WO2012022643A2 - Self-propelled harvesters - Google Patents

Self-propelled harvesters Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2012022643A2
WO2012022643A2 PCT/EP2011/063603 EP2011063603W WO2012022643A2 WO 2012022643 A2 WO2012022643 A2 WO 2012022643A2 EP 2011063603 W EP2011063603 W EP 2011063603W WO 2012022643 A2 WO2012022643 A2 WO 2012022643A2
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
chassis
section
members
longitudinally extending
tower structures
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
PCT/EP2011/063603
Other languages
French (fr)
Other versions
WO2012022643A3 (en
Inventor
Stefan Schanz
Stefan Hofer
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
AGCO International GmbH
Original Assignee
AGCO International GmbH
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by AGCO International GmbH filed Critical AGCO International GmbH
Publication of WO2012022643A2 publication Critical patent/WO2012022643A2/en
Publication of WO2012022643A3 publication Critical patent/WO2012022643A3/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
    • A01D—HARVESTING; MOWING
    • A01D67/00—Undercarriages or frames specially adapted for harvesters or mowers; Mechanisms for adjusting the frame; Platforms
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
    • B62D—MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS
    • B62D21/00—Understructures, i.e. chassis frame on which a vehicle body may be mounted
    • B62D21/12—Understructures, i.e. chassis frame on which a vehicle body may be mounted assembled from readily detachable parts
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
    • B62D—MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS
    • B62D21/00—Understructures, i.e. chassis frame on which a vehicle body may be mounted
    • B62D21/18—Understructures, i.e. chassis frame on which a vehicle body may be mounted characterised by the vehicle type and not provided for in groups B62D21/02 - B62D21/17
    • B62D21/186—Understructures, i.e. chassis frame on which a vehicle body may be mounted characterised by the vehicle type and not provided for in groups B62D21/02 - B62D21/17 for building site vehicles or multi-purpose tractors

Definitions

  • This invention relates to self-propelled harvesters such as forage harvesters or combine harvesters and in particular to the construction of chassis for such machines.
  • a chassis for a self-propelled harvester having a lower frame section in the form of one or more longitudinally extending frame members which carry wheels and an engine and an upper frame section comprising two tower structures each detachably secured at their lower end to a respective longitudinally extending lower frame section member with transversely extending members extending between the tower structures, the tower structures being provided with support structure for an operator's cab and at least one part of a crop processing apparatus of the harvester.
  • the tower structures may be provided at an intermediate height with support structure for the operator's cab and/or a crop accelerator and at their upper ends with support structure for a crop discharge spout.
  • the lower frame section may comprise one or more longitudinally extending frame members of open cross-section each having one or more closed sections to resist twisting of the lower frame section about a longitudinal axis.
  • Such a chassis can be light in weight yet sufficiently rigid to resist the twisting forces which will be imposed on the chassis during use of the harvester.
  • the two longitudinally extending frame members are provided with cross members extending there between, each longitudinally extending frame member having a closed section to resist twisting.
  • the two longitudinally extending frame members are provided with cross members extending there between, and a torque tube member extends longitudinally between the cross frame members to resist twisting.
  • the longitudinally extending frame members may be of an open cross section with one or more additional plates closing off the open side of one or more lengths of each frame member to resist twisting.
  • a U-shaped or L-shaped open cross-section may be used.
  • FIG. 1 diagrammatically shows a forage harvester using a chassis in accordance with the present invention
  • FIG 2 shows a perspective view of the chassis of the forage harvester of Figure 1 which carries the main components such as the engine, wheels and cab;
  • FIG. 3 shows a side view of the chassis of the forage harvester of Figure 1;
  • Figure 3 A shows a plan view of a lower frame section of the chassis of Figure 3;
  • Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the chassis of Figure 3;
  • Figure 5 shows details of the area circled in Figure 4.
  • Figure 6 shows an end view in the direction of the arrow X of Figure 3;
  • Figure 7 shows details of the connection of the upper and lower sections of the chassis;
  • Figure 8 shows the bolting connection of Figure 7 in even more detail;
  • Figure 9 shows a section on the line B-B of Figure 3;
  • Figure 10 shows a section on the line A- A of Figure 3;
  • FIG. 11 shows a plan view of an alternative chassis construction in accordance with the present invention.
  • Figure 12 shows a perspective view of the chassis of Figure 11;
  • Figure 13 shows a section through the chassis of Figures 11 and 12, and
  • Figure 14 shows a section on the line C-C of Figure 11.
  • a forage harvester 10 has a chassis 11 in accordance with the present invention which supports an engine 12 and associated transmission 13 and wheels 14, 14a.
  • An upper frame section 15 of the chassis 11 supports a cab 16.
  • Chassis 11 also includes a lower frame section 11a which supports crop processing apparatus in the form of a crop pick-up head 17 which has a cutter 18 and a feed reel 19 from which the crop is fed between compression rolls 20 to a knife dmm 21 which co-operates with a cutter bar 22 to provide cut crop. This cut crop is then fed into the remainder of the crop processing apparatus comprising a discharge shoot 23 supported from upper frame section 15 from where the crop is fed to a discharge spout 24 via a crop accelerator 25.
  • the chassis 11 has a lower frame section 1 la in the form of two longitudinally extending frame members 30 which are connected by cross members 31 to 35 which are welded between the longitudinally frame members 30.
  • the members 30 are basically are of a U-shaped cross section with various reinforcing plates, as will be described below, welded across the open side of the U-shaped members to close off the section of the members 30 at various points along their length to increase the resistance of the chassis to twisting about a longitudinal axis.
  • the members 30 could alternatively be of L-shaped cross- section with reinforcing plates welded to the open sides of the sections of the L- shaped members.
  • the lower frame section 1 la includes transmission mounts 37 on which the transmission 13 is supported and the engine 12 is also supported from the lower frame section 1 la via motor supports 38.
  • the rear wheels 14a are steerable and are carried by a rear axle 39 which is mounted on cross member 34.
  • the gear box 13 drives the knife drum 21 via a pulley 40 and belt drive 41 which engages pulley 42 associated with the knife dram and pulley 43 which drives the crop accelerator 25. Since the drive details of the various parts of the forage harvester form no part of the present invention no further details will be given herein.
  • the upper frame section 15 is bolted to the lower frame section 1 la by bolts 44 shown in detail in Figures 7 and 8.
  • Each bolt carries a spacer 45 and a nut 46 with intermediate washers 47 and 48 as shown in more detail in Figure 8.
  • the upper frame section 15 essentially comprises two tower structures 15a (see Figures 3 and 6) which each have two feet 15b which are bolted to the lower frame section as shown in Figures 7 and 8.
  • Cross members 15c, 15f and 15g extend between the towers 15a.
  • the upper frame section 15 carries at an intermediate height the cab 16 and the upper part of the crop processing apparatus including the accelerator 25 via structures 15dl and 15d2.
  • discharge spout 24 is pivotally mounted which can be rotated about substantially vertical axis Y as shown by the arrow R in Figure 2.
  • Wing sections 15e which are extensions of cross members 15f , support an access platform 16a on either side of the cab.
  • the longitudinally extending frame members 30 are, as previously described, generally open U-shaped cross section as shown in Figure 10. However, as best seen from Figures 3 and 4, the section 50, 51 and 52 of each longitudinally extending member 30 are closed off by sheet members 50a, 51a and 52a best shown in Figures 5 and 9. In Figure 5 the plate section 51 is omitted for clarity. The plate section 50a ends in an inclined portion 50a' and the plate section 52a ends in similar inclined end portions 52a'. These inclined portions which have cut-outs X help reduce the stress concentrations in the lower frame member 11a at the transitions between the open and closed sections of the longitudinally members 30.
  • FIGS 11 to 14 show an alternative form of chassis 110 in which the longitudinally extending members 300 are also of a generally U-shaped open cross section.
  • these generally open U-shaped cross section portions are not closed off and the main torsional resistance of the chassis is provided by torque tubes 500 which extends between cross-members 320, 330 and 340 of the chassis.
  • torque tubes 500 which extends between cross-members 320, 330 and 340 of the chassis.
  • the remaining constructional details of the chassis are substantially as previously described with regards to Figures 1 - 10 and will not therefore be repeated here.
  • the present invention thus provides a chassis construction which is suitable for a range of self-propelled harvesters such as forage harvesters, combine harvesters and sugar cane harvesters and which, due to the upper frame section being detachable from the lower frame section, allows easy transport of the chassis from the chassis manufacturer to the assembly line for the harvester.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Transportation (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Architecture (AREA)
  • Structural Engineering (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Environmental Sciences (AREA)
  • Harvester Elements (AREA)
  • Body Structure For Vehicles (AREA)

