BE1024820A1 - Feed device for a forage harvester - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a feeder device for a forage harvester with at least one lower rotatable feed roller (2) and at least one upper rotatable feed roller (3) between which a Erntegutmatte can be passed and by means of at least one double-acting hydraulic cylinder (4, 5), the piston (4a, 5a) is controllable in two opposite directions of movement, are clamped against each other with a pressing force to compress the crop mat or press and feed a chopping device of the forage harvester, wherein a first hydraulic circuit (6) is provided for generating the pressing force to an accumulator (7) is connected and can be filled with a predetermined hydraulic pressure, and another hydraulic circuit (8) is provided, which is connected to the or the hydraulic cylinder (4, 5), that it causes a predetermined counterforce against the pressing force.

Description

(30) Priority information:

20/04/2016 DE 102016107360.1 (71) Applicant:

CLAAS SAULGAU GMBH 88348, BAD SAULGAU Germany (72) Inventor:

LOOK Stefan

48231 WARENDORF Germany

WINKLER Martin

89077 ULM

Germany

LEHMANN Martin

78357 MÜHLINGEN Germany

SCHMITT Mathias

78576 EMMINGEN-LIPTINGEN Germany (54) Infeed device for a forage harvester (57) The invention relates to an infeed device for a forage harvester with at least one lower rotatable feed roller (2) and at least one upper rotatable feed roller (3) between which a crop mat can be passed and which means at least one double-acting hydraulic cylinder (4, 5), the piston (4a, 5a) of which can be controlled in two opposite directions of movement, can be clamped against one another with a pressing force in order to compress or press the crop mat and feed a chopping device of the forage harvester, a first hydraulic circuit (6) is provided for generating the pressing force, which is connected to a pressure accumulator (7) and can be filled with a predeterminable hydraulic pressure, and a further hydraulic circuit (8) is provided, which is thus connected to the hydraulic cylinder (s) (4, 5) is connected that it has a predeterminable counterforce against the pressing force.

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Intake device for a forage harvester

The invention relates to a feed device for a field chopper according to the

Preamble of claim 1.

in agriculture, field choppers are used to separate and / or pick up crop material from a field soil, to feed it to a chopping device via a feed device, where the crop material is divided into small pieces. That divided into small pieces, i.e. The chopped, harvested crop is usually ejected onto a transport vehicle by a blower through an ejection manifold and transported away. Additional processing units, such as so-called cracker rollers, can be provided between the chopping device and the blower, which further process the crop. To pick up or to separate the different crops from the field soil, a field chopper can be equipped with various harvesting attachments which convey the respective crops to the intake device of the forage harvester.

The generally common intake devices consist of two or three pairs of rollers, each comprising a lower stationary roller and an upper roller which is arranged so as to be vertically movable, the upper rollers being pressed against the associated lower roller with a force, as a result of which the crop is compressed or compressed and a crop mat is formed . The crop mat is conveyed to the chopping device by rotating rollers, which exert a frictional force on the crop mat due to the pressing force, whereby different cutting lengths can be realized by changing the feed speed. The cutting length can also be influenced by different numbers of knives on the chopping device, in particular a chopping drum, and the speed of the chopping drum.

With the self-propelled forage harvester, there is a profound correlation between the pre-pressing of the crop, the throughput, the utilization limits of the machine and the chopping quality. This is clear

BE2017 / 5266 particularly noticeable when the machine is operating in border areas, e.g. is operated at maximum engine power, minimum or maximum cutting length.

In addition, the various crops, such as corn, grass, GPS, alfalfa, etc., have different influences on the feed and the performance of the self-propelled forage harvester.

In order to be able to reach the throughput and utilization limits of self-propelled forage harvesters, it is generally known for different harvesting conditions to provide different springs for generating the pressing force, both on the front and on the rear feed rollers. This means a big one

Modification effort when changing the harvesting conditions.

The variation of the springs in connection with the necessary forage stroke in turn affects the quality of the chop, the traction on the crop mat, vibrations in the machine and the machine's load limits.

For example, with strong pre-pressing, the traction on the crop is ensured even with a low roller stroke, but at the same time the vibrations in the entire machine increase, the power requirement in the intake increases, and depending on the type of crop, it is still not ensured that the machine can be operated at the utilization limits. With a smaller pre-pressing the

The machine can be operated better at the capacity limits, however, with low throughput or low roller stroke, there may be deficits in terms of chop quality and traction, which can also lead to blockage of the crop in the feeder housing.

In order to optimize the overall performance, the pressing force of the

Adapt the forage harvester to the respective harvesting conditions, for which an exchange of the springs on the intake device is necessary.

So far, when generating the pressing force by springs, only a linear increase in the pressing force could be realized. So that the press force at the maximum roll stroke does not become too great and the pinch is reduced

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Crop mat, only a small pre-pressing force can be achieved with low cushion heights.

From DE 10 2013 004 274 B4, a drawing-in device for a chopping device of a forage harvester is known, in which at least the force of a drawing-in roller directly adjacent to the chopping drum is generated with at least one hydraulic cylinder which is or is articulated directly on the rocker or the rockers of this drawing-in roller , wherein the hydraulic cylinder or cylinders is or are subjected to a constant hydraulic pressure over the entire deflection movement of the feed roller.

The object of the invention is to provide a drawing-in device which enables optimized pre-pressing of the crop.

This object is achieved by the characterizing features of claim 1.

By means of double-acting hydraulic cylinders provided according to the invention

Vibrations of the feed rollers can be damped particularly advantageously via a counterforce on the piston or ring side of the hydraulic cylinder. This increases the comfort when operating the machine.

By means of variably adjustable pressures and / or by using different orifices and / or throttles in the hydraulic circuit, a pull-in device according to the invention can advantageously be adapted to different harvesting conditions; this is particularly advantageous at high pull-in speeds, i.e. with long cutting lengths. In order to adapt a feed device according to the invention to different harvesting conditions, any conversion effort is advantageously dispensed with.

The chopping quality is advantageously improved by an adjustable, defined pre-pressing, especially on the rear intake / pre-compression roller, which can be significantly increased with an intake device according to the invention, particularly in the case of small cushion heights (for example between approximately 25 and 125 mm).

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The pre-pressing of the crop can be adapted even better to the harvesting conditions by the regulation of the pressing force depending on the cushion height according to the invention. It can be provided in a particularly advantageous manner that a feed device according to the invention automatically adapts the required pressing force to different crop and harvesting properties (moisture / ingredients, density), whereby the utilization of the machine is further optimized and a self-propelled forage harvester can be better brought to the utilization limits.

A feeder device according to the invention can advantageously be easily adapted to differently equipped basic machines (e.g. to motors with different maximum outputs), whereby blockages in the feeder can be advantageously avoided, especially with short cutting lengths (slow feed speeds).

With a feed device damped according to the invention, a homogeneous crop flow can be ensured, which enables the machine to be advantageously operated at the optimum. A homogeneous crop flow can advantageously prevent crop flow stalling, particularly with long cut lengths when harvesting grass.

By connecting the hydraulic cylinders to the feed device via so-called metal-rubber bearings, they are decoupled from the feed device and vibrations can be further advantageously reduced.

Due to the arrangement of pressure accumulators according to the invention below the cab of the forage harvester, minimal line lengths to the hydraulic cylinders are possible, which means that the system requires less energy

By generating the pressing force and the damping force in the same component, a simple, space-saving construction is possible and an advantageous direct power transmission is realized.

Further features and advantages result from the subclaims in connection with the description.

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The features of the present invention are explained in more detail below on the basis of an exemplary embodiment. In the schematic drawing shows that

Fig. 1 shows an arrangement of a pair of feed rollers, which the

Chopper drum is directly adjacent, as well as a hydraulic circuit plan.

In Fig. 1, a lower rotatable feed roller 2 and an upper rotatable feed roller 3 of a feed device 1 for a forage harvester are shown schematically, which are directly adjacent to a chopper drum, not shown.

At least one further pair of rollers is arranged upstream of this pair of rollers with regard to the crop flow direction G. It is generally known that the forage harvesters available on the market are generally equipped with two or three pairs of intake rollers, the lower intake rollers being fixed and the upper intake rollers being movably mounted. Accordingly, the lower one

The feed roller 2 is arranged in a stationary manner and rotatable in the direction of rotation shown on the feed device 1. The upper feed roller 3 is rotatably mounted on links 14, 15 which are articulated to the feed device 1. On one side, a drive device 16 is arranged between the upper feed roller 3 and the link 15, so that the link 15 has a larger one

Distance (L + äL) with respect to the vertical center of the feed rollers 2, 3 indicated by a dash-dot line. The larger distance (L + AL) is due to the width of the drive device 16. The other link 14 has a distance L to the vertical center of the feed rollers 2, 3.

A transmission or a motor can be provided as the drive device 16.

The distance h1 between the bearing points 17 of the upper feed roller 3 and the articulated connection of the links 14, 15 is of the same length on both sides. The respective distances h2 and (h2-Ah) between the bearing points of the upper feed roller 3 and articulation points of the piston rods of hydraulic cylinders 4, 5 are of different lengths. Due to the shortened distance (h2-Ah)

BE2017 / 5266 the weight with which the drive device 16 pulls the roller 3 down on the drive side and the longer distance between the drive-side link 15 and the vertical center of the feed rollers 2, 3 can be compensated. Thus, the hydraulic cylinders 4, 5, with which a pressing force is exerted on the feed roller 3, can be constructed identically, and identical forces can be applied to the links 14, 15 on the left and right.

The hydraulic cylinders 4, 5 are double-acting and thus their pistons 4a, 5a can be controlled or moved or driven in two opposite directions of movement. So that the hydraulic cylinders 4, 5 can clamp the upper and lower feed rollers 2, 3 against one another for compressing or pressing crop material with a pressing force, the hydraulic cylinders 4, 5 are articulated to the feed device 1.

The hydraulic cylinders 4, 5 are preferably articulated in a vibration-damping manner on the housing of the feed device 1 via so-called metal-rubber bearings 4b, 5b. As a result, the hydraulic cylinders 4, 5 are decoupled from the feed device 1 by means of a rubber layer of the bearings, and vibrations and vibrations which occur when the crop is pressed and when a crop mat is formed are not applied to the housing of the feed device 1 or to other elements of the basic machine, ie transferred to the forage harvester. After pressing, the feed rollers 2, 3 feed the crop mat to the chopper, preferably a chopper drum, of the forage harvester.

To generate the pressing force, the hydraulic cylinders 4, 5 are connected on a so-called ring side of the pistons 4a, 5a to a first hydraulic circuit 6, which is connected to a pressure accumulator 7 and can be filled with a predeterminable hydraulic pressure. The effective area of the ring side is reduced by the cross-sectional area of the piston rod and the hydraulic pressure applied generates the pressing force via the two ring areas of the pistons 4a, 5a, which is transmitted to the upper feed roller 3 via the levers of the links 14, 15. The translation of the hydraulically generated force caused by the lever lengths of the links 14, 15 is for the invention

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Feed device not relevant. In the present documents, the forces generated by the hydraulic cylinders 4, 5 and the pressing force acting on the feed roller 3 are used synonymously.

A pressure accumulator in the sense of the invention is to be understood as a diaphragm accumulator which is prestressed with gas pressure and which can absorb displaced hydraulic fluid, whereby its gas pressure increases and the hydraulic energy thus stored can be released again.

The larger the pressure accumulator 7 is, the flatter the characteristic of the pressing force, which increases with increasing thickness of the crop mat - also known as the cushion height. This ensures that even with a high starting pressure, the maximum pressing force does not become too great with a full roll stroke.

In order to move the upper feed roller 3 towards the lower feed roller 2 and to compress the crop in between, the piston rods of the hydraulic cylinders 4, 5 must be drawn in with this arrangement. Therefore, the hydraulic cylinders 4, 5 are also referred to as pull cylinders. Of course, the pressing force could alternatively be generated by the piston surface opposite the ring surface. Since the hydraulic cylinders exert a pressing force in this case, they would only have to be aligned differently.

The first hydraulic circuit 8 is preferably connected via two valves 10, 11 connected in series to a hydraulic system CPH, which provides a constant hydraulic pressure. One valve 10 has three connections and two switching positions. In the first switching position, the valve closes the pressure line of the hydraulic system CPH and releases the flow to a line that leads to a tank T. At the opposite connection, the other valve 11 is connected, which has two connections and two switching positions and closes the hydraulic circuit 8 in its basic position. To close the other valve 11 is preferably provided with a spring-loaded check valve which hermetically seals the hydraulic circuit 8. In the other switching position, the valve allows hydraulic fluid to flow through and the hydraulic circuit 6 can

BE2017 / 5266 the first valve 10 to be emptied into the tank line. The pressure in the hydraulic circuit 6 can be reduced in a targeted manner to a predetermined value by a correspondingly brief activation of the flow switch division of the valve 11.

To fill the first hydraulic circuit 6, the valve 11 is preferably brought into its closing division, in which an inflow of hydraulic fluid is possible, but the backflow is blocked. The other valve 10 is then brought into its second switching position for increasing the pressure, in which the tank line is closed and the pressure connection of the hydraulic system CPH is connected to the valve 11 until a predetermined hydraulic pressure is reached. A pressure sensor 12 is arranged in the first hydraulic circuit 6 to measure the actual pressure.

The valves 10, 11 and the pressure sensor 12 preferably cooperate with a control unit 13, which evaluates the signals of the pressure sensor 12 and controls the valve 10 for increasing the pressure and the other valve 11 for reducing the pressure or for emptying accordingly.

The pressure chamber of the hydraulic cylinders 4, 5 opposite the ring side is connected to a further hydraulic circuit 8 and causes a predeterminable counterforce against the pressing force. The further hydraulic circuit 8 is preferably connected to a hydraulic system P of the forage harvester. The hydraulic pressure of the further hydraulic circuit 8, via the surface of the pistons 4a, 5a, causes the predetermined counterforce, which dampens the movements of the piston rods and thus the movements of the upper feed roller 3. The further hydraulic circuit 8 is preferably also connected to a pressure accumulator 9 in order to avoid feedback on the hydraulic system P of the forage harvester. The pressure accumulator 9 is preferably designed so large that it can hold the volume of the hydraulic fluid which is displaced during the maximum stroke of the pistons 4a, 5a. By taking up the displaced hydraulic fluid in the pressure accumulator 9, the system works hydraulically decoupled from the vehicle hydraulics and feedback into the hydraulic circuit of the basic machine or the forage harvester can be avoided.

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Instead of being connected to a hydraulic system P, the second hydraulic circuit 8 could alternatively only be connected to a correspondingly dimensioned pressure accumulator 9. In this case, the pressure accumulator 9 must be designed such that it can hold at least the volume of the hydraulic fluid which is displaced during the maximum stroke of the pistons 4a, 5a.

Regardless of how the further hydraulic circuit 8 is fed (hydraulic system P and / or pressure accumulator 9), the hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic circuit 8 must never be so great that the counterforce becomes greater than the pressing force. This ensures that, even with the greatest possible counterforce and thus the greatest possible damping, there is always enough pressing force to sufficiently compact the crop.

The damping can be influenced by optionally provided orifices and / or throttles 20, 21 which change the flow resistance of the hydraulic fluid in the first and / or further hydraulic circuit 6, 8. The diaphragms and / or throttles 20, 21 can also be designed so that they can be adjusted during operation.

The pressure accumulator or accumulators 7, 9 are preferably arranged in a free space below the driver's cab of the forage harvester. As a result, the limited installation space of a forage harvester is optimally used and, due to the proximity to the feed device 1, minimal line lengths to the hydraulic cylinders 4, 5 can be realized, as a result of which the system operates with fewer energy losses.

Like the pressure accumulators 7, 9, the valves 10, 11 and / or the control device 13 can also be located in a free installation space of the basic machine, i. H. the forage harvester can be accommodated - for example, also below the driver's cabin.

According to an exemplary first mode of operation of the intake device 1 according to the invention, it is provided that the first hydraulic circuit 6 is filled with a predetermined hydraulic pressure before the start of the harvesting process and is no longer changed during the harvesting process. Due to the size of the pressure accumulator 7 and the pressure set during filling, the

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The pre-pressing force and its course are defined or specified and no longer changed during harvesting. The first hydraulic circuit 6 thus remains closed by the valve 11 during the harvesting operation and is thus decoupled from the hydraulic system CRH, as a result of which any feedback of pressure changes caused by the harvesting operation is excluded. Other forage harvester facilities that are also connected to the CRH hydraulic system remain unaffected by harvesting operations.

Hydraulic pressures for various crops and / or harvesting conditions can be stored in the control device 13 or in a machine control and can be set accordingly, for example, via a selector switch.

According to a further exemplary mode of operation, provision is made to adapt the hydraulic pressure in the first hydraulic circuit 6 to the prevailing harvesting conditions during the harvesting process. For this purpose, a control and regulating device can be provided, which changes the hydraulic pressure depending on the type of crop and / or the crop properties and / or the harvesting conditions, e.g. the moisture, and / or Poisterhöhende depending.

At least one sensor for recognizing the different crops and / or the crop properties and / or the harvesting conditions and / or the cushion height can be provided, which is signal-technically connected to an evaluation device which evaluates the sensor signals on the basis of stored characteristic maps and / or characteristic curves and from them derives a value for the hydraulic pressure. The control and regulating device then adjusts the pressure value determined in this way in connection with the control unit 13 to generate the corresponding pressing force in the first hydraulic circuit 6 and adjusts it accordingly when the conditions change.

Hydraulic pre-pressing of the crop on the rear upper feed roller, i.e. on the feed roller - directly adjacent to the chopper drum. However, it is also possible to use the front or

BE2017 / 5266 to provide both front upper feed rollers with a hydraulic pre-pressing according to the invention in a 6-roller feed system.

BE2017 / 5266

Reference symbol list

1 Infeed device 2nd lower feed roller 3rd upper feed roller 4th Hydraulic cylinder 4a piston 4b (Metal-rubber) bearings 5 Hydraulic cylinder 5a piston 5b (Metail rubber) bearings 6 Hydraulic circuit 7 Pressure accumulator 8th Hydraulic circuit 9 Pressure accumulator 10th Valve 11 Valve 12 Pressure sensor 13 Control unit 14 Handlebars 15 Handlebars 16 Drive device 17th Bearing parts 20, 21 Drossek / orifice valve G Direction of crop flow P Hydraulic system T tank CRH Hydraulic system

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Claims (10)

Claims 1. Intake device for a forage harvester with at least one lower rotatable intake roller ( 2) and at least one upper rotatable feed roller (3) between which a crop mat can be passed and 5 which can be clamped against each other with a pressing force by means of at least one double-acting hydraulic cylinder (4, 5), the piston (4a, 5a) of which can be controlled in two opposite directions of movement, in order to compress or press the crop mat and to feed a chopper of the forage harvester, whereby a first hydraulic circuit (6) for the 10 generation of the pressing force is provided, which is connected to a pressure accumulator (7) and can be filled with a predeterminable hydraulic pressure, characterized in that a further hydraulic circuit (8) is provided, which is connected to the hydraulic cylinder (s) (4, 5) is that it causes a predeterminable counterforce against the pressing force. 15 2, feed device according to claim 1, characterized in that the further hydraulic circuit (8), which counteracts the pressing force, is connected to a hydraulic system (P) of the forage harvester and / or to a pressure accumulator (9). 3. Feeder device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that 20 the first hydraulic circuit (8), which generates the pressing force, via two valves (10, 11) and a pressure sensor (12), which cooperate with a control unit (13) and can be filled with the predeterminable hydraulic pressure, one valve (10) for increasing the pressure and the other valve (11) for reducing the pressure and for closing the first hydraulic circuit ( 6) 25 is provided. 4. Feeding device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first hydraulic circuit (8) is closed during the harvesting operation and is thus decoupled from the hydraulic system (CPH). BE2017 / 5266 5. Feeding device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the double-acting hydraulic cylinder (4, 5) is designed as a pull cylinder, the first hydraulic circuit (6) for generating the pressing force being connected to a pressure chamber with an annular surface. 6. Feeding device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the flow in the first and / or further hydraulic circuit (6, 8) can be influenced by orifices and / or throttles (20, 21). 7. Feeding device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one upper feed roller (3) is rotatably mounted on both sides on links (14, 15), which in turn are articulated on the feeder device (1), with on one side between Handlebar (15) and upper feed roller (3) a drive device (16) is arranged and a hydraulic cylinder (4, 5) is articulated on each handlebar (14, 15) to apply the pressing force, the lever arms (h2; h2-uh) are of different lengths. 8. Feeding device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the or the double-acting hydraulic cylinder (4, 5) vibration-damping, in particular by means of metal-rubber bearings (4b, 5b), are connected to the feeder device (1). 9. Feeding device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one sensor is provided for the detection of crops and / or crop properties and a hydraulic pressure can be derived from the sensor signals in an evaluation device from stored maps and / or characteristic curves with which the first hydraulic circuit (6) can be filled to generate the pressing force. 10. Feeding device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pressure accumulators (7, 9) are arranged below the driver's cab of the forage harvester. BE2017 / 5266 BE2017 / 5266 Summary The invention relates to a feed device for a forage harvester with at least one lower rotatable feed roller (2) and at least one upper rotatable feed roller (3) between which a crop mat can be passed and the 5 by means of at least one double-acting hydraulic cylinder (4, 5), the piston (4a, 5a) of which can be controlled in two opposite directions of movement, can be clamped against one another with a pressing force in order to compress or press the crop mat and to feed a chopper device of the forage harvester, whereby a first hydraulic circuit (6) for generating the pressing force 10 is provided, which is connected to a pressure accumulator (7) and can be filled with a predeterminable hydraulic pressure, and a further hydraulic circuit (8) is provided which is connected to the hydraulic cylinder (s) (4, 5) in such a way that it has a predeterminable one Counterforce against the pressing force.