Device for picking up harvested root crop

A pick-up arrangement for picking up harvested crop, comprises a pick-up device which has a pick-up device frame defining a pick-up opening located on a pick-up side of the pick-up device and a pick-up member, located on the pick-up side and, adapted to pick-up harvested crop and defining a pick-up width, and a guiding device adapted to guide harvested crop located outside the pick-up width into the pick-up opening. The pick-up device defines a pick-up direction. The guiding device comprises a guiding device frame and a first guiding member extending outside the pick-up width, being rotatably mounted with respect to the guiding device frame, and being adapted to transport harvested crops located outside the pick-up width into the pick-up opening.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a non-provisional application claiming the benefit of European Patent Application 14306373.3, filed Sep. 5, 2014, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention refers to a pick-up arrangement according to claim1and a pick-up machine according to claim10.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Pick-up machines for picking up sugar beets are known in the state of the art. EP 2 172 093 discloses a pick-up arrangement having a pick-up device with pick-up rollers. This state of the art comprises also pick-up arrangements having a guiding device adapted to guide sugar beets located outside the pick-up within the pick-up opening. The known guiding devices are generally a guiding plate extending laterally outside the pick-up device frame. The known device allows picking up sugar beets that are arranged on a heap having a width of utmost 10 meters. In case the heap is larger than 10 meters, it is necessary to load the sugar beets onto trucks using wheel loader.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The invention seeks to improve the known pick-up arrangement so as to allow picking up harvested crop which is on a heap larger than 10 meters in particular up to 13 meters.

This problem is solved by the pick-up arrangement according to claim1.

Thanks to the fact that the guiding device comprises a guiding member rotatably mounted and adapted to transport harvested crops, the harvested crops are actively transported towards the pick-up opening.

The dependent claims state advantages features of the invention.

The guiding device comprises at least a second guiding member (44) extending outside the pick-up width, being rotatably mounted with respect to the guiding device frame (40), and being adapted to transport harvested crops located outside the pick-up width into the pick-up opening. This allows an even more efficient introduction of crop into the pick-up section.

The pick-up arrangement comprises mounting means (50) fixing the guiding device (24) with respect to the pick-up device, and the mounting means are adapted for amending the position, in particular the angular position, of the guiding device with respect to the pick-up device (22), in particular the mounting means comprising a hinge (52) linking the guiding device to the pick-up device and/or a hydraulic cylinder (54). This allows adapting the position of the guiding device as a function of the width of the crop heap.

The mounting means define an active position of the guiding device (24) with respect to the pick-up device (22) in which the guiding device is located outside the projection of the pick-up opening in the pick-up direction PD thus allowing guiding harvested crop located outside the pick-up width into the pick-up opening and an inactive position of the guiding device with respect to the pick-up device, in which the guiding device is located inside a projection of the pick-up opening in the pick-up direction (PD). This allows storing the guiding device for road travel of the pick-up machine.

The mounting means are adapted for disconnecting the guiding device (24) from the pick-up device (22). This allows using the pick-up device alone in case the width of the crop heap is not bigger than the pick-up width of the pick-up device.

The guiding device comprises guiding device drive means (60) adapted to drive the or each guiding member in rotation, and in particular the guiding device drive means are arranged on a side of the or each guiding member (42,44) opposite the pick-up device. This allows for better transport of the crops into the pick-up section.

The pick-up device comprises a pick-up driving device (70) having a pick-up driving device motor (72), in particular a hydraulic motor, the guiding device drive means (60) comprise a guiding device drive motor (62) and the pick-up driving device motor (72) and the guiding device drive motor (62) are connected to the same driving energy source, in particular are connected to the same hydraulic line as driving energy source. This allows for a simple construction of the pick-up device.

The or each guiding member is a transport screw adapted to transport the harvested crops towards the pick-up opening. This allows for particularly simple construction.

The transport screw has a lead which is comprised between 80 and 400 mm and/or an external diameter which is comprised between 100 and 250 mm and/or the radial height of the thread is comprised between 20 and 50 mm. These dimensions allow efficient guidance of the crops into the pick-up section.

The invention also comprises a pick-up machine according to claim10. In case that each lateral section is a pick-up arrangement according to claims1to9, the possible pick-up width is large for a given dimension of the pick-up machine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

FIG. 1shows a pick-up machine for harvested crops according to the invention and designated by reference2.

The pick-up machine2is adapted for picking up harvested crops100, in particular root crops and preferably sugar beets. The pick-up machine2is used for picking up the harvested crops, cleaning the crops, and transferring the cleaned crops onto a truck.

The harvested crops100are piled on a heap having a heap width HW.

The pick-up machine2comprises a center section10and two lateral sections12and14.

The center section10has a center section frame16and a crop conveyor18, such as a conveyor belt adapted to take up the crop picked-up by the lateral sections12,14and for example to convey it to a truck.

The lateral sections12and14are identical, but are mirrored one with respect to the other along a central longitudinal plane of the pick-up machine2. In the following, only the lateral section12will be described, the lateral section14being identical but mirrored.

The lateral section12is a pick-up arrangement20for picking up harvested crop, in particular root crops, preferably sugar beets100. The pick-up arrangement20comprises a pick-up device22and a guiding device24.

The pick-up device22defines a pick-up direction PD which is the direction of displacement of the pick-up device22during picking up and is generally the driving direction of the pick-up machine2.

