HASEL FOR A HARVESTING MACHINE

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a reel for a harvesting machine, in particular for a combine harvester, with a plurality of tine carriers to which tines for conveying the crop are attached, wherein the tine carriers are enclosed by a longitudinally slotted tube.

[0002] Such reels are used to feed standing material to a cutter bar and a screw conveyor of a crop collection device.

[0003] EP 2 775 819 B1 describes a reel with a central reel support tube and support stars arranged at the ends of the tube. These stars consist of an annular hub that is coaxially slid onto the outer diameter of the support tube. Star arms are connected to each other via tine bars running parallel to the support tube. The tine bars can be one-piece or consist of individual segments.

[0004] DE 10 2004 028 550 A1 describes a reel with tine carriers extending across the reel's width, which carry tines for conveying the crop, and with struts for supporting the tine carriers, which are attached to the tine carrier by strut mounts. This design, which does not require a central support tube, is intended to provide a lightweight reel.

[0005] Conveyor tines and their attachment to a tine carrier are available in several designs. In most reel designs, cylindrical tubes are used as tine carriers, to which the conveyor tines are attached by means of screws or a clamp connection, as shown, for example, in DE 40 28 885 A1 or DD 27456. If double or single tines made of spring steel are used and fastened to the support beam with screws, exposed spiral spring coils are located directly on the support beam. Under unfavorable harvesting conditions, this often leads to crop material becoming wrapped around the outer circumference of the support beam and having to be removed manually using a complex process. Even with single steel spring tines, whose spring coils enclose the outer circumference of the support beam and are attached to the support beam by a screw or bolt connection, there is a risk that crop material will become wrapped up and lodged there.

[0006] From DE 198 58 452 A1, reels are known in which the support beams are provided with one or more longitudinal grooves into which the locking devices of the double spring tines engage, securing their position on the support beam. Additionally, the tines can be secured by a centrally mounted clamping piece. In this design, too, the spring coils of the tines are arranged on the support beam and form attachment points for wrapping the crop. To minimize this risk, an additional cover plate can be used, which is attached to the support beam with clamping screws. However, this specific variant is only applicable to double spring tines made of steel and is also complex to install.

[0007] EP 1 397 953 B1 therefore proposes a reel with a supporting beam consisting of a shell-shaped profiled support with flat and / or curved surfaces and a non-uniform cross-section, wherein the supporting beam has an area which at least partially encompasses the spring coils or the upper section of the conveyor tines in the same shape. The supporting beam consists of a tubular hollow profile, wherein the profile, viewed in the direction of travel of the harvester, has an outwardly shaped surface in the front and upper area and an inwardly curved contact and covering surface in the rear area as well as a flat fastening surface for the conveyor tines in the lower area. This design is intended to largely cover the spiral spring coils of the conveyor tines by the supporting beam parts in order to largely exclude contact with the harvested crop.However, in addition to the complex construction, the risk of winding up cannot be completely prevented.

[0008] This also applies to the structurally complex straw deflectors described in DE 41 06 723 C2.

[0009] Generic reels are also known from US 2015 / 0089916 A1 and US 2014 / 0223876 A1, in which slotted tubes for the form-fitting reception of tine carriers are disclosed.

[0010] Finally, FR 2811196 A3 discloses a reel with a tube which, in the assembled state, has recesses for the passage of tines of a tine carrier.

[0011] It is an object of the present invention to provide a reel of the type mentioned at the outset in which the risk of winding up with stalk material is largely eliminated and in which the solution is structurally simple and inexpensive.

[0012] This object is achieved by the reel according to claim 1, which is characterized in that the prongs protrude from the longitudinal slot of the tube, wherein the longitudinal slot of the tube has a width that is smaller than the diameter of the prongs, and wherein the longitudinal slot has opposing semicircular recesses through which the prongs protrude. Such longitudinally slotted tubes can also be used for retrofitting support tubes in reels. The slot width of the tube is selected so that the prongs can protrude and also provides the necessary clearance for their spring action.

[0013] The longitudinal slot of the tube has a width that is smaller than the diameter of the tines, with the longitudinal slot featuring opposing semicircular recesses through which the tines protrude. In other words, the two semicircles form bores that allow the tines to pass through with some clearance. During rotation of the reel, the tines are freely movable in their longitudinal axial direction within these bores or semicircular recesses.

