A raking machine includes a traveling vehicle, a rake coupled to the traveling vehicle to rake grass in an agricultural field and form a swath, a sensor to obtain a state of the grass or the swath in the agricultural field, and a controller to change, when the rake performs raking, setting information regarding the rake based on the state obtained by the sensor.

A rake apparatus is disclosed. The rake apparatus includes a plurality of material gathering members connected to a continuous conveyor member such as a chain or a belt. A drive sprocket supports the conveyor member at a discharge end of the rake apparatus. An idler sprocket supports the conveyor member at a distal end of the rake apparatus. The material gathering members contact a bottom stripper guard and a top stripper guard as they travel about the raking device to remove crop material from the material gathering members. The rake apparatus may be part of a harvesting machine in which the processing chamber of the harvesting machine has a width that is the same width as the pickup device of the harvesting machine.

Windrow mergers employ one or more design features as described herein in connection with a suspension assembly that allows the pickup head to rise or fall relative to a frame of the merger. One feature maintains a substantially constant force or pressure between a pickup head of the merger and the terrain regardless of a height of the head. Another feature maintains a substantially constant hydraulic pressure in a hydraulic actuator that connects the pickup head to a frame assembly of the merger. Still another feature employs a hydraulic pump driven by a power takeoff (PTO) of the tractor to charge and discharge a hydraulic actuator arranged to raise and lower the pickup head of the merger between an upper limit and a lower limit.

Windrow mergers employ one or more design features as described herein in connection with a suspension assembly that allows the pickup head to rise or fall relative to a frame of the merger. One feature maintains a substantially constant force or pressure between a pickup head of the merger and the terrain regardless of a height of the head. Another feature maintains a substantially constant hydraulic pressure in a hydraulic actuator that connects the pickup head to a frame assembly of the merger. Still another feature employs a hydraulic pump driven by a power takeoff (PTO) of the tractor to charge and discharge a hydraulic actuator arranged to raise and lower the pickup head of the merger between an upper limit and a lower limit.

A swath lifter includes a rotor over which the crop is carried with the rotor driven in a direction so that an underside of the rotor adjacent the ground is driven opposite to the direction of movement. The rotor carries rows of tines at angularly spaced positions around the rotor each associated with a flexible strip of a resilient material located in front of the tines and covering an inner part of the tines with the outer part exposed. The rotor can be arranged with its axis inclined to a line at right angles to the forward direction thus tending to carry the crop to one side to direct the cop onto an adjustable swath guide board to cooperate to form the swath into a desired condition. The rotor can be used as a front member in a pickup for example for a baler.

Harvesting apparatus, namely merger or pickup swather, with a supporting frame (11) having a longitudinal member (12) and crossmembers (13, 14), with a chassis (16) having wheels (17), with a drawbar (15) which engages on the supporting frame (11) and via which the harvesting apparatus can be coupled to a tractor, with pickup members (18) designed as a pickup for picking up harvested crop, wherein at least one pickup member (18) is accommodated on a first side of the longitudinal member (12) and at least one further pickup member (18) is accommodated on a second side of the longitudinal member (12), in each case on a crossmember (13, 14), with transverse conveyor devices (19) designed as belt conveyors for conveying the picked-up harvested crop in a transverse conveying direction running transversely with respect to a longitudinal direction, wherein at least one transverse conveyor device (19) is accommodated on a first side of the longitudinal member (12) and at least one further transverse conveyor device (19) is accommodated on a second side of the longitudinal member (12), on the respective crossmember (13, 14), wherein the drawbar (15) is pivotable relative to the supporting frame (11) for transferring the harvesting apparatus between a working position and a headland position and/or a transport position.

The agricultural raking machine comprises a frame configured to be towed by a towing vehicle, at least a raking group assembled on the frame and provided with rotating comb-like elements apt to move material mowed onto the ground to form a windrow, and flotation means associated to the raking group and to the frame, the configuration being so that, at variations in height from the ground, the raking group raises/lowers with respect to said frame.

The presented invention is a hay fluffer which includes a frame that is configured to be pulled by a vehicle and a drive assembly supported by the frame. The drive assembly consists of wheels whose rotation, using a system of chains and gears, powers the turn of a rotation shaft. The rotation shaft has, attached, a sequence of cogs with each cog containing three recesses equally spaced and a tine set fitted into each of the three recesses in each cog. Tine sets may be removed and replaced by removing a single reversible fastener.

A swath lifter includes a rotor over which the crop is carried for aeration with the rotor driven in a direction so that an underside of the rotor adjacent the ground is driven opposite to the direction of movement. The rotor carries rows of tines at angularly spaced positions around the rotor each associated with a flexible strip of a resilient material located in front of the tines and covering an inner part of the tines with the outer part exposed so that, as the rotor rotates forwardly relative to the ground, the strip is presented to the swath on the ground in advance of the tines to avoid contact of the inner portion of the tines with the crop material at the top of the swath while the exposed outer ends of the tines operate on the wetter part of the swath at the ground.

Harvesting apparatus, namely merger or pickup head, with a loadbearing frame (11) which has a longitudinal carrier (12) and crossmembers (13, 14, 24, 25), with a chassis (16) which has wheels (17), with receiving members (18) which are configured as a pickup for receiving harvested crops, one receiving member (18) on a first side of the longitudinal carrier (12) and a further receiving member (18) on a second side of the longitudinal carrier (12) being received in each case on a crossmember (13, 14), and with cross conveying devices (19) which are configured as belt conveyors for conveying the received harvested crops in a cross conveying direction which runs transversely with respect to a longitudinal direction, one cross conveying device (19) on a first side of the longitudinal carrier (12) and a further cross conveying device (19) on a second side of the longitudinal carrier (12) being received on the respective crossmember (13, 14), and it being possible for a transfer region (22) for the harvested crops to be configured between the cross conveying devices (19) which are arranged on different sides of the loadbearing frame (12). In the working position, the cross conveying devices (19) and receiving members (18) which are arranged on the different sides of the loadbearing frame (12) can be pivoted about in each case one pivot axis (28, 29) which extends in the longitudinal direction, the respective pivot axis (28, 29) being arranged in the region of the chassis (16) adjacently with respect to the transfer region (22).