GB2245472A - Mowing or chopping machine - Google Patents

Abstract

A mowing or chopping machine includes at least two rotors 1 to 6 mounted on vertical shafts, capable of being driven in the same or contrary directions and having blade carriers 7 preferably in the form of radial cutter bars, which carry the main cutters 9 in particular with cutting edges diverging in a V-shape. Countercutters 13, 14, are assigned to the main cutters 9 and are located in the interstitial gullet area of the rotors 1, 2. The counter-cutters are constructed as discs rotatably mounted on a vertical shaft 16, the rims of the discs having cutting edges which mesh between the cutting edges of the main cutters 9, or are at least positioned adjacent to them. The discs may be polygonal, or, if circular, have indentations 17 at their peripheries. In addition, the main cutters 6 may have a pivoting attachment to link pieces 8 which in turn have a pivoting connection to the cutter bars 7. <IMAGE>

Description

MOWING OR CHOPPING MACHINE This invention relates to a mowing or chopping machine, such as for cutting chaff, with at least two rotors mounted on vertical shafts, capable of being driven in the same or contrary directions, and having main cutters, in particular with cutting edges diverging in a V shape at the ends of blade carriers, preferably radial cutter bars, and countercutters assigned to the main cutters.

Machines of this type are known from EP-A1-172160, with orbiting cutter paths which do not intersect one another and which have a fixed set of superimposed countercutters in the interstitial gullet or discharge area between the orbits of the cutters. This arrangement is intended to yield particularly effective chopping of the material, in a manner which is superior to a machine design merely possessing one or two counterblades in accordance with EP-A1-116532. US-2968304 shows several revolving main cutters which mesh with fixed countercutters on the housing wall. These stationary cutters tend to clog the implement.

An object of the present invention is to improve the performance of a machine of the type described above and to minimize its susceptibility to breakdown particularly due to obstructions, and the risk of damage to rotors and cutters.

Accordingly the present invention consists in a mowing or chopping machine having at least two rotors mounted on vertical shafts, capable of being driven in the same or contrary directions, and having main cutters and countercutters assigned to the main cutters, wherein the countercutters are constructed as discs mounted in a stacked arrangement capable of rotating on a shaft parallel with the rotor shafts and located in the discharge area of the rotors, and the rims of said discs have cutting edges which mesh between the cutting edges of the main cutters or are positioned immediately adjacent to said main cutters.

The countercutters are thus capable of turning and they allow compacted balls of material which are causing obstruction in the discharge area of the rotors to be spun clear. The cutting edges become evenly worn around their rims, so that their tool life is extended.

The discs can usefully be designed as polygonal plates, which forces them to keep turning. Alternatively, the countercutters can be formed by circular discs, which may have notches, for example in the form of U-shaped indentations, formed in their peripheries. The cutting edges are preferably retained as circular arcs between the indentations.

When engaging with the revolving countercutters, the main cutters opposing the countercutters are preferably mounted on the radial blade carriers of the rotors so as to be capable of pivoting by means of the interposition of link pieces with pivot bearings at their ends. This construction allows particularly trouble-free operation as it enables the main cutters to recoil in the form of a Z if they encounter a resistance. In addition, the energy of an impact, due to, say, a stone in the mowing area, is received by two pivot bearings and converted into pivoting motions of the main cutter and its link piece, keeping the shock away from the cutter bar and drive shaft. The arrangement of the countercutters according to the invention yields a uniform distribution of the cut or chopped material, even at high travelling speed and in dense, deep crop material.

The invention will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a schematic plan view of a system of rotors and countercutters of an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 shows a sectional view along line II-II in Figure 1; Figure 3 shows a plan view of a countercutter disc of the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2; and Figure 4 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, a mowing or chopping machine possesses a vehicle-mounted mowing or chopping system, for example for cutting chaff, which consists of rotors 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, which are motor-driven via bevel gears. The direction of rotation P of the individual rotors can be selected. Each of the driven rotors 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 comprises cutters on cutter bars, and several cutter bars may be provided, set one above the other and at an angle to one another. Fig. 2 shows in cross section the rotor 1 which comprises a blade carrier 7 with link piece 8 and V-shaped main cutter 9. The link piece 8 and main cutter 9 arranged symmetrically on the right-hand side of the rotor are not shown in the drawing. The rotor shaft 10 also carries a flanged blade-carrier 11 which carries one or more bottom cutters 12.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a set of countercutters 13, 14, 15, rotatably mounted on a shaft 16, and separated by spacer pieces, is located in the discharge area of the rotors 1,2. Here the countercutters 13, 14, 15 are constructed as cutter discs with cutting edges at their rims, which are located immediately adjacent to the cutting edges of the main cutter 9. The countercutter 14, or cutter edge thereof, engages between the cutting edges of the V-shaped main cutter 9.

