Crop harvesting device and harvesting machine

Abstract

The present invention provides a crop harvesting device and harvester that can enhance the ability to crush forage crops while suppressing an increase in the required power through a simple structure. [Solution] The apparatus comprises a cutting unit for cutting forage crops P, a conveying unit 13 for transporting the forage crops P cut by the cutting unit, a shredding unit 20 including a rotating cutting blade 22 and a fixed blade 24 facing the cutting blade 22 for shredding the forage crops P transported by the conveying unit 13, a discharge pipe 25 for releasing the shredded forage crops P from the shredding unit 20 to the outside by the rotational force of the cutting blade 22, and a crushing unit 26 for crushing the shredded forage crops P moving inside the discharge pipe 25 by colliding them.

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present invention relates to a crop harvesting device for harvesting crops and a harvester equipped with the same.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, whole crop silage of rice and corn, ear corn silage, etc. are known as feed for large livestock such as dairy cows. Regarding feed crops such as rice and corn that are the raw materials for these feeds, it is recommended that they be harvested at the yellow ripening stage where the grains can be crushed with a finger, considering the yield and the ease of digestion and absorption by livestock. However, in recent years, due to unstable weather and the expansion of the harvesting work area, the number of cases where it has become difficult to harvest at an ideal timing has been increasing. If the grains that have become hard in the full ripening stage after passing the yellow ripening stage are harvested, there is concern that even if fed to livestock such as dairy cows, the grains will not be digested and the amount of grains discharged in feces will increase. It has been reported that for corn harvested at the full ripening stage, digestion and absorption by livestock are promoted by crushing the grains finely.

[0003] By the way, a harvester is used when harvesting feed crops. And in a forage harvester which is a general harvester, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, the harvested feed crops are guided to a cutting device by a feed roller, and after the guided feed crops are shredded, they are discharged upward through a discharge pipe.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, conventional harvesters, such as those described in Patent Document 1, which have a small number of cutting rows and are mounted on tractors with around 100 horsepower, do not have the function to crush hardened kernels as described above. Therefore, there is currently a demand to add a crushing function to harvesters. For example, a large, high-horsepower self-propelled forage harvester with over 200 horsepower can be equipped with a corn crusher and can crush the kernels, but the power required for such a corn crusher is very large, making it difficult to mount on a small harvester with a small number of cutting rows.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention provides a crop harvesting device and harvester that can increase the ability to crush forage crops while suppressing an increase in the required power through a simple structure. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A crop harvesting apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention comprises: a cutting unit for cutting crops; a conveying unit for conveying the crops cut by the cutting unit; a shredding unit that includes a rotating cutting blade and a fixed blade that faces the cutting blade during cutting, for shredding the crops conveyed by the conveying unit; a discharge pipe for discharging the shredded crops from the shredding unit to the outside by the rotational force of the cutting blade; and a crushing unit for crushing the shredded crops moving inside the discharge pipe by colliding them.

[0008] In the crop harvesting apparatus described above, the discharge pipe extends from the fixed blade toward the front side in the rotational direction of the cutting blade, and the crushing section may be provided on the inner surface on the fixed blade side, which is the inner surface on the rear side in the rotational direction of the discharge pipe, in a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the axis that is the rotational center of the cutting blade.

[0009] In the crop harvesting apparatus described above, the discharge pipe has an opening that exposes the space inside the discharge pipe, and a cover member is provided that opens and closes the opening and also forms part of the inner surface of the discharge pipe, and the crushing section may be provided on the cover member.

[0010] In the crop harvesting apparatus described above, the crushing section is a projection that protrudes from the inner surface of the fixed blade, and in a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the axis, when L is the distance in the extending direction of the discharge pipe from the rear end of the fixed blade in the rotational direction to the rear end of the crushing section in the rotational direction, and d is the diameter of the cutting blade which is twice the radial distance from the axis to the tip of the cutting blade, the distance L and the cutting blade diameter d may satisfy the following equation (1). 0.45 ≤ L / d ≤ 0.55 ···(1)

[0011] In the crop harvesting apparatus described above, the crushing section is a projection that protrudes from the inner surface on the fixed blade side, and in a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the axis, when the height of the protrusion of the crushing section in the direction perpendicular to the direction of extension of the discharge pipe from the inner surface on the fixed blade side of the crushing section is h, and the width dimension of the discharge pipe in the direction perpendicular to the direction of extension of the discharge pipe between the inner surface on the fixed blade side and the inner surface on the opposite side of the fixed blade side facing the inner surface on the fixed blade side is w, the protrusion height h and the width dimension of the discharge pipe w may satisfy the following equation (2). 0.045 ≤ h / w ≤ 0.100 ···(2)

[0012] In the crop harvesting apparatus described above, the crushing sections may be provided in multiple locations at intervals in the direction of extension of the discharge pipe.

