Patent Publication Number: US-2022232773-A1

Title: Structural Chassis for Mounting an Agricultural Machine and Harvester

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention refers, in general, to a new structural chassis for mounting an agricultural machine, such as harvesters for tall and stemmed plants, which was projected to improve the maintenance conditions of these machines and, in particular, of the fluid reservoirs, in order to mainly avoid the risks of leakage during the work. 
     Furthermore, the present invention also refers to a machine for harvesting tall and stemmed plants, such as a sugarcane harvester, which is assembled on said structural chassis. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Several models of agricultural equipment and machines are known to promote increase in the harvest productivity of several types of crops, such as combined harvesters for grain, forages, and also the harvesting machines of the so-called tall and stemmed plants, as in the case of sugarcane and sorghum. 
     Especially regarding the machines for harvesting such tall and stemmed plants, it is noticed that they are designed and developed to provide the harvest of this particular type of crop, since its inherent characteristics require suitable conditions for their adequate processing, from cutting to transfer to the transshipments and/or trucks. 
     As should be appreciated by those skilled in the art, this machine model is assembled on the structure of a chassis responsible for supporting practically all the elements, equipment and devices that enable the operation of these machines. Another important function of the chassis of this harvesting machine model is accommodating a set of conveyor rollers and chopper rollers responsible for driving and cut the sugarcane into slugs and, in the rear portion of said chassis, especially below the conveyor and chopper rollers, generally several components and mechanisms of the hydraulic system are installed, such as, for example, hydraulic oil reservoir which is responsible to feed and operate the several equipment, mechanisms and devices of the harvesters. 
     Typically, these oil reservoirs and other fluids are installed and fixed on the chassis frame, more particularly, they are welded and mounted directly on the chassis and, therefore, it becomes structural elements, including acting as reinforcement of the chassis structure. However, despite of promoting some improvement from a structural point of view, these reservoirs suffer a lot from relatively high stresses and efforts, considering the very severe working conditions that these machines are routinely subjected to and, therefore, it is very common for cracks to appear in the walls of these reservoirs which, consequently, provide fluid leakages, such as hydraulic oil, which substantially affects and compromises the driving and functioning of the different components and mechanisms of these machines. 
     Another important inconvenience of this prior art chassis model is related to the access for the maintenance of these reservoirs, considering that they are installed in the region below the conveyor rollers and choppers and, as should be noted by those skilled in the art, this part of the machines is quite difficult to access, mainly when it comes to the face facing the rollers which, when needing any maintenance, may require the disassembly of the rollers and other components that are installed in the chassis. As an example, if the reservoir has cracks on the face facing the rollers, the only way to perform maintenance on these cracks is to disassemble practically all the elements that are mounted on the chassis in order to access the damaged reservoir face. This type of maintenance requires the almost complete disassembly of the machine, since said chassis is the structural base of the machine. 
     Therefore, as should be appreciated by those skilled in the art, although they work, the solutions known in the prior art reveal inconveniences that, in a way, affect the useful life of the machines, but mainly, jeopardize their proper functioning, which may even compromise work in the field, which will certainly be reflected in the results and productivity of plantations and harvests. 
     Thus, it is quite desirable and interesting to the producers the elimination these kind of risks in which the machine not properly and safely performing its duties due to improper maintenance and, thereby, to promote increase in the productivity of the machines, but mainly ensure its integrity and full functioning. Therefore, this is what is intended to be achieved with the development of the present invention. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, it is the object of the present invention provides a new structural chassis for a harvesting machine, such as sugarcane harvesters, which comprises technical, constructive and functional features capable of improving maintenance conditions and, therefore, increase the useful life and especially the productivity of these machines. 
     More particularly, it is one of the objects of the present invention provides a structural chassis for the assembly of a harvester that was designed and developed to accommodate a fluid reservoir that can be easily removed to allow the proper procedures of maintenance. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a harvester, particularly intended for harvesting tall and stemmed crops, such as the sugarcane and the sorghum, which is assembled on a chassis structure as above discussed. 
     Thus, in order to achieve the technical and functional effects summarized above, among others, the present invention refers to a new structural chassis for the assembly of an agricultural machine, which is basically formed by a front portion and a rear portion, wherein the primary extractor assembly and its respective coupling are fixed in said rear portion for the assembly of the elevator assembly of the agricultural machine. Besides, this rear portion of the structural chassis is configured to form the machine&#39;s processing path with the arrangement of side walls provided with openings responsible for assembling the upper and lower conveyor rollers, and openings for assembling the chopper rollers. More particularly, such structural chassis, according to the present invention, comprises at least one removable reservoir that is installed in a housing formed by said side walls, having its opening between the primary extractor assembly and said coupling of the agricultural machine elevator assembly. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the housing provided in the structural chassis comprises tilting mechanisms connected to said removable reservoir, and these tilting mechanisms can be, for example, pivot points connecting the structural chassis and said removable reservoir. Optionally, these tilting mechanisms can be a platform with electrical and/or hydraulic driving to provide angular movement and linear displacement of said removable reservoir. 
     Additionally, according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, said tilting mechanisms can be formed by a set of guides and channels provided in the lower part of the opening of said housing that interact with corresponding guides and channels disposed in the base of the removable reservoir body. 
     According to another particular embodiment of the present invention, said chassis is formed by a modular structure, said front and rear portions being associated with each other through fastening elements. 
     Moreover, as another optional embodiment of the present invention, the structural chassis comprises an upper fluid reservoir that is also removable from the rear portion and is fixed against said primary extractor assembly. More particularly, the removable reservoirs according to the present invention are intended for the storage of hydraulic fluid, such as, for example, oil. 
     As commented above, the present invention also refers to a harvester, such as the type for harvesting tall and stemmed plants, which is formed by a chassis mounted on wheels or tracks, an engine, an operator cabin and at least one extractor assembly, wherein this structural chassis is provided with at least one removable reservoir, and it is configured as mentioned above. More particularly, in accordance to an embodiment of the present invention, this harvester is designed and developed to promote the harvest of sugarcane and/or sweet sorghum. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       The features, advantages and technical effects of the present invention, as highlighted above, will be better understood, and in the most suitable way for a person skilled in the art, from the following detailed description made merely by way of example and not restrictive, of embodiments of the invention, and with reference to the attached figures, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic side view of a harvester known in the prior art for harvesting tall and stemmed crops, such as sugarcane and sorghum; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic perspective view of a structural chassis for harvesting machines, according to the present invention; 
         FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D and 3E  show schematic perspective views representing a sequence of movement of the removable fluid reservoir according to the present invention; and 
         FIGS. 4A and 4B  show schematic side views that represent the withdrawal movement of the removable fluid reservoir, according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention will now be described with respect to its particular embodiments, making reference to the attached figures. Such figures are schematic, and their dimensions and/or proportions may not correspond to the reality, as they are only intended to describe the invention in a didactic way. Furthermore, certain known and common constructive details may have been omitted for clarity and conciseness of the description that follows. Reference numbers used are repeated throughout the figures to identify identical or similar parts. The terms eventually used such as “above”, “below”, “front”, “rear”, “right”, “left” etc. and its variants should be interpreted according to the guidance represented in  FIG. 1 . 
     Turning now to the drawings,  FIG. 1  illustrates a side view of an embodiment of a harvester  10  according to aspects known in the art. The harvester  10  is configured as a sugarcane harvester. However, in other embodiments, the harvester  10  may correspond to any suitable agricultural harvester known in the art, such as sorghum and energy cane. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the harvester  10  includes a chassis  12 , a pair of front wheels  14 , a pair of rear wheels  16 , and an operator cabin  18 . The harvester  10  may also include a primary source of power (for example, an engine mounted on chassis  12 ) that powers one or both pairs of wheels  14 ,  16  via a transmission (not shown). Alternatively, the harvester  10  may be a track driven harvester and, therefore, may include tracks driven by the motor mechanism in place of the illustrated wheels  14 ,  16 . The motor mechanism may also drive a hydraulic fluid pump (not shown) configured to generate pressurized hydraulic fluid to power various hydraulic components of the harvester  10 . 
     Additionally, the harvester  10  can include several components to cut, process, clean and unload sugarcane as the cane is harvested from an agricultural field  20 . For example, the harvester  10  may include a topper assembly  22  positioned at its front end to intercept sugarcane as harvester  10  moves in the forward direction represented by arrow X. As shown, the topper assembly  22  may include both a binder disc  24  and a cuter disc  26 . The binder disk  24  may be configured to bind sugarcane stems so that the cutter disk  26  may be used to cut the tip of each stem. Generally, the height of the topper assembly  22  may be adjustable by means of a pair of arms  28  hydraulically raised and lowered as desired by the operator. 
     Additionally, the harvester  10  may include a crop row divider assembly  30  that extends upwards and backwards from the field  20 . In general, the crop row divider assembly  30  may include two spiral feed rollers  32 , also known as “lollipop”. Each feed roller  32  may include a soil shoe  34  as its lower end assists the crop row divider assembly  30  separating the sugarcane stems for harvesting. In addition, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the harvester  10  may include a knockdown roller  36  positioned near the front wheels  14  and a roller with projections  38  positioned behind the knockdown roller  36 . As the knockdown roller  36  is rotated, the harvested sugarcane stems are tipped over while the crop row divider assembly  30  binds the stems of the agricultural field  20  towards the interior of the machine  10 . Additionally, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the roller with projections  38  may include a plurality of intermittently mounted fins  40  that help in forcing the sugarcane stems down. As roller  38  is rotated during harvesting, the sugarcane stems that have been tipped by knockdown roller  36  are separated and subsequently tipped by roller  38  as harvester  10  continues to move forward with respect to field  20 . 
     Still referring to  FIG. 1 , the harvester  10  may also include a base cutter assembly  42  positioned behind the roller  38 . As is generally understood, the base cutter assembly  42  may include blades (not shown) for cutting the sugarcane stems as the cane is harvested. The blades, located on the periphery of assembly  42 , may be rotated by a hydraulic motor (not shown) driven by the vehicle&#39;s hydraulic system. Additionally, in several embodiments, the blades may be angled downward to cut the base of the sugarcane as the cane is tipped over by the roller  38 . 
     In addition, the harvester  10  may include a set of one or more conveyor rollers  44  located downstream of the base cutter assembly  42  to move the cut sugarcane stems from the base cutter assembly  42  along the processing path. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the feed roller assembly  44  may include a plurality of lower rollers  46  and a plurality of upper rollers  48 . As the sugarcane is transported through the feed roller assembly  44 , waste (e.g., stones, dirt and/or the like) may also be transported or fall through the lower rollers  46  onto the field  20 . 
     In addition, the harvester  10  may include a chopper assembly  50  located at the downstream end of the feed roller assembly  44  (e.g., adjacent to rearmost upper and lower rollers  46 ,  48 ). In general, the chopper assembly  50  can be used to cut or chop the harvested sugarcane stems into smaller pieces or “fragments”  51  which may, for example, measure about 15.24 centimeters (six (6) inches).), also called billets or grinding wheels. The fragments  51  may then be propelled towards an elevator assembly  52  of the harvester  10  to be collected in an external receiver or storage device (not shown). 
     As is generally understood, pieces of waste  53  (e.g., dust, dirt, leaves, etc.) separated from the sugarcane fragments  51  may be expelled from the harvester  10  through a primary extractor assembly  54 , which is located behind the chopper assembly  50  and is oriented to direct waste  53  out of the harvester  10 . Additionally, a fan  56  can be mounted on the primary extractor  54  to generate sufficient suction force or vacuum to capture the waste  53  and forcing the waste  53  through the primary extractor  54 . The waste  53  is then directed outward and generally away from the harvester  10  via an output of the primary extractor  54 . The separated fragments  51  are heavier than the waste  53  being expelled from extractor  54 , may then fall to elevator assembly  52 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the elevator assembly  52  may generally include an elevator housing structure  58  and an elevator  60  that extends within the elevator housing structure  58  between a lower proximal end  62  and an upper distal end  64 . In general, elevator  60  may include a chain or conveyor belt  66  and a plurality of paddles or glides  68  coupled or evenly spaced on the chain  66 . The glides  68  can be configured to hold the sugarcane fragments  51  in the elevator  60  as fragments  51  are lifted towards the top of the elevator  70 . Additionally, the elevator  60  may include lower and upper sprockets  72 ,  74  positioned around the proximal and distal ends  62 ,  64 , respectively. As shown in  FIG. 1 , an elevator motor  76  may be coupled to one of the sprockets (e.g., the upper sprocket  74 ) to drive the chain  66 , thus allowing the chain  66  and glides  68  to travel in one endless cycle between the proximal and distal ends  62 ,  64  of the elevator  60 . 
     In addition, pieces of waste  53  (e.g., dust, dirt, leaves, etc.) separated from the sugarcane fragments  51  may be expelled from the harvester  10  through a secondary extractor assembly  78  coupled to the rear end of elevator structure  58 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , secondary extractor  78  may be located adjacent to distal end  64  of the elevator  60  and may be oriented to direct waste  53  outward from the harvester  10 . Additionally, a fan  80  can be mounted in the secondary extractor  78  to generate a suction force or vacuum sufficient to extract the wastes  53  and force the wastes  53  through the secondary extractor  78 . The separated fragments  51 , heavier than the wastes  53  expelled through the extractor  78 , may then fall from distal end  64  of the elevator  60 . Typically, fragments  51  may fall through a discharge opening  82  of the elevator assembly  52  into an external storage device (not shown), such as a car, a transshipment, a bucket, etc. 
     During the operation, the harvester  10  is traveled through the whole agricultural field  20  to harvest sugarcane. After the height of the topper  22  is adjusted (if used) by means of the arms  28 , the binder disc  24  in the topper assembly  22  may function to bind the sugarcane ends as the harvester  10  proceeds through the field  20 , while cutter disk  26  cuts the hardwood ends of the sugarcane stems to dump them along both sides of the harvester  10 . As the stems enter the crop row divider assembly  30 , the shoes  34  can set the operation width to determine the amount of sugarcane entering into the inlet opening of the harvester  10 , either fixedly or adjustable. The lollipops  32  then bind the stems at the entrance of the machine to allow the knockdown roller  36  to bend the stems down in conjunction with the action of the feed roller  38 . Since the stems are positioned at an angle as shown in  FIG. 1 , the base cutter assembly  42  may then cut the base of the field stems  20 . The cut stems are then directed to the feed roller assembly  44 . 
     The cut sugarcane stems are transported backwards by the feed rollers  46 ,  48  which compress the stems and the harvested matter. At the downstream end of the feed roller assembly  44 , the chopper assembly  50  cuts or chops the compacted sugarcane stems into pieces or fragments  51 . Transported waste  53  (e.g., dust, dirt, leaves, etc.) separated from the sugarcane fragments  51  are then extracted through the primary extractor assembly  54  using the suction or vacuum created by the fan  56 . The separated/washed fragments  51  then fall to the elevator assembly  52  and travel upward via elevator  60  from its proximal end  62  to the distal end  64 . During normal operation, once the fragments  51  reach the distal end  64  of the elevator  60 , the fragments  51  fall through the discharge opening  82  to an external storage device. Similar to primary extractor  54 , wastes are blown out of the harvester  10  through secondary extractor assembly  78  with the aid of the fan  80 . 
     A harvester  10  as described above may be a sugarcane harvester that can be built and assembled on a structural chassis, according to the present invention, and said harvester  10  may be, for example, a machine known in the art, such as those CNH Industrial N.V.&#39;s sugarcane harvesters sold under the brand Case IH. 
     The terms referred herein as harvester, collector and their variants are used interchangeably to designate a machine for harvesting crops in general. 
     According to the other figures, it is possible to observe that the structural chassis  12  is formed by a front portion  12   a  and a rear portion  12   b,  and the front portion  12   a  is intended for the assembly of the operator&#39;s cabin  18  and the binding mechanisms of tipping and cutting the plant stems, and while said rear portion  12   b  supports the primary extractor assembly  54 , and is configured to form the machine processing path so that its side walls  100  are provided with openings  101  for assembling the lower  46  and upper  48  feed rollers, and openings  102  for mounting the chopper rollers  50 . In addition, the lower end of the rear portion  12   b,  below said primary extractor assembly  54 , is provided with a hitch  103  for coupling and mounting the elevator assembly  52 . 
     Thus, based on the scenario reported above, said structural chassis  12  for the assembly of an agricultural machine, according to the present invention, further comprises at least one removable reservoir  104  that is installed in a housing  105  formed by side walls  100  and disposed substantially under said chopper rollers  50 , the opening of said housing  105  being positioned between the primary extractor assembly  54  and said hitch  103  of the elevator assembly  52  to thereby provide the removal and installation of said removable reservoir  104  in a simple way and without the need to disassemble the set of feed rollers and chopper rollers. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, and as depicted in  FIGS. 3A-3D , said housing  105  may comprise a tilting mechanism  106  of the removable reservoir  104  so that the maintenance technician may perform service in a simplified way, wherein this tilting mechanism can be mere pivot points that make the connection between said chassis  12  and the removable reservoir  104 , as well as more complex mechanisms, such as an electric and/or hydraulic platform capable of promoting the angular movement and the linear displacement of the reservoir for removal and replacement it within said housing  105 , requiring less efforts on the part of the technicians. 
     Optionally, these tilting mechanisms  106  may also be formed by a set of guides and channels provided at the bottom of the housing opening  105  that interact with corresponding guides and channels provided at the base of the reservoir body, which can facilitate the orientation and positioning of the removable reservoir  104  during the inlet and outlet movement, eliminating the risks of jamming or improper installation of the reservoir inside the housing. 
       FIGS. 4A and 4B  schematically show the outflow movement of the removable fluid reservoir  103 . More particularly, it is observed that initially the maintenance technician rotates the removable reservoir  103 , as indicated by the arrow in  FIG. 4A  and subsequently, the removable reservoir  103  can be pulled out linearly from the housing 105 , as indicated by the arrow in  FIG. 4B . As can be seen by the person skilled in the art, the installation process of the reservoir  103  within the housing  105  occurs in reverse manner, that means, initially the reservoir  103  is linearly displaced into the housing and, subsequently, rotated for proper positioning and locking in the housing  105 . 
     Additionally, said chassis  12  may be a modular structure, so that the front  12   a  and rear  12   b  portions are associated through fastening elements. As should be appreciated by a person skilled in the art, this type of construction provides several benefits to manufacturers by simplifying production lines, but also promotes significant results for machine owners, considering the ease of performing maintenance on the modules individually. 
     Optionally, in cases where the machines are provided with an upper fluid reservoir  107 , this can also be installed detachably in the rear portion  12   b  of the chassis  12  and, more specifically, in contrast to the primary extractor assembly  54 . However, considering its positioning, it is not necessary to install and use tilting mechanisms, and it can be fixed by any fastening means, such as screws, and it is vertically displaced from the structure without any complexity. 
     According to the embodiments of the present invention, such removable reservoirs  104  and  107  are intended to storage hydraulic fluid, such as oil, which is pressurized by hydraulic fluid pump (not shown) to drive various components, equipment, and hydraulic mechanisms of the harvester  10 . 
     Additionally, and as anticipated above, the present invention also refers to a harvester  10 , particularly intended for harvesting tall and stemmed plants, said machine  10  being built and assembled on a structural chassis  12 , which is formed by a front portion  12   a  and a rear portion  12   b,  said rear portion  12   b  comprising at least one removable reservoir  104 , which is installed in a housing  105  formed by the chassis side walls  100  and whose opening is positioned between the primary extractor assembly  54  and a hitch  103  of the elevator assembly  52 . 
     According to a more particularly embodiment the present invention, this harvester  10  is designed and developed to perform and process the harvesting of sugarcane and sweet sorghum. 
     Thus, considering all the exposed above, it is important to highlight that the new structural chassis  12  for the assembly of agricultural machines, according to the present invention, allows for more simplified maintenance procedures, increasing the useful life of these machines, but mainly ensuring the proper and safe operation of all equipment, mechanisms and devices driven and controlled by the hydraulic fluid that is stored in the removable reservoir  104 , which can now be subjected to proper maintenance, eliminating any risk of leakages due to cracks formed in its walls. 
     Finally, based on the above discussion, it is worth to emphasize that the present disclosure aims at only to present and define in exemplary way preferred embodiments of the new structural chassis for the assembly of agricultural machineries, according to the present invention. So, as must be appreciated by the person skilled in the art, several modifications and combinations of elements and details equivalents are possible without, however, be out of the scope of protection defined by the attached claims.