WO1991014356A1

WO1991014356A1 - Billet planter

Info

Publication number: WO1991014356A1
Application number: PCT/AU1991/000113
Authority: WO
Inventors: Fausto Cavarzan
Original assignee: Queensland University Of Technology; The Sugar Experiment Stations Board
Priority date: 1990-03-26
Filing date: 1991-03-26
Publication date: 1991-10-03

Abstract

Planting apparatus (10) includes cutting apparatus (25) which is adapted to cut the cane stalks into billets and to feed them to the delivery chute (15). The cutting apparatus (25) includes upper and lower laterally extending spindles (30 and 31), each of which support a pair of cutting knives (32 and 33) respectively, in diametrically opposed positions. The spindles (30 and 31) support a series of resilient fingers (35) spaced around and extending along their outer surface and grouped in sets of four at either side of the respective pairs of knives (32 and 33). The upper spindle (30) is associated with a mounting hub (36) which is slotted at (37) along its base and receives fungicide from the container (13) via a pump (38) whereby the slot (37) is maintained filled with fungicide under pressure. The upper spindle (30) is provided with a series of axially aligned passages (40) at the base of each cutting blade (32) such that when the passages (40) pass the slot (37), fungicide is sprayed from the passages (40) on to the cutting blades (32). The cutting apparatus will supply fungicide only or mainly to the ends of the stalks so that a saving in quantity of fungicide utilised may be achieved.

Description

BILLET PLANTER . This invention relates to an improved billet cutting apparatus.

In particular this invention relates to an improved sugar cane billet cutting apparatus but it may be utilised in other applications in which billets are cut from a stalk for planting. For illustrative purposes, reference will be made hereinafter to the application of the present invention to cutting sugar cane billets. Many methods have been used to cut cane stalks into billets for planting. A liquid fungicide treatment is generally applied to the cut cane billets prior to planting, either by spraying the cane billets or by passing the billets through a dip prior to planting. In each case the complete billets are covered in the liquid fungicide. This is wasteful as the only portion of the billet which needs the application of fungicide is the cut ends. Furthermore, the spray application of fungicide, which has become the most popular, does not guarantee that the cut ends will be completely covered with the fungicide. This may result in strike rates being achieved for the planted billets which are less than desired.

In general, the billet cutting and planting operations are combined in cutting and planting apparatus, to avoid the undesirable double handling of the cut and treated billets. This combined operation in general prevents the inspection of the cut billets to ensure adequate treatment with the treatment liquid.

This invention aims to alleviate the abovementioned disadvantages and to provide billet planting apparatus which will be reliable and efficient in use. Other objects and advantages of this invention will hereinafter become apparent.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, this invention in one aspect resides broadly in billet forming apparatus including:- cutting means adapted to cut billets from a stalk

SUBSTITUTESHEET delivered to said cutting means, and liquid applicator means for applying liquid to the cut ends of the billets.

The liquid applicator means may take any form consistent with the function of applying the liquid to the cut ends of the cut billets. For example, the liquid applicator means may include sprays adapted to direct the liquid onto the cut ends of the billets, or alternatively may include dipping means adapted to immerse the cut ends in the treating liquid. In order to ensure high rates of treatment of the cut ends with minimised wastage of the treatment fluid, it is preferred that the liquid applicator means includes confinement means adapted to confine the treatment liquid to the cut ends of the billets whilst ensuring adequate contact between the cut ends and the liquid. Preferably, the confinement means is such as to confine the adjacent cut ends of a stalk during and subsequent to cutting such that a mist of spray in the confinement is substantially confined to the cut ends of the stalk. The cutting means may take any form consistent with the function of cutting or shearing the stalks into billets. For example, the cutting means may take the form of any of the known billet cutters. Preferably, the cutting means includes a cutter assembly incorporating a rotary cutter in which the cutter blades extend along the cutter axis and engage cane stalks fed in a generally radial or tangential direction towards the rotary cutter. The cutter assembly may include a single rotary cutter wherein the cutting blade or blades interacts with a fixed or moving cutting surface. Alternatively, the cutter assembly may include a pair of rotary cutters, preferably having common or synchronized drive means such that opposing cutting blades on each of the rotary cutters meet at the stalk to effect cutting of stalk to for billets. In other embodiments of the present invention, the blade of a rotary cutter may extend towards, and be adapted to engage with, a mandrel or shear member on an opposed driven wheel.

It is also preferred that the liquid applicator means be associated with the rotary cutter whereby liquid to be applied to the cut ends of the stalk is fed directly to the cutter blade so as to cover the end of the cut stalk. This may be achieved by flooding the cutter blade with the liquid or it may be achieved by directing a spray jet of liquid to be applied towards the cutting blade so that at immediately subsequent to cutting the cut end is locally sprayed with the liquid to be applied.

