Abstract:
A machine for the harvest of stalk-like plants is provided. The machine has a frame, two conveying elements supported on the frame and arranged one above the other with recesses distributed around their circumference for taking up and conveying a flow of crop that includes plant stalks. A stripper extends into the intervening space between the conveying elements in order to move the plant stalks out of the recesses. The stripper is connected to the frame by a free-standing post that extends vertically and is arranged outside the flow of the crop conveyed by the conveying elements. A point of the stripper interacts with the conveying elements located to the rear of the axis of rotation of the conveying elements relative to the forward operating direction of the machine.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The invention concerns a machine for harvesting stalk-like plants.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Machines appropriate for the harvesting of stalk-like plants, such as corn, and for attachment to a forage harvester are described in publications DE 195 31 918 A and DE 102 58 013 A, such machines are provided with several mowing and intake arrangements arranged transverse to the forward operating direction in which the machine is moved over a field during the harvesting operation. The mowing and intake arrangements include a lower cutter disk in the form of a circular saw blade and conveying disks arranged above these that are provided with recesses which accept plants. The cutting disks are brought into rotation at higher speeds than the conveying disks. Once they have been separated from the stubble remaining in the ground by means of the cutting disks, the plants are accepted by the conveying disks and transported to the center of the machine by the conveying disks into the transverse conveying disks arranged in the gore regions between the conveying disks on the rear sides of the mowing and intake arrangements and delivered to an intake channel of a forage harvester by slope conveyor drums.  
         [0003]     In order to lift the plants out of the conveying disks for further delivery to the following transverse conveying drums or conveying disks, so-called strippers are provided, whose points extend into the intervening space between two conveying disks arranged one above the other. The strippers are connected to the bottom of the machine by vertical posts at a short distance downstream of the point. Such strippers are also called cleaning devices or take-out devices. Further strippers are also associated with the transverse conveying drums and the slope conveying drums. They are connected to the bottom of the machine by posts at the output ends of the transverse conveying drums and the slope conveying drums.  
         [0004]     EP 0 069 898 A describes a machine of the type cited initially that includes two mowing and intake arrangements with lower cutting disks and conveying disks arranged above these that contain recesses distributed around their circumferences that accept plants. S-shaped strippers are arranged to the rear of the mowing and intake arrangements, the points of the strippers located upstream extend into the intervening vertical space between two conveying disks. The harvested crop is conveyed along the rear sides of the strippers. Posts extending vertically downward are fastened to the rear sides of the mowing and intake arrangements, the posts, in turn, are fastened with their lower ends to gearbox housings of the mowing and intake arrangements. Here the post is separated from the flow of the crop only by the strippers, so that, here too, plants can be wrapped around the posts.  
         [0005]     DE 199 52 566 C describes another machine for the harvesting of stalk-like plants with chains arranged one above the other to which drivers are attached that project outward for the conveying of plants. The chains circulate about deflecting sprockets that rotate about vertical axes. Cutting elements are attached below the chains to cut the plants from the stubble remaining in the ground. Sheet metal components used as strippers are arranged at the outlet end between chains following each other, one above the other, which are connected to the bottom of the machine by posts arranged to the rear of the deflecting sprockets. Here the posts are also located in the flow of the crop, so that plants may become entangled with them.  
         [0006]     EP 0 508 189 A proposes another machine for the harvest of stalk-like plants that also includes rotating mowing and intake arrangements with lower cutting disks and upper conveying disks. Each of the mowing and intake arrangements adjoining the longitudinal center plane of the machine is associated with a single stripper that is attached to an upper horizontal cover that is stationary and is fastened to the center of the machine. A stationary cover is required for the attachment of the stripper that can be arranged in the center of the machine only if the outer mowing and intake arrangements are also to convey the harvested crop to the rear of the machine.  
         [0007]     Finally, GB 20 12 154 A describes a machine for the harvest of stalk-like plants that also includes rotating mowing and intake arrangements with lower cutting disks and upper conveying disks. Strippers are connected with the bottom of the machine ahead of the axis of rotation of the mowing and intake arrangements and to the side walls of a stalk divider and at the outlet end to the rear side of the mowing and intake arrangements.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, a machine includes a frame and two or more conveying elements (rotating about an axis or as endless conveyors conducted about deflecting sprockets or pulleys) with recesses distributed about their circumferences that accept and convey plant stalks. A lower cutting disk may be arranged underneath the conveying elements, so that a mowing and intake arrangement is formed together with the conveying elements. A stripper engages the intervening vertical space between conveying elements arranged immediately one above the other, it is connected directly or indirectly with the frame by a free-standing post that extends vertically. The post is arranged outside the flow of the crop. The point of the stripper that lifts the harvested crop out of the recesses of the conveying elements is located to the rear of the axis of rotation of the conveying elements relative to the forward operating direction of the machine, while the post is arranged ahead of the axis of rotation.  