Fig. 3 shows a plan view of the countercutter 14 formed as a disc, with notches in the form of U-shaped indentations 17 provided in its rim. These indentations 17 interrupt the cutting edge at the periphery of the countercutter 14, with the cutting edges between the indentations remaining as circular arcs. According to Fig. 1, another set of countercutters 18 is arranged between the rotors 5, 6, on the side opposite the direction of travel, in the discharge area of the rotors 5, 6. The direction of rotation of the individual rotors 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 is shown by the arrows P. Fig. 4 shows rotors 1', 2', 3', 4', 5', 6 and has directions of rotation P of the rotors 3' and 4' which differ from the central area of the machine illustrated in Fig. 1. This embodiment also has three sets of countercutters 19, 20, 21.The arrangement according to Fig. 4 affords a particularly even distribution of the chopped material on the field over the entire working width of the machine.

The way in which the main cutters 9, bottom cutters 12 and countercutters 13, 14, 15 work in unison is particularly clearly seen in Fig. 2. The depth to which the blades mesh together is determined to suit the application and/or material. The positioning of the set of countercutters 13, 14, 15 in the interstitial area between the rotors 1, 2, coupled with the direction of rotation indicted by arrows P, means that the countercutters 13, 14, 15 are symmetrically loaded, and are motionless. If, however, unbalanced masses emerge from the rotating area of the rotors 1, 2, the symmetrical loading of the countercutters 13, 14, 15 is upset and one or more of the countercutters 13, 14, 15 revolves in the direction of the asymmetry.

Not only does this cause other cutting edges of the countercutters 13, 14, 15 to be brought to bear in the discharge area of the rotors 1, 2, but the turning-away of the countercutters 13, 14, 15 also takes away compacted or plug-forming material, and thus prevents clogging. This automatic clearing action is particularly advantageous where compact objects such as sticks or stones occasionally get into the mowing or chopping mechanism. This is assisted on the one hand by the provision of the recesses 17 in the cutting edges of the countercutters 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, and on the other hand by the fact that - in addition to the pivoting arrangement of the main cutters 9 (which is known) - the main cutters 9 are attached by a pivot pin to the link piece 8 which is mounted in turn on the blade carrier 7 by another pivot pin. This arrangement gives the main cutters 9 greater latitude to fall back, and any impact energy which is exerted is converted and/or reduced to a greater extent, so that damage can be avoided.

As an alternative to the circular disc with notches as shown in Fig. 3, the countercutters may be in the form of polygonal plates.

Claims (9)

1. A mowing or chopping machine having at least two rotors mounted on vertical shafts, capable of being driven in the same or contrary directions, and having main cutters and countercutters assigned to the main cutters, wherein the countercutters are constructed as discs mounted in a stacked arrangement capable of rotating on a shaft parallel with the rotor shafts and located in the discharge area of the rotors, and the rims of said discs have cutting edges which mesh between the cutting edges of the main cutters or are positioned immediately adjacent to said main cutters.

2. Mowing or chopping machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main cutters have cutting edges diverging in a V-shape at the ends of blade carriers.

3. Mowing or chopping machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein the blade carriers are radial cutter bars.

4. Mowing or chopping machine as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the discs are constructed as polygonal plates.

5. Mowing or chopping machine as claimed in claims 1, 2 or 3, wherein the discs are circular.

6. Mowing or chopping machine as claimed in claim 5, wherein the circular discs have notches formed in their peripheries.

7. Mowing or chopping machine as claimed in claim 6, wherein the notches are in the form of U-shaped indentations.

8. Mowing or chopping machine as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein the main cutters opposing the countercutters are mounted on the radial blade carriers of the rotors so as to be capable of pivoting by means of the interposition of link pieces having pivot bearings at their respective ends.

9. Mowing or chopping machine substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 or Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings.