CA1166456A - Seed harvester - Google Patents
Seed harvesterInfo
- Publication number
- CA1166456A CA1166456A CA000393729A CA393729A CA1166456A CA 1166456 A CA1166456 A CA 1166456A CA 000393729 A CA000393729 A CA 000393729A CA 393729 A CA393729 A CA 393729A CA 1166456 A CA1166456 A CA 1166456A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- seed
- seeds
- duct
- reel
- stripping
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
- A01D—HARVESTING; MOWING
- A01D45/00—Harvesting of standing crops
- A01D45/30—Harvesting of standing crops of grass-seeds or like seeds
Landscapes
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Environmental Sciences (AREA)
- Pretreatment Of Seeds And Plants (AREA)
Abstract
"SEED HARVESTER"
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A seed harvester is provided for harvesting seeds from a standing crop without cutting the crop. The harvester is particularly de-signed for harvesting grass seed. The harvester includes a header assembly for stripping from the crop, and a seed separator for drawing the seeds from the header assembly in an air stream and for separating the seeds from the air stream. The header assembly includes a frame assembly having a transverse inlet which communicates with the seed separator. An endless revolving stripping surface is mounted across this transverse opening to contact the seed heads of the crop and strip the mature seeds from the crop.
A rotating reel is mounted to rotate parallel to, and above and forwardly of, the seed stripping surface. On rotation, the reel guides the crop into contact with the seed stripping surface and holds it there for a time to permit the seed stripping surface to remove mature seeds from the crop. The seed separator includes a duct, curved between its ends. The duct inlet communicates with the transverse inlet of the header assembly. A blower is provided at the duct outlet to draw seeds in an air stream, from the header assembly and through the duct. Baffles are provided across the curved duct section which, together with the curve in the duct, cause the seeds to move outwardly toward the outer wall of the curved duct section.
This achieves partial separation of the seeds from the air stream. To achieve the remainder of the separation, the seed separator includes a seed with-drawal duct in the outer wall of the curved duct section, and a sealed con-tainer at the end of the seed withdrawal duct. Air is drawn through the container and the seed withdrawal duct, preferably by the blower, to carry the seeds in an air stream into the container.
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A seed harvester is provided for harvesting seeds from a standing crop without cutting the crop. The harvester is particularly de-signed for harvesting grass seed. The harvester includes a header assembly for stripping from the crop, and a seed separator for drawing the seeds from the header assembly in an air stream and for separating the seeds from the air stream. The header assembly includes a frame assembly having a transverse inlet which communicates with the seed separator. An endless revolving stripping surface is mounted across this transverse opening to contact the seed heads of the crop and strip the mature seeds from the crop.
A rotating reel is mounted to rotate parallel to, and above and forwardly of, the seed stripping surface. On rotation, the reel guides the crop into contact with the seed stripping surface and holds it there for a time to permit the seed stripping surface to remove mature seeds from the crop. The seed separator includes a duct, curved between its ends. The duct inlet communicates with the transverse inlet of the header assembly. A blower is provided at the duct outlet to draw seeds in an air stream, from the header assembly and through the duct. Baffles are provided across the curved duct section which, together with the curve in the duct, cause the seeds to move outwardly toward the outer wall of the curved duct section.
This achieves partial separation of the seeds from the air stream. To achieve the remainder of the separation, the seed separator includes a seed with-drawal duct in the outer wall of the curved duct section, and a sealed con-tainer at the end of the seed withdrawal duct. Air is drawn through the container and the seed withdrawal duct, preferably by the blower, to carry the seeds in an air stream into the container.
Description
1 166~6 1 ~ACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
2 The present invention relates to a method and apparatus
3 for remov;ng seeds from a standing crop without cutting the crop. The
4 invention also relates to an apparatus for separating seeds from an air stream.
6 It is often desirable to harvest seeds from many varieties 7 of plants, for example grasses, for the purposes of repropagation. In 8 particular it is desirable to harvest seeds ~om such grasses as common 9 meadow foxtail, Garrisons Creeping Foxtail, broom, crested wheat and timothy.
11 Many varieties of grass seed are difficult to harvest. Such 12 factors as small seed size, light we;ght of the seeds, the presence of 3 chaff material associated with the seeds, loose attachment of the seed 4 to the plant, variable seed head height, varying rates of seed maturation, and weeds in the grass crop, all contribute to the problems in harvesting 16 grass seed.
7 Conventional swathing and combining equipment designed to 18 cut, swath, thresh and clean cereal grain crops have been used to 19 harvest grass seed. However, the grass seed is not successfully harvested by this equipment. If such conventional equipment is used, 21 a harvest of about 50% grass seed and 50% chaff, stem, leaf, and weed 22 material is recovered. This mixture is very difficult, if not impossible, 23 to clean or plant, mainly due to its poor flow characteristics.
24 Furthermore, the conventional swathing and combining equipment cannot selectively recover the mature seeds from the grass 26 plant, since the entire crop must be cut at one time. Only the seeds 27 which are mature at that time are useful. A considerable amount of the 28 mature grass seed is lost in this harvesting procedure, both from 29 shattering of the seed heads by the wind, from ;mpacting of the seed head by the swather reel's bats, and by falling out of the swath left ~ l66456 1 to dry in the field. Also, the late-maturing seeds are effectively 2 lost;.
3 To overcome some of these problems, seed harvesters have 4 been designed to harvest grass seed from the standing crop w;thout cutt;ing the crop. One prior art device of this type was developed 6 by R. W. Whitney, R. M. Ahring and C. M. Taliaferro and is described in 7 Transactions of the ASAE, 1979, page 270. The device is essentially a 8 modification of a grain swather unit, from which the cutting bar has 9 been removed. The device includes a generally hor;zontal platform which is moved through the crop just below the height of the seed heads. A
11 rotating reel above the platform is used to bend the plant rearwardly over 12 the platform. A plurality of flexible flails are fixed to the reel.
13 A stationary concave plate is mounted hor;zontally on the platform.
14 On rotation of the reel the seed heads are/trapped between the flails and the concave plate to strip the seeds from the plant. The seeds 16 are pulled by suction into a screen-type air-seed separator.
17 While this device may overcome some of the above-18 mentioned problems, it is believed to have its difficulties. By 19 pulling the plant stem rearwardly over the forwardly advancing horizontal platform, a substantial amount of stem breakage can take 21 place. The broken stems, together with the seed heads, are then 22 harvested with the seeds. Further, it is believed that the rotating 23 reel, in order to strip the seeds, must be rotated at a relatively 24 high speed. The reel would then cause significant seed dislodging as the reel flails impacted the seed heads ahead of the horizontal 26 platform. Also, in running the reel at this high speed, considerable 27 air turbulence would be generated, wh;ch in turn would scatter the 28 seed.
1166~S6 Other seed harvesters have been described in the patent 2 literature for harvesting seeds from standing crops, see for example 3 U.S. Patent No. 2,460,029 issued to R. M. Ramp and U.S. Patent 2,046,932 4 issued to F. Wyatt et al.
The Ramp device ~as designed specifically for the harvesting 6 of dandelion seeds and is not believed to be suitable for the har~lest 7 of other seeds such as grass seeds. The device consists of two 8 parallel brushes rotating in opposite directions, one brush being mounted 9 above and ahead of the other, across an opening. Air is drawn through the opening. The brushes are arranged to whisk the seeds from the 11 plant. The seeds are then pulled between the brushes into the opening.
12 The seeds are separated from the air in a screen-type air-seed separator.
13 It is believed that the rotating brushes trap dandelion fluff between 14 the brush bristles and thereby whisk the seeds from the plant. Most seeds, espec;ally grass seeds, cannot be dislodged from the plant by 16 this action. It is believed that a more positive stripping action is 17 necessary. Also, the upper brush in the Ramp device is shown to include 18 a large diameter central hub, around which the brushes are fixed. In 19 grass crops this hub would cause substantial undesirable bending and breakage of the stems and seeds heads.
21 ~; The harvesting device of Wyatt et al was desi~3ned~
22 specifically to strip clover heads from standing clover ~ 3. The 23 clover head is pinched off as the bats of a rotating reel contact a 24 stationary flexible strip. The clover head is pulled by an air stream into a comb;ned screen and cyclone type separator. This device is not 26 able to strip the clover seed directly from the clover plant. The27 device therefore includes a cylinder-concave arrangement to thresh the 28 seeds from the harvested clover heads.
ll66~56 1 With respect to the air-seed separating devices, screen-2 type and cyclone-type separators have been used in seed harvesters.
3 The screen-type separators often become clogged as the seeds, and any 4 stem or chaff material, blind the screen surface. The cyclone-type separators usually need to be quite large to effect seed-air separation.
6 The separator is then heavy, cumbersome and costly to carry around 7 the field.
8 In summary, there is a need for a seed harvester having 9 the following desirable capabilities:
(1) the ability to strip seeds from a standing crop 11 without cutting the crop;
12 (2) the ability to preferentially strip mature seeds from 13 a standing crop, leaving the immature seeds on the 14 plant for subsequent maturing and harvestingi (3) the ability to strip seeds from a standing crop 16 without causing substantial stem breakage by bending 17 of the stems or seed loss from impacting of the seed 18 heads, and 19 (4) provision for seed-air separation in a compact arrangement which can be economically carried around 21 the field.
23 The present invention provides a seed harvester having a 24 header assembly, for removing seeds from a standing crop, and a seed separator for draw;ng the seeds from the header assembly in an air 26 stream and for separating the seeds from the air stream. The seed 27 harvester is believed to overcome at least some of the above-28 described problems. While the harvester has been designed specifically 29 for harvesting grass seeds, it should find àpplication in the harvesting of other crops.
6 It is often desirable to harvest seeds from many varieties 7 of plants, for example grasses, for the purposes of repropagation. In 8 particular it is desirable to harvest seeds ~om such grasses as common 9 meadow foxtail, Garrisons Creeping Foxtail, broom, crested wheat and timothy.
11 Many varieties of grass seed are difficult to harvest. Such 12 factors as small seed size, light we;ght of the seeds, the presence of 3 chaff material associated with the seeds, loose attachment of the seed 4 to the plant, variable seed head height, varying rates of seed maturation, and weeds in the grass crop, all contribute to the problems in harvesting 16 grass seed.
7 Conventional swathing and combining equipment designed to 18 cut, swath, thresh and clean cereal grain crops have been used to 19 harvest grass seed. However, the grass seed is not successfully harvested by this equipment. If such conventional equipment is used, 21 a harvest of about 50% grass seed and 50% chaff, stem, leaf, and weed 22 material is recovered. This mixture is very difficult, if not impossible, 23 to clean or plant, mainly due to its poor flow characteristics.
24 Furthermore, the conventional swathing and combining equipment cannot selectively recover the mature seeds from the grass 26 plant, since the entire crop must be cut at one time. Only the seeds 27 which are mature at that time are useful. A considerable amount of the 28 mature grass seed is lost in this harvesting procedure, both from 29 shattering of the seed heads by the wind, from ;mpacting of the seed head by the swather reel's bats, and by falling out of the swath left ~ l66456 1 to dry in the field. Also, the late-maturing seeds are effectively 2 lost;.
3 To overcome some of these problems, seed harvesters have 4 been designed to harvest grass seed from the standing crop w;thout cutt;ing the crop. One prior art device of this type was developed 6 by R. W. Whitney, R. M. Ahring and C. M. Taliaferro and is described in 7 Transactions of the ASAE, 1979, page 270. The device is essentially a 8 modification of a grain swather unit, from which the cutting bar has 9 been removed. The device includes a generally hor;zontal platform which is moved through the crop just below the height of the seed heads. A
11 rotating reel above the platform is used to bend the plant rearwardly over 12 the platform. A plurality of flexible flails are fixed to the reel.
13 A stationary concave plate is mounted hor;zontally on the platform.
14 On rotation of the reel the seed heads are/trapped between the flails and the concave plate to strip the seeds from the plant. The seeds 16 are pulled by suction into a screen-type air-seed separator.
17 While this device may overcome some of the above-18 mentioned problems, it is believed to have its difficulties. By 19 pulling the plant stem rearwardly over the forwardly advancing horizontal platform, a substantial amount of stem breakage can take 21 place. The broken stems, together with the seed heads, are then 22 harvested with the seeds. Further, it is believed that the rotating 23 reel, in order to strip the seeds, must be rotated at a relatively 24 high speed. The reel would then cause significant seed dislodging as the reel flails impacted the seed heads ahead of the horizontal 26 platform. Also, in running the reel at this high speed, considerable 27 air turbulence would be generated, wh;ch in turn would scatter the 28 seed.
1166~S6 Other seed harvesters have been described in the patent 2 literature for harvesting seeds from standing crops, see for example 3 U.S. Patent No. 2,460,029 issued to R. M. Ramp and U.S. Patent 2,046,932 4 issued to F. Wyatt et al.
The Ramp device ~as designed specifically for the harvesting 6 of dandelion seeds and is not believed to be suitable for the har~lest 7 of other seeds such as grass seeds. The device consists of two 8 parallel brushes rotating in opposite directions, one brush being mounted 9 above and ahead of the other, across an opening. Air is drawn through the opening. The brushes are arranged to whisk the seeds from the 11 plant. The seeds are then pulled between the brushes into the opening.
12 The seeds are separated from the air in a screen-type air-seed separator.
13 It is believed that the rotating brushes trap dandelion fluff between 14 the brush bristles and thereby whisk the seeds from the plant. Most seeds, espec;ally grass seeds, cannot be dislodged from the plant by 16 this action. It is believed that a more positive stripping action is 17 necessary. Also, the upper brush in the Ramp device is shown to include 18 a large diameter central hub, around which the brushes are fixed. In 19 grass crops this hub would cause substantial undesirable bending and breakage of the stems and seeds heads.
21 ~; The harvesting device of Wyatt et al was desi~3ned~
22 specifically to strip clover heads from standing clover ~ 3. The 23 clover head is pinched off as the bats of a rotating reel contact a 24 stationary flexible strip. The clover head is pulled by an air stream into a comb;ned screen and cyclone type separator. This device is not 26 able to strip the clover seed directly from the clover plant. The27 device therefore includes a cylinder-concave arrangement to thresh the 28 seeds from the harvested clover heads.
ll66~56 1 With respect to the air-seed separating devices, screen-2 type and cyclone-type separators have been used in seed harvesters.
3 The screen-type separators often become clogged as the seeds, and any 4 stem or chaff material, blind the screen surface. The cyclone-type separators usually need to be quite large to effect seed-air separation.
6 The separator is then heavy, cumbersome and costly to carry around 7 the field.
8 In summary, there is a need for a seed harvester having 9 the following desirable capabilities:
(1) the ability to strip seeds from a standing crop 11 without cutting the crop;
12 (2) the ability to preferentially strip mature seeds from 13 a standing crop, leaving the immature seeds on the 14 plant for subsequent maturing and harvestingi (3) the ability to strip seeds from a standing crop 16 without causing substantial stem breakage by bending 17 of the stems or seed loss from impacting of the seed 18 heads, and 19 (4) provision for seed-air separation in a compact arrangement which can be economically carried around 21 the field.
23 The present invention provides a seed harvester having a 24 header assembly, for removing seeds from a standing crop, and a seed separator for draw;ng the seeds from the header assembly in an air 26 stream and for separating the seeds from the air stream. The seed 27 harvester is believed to overcome at least some of the above-28 described problems. While the harvester has been designed specifically 29 for harvesting grass seeds, it should find àpplication in the harvesting of other crops.
- 5 1 ~66~56 1 The header assembly includes a frame assembly adapted for2 forward movement through the standing crop, means, carried by the frame 3 assemlbly, for stripping seeds from the standing crop, and means, carried 4 by the frame assembly, for holding the seed bearing portion of the crop against the seed stripping means. More particularly, the frame assembly
6 forms a forwardly facing transverse inlet leading into the seed separator.
7 The seed stripping means, which comprises an endless reYolving surface
8 carrying stripping edges, is mounted to rotate at the transverse inlet so
9 as to contact the seed heads of the crop. The stripped seeds are drawn in an air stream from the seed stripping surface, through the transverse 11 inlet, and into the seed separator.
12 In a preferred form, the seed stripping means comprises a13 cylindrical drum mounted transversely in front of the transYerse inlet 14 for rotation about its longitudinal axis. The drum has a support frame of spaced vertidcal discs. A plurality of cylindrically arranged, 16 horizontally extending, spaced wires extend between the discs. The 17 spaced wires provide the stripping edges which, when rotated, actively 18 strips mature seeds from the seed heads. The spaces between the wires 19 allow the seeds to be pulled through the drum and into the seed separator. The drum is rotated in an upward direction at its front.
21 The means for holding the crop against the seed stripping22 means, in a preferred form, comprises a cylindrical reel carried by the 23 frame assembly, above and forwardly of the seed stripping means. The 24 reel is mounted to rotate about its longitudinal axis parallel to the seed stripping means, in a direction opposite to the seed stripping means.
26 The holding means further comprises a plurality of batts fixed around the 27 periphery of the reel. Each batt has a cushioned working surface which 28 is arranged to substantially tangentially engage stripping edges of the 29 stripper to compress at least part of the working surface against said stripping edges. The bats are fixed to the reel so as to leave sub-31 stantial openings between the batts,which openings extend inwardly , .
1 166~i56 1 toward the reel axis. When the reel is rotated, a segment of the crop 2 is trapped between sequential batts and is guided into contact with the 3 seed stripping means. The seed heads of the crop are momentarily pressed 4 against the seed stripping means by the batts as the latter are rotated over the surface of the seed stripping means. This allows the rotating 6 seed stripping edges to actively strip the seeds from the seed heads.
7 In another preferred aspect of the header assembly~ the 8 cylindrical reel of the holding means has a larger diameter than the g cylindrical drum of the seed stripping means. This large diameter reel accommodates the range of seed head heights of the crop. Also, 11 the cylindrical stripping drum is rotated at a faster speed than is the 12 cylindrical reel.
The seed separator of the present invention includes a 14 duct having an inlet end and an outlet end. A first pneumatic means, such as a blower, is mounted at the outlet end for drawing an air stream 16 carrying seeds through the inlet end. When used with the above-17 described header assembly, the inlet end of the separator communicates 18 with the transverse inlet formed in the header assembly. Seeds stripped 19 by the header assembly are therefore pulled into the duct. The duct is curved between its ends to form a curved duct section. The curve is 21 sufficient to cause the seeds to be thrown outwardly, by centrifugal 22 force, toward the outer wall of the duct. Means, preferably a 1 plurality of spaced baffles, are fixed transversely within the curved 2 duct section to divide that duct section into a seed chamber adjacent 3 the outer wall of the duct and an air chamber adjacent the inner wall 4 of the duct. The means are arranged so as to deflect the seeds impinging thereon outwardly toward the outer wall while allowing air to pass 6 from the seed chamber to the air chamber toward the outlet end of the 7 duct. A seed withdrawal duct is provided at the outer wall of the curved 8 duct section communicating with the seed chamber to withdraw the seeds 9 from the seed chamber. A sealed conta;ner is connected to the seed withdrawal duct to collect the seeds. Means, such as a second 11 blower or a tube connected to the first blower, is connected to the 12 container to draw air through the container and the seed withdrawal 13 duct. This air stream thereby carries the seeds from the curved duct14 section into the container. The container is large in size, to allow the seeds to fall out by gravity from the air stream.
16 The seed separator as above-described, accomplishes 17 air-seed separation in two steps. A portion of the separation takes 18 place in the curved duct section , while the remainder of the 19 separat10n takes place ;n the conta;ner.
In a more preferred embodiment of the seed separator, the 21 baffles in the curved duct section are arranged on a curve generally22 following the curve of the curved duct sections. The baffles are 23 also preferably arranged so as to decrease the cross-sectional area 24 of the seed chamber near the seed withdrawal duct. These provisions aid in concentrating the seeds in the air stream as they approach the 26 seed withdrawal duct.
1166~56 1 ~hile the header assembly and seed separator of the present 2 invention are preferably used together as a complete seed harvester 3 machine, each may be used separately with an alternate form of a header 4 assembly or a seed separator. For instance, the header assembly of the present invention may be used with a conventior~al screen-type, 6 cyclone-type or impingement-type seed-air separator.
7 Broadly stated, the present invention is a header assembly8 for removing seeds from the seed heads of a standing crop, comprising: a g frame assembly; an endless seed stripping means mounted in the frame assembly and adapted to be rotated in a clockwise direction at a relatively 11 high rate of speed about a substantially horizontal axis, said stripping 12 means comprising circumferentially spaced apart stripping edges extending13 thereacross; an endless reel mounted in the frame assembly above the 14 stripping means and adapted to be rotated in a counterclockwise directionabout a substantially horizontal axis at a relatively low rate of speed, 16 said reel having circumferentially spaced apart batts on its periphery 17 which batts extend across the reel and form openings therebetween which 18 extend inwardly toward the axis of the reel, whereby, when the reel is 19 rotated, a segment of crop is trapped between sequential batts and is deflected into contact with the stripping means; each said batt having a 21 cushioned working surface arranged to momentarily substantially tangentially 22 contact and compress against one or more stripping edges of the stripping23 means in the course of a rotation about the axis of the reel, to thereby 24 positively hold seed heads against said edges to permit seeds to be stripped therefrom.
1~66~56 The ;nvent;on also provides a new method of removing seeds 2 from a standing crop. The method comprises the steps of: advancing 3 a revolving surface through the standing crop, the revolving surface 4 being positioned to engage the seed bearing portion of the crop, the revolving surface moving in an upward direction at its fronti holding 6 the seed bearing portion of the crop against the revolving surface for 7 a br;ef time to permit the surface to strip seeds from the crop, without 8 substantial impacting of the seeds and without substantial stem breakage;
9 and drawing air from the revolving surface to gather the stripped seeds.
