CA1036369A - Raking machines - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract of the Disclosure A machine for raking crop lying on the ground is disclosed, such machine being of the kind comprising at least one rake member that is rotatable about an upwardly extending axis. In the machine at least two crop guide members for the formation of a swath or windrow of crop are provided, a first one of those crop guide members being located outside the working width of the rake member whilst a second one of those crop guide members is located wholly or partly within said working width.

Description

~03636g This invention relates to machines for raking crop lying on the ground.
According to the invention, there is provided a haymaking machine comprising a frame and at least one tined rake member arranged to be rotatable :
about an upwardly extending axis and provided with outwardly directed tines arranged in rearwardly trailing positions with respect to the intended direc-tion of rotation of the rake member, which positions are substantially fixed relative to the other parts of the rake member, a irst swath beard located at a lateral side of the rake member and extending substantially parallel to the intended direction of operative travel of the machine, and a second swath board so disposed that at least a major portion thereof is located rearwardly of the rake member with respect to said direction with its leading edge spaced from the circumference of the rake member by a distance which is such that the second swath board is capable of directly receiving crop shed from the tines of the rake member when the machine is in use, said second swath board extending substantially radially with respect to the axis of rotation of the rake member, as seen in plan view, in convergent relationship with said first swath board in a direction opposlte to thc intended direction of operative travel o the machine.
For a better understanding of the invention, and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Figure 1 is a plan view of part of a machine in accordance with the invention and Figure 2 is schematic elevation as seen in the direction indicated by an arrow II in Figure 1.
Figures 1 and 2 illustrate a raking machine having a frame 190 in which a single rake member 226 is mounted so as to be rotatable about a substantially vertical axis 192 that is actually so disposed that an upper region thereof is further advanced with respect to the intended direction of operative travel P of the machine than is a lower region thereof. However, the axis 192 may be very nearly truly vertically disposed in accordance with the particular construction that is ~

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10363~9 adopted for the rake member 226 and the nature of the hay or other crop that is to be dealt with. ~he frame 190 has a coupling member or trestle 193 of substantially inverted U-shaped con~iguration at its front with respect to the direction P, said coupling member or trestle 193 incorporating lower substantially horizontal-ly aligned fastening means 194 and upper fastening means 195 for connection to the lower and upper links, respeo-tively, of the three-point lifting device or hitch of a tractor. ~ubular beams 196 converge rearwardly with respect to the direction P from the top of the coup-ling member or trestle 193 as seen in the plan view of ~igure 1 and have their rea~most ends secured to the top of a gear box 197. As seen in ~igure 1 of the drawings, the coupling member or trestle 193 and the two beams 196 define a truncated substantially isosceles triangle whose base is foremost with respect to the direction P and substantially perpendicular to thQt dire¢tion. Rotary drive is transmitted to the rake member 191 from the gear box 197 which has a forwardly projecting rotar~ input 197A whose leading ded B splined or otherwise keyed end is ~n~enae to be placed in driven co~nection with the power take-off shaft of the operating tractor or other vehicle to whose three-point lifting device Qr hitch the coupling U5~
member or trestle is connected in the~e of the machine by way of an intermediate telescopic transmission shaft of known construction having universal joints at its opposite ends. A tubular tie beam 198 has its leading . ~ . . . .. . .
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end with respect to the direction P secured to the top of the coupling member or trestle 193 adjacent to the fastening means 195 and said means extends down-wardly and rearwardly with respect to the direction P :
to have its rearmost end also secured to the top oi the gear box 197. It will be noted that, as seen in ~igure 1 of the drawings, the beam 198 coincides with a bisector of the apex angle of the previously mentioned truncated trian~le that is afforded b~ the parts 193 and 196.
A beam 199 that extends substantially horizon-tally perpendicular to the direction P has a central region secured to the top of the ge~r box 197 and also to the rear ends of the tubular beams 196 and 198. ~he length of the beam 199 i8 slightly greater than the dia-meter of the rake member 226 and its opposite e~ds, that project laterally beyond the rake member~226, are bent over forwardly through substantiall~ 90 to merge into tubular wing beam~ 200 that both extend forwardl~ from the beam 199 in substantially parallel relationship with the direction P. The leading ends of the two wing beams 200 are each bent over through less than 90 to form tubular supports 201 that converge forwardly with respect to the direction P and that have their leading ends fastened to lower regions of the coupling member or trestle 193 close to the fastening means 194. The parts 199, 200 and 201 can be formed integrally by suitably shaping a single tubular beam and it will be apparent from ~igure 1 of the drawings that, together, ~;, . ; :

~()36~69 the~ afford protective brackets that lie above the rake member 226 and shield that rake member ~rom con-tact with personnel, upright obstacles and so on.
~ he axis of rotation 192 is also the longitu-dinal axis of a stationar~ upright shaft whose lower end has a pair of horizontall~ aligned ground wheels 202 indirectly connected to it. ~he two ground wheels 202 are ~ubstantially symmetrical with respect to a vertical plane that extends in the direction P and that contains the axis 192. ~he mou~ting of the ground wheels 202 is, however, such that their points of contact with the ground surface are disposed in front of a vertical plane that is perpendicular to the direction P and that contains the point of i~tersection of the axis 192 with the ground surface. ~he ground wheels 202 are upwardly and dow~wardly adjustable re-lative to the frame 190 in a manner which ma~ be known per se and which is not illustrated in the drawing~
but it is noted that this ad~ustability enable~ the inclination o~ the rake member 226 to the ground sur-face to be adjusted to, and maintained in, a desired setting. The left-hand wing beam 200 with respect to the direction P serves also as a support for a swath board 227 that is located at the left-hand side of the rake member 226. The left-hand end of the transverse beam 199 also serves, in this embodiment, as a support for a second swath board 228. lhe rake member 226 has a hub (not visible) that is rotatable about the axis 192 and from which a pluralit~, such as eight, of spokes 229 extend out-^:

-wardly at regular angular intervals around said axisand in radial directions as viewed lengthwise of that axis (Figure 1). ~he inner ends of the spokes 229 are rigidly secured to the hub that has just been ment- :
ioned whilst the outer ends thereof rigidlg support a ring 168 from which the upper edge of a flexible wall 34 is suspended, said wall being provided with a pluralit~ of group~ of tine~ which are not actually il-lustrated in the ~igures 1 and 2 but whose presence is denoted in the former Figure bg a broken line which inaicates the circular figure traced by the free ends or tips of the tines.
~ tubular shaft 230 is pivotally connected by bearing brackets to the left-hand tubular support 201 and to the left-hand end of the transverse beam 199 in such ~ way that ~aid tubular support 230 extends sub-stantially horizontally parallel to the left-hand wing beam 200. As viewed in plan (~igure 1), the longitudin-al axis of the shaft 230 intersects the circular tine tip path (shown bg a broken line and mentioned above) at two;points that are both close to the left-h~nd side of the rake member 226. ~wo supports 231 and 232 have their ends secured to the shaft 230 near the leading end of that shaft and towards the rearmost end thereof, respectively, said supports 231 and 232 both extending perpendicular to the shaft 230 in relativelg parallel relationship. When the machine is employed with the swath board 227 in an operative position, the supports 231 and 232 are substantially horizontally disposed , - . . . . :
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and extend laterally from the frP~e 190 and outwards away from the rake member 226. ~he support~ 231 and 232 are provided with corresponding stops 233 and 234 which can bear downwardly on the underlying left-hand wing beam 200. ~he stops 233 and 234 incorporate ~et bolts 235 and 236 respectively and these set bolts can be adjusted to alter the angular positions of the supports 231 and 232 that exist when the stops 233 and 234 come into contact with the wing beam 200.
lhe ends of the tubular su~ports 231 and 232 that are remote from the shaft 230 are bent over down-wardly through substantially 90 to form holders 237 and 238 whose upright lengths are equal to substantially 70h of the lengths of the supports 231 and 232 themselves.
~he holders 237 and 238 are interconnected, near their upper ends and at their lower ends, by substantially horizontally disposed tubular tie beams 239 and 240, the upper beam 239 being prolonged forwardl~ in ~ront of the holder 237 with respect to the direction P to form a leading beam 241 that is bent over downwardly through substantially 110. ~he lower end of the down-wardly bent over leading beam 241 is secured to the front end of an axially forward extension of the lower tie beam 240. A shoe or skid 242 projects .:downwardly from the lowermost end of the leading beam 241 and is curYed rearwardly with respect to the direction P so as to extend parallel to the tie beam 240 for sliding contact with the crop and/or with the ground surface.
~he beams 239 and 240 are also extended . - :

