Harvesting machine having a secondary cleaning system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10999972-B2
Application number	US-201816178709-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 2, 2018
Priority date	Nov 2, 2018
Publication date	May 11, 2021
Grant date	May 11, 2021

Abstract

A separator for a crop harvester configured to harvest sugarcane. The separator includes a frame having: i) an inlet configured to receive cut sugarcane, wherein the cut sugarcane includes cut stalk and crop residue, ii) a cut stalk outlet configured to discharge the cut stalk from the frame; and iii) a crop residue outlet. An extractor is operatively connected to the crop residue outlet. The extractor includes a tapered nozzle disposed adjacently to the crop residue outlet and a fan disposed adjacently to the tapered nozzle, wherein the tapered nozzle is configured to provide a pressure differential between the crop residue outlet and the fan in response to air flow provide by the fan. The tapered nozzle, in one embodiment, is a truncated cone having a smaller end disposed adjacently to a flow of cut crop, wherein the fan draws air through the truncated cone to separate the crop residue from the cut stalk.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A separator for a crop harvester configured to harvest sugarcane, the separator comprising:
a frame having an interior wall, the frame including a frame inlet configured to receive a sugarcane mat;
an extractor operatively connected to the frame, the extractor including a tapered nozzle having an inlet, the tapered nozzle located within the frame and disposed adjacently to the sugarcane mat and a fan disposed adjacently to the tapered nozzle, wherein the tapered nozzle and fan are configured to provide an air flow through the sugarcane mat at an increased velocity to remove crop reside from the mat; and
a nozzle plate located within the frame and including an aperture operatively connected to the inlet of the tapered nozzle, wherein the nozzle plate extends from the nozzle inlet to the interior wall of the frame.

2. The separator of claim 1 wherein the extractor includes a chamber surrounding the fan and the tapered nozzle includes the nozzle inlet located at the frame and a nozzle outlet located adjacent to the fan, wherein the flow of air provided by the fan moves from the nozzle inlet to the nozzle outlet to provide the increased velocity to extract crop residue from the sugarcane mat.

3. The separator of claim 2 wherein the nozzle inlet includes a first perimeter and the nozzle outlet includes a second perimeter, wherein the first perimeter is smaller than the second perimeter to provide the tapered nozzle.

4. The separator of claim 3 further comprising a fan housing defining the chamber, wherein the fan housing includes a housing inlet and a housing outlet, wherein the second perimeter of the nozzle outlet is substantially the same size as a perimeter of the housing inlet.

5. The separator of claim 1 wherein the frame defines a space between the tapered nozzle and the interior wall of the frame, wherein the nozzle plate extends from the nozzle inlet to the interior wall to seal the space.

6. The separator of claim 1 further comprising a seal located at the nozzle plate and the nozzle inlet, wherein the seal is configured to provide a substantially airtight seal between the nozzle inlet and the aperture of the nozzle plate.

7. The separator of claim 1 wherein the cut sugarcane defines a path defining an arc and the nozzle inlet defines a plane generally parallel to a tangent line defined by the arc of the path.

8. A sugarcane harvester for harvesting sugarcane, the harvester comprising:
a cutter configured to cut sugarcane into a sugarcane mat;
a primary extractor disposed adjacent to the sugarcane mat configured to remove crop residue from the sugarcane mat;
an elevator including a conveyor to move the sugarcane mat to an end of the conveyor;
a frame having an interior wall, the frame located at an end of the conveyor; and
an extractor operatively connected to the frame, the extractor including a tapered nozzle having an inlet, the tapered nozzle located within the frame, to remove crop residue from the sugarcane mat at the end of the conveyor; and
a nozzle plate located within the frame and including an aperture operatively connected to the inlet of the tapered nozzle, wherein the nozzle plate extends from the nozzle inlet to the interior wall of the frame.

9. The sugarcane harvester of claim 8 further comprising a fan located adjacently to the tapered nozzle, wherein the tapered nozzle and the fan are configured to provide an air flow of increased velocity between the frame and the fan to extract crop residue from the sugarcane mat.

10. The sugarcane harvester of claim 9 wherein the frame includes a crop residue outlet, the extractor includes a chamber surrounding the fan, and the tapered nozzle includes the nozzle inlet, located at the crop residue outlet, and a nozzle outlet, located adjacent to the fan, and the flow of air provided by the fan moves from the nozzle inlet to the nozzle outlet to provide the increased pressure to extract crop residue from the sugarcane mat.

11. The sugarcane harvester of claim 10 wherein the nozzle inlet includes a first perimeter and the nozzle outlet includes a second perimeter, wherein the first perimeter is smaller than the second perimeter to provide the tapered nozzle.

12. The sugarcane harvester of claim 11 further comprising a fan housing defining the chamber, wherein the fan housing includes a housing inlet and a housing outlet.

13. The sugarcane harvester of claim 8 wherein the frame defines a space between the nozzle inlet and the interior wall of the frame, wherein the nozzle plate extends from the nozzle inlet to the interior wall to seal the space.

14. A method of harvesting sugarcane from a field of sugarcane, the method comprising:
cutting sugarcane from the field of sugarcane to obtain a sugarcane mat of cut stalk and crop residue;
delivering the cut stalk and the crop residue to a first chamber; and
providing an air flow of increased velocity, between the first chamber and a second chamber to remove the crop residue from the sugarcane mat, with a tapered nozzle having an inlet connected to an aperture of a nozzle plate extending from the inlet to a frame of the sugarcane harvester.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the providing an air flow of increased velocity includes providing an air flow of increased velocity with a fan located in the second chamber configured to draw air from the first chamber through the sugarcane mat.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the providing an air flow of increased velocity includes locating a smaller end at the inlet of the tapered nozzle adjacently to the first chamber and locating a larger end of the tapered nozzle adjacently to the second chamber.

Assignees

• Deere & Co

Inventors

• Hansen Matthew J
• Mixon Dusk S
• Morvant Kerry J
• Fattepur Surfraj

Classifications

• A01D43/086

  and means for collecting, gathering or loading mown material · CPC title

• A01D45/10 Primary

  of sugar cane {(for digging sugar cane A01D31/00)} · CPC title

• A01D41/1217

  Unloading mechanisms · CPC title

• B07B4/08

  while the mixtures are supported by sieves, screens, or like mechanical elements · CPC title