In another broad aspect, the invention provides a seed 11 separator for separating seeds from an air stream carrying seeds. The 12 seed separator comprises: a duct having an inlet end and an outlet end;
3 first pneumatic means at the outlet end for drawing the air stream 4 carrying seeds into the inlet end and through the duct; the duct being curved between the inlet and outlet ends to form a curved duct section 16 defined by an inner and an outer wall and two side walls, the curve 7 being sufficient to cause the seeds in the air stream to be-thrown by 18 centrifugal force outwardly toward the outer wall; means extending 19 transversely across the curved duct section between the side walls and dividing the curved duct section into a seed chamber adjacent the outer 21 wall and an air chamber adjacent the inner wall, the means being arranged 22 so as to deflect seeds imping~g thereon outwardly toward the outer wall, 23 while allowing air to pass from the seed chamber to the air chamber toward 24 the outlet end of the duct; a seed withdrawal duct communicating with the seed chamber for withdrawing seeds from the seed chamber of the 26 curved duct section; sealed container means connected to the seed with-27 drawal duct for collecting the seeds; second pneumatic means connected 28 to the container means for drawing an air stream through the container 1~ _ ll66456 1 means and the seed withdrawal duct to thereby carry the seeds into the 2 container means; and the container means being of a sufficient size 3 to allow the seeds to fall out of the air stream carrying them, 4 whereby a portion of the seed-a;r separation operat;on takes place ;n the curved duct section wh;le the remaining seed-air separation 6 operation takes place in the container means.
7 DESCRIPTION OF THE D~AWINGS
8 Figure 1 is a schematic side sectional view of the seed 9 harvester to illustrate the header assembly and the seed separator.
Figure 2 is a front perspective view of the seed harvester 11 illustrating the rotating reel arrangement of the header assembly.
12 Figure 3 is a fragmentary side sectional view of the header 13 assembly showing the ducts of the seed separator leading to the seed 14 stripping drum to gather seeds therefrom. Figures 3a and 3b show exploded sectional views of the hinge connections.
16 Figure 4 is a front ~iew of the seed stripping drum 17 removed from the seed harvester.
18 Figure 5 is a side sectional view of a bat from the rotating19 reel arrangement.
Figure 6 is a side view of the drive means for rotating 21 the reel arrangement and the seed stripping drum at differential speeds.
22 Figure 7 is a top plan view of the hinged duct section of 23 the seed separator leading from the header assembly. The top sheet 24 of the duct is re~oved to show the seed and air directing baffles.
2 ~ith reference to the drawings, the seed harvester 1 3 includes a header assembly 2 for remov;ng seeds from a standing crop 4 and a seed separator 3 for drawing the stripped seeds from the header assembly 2 in an air stream, for separating the seeds from the air stream, 6 and for collecting the separated seeds. As seen in Figures 1 and 2, 7 both the header assembly 2 and the seed separator 3 are mounted on a 8 con~entional grain swather power unit 4 for movement through the 9 standing crop. The swather unit 4 also provides the power necessary to drive components of harvester 1, as will be described hereinafter.
11 Since the swather unit 4 is conventional in the art it will only be 12 described briefly.
13 A swather unit having the engine 5 placed off to one side, 14 as shown in Figure 2, is preferred, as the seed separator 3 can more easily be accommodated alongside the engine . Most conventional 16 swather units are provided with only three wheels. For the present 17 invention the s~ather unit 4 was modified, for stability purposes, to 18 include four wheels, two front steering wheels 6 and two rear castor 19 wheels 7. The rear wheels 7 are attached to a walking bar assembly 8 for travel over rough terrain.
21 The swather unit 4 includes a pair of spaced forwardly 22 extending upper lift arms 9. A pair of forwardly extending lower lift 23 arms 10 is connected to the swather unit 4 parallel to and below the 24 upper pair of lift arms 9. The lift arms 9, 10 can be simultaneously raised and lowered by a pair of hydraulic cylinders (not shown) mounted 26 vertically below the upper lift arms 9. The header assembly 2 is 27 pivotally attached to the front ends of the lift arms 9, 10. The header 28 assembly 2 can therefore be raised and lowered to adjust the height at 29 which it travels in the field. The height of the header assembly 2 can then be adjusted to accommodate varyihg crop heights.
~ 166456 1 The Header Assembly 2 The basic components of the header assembly 2 include a 3 frame assembly, generally indicated at 12, a seed str;pping drum 14 4 for stripping seeds from the crop, and a rotating reel 16 for holding the seed bearing portion of the crop against the seed stripping drum 14 6 for a time to permit the seeds to be stripped from the crop.
7 The frame assembly 12, as best seen in Figures 1, 2 and 3, 8 includes a pair of parallel spaced side plates 18. The side plates 18 9 are connected by an upper box section 20 and a lower box section 22, both of which extend transversely between the side plates 18. The upper 11 box section 20 has the quadilateral shape shown in cross-section in 12 Figures 1 and 3. The lower box section 22 has a triangular shape 13 shown in cross-section in Figures 1 and 3. The rear faces 24, 25 of the 14 box sections 20, 22 respectively are provided with two pairs of brackets 26 and 27 for connection to the upper and lower swather lift arms 9, 10.
16 The lower face 24a of the upper box section 20 is spaced 17 from the upper face 25b of the lower box section so as to form a 18 forwardly facing transverse inlet 28 therebetween. The inlet 28 leads 19 rearwardly from the header assembly 2 into the seed separator 3, to be described later.
21 The frame assembly 12 also includes a top plate 30 22 extending transversely between the side plates 18 to close the top 23 of the frame assembly 12. The front of the frame assembly is left 24 substantially open to accommodate the seed stripping drum 14 and the rotating reel 16. The side plates 18, the box sections 20, 22 and 26 the top plate 30 limit wind movement within the frame assembly 12.
27 The seed stripping drum 14 is mounted between the side 28 plates 18 in front of the transverse inlet 28. Bearings (not shown) 29 are provided in each side plate 18, to allow the drum 14 to rotate.
~ ~664S6 1 The rotating reel 16 is mounted between the side plates 18, 2 again in bearings ~not shown) on each side pla~e 18. The rotating reel 3 16 ;s spaced above and forwardly of the drum 14.
4 The frame assembly 12 includes a third box section 32 connected as shown in Figure 1 between the side plates 18, above the 6 seed str;pp;ng drum 14. The th;rd box section 32 has the triangular 7 shape shown ;n cross-sect;on ;n F;gure 1. The forward face 34 of th;s 8 box sect;on 32 provides a surface above the seed stripp;ng drum 14, 9 against which seed heads can land should a portion of the crop be higher than the seed stripp;ng drum-14. Th;s box section 32 is spaced 11 forwardly of the upper box section 20 such that a duct 35 ;s formed 12 between the box sect;ons 20 and 32. Wh;le the major;ty of the seeds 3 str;pped from the plant are drawn through the seed stripping drum 14 14 and ;nto the ;nlet 28, any seeds flying up above the seed stripping drum 14 should drop down through the duct-35 to join the remainder of 16 the stripped seeds at the ;nlet 28.
7 The frame assem~ly 12 also ;ncludes a floor sect;on 36 18 extending between the side plates 18 and beneath the seed stripping 19 drum 14. The floor sect;on 36 prevents seeds from dropp;ng from the drum 14 to the ground. Seeds landing on the floor sectlon 36 are 21 pulled rearwardly through the ;nlet 28 and ;nto the seed separator 3.
22 As shown ;n Figure 4 the seed stripping drum 14, ;n its 23 most preferred embodiment, consists of a support frame 40 and a 24 plurality of cylindrically arranged, horizontally spaced wires 42 attached to the frame 40. The frame 40 includes a central shaft 44 26 and a plural;ty of vertical c;rcular d;scs 46 spaced therealong. The 27 discs 46 have a plurality of holes (not shown) formed around their 28 per;pher;es. The w;res 42 are threaded through these holes and are 29 fastened to the two discs at the ends of the frame 40. The spaces between the wires 42 allow seeds to be pulled through the drum 14 and 31 into the inlet 28.
~166456 1 When rotated at relatively rapid speeds~ the wires 42 of 2 the seed stripping drum 14 provide an effective surface for actively 3 stripping mature seeds from the standing crop. Other endless revolving 4 surfaces might also be employed. Another type of perforated cylindrical drum, for example a revolving ribbed canvas belt, would provide a sur-6 face, not necessarily in a cylindrical shape, which could be used for 7 seed stripping. If the revolving surface is not perforated, the seeds 8 could be drawn from the top and bottom of, rather than through, the g revolving surface. The term surface, as used herein, is meant to includeboth an intermittant surface such as that formed by the spaced wires and 11 a continuous surface such as that formed by an endless belt.
12 The rotating reel 16 is shown in Figures 1 and 2 to include13 a support frame 47 and a plurality of bats 48 mounted on the frame 47.
14 The frame 47 includes a central shaft 50 mounted to rotate between the side plates 18. The frame 47 also includes three large diameter discs 16 52 fixed along the length of the shaft 50. The bats 48 are fixed 17 around the peripheries of the discs 52 across the width of the frame 18 47 so as to contact the periphery of the seed stripping drum 14. The 19 frame 47 is left substantially open between its central shaft 50 and the bats 48. In this way openings 54 are left between adjacent bats 48, 21 which openings 54 extend inwardly toward the shaft 50. When the reel 16 22 is rotated, in the direction indicated, segments of the crop are trapped23 in the openings 54 between the bats 48 and are guided inwardly to contact 24 the seed str;pping drum 14. Since the openings 54 extend a substantial distance toward the reel shaft 50, a minimum of stems are broken by 26 bending of the stems by the reel 16.
27 The reel 16 is rotated at a much slower speed than is the seed 28 stripping drum 14. For instance, in grass seed crops the drum 14 may be 29 rotated at about 520 rpm while the reel 16 might be rotated at about 46 rpm.
1166~56 1 The ~referred embodiment of the bats 48 ;s shown best 2 in Figures 2 and tt~ Each bat 48 consists of a transverse rib 56 3 fixetl to three bolts 58. The bolts 58 attach the ribs 56 to the 4 peripheries of the three discs 52. The rib 56 is generally V-shaped in cross-section as shown in Figure 5. In the widened portion of each 6 V-shaped rib 56 is fixed a generally U-shaped connector 60. The con-7 nector 60 holds a foam rubber wedge 62 along the length of the rib 56.
8 The foam rubber wedge 62 is surrounded by a covering 64 of durable vinyl9 covered nylon. The bat 48 is thereby provided with a durable cushioned surface 66 with which to contact the periphery of the seed stripping 11 drum 14. As the cushioned surface 66 moves over the surface of the 12 seed stripping drum 14 it is compressed somewhat. This action is 13 found to effectively hold the seed bearing portion of the crop 14 against the seed stripping drum 14 without causing substantial damage, such as stem or seed breakage, to the crop. To adjust the amount by 16 which bat surface 66 is compressed at the seed stripping drum 14, the 17 shaft 50 of the reel 16 is mounted to the side plates 18 to allow for a 18 small amount of generally vertical movement of the reel 16 relative to 19 drum 14. The bearings (not shown) holding the shaft 50 to the side plates 18 are therefore mounted for generally vertical sliding movement 21 on the side plates 18.
22 As shown in Figure 2, the ribs 56 are mounted in a slanted 23 arrangement on the rotating reel 16. This slant is achieved by both 24 slanting and twisting the ribs 56 as they are bolted to the discs 52.
The ribs 56 are so slanted and spaced on the reel periphery to ensure 26 that a portion of a rib 56 is always in contact with the seed stripping 27 drum 14 as the reel 16 is rotated. The leading edge of one rib 56 28 contacts the seed stripping drum 14 before the trailing edge of the 29 preceding rib 56 rotates out of contact with the drum 14. If this slanted arrangement of the r;bs were not used, the seed stripping drum ~t66456 1 14 would slow down and speed up as each rib 56 engaged and disengaged 2 itself from the drum 14.
