GOODS DISTRIBUTION FACILITY

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a crop distribution device for combine harvesters with at least one discharge hood equipped on the inside with crop guiding elements according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] Discharge hoods of this type are well known in the art. DE 100 64 356 discloses a crop distribution device in which all crop guide elements of a right- or left-hand group of crop guide elements are connected to a guide rail and a connecting link in such a way that a change in the position of the guide rail leads to a gradual closure of the central crop passage area of ​​the crop distribution device. This has the effect that the crop distribution device gradually and intentionally stops conveying crop in the central area, and the crop stream exiting the crop distribution device is only discharged laterally. Such a design is unsuitable for crop distribution over a large working width, since a large lateral distribution effect comes at the expense of distribution in the central area of ​​the crop distribution device.

[0003] In contrast, patent 102 09 722 discloses a material distribution device in which all material guide elements of a right- or left-hand group of material guide elements are connected to a guide rail in such a way that all material guide elements have an approximately concentric curvature. A disadvantage of such a design is that the discharge direction of the material stream exiting the distribution device cannot be precisely adjusted across the working width of the agricultural machine.

[0004] It is therefore an object of the invention to avoid the described disadvantages of the prior art and in particular to create a material distribution device that can control the distribution of the material strand exiting the material distribution device more sensitively over the working width of the agricultural machine.

[0005] This problem is solved according to the invention by the characterizing features of claim 1.

[0006] By designing the crop distribution device for combine harvesters with at least one discharge hood equipped on the inside with crop guide elements, wherein the crop distribution device is supplied in its rear area with a crop flow which is optionally or simultaneously discharged from a straw chopper or a cleaning device, and wherein the crop guide elements are divided into a right-side and a left-side group, and each group of crop guide elements is coupled to at least a first and a further guide rail, wherein each of the guide rails causes a deflection of the crop guide element coupled to the respective guide rail, and the at least two guide rails of a group of crop guide elements cause a different deflection of the respective crop guide element, it is ensured thatthat the distribution of the crop stream exiting the crop distribution device across the working width of the agricultural machine can be controlled more sensitively.

[0007] In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, one or more material guidance elements of a group of material guidance elements are coupled to the same guide rail, so that more sensitive control of the material distribution is enabled in a structurally simple and space-saving manner.

[0008] In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, a plurality of adjacent, inner material guiding elements are coupled to the same guide rail and a plurality of adjacent, outer material guiding elements are coupled to at least one further guide rail, so that the inner and outer material guiding elements of both groups of material guiding elements exhibit optimal distribution behavior and the respective distribution behavior is adapted to the distribution width to be achieved.

[0009] To prevent deflection-induced deformation of the material guide elements from causing constraint forces and associated excessive stresses in the material guide elements, the material guide elements are connected at one end to the respective guide rail and at the other end to the ejection hood by means of a slot guide. In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, by assigning the connection between the respective material guide element and the respective guide rail to the material discharge side of the respective material guide element, it is ensured that the necessary actuating forces that deform the material guide elements remain low.

[0010] In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the connection comprising a slot guide between the respective material guide element and the discharge hood is assigned to the material-inlet side of the respective material guide element. This has the particular effect that the rear end of the material guide elements does not impede the movement of the material strand entering the material distribution device, since the respective end of the material guide elements is thus forced into a position that supports the flow direction of the incoming material strand.

[0011] By ensuring that the travel distance of the guide rail coupled to the inner material guide elements is shorter than the travel distance of at least one further guide rail coupled to the outer material guide elements, it is ensured that the inner material guide elements distribute the crop strand in an area with a smaller lateral extent in the field, while the outer material guide elements experience a deflection large enough to reliably distribute the emerging crop strand even over large working widths. To ensure this lateral distribution behavior is reliably achieved, an advantageous embodiment of the invention provides that the shorter travel distance of the first guide rail results in a smaller radius of curvature of the material guide elements connected to this guide rail, and the longer travel distance of the further guide rail results in a larger radius of curvature of the material guide elements connected to this further guide rail.

