US3487616A - Sickle hold-down clip and method of making same - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 6, 197-0 E. L. SCHENK 3,487,616

SICKLE HOLD-DOWN CLIP AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed Jan. 550, 1967 INVENTO/P ERWZ V L. SCHENK ,4 rro/vy United States Patent 3,487,616 SICKLE HOLD-DOWN CLIP AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Erwin L. Schenk, Moline, lll., assignor to J. I. Case "Company, Racine, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Jan. 30, 1967, Ser. No. 612,643

Int. Cl. A01d 55/08 U.S. CI. 56-305 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A sickle hold-down clip and method of making same, being Y-shaped and having a projecting toe for bearing down on the reciprocal cutters in the sickle and holding the cutters downwardly on the ledger. A material passageway is provided in the clip so that the crop or the like will not jam with the clip but can pass beyond the clip. The clips are made in a heel-and-toe shearing from metal so that the width of the heel is the same as the opening in the branches of the Y of the shape of the clip so crop material can easily pass beyond the clip, and the clip can be made without waste material from the metal strip. Sections are provided for bolt or rivet holes, and these sections and the toe are heat-treated while the remainder of the clip is not heat-treated and the grain of the metal is parallel to the direction in which the toe points so that the Clip is of maximum strength and utility.

Background of the invention The prior art contains hold-down clips which are secured to a sickle frame piece and extend in toe portions to bear down on the reciprocating cutters. These clips are generally arched or offset from the toe portion so that only the extreme end of the clip, namely the toe portion itself, will bear down on the cutters and thus give the desired hold-down action with a minimum of frictional resistance to the reciprocating cutters and without interference of the movement of other parts. However, the material being cut frequently moves into the opening formed by the arch or offset of the cli and this material can and does pack tightly under the clip to where it both impedes the reciprocation of the cutter and it raises the clip so that it will not properly bear down on the cutters.

Another problem of the prior art clips is the elaborateness required in the manufacture of the clips. This includes the waste of stock, such as flat metal strip, which may be used for the manufacture of clips.

The clip of the present invention is provided with a passageway which permits material to pass beyond the clip and not pack underneath the clip and impede operation of the sickle. It is therefore a self-cleaning clip. Further, in the manufacture of the clip, it can be cut out from a metal strip without any waste of the material since the clip is made in a heel-and-toe arrangement where contiguous clips have the same shear line between their adjacent edges.

Still further, the clip of this invention is readily made in progressive stages on a shearing and punch machine, and it is made in a minimum of weight but a maximum strength. This objective is in part accomplished by the configuration of the clip, the arrangement of the grain of metal with respect to the orientation of the clip, and also by the selective surface hardening of the clip.

Brief description of the drawing FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a fragment of a sickle having a clip of this invention attached thereto.

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the clip.

3,487,616 Patented Jan. 6, 1970 ice FIG. 4 is a top plan view indicating the shear lines on the metal strip from which the clips are made, and showing the location of the pierced openings and the heattreated surfaces and with the view being reduced in size from that of the other figures.

Description of the preferred embodiment and the method The sickle is shown to include a fixed angle iron 10 which would extend across the front of a mowing machine, agricultural combine, or the like. A guard piece 11 is fixedly secured to the angle 10 by means of bolt 15. The guard 11 has a forwardly projecting finger 12 with an opening 13 extending laterally therethrough. A ledger surface 14 defines the lower side of the opening 13, and reciprocating cutters 16 are disposed in shearing contact with the ledger 14.

FIG. 1 shows a plurality of the guards 11 and a plurality of the cutters 16, and the latter of course have forwardly faced cutting surfaces 17 and are slidable on the ledger 14 in the direction of the length of the angle iron 10. Thus the cutters 16 are secured to a reciprocating cutter bar 18 by means of rivets 19. Also, the guards 11 have openings 21 for receiving the bar 18 and rivets 19, as shown in FIG. 2. The shoulder 22 on the guards 11 receives the rear end of the cutters 16 to upwardly slidably support the cutters 16, along with the ledger 14.

The aformentioned is a conventional sickle design, and it therefore need not be further shown or described.

