US1376757A - Method of and apparatus for forming stacks of grain for curing - Google Patents

Description

D. M. GRAHAM.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING STACKS 0F GRAIN FOR CURING.

APPLICATION man MAR. 5. 1918.

1,376,757. Patentd May 3,1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l- D. M. GRAHAM.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING STACKS 0F GRAIN FOR CURING.

APPLICATION FILED MAR-5,19?-

1,87 6,7 57. Patented May 3,1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2v v I amen I01,

D. M. GRAHAM. METHOD OF AND, APPARATUS FOR FORMING STACKS 0F GRAIN FOR CURING.

APPLICATION FILED MAR 5.19m.

Patented May 3 1921.

4' SHEETS-SHEET 3. .I

I L... l I I I I I D. M. GRAHAM.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING STACKS 0F GRAIN FOR CURING.

APPLICATION FILED MAR 5, I9I8. v

Patented May 3, 1921.

Swmwtoz UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID M. GRAHAM, OF BORDULAC, NORTH DAKOTA, ASSIGNOR TO GRAHAM-ROACH HARVESTER & STACKER COMPANY, OF NORTH DAKOTA.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING STAOKS OF GRAIN FOR CURING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Ma 3, 1921.

Application filed March 5, 1918. Serial No. 220,578.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID M. GRAHAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bordulac, in the county of Foster and State of North Dakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of and Apparatus for Forming Stacks of Grain for Curing, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

The invention relates to a method of and mechanism suitable for the stacking of grain, hay, straw and the like for the subsequent curing of the same, thereby saving the various costs incident to binding.

IVith such object in view, as well as other advantages which may be incident to the use of the improvements, the invention consists in the procedure and in the use of the parts and combinations thereof hereinafter set forth and claimed, with the understanding that the several necessary elements constituting the same may be varied in proportions and arrangement without departing from the nature and scope of the invention.

In order to make the invention more clearly understood there are shown in the accompanying drawing means for carrying the same into practical effect, without limiting the improvements, in their useful applications,to the particular constructions which, for the purpose of explanation, have been made the subject of illustration. In the said drawings:

Figure l is a side view of said mechanism, comprising a stack former, the same showing the grain-side of the machine.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, with a portion of a space former arranged to receive a formed and dumped stack.

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section on line IIIIII of Fig. 2, showing in dotted lines the dumping position of the mechanism and a deposited stack.

Fig. 4 is a detail view, partly in hori zontal section, of the movable hinge connection of the bottom.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a formed stack and a ventilating space former which has been withdrawn from the same.

Fig. 6 is a vertical cross-section of a portion of the space former.

Fig. 7 is a vertical section on line VII VII of Fig. 2, showing the ground wheel clutch.

Fig. 8 is a section similar to Fig. 3, but showing a modified means for controlling the movement of the platform.

Referring to the drawing, 1 indicates a stack-former having substantially vertical end walls 2 and 3 and side walls 4: and 5 and a bottom 6, the bottom being upwardly movable for the purpose of dumping the formed stack and the side wall 5 being in the nature of a gate adapted to open outward to release the stack. The stackformer comprises a bottom frame 7 which is supported on a transverse shaft 8 which is or may be non-rotary. At the near side or grain side of the machine the frame 7 is secured to said axle by a bearing or bracket 9 (Fig. 3) and at the off-side or stubble side of the machine said frame is secured to the shaft by a bearing 9. 10 is a longitudinal sill member which supportsthe offside of the frame 7. On the outer end of said shaft is mounted a ground wheel 11. The ground wheel may be the bull wheel of a harvesting mechanism or'it may be independent of such mechanism. The front and rear ends of the sill 10 are carried by ground caster wheels 12 and 13. At the front end of the machine is constructed a drivers platform 14:, and the draft mechanism may be of any suitable character and is not illustrated. When the stack forming machine is combined with .a harvesting apparatus in one machine, a single draft mechanism may suffice for the same. Carried on the base frame 7 is an upright frame 15, supporting the vertical walls and certain other parts of the apparatus.

The bottom 6 is independent of the vertical walls so as to be tiltable sidewise of the machine for the deposit of a stack as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 8. The bottom is constructed of a supporting frame 16 carrying a suitable grain supporting platform, and in normal position is arranged within the side wall 4 and end walls, and at a level just under the side wall or gate 5 (as seen in. Fig. 3). The frame 16 is principally supported by the frame 7 and is partly supported and guided when it is tilted, by front and rear longitudinal pivots 17 mounted on brackets 17 fixed to the bottom and engaging in the inner ends of links 18, the latter being mounted on outer longitudinal pivots 19, the latter being carried by the frame 7. The off-side and delivery edge of the tilting bottom is or may be formed by a series of rods 20 having their inner ends secured in the frame 16 and extending out to the bottom of the gate 5.

26 is a clutch lever pivotallysupported in a bracket 27 on the side wall 4 and held in locked position by a rack 28. The lever 26 extends to a point near the Mile 8 and is there provided with a yoke 29 connected with a rotary clutch member 30 of a winding mechanism, said member being slidable on a sleeve 30 fixed to or formed with the hub of the wheel 11, and the member 30 is rotary therewith by means of a spline 31.

The other member 31 of the clutch is attached to a drum or pulley 32 which is loosely mounted on the axle and has attached thereto wire or other ropes or cables 33, 34 which pass over pulleys 35, 36, to the front and rear ends of the machine respectively and around pulleys 37 38,' and thence pass across the machine and around pulleys 39, 40, and thence downward to points of attachment at 41 where their ends are secured to the near side of the tiltable bottom 6.

At or near the front and rear ends of the inner side of the bottom are attached rollers 42 (Fig. 4) which, when the bottom is tilted, are adapted to travel upward and toward the off-side of the machine in flanged guide plates 43, the latter being attached to the inner faces of the front and rear end walls of the machine.

The gate 5 is tilted by means of ropes 44, which are connected with the ropes 33, 34 and with arms 46 of the gate, which arms extend above the pivot rod 47 of the gate, and are adapted to open the gate to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 when the bottom is tilted to stack-dumping position. The pivot 47 is mounted by brackets 48 on an upward extension 49 of the frame 15. The ground wheel 11 is held from inward movement on the axle by means of a collar 45 fixed to said axle.

It will be seen from the above described construction that, a stack having been formed in the machine, it may be dumped at the desired time, and at the proper point in the advance of the machine, by lifting the front end of the lever 26 from the rack 28 and swinging the lever handle to the left away from the machine. This operation causes the clutch arm of the lever 26 to slide the clutch member 30 inward into engagement with the clutch member 31, whereupon the pulley 32 is rotated with the ground wheel, the cables 33, 34 are wound up, and the inner side of the bottom is hoisted upward to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, the rollers 42 on said bottom following upward in the guide slots of the plates 43. During the dumping operation the side gate 5 is opened as already mentioned.

After the stack has been dumped the lever 26 is returned to normal position to release the drum and bottom 6 which latter returns to normal position by gravity or otherwise. The lever 26 is or may be returned to normal position as described by the cam projection 60 fixed on the pulley 32, which cam, after about one revolution of the pulley, engages the inner side of the clutch-throwing arm of the lever, as shown in Fig. 3, and moves said arm and the clutch member 30 outward. But the operator may thus draw the lever 26 before the cam projection 60 comes into position to engage it. The gate 5 is held open so as not to drag upon the stack as the machine moves forward by means of one or more arms 50 which catch under latches 51 attached to the frame 49. The latch 51 is pivoted at 50' (Fig. 1), held in operative position by a spring 51 and released at will to drop the gate by a handle 52. While the bottom is tilted any incoming grain, which ordinarily comes over the side wall 4 from the elevator of a harvesting machine, is or may be received in an apron 52. This apron is illustrated as consisting of a canvas having its upper longitudinal edge secured to the side wall 4 and its lower edge secured to the inner side of the bottom 6. This apron is shown in grain receiving position in dotted lines in Fig. 3. When the bottom is restored to normal position the apron will be straightened out and any collected grain will drop upon the bottom. After such replacement of the bottom the gate 5 is dropped and a bottom bar 53 thereof will engage under catches 54 (Fig. 3) with which several or all of the rods 20 are provided.

When the bottom makes its first movement toward dumping, as hereinbefore described, the right hand edge of the bottom (viewing Fig. 3) is thrust to the right by the governing action of the guide slots at 43, whereby the links 18 are caused to swing outward and upward. This upward movement carries the catches 54 to a suiiicient elevation to allow the bottom pair 53 to swing upward and outward. The side wall of gate 5 is thus automatically released at or about the beginning of the dumping operation.

The machine is drawn across the field where grain is being harvested and as or after the grain is cut it is stacked in the former 1 by any suitable means until the latter is substantially full, and then the formed stack A is dumped as above described so that one of its sides will become the bottom of the stack and the other side the top. It will be understood that this machine may be attached to the side or rear of a harvester, or otherwise transported with the same, so as to receive the grain as fast as it is cut from the elevator of the cutting apparatus.

I prefer to employ the described machine in connection with means for deforming the stack interiorly as it is dumped and by aid of the dumping operation, so that the stack will be provided with air ventilating spaces or openings for the curing of the grain in the stack, as more fully described in my application Serial Number 47,256, filed Aug. 25, 1915. The preferred means for this purpose consists in a portable space former C (Figs. 3 and 5). This device may be constructed as shown, comprising a bottom frame, 56, one or more space forming devices 57 attached to said frame and conveniently made of sheet metal or canvas stretched over an interior lattice, supporting ground rollers 58 to facilitate the transportation of the space former and its withdrawal from under the stack, and a suitable draft connection 59 for moving and transporting the space former, by a horse or any convenient means. The former C is located at the off-side of the course to be pursued by the machine and at the place where it is intended to deposit a stack (Fig. 2). The machine will be conducted close to the end of the stack-former (Fig. 3) and the stack A will be dumped to take a position on top of the former, thereby producing one or more air ventilating spaces E (Fig. 5) in the base of the stack. It will be understood that the space former C may have one or several of the forming devices 57, as may be desired, according to the size of the stack and the conditions of curing which are to be met. After the stack has been dumped it may be exteriorly formed and arched by an attendant with a fork, who may also work down the straw at the sides of the forming devices to produce a solid base, and may, preliminarily to the arching and finishing of the stack, mount upon it and press down the straw more or less solidly around the forming devices, Preferably the stack is allowed to remain on the former and become settled and compacted for a convenient time, depending upon the necessity of using the former sooner or later for the production of another stack. It will be convenient to have six or more of the formers C at hand ready for use with the stack forming and dumping machine, and these may be handled by a boy and horse on the ground who will from time to time place one of the formers C where it will be required.

I may say that under ordinary average conditions, which, however, vary considerably, two stacks to the acre will be produced by the method and apparatus above described. The former 1 and the stack may be conveniently ten feet long and six feet wide and six to seven feet high, and the forming devices 57 may be eight inches wide, thirty inches high and about seven feet long. After the space former has been withdrawn from the stack the air ventilating spaces E will or may become somewhat smaller by reason of the settling of the stack, but will remain sufliciently open for the curing of the grain.

The ability to dump the stack sidewise from my improved machine enables the space formers to be located out of the track of the machine, but it is to be understood that my herein described method of forming stacks may be performed, under proper conc ditions, with a rear dumping machine or with a bottom dumping machine.

In the dumping operation the function of the cam like guides 43 is to thrust the bottom 6 bodily outward as its inner edge is elevated, to give the stack a good clearance from the rear end wall 3 as the machine continues to advance; thereafter the upper parts of the guides 43 retract the bottom somewhat, as it continues to be hoisted so as to withdraw the bottom relative to the stack to avoid any tendency of deforming or upsetting the stack by the outer part of the bottom dragging along the same. This action of the guides -13 is permitted by the links 18, which should be arranged with their pivots adapted to permit the above described outward and inward movement of the outer part of the said bottom 6. The links 18 may be arranged vertically, or at a steeper angle than shown, and may be shorter or longer. Also these links may be dispensed with and the bottom, as it is tilted, may first slide a little outward on the frame 7 and thereafter may .slide on the sill 10 as the bottom becomes more steeply elevated. The arrangement may be such that the pulley 32 and its clutch member 31 are moved on the shaft 8 by the lever 26, for clutching with the member 30. The walls of the air space forming devices (1 may in some cases be of reticulated material.

By dropping the formed and weighty stack from more or less of an elevation on to the air space former the filaments of the grain are heavily compacted around the air spaces, so that said filaments become set in the forms to which they are bent by the weight of the stack, and the air spaces are preserved for the curing of the grain in the stack during a period of time, with or without the continued presence of the space former. If it is desired to leave the air space formers in the stacks during any material part of the curing period the walls of the formers should be of reticulated material to promote the gradual circulation of air and vapor into and out from the interstices of the stack;

In case the operator should not throw out the clutch at the time of dumping, the winding up of the ropes 33 will be stopped and the bottom 6 released by a cam 60 fixed on the pulley 32 and adapted to encounter and throw out the lever 26 when the ropes 33 have been sufliciently taken up.

The devices last described constitute automatic means for throwing out of operation the mechanism which inclines the bottom of the stack former.

In Fig. 8 a construction is shown in which the link support for the outer end of the bottom 6 is dispensed with, and said end is .vuided, under the movement imposed by the ropes 33 and the guide 43, by means of rollers 42 fixed one at each side of the bottom 6 and running in horizontal guide plates 43 which latter are fixed on the inner faces of the front andrear walls of the stack former. In Fig. 8 the outer portion of the bottom is broken away to show the front roller and guide plate.

61 is a wheel frame attached to the frame 7 and carrying the outer end of the axle 8 by a suitable bearing. The length and position of the arms 46 and the amount of slack in the ropes 44: may be varied as re quired to get the proper action of the gate 5.

The stack when delivered to and in proper condition on the ground similar to those produced by machines that I have heretofore made such as shown in my Patent No. 1,104,885 has, broadly, the advantages incidentto forming such a mass without bundle binding and having the straws in compact but unbound condition. But I have found that, under many conditions met with in carrying on the work, important advantages are secured by positioning the stack upon the ground at points well to the side of the apparatus rather than delivering them to the ground at points directly in line of travel of the stack former.

There is less frictional resistance to a discharge of the load. In the present machine the only resistance is that offered by the end walls of the stacker chamber. I have heretofore constructed machines in which the resistance to the escape of a straw mass in a condensed or solid form was presented or offered by the long side walls of the stacker chamber, to overcome which special provision had to be made in having walls expansible or separable to some extent. In case any appreciable resistance should be experienced in any special circumstances in a mechanism like that herein the end walls can be arranged to diverge slightly away from each other toward the discharge side without requiring them to be movable, so

that the only resistance to the quick discharge of the load is a portion ofthe mere receptacle, there is possibility of its so settling that when the machine is making: the next traverse of the field some of its projecting parts will be in line of the stack, especially if the horses diverge toward the previously deposited stacks, as they are likely to do with diversion of the machine from its proper course. With a mechanism like the present the position in which the stack is delivered is such that it stands a number of feet remote laterally from any part of the machine, and still farther from the machine and team when the machine makes the next round. And when the stacks are formed with an extended length dimension they can at the time of depositing on the ground be shaped in a superior way for permitting the access of air. As illustrated in the drawings two or more short trans verse air passages can be formed, andthese may be varied in number as desired by constructing the space former C with the desired number of forming elements 57 according to the length of the stack.

Relative to the cross area of a ventilating opening each unit of air which passes said area is required to properly supply a less area of the stack and of the straw within the same than if'said opening were longer. A shorter air passage increases the desired beneficial and curing action of the air during a unit of time; also the former C, especially if it comprises a plurality of thedevices 57, may be withdrawn from the stack with less resistance and impairment of the shape of the stack. By means of this construction of the machine and method of depositing the stack and deforming it on stationar air space formers on the ground I am ab e to increase somewhat the width and height of the ventilating openings in the stack, with better access of air to the inte rior of the stack, without subsequent collapse of the same which would close them or decrease them to an ineflicient size. By depositing the stack in the direction of its shorter dimension and sidewise to the line of draft I can make the air spaces E shorter without extending the width of the machine as is done when the stack former extends lengthwise away from the sickle and deposits the stack rearwardly.

What I claim. is:

1. In a transportable stack former, the combination of end stack-forming walls, a side stack-forming wall, an opposite side stack-forming outwardly movable wall, a wheeled support, and a bottom for dumping the stack, said bottom being movable relative to said stack forming walls and inclinable toward said outwardly movable side wall to deposit the stack at the side of the course of the machine.

2. In a transportable stack former, the combination of end stack-forming walls, a side stack-forming wall, an opposite side stack-forming outwardly movable wall, a wheeled support, a bottom for dumping the stack, said bottom being movable relative to said stack forming walls and inclinable toward said outwardly movable side wall to deposit the stack at the side of the course of the machine, and means connected with a ground wheel for inclining said bottom.

3. In a transportable stack former, the combination of end stack-forming walls, a side stack-forming wall, an opposite side stack-forming outwardly movable wall, a wheeled support, a bottom for dumping the stack, said bottom being movable relative to said stack forming walls and inclinable toward said outwardly movable side wall to deposit the stack at the side of the course of the machine, mechanism connected with a ground wheel for inclining said bottom, and automatic means for throwing said mechanism out of operation when the bottom has been inclined to dumping position.

4. In a transportable stack former, the combination of end stack-forming walls, a side stack-forming wall, an opposite side stack-forming outwardly movable wall, a wheeled support, and a bottom for dumping the stack, said bottom being movable relative to said stack forming walls and inclinable toward said outwardly movable side wall to deposit the stack at the side of the course of the machine, and a winding mechanism connected with a ground wheel for inclining said bottom.

5. In a transportable stack former, the combination of end stack-forming walls, a side stack-forming wall, an opposite side stack-forming outwardly movable wall, a wheeled support, a bottom for dumping the stack, said bottom being movable relative to said stack forming walls and inclinable toward said outwardly movable side walls to deposit the stack at the side of the course of the machine, a winding mechanism connected with a ground wheel for inclining said bottom, and means for arresting the operation of the winding mechanism when said bottom is in dumping position without stopping the travel of the machine.

6. In a transportable stack former, the combination of end stack-forming walls, a side stack-forming wall, an opposite side stack-forming outwardly movable wall, a wheeled support comprising a longitudinal sill at the dumping side of the machine, ground wheels carrying the ends of said sill, and an axle extending from the other side of the machine and a ground wheel on said axle; and a bottom for dumping the stack, said bottom being movable relative to said stack-forming walls and inclinable toward said outwardly movable side wall to deposit the stack at the side of the course of the machine.

7. In a transportable stack former, the combination of end stack-forming walls, a side stack-forming wall, an opposite side stack-forming outwardly movable wall, a wheeled support comprising a longitudinal sill at the dumping side of the machine, ground wheels carrying the ends of said sill, and an axle extending from the other side of the machine and a ground wheel on said axle; a bottom for dumping the stack, said bottom being movable relative to said stack-forming walls and inclinable toward said outwardly movable side wall to deposit the stack at the side of the course of the machine, and a winding mechanism connected with said bottom and with said ground wheel.

8. In a transportable stack former, the combination of end stack-forming walls, a side stack-forming wall, an opposite side stack-forming outwardly movable wall, a wheeled support, and a bottom for dumping the stack, said bottom being movable relative to said stack-forming walls and inclinable toward said outwardly movable side wall to near the normal plane of said movable side wall to deposit the stack at the side of the course of the machine.

9. In a transportable stack former, the combination of end stack-forming walls, a side stack-forming wall, an opposite side stack-forming outwardly movable wall, a wheeled support, a tiltable bottom for dumping the formedstack, and an apron adapted to collect grain while the bottom is tilted and to thereafter deposit the same on the bottom when the latter returns to normal position, said apron being flexible and being attached to one of the stackforming walls and to said bottom.

10. In a transportable stack former, the combination of end stack-forming walls, a side stack-forming wall, an opposite stackforming outwardly movable wall, a wheeled support, a tiltable bottom for dumping the stack and temporarily acting grain receiving means which is connected with the tilt able bottom and is moved thereby into grain receiving position.

11. In a transportable stack former, the combination of end stack-forming walls, a side stack-forming wall, an opposite side stack-forming outwardly movable wall, a wheeled support, and a bottom for dumping the stack, said bottom being tiltable relative to said stack-forming wall and inclinable toward said outwardly movable Wall to deposit the stack at the side of the course of the machine, and means for moving said bottom bodily outward as it is tilted.

12. In a transportable stack former, the combination of end stack-forming walls, a side stack-forming wall, an opposite side stack-forming outwardly movable wall, a wheeled support, and a bottom for clumping the stack, said bottom being tiltable relative to said stack forming walls and inclinable toward said outwardly movable side wall to deposit the stack at the side of the course of the machine, and means for moving said bottom outwardly and inwardly in addition to said tilting movement.

13. In a transportable stack former, the combination of end-stacl forming walls, a side stack-forming wall, an opposite side stack-forming outwardly movable Wall, a wheeled support, a bottom for dumping the stack, said bottom being tiltable relative to said stack-forming walls and inclinable toward said outwardly movable side wall to deposit the stack at the side of the course of the machine, and means whereby said bottom is interlocked with said outwardly movable wall, said interlocking being released by the movement of the bottom.

14. In a transportable stack former, the

combination of end stack-forming walls, a

side staclrforming wall, an opposite side stack-forming outwardly movable wall, a

wheeled support, and a bottom for dumping the stack, said bottom being movable relabody for the formation of a stack of grain which is elongated in one horizontal direction and relatively narrow in the other horizontal direction, combined with means for forming ventilating air space openings through the stack in the direction of its narrower dimension, the space-forming elements being arranged parallel with the said narrow horizontal dimension of the stack.

I In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

DAVID M. GRAHAM.

Images