[0012] A structurally simple design for these adjustment paths results when the respective adjustment path is limited by a slotted guide incorporated into the respective guide rail, whereby each slotted guide corresponds to slotted holes in the ejection hood and the slotted guides and the corresponding slotted holes run approximately parallel to each other.

[0013] In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, a space-saving implementation of the movement of the individual material guide elements is achieved when the guide rails of a group of material guide elements are adjustably coupled to one another via a coupling element, wherein the coupling element is rotatably mounted in the ejection hood. A particularly efficient implementation of the movement paths that deflect the material guide elements is then possible when the coupling element accommodates slotted guides and each of the guide rails is guided in one of the slotted guides.In this context, by designing the slotted guide of the first guide rail in a curved path and positioning it around the axis of rotation of the coupling element in such a way that it results in the shorter travel distance, and by designing the slotted guide of the further guide rail linearly and positioning it around the axis of rotation of the coupling element in such a way that it results in the longer travel distance, the travel distance for all guide elements can be adjusted with a single change in the position of the coupling element.

[0014] Depending on requirements, a further advantageous embodiment of the invention provides that the change in the position of the coupling element is effected manually or mechanically. In the simplest case, the mechanical change in the position of the coupling element is effected by means of an actuating cylinder. This has the particular effect that, in a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the activation of the actuating cylinder can then be effected depending on machine, and / or crop, and / or environmental parameters. A particularly efficient mode of operation for the automated distribution of the crop strand exiting the crop distributor can then be achieved in an advantageous embodiment if a machine parameter is the header width, and / or a crop parameter is the crop type or moisture content, and / or an environmental parameter is a detected crosswind and / or a tilt of the combine harvester.

[0015] Further advantageous embodiments are the subject of further dependent claims and are described below with reference to exemplary embodiments illustrated in several figures. These show: Figure 1 a combine harvester with crop distribution device according to the invention Figure 2a, 2 a first detailed view of the crop distribution device according to the invention Figure 3 a further detailed view of the crop distribution device in a top view Figure 4 a detailed view of the crop distribution device in a bottom view Figure 4a a detailed description of Figure 4

[0016] The in Fig. 1The agricultural machine 1, schematically depicted as a combine harvester 2, incorporates a grain header 3 in its front section, which is connected to the inclined conveyor 4 of the combine harvester 2 in a manner known per se. The crop flow 5 passing through the inclined conveyor 4 is transferred in the upper, rear section of the inclined conveyor 4 to the threshing elements 7 of the combine harvester 2, which are at least partially enclosed at the bottom by a so-called threshing concave 6. A deflecting drum 8 downstream of the threshing elements 7 redirects the crop flow 5 exiting them in the rear section so that it is transferred directly to a separating device 10 designed as a straw walker 9. It is within the scope of the invention that the separating device 10 can also be designed as a separating rotor, which is known per se and therefore not shown.On the rotating straw walker 9, the material flow 5 is conveyed in such a way that the freely moving grains 11 contained in the material flow 5 are separated in the lower area of ​​the straw walker 9. Both the grains 11 separated at the concave 6 and at the straw walker 9 are fed via the return floor 12 and feed floor 13 to a cleaning unit 17 consisting of several sieve levels 14, 15 and a blower 16. The cleaned grain flow 20 is finally transferred to a grain tank 19 by means of elevators 18.

[0017] In the rear section of the separating device 10, designed as a straw walker 9, a shredding device 23, designed as a straw chopper 22 and enclosed in a funnel-shaped housing 21, is assigned to it. The straw 25 exiting the straw walker 9 in the rear section is fed to the straw chopper 22 from above. By means of a pivotable straw guide flap 24, the straw 25 exiting the straw walker 9 can also be redirected so that it is deposited directly onto the ground 26 in a swath. In the discharge area 27 of the straw chopper 22, the material flow 28 consisting of the shredded straw 25 is transferred to the material distribution device 29 according to the invention, which will be described in more detail below. The material distribution device 29, in a manner also to be described in more detail below, discharges the material flow 28 in its discharge area 30 in such a way that the material flow 28 is distributed widely on the ground 26.

[0018] In the illustrated embodiment, a chaff conveying device 31 is associated with the cleaning device 17 in its rear section. This device can be configured as either a chaff blower or a chaff spreader in a manner known per se and therefore not described in detail. The chaff 32 exiting the cleaning device 17 is fed to the top of the chaff conveying device 31. If the straw 25 is transferred to the straw chopper 22 for chopping and distributed on the floor 26 by means of the material distribution device 29, then the chaff conveying device 31 is configured as a chaff blower. In this case, the chaff 32 conveyed by the chaff conveying device 31 is transferred directly to the material distribution device 29 in its rear section 33, whereupon the material distribution device 29 distributes the chopped straw 25 and the chaff 32 in a single material stream 28 on the floor 26. When the straw 25 is laid down as a swath on the ground 26, the straw chopper 22 is out of operation.In this case, the chaff conveying device 31 is designed as a chaff distributor, whereby the material distribution device 29 then only distributes the chaff 32 on the ground 26.

[0019] In Figure 2 The material distribution device 29 according to the invention is now shown in a top view ( Figure 2a ) and in the downward-folded view from below ( Figure 2bThe material distribution device 29 comprises a discharge hood 34, which is fitted on the inside with material guide elements 35a..f, 36a..f. The material guide elements 35, 36 are arranged symmetrically to the center of the discharge hood 34 in a right-hand group 37 and a left-hand group 38 of material guide elements 35, 36 as viewed in the discharge direction 40 of the material flow 28. It is within the scope of the invention that each group 37, 38 of material guide elements 36, 37 comprises more or fewer than the six material guide elements 35, 36 shown in the exemplary embodiment. The material distribution device 29 and thus also the discharge hood 34 is supplied with the material flow 28 already described in its rear area 39 and conveyed out of the material distribution device 29 along the respective material guiding elements 35, 36 through the discharge hood 39 of the material guiding device 29 in the respective discharge direction 40.

[0020] According to the invention, the guide elements 35, 36 of each group 37, 38 of guide elements 35, 36 are coupled in a manner to be described in more detail below to a first guide rail 41 and at least one further guide rail 42, wherein each of the guide rails 41, 42 causes a deflection 43 of the guide element 35a..f, 36a..f coupled to the respective guide rail 41, 42, wherein the at least two guide rails 41, 42 of a group 37, 38 of guide elements 35a..f, 36a..f cause a different deflection 43 of the respective guide element 35a..f, 36a..f in a manner to be described in more detail below.

[0021] Figure 3The positioning and linkage of the guide rails 41, 42 according to the invention are now described in more detail. Coupling elements 45 are assigned to the discharge hood 34 in a mirror image of its center 44, with each coupling element 45 being rotatably mounted on the discharge hood 34 about a pivot axis 46. In the illustrated embodiment, a hand lever 47 is formed on each coupling element 45 in the material discharge area to manually effect a change in the position of the respective coupling element 45 about the aforementioned pivot axis 46. Furthermore, a receptacle 48 is formed on each coupling element 45 in the rear area 39 of the material distribution device 29, which receives the piston rod end of an electrically or hydraulically operated actuating cylinder 49. For the sake of simplicity, the actuating cylinder 49 is shown only on the left side. Figure 3The invention is illustrated below, so that in the following, the invention will only be described with reference to the left-hand structure of the material distribution device 29, whereby these descriptions apply analogously to the right-hand structure of the material distribution device 29. The activation of the respective actuating cylinder 49 can be automated, so that the change in position of the respective coupling element 45 about the aforementioned axis of rotation 46 can also be automated. It is within the scope of the invention that hand levers 47 and actuating cylinders 49 can be present either alternatively or simultaneously for changing the position of the respective coupling element 45. In order to fix the target position in the case of manual position changes, each coupling element has a locking mechanism 50, which is known per se and therefore not described in detail here.

[0022] Each coupling member 45 has a cam-shaped slotted guide 51 and a linear slotted guide 52 integrally formed with it, the cam-shaped slotted guide 51 being positioned at a smaller distance from the axis of rotation 46 of the respective coupling member 45 than the linear slotted guide 52. Both slotted guides 51 and 52 are also oriented towards the outlet area 30 of the material distribution device 29. The cam-shaped slotted guide 51 is connected to the first guide rail 41 via a screw connection 53 such that the screw connection 53 can move within the slotted guide 51. The linear slotted guide 52 is also connected to the second guide rail 42 via a screw connection 54 such that the screw connection 54 can move within this slotted guide 52.By moving both screw connections 53, 54 in slotted guides 51, 52, which are positioned at different distances from the axis of rotation 46 of the respective coupling element 45, the guide rails 41, 42 travel different distances 55, 56. Due to the smaller distance of the cam-shaped slotted guide 51 to the axis of rotation 46 of the coupling element 45, the first guide rail 41 travels a shorter distance 55 than the further guide rail 42, since the linear slotted guide 52 is further away from the axis of rotation 46 of the respective coupling element 45.

[0023] Each guide rail 41, 42 is traversed by slotted guides 57 to limit the respective travel 55, 56. These slotted guides correspond to slotted holes 58 recessed in the ejection hood 34, and both the slotted guides 57 and the corresponding slotted holes 58 are positioned almost parallel to each other. Each slotted guide 57 is traversed by screw connections 59, the screw connections 59 being connected inside the ejection hood 34 to a feed guide element 35a..f, 36a..f in a manner to be described in more detail later. By connecting the guide rails 41, 42 to the respective feed guide element 35a..f, 36a..f via these screw connections 59, the travel 55, 56 of the guide rails 41, 42 is transferred to the respective feed element 35a..f, 36a..f.

[0024] Figure 4The positioning and linkage of the material guide elements 35a..f, 36a..f according to the invention are now described in more detail. In the illustrated embodiment, the first three material guide elements 35a..c, 36a..c of the right and left groups 37, 38 of material guide elements 35, 36 are connected to the first guide rail 41 by means of the screw connections 59 already described. At the same time, in the illustrated embodiment, the three outermost material guide elements 35d..f, 36d..f of the right and left groups 37, 38 of material guide elements 35, 36 are connected to at least one further guide rail 42 by means of the screw connections 59 already described. In the rear area 39 of the discharge hood 34, which corresponds to the material inlet area of ​​the respective material guide element 35a..f, 36a..f.Accordingly, all guide elements 35, 36 are attached to the discharge hood 34 by means of further screw connections 60 such that each guide element 35, 36 can move in a slotted guide 61 formed on each guide element 35, 36 along the respective screw connection 60. As previously described, this type of coupling of guide rails 41, 42 and guide elements 35a..f, 36a..f results in the shorter travel distance 55 of the first guide rail 41 being transferred via the respective screw connections 59 to the guide elements 35a..c, 36a..c coupled to this guide rail 41. Similarly, the longer travel distance 56 of the second guide rail 42 is transferred via the respective screw connections 59 to the guide elements 35d..f, 36d..f coupled to this guide rail 42. This results in the following: the guide elements 35a..f, 36a..f coupled to the respective guide rail 41, 42.Depending on their respective positioning paths 55, 56, the guide elements 35a..c, 36a..c coupled to the first guide rail 41 experience a smaller deflection 43 than the guide elements 35d..f, 36d..f coupled to the at least one further guide rail 42. It is within the scope of the invention that the number of adjacent, inner guide elements 35a..c, 36a..c coupled to the first guide rail 41 and the number of adjacent, outer guide elements 35d..f, 36d..f coupled to the at least one further guide rail 42, as well as the total number of all guide elements 35a..f, 36a..f, can deviate from the disclosed number of three guide elements 35, 36, as shown in the exemplary embodiment.It is also within the scope of the invention that, unlike the illustrated embodiment, the number of guide rails 41, 42 can also include more than two guide rails 41, 42. By using more than two guide rails 41, 42 per group of 37, 38 of material guiding elements 35, 36, the displacement-dependent deflection 43 of the material guiding elements 35, 36 can be adjusted more precisely.

