Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
3~33
-- 1 --
CROP GATHERING ATTAC~MENT FOR CROP HARVESTING MACHINE
1 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to crop gathering attachments
for crop harvesting machines.
It is usual in crop harvesting machines for
standing crop to be harvested by first cutting it and then
feeding the cut crop to crop processing components such as
a -threshing and separating mechanism in the case of a combine
harvester, or a chopper in the case of a forage harvester~
for example. The feeding of the cut crop to the crop
processing components needs to be fluent and consistent so
as to load those components uniformly and hence maximize the
capacity of the machine. In some known machines the means,
such as an auger, for feeding the cut crop to the crop
processing means are located at a relatively short distance
behind the cutter means which is desirable from the
standpoint of positively moving the crop to the processing
means immediately after it has been cut but which gives rise
to the problem, in some instances, of crop being acted upon
by the Eeeder means before it is cut and thus being pulled.
This tends to happen with crop having long stalks (such as
rye and rape for example) which is not standing upright due
to adverse weather conditions.
Another problem experienced with known machines
arises when the crop is wet and/or infested with weeds.
With crop in either of these conditions there is a problem
o~ achieving a fluent flow and there is a tendency for crop
to accumulate in the dead spot which inevitably exists
between the cutter means and feeder means e~en if a reel
is used to help sweep the crop first to the cutter means and
thence to the feeder means.
There exists a device which is employed between
the cutter means and the feeder means and which in effect
constitutes additional feeder means. The device in question
is the so-called draper and a crop gathering attachment
embodying the same is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,038,809.
Since the draper separates the cutter and the normal feeder means
and is itself not as aggressive as the latter, then the
aforementioned problem of pulling long-stalked crops before
they are cut is avoided. Also, the problem associated with the
, ~
3~3
-- 2 --
1 dead spot in which wet or weed-infested crop tends to accumulate
is relieved.
However, the draper is in effect a continuous belt
conveyor, usually made of convas, and it is difficult to
provide adequate tracking means without using co~plicated,
and hence expensive, components for the helt. Also, crop
material tends to wrap around the ends of the s~.a~s carrying
the canvas belt and eventually gets vetween the ~elt and the
shafts. This, together with inadequate tracking, results in
belt replacement. For this reason, the draper has not become
a universally accepted device.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The main object of this invention is to overcome the
aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art by providing a
crop gathering mechanism utilizing the advantages of the
conventional draper, yet avoiding its disadvantages.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a
crop gathering attachment for a crop harvesting machine which
comprises crop receiving means operable, in use, to receive crop
from the ground, first crop feeder means, and second crop feeder
means disposed between the crop receiving means and the first
feeder means, the second feeder means comprising a plurality
of rotary members each in the form of shaft means on which
are mcunted a plurality of crop conveying means extending
from the shaft means and relatively closely spaced axially
thereof, the shaft means extending transversely o~ the
attachment and being spaced relative to each other so that
the crop conveyirlg means of ad~acent rotary members interleave,
and the rotary members in use being rotated in the same direction
so that they constitute in efect a moving floor operable to
transfer crop from the cutter means generally longitudinally
of the attachment to the first feeder means.
It is another object of this invention to provide in
a crop harvesting machine crop conveying means i~ the form of
two or more fingers spaced equiangularly around the associated
shaft means and having an outer e~tremity which trails relative
to the direction of rotation of the rotary mem~er. Alternatively,
the crop conveying means may each ~e in the form of a flange
having a shaped peripher~ such as circular, triangular or other
3~3
-- 3 --
1 polygonal shape, although it is preferred to employ a square
periphery. Each flange,whatever its shape, may be formed
separately and mounted on the shaft means or may be linked
with each other. In the latter case, the crop conveying means
of each rotary member may be in the form of a helix with a
small pitch such that the helix does not act as an auger and
convey crop transversely of the attachment. The crop conveying
means may be composed of a synthetic plasti~s material and those
provided on a given shaft means may be cut from a block of such
ma erial or molded.
It is still another object of this invention to
proviae grain collecting and grain conveying mechanisms in
association with the rotary members of the crop gathering
attachment to collect and convey grain falling betwee~ the
rotary members when the crop moves over the floor of the crop
gathering attachment~
It is an advantage of this invention that the crop
can be conveyed by the rotary members either over or under
the floor.
It is a feature of this invention that the grain conveying
mechanism can be disposed either centrally or to one or both sides
of the attachment.
