Door apparatus and actuator for a crop gathering machine

• US 3,917,343 A
• Filed: 03/18/1974
• Issued: 11/04/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/1974
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Howard W. Taylor, Richard C. Pedersen
• Original Assignee: Howard W. Taylor, Richard C. Pedersen
• Inventors: Taylor, Howard W., Pedersen, Richard C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Werner, Frank E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Abraham, George F.
• Application Number:
  US05/451,943
• Time in Patent Office: 596 Days
• Field of Search: 298/23DF,23D 214/352 296/56
• US Class Current: 298/23.0DF
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 85/004 with pressing equipment, e.g. vehicles for forming stacks
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 63/061 Foldable, extensible or yielding trailers foldable caravans B60P3/34; adjustable chassis frames B62D21/14

Abstract

A crop gathering machine for producing stacks of gathered crops including a chamber in a housing for receiving gathered crops. An outlet opening in the chamber has a door mounted thereon by a pivoted bar and a pivoted lever. A pulley arrangement is disposed on two sections of a pivoted frame and has a cable wrapped therearound. The cable is connected at one end to the lever. A hydraulic cylinder is mounted to one of the sections of the frame to thereby pivot the sections of the frame with respect to each other. Pivoting of the frame sections causes the cable to move the lever through a shortening or lengthening of the cable portion connected to the lever. Accordingly, movement of the lever controls the opening or closing of the door.

Claims

1. A door actuating apparatus for a crop gathering machine comprising:

a first frame;

a housing attached to said first frame;

a chamber within said housing for receiving gathered crops;

an open space disposed at one end of said chamber for allowing removal of gathered crops from the chamber;

a door for opening or closing said open space of the chamber;

door control means for selectively moving said door to an open or to a closed position, said door control means comprising;

a second frame pivotally attached to the first frame;

a cable operatively connected at one end to the second frame and operably connected at the other end to the door; and

means connected to said first and second frames for pivoting one of said frist and second with respect to the other frame from an unpivoted position to a pivoted position, whereby in the pivoted position the other end of the cable is pulled and the door is in an open position, and in an unpivoted position the other end of the cable is loosened and the door is in a closed position.

2. A door actuating apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said door control means includes pulley amplifying means coacting with the cable for increasing the distance that said other end of the cable moves, upon operation of the pivoting means.

3. A door actuating apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said pulley amplifying means includes at least one pulley rotatably and operatively mounted on said housing and at least one pulley rotatably mounted to the second frame, the cable being wrapped in a loop around the pulleys.

4. A door actuating apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein another pulley is connected to each of said housing and said frame along the same axis as said at least one pulley, respectively, of said housing and second frame, and said cable forms a second loop around said another pulleys.

5. A door actuating apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein an additional pulley operatively engaging the cable is rotatably connected along the same axis as said at least one pulley on said second frame.

6. A door actuating apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein another pulley is rotatably mounted on said housing whereby the axis thereof is fixed with respect to said first frame and said cable operatively engages said another pulley.

7. A door actuating apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein the connection between the door and cable is a lever pivoted intermediate its ends on said housing and being operably connected at one end to the door and at the other end to the other end of said cable, whereby the pulling of the other end of the cable pivots the lever to thereby move the door to an open position.

8. A door actuating apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein a leveling means is attached to one of said first or second frames to maintain said frames level with respect to eacH other when said pivoting means is not in operation.

9. A door actuating apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said leveling means comprises a member spaced from the pivotal point of said frames having one end adapted to abut a part integrally connected to the other of said first or second frames.

10. A door actuating apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said connection of one end of the lever to the other end of the cable includes a resilient cushion means.

11. A door actuating apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein a bar is pivotally connected at one end to said door and at the other end to said housing.

12. A door actuating apparatus as defined in claim 11 wherein said pivotal connection of the bar to the door is on the top portion of the door and the pivotal connection of the lever to the door is on the bottom portion of the door.

13. A door actuating apparatus as defined in claim 12 wherein said bar and said lever are non-parallel.

14. A door actuating apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for pivoting said first frame with respect to said second frame comprises a hydraulic cylinder selectively operable to and from an extended and a retracted position.

15. A door apparatus for a crop gathering machine comprising:

a housing;

a chamber in said housing for receiving gathered crops;

an open space disposed at one end of said chamber for allowing removal of gathered crops from the chamber;

a door means including a door operably connected to said housing for opening or closing said open space, said door means having a first position opening said open space and a second position closing said open space, whereby the initial movement of said door from a closed to an open position moves the entire door away from the opening to thereby avoid contact of the door and gathered crops in the chamber while the door is opening or closing;

said door means comprising a lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends to said housing, said lever being pivotally mounted at one end to the door, a bar pivotally connected to said door and to said housing, said pivotal connection of the lever to the door being on the lower portion of the door and the pivotal connection of the bar to the door is on the upper portion of the door, and wherein said pivotal connections of the lever and bar to the housing are above the pivotal connections of the lever and bar to the door when the door is in a closed position.

16. A door apparatus for a crop gathering machine as defined in claim 15 wherein said lever and bar are non-parallel.

17. A door apparatus for a crop gathering machine as defined in claim 15 having means for moving the other end of said lever to thereby selectively move the door means.

18. A door apparatus for a crop gathering machine as defined in claim 15 including a second lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends to one side of said housing, said second lever being pivotally mounted to the door.

19. A door apparatus for a crop gathering machine as defined in claim 18 wherein a second bar is pivotally connected to said door and to one side of said housing.