[0025] According to the invention, Figure 4a (left part of the figure, right part of the figure schematically shows the undisplaced state) the shorter travel distance 55 of the first guide rail 41 results in a smaller radius of curvature R1 of the material guide elements 35a..c, 36a..c connected to this guide rail 41, while the longer travel distance 56 of the further guide rail 42 results in a larger radius of curvature R2 of the material guide elements 35d..f, 36d..f connected to the further guide rail 42.

[0026] In order to control the positioning of the actuator cylinders 49 with sufficient accuracy, the actuator cylinders 49 are assigned position sensors (not shown in detail here) in a manner known per se, which enable precise extension and retraction of the respective piston rod. According to Figure 3 The respective coupling element 45 can also be assigned a position sensor 62, which is known in itself and not described in detail here, and which determines the exact position of the respective coupling element 45.

[0027] By determining the position of the actuating cylinders 49, the discharge direction 40 of the crop distribution device 29 can be changed by precisely altering the deflection 43 of the crop guide elements 35, 36, so that the discharge direction 40 can be influenced depending on machine, crop, and / or environmental parameters. Preferably, in this context, a machine parameter can be the header width, and / or a crop parameter the crop type or moisture content, and / or an environmental parameter a detected crosswind and / or a tilt of the combine harvester. Reference symbol list: 1 agricultural machinery 31 Straw conveying device 2 combine harvester 32 chaff 3 Grain cutter 33 rear area 4 inclined conveyor 34 Ejection hood 5 Harvested crop power 35 Good guiding element 6 threshing basket 36 Good guiding element 7 threshing organ 37 right-sided group 8 Deflection drum 38 left-side group 9 Horde shakers 39 rear area 10 Separation device 40 Ejection direction 11 grains 41 Guide rail 12 Return floor 42 Guide rail 13 Feed floor 43 Deflection 14 Sieve level 44 Center ejection hood 15 Sieve level 45 Coupling link 16 fan 46 axis of rotation 17 Cleaning facility 47 hand lever 18 Elevator 48 Recording 19 grain tank 49 Actuator cylinder 20 Grain flow 50 Locking mechanism 21 Housing 51 curved slotted guide 22 Straw chopper 52 linear slot guide 23 shredding device 53 screw connection 24 Straw guide flap 54 screw connection 25 straw 55 Parking space 26 Floor 56 Parking space 27 Exit area 57 Slotted guide 28 Good electricity 58 Slotted hole 29 Goods distribution system 59 screw connection 30 Exit area 60 screw connection 61 Slot guide R1 radius of curvature R2 radius of curvature

Claims

1. A material spreading device for a combine harvester with at least one discharge hood which is fitted on the inside with material guide elements, wherein a flow of material is supplied to the rearward region of the material spreading device, the material flow being selectively or concurrently delivered from a straw chopper or a cleaning device, characterized in that the material guide elements (35, 36) are divided into a right side and a left side group (37, 38) and each group (37, 38) of material guide elements (35, 36) is coupled to at least a first and a further guide rail (41, 42), wherein each of the guide rails (41, 42) brings about a deflection (43) of the material guide element (35a..f, 36a..f) coupled to the respective guide rail (41, 42) and the at least two guide rails (41, 42) of a group of material guide elements (35a..f, 36a..f) bring about a deflection (43) of the respective material guide element (35, 36) which is distinct one from the other.

2. The material spreading device for a combine harvester according to claim 1, characterized in that one or more material guide elements (35a..f, 36a..f) of a group (37, 38) of material guide elements (35, 36) are coupled to the same guide rail (41, 42).

