Screen assembly

Abstract

The invention provides a screen assembly comprising one or more planar members comprising one or more screens supported by a rocker configured to rock the members fore and aft. At least one rocker is connected to one of the members by a tapering connection comprising first and second connectors having mating tapering surfaces. The tapering connection can be secured and released from one side of the rocker. To this end, the first connector is rotatably mounted in an opening in the rocker through which a securing bolt passes and through the first connector and into the second connector which is secured to or integral with the planar member. The first connector is also provided with a threaded portion at the side of the rocker such that, after removal of the securing bolt, a pin can be inserted into the first connector and a secondary bolt screwed into the threaded portion to thereby separate the tapering surfaces.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to agricultural machinery, and particularly to improvements primarily, but not limited to, the cleaning components of combine harvesters. Background Technology

[0002] Combine harvesters include a screening assembly located in the harvester's cleaning section, which is the area where grains are separated from crop residues. The screening assembly typically includes a grain disc and one or more screens mounted in a rectangular frame, sometimes referred to as cleaning boots. The grain disc and screens are subjected to a back-and-forth rocking motion, possibly superimposed with a lateral rocking motion. The back-and-forth motion is driven by a drive mechanism that actuates the rocking motion of support arms laterally coupled to the grain disc and screens. Several sets of these rocking arms are included to achieve a phase difference in the back-and-forth motion between the different components, particularly the phase difference between the motion of the grain disc and the motion of one or more screens.

[0003] Due to the rocking motion caused by the drive mechanism, the connecting devices between these sieves and grain discs and their respective rocker arms are subjected to high-intensity forces. Therefore, these connecting devices are typically implemented as tapered connections between matching and coaxial tapered surfaces, which results in high strength and little or no gaps between the connecting parts.

[0004] However, a problem exists with the conical connecting devices currently used in this context: these devices are typically designed to be secured or released from within the cleaning section, for example, by bolts inserted into the connecting device from the sieve or grain pan area into the rocker arm. Accessing the connecting device in this way is often difficult, making replacement and maintenance a time-consuming task.

[0005] The problem could be exacerbated by the fact that these connecting devices may be difficult to separate due to the high friction between the conical surfaces. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This invention relates to a sieve assembly and related methods as described in the appended claims. Therefore, this invention relates to a sieve assembly comprising one or more planar components, each including one or more sieves, supported by a rocker arm configured to actuate a back-and-forth rocking motion of the components. At least one rocker arm is connected to one of the components via a tapered connector having matching tapered surfaces, comprising first and second connecting members. The tapered connection can be secured and released from one side of the rocker arm. For this purpose, the first connecting member is rotatably mounted in an opening in the rocker arm, through which a fixing bolt passes and through the first connecting member, and is screwed into a second connecting member, which is secured to or integral with the planar component. The first connecting member also has a threaded portion on one side of the rocker arm, allowing a pin to be inserted into the first connecting member after the fixing bolt is removed, and an auxiliary bolt to be screwed into the threaded portion, thereby forcing the tapered surfaces apart. Attached Figure Description

[0007] Figure 1 This is a conceptual side view of a combine harvester known in the prior art.

[0008] Figure 2 A grain pan of a sieve assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown, which includes four rocker arms connected to the grain pan.

[0009] Figure 3 A tapered connecting device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0010] Figure 4 yes Figure 3 An enlarged view of the tapered connecting device, in a fixed state.

[0011] Figure 5 The release was shown Figure 3 Method for connecting conical devices.

[0012] Figure 6 A tapered connecting device according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0013] Preferred embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. This detailed description does not limit the scope of the invention, which is defined only by the appended claims.

[0014] refer to Figure 1 The known combine harvester 1 includes an engine 2 and a header 3, which is used to cut the crop from the field and to collect the crop into the inlet of a feeder 4. The feeder conveys the crop to one or two threshing rotors 5, which separate larger crop material from grains and smaller residues. Longitudinal threshing rotors can be used, as shown, but transversely mounted rotors can also be used equivalently.

[0015] The cleaning section 6 of the harvester includes a screening assembly comprising a grain disc 7 and multiple screens 8 for separating grains from smaller residues. Incompletely separated crop material, also known as tailings, may be returned for cleaning after re-threshing via a tailings screw conveyor 9. Fully separated grains are collected in a grain bin 10 by the combined action of a cleaning grain screw conveyor 11 and a grain elevator 12. From the grain bin 10, grains can be discharged from the harvester via another screw conveyor 13 at the bottom of the grain bin and a rotating nozzle 14. Small crop residues, also known as chaff, are blown towards the rear of the harvester by a blower 15. Larger crop residues, such as crop stems and leaves, are moved to a chopping and spreading assembly 16, where they may be chopped into smaller particles and spread across a wider raft behind the advancing combine harvester.

[0016] As mentioned earlier, the grain disc 7 and the sieve 8 are connected to the drive mechanism. Figure 1 As shown but known, the drive mechanism is configured to actuate components of the sieve assembly in a rocking motion. Typically, the grain disc 7 is configured to rock in the opposite phase relative to one or more sieves 8.

[0017] This invention is not limited to Figure 1 The specific configuration shown is only intended to depict the context in which the invention applies. In practice, the invention is applicable to any screen assembly including front-and-back moving cleaning components.

[0018] Figure 2 A grain tray 20 of a sieve assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The tray is supported by four rocker arms 21, one end of which is pivotally connected to a support structure (not shown) for pivoting about its respective pivot 22. At their other ends, the rocker arms 21 are connected to the grain tray 20 via a transverse connecting device 23 between the arms 21 and a support bracket 24, which supports a frame 25 of the grain tray 20. A drive mechanism (not shown, but generally known in the art) actuates the arms 21 to rock about their pivot 22, thereby rocking the tray back and forth to advance grains and other crop material toward a sieve (not shown) mounted downstream of the grain tray 20.

[0019] Figure 3 A side view of a rocker arm 21 and a portion of a grain tray 20 is shown. A support structure 19 is partially shown, along with a pivot 22 at one end of the rocker arm 21, at which the arm is pivotally mounted to the support structure 19. It can be seen that the support bracket 24 is formed of various plate elements 24', which are connected to the frame 25 by bolted connections 26. This is only one example of a possible support bracket, and the invention is not limited to this example. Figure 3 A cross-sectional view of the transverse connecting device 23 is shown in the figure. Figure 4 The image is shown in enlarged format. The transverse connecting device 23 is a tapered connecting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. This connecting device is suitable for use between the rocker arm 21 and the grain tray 20, and between the rocker arm and the sieve.

[0020] The connecting device 23 includes a first connector 30 and a second connector 31 aligned along a common longitudinal axis 32, and has matching tapered surfaces 33 and 34 arranged coaxially around the axis 32. In the illustrated embodiment, the first connector 30 includes an outer (convex) tapered surface 33, while the second connector 31 includes an inner (concave) tapered surface, but the reverse is also possible.

[0021] A first connector 30 is rotatably mounted in an opening 35 in a rocker arm 21, the opening being located at the opposite end of the arm relative to the pivot 22. A rotary bearing 36 is mounted between the first connector 30 and the opening 35 in the rocker arm 21, allowing the first connector 30 to rotate relative to the arm 21 about a central axis 32. The bearing 36 is preferably a flexible bearing, allowing the first connector 30 to perform additional movements relative to the arm 21 besides rotation about the axis 32, such as a limited deviation of the connector 30 from the indicated vertical direction relative to the arm 21. This may be necessary, for example, in cases where the lateral rocking motion of a grain pan or sieve is superimposed on the forward and backward rocking motion.

[0022] The second connector 31 is secured to the support bracket 24 by bolt connections 27 and 28. According to other embodiments, one example of which will be given later, the second connector may be secured to the bracket in other ways, or it may be integrated with the support bracket or even thus with the grain tray.

[0023] The first and second connectors 30 and 31 include respective longitudinal internal openings 40 and 41, which are coaxially arranged and aligned with each other about the longitudinal axis 32. The opening 40 in the first connector 30 extends completely through the connector 30 from one side of the rocker arm 21 to the opposite side.

[0024] The threaded fixing bolt 42 passes through the opening 35 of the rocker arm 21 and the inner opening 40 of the first connecting member 30, and is screwed into the second connecting member 31. For this purpose, the opening 41 of the second connecting member 31 is provided with an internal thread 43 that matches the external thread of the fixing bolt 42. By tightening the head 44 of the bolt 42 onto the outer end of the first connecting member 30 on one side of the rocker arm 21, the tapered surfaces 33 and 34 are forced into close contact with each other, thereby fixing the connecting device.

[0025] like Figure 4 As shown, the internal opening 40 of the first connector 30 includes an internal thread portion 45 at one end of the first connector 30 that inserts into the opening 35 of the rocker arm 21. The inner diameter of this thread portion 45 is larger than the outer diameter of the fixing bolt 42, so the fixing bolt 42 does not interact with this thread portion 45. The fixing bolt 42 can be freely inserted into the opening 40 and interlocks only with the internal thread 43 of the second connector 31.

[0026] The function of the additional threaded portion 45 is related to the separation of connectors 30 and 31 from each other. According to a preferred embodiment, the method for separating the connectors includes the following steps. First, the connector 31 is removed by unscrewing the retaining bolt 42 from the opening 41. However, at this time, the connectors are still interlocked by the friction between the tapered surfaces 33 and 34.

[0027] like Figure 5As shown, pin 46 is then inserted into opening 40 from the right side of the rocker arm 21 through opening 35. The diameter of pin 46 is larger than the outer diameter of fixing bolt 42, but smaller than the diameter of opening 40. Therefore, pin 46 can be freely inserted into opening 40 of the first connector 30, but cannot be inserted into opening 41 of the second connector 31; that is, the distal end face 47 of pin 46 is blocked by the entrance of opening 41. Figure 5 As shown. The length of pin 46 is such that when the distal end face 47 contacts the second connector 31, the proximal end face 49 is located between the entrance of opening 40 and the depth of threaded portion 45.

[0028] Now, use an auxiliary threaded bolt 48, whose threads match the internal thread portion 45. Screw the auxiliary bolt 48 into the thread portion 45 until it contacts the proximal end face 49 of the pin 46. By continuing to rotate the head of the auxiliary bolt 48, the connectors 30 and 31 are forced apart.

[0029] The advantage of this connection device compared to existing tapered connecting devices used to support screen assembly components is that it is easily accessible from the side of the assembly. Therefore, securing and releasing the connection device is easier than with existing configurations.

[0030] exist Figures 3 to 5 In the illustrated embodiment, an internal opening 41 in the second connector 31 extends from one side through which a bolt 42 of the second connector 31 is screwed into the opening 41, to the other side. A bolt 27 securing the second connector 31 to the support bracket 24 is screwed into the opening 41 from the other side. This configuration allows the opening 41 to be accessed from the other side by unscrewing the bolt 27. Due to this possibility, connectors 30 and 31 can be separated by screwing an auxiliary bolt 48 into the opening 40 from one side of the arm 21, inserting a pin from the other side, and striking the pin from the other side. However, this is a less preferred release method because it requires access to the connecting device from inside the screen assembly, which is generally more difficult. Therefore, the release method described above is preferred and applies regardless of whether the opening 41 is accessible from inside the screen assembly.

[0031] Figure 6 Another embodiment is shown. The first connector 30 is the same as in the first embodiment. The second connector 31 is now integrated with the support bracket 29. The opening 41 is now a blind hole, inaccessible from the inside of the screen assembly. However, the above... Figure 5 The release method shown is suitable for separation Figure 6 Connectors 30 and 31 in the embodiment.

[0032] According to the sieve assembly of the present invention, the lateral connection between a set of rocker arms and the component supported by these rocker arms can conform to any of the above embodiments, whether the component is a grain disc or a sieve. However, not all connection devices must conform to the present invention. For example, connection devices that only require periodic replacement or maintenance can conform to the present invention, while other connection devices can conform to any prior art design. Therefore, the sieve assembly according to the present invention is characterized by the presence of at least one conical connection device as described above and the conical connection device as described in the appended claims.

[0033] The sieve assembly according to the invention can be used alone, for example as a fixed sieve assembly, or integrated into a combine harvester. The invention also relates to combine harvesters incorporating the sieve assembly according to the invention.

Claims

1. A screening assembly, the screening assembly comprising: Support structure (19); One or more planar components, including one or more sieves; A plurality of rocker arms (21) for carrying planar components are mounted laterally relative to the planar components, and the screen assembly further includes an actuation mechanism configured to actuate the rocker arms and thus actuate the planar components relative to a support structure, wherein at least one of the rocker arms (21) is connected to one of the planar components by a tapered connecting device (23), the tapered connecting device including a first connector (30) and a second connector (31) aligned along a common longitudinal axis (32) oriented laterally relative to the rocker arms (21), the first connector and the second connector having matching tapered surfaces (33, 34), the first connector (30) being rotatably mounted in a rocker arm opening (35) in the rocker arm (21), and the second connector (31) being fixed to or integral with the planar components, characterized in that: - The connecting device (23) is fixed by a fixing bolt (42), which is inserted through the rocker arm opening (35) in the rocker arm (21) and through the first connector (30) and screwed into the second connector (31), thereby forcing the matching conical surfaces (33, 34) into close contact with each other. - The first connector (30) includes an internally threaded portion (45) accessible through a rocker arm opening (35) in the rocker arm (21), the diameter of which is larger than the diameter of the fixing bolt (42) so that the fixing bolt does not interact with the internally threaded portion (45), and the internally threaded portion (45) allows an auxiliary bolt (48) to be screwed into the first connector (30) when the fixing bolt (42) is removed.

2. The component of claim 1, wherein the sieve component is a sieve component of a combine harvester, and wherein the planar component comprises a grain disc (20) and one or more sieves.

3. The component according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second connector (31) includes an opening (41) arranged coaxially about the longitudinal axis (32) and passing through the second connector (31), wherein a fixing bolt (42) is screwed into the opening (41) on one side of the second connector (31), and the second connector is releasably secured to a support bracket (24) of a bearing planar component by at least a bolt (27) screwed into the opening (41) on the other side.

4. The component according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second connector (31) is integral with the support bracket of the bearing plane component.

5. The component according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second connector (31) includes a blind hole that opens to one side and a fixing bolt (42) is screwed into the blind hole.

6. A method for releasing the connection between a rocker arm (21) and a planar component in a sieve assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, the method comprising the steps of: - Unscrew and remove the fixing bolt (42). - Insert a pin (46) having a proximal end (49) and a distal end (47) into the rocker arm opening (35) and through the first connector (30), the pin being able to freely insert into the first connector (30) but not through the second connector (31), such that the distal end (47) of the pin is blocked by the second connector (31). - Screw the auxiliary bolt (48) into the internal thread portion (45) of the first connector (30) until the auxiliary bolt contacts the proximal end (49) of the pin. - Continue screwing the auxiliary bolt (48) into the internal thread portion (45), thereby forcing the tapered surfaces (33, 34) apart.

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