GB1570649A - Mowing-swathing machine - Google Patents

Description

(54) A MOWING-SWATHING MACHINE (71) We, SOCIETE NOUVELLE DES ETABLIS SEMENTS THOMAS, DITE "S.N.E.T.", a French limited company, of 12 quai Jean-Bart, 35600 Redon, France, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The present invention relates to a mowingswathing machine having crop-cutting means, as described in French Patent No.

7 442 349, comprising a plurality of cutting arms, each arm carrying at its end at least one cutting head having a rotary disc provided with at least one cutting blade disposed above said arm, and operated by a drive lodged in said arm.

Most conventional mowing-swathing machines do not provide for the separation, from the cut crop, of earth and stones which have become mixed with the crop. This is a great disadvantage notably since such earth and stones remain mixed with the cut crop lying in a swathe, and can have detremental effects on machines effecting subsequent treatment of the crop, such as baling machines.

Moreover, such mowing-swathing machines do not provide proper aeration of the cut crop nor a satisfactory loosening of the swathes. On the contrary, the crop is often too compressed for drying under the best conditions.

Finally, the cutting tools being generally mounted onto cutting seats or drums sometimes supported by a beam assembly, the cut crop recovery means is positioned above the cutting tools so that it can happen that the cut crop runs first into the drums or the beam of the beam assembly and therefore makes them dirty or clogs them.

Such mowing-swathing machines are for instance described in German Patent No.

2225 675 and German Patent No. 2001 374.

French Patent No. 2005 234 describes a machine comprising, according to the main claim at page 11 of said patent "two drums rotating about vertical axes in opposite directions and each carrying blades, the cut grass being swept between both drums from front to rear, and a recovery device being mounted behind the drums".

Swiss Patent No. 510975 describes a machine wherein, according to the first subclaim in column 5 of said patent, "the conditioning member is a threshing drum provided with beaters and covered with a guiding hood in front of which is placed a rotative cutting tool, cutting discs of which are positioned below the threshing drum".

Here, too, however the presence of the beam assembly still entails disadvantages.

An object of the present invention is the elimination of the disadvantages of the hereabove mentioned mowing-swathing machines by providing a machine with cutting tools which are unlikely to become clogged and having crop recovery means placed conveniently to shake the cut crop and project it towards the rear of the cutting tools in order to aerate it without bursting or bruising it.

To this effect, the present invention provides a mowing-swathing machine comprising a frame, a plurality of like cutting arms mounted on the frame and projecting in the normal direction of operation of the machine, at least one cutting head disposed on the end of each cutting arm remote from a point at which the arm is mounted on the frame, each cutting head including at least one cutting blade disc rotatably disposed above the arm, drive means disposed inside the arm and operable to rotate the disc(s), and mowed crop recovery means, said recovery means being disposed above and behind the cutting heads and including a rotatable member mounted on the frame for rotation about an axis parallel to the ground and prependicular to the normal direction of travel of the machine and a plurality of projections radially disposed on the rotatable member, wherein the projections are spaced on the member and of such length as, upon rotation, to both pass be tween and below adjacent cutting arms and to intersect an imaginary cylindrical surface generated about the axis of rotation of each blade disc and passing through the circumference of said disc.

Due to the arrangement of the cutting heads and recovery means, this latter can act close to the ground, so that the cut crop cannot clog the cutting heads nor the drive members situated at the rear of the cutting heads, the cut crop still being shaken and aerated as it is projected towards the rear from the cutting heads.

The invention will be described further.

by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a preferred mowing-swathing machine of the invention; Fig. 2 is a view of the mowing machine of Fig. 1 when forming a swathe; Fig. 3 is a partial top view of the mowing machine of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a view similar to that of Fig. 3, but the mowing machine being equipped with a swathe gathering screw: and Fig. 5 is a view similar to that of Fig. 2, the mowing machine being equipped with a swathe gathering screw and a conditioning element.

Fig. 1 shows the mowing-swathing machine 1 of the invention drawn by a tractor 2 via beam 3. In this respect, the invention is not limited to such an arrangement and the mowing-swathing machine of the invention can also be carried, semi-carried or automotive. The mowing machine 1 is equipped with cutting equipment 4 substantially according to French Patent No.

7442 349, and rotary crop recovery means 5. The cutting equipment 4 comprises cutting arms 6 each carrying at its end a rotary cutting head 7 having a rotary disc 8 provided with a cutting blade 9 located above the respective arm 6. A chassis 10, rigid with frame 11 of the mowing machine 1, the latter being carried by wheels 12. supports arms 6 via gear cases 13 with which arms 6 are articulated, gear cases 13 being fixed to chassis 10. The cutting heads 7 are operated by drives respectively lodged inside arms 6, driven by a motor 14, for instance mounted on tractor 2, via a driving shaft 15 and a mechanism 16, preferably with belts, schematically shown in Fig. 2 and controlling for instance, and this with a view to obtaining a sufficient gear ratio, a gear case 17 for the general control of gear cases 13.

The recovery tool 5 shown in the drawing is a tool with rotarv tines 18. Tines 18 are rotatable with a hub 19 journalled on frame 11 and driven bv mechanism 16 in a manner which is schematically illustrated in Fig. 2. The rotation direction of tines 18 is indicated by arrow 20.

The mowing-swathing machine 1 is remarkable in that hub 19 is situated, relative to the advance direction of the mowing machine, that is towards the right on the drawing, behind the cutting heads 7 and in such manner that tines 18 rotate inside a volume limited in part by the cutting heads 7 and gear cases 13 and chassis 10, on the one hand, and that said tines 18, during their rotation, pass (as can be seen in Fig.

3) between adjacent arms 6. The ends of the tines 18 intersect an imaginary cylindrical surface generated about the axis of rotation of each blade 9 and passing through the periphery of the disc. This arrangement allows arms 6 to avoid hindering the operation of the recovery tool 5, and tines 18 to act close to the ground 20. The grass cut by cutting heads 7 does not clog or form blockages in gear cases 13 or on chassis 10.

The operation of the mowing-swathing machine 1 is illustrated in Fig. 2.

The standing crop 30, usually grass, is first cut by cutting blades 9, located above arms 6. The cut grass 40, under the action of the advance speed of the cutting heads 7 and the rotation speed of blades 9, is projected towards the rear without being stopped by arms 6. Tines 18, driven in rotation, energetically agitate the grass 40, thereby causing any earth and stones which have been mixed with the grass 40 during mowing to fall therefrom. The grass 40 is then carried upwards, loosened and aerated by the same tines 18 before falling back at the rear of the mowing machine 1 to form a swathe 50. Said swathe 50, due to the regularity of the projection of the grass 40 by the cutting heads 7 and of its transfer by tines 18, is remarkably homogeneous, uni form and loose. Moreover, the stones and earth which have fallen before the formation of the swathe 50 are covered by the latter without being mixed therewith.

It will be noted that the mowing-swathing machine 1 shown in Figs. 1 to 3, comprises a hood 22 which covers the cutting device and recovery means and extends forwardly beyond the front of the blades 9. The hood 22 is arranged to guide the crop 30 until they fall back once they have passed through tines 18. The mowing machine 1 comprises also defectors or screens 23 for gathering the swathe, positioned behind the recovery means 5 and pivotally mounted about a vertical axis such as to be able to form swathes of various widths.

Fig. 4 shows a mowing-swathing machine similar to that of Figs. 1 to 3 wherein the deflectors 23 have been replaced by a screw 24 with a right-hand thread and a left-hand thread for gathering swathes 50 over a given width.

Finally, Fig. 5 shows another type of mowing-swathing machine according to the invention, similar to that of Fig. 4, wherein there has been added behind the swathe gathering screw 24 a standard conditioning device 25 for splitting cut grass before letting it fall in a swath.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A mowing-swathing machine comprising a frame, a plurality of like cutting arms mounted on the frame and projecting in the normal direction of operation of the machine, at least one cutting head disposed on the end of each cutting arm remote from a point at which the arm is mounted on the frame, each cutting head including at least one cutting blade disc rotatably disposed above the arm, drive means disposed inside the arm and operable to rotate the disc(s), and mowed crop recovery means, said recovery means being disposed above and behind the cutting heads and including a rotatable member mounted on the frame for rotation about an axis parallel to the ground and perpendicular to the normal direction of travel of the machine and a plurality of projections radially disposed on the rotatable member, wherein the projections are spaced on the member and of such length as, upon rotation, to both pass between and below adjacent cutting arms and to intersect an imaginary cylindrical surface generated about the axis of rotation of each blade disc and passing through the circumference of said disc.

2. A mowing-swathing machine as claimed in claim 1, further comprising swathe gathering means positioned at the rear of the recovery means and arranged for forming a swathe of determined width, the gathering means comprising a screw with right-hand thread and left-hand thread.

3. A mowing-swathing machine substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (3)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. left-hand thread for gathering swathes 50 over a given width. Finally, Fig. 5 shows another type of mowing-swathing machine according to the invention, similar to that of Fig. 4, wherein there has been added behind the swathe gathering screw 24 a standard conditioning device 25 for splitting cut grass before letting it fall in a swath. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A mowing-swathing machine comprising a frame, a plurality of like cutting arms mounted on the frame and projecting in the normal direction of operation of the machine, at least one cutting head disposed on the end of each cutting arm remote from a point at which the arm is mounted on the frame, each cutting head including at least one cutting blade disc rotatably disposed above the arm, drive means disposed inside the arm and operable to rotate the disc(s), and mowed crop recovery means, said recovery means being disposed above and behind the cutting heads and including a rotatable member mounted on the frame for rotation about an axis parallel to the ground and perpendicular to the normal direction of travel of the machine and a plurality of projections radially disposed on the rotatable member, wherein the projections are spaced on the member and of such length as, upon rotation, to both pass between and below adjacent cutting arms and to intersect an imaginary cylindrical surface generated about the axis of rotation of each blade disc and passing through the circumference of said disc.

2. A mowing-swathing machine as claimed in claim 1, further comprising swathe gathering means positioned at the rear of the recovery means and arranged for forming a swathe of determined width, the gathering means comprising a screw with right-hand thread and left-hand thread.

3. A mowing-swathing machine substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.