Harvesting arrangement

A harvesting arrangement for harvesting corn and other grain fruits and formed as a front implement of a harvester thresher, the harvesting arrangement comprises drawing devices for drawing harvested product from the field, a picking gap for separating ears from stalks, a picking roller which is only one for each stalk row, the picking roller including a substantially cylindrical base body with a casing provided with a plurality of impact plates having cut outs, a cutting device including a plurality of individual cutters each having a free-running end which faces toward the base body and an opposite end which faces away from the base body, the casing of the base body having a plurality of recesses in which the free running ends of the cutters are introduced, and holding elements arranged to support the opposite ends of the cutters adjustably relative to the base body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a harvesting arrangement for harvesting 
corn and other grain fruits, and in particular formed as a front implement 
for a harvester thresher. 
Harvesting arrangements of the above mentioned general type are known in 
the art. A known harvesting arrangement has a drawing device and a picking 
gap for separating the corn ears from the corn stalks. The harvesting 
arrangement is provided with one picking roller for each stalk row. The 
picking roller is associated with partial casing and includes a 
substantially cylindrical base body with a plurality of impact plates 
uniformly distributed over its periphery. The impact plates are provided 
with cut outs for passage of cutting means which are fixedly connected 
with the harvesting arrangement. 
Such a harvesting arrangement is disclosed, for example, in the European 
patent application No. 0091635. In this arrangement, in addition to 
picking of the corn ears, the stalks are simultaneously chopped. Since, 
however, the freely running ends of the stationary cutter blades end 
shortly before the outer surface of the base body, the stalk parts are not 
completely separated and the stalk product connected with remaining fiber 
parts is thrown onto the field. During subsequent soil processing these 
assembled stalk portions lead to considerable disturbances in the 
operation of the agricultural devices. In addition, the above mentioned 
patent application also discloses the cutting means which is fixed in 
their position relative to the adjustable partial casing. Therefore, the 
cutter blades can change their function-dependent position in the event of 
eventual required position change of the partial casing to improve the 
chopping quality. In quiet operational conditions, such insignificant 
movement of the partial casing is transmitted to the cutting means. 
Furthermore, the individual cutting blades are screwed non-changeable in 
their position relative to the partial casing, so that after wear, 
especially of the cutting blade tips, the insertion depth of the cutters 
cannot be adjusted independently from the partial casing. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a 
harvesting arrangement for corn and other grain fruits, which avoids the 
disadvantages of the prior art. 
More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a 
harvesting arrangement of the above mentioned general type which always 
insures an unobjectionable cutting. 
In keeping with these objects and with others which will become 
hereinafter, one feature of the present invention resides, briefly stated, 
in that in the individual cutters of the cutting means, their free-running 
ends which face toward the base body of the picking roller engage into the 
recesses formed on the base body, while their ends which are opposite to 
the base body are supported so they are adjustable independently from the 
partial casing. 
When the harvesting arrangement is designed in accordance with the present 
invention, it eliminates the disadvantages of the prior art and achieves 
the object of efficient cutting of the harvested product. 
The opposite ends of the individual cutters which face away from the base 
body of the picking roller can be adjustably mounted on a cutter support 
which extends parallel to the picking roller. 
In accordance with another advantageous embodiment of the present 
invention, the base body of the picking roller is formed as a relatively 
thin-walled cylindrical pipe in which the above mentioned recesses are 
formed as circular grooves. 
Still a further advantageous feature of the present invention is that the 
base body of the picking roller is formed of a solid material. 
For simplifying the construction, the base body in accordance with still a 
further embodiment of the invention can be formed as a pipe provided with 
a plurality of beads which extend parallel to one another and form the 
above mentioned recesses which are shaped here as circular grooves. 
In this embodiment the beads can be provided on the inner surface of the 
pipe and/or on the outer surface of the pipe, so that the circular grooves 
can be formed in the inner beads and/or in the outer beads. 
The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention 
are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, 
however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together 
with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood 
from the following description of specific embodiments when read in 
connection with the accompanying drawing.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
A corn harvester is identified as a whole with reference numeral 1. It 
includes two dividers 2 for harvested row. Both dividers 2 are connected 
with a guiding sheet 3 and associated with a drawing roller 4. During the 
operation the corn ears removed from stalks are transported to a 
transverse conveyor screw 5 and from there, via an inclined conveyor 6, 
into a collecting container or a threshing device. 
FIGS. 2 and 3 show the support of a drawing chain 7, by means of which the 
standing stalks are drawn into a picking gap 8, and the separated corn 
ears are supplied to the transverse conveying screw 5. The picking gap is 
limited at its one side by an adjustable guiding sheet 9 and its another 
side by an iron rod 10 which operates as a breaking edge. The drawing 
roller 4 is drivingly arranged on the guiding sheet 9 and surrounded by a 
partial casing 12. The partial casing 12 extends downwardly from the iron 
rod 10. It can be formed of one piece with the iron rod 10 or articulately 
connected with the latter. 
The drawing roller 4 includes a cylindrical base body 13 with a drawing tip 
11 which has the shape of a truncated cone and is provided with screw 
convolutions 14. The base body 13 has a casing 15 which is provided with 
impact plates 16. The impact plates 16 have cut outs 17. 
A cutting blade 18 extends in the cut outs 17 of the impact plates 16. The 
cutting blade 18 has a cutter holder 19 and a plurality of individual 
cutters mounted thereon. The cutter holder 19 is screwed with a traverse 
20. 
For providing absolutely complete separation of the stalks by the 
cooperation of the drawing roller and the cutting blade, the casing of the 
base body 13 has circular grooves 22, and free-running cutting blades 21 
extend into these grooves. As can be seen from FIG. 4, the base body for 
this purpose is composed of a solid or complete material in which grooves 
22' are formed. 
In accordance with a different embodiment, the base body can be formed as a 
pipe 23 which is provided with beads 24 extending inwardly or outwardly. 
The beads 24 can be screwed on the pipe 23 or formed of one piece with the 
pipe. The advantage of this embodiment is that the pipe itself can be made 
with a thin wall, while the grooves 22' or 22" can be made by turning in 
the beads 24. 
It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or 
more together, may also find a useful application in other types of 
constructions differing from the types described above. 
While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a 
harvesting arrangement for harvesting corn or similar grain fruits, it is 
not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various 
modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any 
way from the spirit of the present invention. 
Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of 
the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, 
readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, 
from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential 
characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of the invention.