[0013] A harvesting machine according to one aspect of the present invention comprises the above-described crop harvesting device and a main body that supports the crop harvesting device and is movable. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] The crop harvesting device and harvester described above make it possible to increase the ability to crush forage crops while suppressing the increase in power required by using a simple structure. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0015] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of the harvesting machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2]The figure is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing a conveying section and a shredding section of a crop harvesting device in the above-mentioned harvester. [Figure 3] The figure is a longitudinal sectional view showing an enlarged main part (shredding section and discharge pipe) of the crop harvesting device, and shows a state in which the forage crop P is crushed.

Embodiment for Carrying out the Invention

[0016] Hereinafter, the harvester 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. (Overall Structure) As shown in FIG. 1, the harvester 100 has a configuration in which, for example, a relatively small self-propelled vehicle of about 100 horsepower is combined with a forage harvester and a roll baler, and includes a main body part 1 and a crop harvesting device 11 supported on the front side in the traveling direction D of the main body part 1.

[0017] (Main Body Part 1) The main body part 1 mainly includes a crawler-type traveling device 2, a cabin 3 provided above the traveling device 2, a hopper 4 disposed behind the cabin 3 into which shredded forage crop P (crops such as rice and corn that are raw materials for feed) is introduced, and a forming chamber 5 that forms the forage crop P from the hopper 4 into a roll shape. Thereby, the main body part 1 can pack and discharge the forage crop P in a roll shape while moving in the traveling direction D.

[0018] (Crop Harvesting Device 11) The crop harvesting device 11 harvests and shreds the forage crop P and discharges it toward the hopper 4 in the main body part 1. Specifically, the crop harvesting device 11 includes a cutting part 12 located at the foremost part in the traveling direction D for cutting the forage crop P, a conveying part 13 for conveying the cut forage crop P, a shredding part 20 into which the forage crop P is carried by the conveying part 13, a discharge pipe (discharge pipe) 25 provided in the shredding part 20, and a crushing part 26 provided in the discharge pipe 25.

[0019] The cutting part 12 includes a cutter (not shown) and is a part for cutting the base of the forage crop P. As shown in FIG. 2, the conveying unit 13 has a plurality of pairs of feed rollers 30 arranged to face each other in the height direction (hereinafter referred to as the device height direction) D3 intersecting the traveling direction D. The feed rollers 30 convey the cut forage crop P toward the rear in the traveling direction D.

[0020] The shredding unit 20 includes a rotatable cylinder 21, a plurality of cutting blades 22 protruding from the cylinder 21, a housing 23 forming a cutting chamber S for housing the cylinder 21 and the plurality of cutting blades 22, and a fixed blade 24 for cutting the forage crop P together with the cutting blades 22 within the cutting chamber S.

[0021] The cylinder 21 is rotatably provided about an axis O extending in a direction (hereinafter referred to as the device width direction) D2 intersecting the device height direction D3 and the device front-rear direction D1 along the traveling direction D. In the present embodiment, the device width direction D2 coincides with the width direction of the main body 1 (see FIG. 1) and is substantially horizontal.

[0022] Each of the plurality of cutting blades 22 protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 21 and is arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the cylinder 21. Here, the cutting blade diameter, which is twice the radial distance from the axis O serving as the turning center (rotation center) of the cutting blade 22 to the tip of the cutting blade 22, is defined as "d".

[0023] In addition to the above-mentioned cutting chamber S, the housing 23 forms an inlet 23a that penetrates itself in the radial direction of the cylinder 21 and introduces the forage crop P conveyed by the conveying unit 13 into the cutting chamber S. In the present embodiment, the inlet 23a is arranged at a substantially central position in the device height direction D3 intersecting the device front-rear direction D1 and the device width direction D2 on the front side of the housing 23 in the device front-rear direction D1 and is formed to extend in the device front-rear direction D1.

[0024] The fixed blade 24 is provided on the housing 23 above the inlet 23a and at least a portion of it is exposed inside the cutting chamber S. In this embodiment, the fixed blade 24 is provided directly above the inlet 23a and, when cutting, faces the cutting blade 22 and together with the cutting blade 22, grips and cuts the forage crop P, thereby finely cutting the forage crop P.

[0025] The discharge pipe 25 extends away from the cylinder 21 in the forward direction of the cylinder 21's rotation R, in a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the axis O. The discharge pipe 25 forms an internal discharge space SS that communicates with the cutting chamber S of the housing 23. The cut forage crop P is discharged from the upper end opening 25a (see Figure 1), which is downstream in the direction of the forage crop P being blown up. The forage crop P is blown upward towards the discharge pipe 25 by the rotational force when it is cut by the cutting blade 22, and flows into the hopper 4 (see Figure 1) from the end opening 25a.

[0026] Furthermore, the discharge pipe 25 has a fixed blade side inner surface 25x located on the rear side in the rotation direction R, i.e., the front side in the front-rear direction D1 of the device, in a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the axis O. In a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the axis O, this fixed blade side inner surface 25x extends so as it approaches the tip opening 25a of the discharge pipe 25, it gradually moves away from the inlet 23a of the housing 23 toward the rear side in the front-rear direction D1 of the device (forward side in the rotation direction R). Similarly, the anti-fixed blade side inner surface 25y of the discharge pipe 25, opposite to the fixed blade side inner surface 25x, also extends along the fixed blade side inner surface 25x, so as it approaches the tip opening 25a of the discharge pipe 25, it gradually moves away from the inlet 23a of the housing 23 toward the front side in the rotation direction R. Therefore, the fixed blade side inner surface 25x, the anti-fixed blade side inner surface 25y, and the entire discharge pipe 25 extend so as they move upward from the housing 23 toward the rear side in the travel direction D, inclined with respect to the device height direction D3. The inner surface 25x on the fixed blade side, the inner surface 25y on the opposite side of the fixed blade, and the entire discharge pipe 25 should be inclined within a range of 0 to 15 degrees with respect to the device height direction D3. Furthermore, the inner surface 25x on the fixed blade side extends from the inlet 23a in the tangential direction T of the cylinder 21 in a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the axis O.

[0027] Furthermore, the communication port 25b in the discharge pipe 25, which connects the discharge pipe internal space SS to the cutting chamber S, is formed in a region within a range of 0 to 90 degrees around the axis O, on the forward side in the rotational direction R relative to the inlet port 23a of the housing 23.

[0028] Here, the discharge pipe 25 has a discharge pipe opening 25c that exposes the cutting chamber S and the internal space SS of the discharge pipe. The discharge pipe opening 25c penetrates the inner surface 25x on the fixed blade side and is formed in a region where the forage crop P, which is cut in the cutting chamber S and thrown toward the discharge pipe 25, can come into contact. The discharge pipe 25 is also provided with a cover member 27 that opens and closes the discharge pipe opening 25c and also forms part of the inner surface 25x on the fixed blade side. The cover member 27 is attached to the discharge pipe 25 so as to be removable by fasteners (not shown).

[0029] In this embodiment, the crushing section 26 is positioned in the discharge pipe space SS on the side of the tip opening 25a (see Figure 1) relative to the fixed blade 24. The crushing section 26 is provided in the discharge pipe 25 so as to protrude from the inner surface 25x on the fixed blade side, which is located on the side of the inlet 23a in a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the axis O, toward the rear side of the device in the front-rear direction D1, which is the forward side in the travel direction D. For example, it has the shape of a rectangular plate or a block-shaped projection, but it does not have to protrude as long as it is a shape that the forage crop P will collide with, for example it may be a recess or groove.

[0030] In this embodiment, the crushing section 26 is provided on the cover member 27, which constitutes a part of the inner surface 25x on the fixed blade side of the discharge pipe 25. The crushing section 26 is detachably fixed to the cover member 27 by fasteners (not shown). The length dimension D2 of the crushing section 26 in the device width direction is less than or equal to the width dimension D2 of the cover member 27 in the device width direction. Therefore, the crushing section 26 can be removed from the discharge pipe 25 together with the cover member 27 when the cover member 27 is removed from the discharge pipe 25. It can also be attached to the discharge pipe 25 directly above the cover member 27.

[0031] In this embodiment, the lower surface 26x of the crushing section 26, which faces the rear side in the rotation direction R, is a plane that extends on a plane that intersects the discharge pipe central axis O1, which extends in the direction of extension of the discharge pipe 25. In other words, the lower surface 26x is a plane that intersects the inner surface 25x of the discharge pipe 25 on the fixed blade side. When the distance in the direction of the discharge pipe central axis O1 from the lower end of the device height direction D3, which is the rear end in the rotation direction R of the fixed blade 24, to the lower end of the device height direction D3 on the lower surface 26x of the crushing section 26 is defined as "L", this distance L and the cutting blade diameter d satisfy the following equation (1). 0.45 ≤ L / d ≤ 0.55 ···(1)

[0032] Furthermore, in a cross-sectional view perpendicular to axis O, the distance in the direction perpendicular to the discharge pipe central axis O1 when the crushing section 26 and the tip of the cutting blade 22 are closest together should be between 10 mm and 20 mm. Moreover, in a cross-sectional view perpendicular to axis O, when the protrusion height of the crushing section 26 from the inner surface 25x on the fixed blade side (height in the direction perpendicular to the discharge pipe central axis O1) is defined as "h", and the discharge pipe width dimension in the direction perpendicular to the discharge pipe central axis O1 between the inner surface 25x on the fixed blade side and the inner surface 25y on the opposite side of the fixed blade (discharge pipe width dimension) is defined as "w", the protrusion height h and the discharge pipe width dimension w should satisfy the following equation (2). 0.045 ≤ h / w ≤ 0.100 ···(2) In other words, the protruding height h of the crushing section 26 should be kept to 10% or less of the discharge pipe width w.

[0033] (Effects and Benefits) According to the harvester 100 of this embodiment described above, by providing a crushing section 26 in the discharge pipe 25, as shown in Figure 3, when the forage crop P, which has been finely cut by the cutting blade 22 and the fixed blade 24, is blown upward through the space SS inside the discharge pipe toward the downstream end opening 25a, it collides with the crushing section 26 and is crushed. Therefore, even if the forage crop P contains hard parts such as grains, these hard parts can be crushed and then passed through the discharge pipe 25 and discharged toward the hopper 4.

[0034] Furthermore, by adopting a very simple structure that includes a crushing section 26 without providing a separate device for crushing, the energy used to shred the forage crop P can be used for crushing as well, thereby suppressing an increase in the power required for the harvester 100 and improving the ability to crush the forage crop P compared to cutting with only the cutting blades 22 and the fixed blades 24.

[0035] Furthermore, the inner surface 25x on the fixed blade side of the discharge pipe 25 extends in a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the axis O of the cylinder 21, gradually moving away from the inlet 23a towards the front in the rotational direction R as it moves downstream in the transport direction of the forage crop P in the discharge pipe 25. As a result, the forage crop P cut by the cutting blade 22 and the fixed blade 24 is thrown toward the inner surface 25x on the fixed blade side, that is, toward the crushing section 26. This makes it possible to more reliably collide the cut forage crop P with the crushing section 26.

[0036] Furthermore, since the inner surface 25x on the fixed blade side of the discharge pipe 25 extends from the inlet 23a in the tangential direction T of the cylinder 21 in a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the axis O, the forage crop P cut by the cutting blade 22 and the fixed blade 24 is launched along the inner surface 25x on the fixed blade side, allowing the cut forage crop P to collide with the crushing section 26 more reliably.

[0037] Furthermore, since the communication port 25b in the discharge pipe 25, which connects the discharge pipe space SS to the cutting chamber S, is formed in a region within a range of 0 to 90 degrees around the axis on the forward side in the rotational direction R with respect to the inlet 23a, the space available for the forage crop P after it has been cut by the cutting blade 22 and the fixed blade 24 before it is sent into the discharge pipe space SS is limited. Therefore, it is difficult to install a separate device to further crush the cut forage crop P in this limited space. In this embodiment, even without space to install a device to further crush the forage crop P, the crushing capacity of the forage crop P can be increased by a simple method such as providing a crushing section 26 in the discharge pipe space SS.

[0038] Furthermore, since the crushing section 26 is provided on a cover member 27 that is detachable from the discharge pipe 25, maintenance work such as replacement is easy. Here, the cover member 27 is provided to close the discharge pipe opening 25c, which is formed in an area where the forage crop P, cut by the fixed blade 24 and the cutting blade 22 and launched toward the discharge pipe 25, may come into contact. Therefore, the inner surface 25x on the fixed blade side, which is made up of the cover member 27, is prone to wear and requires maintenance as needed. In this embodiment, by providing the crushing section 26 on the cover member 27, which is provided for such maintenance purposes, there is no need to provide a separate opening or cover for maintenance of the crushing section 26, and the cost of adding the crushing section 26 to the existing shredding section 20 can be reduced.

[0039] Furthermore, by ensuring that the distance L in the extending direction of the discharge pipe 25 from the lower end of the fixed blade 24 to the lower end of the crushing section 26 and the cutting blade diameter d of the cutting blade 22 satisfy equation (1) above, the position of the crushing section 26 is optimized, preventing the forage crops P, which have been cut into small pieces in the cutting chamber S, from getting stuck between the cutting blade 22 and the crushing section 26, and allowing the forage crops P, which have been thrown out of the cutting chamber S, to collide with the crushing section 26 with a high probability. Similarly, by ensuring that the protrusion height h of the crushing section 26 and the width dimension w of the discharge pipe satisfy equation (2) above, the crushing section 26 does not excessively obstruct the transport of the forage crops P by the discharge pipe 25, and allowing the forage crops P, which have been thrown out of the cutting chamber S, to collide with the crushing section 26 with a high probability.

[0040] Furthermore, if the distance between the crushing section 26 and the tip of the cutting blade 22 at their closest point is between 10 mm and 20 mm, the possibility of contact between the crushing section 26 and the tip of the cutting blade 22 can be reduced while still allowing the forage crop P to collide with the crushing section 26 with a high probability.

[0041] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the shape and size of the crushing section 26 are not particularly limited.

[0042] Furthermore, multiple crushing sections 26 may be provided at intervals in the direction of extension of the discharge pipe 25. Specifically, for example, the aforementioned crushing section 26 may be placed at the very bottom, and one or more other crushing sections 26 may be provided above it. In this case, the dimensions and sizes of each crushing section 26 may differ from each other. Alternatively, multiple crushing sections 26 may be provided at intervals in the width direction D2 of the apparatus. [Industrial applicability]

[0043] According to the crop harvesting apparatus and harvesting machine of the present invention, it is possible to perform harvesting work with a simple structure that suppresses an increase in the required power while increasing the ability to crush forage crops. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 1...Main body 2…Traction system 3…Cabin 4... Hoppa 5…Molding room 11...Crop harvesting device 12...Reaping part 13…Transportation section 20... Shredding section 21... Cylinder 22...Cutting blade 23…Cabinet 23a... Inlet 24…Fixed blade 25...Emission tube 25a…Tip opening 25b…Communication port 25c…Discharge pipe opening 25x…Fixed blade side inner surface 25y…Inner surface on the non-fixed blade side 26...Crushing section 26x…Bottom side 27... Cover component 30…Feed roller 100... Harvesting machine D... Direction of travel R...Direction of rotation T…Tangential direction O…Axis line S…Cutting room SS…Space inside the discharge pipe P…Forage crops

Claims

1. The harvesting section that cuts the crops, A conveying unit for transporting the crops harvested by the harvesting unit, A shredding unit that includes a rotating cutting blade and a fixed blade that faces the cutting blade during cutting, for shredding crops conveyed by the conveying unit, A discharge pipe that discharges the crop, which has been shredded in the shredding section, from the shredding section to the outside by the rotational force of the cutting blade, A crushing section that crushes the shredded crop as it moves through the discharge pipe by colliding with it, A crop harvesting device equipped with the following features.

2. The discharge pipe extends from the fixed blade toward the front side in the rotational direction of the cutting blade, The crop harvesting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the crushing section is provided on the inner surface on the fixed blade side, which is the inner surface on the rear side in the direction of rotation of the discharge pipe, in a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the axis that is the rotation center of the cutting blade.

3. The discharge pipe has an opening that exposes the space inside the discharge pipe, and a cover member is provided that opens and closes the opening and also forms part of the inner surface of the discharge pipe. The crop harvesting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the crushing section is provided in the cover member.

4. The crushing portion has a protruding shape that extends from the inner surface on the fixed blade side. In a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the axis, let L be the distance in the extending direction of the discharge pipe from the rear end in the rotational direction of the fixed blade to the rear end in the rotational direction of the crushing section. When the diameter of the cutting blade is d, which is twice the radial distance from the axis to the tip of the cutting blade, The crop harvesting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the distance L and the cutting blade diameter d satisfy the following formula (1). 0.45 ≤ L / d ≤ 0.55 ... (1)

5. The crushing portion has a protruding shape that extends from the inner surface on the fixed blade side. In a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the aforementioned axis, let h be the height of the protrusion from the inner surface of the fixed blade side of the crushing section in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the discharge pipe. When the width dimension of the discharge pipe in the direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the discharge pipe between the inner surface on the fixed blade side and the inner surface on the opposite side of the fixed blade side facing the inner surface on the fixed blade side is denoted as w, The crop harvesting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the protruding height h and the discharge pipe width dimension w satisfy the following formula (2). 0.045 ≤ h / w ≤ 0.100 ... (2)

6. The crop harvesting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the crushing sections are provided in a plurality at intervals in the direction of extension of the discharge pipe.

7. A crop harvesting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, The main body supports the crop harvesting device and is movable, A harvesting machine equipped with the following features.

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