Machine for mowing stalk-like crops with removable dividing tips

Abstract

Machine (10) for mowing stalk-like crops, which is movable in a forward direction (V) over a field and has a frame (12), comprising: at least one mowing and intake device (14-21) with a lower cutting disc (24) and conveying discs (28) arranged above it with recesses (26) distributed around their circumference for receiving plant stems, a dividing tip (32) located upstream of the mowing and intake device (14-21), which is attached to a holder (48) which is detachably fastened to a support element (72) supported on the frame (12) and can be removed from the support element (72) in a pull-off direction, wherein the holder (48) comprises two sections diverging in the opposite direction of pull-off, which interact with complementarily shaped areas of the support element (72) arranged between them, and fastening means (66) for fixing the bracket (48) to the support element (72), which, in the assembled state, pre-tension the bracket (48) against the support element (72), characterized in that the holder (48) comprises a transverse element (52) extending transversely to the forward direction, which can be attached to the support element (72) by means of the fastening means (66), and that a longitudinal element (50) is attached to each of the lateral ends of the transverse element (52), which in its rear area (56) forms one of the diverging sections between which the support element (72) is arranged, and which in its front area holds a divider tip (32).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a machine for mowing stalk-like crops, which is movable in a forward direction across a field and has a frame comprising: at least one mowing and intake device with a lower cutting disc and conveyor discs arranged above it with recesses distributed around their circumference for receiving plant stems, a splitter tip arranged upstream of the mowing and intake device, which is attached to a holder which is detachably fastened to a support element supported on the frame and is removable from the support element in a pulling direction, wherein the holder comprises two sections diverging opposite to the pulling direction, which interact with complementarily shaped areas of the support element arranged therebetween, and fastening means for fixing the bracket to the support element, which pre-tension the bracket against the support element when mounted. State of the art

[0002] The machines mentioned above are used to harvest crops from a field. The crops are cut from the remaining stubble by mowing and intake devices with rotating blades. Conveyor discs mounted above the blades, possibly in conjunction with additional conveyor drums, transport them into the intake chute of a forage harvester. Downstream of the intake chute is a chopper drum, which chops the crop in conjunction with a counterblade. Finally, after optionally passing through a secondary shredder with interacting rollers, which serves to crush corn kernels, the crops are conveyed through a secondary accelerator into a discharge chute, from where they are transferred to the hopper of a transport vehicle traveling alongside the forage harvester.

[0003] The aforementioned machines can be used not only for harvesting maize, but also for harvesting grasses or more or less mature grains (so-called whole-crop silage). While it has proven effective to position divider tips equipped with guide fingers in front of the knives and conveyor discs of the mower and intake systems for harvesting maize, when harvesting plants with thinner stalks than maize, such as grasses and cereals, the crop, which is less structurally sound and less rigid than maize, can get caught on the guide fingers and disrupt the crop flow. Therefore, it has been proposed to design the divider tips interchangeable, allowing divider tips with guide fingers to be used for harvesting maize and divider tips without guide fingers for harvesting grass or cereals (DE 10 2007 035 797 A1).For this purpose, forward-extending brackets are provided on the gearbox housing of the mowing and intake device, to which divider tips equipped with or without fingers can be screwed.

[0004] It was also proposed to attach several splitter tips to a transverse support tube, which in turn is attached to the gearbox housing of the respective mowing and intake device in a manner not described in detail (DE 10 2008 043 577 A1).

[0005] To shorten the changeover time when changing divider tips, DE 10 2014 114 101 A1, considered generic, proposes inserting a quick-action coupling between a machine-fixed section of the divider tip holder and a divider tip-side section of the divider tip holder. In a first embodiment, a conical pin is driven into a bore extending through both holders, causing the pin to clamp the conically shaped holders against each other. In another embodiment, the quick-action coupling comprises a spring-loaded locking ball in one of the holders, which, when locked, engages in a matching recess in the other holder. Task

[0006] Fastening the divider tips according to DE 10 2007 035 797 A1 with two screws per divider tip requires a certain amount of time when changing the divider tips. The quick coupling of DE 10 2014 114 101 A1, on the other hand, suffers from a lack of stability, because the locking ball alone is hardly able to hold the holder securely, while the pin will gradually loosen due to the movements and vibrations of the holder that occur during harvesting and thus does not contribute to the stability of the divider tip. In addition, the holder's fastening by the pin will become worn out after the pin has been loosened and tightened several times and must be replaced. Due to the lack of details disclosed therein regarding the fastening of the holding tube for the divider tips to the gearbox housing, DE 10 2008 043 577 A1 cannot contribute to solving the problem of providing a relatively quickly replaceable, yet stable attachment of the divider tips to the machine.

[0007] The object underlying the invention is to provide a machine for mowing stalk-like crops in which the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art do not occur or occur to a reduced extent. Solution

[0008] This object is achieved according to the invention by the teaching of patent claim 1, wherein the further patent claims list features which further develop the solution in an advantageous manner.

[0009] A machine for mowing stalk-like crops, which is movable in a forward direction across a field, comprises at least one mowing and intake device with a lower cutting disc and conveyor discs arranged above it with recesses distributed around their circumference for receiving plant stems, a dividing tip arranged in front of the mowing and intake device, which is attached to a holder which is detachably fastened to a support element connected to the frame and can be removed from the support element in a pulling direction, wherein the holder comprises two sections which diverge counter to the pulling direction and which cooperate with complementarily shaped regions of the support element arranged therebetween, and fastening means for fixing the holder to the support element, which fastening means pretension the holder against the support element in the mounted state.The holder comprises a transverse element extending transversely to the forward direction, which can be fastened to the support means by the fastening means. Attached to each of the lateral ends of the transverse element is a longitudinal element, each of which holds a divider tip in its front region. In its rear region, this longitudinal element forms one of the diverging sections between which the support element is arranged.

[0010] Accordingly, at least two divider points are each connected by a longitudinal element to the transversely extending transverse element of the holder. The longitudinal elements diverge against the pulling direction, i.e. the further you move against the pulling direction (which is usually forwards), the further they are spaced from each other, and thus spread out towards the rear in a wedge-shaped or trapezoidal shape. The fastening means pull the holder and thus also the longitudinal elements backwards and press them against the cooperating areas of the support element which are shaped complementary to the longitudinal center planes and against which the longitudinal elements rest. This creates a relatively simple yet very stable holder construction which can be changed quickly and easily after the fastening means have been removed, e.g. to replace the holder with the divider points for one with differently shaped divider points.

[0011] In particular, the machine comprises a gear housing supported on the machine frame, containing gear elements for driving the conveyor discs. The gear housing can hold the support element and / or partially or completely form it. In another embodiment, the support element can be coupled to the machine frame independently of the gear housing.

[0012] The fastening means for securing the bracket to the support element is formed in particular by a screw, which is preferably located centrally in the cross member. This screw also ensures that the bracket is correctly aligned and centered with the divider tips relative to the support element.

[0013] The transverse element may have a horizontal region to which the longitudinal elements are fastened and a vertical region adjoining the horizontal region to the rear through which the fastening means extend.

[0014] The support element can be applied to both longitudinal elements from above and below, which leads to its vertical alignment and fixation.

[0015] The longitudinal elements and the support element can diverge symmetrically against the pulling direction. Example

[0016] The drawings illustrate an embodiment of the invention, described in more detail below. They show: Fig. 1 a perspective view d of a machine for mowing stalk-like crops, Fig. 2 a perspective view of the gearbox housing of a mowing and intake device of the machine of Fig. 1 with detachably attached divider tips, and Fig. 3 the view of the Fig. 2 with divider tips removed.

[0017] On a frame 12 of a Fig. 1, six mowing and intake devices 14, 16, 17, 18, 20, and 21 are mounted side by side on either side of a longitudinal center plane 22. The mowing and intake devices 14 to 21 each consist of a lower, rotating or stationary cutting disc 24 and several rotating conveyor discs 28 arranged coaxially above it. The cutting discs 24 are equipped with sharp teeth on the edge or are otherwise sharpened in order to separate the plant stems from the stubble remaining in the ground. The stems are received in recesses 26 of the conveyor discs 28 and, during harvesting, are transported into a forage harvester that carries the machine 10 and drives its moving elements and moves the machine 10 in a forward direction V across a field.In the following, directions such as front and rear refer to the forward direction V.

