DE9105932U1 - Pair of cutting rollers for corn picker - Google Patents

Description

ULRICH SCHULZE HEULING

4410 WARENDORF

TILLMANNSTR 5

Pair of cutting rollers for corn picker

The innovation concerns a pair of cutting rollers for picking devices for harvesting tall plant stems with at least one fruit cluster, such as sunflowers or corn, with counter-rotating shafts for each of the cutting rollers, each of which is provided with at least one protruding cutting bar that meshes with one another as it rotates, with this engagement being arranged parallel behind a picking gap. The cutting bars on the first cutting roller therefore overlap the cutting bars on the second cutting roller and run ahead of it.

To harvest the fruit clusters of tall plants, such as corn or sunflowers, the stalks are caught by a feed roller and pulled through a picking gap whose width is narrower than the diameter of the fruit cluster, which is therefore torn off when the stalk is pulled in and conveyed by conveyors to a collecting container on the harvesting machine.

To harvest such plants, such as corn or sunflowers, existing agricultural harvesting machines are converted by attaching appropriate picking heads, the intake rollers of which are driven directly or indirectly by a transverse shaft of the harvesting machine, for example, whereby the counter-rotation of the intake rollers arranged in pairs is achieved with appropriate gears. This makes it possible, for example, to use harvesting machines for wheat, barley and oats in the

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To make the time of the corn harvest usable for the production of these fruit clusters.

The counter-rotating intake rollers of the harvesting attachments grasp the corn stalk very deeply and then pull it through an intake path, with the picking gap being arranged upstream of the driven intake rollers, as described in DE-OS 17 57 213, for example. In this device, both intake rollers have protruding ribs that engage with one another when they rotate. In the engagement area, the grasped plant stalk is "broken" by these ribs without being severed in the area of the break. This "breaking" is limited to the shattering of woody stalk material in the area of action of the ribs, whereby continuous fibers - similar to flax breaking - are retained.

EU-OS 89 12 1195.5-2313 goes beyond this state of the art, it relates to a method and a device for harvesting fruit clusters of tall plants, for example corn or sunflowers, whereby the fruit cluster(s) growing on a stalk is separated from it and collected as harvested material and the stalk freed from the fruit cluster(s) is chopped into chopped material. This is achieved by the "ribs" of the intake rollers being designed as cutting strips that interact with one another and overlap while the rollers are rotating, the purpose of which is to sever the stalk, whereby the intake rollers are converted into cutting rollers.

This cutting of the stems is made more difficult by the fact that the cutting bars (seen in cross-section) only have a minimum distance that allows cutting at a single point on their overlapping circular paths. This means that in the area of engagement of the cutting bars, i.e. over the angle of rotation during which one of the cutting bars on one feed roller is immersed between two cutting bars (one preceding and one following) on the other feed roller, the distances between the outer edges of the successive cutting bars on both feed rollers constantly change.

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change so that the expected shredding or chopping effect is not fully achieved.

This is where the idea of innovation comes in, which is based on the task of designing the cutting strips in such a way that a combined effect is created, that it is torn or ripped and, above all, that it is cut, whereby the cutting effect is achieved on the one hand by a shearing effect, i.e. by the direct movement of two cutting edges past each other, but on the other hand also by the movement of a cutting edge past a surface - in other words, by cutting.

To solve this problem, according to the innovation, a generic pair of cutting rollers is designed in such a way that the cutting bars of the trailing feed roller are concavely curved in the feed direction in such a way that when the feed rollers rotate in opposite directions, at least in approximately the first half of the angle of rotation assigned to the engagement area, the outer edge of the cutting bar on the leading feed roller passes this curved surface at an approximately constant distance, from the outside to the inside.

This curved design of the trailing intake roller has the advantage that when the cutting rollers of the counter-rotating rollers first meet - i.e. at the beginning of the angle of rotation in which the cutting bars of the two counter-rotating cutting rollers dip into each other or mesh with each other during their movement - the edges of the two cutting rollers meet and at least break the drawn-in material and partially cut it by shearing. Completely severing the stalks is not yet desired at this point, as the following part of the stalk is then not guided safely between the intake rollers and may end up completely in the harvester.

As the cutting bars continue to move against each other, the pre-broken and crushed material is torn, as the outer edge of the leading cutting bar rests on the curved surface of the trailing

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The cutting bar is, so to speak, scraped off at a close distance, and at an increasing relative speed the further it moves away from the outer edge of the cutting bar of the trailing feed roller and approaches its central axis.

With the appropriate design of the curvature and the cutting bar of the trailing feed roller, the distance or slot of the curved surface relative to the passing edge of the cutting bar of the passing feed roller can be changed or reduced, so that a squeezing cut can still be achieved towards the end of the counter-movement. According to the innovation, not only a simple cut is aimed for, but all possibilities for shredding, breaking, tearing and squeezing are used so that the material being drawn in, the relatively strong and at least partially woody stem, is shredded, distributed and opened up as finely as possible.

Further advantages are that the curvature of the trailing cutting bar results in a hook or shovel-shaped design, which significantly improves the pulling in of the material through the picking gap and that the blunting of the cutting edges of the cutting bars, which reduces performance, no longer plays a role because breaking and subsequent tearing practically takes place instead of cutting in order to divide and chop the material being pulled in and is ultimately more effective.

According to an advantageous development of the innovation, the cutting bars on the leading feed roller are also concavely curved against the feed direction in such a way that when the feed rollers rotate in opposite directions, at least in approximately the second half of the angle of rotation in the engagement area, the outer edge of the cutting bar of the trailing feed roller passes this curved surface at an approximately constant distance, from the inside to the outside.

This design of the cutting bars on the leading feed roller practically means that in the second part of the meshing engagement of the

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Cutting bars of the counter-rotating rollers repeat, improve or complete the above-described process or the treatment of the drawn-in material, so that an even more favorable and uniform effect is achieved.

Further features, advantageous developments and preferred embodiments can be found in the dependent claims and are explained with regard to their advantages in the specific description. The innovation is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings with regard to exemplary embodiments.
In the drawings show

Figure 1: Schematic top view of a pair of cutting rollers arranged behind a picking slot,

Figure 2: Schematic view of a pair of cutting rollers of a different design according to Figure 1,

Figures 3 to 5: Schematic view of a pair of cutting rollers according to Fig. 2 in different working positions during shredding.

Behind a picking slot 1, where the direction of the material to be treated is indicated by arrow A, two feed rollers 2 and 3 are arranged parallel to each other and to the slot 1 at a corresponding distance. The feed rollers 2 and 3 are driven in opposite directions via a common gear in the direction of arrows B and C. The speeds of the feed rollers 2 and 3 can be different. Of course, they must be coordinated with each other in such a way that they are in a certain relationship to the cutting bars arranged on the feed rollers and which mesh with each other.

The feed roller 2 is shown here with a square cross-section and a cutting strip 4, 5, 6 and 7 is attached to each of its surfaces. These cutting strips protrude beyond the edges of the cross-section of the feed roller 2, they can be slightly angled at this protruding free section 4a, 5a, 6a and 7a as shown and are bevelled at the outermost free edge 4b, 5b, 6b and 7b so that they form a cutting edge. The trailing feed roller 3 also has a square cross-section and on two opposite

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Cutting strips 8 and 9 are attached to the surfaces of this cross-section, which extend far beyond the boundaries of the cross-section of the feed roller 3 on both sides and form the actual effective areas of the cutting strips there.

These areas 8a and 9a, two outermost areas on each of the cutting bars 8 and 9, are concavely curved with respect to the feed direction A in such a way that when the feed rollers rotate in opposite directions (B and C), at least in approximately the first half of the angle of rotation in the engagement area, the outer edge 4b of the cutting bar 4a passes the leading feed roller 2 at an approximately constant distance D on this curved surface 8b, from the outside to the inside.

The movement of the two cutting strips 4a and 8a and thus the wiping of the edge 4b against the surface 8b is shown in Figure 1 in different positions, with the first position being shown with a solid line, the second position following it with longer broken lines, the third position with alternating line-dots and the fourth position with alternating line-dot-dot. From these different positions during the rotational movement it can be seen that when the edge 4b on the cutting strip 4 of the leading feed roller 2 is swept over the surface 8b on the cutting strip 8a of the feed roller 3, which is concavely curved in the feed direction, the gap D between the edge 4b and 8b remains the same. If the curvature of the surface 8b is continued in the same way up to its base, the gap D opposite the edge 4b passing by also remains the same.

In the embodiment shown here, however, the last part of the curve on the cutting strip 8a is narrowed or designed as a straight line, so that the gap D between the edge 4b and the surface 8b is narrowed or completely disappears, so that the edge 4b comes into direct contact with the surface 8b, as can be seen in the lowest position shown in the dash-dot-dot in Figure 1. Further details are given in the functional explanation below.

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In the embodiment according to Figure 2, the cutting strips 10 and 11 on the leading feed roller 2 are shaped in a corresponding manner, as already explained in connection with the cutting strips on the feed roller 3.

According to Figure 2, the protruding areas 10a and 10b of the cutting bar 10 on the feed roller 2 are concavely curved against the feed direction indicated by the arrow A, so that correspondingly curved surfaces 10b are formed. The protruding areas 11a of the cutting bar 11 attached opposite the feed roller 2 are also provided with concave curvatures 11b against the feed direction A.

In the first half of the angle of rotation in the engagement area, in this embodiment there is initially a gap D between the edge 4b on the cutting bar 10 of the feed roller 2 and the opposite curved surface 8b on the feed roller 3, and during further rotation in this first half of the angle of rotation the edge 4b sweeps over the curved surface 8b, as is indicated in accordance with the various positions in Figure 2. The first position, the inlet, is shown in solid lines. If the rotation continues, the second position is shown in dashed lines, the third position is again shown in solid lines, while the fourth position, the position in which the two cutting bars 8a and 10a overlap the most, dip the furthest into each other and, if "stretched", would be approximately parallel to each other, adjacent to a connecting line between the two centers of rotation of the opposing rollers - in this position the cutting bars are shown in dotted lines.

It can be seen that in this position there is still a distance D between the edge 4b on the cutting bar 10a and the opposite curved surface 8b on the cutting bar 8a, but that this distance increases as the outermost edge 8c on the cutting bar 8a of the trailing feed roller 3 approaches the curved surface 10b on the cutting bar 10a of the leading feed roller 2.

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As the counter-rotation continues, i.e. in the second half of the angle of rotation in the engagement area, the edge 8c on the cutting bar 8a of the feed roller 3 then sweeps over the curved surface 10b on the cutting bar 10a of the feed roller 2, whereby there is also a distance of width D between the edge and the curved surface.

At the end of the angle of rotation in the engagement area, the edge 8c on the cutting bar 8a meets the edge 4b on the cutting bar 10a again, before the cutting bars on the two counter-rotating feed rollers move completely away from each other and the angle of rotation in the engagement area is completed. The function of the design according to Figure 2 is explained in more detail below using Figures 3, 4 and 5, which show a sequence of movements of the two feed rollers 2 and 3 against each other.

The harvested crop drawn in through the picking gap 1 in the direction of arrow A is shown schematically, with stems and leaves designated as E, while the actual fruit cluster F, in this case indicated as a corn cob, is held back by the picking gap, i.e. remains outside the picking gap and is conveyed further from there.

According to Figure 3, the counter-rotating feed rollers 2 and 3 with their cutting bars 8 and 10 continue to draw in the material passing through the picking gap 1 after it has been gripped, the hook- or scoop-shaped design of the cutting bar 8a on the feed roller 3 being advantageous. At the beginning of the angle of rotation shown in Figure 3 in the engagement area between the two cutting bars, the edge 4b on the cutting bar 10a of the leading feed roller 2 meets the opposite edge 8c on the cutting bar 8a of the trailing feed roller 3. The material E is partially cut, but due to the gap D, part of the material E can also just be broken or crushed, but its cohesion is significantly disturbed and loosened.

As the two feed rollers 2 and 3 continue to rotate and the cutting bars 10a of the leading

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Feed roller 2 and the cutting bar 8a of the trailing feed roller 3 at the angle of rotation in the engagement area against each other according to Figure 4, it can be seen that the partially cut, partially broken and crushed stem and leaf material E is pulled around the edge 8c of the cutting bar 8a and is thereby anchored to it, whereby the material E is further drawn in through the picking gap 1 and, if necessary, the fruit F in the area of the picking gap 1 is separated or torn off the stem.

In the process, the edge 4b, possibly at a distance D, sweeps over the surface 8b, and at increasing speed as it approaches the axis of rotation of the roller 3. As a result, the fibers and other parts of the material E that are broken or crushed but not yet cut and that are on or adjacent to the curved surface 8b in Figure 4 are torn, so that a complete separation of the section El from the stems or leaves drawn through the slot 1 is achieved.

As already explained above, the position of the two rollers 2 and 3 or the curvature of the surface 8b on the cutting bar 8a can be selected or designed in such a way that towards the end of the wiping movement of the edge 4b of the cutting bar 10a on the feed roller 2 over the wiping surface 8b, the gap D is reduced until the wiping edge touches the curved surface, so that at the end of the counter-movement another wiping cut is made.

Turning to Figure 5, it can be seen that during the further rotation of the two feed rollers against each other, i.e. in the second half of the angle of rotation in the engagement area, the edge 8c of the cutting bar 8a sweeps over the curved surface 10b or scraping surface of the cutting bar 10a on the feed roller 2 from the inside to the outside, whereby there is also only a small distance or gap D between the edge and the scraping surface.

