Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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WO 94/03043 PCI~/AU93/00407
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AGRICUq llJRAI. M~CHINE
:E?IELD QF T}IE INVENTION
This invention concerns an agricultural machine
suitable for cutting long stem animal feed material. In
particular, but not exclusively, the machine may be used to
cut baled hay, although it may also be used to cut sedge or
any other long stemmed material.
sAc~GRou~D OF ~HE IN~ENTION
There are many agricultural purposes to be served
by cutting long stemmed material. For ins~ance, long
stemmed by-products may be cut and distributed o~er the
`soil in order to improve its organic content.
Alternatively, animal feed stuffs such as straw required to
be cut into short lengths before they can be comminuted in
food preparation mixes.
; A variety of stationa~y and transportable mixers
have been proposea, however few of these are of any
practical use because of ~he difficulties of controlling
the cutting process and transporting ~he material both
~` 20 before and after cutting. In one particular such machine
described in Australian Patent No. 591155, a rotary cutter
is arranged ~together with~ a~ feeding conveyor, and a
discharge chute transversely on a trailer. A bale lifter
exten~s~ from the back of the trailer. ~road flails with
25~ sharpened` sides and ends are pivotally attached to the
` rotary cutter such t~at they are flung outwards as the
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cutter rotates and passed between a series of bars and over
a furthex bar which acts as anvils to chop material
ad~anced towa~ds them on the conveyor. The broad 1ails
generate air flow which draws the material to be chopped
into the cuttlng region and èxpels the cut material along
the length o~ the output chute. This ma~hine has great
difficulty in controlling the rate at which the material is
fed to the cutter.~ In addition when baled material is
provided the machine has difficulty in unrolling the bale,
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and the cutting action causes a tendency for the bale to be
: drawn over the top of the rotary cutter resuiting in the .::
need to provide an eccentrically mounted roller above the
rotary cutter in order to restrain the bale and to assist
in its unrolling.
Summary of the Invention
According to the present invention, as currently
envisaged, there is: provided an agricultural machine for
cutting long stem animal feed material, comprising~
rotary cutter means for rotation about a ~ :-
substantially horizontal axis and having cutting elements .
pro~ecting~rad1al1y outwards;
support means to feed the material to be cut to
the rotary cutter means comprising a bed on which, in use, .`-:~
lies: the material to~be cut, said bed formed of three flat --
sections, a ~first :section adjacent said pivot axis, a ~;
second~-section extending from a distal end of said first .. -
:
section at an obtuse angle with respect to said first
~ section., and a third section extending from a distal end of
:::~ 2:Q said second:section at an obtuse:angle with respect to said
second section; said bed further including.a conveyor to
transpor`t~material lying on it, said conveyor comprising a
ser1es of~s1ats:spaced apart~and~flexibly coupled together~
to form an endles:s~ loop~ which, at~an end adjacent :the
25 ~ rotary~cutter travels around~a~rotating cylinder from which
: vanes extend ~across substantially the full width of: the
conveyor ~and ;~which~engage ~between adjacent slats of the
: ~ conveyor;
wherein said :bed is turnable about a horizontal
: 30~ piVQt axi~s adjacent the; rotary cutter means, and ele~ating
means~ are~ provided~to turn and hold the bed at different
angle:s around the pivot axis.:
: This arrangement provides a cradle in which a
: bàle can~ Slt~ and :the elevating means can be employed-to
: 35~ hold the:second: portion~of the bed horizcntal, in which
case a bale can be held:in the cradle without being fed to
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the rotary cutter, say for transport purposes. The support
means can be lowered until the third bed reaches a
horizontal position, in which case the bale can be tipped
out off the cradle. When elevating means elevates the
cradle so that the second bed is above the horizontal, the
second portion is above the horizontal, and until the fi;^st
portion reaches the horizontal a bale will be fed toward
the rotary cutter at a rate controlled by the angle of the
tilt.
The vanes and slats of the conveyor will ideally
have the same height so that material can be transported
around the end of the bed in a smoothly curved path which
approaches the cutting elements without interruptions. The
vanes will usually be interrupted by sprockets which engage
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the flexible coupling, for instance a chain. In this case
it is advantageous to provide scrapers under the bed to
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scrape the sprockets ~and remove material which becomes
trapped between the sprockets and the coupling.
~ ~The cutting elements advantageously comprise
blades which are twis~ed to divert longitudinally
approaching stems ~and enable the blades to make a cut
~ ~ laterally across them. Grill~bars may be provided in front
`~ of the rotary~cut~er to space the bale of material away
from its upper parts, and only allow the material to
~ approach the; cutters ~in the area adjacent the support
means. ~ ~ ~
The~ cut material may~ fall away from under the
rotary cutter onto a belt conveyor which transports it in a
~; ~ direct1on parallel~ to the axis of the rotary cut~er.
Fingers may be~provided above the belt, and they may be
directed downwards and~against the direction of transport
to even out the~flow of material.
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W094/03043 PCT/AU93/00407
Shutters may be provided under the rotary cutter
at an adjustable angle to control the length of time the
material is in contact with the cu~ting elements, therefore
the size of the cut material.
Machines according to the invention may be
mounted on trailers, and in this case they are preferably
mounted longitudinally on the trailer, that is with the
axis of the rotary cutter parallel to the axis of the
trailer wheels. Although this arrangement requires some
gearing to effectively apply drive to the rotary cutter, it
enables the discharge of material along a narrow channel
which is very useful ~or feeding other automated equipment,
such as hammer mills.
If a bale lifter is provided on the rear of the
trailer then bales may be lifted so that they roll onto the
suppor~ means ~about their axis. This is much more
convenient than the prior art arrangement where the bales
are required to roll over that axis onto the support bed,
because it is far more reliable.
; 20 srie _Description of th~ Drawin~s
The invention will now be described by way of
example only with reference to the accompanying drawings,
in which:
Figure l is an elevational view of a trailer
mounted machine embodied in the present invention; and,
Figure 2 is an end elevational view of the
machine of Figure 1. ~
De ailed Description of _the Pref erred Embod:L~ nt
As shown in the accompanying drawings, an
agricultural machine 2 for cutting along stem animal feed
material, such as for example hay, comprises a rotary
cutter ~means in the form of a cylindrical drum 4 mounted
for ro~ation about a sub~stantially horizontal axis 6
coinciding with the central longitudinal axis oî the
cylindrical drum 4. A pIurality of cutting elemen~s in the
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W094/030~3 PCT/AU93/004U7
form of blades 8 project radially outwards from the
circumferential surface 10 of the cylindrical drum 4. The
machine 2 further includes a support means 12 to~feed the
material to be cut by the rotary cutter 4 comprising a bed
14 on which, in use, lies the material to be cut. The bed
14 can turn about a horizontal pivot axis 16 adjacent the
rotary cutter 4. Elevating means in the form of hydraulic
cylinders 18 connected between a frame 20 of a support for
the machine 2 and the bed 14, is provided to turn and hold
the bed 14 at different angles about the pivot axis 16.
The bed 14 comprises first, second and third
adjacent flat sections 22, 24 and ~26 respectively. The
; first flat section 22 has one end adjacent the pivot axis
16. The second flat section 24 extends contiguously from
the~ distal end of the first flat section 22 at an obtuse
,
angle with respect to the first flat section. The third
flat section 26 extends contiguously from the distal end of
; ~ the second flat section at an obtuse angle with respect to
,
the second flat section 24.
The ~bed ~14 also includes a conveyor 28 for
; ~ transporting the material lay~ng on it. The conveyor 28
comprlses a series~of spaced~apart~slats 30 in the form of
angle irons. The slats 30 extend in a direction
substantially pérpendicular to the direction of travel of
the con~eyor 28. The slats 30 are flexibly coupled
together for-example ~by chains (not shown) to form an
endléss loop which encircles and travels around the bed 14.
~n end of the conveyor 28 adjacent the rotary cutter 4 is
engaged by a rotating cylinder 32 which rotates about pivot
axi~s 16. The rotating cylinder 32 is provided with a
plurality of vanes 34 which~project radially from the
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circum~erential surface of the rotating cylinder and extend
across substantiall~ the ful~l width of the rotating
~cylinder 32 and conveyor 28. ~The slats 30 engage between
;~35 adjacent vanes 34 of the conveyor 28 and are formed to have
a height equal to the height of the slats when engaged
hetween adjacent vanes.
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W094/03043 PCT/A~93/00407
21421 1.6
As apparent fro~ Figure 1, the vanes 34 are not
uniformally spaced about the rotàting cylinder 32. A gap
exists betwee~ vanes 34a and 34b; and vanes 34c and 34d to
allow for the engagement o a slat 30 therebetween.
Referring to Figure 2, it can be seen that the
vanes 34 are interrupted by cut-outs 36 which house
sprockets 38. The sprockets engage the chains (not shown)
which form the flexible coupling of the conveyor 28.
; Scrapers (not shown) are situated under the bed 14 to
remove material trapped between the sprockets 38 and the
chains.
The blades 8 are twisted along their length so as
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to divert the material to be cut downwardly and to enable
the blades 8 to make a cut laterally across the material.
A plurality of spaced apart grill bars 40 extend vertically
along the width of the rotary cutter 4 on a side adjacent -~
the conveyor 28 so as t.o space a bale of the material to be
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cut away from the upper parts of the rotary cutter 4. The
grill bars~40 also act to only allow material to be cut to
approach the blades 8 in the area adjacent the conveyor 28.
~ A shutter ~arrangement 42 is located beneath the
rotary cutter 4 to control the length of time that the
material is in contact with the blades 8. The shutter
~ ~ ~ arrangement 42 includes a plurality of shutter plates 44
;~ ~ 2~5 ~ each of which ~is hinged along an edge nearest the rotary
cutter~so`that its angle can be adjusted. By adjusting the
angle~ of the shutter plates 44, the size of opening between~
adjacent shutter~pla~es 44 can be varied~ and consequen~ly
the length of time that the material is in contact with the
blades 8 and therefore the size of the cutter material can
be controlled.~
Material passing through the shutter arrangement
42 fal~ls onto a conveyor bel~ 46 ~refer Figure 2) located
beneath the rotary cuteer~ 4 which transports the cut
material in a direction parallel to the horizontal axis 6.
Tne conveyor belt 46 incluaes a inclined section ~8 which
car~feed the cut material into a storage bln ~owed bv a
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tractor. A plurality of fingers 50 are provided above the
belt 46, 48, directed downwardly and against the direction
of transport of the cut material so as to even our the flow
of the material.
The machine 2 is mounted on a trailer 52 which
comprises the frame 20 and orientated so that the
horizontal axis 6 is parallel to the axis of the trailer
wheels 54. The machine 2 is further housed within a bin 55
carried by the trailer 52. A hale lifter 56 is attached to
the rear of the trailer 52 for lifting bales of material to
be cut and rolling them onto the bed 14. The bale lifter
; ~ ; 56 is of conventlonal constructure.
The machine 2 is~driven by a pulley arrangement
58 which is connected by a propeller shaft 60 to the power
take-off of a tractor (not shown) used for towing the
trailer 52. ~
The operaeion of the machine 2 will now be
descrlbed;
A~bale~of hay 62 lying with its longitudinal axis
~in a horizontal plane is picked up by the bale lifter 56
and ~olled about its longitudinal axis onto the bed 14.
Dri~e is impart~ed~to the cylinder 32 by the pulley
arrangement 5~8 so as ~o rotate the cylinder 32 about axis
16. The ~anes 34~engage slats 30 on the conveyor 28 so~as
2~5~ ~to cause the~conveyor 28 to travel in a continuous loop
about~the bed l4~. ~The movement~ of the conveyor 28 unxolls
the ba~le ~62 and feeds hay to the cutter 4. In order to
control the rate of feeding of~the hay to the cutter 4, the
bed 14~can be~ pivo~ted about axis 16 by actuation of the
hydraulic cylinders 18~. The bed 14 can be pivoted between
a lowest ~position in which the third flat section 26 is
substantially horizontal to a highest position in which the
firs~ ~flat section 22~is subs~antially horizo~tal. In an
termedlate posltion, as shown in Figure 1, the second
3~5 flzt sect~lon~22 is substantially horizontal.
In order to control the length of the hay cut by
the blades 8, the angle of the shutter plates 44 can be
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varied. Varying the angle of the shutter plates 44, varies
the area of the openings between adjacent shutter plates 44
and therefore controls the rate of flow of mate~rial from
'~etween the cutter 4 and the conveyor belt 46. This
effects the amount of time that the material is in contact
with the blades 8 and therefore controls the length of the
cut hay. After passing through the shutter arrangement 42,
the cut hay falls onto the conveyor belt 46, 48 for
transport to a mixer, directly onto the ground, or into a
bin.
Now that an e~bodiment of the present invention
has been described in detail, it will be apparent to those
skilled in the relevant arts, that numerous modifications
and variations may be made without departing from the basic
inventive concepts. For example, the shutter arrangement
42 can be either replaced with other knQWn mechanisms for
controlling the flow of cut material fxom the rotary cutter
4, or alternatively be dispensed with altoge~her. In
add:it1on, the hydraulic cylinders 18 for pivoting the bed
~14 about pivot axls 16 can be replaced with any other
suitable mechanical or electrical arran~ement, for example
~a pneumatic~ piston ~or an electric motor and screw
arrangement. Furehermore, the precise shape of the bed 14
: ~ can be~varied from ~the "spread U-shape" arrangement shown
in Figure 1. For example either one of the first or third
flat s~ections 22, 26 may be made coplanar with the section
flat section 24.
; All ~ such modifications and variations are
,considered within; the scope of the present invention, the
nature of which is to be determined from the foregoing
description and the appended claims.
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