Abstract

A chassis for a self-propelled harvester, the chassis having a lower frame section in the form of one or more longitudinally extending frame members which carry wheels and an engine and an upper frame section comprising two tower structures each detachably secured at their lower end to a respective longitudinally extending lower frame section member with transversely extending members extending between the tower structures. The tower structures are provided with support structure for an operator's cab and at least one part of a crop processing apparatus of the harvester. The support structure for the cab and/or a crop accelerator is provide at an intermediate height on the tower structures and support structure for a crop discharge spout is provided at the upper ends of the towers.

Description

Self -Propelled Harvesters
This invention relates to self-propelled harvesters such as forage harvesters or combine harvesters and in particular to the construction of chassis for such machines.
There is a requirement to provide a chassis for such a vehicle which is robust and which is also economical to produce.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a self-propelled harvester chassis which meets the above requirements.
Thus according to the present invention there is provided a chassis for a self-propelled harvester, the chassis having a lower frame section in the form of one or more longitudinally extending frame members which carry wheels and an engine and an upper frame section comprising two tower structures each detachably secured at their lower end to a respective longitudinally extending lower frame section member with transversely extending members extending between the tower structures, the tower structures being provided with support structure for an operator's cab and at least one part of a crop processing apparatus of the harvester.
Since the upper frame section is detachable from the lower frame section this allows easy transport of the chassis from the chassis manufacturer to the assembly line of the forage harvester.
The tower structures may be provided at an intermediate height with support structure for the operator's cab and/or a crop accelerator and at their upper ends with support structure for a crop discharge spout.
The lower frame section may comprise one or more longitudinally extending frame members of open cross-section each having one or more closed sections to resist twisting of the lower frame section about a longitudinal axis.
Such a chassis can be light in weight yet sufficiently rigid to resist the twisting forces which will be imposed on the chassis during use of the harvester. In a typical configuration, the two longitudinally extending frame members are provided with cross members extending there between, each longitudinally extending frame member having a closed section to resist twisting.
In an alternative configuration the two longitudinally extending frame members are provided with cross members extending there between, and a torque tube member extends longitudinally between the cross frame members to resist twisting.
The longitudinally extending frame members may be of an open cross section with one or more additional plates closing off the open side of one or more lengths of each frame member to resist twisting. Typically a U-shaped or L-shaped open cross-section may be used.
The present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 diagrammatically shows a forage harvester using a chassis in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the chassis of the forage harvester of Figure 1 which carries the main components such as the engine, wheels and cab;
Figure 3 shows a side view of the chassis of the forage harvester of Figure 1;
Figure 3 A shows a plan view of a lower frame section of the chassis of Figure 3;
Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the chassis of Figure 3;
Figure 5 shows details of the area circled in Figure 4;
Figure 6 shows an end view in the direction of the arrow X of Figure 3;
Figure 7 shows details of the connection of the upper and lower sections of the chassis; Figure 8 shows the bolting connection of Figure 7 in even more detail; Figure 9 shows a section on the line B-B of Figure 3; Figure 10 shows a section on the line A- A of Figure 3;
Figure 11 shows a plan view of an alternative chassis construction in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 12 shows a perspective view of the chassis of Figure 11; Figure 13 shows a section through the chassis of Figures 11 and 12, and Figure 14 shows a section on the line C-C of Figure 11.
Referring to the drawings, a forage harvester 10 has a chassis 11 in accordance with the present invention which supports an engine 12 and associated transmission 13 and wheels 14, 14a. An upper frame section 15 of the chassis 11 supports a cab 16.
Chassis 11 also includes a lower frame section 11a which supports crop processing apparatus in the form of a crop pick-up head 17 which has a cutter 18 and a feed reel 19 from which the crop is fed between compression rolls 20 to a knife dmm 21 which co-operates with a cutter bar 22 to provide cut crop. This cut crop is then fed into the remainder of the crop processing apparatus comprising a discharge shoot 23 supported from upper frame section 15 from where the crop is fed to a discharge spout 24 via a crop accelerator 25.
As best seen in Figures 3 and 4, the chassis 11 has a lower frame section 1 la in the form of two longitudinally extending frame members 30 which are connected by cross members 31 to 35 which are welded between the longitudinally frame members 30.
As can be seen from Figure 10, the members 30 are basically are of a U-shaped cross section with various reinforcing plates, as will be described below, welded across the open side of the U-shaped members to close off the section of the members 30 at various points along their length to increase the resistance of the chassis to twisting about a longitudinal axis. The members 30 could alternatively be of L-shaped cross- section with reinforcing plates welded to the open sides of the sections of the L- shaped members.
At the front end of the longitudinally extending frame members 30 are provided two large front wheel hydraulic motor mounts 36 on which the hydraulic motors (not shown) which drive the front wheels of the forage harvester are mounted. These hydraulic motors are driven from a pump (not shown) which driven from the transmission 13.
The lower frame section 1 la includes transmission mounts 37 on which the transmission 13 is supported and the engine 12 is also supported from the lower frame section 1 la via motor supports 38.
The rear wheels 14a are steerable and are carried by a rear axle 39 which is mounted on cross member 34.
As can be seen from Figure 2, the gear box 13 drives the knife drum 21 via a pulley 40 and belt drive 41 which engages pulley 42 associated with the knife dram and pulley 43 which drives the crop accelerator 25. Since the drive details of the various parts of the forage harvester form no part of the present invention no further details will be given herein.
The upper frame section 15 is bolted to the lower frame section 1 la by bolts 44 shown in detail in Figures 7 and 8. Each bolt carries a spacer 45 and a nut 46 with intermediate washers 47 and 48 as shown in more detail in Figure 8.
The upper frame section 15 essentially comprises two tower structures 15a (see Figures 3 and 6) which each have two feet 15b which are bolted to the lower frame section as shown in Figures 7 and 8. Cross members 15c, 15f and 15g extend between the towers 15a. As is clear from Figures 1 to 3, the upper frame section 15 carries at an intermediate height the cab 16 and the upper part of the crop processing apparatus including the accelerator 25 via structures 15dl and 15d2. At the upper ends of towers 15a discharge spout 24 is pivotally mounted which can be rotated about substantially vertical axis Y as shown by the arrow R in Figure 2. Wing sections 15e, which are extensions of cross members 15f , support an access platform 16a on either side of the cab.
By making the upper frame section 15 detachable from the lower section 1 la using bolts 44 the chassis can easily be transported from the chassis manufacturer to the forage harvester production line thus making the manufacture of the harvester more economic.
Returning now to the details of the lower frame member 1 la, the longitudinally extending frame members 30 are, as previously described, generally open U-shaped cross section as shown in Figure 10. However, as best seen from Figures 3 and 4, the section 50, 51 and 52 of each longitudinally extending member 30 are closed off by sheet members 50a, 51a and 52a best shown in Figures 5 and 9. In Figure 5 the plate section 51 is omitted for clarity. The plate section 50a ends in an inclined portion 50a' and the plate section 52a ends in similar inclined end portions 52a'. These inclined portions which have cut-outs X help reduce the stress concentrations in the lower frame member 11a at the transitions between the open and closed sections of the longitudinally members 30.
Figures 11 to 14 show an alternative form of chassis 110 in which the longitudinally extending members 300 are also of a generally U-shaped open cross section. In the construction shown in Figures 11 to 14 these generally open U-shaped cross section portions are not closed off and the main torsional resistance of the chassis is provided by torque tubes 500 which extends between cross-members 320, 330 and 340 of the chassis. The remaining constructional details of the chassis are substantially as previously described with regards to Figures 1 - 10 and will not therefore be repeated here. The present invention thus provides a chassis construction which is suitable for a range of self-propelled harvesters such as forage harvesters, combine harvesters and sugar cane harvesters and which, due to the upper frame section being detachable from the lower frame section, allows easy transport of the chassis from the chassis manufacturer to the assembly line for the harvester.

Claims

1. A chassis for a self-propelled harvester, the chassis having a lower frame section in the form of one or more longitudinally extending frame members which carry wheels and an engine and an upper frame section comprising two tower structures each detachably secured at their lower end to a respective longitudinally extending lower frame section member with transversely extending members extending between the tower structures, the tower structures being provided with support structure for an operator's cab and at least one part of a crop processing apparatus of the harvester.
2. A chassis according to claim 1 in which the tower structures are provided at an intermediate height with support structure for the operator's cab and/or a crop accelerator and at their upper ends with support structure for a crop discharge spout.
3. A chassis according to claim 1 or 2 in which the longitudinally extending frame members are of open cross-section each having one or more closed sections to resist twisting of the lower frame section about a longitudinal axis.
4. A chassis according to claim 3 in which two longitudinally extending frame members are provided with cross members extending therebetween, each longitudinally extending frame member having a closed section to resist twisting,
5. A chassis according to claim 3 in which two longitudinally extending frame members are provided with cross members extending therebetween, and a torque tube member extending longitudinally between the cross frame members to resist twisting.
6. A chassis according to any one of claims 3 to 5 in which the longitudinally extending frame members are of an open cross section with one or more addition plates closing an open side of one or more lengths of each frame member to resist twisting.
7. A chassis for a self-propelled harvester constructed and arrange substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.
PCT/EP2011/063603 2010-08-20 2011-08-08 Self-propelled harvesters Ceased WO2012022643A2 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GBGB1013941.8A GB201013941D0 (en) 2010-08-20 2010-08-20 Self-propelled harvesters
GB1013941.8 2010-08-20

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2012022643A2 true WO2012022643A2 (en) 2012-02-23
WO2012022643A3 WO2012022643A3 (en) 2012-07-19

Family

ID=42984403

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/EP2011/063603 Ceased WO2012022643A2 (en) 2010-08-20 2011-08-08 Self-propelled harvesters

Country Status (2)

Country Link
GB (1) GB201013941D0 (en)
WO (1) WO2012022643A2 (en)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP2639140A1 (en) * 2012-03-13 2013-09-18 CLAAS Tractor SAS Tractor
JP2017093402A (en) * 2015-11-27 2017-06-01 株式会社Ｉｈｉシバウラ Work vehicle

Family Cites Families (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2230278B1 (en) * 1968-10-07 1978-02-17 Lely Nv C Van Der
GB1544188A (en) * 1976-05-11 1979-04-11 Clayson Nv Combine harvesters
DE3674001D1 (en) * 1986-07-01 1990-10-11 Ford New Holland Inc HARVESTER.
DE3911524A1 (en) * 1989-04-08 1990-10-11 Claas Ohg AGRICULTURAL VEHICLE
JPH08214673A (en) * 1995-02-15 1996-08-27 Yanmar Agricult Equip Co Ltd Combine anti-vibration support body structure
JP2001028925A (en) * 1999-07-22 2001-02-06 Yanmar Agricult Equip Co Ltd Combine frame structure

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
None

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP2639140A1 (en) * 2012-03-13 2013-09-18 CLAAS Tractor SAS Tractor
JP2017093402A (en) * 2015-11-27 2017-06-01 株式会社Ｉｈｉシバウラ Work vehicle

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB201013941D0 (en) 2010-10-06
WO2012022643A3 (en) 2012-07-19

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