Where spray application is desired, this may also be achieved by use of a spray jet comprising an internal delivery passage and aperture provided in the hub of the cutter assembly and adapted to direct the treatment liquid to the cutting parts of the cutter assembly. Alternatively, the spray jet may comprise a spray nozzle supported apart from the cutting means and adapted to direct spray inwardly to the cutter assembly.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the spray is provided by conveying the treatment liquid under pressure to a particularly configured cutter blade to ensure treatment of the cut ends of the billet. Accordingly, in a further aspect, this invention resides broadly in a cutting blade for use in a rotary cutter assembly and including:- a body portion and a cutting edge portion, and mounting means for mounting said body portion to a hub portion of said rotary cutter assembly, said body portion having a passage therethrough for conveying a treatment liquid under pressure from said hub portion, said passage including atomising means for delivering an atomised spray about said cutting edge portion.

Preferably, the mounting means is an integral mounting portion of the blade body member, to form a unitary blade mountable to the hub. Preferably, the mounting portion of the blade is provided with an opening to said passage adapted to be in register with a corresponding outlet from the conduit in the cutter hub. The passage preferably includes a plurality of ports provided between the opening and an atomising chamber provided in the blade body and forming a delivery outlet from said passage. Preferably, the ports direct a plurality of liquid streams into the atomising chamber, at least some of which direct streams towards an impact surface provided within the atomising chamber.

The ports are preferably directed at varying angles from the axis of the blade body to provide a broadly directed mist or spray, either directly or upon impingement of certain of the streams on the impact surface.

The impact surface may be a plane surface or may be shaped or configured to further randomise the spray or mist. In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the impact surface comprises a pair of symmetrically inclined impact faces meeting at an edge such that the impinging streams are split to issue as an atomised spray through aperture provided at each side of the blade body. The relative angles of the ports and the impact surfaces are preferably selected to ensure a broad dissemination of the atomised spray about the cutting edge portion of the blade.

Apparatus in accordance with the present invention preferably includes conveying means for conveying stalks to be billeted to the cutting means. The conveying means may take any form consistent with the function of conveying the stalk to the cutting means. For example, the conveying means may include a pair of diametrically opposed conveyor wheels, each conveyor wheel having resilient fingers which engage the stalk between the conveyor wheels and transport the stalk as the conveyor wheels counterrotate.

The cutting means may be associated with the conveying means. The cutting means may be integral with the conveying means, with it being preferred that the abovedescribed rotary cutters be integral with the pre erred diametrically opposed conveyor means. The cutter blades may be provided on one or each of the conveyor wheels. Alternatively, both conveying wheels may be provided with blades which mesh oppositely with one another as the wheels rotate so as to severe stalks fed between the conveyor wheels.

The resilient fingers may be adapted to deform about the stalk to prevent egress of sprayed liquid, thereby forming the aforementioned confinement means by engagement of the resilient fingers.

Preferably, the billet cutting apparatus in accordance with the present invention further includes delivery means for delivering the cut and treated billets into planting furrows, to avoid the requirement for double handling of the billets. The delivery means may include a plough or ploughs for forming the planting furrows into which the stalks are delivered for planting to provide a billet cutter/planter apparatus. Additionally, there may be provided a towing linkage for hitching a trailer thereto and which may be utilized to hold stalks to be cut. Suitably the trailer includes a pair of opposed platforms at the front of the trailer upon which two operators may stand and feed stalks to the conveyor means. Of course other conventional arrangements for supporting the planting apparatus and the stalks may be utilised if desired.

It is also preferred that the billet planting apparatus comprise an assembly adapted to be connected to the three point linkage of a tractor and be coupled to the power take off mechanism for actuation thereby.

In order that this invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate typical embodiments of the invention, and wherein:-

FIG. 1 is a schematic section of the planting apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the associated trailer;

FIGS. 3 to 7 illustrate the progressive stages of billet cutting according to the present invention; FIG. 8 illustrates a preferred form of blade arrangement in front view, end view and section; FIG. 9 illustrates the co-operation of the blade with the fungicide supply;

FIGS. 10-12 illustrate further embodiments of cutting blades; FIG. 13 is a transverse cross section through a cutter assembly in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a section through an alternative cutting blade for use in conjunction with apparatus in accordance with the present invention, and FIG. 15 is a side view of apparatus in accordance with that illustrated in FIG. 2.

Referring initially to FIGS. 1, 2 and 15 it will be seen that the planting apparatus 10 is supported on depth wheels 11 and is adapted to be hitched to a tractor's three point linkage by the hitch assembly 12. Storage means, such as illustrated at 13, are provided for fungicide and if desired for fertilizer and insecticide which may be delivered to the ground in known manner. A furrow forming blade plough 14 is supported adjacent the front of the planting apparatus and a delivery chute 15 is provided adjacent the rear of the planting apparatus for delivering cut billets into the furrow formed by the blade plough 13.

