Patent ID: 7856801

Claim:
A combination comprising: a reel of a harvesting machine comprising: a reel hub arranged for rotation around a reel axis; a plurality of tine tubes at angularly spaced positions around the reel hub with each extending longitudinally of the reel axis; a plurality of tine tube supports arranged at longitudinally spaced positions along the reel hub and each extending radially outwardly from the hub for providing support for the tine tubes at spaced positions along the length of the tine tubes; each tine tube having a plurality of tine fingers at longitudinally spaced positions; a mounting assembly for mounting the tine fingers on the tine tube so as to extend from the tine tube generally outwardly from the reel axis and generally in a radial plane of the axis; the tine fingers being aligned along the tube with a leading face of each tine finger facing around the axis in an angularly leading direction and an opposed trailing face of each tine finger facing around the axis in an angularly trailing direction; and a plurality of separate bat attachments; the bat attachments being separate from the tine tube, tine fingers and mounting assembly enabling the bat attachments to be removed from the tine tube allowing the reel to operate on the harvesting machine with the tine fingers engaging the crop; the bat attachments each being arranged for mounting on a plurality of the tine fingers and the tine tube of a respective one of the tine tubes enabling the bat attachments to be attached to the tine tube and tine fingers allowing the reel to operate on the harvesting machine with at least the bat attachment engaging the crop; each bat attachment comprising an elongate extruded member having: a bat wall which extends outwardly from the tine tube contacting against one of the leading and trailing faces of the plurality of tine fingers with an inner edge of the bat wall at the tine tube and an outer edge of the bat wall spaced outwardly along the tine fingers from the inner edge; a connecting wall at the inner edge which wraps around the tine tube and defines with an inner portion of the bat wall a channel shaped receptacle engaged around the tine tube; the outer edge of the bat wall including elements engaging the plurality of tine fingers at a position on the tine fingers spaced outwardly from the mounting assembly to hold the outer edge at a position fixed relative to the tine fingers for movement therewith.