Self-propelled forage harvester

Abstract

The invention relates to a self-propelled forage harvester (1) with a chopping device (6), with a post-acceleration device (12), with a crop conveying chute (24) arranged between the chopping device (6) and the post-acceleration device (12), wherein the crop conveying chute (24) has an adjustable inner cross-section.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a self-propelled forage harvester according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] A self-propelled forage harvester of the type mentioned above is known from DE 10 2016 215 045 A1. This patent describes an agricultural harvesting machine designed as a self-propelled forage harvester, comprising at least one chopping unit and a downstream acceleration unit. In the chopping unit, the crop picked up by a header of the forage harvester is chopped and then fed to the acceleration unit via a crop conveying chute. The acceleration unit is designed and configured to accelerate the chopped crop. Downstream of the acceleration unit is an unloading device for ejecting the crop into a loading container.

[0003] DE 10 2016 215 045 A1 proposes a variable internal cross-section for the transfer device downstream of the post-acceleration device in order to prevent turbulence or fanning of the crop flow within the transfer device and thus a reduction in crop flow quality. Despite the variable internal cross-section, the crop flow quality within the transfer device can decrease in certain harvesting situations because the post-acceleration device cannot optimally process, accept, and accelerate the incoming crop flow.

[0004] It is therefore an object of the invention to avoid the described disadvantages of the prior art and in particular to create a self-propelled forage harvester that achieves improved processing, in particular improved acceptance and acceleration, of a crop flow supplied to a post-acceleration device.

[0005] This problem is solved according to the invention by the characterizing features of claim 1. Advantageous further developments are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0006] According to claim 1, a self-propelled forage harvester is proposed comprising a chopping device, a post-acceleration device and a crop conveying chute arranged between the chopping device and the post-acceleration device, wherein the crop conveying chute has an adjustable internal cross-section.

[0007] The invention recognizes that the thickness of the crop flow feeding the post-acceleration device influences the quality of the crop flow and the discharge quality of the post-acceleration device, and thus the quality of the crop flow discharged onto a transfer vehicle by means of a downstream unloading device. The invention recognizes that a thick layer of crop can be processed more efficiently by the post-acceleration device than a thin layer. With a thicker layer of crop fed to the post-acceleration device, the crop stream exiting the device is more stable and exhibits less tendency to fan out or swirl.Therefore, the proposed crop conveying chute, which is designed and configured to allow for different internal cross-sections, makes it possible to reduce the internal cross-section at low crop throughputs, thus compressing the crop mat and increasing its thickness. Consequently, the variable cross-section of the crop conveying chute also improves the quality of the crop flow discharged onto a transfer vehicle, even at lower throughputs.

[0008] An advantageous further development provides that the crop conveying chute has at least one position-adjustable wall element for adjusting the internal cross-section. Such a wall element makes it possible to create an adjustable internal cross-section in a particularly simple way. To change the internal cross-section, the wall element can be pivoted inwards or outwards from an interior space of the crop conveying chute.

[0009] A further advantageous embodiment provides that the harvested crop conveying chute comprises a front wall, a rear wall, and two opposing side walls, each connecting the front and rear walls, with the position-adjustable wall element being arranged on one of the side walls. The arrangement of the wall element on one of the side walls allows the flow of harvested crops passing by the wall element to be compressed, thus increasing the thickness of the harvested crop mat.

[0010] According to an advantageous embodiment, a position-adjustable wall element can be arranged on each of the side walls. Thus, both wall elements can be pivoted equally to compress a harvested crop flow into the interior, so that a compressed crop flow is guided centrally through the harvested crop conveying chute.

[0011] For the flow behavior of the harvested material, it is particularly advantageous if the wall element extends from one end of the harvested material conveying shaft facing the chopping device to one end of the harvested material conveying shaft facing the post-acceleration device.

[0012] According to an advantageous embodiment, the wall element can be pivotally arranged on the crop conveying chute by means of a joint, in particular a hinge, wherein the joint is preferably arranged at the end of the crop conveying chute facing the chopping device.

[0013] According to a further advantageous development, the forage harvester can include an actuator for adjusting the position of the wall element. Therefore, no manual adjustment of the wall elements is required, allowing for a quick response to changes in crop throughput by adjusting the position of the wall elements.

[0014] It is particularly advantageous if the forage harvester includes a control device for controlling and / or regulating the actuator. This control device can be configured to automatically adjust the position of the wall elements to the harvesting situation.

