A COMBINE HARVESTER WITH A DEVICE FOR THE CHECKING, FROM THE DRIVING SEAT, OF THE PRODUCT WHICH IS RECYCLED TO THE THRESHING UNIT OF THE HARVESTER FOR A SECOND THRESHING

Abstract: In a combine harvester (1) the material which is output by the winnowing unit (8) and needs a second threshing is transported by conveyor means (15, 17) to the input of the threshing unit (6). The conveyor means (15, 17) are provided with a door (24) which can be operated from the driving seat to allow the material to be discharged temporarily on to the ground by making it flow down a chute (36) which is visible from the driving seat.

Description: The present invention relates to combine harvesters, particularly of the type including a thresher unit for threshing the crop harvested by the harvester, a winnowing unit for winnowing the threshed crop, separating the grain from the material to be discarded and recovering material which needs a second threshing, and conveyor means for carrying the material recovered from the winnowing unit to the input of the threshing unit see e.g. BE-A-733346 and GB-A-1143464. Whilst the machine is operating, it is important for the operator to be able to check the operations performed by the various parts of the machine quickly and safely so that he can carry out the necessary adjustments immediately if any component is not working in the optimum manner. In particular, it is desirable for the operator to check the recovered material which is recycled to the threshing unit of the harvester for a second threshing. It is from this check, in fact, that useful information is derived on the quality of working of the winnowing unit which enables the necessary adjustments to be effected promptly in the event of incorrect operation. For example, an excessive quantity of grain in the recovered material indicates that the winnowing unit is not separating correctly. The object of the invention is to produce a combine harvester in which the operator can check the recovered material simply, conveniently and safely without moving from the driving seat. The invention achieves this object by virtue of the fact that the conveyor means are provided with a door which can be operated from the driving seat and which enables the flow of recovered material to be discharged temporarily on to the ground in a position which is visible from the driving seat. According to a further characteristic, the door is movable between a closed position, in which it allows the regular supply of the material to the thresher unit, and an open position in which it enables the recovered material to be supplied to an auxiliary duct which discharges it on to the ground. This auxiliary duct has a flat lower slip wall which makes the material spread out and slide downwardly at a speed which enables all its constituents to be seen clearly. When the door is opened by the operator, the recovered material is discharged on to the ground and enables the operator to carry out the check himself. Naturally, the door is left open only for the time which is strictly necessary for effecting the check in order to avoid a not inconsiderable loss of grain. As a result of this check, the operator can, when necessary, effect any appropriate adjustments to the winnowing unit. In a preferred embodiment, the door is biassed into the closed position by resilient means and can be opened by means of a flexible cable. The resilient means preferably act on the door through a lever transmission which has a dead point in an intermediate position of the door, between the closed and open positions. This prevents the door from being opened accidentally, causing an undesirable loss of grain. Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become clear from the description which follows with reference to the appended drawings, provided purely by way of non-limiting example, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic, sectioned side-elevational view of a combine harvester according to the invention, Figure 2 is a sectional view of a detail of the harvester of Figure 2 on an enlarged scale, in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention, Figure 3 illustrates the detail of Figure 2 in a different operative condition, Figure 4 illustrates a variant of Figure 2, and Figure 5 is a section taken on the line V-V of Figure 4. Figure 1 illustrates a combine harvester 1 having a structure 2 provided with front wheels 3 and rear wheels 4. According to convention in the art, the machine 1 has a cutting platform 5 which collects the harvested crop and supplies it to a threshing unit 6. The waste product output by the threshing unit 6 is supplied to a shaker unit 7 which then discharges it on to the ground. The grain output by the thresher unit 6 and the shaker unit 7, however, is supplied to a winnowing unit 8 including two screens 10 spaced apart one above the other, and a fan 11 which directs a jet of air against the material falling through the winnowing screens 10. The lighter, waste material is conveyed by the flow of air towards the rear of the harvester and is discharged on to the ground. The grain is conveyed by an elevator device 12 into the tank 13 of the machine. Finally, the lighter material which is not discharged on to the ground is recovered by a wall 14 and conveyed to the input of the thresher unit 6 for a second threshing by means of an elevator device 15. The material which collects on the wall 14 is conveyed to the lower, loading end of the elevator device 15 by a screw feeder 16. The upper end of the elevator device 15 discharges the recovered material into a duct 17 arranged transverse the direction of travel of the harvester. The duct 17 has an aperture (not illustrated) for discharging the recovered material on to the threshing unit. A screw feeder 18, moreover, is provided in correspondence with this duct for delivering the material. In conventional manner, the elevator device 15 comprises a sheet-metal casing 19 having an inner sheet-metal wall 20 which divides the interior of the casing 15 into an upper duct and a lower duct. A series of blades 21, for example, of rubberised textile or plastics material (only one of these blades is illustrated schematically in Figure 2), travel through these ducts. The blades 21 are carried by an endless chain 22 which is situated within the casing 15. The chain 22 is also illustrated only schematically by a broken line in the appended drawings. The structural details of the elevator device 15 are not illustrated since, as already stated, this device is of known type and does not fall within the scope of the present invention. When the harvester is operating normally, the recovered material moves upwardly in the elevator device 15 following the upper duct thereof (the chain 22 moves in the direction indicated by the arrow A in Figure 2) and is projected by the blades 21 into the duct 17 from which it is then discharged above the thresher unit. The casing 19 of the elevator device 15 has an aperture 23 provided with a door 24 facing the discharge end of the device. The door 24 is constituted by a sheet-metal wall having an edge defining an eyelet which enables the door 24 to be articulated to the fixed structure of the harvester by means of an articulation pin 25. A right-angled bracket 26 is welded to the outer surface of the door 24 and has a flange perpendicular to the door 24 which is provided with a slot 27. A pin 28 carried by one end of a rocker lever 29 is slidably engaged in the slot 27. The lever 29 is pivotably supported on the fixed structure of the harvester by means of a pin 30. A helical spring 31 is interposed between the opposite end 32 of the lever 29 and a sheet-metal cover 33 which is fixed to the structure. The spring 31 urges the lever 29 into the position illustrated in Figure 2, which corresponds to closure of the door 24. The door can be opened by the operator by means of a flexible cable 34 whose end is anchored to the pin 28 and which has a sheath 35 fixed to the cover 33. When the cable 34 is pulled, the lever 29 is moved into the position illustrated in Figure 3 against the action of the spring 31. This causes the pin 28 to slide in the slot 27 and the door 24 to open. In moving from the position in which the door is closed to the position in which the door is open, the lever 29 passes a dead point. This avoids any possibility of the door opening accidentally due to the pressure exerted by the material leaving the elevator device. When the door is open, it puts the interior of the elevator device 15 into communication with a discharge duct 36 which is made of sheet metal and has a lower slip plane 37. The duct 36 passes through the wall 13a of the tank 13 and ends in a discharge spout 38 from which the material is discharged on to the ground. A rubber wall 39 is provided in correspondence with the aperture in the wall 13a through which the discharge duct 36 passes to prevent any leakage of the grain present in the tank through the space between the edge of the aperture in the wall 13a and the wall of the duct 36. When the door is closed, its edge 24a abuts the wall 37. When the operator wishes to check the recovered material, he opens the door by means of the flexible cable 34. When the door is open (Figure 3), it allows the flow of recovered material to be thrown by the blades 21 into the duct 36. The slip plane 37 makes the recovered material spread out and slide downwards at a speed which enables all its constituents to be seen clearly. Naturally, the operator keeps the door open only for the time necessary to carry out the check. When the check has been effected, the flexible cable 34 is released to enable the door to return to the closed position under the action of the spring 31. As already indicated, the lever transmission 29 enables any risk of accidental opening of the door to be avoided. Figure 4 shows a variant of the invention which differs from that of Figures 2 and 3 mainly in that the door 24 is provided in the transverse duct 17 instead of at the discharge end of the elevator device 15. The door 24 is carried by a pin 39 which is articulated to the structure of the duct 17 and is connected at one end to a crank 40. The latter is, in turn, connected to a lever 41 to which the end of the flexible cable 34 is fixed. An arm 42 is also fixed to the pin 39 and ends in a pin 43 (Figure 5). The resilient means for biassing the door into the closed position are constituted by a helical spring 44 interposed between the pin 43 and a bracket 45 fixed to the fixed structure of the harvester. In its open position, the door allows the material to be discharged into the discharge duct 36 which has the lower slip plane 37 ending at the bottom in the spout 38.

Claims: 1. A combine harvester, comprising a thresher unit (6) for threshing the crop harvested by the harvester, a unit (8) for winnowing the threshed crop, separating the grain from the material to be discarded and recovering material which needs a second threshing, and conveyor means (15, 17) for carrying the material recovered from the winnowing unit (8) to the input of the threshing unit (6), characterised in that the conveyor means are provided with a door (24) which can be operated from the driving seat, and which enables the flow of recovered material to be discharged temporarily on to the ground in a position which is visible from the driving seat. 2. A combine harvester according to Claim 1, characterised in that the door (24) is movable between a closed position in which it allows the regular supply of the recovered material to the thresher unit (6) and an open position in which it allows the recovered material to be supplied to an auxiliary duct (36) having a lower slip plane (37) for discharging the product on to the ground. 3. A combine harvester according to Claim 2, characterised in that the door (24) is biassed into its closed position by resilient means (31, 44) and can be opened by means of a flexible cable (34). 4. A combine harvester according to Claim 3, characterised in that the resilient means are connected to the door (24) by means of a lever transmission which has a dead point in correspondence with a position of the door intermediate its closed position and its open position. 5. A combine harvester according to Claim 4, in which the conveyor means include a bladed elevator device (15) having an upper end for discharging the material to be conveyed to the thresher unit, characterised in that the door (24) is arranged in a position facing the said discharge end. 6. A combine harvester according to Claim 5, characterised in that the door (24) is articulated to the fixed structure of the harvester and in that the flexible cable (34) is connected to a pin (28) which is slidably mounted in a slot (27) formed in a bracket (26) fixed to the door (24). 7. A combine harvester according to Claim 6, characterised in that the pin (28) to which the flexible cable (34) is anchored is carried by one end of a rocker lever (29) pivotally mounted on the fixed structure of the harvester and having its opposite end connected by means of a helical spring (31) to the fixed structure of the harvester. 8. A combine harvester according to Claim 4, in which the conveyor means include a bladed elevator device (15) having an upper discharge end for the material and a transverse duct (17) which receives the product from the elevator device and delivers it to the thresher unit, characterised in that the door (24) is situated in the wall of the transverse duct (17). 9. A combine harvester according to Claim 8, characterised in that the door (24) is fixed to a pin (39) rotatable on the fixed structure of the harvester and carrying a crank (40) which can be operated by the flexible cable (34), the resilient means being constituted by a helical spring (44) interposed between the fixed structure of the machine and an arm (42) fixed to the crank (40).

Inventors: RAINERI, GIUSEPPE, SCALABRIN, GIORGIO
Applicants: FIATGEOTECH - TECNOLOGIE PER LA TERRA S.P.A.
Application year: 1988
Main classification: A01F12
IPC codes: A01D41, A01F12