Method and apparatus for harvesting crop material

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10653061-B2
Application number	US-201514792907-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 7, 2015
Priority date	Jul 7, 2015
Publication date	May 19, 2020
Grant date	May 19, 2020

Abstract

A crop harvesting machine configured to move cut crop positively across a cutterbar and toward a conditioner element using an undershot rotating element or undershot auger. The crop harvesting machine includes a cutterbar having a plurality of rotary cutters having rotational axis aligned along a line transverse to a moving direction of the crop harvesting machine. The undershot rotating element is subtended by portions of the rotary cutters and is located between rotational axis lines of the rotating cutters and an exit of the crop harvesting machine. The undershot rotating element moves cut crop between the undershot rotating element and the plurality of rotary cutters and to a conditioner element which conditions the cut crop for placement of the conditioned cut crop in swaths on a field.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A crop harvesting machine configured to cut crop material and to transfer the cut crop material, the crop harvesting machine comprising:
a cutterbar supported by a frame, the cutterbar including a plurality of rotary cutters disposed along an axis which is transverse to a forward working direction of the crop harvesting machine, each of the plurality of rotary cutters includes at least one rotary cutter knife mounted thereto, each of the rotary cutter knives defining a leading edge at which the crop is cut by the rotary cutter knives, and a trailing edge spaced from the leading edge along the working direction and disposed toward the rearward location of the frame, a sequence of adjacent rotational centerlines of the rotary cutters defines a rotary cutter longitudinal zone, wherein each of the rotary cutters includes an inclined leading portion extending downwardly relative to and away from the rotational centerline thereof towards the leading edge, further wherein each of the rotary cutters includes an inclined trailing portion extending downwardly relative to and away from the rotational centerline thereof towards the trailing edge;
an undershot rotating element supported by the frame for rotation about a rotational axis, wherein the rotational axis of the undershot rotating element is located above at least a portion of the cutterbar and the rotational axis is further disposed between the rotary cutter longitudinal zone and the trailing edge, the undershot rotating element is located above the inclined trailing portions of the plurality of rotary cutters, the undershot rotating element is configured to rotate about the rotational axis to move cut crop material between the undershot rotating element and the plurality of rotary cutters; and
an overshot rotating element supported by the frame for rotation about a rotational axis wherein the rotational direction of the overshot rotating element is in a direction opposite to the rotational direction of the undershot rotating element, the undershot rotating element being spaced apart from and forward of the overshot rotating element as measured along a longitudinal axis of the crop harvesting machine such that a rear edge of the undershot rotating element is spaced apart from and forward of a forward edge of the overshot rotating element to provide a path for the cut crop between the undershot rotating element and the overshot rotating element.

2. The crop harvesting machine of claim 1 wherein the undershot rotating element is floatingly supported above the rotary cutters such that the undershot rotating element is configured to move toward or away from the rotary cutters as a function of the amount of cut crop moving between the undershot rotating element and the rotary cutters.

3. The crop harvesting machine of claim 1 wherein the undershot rotating element includes a first flighting disposed toward a first end of the undershot rotating element, a second fighting disposed toward a second end of the undershot rotating element, and a plurality of paddles disposed between the first flighting and the second flighting.

4. The crop harvesting machine of claim 2 wherein the undershot rotating element includes a first flighting disposed toward a first end of the undershot rotating element, a second fighting disposed toward a second end of the undershot rotating element, and a plurality of paddles disposed between the first flighting and the second flighting.

5. The crop harvesting machine of claim 1 further comprising a first converging drum disposed at one end of the cutterbar and a second converging drum disposed at another end of the cutterbar, wherein each of the first converging drum and second converging drum rotate in opposite directions and toward a center of the cutting bar.

6. The crop harvesting machine of claim 1 further comprising a conditioner element configured to condition the cut crop material wherein the conditioner element is supported by the frame along an axis transverse to the working direction and at a rearward location of the frame with respect to the working direction.

7. The crop harvesting machine of claim 6 wherein the conditioner element includes a first conditioner roll supported by the frame for rotation about a first conditioner roll axis and a second conditioner roll supported by the frame for rotation about a second conditioner roll axis, wherein the first conditioner roll and the second conditioner roll are configured to rotate in opposite directions about each of the respective conditioner roll axis.

8. The crop harvesting machine of claim 7 further comprising a first converging drum disposed at one end of the cutterbar and a second converging drum disposed at another end of the cutterbar, wherein each of the first converging drum and second converging drum rotate in opposite directions and toward a center of the cutting bar.

9. The crop harvesting machine of claim 7 wherein the plurality of rotary cutters defines a cutting width, the undershot rotating element defines an undershot rotating element working distance less than the first cutting width, and the first conditioner roll and the second conditioner roll defines a conditioner working distance less than the undershot rotating element working distance.

10. The crop harvesting machine of claim 9 wherein each of the undershot rotating element and the overshot rotating element includes a first flighting disposed toward a first end of the undershot rotating element or overshot rotating element, a second flighting disposed toward a second end of the undershot rotating element or overshot rotating element, and a plurality of paddles disposed between the first flighting and the second flighting.

11. The crop harvesting machine of claim 10 wherein the undershot rotating element and the overshot rotating element includes a substantially similar configuration with respect to the size and shape of the first flighting, the second flighting and the plurality of paddles.

12. The crop harvesting machine of claim 11 wherein each of the first and second conditioner rolls includes a plurality of splines.

13. The crop harvesting machine of claim 12 wherein a distance between ends of the paddles of the undershot rotating element and the overshot rotating element along the rotational axis thereof is less than a distance between ends of the splines of the first and second conditioners.

14. A method of cutting and conditioning a crop and for returning the cut and conditioned crop to a field in a swath, the method comprising:
providing a crop harvesting machine including: i) an input and an output, the input configured to receive a crop and the output configured to deliver a conditioned cut crop to the field; ii) a cutterbar including a plurality of rotary cutters defining a front cutting edge located toward the input and a trailing edge displaced from the front cutting edge, the plurality of rotary cutters having a rotational centerline disposed between the front cutting edge and the trailing edge, wherein each of the rotary cutters includes an inclined leading portion extending downwardly relative to and away from the rotational centerline thereof towards the front cutting edge, each of the rotary cutters includes an inclined trailing portion extending downwardly relative to and away from the rotational centerline thereof towards the trailing edge; ii) an undershot rotating element having a rotational axis located above at least a portion of the plurality of rotary cutters, the rotational axis of the undershot rotating element located above the inclined trailing portions of the plurality of rotary cutters, the

Assignees

• Deere & Co

Inventors

• Stephenson Roger D
• Rosenbalm Allan W

Classifications

• A01D34/664

  Disc cutter bars · CPC title

• A01D82/02 Primary

  Rollers for crop conditioners · CPC title

• A01D34/53 Primary

  Helically shaped cutting members · CPC title