Patent Application
20060242938
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a tine bar housing of a pick-up unit for harvested agricultural material and, furthermore, to a tine bar having such a tine bar housing.
2. Background of the Invention
Pick-up units for harvested agricultural material are employed on balers, trailers, harvesters, and forage harvesters in order to pick up material lying on the ground. They include a drum-type housing with slots through which steered or fixed tines extend for taking hold of the material. These tines are themselves arranged in tine bar housings that are subjected to heavy loads. These loads can result in deformations that make it necessary to replace the tine bar housing earlier than desired.
Accordingly, and in view of the above noted limitations of the prior art, a need exists for a more robust tine bar housing.
In overcoming the above noted drawbacks of the known technology, the present invention provides a more robust tine bar housing of a pick-up unit for harvested agricultural material. The housing has a housing cover with recesses that are suitable for permitting at least end segments of the tines to extend outward from the housing. The housing cover reinforces the tine bar housing such that the housing can better withstand torque and bending loads, while the mobility of the tines is not impeded. Further, depending on the particular design of the recesses, the tines are accessible for maintenance purposes or for exchange and/or removal and insertion.
In one aspect, the housing and the housing cover can be a single piece, having a tube or closed hollow profile. The recesses can be added to this tube or hollow profile by means of a laser cutting process. However, the housing and the housing cover can also be embodied as separate components that can be joined securely to one another by welding or other detachable attachment methods.
In another aspect, the housing cover can extend over the entire length of the tine bar housing, or alternatively, the cover can extend over only a portion of the length of the tine bar housing. With a tine bar housing of considerable length, it can be advantageous to have a cover that only covers segments of the tine bar housing. It is conceivable that such a tine bar housing cover would be arranged in end areas of the tine bar housing that are subjected to increased loads. Depending on the loads that occur, it can also be advantageous to provide such a housing cover only in one end area. The housing cover can be dimensioned such that it extends from one end area over approximately ⅔ of the length of the tine bar housing. However, a longer or shorter length is also conceivable depending on the particular application.
In still another aspect, the housing cover can also be embodied in a plurality of components that when assembled define the housing cover. Assembly of the housing cover is simple when the tine bar housing is substantially U-shaped. Moreover, such an embodiment is cost-effective.
In yet another aspect, the housing cover includes a bar positioned between each two adjacent recesses. This design provides particularly effective reinforcement, and is simple to manufacture.
A tine bar of a pick-up unit for harvested agricultural material can have one or a plurality of tines that are attached directly or indirectly to the tine bar housing and preferably have at least one end segment that extends outward through one of the recesses in the housing cover.
In still another aspect, the tines have a spiral segment that is positioned at least largely in an interior of the housing. The end segments of at least one tine extend outward from the spiral segment such that the tines can deflect, thereby improving reliability of the pick-up unit.
In order to counteract loads, the housing can have a rear reinforcement positioned in at least one of the rear areas of the housing. A pick-up unit for harvested agricultural material can have one or more such tine bars. Such a pick-up unit is employed on agricultural harvesting machines such as forage harvesters, combine harvesters, or balers.
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:
As readily seen in
The tines 16 are produced from resilient material, such as steel rods, and include a biasing or spiral segment 20 (which may be a torsion or coil spring) that is received in the interior of the housing 12. The spiral segment 20 is joined to a back wall 22 (see
The housing cover 14 is provided over the open front 18 of the housing 12. As shown, the housing cover 14 is securely joined, such as by welding, to the housing 12. However, the housing cover 14 may also be removably mounted onto the housing 12. Furthermore, the housing 12 and the housing cover 14 may also be integrally formed as a single part, having a tube like or closed profile.
As previously mentioned, the housing cover 14 has openings or recesses 28, which correspond to the number of tines 16 provided on the tine bar 10. The recesses 28 are adapted such that the end segments 26 can extend outward from the interior of the housing 12. Moreover, the recesses 28 are preferably dimensioned such that the tines 16 can be inserted into the interior of the housing 12 and/or can be removed therefrom and the screw connection 24 can be tightened and loosened, in order to facilitate removal and/or replacement of the tines 16. However, if provided with a removable housing cover 14, the recesses 28 may be dimensioned such that the tines 16 cannot travel completely through the recesses 28. For exchanging the tines 16 in that instance, the housing cover 14 first needs to be detached from the housing 12. As shown, the recesses 28 are inventively shaped such that the housing cover 14 forms bars 30 between the tines 16. The recesses 28 can be formed within the housing cover 1 by punching, cutting, laser cutting, or any other suitable method.
As seen in
In accordance with the provisions of the patent statues, 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 2005 020 464.3 | Apr 2005 | DE | national |
