The present invention relates to a cutting platform for a combine harvester fitted with a crop divider that is pivotable relative to the cutting platform between a forwards projecting operating position and a retracted transport position.
Cutting platforms, such as grain and maize harvesting headers or gatherers, on combine harvesters are often provided with dividers at their lateral ends to separate the crop to be gathered from the standing crop. The dividers are generally triangular when viewed from the side and are mounted with their pointed end facing the direction of travel and projecting forwards from the remainder of the cutting platform.
The width of the cutting platform prevents a combine harvester from being driven along normal roads when it is in its working position. For this reason, it is known to separate the cutting platform from the combine harvester and to transport it on a trailer. When the cutting platform is mounted on a trailer for transportation, the crop divider projects laterally and this both increases the width of the transported load and presents a hazard to other road users.
It has been proposed to remove the divider completely from the cutting platform and to stack it on the cutting platform during transportation. This is not entirely satisfactory because the header bounces around as the trailer is pulled over uneven ground, which both generates noise and risks damaging the header and/or the divider.
EP-1 036 495 discloses a crop divider that can pivot relative to a header about a vertical axis so that the divider can be moved to a transport position in which, instead of pointing forwards, it points parallel to the axis of rotation of the header, i.e. at right angles to the direction of travel of the combine harvester.
DD 128878 shows an alternative solution to the problem in which the divider can pivot about a single axis so that its pointed end can be moved to a retracted transport position in which it faces backwards in the direction of travel.
It is not however always possible to mount a divider on a cutting platform in a manner that permits to pivot about a single pivot into a retracted transport position and the aim of the invention is provide a more versatile way of moving the divider into a retracted transport position.
According to the present invention, there is provided a cutting platform for a combine harvester fitted with a crop divider that is pivotable relative to the cutting platform between a forwards projecting operating position and a retracted transport position, characterised in that the divider is supported on a member that forms part of the cutting platform by means of a link which is secured at one end to the member in a manner to allow the link to pivot relative to the member about a first axis and which is secured at its other end to the divider in a manner to allow the divider to pivot relative to the link about a second axis which is inclined relative to the first axis.
The member of the cutting platform to which the link is pivotably secured is preferably an arm that can be raised and lowered to enable the height of the divider above the ground during operation to be adjusted.
Advantageously, the link is pivotable relative to the cutting platform about a generally horizontal first axis and the second axis is perpendicular to the first axis.
As in DD 128878, the use of an articulated link permits the crop divider to be moved to a transport position in which it points backwards in the direction of travel but enables collision between the divider and the cutting platform to be avoided during its relocation from the operating position to the transport position.
The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
To transport the header 12 on a road, it is separated from the combine harvester and placed on a trailer 18 as shown in
The mounting of the divider 14 on its support arm 16 will now be described by reference to
The fixing bracket 16b is formed as an inverted U-shaped channel that rotatably supports a link 22, which is best seen in
In the operating position of the divider 14, shown in
To move the divider 14 to its backwards facing transport position, it is not possible just to pivot it about the bolt 26 because it is prevented by the bracket 16b from moving in this manner. Instead, the support arm 16 is raised to provide ground clearance and the clamp 28 is manually released. This now allows the divider 14 to be lowered by hand first into the position shown in
As the divider is lowered, the reinforcement arm 14a separates from the bracket 16b and the pivot surrounding the bolt 26 leaves a recess 16c in one of the limbs of the bracket 16b in which it is accommodated in the operating position of the divider 14. Even in the position of
After the divider has been pivoted about the bolt 26 to point upwards in this manner, its front end is allowed to drop under its own weight this being accompanied by a rotation of the divider 14 and the link 22 about the bolt 24. The link 22 is retracted into the recess 16c with the reinforcing arm 14a of the divider lying to one side of the bracket 16b. Finally, the divider 14 is lowered into its fully retracted position in which its weight is supported on the bracket 20, which constitutes one form of storage device. The bracket 20 also prevents the divider from pivoting about the bolt 26 when it is in the transport position and it therefore holds the divider 14 neatly against the cutting platform.
The doubly articulated link 22 can thus be seen to permit the divider 14 to be moved to its retracted position without the divider colliding with the bracket 16b which provides for its position locating in the operating position.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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0220540.9 | Sep 2002 | GB | national |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20040107684 A1 | Jun 2004 | US |