GB937067A - Improvements in machines for harvesting tall row crops - Google Patents

Abstract

937,067. Harvesting sugar-canes; cutting-up forage crops. MASSEY-FERGUSON (AUSTRALIA) Ltd. Dec. 21, 1959 [Jan. 7, 1959], No. 19460/63. Divided out of 937,065. Classes 5(1) and 6(3). Relates to a sugar-cane or like harvester of the type comprising spaced vertical side-walls 21 defining a throat which is open in front, the walls being passed on opposite sides of a croprow so that the row enters the throat, there being means 30 for severing the butts of the stems of the crops during progress of the machine and means 81, 82 for conveying the severed crops rearwardly. According to the invention, there are means 70 for chopping the crop-stems into short lengths or " billets ", and the conveying means includes an elevator 100 for conveying the billets rearwardly and upwardly, the billet-chopping means 70 comprising a pair of rotary assemblies 70A, 70B, Fig. 5, having cutter blades 74 that co-operate to chop the crop, the assemblies being arranged so that their axis lie in a forwardly and upwardly inclined plane in order that the blades will throw the billets upwardly and rearwardly directly on to the elevator 100. The main features of the machine are described in Specifications 937,065 and 937,066 but the chopping assemblies comprise shafts 71, 72 coupled by intermeshing gears to rotate in opposite directions at the same speed, the blades 74 on opposite assemblies arriving together at the point of nearest approach. Discs 77, 78 are secured to the shafts near the ends of the blades to prevent the stalks from moving out of range of the blades. The cropfeeding means comprises belt-conveyers 81, 82 in the side-walls 21 of the crop-feeding throat, and an endless-chain slot-conveyer 50 in the base of the throat. The delivery elevator 100 comprises endless chains 101 and tine-bars 102.