[0015] Furthermore, it is particularly advantageous if the control device is designed and configured to control the actuator depending on the crop throughput. Specifically, the control device can control the actuator in such a way that, at low crop throughput, the wall element is positioned further into the interior than at high crop throughput. Thus, at lower crop throughput, the crop mat can be automatically compressed to achieve improved crop flow quality.

[0016] According to an advantageous embodiment, the control device can be configured to receive and evaluate data generated by a swath detection device arranged on the forage harvester, wherein the control device determines the crop throughput based on an evaluation of the data from the swath detection device. The crop throughput thus determined can be used to control the actuators.

[0017] It is particularly advantageous if the swath detection device includes at least one optical sensor that determines data concerning the shape of a swath to be picked up by the forage harvester. This allows the crop throughput to be determined very early and the position of the wall elements to be adjusted or set for an impending change in crop throughput.

[0018] Additionally or alternatively, the swath detection device can be equipped with at least one sensor arrangement designed to detect a layer height in a feeder of the forage harvester, and the swath detection device transmits the data determined by the at least one sensor arrangement to the control device for determining the crop throughput.

[0019] A further advantageous embodiment provides that, viewed in the direction of crop flow, a feed channel is arranged downstream of the chopping device, and the crop conveying chute is designed as a grass chute that connects downstream to the feed channel, preferably being interchangeably arranged on the feed channel. The grass chute can be located directly upstream of the post-acceleration device, so that the thickness of a crop mat to be fed to the post-acceleration device can be adjusted particularly advantageously.

[0020] The present invention is explained in more detail below with reference to an embodiment illustrated in the drawings.

[0021] They show: Fig. 1. An exemplary schematic representation of a self-propelled forage harvester in side view; Fig. 2. An exemplary schematic representation of a conveying shaft of the forage harvester according to Fig. 1 with a grass shaft; Fig. 3. An exemplary schematic representation of a harvested crop conveying shaft designed as a grass shaft; and Fig. 4. An exemplary schematic representation of a self-propelled forage harvester with a swath detection device.

[0022] In Fig. Figure 1 shows an exemplary schematic side view of a self-propelled forage harvester 1, on which a header 2 is arranged at the front for collecting crops lying on the ground. The header 2 varies depending on the type of crop to be harvested or collected. The header 2 picks up the crop from the field and conveys it to a feed unit 3, which in the illustrated embodiment consists of a roller assembly with upper and lower feed rollers 4, 5. The feed rollers 4, 5 of the feed unit 3 exert a pressing force on the collected crop. The feed unit 3 conveys the crop, compacted into a mat, to a chopping unit 6, which has a rotating chopping drum 7 with chopping knives 8 arranged around its circumference. The chopping knives 8 cut the mat of harvested material fed by the intake device 3 against a counter blade 9.The cut or chopped crop is conveyed by the rotation of the chopping drum 7 into a downstream feed channel 10. From there, depending on the configuration of the forage harvester 1, it is processed by an optional post-processing device 11, also known as a conditioning device or corncracker, located in the crop flow path. It is then further accelerated by a downstream, rotating acceleration device 12 and conveyed through an adjustable unloading device 13 into a transport vehicle. The optional post-processing device 11 can be swung out of the crop flow path or removed entirely. The unloading device 13 is rotatable about a vertical axis, for example, by means of a turntable. Additionally and independently, the unloading device 13 can also be pivoted about a horizontal axis.A so-called discharge flap can be arranged at the free end of the transfer device 13, which is pivotable about a horizontally extending axis relative to the transfer device 13.

[0023] The post-processing device 11 is used particularly during maize harvesting and serves to process the maize kernels. In contrast, the post-processing device 11 is not used during grass harvesting. Instead of the post-processing device 11, a grass chute 16, designed as a crop conveying chute 24, is located downstream of the feed channel 10.

[0024] In Fig. Figure 2 shows an exemplary schematic representation of the feed channel 10 with a grass chute 16 arranged on the feed channel 10. The chopping device 6 and the post-acceleration device 12 form working elements of the forage harvester 1, which are arranged in ascending order one after the other in the direction of crop flow FR of a harvested crop stream and are connected to each other by the feed channel 10 and the grass chute 16. For the sake of simplicity, the chopping drum 7 is shown in Fig. 2 not shown. The post-acceleration device 12 comprises a rotating conveying rotor 23 arranged in a housing 22. The feed channel 10 forms a channel section directly connected to the chopping device 6, the grass chute 16 being an extension of the feed channel 10 towards the post-acceleration device 12. An outlet area 18 of the feed channel 10 connects to an inlet area 20 of the grass chute 16 in a connection area 19.