         [0009]     In this way, the post is arranged relatively far from the flow of the crop, so that no plant parts or only relatively few plant parts can become entangled with the post, particularly stalks of cereal crops during the whole plant silage, or that plants that nevertheless accumulate at the post cannot as a minimum impair the operation of the stripper. The stripper can be located at any desired position of the machine since it is connected in any desired way to the post that is connected to the frame of the machine.  
         [0010]     The post may be arranged in the vicinity of the forward edge of the machine.  
         [0011]     The stripper may be provided with a surface that faces the circumference of the conveying elements of a second mowing and intake arrangement adjoining the mowing and intake arrangement, located closer to the longitudinal center plane of the machine. If this surface surrounds the conveying elements of the second mowing and intake arrangement in a circular arc, it can interact with these conveying elements in order to establish a guidance for the plants taken up by the second mowing and intake arrangement that is arranged on the mowing and intake arrangement. Thereby the covers arranged above the first mowing and intake arrangement, which performed this task previously, can be omitted, or they can support this task.  
         [0012]     In addition the stripper can be provided with a rear surface that faces a transverse conveying drum, where the rear surface and the transverse conveying drum interact in order to guide and convey the flow of the harvested crop from the mowing and intake arrangement to the second mowing and intake arrangement, located downstream. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]     The drawings show two embodiments of the invention that are described in greater detail below.  
         [0014]      FIG. 1  shows a plan view of a first embodiment of a machine for the harvesting of stalk-like plants.  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  shows a cross section through the machine along the line  2 - 2 .  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  shows a plan view of a second embodiment of a machine for the harvesting of stalk-like plants. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0017]     Three mowing and intake arrangements  14 ,  16 ,  18  are fastened side by side to a frame  12  on each side of a longitudinal center plane  20  of a machine  10  for the harvest of stalk-like plants and are shown in a plan view in  FIG. 1 . Each of the mowing and intake arrangements  14  through  18  is composed of a lower cutting disk  22  (see  FIG. 2 ), and can be brought into rotation and several conveying elements  24  arranged coaxially above these that can be brought into rotation. The cutting disks  22  are equipped with sharp teeth at their edges or sharpened in other ways, in order to separate the stalks of the plants from the stubble remaining in the ground. The plant stalks are accommodated in projections  26  of the conveying elements  24  and are transported by a forage harvester (not shown) as described below that carries the machine  10  and drives its movable elements and moves the machine  10  in the forward operating direction V over a field. In the following the directions cited, such as forward or backward, refer to the forward operating direction V.  
         [0018]     Stalk dividers  28  are located between each of the mowing and intake arrangements  14  through  18  in order to deflect the plants to the side and to bring them into the intake region of the mowing and intake arrangements  14  through  18 , if necessary. Smaller stalk dividers  30  are attached to the front sides of the mowing and intake arrangements  14  through  18 . In each case the operating width of the mowing and intake arrangements  14  through  18  corresponds to one row, that is, approximately 0.75 meters. Therefore the machine  10  can simultaneously harvest six rows of corn sown with a spacing of 75 cm. But the operating width of the mowing and intake arrangements  14  through  18  could also be smaller or larger (for example, 1.5 meters).  
         [0019]     During the harvesting operation the mowing and intake arrangements  14  through  18  rotate in the directions indicated by the arrows. Therefore the inner mowing and intake arrangements  18  located adjacent to the longitudinal center plane  20  convey the plants at first to the outside and then to the rear, as do the mowing and intake arrangements  16  that follow to the outside, while the outer mowing and intake arrangements  14  rotate in the opposite direction. As can be seen on the basis of  FIG. 1 , the outer mowing and intake arrangements  14  deliver their portion of the harvested crop approximately in the center between the axes of rotation of the mowing and intake arrangements  14 ,  16  to the center inner mowing and intake arrangements  18 . For this purpose strippers  34  are provided which extend through slots in the rear guide walls  40  of the machine  10  which also enclose the center and inner mowing and intake arrangements  16 ,  18  from the rear. The strippers  34  are connected with the bottom plate  62  or a rear wall of the machine  10  on the rear side of the guide walls  40 . The strippers  34  include points that intrude into the intervening space between the conveying elements  24  of the outer mowing and intake arrangement  14 .  
         [0020]     The harvested crop is lifted out of the recess  26  by further strippers  36  on the rear side of the center mowing and intake arrangement  16  and delivered to the inner mowing and intake arrangements  18  by transverse conveying drums  38  which include teeth  42  that extend through slots in the rear wall  40 . The strippers  36  extend from their original operating region with their points  48  arranged on the rear side of the machine  10 , where they lift the plants out of the conveying elements  24  of the center mowing and intake arrangement  18  and they extend to a post  50  in the vicinity of the front edge of the machine  10  that is located in the vicinity of the attachment point of a stalk divider  28 .  
         [0021]     In the plan view ( FIG. 1 ) the strippers  36  are approximately triangular and have a side surface that follows the circumference of the conveying elements  24  of the center mowing and intake arrangement  16  and a rear surface extending transverse to the direction of operation that is used to define a forward border of the path of conveying of the plants from the center mowing and intake arrangement  16  to the transverse conveying drum  38  and up to the next inner mowing and intake arrangement  18 . This rear surface and the transverse conveying drum  38  interact in order to guide and convey the flow of harvested crop from the center mowing and intake arrangement  16  up to the next inner mowing and intake arrangement  18 . The third side of the strippers  36  facing the inner mowing and intake arrangement  18  follows the circumference of the conveying elements  24  of the inner mowing and intake arrangement  18  and interacts with these in order to establish a guidance for the plants taken up by the inner mowing and intake arrangement  18 .  
         [0022]     At their forward ends the strippers  36  are connected to the bottom plate  62  of the machine  10  by vertical posts  50 . Except for the connection at the post  50  the individual sheet metal components of the strippers  36  are not connected to each other in the vertical direction, so that any possible accumulation of harvested crop can be carried away by successive harvested crop. The strippers  36  may be flat sheet metal components in themselves or they may be provided with a U-shaped cross section as is shown by DE 102 58 013 A.  
         [0023]     On the rear side of the inner mowing and intake arrangements  18  the harvested crop is lifted out of the projections  26  by further strippers  44  and delivered to conveyor drums  39 , the strippers are fastened to a center cover  45 , the conveyor drums include conveying elements  64  that rotate about axes inclined slightly toward the front, the conveying elements  64  are provided with recesses  26 , in order to overcome the difference in height between the bottom of the machine  10  and the following intake rolls of the intake channel of the forage harvester. In place of the strippers  44 , strippers  36  of the center mowing and intake arrangements  16  could also be used.  
         [0024]     The conveying drums  39  are also associated with arc-shaped strippers  46  that are fastened to the frame  12  by vertical posts  60  ahead of (and upstream of) the conveying drums  39  and to the rear of the flow of the crop (even to the rear of the axes of rotation of the conveying drums  39 ), the posts  60  are configured analogously to the posts  50 . Such strippers  46  could also be associated with the transverse conveying drums  38 .  
         [0025]      FIG. 2  shows a cross section through the machine  10  along the line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 . The post  50  extends in the vertical direction through an approximately rectangular opening  52  in a bottom plate  62  that is connected to the frame  12 , at its lower end. The post is provided with a section  54  that extends horizontally to the rear opposite to the forward direction of operation V, a flange  56  is welded to the rear end of the section. The flange  56  is fastened to a gearbox housing  58  by two U-shaped brackets that extend through the bores  66  in the flange  56 , or it is connected directly by screws that extend through threaded holes in the gearbox housing  58 . The gearbox housing  58  contains components of the drive-line of the conveying elements  24  and the cutting disks  22  of the inner mowing and intake arrangement  18 , in turn, is bolted to the frame  12 . Alternatively or in addition, the post  50  could be fastened to the gearbox housing of the center mowing and intake arrangement  16 . The strippers  36  are welded to the post  50  or fastened to it in any other desirable manner, for example, bolted to it or applied to a non-circular profile.  
         [0026]     Openings  52  are also arranged ahead of the strippers  34  of the outer mowing and intake arrangement  14 . They make it possible for plant parts that accumulate in the area of the strippers  34  and  36  to fall downward onto the field, so that larger accumulations of plant parts and jams resulting therefrom are avoided.  
         [0027]     Since the fastening elements of the strippers, that is, the posts  50 , are arranged relatively far from the points  48  of the strippers  36  that interact with the plants, there is no longer an expectation that plant parts become entangled with the posts  50  or  60  or that at least so many plants do not accumulate as to impair the operation of the strippers  36 . Accordingly the operation of the machine  10  according to the invention is improved.  
         [0028]     In a machine  10  with a larger number of mowing and intake arrangements  14  through  18  further mowing and intake arrangements (not shown) can be inserted between the outer mowing and intake arrangements  14  and the center mowing and intake arrangements  16 , whose direction of rotation corresponds to the center mowing and intake arrangement  16  (as described in DE 195 31 918 A) and whose strippers are the same as the strippers  36 .  
         [0029]     In the second embodiment of a machine  10  shown in  FIG. 3 , elements coinciding with those of the first embodiment are identified with the same part number call-outs. The difference, however, is the attachment of the strippers  46  of the conveying drums  39  that are located here completely behind the conveying drums  39  and are fastened to the frame  12  by posts  60  at the outer and rear sides of the conveying drums  39 . The strippers  46  according to  FIG. 3  could also be associated with the transverse conveying drums  38 .  
         [0030]     Having described the preferred embodiment, it will become apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims.