초록 ▼

A cotton harvesting unit with a cotton doffer assembly rotatable about a vertical axis and including an adjustable drive unit with a vertical drive shaft for imparting rotary motion to and for vertically positioning doffer pads of a doffer unit relative to picker spindles of an adjacent picker rotor

A cotton harvesting unit with a cotton doffer assembly rotatable about a vertical axis and including an adjustable drive unit with a vertical drive shaft for imparting rotary motion to and for vertically positioning doffer pads of a doffer unit relative to picker spindles of an adjacent picker rotor. The drive unit vertically positions the doffer pads through an operative mechanism rotatable about a second axis adjacent to the doffer assembly. A motion converting mechanism converts rotary motion of the operative mechanism into linear motion of the drive unit drive shaft. The drive shaft of the drive unit and doffer unit are releasably interconnected to each other to facilitate repair/replacement of the doffer unit. To inhibit contaminants for encumbering adjustment of the drive unit, the motion converting mechanism is wholly arranged within the housing assembly and protected from the ambient environment in which a harvester is operated. The lower end of the doffer assembly is rotatably supported by a doffer support. An access post is vertically arranged adjacent to doffer assembly to add strength and rigidity to the doffer support. The access post is movable to an open position to facilitate access to the doffer assembly while maintaining cotton conveying structure in association with the harvesting unit.

대표청구항 ▼

A cotton doffer assembly for a harvesting unit including a housing assembly wherein a picker rotor having a plurality of rows of picking spindles is rotatably mounted, said doffer assembly comprising: a doffer unit disposed wholly within said housing assembly for rotation about a vertical axis and h

A cotton doffer assembly for a harvesting unit including a housing assembly wherein a picker rotor having a plurality of rows of picking spindles is rotatably mounted, said doffer assembly comprising: a doffer unit disposed wholly within said housing assembly for rotation about a vertical axis and having a plurality of vertically spaced doffer pads positioned adjacent said spindles for removing cotton therefrom; and an adjustable drive unit for imparting rotary motion to said doffer unit, said drive unit comprising a vertically movable drive shaft interconnected to and in axial alignment with the axis of said doffer unit for rotation about and movement along said vertical axis, operative means extending upwardly through said housing assembly and rotatable about a second vertical axis arranged adjacent said vertical axis of said doffer and drive units, and motion converting means arranged wholly within said housing assembly to reduce exposure to ambient environment in which said harvester operates for converting rotary motion of said operative means into linear movement of said shaft and thereby vertically locating the doffer pads of said doffer unit with respect to the spindles on the picker rotor.