The rear of the planting apparatus 10 is provided with a hitch assembly 16 to which a cane stalk trailer 20 may be hitched. The latter is provided with a leading platform 21 upon which workers may stand in opposition to one another and feed cane stalks from the rear storage portion 22 forwardly into the inlet 23 to the cutting apparatus 25 which is adapted to cut the cane stalks into billets and to feed them to the delivery chute 15. The trailer linkage 16 is adapted for axial movement such that the planting apparatus 10 may be elevated by the three point linkage at the end of a row to enable it to be turned around for return along an adjacent row. Referring in particular to FIGS. 3 to 7 it will be seen that the cutting apparatus 25 includes upper and lower laterally extending tubular spindles 30 and 31, each of whic support a pair of removable cutting knives 32 and 3 respectively, in diametrically opposed positions. Th tubular spindles 30 and 31 support a series of resilien fingers 35 spaced around and extending along their oute surface and grouped in sets of four at either side of th respective pairs of knives 32 and 33.

The upper spindle 30 is associated with a fixed mountin hub 36 which is slotted at 37 along its base and receives fungicide under pressure from the container 13 via a hig pressure pump 38 whereby the slot 37 is maintained fille with fungicide under pressure. Suitable sealing means fo sealing the drum to the inner wall of the tubular spindle 30 are provided. These may take the form of resilient seals o labyrinth seals as desired.

The upper spindle 30 is provided with a series of axially aligned passages 40 at the base of each cutting blade 32 such that when the passages 40 pass the slot 37, fungicide is sprayed from the passages 40 on to the cutting blades 32. As can be seen from the series of drawings of FIGS. 5 to 7, the passages 40 commence their registration with the slot 37 at their point of contact with the cane stalk 41 and continue in registration until they reach a position at which the cut billet separates from the main stalk as illustrate in FIG.7. The cane stalks during their cutting operation ar gripped between the opposed fingers 35 which deform about th stalks to provide driving engagement therewith for conveyin the stalks through the cutting apparatus. Suitably, as show in FIG. 6, the fingers 35 deform around the stalk and form substantially sealed chamber 50 between respective oppose pairs of fingers 35 which grip the stalk so that fungicid spray ejected through the passages 40 is confined to the ends of the stalks.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9 it will be seen that th passages 40 communicate with nozzles 51 supported on th outside of the spindle 30 so as to provide a fungicide spra which is directed towards the back portion 52 of the cutting blades 32. In this embodiment the rear 52 of the blades 32 are tapered to assist in feeding of spray and/or liquid fungicide on the blade towards the cutting faces which pass through the stalk so that fungicide is transferred directly to the cut ends of the stalks by the blades during the cutting operation. Additionally fungicide is applied by the fungicide mist within the formed chamber 50 immediately after the stalks are severed. Referring to the cross sectional view of the cutter assembly 25 as illustrated in FIG. 13, it can be seen that the tubular spindle 30 is attached for rotation to a driving end plate 70 and in assembly is driven relative to the fixed mounting hub 36 and shaft 71. Treatment liquid is supplied under pressure to the drum 36 via conduit 72 passing through compression^"union 73. An internal passage 74 provided in the drum 36 conveys the liquid under pressure to the spindle 30, whereby fluid is sprayed through apertures 75 as they come into register with the internal passage 74. The jet of liquid then impinges on the back 52 of the blade 32 whereby the liquid is atomised.

Referring to the blade example of FIG. 14, the spindle 30 is provided with a fluid passage 80 for supplying the liquid under pressure to a series of divergent jets 81 provided in a manifold 82. The jets 81 direct streams of liquid into an atomising chamber 83, some of which pass out of the chamber 83 directly, and some of which impinge upon angled impact surfaces 84, 85. The atomised liquid is by this means distributed about the blade edge 86. As shown in FIG. 1 after the billets are severed they move forwardly whereby their leading end is supported by the upper end of the delivery chute 15 allowing their trailing ends to fall for passage of the billet into the furrow as illustrated. The cutting blades 32 and 33 are detachable and are slotted at 60 for radial adjustment as illustrated to enable them to be adjusted for efficient cutting. Alternate forms of blades are illustrated in FIGS. 10-12. The blade in FIG. 10 is similar to that illustrated in FIG. 8 except that the rear of the blade is not cut away. The section of the blade is triangular as illustrated.

The blades 62 and 63 are provided with internal and external passages respectively, extending from the rear of the blade to the outer edge thereof. The passages 64 in the blade 62 are arranged in opposed pairs as illustrated in the end and sectional views and are adapted to transfer the fungicide spray directly to outlets 65 adjacent the leading cutting edge of the blade 62 and at each side thereof. The passages 67 in the blade 63 are in the form of external flutes or serrations formed in opposite sides of the blades. If desired the passages 64 in the blades 62 could communicate ^• directly with the passages 40 through ducting such that fungicide under pressure would be pumped directly through the outlet 65.

From the above it will be seen that the cutting apparatus will supply fungicide only or mainly to the ends of the stalks so that a saving in quantity of fungicide utilised may be achieved. It will also be seen that the blades operate in a relatively confined fungicide saturated environment whereby their outer end surfaces are coated in fungicide which is delivered directly and indirectly to the cut ends of the stalks to ensure that the cut ends are fully covered with fungicide.

It will of course be realised that while the above has been given by way of illustrative example of this invention, all such and other modifications and variations thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of this invention as is herein set forth.

Claims

1. Billet forming apparatus including:- cutting means adapted to cut billets from a stalk delivered to said cutting means, and liquid applicator means for applying liquid to the cut ends of the billets.

2. Billet forming apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein said liquid applicator means includes spray means adapted to direct a spray of the liquid onto the cut ends of the billets.

3. Billet forming apparatus according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein said liquid applicator means includes confinement means adapted to substantially confine the treatment liquid to the cut ends of the billets.

4. Billet forming apparatus according to Claim 3, wherein said confinement means confines the adjacent cut ends of a stalk during and subsequent to cutting.

5. Billet forming apparatus according to any one of the preceding Claims, wherein said cutting means includes a rotary cutter assembly having a cutter blade for cutting cane stalks fed towards said rotary cutter assembly.

6. Billet forming apparatus according to Claim 5, wherein said cutting means includes a pair of opposed rotary cutter assemblies having opposing cutting blades which cooperate to effect cutting of the stalk to be cut.

7. Billet forming apparatus according to any one of Claims 5 and 6, wherein said liquid applicator means is associated with said cutter assembly and includes spray means for delivering said treatment liquid to said cutter assembly.

8. Billet forming apparatus according to Claim 7, wherein said cutting blade includes a body portion and a cutting edge portion, and mounting means for mounting said body portion to the hub of said cutter assembly, said body portion having a passage therethrough for conveying said treatment liquid to said cutting edge portion and said passage including atomising means for delivering an atomised spray about said cutting edge portion.

9. Billet forming apparatus according to any one of the preceding Claims, wherein there is provided conveying means for conveying stalks to be billeted to said cutting means.

10. Billet forming apparatus according to Claim 9, wherein said conveying means includes a pair of diametrically opposed rotary conveyors each having resilient fingers adapted to engage a stalk therebetween.

11. Billet forming apparatus according to Claim 10, wherein said cutting means includes cutting blades integral with said rotary conveyors.

12. Billet forming apparatus according to Claim 11, wherein said resilient fingers are adapted to deform about the stalk being conveyed thereby.

13. Billet forming apparatus according to any one of the preceding Claims, wherein there is further provided delivery means for delivering formed billets into planting furrows.

14. Billet forming apparatus according to Claim 13, wherein said delivery means includes a plough for forming planting furrows.

15. Billet forming and planting apparatus including billet forming apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims and including a coupling assembly adapted to be connected to the three point linkage of a tractor and the power take off mechanism thereof for actuation of said cutting means.

16. Billet forming and planting apparatus according to Claim 15, wherein there is further provided a towing linkage for hitching a trailer thereto.

17. A cutting blade for use in a rotary cutter assembly and including:- a body portion and a cutting edge portion, and mounting means for mounting said body portion to a hub portion of ^"said rotary cutter assembly, said body portion having a passage therethrough for conveying a treatment liquid under pressure from said hub portion, said passage including atomising means for delivering an atomised spray about said cutting edge portion.

18. A cutting blade according to Claim 17, wherein said atomising means includes a plurality of outlet ports through which liquid treatment may be delivered to an atomising chamber constituted by a delivery outlet from said passage.

19. A cutting blade according to Claim 18, wherein said atomising chamber includes an impact surface and said ports being adapted to direct liquid towards said impact surface.

20. A cutting blade according to Claim 19, wherein said ports direct liquid at varying angles towards said impact surface and wherein said impact surface comprises a pair of symmetrically inclined impact faces diverging away from said ports.

21. A billet forming apparatus substantially as hereinbefore defined with reference to the accompanying drawings.

22. A billet cutting and planting apparatus substantially as hereinbefore defined with reference to the accompanying drawings.

23. A cutting blade substantially as hereinbefore defined with reference to the accompanying drawings.'