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EP-4066619-B1 - A FORAGE HARVESTER EQUIPPED WITH A CROP PICK-UP HEADER

EP4066619B1EP 4066619 B1EP4066619 B1EP 4066619B1EP-4066619-B1

Inventors

  • BEELAERT, Simon
  • Blancke, Jeffrey
  • VAN BELLEGHEM, Stijn
  • WILLEMS, Pieter

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20210331

Claims (12)

  1. A harvester/header combination including a forage harvester (1) comprising an inlet (50) and a set of forward and reverse-rotatable feed rolls (51) placed immediately downstream of the inlet (50), and a crop pick-up header (2) that is operationally coupled to the harvester (1), the header (2) comprising : - a frame (10) comprising a floor portion (29), - a rotatable reel (13), - a rotatable auger (20) configured to receive crops which have been picked up by the reel (13), the auger (20) comprising flights (26) for moving the received crops towards a central area of the header (2) and from there to the inlet (50) of the harvester, wherein the auger (20) is mounted between two auger support arms (21) which are pivotable relative to the frame (10), about a common axis (22) that is essentially parallel to the central rotation axis (27) of the auger, so that the pivoting of the auger support arms (21) upward or downward causes the raising or lowering of the auger (20) relative to the floor portion (29) of the frame (10), - one or more rotatable windguard rolls (15) movable between a low position for maintaining collected crops on a transfer path from the reel (13) towards the auger (20), and a high position wherein the windguard roll or rolls (15) are removed from said transfer path, the harvester/header combination further comprising : - an auger speed drive that is capable of reversing the rotational direction of the auger (20) from a forward direction applied during the collection of crops to a reverse direction, - a reel speed drive that is capable of reversing the rotational direction of the reel (13) from a forward direction applied during the collection of crops to a reverse direction, - a detection system configured to detect a foreign object before it enters into the inlet (50) of the harvester, and to stop the feed rolls (51) upon said detection, characterised in that : - the header (2) further comprises one or more actuators (18,19) for actively pivoting the support arms (21) and thereby the auger (20) about said common axis (22), to thereby actively raise or lower the auger, - the harvester/header combination comprises a control unit (46) configured to perform the following steps when a foreign object has been detected and after the stopping of the feed rolls (51): • raising the auger (20) and the windguard roll or rolls (15), • decoupling the reel (13) from the reel speed drive so that the reel is freely rotatable, • rotating the auger (20) and the feed rolls (51) in the reverse direction while the auger is in a raised position, to remove crops from an area upstream of the feed rolls (51), • thereafter, lowering the auger (20) to a lower position and maintaining the auger in said lower position, while continuing to drive the rotation of the auger in the reverse direction, to thereby move the foreign object towards the reel (13), • after the auger has reached the lower position, actively driving the reel (13) in the reverse direction, to thereby eject the crops and the foreign object from the header (2).
  2. The harvester/header combination according to claim 1, wherein the header (2) comprises a first set of actuators (18) for raising or lowering the one or more windguard rolls (15), and a second set of actuators (19) for raising or lowering the support arms (21) of the auger (20) and thereby the auger itself, and wherein the control unit (46) is configured to separately control the operation of the first and second set of actuators.
  3. The harvester/header combination according to claim 1, wherein the header (2) comprises a set of actuators (18) for raising or lowering the one or more windguard rolls (15), the latter being supported between the ends of a first and second windguard support arm (16), wherein the set of actuators (18) is coupled between the header frame (10) and the windguard support arms (16), and wherein a set of linkages (60) is present between the windguard support arms (16) and the respective auger support arms (21), so that raising or lowering the windguard support arms (16) causes the raising or lowering of the auger support arms (21) and thereby of the auger (20).
  4. The harvester/header combination according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the header (2) further comprises at least one sensor (61) configured to determine the height position of the auger (20) and/or the windguard roll (15) relative to the floor portion (29), or a parameter representative thereof, wherein the at least one sensor (61) is connected to the control unit (46) so that said height position can be measured during the steps applied for removing the object.
  5. The harvester/header combination according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein : - said combination further comprises a global positioning device and - said combination further comprises an electronic memory coupled to the control unit (46) and/or the control unit (46) is connected to a cloud-type data storage, and wherein the control unit (46) is configured to store in said memory and/or said data storage a location of the harvester/header combination at which a foreign object is found and/or ejected.
  6. The harvester/header combination according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the header is a crop pick-up header (2).
  7. The harvester/header combination according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the control unit (46) is at least partially located in the header (2).
  8. A method for removing a foreign object from a crop pick-up header (2) that is operationally coupled to a harvester (1), the harvester comprising an inlet (50) and a set of forward and reverse-rotatable feed rolls (51) placed immediately downstream of the inlet (50), the header and the harvester forming a harvester/header combination, the header (2) comprising : - a frame (10) having a floor portion (29), - a rotatable reel (13), - a rotatable auger (20) configured to receive crops which have been picked up by the reel (13), the auger (20) comprising flights (26) for moving the received crops towards a central area of the header and from there to the inlet (50) of the harvester, wherein the auger (20) is mounted between two auger support arms (21) which are pivotable relative to the frame (10), about a common axis (22) that is essentially parallel to the central rotation axis (27) of the auger, so that the pivoting of the auger support arms (21) upward or downward causes the raising or lowering of the auger relative to the floor portion (29) of the frame (10), - one or more rotatable windguard rolls (15) movable between a low position for maintaining collected crops on a transfer path from the reel (13) towards the auger (20), and a high position wherein the windguard roll or rolls (15) are removed from said transfer path, the harvester/header combination further comprising : - an auger speed drive that is capable of reversing the rotational direction of the auger (20) from a forward direction applied during the collection of crops to a reverse direction, - a reel speed drive that is capable of reversing the rotational direction of the reel (13) from a forward direction applied during the collection of crops to a reverse direction, - a detection system configured to detect a foreign object before it enters into the inlet (50) of the harvester, and to stop the feed rolls (51) upon said detection, - one or more actuators (18,19) for actively pivoting the support arms (21) and thereby the auger (20) about said common axis (22), to thereby actively raise or lower the auger, - a control unit (46), characterised in that the method comprises the following steps, performed after the detection of a foreign object and after stopping the feed rolls (51) : • raising the auger (20) and the windguard roll or rolls (15), • decoupling the reel (13) from the reel speed drive so that the reel is freely rotatable, • rotating the auger (20) and the feed rolls (51) in the reverse direction while the auger is in a raised position, to remove crops from an area upstream of the feed rolls (51), • thereafter, lowering the auger (20) to a lower position and maintaining the auger in said lower position, while continuing to drive the rotation of the auger in the reverse direction, to thereby move the foreign object towards the reel (13), • after the auger has reached the lower position, actively driving the reel (13) in the reverse direction, to thereby eject the crops and the foreign object from the header (2).
  9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the raising or lowering of the one or more windguard rolls (15), and the raising or lowering of the support arms (21) of the auger (20) is performed by separate sets of actuators (18,19).
  10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the header (2) comprises a set of actuators (18) for raising or lowering the one or more windguard rolls (15), the latter being supported between the ends of a first and second windguard support arm (16), wherein the set of actuators (18) is coupled between the header frame (10) and the windguard support arms (16), and wherein a set of linkages (60) is present between the windguard support arms (16) and the respective auger support arms (21), so that raising or lowering the windguard support arms (16) causes the raising or lowering of the auger support arms (21) and thereby of the auger (20).
  11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the header (2) further comprises at least one sensor (61) configured to determine the height position of the auger (20) and/or the windguard roll (15) relative to the floor portion (29), or a parameter representative thereof, wherein the at least one sensor (61) is connected to the control unit (46) and wherein said height position is measured during the steps applied for removing the object.
  12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein - the harvester/header combination further comprises a global positioning device and - the harvester/header combination further comprises an electronic memory coupled to the control unit (46) and/or the control unit (46) is connected to a cloud-type data storage, and wherein the method further comprises storing in said memory and/or said data storage a location of the harvester/header combination at which a foreign object is found and/or ejected.