The pick-up device22comprises a pick-up device frame26defining a pick-up opening28located on a pick-up side of the pick-up device. The pick-up device22comprises also a pick-up member30which is a roller mounted rotatable with respect to the pick-up device frame26around an axis A-A. The pick-up member30is located on the pick-up side of the frame26and adapted to pick up the harvested crop. The pick-up member30defines a pick-up width W which is generally the axial length of the pick-up member30. The pick-up device22comprises furthermore a cleaning roller32, conveyer and distribution rollers34and cleaning rollers36.

The pick-up device22defines a pick-up plane PL which comprises the axis A-A of the pick-up member30and which is during picking-up parallel to the ground level on which the harvested crops are located.

The guiding device24is adapted to guide harvested crop located outside the pick-up width W into the pick-up opening28. The guiding device24comprises a guiding device frame41, a first guiding member42and a second guiding member44.

The first guiding member42and the second guiding member44extend outside the pick-up width W. This means that the respective first and second guiding member42,44are located completely outside a volume V that is enclosed by two parallel planes P1and P2, perpendicular to the axis A-A and located at both extremities of the pick-up member30. Each first and second guiding member42,44is therefore located so as to contact harvested crop that is exclusively outside the trajectory of the pick-up member30when the device is displaced in the pick-up direction PD.

The first guiding member42is mounted rotatably with respect to the guiding device frame40around an axis B-B and the second guiding member44is rotatably mounted with respect to the guiding device frame40around an axis C-C. Axes B-B and C-C are generally parallel to the pick-up plane PL.

Each guiding member42,44is adapted to transport harvested crop located outside the pick-up width into the pick-up opening28, when the harvested crop forms a heap having a width larger than the pick-up width W.

The pick-up arrangement20comprises furthermore mounting means50, fixing the guiding device24with respect to the pick-up device22. The mounting means50are adapted for amending the position of the guiding device with respect to the pick-up device.

The mounting means50comprise a hinge52linking the guiding device to the pick-up device. The mounting means50comprise furthermore an actuator, for example a hydraulic cylinder54, adapted to move the guiding device24around the axis D-D of the hinge52into different positions and adapted to fix the guiding device24in these different positions.

The mounting means50define also an active position of the guiding device24with respect to the pick-up device22in which the guiding device is located outside the projection of the pick-up opening28in the pick-up direction PD. In this active position the guiding device allows guiding harvested crop located outside the pick-up width within the pick-up opening28. In other terms, in the active position, the guiding device24is located outside the aforementioned volume V defined by the planes P1and P2. This active position is shown inFIGS. 2 to 5.

The mounting means50define also an inactive position of the guiding device24with respect to the pick-up device22in which the guiding device24is located inside a projection of the pick-up opening28in the pick-up direction PD. In other terms, in the inactive position of the guiding device, the guiding device24is located at least partially inside the aforementioned volume V defined by the planes P1and P2.

In a non-represented variant, the mounting means50are adapted to adapt the translational position of the guiding device24with respect to the pick-up device22in the direction of the axis D-D. Thus the operational height of the guiding device with respect to the pick-up device can be set.

The mounting means50are adapted for disconnecting the guiding device24from the pick-up device22. Therefore, in case the guiding device is not needed, for example in case the width of the harvested crop heap is smaller than the pick-up width W, it can be disconnected and the pick-up device22can be used without the guiding device. Also, the guiding device24can be replaced with a guiding plate (not shown) in case the width of the harvested crop heap has a width only slightly larger than the pick-up width.

The guiding device24comprises guiding device drive means60adapted to drive each guiding member40,42in rotational motion around its respective axis of rotation B-B or C-C. The guiding device drive means60comprise a motor62and a transmission64.

The guiding device drive means60are arranged on the side of the or each guiding member42,44opposite the pick-up device22. In this case, the guiding device drive means advantageously do not hinder the guidance of the harvested crop into the pick-up opening28.

The pick-up device22comprises furthermore a pick-up driving device70having a motor72for driving the pick-up member30. The motors62and72are a hydraulic motor.

Advantageously, the motor62for driving the guide members and the motor72for driving the pick-up device are connected to the same hydraulic line as driving energy source. Therefore, there is no need for installing an extra control device for the guiding device and the rotational speed of the guide members42and44is automatically adapted to the drive speed of the pick-up member30.

Each guiding member42,44is preferably a transport screw adapted to transport the harvested crop towards the pick-up opening28. Each transport screw has advantageously a lead which is comprised between 80 mm and 400 mm and/or an external diameter which is comprised between 100 mm and 250 mm and/or the radial height of the thread is comprised between 20 mm and 50 mm. The axial length of the guiding member42,44is preferably between 700 mm and 1500 mm. In any case, the axial length of the guiding member42,44is smaller than the axial length of the pick-up member30. The axial length of the or each guiding member42,44can be comprised between 20% and 50% of the axial length of the pick-up member30.

The pick-up device comprises furthermore pick-up drive means74driving the pick-up member30, the pick-up drive means being arranged on a lateral side of the pick-up device frame26.

The pick-up arrangement according to the invention allows picking-up crops that are on a heap having a large width.

Furthermore, the guiding operation, thanks to the specific features of the invention, results in little damage of the crops.

Also, the pick-up arrangement is flexible in use and can be retrofitted to existing pick-up machines.