EA043607B1 - THREE-SECTION HEADER FOR AGRICULTURAL CROPS WITH DRAFT CONVEYORS AND UPPER CROSS AUGER - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a harvesting header with a central section and two side sections that rotate relative to the forward turning axes, in which the crop is transported from the cutterbar inward by means of two side belt conveyors, and an upper transverse auger is provided along the upper edge of the rear sheet, facilitating the movement of the high agricultural crop.

Prior Art

US Published Application No. 2018/0368320, issued December 27, 2018, discloses a header having a cutting system for attachment to a combine harvester with a three-piece frame, the frame portions of which are hinged together to form a central portion and two side portions. The header additionally contains a cutting bar, a reel, a central belt conveyor system or a feeding draper conveyor, as well as side belt conveyor systems or lateral draper conveyors for placing plant material, which are located on the frame in such a way that the side draper conveyors move transversely to the direction of travel in the direction of the central belt conveyor system, and the central belt conveyor system moves against the direction of travel. The header contains a multi-component rear wall of the cutting system mounted on separate parts of the frame, which runs along the rear of the side belt conveyors and which contains an outlet for discharging the harvested crop into the harvester in the area of the central belt conveyor system.

The main part of this invention relates to the provision of a three-piece screw conveyor or auger which extends over the entire working width of the cutting system or cutterbar and is located above the side drapers and between the reel and the rear wall, and in particular that, the length of the corresponding parts of the screw conveyor or auger corresponds to the width of the three parts of the frame, that is, the central frame and the two side frames. This respective width is chosen so that the oscillatory movements of the three parts of the frame relative to each other have no or only slight differences in length, which can be compensated by means of appropriate bearings in a simple and economical manner.

Of course, as in all devices of this type, where the auger or screw conveyor is divided into separate sections, the parts of the screw conveyor are connected by a hinge drive, and the adjacent parts of the screw conveyor are mutually connected by means of universal joints.

The essence of the invention

According to the invention, there is provided a harvesting header for attachment to a vehicle, comprising:

a main frame having a connecting member for mounting on a vehicle, by means of which the header is moved on the vehicle in a forward direction;

cutting bar at the front end of the main frame;

a crop conveying system for moving a cut crop, comprising first and second side drapers moving in a direction transverse to the forward direction, each side draper having a leading edge adjacent to a cutter bar;

wherein the main frame has a central portion on the connecting member and first and second side portions, each of which is connected to a corresponding end of the central portion for pivoting movement relative to the central portion about a respective of the first and second rotation axes, each of which is generally parallel to the forward direction , and the first and second axes are in the plane of the cutting bar or next to it;

a rear wall located at the rear edge of the side web conveyors and extending from it upward to the upper edge of the rear wall;

and an auger located adjacent the upper edge of the rear wall, comprising an auger screw mounted on a longitudinally extending rotating member configured such that rotation of the member drives the screw in a direction to move the crop inward toward the center of the header;

wherein the auger comprises along the rear wall three sections arranged with ends facing each other, including a central section with a central screw, a first end section with a first end screw, and a second end section with a second end screw;

wherein the first end section is connected to the first end of the central section through a first joint, and the second end section is connected to the second end of the central section through a second joint;

wherein each of the first and second joints is configured to transmit rotation from one section to another section in the joint;

wherein each of the first and second joints allows said one section to move relative to the other section in the longitudinal direction of the screw;

wherein each of the first and second joints provides a change in the angle of the axis of the element of one

- 1 043607 sections relative to the axis of the element of another section in the joint;

wherein the first joint is located at a position spaced inward from the first axis, and the second joint is located at a position spaced inward from the second axis.

In one configuration, the rear wall is divided at the first and second rotation axes into a central wall portion and first and second side wall portions such that the first space between the central wall portion and the first side wall portion increases and decreases as the center portion and the first side wall portion rotate. in clockwise and counterclockwise directions about the first rotation axis, and such that the second space between the central wall portion and the second side wall portion increases and decreases when the central portion and the second side portion are rotated in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions arrows about a second pivot axis, wherein the first screw extends past the first space, moving a crop engaging the first screw past the first space into a central portion of the rear wall, and wherein the second screw extends past the second space, moving a crop engaging the second screw past the second space in the central section of the rear wall.

Not all headers that use a three-piece auger have a split draper rear wall. While some have this feature, the only separation that exists in all configurations that use a three-piece auger is the frame pivot pin.

Typically, the header also includes a reel located on reel arms mounted on the main frame and extending forward over the cutterbar, the reel comprising a first reel arm mounted at a first end of the central portion and a second reel arm mounted at a second end of the central portion. In this configuration, preferably the first screw also extends past the first reel arm and its support structure, and the second screw extends past the second reel arm and its support structure. This also avoids crop hanging at the junction between the central and side sections.

In addition, typically the reel is divided into a central reel portion and first and second reel portions at respective ends of the central reel portion, each reel portion having a plurality of serrated bars at angled locations around it, the serrated bars of the central portion terminating at the first end in the first radial plane of the central portion, and the serrated bars of the central portion terminate at a second end in the second radial plane of the central portion. In this configuration, preferably the first screw extends past the first radial plane and the second screw extends past the second radial plane, also improving the transfer of the crop past these potential hanging locations. In some cases, the ends of the toothed bars are connected by a reel end ring that supports the ends.

The three-piece auger is designed for any header that can have a three-piece reel, but it is also used on configurations of the same headers with only a two-piece reel, so there is not always reel separation when the auger is separated. When using an auger with a three-piece reel with an internal reel split, both the support structure, the reel arm, and the frame pivot pin are useful.

In the present invention, according to the resulting definition, the position of the joint in the auger is defined only with respect to the hinge axis of the frame. Optionally, the articulation in the auger also extends past the reel support arms and its mounting structure, including the working cylinders, reel division, and draper rear wall division, where applicable.

Thus, in the present invention, the joints between the auger sections are designed such that they are not aligned with the pivot points of the frame sections. Instead, the length of the wing auger sections is increased so that crop moves past the junction between the side and center sections, avoiding crop accumulation at the common junction as in prior art designs.

In a preferred configuration, the first joint comprises a first mounting bracket located at a first end of the central portion, the first joint being attached to the central section of the auger, the second joint comprising a second mounting bracket located at the second end of the central portion, the second joint being attached to the central section of the auger. and wherein the first and second joints provide longitudinal sliding movement of the first and second side sections of the auger frame relative to the first and second joints to accommodate the rotational movement of the header portions. Preferably, in this configuration, the screw of the central section of the auger is removable from the first and second joints and replaced. This allows for interchangeable center sections for different crop impacts when at least two center sections with different screw sizes are provided.

Preferably, the auger is driven from the first end such that the central section and the second side sections are driven through the first and second joints.

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Brief description of drawings

One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

in fig. 1 is a top plan view of a header according to the present invention;

in fig. 2 is a top plan view of the header of FIG. 1, showing on an enlarged scale the section adjacent the joint between the side section and the center section, the reel being omitted for ease of display;

in fig. 3 is a front elevation view of the header section of FIG. 2;

in fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view along lines 4-4 of FIG. 3;

in fig. 5 is a top plan view of the section of FIG. 2, showing the reel, the connecting element between the reel sections at the joint and the relationship with the auger;

In the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in different figures.

Detailed Description of the Invention

In fig. 1 is a plan view of a header 10 of the type shown and described in U.S. Patent No. 7,918,076 (Talbot), assigned to the present inventor and issued April 5, 2011, which is located on a coupling device (not shown) or mounting assembly attached to the receiving harvester chamber. The header 10 includes a frame 13 formed by a main rear beam 14 and a plurality of forward extending arms 15 that extend from the beam 14 downward and then forward under a platform 16 that extends across the header. A cutterbar 17 is provided at the front end of the platform 16. A draper system 18 is provided on top of the platform 16, which moves the crop from the cutterbar across the header to a discharge point into the receiving chamber 12. Thus, the draper system 18 includes two side draper conveyors 18A, extending from the respective ends of the header inward to the receiving chamber, and a central connecting section 18C, which is configured to supply crops from the side drapers 18A back to the receiving chamber.

The header further includes a reel 19 containing a beam 20 on which are mounted a plurality of reel bars (not shown) that are arranged on the beam for rotation with the beam about the axis of the beam. The beam is located on reel support arms 21, which extend from the beam back and up, supporting a bracket attached to the transverse main beam 14. The reel arms can be raised and lowered by hydraulic cylinders (not shown) mounted between the corresponding arm and the beam 14.

In the illustrated embodiment, the reel is mounted on four arms 21, including two arms at the ends of the header and two central arms spaced on each side of the coupling device 11. It is well known to provide a beam-and-slat arrangement that is adapted to the bending motion of the reel such that one end can be higher than the other end without damaging the structure of the bars or reel. There are many different structures known to accommodate such bending motion that can be incorporated into the device described herein as is well known to one of ordinary skill in the art.

The main frame has a coupling device or coupling element for mounting on a vehicle, by means of which the header is moved on the vehicle in a forward direction.

As described in detail in the above patent, the main frame has a central portion 23 on the connecting member and first and second side portions 24, 25, each of which is connected to a respective end of the central portion for pivoting movement relative to the central portion about a respective of the first and second pivot axes. , each generally parallel to the forward direction, the first and second axes being in or adjacent to the plane of the cutter bar. In fig. 3, the pivot axis on one side is shown specifically in the form of a connecting member 26, which is located at the rear of the frame, aligned with the cutterbar and configured to support the side section while allowing the side section to pivot around the hinge 26. Balancing mechanism, schematic designated 27 and described in detail in the cited patent, lifts the side section with the required lifting force, which is balanced with respect to the lifting force applied by the connecting device to the central section for the purpose of applying the required force to the ground during the retracting action. All details of this system are described in the patent cited above.

The rotational motion that occurs when following the contour of the ground provides rotational movement of the central and side portions of the frame so that at the ends 14C and 14D the space between portions 14A and 14B of the main beam 14 increases and decreases.

At the rear edge of the side webs there is a rear wall 27 which extends therefrom upward to the upper edge of the rear wall on the main beam 14. At the first and second rotation axes, the rear wall is also divided into a central wall portion 27B and first and second side wall portions 27A with a space 27X between the end edges 27C and 27D of these wall sections. As a result, the space between the central wall portion 27B and the first side wall portion 27A

- 3 043607 also increases and decreases when the central portion and the first side portion are rotated in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions about the rotation axis 26.

The rear wall has a bottom edge immediately behind the rear edge of the side drapers and extends up and back from the side drapers to confine the crop to the rear of the header.

As is well known, the auger 28 is located adjacent the upper edge of the rear wall and includes an auger screw 29 mounted on a longitudinally extending, elongated, rotatable pipe 30 configured such that rotation of the pipe in a forward and downward direction drives the screw in the direction of travel of the crop. inward to the center of the header.

The auger 28 includes three end-to-end sections along the rear wall, including a center section 28A with a center screw 29A, a first end section 28B with a first end screw 29B, and a second end section with a second end screw. The end sections are connected to the first and second ends of the central section 28A by joints 31, which are configured to transmit rotation from one section to another section in the joint so that the auger is driven at one end by a drive mechanism, schematically designated 32.

The joints, as best shown in FIG. 4, contain a universal connecting element and a sliding connecting element, which allow each of the first and second joints to provide movement of said one section relative to the other section in the longitudinal direction of the auger and to change the angle of the axis of the element of one section relative to the axis of the element of the other section in the articulation.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 4, each joint 31 includes a universal coupling member 311 and a sliding coupling member 312 located within the tube of auger section 28A. Therefore, each joint 31 includes a mounting bracket 31A located at the first end of the central frame portion. The joint 31 is attached by a bracket or plate 31A to the outer end of the central frame section on the first side section of the auger. The joints 31 provide longitudinal sliding movement of the side sections of the auger relative to the first and second joints to accommodate the rotational movement of the header sections.

The plate 31A is attached to the auger section 28B by a shaft 313 bolted to the pipe end plate 314 of the section 28B. The shaft 313 extends outward from the end of the pipe within the sleeve 315, which projects into the end of the pipe of section 28A. The sleeve 315 receives a universal coupling member 311 that is coupled to a shaft 316 within the pipe section 28A. The universal joint holds the shafts 313 and 316 with their ends facing each other while transmitting rotational motion through the coupling member while allowing limited changes in the angle between the shafts to accommodate the relative motion between the auger portions 28A and 28B. The shaft 316 extends through the sleeve 318 to form a sliding coupling member 312 such that the portions 28A and 28B can move toward and away from each other a limited distance to accommodate changes in the distance from the outer end mounting member of the portion 28B and the portion 28A. The sleeve 318 is mounted in a fixed position on the axis of the auger portion 28A and is restrained from sliding along it so as to provide the required sliding movement due to the movement of the shaft in the sleeve. The screws 29A and 29B extend along the respective portion of the auger as far as possible and as close as possible to the bracket or plate 31A to assist in transferring the crop across the area on the bracket 31A.

As best shown in FIG. 3, the joints 31 are in a position spaced inwardly from the first axis 26 such that the first screw 29B extends past the first space 27X, moving the crop engaging the first screw past the first space 27X into the central portion 27B of the rear wall 27. Thus, the end the edge 29X of the screw 29B is located inside the edge 27B of the rear wall and inside the end edge 14D of the main beam so as to move the crop past the edges and the movement obstacles created by them, and towards the rear portion of the wall of the central section.

The reel 19 includes first reel arms 21 mounted at the ends of the central portion immediately inside the end edge 14D on the main beam. The lever is mounted on a hinged support 21A on the beam and rests on a corner spacer 21C, which is also hinged on the main beam 14. The lever can be raised and lowered by cylinders 21D.

As shown in FIG. 5, each reel beam is mounted on a corresponding side of the arm 21 so as to leave space between the reels on the arms. Each reel typically includes a plurality of slats 19R at spaced positions around the main reel beam. The bars contain 19S serrated pins. The ends of the bars are mounted on an end disk 19T located directly on the side of the lever 21.

Because of its length extending into the central section, the first screw 29B extends past the first reel arm 21 and past the first radial plane containing the disk 19T. Thus, the end edge 29X of the screw is offset inward from the plane of the disk 19T on the side of the lever 21 in the center section.

The screw of the central section of the auger is designed with the ability to be removed and replaced on the first and second

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Claims (2)

joints so that at least two central sections with different screw sizes can be provided. CLAIM 1. Harvesting header (10) for attachment to a vehicle, containing: a main frame (13) having a connecting member for mounting on a vehicle, by means of which the header (10) is moved on the vehicle in a forward direction; a cutting bar (17) at the front end of the main frame (13); a crop moving system (18) for moving a cut crop, comprising first and second side drapers (18A, 18B) moving in a direction transverse to the forward direction, each side draper (18A, 18B) having a leading edge adjacent to cutterbar (17), and a central draper (18C) located between the first and second lateral drapers (18A, 18B); wherein the main frame (13) has a central section (23) on the connecting element and first and second side sections (24, 25), each of which is connected to the corresponding end of the central section (23) by means of hinges (26) forming the first and second axes (26) pivoting for pivoting motion relative to the central portion (23) about the corresponding of the first and second pivoting axes (26), each of which is generally parallel to the forward direction, the first and second pivoting axes (26) being in the plane of the cutterbar or adjacent thereto, wherein the central portion (23) supports the central draper (18C) and the first and second side portions (24, 25) support the corresponding first and second lateral drapers (18A, 18B); a rear wall (27) located at the rear edge of the side webs (18A, 18B) and extending therefrom upward to the upper edge of the rear wall (27); and an auger (28) located adjacent the upper edge of the rear wall (28) comprising an auger screw (29) mounted on a longitudinally extending rotating element (30) configured such that rotation of the element (30) drives the screw ( 29) the auger in the direction of moving the crop inward to the center of the header (10); wherein the auger (28) comprises three sections disposed end to end along the rear wall (28), including a central section (28A) with a central screw (29A), a first end section (28B) with a first end screw (29B), and a second an end section with a second end screw; wherein the first end section (28B) is connected to the first end of the central section (28A) through a first joint (31), and the second end section is connected to the second end of the central section (28A) through a second joint; wherein each of the first and second joints (31) is configured to transmit rotation from one section to another section in the joint (31); wherein each of the first and second joints (31) provides movement of said one section relative to the other section in the longitudinal direction of the screw (28); wherein each of the first and second joints (31) provides a change in the angle of the axis of an element of one section relative to the axis of an element of another section in the joint (31), characterized in that the first joint (31) is located in a position spaced inward from the first axis (26) and above the central draper (18C), and the second joint (31) is located in a position spaced inward from the second axis and above the central draper (18C), wherein the harvesting header contains a reel (19) located on the reel arms (21), mounted on the main frame (13) and extending forward over the cutter bar (17), the reel (19) comprising a first reel arm (21) mounted on the first end of the central portion (23), and a second reel arm (21) mounted on the opposite second end of the central portion (23), and wherein the first screw (29B) extends inside the first reel arm (21), and the second screw extends inside the second reel arm (21). 2. The harvesting header (10) according to claim 1, in which the rear wall (27) is divided at the first and second rotation axes (26) into a central wall section (27B) and a first and second side wall sections (27A) so that the first space (27X) between the central wall portion (27B) and the first side wall portion (27A) increases and decreases when the central portion (27B) and the first side portion (27A) are rotated in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions about the first axis (26) rotation, and so that the second space between the central wall portion and the second side wall portion increases and decreases when the central portion and the second side portion are rotated in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions about the second rotation axis, the first screw (29B ) passes into the first space (27X), moving the crop engaging the first screw (29B) past the first space into the central -