If the severed part El is still attached to or connected to any fibers on the drawn-in strand E, this connection is finally severed here by squeezing or tearing off.

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Finally, the curved surface 10b can be designed in such a way that towards its outermost end the gap D becomes increasingly narrower, so that an additional shearing or cutting effect also occurs between the surface and the edge 8c and possibly even the end edge 4b.

From the above it is clear that all possibilities for separating the incoming strand of material E are used, so that even with very difficult to handle material E that is dried out and/or woody, a reliable separation into individual small pieces or chopping is achieved. The further intake of the strand of material that is pulled through the picking gap 1 is also ensured, as can be seen in particular from Figure 5.

The blade- and hook-shaped curved cutting bar 8a of the trailing cutting roller 3 grips the material protruding from the picking gap 1 in a point-like or linear manner, while the opposite cutting bar 11a, which is practically bent back from the material strand, lies flat against the material strand and forms an abutment so that the material strand emerging from the picking gap 1 cannot move away or be bent when the outer edge of the cutting bar 8a is placed against and penetrates the feed roller 3.

Before the cutting bars of the counter-rotating intake rollers enter the angle of rotation assigned to the engagement area and, in doing so, chop or cut off the product E in a meshing interaction, their special design and shape ensure that they grasp the product E and pull it through the picking gap 1, so that even fruit clusters F still attached to the product can be safely picked off and transported away outside the picking gap.

Claims (10)

ULRICH SCHULZE HEULING 4410 WARENDORF TILLMANNSTR 5 Protection claims 1. Pair of cutting rollers for picking devices for harvesting tall plant stems with at least one fruit, such as sunflowers or corn, with counter-rotating shafts for each of the cutting rollers, which are provided with at least one protruding cutting bar and mesh with these during their rotation, this engagement being arranged parallel behind a picking gap, characterized in that the cutting bars (8, 9) of the trailing intake roller (3) are concavely curved in the intake direction A in such a way that when the intake rollers (3, 2) rotate in opposite directions, at least in approximately the first half of the angle of rotation assigned to the engagement area, the outer edge (4b, 5b, 6b, 7b) of the cutting bar (4, 5, 6, 6, 7; 10, 11) on the leading intake roller (2) at an approximately constant distance D on this curved surface (8b, 9b) from the outside to the inside. 2. Pair of cutting rollers for picking devices according to claim 1, characterized characterized in that the scraping surface (8b, 9b) on the cutting bar (8, 9) of the trailing feed roller (3) is curved towards its base point or runs in a straight line in such a way that its distance D from the cutting edge (4b) decreases towards the end of the engagement angle of rotation. Page 2 Protection claims 3. Pair of cutting rollers for picking devices according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the cutting strips (4 to 7; 10, 11) on the leading feed roller (2) are concavely curved against the feed direction (1) in such a way that when the feed rollers (2, 3) rotate in opposite directions, at least in approximately the second half of the angle of rotation in the engagement region, the outer edge (8c) of the cutting strip (8a) on the trailing feed roller (3) passes this curved surface (8b) at an approximately constant distance D, from the inside to the outside. 4. Pair of cutting rollers for picking devices according to claim 3, characterized characterized in that the scraping surface (10b) on the cutting bar (10a) of the leading feed roller (2) is curved towards its free end or ends in a straight line in such a way that its distance D from the cutting edge (8c) decreases towards the end of the engagement angle of rotation. 5. Pair of cutting rollers for picking devices according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cutting edge (8c, 4b, 9c; 5b to 7b) is formed by the edge end surfaces of the cutting strips (8,9; 4 to 7,10,11). 6. Pair of cutting rollers for picking devices according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cutting edges (8c, 4b; 9c; 5b to 7b) are sharpened at the free ends of the cutting strips (8,9,4 to 7,10,11). 7. Pair of cutting rollers for picking devices according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cutting strips (8, 9; 4 to 7; 10, 11) are formed by the projecting regions of metal strips fastened to a shaft with a square cross-section. Page 3 Protective ar-soorche 8. Pair of cutting rollers for picking devices according to claim 7, characterized characterized in that metal strips projecting in both directions as cutting bars are attached to two opposite surfaces of the shaft which has a square cross-section. 9. Pair of cutting rollers for picking devices according to claim 7, characterized characterized in that the cross-section of the shaft of the feed rollers (2,3) is polygonal. 10. Pair of cutting rollers for picking devices according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the cutting strips (8, 9; 4 to 7; 10, 11) are spirally formed over their length.