I&T's Ideas and Innovations. (Crop Pick-up).

While reviewing the various and sundry agricultural inventions patented, it occurred to me once again that very few developments are actually "revolutionary." Most in fact are "evolutionary." That's largely why when we buy a new vehicle or perhaps even a new appliance it seems obvious that it works better than the old one... but we aren't always sure if it is because of just being new, or if it is actually better.

This month I am introducing another one of those subtle evolutions that will make a machine perform better, but probably be relatively hard to see unless you know exactly what you are looking for. A recent development on harvesters, recently patented by John Deere, is designed to improve the pick-up capabilities of the harvester head. Technically titled "Crop Pick-up Having Crop Lifters Incorporated in Centering Auger," US Patent no. 6,279,304 was awarded to inventors Henry Anstey and Manfred Engel both of Ottumwa, Iowa, on August 28, 2001.

Now to clear up what may be some confusion caused by the inventors rather vague titling of the invention, this pick-up design is aimed at balers, specifically large round balers. In known crop pickup used to lift windrowed crop into the baling chamber of a baler, the pickup is wider than the width of the baling chamber. In order to narrow the windrow of crop to the width of the baling chamber, right- and left-hand stub augers are mounted at opposite sides of the pickup in co-axial relationship to feeder teeth located in the center region between the stub augers. The augers operate to converge the crop toward the center of the baler past the inside edge of the opposite walls of the baling chamber. A tooth stripper assembly is mounted in the region between the stub augers for stripping crop from the feeder teeth. The augers normally feed material near the outside diameter of the flighting, so the transition of material to the outside diameter of the rotating tines is usually easy.

If, however, the crop flow is interrupted, as when a bale doesn't start to turn, for example, the auger will be rotating past crop which is not moving into the bale chamber. If the crop begins to accumulate between the flights of the auger, crop will become wedged as the fighting pushes the crop against the feeder teeth stripper assembly. This wedging can result in the pick-up becoming plugged and/or in damage to the pick-up. Furthermore, when the pick-up becomes plugged, the operator is forced to expend time and effort to remove the crop material so as to unplug the pick-up.

The object of the invention is to provide a pickup that incorporates centering augers with an improved feed structure in order to reduce the tendency of the crop material to become wedged against obstructions such as the tooth stripper assembly located adjacent to the respective inner ends of the stub augers. The design's right- and left-hand crop lifter assemblies are respectively secured to inner end portions of the augers. Specifically, the augers have what is called "double pitch" construction including first and second spiral flights.

Some subtleties in shape, placement and configuration of all of the components may be beyond what we are interested in here. For example, the length and curvature of the lifter plates is such that it is easier for the crop to be lifted away from the auger core and flighting than for it to be augered or pinched between the fighting and the stripper arrangement or tines. Also, aiding in lifting the crop is the curved upper surface of the two strippers that are respectively located at the inner ends of the augers.

Collectively, these subtleties were enough to merit a patent, and they certainly seem to indicate that they will make the new machine clog-resistant, if not entirely clog-proof. This is significant in the respect that baling, like so many operations, often happens within a relatively short window of opportunity, and down time caused by jammed machinery can have costly or even devastating effects. While the advantages of this invention, in and of themselves, may not completely justify the replacement of an existing baler, they certainly can make a difference in future operations if incorporated when the opportunity is right. Just one more step in the process of agricultural evolution.

Paul Campbell is a technology columnist, author and mechanical designer. His column "Ideas and Innovations" appears each issue here in Implement and Tractor. Feel free to contact Paul by e-mail at [e-mail] or visit him on the web at http://techpubs.home.netcom.com.