[0014] The slotted tube is preferably made of aluminum, which has the advantage that the protection against crop winding doesn't require heavy components. This is important because reels can sometimes be very wide, which can cause the tine carriers to sag when attached to heavy attachments.

[0015] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the outer diameter of the slotted tube is at least 8 cm, preferably at least 10 cm, wherein the outer diameter of the tubular tine carrier is ≤ 3 cm.

[0016] Furthermore, according to a further embodiment of the invention, the tine carrier is tubular and has an outer diameter that is smaller than the inner diameter of the spiral winding of the spring tines arranged around the tine carrier. The spiral winding of the spring tines forming the spring mechanism is thus not arranged next to the tine carrier, but rather around the tine carrier, with the end of the spiral winding being attached to the tubular tine carrier by a screw connection.

[0017] The slotted tubes can be spread out and pushed over existing tine support tubes and tines to prevent wrapping. These slotted tubes offer the advantage of low-loss mowing because they effectively prevent crop from being lifted upwards by the rotating reel and falling to the ground in front of the cutting unit. Using the slotted tubes significantly improves crop flow. Even weeds such as chamomile, burdock and similar plants do not become wrapped up because the spring coils of the tines are completely covered by the slotted tube. Finally, crop flow is improved, particularly with lean spring barley, because the slotted tube guides the crop closer to the cutter bar. A further effect of the slotted tubes is that they prevent pod damage or pod bursting in the combine harvester front end, for example during rapeseed threshing.

[0018] An embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in the drawings. They show: Fig. 1, 2 two cross-sectional views with different positions of a tine carrier to the slotted pipe.

[0019] Combine harvesters and reels are, in principle, known from the state of the art, with a reel having several tine carriers made of circular cylindrical tubes with an external cross-section that is constant over their length, which are attached, for example, to support arms or other holders.

[0020] In Fig. 1 A tubular tine carrier 10 with an inner diameter a of, for example, 22 mm can be seen. The tube wall thickness is, for example, 6 mm, resulting in an outer diameter g of 28 mm. The spiral winding 11 extends around the tubular tine carrier 10 and ends in a spring tine 12 that protrudes tangentially from the spring winding. The illustrated tine 12 has a diameter of 6 mm. This results in the dimensions c=30 mm, d=42 mm, and e=81 mm.

[0021] According to the invention, a tube 13 with a longitudinal slot 14 with a width h of 2 mm extends around the tine carrier and the spiral winding. Since the diameter of the tines is 6 mm larger than the slot width, the slot has semicircular recesses at equidistant intervals on opposite sides of the slot, which form a bore through which the tines 12 are guided with a corresponding clearance and, as shown in Fig. 2 can be clearly positioned in different ways. The position according to Fig. 1 is in Fig. 2 shown in dashed lines, while the solid circular contour of the slotted tube 13 has a position relative to the tine carrier or the spiral winding of the spring tines, in which the spring tine 12 protrudes further by a dimension f of more than 30 mm. In other words, the slotted tube can perform a rolling movement relative to the tine carrier with the spiral winding surrounding it, in which the tine 12 is guided further or shorter longitudinally through the semicircular recesses or bores.

Claims

1. Reel for a harvesting machine, in particular for a combine harvester, with a plurality of tine carriers (10) to which tines (12) for conveying the crop are fastened, wherein the tine carriers (10) are encased by a longitudinally axially slotted tube (13), wherein the tines (12) protrude from the longitudinal slot of the tube (13), wherein the longitudinal slot (14) of the tube (13) has a width dimension which is smaller than the diameter of the tines (12), characterized in that the longitudinal slot (14) has respectively opposite semicircular recesses through which the tines (12) protrude.

2. Reel according to claim 1, characterized in that the slotted tube is made of aluminium.

3. Reel according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the tine carrier (10) is tubular, in that the outer diameter of the slotted tube (13) is at least 8 cm, preferably at least 10 cm, and in that the outer diameter of the tubular tine carrier (10) is less than 3 cm.

4. Reel according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the tine carrier is tubular and possesses an outer diameter which is smaller than the inner diameter of the spiral winding (11) of the spring tines arranged around the tine carrier (10).