Harvesting machine for cordate or deep-rooting plants

Abstract

The invention relates to a harvesting machine for plants in the form of cordate or deep-rooting plants, in particular taraxacum, comprising a lifting device with at least one lifting share and a cleaning device comprising at least one conveyor element which is mounted downstream of the lifting share in the conveying direction of the flow of harvested material produced during operation, wherein a receiving region located above the lifting share is laterally delimited by preferably rotatable furrowing elements, the extent of which in the direction perpendicular to the upper face of the lifting share is greater than the width of the lifting share in order to receive a strip of harvested material, which has plants and soil, during operation, the width of said strip, when viewed in the receiving direction, being greater than the height thereof.

Description

[0001] Harvester for heart or deep-rooted plants

[0002] The present invention relates to a harvesting machine for plants in the form of heart-shaped or deep-rooted plants, in particular for Taraxacum, comprising a digging device with at least one digging share and with a cleaning device with at least one conveying element which is arranged downstream of the digging share in the conveying direction of the crop flow produced during operation.

[0003] WO 2021 / 028381 A1 discloses a generic article in which, after a comparatively long cleaning section, particularly via ascending sieve belts, a roller table is arranged through which the plants are guided and thus separated from coarser impurities. Due to the usual process of levering the plants and roots out of the soil and transferring them to the roller table, the position of the roots is unknown. This prolongs the cleaning process of the roots, which are chaotically transferred to the roller table, since they are first aligned on the roller separator. This can lead to root damage.

[0004] The object of the present invention is to improve the separation of plants from the debris picked up by the digging share. This object is achieved by an article according to claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the invention can be found in the dependent claims and the following description.

[0005] A harvesting machine according to the invention is characterized in that a receiving area provided above the digging share is laterally delimited by preferably rotatable grooving elements, the extent of which perpendicular to the upper side of the digging share is greater than the width of the digging share in order to receive, during operation, a crop strip comprising plants and soil, the width of which, viewed in the receiving direction, is less than its height.

[0006] The width and height are measured in the conveying direction, specifically perpendicular to the upper surface of the digging share. For example, if this surface slopes 30° above the ground, the width and height of the crop strip are measured in the conveying direction from front to back, perpendicular to the 30° angled straight line. If the digging share is angled across its width, the center of the digging share is used.

[0007] The width and height of the crop strip is thus defined by the intake channel formed by the digging share and the adjacent creasing elements. The creasing elements lie close to the sides of the digging share and are preferably spaced no more than 5 cm, in particular no more than 3 cm, and most preferably no more than 1 cm from the digging share. By defining a correspondingly narrow intake area and the associated collection of a strip, particular account is taken of the development of taproots; only a small amount of soil containing the roots of the plants to be uprooted, in particular Taraxacum, is taken up. At the same time, the formation of a crop strip ensures comparatively gentle collection, as the plants are cut out of the ground together with the adhering soil. This avoids damage to the easily torn roots, particularly of Taraxacum.The root is taken up in a more controlled manner than in the current technology.

[0008] A grooving element is preferably a narrow element, similar to a coulter disc, when viewed in the direction of collection. The grooving element serves to form the lateral walls of the crop strip and to support the crop strip during collection. The grooving element extends, in particular, to just before or even beyond the cleaning device. A grooving element, in particular, creates a groove in the soil so that as little soil as possible needs to be moved outside the crop strip.

[0009] The defined pickup of the crop strip means that the position of the roots is more clearly defined, at least in the transverse direction, i.e. transverse to the conveying direction. The focus here is on the fact that, for the plants to be picked up, they are planted in rows, as is usual with root crops, for example. In particular, the extension of the creasing elements in the direction perpendicular to the top of the digging share is at least twice the width of the digging share in order to pick up a crop strip containing plants and soil, the height of which, viewed in the pickup direction, is at least twice the width. This takes particular account of the development of Taraxacum with its taproots, which, with an appropriately dimensioned crop strip, are reliably transferred into the cleaning zone of the cleaning device.

[0010] According to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the extension of the grooving element perpendicular to the upper side, i.e., the upwardly facing surface of the digging share, is at least four times the width of the digging share, so that, with rotating grooving elements, a bearing does not run in contact with the ground. An upper limit for the ratio of digging share width to the height of the grooving elements is, in particular, 10.

[0011] Viewed in the direction of intake and conveyance, the crop strip may be a strip with a cross-section that is at least approximately rectangular or trapezoidal in shape, the width of this strip being measured via the distance between the creasing elements at the base, i.e. at the level of the digging share, namely at its front end, which is still delimited by the creasing elements.

[0012] Particularly gentle cleaning of the collected plants is achieved when at least one cleaning unit of the cleaning device is arranged downstream of the creasing elements in the conveying direction, which is designed to process at least one side of the crop strip. The side of the crop strip is the left or right side of the crop strip as viewed in the conveying direction, thus one of the sides of the crop strip that are visible in a side view of the harvester and whose shape is defined by the creasing elements.

[0013] For this purpose, the cleaning unit is located above the conveyor element, in an area adjacent to the harvesting device. In particular, the cleaning unit is positioned within the first 50 cm of the creasing elements in the conveying direction, allowing it to act on the crop strip directly after collection without causing it to lose its shape and thus prevent the lowest root tips from being pushed down and damaged by the weight of soil located further above.

[0014] Advantageously, the cleaning unit forms a gap in the conveying direction, at least during operation, equal to the height of the crop strip present during operation, although the gap width is smaller than the width of the harvesting share. The width of the harvesting share is measured in the area bounded by the creasing elements and is thus used to define the crop strip.

[0015] The gap created by the cleaning unit forms a passage and penetration area through which the crop strip is guided. It is therefore positioned downstream of the digging share, particularly in the conveying direction. If the crop strip is redirected by guide elements, it cannot be aligned with the digging share.

[0016] Processing the side of the crop strip is particularly simplified if the cleaning unit has at least one cleaning tool with a tool element that is movable at least partially transversely to the conveying direction. Preferably, the tool element rotates about a rotational axis of the cleaning tool.

[0017] In particular, the harvester is equipped with a cleaning unit with two cleaning tools, wherein the cleaning tools are arranged at a distance from one another for processing opposite sides of the crop strip. In particular, the cleaning tools form the gap described above and can process the respective side of the crop strip present during operation simultaneously or alternately. This processing is preferably carried out using a tool that rotates during operation.

[0018] In particular, the cleaning tool is provided with a rotation axis that is angled to the ground, in particular at least approximately perpendicular to the surface of the conveying element. For tool elements that are arranged at the outer end equidistant from the rotation axis, the rotation axis preferably follows the orientation of the respective side of the crop strip. Alternatively, the outer distance of the tool elements from the rotation axis can also vary, for example, to specifically process a trapezoidal cross-section of the crop strip viewed in the conveying direction.

[0019] As a cleaning tool, tool elements in the form of rods or knobs are provided, wherein the rods or similar longitudinal elements preferably run parallel or at an angle of less than 10° to the axis of rotation and can thus act gently on the roots of the plants, while knobs with more rounded ends act transversely to the side surface of the crop strip with respect to their longitudinal direction.

[0020] Preferably, the cleaning tool is designed as a rotatable basket, wherein in a design with two cleaning tools, in particular two rotatable bodies are provided, which can form the above-mentioned gap between them, for the simultaneous processing of the sides of the crop strip.

[0021] Advantageously, the cleaning unit is mounted so that it can move transversely to the conveying direction of the crop strip. This allows the cleaning unit to avoid any stones present in the crop strip, preventing the cleaning tools from jamming or becoming damaged.

[0022] Alternatively, or in addition to a movable mounting of the entire cleaning unit, it may be advantageous to mount the cleaning tool itself so that it can move transversely to the conveying direction of the crop strip, in order to avoid corresponding problems with solid objects in the crop. For example, the movable mounting is achieved via a movable suspension of the cleaning tool, which is designed as a basket. This can be achieved, for example, by a rubber joint on the drive shaft of the rotating basket.

[0023] Alternatively or additionally, the cleaning tool can be designed to be elastically deformable in parts, with the tool element being made, in particular, of an elastically deformable material, and rods made, for example, of polyurethane to counteract damage caused by stones. Plastic materials and other non-metallic materials are considered elastically deformable in this case.

[0024] Advantageously, at least one of the grooving elements is circular or disc-shaped. Especially in combination with a bearing that allows the respective grooving element to rotate, a good cutting effect can be achieved in the subsoil.

[0025] Furthermore, it is advantageous if at least one of the creasing elements is drivable to support the cutting action. This applies in particular to a drive device of the creasing element, which is designed to generate a peripheral speed of the creasing element that is greater than the advancing speed of the

[0026] Harvester. To improve the formation of a lateral crop strip, at least one of the rotatable grooving elements can have at least one projection extending from its side surface to widen the groove. These then also serve to define the side of the crop strip. This can create an improved digging effect, particularly with rotating grooving elements.

[0027] Tool elements are those elements that are arranged at a distance from the axis of rotation on the outer circumference of the, for example, rotatable cleaning tool.

[0028] Further advantages and details of the invention can be found in the following descriptions of the figures. Schematically shown:

[0029] Fig. 1 shows a harvesting machine according to the invention in a side view,

[0030] Fig. 2 is a partial view of the article according to Fig. 1 in an isometric view,

[0031] Fig. 3 shows the object according to Fig. 2 in a front view,

[0032] Fig. 4 shows the object according to Fig. in a partial view from behind,

[0033] Fig. 5 is a schematic representation of parts of the harvester in operation,

[0034] Fig. 6 is a partial view of the article according to Fig. 2, Fig. 7 is a partial view of the article according to Fig. 2.

[0035] A harvesting machine 2 according to the invention is designed, according to the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, as a trailed harvester for Taraxacum, commonly referred to as dandelion. The harvesting machine 2 has a digging device 4 with a total of four digging shares 6 (Figs. 1 and 6) for picking up Taraxacum planted in rows. The digging shares 6 are designed with creasing elements 16 to form and pick up four crop strips 8 (see Fig. 5).

[0036] Furthermore, the harvesting machine 2 comprises a cleaning device 10 with a conveying element 12, which can be designed, for example, as a conveyor belt or a sieve belt. The conveying element is arranged downstream of the harvesting shares 6 with respect to a conveying direction F.

[0037] A receiving area 14 located above the digging shares 6 is laterally delimited by the rotatable creasing elements 16. The height or extension of the creasing elements 16 in the direction H perpendicular to the top side of the respective digging share 6 is greater than the width B of a respective digging share 6, viewed in the area delimited by the creasing elements 16 (Fig. 5). This results in the narrow crop strip 8 shown in Fig. 5, which is elongated in the direction of conveying direction F and in which roots 9 of Taraxacum are still protected. In particular, its width is less than half the extension in the direction H. Here, the extension of the creasing elements 16 above the top side 20 of a respective digging share 6 is taken into account. The extension is viewed perpendicular to the top side 20 of the digging share 6, which is viewed perpendicular to the conveying direction F. In general, the width of the crop strip corresponds

[0038] In the present case, the crop strip 8 is almost rectangular in cross-sectional view in direction F.

[0039] As the harvester 2 moves forward, the strip of crop is pushed toward a respective cleaning unit 22 (Fig. 4) and transferred to a lower conveyor element 12. The cleaning units 22 are arranged directly downstream of the creasing elements in the conveying direction F and are provided with two cleaning tools 24, which comprise a row of tool elements 26 in the form of elongated rods arranged around the circumference. The cleaning units 22 are thus arranged above the conveyor element 12 and directly downstream of the digging shares 6 in the conveying direction F. The cleaning tools rotate about axes of rotation 32, which are perpendicular to the conveying plane of the conveyor element 12, and form a gap 28 between them. The strip of crop 8 runs toward this gap 28 and is gripped by the tool elements 26.The taproots 9 present in the crop strip are guided centrally between the cleaning tools 24 through the cleaning unit 22 in accordance with the longitudinal direction of the gap and with their longitudinal direction parallel thereto, so that damage when the soil is separated from the crop strip by the tool elements 26 is reduced as much as possible. The cleaning tools 24 process the crop strip 8 on its opposite side 30. A total of four of the eight rotation axes 32 are shown without the cleaning tools 24 in Fig. 6 for reasons of clarity.

[0040] The cleaning tools 24 are driven by hydraulic motors 34. Each of the two cleaning tools 24 of a cleaning unit 22 is mounted for movement in the direction Q, transverse to the conveying direction. This provides the required evasive action against any stones or other hard impurities in the crop flow. The outer peripheral speed of the tool elements 26 is generally higher than the conveying speed of the conveying element 12 to enable optimal separation of the plants from the crop strip 8.

[0041] The grooving elements 16 are provided with projections 36 towards the receiving area, which, similar to small scoops, convey soil against the direction of travel of the harvesting machine 2, ie in the view shown in Fig. 7, the grooving elements 16 rotate clockwise about a rotation axis 38. The grooving elements 16 are driven by hydraulic motors 40.

Claims

Claims 1. Harvesting machine for plants with heart or deep roots, in particular for Taraxacum, comprising a digging device (4) with at least one digging share (6) and with a cleaning device (10) with at least one conveying element (12) which is arranged downstream of the digging share (6) in the conveying direction (F) of the crop flow arising during operation, characterized in that a receiving area (14) located above the digging share (6) is laterally delimited by preferably rotatable grooving elements (16), the extent of which in the direction perpendicular to the upper side (20) of the digging share (6) is greater than the width of the digging share (6) in order to receive a strip of crop (8) comprising plants and soil during operation, the width of which strip, viewed in the receiving direction, is less than its height.

2. Harvesting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the extension of the grooving elements (16) in the direction perpendicular to the upper side (20) of the digging share (6) is at least twice as large as the width (B) of the digging share (6) in order to pick up a crop strip (8) comprising plants and soil during operation, the height of which, viewed in the pick-up direction, is at least twice as large as its width.

3. Harvesting machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the grooving elements (16) in the conveying direction (F) are provided with at least one cleaning unit (22) the cleaning device (10) is arranged downstream, which is designed to process at least one side (30) of the crop strip (8).

4. Harvesting device according to claim 3, characterized in that the cleaning unit (22) forms a gap (28) in the conveying direction (F) at least during operation, the height of the crop strip (8) present during operation, the gap width of the gap (28) being smaller than the width of the digging share (6).

5. Crop device according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the cleaning unit (22) is arranged above the conveying element (6).

6. Harvesting device according to one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that the cleaning unit (22) has at least one cleaning tool (24) with a tool element (26) which is at least partially movable transversely to the conveying direction (6).

7. Harvesting machine according to claim 6 with two cleaning tools, characterized in that the cleaning tools (24) are arranged spaced apart from one another for processing opposite sides (30) of the crop strip (8).

8. Harvesting machine according to one of claims 6 or 7, characterized in that the at least one cleaning tool (24) has an axis of rotation (32) which is angled to the ground and in particular at least approximately perpendicular to the surface of the conveying element (12).

9. Harvesting machine according to one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the cleaning tool (24) has tool elements (26) in the form of rods or knobs.

10. Harvesting machine according to claim 9, characterized in that the at least one cleaning tool (24) is a rotatable basket.

11. Harvesting machine according to one of claims 6 to 10, characterized in that the cleaning unit (22) is mounted so as to be movable in a direction transverse to the conveying direction (F) of the crop strip (8).

12. Harvesting machine according to one of claims 6 to 11, characterized in that the cleaning tool (24) is mounted so as to be movable transverse to the conveying direction (F) of the crop strip (8).

13. Harvesting machine according to one of claims 6 to 12, characterized in that the cleaning tool (24) is designed to be elastically deformable in parts.

14. Harvesting machine according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one of the grooving elements (16) is circular or disc-shaped.

15. Harvesting machine according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one of the grooving elements (16) is drivable.

16. Harvesting machine according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one of the rotatable grooving elements (16) has at least one projection (36) projecting from its side surface for widening a groove.

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