Harvesters – Cornstalk type – Cutters
Patent
1991-06-26
1993-04-06
Suchfield, George A.
Harvesters
Cornstalk type
Cutters
56DIG15, A01D 4106
Patent
active
051992485
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to an apparatus for, and methods of, harvesting crops.
The invention is concerned with a harvesting apparatus for detaching grain, or other required portions of a crop, from a standing crop, to leave the remaining stripped parts of the crop standing in the field. The invention has particular application in the harvesting of grain crops, such as wheat, oats, barley and rice.
There have been proposed previously a large number of different forms of apparatus for stripping crops in this way, and the present invention is particularly applicable in connection with the apparatus and method set out in our previous published patent applications, WO 86/01972 (NRDC) and GB-A-2188822 (NRDC). The apparatus described in these patent applications comprises a mobile frame for movement over the ground, and moveable support means (such as a rotor or conveyor belt) driven relative to the frame and carrying a plurality of outwardly projecting crop engaging elements for stripping the required crop parts. In preferred forms, the crop engaging elements are formed by transverse ribs which are shaped to provide outwardly extending, triangular crop stripping teeth. The elements are driven so as to move upwardly and rearwardly at a front region of the apparatus, for example where the elements are mounted on a rotor, the rotor is rotated in the so called overshot mode so that the elements move upwardly and rearwardly over the rotor as it rotates. The crop engaging elements are arranged to engage the standing crop while projecting forwardly relative to the direction of forward travel of the apparatus.
It has been found that, in the case of a grain crop, the mixture leaving the stripping means includes a substantial proportion of free grain, which has in effect been threshed by the action of the stripping means. The detached material also includes whole and part heads of grain, and some material other than grain (MOG) such as straw and flag leaves. It is a drawback of such an apparatus that some of the stripped crop, particularly free grain, is lost at the front end of the apparatus. The losses arise either by stripped grain being driven forwardly under the edge of the overhead hood, at the inlet to the crop flow passage, or by otherwise returning to the ground.
It is one object of the invention to provide means for monitoring, controlling, and reducing front end losses of detached grain and grain heads and part heads from crop stripping apparatus of the kind disclosed in our previous patent applications described above. However, it will be appreciated that the present invention has application in many other forms of crop stripping devices and is applicable to monitor, control and improve other characteristics of crop stripping in addition to front end losses.
According to the present invention there is provided apparatus for harvesting required crop parts from standing crops comprising crop stripping means for stripping from a standing crop required parts of the crop, guide means cooperating with the crop stripping means to form a crop flow passage for detached crop parts, detector means positioned in the region of the crop flow passage for monitoring a characteristic of the trajectory of detached crop parts along the passage, operating means for varying an operating parameter of the apparatus which influences the trajectory of detached crop parts along the passage in operation, and signal processing means for processing signals from the detector means, the signal processing means having an output connected to the operating means for effecting adjustment of the operating means in response to the output of the detector means, and/or the processing means having an output connected to a display means for displaying to an operator an indication of the said characteristic monitored by the detector means.
The term standing corp means a crop in the field before any harvesting operation has been carried out on it, for example before any cutting operation, and includes any crop which may be partly laid, leaning, o
REFERENCES:
patent: 3442068 (1969-05-01), Bulin
patent: 3906710 (1975-09-01), Pask
patent: 4171606 (1979-10-01), Ziegler et al.
patent: 4197694 (1980-04-01), Hagie et al.
patent: 4437295 (1984-03-01), Rock
patent: 4507910 (1985-04-01), Thornley et al.
patent: 4788813 (1988-12-01), Strosser et al.
WO, A, 8601972 (National Research Development Corporation) Apr. 10, 1986 see p. 62, line 19-p. 63, line 7; claims 1-3.
Hale Oliver D.
Hobson Robert N.
Nguyen Vien N.
National Research Development Corporation
Suchfield George A.
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