The present invention relates to forage harvesters and more specifically relates to combined feed roll and cutterhead assemblies of such harvesters.
Forage harvesters include a header which severs crop from the ground and delivers it rearwardly into the bite of a conveyor defined by upper and lower sets of counterrotating feed rolls which form the crop into a mat and delivers it across a shear bar where it is cut into short lengths by the blades of a cutterhead which rotates past the shear bar. The location of the feed rolls and shear bar is such that they are difficult to inspect, to repair, and/or to adjust. In one known forage harvester, the entire feed roll assembly is removed. Such removal is difficult and the re-installation of the assembly is even more difficult since it requires parts to be realigned for assembly. In another known forage harvester some of the feed rolls are mounted for pivoting up out of the way to gain access to the shear bar, but this becomes difficult in forage harvesters where the operator cabin is located above the feed roll and cutterhead assemblies and requires lifting heavy components.