10363~j9 behind the holder 238 with respect to the direction P, the open rear ends of the tubular beams 239 and 240 receiving helical compression springs 243 and 244 respectivel~ whose interual ends bear against plugs that are not illustrated in the drawings. Upper ~nd lower pins 245 and 246 are entered telescopically in the open ends of the tie beam extensions and bear against the rearmost ends of the springs 243 and 244.
~he two pins 245 a~d 246 are carried by an upright stretcher 247 that is substantially parallel to the holders 237 and 238. A framework is formed by the beams 239 and 240, the leading beam 241 and the stretcher 247 and that framework is covered on the side thereof that is closest to the rake member 226 by a screen 248 of flexible material such as oilcloth er the like. ~he screen 248 is held around the tie beam 239, the leading beam 241 and the stretcher 247 by stitching that is not shown in the drawing~, the springs 243 and 244 causing the stretcher 247 to maintain the sc~een 248 in a taut conditiou in the direction P.
~he screen 248 includes a flap which extends downwardl~
below the lower tie beam 240 to an extent such that its g~1 B lowermost edge normall~ bears~the ground surface behind the shoe or skid 242. ~h;s allows the swath board 227, when it is in use, to follow undulations in the ground surface by sliding thereover, said swath board being turnable upwardly and downwardly relative to the frame 190 about the axis of the pivotall~ mounted tubular shaft 230.

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- ~036369 A plurality, such a~ six, of guide rods 249 extend rearwardly from the holder 238 with respect to the direction P in perpendicular relationship with that holder. The guide rods~239 are e~ually spaced apart from one another and, as will be clear from ~igure 2 of the drawings, are preferably, but not essentially, formed in integral pairs from single lengths of spring steel or other rod material. Each rod 249 is bent over behind the stretcher 247 with respect to the direction P towards the rake member 226 in such a way that the bent over rear ends are contained in a sub-stantially vertical plane that is inclined at an angle of substantiall~ 20 to a substantially cvertical plane containing the longitudinal axes of the beams 239 and 240, the leading beam 241 and the stretcher 247.
The bent over rearmo~t ends of the guide rods 249 are extended rearwardly by further straight synthetic plas-tic rods 250 having sockets at their leading end that frictionall~ engage the guide rod~ 249.
~ he swath board 227 is perpendicularly spaced from the nearest point on the rake member 226 by a distance which is equal to substantiall~ 7~/o of the radius of that rake member and, as viewed in side ele-vation (Figure 2) most of it is in front of the axis of rotation 192 with respect to the direction P.
A sleeve 251 is welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the transverse beam 199 closely ad~acent to the bend by which that beam is i~tegrally connected to the wing beam 200 and a tubular support 252 is pivotally connected .

~ 0363~9 to the sleeve 251. ~he support 252 includes a portion 253 that extends forwardly, as viewed in plan (Figure 1), from the beam 199 in perpendicular relation hip therewith, the leading end of said portion 253 being bent over through substantially 90 in a direction away from the swath board 227 to form a latching portion 254. The latching portion 254 carries a U-shaped bracket 255 whose limbs are disposed at op-posite lateral sides of the tubular shaft 230 but whose extents are such that they pro~ect vertically above that shaft. A substantially horizontal locking pin is provided for entry through aligned holes in the limbs of the bracket 255, above the shaft 230, to latch the second swath board 228 effectively, but not fixedly, to said shaft 230 when required.
~ he tubular support 252 can turn upwardly and downwardl~ about a pivotal shaft relative to the sleeve 251. ~he pivotal shaft which has just been mentioned define~ an axis that is substantially parallel to the beam 199 and forms the principal member of the pivotal connection between the support 252 and the sleeve 251. ~he æupport 252 is bent over, behind the sleeve 251, towards the rake member 226 to form a `-supporting portion 256 whose longitudinal axis is inclined to that of the portion 253, at least as seen in ~igure 1 of the drswings, by an a~gle of substantiall~ 30~ ~he length of the supporting ~ ~ -portion 256 is equal to substantially 8CYo of the radius of the rake member 226. ~he rear end of the -;;

10363~9 supporting portion 256 with respect to the directionP is bent back away from the rake member 226 through an angle of ~ubstantially 60 to form a further support-ing portion 257 whose length is e~ual to substantially 60% of the radius of the rake member 226. A tubular beam 258 extends substantially perpendicularly down-wards from the further supporti~ portion 257 at a location clo8e to the ~unction of that portion with the portion 256, said tubular beam 258 having a length which is approximately equal to that of the further aupporting portion 257. ~he lower end of the tubular beam 258 is bent over rearwardly through substantially 90 to form a beam 259 which terminates, as viewed in plan (~igure 1), substantially vertically beneath the free rearmost end of the further supporting portion 257. Most of the further supporting portion 257 that is located rearwardly of the tubular beam 258, the tubular beam 258 itself and the beam 259 are covered at the sides thereof that face the swath board 227 by a screen 260 formed from, for example, a sheet of canvas or rubber. ~he swath board 228 that is afforded principally by the screen 260 and the parts which immediately support that screen is inclined at an angle of substantially 30 to the direction P as viewed in plan (~igure 1).
In the use of the machine, the wall 34 of the rake member 226 and its tines will displace hay or other crop in the direction Q and, simultaneously, opposite to the direction P. ~he hay or other crop is shed from the : . -103~i369 rake member in a region thereof that is generally to the left of the foremeet point of said rake member with respect to the direction P so that the eJected crop is thrown towards the swath board 227 which swath board, of course, also moves forwardly with the $rame 190 in the direction P. ~t least some of the crop will also be contacted, and laterall~ displaced, b~ the rear-most ends of the forwardly moving guide rods 249 and the synthetic plastic rods 250. ~he result is to push the swath or windrow of crop that is formed a short di~tance back towards the rake member 226 and it tends to remain in the position to which it is pushed without irregular bulging due to the resilience of the rods 249 and 250 and the low frictional resistance of their crop-contacting surfaces. ~he side of the swath or windrow of crop that has been formed that is nearest to the member 226 i~ contacted by the second ~wath board 228 ~hortly after the first swath board 227 ha~
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B ceased to affect the swath or windrow to an~4nif ~æ~ extent because, as will be evidff~t from ~igure 1 of the drawings, the second swath board 228 is located substantiall~ wholly to the rear of the first swath board 227 with respect to the direction P. lhe second swath board 228 is also located to the right, as seen in ~igure 1 of the drawings with respect to the direction P, o$ a tangential line (parallel to the direction P) to the broken line in ~ig~re 1 that indicates the path of rotation of the tips of the tines of the member 226 at the left-hand side of that .
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member. The second qwath board shapes the adjacent side of the formed swath or windrow of crop and brings it to the desired 810ping configuration but also can function to scrape from the ground and collect into said swath or windrow any small quantities of hay or other crop that have been carried round the axis 192 too far in the direction Q by the rake member 226.
~ he ~wath board 227 slides over the ground surface by way of its leading skid 242 and can thus follow undulations that it may be meet, it being remembered that the whole swath board is turnable upwardly and downwardly relative to the frame 190 about the axis of the tubular shaft 230. ~he ~econd swath board 228 slides over the OEou~d on the beam 259 and can turn upwardly and downwardly about the axis of the sleeve 251 to match ground undulations, the limbs of the bracket 255 also moving upwardly and downwardly at the opposite ~ides of the ~haft 230. Whe~ the three-point lifting device or hitch of the operating tractor or other vehicle is raised to lift the machine clear of contact with the ground, the first swath board 227 turns downward~yabout the axis of the shaft 230 until the stops 233 and 234 meet the wing beam 200. The second swath board 228 turns downwardly about the axis of the sleeve 251 until the base of the bracket 255 bears against the lower surface of the shaft 230.
In order to bring the machine to a transport position in which its lateral width and rearward extent are reduced as compared with a working position of the .... - ~ , - .. .

1C~3~ 3 ~9 machine, the swath board 227 i8 first turned upwardl~
through substantially 180 about the axis Or the shaft 230 until the supports 231 and 232 bear against a stop bracket 261 that extends substantially parallel to the direction P between the beam 199 and the left-hand tubular support 201. The locking pin interconnecting the limbs of the bracket 255 is removed and the second swath board 228 is turned upwardly through substantiall~
180 about the axis of the sleeve 251 to bring it to a forwardl~ displaced inverted position in which the supporting portion 256 of the tubular support 252 bears downwardly on the ~top bracket 261.
~ lthough the embodiment is described for a single rake member machine, it is emphasised that the swath boards 227 and 228 are also suitable for use in machines with at least two rake members to be arranged so that the~ are rotated in the same direction during operation, whereby :~;.
the positioning of the axi~ of rotation of one rake member is forwardl~ of the axis of rotation of the other rake member with respect to the intended direction of operative travel of the machine, the latter rake member being clo-sest to the swath boards 227 and 228.

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Claims (19)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A haymaking machine comprising a frame and at least one tined rake member arranged to be rotatable about an upwardly extending axis and provided with outwardly directed tines arranged in rearwardly trailing positions with respect to the intended direction of rotation of the rake member, which posi-tions are substantially fixed relative to the other parts of the rake member, a first swath board located at a lateral side of the rake member and extending substantially parallel to the intended direction of operative travel of the machine, and a second swath board so disposed that at least a major portion thereof is located rearwardly of the rake member with respect to said direc-tion with its leading edge spaced from the circumference of the rake member by a distance which is such that the second swath board is capable of directly receiving crop shed from the tines of the rake member when the machine is in use, said second swath board extending substantially radially with respect to the axis of rotation of the rake member, as seen in plan view, in convergent relationship with said first swath board in a direction opposite to the intend-ed direction of operative travel of the machine.

2. A haymaking machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the leading edge of the first swath board is further advanced with respect to the intended direction of operative travel of the machine than is the leading edge of the second swath board.

3. A haymaking machine as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the second swath board is located substantially wholly to the rear of the first swath board, with respect to the intended direction of operative travel of the machine.

4. A haymaking machine as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the first swath board is perpendicularly spaced from the nearest point on the rake member by a distance which is equal to substantially 70% of the radius of the rake member.

5. A haymaking machine as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein, as viewed in side elevation, most of the first swath board is in front of the axis of rotation of said rake member, with respect to the intended direction of opera-tive travel of the machine.

6. A haymaking machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein both the first swath board and the second swath board are located at the same side of a plane which contains the axis of rotation of the rake member and extends in the intended direction of operative travel of the machine.

7. A haymaking machine as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of the swath boards is of non-rectilinear configuration when the machine is viewed in plan.

8. A haymaking machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the swath boards comprises a closed protective surface formed from cloth or the like and a plurality of substantially parallel resilient rods.

9. A haymaking machine as claimed in claim 8, wherein the rods extend substantially horizontally, are located behind said surface with respect to the intended direction of operative travel of the machine, and project freely to the rear of said protective surface.

10. A haymaking machine as claimed in claim 8 or 9, wherein, as viewed in a direction perpendicular to the general plane of said surface, the rods are anchored at points located within that surface.

11. A haymaking machine as claimed in claim 8 or 9, wherein the material of said closed surface is capable of being stretched.

12. A haymaking machine as claimed in claim 8, wherein the material of said closed surface is secured to a framework having at least one part which is resiliently displaceable relative to other parts thereof.

13. A haymaking machine as claimed in claim 12, wherein the framework comprises tubular beams or like members, at least one of those members being in the form of a stretcher which is movable relative to the other members against the opposition of at least one spring.

14. A haymaking machine as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of said swath boards is constructed and arranged to slide over the ground surface during operation of the machine and is freely movable in upward and downward directions.

15. A haymaking machine as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the first swath board is pivotable about an axis that is substantially parallel to the intended direction of operative travel of the machine.

16. A haymaking machine as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the second swath board is arranged to be pivotable about an axis that is inclined to the intended direction of operative travel of the machine.

17. A haymaking machine as claimed in claim 6, wherein the machine com-prises a second rake member which is disposed at the opposite side of said plane from the side thereof at which the two swath boards are arranged.

18. A haymaking machine as claimed in claim 17, wherein, with respect to the intended direction of operative travel of the machine, the axis of rota-tion of the second rake member is in advance of that of said one rake member and both rake members are arranged to revolve in the same direction during operation of the machine.

19. A haymaking machine as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the frame comprises a coupling member constructed and arranged for connection of the machine to the three-point lifting device of a tractor.