Combine harvester with improved chopper and spreader arrangement

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10130033-B2
Application number	US-201414889382-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 7, 2014
Priority date	May 8, 2013
Publication date	Nov 20, 2018
Grant date	Nov 20, 2018

Abstract

A combine harvester has at least one rotor oriented in the longitudinal direction of the harvester and configured to separate grains and light chaff from a stream of residue material transported to the distal end of the rotor, where said stream is ejected downwards into a chopper housing. The chopper housing has a pair of chopper wheels configured so that the stream of residue material is ejected directly into the area between said chopper wheels, with essentially no residue being allowed to enter the space between the circumference of the wheels and the sidewalls of the chopper housing. The harvester also has a spreader with a pair of laterally placed spreader openings in the chopper housing, preferably with a pair of spreader snouts mounted on said openings.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A combine harvester for harvesting and processing crops by separating grains from residue material, the combine harvester comprising:
a threshing arrangement comprising at least one rotor mounted in a longitudinal direction of the combine harvester, the at least one rotor extending through a threshing housing of the combine harvester, and configured to separate grains and light chaff from a stream of residue material, and further to eject the stream of residue material in a downward direction, the at least one rotor having a rotation axis substantially oriented in the longitudinal direction of the combine harvester;
a chopper arrangement configured to receive the stream of residue material, the chopper arrangement comprising:
first and second rotatable chopper wheels configured to rotate about respective first and second axes in opposite directions and arranged side by side in a chopper housing, underneath the at least one rotor; and
a stationary cutter configured to cooperate with the chopper wheels to cut the residue material so as to produce two streams of chopped material; and

a spreader configured to receive the streams of chopped material and spread the chopped material in an area behind the combine harvester,
wherein the threshing and chopper arrangements are configured so that essentially all of the material in the stream of residue material is ejected directly into an area between the first and second axes of the chopper wheels, and the chopper wheels each rotate in a direction to provide a driving force to the stream of residue material downward between the chopper wheels;
wherein the combine harvester further comprises:
a pair of walls extending between the threshing housing and the chopper housing such that the crop material is directed from the threshing arrangement to the chopper arrangement through the area between the first and second axes; and
a divider within the pair of walls between the first and second chopper wheels and between the threshing arrangement and the chopper arrangement.

2. The combine harvester according to claim 1 , wherein the chopper wheels are mounted parallel to the at least one rotor with a small clearance between a circumference of each chopper wheel and a circumference of the at least one rotor, so as to prevent residue material from entering the clearance.

3. The combine harvester according to claim 1 , wherein said chopper housing comprises a first and second sidewall, each sidewall having at least a portion that is placed with a small clearance between the portion and circumferences of the first and second chopper wheels so as to prevent residue material from entering the clearance between the portion of the first and second side wall and the circumferences of the first and second chopper wheel.

4. The combine harvester according to claim 3 , wherein sidewalls of the chopper housing are each provided with an at least partly cylindrical surface, each cylindrical surface enveloping a portion of the circumference of a respective one of the chopper wheels with a small clearance between the surface and the circumference of the wheel, so as to prevent residue material from entering the clearance between the cylindrical surface and the chopper wheel circumference.

5. The combine harvester according to claim 1 , wherein the thresher housing comprises a discharge opening through which to eject the stream of residue material.

6. The combine harvester according to claim 5 , having two rotors and wherein the thresher housing comprises two sidewalls, each having an at least partly cylindrical surface at a location of the discharge opening, each cylindrical surface enveloping a circumference of one of the rotors with a small clearance between each cylindrical surface and the circumference of the one of the rotors, so as to essentially prevent residue material from entering the clearance between each cylindrical surface and the circumference of the one of the rotors.

7. The combine harvester according to claim 5 , wherein the thresher housing further comprises a movable cover assembly configured to close off or open the discharge opening, the combine harvester further comprising a discharge plate evacuating a swath of residue material from the threshing arrangement when the cover assembly is in the closed condition.

8. The combine harvester according to claim 7 , wherein the cover assembly comprises at least one cover having a cylindrical surface that is concentric with the at least one rotor, the at least one cover being arranged to be rotatable about the rotation axis of the at least one rotor, so as to be movable between an open condition wherein the cover is located outside the thresher housing, and a closed condition, wherein the cover is located underneath the discharge opening.

9. The combine harvester according to claim 1 , wherein the spreader comprises a pair of hinged spreader snouts mounted on laterally placed spreader openings of the chopper housing and configured to spread the streams of chopped material in the area behind the combine harvester.

10. The combine harvester according to claim 1 , wherein the spreader comprises two rotatable spreader wheels arranged side by side, underneath the chopper wheels, with rotation axes in the longitudinal direction of the combine harvester, and configured to receive the streams of chopped material and propel the streams towards laterally placed spreader openings of the chopper housing.

11. The combine harvester according to claim 1 , further comprising a set of rotatable impeller wheels, each oriented and configured to rotate about a common axis with a respective one of the chopper wheels, and configured to convey a stream of light chaff from a cleaning arrangement located underneath the at least one rotor towards the spreader, so that the light chaff may be spread together with the streams of chopped material.

12. The combine harvester according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one rotor comprises twin rotors mounted side by side, and each of the rotors has one of the chopper wheels mounted underneath, wherein each of the rotors is configured for rotation in the same direction as the one of the first and second chopper wheel it is mounted above.

13. The combine harvester according to claim 1 , wherein said chopper housing comprises first and second generally cylindrical enclosures, the first and second enclosures partially surrounding respective first and second choppers, the first and second enclosures having inlets aligned to receive material from between the pair of walls.

Assignees

• Cnh Ind America Llc

Inventors

• Duquesne Frank R G
• Missotten Bart M A

Classifications

• A01F12/18

  Threshing devices · CPC title

• A01F12/40

  Arrangements of straw crushers or cutters · CPC title

• A01D41/1243 Primary

  Devices for laying-out or distributing the straw · CPC title

• A01F12/442

  Rotary cleaners · CPC title