Patent Description:
In particular, the present invention relates to a harvester header for harvesting, for example, soybean, barley, triticale, rapeseed, broad beans and other thin-stemmed crops including a cutter bar, for example intended for cutting.

Similar headers are described within patent documents <CIT> and <CIT>. A header according to the preamble of claim <NUM> is known from <CIT>.

As is known, agricultural harvesting machines consist, briefly, of a machine body equipped with movement means and a motor connected at the front to one or more harvesting heads.

These harvesting headers may vary according to the purposes for which they are intended.

For example, the harvesting heads for sunflowers or corn are arranged in the most advanced portion of the agricultural machine, generally a combine harvester, considering the direction and normal direction of rectilinear movement, and have conveyors capable of conveying the cut plants towards a central portion of header. As regards the collection of soybeans, as well as of other plants with thin stems, the machines are provided with at least one cutting device adapted to act along the direction of advance imposed by the handling means.

Therefore, these apparatuses preferably have a movable or, better said, floating cutter bar capable of crawling on the ground and cutting the soybean plants as close as possible to the ground in correspondence with the stem, allowing the harvesting of pods close to the ground.

These bars follow the movement of the harvesting machine and can also move according to the roughness of the ground and the force to which they are subjected. In particular, this movement consists in a substantial floating of the bars above the ground.

The flotation and efficiency of the cutting bars, or cutter bars, therefore depends on the stiffness of the structure characterizing the bars themselves.

Documents <CIT> and <CIT> describe some particular measures adopted in order to allow the controlled float of the cutter bar.

Document <CIT> describes a harvester header including a frame to which a cutter bar is constrained in a compliant way so that the cutter bar can rotate or float relative to the frame relative to the ground and in which rotation is controlled by a system of oleo-dynamic damping with actuator arranged substantially vertically operating by thrust.

The head just described includes some important drawbacks.

In particular, the damping mechanism is inefficient. The stresses are not discharged effectively and, moreover, the mechanism must be subject to continuous maintenance to ensure good performance.

Document <CIT> substantially describes a combine harvester header including a frame comprising supports on which it is rotatably constrained to a shaft to which support arms are constrained, the peculiarity of which is to define two axes of rotation, with respect to the supports, in such a way as to balance any roughness and relieve any stresses deriving from bending or torsion of the support arms.

In this regard, the constraint made by the support arms with respect to the supports is achieved with a triangular hinged mechanism, including at least one lifting piston, operating by pushing, and a sleeve in correspondence with which the rotation axes meet.

The head just described also includes some drawbacks.

In particular, the mechanism that allows the cutter bar to float is very complex. Therefore, such a solution cannot be cheap.

Furthermore, even in this case, maintenance is very important since the labilities of the components must be kept controlled in order to prevent the cutter bar from arriving to be broken.

In this situation, the technical task underlying the present invention is to devise an improved harvester header capable of substantially obviating at least part of the aforementioned drawbacks.

Within the scope of said technical task it is an important object of the invention to obtain an improved harvester header which allows the cutter bar to float efficiently. Another important object of the invention is to provide an improved combine header that is simple and economical.

A further aim of the invention is to provide an improved combine harvester head which allows rapid maintenance to be carried out.

The technical task and the specified aims are achieved by an improved harvester header as claimed in the annexed claim <NUM>.

The characteristics and advantages of the invention are clarified below by the detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:.

With reference to the figures, the improved harvester header according to the invention is globally indicated with the number <NUM>.

This combine harvester head <NUM> is, in particular, adapted to be installed on harvesting machines such as, for example, a harvester header or similar motorized vehicle, and comprises at least one arm <NUM>, to which at least one cutter bar is associated 10a, and a frame <NUM>.

Naturally, preferably, the harvester header <NUM> includes a plurality of arms <NUM> connected to the frame <NUM> along the extension of the cutter bar 10a.

The arm <NUM> is substantially the header portion of the harvester header <NUM> which supports the cutter bar 10a and which is capable of proceeding integrally with the latter adjacent to the ground in such a way as to cut the crops it encounters in its path.

The arm <NUM>, therefore, moves following the roughness of the ground in such a way as to perform the cut correctly. The movement of the arm <NUM> on the ground involves a movement defined as "floating" of the arm <NUM>.

The frame <NUM> is, therefore, able to support the arm <NUM> on the ground which comprises the plurality of crops to be cut.

The combine header <NUM> comprises a first connector <NUM> and a second connector <NUM>. The first connector <NUM> is substantially a component configured to connect the cutter bar <NUM> to the frame <NUM>. In this regard, preferably, the first connector <NUM> comprises at least a first component <NUM>.

The first component <NUM> is substantially an elongated element which joins the cutter bar <NUM> to the frame <NUM>. The first component <NUM> is therefore constrained between the cutter bar <NUM> and the frame <NUM>.

The first component <NUM>, in particular, defines its own extension. The extension of the first component <NUM>, therefore, defines the distance between the constraint areas of the cutter bar <NUM> and of the frame <NUM>.

According to the invention, the first component <NUM> is adjustable in such a way as to allow the extension of the first component <NUM> to be controlled.

The first connector <NUM> also defines a first axis of rotation 2a.

The first axis of rotation 2a is preferably parallel to the ground. The first axis of rotation 2a is, in addition, the axis about which the arm <NUM> can rotate with respect to the frame <NUM>.

Naturally, the first axis of rotation 2a could be arranged in the constraint area between the arm <NUM> and the first component <NUM>. Or, at any point along the extension of the first component <NUM>. Or again in the constraint area between the frame <NUM> and the first component <NUM>.

Preferably, the first axis of rotation 2a is arranged in the constraint area between the frame <NUM> and the first component <NUM>.

In particular, preferably, the first component <NUM> is constrained to the frame <NUM> by means of a first hinge <NUM>.

The first hinge <NUM> is substantially any mechanical hinge which allows relative rotation between the first component <NUM> and the frame <NUM>.

The first hinge <NUM>, therefore, preferably defines the first axis of rotation 2a.

The second connector <NUM> is also capable of connecting the arm <NUM> to the frame <NUM>. Therefore, the second connector <NUM> is constrained between the frame <NUM> and the arm <NUM>. In fact, the second connector <NUM> is an element that works at traction and allows to keep the arm <NUM> supported with respect to the ground.

The second connector <NUM> comprises at least a second component <NUM>.

The second component <NUM>, in particular, also defines its own extension. The extension of the second component <NUM> therefore defines the distance between the constraint areas of the cutter bar <NUM> and of the frame <NUM>.

The second component <NUM> can therefore comprise an element capable of varying its extension such as, for example, a shock absorber or a piston or a telescopic actuator of the oleo-dynamic or other type.

Any other equivalent element can, however, be used.

Such second components <NUM> are, in fact, extremely well known to those skilled in the art and are widely used for connecting the arm <NUM> to the frame <NUM>.

Advantageously, the second connector <NUM> is arranged above the first component <NUM>, with respect to the ground. Therefore, the second connector <NUM> traction supports the arm <NUM> with respect to the frame <NUM>.

The first connector <NUM>, therefore, defines the mutual rotation constraint between the arm <NUM> and the frame <NUM>, while the second connector <NUM> defines the support for the arm <NUM> with respect to to the frame <NUM>.

Preferably still more in detail, the second connector <NUM> is configured to determine the positioning of the arm <NUM>, and therefore of the cutter bar 10a, with respect to the ground.

The second component <NUM> includes control means <NUM>.

The control means <NUM> are substantially configured to exert a pulling or pulling force on the arm <NUM> with respect to the ground.

Therefore, thanks to the control means <NUM>, it is possible to determine the position of the arm <NUM> and its possibility of movement with respect to the ground and / or the stiffness of the second connector <NUM>.

Such control means <NUM> can comprise an adjustable oleo-dynamic piston, or an elastic element, such as a spring, which can be preloaded. Therefore, the control means <NUM> preferably allow to adjust the stiffness of the second connector <NUM>. Furthermore, the second connector <NUM> is preferably loosely constrained to both the frame <NUM> and the arm <NUM> in such a way as to accommodate the rotation of the arm <NUM>, with respect to the frame <NUM>, around the first axis of rotation 2a.

In this regard, preferably, the second connector <NUM> defines a second axis of rotation 3a.

The second axis of rotation 3a is preferably an axis of reciprocal rotation between the arm <NUM> and the second connector <NUM> or between the second connector <NUM> and the frame <NUM>.

The second axis of rotation 3a is also parallel to the ground and, therefore, is also parallel to the first axis of rotation 2a.

Preferably, moreover, the second axis of rotation 3a and the first axis of rotation 2a are preferably separated and spaced apart from each other.

In particular, the second axis of rotation 3a is preferably arranged in the constraint area between the frame <NUM> and the second connector <NUM> in such a way as to be above the second axis of rotation 2a with respect to the ground.

The second component <NUM> is therefore preferably constrained to the frame <NUM> by means of a second hinge <NUM>.

The second hinge <NUM> can be substantially any mechanical hinge which allows relative rotation between the second component <NUM> and the frame <NUM>.

The second hinge <NUM>, therefore, preferably defines the second axis of rotation 3a. Furthermore, the second component <NUM> can be fastened to the arm <NUM> by means of a third hinge <NUM>.

The third hinge <NUM>, if present, can be substantially any mechanical hinge that allows relative rotation between the second component <NUM> and the arm <NUM>.

The third hinge <NUM>, therefore, preferably defines a third axis of rotation 3b.

The third axis of rotation 3b is preferably parallel to the ground and to the second axis of rotation 3a.

Naturally, the hinges <NUM>, <NUM> may not be present or be replaced by equivalent elements, such as elastomeric hinges or bearingless structures. The presence of hinges <NUM>, <NUM>, or equivalent elements, is preferable especially if the second component <NUM> includes rigid elements, while it is completely superfluous especially if the second component <NUM> is deformable, for example if the second component <NUM> is entirely elastic.

Preferably, the components <NUM>, <NUM> and the frame <NUM> form a triangular arrangement. In particular, preferably the distance between the first rotation axis 2a and the second rotation axis 3a and the distance between the first rotation axis 2a and the arm <NUM> are constant, while the distance between the arm <NUM> and the second rotation axis 3a is preferably variable and determined by the configuration of the control means <NUM>.

From a structural point of view, in addition, preferably the first component <NUM> and the second component <NUM> are constrained to the arm <NUM> in correspondence with two distinct and separate areas of the arm <NUM>. However, they could also join arm <NUM> also in the same area.

As already described, advantageously, the second component <NUM> is therefore arranged above the first component <NUM>, or rather farther from the ground than the first component <NUM>.

Therefore, the first axis of rotation 2a is substantially closer to the ground than the second axis of rotation 3a.

The operation of the improved harvester header <NUM> previously described in structural terms is as follows.

When the arm <NUM> moves following the roughness of the ground on which the combine header moves, the arm <NUM> rotates around the first axis of rotation 2a thanks to the first component <NUM>.

During the rotation, the movements are controlled by the control means <NUM> which hold, or support, the arm <NUM> substantially pulling it towards the frame <NUM>.

The improved combine harvester header <NUM> according to the invention achieves important advantages.

In fact, the improved harvester header allows the arm on which the cutter bar is constrained to float in a controlled and therefore effective manner.

This advantage is also achieved in the face of high simplicity, in terms of components used, and cost-effectiveness.

Therefore, the harvester header according to the invention allows the maintenance of the components to be carried out in a simple manner.

Another important advantage is given by the fact that in the improved harvester header <NUM> according to the invention, the second connector <NUM> and the control means <NUM> do not work by pushing, as in the devices of the prior art, but work by traction, substantially pulling the arm <NUM> towards the frame <NUM> and not moving it away from it. This implies that the loads and stresses to which the second connector <NUM> is subjected are reduced with respect to the loads involved in the configurations of the prior art.

Claim 1:
A combine harvester header (<NUM>) comprising
- an arm (<NUM>) associated with at least one cutter bar (10a) and a frame (<NUM>) adapted to support said arm (<NUM>) over a soil comprising a plurality of crops to be cut,
- a first connector (<NUM>) including a first component (<NUM>) constrained between said frame (<NUM>) and said arm (<NUM>) and defining at least a first axis of rotation (2a) parallel to said soil around which said arm (<NUM>) can rotate with respect to said frame (<NUM>),
- a second connector (<NUM>) including a second component (<NUM>) variable in extension, constrained between said frame (<NUM>) and said arm (<NUM>) and arranged above said first connector (<NUM>) with respect to said soil so as to support by traction said arm (<NUM>) with respect to said frame (<NUM>),
- said first component (<NUM>) defining its own extension and being adjustable so as to allow said extension to be controlled, and
characterised in that
said second connector (<NUM>) comprises control means (<NUM>) configured to exert a traction or pulling force on said arm (<NUM>) with respect to said soil.