BE1024946A9 - Transition housing for a forage harvester - Google Patents

Abstract

Transition housing for a forage harvester A transitional housing (40) arranged between an ejection accelerator (24) and a turntable (38) of a discharge chute (26) of a forage harvester (10) has a changeable internal cross section.

Description

(30) Priority information:

12/08/2016 DE 102016215045.6 (71) Applicant:

DEERE & COMPANY IL 61265, MOLINE United States (72) Inventor:

McLAWHORN Patrick 66482 ZWEIBRÜCKEN Germany

RABUNG Andreas

66484 KLEINSTEINHAUSEN

Germany

GÖLZER Stefan 66440 BLIESKASTEL Germany

VOGELGESANG Claus-Joseph 66399 MANDELBACHTAL Germany

HÖTTEMANN Philipp 55743 IDAR-OBERSTEIN Germany (54) Transition housing for a forage harvester (57) Transition housing for a forage harvester A transition housing (40) arranged between an ejection accelerator (24) and a rotating ring (38) of an ejection elbow (26) of a forage harvester (10) a changeable inner cross section.

‘L 14 22 28 63

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Transition housing for a forage harvester

The invention relates to a transition housing for a forage harvester, which comprises a chassis which can be moved in a forward direction across a field, a chopper drum for chopping crops picked up by means of a harvesting header, an ejection accelerator arranged downstream of the chopper drum and an ejection manifold fastened to a turntable the transition housing can be inserted or inserted between the ejection accelerator and the slewing ring, and a forage harvester equipped with the transition housing.

State of the art

Forage harvesters are used to harvest plants that are picked up or cut from a field, fed to a chopper device and chopped up by it, and finally loaded onto a transport vehicle. Downstream of the chopping device (or a conditioning device which can optionally be inserted into the crop flow downstream of the chopping device) is a driven one for this task

Ejection accelerator is provided, which conveys the chopped crop up into a transition housing. At the upper end of the transition housing, a spout is rotatably mounted about the vertical axis and pivotable about a horizontal axis, to which a pivotable spout is attached at the end. Such a forage harvester with an ejection accelerator rotating about an axis running in the forward direction is shown for example in EP 0 672 339 A1, while the ejection accelerator shown in DE 196 41 211 rotates about a horizontal axis oriented transversely to the forward direction.

The cross section of the transition housing is at its lower, the

Ejection accelerator adjacent end usually rectangular. In contrast, the cross section of the transition housing is circular at its upper end, which is adjacent to the turntable and the lower end of the discharge spout. In between, the walls of the transition housing run essentially straight. If you look at the transition housing from the side, it widens upwards like a funnel, while when viewed from the front or back it narrows upwards like a funnel. The crop released by the ejection accelerator mainly fills a certain (in particular the front, middle or rear) area of the transition housing and finally strikes the front wall of the lower one

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Area of the spout, which is why this front wall is equipped with wear plates according to DE 196 41 211 A1. On the other hand, less or no crop is normally found in the rear area of the transition housing.

However, there are harvesting situations, particularly during grass harvesting, in which swirls mainly form in a region of the transition housing that is normally not loaded with harvested material, which virtually represents a dead space, or fanned out the harvested material instead of forming a sufficiently dense stream. These turbulences sometimes lead to local reversal of the crop, which leads to a reduced crop flow quality, which can result in intermittent deliveries of crop clumps.

It is known per se to adjust the base of the ejection accelerator relative to its rotor (see, for example, DE 197 32 722 A1), but this cannot solve the problem mentioned.

Object of the invention

The object on which the invention is based is seen in providing an improved transition housing and a forage harvester equipped therewith compared to the prior art mentioned.

solution

According to the invention, this object is achieved by the teaching of claims 1 and 8, features which are listed in the further claims which further develop the solution in an advantageous manner.

A transition housing for a forage harvester is proposed which comprises a chassis which can be moved in a forward direction across a field, a chopper drum for comminuting harvested material picked up by means of a header, an ejection accelerator arranged downstream of the chopper drum and an ejection manifold attached to a turntable, wherein the transition housing can be inserted or inserted between the ejection accelerator and the slewing ring. The transition housing has a changeable inner cross section.

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In this way, the transition housing can have a common, relatively large internal cross section in normal crop situations, which leads to the transition housing being filled with crop material in its intended area, which can be at the back, from, in the middle or on one or both sides, and in one or more other areas, no, or little or no food is applied. According to the present invention, if there are crop flow problems in certain harvesting situations which are caused by the transition housing which is only partially filled with crop material and the resulting turbulence or fanning out of the crop flow, the inside cross section of the transition housing can be changed, i.e. in particular, to be narrowed to avoid or reduce these problems.

The changeable inner cross section can be adjusted by an or in the

Transition housing inserted or insertable element and / or an adjustable wall of the transition housing can be realized. Accordingly, a (usually flat) element is installed in the transition housing in order to change its internal cross section, or the element or the wall of the transition housing is adjusted in the sense mentioned. The element or the wall can be adjusted in any manner, be it via a lever mechanism or via one or more threaded rods, as is known per se from adjustable fan bases in forage harvesters, in particular from the Krone company. The element or the wall can be in one piece in all of the above-mentioned configurations or can be composed of two or more individual elements which are connected to one another, for example via a joint, and are adjusted at different angles to one another on different (circular) paths.

The adjustable or installable element can be located on the front wall and / or the rear wall and / or one or both side walls of the transition housing or can be attached there. Similarly, one or more of the walls mentioned can be adjustable.

The element can extend from a lower end of the transition housing or a position above or below it to its upper end or end below its upper end or project into the (in particular funnel-shaped) discharge chute or be positioned at its inlet.

The element or the adjustable wall can be pivoted, the

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Pivot axis can preferably extend in the plane defined by the element or by the wall. It would also be conceivable to move the element or the adjustable wall in parallel (i.e. translationally) or to combine a sliding and swiveling movement. In particular, the element or the adjustable wall can be pivotally mounted at its lower or upper end.

The adjustable element or the adjustable wall can be stored rigidly or resiliently in its position set for the operation of the forage harvester or can consist of elastic material. Thus, if the element or wall is not rigidly attached, it may, under certain operating conditions, dodge the force of a resilient bearing, which may be a spring, a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder, or a rubber buffer, or it may yield, if it is made of elastic material.

The cross sections of the transition housing can be the same at its lower and upper ends (e.g. circular or rectangular) or even the same, which (both) preferably also applies to the regions of the transition housing between the ends. This simplifies the adjustment of an element or a wall of the transition housing, since it can be adapted more easily to the shape of the transition housing than in the case of a cross section of the transition housing which changes continuously between the lower and upper ends, as is used in the prior art.

The discharge chute can be funnel-shaped in its lower region to adapt to the cross section of the transition housing or in any way, i.e. for example with curved walls, narrow upwards.

Preferably, means for automatically or manually controlled adjustment of the inner cross section of the transition housing are provided, which can have an actuator for changing the inner cross section and a sensor for detecting the inner cross section, in order to regulate the position of the element defining the inner cross section using a control provided by a Operator input device with a setpoint and the sensor with an actual value. Alternatively or additionally, the sensor can detect the effect of the element or the adjustable wall and can be used for automatic actuation of the actuator. The effect of the element

BE2017 / 0104 can be detected by detecting the crop flow or the pressure in the transition housing and used to control the element or the adjustable wall. For this purpose, the good flow speed or the good flow characteristic can be detected by means of a camera or a sensor on the basis of vibrations or relative mass fluctuations or the

Gutstrom be X-rayed. On the basis of the recorded values, the element or the adjustable wall is automatically moved into a position that is advantageous under the current chopping conditions.

Embodiment

Four exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained on the basis of the figures. Show it:

1 is a schematic side view of a forage harvester,

2 shows a side view of a first embodiment of a transition housing of the forage harvester of FIG. 1,

3 shows a rear view of a second embodiment of a transition housing of the forage harvester of FIG. 1,

Fig. 4 is a side view of a third embodiment of a transition housing of the forage harvester of Figure 1, and

5 shows a rear view of a fourth embodiment of a transition housing of the forage harvester of FIG. 1.

1 shows a self-propelled forage harvester 10 in a schematic side view. The forage harvester 10 is built on a chassis 12 which is supported by front driven wheels 14 and steerable rear wheels 16. The forage harvester 10 is operated from a driver's cab 18, from which a header 20 in the form of a pickup can be seen, which could also be replaced by a header for harvesting maize. By means of the header 20 harvested crop, z. B. grass or the like is over a

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Feed conveyor with pre-pressing rollers 30, 32, 34, 36, which are arranged within a feed housing 50 on the front side of the forage harvester 10, are fed to a chopping device 22 arranged below the driver's cab 18 in the form of a chopping drum, which chops it into small pieces and it to an ejection accelerator 24 gives up. The material leaves the forage harvester 10 to a transport vehicle traveling alongside it via a transition housing 40 and an ejection manifold 26 which is supported on a rotating ring 38 about an approximately vertical axis and is adjustable in its inclination. Between the chopping device 22 and the ejection accelerator 24 there is a channel 68 into which a

Grain processor with two counter-rotating grain processor rollers 28 can be inserted to harvest grains during the maize harvest. During grass harvesting, the grain processor 28 is placed in an ineffective position, as shown, or removed. In the following, directions, such as laterally, below and above, relate to the forward direction V of the harvesting machine 10, which runs to the right in FIG. 1.

The transition housing 40 extends from the outlet of the ejection accelerator 24 to the slewing ring 38 and comprises a front wall 42, a rear wall 44 and side walls 48, 52 (cf. FIG. 3). The transition housing 40 can be coupled to the housing of the ejection accelerator 24 (removable) by flanges 54 or any other fastening elements and in an analogous manner to the rotating ring 38. The discharge spout 26 narrows upwards (when viewed from the side, as shown in FIG. 1) in the lower region in a funnel shape in order to be able to receive crop material from the entire transition housing 40. The transition housing 40 widens (when viewed from the side, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) in a funnel shape upwards. The transition housing 40 narrows upwards when viewed from the rear or as shown in FIG. 3.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an adjustable element 46 is arranged within the transition housing 40 and extends from the lower end of the transition housing 40 to approximately its upper end and over the entire width of the Wall 44 or a portion thereof extends. The element 46 (one or more parts executable) is flat and extends vertically and transversely to the forward direction V. The element 46 is at its lower end on an axis 56 which extends transversely to the forward direction V and horizontally, at the lower end of the transition housing 40 hinged. An actuator 58 enables pivoting

BE2017 / 0104 of element 46 about axis 56.

In the second embodiment, which is shown in FIG. 3, two elements 46 extend from the side walls 48, 52 adjacent from the lower end of the transition housing 40 to approximately its upper end and over the entire length of the wall 48 measured in the forward direction V. , 52 or a portion of it.

The elements 46 are flat and extend vertically and parallel and / or taper in the forward direction, or open to the forward direction V. The elements 46 are at their lower ends on an axis 56, which extends along the forward direction V and horizontally, at the lower End of the transition housing 40 hinged. Two actuators 58 enable each element 46 to be pivoted about the axis 56.

The actuators 58 can be actuated electrically, hydraulically or pneumatically or can be replaced or supplemented by a manual adjustment option for the operator, which can consist, for example, of a lockable kinematics or lever arrangement. The respective position of the element 46 of FIG. 2 or of the elements 46 of FIG. 3 are detected by a sensor 60, the output value of which is fed to a controller 62, which is acted upon by a user input device 64 with a desired position of the element 46 and the actuator 58 in this way controls that the element 46 assumes the desired position. The sensor 60 can detect the angle of the element 46 about the axis 56 or, in the case of a lateral displacement, its position or can be designed as a camera to detect the position of the element 46. A stepless or at least two steps, stepwise adjustment of the element 46 can be provided.

The functioning of the transition housing equipped with the element 46 according to the invention, which serves to change the inner cross section of the transition housing 40, is as follows: Normally, the element 46 is turned into a. Rest position spent, in which it rests in the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2 on the rear wall 44 of the transition housing. Alternatively, the entire rear wall 44 (or one or more parts thereof) can be adjusted to a suitable position, as shown in FIG. 4. When viewed from the side, the transition housing 40 then has an upwardly widening cross section and in certain areas of the transition housing 40 only relatively little material flows.

BE2017 / 0104 while the majority of the crop flows in other areas. This positioning of the element 46 is suitable for the majority of the crop types and properties that usually occur. In some harvesting situations, e.g. during the grass harvest, on the other hand, in the areas of the transition housing 40 which are subjected to less material and which can be in the vicinity of the front wall 42 or the rear wall 44 or one or both side walls 48, 52, swirls in the crop flow form, which lead to clumping of the crop and lead to a non-continuous crop flow at the outlet of the discharge spout 26. These eddies can be eliminated by the element 46 if necessary, because if the operator detects such a situation of non-continuous crop transport, the element 46 can be moved from the rest position into an operating position, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and in which the inner cross section of the transition housing 40 is narrowed relative to the rest position of the element 46 and the element 46 bundles the crop flow and at the same time reduces turbulence. In the operating position, the cross section of the transition housing 40 can narrow upwards, as shown in the figures, or remain approximately the same or expand. By adjusting the element 46, the problems mentioned can be avoided or at least improved and a laminar and continuous, homogeneous material flow is produced in the transition housing 40.

Instead of sensing the position of element 46 as described above, sensor 60 may sense the effect of element 46. For this purpose, he can detect acoustic or mechanical vibrations that arise from fluctuations in crop flow in the transition housing 40 and cause the control 62 to bring the element 46 into the operating position if he detects such vibrations. Alternatively or additionally, the sensor 60 can detect the crop flow mass, for example optically or mechanically, and, in the event of larger, unexpected fluctuations in the crop flow mass, can cause the controller 62 to move the element 46 into the operating position. The detection can take place directly in the vicinity of the element 46 but also in the discharge chute 26 or in the vicinity of one or more of the walls 42, 44, 48, 52. It would also be conceivable to use sensor 60 to measure the pressure in transition housing 40, which will change in the event of the turbulences mentioned. From time to time, the control 62 can test the element 46 in the rest position in order not to leave it unnecessarily in the crop flow. If it is still required, the sensor 60 will detect this and cause the control 62 to switch the element 46 back on

BE2017 / 0104 to spend the operating position.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, it would also be conceivable not to vary the element 46, but rather the position of one or more walls 42, 44, 48, 52 of the transition housing 40 itself (which then serves as an adjustable element 46), with an additional one adjustable element 46, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, may or may not be present. In the third and fourth embodiment, which can also be combined, the pivot axes of the walls 42, 44, 48, 52 of the

Transition housing 40 are located on the axes 66 to 80 or between the points 66 to 80 at any intermediate position of the walls 42, 44, 48, 52. The walls 42, 44, 48, 52 can be rigidly locked in a position selected for harvesting or can be movable against the force of one or more springs 82, 84 or against the force of a flexible bearing. Springs 82, 84 can also be used in the embodiment according to FIG. 4 or replace the actuators 58 from FIGS. 2 and 3. In the embodiments according to FIGS. 4 and / or 5, sensor-based adjustment of the wall 42, 44, 48, 52 can also take place by means of an actuator 58, as described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

In a further embodiment, a fixed insert plate without an axis etc. can alternatively be positioned on the inside in the transition housing on the rear and / or the front and / or the left and / or the right side of the transition housing 40. The disadvantage here is that the forage harvester 10 has to be retrofitted in a time-consuming manner, which proves to be difficult especially in the case of rapidly changing good conditions, but requires little effort.

Finally, it should also be noted that in the event of the undesired, non-continuous flow of crop material, whether it is detected by the operator or by a sensor, a liquid (for example water) removed from a storage container is injected into the transition housing 40 and possibly also into the lower region through nozzles of the discharge spout 26 can inject, which improves and prevents the glidability of the crop on the walls 42, 44, 48, 52 of the transition housing 40 and possibly on the inner walls of the discharge spout 26, and prevents the crop from sticking there.

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Claims (7)

Claims 1. transition housing (40) for a forage harvester (10), the a chassis (12) which is movable in a forward direction (V) over a field, a chopper drum (22) for crushing harvested crop by means of a header (20), one comprises ejection accelerator (24) arranged downstream of the chopping drum (22) and an ejection elbow (26) attached to a rotating ring (38), the transition housing (40) being insertable or inserted between the ejecting accelerator (24) and the rotating ring (38) characterized in that the transition housing (40) has a variable inner cross section. 2. transition housing (40) according to claim 1, wherein the changeable inner cross section by an adjustable or in the transition housing (40) inserted or insertable, one or more part element (46) and / or an adjustable wall (42, 44, 48, 52 ) of the transition housing (40) can be realized. 3. transition housing (40) according to claim 2, wherein the element (46) on the front wall (42) and / or the rear wall (44) and / or one or both side walls (48, 52) of the transition housing (40 ) is located or can be attached there. 4. transition housing (40) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the element (46) extends from a lower end of the transition housing (40) or a position above or below to its upper end or ends below its upper end or to protrudes into the discharge spout (26). 5. transition housing (40) according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the adjustable wall (42, 44, 48, 52) and / or the element (46) is displaceable and / or about a pivot axis which is preferably located at the lower or upper end (56) is pivotally mounted. 6. transition housing (40) according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the element (46) and / or the adjustable wall (42,44,48, 52) of the transition housing (40) is rigidly fixed or resiliently suspended in a defined position . 7. transition housing (40) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the cross sections BE2017 / 0104 5 8. 9. 10th of the transition housing (40) at its lower and upper ends are the same and / or the same. Field chopper (10), which has a chassis (12) that can be moved in a forward direction (V) over a field, a chopper drum (22) for crushing crop material picked up by means of a header (20), and a chopper drum (22) downstream of the chopper drum Ejection accelerator (24), an ejection elbow (26) attached to a rotating ring (38) and a transition housing (40) arranged between the ejection accelerator (24) and the rotating ring (38) according to one of the preceding claims. A forage harvester (10) according to claim 8, wherein the discharge chute (26) narrows in its lower region to adapt to the overcut of the transition housing (40) in a funnel shape or in any way upwards. Forage harvester (10) according to claim 8 or 9, wherein means for automatically or manually controllable adjustment of the inner cross section of the transition housing (40) are provided, which include an actuator (58) for changing the inner cross section and a sensor (60) for detecting the inner cross section and / or the action of the element (46) or the adjustable wall (42, 44, 48, 52). BE2017 / 0104