Harvesters – Stalk choppers – Rotating on horizontal transverse axis
Patent
1992-03-03
1993-12-28
Bagnell, David J.
Harvesters
Stalk choppers
Rotating on horizontal transverse axis
56294, 172 91, 241194, A01D 3452, A01F 2906, B02C 1304
Patent
active
052728617
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a rotary agricultural tool which comprises an open-sided housing, an elongate bladecarrying body rotatable in said housing, and a plurality of blades arranged along the length of the body for rotation therewith, the blades being moveable through the open side of the housing in order to carry out a working operation on material to be worked by the tool.
The invention is particularly concerned with a tool having an arrangement of blades which are pivotally mounted on the outer periphery of the body and which each extends generally radially outwardly of the axis of rotation of the body. The outer tips or edges of the blades are flung radially outwardly under centrifugal action upon rotation of the body, and therefore can apply a substantial flail-type action on the material to be worked. However, if any serious obstruction or obstacle is encountered by each blade, the latter can yield to some extent by moving on its pivot, and thereby preventing damage being done to the tool.
Rotary agricultural tools of this general type can be used in order to chop-up bulk material e.g. long stem baled material into short lengths, such as long stem animal feed material, to render the chopped material suitable for feeding to farm animals. The rotary tool therefore may be mounted in the base of a hopper e.g. as disclosed in more detail in WO 87/05186. Alternatively, the rotary tool may be mounted in a slot in a base of a rotary drum type of bale shredder.
However, the rotary agricultural tool of the invention can be mounted in other types of agricultural equipment in order to carry out a working operation. Thus, the rotary tool may be incorporated in a soil cultivator, a forage harvester, a grass cutter, a pick-up machine for picking-up already cut crop material e.g. grass, hay or straw lying on the ground and for chopping-up such picked-up material, or a hedge cutter.
Common to all of these pieces of equipment will be an open sided housing, a blade-carrying body or shaft rotatable in the housing, and a plurality of blades arranged along the length of the body and pivotally mounted on the outer periphery thereof, in which each blade can extend in a plane extending generally radially outwardly of the axis of rotation of the body, and the free ends of which can be flung radially outwardly under centrifugal action upon rotation of the body.
The flail type of working action of the blades of the rotary tool is advantageously employed in carrying out the working operation of each machine in which the rotary tool is mounted, but in existing machines has the disadvantage of generating substantial noise during start-up and also during slowing-down of the rotation of the body, and this also generates substantial wear on the working edges of the blades. Thus, by virtue of the pivotal mounting of the blades, both the leading and the trailing edges of the blades can make substantial impact with the outer periphery of the body during start-up and during slowing-down. This therefore requires frequent replacement of worn blades, as well as causing unacceptable wear or damage to the outer periphery of the blade-carrying body over a period of time.
A further feature of existing blade designs is that the blades are freely pivotally mounted on the outer periphery of the blade carrying body, and therefore tend to take up a working position, under centrifugal action, in which the axis of symmetry of each blade extends radially outwardly of the axis of the body. Therefore, given that each blade is freely pivoted at one end, and its opposite end moves out under centrifugal action to take up a position radially outwardly of the pivot, the centre of gravity of the blade is located substantially on this radial line. Therefore, immediately the blade encounters any substantial resistance e.g. makes contact with unduly dense material, the blade will pivot rearwardly about its pivot with respect to the direction of rotation of the body, and thereby reduce the chopping or cutting effect given by the blade to the material.
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patent: 2841946 (1958-07-01), Skromme et al.
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patent: 4211060 (1980-07-01), Rhodes
patent: 4706761 (1987-11-01), Herscher et al.
patent: 4804047 (1989-02-01), Kobashi et al.
Bagnell David J.
Kverneland Underhaug AS
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