GB1582084A

GB1582084A - Unloading device on vehicles in agricultural applications in particular on a harvester

Info

Publication number: GB1582084A
Application number: GB2813177A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Maschinenfabrik Fahr AG
Current assignee: Maschinenfabrik Fahr AG
Priority date: 1976-07-16
Filing date: 1977-07-05
Publication date: 1980-12-31
Also published as: AT372240B; DE2632060B2; ATA434480A; FR2358093B1; NL7706065A; AT363324B; DE2632060C3; FR2358093A1; ATA636176A; DE2632060A1

Description

(54) UNLOADING DEVICE ON VEHICLES IN AGRICULTURAL APPLICATIONS, IN PARTICULAR ON A HARVESTER (71) We, MASCHINENFABRIK FAHR AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT GoTrMADlNGEN, 7702 Gottmadingen, Federal Republic of Germany; a German body corporate, 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 an unloading device on an agricultural vehicle.

Unloading devices are employed so as to discharge material or crop transported in a harvester in metered amounts and to guarantee smooth running procedures when feeding follow-up devices. In addition to the discharged metered amounts it is sometimes required to discharge crop over the entire width of the vehicle, as is common practice for loaders. For this type of operation metering and oscillating cylinders have to be removed from the harvester.

German Gebrauchsmuster No. 7,320,940 discloses a harvester wherein the metering cylinders can be removed separately. The drive for the cylinder is by means of a drive stub shaft, which has threads, e.g. a spline, and on which a drive gear in the form of a sprocket is mounted in a manner not to turn. The drive stub shaft is mounted on a side wall axially stationary and in a rotatable manner to turn. The metering cylinder is connected at one end with a drive stub shaft in a manner not to turn and in fact wherein the spline of the stub shaft engages in the counterspline on the metering cylinder. The metering cylinder is mounted on the opposite side of the drive end to turn on a bearing pin. The bearing pin is mounted in the side wall in a manner to allow lateral movement and in fact, in such a manner that it engages in a counterbearing on the metering cylinder when at its inner most position and releases the end of the metering cylinder when at its outer most end position. The removal of the metering cylinder in this arrangement requires first of all an axial movement of the bearing pin in its non-engagement position, so that, afterwards, the entire metering cylinder can be moved axially until the spline of the drive stub shaft and the metering cylinder are disengaged. A disadvantage of this construction resides in particular in that the width of the measuring cylinder cannot correspond with the clear distance between the side walls. Further the entire metering cylinder, which is relatively heavy, has to be moved axially which could lead to seizure of the drive stub shaft or cylinder spline connection. Consequently, the removal of the metering cylinder is only possible under rather complicated conditions.

It is an object of the invention to provide a device wherein mounting for the metering cylinder enables the cylinder to cover the entire width or substantially the entire width of the loading area when installed and for such to be readily removed.

According to the present invention there is provided a crop unloading device on an agricultural vehicle comprising at least one driven, rotatable and removable metering cylinder located between side walls of the vehicle and having a drive wheel nonrotatably secured at one end via a splined drive stub shaft with the drive wheel being rotatably mounted on one of the side walls and exteriorly of the portion of the vehicle for containing crop, and said cylinder being detachably mounted at its other end on the other wall of said vehicle; said drive wheel of the metering cylinder having a splined hub portion and being disengageably connected thereby to a splined portion of the metering cylinder by means of said splined stub shaft which shaft is axially displaceable in said hub portion in such a manner that the splines of the hub portion and of the metering cylinder are engageable or disengageable from each other via said stub shaft.

In the summary the advantages of the invention reside in an unloading device wherein the metering cylinders run across the entire width of the loading area and such cylinders can be readily removed without much effort. By application of simple engineering means the installation and removal of each metering cylinder can be accomplished by the operator without any strenuous alignment work. This completely excludes or minimizes any likelihood of accidents. A further provision to increase the operating safety resides in the deflectors being located in the end areas of the metering cylinders. The deflectors prevent on the one hand the crops from getting "caught", which under certain circumstances could lead to breakdowns and damage; and further there are safety devices to prevent in particular the metering cylinders from falling down after loosening of their connections at the side wall sections. The drive connection can be engaged and disengaged in such a manner, that the opposing position of the drive components, e.g. chain drives, will not be impaired. This provides a majoradvan- tage, in that the drive and driven wheels of the separate metering cylinders can be fixedly axially.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic side elevation of the rear end of a harvester; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through a metering cylinder; and Fig. 3 is a schematic sectional view along lines IIIIII of Fig. 2.

In Fig. 1 there is illustrated the rear end of a harvester 1 in which a horizontal conveyor 2 moves crop 3, which is shown shaded in the drawing, to metering cylinders 4. Three metering cylinders 4 are arranged one above the other in the embodiment illustrated and each metering cylinder 4 is driven during operation to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrows. Each metering cylinder 4 has an outer casing surface 5 which is fitted with blade-like drivers 6. A transmission box 7 is provided below the horizontal conveyor 2 and the drive for a transverse conveyor belt 9 is supplied therefrom by way of a propeller shaft 8. Crop displaced by the cylinders 4 enters the region between the cylinders 4 and a rear wall 10 in metered quantities and falls onto the transverse conveyor belt 9 and may then be fed to a further processing station, such as a blower (not shown). The transverse conveyor belt 9 can be folded downward into an inoperative position (not shown). To enable the harvester to also be used as a loading machine, the metering cylinders 4 are detachably mounted so as to permit removal.

The mounting arrangement of one of the metering cylinders 4 is illustrated in Fig. 2.

A flange 13 is mounted on the left of the side walls 11 and 12 of the harvester 1 by means of threaded connections 14. A hub 15 is located in flange 13 and is rotatable on ball bearings 16. A drive wheel 17 such as a sprocket wheel is mounted on the hub 15 for driving the cylinder 4 and a further wheel 18 is provided for the drive of the next higher cylinder 4. A spline 20 is a component part of a stub shaft 21 of the cylinder 4. A drive stub shaft 22 is provided for the transmission of power from the drive wheel 17 to the cylinder 4, the stub 22 has a spline 23 over the major part of its length which in turn co-operates with splines 19 and 20 in hub 15 and stub shaft 21. The drive stub shaft 22 is mounted in a recess 24 in a manner to allow axial movement. The drive stub shaft 22 is fitted with a handle 25 which can be secured on hub 15 for the purpose of holding the drive stub shaft 22 in axial direction. In the illustrated example this is accomplished by means of a pin 26 mounted on the drive wheel 17 and which passes through a bore 27 of the handle 25 so that the latter can be held by a cotter pin which is not illustrated.

In the illustrated position of the drive stub shaft 22 the splines 19 and 20 (which for example may be involute splines) are connected by their shaping to provide drive.

After loosening the axial lock and moving the drive stub shaft far enough to the left that spline 23 releases spline 20, the cylinder 4 is disengaged from the drive and at the same time drops slightly. The releasing of the drive connection must, of course, take place when the drive is stationary.

The right hand side wall 12 or a further wall section 28 shows a horizontally positioned receiving pocket 29 which is formed in U-shaped section. The pocket 29 is open toward the tail end of the harvester as is especially clear from Fig. 3.

The right hand end of the metering cylinder 4 shown in the Figure 2 is supported so as to turn on a stub shaft 31 by way of an adjustable flange bearing 30. The stub shaft 31 can be guided into the pocket 29, and in fact the end with the larger diameter.

This part has a bearing surface 32. After guiding it into the pocket 29 the stub shaft 31 is locked by way of a plug connection, made up of the bearing surface 32 and a plug 33 which is passed through recesses 34 and 35 of the pocket 29. In order that the bearing surface 32 will be in an aligned position after guiding in the stub shaft 31, without additional turning by the operator, the stub shaft 31 is fitted with an aligning element 36, e.g. a drag lever.

Deflectors 37 and 38 are mounted on the side walls 11 and 12 in the area of the ends of the cylinder 4. These deflectors are arranged a short distance away from the surface 5 of the cylinder 4. The design of the deflectors 37 and 38 can be seen in Fig.

3 and such face the direction of conveyance of the crops as indicated by the arrow. The deflectors are bent to an almost semi-circular shape and make up a flat tray portion 39 in their bottom section. It is demonstrated quite clearly in the drawing, that after loosening, the right hand and left hand connection, each cylinder 4 can be lifted out towards the rear, but that it is not possible for the cylinder 4 to fall down, since it will rest in the flat tray 39. Consequently the deflectors 37 and 38 fulfill many purposes.

On the one hand they prevent the crops from being "caught" around the cylinder 4 which under certain circumstances could impair the drive and lead to damage, and on the other hand they serve as a safety element for the released cylinders. In the same manner they finally facilitate the installation of the cylinders, in that they are first placed in the trays 39 and then lifted just slightly to make the left and right connections and this is of considerable assistance for the attachment of cylinders 4.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. A crop unloading device on an agricultural vehicle comprising at least one driven, rotatable and removable metering cylinder located between side walls of the vehicle and having a drive wheel nonrotatably secured at one end via a splined drive stub shaft with the drive wheel being rotatably mounted on one of the side walls and exteriorly of the portion of the vehicle for containing crop, and said cylinder being detachably mounted at its other end on the other wall of said vehicle; said drive wheel of the metering cylinder having a splined hub portion and being disengageably connected thereby to a splined portion of the metering cylinder by means of said splined stub shaft which shaft is axially displaceable in said hub portion in such a manner that the splines of the hub portion and of the metering cylinder are engageable or disengageable from each other via said stub shaft.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which a driving wheel for the drive of a further metering cylinder is provided adjacent said drive wheel.

3. A device as claimed in claims 1 or 2 in which the end of the cylinder remote from the drive end is rotatably mounted on a stub shaft which is capable of being held in a holder of the side wall by way of a readily disengageable connection.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3, in which the shaft mounting comprises a horizontal receiving pocket open toward the output end of the device and a plug adapted to lock the shaft in position.

5. A device as claimed in claims 3 and 4 in which the axle stub has a bearing surface for the plug.

6. A device as claimed in claim 5 in which the stub shaft can be guided into the receiving pocket and aligns automatically by way of an aligning element.

7. A device as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which the drive stub shaft has a handle which is mountable on the hub.

8. A device as claimed in claims 1 and 7 in which the switching positions of the drive stub shaft are designed as catches.

9. A device as claimed in claim 1, in which the length of the metering cylinder is approximately the clear distance between the side walls.

10. A device as claimed in claims 1 and 9 in which deflectors are mounted on the side walls and are arranged a short distance away from the cylinder casing surface and protrude into the end areas of the cylinder whose circumference is partially covered by them.

11. A device as claimed in claim 10 in which the deflectors as seen in side view are arranged in substantially semi-circular shape to the casing surface on the side facing the flow of unloading crop and in which the deflectors form flat tray portions in the bottom area of the cylinder.

12. An unloading device on an agricultural vehicle constructed and arranged to operate substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

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

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. shape and make up a flat tray portion 39 in their bottom section. It is demonstrated quite clearly in the drawing, that after loosening, the right hand and left hand connection, each cylinder 4 can be lifted out towards the rear, but that it is not possible for the cylinder 4 to fall down, since it will rest in the flat tray 39. Consequently the deflectors 37 and 38 fulfill many purposes. On the one hand they prevent the crops from being "caught" around the cylinder 4 which under certain circumstances could impair the drive and lead to damage, and on the other hand they serve as a safety element for the released cylinders. In the same manner they finally facilitate the installation of the cylinders, in that they are first placed in the trays 39 and then lifted just slightly to make the left and right connections and this is of considerable assistance for the attachment of cylinders 4. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:-

1. A crop unloading device on an agricultural vehicle comprising at least one driven, rotatable and removable metering cylinder located between side walls of the vehicle and having a drive wheel nonrotatably secured at one end via a splined drive stub shaft with the drive wheel being rotatably mounted on one of the side walls and exteriorly of the portion of the vehicle for containing crop, and said cylinder being detachably mounted at its other end on the other wall of said vehicle; said drive wheel of the metering cylinder having a splined hub portion and being disengageably connected thereby to a splined portion of the metering cylinder by means of said splined stub shaft which shaft is axially displaceable in said hub portion in such a manner that the splines of the hub portion and of the metering cylinder are engageable or disengageable from each other via said stub shaft.