GB2032239A - Root crop conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

A roll conveyor having paired counter-rotating grab rolls 38, 40 and 42, 44 includes a roll with a feed part 40 and a discharge part 54 which rotates in the opposite sense to the part 40 and hence in the same sense as the rolls 38 and 42. Root crops are fed by the conveyor to tumble into an elevating drum conveyor 58. The rolls 38 and 42 adjacent the discharge part are further provided with helical flightings of opposite hand that meet midway along the discharge part to gather material for discharge sideways relative to the rolls. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Root crop conveyor The present invention relates to root crop conveyors such as are employed in beet or other root crop harvesters.

Conventional beet harversters include a plurality of beet-conveying structures for receiving the beets from the digger-lifter wheels, scrubbing and tumbling them to remove dirt and then elevating them for delivery into a holding tank or truck moving alongside the harvester. Typically included among such conveying structures are chain, star wheel and grab roll conveyors.

Grab roll conveyors are preferred to chain or star wheel conveyors for many applications since they are more reliable and less expensive to operate and maintain. Further, in wet clay, chain conveyors are not as effective as grab roll conveyors in removing the clay that clings to the beets. Star wheel con veyorswhich generally do a better job of breaking up the clay often damage the beets. It would therefore be preferable to utilize a grab roll conveyor on a beet harvester whenever possible. However, when beets contaminated with clay or similar muds are processed on grab roll conveyors which discharge over the end, the mud, weeds and beet tops that often cling to the beets collect around the bearings and bearing supports at the discharge end of the grab rolls.Consequently, the flow of the beets over the ends of the grab rolls has to be slowed and occasionally stopped to clean the foreign materials from the bearings and their supports.

Afurther problem encountered with grab roll conveyors arises from the flow pattern of beets from one conveyor to the next. Beets flow from one conveyor to the next by tumbling from the end of the first conveyor on to the front of the next conveyor.

This arrangement requires substantial structural framework and reduces the compactness of the harvester. Accordingly, the harvester is often difficult to manoeuvre and transport, does not have its weight centered between its support wheels and can cause wheel slippage as well as side draft when towed.

In our U.S. patent specification 4 024 920, the beets do not tumble off the end of the conveyor. They are forced to build up at the output end and tumble off to one side. The object of the present invention is to improve this know conveyor, facilitating the discharge of the beets or other root crop to the side of the conveyor.

According to the present invention, there is provided, a root crop conveyor comprising a plurality of rolls with helical flightings and which rotate to feed crop along the length of the rolls, including a pair of rolls of which a first comprises a feed part rotating in opposite sense to the second, and a discharging part rotating in the same sense as the second, in an arrangement such that, crop is tumbled across the rolls in the vicinity of the discharge part to discharge sideways from the conveyor.

The side discharge arrangement minimizes plugging of the bearings and the bearing supports at the discharge end of the roll conveyor.

To further aid in assuring transverse discharge, the second roll can be provided with a spiral flighting having a lead which is reversed adjacent the discharge part of the first roll. As the roots or beets are conveyed toward the discharge area, they are tumbled back to be discharged across the rolls in the direction of rotation of the rotating rolls.

The roll arrangement including the discharge roll part further eliminates the need for an additional cross conveyor at the end of the roll conveyor. As a result, the harvester is more compact and has its weight better distributed. The manoeuvreability is improved and transport and storage is simpler. Less wheel slippage will occur in muddy or wet field conditions and better draft control is provided.

The invention will be described in more detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a root crop harvester incorporating the preferred embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the reversing roll and beet discharge area of the roll conveyor.

Figure 3 is an enlarged and partial plan view of the reversing roll with the bearing supports for the reversing roll illustrated.

The beet harvester illustrated is of the same general construction as the harvester shown in U.S.

Patent No. 4024920.

The beet harvester 10 includes a main supporting framework 12 carried on left and right pairs of ground-engaging wheels 14. The wheels 14 are mounted on axles which ae carried in support members 16 connected with the framework 12. The forward transverse beam 18 of the frame is supported by a hitch structure shown fragmentarily at 20 in Figure 1. The hitch structure 20 is adapted in a conventional manner for connection to the drawbar of a tractor and would be provided with means for adjusting its vertical position relative to the frame thereby to adjust the height of the forward end of the harvester 10 relative to the ground.

Carried beneath the front of the transverse frame member 18 and movable therewith as the hitch 20 is adjusted are a plurality of transversely spaced digger wheel units 22. Each unit 22 is composed of a pair of digger wheels 24 which are rotatably supported on opposite sides of a vertical standard 26 that depends from the front transverse member 18. Rearwardly of each digger wheel unit 22 is a paddle wheel 28. The paddle wheels 28 extend between the upper spaced apart portions of their respective digger wheels 24 to engage the beets lifted by the digger wheels 24 and shift them rearwardly. The paddle wheels 28 are rotatably supported on a transversely extending shaft 30 and are adapted for transverse adjustment with their associated digger wheel units 22.

The beets are deflected by the respective paddle wheels 28 to a chain conveyor 32 which extends laterally between the side members 34 of the framework. The beets are conveyed rearwardly by the chain conveyor 32 and deposited on a second conveyor 36 that extends transversely across the harvester 10. This second conveyor 36 is composed of cooperating and counter-rotating paired grab rolls 38 and 40/54 and 42 and 44. Each roll includes a cylindrical tube with spiral flightings 46 secured to the outer surface. Supporting the tubes of each roll 38,42 and 44 and extending centrally throughout to opposite ends are respective shafts 48, 50 and 52.

The shafts are rotatably supported in conventional bearings at their opposite ends. The roll 40/54 consists ofa feed part 40 and a discharge part 54.

The feed part is journalled on a stub shaft at its input end 57 and one the discharge part 54 at the other end, see Figure 3. The rolls of this second conveyor 36 as well as the other operating components of the harvester are powered through the tractor PTO in a conventional manner which, for purposes of the present invention need not be illustrated or discussed.

As the rolls are rotated, the beets are conveyed along the trough formed between each pair of counter-rotating rolls. Theflightings 46 on each roll act to tumble, scrub and advance the beets toward the wheel elevator 58 carried at the right side of the harvester 10, see Figure 1. As they are tumbled, dirt, clay and other foreign materials are removed and fall between the rolls to the ground.

The beets are discharged from the side of the transverse roll conveyor 36 and into the wheel elevator 58. To provide sideways discharge, the roll discharge part 54, which is coaxial with the roll feed part 40 and is supported by bearings 60 and 62, is rotated in a direction opposite to that of the coaxially mounted roll feed part 40. As beets are conveyed between the paired rolls 38 and 40, and 42 and 44, and reach the discharge area above the wheel elevator 58, the rolls 38 and 42 will rotate in the direction illustrated by the arrows in Figure 2. The roll discharge part 54 is driven in the same direction to tumble the beets toward the rear portion of the machine and off the conveyor 36.

The adjacent conveyor rolls 38 and 42 are provided with reversed lead flightings 64 that act to reverse the transverse movement of the beets along the conveyor 36. The roll part 54 is provided with a smooth surface to permit the reversed flightings 64 on the adjacent rolls 38 and 42 to tumble the beets back along the conveyor. -If desired, flightings could be provided on the roll part 54 to aid in tumbling the beets over it. With the reversed rotation of the roll part 54 and the reverse lead flighting, transverse movement of the beets being conveyed along the trough between the rolls will be stopped and a tumbling movement across the rolls, to the rear of the machine will be initiated.

Supporting the end of the grab roll 44 is a bearing 66 that us carried forwardly of and by the frame structure 68. This roll 44 terminates at the inside edge of the wheel elevator 58 to permit beets conveyed along the trough formed between it and its adjacent roll 42 to drop into the wheel elevator 58.

The bearings 70, 62 and 72 and their supports for the respective grab rolls 38, 54 and 42 are spaced to the outside of an upstanding plate 74. Their respective shafts 48, 76 and 50 extend through the plate 74.

As the beets are thus conveyed to the end of the roll conveyor 36, the plate 74 and a plate 78 will act to collect the beets and prevent mud and other foreign material from plugging the bearings or their supports.

Driving a sprocket 80 fixed to the shaft 76 of the reverse rotation roll part 54 is a chain 82 which is coupled with a sprocket 84 that is fixed to the shaft 48 of the roll 38 paired with it. That shaft 48 is powered at its other end through a chain sprocket arrangement that is powered initially as are all the harvester operating components by the PTO shaft of the tractor.

After the beets have been elevated by the wheel elevator 58, they are discharged on to a cross conveyor 86 outlines generally in Figure 1. The cross conveyor 86 is adapted to deliver the beets transversely inwardly to a storage tank carried on the top of the harvester 10 ortransversly outwardly to a truck travelling alongside the harvester 10 for subsequent delivery to a separate storage site.

Although a discharge roll part 54 has been shown for one pair only of rolls, such provision may be made in respect of a plurality of pairs of rolls, as described in the specification ofourcopending application No. 7933315 which also claims priority from U.S. applications 947 181 and 947 182.

Claims (7)

1. A root crop conveyor comprising a plurality of rolls with helical flightings and which rotate to feed crop along the length of the rolls, including a pair of rolls of which a first comprises a feed part rotating in opposite sense to the second, and a discharge part rotating in the same sense as the second, in an arrangement such that, crop is tumbled across the rolls in the vicinity of the discharge part to discharge sideways from the conveyor.

2. A root crop conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the discharge carries no flighting.

3. A root crop conveyor according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the discharge part is of smaller diameter than the second roll and the feed part of the first roll.

4. A root crop conveyor according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the part of the second roll adjacent the discharge part of the first roll carries reversed lead flighting tending to reverse movement of crop along, the conveyor.

5. A root crop conveyor according to claims 1 to 4, wherein the first roll is between the second roll and a third roll which rotates in the same sense as the second roll, and the third roll is between the first roll and a fourth roll which rotates in the same sense as the feed part of the first roll but terminates short relative to the other rolls.

6. A root crop conveyor substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

7. A root crop harvester comprising a digging and lifting arrangement, and a conveyor according to any of claims 1 to 6, fed from the said arrangement.