IL32210A - Sugarcane harvester - Google Patents

Description

SUGARCANE HARVESTER^ isle +zp mspa This invention relates to sugarcane harvesting machines known as "combines" and its aim is to produce one of such type tovztiich improvements have been made to make it more efficient, economical and durable. Another object of this invention is to produce a machine for harvesting sugarcane regardless of cane variety, thickness of "stand" or tilt of the stalks, as well as of entangled stalks with dead leaves clinging to them, or without same as a result of burning the canefield before harvesting* Another purpose of this invention is to produce a machine that will cut the sugarcane stalks at the upper part, freeing the cane stalk of its leaves or top, and at the bottom part at ground level regardless, within certain limitations, pf the contour of the terrain, finally cutting the cane stalk into small sections, freeing it of straw and other foreign matter and loading it onto a vehicle rolling alongside the machine.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide these machines with devices that will permit the suspension of the front section or nose to absorb the weight of that section upon the ground; devices to regulate and set the height of the lower cutters, thus regulating the height of the cut while following the terrain's contour, and to permit either of the two sides of the front section to go up or down independently of each other.

A further object of this invention is to provide the machine with a device for cutting the top off the downward tilt, which once set may be changed independently of the hiight of the cane. With the aforementioned objects and others that will appear in the description to be given later, this machine is of a new design with respect to the arrangement of parts and sections, as described and illustrated in the drawings and pointed out in the claims.

It is generally known that much work has been done on machines of this type which, in general, have not been very satisfactory since they cannot maintain the cut of the cane at ground level when operating on uneven terrain, and cannot cut leaning or entangled cane or free the cane of all foreign matter and straw. The present invention eliminates all those difficulties. Upon entering the cane-field, this machine gathers the cane stalks between two walls located on its front section or nose, cuttin the cane stalks at their upper part, freeing them of the leaves and tops by means of a hydraulic device operated by the driver which sets the height of the cut to the level at which the tops or leaves begin. Once the tops are cut, the machine cuts the stalks at their lower part at ground level by means of t«o disc-cutters revolving towards the center of the machine. The cane stalks then enter a conveyor belt which brings them to the device which cuts the stalks into small sections, after which the sections are hurled onto an intermediate conveyor belt which carries them to the rear of the machine from where they are dumped onto a toothed or smooth-surfaced drum which acts as deflector. The sections drop through an air current onto another conveyor foreign matter, to the vehicle rolling alongside the machine.

Other features of the invention will be observed in this description, especially by experts in this matter, and with the aid of the enclosed drawings, in which like symbols refer to like corresponding parts.

In the drawings, Pig. 1 is a lateral elevation of the machine which is the subject of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a lateral elevation of the machine's front section or nose.

Fig. 3 is a top vie of the mechanism of the machin's front section.

Fig. 4 is a top view of the mechanism of the device for cutting the leaves or top of the cane.

Fig. 5 is a lateral elevation of the aforementioned device for the cutting of the leaves or top.

Fig. 6 is an elevation of the machine's rear section. This machine comprises a self-propelled chassis 16 with two directional or staring rubber wheels 17 on its rear section, two rubber wheels or tsaction treads 18 at the front section and a structure, built on the chassis, which supports the various mechanisms of the machine.

On the chassis 16 there is an engine 19 which, through the necessary connections and transmissions, provides the motice power for the machine.

The top-cutting mechanism (Figs. 4 and 5) ia located on the upper front section of the machhe and is mounted on a support 26 to which it is connected by two pivots 61 shown in Pig. 4. This support 26 is connected on its opposite end to a member 38 which is part of the framework 23 on which it pivots on an axle 25 located in the upper end of the aforementioned member 3f3. This support 26 is operated by two hydraulic cylinders 9 to lower or rr-ise the top-cutting mechanism to conform to the height of the cane.

The top-cutting device is made up of a framework 45 which supports two arms 46 and 47 extending forwardsnd forming an angle at the apex of which is located a cutting disc 48 with arm 46 to the right and above the disc 48, and arm 47. to the left and below the aforementioned disc 48.

The framework 45 also supports, in addition to arms 46 and 47, the cutting disc 48 and a reducing gear box 56 which receives power through a pulley 53 and transmits it by means of a sjlpocket 57 and chain 51· The cutting disc's 48 edge has a series of rectangular blades 49 and rotates counterclockwise. These blades cut the sugarcane tops when passing over a chain 50 provided with fingers 52 pressing against the edge of the cutting blades.