[0025] The grass shaft 16 is bounded by a rear wall 14 and a front wall 15. The rear wall 14 and the front wall 15 are connected to each other by side walls 17 arranged substantially perpendicular to them, so that the grass shaft 16 is closed in the circumferential direction. The front wall 15 and the rear wall 14 extend substantially in the axial direction of the conveying rotor 23. The side walls 17 extend substantially in the forward direction VF of the forage harvester 1.

[0026] The grass shaft 16 or harvested crop conveying shaft 24 and the subsequent acceleration device 12 downstream of the grass shaft 16 are in Fig. Figure 3 is schematically illustrated in a perspective top view. A position-adjustable wall element 21 for adjusting the internal cross-section of the grass chute 16 is arranged on each of the side walls 17 of the grass chute 16. In an alternative embodiment, a position-adjustable wall element 21 can also be arranged on only one of the side walls 17. The respective wall element 21 extends from one end 26 of the grass chute 16 facing the chopping device 6 to one end 27 of the grass chute 16 facing the post-acceleration device 12, such that the respective wall element 21 extends substantially over the entire length of the grass chute 16 as viewed in the direction of crop flow FR. Here, and preferably, the respective wall element 21 also extends substantially over the entire width of the respective side wall 17, so that it covers substantially the entire surface of the respective side wall 17.The respective wall element 21 is pivotally mounted on the respective side wall 17 by means of a joint 38, designed as a hinge 25 (not shown in detail). Here, and preferably, the respective hinge 25 is located at the end 26 of the grass chute 16 facing the chopping device 6. Thus, when the wall element 21 is pivoted into the interior of the grass chute 16, the inner cross-section becomes progressively narrower in the direction of crop flow FR.

[0027] Each wall element 21 is assigned an actuator 28 for stepless pivoting of the respective wall element 21 about a pivot axis 29 defined by the respective hinge 25. The actuators 28 can be designed as electrically or hydraulically actuated control elements. The forage harvester 1 also includes a control unit 30, which is designed and configured to control and / or regulate the actuators 28. The control unit 30 is configured to actuate the actuators 28 depending on the crop throughput. The control unit 30 acts on the actuators 28 in such a way that the wall elements 21 are pivoted further into the interior of the grass chute 16 at a low crop throughput than at a high crop throughput.In other words, the control unit 30 controls the actuators 28 in such a way that the wall elements 21 cause a greater narrowing of the grass chute 16 at low crop throughput than at high crop throughput. This ensures that a crop mat fed to the post-acceleration device 12 has a preferred thickness even at low throughputs. A thicker crop mat can be processed more effectively by the post-acceleration device 12, resulting in improved discharge quality from the stream of material ejected onto a transfer vehicle by the unloading device 13.

[0028] In Fig. Figure 4 shows a self-propelled forage harvester 1 with a swath detection device 31. The swath detection device 31 is equipped with at least one optical sensor 32 for detecting a forward area, i.e., a section located in front of the harvester 1 in the direction of travel. The at least one optical sensor 32 is designed and configured to detect the presence and / or shape of a swath 33 in front of the harvester 1. The swath detection device 31 transmits certain data to the control device 30 for evaluation via the at least one optical sensor 32. For this purpose, the at least one optical sensor 32 is connected to the control device 30 via a bus system 34 in a signal-transmitting manner. The at least one optical sensor 32 can be configured as a camera, RGB camera, 3D camera, or LiDAR.

[0029] At least one sensor 32, arranged on the driver's cab 37, detects the presence of the windrow 33 by means of scanning beams 36, as well as its geometry or shape, in which the windrow 33 was laid on the ground in a previous process. As shown in the illustration in Fig. As can be seen in Figure 4, swath 33 generally has an irregular height contour H. The height contour H changes along swath 33, depending, among other things, on the stand density of the previously harvested crop. Swath 33 not only has an irregular height contour H, but also varies to different degrees in its width, which is also detected by sensor 32.

[0030] Additionally or alternatively, the swath detection device 31 can be equipped with at least one sensor arrangement 35, which is configured to detect a layer height in the intake element 3. The presence of crop material and the throughput of crop material taken in can be determined by means of the sensor arrangement 35.

[0031] The control unit is designed and configured to determine the crop throughput using the data obtained by the swath detection device 31, in particular the shape and / or layer height H. A characteristic curve or a characteristic curve array for a set position of the wall elements 21 arranged in the grass chute 16 or crop conveying chute 24, depending on the crop throughput, can be stored in the memory unit of the control unit 30. The control unit 30 can evaluate the characteristic curve or characteristic curve array to control the actuators 28. Reference symbol list: 1 Self-propelled forage harvester 2 attachments 3 Collection organ 4 feed roller 5 feed roller 6 shredding device 7 Chopping drum 8 shredding blades 9 Counter blade 10 Feed channel 11 Post-processing device 12 Post-acceleration device 13 Overloading device 14 Back panel 15 Front wall 16 grass shaft 17 side wall 18 Exit area 19 Connection area 20 Entrance area 21 wall element 22 cases 23 Conveyor rotor 24 Harvested crop conveyor shaft 25 hinge 26 End 27 End 28 Actuator 29 Swivel axis 30 Control unit 31 Swath detection device 32 Sensor 33 swath 34 Bus system 35 Sensor arrangement 36 scanning beam 37 Driver's cab 38 joint VF Forward direction FR Flow direction H height contour QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents cited by the applicant was automatically generated and is included solely for the reader's convenience. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] DE 10 2016 215 045 A1 [0002, 0003]

Claims

[1] Self-propelled forage harvester (1) with a shredding device (6), with a post-acceleration device (12), with a crop conveying shaft (24) which is arranged between the chopping device (6) and the post-acceleration device (12), characterized by , that the harvested crop conveying shaft (24) has an adjustable internal cross-section. [2] Self-propelled forage harvester (1) according to claim 1, characterized by , that the harvested crop conveying shaft (24) has at least one positionally adjustable wall element (21) for adjusting the internal cross-section. [3] Self-propelled forage harvester (1) according to claim 2, characterized by, that the harvested crop conveying shaft (24) comprises a front wall (15), a rear wall (14) and two opposing side walls (17) connecting the front wall (15) and rear wall (14) to each other, wherein the positionally variable wall element (21) is arranged on one of the side walls (17). [4] Self-propelled forage harvester (1) according to one of claims 2 to 3, characterized by , that a position-changeable wall element (21) is arranged on each of the side walls (17). [5] Self-propelled forage harvester (1) according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized by , that the wall element (21) extends from one end (26) of the crop conveying shaft (24) facing the chopping device (6) to one end (27) of the crop conveying shaft (24) facing the post-acceleration device (12). [6] Self-propelled forage harvester (1) according to one of claims 2 to 5, characterized by, that the wall element (21) is pivotably arranged on the crop conveying chute (24) by means of a joint (38), in particular a hinge (25), wherein preferably the joint (38) is arranged at the end (26) of the crop conveying chute (24) facing the chopping device (6). [7] Self-propelled forage harvester (1) according to one of claims 2 to 6, characterized by , that the forage harvester (1) includes an actuator (28) for setting a position of the wall element (21). [8] Self-propelled forage harvester (1) according to claim 7, characterized by , that the forage harvester (1) includes a control device (30) for controlling and / or regulating the actuator (28). [9] Self-propelled forage harvester (1) according to claim 8, characterized by , that the control device (30) is designed and configured to control the actuator (28) depending on a crop throughput. [10] Self-propelled forage harvester (1) according to claim 9, characterized by, that the control device (30) is configured to receive and evaluate data generated by a swath detection device (31) arranged on the forage harvester (1), wherein the control device (30) determines the crop throughput depending on an evaluation of the data from the swath detection device (31). [11] Self-propelled forage harvester (1) according to claim 10, characterized by , that the swath detection device (31) comprises at least one optical sensor (32) which determines data relating to the shape of a swath (33) to be picked up by the forage harvester (1). [12] Self-propelled forage harvester (1) according to one of claims 10 to 11, characterized by, that the swath detection device (31) is equipped with at least one sensor arrangement (35) which is designed to detect a layer height in a intake element (3) of the forage harvester (1), and that the swath detection device (31) transmits the data determined by the at least one sensor arrangement (35) to the control device (30) for determining the crop throughput. [13] Self-propelled forage harvester (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized by , that, viewed in the direction of material flow (FR) of a crop stream, a feed channel (10) is arranged downstream of the chopping device (6) and the crop conveying shaft (24) is designed as a grass shaft (16) which connects downstream to the feed channel (10), wherein preferably the grass shaft (16) is arranged interchangeably on the feed channel (10).

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