The grain collecting means may be in the form of
an auger and may constitute one of said rotary members, with
the other rotary members having crop-conveying means preferably
in the form of a helix. The auger is arranged to cooperate with
a grain collecting trough, in which all grain falling between the
rotary members is collected, and to feed the same to the grain
conveyor means for conveying to the crop processing components
o the machine to which the attachment is fitted~ However,
as far as the cut crop is concerned, the auger acts merely to
convey it to the next rotary member generally longitudinally
of the attachment. Small pieces of straw, for example, may also
fall be~ween the rotary members and are conveyed with the grain
as described.
It is yet another ob;ect of this invention to provide
a smooth flow of crop from the crop receiving mechanism to the
second Eeeder device by limlting the vertical distance between
the crop receiving mechanism and the outer extremities of the
crop conveying means of the rotary member immediately adjacent the
3~3
~,
1 crop receiving mechanism. Accordingly, the effective diameter
of said immediately adjacent rotary member may be made as
small as possible with the effective diameters of the
succeeding rotary members being made increasingly larger,
if desired~
It is a still further object of this invention to
provide crop receiving means in the form of a crop cutting
mechanism if the machine is designed to harvest standing
crop. Alternatively, the crop receiving means may be in the
form of a pick-up device if the machine is designed to
harvest previously cut and windrowed crop. In this case,
the picX-up device may be of con~entional form having tines,
for example.
These and other objects, features and advantages are
accomplished according to the instant invention by providing a
crop gathering attachment for a crop harvesting machine wherein
a feeder mechanism is disposed between the cutterbar and the
consolidating auger. The feeder mechanism includes a plurality
of transversely-mounted rotary members having crop conveying
members in the form of helical flanges radially affixed thereto
and rotatable therewith. The rotary members ~re mou~ted such that
the crop conveying members on each of the rotary members interleave
with the crop conveying members of the ad;acent rotary members.
The rotary members are rotated in the same direction so that
the crop conveying members constitute in effect a moving floor
operable to transfer crop from the cutterbar generally
longitudinally of the attachment to the consolidating auger for
feeding to the crop harvesting machine for further harvesting
treatment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The advantages of this invention will become apparent
upon consideration of the following detailed disclosure of the
invention, especially when taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings wherein:
Fig. 1 is a side view of a combine harvester (with
certain parts removed) fitted with a first embodiment of the
crop gathering attachment incorporating the principles of the
instant invention;
-- 5 --
1 Fiy. 2 is an en~arged plan ~iew of part of the crop
gathering attachment seen in Fig. 1,
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines
III-III of Fig. 2, yet on a different scale;
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines IV-IV
of Fig. 2; and
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of an alternative
embodiment, corresponding to the view seen in FigO 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIO~ OF THE PREFERR D EMBODIMENT
Referring now to Fig. 1, a side ele~ational view of
a combine harvester incorporating the principles of the instant
invention can be seen. The combine harvester is generally of
conventional form in that the main body is fitted with a pair of
front wheels 1, a pair of rear, steerable wheels 2 and has an
operator's platform 3. The main body further comprises
threshing and separating means 4, separating means 5, straw
walkers 6, cleaning means 7 and a grain tank 8. As is also
conventional, the main body of the combine harvester is fitted
with a header 9 but in this instance, the hPader constitutes
a crop gathering attachment in accordance with the present
invention.
Still referring to Figure 1, the header 9 comprises
a reel 11, crop receiving means in the form of a
reciprocatory cutterbar 12, an auger 13 and an elevator 14
extending between the auger 13 and the threshing and separating
means 4, all of which are conventional components. The auger 13
forms first crop feeder means and second crop feeder means
generally indicated at 15 are provided between the cutterbar 12
and the auger 13. The header 9 is pivotally attached to the
main body ~f the combine harvester and is adiustable relative
thereto, in the normal manner, by hydraulic actuators 16
disposed one on each side of the machine.
The auger 13 has two oppositely wound flights 17
(Fig. 3) disposed one at each end of a tubular body portion 18
supported for rotation on a tubular shaft 19. Mounted
eccentrically with respect to the shaft 19 is a further and
and stationary shaft 21 from which extend tines or fingers 22
which are equianqularly disposed with respect to the body
portion 18. The tines 22 extend through slots in the body por~ion 18
1 and slide relative thereto on rotation of the body portion 18
as is conventional.
Referring now more particularly to Figures 2 to 4,
the header 9 is formed in two parts, the rear part comprising
a transverse mounting beam 23 and two longitudinal beams 24
extending rearwardly of the combine harvester from the beam 23.
The beams 23 and 24 support a floor portion 25 shaped as are the
beams 24, to conform generally, and be closely spaced with
respect to, the path 26 circumscribed ky the outer extremities
of the flights 17 of the auger 13. The second and front part
of the header, which is the essence of the pr~sent invention,
comprises a front transverse beam 27 and a rear transverse beam 28,
the latter being detachably connected to the beam 23. The
cutterbar 12 is connected to the transverse beam 27 which also
supports one end of a floor 29 having a substantially planar
portion 31 extending upwardly and rearwardly towards the auger 13,
and a portion 32 which extends downwardly to meet the auger floor
25 and which conforms to the path circumscribed by a component of
the second feeder means 15 to be described and then extends
downwardly and forwardly therefrom to form a ramp 34 which
assists the movement of crop material from the cutterbar 12
to the second feeder means.
Two sidewalls 35 extend in the fore-and-aft
direction of the header 9 and are attached to the beam 23.
Two further sidewalls 40 extend the length of the second
feeder means 15 only and are attached to the respective
beams 27,28 and are also secured to the respective sidewalls 35.
The second feeder means 15 comprise a plurality of
rotary members which num~er six in the illustrated embodiment
and extend transversely of the header, between the sidewalls
40, one behind the other. Five of the rotary members 36
are identical, with the forwardmost one 37 being of slightly
different construction. The axes of all six rotary members
lie substantially in a common plane.
Each of the rotary members 36 comprises a composite
shaft made up, as seen in Fig. 2, of right-hand and left-hand
stub shafts 38 and 39, respectively, and a central stub shaft 41.
The stub shafts 38 and 39 each have a portion 42 of reduced
diameter and the central stub shaft 41 has a portion 43 of reduced
diameter, the portions 42 receiving bearings 44 mounted in the
3~3
1 respective sidewalls 40, and the portion 43 receiving a bearing 45
mounted in a central wall 46 extending the length of the second
feeder means 15. A metal sleeve 47 is secured over the reduced
diameter portion 43 of the central stub shaft 41 to increase
its effective diameter to that of the main body of the adjacent
stub shaft 39, whereby a metal sleeve 48 can be secured over
both the stub shaft 39 and the sleeve 47 to maXe the stub
shafts 39 and 41 unitary. A similar metal sleeve 49 is secured
over the stub shaft 38 and the main body of the stub shaft 41 so
as to make these two shafts unitary and hence unitary with the
stub shaft 39 to provide the composite sha~t. Each sleeve 48
stops short of the central bearing 45 but is effectively extended
to that bearing by sleeve 51 of a synthetic plastlcs material.
The two stub shafts 38 ana 39 each have a crop
conveying means mounted thereon in the form of a helix 52
attached to a sleeve 53 which is secured over the metal sleeve 47
or ~9 as appropriate. The helix 52 and sleeve 53 may be
constructed separately or as an integral unit and are composed
of a synthetic plastics material which enables the unit to be
molded if desired. As seen in Figures 3 and 4, the turns of each
helix 52 have a square periphery with the corners taken off and,
- as seen in Figure 2, the helix on shaft 38 is of opposite
hand to that on shaft 39.
The central sleeves 51 carry two pairs of diametrically
opposed paddles 54 formed by rigid members 50 and flexible
members 60, with the paddles of one rotary member 36 being
arranged at right angles to the paddles of the or each adjacent
rotary mernber. This relative orientation oE the paddles 54 is
maintained, while keeping the respective helices 52 similarly
oriented (as seen in Figures 3 and 4), by rotating the shafts
of the rotary members in timed relationship. This is achieved
by sprockets 55 attached to the reduced diameter portions 42 of
the left-hand stub shafts 39 which are driven through chain
transmissions (not shown)~ The reduced diameter portlon 42 of the
right~hand rearmost stub shaft 38 is provided with a sprocket 56
which is driven by a chain 57 in turn driven Erom a drive mechanism
(not shown) on the header of the combine harvester. Thus, the
sprocket 56 is driven and dri~es the rearmost rotary member 36
which in turn drives in timed relationship, the remaining rotary
member ~hrough the sprockets 55.
-- 8 --
1 The forwardmost rotary member 37 is very similar in
construction to the rotary members 36 in that it has the same
form of composite shaft and supporting bearings. The only
difference is that the helix 58 on each stub shaft 38 and 39
has slightly differently shaped turns which are also of a
smaller thickness than the helices 52 of the rotary members 36.
Again as seen in Figures 3 and 4, the helices 58 each have a
generally square periphery although the corners thereof are
more rounded in order that it can be mounted as close as
possible to the forward end 33 oE the floor 29 and hence
as close as possible to the cutterbar 12. The central stub
shaft 41 of ~he forwardmost. rotary member 37 is also provided
with paddles 54 and the rotary member is driven in timed relation-
ship with the rest by a sprocket 55.
The paddles 54 of all the rotary members 36 and 37
are enclosed by a casing extending longitudinally o the
header 9 and comprising two sidewalls 59, a top cover 61 and
the associated portion of the floor 29, the only opening
being a rear discharge opening 62 and two inlet openings 63
provided at the lower front ends of each sidewall 59. The
casing defined above also comprises the central wall 46. The
forwardmost rotary member 37 serves two functions, firstly to
feed crop from the cutterbar 12 to the adjacent rotary member 36
and secondly, to act as an auger as will be explained in greater
detail in due course.
The illustrated attachment has a width of approximately
3 metres and the helices 52 and 58 have turns approximately
90 mm square, 4 mm thick and spaced apart by 20 mm, giving a
pitch of 24 mm, and a pitch angle of 6. Thus the spacing
between a turn of one helix 52 and an adjacent turn of an inter-
leaving helix 52 is approximately 8 mm, this spacing being
slightly greater with respect to the forwardmost rotary
member 37 and the adjacent rotary member 36 due to the smaller
thickness of the turns of the helix 58. This very close spacing
of the interleaving turns of the helices 52 and 58 gives rise to
a substantially continuous floor over which the cut crop
passes to the auger 13. It is desirable or the circumferentlal
speed of the helices 52 and 58 to be slightly greater than the
average forward speed of the machine to which the attachment is
fitted so that the rotary members 36 and 37 have a positive
3~3
l effect on the cut crop and in the case of a combine harvester,
this is achleved by rotating the rotary members at 220-280
r.p.mn
In use of the attachment illustrated in the drawings,
the front part is first mo-unted on the transverse beam 23
and it should be noted here that this design enables alter-
native devices to be used with the auger 13 and, for example,
the cutterbar 12 may be mounted directly on the transverse
beam 23. The whole header constituted by the attachment
constructed in accordance with the invention is then ~ounted
on the main body of the combine harvester which is now ready
for use and the driven components are set in motion whereby,
inter alia, the reel ll is rotated, the cutterbar 12 is
reciprocated, and the rotary members 36 and 37 and the
auger 13 are rotated. Thus as the combine harvester moves
forward into standing crop, the latter is swept by the
reel ll towards the cutterbar 12 and cut by the latter.
The cut crop moves up the ramp 34, due to khe combined
action of the reel ll and the forward movement of the machine,
and is then acted upon by the forwardmost rotary member 37
which serves to pass the cut crop to the adjacen-t rotary
member 36 and so on until the cut crop reaches the auger 13.
Thus the rotary members 36 and 37 forming the second feeder
means lS feed the crop generally longitudinally of the machine
and it should be noted that the helices 52 and 58 do not act
as augers so as to feed the cut crop transversely of the
machine. Once the cut crop reaches the auger 13, it is
consolidated centrally of the machine and fed to subsequent
components for treatment in the conventional manner. It will
be noted that the plane containing the axes of the shafts 38,
39 and 41 is inclined upwardly from the cutterbar 12 such
that the second feeder means 15 feeds cut crop to the auger 13
at about the level of the rotary axis thereof.
It is found that the rotary members 3~ and 37
provide a very satisfactory feed device for the cut crop
which acts positively on the crop so as to achieve fluent
and even flow thereof. There is little or no tendency for
cut crop -to fall between the turns of the interleaving
helices 52 and 58 because they are closely spaced so that
the crop easily bridges adjacent turns. Also, the inter-
3~!3
-- 10 --
1 leaving arrangement o-E the turns effects a self-cleaning
action should some stalks tend to find their way into the
spaces between adjacent turnsO
Since the second feeder means 15 separates the
first feed means, in the form of the auger 13, from the
cutterbar 12, there is little or no possibility for the auger
to act upon crop material before it is cut. This, coupled
with the ability of the second feeder means 15 to feed cut
crop positively to the auger 13, means that all the
advantages of a craper are obtained without the disadvantages.
Using the illustrated attachment constructed in accordance
with the invention of a 15% increase in the capacity of
the combine harvester has been achieved. The additional
weight of the second feeder means 15 is minimiæed by using
lightweight synthetic plastics material for parts of the
rotary members 36 and 37.
As the cut crop moves over the floor provided by
the second feeder means 15, there is a tendency for sorne
grain and small straw pieces to be separated therefrom and
this falls through the spaces between thè turns of the
helices 52 and 58 to the floor 29, the major portion 31 of
which slopes downwardly and forwardly of the machine. Thus
the grain and sma:Ll straw pieces are collected by gravitation
(although to some extent assisted by the angled edges of
the helices 52) in the trough formed by the portion 33 of
the floor 29 with which the forwardmost rotary member 37
cooperates so as to fulfill its second function as an auger.
The two helices 58 convey the collected grain and other
material to the center oE the header 9 where it is fed
through the respective openings 63 whereupon it is engaged
by the paddles 54 of the rotary member 37 and thrown over
the top of the latter to the paddles 54 of the adjacent
rotary member 36. The paddles 54 of this rotary member
take over and throw the grain and other material to the
next rotary member 36 and so on until this grain and other
material reaches the auger 13 from which it is taken with
the cut crop to the subsequent components of the combine
harvester. It will be seen frorn Figure 4 that the length
of each paddle 54, as seen radially with respect to the
sleeves 51 carrying the same, is substantially equal to
~, P
3~93
11 -
1 the spaclng between adjacent sleeves 51 so that there is
little likelihood of grain falling to the floor 29 once it
has been picked up by the paddles 54 of the forwardmost
rotary member 37 but if any grain does so fall, it will
move down the floor 29 to be acted upon again by the paddles
of the rotary me~ber 37.
Thus the increased capaci.ty of the machine due to
the presence of the second feeder means 15 is not detracted
from by extra grain loss because any grain separated in
that feeder means is collected and transEerred with cut crop
to the normal grain handling components of the combine
harvester.
The crop gathering attachment of Figures 1 to 4 can
be,modified so as to be capable of harvesting previously cut
and windrowed crop and Figure 5 illustrates such an
embodiment. It will be seen that Figure S is identical
to Figure 3 (with like components carrying the same
reference numerals) except that the cutterbar 12 has been
replaced by a crop pick-up device indicated generally at 64.
The pick-up device 64 is conventional'and comprises a frame
65 by which it is mounted on the transverse beam 27 and a
shaft 66 carrying a plurality of discs 67 from which extend
a plurality of retractable tines 68. Each tine 68 is
pivotally mounted on the associated disc 67 so as to extend
generally radially thereof when in the crop pick-up
position and then to take up a retracted (trailing) position
in the region when the crop being carried is to be released
as it passes to the second feeder means 15. Of the six
tines 67 shown in Figure 5, the ones in the seven, nine and
eleven o'clock positions are in the crop pick-up position,
and the remainder are in the crop-release position.
The attachment of Figure 5 can also be used in
conjunction with a combine harvester, as with the
embodiment of Figures 1 to 3, and is useful in harvesting
those crops such as rape which are often cut and windrowed
rather than harvested from the standing condition.
However, the reel 11 shown in Figure 1 is removed since
it is not required with the attachment of Figure 5. Both
of the illustrated attachments can be used with machines
other than combine harvesters. Also, one basic attachment
93
can be used for harvesting both standing and windrowed
crop by making the cutterbar 12 and pick-up device 64
detachable so that one or the other can be used as required.
Although in the two illustrated embodiments the turns
of the respective helices 52 are similarly orientated, the
turns of one can be arranged to be out of phase (by 45, for
example) with respect to the or each adjacent flight. Also,
the periphery of each turn of the helices 52 and 58 may be
of any shape and need not be squareO Furthermore, the
effective diameter of the rotary member 37 may be smaller
than that of the rotary member 36 and the latter may have
progressively increasing diameters from the rotary member 37.
It will be understood that changes in the details,
materials, steps and arrangement of parts which have been
described and illustrated to explain the nature of the
invention will occur to and may be made by those skilled in
the art upon a reading of this disclosure within the principles
and scope of the invention~ The foregoing description illustrates
the preferred embodiment of the invention; however, concepts,
as based upon the description, may be employed in other
embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.
Accordingly, the following claims are intended to protect the
invention broadly as well as in the specific form shown.
