Patent attributes
A forage conditioner for conditioning cut crop material from a forage harvester includes a fixed bottom fluted roller carried in end housings and a top fluted roller which is pivotally mounted on the housings by a linkage pivotal relative to the housing about an axis lying in a plane at right angles to the roller axes so that the top roller is liftable from crushing position against the bias of a spring extending along the top roller. Flutes on the rollers are arranged with a first surface on one side which extends substantially radially outwardly to an apex and a second surface which has a first portion parallel to a tangent of the roller and a second portion inclined inwardly to the roller surface at an angle significantly less than 90 degrees. The bottom roller is arranged with the first surfaces leading to carry the crop into the area between the rollers and the top roller is arranged with the first surface trailing. Thus the first surface of intermeshing flutes pass through a condition in which the first surfaces are substantially parallel and on opposite sides of a line joining the centers of the rollers to provide an effecting conditioning action on the crop.