3 As is evident from the drawings, the rotating reel 16 4 has a substantially larger diameter than does the seed stripping drum 14. Also, the rotating reel 16 is rotated at a much slower speed than 6 is the seed stripping drum 14. While not being bound by the same, it 7 is believed that the slower rotation speed of the reel 16 is made 8 possible because the reel 16 is function;ng primarily to guide the crop 9 to, and hold it against, the seed stripping drum 14~ The reel 16 is not believed to play an active part in stripping the seeds from the 11 crop. The slower speed of rotation of the reel 16 reduces the amount of 12 seed loss caused by impacting the seed heads by the reel 16.
3 The seed stripping drum 14 and the rotating reel 16 are 14 driven in opposite directions and at different speeds by the drive mechanism 70 shown in Figure 6. A main shaft 72 extends through 16 one of the side plates 18. The main shaft 72 is driven by a hydraulic 17 motor (not shown) powered by the swather unit 4. Two pulleys 74, 76 18 are fixed to rotate with the main shaft 72. The pulley 74 is used 19 to drive a large pulley 78 through a belt 80 and an idler pulley 82. The shaft 50 of the rotating reel 16 is driven by the large pulley 21 78 as shown. Similarly, the pulley 76 is used to drive a small pulley22 84 through an endless belt 86 and idler pulley 88. The central shaft 23 44 of the seed stripping drum 14 is driven by the small pulley 84 at 24 a faster speed than is shaft 50. The drive mechan;sm 70 is closed in by a cover 90 hinged to the side plate 18.
26 The above-described~preferred embodiment of the seed 27 stripping drum 14 and rotating reel 16 has been found to achieve seed28 stripping from grasses without forcing the grass stems to bend sharply 29 rearwardly over an advancing platform. The sharp rearward bending of grass stems was felt to cause significant amounts of stem breakage. It 31 is therefore believed that the present invention reduces this problem.
~ ~6~SB
1 The header assembly 2 of the present invention can be used 2 with seed separators other than the improved seed separator 3 to be 3 described hereinafter. Such known seed separators as screen-type, 4 cyclane-type, inertia-type, bag-type, gravity setting-type, and impingement-type separators may be used.
6 The Seed Separator 7 The seed separator 3 includes a duct 100 having an inlet 8 end 102 and an outlet end 104. The inlet end 102 is connected to the 9 header assembly 2 such that the duct 100 communicates with the transverse inlet 28 of the header assembly 2. A blower 106 is pro-l vided at the outlet end 104 of the duct 100 so as to draw an air 12 stream carrying seeds from the header assembly 2 through the inlet end 13 102 and through the duct 100.
14 To accommodate the vertical pivoting movement of the headerassembly 2, the seed separator 3 includes a hinged duct section 108 16 at its inlet end 102. This duct section 108 extends forwardly from 17 the swather unit 4, between the upper and lower lift arms 9, 10 of the 18 swather unit. The lift arms 9, 10 prevent the hinged duct section 108 19 from falling from the swather unit 4 as will be explained. The hinged duct section 108 is shown in detail in Figure 3. The hinged duct 21 section 108 is connected at its lower end 109 to the header assembly 2.22 The upper end lO9a of the hinged duct section 108 rests on, but is not 23 connected to, a fixed duct section 110 of the duct 100. The upper plate24 112 of the hinged duct section 108 is connected to the upper box section 20 of the header assembly 2 through a flexible rubber seal 114.
26 The lower end 109 of the hinged duct section 108 extends the width of 27 the header assembly 2 so as to communicate with the transverse inlet 28.
28 The seal 114 therefore extends the width of the hinged duct section 10829 to seal this duct section 108 to the header assembly 2. The lower 1 166t~6 1 plate 116 of the hinged duct section 108 is connected to the lower box 2 section 22, for movement therewi`th, through a rubber strip 118, as shown3 in Figure 3a.
4 At the upper end lO9a of the hinged duct section 108, the lower plate 116 of duct section 108 rests on the lower plate 12n of 6 the fixed duct section 110 as shown in Figure 3b. A rubber lip 122 is 7 connected to the lower plate 116 as shown to seal the hinged duct 8 section 108 while allowing it to pivot relative to the stationary duct 9 section 110.
At the upper end lO9a of the hinged duct section 108 a 11 gap 124 is formed between the duct section 108 and the fixed duct 12 section 110 as the hinged duct section pivots with the header assembly 13 2. To close this gap 124, a flap 126 is hinged to the upper plate 128 14 of the fixed duct section llQ. The flap 126 slides over the upper plate 112 of the hinged duct section 108 to seal that duct section 108 as 16 it is pivoted.
17 A pair of side sealing plates 130 is connected on either 18 side of the fixed duct section 110 to close the gap which forms at the 19 sides of this duct section 110 as the hinged duct section 108 is pivoted.
21 In Figure 7, the hinged duct section 108 and the fixed 22 duct section 110 are shown in a top plan view. The top plates 112 and 23 128 of these sections are removed. The hinged duct section 108 is 24 shown t~ narrow in width toward the fixed duct section 110. It is desirable to keep the cross-sectional area of both the hinged duct 26 section 108 and the fixed duct sect;on 110 substantially equal along 27 their lengths so as not to alter the speed of the air stream carrying the28 seeds. F~r this reason both duct sections 108 and 110 increase in 29 depth as their widths are decreased.
t 166~$6 1 A pair of air and seed directing baffles 132 are pro-2 vided in the hinged duct section 108 as shown in Figure 7. The 3 baffles 132 evenly distr;bute the air suct;on along the entire width 4 of the duct inlet 102. Without the baffles 132, the blower 106 would tend to pull harder on the central portion of the seed stripping drum 6 14 than on the ends of the drum 14.
7 The duct 100 is curved between the outlet end 104 and the 8 fixed duct section 110 to form a curved duct section 134. The curved g duct section 134 is defined by an inner wall 136, an outer wall 138 lo and two side walls ~not shown ;n the cross-sectional views). As shown 1l in Figure 1, the curved duct section 134 turns through 180. Th;s 12 curve has been found to be suff;c;ent to cause the air stream carrying 13 the seeds to throw the seeds outwardly, by centrifugal force, toward 14 the outer wall 138 as the air stream rounds the curve.
The curved duct section 134 increases in cross-sectional 16 area toward the outlet end 104 of the duct 100 so as to slow down the 17 air stream and allow the seeds to fall out somewhat from the air. While 18 this provision is not felt-to be ess~ential to the seed-air separation 19 operation taking place in the curved duct section 134, it is believed to enhance the separation.
21 A plurality of baffles 140 are connected to the side walls 22 of the curved duct section 134 extending across the width of that duct 23 section 134. The baffles 140 divide the curved duct section 134 into 24 a seed chamber 142 adjacent the outer wall 138, and an air chamber 144 adjacent the inner wall 136. The baffles are equally spaced and are 26 inclined as shown so as to deflect the seeds imping~ing thereon outwardly 27 toward the outer wall 138. The baffle spacing and ;nclination allows 28 the air to pass from the seed chamber 142 to the air chamber 144 29 toward the blower 106. The baffles 140 are arranged on a curve generally 1 166~$6 1 following the curve of the curved duct section 134. The baffles 140 2 are also arranged so as to decrease the cross-sectional area of the 3 seed chamber 142 toward the top of the curued duct section 134 as 4 shown. This arrangement forces a large portion of the air stream carrying the seeds to escape to the air chamber 144 and out through the 6 blower 106. The seeds are therefore in a concentrated stream at the 7 top of the curved duct section 134 along the outer wall 138~
8 A seed withdrawal duct 146 is provided in the outer wall 9 138 at the top of the curved duct section 134. The duct 146 communi-cates with the seed chamber 142 in order to withdraw the seeds therefrom.
11 The seed withdrawal duct 146 turns through 180, as shown, and has an 12 increasing cross-sectional area in the direction of the seed travel.
13 These provisions slow the air down somewhat.
14 A sealed container 148 is connected to the seed withdrawal duct 146 for collecting the seeds. A tube 150 is connected between 16 the container 148 and the inlet side of the blower 106 for drawing an 17 air stream through the container 148 and the seed withdrawal duct 146.
18 This air stream thereby carries the seeds from the seed chamber 142 19 to the container 148.
As mentioned above, the air and seed~ are slowed down in the seed 21 withdrawal duct 146 before they enter the container 148. This pro-22 vision reduces the turbulence of the air as --it enters the container 23 148. To further reduce turbulence in the container 148, a seed deflecting 24 baffle 152 is fixed in the container 148 communicating with the seed withdrawal duct 146. The baffle 152 functions to deflect the seeds 26 toward the side wall 153 of the container 148, away from the tube 150.
27 The container 148 is large, to allow the seeds to fall out from the air 28 stream carrying them. This further reduces turbulence in the container 29 148.
66~S6 1 The container 14~ is connected at its base to a bottom-2 feeding auger 154 for unloading the seeds from the container 148~ The 3 auger 154 is effectively sealed at both its ends to prevent air from 4 beinlg drawn into the sealed container 14g. A removable clean-out plate 156 closes the lower end of the auger 154. A collapsible tube 6 158, formed from vinyl covered nylon, closes the upper end of the auger 7 154 against inward air movement, while allowing the seeds to be dis-8 charged from the auger 154.
9 The seed separator 3, as described above, achieves seed-airseparation in two steps. A portion of the seed-air separation takes 11 place in the curved duct section 134, while the remainder of the 12 separation takes place in the container 148. The single blower 106 is 13 used to draw the air streams carrying the seeds through both of these 14 seed-air separation operations. It is conceivable that two blowers could be used, one drawing on the curved duct section 134 and the 16 other drawing on the container 148. In this case, the blowers should 17 be balanced to adjust the air flows within the curved duct section 134 18 and the container 148 as varying degrees of blocking at the seed 19 stripping drum 14 alter the vacuum at the duct inlet 102. Blocking of the seed stripping drum 14 can occur when a heavy crop segment is 2, held against the seed stripping drum 14. If this balancing precaution 22 were not taken, one blower might draw harder than the other so as to 23 upset the seed-air separation operations. By using the single blower 24 106 the air flows in the curved duct section 134 and the contai`ner 148 are inherently balanced.
26 While the present invention has been described in connection 27 with the preferred embodiments thereof, it should be understood that 28 there may be other embodiments which fall within the spirit and scope 29 of the invention as defined by the following claims.
12 In a preferred form, the seed stripping means comprises a13 cylindrical drum mounted transversely in front of the transYerse inlet 14 for rotation about its longitudinal axis. The drum has a support frame of spaced vertidcal discs. A plurality of cylindrically arranged, 16 horizontally extending, spaced wires extend between the discs. The 17 spaced wires provide the stripping edges which, when rotated, actively 18 strips mature seeds from the seed heads. The spaces between the wires 19 allow the seeds to be pulled through the drum and into the seed separator. The drum is rotated in an upward direction at its front.
21 The means for holding the crop against the seed stripping22 means, in a preferred form, comprises a cylindrical reel carried by the 23 frame assembly, above and forwardly of the seed stripping means. The 24 reel is mounted to rotate about its longitudinal axis parallel to the seed stripping means, in a direction opposite to the seed stripping means.
