Locking Mechanism for the Suspension Assembly of a Harvester and Agricultural Harvester

A locking mechanism for a suspension assembly of a harvester, particularly those intended for the harvest of tall and stem plants, such as sugarcane and sweet sorghum, being designed to ensure that the harvester remains raised during maintenance procedures and thus avoids the risk of accidents and damage to the harvester. The locking mechanism includes a lock pivotably mounted to the chassis through a pivoting connection at a pivot end of the lock and disposed adjacent to the actuator cylinder. The lock has an opening configured to at least partially surround a fixed portion of the actuator cylinder and has a circumferential diameter smaller than a diameter of a movable portion of the actuator cylinder. The locking mechanism further includes a locking element disposed at an opposite end of the lock. The locking element is configured to interact with retaining bearings mounted on the chassis.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention refers, in general, to a new proposal for a locking mechanism for the suspension assembly of an agricultural harvester, such as sugarcane and/or sweet sorghum harvesting machines. More particularly, this locking mechanism is formed by technical, constructive and functional features designed and developed to lock the harvester suspension assembly in order to improve operating conditions and increase safety levels during maintenance procedures.

In addition, the invention refers to a harvester, particularly those designed for the harvest of tall and stemmed plants, such as sugarcane and/or sorghum, which incorporates the suspension assembly locking mechanism.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

According to the prior art, and as the general knowledge of the person skilled in the art must be, numerous models of agricultural machinery and equipment are known to promote increased productivity in the harvest of various types of vegetable crops, such as harvesting machines grain in general, forage plant machines and machines for harvesting tall and stemmed plants, such as sugarcane harvesters.

More particularly, regarding to machines for harvesting tall and stemmed plants, such as sugarcane, as is the case of cane and sweet sorghum, these machines are designed and developed to promote the harvest of this specific type of culture, this because its intrinsic features require specific conditions for its safe and adequate processing, from cutting to transfer to transshipments and trucks.

In this context, it is known that these harvesting machines for tall and stemmed plants comprise a front portion where various equipment and devices responsible for cutting and removing plants from the ground are installed, such as, for example, row dividers, topper, knockdown rollers, cutting discs, among other mechanisms that help in the work of cutting and harvesting tall and stem plants.

As must be appreciated by the person skilled in the art, mainly these frontal elements, they are the ones that suffer the most from wear, as they end up having the initial and most aggressive contact with the crop. For this reason, they end up requiring periodic and frequent maintenance to replace components, whether due to wear or breakage during the harvesting process.

Thus, to perform these maintenance procedures, the harvesters comprise a suspension assembly, usually arranged on the front to adjust the height of the equipment and devices responsible for cutting the plants, which is extended as far as possible to raise the harvester machine and allow the operator or maintenance technician access to those components that need to be repaired. However, to safely perform maintenance procedures, the harvester must be prevented from lowering while the operator performs maintenance under the harvester.

The solutions known in the prior art to prevent the harvester from lowering present practicality problems, but mainly safety, while aiming the difficulty of positioning, for example, the wedges at certain points of the harvester, in addition to the weight and dimensions of these mechanisms to keep the machine raised, which motivates improper handling and positioning by operators and technicians, putting the operator himself at risk, but also the integrity of the harvesters.

Also, it is possible to find solutions in prior art that are intended to prevent the movement of the suspension cylinder assembly of the said harvester, however, these solutions comprise locks applied vertically and reveal more complex constructions that continue to interfere and hindering the handling of operators and technicians to ensure that the machines are locked in the raised position for maintenance.

Thus, as it possible to observe, harvesters, such as sugarcane harvesters, known in the prior art, lack a practical, functional, but mainly efficient and safe solution, in order to ensure the physical integrity of the machines, and mainly operators/technicians during maintenance procedures.

