AU2020245407A1

AU2020245407A1 - A sugarcane harvester with improved extractor fan assembly

Info

Publication number: AU2020245407A1
Application number: AU2020245407A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Kaushik Anilbhai DAMANI; Hasmukh Gatorbhai GOHIL
Original assignee: Tirth Agro Technology Pvt Ltd
Current assignee: Tirth Agro Technology Pvt Ltd
Priority date: 2019-03-26
Filing date: 2020-03-17
Publication date: 2021-11-04
Also published as: WO2020194330A1; MX2021011561A; BR112021018843A2; CN113727599A; CN113727599B

Abstract

The present invention relates to a sugarcane harvester and more particularly it relates to a sugarcane harvester with an improved extractor fan assembly. An improved extractor fan assembly comprises a central metallic hub (25), a top hub (27), a hemispherical shaped bottom hub (23), a hub adapter (29), and aerofoil designed fan blades (31). In order to revive the dead zone, a hemispherical shaped bottom hub (23) is added to hub assembly. The fan efficiency is increased by adding the hemispherical shaped bottom hub (23) such that the same amount of air can be moved at a slower fan RPM which in turn nullifies the dead zone effect by decreasing the dead zone to a point; however, the largest percentage of leaf and extraneous trash is removed while it is moving through the outer‐most high‐speed annular ring of air.

Description

A Sugarcane Harvester with Improved Extractor Fan Assembly

Field of invention The present invention relates to a sugarcane harvester and more particularly it relates to a sugarcane harvester with an improved extractor fan assembly.

Background of invention

There are several types of sugar cane harvesters are on field which harvest the growing sugarcane stalks by cutting the cane at its base, and then transferring the cut sugarcane to a collector vehicle such as a cane wagon or cane cart. The sugarcane harvester may include different types of harvesting devices. The harvesting devices for a sugarcane harvester can include assemblies for cutting, chopping, sorting, transporting, and gathering and processing sugarcane plants. Generally, the harvesting devices include crop divider assembly, knockdown roller assembly, base cutter assembly, feed rollers, cutting drums, extractor fan assembly and so on.

For dynamic crop harvesting, a harvester may move along a field with abovementioned harvesting devices, where the harvesting devices perform collecting and processing of material from rows of crop plants. The extractor fan assembly works as an airflow device to generate a flow of air to separate the extraneous matter, such as leaves and dirt from the chopped sugarcane, and expel it from the flow of chopped cane. Furthermore, conventional extractor fan assembly had implemented several designs of fan. Some had small hubs with long blades and others had large hubs with short blades. In either case, a dead zone area exists directly below the hub such that the area in the cleaning chamber directly below the hub has little air movement. Due to this limited air movement below the hub, trashes get accumulated in that particular area and may lead to jam the parts of that area which in turn affect the function of extractor fan and requires frequent maintenance. The dead zone area can be quite a bit larger than the actual hub diameter in some cases. Where a multitude of fans attach to a small hub, an over-lapping or almost over-lapping of blades occurs. Very little air movement occurs in this over-lapped area and little if any extraneous matter is withdrawn through this area.

Various prior arts have been disclosed describing the extractor fan assembly of sugarcane harvester. The prior art document US9119346B2 describing about a fan powered extractor system for sugarcane harvester which utilizes a rotary extractor screen, that moves through the airflow path such that the air flows through the screen to collect airborne leaves and other crop residue and carries them from the airflow and deposits them on the ground beside or behind the harvester or on another receiver without passing through the fan.

The another prior art document US4677813A describing a sugar cane harvester in which chopped crop is conveyed from a chopping mechanism to a cleaning mechanism. The cleaning mechanism includes an extractor fan positioned in an upper portion of a cleaning cylinder and a substantially unobstructed air intake surrounding the periphery of the cleaning cylinder. The air intake draws air in a generally downward direction through the air intake and into the cleaning cylinder, and upwardly through a substantial portion of the crop after the crop exits from the chopping mechanism.

Moreover, the further prior art document WO2018/064723A1 describing about a cleaning system for sugar cane harvester, having blower system, extraction system, separation system and conveyor system. The blower system preferably directs a stream of air towards the separation system and the separation system is preferably configured to receive harvested material in the stream of air and separate an extraneous portion of that material to the extraction system and a desirable portion of that material to the conveyor system.

However, abovementioned conventional extractor fan assemblies of sugarcane harvester are complex in nature and do not apparently describe about the elimination of dead zone area which creates trash accumulation around fan hub structure. Further, the blade design of traditional extractor fan is not promising about effective trash exit. Also, there is a structural deficiency with regard to retaining lighter cane which can be easily thrown outside of the cleaning chamber. The aforesaid conventional extractor fan assemblies encounter various problems which lead to affect the performance of the extractor fan, which in turn affect the overall efficiency and outcomes of the sugarcane harvester. Hence, there is a significant need for inventing a sugarcane harvester with an improved extractor fan assembly having unique design to nullify the dead zone effect, provide effective trash exit, retains lighter cane, save fuel and perform at lower revolutions per minute with greater cubic feet per minute ratings. Object of Invention

The main object of the present invention is to overcome the problem associated with conventional extractor fan assembly of sugarcane harvester by providing an improved extractor fan assembly for proper trash removing at endpoint.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved extractor fan assembly to nullify the dead zone effect by decreasing the dead zone to a point.

Further object of the present invention is to provide an improved extractor fan assembly to remove largest percentage of leaf and extraneous trash. Yet, the further object of present invention is to provide an improved extractor fan assembly to retain lighter sugarcane billets.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved extractor fan assembly to save fuel and perform at lower revolutions per minute with greater cubic feet per minute ratings.

Summary of invention The present invention relates to a sugarcane harvester and more particularly it relates to a sugarcane harvester with an improved extractor fan assembly. An improved extractor fan assembly comprises a central metallic hub, a dome-shaped top hub being secured at the top of the central metallic hub through a hub adapter, and a fastening means, a hemispherical shaped bottom hub being secured at bottom of the central metallic hub through the hub adapter, and the fastening means, and a plurality of aerofoil designed fan blades being secured through a plurality of a fastening means with and being radially extended with respect to the central metallic hub. In order to revive the dead zone, a hemispherical shaped bottom hub is added to the fan hub. The fan efficiency is increased by adding the hemispherical shaped bottom hub such that the same amount of air can be moved at a slower fan RPM which in turn nullifies the dead zone effect by decreasing the dead zone to a point; however, the largest percentage of leaf and extraneous trash is removed while it is moving through the outer-most high-speed annular ring of air.

The extractor fan assembly of present invention provides multifold benefits to the end users which are described in the following pages of specification.

Brief description of drawings Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a sugarcane harvester according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 illustrates a cleaning chamber of sugarcane harvester according to the present invention.

Fig. 3 illustrates an exploded view of an extractor fan assembly of sugarcane harvester according to the present invention.

Fig. 4 illustrates the constructional features of top and bottom hub of an extractor fan assembly of sugarcane harvester according to the present invention.

Fig. 5a illustrates an enlarged top view of an extractor fan assembly of sugarcane harvester according to the present invention. Fig. 5b illustrates an enlarged front view of an extractor fan assembly of sugarcane harvester according to the present invention.

Detailed Description of Invention

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompany drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiment, as depicted in different figures as described above and of being practiced or carried out in a variety of ways. It is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

It is to be also understood that the term "comprises" and grammatical equivalents thereof are used herein to mean that other components, ingredients, steps, etc. are optionally present. For example, an article "comprising" (or "which comprises") components A, B, and C can consist of (i.e., contain only) components A, B, and C, or can contain not only components A, B, and C but also contain one or more other components.

The present invention discloses a sugarcane harvester with an improved extractor fan assembly. Now, according to the present invention, the sugarcane harvester particularly relates with improving the functional overview of the extractor fan assembly as shown in accompanying drawings. In Fig.l, a sugarcane harvester is shown which comprising a topper assembly (10) to cut leafy materials of sugarcane stalks, a gathering area (11), a crop divider assembly (12) for lifting and straddling a row of sugarcane stalks, a modular knock down roller (not shown) and finned roller (not shown) to assist in aligning the plants for feed into the throat of harvester, a pair of basecutter (13) to cut the sugarcane stalks from the field, a frame section (14a, 14b), a feeding area (15) including a feed roll system to move the cut sugarcane stalks further in a rear upward direction without spoiling or crushing the cane, a chopping system or chopper drum (19) to cut the sugarcane stalks into small pieces in the form of billets, an improved cleaning chamber (16) having an extractor fan assembly (39) viz. primary extractor fan to remove dirt and extraneous material from the billets by blowing air on to the billets, an elevator system (17) including a secondary extractor fan to remove the remaining loose materials as the cane falls from the end of the transport, an operator cabin (18) to operate and control the harvester machine, a pair of hydraulic cylinders (21), and a discharge area (22) to discharge the harvested sugarcane stalk billets.