[0018] Stem dividers 30 are located between each of the mowing and intake devices 14 to 21 in order to deflect the plants laterally and bring them into the engagement area of ​​the mowing and intake devices 14 to 20 when necessary. Smaller divider tips 32 are arranged at the front of the mowing and intake devices 14 to 20. The working width of the mowing and intake devices 14 to 21 corresponds to one row in each case, i.e. approximately 0.75 m. The machine 10 can therefore harvest twelve rows of maize sown at a distance of 75 cm simultaneously. The working width of the mowing and intake devices 14 to 21 could, however, also be smaller or larger (e.g. 1.5 m), just as the number of mowing and intake devices 14 to 21 can be larger or smaller than shown.

[0019] During harvesting, the mowing and intake devices 14 to 21 are actively driven. The inner mowing and intake devices 21, adjacent to the longitudinal center plane 22, initially convey the plants outwards and backwards, as do the four outwardly following mowing and intake devices 20, 18, 17, 16, while the outer mowing and intake devices 14 rotate in the opposite direction. As can be seen from the Fig. 1, the outer mowing and intake devices 14 transfer their crop approximately midway between the axes of rotation of the mowing and intake devices 14, 16 to the next inner mowing and intake devices 16. At the rear of the next inner mowing and intake devices 16 and the mowing and intake devices 17, 18, 20 following inwards, the crop is successively transferred to the rear of the mowing and intake devices 18, 20, 21, which are in turn arranged further inwards, by means of rotationally driven, outer cross conveyor drums 34 which are arranged to the rear of the cross conveyor channel of the machine 10 and the crop flow conveyed therein and which comprise rotationally driven conveyor discs with recesses for receiving plant stems.At the rear of the mowing and intake devices 20 arranged further inward, the crop is transferred to inner cross conveyor drums 36, which comprise rotationally driven conveyor discs 38 with recesses for receiving plant stems. The inner cross conveyor drums 36 then convey the crop, together with the rear sides of the inner mowing and intake devices 21, diagonally backward and toward the center of the machine 10, where it is conveyed backward by rotationally driven discharge conveyor drums 40 arranged rearward of the cross conveyor channel, with rotational axes slightly inclined forward to bridge the height difference between the level of the mowing and intake devices 14 to 20 and the intake channel of the forage harvester, and discharged into the intake channel of the forage harvester.

[0020] At the rear of the frame 12, a pendulum frame 42 is mounted centrally, which serves to attach the machine 10 to the forage harvester and enables movement about an axis V extending horizontally and in the forward direction, which axis extends approximately in the middle of the intake channel.

[0021] The Fig. Figure 2 schematically shows a gear housing 44 of one of the mowing and intake devices 14 to 21, provided with divider tips 32, whose front sides rotate counterclockwise during operation. The gear housings 44 and associated divider tips 32 of the mowing and intake devices 14 to 21, which rotate in the opposite direction, are constructed symmetrically about the longitudinal center plane of the respective mowing and intake units 14 to 21. The gear housing 44 contains an upwardly extending shaft 46, which serves to drive the conveyor disks 28. A hollow shaft 47 can also be provided for driving the cutting disk 24, which extends around the shaft 46.

[0022] A support element 72 is connected to the gear housing 44 (e.g. screwed) or made in one piece with it and is located on the front side thereof. A removable bracket 48 is attached to the front of the support element 72 and holds two divider tips 32. The bracket 48 comprises a cross element 52, which can be a steel sheet. The cross element 52 extends transversely to the forward direction V and horizontally across the width of the front side of the support element 72. The cross element 52 comprises a front, horizontal region 60 and a rearwardly adjoining vertical region 62, which in turn is adjoined by a horizontal region 64. The vertical region 62 is adjacent to the front side of the support element 72. The horizontal region 64 rests on the gear housing 44 from above.A screw serving as a fastening means 66 extends with its thread through a horizontal hole in the vertical region 62, approximately centrally located with respect to the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the vertical region 62, and into a thread in the front of the gear housing 44, pulling the bracket 48 rearward in a force-fitting manner. This screw also ensures that the bracket 48 with the divider tips 32 is correctly aligned and centered relative to the support element 72. A small gap may remain between the horizontal region 62 of the cross member 52 and the support element 72, or it may rest against the support element 72.

[0023] The divider tips 32 are each connected (e.g., welded or soldered) to the transverse element 52, in particular to its front, horizontal region 60, by tubular or solid longitudinal elements 50. The front region 54 of the longitudinal elements 50 is bent upwards and to the right and connected to the actual divider tips 32, to the rear sides of which guide fingers 58 are connected. The longitudinal elements 50 further comprise rear regions 56 that extend rearward and laterally outward behind the transverse element 52. The rear regions 56 are arranged between upper extensions 70 and lower extensions 68 of the support element 72, the side walls of which come into contact with the longitudinal elements 50 and gradually widen towards the rear, complementary to the longitudinal elements 50.

[0024] The rear regions 56 preferably, but not necessarily, each enclose an angle with the forward direction V, which angle is selected such that the normals of the rear regions 56 meet in the center of the shaft 46, so that the holder 48 with the divider tips 32 only rotates about the axis of symmetry of the mowing and intake device 14 to 21 in the event of possible errors, but does not collide with its rotating parts.

[0025] The screw serving as fastening means 66 thus presses in the assembled state, as shown in the Fig. 2, the rear regions 56 of the longitudinal elements 50 to the rear and wedges them against the cooperating side walls of the support element 72, so that a stable fastening of the holder 48 with the divider tips 32 to the support element 72 and thus to the gear housing 44 is obtained. By loosening the screw, the holder 48 with the divider tips 32 can be quickly and easily released and removed by pulling in the pulling direction (ie in the forward direction V) and, if necessary, subsequently replaced with another holder 48, as shown in the Fig. 3 shown graphically, or it can be harvested without divider tips 32.

Claims

[1] Machine (10) for mowing stalk-like crops, which is movable in a forward direction (V) across a field and has a frame (12), comprising: at least one mowing and intake device (14-21) with a lower cutting disc (24) and conveyor discs (28) arranged above it with recesses (26) distributed around their circumference for receiving plant stems, a dividing tip (32) arranged upstream of the mowing and intake device (14-21), which is attached to a holder (48) which is detachably fastened to a support element (72) supported on the frame (12) and is removable from the support element (72) in a pulling direction, wherein the holder (48) comprises two sections which diverge counter to the pulling direction and which cooperate with complementarily shaped regions of the support element (72) arranged therebetween, and fastening means (66) for fixing the holder (48) to the support element (72), which in the mounted state pre-tension the holder (48) against the support element (72), characterized by that the holder (48) comprises a transverse element (52) extending transversely to the forward direction, which can be fastened to the support element (72) by the fastening means (66), and that a longitudinal element (50) is fastened to each of the lateral ends of the transverse element (52), which longitudinal element (50) forms in its rear region (56) one of the diverging sections between which the support element (72) is arranged, and which holds in its front region one divider tip (32). [2] Machine according to claim 1, wherein a gear housing (44) with gear elements contained therein for driving the conveyor discs (28) is supported on the frame (12) of the machine (10), and the gear housing (44) forms and / or holds the support element (72). [3] Machine (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fastening means (66) comprise a screw extending through a bore in the cross member (52) and into a thread in the support member (72). [4] Machine (10) according to claim 3, wherein the screw is arranged centrally in the cross member (52). [5] Machine (10) according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the transverse element (52) has a horizontal region (60) to which the longitudinal elements (50) are fastened, and a vertical region (62) adjoining the horizontal region (60) to the rear, through which the fastening means (66) extend. [6] Machine (10) according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein extensions (68, 70) of the support element (72) abut the longitudinal elements (50) from above and below. [7] Machine (10) according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the longitudinal elements (50) and the support element (72) diverge symmetrically opposite to the pulling direction.

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