This invention relates generally to harvesting machines, such as mower-conditioners, of the type having a swathgate to influence the trajectory of the crop material being discharged from the header, and, more particularly, to a swathgate having adjustable guides enabling lateral control over the trajectory of the discharged crop material compared to a conventional swathgate.
Current practice in hay and grass harvesting is to cut a relatively wide swath of the crop within a range of anywhere between 10 and 16 or more feet in width, condition the crop, and then consolidate the crop into a narrower, substantially continuous windrow, in which form the conditioned crop is left to dry in the field until the moisture content has been reduced to a value suitable for subsequent harvesting operations, such as baling. Crop flow is directed using a combination of shields, guides, and deflectors positioned to act upon the crop material as it is discharged from the conditioner mechanism and direct the crop material to a desired arrangement on the ground. Known shields, guides, and deflectors typically interface with the outer periphery of the discharged crop stream and are intended to generally converge the crop stream into a narrower windrow than the width of the conditioner from which the crop flow is discharged.
It is desirable in some circumstances to disperse crop material to enhance drying rather than to gather the crop into a windrow. This approach is especially beneficial when harvesting green crops with higher moisture content, typically around 80%. Known side shields and deflectors acting on the outer periphery of the discharge stream of crop exiting a conditioner are limited in that once fully retracted, no further action upon the crop discharge stream is possible. Thus, such mechanisms can spread crop on the ground only up to the discharge width of the conditioner mechanism. Further retraction of such shields will not cause further dispersion of the discharge crop mat. As conditioner mechanism widths are generally on the order of half the cutting width of a harvester, significant crop consolidation occurs during a conventional mowing and conditioning pass.
It would be desirable to provide a crop guide apparatus working in conjunction with the swathgate or other discharge shields in a mower conditioner that acts on more than the outer periphery of the crop discharge stream and allow divergent dispersion of the discharge crop material that would overcome the above problems and limitations. The benefits are magnified by the crop guide apparatus producing a resultant crop mat substantially wider than the conditioner discharge width up to the full cutting width of the machine. Further benefits would be realized by crop guide apparatus that is easily adjustable thereby enabling the degree of crop dispersion to be optimized for the particular crop being harvested. Still further benefits would be realized by a crop guide apparatus that is easily incorporated into current production mower-conditioners without significant alteration of the machine design.
Accordingly, the present invention, in any of the embodiments described herein, may provide one or more of the following advantages:
It is an object of the present invention to provide a guide mechanism for application on a mower-conditioner swathgate having one or more guide fins projecting into the crop discharge stream that allow lateral deflection of a portion of the crop discharge stream.
It is another object of the present invention to provide one or more angularly adjustable guide fins projecting into the crop discharge stream of a mower-conditioner to laterally deflect a portion of the discharge flow stream along a desired trajectory that differs from the trajectory of the crop discharge stream.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide angularly adjustable guide fins on a mower-conditioner swathgate that enable the crop material discharge stream to be laterally convergently or laterally divergently directed by interaction with the guide fins.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a one or more guide fins on a mower-conditioner swathgate that may be used with or without downstream crop shields.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an adjustable crop guide mechanism for use on a mower-conditioner swathgate that is durable in construction, inexpensive of manufacture, carefree of maintenance, easily assembled, and simple and effective to use.
These and other objects are achieved according to the instant invention by providing angularly adjustable guide fins projecting generally perpendicularly from a mower-conditioner swathgate into the crop discharge stream as it exits the conditioner apparatus whereby the angular position of the fins influences the lateral direction of a portion of the crop discharge stream and allows the resultant crop stream to laterally convergently or laterally divergently directed. The adjustable guide fins are pivotally connected to the swathgate along an axis generally perpendicular to the plane of the swathgate. Angular position of the each guide fin may be fixed using a pinned or bolted connection to one of a plurality of holes in the swathgate, or an actuator mechanism may be incorporated to pivot the guide fins on the pivot axes, preferably in a coordinated manner.
The advantages of this invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed disclosure of the invention, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
Many of the fastening, connection, processes and other means and components utilized in this invention are widely known and used in the field of the invention described, and their exact nature or type is not necessary for an understanding and use of the invention by a person skilled in the art, and they will not therefore be discussed in significant detail. Also, any reference herein to the terms “left” or “right” are used as a matter of mere convenience, and are determined by standing at the rear of the machine facing in its normal direction of travel. Likewise, “forward” and “rearward” are determined by the normal direction of travel. “Upward” and “downward” orientations are relative to the ground or operating surface as are any references to “horizontal” or “vertical” planes. Furthermore, the various components shown or described herein for any specific application of this invention can be varied or altered as anticipated by this invention and the practice of a specific application of any element may already be widely known or used in the art by persons skilled in the art and each will likewise not therefore be discussed in significant detail. When referring to the figures, like parts are numbered the same in all of the figures.
Mower crop cutting widths are generally on the order of 10 to 15 feet, though greater widths are often employed in the interest of harvesting efficiency. In a typical arrangement, the conditioner mechanism width is less than the cutting width, and can be as little as half of the cutting width. In mowing operations in which cutting and windrowing in a single machine pass is desired, the crop is converged between the cutting mechanism conditioner to reduce the lateral span of the crop. Shields acting upon the outer periphery of the discharged stream of crop material further influence the lateral trajectory of the airborne crop to urge the crop into a more laterally compact windrow. Such shields may include side shields for influencing the width of the resultant windrow and a swathgate for influencing the height of the crop trajectory. However, such shields are limited in that they act only upon the outer periphery of the crop stream and therefore are capable only of converging crop direction.
In the present invention, swathgate 40 comprises a generally planar crop guide oriented generally above the crop trajectory ejected from conditioner rolls 21, 22. Pivot axle 42 is oriented transverse on the mower-conditioner 10 and to the crop stream trajectory 90. The transverse pivot allows the swathgate 40 to be angularly adjusted to deflect the flow of crop material being discharged from the conditioner rolls 21, 22 for optimal placement behind the mower-conditioner. Most swathgates are manually angularly adjusted to the desired crop trajectory based upon the crop being harvested and the spatial relationship between the conditioner rolls and the ground for the nominal header operating height on level ground. Once set, the swathgate is typically not moved while the machine is operating.
Referring now to
As illustrated in
The number and placement the guide fins on the swathgate may also be varied based on characteristics of the mower. In the embodiment shown in
The guide fins 50 are held in position by adjustment means 54 to secure the guide fins in fixed angular position about pivot 52. In one embodiment, retention means comprises a bolt 61 or pin engaging the guide fin 50 and one of a plurality of receptacles 62 in the swathgate 40. The positioning of receptacles 62 along an arc centered on pivot 52 allows a plurality of pre-determined guide fin angles to be established easing the task of guide fin adjustment. One of the plurality of receptacles provided for each guide fin may be positioned to align the guide fin generally parallel to the crop trajectory, shown as receptacle 62A. One of the plurality of receptacles provided for each guide fin is positioned to align the tail end 59 of the guide fin inwardly of the pivot 52, shown as receptacle 62B, for use in conventional windrowing operations. Aligning fins inwardly causes the guide fins to convergently bias crop flow toward the center of the header and can be used to augment side shields that are typically used for such crop direction. At least one of the plurality of receptacles provided for each guide fin is positioned to align the tail end 59 of guide fin outwardly of the pivot 52, shown as receptacle 62C. Multiple outward receptacles are preferably to allow the guide fins to be optimally positioned for the harvesting conditions and mower crop flow characteristics. It is also noted that the angular position of each guide fin may be individually optimized; the group of guide fins provided on the swathgate need not be symmetrically angled. Outward alignment of the guide fins results in a divergent bias to crop flow, reducing density of the resultant crop mat on the ground behind the header compared to mat density discharged from the conditioner mechanism. The divergent alignment is particularly useful when harvesting green crop material when optimal crop drying is desired. The present invention, when configured for divergent crop flow, enables crop cutting, conditioning, and generally uniform distribution across the ground with a single pass of a single machine. The capacity of the guide fins 50 and adjustment means 54 to produce convergent, divergent, or neutral bias in the crop discharge flow allows the present invention to be used on swathgates for a variety of crop materials and eliminates the need to produce separate swathgates for windrowing and tedding.
It will be understood that changes in the details, materials, steps and arrangements of parts which have been described and illustrated to explain the nature of the invention will occur to and may be made by those skilled in the art upon a reading of this disclosure within the principles and scope of the invention. The foregoing description illustrates the preferred embodiment of the invention; however, concepts, as based upon the description, may be employed in other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.