3. The material spreading device for a combine harvester according to claim 2, characterized in that a plurality of adjacent, inward-lying material guide elements (35a..c, 36a..c) are coupled to the same guide rail (41) and in that a plurality of adjacent, outward-lying material guide elements (35d..f, 36d..f) are coupled to the at least one further guide rail (42).

4. The material spreading device for a combine harvester according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the material guide elements (35, 36) are connected at one end to the respective guide rail (41, 42) and at the other end to the discharge hood (34) by means of a slot guide (61).

5. The material spreading device for a combine harvester according to claim 4, characterized in that the connection between the respective material guide element (35a..f, 36a..f) and the respective guide rails (41, 42) is associated with the material discharge-side region of the respective material guide element (35a..f, 36a..f).

6. The material spreading device for a combine harvester according to claim 4, characterized in that the connection comprising a slot guide (61) between the respective material guide element (35, 36) and the discharge hood (34) is associated with the material inlet-side region of the respective material guide element (35, 36).

7. The material spreading device for a combine harvester according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the path of travel (55) of the guide rail (41) coupled to the inward-lying material guide elements (35a..c, 36a..c) is shorter than the path of travel (56) of the at least one further guide rail (42) coupled to the outward-lying material guide elements (35d..f, 36d..f).

8. The material spreading device for a combine harvester according to claim 7, characterized in that the shorter path of travel (55) of the first guide rail (41) brings about a smaller radius of curvature (R1) of the material guide elements (35a..c, 36a..c) connected to this guide rail (41) and the longer path of travel (56) of the further guide rail (42) brings about a larger radius of curvature (R2) of the material guide elements (35d..f, 36d..f) connected to the further guide rail (42).

9. The material spreading device for a combine harvester according to one of claims 7 or 8, characterized in that the respective path of travel (55, 56) is limited by an elongated slot guide (57) incorporated into the respective guide rail (41, 42), wherein each elongated slot guide (57) corresponds to elongated slots (58) in the discharge hood (34) and the elongated slot guides (57) as well as the corresponding elongated slots (58) extend approximately parallel with respect to each other.

10. The material spreading device for a combine harvester according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the guide rails (41, 42) of a group (38, 39) of material guide elements (35, 36) are adjustably coupled to each other via a coupling link (45), wherein the coupling link (45) is rotatably mounted in the discharge hood (34) by means of an axis of rotation (46).

11. The material spreading device for a combine harvester according to claim 10, characterized in that the coupling link (45) accommodates elongated slot guides (51, 52) and each of the guide rails (41, 42) is guided in one of the elongated slot guides (51, 52).

12. The material spreading device for a combine harvester according to claim 11, characterized in that the elongated slot guide (51) of the first guide rail (41) is constructed in the form of a curved path and thus is positioned about the axis of rotation (46) of the coupling link (45) such that it brings about the shorter path of travel (55).

13. The material spreading device for a combine harvester according to claim 10, characterized in that the elongated slot guide (52) of the further guide rail (42) is linear in construction and thus is positioned about the axis of rotation (46) of the coupling link (45) such that it brings about the longer path of travel (56).

14. The material spreading device for a combine harvester according to one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that a change in the position of the coupling link (45) brings about a change in the paths of travel (55, 56), wherein the change in the position of the coupling link (45) is brought about manually or mechanically.

15. The material spreading device for a combine harvester according to claim 14, characterized in that the mechanical change in the position of the coupling link (45) is carried out by means of a positioning cylinder (49).

16. The material spreading device for a combine harvester according to claim 14, characterized in that the actuation of the positioning cylinder (49) is brought about as a function of machine parameters and / or harvested material parameters and / or environmental parameters.

17. The material spreading device for a combine harvester according to claim 15, characterized in that a machine parameter can be the width of the front attachment and / or a harvested material parameter can be the type of material or material moisture content and / or an environmental parameter can be a detected crosswind and / or an inclination of the combine harvester (2).