Patent Document

The United States Government has rights in this invention pursuant to Contact No. DE-AC07-99ID13727 with Bechtel BWXT Idaho, LLC. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to harvesting crop materials and, more particularly, to the selective harvesting of multiple components of such a crop material desirably in a single pass across a crop field with a harvesting machine. 
     2. State of the Art 
     In known combine harvesters, a crop or plant material is cut from the field and passed through a threshing and separating mechanism to separate the grain therefrom. The grain, along with other impurities such as, for example, chaff, dust, leaves or other straw particles, is fed to a cleaning mechanism to further clean and separate the grain from such impurities. Such a cleaning mechanism might include one or more sieves with an air stream directed therethrough to assist in the removal of chaff and residual straw. 
     The grain, now separated and cleaned from the crop material, is collected and temporarily stored in a grain tank located on the combine harvester while the residual material (i.e., material other than grain) is conventionally discharged from the combine harvester back onto the crop field. In some combine harvesters the residual material may be “rethreshed” such as by recycling it through the threshing and separating mechanism to increase the amount of grain recovered. 
     The residual materials, such as the straw and chaff, may be discharged from the combine harvester in scattered manner for reintroduction into the soil as a nutrient therefor, or they may be discharged in a narrow row for subsequent collection by another machine. For example, a baler may pass across the field to collect and package (bale) the discharged residual material. However, a conventional baler has no separation equipment associated therewith and packages everything it collects from the field. For example, the baler cannot separate the straw from the chaff. Rather, it consolidates and packages the chaff and the straw along with any other residual material discharged from the combine harvester. 
     The requirement of returning to the field to collect and package residual material introduces additional time and costs to the harvesting of a given crop. Further, this conventional approach is generally inefficient in the sense that it may be desirable to use some components of the crops as a soil nutrient, while other components may be better suited for other uses. However, as noted above, current baling technologies are “all or nothing” since they do not offer the ability to further separate the residual material. 
     One process which attempts to minimize the amount of material which is discharged back to the field is known as the “McLeod Harvest” and is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,226 issued to McLeod on Feb. 23, 1999. The McLeod Harvest threshes the grain in the field and then separates the crop into two portions. The first portion contains substantially all of the straw from the threshed crop and a second portion includes substantially all of the chaff, grain, grain leavings and weed seeds. The first portion is returned to the field during separation while the second portion comprising its various components is transported to a processing plant for separation of the grain from the chaff, grain leavings and weed seeds. The chaff, grain leavings and weed seeds are collectively compacted and crushed in a mill for use as animal feed. The process is purported to increase the amount of grain recovered and to remove weed seeds from the field. The straw is collected in a separate pass over the field as with harvesting with a conventional combine harvester. 
     One of the principal objectives of the McLeod Harvest is the removal of weed seeds from the crop field. However, the McLeod Harvest process requires a separate mill for separation of the grain from the weed seeds, grain leavings and chaff. Further, the process still requires another pass with a baler to collect the straw as the straw is not the component of a crop conventionally used as a soil nutrient. 
     As noted above, some uses of the residual material (regardless of the process used to separate the grain therefrom) may provide a farmer with additional revenues from the crop (e.g. by selling the residual materials as animal feed). However, such returns are relatively small and farmers are continually looking to improve such peripheral revenues. Thus, it would be advantageous to target specific revenue generating components of a crop, in addition to the grain, in an effort to increase the return of a given crop. Additionally, it would be advantageous to provide an apparatus and method for selectively harvesting a specified revenue generating component of a crop at substantially the same time as the harvesting of the grain material. For example, it would be advantageous to provide a combine harvester or other machine which provides for the harvesting of at least one additional specified revenue generating component of the plant material, along with the harvesting of the grain, during a single pass over the crop field. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with one aspect of the invention a method is provided for selectively harvesting multiple components of a plant material. The method includes gathering an amount of plant material from a crop field utilizing a harvesting machine. A grain component is harvested from the plant material and then conveyed to a storage area such as, for example, a storage tank located on or within the harvesting machine. At least one additional plant component is also selectively separated from the plant material. The residual material (i.e., the plant material other than grain and other than the at least one additional plant component) is discharged from the harvesting machine back to the crop field. The at least one additional plant component may be, for example, an internodal stem component of the plant material wherein stem of the plant material is broken adjacent the nodes and the nodes are then separated from the internodal stem portions. 
     The method may include effecting each of the above steps within the harvesting machine during a single pass across a crop field. In other words, the harvesting machine need not return to the field to effect the selective separation of the at least one additional component of the plant material. Further, the method may include consolidating and packaging the at least one additional plant component, which may also be effected by the harvesting machine if so desired. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method of harvesting a plant material is provided. The method includes gathering an amount of plant material, separating a grain component from the plant material and storing the grain component. The method further includes separating an internodal stem component from the plant material. The internodal stem component may be subsequently consolidated and packaged such as, for example, by a baler. In packaging the internodal stem component, a biodegradable and/or combustible packaging material may be at least partially wrapped about a consolidated mass of the internodal stem component. 
     Another aspect of the invention comprises a harvesting machine. The harvesting machine includes a primary threshing and separating mechanism configured to separate a grain component from a plant material. A secondary threshing and separating mechanism is configured to selectively separate at least one additional component from the plant material. For example, the secondary threshing and separating mechanism may be configured to break a stem component of the plant material at a location adjacent a node of the stem component and then separate the node therefrom. The node and the resulting internodal stem component may then be separated from one another. 
     The harvesting machine may further include additional cleaning and separating mechanisms such as, for example, sieves, associated with the cleaning of the grain component, the at least one additional component, or both. 
     Further, the harvesting machine may include a packing mechanism positioned and configured to receive the at least one additional component from the secondary threshing and separating mechanism. The packaging mechanism may be configured to consolidate and package the at least one additional component for subsequent use. 
     Another embodiment of the present invention encompasses a harvesting system. The harvesting system includes a harvesting machine having a primary threshing and separating mechanism configured to separate a grain component from a plant material. A secondary threshing and separating mechanism is configured to selectively separate at least one additional component from the plant material. A packing mechanism is configured to receive the at least one additional component from the secondary threshing and separating mechanism. The packaging mechanism may be operatively associated with a secondary vehicle. The secondary threshing and separating mechanism may be operatively associated with the harvesting machine or, alternatively, with the secondary vehicle. Such a secondary vehicle may be mechanically coupled to, and pulled by, the harvesting machine. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The foregoing and other advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings wherein like elements and features are identified by similar reference numerals, in which: 
     FIG. 1 shows an exemplary plant material prior to harvesting; 
     FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of a harvesting machine according to an embodiment of the present invention; and 
     FIG. 3 shows a harvesting machine according to another embodiment of the present invention; and 
     FIG. 4 shows a harvesting machine in according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary crop or plant material  100  is shown prior to the harvesting of any particular component thereof. The crop or plant material  100  which is to be harvested may include, for example, wheat, barley or corn. It is noted however, that the invention is not limited to such specific crops but, rather, may be utilized in connection with various types of grain crops, cereal crops and legumes. 
     The plant material  100  depicted in FIG. 1 is representative of a grain crop and comprises a grain material  101  housed within, or covered by, chaff material  102 . The plant material  100  further includes a stem  104  (the culm, referred to as straw) having nodes  106  formed therein dividing the stem into internodal sections  104 A- 104 D. The stem  104  may be wrapped, or at least partially wrapped, by a sheath  108  having one or more leaves  110  branching off therefrom. 
     While the grain  101  is the component that is conventionally harvested from the plant material  100 , other components of the plant material  100  also exhibit desirable qualities and may be useful if they are able to be adequately separated and harvested. For example, the sheaths  108  and leaves  110  conventionally exhibit a higher concentration of nutrients and minerals than do other parts of the plant  100 . Sheaths  108  and leaves  110 , therefore, may be utilized to enrich the soil for future crops. 
     Also, the stem  104  of various types of plant material  100  is rich in cellulose. This cellulose may be extracted for various revenue generating purposes. For example, the cellulose may be used in extruded plastics, or in production of ethanol for use as a renewable energy source. However, efficient extraction of cellulose from the stem  104  requires selective harvesting of the stem  104  from the sheath  108 , leaves  110  and other components. Further, extraction of cellulose from the stem  104  becomes easier if the stem is broken apart and separated from the nodes  106 . Thus, for efficient extraction of plant cellulose, it becomes desirable to selectively harvest the internodal stem sections  104 A- 104 D separate from the other components. 
     It is additionally noted that, particularly with small grain material, when selectively harvesting a plant component, such as the internodal stems  104 A- 104 D, it is desirable to perform the harvest prior to discharging the specific plant component back to the crop field as it is generally inefficient to try and recapture the specific plant component from the ground during a second pass across the field. 
     Referring now to FIG. 2, a harvesting machine  120  is shown according to one embodiment of the present invention. The harvesting machine  120  includes a chassis  122  supporting an operator&#39;s platform  124  and cab  126  from which an operator controls a plurality of other components housed within and/or supported by the chassis  122  which shall be described in more detail below. The harvesting machine also includes a power source  128 , such as an internal combustion engine, to propel the harvesting machine  120  as well as provide power to the various components and mechanisms thereof. 
     In operation, a header  130  located at the forward end of the harvesting machine  120  cuts down a standing crop, or picks up a previously cut crop, of plant material  100  (see FIG. 1) as the harvesting machine  120  is propelled across a crop field. A conveying mechanism within the header  130 , such as an auger  132 , conveys the cut crop transversely across the header  130  to a second conveying mechanism  134  such as, for example, a feeder. The second conveying mechanism  134  transports the cut crop to a primary threshing and separating mechanism  136 . The primary threshing and separating mechanism shown in FIG. 2 includes an longitudinally oriented rotor  138  and cooperatively configured and positioned concave  140  which, while not shown in FIG. 2, may wrap partially around the rotor. The concave  140  may be formed as a grate or a relatively coarse sieve such that the grain material may flow therethrough as the crop is subjected to a rubbing action between the rotor  138  and the concave  140 . In operation, the harvesting machine  120  may include at least two such threshing and separating mechanisms  136  set in a side-by-side orientation. 
     It is noted that while the harvesting machine  120  is shown and described to include a longitudinal rotor primary threshing and separating mechanism  136 , other conventional mechanisms, such as, for example, transversely oriented threshing and separating mechanisms, may also be utilized in conjunction with the present invention as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art. 
     As the crop is processed through the threshing and separating mechanism  136 , grain falls through the concave  140  and onto a grain pan  142  which may, for example, be coupled with a vibrating energy source for conveyance of the grain along the grain pan  142  toward the aft end of the harvesting machine  120 . The plant material not falling through the concave  140  is conveyed to a beater  144  positioned above and within a grate  146  for further separation of the grain. Grain falling through the grate  146 , as well as grain transported rearward by the grain pan  142 , is then sifted through one or more sieves  148  and  150  for additional cleaning and separation of the grain. In conjunction with the sieves  148  and  150 , an air source, such as but not limited to a forced air source  190 , as depicted in FIGS. 2-4, including at least one fan or other means for generating a source of forced air directabable by baffles, conduits or other guides that may be used to direct forced air upwards through the sieves  148  and  150  to further remove chaff and other impurities that may be intermixed with the grain. Such chaff and other relatively light impurities are conveyed rearward to be discharged from the harvesting machine  120  while the grain passes through the sieves  148  and  150  into a grain collection zone  152 . A conveying mechanism  154 , such as an auger, conveys the grain laterally to yet another conveying mechanism  156 , such as a grain elevator, which discharges the grain into a central storage vessel  158 . 
     While the grain is discharged through the concaves  140  and the grate  146 , the straw is discharged from the beater  144  to a straw conveyor  160  such as, for example a straw walker, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art. The straw conveyor  160  transports the straw, which largely comprises the stems of the harvested crop material, to a secondary threshing and separating mechanism  162 . The straw conveyor  160  may also be configured as another sieve so as to provide additional separation of the crop material passing therealong. 
     The secondary threshing and separating mechanism  162  may include a rotor  164  and concave  166  as did the primary threshing and separating mechanism  136 . However, the secondary threshing and separating mechanism  162  may include different design features than the primary threshing and separating mechanism  136 . For example, if both primary and secondary threshing and separating mechanisms  136  and  162  are designed as longitudinally disposed rotors with mating concaves such as shown, the rotor  164  and concave  166  of the secondary threshing and separating mechanism  162  may be designed to be smaller, in length and/or diameter than the rotor  138  and concave  140  of the primary threshing and separating mechanism  136 . Further, the secondary threshing and separating mechanism  162  may be designed to be more aggressive than the primary threshing and separating mechanism  136  in that the tines or other rubbing components positioned thereon may exhibit different spacing or configuration than those of the primary rotor  138 . Similarly, the concave  166  of the secondary threshing and separating mechanism  162  may exhibit a different grating arrangement, such as the size of openings therein, with respect to the concave  140  of the primary threshing and separating mechanism  136 . The difference in aggressiveness between the primary threshing and separating mechanism  136  to the secondary separating and threshing mechanism  162  is based, at least in part, on which plant components are to be harvested by each. 
     For example, as previously discussed, the primary threshing and separating mechanism  136  is designed to separate and harvest the grain material, while the secondary separating and threshing mechanism is configured to harvest a separate component of the crop material, such as, for example the stems, or more particularly the internodal stems (i.e.,  104 A- 104 D shown in FIG.  1 ). Thus, after separating grain from the crop material, the secondary threshing and separating mechanism  162 , when used to harvest the internodal stems, serves to break the stems of the crop material at locations proximate the nodes  106  (FIG. 1) and then discard the nodes and other impurities through the secondary concave  166  while retaining the internodal stems  104 A- 104 D. 
     A secondary beater  168  with an associated grate  170  may be used to further separate the stems from the nodes. A sieve  172  (or plurality of sieves) may be positioned to receive the discharged material from the secondary beater  168  and grate  170  (or alternatively, if a secondary beater  168  is not used, directly from the secondary threshing and separating mechanism  162 ) for further cleaning and separation. The sieve(s)  172  may be combined with a forced air source, as previously described with respect to sieves  148  and  150 , to help separate the plant component being harvested from the undesired components. Thus, in harvesting internodal stems, the nodes and other components (e.g., remaining chaff, sheaths and/or leaves) may pass through the sieve  172  for combination with the undesired material previously separated from the grain, the combined stream of undesired or non-harvested plant components being discharged through an outlet port  174  back to crop field. 
     It is noted that, while not shown, the harvesting machine  120  may also include a system or mechanism associated with “rethreshing” the plant material as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art. It is further noted that such rethreshing systems and mechanisms are not to be confused with the secondary threshing and separating mechanism  162  disclosed herein. Particularly, as noted above, rethreshing systems are designed to collect and process an amount of crop material discharged from the primary threshing and separating mechanism in an attempt to obtain an additional amount of grain therefrom. In contradistinction, the secondary threshing and separating mechanism disclosed herein is directed to selectively harvesting another component (i.e., other than grain) from the plant material of the crop. 
     Upon discharge from the secondary threshing and separating mechanism  162  and/or secondary beater  168 , the harvested plant component (e.g., the internodal stems) may be conveyed to a packaging mechanism  176 . The packaging mechanism  176  may be configured to consolidate and package the harvested plant components into a bale or other similar package that is conveyed through a discharge port or chute  178 . The packaged plant component material may be discharged to the crop field for subsequent collection, or alternatively, discharged to a storage vehicle, such as a trailer being mechanically coupled to and pulled behind the harvesting machine  120 , or a truck driven alongside the harvesting machine  120 . 
     As shown in FIG. 3, which depicts a harvesting machine  120 ′ according to another embodiment of the present invention, the harvesting machine  120 ′ need not have a packaging mechanism integrally associated therewith. Rather, a second vehicle  180  housing a packaging mechanism  176 ′ may be mechanically coupled with and pulled behind the harvesting machine  120 ′. In such a case, the component being harvested may be discharged from the harvesting machine  120 ′ after passing through the secondary threshing and separating mechanism  162  and/or the secondary beater  168 . The selectively harvested plant component is then collected by the second vehicle  180  and packaged accordingly. 
     In yet another embodiment of the present invention, shown in FIG. 4 as harvesting machine  120 ″, the secondary threshing and separating mechanism  162 ′ may be housed in a second vehicle  180 ′. Thus, after passing through the primary threshing and separating mechanism  136  of the harvesting machine  120 ″, the portion of the crop containing the desired components for additional harvesting (e.g. the straw/stems) may be discharged from the harvesting machine  120 ″ to the second vehicle  180 ′ for processing via the secondary threshing and separating mechanism  162 ′. The second vehicle  180 ′ may further include a packaging mechanism  176 ′ for consolidating and packaging the harvested material prior to discharge from the second vehicle  180 ′. Additionally, the second vehicle may include an outlet port  174 ′ for discharging undesired plant material (e.g., nodes and chaff) separated out via the secondary threshing and separating mechanism  162 ′. 
     As has been noted above, when selectively harvesting one or more additional components from a given crop such as, for example, the internodal stems, it is often desirable to not discharge the harvested components back to the crop field without proper consolidation and packaging in order to ensure an efficient harvest. Thus, if a packaging mechanism is not being utilized, it may be desirable to immediately store the harvested crop, such as in an auxiliary storage tank associated with the harvesting machine  120  or, alternatively, in a storage vehicle pulled by, or driven adjacent to, the harvesting machine  120 . 
     Additionally, if the plant component (other than grain) being harvested includes the stems, it may be desirable to package the harvested components with material that is biodegradable and/or combustible depending on the intended use of the harvested component material. For example, if the component material is to be used as a combustible energy source, it may be desirable that the packaging material also be combustible such that the component material need not be “unwrapped” or “unpackaged” before use. Such packaging material might include, for example, a web or mesh-type paper-based product that may be wrapped about a mass of the plant component material after consolidation thereof. 
     While the invention may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and have been described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following appended claims.

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