality of vertical positions. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a corn header with a point pivoted upward.  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of two adjacent row units and the pivoted point and cover of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  is a detailed fragmentary view of the latch for holding the cover of  FIG. 2  closed.  
         [0011]      FIG. 4  is a fragmentary left side view of the point, cover, and row units of  FIGS. 2-3 .  
         [0012]      FIG. 5  is a fragmentary right side view of the point, cover, and row units of  FIGS. 2-4 .  
         [0013]      FIG. 6  is a front view of the point, cover, and row units of  FIGS. 2-5 .  
         [0014]      FIG. 7  is a perspective bottom view of the cover and row units of  FIGS. 2-6 . 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0015]     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a corn header (or “corn head”)  104  for an agricultural combine includes a plurality of row units  106  that are spaced laterally across a leading edge of the corn header. A plurality of points  108  and covers  110  cover the row units to keep them clean and to guide crops into the proper channels for harvesting by each row unit. Each point  108  and corresponding cover  110  covers half of two adjacent row units  106  and the gap between the two adjacent row units. The point direct rows of crops away from the gap between adjacent row units and into the opening in each row unit that is configured to process crops.  
         [0016]     Each point  108  is hingeably coupled to its corresponding cover  110  located immediately behind it such that a very forwardmost tip of point  108  can be lifted upward, tilted backwards, and latched in a raised position. One of the points  108  is shown in this raised, latched position in  FIG. 1 . the other points  108  are identically configured to be raised and latched, but are not shown in their raised position for convenience of illustration.  
         [0017]     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , two adjacent row units  106   a  and  106   b  are shown half-covered by a single point  108  and cover  110 . point  108  is shown in its raised and latched position, exposing additional components of the adjacent row units  106   a ,  106   b , point  108 , and cover  110 .  
         [0018]     Point  108  includes a hollow rotomolded thermoplastic body in the general form of a section of a cone. Cover  110  includes a hollow rotomolded thermoplastic body having an arcuate top surface  112 . It is pivotally connected to the frame of header  104  by a hinge  114  along its rear edge  116 .  
         [0019]     The front edge  118  of cover  110  is held down on row unit arm  120  of row unit  106   b , and on row unit arm  122  of row unit  106   a  by latch  124 .  
         [0020]     Latch  124  comprises a laterally extending latch member  126 , latch pins  128 ,  130  that extend from each member  126 , latch supports  132 ,  134  tat support and guide latch pins  128 ,  130 , and springs  136 ,  138  that hold latch pins  128 ,  130  in a locked position in which cover  110  is held down. In a preferred embodiment, latch member  126  and latch pins  128 ,  130  are formed of a single metal rod that is bent at both ends to defined pins  128 ,  130 .  
         [0021]     Referring now to  FIGS. 2, 3 ,  4  and  6 , latch pin  130  is supported in a hole in latch support  134  and latch pin  128  is supported in a hole in latch support  132 . Latch supports  132 ,  134  are fixed to cover  110  and constrain latch pins  128 ,  130  to move forward and backward with respect to cover  110 .  
         [0022]     Coil springs  136 ,  138  extend around latch pins  128 ,  130  to hold latch pins  128 ,  130  in their rearward extending, latched and locked positions, which is the position shown in all the Figures herein.  
         [0023]     Two pin receivers  140 ,  142  ( FIGS. 3, 6 ) have holes that receive the free ends of latch pins  128 ,  130 . Pin receivers  140 ,  142  are fixed to row unit arms  120 ,  122 , respectively. Thus, when latch pins  128 ,  130  (which are mounted on cover  110 ) are received in pin receivers  140 ,  142 , they hold the front edge  118  of cover  110  in its downward operating position in which it covers the arms of row units  106   a ,  106   b  as shown in all of the Figures herein.  
         [0024]      FIG. 3  is a cutaway view of latch pin  130 , coil spring  138 , and pin receiver  142  which are disposed on the right side of the cover  110  and row unit arm  122 . Latch pin  128  and pin receiver  140  are identically constructed in a mirror image form and are disposed on left side of cover  110 .  
         [0025]     To operate latch  124 , the operator grasps member  126  and pulls forward in the direction “F” shown in  FIG. 4 . latch pins  128 ,  130  are fixed to member  126  and also pulled forward. As pins  128 ,  130  pull forward, they compress coil springs  136 ,  138  and withdraw from pin receivers  140 ,  142 . This action unlatches the front edge  118  of cover  110  from row unit arms  120 ,  122 , permitting the operator to lift front edge  118  upward and to pivot cover  110  about hinge  114  ( FIG. 2 ).  
