Harvesters – Raking and bundling
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-20
2004-01-20
Pezzuto, Robert E. (Department: 3671)
Harvesters
Raking and bundling
C056S01640R
Reexamination Certificate
active
06679041
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention concerns a rotor with drivers as part of a separating arrangement of an agricultural machine.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Cutting arrangements in the take-up region of crop recovery machines are equipped with rotors with attached fingers, that grasp crop and draw it over stationary knives through which it is reduced. Since high forces are applied to the fingers or other drivers particularly upon the entry of foreign objects, a multitude of solutions are proposed in the state of the art according to which the fingers are fastened to the rotor and can be exchanged if they are damaged—see, for example, DE A 195 41 561, DE U 93 16 378, DE A 43 23 214, WO A 84/02252.
The problem underlying the invention is seen in the fact that in each case in which the envelope of a circular cylindrical tube openings is introduced, the drivers are equipped with noses and suspended in the openings and subsequently are welded or bolted together. All these manufacturing operations are costly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, there is provided an improved crop-feeding rotor.
An object of the invention is to provide a crop-feeding rotor including a center drive member having a non-circular profile on which is received complementary shaped openings of fingers or other drivers. In this way, the openings and the noses prevalent in the prior art rotors and drivers can be omitted; rather permanent locking is performed on the basis of the non-circular profile of the tube, in particular a profile with edges, where in place of a tube a solid body could be used and is specifically included in the scope of this invention. In this way the tube can be equipped with three, four, five, six, seven, eight or more edges. A tube with, for example, a cross-shaped profile or the like could also be selected, the important point being that the outer profile is non-circular. The drivers can be configured individually and combined into a ring or manufactured as a ring that is then slid axially onto the tube. Here it is sufficient that the drivers or the ring have only point contact with the circumference of the tube as long as a retention is attained, that is not subject to rotation. While in the simplest case the drivers are configured as fingers, teeth or the like, they can also be used as fixed knives, such as, for example, that of a straw chopper.
Large cost reductions are attained if the number of drivers around the tube per row are combined into a one-piece ring, for example, stamped from a steel plate, machined or flame cut. Particularly with stamping, high strength and short manufacturing time can be attained. With cutting or flame cutting, particularly using laser technology very close tolerances can be attained, that can result in retention of the rings on the tube practically without any play.
While the drivers can be provided with attached driver elements configured as tines, teeth or the like, a simple manufacture is nevertheless possible if the ring or the components of an assembled ring are configured as a multiple-sided polygon whose corners or points form each of the particular driver elements.
If the contact surfaces of drivers following each other are offset to different degrees relative to the driver elements, then the points, that is, the driver elements of the applied drivers, follow a helical shape so that load spikes are avoided. All drivers applied to a tube are brought together as a set and marked, if necessary, so that the drivers applied to the tube extend, for example, in a helical pattern.
An alternative configuration to the offset contact surfaces lies in the arrangement in which the contact surfaces of the drivers and of the tube are in an even-numbered relationship to each other. In this way a large number of identical drivers can be manufactured but applied to the tube in differing positions. Thereby not only a helical pattern is possible, but any number of other possible distributions can be selected.
While the drivers could be provided with shoulders or the like, in order to provide a space for strippers located opposite the rotor to slide through; a simpler approach would be to provide loose spacers that are inserted between the drivers and secured by them or retained by the tube. For example, the sides of the drivers facing each other could contain openings into which pins with heads are inserted. Or shells or the like could be welded or applied to the tube with adhesive.
Spacers with a rounded outer contour have the advantage that the crop being conveyed can slide along or over these components. The configuration as a ring makes it possible to slide them onto the tube, if necessary together with the drivers arranged as rings and to bring them into contact with each other.
A further possibility in the distribution of the drivers along the length or around the circumference consists in a variation of the number of spacers.
The drivers and, if necessary, the spacers can be fastened to the tube in a simple manner by providing a retaining plate in at least one end region of the rotor that is clamped by means of screws or the like. Two retaining plates could also be used, that is, at each end region, that are clamped by means of tensioning bolts.
Manufacturing costs can be reduced in an exemplary manner by providing in one or both end plates bearing journals configured as stub shafts for the support of the rotor in bearings in a frame or the like.
As an alternative to stub shafts, a shaft could be selected that extends through the tube and the retaining plates and fastens the entire assembly together, for example, by means of tensioning nuts or a tensioning nut and a shoulder.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3705328 (1972-12-01), Torok
patent: 4243104 (1981-01-01), Sipos et al.
patent: 4617786 (1986-10-01), Fell et al.
patent: 4619106 (1986-10-01), van der Lely
patent: 5848523 (1998-12-01), Engel et al.
patent: 6279304 (2001-08-01), Anstey et al.
patent: 3340685 (1986-05-01), None
patent: A 43 23 214 (1993-07-01), None
patent: U 93 16 378 (1993-10-01), None
patent: A 195 41 561 (1995-11-01), None
patent: 198 06 630 (1999-08-01), None
patent: 0 803 184 (1997-04-01), None
patent: 1 448 451 (1966-06-01), None
patent: 1 458 786 (1976-12-01), None
patent: 2 356 547 (2001-05-01), None
patent: WO A 84/02252 (1984-06-01), None
Beaudoin Alain
Chabassier Aurelien
Guiet Lionel
Lucand Philippe
Viaud Jean
Deere & Company
Mammen Nathan
Pezzuto Robert E.
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