Abstract:
A self-propelled forage harvester is equipped with a crop gathering device which transports crop material from the ground to feed rolls that position the crop for being chopped into small pieces by a chopper drum. To prevent pieces of crop material from accumulating on top of the housing structure for the feed rolls and the chopper drum, a flexible shield is mounted between the bottom of the operator&#39;s cab and the top of the crop gathering device. Various embodiments are disclosed which feature different access elements of the shield which may be quickly opened to provide access to the feed rolls, chopper drum and other functioning elements provided for processing the crop.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The invention pertains to devices for controlling the accumulation of crop particles on a harvesting vehicle.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    In the prior art, a few pick-ups are equipped with so-called contaminant collecting screens. They retain the majority of crop particles deposited on the screw conveyor by the feed fingers or feed paddles. However, some crop particles are still deposited on the subsequent subassemblies of the chopper, e.g., airborne grass. Another disadvantage of the crop particle collecting screens can be seen in the fact that the view of the swath is significantly impaired during pick-up. It is also very difficult to protect corn attachments from light and small crop particles.  
           [0003]    During harvest operations, crop particles are often deposited on the top of subsequent subassemblies through which the harvest is transported into the harvester or in which the harvest is processed, and accumulate at these locations. A fire may break out, for example, due to an overheated bearing or when performing a sharpening or grinding operation on the blades of the chopping drum. Consequently, the harvester needs to be cleaned frequently. Much time is lost in cleaning the machine, in particular when performing repair and maintenance procedures (e.g., during the quick-conversion of a kernel processor).  
           [0004]    It is known to mount the rear side of a flexible protective element beneath the operator&#39;s cab of a chopper, with its front side being attached to the crop gathering device. The sides of the protective element may be arranged on the sides of the chopper&#39;s main frame. In the prior art, the one-piece protective element is mounted on the crop gathering device and on the chopper by means of bands. Here, it is disadvantageous that the protective element must be removed before maintenance or repair procedures can be performed on the chopping elements or on the front side of the harvester.  
           [0005]    The problem to be solved with the present invention is that of being able to easily service a harvester equipped with a shield for preventing accumulation of crop particles on top surfaces of the harvester drive housings or the like.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    According to the present invention, there is provided an improved shield arrangement for preventing the accumulation of crop particles on a harvesting machine.  
           [0007]    An object of the invention is to provide a crop harvester having a shield arrangement for intercepting airborne crop particles before they accumulate on the harvester, the shield arrangement permitting easy servicing of the functional elements of the harvester.  
           [0008]    A more specific object of the invention is to provide a crop harvester shield that is provided with an access element that can be opened and closed making it possible to gain access to the functional elements and/or other parts of the harvester located underneath the shield without having to first remove the entire shield.  
           [0009]    Yet another object of the invention is to provide a shield, as defined in one or more of the previous objects, wherein the shield is disposed on the harvester such that intercepted crop particles tend to gravitate off the shield so that it is in some respects self-cleaning and where cleaning may be accomplished easily by manually shaking the shield.  
           [0010]    Still another object of the invention is to provide a shield, as set forth in the foregoing objects, having an access element in the form of a flap or cover that may be pivoted, or rolled on itself, between open and closed positions.  
           [0011]    These and other objects will become apparent from a reading of the ensuing description together with the appended drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a schematic left side view of a self-propelled forage harvester equipped with a flexible protective shield located between the crop gathering device and the infeed elements of the harvester.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of a first embodiment of the flexible shield.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of a second embodiment of the flexible shield.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is a schematic front view of a third embodiment of the flexible shield. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0016]    Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a harvester that is realized in the form of a self-propelled forage harvester  110 . The forage harvester  110  is composed of a frame  112  that is carried by front and rear wheels  114  and  116 . The forage harvester  110  is operated from an operator&#39;s cab  118  from which a crop gathering device  120  is visible. The harvest picked up from the ground by means of the crop gathering device  120 , e.g., hay, grass or the like, is transported to a chopping drum  122  by feed rollers  130  arranged within an infeed housing  132 . The chopping drum  122  chops the harvest into small pieces and deposits them on a conveyor  124 . The harvest is transported from the forage harvester  110  to a trailer which travels alongside said forage harvester, through a discharge chute that is pivotable about an upright axis. A re-crushing device  128  that tangentially feeds the harvest to be transported to the conveyor  124  extends between the chopping drum  122  and the conveyor  124 .  
         [0017]    The crop gathering device  120  is realized in the form of a so-called pick-up in this embodiment. The crop gathering device  120  is supported on the ground by wheels  140 . The crop gathering device  120  is designed for picking up the harvest that is deposited on the field in the form of swaths and to feed the harvest to the forage harvester  110  for additional processing. During this process, the crop gathering device  120  is moved over the field a short distance above the ground during harvesting, with the crop gathering device being raised in order to be transported on a road or the like.  
         [0018]    The crop gathering device  120  contains a conveyor  134  in the form of a screw conveyor that transports the picked-up harvest from the sides of the crop gathering device  120  to a not-sown delivery opening situated in the center, with the feed rollers  130  being arranged behind the delivery opening. A pick-up  136  that is driven in rotation, analogously to the conveyor  134 , is arranged underneath the conveyor  134  and lifts the harvest off the ground with its conveyor prongs in order to transfer the harvest onto the conveyor  134 . A holding-down device  138  in the form of a plate is arranged above the pick-up  136 .  
         [0019]    A flexible shield or protective element  144  extends between the lower front edge of the operator&#39;s cab  118  and the front edge of the upper side of a rear frame element  135  of the crop gathering device  120 . This shield  144  is preferably constructed of a flexible material such as cloth, rubber blanket, plastic or an industrial woven fabric, with those of such materials that have a noise-absorbing characteristic being particularly preferred. The shield  144  extends over the entire width of the cab  118  and covers the entire infeed housing  132 . Consequently, the shield  144  also covers the functional elements of the forage harvester  110  that are arranged downstream of the infeed housing, e.g., the drives of the harvest conveying and processing elements. It would also be conceivable to make the shield  144  identical in width to that of the forage harvester  110 . The shield  144  is more or less tightly stretched, independently of the position of the vertically adjustable crop gathering device  120 . The shield  144  prevents crop particles whirled up by the crop gathering device  120  from accumulating on the infeed housing  132  and the subsequent subassemblies or functional groups including the respective drives. The crop particles slide down on the shield  144 , which is slopped downward and toward the front, and are incorporated into the material flow processed by the forage harvester  110 . In addition, the shield  144  absorbs the noises produced by, in particular, the feed rollers  130 , the chopping drum  122 , the grain processor  124  and, if applicable, a so-called power chute or paddle blower arranged between the chopping drum  122  and the blower  124 . This means that the operating noise of the forage harvester  110  is reduced. The lateral regions of the flexible shield  144  hang downward and extend toward the rear beside the cab  118  so as to prevent the admission of dust and/or small crop particles from the side. It would also be conceivable to mount the flexible shield  114  on the frame  112  beneath the cab  118 , in order to shield all functional subassemblies from crop particles that become airborne due to operation of the crop gathering arrangement  120 .  
         [0020]    It would also be possible to arrange an upper crossbeam on the front side of the infeed housing  132  in order to attach the front side of a shield thereon. In this case, it is not necessary to remove the shield before the crop gathering device is detached, and to replace the shield once the crop gathering device is reattached. This means that the shield does not necessarily have to extend up to the crop gathering device  120 . In this respect, it suffices if the shield covers a significant area of the functional elements on the front side of the harvester  110 .  
         [0021]    Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown the flexible shield  144 . It covers the entire width of the infeed housing  132 , which is illustrated with broken lines, and consequently the functional elements located underneath the infeed housing. At its upper edge, the flexible shield  144  is mounted on the front side of the operator&#39;s cab by means of three T-shaped latches  148  that extend through corresponding holes  146  in the shield  144 . The T-shaped latches, which are connected to the operator&#39;s cab  118 , can be turned between the holding position, that is shown in the drawings, wherein they hold the shield  144  in place, and a release position in which they are turned by  900  relative to the holding position and allow the removal of the shield from the cab  118 . At its lower edge, the shield  144  is also mounted on the frame element  135  of the crop gathering device  120  in a releasable fashion by means of three rotatable T-shaped latches  148 .  
         [0022]    In order to rapidly gain access to elements of the forage harvester  110  that are situated within the infeed housing  132 , or to the chopping drum  122  or devices assigned thereto, e.g., the sharpening or grinding device or the kernel processor, without having to remove the entire shield  144 , the shield is provided with an access element that is realized in the form of a zipper  150  with an opening slide or element  152 . The zipper  150  has the shape of a U and extends from a first end near the right lower edge of the flexible shield  144  upward and toward the rear, parallel to its lateral edge, into the vicinity of the cab  118 . From near the cab  118 , the zipper  150  extends toward the left, as far as the left edge of the shield  144 , and then down again toward the lower edge of the shield  144  on the frame element  135 . This means that a tongue-shaped section  162  of the shield  144  can be swung downward after the zipper  150  is opened in order to simplify access to the parts of the forage harvester located underneath the shield. It would also be conceivable to utilize several zippers such that several smaller sections of the shield  144  could swing downward. Identical access elements may be provided on the right side and the left side.  
         [0023]    The second embodiment of the invention, which is illustrated in FIG. 3, is essentially realized identically to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2. However, in this case, a zipper  150 ′ extends across a width of a shield  144 ′. This means that the shield  144  can be divided into two halves of approximately identical size once the zipper  150 ′ is opened in order to gain access to the parts of the forage harvester  110  located underneath the shield  144 ′. The zipper  150 ′ could also be arranged in the vicinity of the cab  118  such that the majority of the shield  144 ′ could be swung or rolled downward and would not interfere with the maintenance procedures. This shield  144 ′ (which does not include side hanging areas) could be made as wide as the forage harvester  110 .  
         [0024]    In the third embodiment, which is illustrated in FIG. 4, a flexible shield  144 ″ is utilized that is designed similarly to a window shade. At its lower end, the shield  144 ″ is releasably mounted on the frame element  135  by the rotatable T-shaped latches  148  that are arranged on the frame element  135  and extend through corresponding holes in the flexible protective shield  144 ″. At its opposite end, the shield  148 ″ is attached to a wind-up shaft  154  that is provided with a rotary drive  160 . The rotary drive  160  applies a torque to the wind-up shaft  154 . Once the flexible shield  144 ″ is released from the frame element  135 , the rotary drive  160  causes the shield  144 ″ to be rolled up on the wind-up shaft  154 . Thus, it is easily possible to gain access to the parts of the forage harvester  110  that are located underneath the flexible protective shield  144 ″. In addition, the flexible protective shield  144 ″ is always held so tightly stretched that crop particles that engage it slide downward.  
         [0025]    It should be noted that it is practical to remove crop particles that might lie on the flexible protective shield  144  or  144 ′ before opening the zipper  150  or  150 ′, or before the shield  144 ″ is would up, so as to prevent the crop particles from falling onto the drive subassemblies and functional subassemblies located underneath the shield  144 ,  144 ′ or  144 ″.  
         [0026]    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.