CN114158348A - Feeding roller and feeding roller set for agricultural machine and agricultural harvester - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a novel feed roller for agricultural machines such as sugar cane and sorghum harvesters, which is constructed to prevent accumulation of harvest material at the end of the roller, thereby improving working conditions and harvest productivity. More specifically, the feed roll of the invention is formed by a central body (103) provided with fins (104) extending longitudinally on said central body (103), said fins being radially spaced apart and projecting outwards with respect to a longitudinal axis (y), the ends of said central body (103) comprising support bases (105) arranged to rotatably hold said feed roll (102), wherein at least one of said support bases (105) is conical and has a concentration mandrel (106) arranged to direct the collected material towards the central body (103) and at least partially containing said support bases (105).

Description

Feeding roller and feeding roller set for agricultural machine and agricultural harvester

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to a new type of feed roll specifically developed for use in agricultural machines, such as those used for harvesting high stalk plants, as is the case with sugarcane and sweet sorghum. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a feed roll group designed to be mounted in an agricultural machine, more particularly in the front part of the chassis of a sugar cane and sorghum harvester.

The invention also relates to a new agricultural harvester, particularly for harvesting tall stalk plants, which incorporates a set of rollers formed by new feed rollers, thus achieving higher productivity in the harvesting operation.

Background

According to the prior art, there are various types of agricultural machines and equipment aimed at increasing the productivity of harvesting various vegetable crops, such as in the case of grain harvesters, forage crops and so-called tall stalk plant harvesters, such as sugarcane and sorghum.

In particular with respect to harvesters for these tall stalk plants, it is well known that they are specially designed and developed for harvesting this particular type of crop, since their inherent characteristics require specific conditions for proper processing, from cutting the plants to transfer to a transfer device and/or a skip.

Basically, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that agricultural machines of this type for harvesting and processing tall stalk plants comprise a chassis within which is formed a processing path comprising a series of carrier rollers and chippers which are responsible for driving and chopping the sugar cane into billets which are transferred to a transfer device and/or a skip by an elevator assembly.

There are currently known some harvester models, such as those disclosed in documents US2014/0174048 of CNH american limited and BR102015015922-6 of CNH industrial brazilian limited, which are developed to receive in a front portion of the machine a separate platform on which are mounted all the front components and mechanisms of the conventional machine, such as a splitter, a pouring roller and a base cutter disc, and in some models the separate front platform may be coupled at a front portion of the machine chassis, which may also be of modular type, wherein the front module comprises a set of feeding rollers, responsible for conveying the collected material to other modules of the machine chassis, wherein the processing trajectory of the material continues through the carrying rollers to the chipper rollers.

It is well known in the art that harvesters of tall stalk plants, especially those designed to harvest multiple rows of crop, collect a very large volume of material requiring efficient operation of the feed rollers to be able to transport all the material along the machine path in a suitable and safe manner. However, depending on the working conditions and the experience and practice of the machine operator, there is always a risk of material accumulating at the side end of the feed roll, affecting the working of the machine and even causing jamming and jamming of the roll, but mainly affecting the yield and harvesting productivity.

Harvester models known in the art may be modified in an attempt to reduce the risk of material build-up on the rollers conveying the collected material flow and thus avoid possible blockages and/or adverse effects on the operation of the machine, such build-up may require downtime for maintenance, which in some way ultimately affects the efficiency and productivity of the harvesting process.

Thus, in addition to proving to be usable even today, it is worth noting that the known feed rollers available in the prior art lack a practical and functional solution that eliminates or minimally reduces the need for premature maintenance of the agricultural machine and, more particularly, can assist in the formation and transport of the collected material flow. It can therefore be said that these are among others the objects and solutions sought for developing the present invention.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new type of feed roll for agricultural machinery, in particular for fixing in a separate front platform on up to a stalk plant harvester, the design and development of which is such as to obtain a practical and functional solution to the problems, limitations and drawbacks disclosed with the feed rolls known in the prior art.

More specifically, one of the aims of the present invention is to provide a new type of feed roller which comprises technical, structural and functional characteristics capable of preventing the accumulation of the collected material on the roller side ends, but which is mainly capable of assisting the formation, the guidance and the transport of the flow of material collected along the processing trajectory in harvesters of tall stalk plants, thus providing better working conditions and seeking to improve the productivity of the harvesting.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a set of feed rolls that are developed for installation in the initial part of the processing trajectory formed in the machine chassis, thereby providing the harvesting and processing of high stalk plants in a more efficient manner.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an agricultural harvester, particularly for harvesting high stalk vegetable crops such as sugar cane and sorghum, arranged to use the above described feed roll.

Thus, in order to achieve the technical and functional effects outlined above, the invention relates, among other things, to a new feed roll to be installed in agricultural equipment, which feed roll is substantially formed by a central body having longitudinally extending fins thereon, said fins being radially spaced apart and projecting outwards with respect to a longitudinal axis (y). The ends of the central body comprise support bases arranged to rotatably hold the feed rollers, at least one of the support bases having a tapered form, comprising a concentration mandrel arranged to direct the collected material towards the central body and at least partially containing the support base.

According to one embodiment of the invention, said tapered support base and the concentration mandrel are arranged on the outside of the central body of the feed roll.

Alternatively, according to another embodiment of the feed roll according to the invention, the concentration mandrel may extend at least partially over the central body of the roll. Furthermore, the concentrating mandrels may be segmented such that each segment is disposed between two fins.

Furthermore, according to another possible embodiment of the invention, the concentration mandrels may be coupled and fastened to the fins by means of respective connecting elements, such as slots provided on the fins, which may correspond to projections provided on the edges of the sections of the concentration mandrels, and which may be arranged in a side-by-side sequence.

In another embodiment of the invention, the support bases provided at both ends of the central body of the feed roll are in a conical arrangement and further have a concentration mandrel.

Furthermore, according to another embodiment of the invention, the central body of the feed roll may comprise a closed arrangement by means of a cylindrical shell from which the fins protrude.

Furthermore, the invention also relates to a set of feed rollers arranged for an agricultural machine, said set being formed by a series of feed rollers mounted downstream of a set of base cutters of the machine, at least one of these feed rollers being said feed roller arranged and mounted as commented above.

According to a possible embodiment of the set of feed rollers according to the invention, the set of feed rollers can be mounted on the structural body of the front module of the chassis, when the chassis of the agricultural machine is for example of the modular type, or at the inlet of the chassis, when the chassis is of the monolithic type.

Further in accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the set of feed rollers consists of a series of rollers, the free ends of which are longitudinally aligned and coincide with the side ends of the processing trajectory of the material collected along the machine chassis.

Furthermore, according to another possible embodiment, the distance between the free ends of said concentration mandrels of the feed rollers is equal to the length of the processing trajectory of the material collected along the chassis.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the arrangement of the set of feed rollers is initially formed by: at least one lifting roller overlapping the upper bearing roller, followed by a feed roller of the unidirectional type overlapping the other upper bearing roller, and a subgroup of at least one feed roller of the bidirectional type, lower and at least one upper. More specifically, according to another embodiment of the invention, only one end of the feed roller of the unidirectional type is formed by a support base having a conical shape and provided with a concentration mandrel, while both ends of the feed roller of the bidirectional type are fitted with support bases having a conical shape and provided with a concentration mandrel, the free ends of which can be aligned in the longitudinal direction.

Finally, also as mentioned above, the invention also relates to an agricultural harvester, in particular for harvesting tall stalk plants, formed by a chassis and arranged to receive a set of feed rollers formed by a series of feed rollers, at least one of which is arranged as defined above. The agricultural harvester according to the invention is particularly useful for harvesting sugar cane and/or sweet sorghum.

Drawings

The features, advantages and technical effects of the present invention will be better understood by those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention, provided by way of example only and not by way of limitation, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a schematic side view of a sugar cane and sorghum harvester, such as those known in the prior art;

FIG. 1B is also a schematic partial side view of internal elements of the harvester associated with the platform, illustrating material flow through the processing trajectory;

fig. 2A is a side view of a front portion of a sugar cane and/or sorghum harvester;

FIG. 2B is a side view of a front module of the chassis of the harvester with a separate front platform coupled for harvesting sugar cane and/or sorghum, as shown in detail A of FIG. 2A;

FIGS. 3A and 3B show perspective views of a feed roll according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of a feed roll according to the present invention; and

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a feed roll according to another embodiment of the invention;

figure 6 shows a front module of a chassis of a harvester according to the invention without any side protection plates to facilitate the viewing of the set of feed rollers;

fig. 7 shows a bottom view of a front module of the chassis of the harvester shown in fig. 6.

Detailed Description

The present invention will now be described with respect to particular embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. The schematic drawings and the dimensions and/or proportions thereof may not be in accordance with the actual situation, since they are intended to describe the invention in a teaching manner. Moreover, certain known and common construction details may have been omitted for clarity and conciseness of the description set forth below. Reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate the same or similar elements. Any terms used, such as "upper," "lower," "front," "back," "right," "left," etc., and variations thereof, should be construed in accordance with the guidance provided in FIG. 1A.

As used herein, terms such as harvester, harvesting machine and variants thereof are used to refer implicitly to agricultural machines intended for harvesting vegetable crops, and in this specification, for harvesting tall stalk plants such as sugarcane, energy cane, sorghum and the like.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1A illustrates a side view of an embodiment of an agricultural machine 10, according to aspects known in the art. As shown, the machine 10 is arranged as a sugar cane harvester. However, in other embodiments, the machine 10 may correspond to any suitable type of agricultural harvester known in the art.

With further reference to fig. 1, machine 10 includes a chassis 12, a pair of front wheels 14, a pair of rear wheels 16, and an operator cab 18. Machine 10 may also include an accessible energy source (e.g., a motor mounted on chassis 12) that powers one or both pairs of wheels 14, 16 through a transmission (not shown). Alternatively, machine 10 may be a belt driven harvester and thus may include belts driven by a motor mechanism in place of wheels 14, 16 as shown. The motor mechanism may also drive a hydraulic fluid pump (not shown) arranged to generate pressurized hydraulic fluid to drive various hydraulic components of the machine 10, including wheels or belts.

In addition, machine 10 may include various components for cutting, processing, cleaning, and unloading the sugar cane as it is collected from plantation 20. For example, machine 10 may include a terminal cutting group 22 at a forward end thereof for intercepting the sugarcane as machine 10 moves forward, as indicated by arrow "X" in FIG. 1A. As shown, the end cutting group 22 may include a collection tray 24 and a cutting tray 26. The collection pan 24 may be arranged to collect the sugarcane stalks such that the cutting pan 26 may be used to cut the ends of each stalk. Generally, the height of the end cutter 22 is adjustable by a pair of arms 28 that are hydraulically raised and lowered according to the needs of the operator.

Further, the harvester 10 can include a wire divider 30 extending upwardly and rearwardly from the field 20. In general, the thread divider 30 may include two helical feed rollers 32, also referred to as a "lollipop-type structure". Each feed roll 32 may include a ground shoe 34 as its lower end helps the line divider 30 to separate the sugarcane stalks for harvesting. Further, as shown in fig. 1, harvester 10 may include a dump roller 36 located near front wheel 14 and a roller 38 with a protrusion located behind dump roller 36. As the dump roller 36 rotates, the collected sugarcane stalks are dumped and the spreader 30 collects the stalks from the crop field 20 toward the interior of the machine 10. Further, as shown in fig. 1A, the roller 38 with projections may include a plurality of intermittently mounted fins 40 that help force the sugarcane stalks downward. The sugarcane stalks dumped by the dumping rollers 36 are sorted as the rollers 38 are turned during harvesting, and then dumped by the rollers 38 as the machine 10 continues to move forward relative to the field 20.

With further reference to FIG. 1A, the machine 10 may also include a base cutter group 42 located behind the rollers 38. As is generally understood, the base cutter set 42 may include blades (not shown) to cut the sugarcane stalks as the sugarcane is collected. The blades at the periphery of the group 42 may be rotated by hydraulic motors (not shown) driven by the mechanical hydraulic system. Further, in various embodiments, the blades may be angled downward to cut the base of the cane as it is tipped by the rollers 38.

Further, as shown in fig. 1A, the machine 10 may include a set 44 of one or more carrier rollers located downstream of the base cutter set 42 to move the sugarcane stalks cut from the base cutter set 42 along the processing trajectory. As shown in fig. 1, the carrier roller set 44 may include a plurality of lower rollers 46 and a plurality of upper rollers 48. As the sugar cane is conveyed through the carrier roller set 44, residue (e.g., pebbles, dirt, and/or the like) may also be conveyed or dropped onto the field 20 through the lower rollers 46.

Further, as can be seen in fig. 1A, the machine 10 may include a chipper set 50 located at a downstream end of the set of carrier rolls 44 (e.g., adjacent the rearmost lower and upper carrier rolls 46, 48). Generally, the flake groups 50 can be used to cut or shred the sugarcane stalks of the cell phone into smaller pieces or "chips" 51, which can measure, for example, 15.24 centimeters (six (6) inches), also known as billets or wool tops. The debris 51 may then be pushed toward a lifter assembly 52 of the machine 10 for collection in an external receptacle or storage device (not shown), such as a transfer device and a skip.

As is generally understood, pieces of residue 53 (e.g., dust, dirt, leaves, etc.) sorted from the debris of the sugarcane 51 may be discharged from the machine 10 by a primary extractor 54 positioned by the chipper set 50 and oriented to direct the residue 53 out of the machine 10. In addition, a fan 56 may be mounted on the primary extractor 54 to create a suction or sufficient vacuum to capture the residues 53 and force these residues 53 through the primary extractor 54. The residue 53 is then directed outwardly through an outlet of the primary extractor 54, generally in the opposite direction of the machine 10. Sorted debris 51 heavier than the residue 53 discharged by the extractor 54 may then fall onto the elevator assembly 52.

In accordance with the present description, the riser assembly 52 should be construed to generally include a riser housing structure 58 and a riser 60 extending within the riser housing structure 58 between a lower proximal end 62 and an upper distal end 64. Lower proximal end 62 is secured to machine 10 and upper distal end 64 has an opening 82 for discharging collected material.

In additional or alternative embodiments, the elevator 60 may include a chain or conveyor 66 and a plurality of paddles or slats (taliscas)68 coupled or spaced in a uniform manner in the chain 66. The slats 68 may be arranged to secure the debris 51 in the lifter 60 when the debris 51 of the sugar cane is lifted to the upper portion 70 of the lifter 60. Further, the elevator 60 may include a lower gear 72 and an upper gear 74 positioned about the proximal end 62 and the distal end 64, respectively. As shown in fig. 1A, the elevator motor 76 may be coupled to one of the gears (e.g., the upper gear 74) to drive the chain 66, allowing the chain 66 and slats 68 to travel in an endless loop between the proximal and distal ends 62, 64 of the elevator 60. .

In addition, pieces of residue 53 (e.g., dust, dirt, leaves, etc.) sorted from the debris 51 of the sugarcane may be discharged from the machine 10 through a secondary extractor 78 coupled to the rear end of the elevator housing structure 58. As shown in fig. 1A, secondary extractor 78 may be positioned adjacent distal end 64 of riser 60 and may be oriented to direct residue 53 outside of machine 10. In addition, a fan 80 may be mounted on secondary extractor 78 to create a suction or sufficient vacuum to extract residues 53 and force such residues 53 through secondary extractor 78. Sorted debris 51 heavier than the residue 53 discharged by the extractor 78 may then fall from the distal end 64 of the elevator 60. Typically, the debris 51 may fall through the discharge opening 82 of the elevator assembly 52 into an external storage device (not shown), such as a car, a transfer device, a skip, or the like.

During operation, the machine 10 is driven through the entire crop field 20 to harvest sugar cane or any other tall stalk plant. Once the height of the end cutters 22 is adjusted (if used) by the arms 28, the collection pans 24 in the end cutter group 22 may act to collect the sugarcane ends as the machine 10 travels through the field 20, while the cutting pans 26 cut the tips of the sugarcane stalks to dump them along both sides of the machine 10. The shoes 34 may be arranged in a fixed or adjustable manner to operate at a length that determines the amount of cane entering the mouth of the machine 10 as the stems enter the dividers 30. The lollipop-type structure 32 then collects the stalks at the entrance of the machine to allow the dump roller 36 to bend the stalks downward in conjunction with the action of the roller 38 having the projections. Once the stalks are positioned at the angle shown in fig. 1A, the base cutter group 42 can cut the bases of the stalks of the field 20. The cut stems are then directed to a set of carrier rollers 44.

The cut sugarcane stalks are conveyed back by the carrying rollers 46, 48 compacting the stalks and the harvest. At the downstream end of the carrier roller set 44, a chipper set 50 cuts or chops the compacted sugarcane stalks into small pieces or chips 51. The conveyed residue 53 (e.g. dust, dirt, leaves, etc.) separated from the debris 51 of the sugarcane is then extracted by the primary extractor 54 using suction created by the fan 56. The sorted/cleaned debris 51 then falls onto the elevator assembly 52 and travels upwardly from its proximal end 62 to its distal end 64 by the elevator 60. During normal operation, as the debris 51 reaches the distal end 64 of the lifter 60, the debris 51 falls through the discharge opening 82 to the external storage device. Similar to the primary extractor 54, the residue is blown out of the machine 10 by the secondary extractor 78 with the aid of an extractor fan 80.

Harvester 10 as described above may be, for example, a machine known in the art, such as a sugar cane harvester manufactured by CNH industries and commercialized under the trademark Case IH, which may also be adapted to include and receive a separate front platform for harvesting sugar cane and sorghum, as schematically shown in fig. 1B, 2A and 2B.

Referring to fig. 1B, 2A, and 2B, it may be noted that the independent front platform (P1) is coupled, for example, at an inlet end of a front module (P2) of chassis 12 of machine 10. The independent front platform (P1) is essentially formed by a structure on which are mounted wire dividers 30 formed by groups of "lollipop-like structures" 32, each comprising its ground shoe 34, pouring roller 36, roller 38 with projections and base cutter group 42. For example, the front module (P2) of the chassis 12 is arranged, on the one hand, to be wrapped in the middle module of the chassis 12 of the harvester 10, and, on the other hand, comprises an entrance 10a from which the processing trajectory of the machine 10 starts. The front module (P2) of the chassis 12 generally provides a set 44 of carrier rollers formed by a series of lower and upper rollers 46, 48 and responsible for drawing and guiding the collected material towards the chipping rollers 50 for cutting into billets 51 which are sorted from the lighter residues 53 by operation of the fan 56 of the primary extractor 54. The blanks 51 are then transferred to the elevator assembly 52 and the secondary extractor 78 before being unloaded into, for example, a skip or a transfer device.

Referring now specifically to fig. 2A and 2B, it may be noted that the front module (P2) of chassis 12 may include a structural body 100 in which the set of rollers 101 is mounted, which in this case may be referred to as a feed roller. The set of rollers 101 is formed by a series of feed rollers 102 which are designed and arranged to improve and facilitate the work of collecting material shortly after cutting by the blades of the base cutter set 42 and further to convey the collected material in an oriented manner along the processing trajectory, i.e. from the inlet 10a of the front module (P2) of the chassis 12 to the chipper rollers 50 of the machine 10.

Thus, based on the above explanation, reference is now made to fig. 3A, 3B, 4 and 5, noting that said feed roll 102 according to the invention is formed by a central body 103 provided with fins 104 spaced radially apart to assist in conveying the collected material, extending longitudinally and projecting outwards with respect to the longitudinal rotation axis (y). The ends of said central body 103 comprise support bases 105 arranged to hold said feed rolls 102 in rotation in conjunction with the action on the structural body 100, at least one of said support bases 105 being conical and comprising a concentration mandrel 106 at least partially containing said support base 105 and arranged to direct the collected material towards the central body 103.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, as shown in fig. 3A and 3B, said conical support base 105 with the concentration mandrel 106 is located on the outer end of the central body 103, so as to be positioned at the side end of the collected material flow. This pattern of feed rollers 102 is arranged to be unidirectional and may be particularly applicable at the entrance to the structural body 100 of the front module (P2) of the chassis 12, primarily when the platform is used to harvest multiple rows of crops, which ultimately results in a large volume of material being processed using the platform to harvest multiple rows of crops, thus requiring more careful guidance and distribution of the material along the processing path on the chassis 12.

According to a possible embodiment of the feed roll 102, said concentration mandrel 106 may extend at least partially on the central body 103 according to the invention. In this case, the concentrating mandrels 106 may be segmented such that each segment 106a is disposed between two fins 104.

Furthermore, according to an embodiment of the invention, said concentration spindle 106 can be coupled and fastened to said fins 104 by means of respective connecting elements, such as slots 104a provided on said fins 104, which correspond to protrusions 106b provided on the edge of the section 106a of the concentration spindle 106. Furthermore, a series of grooves 104a arranged side by side may be arranged on the fins 104, so that the pitch of the mandrels 106 can be selected when mounting the feed roll 102.

In the feed roller 102 according to another mode of other embodiments of the present invention, as shown in fig. 4 and 5, support bases 105 provided at both ends of a center body 103 are arranged in a tapered shape, and a concentration mandrel 106 is also provided. In these cases, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, the feed rollers 102 may be mounted on the upper portion of the structural body 100 of the front module (P2) of the chassis 12, taking into account the purpose of this arrangement to prevent the initial volume of material collected from entering the machine 10, which tends to be larger and more concentrated in the front module of the chassis 12, accumulating at the lateral ends of the feed rollers 102.

Alternatively, according to another mode of feed roller 102 according to the invention and better illustrated in the illustration of fig. 5, said central body 103 can be closed by a cylindrical shell 107 from which said fins 104 protrude. This pattern of feed rollers 102 may be advantageously employed in the rear portion of the structure 100, bearing in mind that its arrangement provides a more uniform and suitable delivery of material flow that has been somewhat better distributed along the length of the processing path.

For example, as better shown in fig. 6, the set of feed rollers 101 may consist of a combination of feed rollers 102 presenting different arrangements represented in fig. 3A, 3B, 4 and 5 and which may be mounted on the structural body 100 when the chassis 12 of the machine 10 is of a modular type, or may be mounted right in the chassis 12 when the chassis is of a non-modular type. The rollers are mounted at strategic locations to improve and facilitate the work of collecting the material after the vegetation and cutting by the base cutter group 42 and thus transport the collected material in a more efficient manner along the processing trajectory of the material.

Referring now to fig. 6 and 7, the invention also relates to a set of feed rollers 101 mounted on the structural body 100 and formed by a series of feed rollers 102 as described above, the free ends 106c of the mandrels 106 of the feed rollers 102 being longitudinally aligned (as indicated by the dotted lines-L1 and L2) and coinciding with the lateral ends of the processing trajectory of the material collected along the pan 12.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the distance (d) between the free ends 106c of the mandrels 106 of the feed rollers 102 is substantially equal to the length of the processing trajectory of the material collected along the chassis 12.

In addition, according to another more specific embodiment of the present invention, the feed roller set 101 includes an arrangement initially formed by: at least one lifting roll 108, which overlaps the upper carrier roll 48, is followed by a feed roll 102 of the unidirectional type, which overlaps the other upper carrier roll 48, and finally at least one feed roll 102 of the bidirectional type, which is lower and at least one upper, is arranged, and only one end of the unidirectional feed roll 102 is formed by a conical support base 105 and is provided with a concentration mandrel 106, while both ends of the feed roll 102 of the bidirectional type are fitted with conical support bases 105 and are provided with concentration mandrels 106, wherein the free ends 106c of said concentration mandrels 106 are aligned in the longitudinal direction.

Still referring to fig. 6, it can be seen that at least one of the lower feed rolls 102 is open, i.e. without the cylindrical shell 107, since this arrangement with the larger fins 104 proves to be more advantageous in the work of dragging the material just cut, and still close to the ground and in a more concentrated form. The upper and rear infeed rollers 102 may be enclosed and include the housing 107 with the fins 104 located below and seeking to convey material in a smoother form to provide a distribution with less aggressiveness and risk to the material being collected and processed. Logically, these arrangements may vary according to the manufacturer's concerns and design project and mechanical schema, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

Furthermore, according to another embodiment of the feed roller group 101 of the invention, a series of feed rollers 102 are provided downstream of the base cutter group 42 on the chassis 12 of the machine 10, and at least one of said feed rollers 102 is arranged and mounted according to one of the embodiments of feed rollers defined above.

Furthermore, as mentioned above, the invention also relates to an agricultural harvester 10 up to stalk plants comprising a chassis 12 arranged to receive a set of feed rollers 101 formed by a series of feed rollers 102, at least one of which is arranged according to the features of the invention defined above, such that one of the support bases 105 of the end of the central body 103 is conical and comprises a concentration mandrel 106.

According to a possible embodiment of the invention, the agricultural harvester is designed and developed for harvesting sugar cane and/or sweet sorghum.

It is worth mentioning that, although the figures and the above description refer to a mechanical model consisting of a chassis of modular type, and the set of feed rollers is mounted on the front module, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, the set of feed rollers can be easily adapted and mounted at the entrance of the chassis of a conventional machine and is made in one piece, for example, replacing the first lower 46 and upper 48 carrier rollers of the set of rollers 44.

Finally, in view of the above explanations, it is worth emphasizing that the purpose of the present description is merely to present and define exemplary embodiments of the feed roll, the set of feed rolls and the agricultural harvester according to the object of the present invention. Thus, as will be correctly understood by a person skilled in the art, various modifications and combinations of equivalent elements and details are possible without departing from the scope of protection defined by the appended claims.

Claims (17)

1. A feed roll for agricultural machines, formed by a central body (103) provided with fins (104) extending longitudinally on the central body (103), radially spaced apart and projecting outwards with respect to a longitudinal axis (y), the ends of the central body (103) comprising support bases (105) arranged to rotatably hold the feed roll (102), the feed roll (102) being characterized in that at least one of the support bases (105) is conical and is provided with a concentration mandrel (106) arranged to direct the collected material towards the central body (103) and at least partially containing the support base (105).

2. A feed roll according to claim 1, characterized in that the support base (105), which is conical and provided with a concentration mandrel (106), is provided on the outer end of the central body (103).

3. A feed roll according to claim 1, characterized in that the concentration mandrel (106) extends at least partially over the central body (103).

4. A feed roll according to claim 3, characterized in that the concentration mandrel (106) is segmented such that each segment (106a) is arranged between two fins (104).

5. A feed roll according to claim 1, characterized in that the concentration mandrels (106) are coupled and fastened to the fins (104) by means of respective connecting elements, such as grooves (104a) provided on the fins (104) corresponding to protrusions (106b) provided on the edges of the sections (106a) of the concentration mandrels (106).

6. A feed roll according to claim 5, characterized in that the fins (104) comprise a series of grooves (104a) arranged side by side.

7. A feed roll according to claim 1, characterized in that the support bases (105) of both ends of the central body (103) are arranged in a conical shape and are further provided with a concentration mandrel (106).

8. A feed roll according to claim 1, characterized in that the central body (103) comprises a closed arrangement through a cylindrical shell (107) from which the fins (104) protrude.

9. A feed roller set arranged for application to an agricultural machine (10), the feed roller set comprising a series of feed rollers (102) mounted downstream of a base cutter set (42), the feed roller set characterized by: at least one of the feed rolls (102) is arranged and mounted as defined in any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. Feed roller group according to claim 9, characterized in that it is mounted on the structural body (100) of the front module (P2) of the chassis (12) when the chassis (12) of the agricultural machine (10) is of the modular type, or at the inlet of the chassis (12) when it is of the monolithic type.

11. A feed roll group according to claim 9, characterized in that the feed roll group is formed by a series of feed rolls (102) and the free ends (106c) of the concentration mandrels (106) thereof are longitudinally aligned and coincide with the side ends of the processing trajectory of the material collected along the chassis (12).

12. A feed roll set according to claim 9, characterized in that the distance (d) between the free ends (106c) of the concentration mandrels (106) of the feed rolls (102) is equal to the length of the processing trajectory of the material collected along the chassis (12).

13. The feed roll group of claim 9 wherein the arrangement of the feed roll group is initially formed by: at least one lifting roller (108) overlapping the upper bearing roller (48), followed by a feed roller (102) of the unidirectional type overlapping the other upper bearing roller (48), and a subgroup of at least one feed roller (102) of the bidirectional type, below and at least one above.

14. A feed roll group according to claim 13, characterized in that only one end of the feed roll (102) of the unidirectional type is formed by a support base (105) which is conical in shape and provided with a concentration mandrel (106), while both ends of the feed roll (102) of the bidirectional type are fitted with a support base (105) which is conical in shape and provided with a concentration mandrel (106).

15. A feed roll group according to claim 13, characterized in that the free ends (106c) of the concentration mandrels (106) are longitudinally aligned.

16. An agricultural harvester, in particular for harvesting tall stalk plants, comprising a chassis (12) and arranged to receive a set of feed rollers (101) formed by a series of feed rollers (102), the agricultural harvester (10) being characterized in that at least one of the feed rollers (102) is arranged according to the features defined in any one of claims 1 to 8.

17. An agricultural harvester according to claim 16, arranged for harvesting sugar cane and/or sweet sorghum.

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