Patent Description:
This disclosure relates to self-propelled crop-harvesting machines capable of supporting a harvesting header on the front end thereof, and particularly to a system for providing fluid to a harvesting header of the machine.

Self-propelled agricultural harvesters are well known and include, by way of example, combine harvesters, windrowers, and forage harvesters, all of which typically include a frame or chassis, an operator cab, an engine, and ground-engaging wheels or tracks. A cutting or pick-up header is often carried by the harvester, the header typically being considerably wider than the harvester and mounted to the front side of a feederhouse.

Crop material collected by the header is conveyed into the feederhouse before being conveyed in a generally rearward direction to crop-processing apparatus. In the case of a combine harvester, the processing apparatus serves to thresh the crop material and separate grain therefrom, whereas, in the case of a forage harvester or windrower the crop material is typically passed through conditioning rollers.

The height of the header is typically adjusted by raising and lowering the feeder house around a lateral feederhouse pivot axis. To permit pitch adjustment of the header with respect to the feeder house, a header interface frame is often pivotally mounted to the feeder house over the front opening thereof to permit pitch adjustment around a transverse pitch-adjustment axis.

<CIT> discloses a header tilt mechanism with a face plate movably attached to a feederhouse, and a straight line linkage movably connecting the header to the feederhouse. <CIT> discloses a combine harvester hydraulic system with an arrangement whereby the hydraulic hoses of a header are connected to those of the harvester via a multicoupler. <CIT> discloses a feederhouse comprising a rotational shaft with lubricant passages therethrough according to the preamble of claim <NUM>.

According to the invention, a feederhouse assembly for an agricultural harvester as set forth in claim <NUM> includes a feederhouse comprising an inlet end, a rotational shaft coupled to the feederhouse and defining a plurality of fluid passages therethrough, and a frame adjacent the inlet end and arranged to pivot about the rotational shaft relative to the feederhouse. The frame defines a crop opening therethrough and is configured to carry a harvesting header. The fluid passages in the rotational shaft are configured to be connected to a pressurized fluid source carried by the agricultural harvester.

An agricultural harvester as set forth in claim <NUM> includes a chassis, the feederhouse assembly mounted to the chassis, and a processing system carried by the chassis and structured to receive crop material from the feederhouse.

The illustrations presented herein are not actual views of any agricultural harvester or portion thereof, but are merely idealized representations that are employed to describe example embodiments of the present disclosure. Additionally, elements common between figures may retain the same numerical designation.

<FIG> illustrates an example agricultural harvester embodied as a combine harvester <NUM>. In the context of the present disclosure, the example combine harvester <NUM> is merely illustrative, and other machines and/or implements with like functionality may include certain embodiments disclosed herein, such as windrowers, forage harvesters, etc. The example combine harvester <NUM> is shown in <FIG> without a header attached, and <FIG> is a top view of the combine harvester <NUM> with a detachably coupled harvesting header <NUM> attached. The combine harvester <NUM> includes a feederhouse assembly <NUM> carried by a chassis <NUM> supported by wheels <NUM>. An operator cab <NUM> is mounted to the chassis <NUM>. In some embodiments, other or additional forms of travel may be used, such as tracks. Hydraulic cylinders <NUM> are shown affixed to the underside of the feederhouse assembly <NUM> on one end and to the chassis <NUM> on the other end. The feederhouse assembly <NUM> may move (e.g., up and down, tilt, etc.) based on actuation of the hydraulic cylinders <NUM>, which causes the harvesting header <NUM> to also be raised, lowered, and/or tilted. A power take-off (PTO) shaft <NUM> may be configured to provide mechanical power to the harvesting header <NUM> during operation of the combine harvester <NUM>. The PTO shaft <NUM> may be configured to operate at various speeds, as described in, for example, <CIT>.

In general, the harvesting header <NUM> cuts crop and transfers the cut crop materials to the front (inlet) end of the feederhouse assembly <NUM>. Such crop materials are moved upwardly and rearwardly within and beyond the feederhouse assembly <NUM> (e.g., by a conveyer) until reaching a processing system <NUM> comprising a thresher rotor. In one embodiment, the thresher rotor may comprise a single, transverse rotor, such as that found in a Gleaner® Super Series Combine by AGCO. Other designs may be used, such as axial-based, twin rotor, or hybrid designs. The thresher rotor processes the crop materials in known manner and passes a portion of the crop material (e.g., heavier chaff, corn stalks, etc.) toward the rear of the combine harvester <NUM> and another portion (e.g., grain and possibly light chaff) through a cleaning process. In the processing system <NUM>, the crop materials undergo threshing and separating operations. In other words, the crop materials are threshed and separated by the thresher rotor operating in cooperation with processing members in the form of threshing concave assemblies and separator grate assemblies, with the grain (and possibly light chaff) escaping through the concave assemblies and the grate assemblies and to a cleaning system located beneath the processor to facilitate the cleaning of the heavier crop material. Bulkier stalk and leaf materials are generally retained by the concave assemblies and the grate assemblies and are discharged out from the processing system <NUM> and ultimately out of the rear of the combine harvester <NUM>. The cleaned grain that drops to the bottom of the cleaning system is delivered by a conveying mechanism that transports the grain to an elevator, which conveys the grain to a grain bin <NUM> located at the top of the combine harvester <NUM>. Any remaining chaff and partially or unthreshed grain is recirculated through the processing system <NUM> via a tailings return conveying mechanism. As the grain bin <NUM> fills, an unloading auger <NUM> may remove grain therefrom to another vehicle traveling alongside the combine harvester <NUM>. Because combine processing is known to those having ordinary skill in the art, further discussion thereof is omitted here for brevity. In embodiments in which the agricultural harvester is a windrower or forage harvester, the processing system <NUM> may include conditioning rollers, rather than separation devices. Furthermore, the grain bin <NUM> and unloading auger <NUM> may be omitted in such embodiments.

<FIG> is a simplified perspective view of the feederhouse assembly <NUM> of the combine harvester <NUM> shown in <FIG>. As shown, a feederhouse <NUM> has an inlet end <NUM> and an outlet end <NUM>. Crop material entering the feederhouse assembly <NUM> from the harvesting header travels from the inlet end <NUM> toward the outlet end <NUM> on the way to the processing system <NUM> (<FIG>). The harvesting header is coupled to the feederhouse <NUM> by a frame <NUM>, which is adjustable to control the orientation of the harvesting header <NUM> with respect to the combine harvester <NUM>.

Control of the harvesting header <NUM> is important to enable a farmer to properly harvest crops. Adjustment of the frame <NUM> also facilitates connecting and disconnecting the harvesting header <NUM> because the frame <NUM> can be positioned to match the orientation of the harvesting header <NUM>.

The frame <NUM> is adjusted by pivoting about a rotational shaft <NUM>. Hydraulic cylinders, electric actuators, or other means may be configured to apply forces on the frame <NUM> to rotate the frame <NUM> about the rotational shaft <NUM>, such as using hydraulic cylinders described in more detail in <CIT>.

<FIG> is a front perspective view showing more detail of the frame <NUM> and the rotational shaft <NUM>. The frame <NUM> is depicted in <FIG> with its top cover removed for clarity. The rotational shaft <NUM> is connected to hoses <NUM> disposed within the frame <NUM> configured to contain pressurized fluid, and which are connected to hydraulic cylinders <NUM> within the frame <NUM>. The hydraulic cylinders <NUM> may be used to adjust the pitch of the front face of the frame <NUM> with respect to the feederhouse <NUM> to control the orientation of the harvesting header attached to the frame <NUM>. The hoses <NUM> are connected through the rotational shaft <NUM> to hoses <NUM> of the feederhouse <NUM>, which are connected to a source of pressurized fluid carried by the combine harvester <NUM>.

The rotational shaft <NUM> may be a unitary or monolithic body with fittings (e.g., screw-on fittings) to which the hoses <NUM>, <NUM> are connected. The unitary body has at least one inner surface defining the fluid passages (e.g., tubular channels). In such embodiments, the rotational shaft <NUM> may be capable of supporting forces (e.g., weight) nearly equivalent to forces supportable by a solid rotational shaft having similar dimensions and materials. The fluid passages through the rotational shaft <NUM> may have a relatively small effect on the mechanical properties of the rotational shaft <NUM>. In other embodiments, the rotational shaft <NUM> may be hollow, having hoses or tubes passing through a hollow core. In such embodiments, the rotational shaft <NUM> may have a relatively larger diameter to support the weight of the harvesting header, or another support may be added elsewhere to carry the load (e.g., hydraulic cylinders connecting the frame <NUM> to the feederhouse <NUM>).

<FIG> depicts two hydraulic cylinders <NUM>, one on each side of the top of the frame <NUM>, but any number of hydraulic cylinders <NUM> may be used to control the location of the front face of the frame <NUM>. The hydraulic cylinders <NUM> may be single-action hydraulic cylinders, such that each hydraulic cylinder <NUM> applies a hydraulic force in one direction only. In other embodiments, the hydraulic cylinders <NUM> may be double-action hydraulic cylinders configured to apply hydraulic forces in two opposing directions.

In use, the hoses <NUM> attached to one end of the rotational shaft <NUM> may be fixed with respect to the feederhouse <NUM>, and the hoses <NUM> may be fixed with respect to the frame <NUM>. As the frame <NUM> rotates about the rotational shaft <NUM>, the hoses <NUM> move with the frame <NUM>. The fluid passages within the rotational shaft <NUM> ensure that pressurized fluid can pass from the hoses <NUM> to the hoses <NUM> and back over a wide operating range of angles of the frame <NUM>. Because the hoses <NUM> are not connected directly to the hoses <NUM>, the danger of damage to the hoses <NUM>, <NUM> during field operations is limited.

As shown in <FIG>, the frame <NUM> defines a crop opening <NUM> through which crop material can pass from the harvesting header to the processing system <NUM> of the combine harvester <NUM>.

The fluid passages within the rotational shaft <NUM> may limit or eliminate risks of tangling fluid hoses, connecting fluid hoses incorrectly, etc. Furthermore, the hoses may be covered within the frame and the feederhouse, such that the hoses are protected from damage from external sources. The feederhouse assembly described herein may be relatively more compact than convention assemblies.

Claim 1:
A feederhouse assembly (<NUM>) for an agricultural harvester (<NUM>), the feederhouse assembly comprising:
a feederhouse (<NUM>) comprising an inlet end (<NUM>);
a rotational shaft (<NUM>) coupled to the feederhouse; and
a frame (<NUM>) adjacent the inlet end and arranged to pivot about the rotational shaft relative to the feederhouse, the frame defining a crop opening (<NUM>) therethrough and configured to carry a harvesting header (<NUM>),
wherein the rotational shaft (<NUM>) defines a plurality of fluid passages therethrough, characterized in that the fluid passages are configured to be connected to a pressurized fluid source carried by the agricultural harvester.