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EP-4385306-B1 - CROP RESIDUE SPREADER ARRANGEMENT

EP4385306B1EP 4385306 B1EP4385306 B1EP 4385306B1EP-4385306-B1

Inventors

  • BOJSEN, THOMAS

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20231213

Claims (7)

  1. A crop residue spreader arrangement (36) comprising a frame (212), a pair of counter rotating residue spreader wheels (220,222) carried from the frame (212), a common frame element (240), the common frame element (240) being pivotally connected to the frame (212), the common frame element (240) supporting first and second shaped residue deflectors (230,232), each residue deflector being associated with an adjacent one of the pair of residue spreader wheels (220,222) and each of the first and second shaped residue deflectors (230,232) being pivotally mounted to the common frame element (240) about coincident horizontal axes (242) characterised in that a cam arrangement (246,248) is provided between each shaped residue deflector (230,232) and the common frame element (240).
  2. A crop residue spreader arrangement according to claim 1, characterised in that the common frame element (240) is pivotally connected to the frame (212) about a horizontal axis.
  3. A crop residue spreader arrangement according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterised in that each shaped residue deflector (230,232) comprises a carrying arm (234,236) and a material deflector (235,237).
  4. A crop residue spreader arrangement according to claim 3, characterised in that the material deflector (235,237) is curved about an outer circular profile of the adjacent residue spreader wheel (220,222).
  5. A crop residue spreader arrangement according to claim 3 or claim 4, characterised in that the material deflector (235,237) is triangular in shape.
  6. A crop residue spreader arrangement according to any of claim 3 to claim 5, characterised in that the material deflector (235,237) comprises a sheet material having an upper linear edge (254) having first and second ends, a first longer edge (256) depending from the first end of the upper linear edge (254), a second shorter edge (258) depending from the second end of the upper linear edge (254) and a fourth edge connecting the distal ends of the first and second edges (256,258).
  7. An agricultural harvester comprising a chassis (12) and a crop residue spreader arrangement (36) according to any of claim 1 to claim 6 carried by said chassis (12) at a rear of the agricultural harvester.

Description

FIELD The present invention relates to agricultural harvesters such as combine harvesters, and, more particularly, to a crop residue spreader arrangement for spreading crop residue over the ground behind the harvester. BACKGROUND For many decades, self-propelled combine harvesters have been used by farmers to harvest a wide range of crops including cereals, maize and oil-seed rape. Typically, a combine harvester cuts the crop material, threshes the grain (or seed) therefrom, separates the grain from the straw, and cleans the grain before storing in an on-board tank. Straw and crop residue is ejected from the rear of the machine. It is well known to fit combine harvesters with a cutting machine such as a straw chopper at the rear of the machine for chopping the straw ejected from the separating apparatus. Depending on the requirements of the farmer, the straw is either deposited directly onto the ground in windrows for subsequent baling and removal, or chopped and spread onto the field behind the combine for incorporation back into the soil. Means to direct the straw onto the ground typically comprises a tailboard or spreader arrangement incorporating a pair of counter rotating spreader wheels. Variables such as the field's terrain, cutting height and wind direction can affect the final placement of the crop residue. Farmers want the spread width to be quickly and independently adjustable left to right whilst still maintaining an even distribution of straw and crop residue across the field. Examples of known crop residue spreader arrangements according to the precharacterising portion of claim 1 are disclosed in EP4173466 A1 (CNH), US2020/045883 A1 (CNH), EP3108738 A1 (CNH), US8010262 B2 (CNH) and US6547169 B1 (Case). It is an advantage of the present invention that consistent crop residue spreading is addressed. It is an object of the invention to provide even spread width together with side to side compensation without reducing the speed of the counter rotating spreader wheels. The invention is defined by the subject-matter of claim 1. BRIEF SUMMARY According to a first aspect of the present invention, a crop residue spreader arrangement comprises a frame, a pair of counter rotating residue spreader wheels carried from the frame, a common frame element, the common frame element being pivotally connected to the frame, the common frame element supporting first and second shaped residue deflectors, each residue deflector being associated with an adjacent one of the pair of residue spreader wheels and each of the first and second shaped residue deflectors being pivotally mounted to the common frame element about coincident horizontal axes characterised in that a cam arrangement is provided between each shaped residue deflector and the common frame element. Preferably, the common frame element is pivotally connected to the frame about a horizontal axis. Preferably, each shaped residue deflector comprises a carrying arm and a material deflector. Preferably, the material deflector is curved about an outer circular profile of the adjacent residue spreader wheel. Preferably the material deflector is triangular in shape. Preferably the material deflector comprises a sheet material having an upper linear edge having first and second ends, a first longer edge depending from the first end of the upper linear edge, a second shorter edge depending from the second end of the upper linear edge and a fourth edge connecting the distal ends of the first and second edges. According to a second aspect of the present invention an agricultural harvester comprises a chassis and a crop residue spreader arrangement according to the first aspect of the present invention carried by said chassis at a rear of the agricultural harvester. Within the scope of this application it should be understood that the various aspects, embodiments, examples and alternatives set out herein, and individual features thereof may be taken independently or in any possible and compatible combination. Where features are described with reference to a single aspect or embodiment, it should be understood that such features are applicable to all aspects and embodiments unless otherwise stated or where such features are incompatible. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG 1 shows a schematic side view of a known combine harvester comprising a residue spreader positioned after or downstream of a straw chopper;FIG 2 shows an enlarged schematic side view of a residue handling system located at the rear of a combine harvester in accordance with an embodiment;FIG 3 shows a crop residue spreader in a first position permitting only a narrow spread of crop residue;FIG 4 shows a crop residue spreader in a second position permitting a wider spread of crop residue;FIG 5 shows a shows a crop residue spreader in a third position providing a narrow spread of crop