Thus, it is verified that the proposals known in the prior art to prevent the harvester from lowering during maintenance procedures are not practical, efficient and safe, and may cause serious accidents to operators and maintenance technicians and also damage to harvester. Therefore, these are, among others, the inconveniences and limitations that are intended to be solved with the development of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Thus, according to the above, the present invention aims to provide a new locking mechanism for the suspension assembly of a harvester, particularly those intended for the harvest of sugarcane and sweet sorghum, being that this new locking mechanism was designed and developed to obtain a practical, functional and efficient solution to the problems, limitations and inconveniences revealed in the prior art, as summarized above.

More particularly, it is one of the objectives of the present invention provide a new locking mechanism for the suspension assembly of a harvester, which comprises technical, constructive and functional features capable of providing an optimized and simplified way to ensure that the harvester remains raised during the performance maintenance procedures and thus avoiding accidents and damage to the harvester.

Also, it is an object of the present invention provides a harvester, such as those intended for the harvest of sugar cane and sweet sorghum, which comprises a new locking mechanism for the suspension assembly, as mentioned above.

Thus, in order to achieve the technical and functional improvements summarized above, among others, the present invention refers to a new locking mechanism for the suspension assembly of a harvester, essentially formed by at least one assembly of suspension that has an actuator cylinder formed by a fixed portion mounted on the chassis of the harvester, and a mobile portion configured for lifting the harvester, and said locking mechanism comprises a lock pivotally mounted on the chassis through a pivoting connection and disposed adjacent to said actuator cylinder. Furthermore, said lock has an opening configured to involve, at least in part, the fixed portion of the actuator cylinder and has a circumferential diameter smaller than the diameter of the movable portion of said actuator cylinder. Furthermore, said locking mechanism comprises a locking element disposed at the opposite end to said pivotal connection and it is configured to interact with retaining bearings mounted on said chassis of the harvester machine.

According to a particular embodiment of the locking mechanism of the present invention, said retaining bearings mounted on the machine chassis are configured for locking the lock in the open and closed positions, respectively.

Still, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the locking mechanism comprises a safety return element configured to drive said lock towards the retaining bearing. Optionally, this safety return element is a spring installed in the pivoting connection itself or next to said retaining bearing.

According to another possible embodiment of the present invention, said lock of the locking mechanism comprises a stop disposed on the lower face and, more particularly, on the peripheral edge of said opening of the lock.

According to a particular embodiment of the present invention, said pivoting connection of the locking mechanism is formed by a pivot bearing fixed to the chassis and a clamping pin that passes through holes arranged in the pivoting bearing and at the pivoting end of the lock.

Additionally, according to another embodiment of the present invention, said locking element can comprise at least one locking bearing pierced by a pin, which can comprise a spring.

The present invention also relates to an agricultural harvester which comprises at least one suspension assembly formed by an actuator cylinder, and such harvester further comprises at least one locking mechanism as discussed above which is configured to interact with said suspension actuator cylinder. Particularly, the agricultural harvester, according to the present invention, is intended for harvesting sugarcane and/or sweet sorghum.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The invention will now be described with respect to its particular embodiments with reference to the attached figures. Such figures are schematic, and their dimensions and/or proportions may not correspond to reality, as they aim to describe the invention in a didactic way. Furthermore, certain known and common constructive details may have been omitted for greater clarity and conciseness from the description that follows. Reference numbers used are repeated throughout the figures to identify identical or similar parts. The terms eventually used such as “above”, “below”, “front”, “back”, “right”, “left” etc., and its variants should be interpreted according to the guidance given inFIG.1.

The terms used herein such as harvester, harvesting machine and their variants are used indistinctly to indicate an agricultural machine intended for the harvest of a vegetable crop and, in the case of this description, for the harvest of tall and stemmed plants, such as sugarcane, energy cane, sorghum, etc.

Refer to the drawings,FIG.1illustrates a side view of an embodiment of an agricultural harvester10according to aspects known in the prior art. As shown, harvester10is configured as a sugarcane harvester. However, in other embodiments, the harvester10can correspond to any suitable agricultural harvester known in the prior art.

Still referring toFIG.1, harvester10includes a chassis12, a pair of front wheels14, a pair of rear wheels16, and an operator cabin18. Harvester10may also include a primary source of power (e.g., an engine mounted on chassis12) that powers one or both pairs of wheels14,16via a transmission (not shown). Alternatively, the harvester10may be a conveyor driven harvester and therefore may include conveyor driven by the motor mechanism in place of the illustrated wheels14,16. The motor mechanism can also drive a hydraulic fluid pump (not shown) configured to generate pressurized hydraulic fluid to drive various hydraulic components of the harvester10, including the wheels or conveyor.

Additionally, the harvester10can include various components for cutting, processing, cleaning and discharging sugarcane as the cane is harvested from an agricultural field20. For example, harvester10may include a topper assembly22positioned at its front end to intercept the sugar cane as harvester10moves in the forward direction, as indicated by the “x” arrow inFIG.1. As shown, the topper assembly22may include either a gathering disc24or a cutting disc26. The gathering disc24may be configured to gather sugar cane stalks so that cutting disc26can be used to cut the tip of each stalk. Generally, the height of the topper assembly22can be adjustable via a pair of arms28hydraulically raised and lowered as desired by the operator.

Additionally, harvester10may include a row divider assembly30that extends upwardly and rearwardly from field20. generally, the row divider30may include two spiral feed rollers32, also known as a “lollipop”. Each feed roller32may include a soil footing34as its bottom end assists the row divider30separating the sugarcane stalks for harvesting. In addition, as shown inFIG.1, harvester10may include a knockdown roller36positioned proximate the front wheels14and a roller with projections38positioned behind the knockdown roller36. As the knockdown roller36is rotated, the harvested sugar cane stalks are tumbled while the row divider30binds the stalks from the agricultural field20towards the interior of the machine10. Additionally, as shown inFIG.1, the projection roller38may include a plurality of intermittently mounted fins40which assist in forcing the sugar cane stalks downwardly. As roller38is rotated during harvesting, the sugarcane stalks that have been tumbled by knockdown roller36are separated and subsequently tumbled by roller38as harvester10continues to be moved forward direction relative to the field20.

Still referring toFIG.1, harvester10may also include a base cutter assembly42positioned behind the roller38. As is generally understood, the base cutting assembly42may include blades (not shown) for cutting the sugar cane stalks as the cane is harvested. The blades, located on the periphery of the assembly may be rotated by a hydraulic motor (not shown) driven by the vehicle's hydraulic system. Additionally, in several embodiments, the blades can be angled downward to cut the base of the sugar cane as the cane is tumbled by the roller38.

In addition, the harvester10may include an assembly of one or more feed rollers44located downstream of the base cut assembly42for moving the cut sugar cane stalks from the base cut assembly42along the processing trajectory. As shown inFIG.1, the feed roller assembly44can include a plurality of bottom rollers46and a plurality of top rollers48. As the sugar cane is conveyed through the assembly of feed rollers44, debris (e.g. stones, dirt and/or the like) may also be conveyed or fall through the bottom rollers46onto the field20.

Additionally, harvester10may include a chopper assembly50located at the downstream end of the feed roller assembly44(e.g., adjacent to the rearmost bottom and top feed rollers46,48). In general, the chopper assembly50can be used to cut or chop harvested sugarcane stalks into smaller pieces or “billets”51which may, for example, measure 15.24 centimeters (six (6) inches), also called stem or grinding wheels. The billets51can then be propelled towards an elevator assembly52of the harvester10to be collected in an external receiver or storage device (not shown) such as an transshipment or truck conveyor.

As is generally understood, pieces of debris53(e.g. dust, dirt, leaves, etc.) separated from the sugar cane billets51can be expelled from the harvester10through a primary extractor assembly54, which is located behind of the chopper assembly50and is oriented to direct the debris and refuse53out of the harvester10. Additionally, a fan56may be mounted on the primary extractor54for generating a suction force or vacuum sufficient to capture the debris/spoilage53and force that debris53through the primary extractors54. The debris and spoilage53are then directed outward and generally away from the harvester10via a primary extractor outlet54. The separated billets51and heavier than the debris53being expelled from the extractor54can then fall to the elevator assembly52.

According to this specification, the elevator assembly52is to be understood as comprising, in general, an elevator housing structure58and an elevator60extending within said elevator housing structure58between a lower proximal end62and an upper distal end64. The lower proximal end62being secured to the machine10and the upper distal end64having an opening82for discharging the collected material.

In additional or alternative embodiments, elevator60may include a chain or conveyor belt66and a plurality of paddles or slats68coupled or evenly spaced on the chain66. The slats68can be configured to hold the sugar cane billets51in the elevator60as the billets51are lifted to the upper portion70of the elevator60. Additionally, elevator60may include lower and upper sprockets72,74positioned around proximal and distal ends62,64, respectively. As shown inFIG.1, an elevator motor76can be coupled to one of the sprockets (e.g., the upper sprocket74) for driving the chain66, thereby allowing the chain66and slats68to travel on a cycle without end between the proximal and distal ends62,64of the elevator60.

In addition, pieces of debris and refuse53(e.g. dust, dirt, leaves, etc.) separated from the sugar cane billets51can be expelled from the harvester10through a secondary extractor assembly78coupled to the rear end of the elevator housing structure58. As shown inFIG.1, the secondary extractor assembly78can be located adjacent to the distal end64of the elevator60and can be oriented to direct the debris and refuse53away from the harvester10. Additionally, a fan80can be mounted on the secondary extractor assembly78for generating a suction force or vacuum sufficient to extract the debris53and force such debris and refuse53through the secondary extractor78. Separated billets51, heavier than debris53expelled through the extractor78, may then fall from distal end64of elevator60. Typically, the billets51may fall through a discharge opening82of the elevator assembly52into an external storage device (not shown), such as a cart, an transshipment, a bucket, etc.

During operation, the harvester10travels through the entire agricultural field20to harvest sugarcane or any other tall and stemmed plants. After the height of the topper assembly22is adjusted (if used) by means of the arms28, the gathering disc24in the topper assembly22can function to gather the sugarcane ends as per the harvester10advances through field20, while cutter disc26cuts the hardwood ends of the sugarcane stalks to dump them along both sides of the harvester10. As the stalks enter the row divider30, the shoes34can set the operating width to determine the quantity of sugarcane entering the throat of the harvester10, either fixedly or adjustable. The lollipops32then clump together the stalks at the inlet of the machine to allow the knockdown roller36to bend the stalks downward in conjunction with the action of the roller38. Since the stems are positioned at an angle as shown inFIG.1, the base cutter assembly42can then cut the base of the stems from field20. The cut stems are then directed to the set of feed rollers44.

Cut sugar cane stalks are transported backwards by feed rollers46,48which compress the stalks and harvested material. At the downstream end of the feed roller assembly44, the chopper assembly50cuts or chops the compacted sugar cane stalks into pieces or billets51. Debris and transported refuse53(e.g. dust, dirt, leaves, etc.) separated from the sugar cane billets51are then extracted through the primary extractor assembly54using the suction created by the fan56. The separated/cleaned billets51then fall into the elevator assembly52and travel upward via elevator60from its proximal end62to the distal end64. During normal operation, once the billets51reach the distal end64of the elevator60, the billets51fall through the discharge opening82to an external storage device. Similar to primary extractor assembly54, debris are blown out of harvester10through secondary extractor assembly78with the aid of fan80.

A harvester machine10as described above may be, for example, a machine known in the prior art, such as the cane harvester of CNH Industrial N.V. commercialized under the brand Case IH.

Additionally, as should be appreciated by those skilled in the art, these models of harvester machine10comprise a suspension assembly90designed to be used in adjusting the height of the front portion of the machine10in relation to the ground20, with this suspension assembly90fixed to the chassis12and it is formed by at least one actuator cylinder91which has a fixed portion92anchored to the chassis12of the machine10, and a movable portion93responsible for raising the machine10to thereby allow the operator or maintenance technician access the mechanisms that must be repaired in the lower portion of the harvester10.

In this context, based on the above, and with reference now toFIGS.2A and2B, it can be stated that the present invention refers to a locking mechanism100for the suspension assembly90, which is essentially formed by a lock101assembled pivoting on the chassis12of the harvester10through a pivoting connection102and disposed adjacent to the actuator cylinder91, said lock101further comprises an opening103configured to at least partially surround the fixed portion92and have a circumferential diameter smaller than the diameter of the movable portion93of the actuator cylinder91. The locking mechanism100further comprises a locking element104disposed at the end opposite to the pivoting connection102and is configured to interact with retaining bearings105,106mounted on the chassis12and configured to block said lock101in open and closed positions, respectively.

Thus, as can be seen, when the actuator cylinder91is extended to raise the harvester10, its movable portion93is moved downwards, at this time, the operator or maintenance technician can disengage the locking element104from the retaining bearing105, and moving the lock101to the closed position, engaging the locking element104with the retaining bearing106. Thus, if there is any failure in the actuator cylinder91, the lock101prevents the mobile portion93from moving and, consequently, the harvester10remains upright, without any risk of accidents if the operator or maintenance technician is still under the harvester10or cause possible damage to harvester components if it suddenly lowers.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the locking mechanism100may additionally comprise a safety return element, the purpose of which is to push the lock101towards the open position, that is, towards the retaining bearing105. Thus, if the operator or service technician does not properly engage the locking element104in the retaining bearing106, the lock101will return to the open position, providing a visual indication to the operator that the locking element104needs to be correctly engaged. Also, at the end of the maintenance procedure, if the operator or technician does not correctly engage the locking element104in the retaining bearing105, this return element is able to keep the lock101in the open position and, thus, avoid possible collisions between the lock101and the movable portion93of the actuator cylinder91and, consequently, possible damage to the components of the harvester10are also avoided.

According to a particular embodiment of the present invention, this safety return element can be a spring, which can be installed in the pivoting connection102itself, or possibly close to the retaining bearing106.

According to another particular embodiment of the present invention, the lock101may further comprise a stop112disposed on the lower face110and, more particularly, this stop112is formed on the peripheral edge of said opening103of the lock101, and it is configured to the purpose of assist and absorb the contact between the lock101and the movable portion93.

According to another embodiment of the locking mechanism100, according to the present invention, the pivoting connection102can be formed by a pivot bearing120fixed to the chassis12of the harvester10and a fastening pin121that passes through holes arranged in the pivot bearing120and at the pivot end122of the lock101.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the locking element104can be formed by bearings140, which are pierced by a pin141, wherein said pin can further comprise a spring142to drive the pin141in order to always keep it in the blocking condition to, thus, interact with the retaining bearings105,106which are provided with hole150for receiving said pin141and, in this way, lock the lock101in the open position or in the closed position, respectively.

Thus, considering all of the above, it should be clear that the new proposal of the locking mechanism100for the suspension set90of the harvester10, according to the present invention, manages to prevent the suspension set90from lowering during the maintenance procedures where it is required that the harvester10remains raised and, therefore, ensure the safety of the operator or maintenance technician during the performance of the tasks and also ensure the integrity of the harvester10.

Additionally, as mentioned above, the present invention also refers to an agricultural harvester10, such as those intended for harvesting tall and stemmed plants, said harvester10comprising at least one suspension assembly90whose actuator cylinder91is configured to be locked through a locking mechanism100, in accordance with the features described and defined above. According to particular embodiments of the present invention, this agricultural harvester10can be a cane or sorghum harvesting machine.

Finally, in view of all the above, it is worth noting that the present description is intended only to present and define, as an example, particular embodiments of the locking mechanism100for the suspension assembly of a harvester10, according to the present invention. Therefore, as a person skilled in the art should appreciate, several modifications and combinations of elements and equivalent details are possible without, therefore, deviating from the scope of protection defined by the attached claims.