Inventors:
Carl E. Bohman - New Holland PA
Howard A. Winey - New Holland PA
Gilbert W. Linde - New Holland PA
Assignee:
Ford New Holland, Inc. - New Holland PA
International Classification:
A01D 7518, A01F 1216
Abstract:
A forage harvester having a feed mechanism for transporting crop material along a feed path to a rotating cutterhead is provided with a first detector for detecting metal objects in the crop material and a second detector for detecting hard objects. The feed mechanism includes a hollow feed roll rotatable about a fixed shaft and both detectors are supported by the fixed shaft inside the feed roll. The first detector is a metal detector mounted inside a housing supported by the fixed shaft. The second detector is a thin film microphone for sensing air-borne sound waves produced when hard objects impact the feed roll. The second detector may be mounted on the housing or, alternatively, mounted on a support member attached to the fixed shaft. In either arrangement, a vibration-absorbing pad is provided to isolate the microphone from mechanical vibrations occurring in its supporting structure.