26 The holding means further comprises a plurality of batts fixed around the 27 periphery of the reel. Each batt has a cushioned working surface which 28 is arranged to substantially tangentially engage stripping edges of the 29 stripper to compress at least part of the working surface against said stripping edges. The bats are fixed to the reel so as to leave sub-31 stantial openings between the batts,which openings extend inwardly , .
1 166~i56 1 toward the reel axis. When the reel is rotated, a segment of the crop 2 is trapped between sequential batts and is guided into contact with the 3 seed stripping means. The seed heads of the crop are momentarily pressed 4 against the seed stripping means by the batts as the latter are rotated over the surface of the seed stripping means. This allows the rotating 6 seed stripping edges to actively strip the seeds from the seed heads.
7 In another preferred aspect of the header assembly~ the 8 cylindrical reel of the holding means has a larger diameter than the g cylindrical drum of the seed stripping means. This large diameter reel accommodates the range of seed head heights of the crop. Also, 11 the cylindrical stripping drum is rotated at a faster speed than is the 12 cylindrical reel.
The seed separator of the present invention includes a 14 duct having an inlet end and an outlet end. A first pneumatic means, such as a blower, is mounted at the outlet end for drawing an air stream 16 carrying seeds through the inlet end. When used with the above-17 described header assembly, the inlet end of the separator communicates 18 with the transverse inlet formed in the header assembly. Seeds stripped 19 by the header assembly are therefore pulled into the duct. The duct is curved between its ends to form a curved duct section. The curve is 21 sufficient to cause the seeds to be thrown outwardly, by centrifugal 22 force, toward the outer wall of the duct. Means, preferably a 1 plurality of spaced baffles, are fixed transversely within the curved 2 duct section to divide that duct section into a seed chamber adjacent 3 the outer wall of the duct and an air chamber adjacent the inner wall 4 of the duct. The means are arranged so as to deflect the seeds impinging thereon outwardly toward the outer wall while allowing air to pass 6 from the seed chamber to the air chamber toward the outlet end of the 7 duct. A seed withdrawal duct is provided at the outer wall of the curved 8 duct section communicating with the seed chamber to withdraw the seeds 9 from the seed chamber. A sealed conta;ner is connected to the seed withdrawal duct to collect the seeds. Means, such as a second 11 blower or a tube connected to the first blower, is connected to the 12 container to draw air through the container and the seed withdrawal 13 duct. This air stream thereby carries the seeds from the curved duct14 section into the container. The container is large in size, to allow the seeds to fall out by gravity from the air stream.
16 The seed separator as above-described, accomplishes 17 air-seed separation in two steps. A portion of the separation takes 18 place in the curved duct section , while the remainder of the 19 separat10n takes place ;n the conta;ner.
In a more preferred embodiment of the seed separator, the 21 baffles in the curved duct section are arranged on a curve generally22 following the curve of the curved duct sections. The baffles are 23 also preferably arranged so as to decrease the cross-sectional area 24 of the seed chamber near the seed withdrawal duct. These provisions aid in concentrating the seeds in the air stream as they approach the 26 seed withdrawal duct.
1166~56 1 ~hile the header assembly and seed separator of the present 2 invention are preferably used together as a complete seed harvester 3 machine, each may be used separately with an alternate form of a header 4 assembly or a seed separator. For instance, the header assembly of the present invention may be used with a conventior~al screen-type, 6 cyclone-type or impingement-type seed-air separator.
7 Broadly stated, the present invention is a header assembly8 for removing seeds from the seed heads of a standing crop, comprising: a g frame assembly; an endless seed stripping means mounted in the frame assembly and adapted to be rotated in a clockwise direction at a relatively 11 high rate of speed about a substantially horizontal axis, said stripping 12 means comprising circumferentially spaced apart stripping edges extending13 thereacross; an endless reel mounted in the frame assembly above the 14 stripping means and adapted to be rotated in a counterclockwise directionabout a substantially horizontal axis at a relatively low rate of speed, 16 said reel having circumferentially spaced apart batts on its periphery 17 which batts extend across the reel and form openings therebetween which 18 extend inwardly toward the axis of the reel, whereby, when the reel is 19 rotated, a segment of crop is trapped between sequential batts and is deflected into contact with the stripping means; each said batt having a 21 cushioned working surface arranged to momentarily substantially tangentially 22 contact and compress against one or more stripping edges of the stripping23 means in the course of a rotation about the axis of the reel, to thereby 24 positively hold seed heads against said edges to permit seeds to be stripped therefrom.
1~66~56 The ;nvent;on also provides a new method of removing seeds 2 from a standing crop. The method comprises the steps of: advancing 3 a revolving surface through the standing crop, the revolving surface 4 being positioned to engage the seed bearing portion of the crop, the revolving surface moving in an upward direction at its fronti holding 6 the seed bearing portion of the crop against the revolving surface for 7 a br;ef time to permit the surface to strip seeds from the crop, without 8 substantial impacting of the seeds and without substantial stem breakage;
9 and drawing air from the revolving surface to gather the stripped seeds.
In another broad aspect, the invention provides a seed 11 separator for separating seeds from an air stream carrying seeds. The 12 seed separator comprises: a duct having an inlet end and an outlet end;
3 first pneumatic means at the outlet end for drawing the air stream 4 carrying seeds into the inlet end and through the duct; the duct being curved between the inlet and outlet ends to form a curved duct section 16 defined by an inner and an outer wall and two side walls, the curve 7 being sufficient to cause the seeds in the air stream to be-thrown by 18 centrifugal force outwardly toward the outer wall; means extending 19 transversely across the curved duct section between the side walls and dividing the curved duct section into a seed chamber adjacent the outer 21 wall and an air chamber adjacent the inner wall, the means being arranged 22 so as to deflect seeds imping~g thereon outwardly toward the outer wall, 23 while allowing air to pass from the seed chamber to the air chamber toward 24 the outlet end of the duct; a seed withdrawal duct communicating with the seed chamber for withdrawing seeds from the seed chamber of the 26 curved duct section; sealed container means connected to the seed with-27 drawal duct for collecting the seeds; second pneumatic means connected 28 to the container means for drawing an air stream through the container 1~ _ ll66456 1 means and the seed withdrawal duct to thereby carry the seeds into the 2 container means; and the container means being of a sufficient size 3 to allow the seeds to fall out of the air stream carrying them, 4 whereby a portion of the seed-a;r separation operat;on takes place ;n the curved duct section wh;le the remaining seed-air separation 6 operation takes place in the container means.
7 DESCRIPTION OF THE D~AWINGS
8 Figure 1 is a schematic side sectional view of the seed 9 harvester to illustrate the header assembly and the seed separator.
Figure 2 is a front perspective view of the seed harvester 11 illustrating the rotating reel arrangement of the header assembly.
12 Figure 3 is a fragmentary side sectional view of the header 13 assembly showing the ducts of the seed separator leading to the seed 14 stripping drum to gather seeds therefrom. Figures 3a and 3b show exploded sectional views of the hinge connections.
16 Figure 4 is a front ~iew of the seed stripping drum 17 removed from the seed harvester.
18 Figure 5 is a side sectional view of a bat from the rotating19 reel arrangement.
Figure 6 is a side view of the drive means for rotating 21 the reel arrangement and the seed stripping drum at differential speeds.
22 Figure 7 is a top plan view of the hinged duct section of 23 the seed separator leading from the header assembly. The top sheet 24 of the duct is re~oved to show the seed and air directing baffles.
2 ~ith reference to the drawings, the seed harvester 1 3 includes a header assembly 2 for remov;ng seeds from a standing crop 4 and a seed separator 3 for drawing the stripped seeds from the header assembly 2 in an air stream, for separating the seeds from the air stream, 6 and for collecting the separated seeds. As seen in Figures 1 and 2, 7 both the header assembly 2 and the seed separator 3 are mounted on a 8 con~entional grain swather power unit 4 for movement through the 9 standing crop. The swather unit 4 also provides the power necessary to drive components of harvester 1, as will be described hereinafter.
11 Since the swather unit 4 is conventional in the art it will only be 12 described briefly.
13 A swather unit having the engine 5 placed off to one side, 14 as shown in Figure 2, is preferred, as the seed separator 3 can more easily be accommodated alongside the engine . Most conventional 16 swather units are provided with only three wheels. For the present 17 invention the s~ather unit 4 was modified, for stability purposes, to 18 include four wheels, two front steering wheels 6 and two rear castor 19 wheels 7. The rear wheels 7 are attached to a walking bar assembly 8 for travel over rough terrain.
21 The swather unit 4 includes a pair of spaced forwardly 22 extending upper lift arms 9. A pair of forwardly extending lower lift 23 arms 10 is connected to the swather unit 4 parallel to and below the 24 upper pair of lift arms 9. The lift arms 9, 10 can be simultaneously raised and lowered by a pair of hydraulic cylinders (not shown) mounted 26 vertically below the upper lift arms 9. The header assembly 2 is 27 pivotally attached to the front ends of the lift arms 9, 10. The header 28 assembly 2 can therefore be raised and lowered to adjust the height at 29 which it travels in the field. The height of the header assembly 2 can then be adjusted to accommodate varyihg crop heights.
~ 166456 1 The Header Assembly 2 The basic components of the header assembly 2 include a 3 frame assembly, generally indicated at 12, a seed str;pping drum 14 4 for stripping seeds from the crop, and a rotating reel 16 for holding the seed bearing portion of the crop against the seed stripping drum 14 6 for a time to permit the seeds to be stripped from the crop.
7 The frame assembly 12, as best seen in Figures 1, 2 and 3, 8 includes a pair of parallel spaced side plates 18. The side plates 18 9 are connected by an upper box section 20 and a lower box section 22, both of which extend transversely between the side plates 18. The upper 11 box section 20 has the quadilateral shape shown in cross-section in 12 Figures 1 and 3. The lower box section 22 has a triangular shape 13 shown in cross-section in Figures 1 and 3. The rear faces 24, 25 of the 14 box sections 20, 22 respectively are provided with two pairs of brackets 26 and 27 for connection to the upper and lower swather lift arms 9, 10.
16 The lower face 24a of the upper box section 20 is spaced 17 from the upper face 25b of the lower box section so as to form a 18 forwardly facing transverse inlet 28 therebetween. The inlet 28 leads 19 rearwardly from the header assembly 2 into the seed separator 3, to be described later.
21 The frame assembly 12 also includes a top plate 30 22 extending transversely between the side plates 18 to close the top 23 of the frame assembly 12. The front of the frame assembly is left 24 substantially open to accommodate the seed stripping drum 14 and the rotating reel 16. The side plates 18, the box sections 20, 22 and 26 the top plate 30 limit wind movement within the frame assembly 12.
27 The seed stripping drum 14 is mounted between the side 28 plates 18 in front of the transverse inlet 28. Bearings (not shown) 29 are provided in each side plate 18, to allow the drum 14 to rotate.
~ ~664S6 1 The rotating reel 16 is mounted between the side plates 18, 2 again in bearings ~not shown) on each side pla~e 18. The rotating reel 3 16 ;s spaced above and forwardly of the drum 14.
4 The frame assembly 12 includes a third box section 32 connected as shown in Figure 1 between the side plates 18, above the 6 seed str;pp;ng drum 14. The th;rd box section 32 has the triangular 7 shape shown ;n cross-sect;on ;n F;gure 1. The forward face 34 of th;s 8 box sect;on 32 provides a surface above the seed stripp;ng drum 14, 9 against which seed heads can land should a portion of the crop be higher than the seed stripp;ng drum-14. Th;s box section 32 is spaced 11 forwardly of the upper box section 20 such that a duct 35 ;s formed 12 between the box sect;ons 20 and 32. Wh;le the major;ty of the seeds 3 str;pped from the plant are drawn through the seed stripping drum 14 14 and ;nto the ;nlet 28, any seeds flying up above the seed stripping drum 14 should drop down through the duct-35 to join the remainder of 16 the stripped seeds at the ;nlet 28.
7 The frame assem~ly 12 also ;ncludes a floor sect;on 36 18 extending between the side plates 18 and beneath the seed stripping 19 drum 14. The floor sect;on 36 prevents seeds from dropp;ng from the drum 14 to the ground. Seeds landing on the floor sectlon 36 are 21 pulled rearwardly through the ;nlet 28 and ;nto the seed separator 3.
22 As shown ;n Figure 4 the seed stripping drum 14, ;n its 23 most preferred embodiment, consists of a support frame 40 and a 24 plurality of cylindrically arranged, horizontally spaced wires 42 attached to the frame 40. The frame 40 includes a central shaft 44 26 and a plural;ty of vertical c;rcular d;scs 46 spaced therealong. The 27 discs 46 have a plurality of holes (not shown) formed around their 28 per;pher;es. The w;res 42 are threaded through these holes and are 29 fastened to the two discs at the ends of the frame 40. The spaces between the wires 42 allow seeds to be pulled through the drum 14 and 31 into the inlet 28.
~166456 1 When rotated at relatively rapid speeds~ the wires 42 of 2 the seed stripping drum 14 provide an effective surface for actively 3 stripping mature seeds from the standing crop. Other endless revolving 4 surfaces might also be employed. Another type of perforated cylindrical drum, for example a revolving ribbed canvas belt, would provide a sur-6 face, not necessarily in a cylindrical shape, which could be used for 7 seed stripping. If the revolving surface is not perforated, the seeds 8 could be drawn from the top and bottom of, rather than through, the g revolving surface. The term surface, as used herein, is meant to includeboth an intermittant surface such as that formed by the spaced wires and 11 a continuous surface such as that formed by an endless belt.
12 The rotating reel 16 is shown in Figures 1 and 2 to include13 a support frame 47 and a plurality of bats 48 mounted on the frame 47.
14 The frame 47 includes a central shaft 50 mounted to rotate between the side plates 18. The frame 47 also includes three large diameter discs 16 52 fixed along the length of the shaft 50. The bats 48 are fixed 17 around the peripheries of the discs 52 across the width of the frame 18 47 so as to contact the periphery of the seed stripping drum 14. The 19 frame 47 is left substantially open between its central shaft 50 and the bats 48. In this way openings 54 are left between adjacent bats 48, 21 which openings 54 extend inwardly toward the shaft 50. When the reel 16 22 is rotated, in the direction indicated, segments of the crop are trapped23 in the openings 54 between the bats 48 and are guided inwardly to contact 24 the seed str;pping drum 14. Since the openings 54 extend a substantial distance toward the reel shaft 50, a minimum of stems are broken by 26 bending of the stems by the reel 16.
27 The reel 16 is rotated at a much slower speed than is the seed 28 stripping drum 14. For instance, in grass seed crops the drum 14 may be 29 rotated at about 520 rpm while the reel 16 might be rotated at about 46 rpm.
1166~56 1 The ~referred embodiment of the bats 48 ;s shown best 2 in Figures 2 and tt~ Each bat 48 consists of a transverse rib 56 3 fixetl to three bolts 58. The bolts 58 attach the ribs 56 to the 4 peripheries of the three discs 52. The rib 56 is generally V-shaped in cross-section as shown in Figure 5. In the widened portion of each 6 V-shaped rib 56 is fixed a generally U-shaped connector 60. The con-7 nector 60 holds a foam rubber wedge 62 along the length of the rib 56.
8 The foam rubber wedge 62 is surrounded by a covering 64 of durable vinyl9 covered nylon. The bat 48 is thereby provided with a durable cushioned surface 66 with which to contact the periphery of the seed stripping 11 drum 14. As the cushioned surface 66 moves over the surface of the 12 seed stripping drum 14 it is compressed somewhat. This action is 13 found to effectively hold the seed bearing portion of the crop 14 against the seed stripping drum 14 without causing substantial damage, such as stem or seed breakage, to the crop. To adjust the amount by 16 which bat surface 66 is compressed at the seed stripping drum 14, the 17 shaft 50 of the reel 16 is mounted to the side plates 18 to allow for a 18 small amount of generally vertical movement of the reel 16 relative to 19 drum 14. The bearings (not shown) holding the shaft 50 to the side plates 18 are therefore mounted for generally vertical sliding movement 21 on the side plates 18.
22 As shown in Figure 2, the ribs 56 are mounted in a slanted 23 arrangement on the rotating reel 16. This slant is achieved by both 24 slanting and twisting the ribs 56 as they are bolted to the discs 52.
The ribs 56 are so slanted and spaced on the reel periphery to ensure 26 that a portion of a rib 56 is always in contact with the seed stripping 27 drum 14 as the reel 16 is rotated. The leading edge of one rib 56 28 contacts the seed stripping drum 14 before the trailing edge of the 29 preceding rib 56 rotates out of contact with the drum 14. If this slanted arrangement of the r;bs were not used, the seed stripping drum ~t66456 1 14 would slow down and speed up as each rib 56 engaged and disengaged 2 itself from the drum 14.
3 As is evident from the drawings, the rotating reel 16 4 has a substantially larger diameter than does the seed stripping drum 14. Also, the rotating reel 16 is rotated at a much slower speed than 6 is the seed stripping drum 14. While not being bound by the same, it 7 is believed that the slower rotation speed of the reel 16 is made 8 possible because the reel 16 is function;ng primarily to guide the crop 9 to, and hold it against, the seed stripping drum 14~ The reel 16 is not believed to play an active part in stripping the seeds from the 11 crop. The slower speed of rotation of the reel 16 reduces the amount of 12 seed loss caused by impacting the seed heads by the reel 16.
3 The seed stripping drum 14 and the rotating reel 16 are 14 driven in opposite directions and at different speeds by the drive mechanism 70 shown in Figure 6. A main shaft 72 extends through 16 one of the side plates 18. The main shaft 72 is driven by a hydraulic 17 motor (not shown) powered by the swather unit 4. Two pulleys 74, 76 18 are fixed to rotate with the main shaft 72. The pulley 74 is used 19 to drive a large pulley 78 through a belt 80 and an idler pulley 82. The shaft 50 of the rotating reel 16 is driven by the large pulley 21 78 as shown. Similarly, the pulley 76 is used to drive a small pulley22 84 through an endless belt 86 and idler pulley 88. The central shaft 23 44 of the seed stripping drum 14 is driven by the small pulley 84 at 24 a faster speed than is shaft 50. The drive mechan;sm 70 is closed in by a cover 90 hinged to the side plate 18.
26 The above-described~preferred embodiment of the seed 27 stripping drum 14 and rotating reel 16 has been found to achieve seed28 stripping from grasses without forcing the grass stems to bend sharply 29 rearwardly over an advancing platform. The sharp rearward bending of grass stems was felt to cause significant amounts of stem breakage. It 31 is therefore believed that the present invention reduces this problem.
~ ~6~SB
1 The header assembly 2 of the present invention can be used 2 with seed separators other than the improved seed separator 3 to be 3 described hereinafter. Such known seed separators as screen-type, 4 cyclane-type, inertia-type, bag-type, gravity setting-type, and impingement-type separators may be used.
6 The Seed Separator 7 The seed separator 3 includes a duct 100 having an inlet 8 end 102 and an outlet end 104. The inlet end 102 is connected to the 9 header assembly 2 such that the duct 100 communicates with the transverse inlet 28 of the header assembly 2. A blower 106 is pro-l vided at the outlet end 104 of the duct 100 so as to draw an air 12 stream carrying seeds from the header assembly 2 through the inlet end 13 102 and through the duct 100.
14 To accommodate the vertical pivoting movement of the headerassembly 2, the seed separator 3 includes a hinged duct section 108 16 at its inlet end 102. This duct section 108 extends forwardly from 17 the swather unit 4, between the upper and lower lift arms 9, 10 of the 18 swather unit. The lift arms 9, 10 prevent the hinged duct section 108 19 from falling from the swather unit 4 as will be explained. The hinged duct section 108 is shown in detail in Figure 3. The hinged duct 21 section 108 is connected at its lower end 109 to the header assembly 2.22 The upper end lO9a of the hinged duct section 108 rests on, but is not 23 connected to, a fixed duct section 110 of the duct 100. The upper plate24 112 of the hinged duct section 108 is connected to the upper box section 20 of the header assembly 2 through a flexible rubber seal 114.
26 The lower end 109 of the hinged duct section 108 extends the width of 27 the header assembly 2 so as to communicate with the transverse inlet 28.
28 The seal 114 therefore extends the width of the hinged duct section 10829 to seal this duct section 108 to the header assembly 2. The lower 1 166t~6 1 plate 116 of the hinged duct section 108 is connected to the lower box 2 section 22, for movement therewi`th, through a rubber strip 118, as shown3 in Figure 3a.
4 At the upper end lO9a of the hinged duct section 108, the lower plate 116 of duct section 108 rests on the lower plate 12n of 6 the fixed duct section 110 as shown in Figure 3b. A rubber lip 122 is 7 connected to the lower plate 116 as shown to seal the hinged duct 8 section 108 while allowing it to pivot relative to the stationary duct 9 section 110.
At the upper end lO9a of the hinged duct section 108 a 11 gap 124 is formed between the duct section 108 and the fixed duct 12 section 110 as the hinged duct section pivots with the header assembly 13 2. To close this gap 124, a flap 126 is hinged to the upper plate 128 14 of the fixed duct section llQ. The flap 126 slides over the upper plate 112 of the hinged duct section 108 to seal that duct section 108 as 16 it is pivoted.
17 A pair of side sealing plates 130 is connected on either 18 side of the fixed duct section 110 to close the gap which forms at the 19 sides of this duct section 110 as the hinged duct section 108 is pivoted.
21 In Figure 7, the hinged duct section 108 and the fixed 22 duct section 110 are shown in a top plan view. The top plates 112 and 23 128 of these sections are removed. The hinged duct section 108 is 24 shown t~ narrow in width toward the fixed duct section 110. It is desirable to keep the cross-sectional area of both the hinged duct 26 section 108 and the fixed duct sect;on 110 substantially equal along 27 their lengths so as not to alter the speed of the air stream carrying the28 seeds. F~r this reason both duct sections 108 and 110 increase in 29 depth as their widths are decreased.
t 166~$6 1 A pair of air and seed directing baffles 132 are pro-2 vided in the hinged duct section 108 as shown in Figure 7. The 3 baffles 132 evenly distr;bute the air suct;on along the entire width 4 of the duct inlet 102. Without the baffles 132, the blower 106 would tend to pull harder on the central portion of the seed stripping drum 6 14 than on the ends of the drum 14.
7 The duct 100 is curved between the outlet end 104 and the 8 fixed duct section 110 to form a curved duct section 134. The curved g duct section 134 is defined by an inner wall 136, an outer wall 138 lo and two side walls ~not shown ;n the cross-sectional views). As shown 1l in Figure 1, the curved duct section 134 turns through 180. Th;s 12 curve has been found to be suff;c;ent to cause the air stream carrying 13 the seeds to throw the seeds outwardly, by centrifugal force, toward 14 the outer wall 138 as the air stream rounds the curve.
The curved duct section 134 increases in cross-sectional 16 area toward the outlet end 104 of the duct 100 so as to slow down the 17 air stream and allow the seeds to fall out somewhat from the air. While 18 this provision is not felt-to be ess~ential to the seed-air separation 19 operation taking place in the curved duct section 134, it is believed to enhance the separation.
21 A plurality of baffles 140 are connected to the side walls 22 of the curved duct section 134 extending across the width of that duct 23 section 134. The baffles 140 divide the curved duct section 134 into 24 a seed chamber 142 adjacent the outer wall 138, and an air chamber 144 adjacent the inner wall 136. The baffles are equally spaced and are 26 inclined as shown so as to deflect the seeds imping~ing thereon outwardly 27 toward the outer wall 138. The baffle spacing and ;nclination allows 28 the air to pass from the seed chamber 142 to the air chamber 144 29 toward the blower 106. The baffles 140 are arranged on a curve generally 1 166~$6 1 following the curve of the curved duct section 134. The baffles 140 2 are also arranged so as to decrease the cross-sectional area of the 3 seed chamber 142 toward the top of the curued duct section 134 as 4 shown. This arrangement forces a large portion of the air stream carrying the seeds to escape to the air chamber 144 and out through the 6 blower 106. The seeds are therefore in a concentrated stream at the 7 top of the curved duct section 134 along the outer wall 138~
8 A seed withdrawal duct 146 is provided in the outer wall 9 138 at the top of the curved duct section 134. The duct 146 communi-cates with the seed chamber 142 in order to withdraw the seeds therefrom.
11 The seed withdrawal duct 146 turns through 180, as shown, and has an 12 increasing cross-sectional area in the direction of the seed travel.
13 These provisions slow the air down somewhat.
14 A sealed container 148 is connected to the seed withdrawal duct 146 for collecting the seeds. A tube 150 is connected between 16 the container 148 and the inlet side of the blower 106 for drawing an 17 air stream through the container 148 and the seed withdrawal duct 146.
18 This air stream thereby carries the seeds from the seed chamber 142 19 to the container 148.
As mentioned above, the air and seed~ are slowed down in the seed 21 withdrawal duct 146 before they enter the container 148. This pro-22 vision reduces the turbulence of the air as --it enters the container 23 148. To further reduce turbulence in the container 148, a seed deflecting 24 baffle 152 is fixed in the container 148 communicating with the seed withdrawal duct 146. The baffle 152 functions to deflect the seeds 26 toward the side wall 153 of the container 148, away from the tube 150.
27 The container 148 is large, to allow the seeds to fall out from the air 28 stream carrying them. This further reduces turbulence in the container 29 148.
66~S6 1 The container 14~ is connected at its base to a bottom-2 feeding auger 154 for unloading the seeds from the container 148~ The 3 auger 154 is effectively sealed at both its ends to prevent air from 4 beinlg drawn into the sealed container 14g. A removable clean-out plate 156 closes the lower end of the auger 154. A collapsible tube 6 158, formed from vinyl covered nylon, closes the upper end of the auger 7 154 against inward air movement, while allowing the seeds to be dis-8 charged from the auger 154.
9 The seed separator 3, as described above, achieves seed-airseparation in two steps. A portion of the seed-air separation takes 11 place in the curved duct section 134, while the remainder of the 12 separation takes place in the container 148. The single blower 106 is 13 used to draw the air streams carrying the seeds through both of these 14 seed-air separation operations. It is conceivable that two blowers could be used, one drawing on the curved duct section 134 and the 16 other drawing on the container 148. In this case, the blowers should 17 be balanced to adjust the air flows within the curved duct section 134 18 and the container 148 as varying degrees of blocking at the seed 19 stripping drum 14 alter the vacuum at the duct inlet 102. Blocking of the seed stripping drum 14 can occur when a heavy crop segment is 2, held against the seed stripping drum 14. If this balancing precaution 22 were not taken, one blower might draw harder than the other so as to 23 upset the seed-air separation operations. By using the single blower 24 106 the air flows in the curved duct section 134 and the contai`ner 148 are inherently balanced.
26 While the present invention has been described in connection 27 with the preferred embodiments thereof, it should be understood that 28 there may be other embodiments which fall within the spirit and scope 29 of the invention as defined by the following claims.
Claims (5)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A header assembly for removing seeds from the seed heads of a standing crop, comprising:
a frame assembly, an endless seed stripping means mounted in the frame assembly and adapted to be rotated in a clockwise direction at a relatively high rate of speed about a substantially horizontal axis, said stripping means com-prising circumferentially spaced apart stripping edges extending there-across;
an endless reel mounted in the frame assembly above the stripping means and adapted to be rotated in a counterclockwise direction about a substantially horizontal axis at a relatively low rate of speed, said reel having circumferentially spaced apart batts on its periphery which batts extend across the reel and form openings therebetween which extend inwardly toward the axis of the reel, whereby, when the reel is rotated, a segment of crop is trapped between sequential batts and is deflected into contact with the stripping means;
each said batt having a cushioned working surface arranged to momentarily substantially tangentially contact and compress against one or more stripping edges of the stripping means in the course of a rotation about the axis of the reel, to thereby positively hold seed heads against said edges to permit seeds to be stripped therefrom.
a frame assembly, an endless seed stripping means mounted in the frame assembly and adapted to be rotated in a clockwise direction at a relatively high rate of speed about a substantially horizontal axis, said stripping means com-prising circumferentially spaced apart stripping edges extending there-across;
an endless reel mounted in the frame assembly above the stripping means and adapted to be rotated in a counterclockwise direction about a substantially horizontal axis at a relatively low rate of speed, said reel having circumferentially spaced apart batts on its periphery which batts extend across the reel and form openings therebetween which extend inwardly toward the axis of the reel, whereby, when the reel is rotated, a segment of crop is trapped between sequential batts and is deflected into contact with the stripping means;
each said batt having a cushioned working surface arranged to momentarily substantially tangentially contact and compress against one or more stripping edges of the stripping means in the course of a rotation about the axis of the reel, to thereby positively hold seed heads against said edges to permit seeds to be stripped therefrom.
2. A header assembly for removing seeds from the seed heads of a standing crop, comprising:
a frame assembly;
a cylindrical drum mounted in the frame assembly for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis in a clockwise direction at a re-latively high rate of speed, said drum comprising radially extending support means spaced apart longitudinally of the drum and carrying longitudinally extending circumferentially spaced apart stripping edges extending between the support means, to provide a cage-like seed stripping means;
a cylindrical reel mounted in the frame assembly, above and forward of the drum, for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis in a counterclockwise direction at a relatively slow rate of speed, said reel comprising radially extending support means spaced apart longitudinally along the length of the reel and carrying circumferentially spaced apart batts on its periphery which batts extend across the reel longitudinally, said reel providing a cage-like assembly having openings, between the batts, which extend inwardly toward the axis of the reel, whereby, when the reel is rotated, a segment of crop is trapped in a standing condition between sequential batts and is thereafter deflected into contact with the stripping edges;
each said batt having a cushioned working surface arranged to momentarily substantially tangentially contact and compress against one or more stripping edges in the course of a rotation about the axis of the reel, to thereby positively hold seed heads against said edges to permit seeds to be stripped therefrom.
a frame assembly;
a cylindrical drum mounted in the frame assembly for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis in a clockwise direction at a re-latively high rate of speed, said drum comprising radially extending support means spaced apart longitudinally of the drum and carrying longitudinally extending circumferentially spaced apart stripping edges extending between the support means, to provide a cage-like seed stripping means;
a cylindrical reel mounted in the frame assembly, above and forward of the drum, for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis in a counterclockwise direction at a relatively slow rate of speed, said reel comprising radially extending support means spaced apart longitudinally along the length of the reel and carrying circumferentially spaced apart batts on its periphery which batts extend across the reel longitudinally, said reel providing a cage-like assembly having openings, between the batts, which extend inwardly toward the axis of the reel, whereby, when the reel is rotated, a segment of crop is trapped in a standing condition between sequential batts and is thereafter deflected into contact with the stripping edges;
each said batt having a cushioned working surface arranged to momentarily substantially tangentially contact and compress against one or more stripping edges in the course of a rotation about the axis of the reel, to thereby positively hold seed heads against said edges to permit seeds to be stripped therefrom.
3. The header assembly as set forth in claim 2 wherein:
the spacing and extent of advancement of one end of a batt relative to the other end is such that the leading end of one batt contacts the stripping means before the trailing end of the preceding batt rotates out of contact with the stripping means.
the spacing and extent of advancement of one end of a batt relative to the other end is such that the leading end of one batt contacts the stripping means before the trailing end of the preceding batt rotates out of contact with the stripping means.
4. A seed harvester for removing seeds from the seed heads of a standing crop, comprising:
a frame assembly forming a forwardly facing transverse inlet;
an endless seed stripping means adjacent the inlet and mounted in the frame assembly and adapted to be rotated in a clockwise direction at a relatively high rate of speed about a substantially hori-zontal axis, said stripping means comprising circumferentially spaced apart stripping edges extending thereacross;
an endless reel mounted in the frame assembly above the strip-ping means and adapted to be rotated in a counterclockwise direction about a substantially horizontal axis at a relatively low rate of speed, said reel having circumferentially spaced apart batts on its periphery which batts extend across the reel and form openings therebetween which extend inwardly toward the axis of the reel , whereby, when the reel is rotated, a segment of crop is trapped between sequential batts and is deflected into contact with the stripping means;
each said batt having a cushioned working surface arranged to momentarily substantially tangentially contact and compress against one or more stripping edges of the stripping means in the course of a rotation about the axis of the reel, to thereby positively hold seed heads against said edges to permit seeds to be stripped therefrom;
a duct having an inlet end and an outlet end, the inlet end being connected to the frame assembly such that the transverse inlet opens into the duct inlet;
first pneumatic means at the outlet end for drawing the air stream carrying seeds into the inlet end and through the duct;
the duct being curved between the inlet and outlet ends to form a curved duct section defined by an inner and an outer wall and two side walls, said duct having an increasing cross-section from its inlet to its outlet ends, the curve being sufficient to cause the seeds in the air stream to be moved outwardly by centrifugal action toward the outer wall;
means extending transversely across the curved duct section between the side walls and dividing the curved duct section longitudinally into a seed chamber adjacent the outer wall and an air chamber adjacent the inner wall, said means comprising a plurality of baffles fixed in spaced apart sequence to the side walls, said baffles being arranged on a curve generally following the curve of the duct section but decreasing the cross-sectional area of the seed chamber near its outlet end while in-creasing the area of the air chamber near its outlet end, said baffles being arranged so as to deflect seeds impinging thereon outwardly toward the outer wall while allowing air to pass from the seed chamber to the air chamber toward the outlet end of the duct;
said first pneumatic means communicating with the air chamber;
a seed withdrawal duct communicating with the seed chamber for withdrawing seeds from the seed chamber of the curved duct section;
sealed container means connected to the seed withdrawal duct for collecting the seeds;
second pneumatic means connected to the container means for drawing an air stream through the container means and the seed withdrawal duct to thereby carry the seeds into the container means; and the container means being of a sufficient size to allow the seeds to fall out of the air stream carrying them, whereby a portion of the seed-air separation operation takes place in the curved duct section while the remaining seed-air separation operation takes place in the container means.
a frame assembly forming a forwardly facing transverse inlet;
an endless seed stripping means adjacent the inlet and mounted in the frame assembly and adapted to be rotated in a clockwise direction at a relatively high rate of speed about a substantially hori-zontal axis, said stripping means comprising circumferentially spaced apart stripping edges extending thereacross;
an endless reel mounted in the frame assembly above the strip-ping means and adapted to be rotated in a counterclockwise direction about a substantially horizontal axis at a relatively low rate of speed, said reel having circumferentially spaced apart batts on its periphery which batts extend across the reel and form openings therebetween which extend inwardly toward the axis of the reel , whereby, when the reel is rotated, a segment of crop is trapped between sequential batts and is deflected into contact with the stripping means;
each said batt having a cushioned working surface arranged to momentarily substantially tangentially contact and compress against one or more stripping edges of the stripping means in the course of a rotation about the axis of the reel, to thereby positively hold seed heads against said edges to permit seeds to be stripped therefrom;
a duct having an inlet end and an outlet end, the inlet end being connected to the frame assembly such that the transverse inlet opens into the duct inlet;
first pneumatic means at the outlet end for drawing the air stream carrying seeds into the inlet end and through the duct;
the duct being curved between the inlet and outlet ends to form a curved duct section defined by an inner and an outer wall and two side walls, said duct having an increasing cross-section from its inlet to its outlet ends, the curve being sufficient to cause the seeds in the air stream to be moved outwardly by centrifugal action toward the outer wall;
means extending transversely across the curved duct section between the side walls and dividing the curved duct section longitudinally into a seed chamber adjacent the outer wall and an air chamber adjacent the inner wall, said means comprising a plurality of baffles fixed in spaced apart sequence to the side walls, said baffles being arranged on a curve generally following the curve of the duct section but decreasing the cross-sectional area of the seed chamber near its outlet end while in-creasing the area of the air chamber near its outlet end, said baffles being arranged so as to deflect seeds impinging thereon outwardly toward the outer wall while allowing air to pass from the seed chamber to the air chamber toward the outlet end of the duct;
said first pneumatic means communicating with the air chamber;
a seed withdrawal duct communicating with the seed chamber for withdrawing seeds from the seed chamber of the curved duct section;
sealed container means connected to the seed withdrawal duct for collecting the seeds;
second pneumatic means connected to the container means for drawing an air stream through the container means and the seed withdrawal duct to thereby carry the seeds into the container means; and the container means being of a sufficient size to allow the seeds to fall out of the air stream carrying them, whereby a portion of the seed-air separation operation takes place in the curved duct section while the remaining seed-air separation operation takes place in the container means.
5. A seed harvester for removing seeds from the seed heads of a standing crop,comprising:
a frame assembly forming a forwardly facing transverse inlet;
a cylindrical drum mounted in the frame assembly for rotation about d substantially horizontal axis in a clockwise direction at a relatively high rate of speed, said drum comprising radially extending support means spaced apart longitudinally of the drum and carrying longi-tudinally extending circumferentially spaced apart stripping edges extending between the support means, to provide a cage-like seed stripping means;
a cylindrical reel mounted in the frame assembly, above and forward of the drum, for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis in a counterclockwise direction at a relatively slow rate of speed, said reel comprising radially extending support means spaced apart longitudinally along the length of the reel and carrying circumferentially spaced apart batts on its periphery which batts extend across the reel longitudinally, said reel providing a cage-like assembly having openings, between the batts, which extend inwardly toward the axis of the reel, whereby, when the reel is rotated, a segment of crop is trapped in a standing condition between sequential batts and is thereafter deflected into contact with the stripping edges;
each said batt having a cushioned working surface arranged to momentarily substantially tangentially contact and compress against one or more stripping edges in the course of a rotation about the axis of the reel, to thereby positively hold seed heads against said edges to permit seeds to be stripped therefrom;
a duct having an inlet end and an outlet end, the inlet end being connected to the frame assembly such that the transverse inlet opens into the duct inlet;
first pneumatic means at the outlet end for drawing the air stream carrying seeds into the inlet end and through the duct;
the duct being curved between the inlet and outlet ends to form a curved duct section defined by an inner and an outer wall and two side walls, said duct having an increasing cross-section from its inlet to its outlet ends, the curve being sufficient to cause the seeds in the air stream to be moved outwardly by centrifugal action toward the outer wall;
means extending transversely across the curved duct section between the side walls and dividing the curved duct section longitudinally into a seed chamber adjacent the outer wall and an air chamber adjacent the inner wall, said means comprising a plurality of baffles fixed in spaced apart sequence to the side walls, said baffles being arranged on a curve generally following the curve of the duct section but decreasing the cross-sectional area of the seed chamber near its outlet end while increasing the area of the air chamber near its outlet end, said baffles being arranged so as to deflect seeds impinging thereon outwardly toward the outer wall while allowing air to pass from the seed chamber to the air chamber toward the outlet end of the duct;
said first pneumatic means communicating with the air chamber;
a seed withdrawal duct communicating with the seed chamber for withdrawing seeds from the seed chamber of the curved duct section;
sealed container means connected to the seed withdrawal duct for collecting the seeds;
second pneumatic means connected to the container means for drawing an air stream through the container means and the seed withdrawal duct to thereby carry the seeds into the container means; and the container means being of a sufficient size to allow the seeds to fall out of the air stream carrying them, whereby a portion of the seed-air separation operation takes place in the curved duct section while the remaining seed-air separation operation takes place in the container means.
a frame assembly forming a forwardly facing transverse inlet;
a cylindrical drum mounted in the frame assembly for rotation about d substantially horizontal axis in a clockwise direction at a relatively high rate of speed, said drum comprising radially extending support means spaced apart longitudinally of the drum and carrying longi-tudinally extending circumferentially spaced apart stripping edges extending between the support means, to provide a cage-like seed stripping means;
a cylindrical reel mounted in the frame assembly, above and forward of the drum, for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis in a counterclockwise direction at a relatively slow rate of speed, said reel comprising radially extending support means spaced apart longitudinally along the length of the reel and carrying circumferentially spaced apart batts on its periphery which batts extend across the reel longitudinally, said reel providing a cage-like assembly having openings, between the batts, which extend inwardly toward the axis of the reel, whereby, when the reel is rotated, a segment of crop is trapped in a standing condition between sequential batts and is thereafter deflected into contact with the stripping edges;
each said batt having a cushioned working surface arranged to momentarily substantially tangentially contact and compress against one or more stripping edges in the course of a rotation about the axis of the reel, to thereby positively hold seed heads against said edges to permit seeds to be stripped therefrom;
a duct having an inlet end and an outlet end, the inlet end being connected to the frame assembly such that the transverse inlet opens into the duct inlet;
first pneumatic means at the outlet end for drawing the air stream carrying seeds into the inlet end and through the duct;
the duct being curved between the inlet and outlet ends to form a curved duct section defined by an inner and an outer wall and two side walls, said duct having an increasing cross-section from its inlet to its outlet ends, the curve being sufficient to cause the seeds in the air stream to be moved outwardly by centrifugal action toward the outer wall;
means extending transversely across the curved duct section between the side walls and dividing the curved duct section longitudinally into a seed chamber adjacent the outer wall and an air chamber adjacent the inner wall, said means comprising a plurality of baffles fixed in spaced apart sequence to the side walls, said baffles being arranged on a curve generally following the curve of the duct section but decreasing the cross-sectional area of the seed chamber near its outlet end while increasing the area of the air chamber near its outlet end, said baffles being arranged so as to deflect seeds impinging thereon outwardly toward the outer wall while allowing air to pass from the seed chamber to the air chamber toward the outlet end of the duct;
said first pneumatic means communicating with the air chamber;
a seed withdrawal duct communicating with the seed chamber for withdrawing seeds from the seed chamber of the curved duct section;
sealed container means connected to the seed withdrawal duct for collecting the seeds;
second pneumatic means connected to the container means for drawing an air stream through the container means and the seed withdrawal duct to thereby carry the seeds into the container means; and the container means being of a sufficient size to allow the seeds to fall out of the air stream carrying them, whereby a portion of the seed-air separation operation takes place in the curved duct section while the remaining seed-air separation operation takes place in the container means.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000393729A CA1166456A (en) | 1982-01-07 | 1982-01-07 | Seed harvester |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000393729A CA1166456A (en) | 1982-01-07 | 1982-01-07 | Seed harvester |
Related Child Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000445401A Division CA1176535A (en) | 1984-01-16 | 1984-01-16 | Seed harvester |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1166456A true CA1166456A (en) | 1984-05-01 |
Family
ID=4121777
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000393729A Expired CA1166456A (en) | 1982-01-07 | 1982-01-07 | Seed harvester |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1166456A (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO2021105766A1 (en) * | 2019-11-29 | 2021-06-03 | Bridgestone Corporation | Seed harvester and related methods |
-
1982
- 1982-01-07 CA CA000393729A patent/CA1166456A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO2021105766A1 (en) * | 2019-11-29 | 2021-06-03 | Bridgestone Corporation | Seed harvester and related methods |
Similar Documents
| Publication | Publication Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| US5421147A (en) | Nut harvester | |
| EP0195810B1 (en) | Crop harvesting apparatus and methods | |
| US4182098A (en) | Apparatus and method for harvesting and windrowing corn | |
| US5111645A (en) | Crop harvesting apparatus and methods | |
| US4587799A (en) | Harvester machine for stripping seeds from a standing crop | |
| US6199703B1 (en) | Vegetable harvester | |
| JPH01312920A (en) | Grain harvester | |
| EP0241276A1 (en) | Crop harvesting apparatus and methods | |
| WO1988004885A1 (en) | Apparatus and method for harvesting crops | |
| US4455814A (en) | Seed harvester | |
| CA1195512A (en) | Harvester for the impact-stripping of seed from a standing crop | |
| US20190373814A1 (en) | Debris Removal System for an Agricultural Harvester and Related Debris Removal Methods | |
| US5205114A (en) | Peanut combine | |
| US4578937A (en) | Harvester machine for stripping seeds from a standing crop | |
| US5311728A (en) | Cotton harvester | |
| US3961465A (en) | Vacuum harvesting machine | |
| US4578934A (en) | Harvesting machine for stripping seeds from a standing crop | |
| US8251788B2 (en) | Agricultural material separator | |
| AU622432B2 (en) | Apparatus and method for selective crop harvesting | |
| US5465562A (en) | Nut harvester | |
| US6272821B1 (en) | Debris separator for cotton conveying duct | |
| CA1166456A (en) | Seed harvester | |
| US5592805A (en) | Nut harvester | |
| CA1176535A (en) | Seed harvester | |
| US3789592A (en) | Pecan harvesting machine |
Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |