System for chopping and spreading residue

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10375885-B2
Application number	US-201615260584-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 9, 2016
Priority date	Sep 17, 2015
Publication date	Aug 13, 2019
Grant date	Aug 13, 2019

Abstract

A system of chopping and spreading residue for an agricultural combine comprises a chopper disposed in front of a residue accelerator at the rear of an agricultural combine. The chopper is disposed to receive crop residue from a threshing and separating section of the combine and to chop that residue into smaller portions, the residue accelerator is disposed behind the chopper to receive the chopped crop residue from the chopper, and to accelerate it.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A system of chopping and spreading residue in an agricultural combine comprises:
a chopper disposed in a crop residue flow path to receive crop residue from a threshing and separating mechanism, the chopper having a rotational axis that extends horizontally and transversely to a harvesting direction of travel;
a residue accelerator disposed downstream of the chopper to receive chopped residue from the chopper and to accelerate the chopped residue in a rearward direction;
a residue spreader disposed downstream of the residue accelerator to spread the chopped residue accelerated by the residue accelerator;
wherein the residue accelerator further comprises an elongate drum having a rotating axis that is disposed horizontally and transversely to the harvesting direction of travel of the agricultural combine, a plurality of rings extending about the elongate drum and fixed to the elongate drum, a plurality of vanes, each of the vanes extending between and fixed to a respective pair of the plurality of rings, a vane extension removably fixed to each of the plurality of vanes, and
wherein the plurality of vanes and the plurality of rings form first and second drum encircling series of pockets along the rotational axis and third and fourth drum encircling series of pockets along the rotating axis, the first drum encircling series of pockets being circumferentially offset from the second drum encircling series of pockets and the third drum encircling series of pockets being circumferentially offset from the fourth drum encircling series of pockets, the first and second drum encircling series of pockets being located on a first side of a plane perpendicular to the rotating axis and axially bisecting the elongate drum,
the first drum encircling series of pockets comprising a first pocket having a first vane extending between a first pair of the plurality of rings and having a first face oblique to the plane,
the second drum encircling series of pockets comprising a second pocket having a second vane extending between a second pair of the plurality of rings and having a second face oblique to the plane, both the first face and the second face facing the plane in the rearward direction;
the third series of drum encircling pockets and the fourth series of drum encircling pockets being located on a second side of the plane,
the third series of drum encircling pockets comprising a third pocket having a third vane extending between a third pair of the plurality of rings and having a third face oblique to the plane, and
the fourth series of drum encircling pockets comprising a fourth pocket having a fourth vane extending between a fourth pair of the plurality of rings and having a fourth face oblique to the plane, both the third face and the fourth face facing the plane in the rearward direction.

2. The system of chopping and spreading residue of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of rings has a plurality of extensions extending outwardly from a central region of each said ring, and further wherein the plurality of vanes extending between and fixed to each adjacent pair of rings is fixed to the extensions.

3. The system of chopping and spreading residue of claim 2 , wherein each ring of the plurality of rings defines a central circular hole that extends about and is fixed to an outer surface of the elongate drum.

4. The system of chopping and spreading residue of claim 1 , further comprising:
a first pulley fixed to the elongate drum of the residue accelerator to drive the elongate drum in rotation;
a second pulley fixed to the chopper to drive the chopper in rotation; and
an endless belt through that extending around and coupling the first pulley and the second pulley, wherein the second pulley drives the first pulley in rotation.

5. The system of chopping and spreading residue of claim 4 , wherein the first pulley has a smaller diameter than the second pulley, and further wherein the endless belt drives the first pulley at a higher rotational speed than the second pulley.

6. The system for chopping and spreading residue of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of vanes comprise:
a fifth vane having a first face extending parallel to the rotating axis and perpendicular to its respective adjacent pair of rings, wherein the first vane and the second vane are on a first axial side of the fifth vane and wherein the third vane and the fourth vane are on a second opposite axial side of the fifth vane.

7. The system for chopping and spreading residue of claim 6 , wherein the second vane is on a fifth side of the first vane and faces a plane perpendicular to the rotating axis and wherein the third vane is on a second side of the fifth vane and faces the plane perpendicular to the rotating axis.

8. The system for chopping and spreading residue of claim 7 , wherein the first vane, the second vane and the third vane each comprise flat planar plates.

9. The system for chopping and spreading residue of claim 1 , wherein each of the rings comprises a series of circumferentially spaced teeth, each of the teeth having a tooth back, a rake face and a gullet adjacent the rake face, wherein each of the plurality of vanes has vane faces abutting the rake faces of its respective pair of the plurality of rings, wherein the first pair of rings comprises a first ring having a first set of circumferentially spaced teeth and a second ring having a second set of circumferentially spaced teeth, the first set of circumferentially spaced teeth being circumferentially offset relative to the second set of circumferentially spaced teeth.

10. The system for chopping and spreading residue of claim 9 , wherein each of the vanes extends within the gullet from the elongate drum to an outer point of the rake face of its respective pair of the plurality of rings.

11. The system for chopping and spreading residue of claim 10 , wherein each of the rake faces comprises a slot and wherein each of the vanes comprises a pair of T-shaped tabs having a neck and an enlarged head, wherein the neck is received within the slot and wherein the head is larger than the slot.

12. The system for chopping and spreading residue of claim 9 , wherein the first vane has a root portion abutting and directly affixed to an outer surface of the elongate drum.

13. The system for chopping and spreading residue of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of rings comprises:
the first pair of rings are affixed to the first vane of the plurality of vanes; and
the second pair of rings are affixed to the second vane of the plurality of vanes.

14. The system for chopping spreading residue of claim 13 , wherein the plurality of vanes are circumferentially staggered about the rotating axis.

15. The system for chopping and spreading residue of claim 1 , wherein the first vane comprises a plate, wherein the first face of the first vane comprises a radially extending notch in the plate and wherein the vane extension extends across the notch from a first side of the notch to a second side of the notch.

16. The system for chopping spreading residue of claim 1 , wherein the residue accelerator is to be driven in rotational direction about the rotating axis, wherein each of vane extensions is behind its respective vane in the rotational direction.

17. The system for chopping and spreading residue of claim 1 , wherein the first pair of rings comprises a first ring and a second ring axially spaced from the first ring and wherein the second pair of rings comprises a third ring axially spaced from the first ring and the second ring and a fourth ring axi

Assignees

• Deere & Co

Inventors

• Puryk Corwin M
• Faulkner Christopher J

Classifications

• A01F12/40

  Arrangements of straw crushers or cutters · CPC title

• A01D41/1243 Primary

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

• A01F12/30

  Straw separators {, i.e. straw walkers, for separating residual grain from the straw (grain cleaning A01F12/44)} · CPC title

• A01F12/18

  Threshing devices · CPC title

• A01F12/44

  Grain cleaners; Grain separators · CPC title