ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 21 -- United States Patent no. 12,604,808, issued on April 21, was assigned to Deere & Co. (Moline, Ill.).
"Cotton spindle variable barb geometry" was invented by Brandon C Carlson (Ankeny, Iowa), Kurt D. Gustafson (Altoona, Iowa), Darrin S. Meyer (Pella, Iowa) and Matthew A. Asplund (Marshalltown, Iowa).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "In order to optimize strength, wear, and picking efficiency, a cotton picker spindle may comprise a first end oppositely disposed from a second end. The spindle may comprise a plurality of barbs disposed about a surface of the body. Each of the barbs may comprise barb attributes comprising barb width, leading angle, trailing angle and barb ...