NL1006277C1 - Plant for harvesting agricultural crops, such as grass - Google Patents

Abstract

The mowing (2) and shaking (3) devices are fitted on a common frame (4). The frame is couplable to a vehicle, such as a tractor, for forward movement of the plant over a field. The two kinds of devices are located next to each other on the frame and crossways to the plant movement direction, so that in operation they process simultaneously adjoining areas of a field. The two kinds of devices are connectable to a drive (5,6,7) located on the towing vehicle, such as a hydraulic drive. Lifting devices (11) are provided for moving the mowing and shaking devices independently of each other between a rest position and a work position.

Description

R CL / mv / Hol-1

Device for working on agricultural crops

The invention relates to the field of agricultural crop processing plants.

Agricultural crops, such as grass, are in practice first cut and then shaken, ie spread over the field, in order to be able to dry, after which they are brought in dried. A farmer or peasant woman first drives the mower once with a mower to mow the agricultural crop. Then he or she drives a second time across the field, now with a shaker, to shake the mown agricultural crop.

According to the invention, an apparatus of the type mentioned at the outset is now provided, comprising mowing means for mowing the agricultural crops; and shaking means for shaking the mowed agricultural crops, which mowing means and shaking means are positioned relative to each other such that the device 20 in operation mows and shakes the agricultural crops successively.

The device according to the invention has a number of important advantages. First of all, the simultaneous mowing and shaking of the agricultural crop saves one pass over the field. This provides a considerable time saving for the farmer or farmer's wife. Moreover, this protects the environment. A further advantage is that the so-called field period of the mown agricultural crop is shorter. After all, the agricultural crop is shaken immediately after mowing and can then dry. This means that the dried agricultural crop can be brought in earlier, which reduces the chance of wet rain.

In a first preferred embodiment, the mowing means and the shaking means are arranged on a common 1006277 2 frame, which frame can be coupled to a vehicle, such as a tractor, for moving the device over the field. In this embodiment, the device according to the invention can be used in an analogous manner as a conventional mower or shaker. Preferably, the mowing means and the shaking means, viewed transversely of the direction of movement of the device, are arranged substantially next to each other on the frame, such that the mowing means and the shaking means in operation operate in substantially simultaneously adjacent areas of the field.

Other advantageous embodiments are described in the remaining sub-claims.

The device according to the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the drawing, in which figure 1 schematically shows a perspective view of the device according to the invention; and Figure 2 shows the device of Figure 1 in top view, illustrating its operation.

Figure 1 shows a device 1 according to the invention. Device 1 comprises a mower 2 and a shaker 3, which are mounted on a frame 4. Frame 4 has coupling arms 25 for coupling to a vehicle, such as a tractor (shown in figure 2), for advancing device 1.

Device 1 is provided with a power take-off shaft 5 for connection to a mechanical drive, which is provided on the vehicle. PTO shaft 5 is connected to a drive shaft 7 via a transmission 6. Drive shaft 7 drives rotary cutting heads 8 and 9. To promote safety, mower 2 is covered with a cover 10. Mower 2 is provided with lifting means 11 for moving the shown working position to the rest or transport position (not shown), in which the mower is released 1006277 3 from the ground . The mower shown is known per se in the art.

Shaker 3 is connectable to the tractor hydraulic drive (not shown) via lines 5 12 and hydraulic pump 13. Speed reducers are optionally added. Shaking forks 16, 17 are mounted on rotatable frames 14 and 15. Shaker 3 is also provided with lifting means 18 for bringing it from the shown working position to the rest or transport position 10. The shaker shown is known per se in the art.

Figure 2 shows device 1 in top view to illustrate its operation. Device 1 is coupled to tractor 23, which moves device 1 in the direction of movement indicated by arrow 15A. Grass 19 is mowed in known manner with the aid of mower 2. The mown grass lies in swath 21 on the field 24. Tractor 23 moves shaker 3 through swath 20 with just cut grass. Shaker 3 distributes the grass in a random pattern 22. It can be clearly seen that mower 2 spreads the grass in a swath 21, while simultaneously shaker 3 spreads the grass from a newly formed adjacent swath 20 over the field 24.

It will be clear that many variants of the shown embodiment are conceivable, all of which fall within the scope of the invention. First of all, different types of mowers and tedders known in the art can form part of device 1. Also, the position of the mower and / or the tedder, respectively, can be chosen differently. For example, the shaker can be mounted behind a mower on a common frame. Alternatively, it is conceivable to place a so-called front mower in front of tractor 23 and to install a shaker behind tractor 23. It will be appreciated that all combinations of a mower and a tedder that allow to mow and shake the agricultural crops substantially in one pass over a field of agricultural crops are within the scope of the invention. It should be noted that, if desired, multiple mowers can be combined with multiple shakers in the device according to the invention.

1006277

Claims (6)

An apparatus for working agricultural crops, such as grass, comprising mowing means for mowing the agricultural crops; and 5 shaking means for shaking the mown agricultural crops, which mowing means and shaking means are positioned relative to each other such that the device in operation mows and shakes the agricultural crops successively. 2. Device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mowing means and the shaking means are arranged on a common frame, which frame can be coupled to a vehicle, such as a tractor, for advancing the device over the field. 3. Device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the mowing means and the shaking means, viewed transversely of the direction of movement of the device, are arranged substantially side by side on the frame, such that the mowing means and the shaking means in operation work substantially simultaneously adjacent areas of the field. . 4. Device as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein the mowing means or the shaking means for driving it are connectable to a drive present on the vehicle, for instance a mechanical drive. 5. Device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the shaking means or the mowing means for driving it are connectable to a further drive present on the vehicle, such as a hydraulic drive. Device as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, wherein lifting means are provided for moving the mowing means and the shaking means independently of each other between a respective rest position and a respective working position. 1006277