Description

Field of the Invention The present invention is related to the use of a crop pick-up header mounted at the front of a forage harvester. State of the art. Pick-up headers (see JP 2018 011565) are used for example for collecting grass that has been previously cut and left to dry on a field in the form of elongate swaths. A self-propelled forage harvester is fitted with the pick-up header at its front, and driven along the swaths. The header picks up and collects the grass, and delivers it to the inlet of the forage harvester, where it is taken in by a set of feed rolls, followed by a chopper drum, which chops up the grass stalks into smaller portions. The chopper drum rotates at a constant rotational speed, whereas the speed of the feed rolls can be adapted as a function of the desired length of cut (LOC), i.e. the length of the chopped portions, which may vary for example from about 4-5mm to about 45mm. A crop pick-up header, e.g. a grass pickup unit, as presently known in the art generally comprises an intake reel that picks up the crops and delivers them to a rotating auger equipped with two oppositely oriented auger flights. The crops are thereby transported to a central area of the header from where they are transferred to the feed rolls of the harvester. The auger as a whole may be mounted so as to be able to pivot about a hinge axis and during crop collection, the rotating auger rests on a mat of the incoming crops, so that it may be pivoted upward and downward as a function of the amount of crop that is being gathered by the reel. In patent publication document WO2015/091567, a harvester/pick-up header combination is described, that is configured to enable a sequence of actions for the removal of foreign objects such as stones or pieces of metal from the header. When such objects are detected, for example by a metal detector mounted close to the feed rolls of the harvester, the feed rolls are stopped and the removal sequence is initiated. The sequence includes driving the feed rolls of the harvester and the auger of the pick-up header in the reverse direction while the reel is freely rotatable, and after some time actuating the reel actively and also in the reverse direction, to thereby remove crops that have accumulated in the header at the time of stopping the feed rolls, as well as removing the foreign object. A problem with this approach is that the crops may not be effectively removed due to a lack of space underneath the auger, which increases the risk of the foreign object remaining stuck in the header and causing repeated interruptions of a harvesting run. In some header types it is possible to actively raise the auger, but this capability has not been effectively applied in a method for the removal of a foreign object. Summary of the invention The invention is related to a harvester/header combination according to claim 1. The invention is equally related to a method for removing a foreign object from the header according to claim 1. Preferred embodiments are provided in the dependent claims. The invention is effective in removing the foreign object due to the specific sequence of steps which further include first decoupling the reel and at the end of the sequence, actively driving the reel in the reverse direction. Brief description of the figures Figure 1 illustrates a typical harvesting situation wherein a grass pick-up header is attached to a forage harvester.Figures 2a and 2b show side views of a pick-up header in a harvester/header combination according to a first embodiment of the invention, wherein the auger is provided with a dedicated actuator for actively raising and lowering the auger.Figures 3a and 3b show side views of a pick-up header in a harvester/header combination according to a second embodiment of the invention, wherein the auger is coupled to the windguard rolls by a set of linkages.Figures 4a and 4b illustrate an embodiment further provided with a sensor that allows to determine the height position of the auger. Detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention Preferred embodiments will now be described with reference to the drawings. The detailed description is not limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined only by the appended claims. Figure 1 illustrates a self-propelled forage harvester 1 that is collecting and processing grass from a field through a pick-up header 2 mounted at the front of the harvester and not shown in much detail in the drawing, apart from the front support wheels 12 of the header and a windguard roll 15 (to be shown in more detail in Figures 2 and 3). Grass swathes 3 are lying along parallel trajectories on the field, having been cut previously, and the harvester driver follows these trajectories to collect and process the grass into chopped stems or particles. A stream 4 of processed grass is ejected from the spout 5 of the harvester and discharged into a trailer 6 towed by a tractor 7 that is driven alongside the harve