Claims
- 1. A grain husk cracking plate for attaching to a chopping cylinder housing of a harvester in proximity to a shear bar to crack husks of grain moving through said harvester, the grain husk cracking plate comprising:a base plate adapted for directing grain through the chopping cylinder housing of the harvester, said base plate having a top surface, a bottom surface, a pair of opposite side edges, and a leading edge and a trailing edge extending between said side edges; and a plurality of blades mounted on said top surface of said base plate for cracking the husk of grain traveling through the chopping cylinder housing and striking said blades, each of said blades having a forward edge directed toward said leading edge of said base plate, a rearward edge directed toward said trailing edge of said base plate, and a pair of side faces; wherein a carbide layer is formed on each of said blades, said carbide layer being formed on a portion of a first one of said side faces of each of said blades adjacent to said forward edge of said blade.
- 2. The grain husk cracking plate of claim 1 wherein a portion of a second one of the side faces of said blade has a beveled portion located adjacent to said forward edge such that said beveled portion is located opposite said carbide layer on said first side face of said blade.
- 3. The grain husk cracking plate of claim 2 wherein said carbide layer has a width extending substantially perpendicular to said forward edge and the beveled portion has a width extending substantially perpendicularly to said forward edge, the width of said carbide layer being substantially equal to the width of said beveled portion of said second face.
- 4. The grain husk cracking plate of claim 1 wherein said blade has a lower edge, said carbide layer extending along said forward edge of said blade between said lower edge and said rearward edge.
- 5. The grain husk cracking plate of claim 1 wherein said carbide layer extends between said forward edge and a back border of said carbide layer, said back border extending substantially parallel to said forward edge.
- 6. The grain husk cracking plate of claim 1 wherein said forward and rearward edges of said blades each have a length, the lengths of said forward and rearward edges being substantially equal.
- 7. The grain husk cracking plate of claim 1 additionally comprising a pair of laterally spaced side mounting members adapted for mounting to the chopping cylinder housing of the harvester, each of said side mounting members having an exterior face and an interior face, said interior face of each mounting member being mounted to one of said side edges of said base plate, each of said side mounting members having a first end positioned toward said leading edge of said base plate and a second end positioned toward said trailing edge of said base plate, wherein each of said side mounting members has a pair of mounting structures for mounting said base plate to a grain harvester, a first one of the pair of said mounting structures including a first mounting aperture extending through said side mounting member adjacent to said leading edge of said base plate, a second one of the pair of mounting structures including a second mounting aperture extending through said side mounting member adjacent to said trailing edge of said base plate.
- 8. The grain husk cracking plate of claim 7 wherein each of said mounting structures includes a threaded fastener coupled to each of the side mounting members and having a hole in communication with the mounting aperture.
- 9. The grain husk cracking plate of claim 8 wherein each of the threaded fasteners is positioned on the interior face of one of said side mounting members.
- 10. The grain husk cracking plate of claim 7 wherein the first mounting aperture is located adjacent to the first end of the side mounting member and the second mounting aperture is located adjacent to the second end of the side mounting member.
- 11. The grain husk cracking plate of claim 7 wherein each of the side mounting members has a substantially uniform width between the first and second ends of said side mounting member.
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of our U.S. utility patent application Ser. No. 09/519,753 filed Mar. 6, 2000 now U.S. Ser. No. 6,234,072.
US Referenced Citations (14)
Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry |
Information Disclosure Declaration of John C. Kooima and Phillip G. Kooima filed Jan. 5, 2001. |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/519753 |
Mar 2000 |
US |
Child |
09/815719 |
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US |