GB2123665A - Reaping machine - Google Patents

Abstract

A walking-type reaping machine has at least one wheel 4 between the reaping and conveying unit and the engine, the said at least one wheel being mounted to the front portion of a wheel transmission case which can be fixed at a position adjustable in a vertically swinging manner. One sleigh means 30 is disposed under the reaping and conveying unit at the transversely intermediate portion thereof. The sleigh means is long in the longitudinal or front-rear direction of the machine body, and adjustable in height. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Walking-type reaping machine The present invention relates to a walking-type reaping machine which includes a reaping and conveying unit having reaping means and reaped grain stalk conveying means at the front of the machine body, an engine and a steering handle at the rear of the machine body, and at least one wheel between the reaping and conveying unit and the engine, whereby, with the steering handle supported by the operator standing behind the machine body, the machine is steered to reap, transversely convey and discharge grain stalks to the outside of the machine body by the reaping and conveying unit disposed at the front of the machine body.

A reaping machine of this type is generally provided under the reaping and conveying unit with sleigh means in contact with the ground, in order to maintain the reaping and conveying unit at a predetermined height from the ground. Such sleigh means are conventionally disposed under the both lateral ends of the reaping and conveying unit. Therefore, when the field is relatively flat and regular, such sleigh means are effective in steadily supporting the reaping and conveying unit in the transverse direction of the machine body.

However, if the field is neither flat nor regular, the respective sleigh means follow the irregularity of the ground and therefore the reaping and conveying unit easily tends to swing in the transverse direction of the machine body. This means that the respective reaping heights of the reaping and conveying unit at the left and right sides thereof are not same. It is generally desired to cut grain stalks only at their tip portions as short as possible with the use of such reaping machine, since the reaped grain stalks are thereafter threshed by a threshing machine.If the reaping and conveying unit is inclined in the transverse direction of the machine body to produce a difference between the reaping heights at the transverse ends of the unit, grain stalks are cut either too short with the grain portions thereof cut away or too long with the base portions thereof unnecessarily remaining.

Moreover, if the ieft- and right-hand sleigh means are different in ground-contact conditions, it produces a difference in the ground-contact propelling resistance between the left- and righthand sleigh means. This inconveniently produces side-movement of the machine body.

According to a conventional reaping machine, the sleigh means in contact with the ground and the wheel are fixed in height, or only the height of the sleigh means can be adjusted. Therefore, the height of the reaping and conveying unit from the ground cannot be adjusted at all or can be adjusted only by a small amount. It is therefore not possible to cut the tip portions of grain stalks by a desired length, if the grain stalks are extremely short or long. Therefore, a range of grain stalks which can be reaped by such conventional reaping machine is very limited.

Furthermore, if the wheel is sink in a wet field, it is merely possible to take such step as to replace the wheel with a larger-diameter wheel.

Accordingly, such conventional reaping machine cannot be used under unfavourable conditions such as an extremely wet field. In other words, such conventional reaping machine has the disadvantage that the machine fulfills its function only under relatively favorable conditions as to crops and fields.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a walking-type reaping machine which eliminates the defects above-mentioned and can satisfactorily fulfiil its full function under conditions whatsoever as to crops and fields.

A walking-type reaping machine of the present invention includes a reaping and conveying unit having reaping means and reaped grain stalk conveying means at the front of the machine body, -an engine and a steering handle at the rear of the machine body, and at least one wheel between the reaping and conveying unit and the engine, and is characterized in that the wheel is supported by the front portion of a wheel transmission case which can be fixed at a position adjustable in a manner vertically swinging around the engine side thereof, and one sleigh means in contact with the ground is disposed under the reaping and conveying unit at the transversely intermediate portion thereof, the sleigh means being long in the longitudinal or front-rear direction of the machine body and adjustable in height.

Accordingly, since one sleigh means in contact with the ground is disposed under the reaping and conveying unit at the transversely intermediate portion thereof, the reaping and conveying unit supported through this one sleigh means is not transversely shaked, even if the heights of the reaping and conveying unit at the right and left sides thereof from the ground are different from each other, due to unevenness of the field. Thus, the machine of the present invention can be steered with its stability in the transverse direction maintained more securely than a conventional machine having a pair of left- and right-hand sleigh means.

The machine of the present invention can therefore make an excellent straight advance without any side-movement which takes place due to a difference in the ground-contact resistance between the left- and right-hand sleigh means.

The independently adjustable structures of the wheel and the sleigh means in contact with the ground enable the height of the reaping and conveying unit from the ground to be adjusted in a wide range, by adjusting the wheel and the sleigh means in opposite directions. Accordingly, the machine of the present invention can be suitably adjusted in its height from the ground according to the length of grain stalks to be reaped, thus enabling to reap grain stalks by a desired length.

Moreover, the reaping machine of the present invention can also reap grain stalks inclined by a large angle, by sufficiently lowering the reaping and conveying unit.

Furthermore, since the wheel can be lowered, the reaping machine of the present invention can be used also in an extremely wet field in which the wheel tends to deeply sink.

In short, the reaping machine in accordance with the present invention can fulfill its full function to perform an efficient reaping operation under conditions whatsoever as to crops and fields.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a general-side view of a walking-type reaping machine embodying the present invention; Fig. 2 is a general plan view of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged side view of a reaping and conveying unit; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a mechanism for transmitting power to the reaping and conveying unit; Fig. 5 is a section view in plan elevation of a wheel mounting portion; and Fig. 6 is a section view in plan elevation of the wheel mounting portion, illustrating another form in use.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments The reaping machine in accordance with the present invention shown in the drawings, includes a reaping and conveying unit 1 having four-row grain stalk guide paths L at the front of the machine body, an engine 2 and a steering handle 3 at the rear of the machine body, and propulsion wheels 4 at the intermediate portion in the longitudinal or front-rear direction of the machine body.

Disposed at the longitudinally intermediate portion of the machine body is a pair of main frames 5a and 5b made of a round pipe suitably spaced from each other in the transverse direction of the machine body. The reaping and conveying unit 1 is connected to the front portions of these main frames 5a and 5b. The engine 2 is connected to the rear end of one main frame 5b. A transmission case 6 directly connected to the lateral side of the engine 2 is connected to the rear end of the other main frame 5a. There is thus formed a machine body frame structure having a large vertical space between the left- and righthand main frames 5a and 5b.

The description hereinafter will discuss the structure of the reaping and conveying unit 1.

Reaping means of the hair clipper type 9 is disposed along the front of a transverse frame 8 supported by the main frames 5a and 5b and stays 7 extended therefrom.

Disposed on the transverse frame 8 are two sets of upper and lower transversely conveying means 10 comprising chains 1 Oa and conveying projections 1 Ob, by which reaped grain stalks are to be conveyed in the rightward transverse direction along a conveying guide cover 11 and then discharged to the outside with respect to the machine body.

The chains 1 Oa have drive sprockets 1 2 mounted to a common drive shaft 1 3 which is interlockingly connected, through a chain 16, to an output shaft 1 5 of a bevel gear transmission case 14 connected to the front end of the lefthand main frame 5a.

The chains 10a have end sprockets 17 and 18 so constructed as to be independently changed in position to adjust the tensions.

The left-hand main frame 5a simultaneously forms a transmission case for the reaping and conveying unit 1. Inserted in the left-hand main frame 5a is a transmission shaft 1 9 interlockingly connected to a gear transmission mechanism in the transmission case 6. Power supplied by this transmission shaft 1 9 is adapted to be transmitted to the vertical output shaft 15 through a claw clutch means 20 and a bevel gear transmission mechanism 21 in the bevel gear transmission case 14.

The output shaft 1 5 is connected at the lower end thereof to a crank arm 22 for drivingly reciprocating the reaping means 9 in the transverse direction. The clutch means 20 is a wire-connected to a reaping clutch lever 23 disposed under a left-hand grip 3a of the steering handle 3.

Five arms 24 suitably spaced from each other in the transverse direction are forwardly extended in the cantilever style from the transverse frame 8.

The grain stalk guide paths L are thus formed between each of these arms 24. Four arms 24 except for the leftmost arm 24 are turned upward at the intermediate portions thereof. Brackets 25 attached to the upwardly turned portions 24a rotatably support rotary packers 26 in a star wheel shape formed of plastics through fixed support shafts 27 which are inclined such that the packers 26 are rotated in a slightly inclined posture in the forward direction.

Designing is made such that the rotary locus of each packer 26 encounters the transversely moving locus of the conveyor projections 1 Ob of the upper transversely conveying device 10.

Successive engagements of claws 26a of the packers 26 with the conveyor projections 1 Ob continuously rotate and drive the packers 26, so that grain stalks guided to the guide paths L are brought rearward as combed up by the packers 26, and are then cut at the lower portions thereof.

Thus reaped grain stalks are then transversely moved by the packers 26 and the upper and lower conveying means 1 0.

Stalk dividing plates 28 in the tapering shape are disposed in a forwardly inclined posture on the forwardly extended portions of the arms 24 and the packers 26. These stalk dividing plates 28 are adapted to smoothly divide and guide grain stalks to the guide paths L.

Disposed under each packer 26 are upper and lower line-shape spring means 29 for pushing reaped grain stalks to the front of the conveying guide cover 11.

A sleigh means 30 made of a round pipe is connected in a vertically swinging manner to the tip of the transversely center arm 24. The sleigh means 30 has an upwardly extended connecting plate 31 which is connected to a fitting metal 32 of the center arm 24 with bolts. The height of the reaping and conveying unit 1 from the ground, can be freely adjusted by changing the bolting positions.

For the engine 2, there is used an air-cooling gasoline engine of the transverse shaft (crank shaft) type. A starter pulley 33 on which an engine starting rope is wound is disposed at the right side with respect to the engine 2. The transmission case 6 is connected to the left side or output side of the engine 2.

A fuel tank 34 and an air-cleaner 35 are respectively disposed on and behind the engine 2.

A muffler 36 is disposed at the left-side of the engine 2. An accelerator lever 37 for the engine 2 is disposed adjacent the left-hand grip 3a-of the steering handle 3, which is rearwardly extended from the front portions of the main frames 5a and 5b. An intermediate stay 38 for the steering handle 3 is supported on the engine 2.

A wheel transmission case 39 is connected to the transmission case 6 at the left side thereof at a position lower than the connection point'of the transmission case 6 to the left-hand main frame 5a. Output from the transmission case 6 its to be transmitted through a chain transmissiQn mechanism incorpdrated in the case, to axles 40.

and 41 which are transversely extended from the top of the transmission case 39. In other words, in the transmission case 6 engine output is divided into two transmission systems, one of which is a transmission system-for driving the reaping and conveying unit 1 through the left-hand main frame 5a, and the other of which is a travelling transmission system.

A main clutch lever 42 for turning power ON and OFF at an upstream side of the both transmission systems is disposed adjacent the right-hand grip 3b of the steering handle 3.

Disposed behind the transmission case 6 is a transmission lever 43 for performing changeover of forward or referse rotation only in the travelling transmission system to provide a forward or rearward travelling.

The wheel transmission case 39 is disposed in a manner vertically swinging around the travelling system output axis P of the transmission case 6 under the left-hand main frame 5a, and may be fixed at an arbitrary swing position by securely fastening a support arm 45 having therein an arcuate slot 44 upwardly extended from the transmission case 39, to the main frame 5a with a bolt 46.

The axles 40 and 41 transversely extended from the tip of the transmission case 39 are adapted to be rotated integrally with each other.

The axle 41 extended inwardly of the machine body (in the rightward direction in Fig. 5) has a main axle 41 a supported by the transmission case 39 and an extended axle 41 b pin-connected to the tip of the main axle 41 a through a cylindrical relay shaft 47. As a matter of fact, the left-hand axle 40 and the main axle 41a are constructed as a unitary shaft. The cylindrical relay shaft 47 is rotatably supported, through bearings 49, by the lower end of a bearing arm 48 attached to the right-hand main frame 5b. The bearing arm 48 is disposed such that the mounting height of the bearing arm 48 to the main frame 5b can be adjusted by a slot 50 and a bolt 51. Thus, the positions of the bearings 49 can be changed according to the swing adjustment of the wheel transmission case 39.

Rubber wheels 4 are pin-connected to the lefthand axle 40 and the extended axle41-b of the right-hand axle 41, respectively. There is thus formed a two-wheel travelling body having a pair of wheels 4.located outside the left- and right hand main frames 5a and Sb.

While a reaping machine is generally used in such two-wheel travelting form, it is also possible to use it in a one-whee;l travelling form with one wheel 4 attached between the left- and right-hand main.frames 5a and 5b 6s shown in Fig. 6.

Claims (3)

1. A walking-type reaping machine comprising a reaping and conveying unit having reaping means and reaped grain stalk transversely conveying means at the front of the machine body, an engine and a steering handle at the rear of the machine body and at least one wheel between the reaping and conveying unit and the engine, at least one wheel being supported by the front of a wheel transmission case which is fixable at a position adjustable in a manner vertically swinging about the engine side thereof and one sleigh means in contact with the ground disposed under.the reaping and conveying unit at the transversely intermediate portion thereof, the sleigh means being long in the longitudinal or front-rear direction of the machine body and adjustable in height.

2. A walking-type reaping machine as claimed in Claim 1 , in which the sleigh means in contact with the ground is so constructed such that the height thereof is adjustable in a manner vertically swinging around the front end thereof.

3. A walking-type reaping machine constructed and arranged to operate substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.