The hold-down clip of this invention is generally designated 23, and it is shown in FIG. 1 to be Y-shaped, in the inverted position. Thus the inverted stern of the Y is a toe 24 of the clip 23, and clip sections 26 and 27 are the upper branches of the Y when the latter is upright, or inverted from its shown position in FIG. 1. It will further be seen that the bolts 15 are utilized to secure the clip sections 26 and 27 in tight contact on the upper surface 28 of the angle iron 10.

The toe 24 extends forwardly and its lower surface 29 bears downwardly on the upper surface 31 of the cutters 16 to thereby hold the cutters downwardly on the ledger 14 for the desired cutting action.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show the clip 23 has its central portion 32 offset upwardly with respect to the plane of the toe 24 and the sections 26 and 27. This offset provides the desired clearance with the rivets 19 and it also provides the desired action of holding the cutters 16 downwardly only at a point remote from the bolts 15, for maximum holding action, and for inducing a somewhat resilient characteristic in the clip 23 for desired hold-down of the cutters.

The offset central portion 32 has a material passageway generally designated 33 extending from the toe 24 to the edge 34. Thus crop material may pass beyond the clip 23 when it enters underneath the clip from either side of the toe 24 since each side of the clip 23 has the shown opening 33 of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3.

At this time it will be descriptive to refer to FIG. 4 and the strip of fiat metal stock 36 which is utilized for forming the plurality of clips 23, Here it will be seen that the clips 23 are made in the so-called heel-and-toe method so that there is no waste of material in that the clips are sheared along a line designated 37 which forms the edges of contiguous clips 23 on the strip 36. Thus the toe 24 of one clip 23 becomes a cut-out 38 of the contiguous clip 23, so there is no waste of metal. The clips are therefor symmetrical about the longitudinal axis of the strip 36, and the latter has its metallurgical grain extending longitudinally of the strip 36 so that maximum strength of the clip 24 will be achieved for resisting bending forces acting upwardly on the toe 24. FIG. 4 also shows the pierced openings 39 in the clips 23 for receiving the shanks of the bolts 15 or the like.

Thus the series of clips 23 is made in blanks which can then be formed with pierced holes 39, and the ofisets 32 can subsequently be formed in the clips 23. Thus the Width of the toe 24 will be the same as the width of the cut-out 38, and the material passageway 33 extending from each side of the toe 24 to the cutout 38 will be of a maximum size permissible in a hold-down clip. Thus there is adequate material across all of the critical dimensions of the clip from the standpoint of the strength of the clip resisting bending and like damaging forces.

Further, FIGS. 1 and 4 show areas 41 on the undersurface of the section 26 and 27, and an area 29 on the undersurface of the toe 24, and these areas, as cross-hatched in FIG. 4 and as outlined in FIG. 1, are heat-treated areas for maximum wear of the clip 23.

The clip, and the method of making same are therefore now described to one skilled in the art. Further, the method as claimed and utilization of this method as claimed, would result only in the making of this clip. Still further, the clip, as claimed, cannot be made by another and materially different method.

While a specific embodiment and method of making same have been shown and described, it should be obvious that certain changes can be made therein,

What is claimed is:

1. In a hold-down clip for a sickle cutter bar for cutting crop material and having a flat metal thickness, a toe projecting on one end of said clip for overlapping a sickle cutter bar, the end of said clip opposite said toe having sections with bolt holes therethrough, one portion of said cli intermediate said toe and said sections being offset to one side from the plane of the thickness of said clip, the improvement comprising said clip being Y-shaped with the lower stem of the Y representing said toe and the upper branches of the Y representing said sections, said upper branches of the Y defining a cut-out, the entire central portion of said clip at the axis of the Y defining said one portion and being offset from the remainder of said clip and with said central portion defining a passageway between each side of said toe and said cut-out for the passage of crop material between said central portion and the sickle cutter bar, said toe being disposed in said flat metal to have said toe point in the direction of the longitudinal metallurgical grain of said flat metal.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 504,641 9/ 1893 Walton 56--305 970,099 9/ 1910 Ogilvie 56310 1,064,074 6/1913 Howk 56305 1,210,910 1/1917 Dain. 2,203,982 6/1940 Coultas et al. 56305 2,590,788 3/1952 Novak 29148.3 X 2,887,761 5/1959 Krause et al 29---148.3

RUSSELL R. KINSEY, Primary Examiner

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