AU2009212910A1

AU2009212910A1 - Sugar Cane Harvester Attachment

Info

Publication number: AU2009212910A1
Application number: AU2009212910A
Authority: AU
Inventors: John Irvin
Original assignee: Jf & Pj Irvin Invest Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Jf & Pj Irvin Investments Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2008-09-02
Filing date: 2009-09-01
Publication date: 2010-03-18

Description

AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT SUGAR CANE HARVESTER ATTACHMENT The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me: SUGAR CANE HARVESTER ATTACHMENT TECHNICAL FIELD 5 The present invention generally relates to mechanical sugar cane harvesters. BACKGROUND 10 The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that the prior art forms part of the common general knowledge. Sugar cane harvesters are used to harvest sugar cane. Figure 1 shows a 15 known harvester 2, manufactured by John DeereTM with a 3510 series model number. The harvester 2 includes a body 4 from which four wheels 6 extend. Sugar cane is planted in rows 8 which are spaced apart to enable the harvester 2 to pass along and harvest a row 8 with the wheels 6 located on either side of that row 8. 20 The harvester 2 further includes a cutter assembly 10 which is rotationally mounted beneath the body 4 and a harvester intake 12 into which cane cut by the cutter assembly 10 is supplied. In use, the harvester 2 passes along each row 8 and the cutting assembly 10 cuts the row 8, one row at a time which can 25 be quite time consuming. Embodiments of the present invention provide a means for improving harvesting time-efficiency.

2 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an attachment for a sugar cane harvester, the attachment including: 5 a chassis for fastening to the harvester; and a cutter assembly including a pair of cane cutters for movably mounting relative to the chassis so that separation between the cutters can be adjusted. The cutters may be adjusted to simultaneously cut multiple rows of sugar 10 cane, and thereby increase the number of rows cut during a single pass of the harvester. The cutter assembly may include: a pair of carriages for slidably attaching to the chassis; 15 a pair of support arms extending from respective carriages; and the pair of cutters mounted to respective support arms. Each cutter may include a disc for rotationally mounting to a respective support arm. Each cutter may further include a plurality of cutting blades for 20 releasably mounting to extend from the disc. In use, the cutter discs may rotate in opposite directions. The attachment may further include a pair of support wheel means extending from respective carriages toward the ground. Each support wheel means may 25 include a support arm, and a wheel rotationally fast with the support arm to engage and roll along the ground. The attachment may further include a pair of elevators for elevating fallen cane. Each elevator includes a threaded shaft rotationally mounted to a 30 respective support arm. The attachment may further include a motor assembly for adjusting the separation between the cutters. The motor assembly may be configured to adjust the separation between a pair of carriages which are slidably attached 3 to the chassis, the cutters being fixedly mounted relative to respective carriages. The motor assembly may further be configured to rotate discs of respective cutters. The motor assembly may further be configured to rotate shafts of elevators. The motor assembly may further be configured to engage 5 the support wheel means with the ground. The motor assembly may include one or more hydraulic or electric motors. The attachment may further include a guide for guiding cane cut by the cutters into an intake of the harvester. 10 The chassis may be elongate and telescopic so that its length can be adjusted. The cutter assembly may further include one or more other cane cutters for 15 movably mounting relative to the chassis. According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an attachment for a sugar cane harvester, the attachment including: a chassis for fastening to the harvester; 20 a pair of carriages for movably attaching to the chassis; a pair of support arms for extending from respective carriages; and a pair of cane cutters for mounting to respective support arms. According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a 25 sugar cane harvester including a cutter assembly, the cutter assembly including a pair of cane cutters which can be movably mounted relative to each other so that separation between the cutters can be adjusted. According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a 30 method for harvesting sugar cane, the method including the steps of: adjusting the separation between a pair of cane cutters of a harvester assembly so that multiple rows of sugar cane can be simultaneously cut.

4 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Preferred features, embodiments and variations of the invention may be discerned from the following Detailed Description which provides sufficient 5 information for those skilled in the art to perform the invention. The Detailed Description is not to be regarded as limiting the scope of the preceding Summary of the Invention in any way. The Detailed Description will make reference to a number of drawings as follows: 10 Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of the front end of a sugar cane harvester; Figure 2 is a schematic plan view of the front end of a sugar cane harvester with an attachment, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, attached there-to ; and 15 Figure 3 is a perspective view of the attachment of Figure 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 20 According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an attachment 20 for attaching to a sugar cane harvester 2 as shown in Figure 2. The attachment 20 includes a chassis 22 which can be fastened to the body 4 of the harvester 2 using bolts or other like fasteners. The attachment 20 further includes a cutter assembly 24. The cutter assembly 24 includes a pair 25 of cane cutters 26 which are movably mounted relative to the chassis 22 so that separation between the cutters 26 can be adjusted. The cutters 26 can be adjusted to simultaneously cut a pair of sugar cane rows 8 during a single pass of the harvester 2. A detailed description of the harvester attachment 20 is provided below. 30 The cutter assembly 24 includes a pair of carriages 28 which are slidably attached to the chassis 22. The chassis 22 is elongate and telescopic so that its length can be adjusted. A pair of support arms 30 extends from respective carriages 28 and the cutters 26 are mounted to respective support arms 30.

5 As can best be seen from Figure 3, each cutter 26 includes a disc for rotationally mounting to the free end of a respective support arm 30. Each cutter 26 further includes a plurality of cutting blades for releasably mounting to extend from the disc. In use, the cutter discs rotate in opposite directions to 5 throw the cut cane toward the harvester intake 12. The attachment 20 further includes a pair of peripheral support wheel means 32 extending from respective carriages 28 toward the ground. Each support wheel means 32 includes a support arm 34, and a wheel 36 rotationally fast 10 with the free end of the support arm 34 to engage and roll along the ground. The attachment 20 further includes a pair of elevators 38 for elevating fallen cane. Each elevator 38 includes a threaded shaft rotationally mounted to a respective support arm 34. 15 As can best be seen in Figure 3, the attachment 20 may further include a guide 40 for guiding cane cut by the cutters 26 into an intake 12 of the harvester 2. The guide may take the form of a plate. The attachment 20 further includes a distributed motor assembly (not shown) 20 for adjusting the separation between the cutters 26. The motor assembly is configured to adjust the separation between the carriages 28 which are slidably attached to the chassis 22. The motor assembly is further configured to rotate the discs of respective cutters 26 and to rotate shafts of the elevators 38. The motor assembly is further configured to engage and disengage the 25 support wheel means 32 with the ground. The motor assembly typically includes hydraulic or electric motors suitably positioned about the attachment 20. A method for harvesting sugar cane using the harvester attachment 20 is now 30 described. Turning to Figure 2, the sugar cane rows 8 can be planted in spaced apart pairs so that the harvester 2 can pass along and harvest a pair of rows 8 with the wheels 6 located on either side of that pair.

6 The separation between the pair of cane cutters 26 can be adjusted to simultaneously cut both rows 8 of the pair as the harvester 2 makes a pass. This adjustment can be performed by simply adjusting the separation between 5 the carriages 28 using the motor assembly. The support wheel means 32 can be engaged with the ground and support the cutters 26 at a fixed distance above the ground during harvesting. The cutters 26 simultaneously cut and throw cane towards the harvester intake 12 10 as the harvester 2 makes a pass. Turning to Figure 2, the left cutter 26 rotates in a clockwise direction whereas the right cutter 26 rotates in an anti-clockwise direction. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that many embodiments and 15 variations can be made without departing from the ambit of the present invention. In the preferred embodiment, the cutters 26 were adjusted so that two cane rows 8 were simultaneously harvested. In an alternative embodiment, the row 20 and cutter spacing may be selected so that three or four rows are simultaneously harvested with a single pass of the harvester 2. In the preferred embodiment, the cutter assembly 24 included a pair of cane cutters 26 movably mounted relative to the chassis 22. In an alternative 25 embodiment, the cutter assembly 24 may further include one or more other cane 26 cutters for also movably mounting relative to the chassis 22. The preferred embodiment related to an attachment 20 for retro-fitting to an existing harvester 2. According to another embodiment of the present 30 invention, there is provided a sugar cane harvester including a cutter assembly that forms part of the harvester. The cutter assembly includes a pair of cane cutters which can be movably mounted relative to each other so that separation between the cutters can be adjusted. The cutter assembly includes 7 carriages which are mounted directly to the harvester body (i.e. and not to a mountable chassis). In compliance with the statute, the invention has been described in language 5 more or less specific to structural or methodical features. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to specific features shown or described since the means herein described comprises preferred forms of putting the invention into effect. The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the proper scope of the appended claims 10 appropriately interpreted by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. An attachment for a sugar cane harvester, the attachment including: a chassis for fastening to the harvester; and a cutter assembly including a pair of cane cutters for movably mounting relative to the chassis so that separation between the cutters can be adjusted.

2. An attachment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cutter assembly includes: a pair of carriages for slidably attaching to the chassis; a pair of support arms extending from respective carriages; and the pair of cutters mounted to respective support arms.

3. An attachment as claimed in claim 2, wherein each cutter includes a disc for rotationally mounting to a respective support arm.

4. An attachment as claimed in claim 3, wherein each cutter further includes a plurality of cutting blades for releasably mounting to extend from the disc, the cutter discs in use rotating in opposite directions.

5. An attachment as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 4, further including a pair of support wheel means extending from respective carriages toward the ground, each support wheel means including a support arm and a wheel rotationally fast with the support arm to engage and roll along the ground.

6. An attachment as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 5, further including a pair of elevators for elevating fallen cane.

7. An attachment as claimed in claim 6, wherein each elevator includes a threaded shaft rotationally mounted to a respective support arm.

8. An attachment as claimed in claim 1, further including a motor assembly for adjusting the separation between the cutters, the motor assembly being configured to adjust the separation between a pair of 9 carriages which are slidably attached to the chassis, the cutters being mounted relative to respective carriages.

9. An attachment as claimed in claim 8, wherein the motor assembly is further configured to rotate discs of respective cutters.

10. An attachment as claimed in claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the motor assembly is further configured to rotate shafts of elevators.

11. An attachment as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the motor assembly is further configured to engage support wheel means with the ground, the motor assembly including one or more hydraulic or electric motors.

12. An attachment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further including a guide for guiding cane cut by the cutters into an intake of the harvester.

13. An attachment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the chassis is elongate and telescopic so that its length can be adjusted.

14. An attachment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further including one or more other cane cutters for movably mounting relative to the chassis.

15. An attachment for a sugar cane harvester, the attachment including: a chassis for fastening to the harvester; a pair of carriages for movably attaching to the chassis; a pair of support arms for extending from respective carriages; and a pair of cane cutters for mounting to respective support arms.

16. An attachment as claimed in claim 15, further including a motor assembly for adjusting the separation between the cutters by adjusting the separation between the carriages which are slidably attached to the chassis 10

17. An attachment as claimed in claim 16, further including: a guide for guiding cane cut by the cutters into an intake of the harvester; and one or more other cane cutters for movably mounting relative to the chassis.

18. A sugar cane harvester including a cutter assembly, the cutter assembly including a pair of cane cutters which can be movably mounted relative to each other so that separation between the cutters can be adjusted.

19. A method for harvesting sugar cane, the method including the steps of: adjusting the separation between a pair of cane cutters of a harvester assembly so that multiple rows of sugar cane can be simultaneously cut.

20. An attachment for a sugar cane harvester substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 1 st day of September 2009 JF & PJ Irvin Investments Pty Ltd by my attorneys Cullens Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys