Patent Application
20050238271
The present invention relates to a bearing assembly of a crop conveying and/or crop processing element for a harvesting machine. More specifically, the present invention relates to a bearing assembly of a crop conveying and/or crop processing element including a seal that protects the bearing assembly against the intrusion of undesirable material, particularly the intrusion of plant juices.
Prior patents, such as DE 101 15 331, describe bearing assemblies wherein the rotating shaft of a crop processing assembly is supported by a rolling contact bearing on the frame of a harvesting machine. A first stationary disk, operating as a seal, is connected to the frame of the harvesting machine, and forms a relatively narrow gap with the shaft. A second disk also operates as a seal and rotates with the shaft. The second disk is located between the first disk and the rolling contact bearing. The rolling contact bearing is protected against the intrusion of foreign matter, particularly plant juices, by means of the disks and a seal with flexible lips that are in contact with a ball race of the rolling contact bearing rotating with the shaft.
The second rotating disk operates as an impeller disk and conveys any possibly existing plant juices to the outside by means of centrifugal force. The disadvantage of this assembly lies in the fact that solid matter and fluids that have reached the intervening space, or the antechamber that is formed between the first and second disk, can no longer leave this space. They are thrown permanently to the outer, closed circumference of the antechamber by the second disk. Due to this accumulation of contaminants in the antechamber, the contaminants will eventually overcome the flexible lips of the seal and reach the rolling contact bearing itself. One proposed solution is to place outlet openings at the outer circumference of the antechamber. These have proved to be ineffective, since these openings become clogged after a short time by the contaminants.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved bearing assembly of a crop conveying and/or crop processing element of a harvesting machine that prevents penetration of plant juices into the rolling contact bearing itself.
This problem is solved according to the teachings of the present invention wherein a stationary disk is arranged between an impeller disk and a rolling contact bearing, such that the impeller disk is in a position to deliver any possible contaminants to the outside. In this way undesirable accumulations of contaminants, particularly plant juices, on the inner side of the impeller disk are avoided.
In one aspect, the impeller disk is arranged in close proximity to the stationary disk so that only a relatively narrow gap remains between the two disks. The result is a ring-shaped radial seal. In order to improve the delivery capacity of the impeller disk, an outer region of the stationary disk is positioned adjacent the outer edge of the impeller disk. This outer region is spaced at a distance from the impeller disk that is larger than the distance between the inner region of the stationary disk and the impeller disk. The stationary disk is bent or angled between the inner and the outer regions to prevent fluids from adhering to the stationary disk due to surface tension and the like.
In another aspect, a separate seal is placed between the impeller disk and the stationary disk to improve the sealing therebetween. The seal consists of an inherently elastic material, for example, plastic or rubber, is in contact with the impeller disk by means of a surface or a pointed ridge, and is fastened to the stationary disk. Alternatively, the seal could be fastened to the impeller disk and in contact with the stationary disk.
In still another aspect a seal acting in radial direction can be arranged between the stationary disk and an element that rotates with the crop conveying and/or crop processing element, such as a ball race attached to a shaft of the crop conveying and/or crop processing element, on which the balls of the bearing assembly also run. This seal also prevents the penetration of fluids to the inner side of the stationary disk and protects the rolling contact bearing. The seal can be fastened to the rotating element or to the stationary disk.
The device of the present invention is appropriate for all crop conveying and/or crop processing elements of self-propelled, attached, or towed harvesting machines, as well as front harvesting attachments. In particular, it can be applied to forage harvesters, with which plants are frequently harvested that exude fluids which are damaging to bearing assemblies. Therefore, the bearing assembly can be used for intake rolls, chopper drums, rolls of post-chopper reduction assemblies or conveyor assemblies (blowers).
The above, as well as other advantages of the present invention, will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when considered in the light of the accompanying drawings in which:
A harvesting machine 10 in the form of a self-propelled forage harvester is shown generally in
A potential problem of the post-chopper reduction assembly 28 as well as the other crop conveying and/or crop processing elements of the harvesting machine 10, for example, the conveyor assembly 24 and the intake rolls (not shown), that precede the chopper drum 22, lies in the fact that plant juices are exuded during the conveying or processing of the harvested crop. These juices can penetrate the bearing assemblies of the crop conveying and/or crop processing elements and cause corrosion.
In order to prevent the intrusion of plant juices into the rolling contact bearings, the lower roll 30 of the post-chopper reduction assembly 28 is equipped with a bearing assembly 34 that is shown in greater detail in
Referring to
A stationary disk 58 is positioned between the bearing housing 54 and the inner ball race 44. The stationary disk 58 is generally ring shaped and is connected to the bearing housing 54 and extends radially inward almost to the inner ball race 44. A narrow gap remains between the inner edge of the stationary disk 58 and the ball race 44. An impeller disk 60 in the form of a flat and level ring extends from the inner ball race 44 and is positioned axially further outward from the balls 48 than the stationary disk 58. The stationary disk 58 includes a bend in the region of its middle at a location radially inward from the outer edge of the impeller disk 60. The stationary disk is bent outward in the direction of the impeller disk 60. Thereby it is provided with a flat radial inner region 61 that is adjacent to the impeller disk 60, and a flat radially outer region 59 that is spaced further away from the impeller disk 60 in the axial direction, as compared to the inner region 61.
The stationary disk 58 and the impeller disk 60 form a labyrinth seal by means of their immediately adjacent surfaces (region 61). The impeller disk 60 rotates with the stub shaft 36, while the stationary disk 58 does not rotate. Any possible material intruding into the space between the impeller disk 60 and the stationary disk 58, such as plant juices, is brought into rotation by the impeller disk 60 and accelerated outward by centrifugal force. These intruding materials leave the impeller disk 60 at that disks outer edge aided by the greater spacing at that point from the outer region 59 of the stationary disk 58. This prevents trouble-prone quantities of the material from reaching an antechamber 70 between the stationary disk 58 and the region of the ball race 44 that adjoins it radially inward.
A seal 62 is provided with flexible lips that are in contact with the inner ball race 44. The seal 62 is spaced at a greater distance from the roll 30 than the stationary disk 58 and is connected to the outer ball race 46. The seal 62 also prevents plant juices from reaching the balls 48.
A second seal 64, a second stationary disk 66 and a second impeller disk 68 are positioned on the outer side of the bearing assembly 34. The second seal 64, second stationary disk 66, and second impeller disk 68 are generally symmetrical to the first seal 62, the first stationary disk 58 and the first impeller disk 60 and operate analogously.
The antechamber 70 is a hollow chamber positioned between the first stationary disk 58 and the first seal 62. The antechamber 70 is supplied with grease through a first grease supply 72 over a first channel 74 that penetrates radially through the bearing housing 54. The balls 48 are supplied with grease through a second grease supply 76 over the first channel 74 that penetrates radially through the bearing housing 54. An outer antechamber 80 is positioned between the second seal 64 and the second stationary disk 66. The outer antechamber 80 is also supplied with grease through the second channel 78 and the space between the balls 48 and under the outer seal 64 with flexible lips that are in sealing contact with the inner ball race 44.
An enlarged section of a cross sectional view of an alternate embodiment of the bearing assembly is shown in
Referring to
Referring to
Still another alternate embodiment is shown in
In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, the present invention has been described in what is considered to represent its preferred embodiment. However, it should be noted that the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2004 019 816.0 | Apr 2004 | DE | national |
