GB1583689A - Harvesting machines - Google Patents

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO HARVESTING MACHINES (71) We, VEB WEIMAR-WERK, STAMMBETRIEB DES VEB WEIMAR KOMBINAT, a corporation organised under the laws of the German Democratic Republic, of 4 Buttelstedter Strasse, Weimar, German Democratic Republic, 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 invention relates to an apparatus for lifting out, copying and controlling the lifter and sieve elements on row crop harvesting machines, especially potato harvesting machines, which is arranged on the main frame of a harvesting machine and is connected with the lifter and sieve elements in such a way that these can yield or be lifted out appropriately when running against obstacles.

Potato harvesters are known which are provided with sieve chains and vibrating sieves arranged parallel with the ground level. The drawback of this harvester is that when working on a slope the collected crop is conducted away laterally and thus a large part of the sieve area becomes ineffective. It was already proposed according to DDR Patent No. 35,146 to arrange the lifter and sieve apparatus rockably about its longitudinal axis in the frame of the row crop harvesting machine, the frame being connected with a main spindle which renders possible adjustment about the longitudinal axis through hydraulic cylinders.

Furthermore, as described in said Federal German Republic Specification No.

1,214,031, for the lifting out of the lifter elements on row crop harvesting machines, a hydraulic cylinder is mounted in the carrier frame, the piston rod of which is provided with a cable pulley, while a draw cable secured to an articulation point fast on the machine is conducted over two cable pulleys and fitted on a gear box. Furthermore according to DDR Patent No.

65,490, an apparatus has become known for the maintenance of the lateral inclination of the lifter elements on row crop harvesting machines, where an orienting member is arranged on a tractor and firmly connected with a frame of a digging share carrying the forward carrier rollers of a sieve conveyor, the orienting member being in rotatable connection with a main frame which carries the rear drive rollers or a drum of the sieve conveyor. Control devices for lifter elements are also known according to DDR Patent No. 82,230, where a hydraulic cylinder arranged on the frame of the row crop harvesting machine is coupled by means of levers, coupling rods and toggle lever frames through two further hydraulic cylinders with the sieve and conveyor apparatus, also ridge presser cylinders and digging shares. The known apparatus fulfil their purpose more or less, but possess the most various disadvantages and drawbacks. Thus especially in the apparatuses the necessary working movements are for the predominant part negatively influenced in their function by suddenly occurring subjective factors in such a way that they necessarily follow undesired movements of other machine members, which thus act as setting member with which they are coupled, while the actual setting member is set out of operation and/or causes excessive manufacturing costs, which are unacceptable for economic reasons. Furthermore these apparatus have no adequate degrees of freedom as regards the foreign bodies such as stones etc. occurring in the potato crop, for the avoidance of damage as a prerequisite for the achievement of a high reliability of the working member. A further decisive drawback of the known apparatus consists in that these especially are not usable for three-row row crop harvesting machines, since the working members for example for ridge take-up in digging do not guarantee any constantly fixed digging independently of the influences of the other working members, which for optimum ridge relief copying with low production and working costs and the saving of manual work and guaranteeing of security against overload in driving against obstacles, at the same time lift out the digging members.

According to the present invention we provide a row crop harvesting machine having lift out and sieve elements suspended on cables, so as to swing in various directions, said elements being connected to one cable by means of a transverse axle which carries a V-shaped roller at one end and a cylindrical roller at the other end, limit stops being provided to limit the up and down movements of the rollers, said elements being also operatively connected with a contour feeler.

Within the main frame of the harvesting machine a sieve channel consisting of sieve and lifter elements and swinging in three directions is mounted in a cable guide. The advantage is that the sieve channel is connected with an axle which accommodates a roller of V-configuration and a smooth roller and protrudes beyond the sieve channel in width, and that a copying device is allocated to the sieve channel before the lifter elements. Fittings accommodating cable pulleys are expediently arranged on the main frame of the machine and stops provided with dogs are expediently secured on both sides of the longitudinal members of the machine main frame, while a cable conducted over the cable pulleys and preferably coupled with a hydraulic cylinder is secured on mounting points of the axle of the sieve channel.

The invention is to be explained in greater detail hereinafter by reference to an example of embodiment. In the drawings: Figure I shows a lateral elevation of the sieve channel arranged on the machine main frame, with copying device. in the working position.

Figure 2 shows a diagrammatic illustration of the sieve channel swingingly mounted in the machine main frame.

Figure 3 shows a plan view of the sieve channel mounted in the machine main frame in the working and pivotal positions with copying device placed before it.

The apparatus comprises a machine main frame 1 which is provided with the fittings 2, 3 for the accommodation of cable pulleys 4 and 5. Over the cable pulleys 4 and 5 there are conducted cables 6 and 7 which are secured at the mounting points 8 and 9 of a connecting axle 11 arranged on the sieve channel 10. The sieve channel 1() is equipped with copying (contour feeler) devices 12, lifter elements 13 and a sieve chain 14.

The cable 6 is connected with a hydraulic cylinder 15 and serves for the lifting out of the lifter elements 13 and of the sieve channel 10, while the cable 7 is provided as weight balance for the sieve channel 10. The cable suspension of the sieve channel 10 on both sides of the connecting axle 11 produces an ideal pivot point centrally of the sieve channel 10. The connecting axle 11 is provided with two guide rollers 16, 17, the roller 16 being of V-shaped configuration and taking up the occurring lateral forces, the forces in the working direction and forces acting at right angles thereto on the sieve channel, in the use of the machine, while the roller 17 possesses a smooth (cylindrical) tread surface and takes up the forces acting in the working direction. The perpendicularly acting force components are introduced through the copying device 12, the cable 7 and the cable pulley 4 into the machine main frame 1. The entire suspended sieve channel 10 can be moved in three directions due to this arrangement, it being advantageous that limiting stops 20, 21 are mounted on the longitudinal members (18, 19) of the machine main frame 1 and are provided with dogs 22, 23 which serve as limit stops for the movement of the sieve channel 10 in the horizontal direction.

The movably arranged sieve channel 10 expediently follows exclusively the set value of the copying device 12 for optimum ridge take-up. Thus the working quality of the potato harvesting machine is increased by lowering of the digging losses, with simultaneous protection of the lifter elements against damage.

"Copying" used in this specification includes "following".

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A row crop harvesting machine having lift out and sieve elements suspended on cables, so as to swing in various directions, said elements being connected to one cable by means of a transverse axle (11) which carries a V-shaped roller (16) at one end and a cylindrical roller (17) at the other end, limit stops being provided to limit the up and down movements of the rollers, said elements being also operatively connected with a contour feeler (12).

2. A row crop harvesting machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the cables are two in number located transversely of the machine, one forward of the other, the forward cable being connected at one end to said axle while its other end is resiliently restrained, the rearward cable having its ends attached to opposite ends of the axle.

3. A row crop harvesting machine as claimed in claim 2 wherein a hydraulic cylinder provides resilient restraint for one end of the forward cable.

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

Claims (5)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. machines, since the working members for example for ridge take-up in digging do not guarantee any constantly fixed digging independently of the influences of the other working members, which for optimum ridge relief copying with low production and working costs and the saving of manual work and guaranteeing of security against overload in driving against obstacles, at the same time lift out the digging members. According to the present invention we provide a row crop harvesting machine having lift out and sieve elements suspended on cables, so as to swing in various directions, said elements being connected to one cable by means of a transverse axle which carries a V-shaped roller at one end and a cylindrical roller at the other end, limit stops being provided to limit the up and down movements of the rollers, said elements being also operatively connected with a contour feeler. Within the main frame of the harvesting machine a sieve channel consisting of sieve and lifter elements and swinging in three directions is mounted in a cable guide. The advantage is that the sieve channel is connected with an axle which accommodates a roller of V-configuration and a smooth roller and protrudes beyond the sieve channel in width, and that a copying device is allocated to the sieve channel before the lifter elements. Fittings accommodating cable pulleys are expediently arranged on the main frame of the machine and stops provided with dogs are expediently secured on both sides of the longitudinal members of the machine main frame, while a cable conducted over the cable pulleys and preferably coupled with a hydraulic cylinder is secured on mounting points of the axle of the sieve channel. The invention is to be explained in greater detail hereinafter by reference to an example of embodiment. In the drawings: Figure I shows a lateral elevation of the sieve channel arranged on the machine main frame, with copying device. in the working position. Figure 2 shows a diagrammatic illustration of the sieve channel swingingly mounted in the machine main frame. Figure 3 shows a plan view of the sieve channel mounted in the machine main frame in the working and pivotal positions with copying device placed before it. The apparatus comprises a machine main frame 1 which is provided with the fittings 2, 3 for the accommodation of cable pulleys 4 and 5. Over the cable pulleys 4 and 5 there are conducted cables 6 and 7 which are secured at the mounting points 8 and 9 of a connecting axle 11 arranged on the sieve channel 10. The sieve channel 1() is equipped with copying (contour feeler) devices 12, lifter elements 13 and a sieve chain 14. The cable 6 is connected with a hydraulic cylinder 15 and serves for the lifting out of the lifter elements 13 and of the sieve channel 10, while the cable 7 is provided as weight balance for the sieve channel 10. The cable suspension of the sieve channel 10 on both sides of the connecting axle 11 produces an ideal pivot point centrally of the sieve channel 10. The connecting axle 11 is provided with two guide rollers 16, 17, the roller 16 being of V-shaped configuration and taking up the occurring lateral forces, the forces in the working direction and forces acting at right angles thereto on the sieve channel, in the use of the machine, while the roller 17 possesses a smooth (cylindrical) tread surface and takes up the forces acting in the working direction. The perpendicularly acting force components are introduced through the copying device 12, the cable 7 and the cable pulley 4 into the machine main frame 1. The entire suspended sieve channel 10 can be moved in three directions due to this arrangement, it being advantageous that limiting stops 20, 21 are mounted on the longitudinal members (18, 19) of the machine main frame 1 and are provided with dogs 22, 23 which serve as limit stops for the movement of the sieve channel 10 in the horizontal direction. The movably arranged sieve channel 10 expediently follows exclusively the set value of the copying device 12 for optimum ridge take-up. Thus the working quality of the potato harvesting machine is increased by lowering of the digging losses, with simultaneous protection of the lifter elements against damage. "Copying" used in this specification includes "following". WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A row crop harvesting machine having lift out and sieve elements suspended on cables, so as to swing in various directions, said elements being connected to one cable by means of a transverse axle (11) which carries a V-shaped roller (16) at one end and a cylindrical roller (17) at the other end, limit stops being provided to limit the up and down movements of the rollers, said elements being also operatively connected with a contour feeler (12).

2. A row crop harvesting machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the cables are two in number located transversely of the machine, one forward of the other, the forward cable being connected at one end to said axle while its other end is resiliently restrained, the rearward cable having its ends attached to opposite ends of the axle.

3. A row crop harvesting machine as claimed in claim 2 wherein a hydraulic cylinder provides resilient restraint for one end of the forward cable.

4. A harvesting machine, substantially

as described herein with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawing.

5. A harvesting machine as claimed in claim 1 substantially as hereinbefore described.