Abstract:
A cutter is provided for attachment to each end of a horizontally extending agricultural cutting bar. Each cutter includes a rotor having blades mounted about a periphery thereof for rotation about a horizontal rotor axis extending between the cutters. The rotor is driven by a hydraulic motor such that the blades engage the crop at high speed. The cutting apparatus cuts in a vertical direction for use in cutting entangled crops such as canola and peas and preventing the crop from being entangled on the ends of the cutting bar.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates crop cutting apparatus for attachment to an agricultural cutting bar and more particularly to a crop cutting apparatus which is oriented to cut along a generally vertical plane at respective ends of the cutting bar. 
     BACKGROUND 
     When cutting entangled crops such as canola, peas or mustard it is common for the crop to gather on respective ends of the header of a swather or combine unless a further cutting apparatus is mounted on the ends of the header. The entangled crops also tend to plug the header or form entangled piles in the swath in the case of a swather. The entangled piles then plug the combine which later collects the swath. 
     Known crop cutting devices arranged to mount on respective ends of a header for cutting along a generally vertical plane are generally quite complex. These generally include devices having a plurality of sickle sections mounted on a chain drive or a plurality of reciprocating blades. In either case, the devices include numerous moving parts and thus require a significant amount of maintenance as well as being costly to manufacture. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to the present invention there is provided a cutting apparatus for attachment to an end of a generally horizontally extending agricultural cutting bar, the cutting bar being supported for forward movement across the ground in a working direction extending transversely to the cutting bar for cutting a crop as the cutting bar is displaced in the working direction, said apparatus comprising: 
     a housing arranged to mount on the end of the cutting bar; 
     a rotor rotatably mounted within the housing for rotation about a substantially horizontal rotor axis, the rotor axis extending transversely to the forward direction; 
     a plurality of blades mounted on a periphery of the rotor for engaging the crop as the rotor is rotated. 
     The use of a rotor having blades mounted thereon results in a cutting apparatus having very few moving parts which is simple and low in cost to manufacture as well as maintain. Mounting the blades on the rotor permits the blades to be rotated at very high speeds for enhancing the blade life and further reducing maintenance costs. Furthermore, the housing is easily adaptable for mounting on a header of either a combine or a swather such that the apparatus is useful with numerous types of agricultural cutting devices. 
     Preferably there is provided a hydraulic motor mounted on the housing for driving rotation of the rotor. The motor is preferably balanced about the rotor axis such that the rotor is mounted on an output shaft extending from the motor along the rotor axis. When the motor is mounted on an outer face of the housing, preferably there is provided a crop deflector bar mounted on the housing to extend laterally outward at a rearward incline from a front end of the housing such that the crop deflector bar deflects a crop away from the motor as the cutting bar is displaced through the crop in the working direction. 
     When there is provided a reel mounted above the cutting bar for rotation about a reel axis, preferably the rotor is driven by a rotor motor coupled to operate in series with a reel motor driving the reel. 
     Preferably the blades are equally spaced about the periphery of the rotor such that the rotor is weight balanced about the rotor axis. 
     The blades are preferably selectively separable from the rotor such that the blades may be replaced. 
     There may be provided an access port in the housing such that fasteners mounting the blades on the rotor are accessible without removing the rotor from the housing such that the blades are replaceable independently from the rotor. 
     A plurality of stationary blades are preferably mounted on a forward edge of the housing. The stationary blades are preferably spaced radially outward from the rotor axis in alignment with the blades mounted on the rotor such that the blades mounted on the rotor rotate past the stationary blades in a scissors cutting action. 
     When the rotor is mounted adjacent an inner face of the housing, a guard member is preferably mounted on the inner face of the housing to extend over the rotor such that the rotor is located between the housing and the guard member and the rotor extends past a forward edge of both the housing and the guard member. 
     The rotor is preferably mounted such that a forward edge of the rotor extends forward from the cutting bar. 
     A bracket may be provided for mounting the housing to the cutting bar. The bracket preferably includes a first mounting member arranged to mount the housing thereon and a second mounting member arranged to mount on the cutting bar, the first and second mounting members being coupled together for relative pivotal movement therebetween such that an angle between the housing and the cutting bar is adjustable. Preferably the bracket further includes a plurality of mounting apertures being vertically spaced apart thereon for mounting the housing such that a vertical spacing between the housing and the cutting bar is adjustable. 
     A crop collecting member is preferably mounted on the housing to extend forwardly at an upward incline therefrom, the crop collecting member being arranged to engage the crop and direct the crop downward towards the rotor as the cutting bar is displaced in the working direction. 
     A cover member may be arranged to mount on the housing to extend forward past the blades such that the blades are prevented from engaging the crop, the cover being selectively separable from the housing for use of the rotor such that the removal of the housing from the cutting bar is not required if the rotor is not to be used. 
     The housing may be symmetrical about a horizontal plane extending through the rotor axis such that inverting the housing about rotor axis allows the housing to be mounted on an opposite end of the cutting bar. 
     There may be provided a housing having a corresponding rotor and blades coupled thereto mounted at each end of the cutting bar. 
     Preferably the rotor axis is substantially parallel to the cutting bar. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the present invention: 
     FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the cutter mounted at each end of a header attachment with the cover member removed. 
     FIG. 2 is a side elevational view along the line  2 — 2  of FIG. 1 with the cover member mounted thereon. 
     FIG. 3 is a front elevational view along the line  3 — 3  of FIG. 2 with the cover member removed. 
     FIG. 4 is a side elevational view along the line  4 — 4  of FIG.  1 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to the accompanying drawings, there is illustrated a cutter attachment  10  for use on a header  12  of a swather or combine. The header  12  includes an agricultural cutting bar  14  which extends generally horizontally across the ground for forward movement in a working direction which extends transversely to the cutting bar. A reel  16  is mounted above the cuffing bar  14  for advancing the crop into the cutting bar for cutting the crop as the header is moved forwardly in the working direction. The cutter attachment  10  mounts at each end  18  of the header for cutting in a generally vertical direction for preventing build up of crop such as canola and peas on respective ends of the header. 
     The cutter attachment include a housing  20  which comprises a generally upright plate  22  which is rectangular in shape. A forward edge  24  of the plate extends forward, having a semi-circular contour. A rotor  26  is mounted adjacent an inner face  28  of the housing. The rotor  26  is mounted for rotation about a rotor axis  30 . The rotor axis extends horizontally and parallel to the cutting bar such that a periphery  32  of the rotor is substantially in alignment with the forward edge  24  of the housing. 
     A hydraulic orbit motor  34  is mounted on an outer face  36  of the housing. The motor  34  is centred about the rotor axis  30  such that an output shaft  38  of the motor mounts the rotor thereon. The motor  34  is coupled to operate in series with a reel motor for driving the reel such that the rotor only operates when the reel is rotating. This arrangement provide an added safety precaution as the hydraulic motor is known to operate very quietly. 
     The motor  34  is arranged to operate effectively at speeds as low as 50 to 150 revolutions per minute as well as speeds as high as 1000 revolutions per minute. Under normal operation however the rotor is arranged to rotate at approximately 400 revolutions per minute. The power output required of the motor is in the range of 0.3 to 1 horsepower. This corresponds to a hydraulic oil flow of approximately 5 gallons per minute to the motor  34 . 
     The rotor  26  is a circular plate having a set of six blades  40  bolted about the periphery  32  of the rotor. Bolting the blades  40  to the disc allows the blades to be removed for replacement as the blades wear. The blades  40  are equally spaced circumferentially about the periphery of the rotor such that the rotor is weight balanced about the rotor axis  30 . The blades  40  are arranged to extend forwardly past the cutting bar along a forward edge of the rotor. 
     The forward edge  24  of the housing includes a plurality of stationary blades  42  which are radially spaced from the rotor axis to a distance equal to that of the rotor blades  40 . As the rotor blades  40  are rotated past the stationary blades  42  the resulting cutting action is scissor like to further improve the cutting action of the blades  40 . 
     A collecting member  44  in the form of an elongate rod is mounted on the outer face  36  of the housing such that the rod extends forwardly at an upward incline from the housing. In this arrangement the collecting member is arranged to deflect the crop downwardly into the blades  40  and  42  as the header is advanced forwardly through the crop in the working direction. The rotor  26  is arranged to rotate in a counter clockwise direction as seen in FIG.  4 . As the rotor  26  rotates the crop is deflected upward into the collecting member  44  instead of permitting the crop to deflect under the housing to ensure that the crop is thoroughly cut in the vertical direction at each end  18  of the header. 
     The housing  20  is symmetrical about a horizontal plane including the rotor axis  30  such that the housing may be inverted about the rotor axis for mounting on either end of the header. A port  46  is provided in the outer face  36  of the housing in alignment with the periphery  32  of the rotor such that the bolts which secure the blades onto the rotor are accessible from the outer face of the housing. 
     A guard member  48  is mounted on the inner face  28  of the housing to extend over the rotor  26  such that the rotor is partially enclosed within the housing. The guard member includes an upper mounting flange  50  for securing to the housing adjacent a top end  52  of the housing. A lower mounting flange  54  is provided on the guard member for securing to the housing at a bottom end  56  of the housing. A rectangular plate  55  extends between the upper and lower mounting flanges spaced from the inner face  28  of the housing such that the rotor rotates between the guard member  48  and the inner face of the housing. The guard member  48  is spaced rearwardly from the rotor axis  30  such that only a rearward portion of the rotor is covered by the guard member. 
     A crop deflector bar  60  is mounted on the outer face  36  of the housing. The deflector bar  60  extends rearward at an outward incline from a forward end of the housing to extend over the motor  34 . In this arrangement the crop is deflected away from the motor  34  as the header is advanced through the crop in the working direction. 
     A bracket  62  is provided for mounting the housing onto the respective ends  18  of the header. The bracket  62  includes a first mounting member  64  and a second mounting member  66  which are pivotally coupled together. An outer end  68  of the first mounting member  64  includes a plurality of mounting apertures  70  for mounting the housing  20  thereon. The mounting apertures  70  are vertically spaced apart such that a relative height between the housing and the first mounting member is adjustable by mounting the housing on different apertures. An outer end  72  of the second mounting member  66  includes a mounting flange  74  mounted at right angles thereto for mounting to the end of the header. A lower support arm  75  is pivotally coupled to the second mounting member  66  for mounting on the header for added structural support. 
     The first and second mounting members  64  and  66  are arcuate shaped plates which are slidably mounted one adjacent to the other. Sliding the mounting members relative to each other will adjust a relative angle between the respective outer ends of the mounting members. Fasteners  76  are provided for securing the relative orientation of the mounting members  64  and  66 . The bracket  62  is thus arranged to mount the housing  20  onto a corresponding end  18  of the header such that a height and angle of the housing relative to the end of the header is adjustable. 
     A cover member  80  is provided for mounting over the rotor when it is not desirable for the rotor to be used. The cover member  80  includes a rod like member  82  which mounts adjacent the bottom end of the housing to extend outwardly and upwardly therefrom. The rod member  82  curves outwardly past the periphery of the blades  40  and  42  and then curves upwardly to mount at an outer free end  84  on an end of the collecting member  44 . The cover member  80  further includes a plate like member  86  which extends across an inner face of the rotor end blades. When the cover member  80  is mounted on the housing  20  the crop is prevented from engaging the blades  40  and  42 . Thus if use of the rotor  26  is not desired installation of the cover member  80  allows the header  12  to be used without requiring removal of the housing  20  from the header. Once it is desired to make use of the cutter attachment  10  the cover member  80  from each cutter attachment is removed and the rotor  26  is permitted to rotate freely such that the blades  40  and  42  engage the crop as the header is advanced through the crop in the working direction. 
     A pair of mounting apertures  88  are located in the cover member  80  in alignment with mounting apertures  90  in the stationary blades  42  of the housing. A pair of rods may thus be mounted between respective co-operating apertures  80  and  90  to ensure that the rotor  26  is prevented from rotating when the cover member is mounted on the housing as an added safety precaution. 
     While one embodiment of the present invention has been described in the foregoing, it is to be understood that other embodiments are possible within the scope of the invention. The invention is to be considered limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.