IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,232,442
Granted Patent B2
US 12,232,442 · App. 17/652,186 · Granted Feb 25, 2025

Agricultural mower conditioner with odd number of cutting discs

Inventor: Duane A. Zentz (Lititz, PA)
Assignee: CNH Industrial America LLC
A01D34/664A01D43/10
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,232,442
App. No.
17/652,186
Granted
Feb 25, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

An agricultural mower conditioner includes: a frame including a tongue coupler and defining a frame width; a cutter bar including an odd number of cutting discs arranged side-by-side across a cutter bar width; and a conditioning roll carried behind the cutter bar, the conditioning roll being offset with respect to a centerline that bisects the frame width and the cutter bar width.

Claims (27)

1. An agricultural mower conditioner, comprising:

a frame comprising a tongue coupler and defining a frame width;

a cutter bar comprising an odd number of cutting discs arranged side-by-side across a cutter bar width including a first cutting disc on a first end of the cutter bar and a second cutting disc on a second end of the cutter bar; and

a conditioning roll carried behind the cutter bar, the conditioning roll being offset with respect to a centerline that bisects the frame width and the cutter bar width, the conditioning roll overlapping with all of the cutting discs except for the first cutting disc on the first end of the cutter bar.

2. The agricultural mower conditioner of claim 1 , wherein the odd number of cutting discs comprises at least one pair of adjacent counter-rotating cutting discs and at least one co-rotating cutting disc that co-rotates with respect to its adjacent cutting disc.

3. The agricultural mower conditioner of claim 2 , wherein the at least one co-rotating cutting disc is an outermost cutting disc.

4. The agricultural mower conditioner of claim 3 , where in the at least one co-rotating cutting disc is the first cutting disc and wherein the conditioning roll does not overlap with the at least one co-rotating cutting disc.

5. The agricultural mower conditioner of claim 4 , wherein the conditioning roll overlaps with all of the cutting discs except for the at least one co-rotating cutting disc.

6. The agricultural mower conditioner of claim 2 , wherein the at least one co-rotating cutting disc is the first cutting disc.

7. The agricultural mower conditioner of claim 1 , wherein the odd number of cutting discs comprises seven cutting discs.

8. The agricultural mower conditioner of claim 1 , wherein each of the cutting discs defines a same diameter (D), wherein a conditioner length of the conditioning roll is less than (N−1)*D and greater than N−2*D, wherein Nis a number of the cutting discs.

9. An agricultural mower conditioner system, comprising:

a towing vehicle comprising:

a chassis;

an engine carried by the chassis; and

a tongue carried by the chassis; and

an agricultural mower conditioner comprising:

a frame defining a frame width and comprising a tongue coupler coupled to the tongue;

a cutter bar comprising an odd number of cutting discs arranged side-by-side across a cutter bar width including a first cutting disc on a first end of the cutter bar and a second cutting disc on a second end of the cutter bar; and

a conditioning roll carried behind the cutter bar, the conditioning roll being offset with respect to a centerline that bisects the frame width and the cutter bar width, the conditioning roll overlapping with all of the cutting discs except for the first cutting discs on the first end of the cutter bar.

10. The agricultural mower conditioner system of claim 9 , wherein the odd number of cutting discs comprises at least one pair of adjacent counter-rotating cutting discs and at least one co-rotating cutting disc that co-rotates with respect to its adjacent cutting disc.

11. The agricultural mower conditioner system of claim 10 , wherein the at least one co-rotating cutting disc is an outermost cutting disc.

12. The agricultural mower conditioner system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one co-rotating cutting disc is the first cutting disc and wherein the conditioning roll does not overlap with the at least one co-rotating cutting disc.

13. The agricultural mower conditioner system of claim 12 , wherein the conditioning roll overlaps with all of the cutting discs except for the at least one co-rotating cutting disc.

14. The agricultural mower conditioner system of claim 10 , wherein the at least one co-rotating cutting disc consists of the first cutting disc.

15. The agricultural mower conditioner system of claim 9 , wherein the odd number of cutting discs comprises seven cutting discs.

16. The agricultural mower conditioner system of claim 9 , wherein each of the cutting discs defines a same diameter (D), wherein a conditioner length of the conditioning roll is less than (N−1)*D and greater than (N−2)*D, wherein N is a number of the cutting discs.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 7, 2026
From: CNH INDUSTRIAL AMERICA LLC
To: BLUE LEAF I.P., INC.
Reel/Frame 074296/0308 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 23, 2022
From: ZENTZ, DUANE A.
To: CNH INDUSTRIAL AMERICA LLC
Reel/Frame 059082/0262 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20230263094A1 · Aug 24, 2023
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