Patent ID: 7677018

Claim:
A tensioning system for a drive belt of a blower of a forage harvester, comprising a tensioning roller, a rod for moving the tensioning roller towards and away from the belt, a spring surrounding the rod and acting between a first abutment mounted on the rod and a second abutment connected to the chassis of the harvester to urge the roller towards the belt, wherein the second abutment connected to the chassis is carried by an arm that is movable relative to the chassis and anchored by means of a tie bar, wherein the tie bar is of adjustable length to enable the belt to be loosened by varying the length of the tie bar, wherein the end of the tie bar remote from the movable arm is secured to a pivot frame that serves to mount the blower on the chassis of the harvester, and wherein the geometry of the pivotable arm and the tie bar is selected to ensure that the drive belt is correctly tensioned in different operating positions of the blower.