         [0026]     Referring to  FIGS. 4-7 , cover  110  further comprises a point support  144  which comprises an elongate member  146 , an adjustable point rest  148 , and a bridge  150 . Elongate member  146  is bolted to the middle of the front edge of cover  110  and extends generally forward. A bridge  150  is pivotally coupled to the forward end of elongate member  146  by bolt  152 , which extends through elongate member  146  and bridge  150 . Bolt  152  permits bridge  150  to pivot slightly with respect to elongate member  146  such that the left and right ends  154 ,  156  of bridge  150  can move slightly up and down with respect to each other. Left and right ends  154 ,  156  rest on the forward tips of arms  120 ,  122 . This pivoting permits bridge  150  to accommodate slight misalignments of row unit arms  120 ,  122  thereby distributing the weight of point  108  equally between them without twisting elongate member  146 .  
         [0027]     Referring to  FIGS. 4, 5 ,  6 , and  7 , and adjustable point rest  148  is mounted on the forward end of elongate member  146  and is configured to support the forward end of point  108  and to adjust the height of the point  108  which rests on point support surface  178  of adjustable point rest  148 . The rear end of point  108  is pivotally coupled on its left and right sides to cover  110  by hinge  157 . Hinge  157  permits the front of cover  108  to be pivoted upward and downward about an axis extending horizontally and laterally through hinge  157 .  
         [0028]     Adjustable point rest  148  includes a first bracket  158  that is configured to make fine height adjustments of point  108 . Bracket  158  is pivotally coupled to the forward end of elongate member  146  by bolt  162 . Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , a fine adjuster (here shown as bolt  164 ) is engaged to first bracket  158  to pivot first bracket  158  with respect to elongate member  146  about bolt  162 . When the operator rotates fine adjuster  164 , free end  168  of fine adjuster  164  abuts elongate member  146  and causes fine bracket  158  to rotate about bolt  162 . This changes the height of the forward end  170  ( FIG. 5 ). A quick coupler  172  (here shown as a spring-loaded pin) is supported in forward in  170  of the first bracket  158 , and is configured to selectively engage a plurality of holes  174  in second bracket  160 . Whenever bolt  164  is rotated, it changes the height of quick coupler  172  in the fine increments of height. Second bracket  160  is pivotally coupled to the forward end of elongate member  146  by bolt  162  about which second bracket  160  pivots. The operator changes the position of second bracket  160  by pulling quick coupler  172  to the left (in  FIG. 6 ) against the force exerted by coil spring  176 . Once quick coupler  172  has been withdrawn, second bracket  160  is disengaged from first bracket  158 . Once disengaged, second bracket  160  can be pivoted up or down about bolt  162  to any of a plurality of positions.  
         [0029]     Once second bracket  160  has been moved into the proper position, the operator can release quick coupler  172 , and the force exerted by coil spring  176  will pull quick coupler  172  into an adjacent hole  174  in second bracket  160  thus raising or lowering point support surface  178  a second bracket  160 . Since second bracket  160  has four holes  174 , quick coupler  172  can hold second bracket  160  in four different positions. Two of these positions are shown in  FIG. 4 , in which one position is rendered in phantom lines, and one position is rendered in solid lines. Alternative embodiments of second bracket  160  may include more or fewer holes and more or fewer positions than are illustrated here.  
         [0030]     To adjust point support  144 , the operator goes to each point/cover pair on corn head  104  in turn. The operator raises each point  108 , disengages quick coupler  172 , and places second bracket  160  in the same position on each of the point supports  144  (i.e. the quick coupler  172  on each cover  110  engages the same hole  174  on all the second brackets  160 ) Even though each of the first brackets  158  are adjusted to engage the same hole  174  on each corresponding second bracket  160 , the tips of the points  108  may nonetheless be at different heights above the ground due to manufacturing tolerances, misalignments and misadjustments of various components. For this reason, the operator can eliminate these smaller differences in height between the points  108  by going to each point support  144  and adjusting fine adjuster  164  until the tips of each point  108  are the same height above the ground. In previous arrangements, adjusting the height of the points might take an hour or two. For this reason, operators seldom adjusted the height of their points with respect to the header, and instead raised and lowered the header to increase or decrease the height of the points above the ground.  
         [0031]     Once the operator has made his initial fine adjustments he can later change the height of all of the points very quickly in the field. The process of later raising or lowering the height of all the points typically takes two or three minutes. The operator lifts up the point  108  from point support surface  178  of second bracket  160 , disengages quick coupler  172  with one hand, rotates second bracket  160  into a new position with his other hand, releases quick coupler  172  to reengage and retain second bracket  160  in its new position, and lowers point  108  until it again rests on point support surface  178  of second bracket  160  in a new position.  
         [0032]     Having described the preferred embodiment, it will become apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims.