Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02512114 2007-12-14
REEL FOR A CROP HARVESTING DEVICE
Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to a reel for a crop harvesting device with tine
carriers extending
across the width of the reel. The reel carries tines for feeding crop and has
support links for
supporting the tine carrier. The links are fastened to the tine carrier by
link holders.
Background of the Invention
Reels are used in crop harvesting devices, particularly in cutters, to feed
standing crop
material to a cutter bar and a cross-feed device. They have a number of tine
carriers (usually six)
that extend over the width of the crop harvesting device and carry a plurality
of tines. The tine
carriers are rotatably seated at their ends on spiders and are usually
provided with an angle
control. The angle control successively varies the angle of the tine carrier
relative to the spider
as the spider rotates about a central horizontal axis that is transverse to
the direction of travel.
Additional support elements between the spiders enhance the stability of the
tine carriers. In
known reel embodiments, the support elements extend in a star shape from a
central carrier tube
outwards to the tine carriers. Other embodiments also disclose structure in
which adjacent
carrier rods were directly connected to one another by support links, such as
US Patents
2,024,735, US 2,102,709 and US 3,468,109.
For connection between the support element and the tine carrier or the
transverse
elements of the reel interacting with the crop, various embodiments have been
described. In US
Patents 47,338, US 2,024,735, US 2,102,709, US 3,771,299 and US 4,016,710, a U-
shaped
bracket that surrounds the transverse element is used. A clamp that contacts
the transverse
element on three sides is described in US Patent 2,610,460. In all
embodiments, it is necessary
to disassemble the support element for repair. A considerable amount of time
is necessary, since
usually a threaded fastener must be taken off before the bracket or clamp can
be removed.
In US Patent 686,823, connectors between the support element and the center
carrier tube
are furnished with spring elements and automatically engage during assembly.
In US Patent
1,123,949 a bolt serves to fasten the support element to the carrier tube.
These connections
require a flange on the center carrier tube, which, however, is not available
on the tine carrier.
In U.S. Patent 6,978,589, assigned to the assignee of the present application,
a reel
without a central carrier tube is described. The tine carri ers are connected
to one another by
links that form a supporting latticework.
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Summary of the Invention
The present invention provides a reel, without a central carrier tube, that
can easily be
installed and removed.
The link holders are constructed of two support halves. The support halves
accommodate the tine carrier between them and are therefore provided with a
suitable
bearing surface. The support halves are movable with respect to one another,
more
particularly, pivotable or separable from and fixable to one another on the
side facing away
from the link holding section. This movement allows placing them on the tine
carrier or
removing them from it in the opened state. They enclose the tine carrier in
the closed state.
Each of the two support halves has a link holding section. In the assembled
state, the link
surrounds the two link holding sections and fixes them to one another. The
link can connect
the tine carrier to another tine carrier or to a central carrier tube of the
reel, when such a
carrier tube is present. Thus a reel can be put together and disassembled
easily and
preferably even without tools.
It is desirable to lock the link on the link holder. Thus a spring tongue can
be
arranged on one link holding section. The spring tongue engages in a suitable
opening of the
other link section in the assembled state and fixes the axial orientation of
the link.
The link is fixed in the azimuthal direction. Thus protection against rotation
or
twisting about the longitudinal axis of the link is achieved by a noncircular
inside cross
section of the link and a noncircular outside cross section of the link
holding sections. The
cross sections can also be, for example, oval, rectangular, square, hexagonal
or octagonal.
In a preferred embodiment, the tine carriers rotate with respect to the link
holders in
order to adapt the orientation of the fingers to the respective position of
the tine carrier. In
this embodiment, the link holder is secured in the longitudinal direction of
the tine carrier
against displacement. Suitable holders can be jointly fixed to the tine
carrier with adjacent
fingers. If the tine carrier is not supposed to rotate with respect to the
link holders, they can
be fixed to the tine carrier and secured in an arbitrary manner against
rotation.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the link holders each hold only
one
link. With appropriate construction, however, it is possible to combine two
link holders
(leading to the adjacent tine carriers) or three link holders (leading to the
adjacent tine
carriers and to a central carrier tube) in a single link mount. Thus, the
stability of the reel
would be further increased. The link mount could also be constructed of
several bearing
halves or elements which are each held together in the area of their link
holding sections by
the link placed on them.
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Brief Description of the Drawings
Figure 1 discloses a combine with a crop harvesting attachment having a reel;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of a reel according to the invention;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of a first support half of a link holder;
Figure 4 is a perspective view of the first support half of the link holder
with a second
support half positioned on a tine carrier;
Figure 5 is a perspective view of the link holder with a link connected to the
tine
carrier;
Figure 6 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the link holder,
positioned
on the tine carrier; and
Figure 7 is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the link holder,
with an
attached link.
Detailed Description
A combine 10 is shown in Figure 1 and is supported on front driven and rear
steerable
wheels 12 and 14, respectively, and includes an operator's cab 16 from which
it can be
operated by a driver. A grain tank 18 is adjacent the operator's cab 16 at the
rear. An
unloading auger 20 can discharge the grain the tank holds to another
container. A crop
processing unit 25 is mounted on a frame 22, in which the harvested crop is
processed into its
large and small components by a threshing drum 24, a threshing basket 26 and a
turning drum
28. A further separation of the harvested crop is carried out on the adjoining
straw shakers
30, as well as on a preparation base 32 and screens 34. The threshed, clean
grain portion is
conveyed into grain tank 18. The coarse crop material other than grain is
deposited onto the
ground by the straw shakers 30 and the light components are blown to the
ground from
screens 34 by a fan 36. The cut crop material is picked up by a crop
harvesting device 38 and
fed to threshing drum 24 via the feederhouse 40, which is an inclined conveyor
with a stone
trap 42.
In the illustrated embodiment, crop harvesting device 38 is a mower mechanism
having a reciprocating cutter bar 44 at the front edge. The frame 46 of the
crop harvesting
device 38 also supports an auger or screw conveyor 48 with convolutions 50
running around
a central tube. A ree152 is positioned above and in front of the screw
conveyor 48. The reel
52 feeds standing crop material to cutter bar 44 and screw conveyor 48. Reel
52 is connected
to frame 46 at both ends by reel support arms 54 and is driven about its
longitudinal axis by a
mechanical or hydraulic drive unit such that it rotates counterclockwise in
Figure 1.
Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the right end section of ree152, in the
direction
of travel of the combine 10. Reel 52 includes a spider 58 at each end and six
tine carriers 60
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made of cylindrical tubes with a constant outside cross section across their
length. Links 62 are arranged
in a hexagon shape and tines 64 are mounted on tine carriers 60. The spiders
58 are arranged at both ends
of reel 52 and each have six arms 68 extending radially outwards from a hub
66. Tine carriers 60 extend
between the distal ends of arms 68 of the spiders 58 longitudinally across the
entire width of reel 52. The
tine carriers are either one piece or are composed of individual elements
mechanically fastened together.
Tine carriers 60 are rotatably seated on arms 68 and can also rotate with
respect to links 62.
A disk cam 70 is arranged alongside spider 58 on the right side of reel 52,
with its axis of rotation
arranged eccentrically to the axis of hub 66. Tine carriers 60 are connected
by control levers 72 acting as
crank drives, to adjacent corners of disk cam 70. In operation, hub 66 and
arms 68 of spider 58 are
rotated by a motor 74. Tine carriers 60 thus carry out a rotational motion
with respect to arms 68, so that
the tines 64 are oriented approximately downwards over the entire rotational
range of reel 52, as
illustrated in Figure 2. Thus crop material is fed to cutter bar 44 and screw
conveyor 48.
Reel 52 is free of supporting elements in the interior between tine carriers
60. The hubs 66 of
spiders 58 are not connected by a center carrier tube extending over the width
of reel 52 or similar
supporting retaining elements extending across the width, such as thin links
or the like. The resultant free
space has the advantage that the reel 52 of the present invention is lighter
than embodiments furnished
with a center carrier tube and that the view through the crop harvesting
device 38 is not obstructed by the
center carrier tube. The operator in cab 16 thus has a good view of cutter bar
44 and the area in front of
crop harvesting device 38 during harvesting operation and through the raised
reel 52 during
transportation.
Links 62 are provided to reinforce reel 52, which can have a width of 6 m or
more (e.g., 9 m)
with the necessary stability. Links 62 only connect adjacent tine carriers 60
and constitute a honeycomb
shape. Apart from links 62 and spiders 58, no other cross elements supporting
tine carriers 60 are
provided. Links 62 and tine carriers 60 form a latticework. The connection
between links 62 and tine
carriers 60 enables the tine carriers 60 to rotate about their longitudinal
axes, while all other motion is
restricted. Links 62 are distributed at suitable intervals across the width of
reel 52.
Referring to Figure 2, each link 62 is connected by two terminal link holders
76 to tine carriers
60. On each tine carrier 60, one link holder 76 is pointing to the preceding
tine carrier 60 and the adjacent
link holder is pointing to the trailing link carrier 60 and are arranged
alternately on the left and the right or
vice versa. Link holders 76 which enclose tine carriers 60 have a circular
inside cross section and thus
allow the above-described rotation of tine carriers 60. To prevent lateral
displacement of link holders 76
on tine carriers 60, link holders 76 are fixed in place in the longitudinal
direction of tine carriers 60.