The axle 63 which drives the disc 48 has several curved paddles 64 on its uppe part, whose function is to help dislodge the cane tops by striking them and hurling them away from the machine's working area. The disc or cutter 48 is covered on its lower par^ by a shie.ld 65 mounted on the framework 45 and arm 47. When the disc is in motion this shield keeps pieces- of dry or green leaves from being drawn their operation.

At the end of each arm 46 and 47 there is a sprocket 62 which guides the chain 50 with the aforementioned fingers 52 to feed the cane stalks : toward cutter 48 which cuts the cane tops. The aforementioned arms 46 and 47, have., on their forward end, a rod 66 which is slightly curved outwards, so as to reach erect stalks which lie beyond the maximum range of the chains 50 and draw these stalks toward the chains.

Finally, the top-cutting device is provided with plate elements 54 and 55, figs. 4 and 5, conveniently located to facilitate the dislodgement of the cane tops and keep them away from the machine's working area.

For the accomplishment of certain variations as to the angle of this mechanism with regard to the horizontal line, the machine is equipped with a system of levers and rods 67, 68 and 70 whose position is held by means of a tension device 71 so that when 6he support 26 is raised or lowered by the hydraulic cylinder 9 the angle of cut will remain as previously set.

The stalk-cutting mechanism (Figs. 1, 2 and 3) is located in the machine's front lower section and comprises two hollow, vertical walls of equal size 2 and 8 placed parallel to each other, whose upper edges 39 are inclined upwards and rear wards. These walls finora a throat aimed at receiving the row of stalk be cut as the machine advances forward.

In the center lower part of the throat there are tso rotate in opposite directions toward the center of the row of cane stalks. These cutters are moved by two axles 4 and 59 linked to two step-down gears 72 and 73 located in the upper ir.-ier part of walls 2 and 8 which, due to their location, do not impede the passage of the cane when being cut. The height of these two cutters in relation to the ground may be controlled by means of two skids 10 and 32 through a bar and guide connected to each skid and being operated independently by hydraulic cylinder 35 The cutters are two discs 15 and 30 whose periphery consists of blade segments 36 and which, as a whole, form a polygon. Inside of the wall 2 there is an auxiliary cutting mechanism for those stalks which may grow either tilting or flat on the ground and with dead leaves attached to them. This mechanism is an endless chain 1 provided with fingers 44 which is driven by two sprockets 21 and 22. The purpose of this mechanism is to drive the cane stalks and dry leaves toward a circular cutter 3 se in a vertical position and provided with teeth or knives, which rotates on an axle 24 and is driven by a sprocket 20 and transmission chain 37.

Next to the cutter 3 there is an arm 58 which extends forward in such a way as to grasp all tilting cane stalks that might be beyond the cutter's radius of action and serves also as a cut resistance to it; In order to maintain the cutting at a set height, the machine includes a terrain-contour-following mechanism Figsl, 2 and 3 consisting of skids 10 and 32 located at the front end of the walls 2 and 8 and connected to thenose or front section of the machine by means of bars 33, guides 34 and hydraulic cylinder 35, the nose pivoting on axle 42.

This mechanism makes it possible for the machine to follow the contour of the canefield by operating the fronjt; section or nose through a stationary member 41 to which a movable member 40 is attached. This movable member is connected to a hydraulic cylinder 11 which is connected to member 38 of the structure 23. For driving from one canefield to another and for taming, the nose is raised by a hydraulic cylinder 11 one of whose ends is attached to member 38 of structure 23 while the other end pulls a movable member 40 connected to a stationary member 41. The nose of front section is held in working position by means of a system of coil springs 43 which pass on most of the nose's weight to the framework 38. The rest of the weight is supported by the skids 10 and 32, thus allowing the terrain-following device to slide over the irregularities of the land and ensuring contact with the ground.

At the upper rear part of the cutters 15 and 30 there is a conveyor belt 6, Pigs. 1, 2>and 3 which feeds the mechanism that cuts the cane stalks into small sections after being cut off the ground and freed of their tops.

This conveyor belt is made up of flat bars or strips with irregular edges 5 edgewise set which lead the stalks to two drums 27 and 28 set horizontally one above the other, the upper one slightly displaced forward. These drums rotate in opposite directions and each one is completely coincide, cutting the cane and driving the stalk sections toward another conveyor belt 12 which drives them onto a rotating deflector 13 which, in turn, distributes them convc iently into a box 60. The bottom of this box is formed b an inclined conveyor belt 1¾ which loads the cane sections onto a vehicle for transportation to the sugar mill. The straw and other foreign matter is blown off the cane sections by an air blast traveling in the opposite direction and which is produced by a centrifugal fan 7. The straw and other foreign matter is blown out through a hatch 69 in the upper rear section of the machine.

The deflector 13 consists of a rotating drum, either smooth or serrated lengthwise, \hose function is to change continuously the angle of incidence of the cane sections, straw and foreign matter being fed by the conveyor belt 12 to facilitate the separation of straw and foreign matter from the cane sections as a result of the air blast from fan 7.

The unloading conveyor belt Jig. 6 is made in two parts: one, the lower part curved upwards, which serves as bottom for the box 60 and the other, the upper part, which pivots on the former and which can be kept extended (working position) or folded (traveling position) in order to reduce the width of the machine when moving it from one place to another. The unloading belt is equipped, at its upper end, with a deflecting plate 31 to guide the fell of the cane sections onto the vehicle, thus keeping the Even though the details of the invention have been ; shown and described in this statement, the invention is no to be considered as limited to these since other changes \ and modi ications may be made, provided they do not depart from the essence of the invention. \ Having described and stated the nature of the present invention, we hereby claim as our property what is described in the following.

Claims (7)

1. WHAT IS CLAIMED IS: 1. A sugarcane harvesting machine which comprises in combination a chassis; a framework structure; a controllable mechanism, for the cutting of the leaves or top of the sugarcane , located in the upper front section of the' machine; a terrain-contour- olloving device located in the lower front section of the machine which makes it possible to cut sugarcane stalks at ground level; a cone^cutting disc; a device to change or set the height of the said cane-cutting disc; a guide to feed the cane Stalks toward the cutting disc; an auxiliary mechanism to straighten and cut the stalks and dead leaves which, growing at an angle or lying flat on the ground, are out of range of the cutting disc; means for increasing the radius of action of the feeder guides of the cutting disc and of the auxiliary cutter for cutting tilting or lying-down stalks a mehh^nism to cut the cane stalks into small sections and to free them of dead leaves and other foreign matter; and finally, a conveyor belt that carries the cleaned stalk sections onto a vehicle for transportation to the sugar mill, and devices to move said machine and its various mechanisms.
2. 2. Sugarcane-harvesting machine, according to Claim 1, characterized by a nechanism for cutting sugarcane tops which consists of a framework supporting two arms which extend forward and uutward, forming an angle at the apex of which there is a cutting disc, one of the arms extending to the right and above the aforementioned cutting disc, and the other arm to the left and under the cutting disc, y the disc rotating counterclockwise and having on its edge a series of rectangular blades which cut the cane ?top when passing over a chain provided with fingers that press against the cutting edge and eject the cane tops outwards; a series of curved paddles mounted on the axle of the cutting disc and above the chain to help dislodge the cane tops by striking them and hurling them away from the machine's working area;a shield on the lower part of the cutting disc which is mounted on the framework and on one of the arms to keep the disc from dragging in dead leaves that would clog other parts of the mechanism and impair their functioning; and plate elements conveniently arranged to facilitate the dislodging of the cane tops.
3. 3. Sugarcane-harvesting machine, according to claim 2, characterized by the cane-top cutter being located at the convergence point of the two feeder arms.
4. 4. Sugarcane—harvesting machine, according to claim 2, characterized by the aforementioned ca ©T*op cutter having a lateral tilt toward the row of sugarcane stalks.
5. 5. Sugarcane—harvesting machine, according to the preceding claim, the employment of a psrallelogram shaped mechanism which makes it possible to maintain the angle of inclination of the arms and cutters of the cane-top cutting mechanism regardless of the height at which this mechanism ifsoperated, thus always maintaining the same angle of cut.
6. 6. Sugarcane-harvesting machine, according to claim 2, characterized by the fact that a set disc on the lower part of the cane-top-cutting disc prevents the accumulatio and entangling of dead leaves and, consequently, the choking of the cant-top-cutting disc.
7. 7. Sugarcane-harvesting machine, according to claim 2, characterized by the fact that the cane-top-cutting disc has rectangular-edged segments rotating in the direction of the disc in order to cut the cane tops and ensure a tangential ejection of the same toward the outside* 8. Sugarcane—harvesting machine, according to claim 1, characterized by having a nose or front section adapted to be suspended hydraulically for driving or tunning, this section pivoting on the point of support and being suspended by a system of springs which absorb the weight of the machine, skids being provided which - due to the action of said springs - are weighted just enough to ensure their contact with the ground so that they may glide following the irregularities of the terrain while offering the least resistance to the machine's advance. 9. Sugarcane-harvesting machine, according to claims 1 and 8, characterized by having a shock absorber system constituted by springs that suspend the nose or front sect of the machine, absorbing the weight of the nose so as to prevent the total weight of the nose from bearing on the ground. 10. Sugarcane-harvesting machine, according to claims 1 and 8, characterized by having a hydraulic system to of which the cutting height of the lower cutters is regulated. 11. Sugarcane-harvesting machine, according to claims 1 and 8, characterized by having a mechanism which is hydraulically regulated, whose connection to the skids, by means of a pin, leaves it free to oscillate on a vertical plane, adapting itself to the irregularities of the terrain in such a way that it will diminish the influence of such irregularities upon the cutting height of the lower cutters. 12. Sugarcane-harvesting machine, according to claims 1, 8 and 10, characterized by the fact that the suspension systems of the skids are independent of each other, that is, there is one for each skids. 13. In sugarcane-harvesting machine, according to claim 1, the employment of a mechanism for the cutting of sugarcane stalks, located in the lower front section of the machine and comprising two similar hollow mils placed in a vertical position and parallel to each other, with their upper edges tilting upwards and rearwards, and which form a throat to receive the cane stalks from the row of cane to be cut as the machine moves forward; a set of two polygonal shaped rotating discs, located in the lower center section of the aforementioned throat, tilting slightly downwards and rotating in opposite directions toward the center of the row of cane stalks, being moved to two sets of step-down gears located in the inner upper rear section of the walls. 1 and 13, characterized by haying two rotating discs with segments forming a polygon tangential to the cutting center of the machine ensuring the perfect cutting of the sugarcane stalks at their lower end and the conveying of the stalks toward the machine's central axis* 15. In sugarcane-harvesting machine, according to claim 1, the employment of an auxiliary mechanism for cutting sugarcane stalks that may be tilting or lying flat on the ground with dead leaves adhering to them, which consists of an endless chain provided with fingers and moved by two fingers and by two sprockets, the said chain driving the cane stalks and dead leaves toward a rotating circular cutter, either serrated or with knives, operating on a vertical position and located partially on the innerside of one of the walls that orm the throat, and an arm which extends forward above the aforeme tioned disc pressing against it and which serves to draw toward the disc those tilting stalks that might escape the disc's action* 16. Sugarcane-harvesting machine, according to claims 1 and 13, characterized by the fact that the mechanism that moves the disc for the lower cut is located on the inner side of the lateral walls that form the throat and is placed high enaugh to leave the way clear for the cane stalks on their way to the mechanism that cuts them into small sections. 17* In sugsrcane-harvesting machine, according to Claim 1, the employment of a mechanism for cutting into ί ■ '· ■. . small sections the cane stalks that have been cut and rid of their tops, the said mechanism consisting of two; similar drums set on a horizontal position, one above the other and slightly displaced forward, which rotate in opposite directions and are covered each by a knife that coincides with the other when the drums rotate, cutting the stalks into sections and ejecting the sections onto a conveyor belt which carries them onto a rotating deflector, the said deflector distributing the sections into a box whose bottom consists of an inclined conveyor belt which in turn loads these sections onto the vehicle for transportation to the sugar mill; and means to produce a strong air blast that travels in a direction opposite to that of the sugarcane sections in order to free them of dead leaves and other foreign matter which are then ejected through a hatch. located at the upper rear end of the box. 18. Sugarcane-harvesting machine, according to claims 1 and 17, characterized by the fact of having an intermediate conveyor belt which drives the sections of sugarcane and the dead leaves and other foreign matter from the mechanism that cuts the stalks into sections to the deflector located at the upper rear section of the machine. 19. Sugarcane-harvesting machine, according to the preceding claim, characterized by the fact that the deflector continuously changes the angle of incidence of the sections of sugarcane stalks, making them fall into the box at various angles to facilitate their cleaning by the air blest blowing in the opposite direction. 20. In sugarcane-harvesting machine, according to "·[ , claim 1, the employment of an inclined conveyor bel which forms the bottom of the box into which the sugarcane sections drop and by means of which they are removed from there, and characterized by consisting of two sections; one of them takes the place of the bottom of the box, and the other pivots on the former and may be kept either extended (working position) or folded (traveling position) so as to reduce the width of the machine when being driven from one place to another, and having on its upper part, the part that loads the cane sections onto the vehicle for transportation to the mill, a deflecting plate to guide the fall of the stalk sections onto the vehicle, thus avoiding their falling outside, the said conveyor belt being formed by flat bars placed on edge