Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SPECIFICATION
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a field chopper.
More particularly this invention concerns such an apparatus
having a main chopping unit and a supplementary commentary or
chopping unit.
Background of the Invention
A standard field chopper of the type used on fodder
corn and the like and described in European patent document
58,431 of W. W. Booker (US. priority 235,314 ox 17 February
1981) has a frame or chassis adapted to travel along the ground
in a normal travel direction and provided on its front end with
an intake for each of the rows being harvested. Each such in-
take is provided with a cutter for severing the stalk of the
crop and conveyors for pulling the severed crop back to a main
chopping unit that cuts it into medium-size chunks.
The main housing has a generally cylindrical drum
centered on a horizontal axis perpendicular to the travel direct
lion and having a forwardly opening intake and a rearwardly and
normally tangentially opening outlet. A drum provided with
axially extending blades is rotated about the axis inside this
drum and the axially extending downstream edge of the intake is
wormed as a stationary blade which lies virtually at the orbit
formed by the cutting edges of the rotating blades. Thus as the
crop is fed radially into the housing via the intake it is
chopped between the rotating blades of the drum on one side and
the stationary blade on the other, and the thus severed chunks
are propelled by the rotating blades angularly back in the house
in to leave at the outlet.
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When used as whole-corn fodder, for example, it is
necessary to more finely community the chunks produced by the
main chopping unit. Accordingly it is known from Brooked (see
above) to provide a pair of supplementary chopping drums that
extend along the main chopping unit at the outlet so as to
receive all of the chop therefrom, reducing it further in size.
An auger takes the finely commented crop from this supplementary
chopping unit and feeds it to the blower whence it is conveyed
by air to a takeoff truck or wagon moving on the cut side next
to the field chopper.
Similarly it is known from German patent document
2,422,894 of K. Moosbrucker et at to direct the output of the
main chopping unit through a similar but smaller supplementary
chopping unit provided at the upper apex of a downwardly V-shaped
chute. This supplementary chopping unit is a drum or plates
carrying blades that cocci with stationary teeth extending along
one end of the chute. The crop is propelled from the outlet of
the housing up the one leg of the chute to the supplementary
chopping unit by the main chopping unit, is finely commented,
and then drops down in the other leg of the chute to a conveyor
that feeds it to a separate blower-type conveyor, and thence to
the takeoff truck.
German patent document 2,250,144 of W. Dehorned has a
supplementary chopping unit formed by an arcuate array of chopping
drum at an outlet beneath the main chopping unit. Thus all the
output of the main chopping unit passes through this supplement
try chopping unit and then moves to a conveyor comprised of a
belt arrangement, an auger, and presumably a blower also.
In all of these arrangements the drum of the main
chopping unit is of large diameter so that it imparts quite some
energy and travel speed to the crop as it cuts it into chunks.
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In tact it the crop is used directly as it its the main chopping
unit can itself constitute the conveyor/blower and the coarsely
chopped crop can be propelled directly by the main chopping units
inherently impart less inertia to the crop, in fact slowing it
down, since the miner cutting operation produces smaller part-
ales with substantially less inertia. Hence all Ox the above-
-described dual-chopper arrangements are burdened with some
Norm ox' supplementary conveyor/blower, increasing the complexity
and cost of the equipment.
The arrangement of German patent document 1,237,833,
and US. patents 3,701,239 and 3,357,164 of J. Hennen uses a
~omb-type cutter as supplementary chopping unit, with the main
chopping unit driving the crop directly through this comb.
Such an arrangement works with fragile or wet crop, but can
readily jam up. The crop can either bunch up on the upstream
or chopper side of the comb and block the main chopping unit
directly, or can collect on the downstream side and eventually
block the chute.
Objects ox the Invention
It is therefore an object of the present invention to
provide an improved field chopper with a supplementary commentary.
Another object is the provision of such a field chopper
with a supplementary commentary which overcomes the above-given
disadvantages, that is which can finely community the crop with-
out jamming and without needing a supplementary conveyor/blower.
Summary ox the Invention
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A yield chopper has a main chopping unit provided with
a main housing generally extending along an axis and having a
radially outwardly open intake and a radially outwardly open
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outlet angularly spaced therefrom and a main chopping drum having
a plurality of angularly spaced blades and a plurality of Angus
laxly spaced wind vanes and rotatable about the axis in the
housing in a predetermined rotational sense to displace the
blades in an orbit. A stationary blade is secured in the main
housing relative to the rotational sense adjacent the downstream
edge a the intake and immediately radially outside the orbit.
The main chopping drum is rotated by a drive to coarsely cut the
crop at the stationary blade, to displace the cut crop in the
rotational sense back in the main housing, and to propel the cut
crop radially outward through the outlet. The system according
to the invention also has a supplementary chopping unit comprising
a supplementary housing opening radially into the housing down-
stream in the sense from the stationary blade and upstream from
the outlet and a supplementary cutter rotatable in the supple-
Monterey housing outside the orbit and having radially extending
cutting formations. Thus the coarsely cut crop is displaced by
the main cutting drum into the supplementary housing. The
supplementary cutter is rotated in the supplementary housing to
finely community the coarsely cut crop therein and to reintroduce
the finely commented crop back into the main housing upstream
of the outlet.
Thus with the system of this invention the high-speed
main drum serves both for the initial coarse comminution of the
crop and for subsequently bringing the reequipped crop back up to
a speed sufficient to propel it out of the housing. The need of
a supplementary conveyor is wholly eliminated.
According to this invention the supplementary cutter
is rotatable abut a supplementary axis fixed relative to the
3 main axis and the supplementary housing is displaceable relative
to the supplementary axis to vary the spacing between itself and
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the formations. It is also possible for the supplementary
housing to be fixed on the main housing and the supplementary
cutter is rotatable about a supplementary axis displaceable
relative to the supplementary axis to vary the spacing between
itself and the formations.
The formations according to this invention can be pegs
or can be radially protecting and axially extending ridges. In
addition two such supplementary cutters can be provided with the
same or different formations and rotated in the same or opposite
directions. Normally the supplementary housing is internally
formed with projections cooperating with the formations.
The system of this invention can also have another
stationary blade fixed in the main housing immediately downstream
of the secondary housing. The drive can be a flexible and end-
less drive element spanned between the secondary cutter and the
main drum.
To convert the machine of this invention to a single-
-stage chopper, it is provided with an arcuate shield centered
on the axis and engage able within the supplementary housing to
block entry ox the coarsely cut crop whereinto. Thus when the
supplementary chopping is not needed, this shield is set in
place, making the machine quite versatile.
The above and other features and advantages will become
more readily apparent from the following, it being understood
that any feature described with reference to one embodiment of
the invention can be used where possible with any other embody-
mint. In the accompanying drawing:
FIG. 1 is a vertical cross section through a portion
of a field chopper according to this invention; and
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FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5 are detail views of variations on
the field chopper of the invention.
Specific Description
As seen in FIG. 1 a field chopper according to this
invention has a chassis or frame 1 that normally travels along
the ground in a direction D and that carries a generally Solon-
Dracula main housing 7 centered on a horizontal axis A perpendi-
cuter to the direction D and containing a drum or rotor 2
centered on and rotatable about the axis A. The main housing
7 has a horizontally forwardly opening and axially extending
intake 30 into which cut crop is fed and a rear upwardly opening
outlet 8 connected to a feed tube or chute 9 that empties directly
into the takeoff adjacent the chassis 1.
The rotor or drum 2 is formed as a tube shaft 3 eon-
toned on and rotatable in a sense d about the axis A and carry-
in a plurality of circular plates 4 themselves centered on and
perpendicular to this axis A. Eight angularly equispaced and
axially extending blades 5 are fixed on the outer peripheries
of the plates 4 so their outer cutting edges define an orbit 0
centered on the axis A when a drive indicated schematically at
31 rotates the rotor 2 in the sense d about the axis A. In add
lion immediately radially inside the outer cutting edge of each
blade 5 is a respective vane 6 that is part-cylindrical, extends
parallel to the axis A, and all concave forward in the normal
rotation sense d.
The axially extending downstream edge of the intake
30 is provided with a holder 11 supporting an axially extending
blade 10 that is closely juxtaposed with the orbit 0. Thus
when the rotor 2 is rotating in the sense d to move the blades
5 down past the stationary blade 10 and then back and up toward
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the outlet 8, crop fed radially through the intake 30 will be
chopped by the blades 5 and swept back by the vanes or pushers
6 inside the main housing 7 to be propelled with considerable
speed along the chute 9.
According to the invention the main housing 7 is pro-
voided with a supplementary housing I forming a radially inwardly
open and axially extending pocket snugly receiving a supplement
try chopping drum 13 rotatable about an axis A' parallel to
the axis A. This housing 12 is provided relative to the sense
d immediately downstream of the blade 10 and upstream of a
housing wall portion 15 that terminates at the outlet 8.
The drum 13 is provided with radially extending pins
or teeth 18 like a threshing drum and the housing 12 has an
arcuate wet]. portion ill provided with similar such formations
19. This wall portion 14 is pivoted at an axis A" parallel to
and ahead in the direction D from the axis A' by means of a
pivot 17 and displaceable about this axis A" by an eccentric
adjusting element 16. The main housing 7 is provided immediately
downstream of the supplementary housing 12 with another blade
21 like the blade 20, and a belt 20 interconnects the rotor 2
and drum 13 for joint codirectional rotation.
Thus with the system of the invention chunks of crop
cut between the blades 5 and 10 are directed into the supple-
Monterey housing 12 where they are more finely commented between
the formations 18 and 19 of the rotating drum 13 and the stay
shunner housing wall 14. Any remaining chunks will be further
commented between the blades 5 and 21, and the resultant whole-
-plant fodder will be propelled by the blades 5 and vanes 6 at
great speed up into the chute 9 which, as mentioned above, opens
3 directly at its end into the takeoff truck.
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In the arrangement of FIG. 2 a pair of such drums aye
are provided which are identical to the drum 13 and radially
equispaced from the axis A. The housing aye is of increased
angular dimension and the bulk 20 drives both drums aye co-
directionally; otherwise this system is identical to that of
FIG. 1. Thus in this arrangement the fodder will be subjected
to a double fine comminution between the teeth 18 of the drums
aye and the teeth 19 of the movable housing wall 14.
In FIG. 3 the arrangement is similar to that of FIG.
2, having an angularly elongated supplementary housing 12b pro-
voided with a drum 13b identical to the drums 13 and aye, and a
second drum 22 formed with axially extending and radially pro-
jetting ribs 18b and received in a second well part 14b of
smooth interior. The belt 20 is spanned over the drum 22 so as
to rotate it opposite to the drum 13b, which is codirectional
with the rotor 2. The resultant fine-comminution action is
excellent.
FIG. 3 also shows how a part-cylindrical shield 28
centered on the axis A can block off the housing 12 to eliminate
the effect of the supplanter chopping unit. Thus the arrange-
mint is easily converted to one-stage comminution.
The system of FIG. 4 uses a single drum 22 identical
to the rear drum of FIG. 3 and received in a supplementary house
in 12c having a smooth-wall portion 14c. Once again this drum
22 is counter rotated to the rotor 2.
In FIG. 5 a plurality of blades 24 like the blades 4
are carried on a rotor 23 mounted at the outer ends of arms 26
whose inner ends are pivoted at the axis A. The supplementary
housing 12d here is stationary and has axially extending ribs 25
in its wall portion 14d juxtaposed with the orbit of the blades
24. A threaded spindle 27 can angularly displace the drum 23,
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which is codirectionally rotated with the rotor 2, to vary the
spacing between the blade orbit and the formations 25. The belt
20 is spanned over a pulley 29 to orbits the blades 24 codirec-
tonally with the blades 5. This arrangement can be set for a
very fine supplementary comminution.
With all the arrangements ox the present invention
the rotor 2 coarsely chops the crop and then delivers it
immediately to the supplementary chopping unit which comments
it somewhat more finely and returns the twice commented crop
to the rotor 2 where it may again be chopped against the blade
21. The rotor 2 therefore serves at least to coarsely community
the crop and then, after the supplementary comminution, to again
bring the crop up to a speed sufficient to propel it out the
outlet 8.