Annular holders 78, each fastened to tine carrier 60 by a tine 64, abut the
outside lateral face of the
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link holders 76 that is not in contact with a second link holder 76.
Alternatively or
additionally, annular holders 78 could reach under suitable undercuts on link
holders 76.
A first embodiment of a link holder 76 is illustrated in Figures 3-5. Each
link holder
includes a first support half 80 and a second support half 82, which jointly
hold the end of
link 60. The two support halves 80, 82 are fastened together by a hinge pin
84.
Each support halve 80, 82 includes a bearing section 86 having an inside
semicircular
bearing surface and opposing parallel ends 92. On one side of bearing section
86, five hinge
projections 88 extend radially out from the semicircular bearing surface.
Holes 90 in hinge
projections 88 are coaxial and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the
bearing surface. On the
opposite side of bearing section 86, there is a link holding section 94
extending radially to the
semicircular bearing surface. Link holding section 94 includes an essentially
semicircular
flange 96. Each bearing half 80, 82 is preferably made of a hard, impact-
resistant material
which guarantees a long surface life of the bearing even without lubrication.
A polyamide,
such as Zytel ST 801 was successfully used.
The offset of hinge projections 88 and the arrangement of holes 90 for hinge
pin 84
are designed such that the bearing surfaces oppose and face one another when
two support
halves 80, 82 are put together, in which case the two bearing halves 80,82 fit
together and
hinge pin 84 can be inserted into hole 90, so that support halves 80, 82 are
rotatably fitted
together. The hinge includes hingepin 84 and holes 90. The joined bearing
surfaces define
an approximately cylindrical opening for tine carrier 60. The fit-together
support halves 80,
82 are preferably identical to one another. It is conceivable to use a
coupling other than
hingepin 84 to couple support halves 80, 82 pivotably together. Thus it would
be conceivable
to cast the two support halves 80, 82 as a single component with a one-part
flexible hinge.
The pivotable seat of the two support halves 80, 82 can be opened, positioned
on tine
carrier 60 and closed. Link holding section 94 of each support half 80, 82 is
symmetrical
about an axis running perpendicular to the bearing surface.
When support halves 80, 82 are joined together, link holding sections 94 form
a
cylindrical socket that is surrounded by one end of hollow cylindrical link
62. Support halves
80, 82 are fixed together by link 62 surrounding link holding sections 94. The
two tine
carriers 60 connected by link 62 prevent link 62 from slipping off link
holding sections 94.
Alternatively, link holding sections 94 on the link can be locked together by
a pin that
penetrates suitable holes in link 62 and link holding sections 94 (not shown),
or by a flexible
element on one or both link holding sections 94 that is under initial outward
tension. The
flexible element is arranged in an opening in the side wall of link 62 in the
assembled state,
corresponding to the embodiment shown in Figures 6 and 7.
Figures 6 and 7 show a second embodiment of a link holder 76 with a link 62
mounted thereon. Elements congruent with the first embodiment are marked with
the same
reference numbers. The second embodiment differs from the first in that the
inside and
CA 02512114 2007-12-14
outside cross section of link 62 is rectangular or square. The cross section
of the link holding
sections 94 is correspondingly rectangular. Thus, undesired twisting or
rotational motion
between link holder 76 and link 62 is avoided.
Moreover, a snap-in connection between one support half 82 and link 62 is
provided.
Link holding section 94 of support half 82 is provided with a springy tongue
98, cast or
injection-molded on in one piece, which protrudes out from link holding
section 94 so long as it
is not pushed down. Tongue 98 has a ramp rising from outside to inside, i.e.,
towards tine carrier
60, while its side facing away from tine carrier 60 rapidly declines. Link 62
has an opening 100,
into which tongue 98 extends when link 62 has reached its desired position
relative to link holder
76. By pressing tongue 98 down, link 62 can be removed from link holder 76. It
would of
course be conceivable to furnish second support half 80 with a tongue 98 as
well, which engages
in a second opening in the wall of link 62 opposite from opening 100.
The link holders 76 as described are thus initially placed with one support
half 80 on a
tine carrier 60. The link holder 76 is closed by pivoting the hinge joint
about hinge pin 84. Link
62 is slipped onto link holding sections 94, with the end face of link 62
coming into contact with
the ramp of tongue 98 and pressing tongue 98 progressively inwards, i.e.,
towards link holding
section 94 of the other support half 80. Once tongue 98 reaches opening 100,
it automatically
springs outwards and locks link 62 to link holder 76. For disassembly, tongue
98 is pressed
inwards by hand or with a tool, so that link 62 can then be removed.
Subsequently the support
halves of link holder 76 can be pivoted apart. Thus, according to the present
invention, reel 52
permits easy installation and removal of links 62.
Having described the illustrated embodiments, it will become apparent that
various
modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as
defined in the
accompanying claims.
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