The sugarcane harvester of the present invention uses airflow devices inside the cleaning chamber (16) to generate a flow of air to separate the extraneous matter, such as leaves and dirt from the chopped sugarcane, and expel it from the flow of chopped cane. This separation occurs in the cleaning chamber (16). Referring to Fig. 2, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, said cleaning chamber (16) comprising the extractor fan assembly (39) having an axial flow fan, referred to as an extractor or the air generating device to remove dirt and extraneous matter, a cylindrical barrel (32) mounted on the extractor fan assembly (39), and an axial piston motor

(33) being partially or fully received within the cylindrical barrel (32), and drivably connected to the extractor fan assembly (39).

The present invention further discloses an arrangement of the plurality of deflector vanes or louvers (36) partially extended inwardly from the inner wall of the cleaning chamber (16) as shown in Fig. 2. The deflector vanes (36) are used for separating chopped leaves and debris from billet canes and flows through the deflection surface facing the feed stream to the cleaning chamber (16). As part of the feed stream is carried by an air flow within the cleaning chamber (16), the guide surface of the deflector vane (36) deflects a part of the feed stream away from the outlet. Furthermore, said deflector vanes (36) having a supporting fin (37) which retain the lighter canes into the cleaning chamber (16) and not allow to get streamed with trash, thus minimising cane loss through the extractor annular discharge area (22).

The detailed view of the extractor fan assembly (39) is shown in Figs. 3 & 4. As shown in Figs. 3 & 4, the extractor fan assembly (39) comprises a central metallic hub (25), a dome-shaped top hub (27) being secured upon the central metallic hub (25) through a hub adapter (29), and a fastening means i.e. a bolt (28) and a nut (24), a hemispherical shaped bottom hub (23) being secured below the central metallic hub (25) through the hub adapter (29), and the fastening means i.e. the bolt (28) and the nut (24), and a plurality of fan blades (31) being secured through a fastening means i.e. a plurality of cap screws (26, 30) with, and being radially extended with respect to the central metallic hub (25). The central metallic hub (25) is associated with a motor tapered shaft (not shown) and the hub adapter (29). The central metallic hub (25) is coupled with the top hub (27) made of polyethylene material and the bottom hub (23) made of same polyethylene material.

In order to revive the dead zone, the hemispherical shaped bottom hub (23) is added to the fan hub as shown in figure. Due to the hemispherical shape of the bottom hub (23), the fan efficiency is increased such that the same amount of air can be moved at a slower fan RPM, which in turn nullifies the dead zone effect by decreasing the dead zone to a point; however, the largest percentage of leaf and extraneous trash is removed while it is moving through the outer-most high-speed annular ring of air.

Moreover, the fan blades (31) are an aerofoil designed blades. The aerofoil designed blades (31) have been developed, and the critical key points at which an effort has been made are i) leading edge curve; ii) trash exiting curve; and iii) exhausting flare curve. These aforesaid three points create the unique design proven to save fuel and perform at lower revolutions per minute with greater cubic feet per minute ratings. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the constructional features of top and bottom hub of the extractor fan assembly (39) are shown in Fig. 4. The top plastic hub (27) is bolted at an upper flange section (34) of the central metallic hub (25). An inner PCD (38) at the central metallic hub (25) is bolted with the hub adapter (29) and the motor shaft (not shown). A plate (35) extending inward possess the bottom plastic hood (23) to assemble at central metallic hub (25).

The top and front views of the extractor fan assembly (39) are shown in Figs. 5a & 5b, respectively. The extractor fan assembly (39) is mounted above the flow of chopped material and the unwanted material passes through the fan itself. The shape of the cleaning chamber (16) is round to match the shape of the extractor fan assembly (39). The material to be separated is introduced into the cleaning chamber (16) from one side and usually within two feet of the extractor fan assembly (39). At this distance from the extractor fan, the air velocity is highest at the tips of the blades with ever-decreasing velocity towards centre of the fan. However, by the arrangement of hemispherical shaped bottom hub (23), the air flow is uniformly distributed within the cleaning chamber (16) that nullifying the dead zone so that the extraneous matters are effectively disposed from the cleaning chamber (16). Most of the extraneous matter is removed as it travels through the highest velocity areas. This occurs when the material enters the cleaning chamber (16) and again when it reaches the far side of the cleaning chamber (16). The invention has been explained in relation to specific embodiment. It is inferred that the foregoing description is only illustrative of the present invention and it is not intended that the invention be limited or restrictive thereto. Many other specific embodiments of the present invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art from the foregoing disclosure. All substitution, alterations and modification of the present invention which come within the scope of the following claims are to which the present invention is readily susceptible without departing from the spirit of the invention. The scope of the invention should therefore be determined not with reference to the above description but should be determined with reference to appended claims along with full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

List of Reference Numerals

10 topper assembly

11 gathering area

12 crop divider assembly

13 basecutter

14a, 14b frame section

15 feeding area

16 cleaning chamber

17 elevator

18 operator cabin

19 chopper drum

21 hydraulic cylinders

22 discharge area

39 extractor fan assembly

23 hemispherical shaped bottom hub

24 nut

25 central metallic hub

27 top hub

26, 28, 30 cap screws

29 hub adapter

31 fan blades

32 cylindrical barrel

33 axial piston motor upper flange section plates

deflector vanes or louvers supporting fins inner PCD

Claims

We Claim:

1. A sugarcane harvester with improved extractor fan assembly, comprising: a topper assembly (10) to cut leafy materials of sugarcane stalks;

a crop divider assembly (12) for lifting and straddling a row of sugarcane stalks;

a modular knock down roller and finned roller to assist in aligning the plants for feed into the throat of harvester;

a pair of basecutter (13) to cut the sugarcane stalks from the field;

a feeding area (15) including a feed roll system to move the cut sugarcane stalks further in a rear upward direction without spoiling or crushing the cane;

a chopping system or chopper drum (19) to cut the sugarcane stalks into small pieces in the form of billets;

a cleaning chamber (16) to separate the extraneous matter, leaves and dirt from the chopped sugarcane by blowing air on to the billets;

an elevator system (17) including a secondary extractor fan to remove the remaining loose materials as the cane falls from the end of the transport; an operator cabin (18) to operate and control the harvester machine; and a discharge area (22) to discharge the harvested sugarcane stalk billets, said cleaning chamber (16) having an extractor fan assembly (39) to remove dirt and extraneous material from the billets, a cylindrical barrel (32) mounted on the extractor fan assembly (39), and an axial piston motor (33) being partially or fully received within the cylindrical barrel (32) and drivably connected to the extractor fan assembly (39),

characterized in that,

said extractor fan assembly (39) includes a central metallic hub (25); a dome- shaped top hub (27) being secured upon the central metallic hub (25) through a hub adapter (29), and a fastening means (24, 28); a hemispherical shaped bottom hub (23) being secured below the central metallic hub (25) through the hub adapter (29), and the fastening means (24, 28); and a plurality of fan blades (31) being secured through a fastening means (26, 30) with, and being radially extended with respect to the central metallic hub (25).

2. The sugarcane harvester with improved extractor fan assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cleaning chamber (16) having a plurality of deflector vanes (36) partially extended inwardly from the inner wall of the cleaning chamber (16).

3. The sugarcane harvester with improved extractor fan assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the deflector vanes (36) having a supporting fin (37) which retain the lighter canes into the cleaning chamber (16) and not allow to get streamed with trash, and minimising cane loss through the extractor annular discharge area (22).

4. The sugarcane harvester with improved extractor fan assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dome-shaped top hub (27) is made up of polyethylene material.

5. The sugarcane harvester with improved extractor fan assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hemispherical shaped bottom hub (23) is made up of polyethylene material.

6. The sugarcane harvester with improved extractor fan assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fan blades (31) are an aerofoil designed blades to save fuel and perform at lower revolutions per minute with greater cubic feet per minute ratings.