Patent Description:
Agricultural harvesting machines, such as balers, are used to consolidate and package crop material so as to facilitate the storage and handling of the crop material for later use. In the case of hay, a mower-conditioner is typically used to cut and condition the crop material for windrow drying in the sun. In the case of straw, an agricultural combine discharges non-grain crop material from the rear of the combine defining the straw (such as wheat or oat straw) which is to be picked up by the baler. The cut crop material is typically raked and dried, and a baler, such as a large square baler or round baler, straddles the windrows and travels along the windrows to pick up the crop material and form it into bales.

A round baler may generally include a chassis, supported by wheels, a pickup unit to engage and lift the crop material into the baler, a cutting unit, a main bale chamber for forming a bale, and a wrapping mechanism for wrapping or tying a material around the bale after it has been formed in the main bale chamber. As the baler is towed over a windrow, the pickup unit lifts the crop material into the baler. Then, the crop material may be cut into smaller pieces by the cutting unit. Many balers include a windguard, which holds down crop material as it is being fed to prevent it from being blown off the pickup floor and ensure adequate compaction of the crop material for appropriate feeding into the vehicle. As the crop material enters the main bale chamber, multiple carrier elements, e.g. rollers, chains and slats, and/or belts, will begin to roll a bale of hay within the chamber. These carrier elements are movable so that the chamber can initially contract and subsequently expand to maintain an appropriate amount of pressure on the periphery of the bale. After the bale is formed and wrapped by the wrapping mechanism, the rear of the baler is configured to open for allowing the bale to be discharged onto the field.

In certain instances, compacted crop material may not be properly conveyed and form a blockage. The formed blockage interferes with crop material movement and, if severe enough, needs to be removed before resuming crop material collection. Thus, crop material blockages can detrimentally affect operation of the agricultural vehicle. <CIT> discloses a pick-up assembly having a pick-up drum, rotatably mounted to a frame, a windguard, attached to a support linkage which is pivotably mounted to the frame, at least one winch drum, rotatably attached with respect to the frame and at least one flexible elongate element having opposite first and second end regions. The first end region is attached to the support linkage and the second end region is windably attached to the at least one winch drum.

What is needed in the art is a way to reduce the risk of crop material blockages detrimentally affecting operation of an agricultural vehicle.

The present invention provides a feeding assembly as defined by appended claim <NUM>. Preferred aspects of the invention are defined by the dependent claims.

One possible advantage that may be realized by exemplary embodiments provided according to the present disclosure is that windguard retainer can retain the windguard in the second position to make it easier to remove a crop material blockage in an area around the pickup.

An advantage of the present invention is that the windguard tines may be moved while the windguard is retained in the second position, without moving the entirety of the windguard, in order to remove a crop material blockage.

The terms "forward", "rearward", "left" and "right", when used in connection with the agricultural baler and/or components thereof are usually determined with reference to the direction of forward operative travel of the towing vehicle, but they should not be construed as limiting. The terms "longitudinal" and "transverse" are determined with reference to the fore-and-aft direction of the towing vehicle and are equally not to be construed as limiting.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to <FIG>, an exemplary embodiment of an agricultural vehicle <NUM> in the form of a round baler is shown to include a chassis terminating forwardly in a tongue <NUM> and rearward slightly beyond a transverse axle 12a to which a pair of wheels 12b (only one shown) is mounted, thus forming a wheel supported chassis. The chassis supports a series of belts <NUM> and floor rolls, which together with a first sidewall 14a (shown in the breakout) behind and generally parallel to cover panel <NUM> and a second sidewall 14b, collectively forming a bale chamber <NUM>. Cut crop material is picked up by a pickup <NUM> and fed through a harvesting assembly into the bale chamber <NUM> where it is formed into a cylindrically shaped bale by a series of conveyor belts <NUM>. The pickup <NUM> is carried by the chassis and includes a transverse pickup reel <NUM> and a plurality of tines <NUM> carried by the pickup reel <NUM>. The bale is then optionally wrapped with twine or a net wrapping material dispensed from a wrapping mechanism generally behind shield <NUM>. Upon completion of the optional wrapping process, the tailgate <NUM> pivots upwardly about pivot points 51a, 51b and the bale is discharged onto the ground. It should be appreciated that while the agricultural vehicle <NUM> is illustrated and described as a round baler, in some embodiments the agricultural vehicle <NUM> is configured as a different type of baler, such as a large square baler, or a different type of vehicle altogether, such as a forage harvester.

With further reference to <FIG>, and referring now to <FIG> as well, it is illustrated how the agricultural vehicle <NUM> includes a feeding assembly <NUM> including the previously described pickup <NUM>, a rotor <NUM> having rotor fins <NUM> disposed rearwardly from the pickup <NUM>, and a windguard assembly <NUM>. The windguard assembly <NUM> includes a pair of movable support arms <NUM> (with only one illustrated in <FIG>), which may be pivotably coupled to the chassis of the vehicle <NUM>, and a windguard <NUM> coupled to the support arms <NUM>. As is known, the windguard <NUM> includes a tube <NUM> and a plurality of windguard tines <NUM> that are coupled to the tube <NUM>. The windguard <NUM> may be moved, such as pivoted, by the support arms <NUM> between various positions, as is known. As illustrated in <FIG>, the windguard <NUM> may be moved, e.g., pivoted, from a first position to a second position that is elevated relative to the first position. In some embodiments, the second position is a fully raised position of the windguard <NUM>. In the illustrated embodiment, the windguard <NUM> is pivoted by the support arms <NUM> about a first axis of rotation AR1, but it should be appreciated that the windguard <NUM> may be moved between the first position and the second position in a variety of ways. Thus, the windguard <NUM> can be moved to various positions to hold down and compact crop material as it is collected by the pickup <NUM>.

In known agricultural vehicles, such as balers, there are sometimes instances where crop material being collected by the pickup forms a blockage at the pickup. If the blockage becomes too large, collection by the pickup is significantly disrupted. An operator must stop operation of the vehicle and clear the blockage, which creates downtime of the vehicle and can be dangerous if the operator must manually clear the blockage. To address the risk of operator injury while clearing blockages, there have been proposals for safety regulations aimed at preventing the operator from manually clearing crop material blockages. Further, the windguard being in a lowered position, such as a harvesting position, can impede removal of a blockage from the pickup area.

To address some of the previously described issues with known agricultural vehicles, and referring now to <FIG> and <FIG> as well, the feeding assembly <NUM> provided according to the present disclosure includes a windguard retainer <NUM> that is configured to engage the windguard <NUM> when the windguard <NUM> is elevated to the second position and retain the windguard <NUM> in the second position. As illustrated, the windguard retainer <NUM> is coupled to a frame <NUM> of the vehicle <NUM> and may include a base portion <NUM> with at least one hook <NUM>, illustrated as two hooks, that is placed, or may be placed, in the movement path of the windguard <NUM> to the second position. When the windguard <NUM> is in the second position, the windguard <NUM> may engage the hooks <NUM>, which retain the windguard <NUM> in place. For example, the tube <NUM> of the windguard <NUM> may be engaged by the hooks <NUM> so the hooks <NUM> retain the windguard <NUM> in the second position via the tube <NUM>. While the windguard retainer <NUM> is illustrated and described as including hooks <NUM> to engage and retain the windguard <NUM> in the second position, the windguard retainer <NUM> may be configured in other ways to engage and retain the windguard <NUM> in the second position, e.g., by including a slot that captures a portion of the windguard <NUM>. Further, while the windguard retainer <NUM> is illustrated as engaging the tube <NUM> of the windguard <NUM> to retain the windguard <NUM> in the second position, in some embodiments a windguard retainer 220A (illustrated in dashed lines) is provided, alternatively or additionally to the windguard retainer <NUM>, that is configured to engage at least one of the support arms <NUM> when the windguard <NUM> is in the second position to retain the windguard <NUM> in the second position. It should thus be appreciated that the windguard <NUM> may be retained by one or more windguard retainers <NUM>, 220A in a variety of ways according to the present disclosure.

Referring specifically now to <FIG> and <FIG>, the support arms <NUM> are pivotable about the first axis of rotation AR1 to pivot the entirety of the windguard <NUM> between the first position and the second position, as previously described. The windguard tines <NUM> may be configured to move, such as pivot, without moving the entirety of the windguard <NUM> while the windguard <NUM> is in the second position to, for example, dislodge and remove a crop material blockage that has developed in an area around the pickup <NUM>. For example, the windguard tines <NUM> may be configured to be pivoted toward and/or away from the pickup <NUM>, e.g., downwardly and/or upwardly, to dislodge the crop material blockage. The windguard tines <NUM> may be pivotable about a second axis of rotation AR2, illustrated as being defined by the tube <NUM>, that is non-coaxial with the first axis of rotation AR1. <FIG> illustrates the windguard tines <NUM> in an unpivoted position (illustrated in solid lines) and a pivoted position (illustrated in dashed lines), with the windguard tines <NUM> being pivoted to the pivoted position to act as a rake and remove crop material from the area around the pickup <NUM>. Retaining the windguard <NUM> in the second position with the windguard retainer <NUM> provides support for the windguard <NUM>, which allows the windguard tines <NUM> to be moved, such as pivoted toward the pickup <NUM>, independently of movement of the support arms <NUM> and be used to clear a blockage from the area around the pickup <NUM>.

The windguard tines <NUM> are be moved, for example, by the tube <NUM> being pivotable with respect to the support arms <NUM> so the tube <NUM> and the coupled windguard tines <NUM> are pivotable independently of the support arms <NUM>. The tube <NUM> may be pivotable independently of the support arms <NUM> by, for example, mounting the tube <NUM> on a bushing <NUM> carried by each support arm <NUM> or by journaling each end of the tube <NUM> in a slot formed in the support arms <NUM>. Alternatively, the windguard tines <NUM> may be pivotable with respect to the tube <NUM> without the tube <NUM> being pivotable with respect to the support arms <NUM> by, for example, forming the windguard tines <NUM> of a flexible material that can elastically bend when force is applied thereto or by pivotably mounting each of the windguard tines <NUM> to the tube <NUM>. It should thus be appreciated that the windguard tines <NUM> may be moved without moving the entirety of the windguard <NUM> in a large variety of ways according to the present disclosure.

The feeding assembly <NUM> includes an actuator <NUM> that is configured to selectively activate and move at least one of the windguard tines <NUM> toward, and/or away from, the pickup <NUM> to clear a crop material blockage. The actuator <NUM> may, as illustrated, include a movable actuator rod <NUM> and a bar <NUM> coupled to the actuator rod <NUM>. As can be appreciated from <FIG> and <FIG>, the bar <NUM> is configured to bear on at least two of the windguard tines <NUM> to pivot the at least two windguard tines <NUM> downwardly. To do this, the actuator rod <NUM> may be extended to force the bar <NUM> against the windguard tines <NUM> and cause the windguard tines <NUM> to pivot about the second axis of rotation AR2. It should be appreciated that an actuator may be provided to move, e.g., pivot, the windguard tines <NUM> toward and/or away from the pickup <NUM> in other ways, e.g., by coupling an actuator directly to one or more of the windguard tines <NUM> and activating the actuator to pivot the windguard tines <NUM>. The actuator rod <NUM> can then be retracted to return the windguard tines <NUM> to the unpivoted position. In some embodiments, the tube <NUM> and/or at least one of the windguard tines <NUM> is coupled to a spring <NUM> that is configured to return the tube <NUM> and/or the windguard tines <NUM> to the unpivoted position when the pivoting force acting on the tube <NUM> and/or the windguard tine(s) <NUM> is removed. A stop <NUM> may also be included to ensure the tube <NUM> and/or the windguard tines <NUM> do not excessively pivot when returning to the unpivoted position.

In some embodiments, a controller <NUM> is operatively coupled to the actuator <NUM> and configured to output signals to the actuator <NUM> to control function of the actuator <NUM>. As illustrated, the controller <NUM> may be a baler controller of the baler <NUM>. However, it should be appreciated that, in some embodiments, the controller <NUM> is carried by a vehicle towing the baler <NUM>, such as a tractor, and/or part of an ISOBUS system that controls various functions of the towing vehicle and/or the baler <NUM>. In some embodiments, the controller <NUM> is configured to execute a blockage clear protocol, which may begin with the controller <NUM> outputting a windguard raise signal that causes raising of the windguard <NUM> to the second position.

The controller <NUM> may be configured to determine a clearance C between the pickup reel <NUM> and the windguard <NUM> in the second position is at least a defined amount. When the controller <NUM> determines that the clearance C is at least the defined amount, the controller <NUM> may responsively output an actuation signal to the actuator <NUM> to activate the actuator <NUM>, e.g., to extend the actuator rod <NUM>, to move at least one of the windguard tines <NUM> toward and/or away from the pickup <NUM> to clear a blockage. The controller <NUM> may determine the clearance C based on signals from one or more position sensors <NUM>, <NUM> associated with the windguard <NUM> and/or the pickup reel <NUM>, which may also be movable, and a difference between the positions of the windguard <NUM> and the pickup reel <NUM>.

If the clearance C between the windguard <NUM> and the pickup reel <NUM> is less than the defined amount, the controller <NUM> may be configured to lockout activation of the actuator <NUM> until the clearance C is at least the defined amount when the windguard <NUM> is in the second position. By locking out the actuator <NUM> when the clearance C is not at least the defined amount, the controller <NUM> can prevent the pivoted windguard tines <NUM> from contacting the pickup reel <NUM> and/or tines <NUM> while clearing the blockage. In some embodiments, the controller <NUM> is also configured to output a pickup lower signal to cause lowering of the pickup reel <NUM> when the clearance C is less than the defined amount and the windguard <NUM> is in the second position. The pickup lower signal may cause an actuator coupled to the pickup reel <NUM> to lower the pickup reel <NUM> further and, if necessary, may also cause the vehicle <NUM> to adjust so the ground clearance of the vehicle <NUM> increases to allow further downward movement of the pickup reel <NUM>. After pivoting the windguard tines <NUM> to clear the blockage, the controller <NUM> may output signals to cause retraction of the actuator rod <NUM> and lowering of the windguard <NUM> from the second position to an operating position, e.g., the first position, for further crop material collection. It should thus be appreciated that the controller <NUM> may automate some or all of the functions needed to clear out a blockage from the area around the pickup <NUM> using the windguard tines <NUM> and then return the windguard <NUM> to an operating position.

In some embodiments, the windguard retainer <NUM>, and/or the windguard retainer 220A, is movable to engage the windguard <NUM> and/or disengage from the windguard <NUM>. For example, the windguard retainer <NUM> may be configured similarly to a latch gate where the windguard retainer <NUM> latches into engagement with the windguard <NUM> when the windguard <NUM> is moved to the second position. To engage the windguard retainer <NUM> with the windguard <NUM> or disengage the windguard retainer <NUM> from the windguard <NUM>, a retainer actuator <NUM> coupled to the windguard retainer <NUM> may be selectively activated, by the controller <NUM> or otherwise, to selectively move the windguard retainer <NUM> into engagement and/or out of engagement with the windguard <NUM>. The retainer actuator <NUM> may, for example, be coupled to the hooks <NUM> and configured to move the hooks <NUM> toward the tube <NUM> to engage the tube <NUM> and/or away from the tube <NUM> to disengage from the windguard <NUM>. In some embodiments, the retainer actuator <NUM> moves the windguard retainer <NUM> in a first direction to engage the windguard <NUM> in the second position to retain the windguard <NUM> in the second position and then moves the windguard retainer <NUM> in a second direction, opposite the first direction, to disengage from the windguard <NUM> and allow return of the windguard <NUM> to the first position. The controller <NUM> may control activation of the windguard retainer <NUM> so the windguard retainer <NUM> engages the windguard <NUM> when the windguard <NUM> reaches the second position and/or disengages from the windguard <NUM> after pivoting of the windguard tines <NUM> to clear a blockage.

From the foregoing, it should be appreciated that the feeding assembly <NUM> provided according to the present disclosure includes a windguard retainer <NUM>, 220A that can retain the windguard <NUM> in an elevated second position. The windguard <NUM> being in the elevated second position can maintain an increased clearance between the windguard <NUM> and the pickup reel <NUM>, which may help with removing crop material blockages around the pickup <NUM>. In some embodiments, the windguard tines <NUM> can be moved, without moving the entirety of the windguard <NUM>, toward and/or away from the pickup <NUM> to remove a crop material blockage, providing additional functionality to the windguard tines <NUM> and allowing an operator to clear crop material blockages without having to manually remove the crop material blockage. Thus, the feeding assembly <NUM> provided according to the present disclosure can reduce the risk of an operator getting injured while clearing crop material blockages around the pickup <NUM> and also provides a convenient way for an operator to clear crop material blockages without having to leave an operator cabin of a vehicle.

Referring now to <FIG>, an exemplary embodiment of a method <NUM> of adjusting the windguard <NUM> of the agricultural vehicle <NUM> provided according to the present disclosure is illustrated. The method <NUM> includes moving <NUM> the windguard <NUM> to the second position, which is elevated relative to the first position, and moving <NUM> at least one windguard tine <NUM> of the windguard <NUM> without moving the entirety of the windguard <NUM> to remove a crop material blockage from an area around the pickup <NUM>, as previously described. The windguard tine(s) <NUM> may be moved, for example, by pivoting the windguard tine(s) <NUM> toward and/or away from the pickup <NUM>. In some embodiments, the windguard <NUM> is engaged <NUM> with the windguard retainer <NUM>, 220A when the windguard <NUM> is in the second position, prior to moving <NUM> the windguard tine(s) <NUM>, to support the windguard <NUM> while moving <NUM> the windguard tine(s) <NUM>. After moving <NUM> the windguard tine(s) <NUM> to remove the crop material blockage, the windguard <NUM> may be returned <NUM> to the first position, which may be a collection position, so operation of the vehicle <NUM> may resume as normal.

Claim 1:
A feeding assembly (<NUM>) for an agricultural vehicle (<NUM>), comprising:
a pickup (<NUM>) comprising a pickup reel (<NUM>) carrying a plurality of tines (<NUM>);
a rotor (<NUM>) comprising a plurality of rotor fins (<NUM>) disposed rearwardly from the pickup (<NUM>); and
a windguard assembly (<NUM>) comprising a pair of movable support arms (<NUM>) and a windguard (<NUM>) coupled to the support arms (<NUM>), the windguard (<NUM>) comprising a tube (<NUM>) and a plurality of windguard tines (<NUM>) coupled to the tube (<NUM>), the windguard (<NUM>) being movable from a first position to a second position that is elevated relative to the first position;
a windguard retainer (<NUM>, 220A) configured to engage the windguard (<NUM>) when the windguard (<NUM>) is in the second position and retain the windguard (<NUM>) in the second position, wherein the windguard tines (<NUM>) are configured to move without moving an entirety of the windguard (<NUM>) while the windguard (<NUM>) is in the second position, and wherein the support arms (<NUM>) are pivotable about a first axis of rotation (AR1) and the windguard tines (<NUM>) are pivotable about a second axis of rotation (AR2) that is non-coaxial with the first axis of rotation (AR1), the windguard tines (<NUM>) being configured to pivot toward and/or away from the pickup (<NUM>) to dislodge a crop material blockage;
characterized by:
an actuator (<NUM>) configured to selectively activate and pivot at least one of the windguard tines (<NUM>) without moving the entirety of the windguard (<NUM>) .