GB2170086A - Bruising and conditioning arrangement for a rotary mower - Google Patents

Abstract

A mowing rotor 2 is formed with ends 5 having sharpened blade edges 6. A flat strip 7 has non-sharpened leading edges defining bruising elements 8 which are positioned by an amount B ahead of the blades 6 (in the direction of rotation) and above the blades 6 by a distance A. When the rotor 2 with the attached flat strip 7 is rotated the bruising elements 8 first strike the stems of the crop to be cut at a higher level before the crop is cut by the blades 6. Striking of the stems by the non-sharpened bruising elements creates a preliminary bruising of the tougher stems which serves to accelerate the drying process or the decomposition of the crop. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Bruising and conditioning arrangement for a rotary mower This invention relates to a bruising and conditioning arrangement for a rotary mower having one or more mowing rotors, intended for selective bruising of grass or any other kind of growth. This bruising serves to accelerate the drying process or, if required, the decomposition.

Many kinds of bruising and conditioning devices are known and are commonly used for harvesting silage and hay to shorten the field drying period.

They frequently consist of a separately driven horizontal shaft, mounted perpendicular to the travel direction and having attached, at its circumference, beaters which treat the cut grass. Conditioners are also known where the bruising action is obtained by two, also perpendicularly mounted, profiled rollers of elastic or non-elastic material, which are separately driven in opposite directions and between which the passing crop is crushed and thereby bruised.

By both mentioned bruising and conditioning arrangements all the stems of the cut crop are exposed over their full length to a bruising action which can be disadvantageous because the vulnerable tops with their tender leaves are chopped to waste and consequently lost. It is preferred therefore to create a selective bruising of mainly the lower part of the stems which are thicker there.

The relation between the juicy content and the outer skin area in the thicker stem portions is the most unfavourable since, if the skin with the protecting wax layer, the so-called cuticula, is not broken, fast drying is prevented.

It is an object of the invention to create a bruising action, when mowing with a rotary mower in a selective manner without using a separately driven conditioner.

Accordingly this invention provides a bruising and conditioning arrangement for a rotary mower having one or more mowing rotors, for selective bruising of grass or any other kind of growth wherein bruising elements extend at some distance above and in the rotational direction leading on the cutting edge of each blade to rotate at the same speed with the blades, the bruising elements extending substantially radially and describing approximately the same outer circle as the blades.

A mowing rotor is defined as a driven, fast rotating body, fixed to a generally vertical shaft, to the circumference of which one or more fixed or, in the horizontal plane, free-swinging blades are attached. As such is also defined a single steel strip with or without profile, fixed at its centre to the driven shaft and which is over a certain length at its extremities sharpened at the leading edges, to define a blade.

The cutting action of a rotary mower is partly obtained by the high peripheral speed of the blades which are attached to the circumference of a fast rotating mower rotor, varying from 50-80 m/ s, and partly by the inertia of the crop.

The bruising element, which is also fixed to the mowing rotor has, because it is at the same diameter, the same peripheral speed as the blade.

When this bruising element leads somewhat on the blade in the rotational direction it will hit the still standing stems at that speed before they are cut by the blade. Because of the inertia of the crop, which is in addition still fixed in the soil, the bruising element will, over a certain length in an upward direction, rub along the stems and damage them superficially by the impact and the immediately following rubbing action. This suprficial damage will also break the wax-layer, the so-called cuticula, covering the outer skin of many crops at many places.

With a mowing rotor having an outer circle diameter of say 0.8 m it will mow at each passage a very narrow sickle-shaped strip, with a developed length of approximately 1.25 m and an area of at maximum 1.5 dm2. As there is, above each blade, a bruising element attached, nearly every separate stem will be damaged superficially and at nearly the same height and over nearly the same length.

In this way the aforementioned selective bruising is obtained.

A secondary advantage of using the above described bruising elements is that the stems are, just before cutting, positioned in the most favourable direction for it, while the stem parts situated below the bruising element are pre-tensioned and thereby more easily cut. After being cut these stems will obtain a certain speed created by the bruising element. This speed however is lower than the peripheral speed of the bruising element.

Before leaving the path of the mowing rotor, the cut crop can be hit some more times by the bruising element with forces determined by the difference in speed between the cut crop and the bruising element. Because of the small difference in speed and of the resilience of the collected cut crop, chopping to waste of the fragile tops is prevented.

A further secondary advantage of the bruising element is that a large part of the cut crop is carried off immediately after being cut, so that a following blade is not or only partly hindered by the cuttings from the preceding blade.

It will be clear that for different crop lengths, thicknesses and species in combination with the type of rotary mower, and the desired bruising effects, different positions of the bruising element above and ahead of the blade can be used. Under certain conditions even a negative lead could be required. When mowing tall crops it is possible to use more than one bruising element, one above the other As each bruising element is, by its attachment, a part of the mowing rotor, a single rotating element will, apart from cutting the crop, obtain a very favourable treatment of the cut crop, occurring in three phases: (a) Superficial damaging of the stems, pre-tensioning of the crop and positioning of the crop in the most favourable cutting position.

(b) Selective bruising, meaning intensive bruising of the stems and less of the other parts of the crop.

(c) Carrying off the cuttings from the mowing zone.

The invention may be performed in various ways and preferred embodiments thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a mower rotor with a bruising and conditioning element of this invention; Figure 2 shows a variation of the unit of Figure 1 with higher situated bruising elements; Figure 3 shows a mowing rotor with bruising elements consisting of a flat steel strip; Figure 4 shows a mower rotor with two bruising elements arranged above each other and above each blade; and Figure 5 shows a mowing rotor with free-swinging blades, above which adjustable bruising elements are attached.

Figure 1 shows the mowing rotor 2, attached at 3 to a vertical shaft (not shown), which is driven in the direction of the arrow 4. The mowing rotor 2 here is a steel strip bent down at 5 near its ends on both sides. The bent down ends 5 are sharpened at their leading edges, to form blades 6.

Above the mowing rotor 2 there has been attached a flat steel strip 7 which describes, when rotating, a similar outer circle to that of the rotor 2. The leading edges 8 are not sharpened and serve as bruising elements. The height on which these bruising elements 8 are situated above the blades 6, is indicated in the drawing by the letter A.

The centre line 9 of the steel strip 7 is placed in the horizontal plane at an angle 10 ahead of the centre-line of the mowing rotor (in the direction of rotation), so that the bruising elements 8 lead in the rotational plane over a distance B on the blades 6. The result of this is that the bruising elements 8 collide with the stems before these are cut by the lower situated blades 6.

Figure 2 shows a steel strip 11 which is, at some distance from the tips, bent up at 12 in such a way that the tips 13, acting as bruising elements, are situated higher, over a distance C, than the central part of the strip 11. When this strip 11 is attached at the angle 10 to the upper side of the mowing rotor 2 of Figure 1, instead of the strip 7, the height of the bruising elements 13 above the blades 6 will be A + C.

In Figure 3 the mowing rotor 14 is formed from a flat steel strip on which the sharpened ends 15 form the cutting blades. Near these ends are attached double bent strips 16 whose horizontal ends 17 function as bruising elements. These are again situated at a distance A above the blades 15 and lead at the ends by a distance B on the blades.

in Figure 4 there are situated above each blade 18 of the mowing rotor 19, respective bruising elements 20 and 21. The end of the lower bruising element 20 leads by a distance D on the underlying blade and is at a distance E above it and the end of the upper bruising element 21 leads by a distance F on the one below it and is at a distance G above it.

Figure 5 shows a mowing rotor 22, consisting of a round disc 23 with a cylindrical body 24. Below the circumference of the disc 23 are attached blades 25. Radially extending from the cylindrical body 24, are also fixed bruising strips 26 which lead by a distance H on the blades 25 and are placed at an adjustable distance K above the blades 25.

Claims (6)

1. A bruising and conditioning arrangement for a rotary mower having one or more mowing rotors, for selective bruising of grass or any other kind of growth wherein bruising elements extend at some distance above and in the rotational direction leading on the cutting edge of each blade to rotate at the same speed with the blades, the bruising elements extending substantially radially and describing approximately the same outer circle as the blades.

2. A bruising and conditioning arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the working front of the bruising element in the direction of rotation is placed at a radially differing position from that of the rotor.

3. A bruising and conditioning arrangement according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the bruising element is attached adjustably in relation to the blade.

4. A bruising and conditioning arrangement as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein two or more bruising elements are mounted one above and ahead of each other.

5. A bruising and conditioning arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the bruising element is completely or partly bent.

6. A bruising and conditioning arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.