Abstract:
A mower-conditioner includes a crop guide arrangement for intercepting a stream of crop impelled to the rear by the mower and conditioner devices, where guide elements, in the form of vertical, triangular plates, may be selectively rotated down through slots provided in a crop guide surface so as to change the density and width of a swath of crop material deposited onto the ground behind the mower-conditioner.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     CH-A5-688 568 discloses a crop treatment or conditioner implement for agricultural crops, both with and without a front-mounted mower. Downstream of the treatment device a hood is provided, which guides the mowed crop released from the treatment device downstream in order to discharge it appropriately onto the ground. On the bottom of the hood cover, several symmetrically arranged guide vanes are provided, which scatter the conditioned crop. 
     It is also known that a so-called swath plate can be mounted in the path of crop flow on the bottom of the hood cover at a site where the hood is wider than at its ordinary discharge end. In this manner a relatively wide swath can be formed. 
     The problem underlying the invention is seen in the fact that the guide vanes must be disassembled to use a swath plate and vice-versa. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the present invention, there is provided an improved crop guide arrangement for use with a crop mowing and/or conditioning implement. 
     An object of the invention is to provide a crop guide arrangement, for use with a crop mowing and/or conditioning implement, the guide arrangement including guide elements which may be easily selectively placed in the stream of crop created by the mowing and/or conditioning devices so as to alter the width or density of a swath of crop material deposited behind the implement. 
     A more specific object of the invention is to provide an implement, as set forth in the immediately preceding object, wherein the guide elements include a swath plate vertically pivotally mounted beneath the top of a hood of the implement, and a guide vane arrangement vertically pivotally mounted above the top of the hood, with the hood and guide vane including slits or slots vertically aligned with respective guide vanes so as to permit the vanes to be moved from a retracted position above the hood to a working position below the swath plate. 
     These and other objects will become apparent from a reading of the ensuing description together with the appended drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a top, somewhat schematic view of a mower-conditioner including a crop guide arrangement constructed in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view, of the crop guide arrangement shown in FIG. 1, with parts being omitted for simplicity. 
     FIG. 3 is a top plan view, of the crop guide arrangement shown in FIG. 1, but omitting the swath plate and adjustable side plates, with the housing top broken away, the plate carrying the guide vanes being shown in a lowered working position wherein the vanes extend through respective vertically aligned openings provided in the top of the hood. 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken through the crop guide arrangement of FIG. 1, at line 4—4, showing the swath plate and the plate carrying the guide vanes. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a harvesting implement  10  depicted as a mower-conditioner including a frame  12 , a draft tongue  14 , a pair of ground support wheels  16 , a mower and conditioner housing  18 , a crop mowing device  20 , a crop conditioning device  22  and a crop guide arrangement including a guide surface or swath plate  24  and a guide vane device  26 . 
     Although the harvesting implement  10  is designed in this practical example in the fashion of a mower-conditioner, this is not essential to the invention, and a design as a pure mower or as a pure conditioning or treatment implement is also possible instead. The harvesting implement  10  has the task of mowing and conditioning or treating the mowed crop and depositing the crop on the ground behind in a swath. It is desirable to be able to vary the width or location and density of the swath so that the swath lies more or less wide or offset or tight so that a subsequent harvesting machine, for example, a field chopper or a baler can pick up the harvested crop without problem. 
     Frame  12  is essentially designed as a bridge having an inverted U-shape and extends crosswise to the direction of travel in order to accommodate on each end one of the wheels  16  in a known vertically pivotable fashion using a vertically pivotable wheel support arm. 
     The draft tongue  14 , in this practical example, extends forwardly from, and is connected to pivot horizontally on the left side of, the frame  12 . The tongue  14  performs the usual function of connecting the harvesting implement  10  to a towing vehicle (not shown). The tongue  14  can also be connected on the right side or in the center of the frame  12 . 
     The wheels  16  support the frame  12  on the ground through their respective support arms that are pivotally coupled to the corresponding vertical arms of the frame  12 . Thus an intermediate space is formed between the wheels  16  in which the harvested crop can be discharged in a more or less broad swath. 
     The housing  18  is formed essentially box-like from sheet metal and mounted in the forward part thereof is the crop mowing device  20  followed by the crop conditioning device  22 , the housing  18  forming a channel in whose interior the mowed crop is guided up to a discharge site behind and beneath the harvesting implement  10 . While the housing  18  reaches at least the outer edges of the wheels  16  in a front region positioned on the bottom in FIG. 1, it is designed narrow in its rear region so that sufficient room is present in the intermediate space of frame  12 . The housing  18  extends behind frame  12  and, depending on the version, also behind the wheels  16 . In the rear region of housing  18 , a cover  28  is provided, which grades into opposite side walls  30 . On the rear edges of the side walls  30 , side plates  34  are respectively connected by means of vertical pivot bearings  32 , the side plates  34  acting for funneling the mowed crop laterally toward the center of the machine. 
     The crop mowing device  20  in this practical example is designed as a rotary disk mower. As an alternative, a drum design, a sickle bar, or the like, could also be used. The mowing device  20  serves to separate standing crop from the ground and convey it rearward to be deposited on the ground. Instead of the mowing device  20 , a crop conditioning rotor could be used to pick up already mowed crop, condition the crop and then release it rearward to be deposited on the ground. 
     The crop conditioning device  22  is as wide as or narrower than the crop mowing device  20  and conditions the crop so that it dries more quickly and then conveys the conditioned crop to the guide surface  24 . The crop conditioning device  22  can be designed as a tined rotor, as a brush rotor, as a double roll or the like. 
     The guide surface  24 , in this case, is formed from a so-called swath plate, which is situated in the housing  18  beneath cover  28  and can be moved by means of a shaft  36  (see FIGS. 2 and 4) more or less directly or indirectly into the crop stream coming from the crop conditioning device  22 . Generally, any surface on which the harvested crop passes along after leaving the crop conditioning device  20  can be considered as forming the guide surface  24 . 
     The guide surface  24  is designed essentially rectangular and is rigidly connected to the shaft  36 . The shaft  36  is mounted in bearings (not further shown) to pivot in the side walls  30  and is connected to a long edge of the guide surface  24 . Openings  40 , in the form of slits, extend in the direction of shaft  36  from a rear end edge  38  located on the opposite side of the guide surface  24  from the shaft  36 . 
     The openings  40  are open in the region of end edge  38  and run sloping, here shown angled to the right from rear to front, relative to the longitudinal center axis of the harvesting implement  10 . The slope of openings  40  is chosen so that they diverge slightly from each other from the front to the rear. The openings  40  extend over a significant part of the guide surface  24 . As an alternative (not shown), the openings can also extend parallel to each other or diverge in the fashion of a “V”. 
     The openings  40 , in a version not shown, can also be closed on the end, which is conceivable in an arrangement designed such that the harvested crop does not become caught and held in the openings  40 . 
     The shaft  36  is provided on one end with a crank arm  42 , with which the position of the guide surface  24  can be changed manually. The position can also be secured by locking devices (not shown), like cranks, locks, brakes or the like. Depending on the position of guide surface  24 , the crop stream is more or less strongly deflected downward and forms a wide swath. Without using the guide surface  24  the crop stream would be forced together by the side sheets  34  across the direction of crop flow. 
     The guide device  26  includes a support plate  44 , a shaft  46  and guide elements  48 . 
     The support plate  44  is designed rectangular, roughly of the same size as the guide surface  24 , and has a long, front side fixed to the shaft so that the plate  44  rotates in unison with the shaft  46 . Alternatively, the support plate  44  can be mounted on the top of cover  28 . Instead of support plate  44 , another structure could also be used, for example, a frame, rail or the like, as long as the purpose, namely connecting the guide elements  48  to each other, is achieved. 
     The shaft  46  is longer than support plate  44  and has opposite end portions respectively mounted to rotate in brackets  50  fixed to the top of the cover  28 . On one end of the shaft  46 , there is provided an integral crank arm  52  with which shaft  46  can be pivoted. In the same manner as with crank arm  42 , the crank arm  52  can also be secured in any position with any well known device. As an alternative, the crank arm  52 , like crank arm  42 , can be adjusted by an operating device, for example, in the form of a motor, a linkage or cable pull. 
     The guide elements  48  correspond in number, position and alignment to those of openings  40 . When the guide elements  48  are narrower than the openings  40 , they can also assume a position deviating from alignment of the openings. Like the openings  40 , the guide elements  48  can also run parallel to each other or diverge relative to a center plane. Whereas in the first case only lateral offset of the crop stream occurs, a “V”-shaped arrangement leads to wide scattering of the crop stream. However, generally a lateral offset of the crop stream and broad scattering is preferred, which leads to a swath whose width maximally corresponds to the harvesting width. The guide elements  48  are designed according to FIG. 4, in the side view, essentially triangular, in which one side is attached to  35  the support plate  44 , one side runs perpendicular to the first side on the downstream end and a hypotenuse extends from the upstream end to the downstream end and thus has a slope toward the ground in the operating condition according to FIG.  4 . The guide elements  48  are formed from a plate and are suitable for taking up significant lateral forces. 
     FIG. 4 shows the assembly of the housing  18 , guide surface  24  and guide device  26  in a vertical section. According to FIG. 4, the support plate  44  is situated above the cover  28  so that openings  54  are present in the form of slits congruent with the openings  40  in the cover  28 , through which the guide elements  48  can extend. Alternatively, in a version (not shown), the support plate  44  could be accommodated in a cutout in the cover  28 . In the depicted version, the guide surface  24  is situated in an upper position in which it does not extend into the crop stream. As a result, the crop stream reaches the region between guide elements  48  and is then scattered or deflected broadly. 
     If broad scattering or lateral deflection is not desired, the guide device  26  is pivoted counterclockwise upward so as to be out from the inner region of housing  18  and thus becomes inactive. In this case, the crop stream slides on the bottom of cover  28  and along the bottom of guide surface  24  until it contacts side plates  34 , if they are present. After contact with side plates  34 , a narrow swath is produced. 
     If a wide swath is to be formed, the guide surface  24  is pivoted downward clockwise and the crop stream impinges on it in order to fall on the ground in a wide swath. It is not essential that the guide device  26  be brought into the position of FIG. 4 where it is depicted with the dashed line. 
     According to all this, the harvested product can be deposited according to the invention in several ways, for example, narrow swath, wide swath or broadly scattered on the ground, without having to refit the harvesting implement  10 . In addition, by the degree of penetration of the guide elements  48  into the internal space of the housing  18 , the intensity of the effect on the crop stream can be varied. 
     In the present practical example, the position of the guide elements  48  on support plate  44  is fixed. However, it is also possible to mount the guide elements  48  on one end or in the center to pivot around an axis perpendicular to the support plate  44 . In this case, the guide elements  48  must maintain a spacing with their upper edge relative to the support plate  44  which corresponds at least to the thickness of the cover  28  and the guide surface  24 . Moreover, it must be guaranteed that the guide elements  48  have the alignment of openings  40  and  54 , when the guide device  26  is pivoted vertically. By virtue of this pivoting capability of the guide elements  48 , both the discharge direction and the scattering width or swath width can be varied.