RAKE ASSEMBLY

Abstract

A rake assembly, for the transfer and conveyance of agricultural products such as grass, hay, forage, wheat, corn and the like, cut and distributed on the ground, includes a framework which can be coupled to a drive unit for its movement along an advancement direction. The framework is associated with elements for lifting and delivering the agricultural products to at least one conveyor belt, which faces the elements and is proximate to them, for the transfer and conveyance of the agricultural products along a work direction that is defined by the belt, until the agricultural products are released in a corresponding unloading region. The assembly includes at least one elastically deformable plate, which is coupled stably to the belt and is at least partially directed, with one of its faces, toward the unloading region.

Claims

1. A rake assembly, for the transfer and conveyance of agricultural products comprising: a framework coupled to a drive unit for movement along an advancement direction, said framework being associated with elements for lifting and delivering the agricultural products to at least one conveyor belt, which faces said elements and is proximate to them, for the transfer and conveyance of the agricultural products along a work direction that is defined by said belt, until the agricultural products are released in a corresponding unloading region, and further comprising at least one elastically deformable plate, which is coupled stably to said belt and is at least partially directed, with one of its faces, toward the unloading region to facilitate the transfer and conveyance, on the part of said belt, of the agricultural products lifted by said elements.

2. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein the edge of said at least one plate arranged on the opposite side with respect to said belt is at least partially pointed.

3. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said at least one plate is coupled stably to said belt and oriented substantially perpendicular to said work direction.

4. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said at least one plate is made of an elastomeric material.

5. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said at least one plate has a trapezoidal shape.

6. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said at least one plate has a triangular shape.

7. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said at least one plate is arranged proximate to the side of said belt that lies opposite said elements.

8. The assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of said plates aligned along an imaginary straight line that is perpendicular to said work direction.

9. The assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of said plates distributed longitudinally along said belt.

10. The assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a supporting apparatus coupled stably to said belt, and said at least one plate being supported by said apparatus in one selectively among a plurality of different positions.

11. The assembly according to claim 10, wherein said supporting apparatus comprises a transverse bar that rests against said belt and is gripped rigidly, at its ends, by respective clamps, which are integral with said belt, said at least one plate being supported rigidly by said bar.

12. The assembly according to claim 11, wherein said at least one plate is fixed to said bar by means of connecting units inserted at an axial level chosen at will of said bar.

13. The assembly according to claim 1, further comprising at least one housing arranged to cover an outer end portion of said framework, which faces, proximate to the unloading region of the agricultural products, said side of said belt which lies opposite said elements, in order to facilitate their release to the ground.

14. The assembly according to claim 13, further comprising at least two of said housings arranged so as to cover respective mutually opposite external end portions of said framework facing on opposite sides said side of said belt.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] Further characteristics and advantages of the disclosure will become better apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the assembly according to the disclosure, illustrated by way of nonlimiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0035] FIG. 1 is a perspective lateral front view, with respect to the advancement direction, of the rake assembly according to the disclosure;

[0036] FIG. 2 is a highly enlarged-scale view of a detail of FIG. 1;

[0037] FIG. 3 is a view of the assembly of FIG. 1, without the lifting and delivery elements; and

[0038] FIG. 4 is a perspective lateral rear view, with respect to the advancement direction, of the assembly of FIG. 1 without the lifting and delivery elements according to FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] With particular reference to FIGS. 1-4, the reference numeral 1 generally designates a rake assembly, intended for the transfer and conveyance of agricultural products, such as grass, hay, forage, wheat, corn and the like, (previously) cut and distributed on the ground (typically an agricultural field).

[0040] More precisely, in the manners that will be described hereinafter, the assembly 1 is designed to transfer and convey previously cut agricultural products, accumulating them along tidy rows (known as swaths).

[0041] The tidy distribution thus obtained in fact allows quicker and easier gathering of the grass (or other agricultural product) on the part of other agricultural machines as a function of the specific requirements and of the treatments for which it is intended.

[0042] In this regard, it should be noted for example that it is possible to send subsequently onto the agricultural field round balers or similar machines, to gather the grass and subsequently form bales or ensilage for consequent use in the zootechnical field, as feed for animals.

[0043] Furthermore, it should be noted that prior to the intervention of the assembly 1 the ground can be covered by tedders or similar machines, which increase the quality of the agricultural product by distributing it on the ground uniformly and in a ventilated manner, thus accelerating its drying.

[0044] The innovative particularities of the assembly 1, as will become apparent hereinafter, indeed allow to ensure the optimum forming of swaths (and therefore of bales or the like) even if the tedder forms along the ground tangles or webs composed of intertwined blades of grass or other previously cut agricultural products.

[0045] The assembly 1 therefore comprises a framework 2 which can be coupled to a drive unit, even according to known manners, so that it can be moved along an advancement direction A (shown in FIGS. 1 and 2), along an agricultural field of interest, where indeed the agricultural products with which the swaths are to be formed are distributed randomly and indiscriminately.

[0046] It is noted that typically the framework 2 (as well as the assembly 1 in general) is towed along the ground by a tractor or a similar vehicle provided with the drive unit mentioned above and coupled to the framework 2. In any case, mounting the drive unit on board the assembly 1 itself (conveniently modified), so as to motorize it independently, is not excluded.

[0047] In turn, the framework 2 is associated with elements 3 for lifting and delivering the agricultural products to at least one conveyor belt 4, which faces and is proximate to the elements 3.

[0048] In greater detail, the lifting and delivery elements 3 preferably comprise at least one row of teeth 5 which are mutually aligned and rotate about a working shaft 6. Also with reference to the constructive solution shown in the accompanying figures (in particular in FIG. 1), the assembly 1 is preferably provided with a plurality of rows (which are mutually parallel) of teeth 5, which can move in respective gaps formed among a plurality of spacers 7 (or plates or straps).

[0049] According to methods that are substantially known, while the assembly 1 advances along the ground, the teeth 5 lift the agricultural products and deliver them behind themselves to the belt 4, which transfers and conveys them along a working direction B (shown in FIGS. 1 and 2), formed by the belt 4 and substantially transverse to the advancement direction A.

[0050] The action for the transfer and conveyance of the belt 4 can thus continue until the agricultural products are released in a corresponding unloading region C, where the swath forms progressively.

[0051] In order to facilitate the correct movement of the agricultural products on the part of the belt 4, the assembly 1 also comprises a containment barrier 8 for the agricultural products (for example of the type of a rigid screen or a sheet made of polymeric material). The barrier 8 is arranged along the side 4a of the belt 4 that lies opposite the lifting and delivery elements 3. The containment barrier 8, shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, has instead been eliminated in FIG. 3 in order to facilitate better viewing of the elements (in that figure) located at the back.

[0052] It should be noted that first of all the conveyor belt 4 can move around a predefined closed path (which corresponds to the work direction B) along a single direction. Likewise, assemblies 1 are provided in which the same belt 4 can equally work along both directions of motion (in an operating mode which moreover further enhances the particularities of the disclosure, as will become apparent hereinafter).

[0053] In greater detail, FIGS. 1 and 2 show a single sliding direction for the work direction B, but indeed assemblies 1 are provided in which the belt 4 can move only in the opposite direction or in which it is possible to choose equally the direction in which one wishes to transfer and convey the agricultural products along the work direction B.

[0054] In the accompanying FIGS. 1 and 3, the unloading region C has been designated, which corresponds to operation along the single direction of movement of the belt 4 shown in turn in the same figures. Evidently, if the belt 4 moves in the opposite direction, the unloading region C is correspondingly located on the other side of the belt 4.

[0055] It is specified furthermore that although the accompanying figures show an assembly 1 provided with a single belt 4, the production and marketing of assemblies 1 provided with two (or more) belts 4, mutually aligned along a common work direction B and arranged so as to face each other and proximate to respective elements 3, is not excluded.

[0056] In this case, the two belts 4 can work with opposite directions and directed outward (so as to convey the agricultural products toward both sides of the advancing assembly 1 and form two swaths) or inward (so as to deposit the agricultural products at the center and form a single swath), or can operate with the same direction, with one belt 4 delivering the products to the other, which in turn unloads them at the opposite end and achieves the forming of a single swath (in this case, the unloading region C of the first belt 4 in practice coincides with a first portion of the second one).

[0057] By thus moving along the agricultural field, along the advancement direction A, the assembly 1 gathers the agricultural products distributed thereon by means of the elements 3, to then deposit them again along one or both sides (in the unloading regions C), forming a central swath or one or two lateral swaths.

[0058] Again with reference to the belt 4 (to each belt 4), according to per se known methods it is preferably wound in a loop around a pair of supporting shafts which are mutually parallel and perpendicular to the work direction B. In this embodiment, therefore, at least one of the supporting shafts, which meshes with the belt 4 (for example by means of a pulley with which it is provided) is rotated about its own main axis by a respective main motor 9, and this indeed causes the movement of the belt 4.

[0059] It should be noted that in this context the agricultural products that are lifted and delivered by the elements 3 are deposited on a useful surface of the belt 4 that corresponds substantially to the entire upper rectilinear segment (interposed between the supporting shafts) of the belt 4 wound in a loop.

[0060] According to the disclosure, the assembly 1 comprises at least one elastically deformable plate 10; the plate 10 is coupled stably to the belt 4 and is at least partially directed, with one of its faces, toward the unloading region C.

[0061] In practice, in other words, the plate 10 is fixed with a perimetric portion thereof to the belt 4 to then rise from it, at right angles or variously inclined, in such a manner as to direct one of its two faces, at all times and for any direction of motion of the belt 4, toward the unloading region C.

[0062] In any case, therefore, while it moves integrally with the belt 4, the plate 10 is capable of facilitating the transfer and conveyance, on the part of the belt 4, of the agricultural products lifted by the elements 3.

[0063] When the products are entangled together, the plate 10 in fact engages them with its face directed toward the unloading region C, entrains them with itself along the work direction B and tends to loosen the tangles and/or break the bonds, indeed facilitating grip on the belt 4 and in any case the entrainment on the part of the latter.

[0064] This prevents the tangles from tending to fall on the opposite side with respect to the elements 3, where the barrier 8 ends, generating the stall condition, and subsequent clogging, which is typical of known solutions, and thus allows to achieve the intended aim.

[0065] Of course, when the agricultural products do not have abnormal tangles or intertwinings, the plate 10 does not hinder normal operation and indeed facilitates in any case entrainment on the part of the belt 4.

[0066] Elastic deformability ensures at the same time the ability to withstand any particularly intense stresses, without permanent breakages and/or without damaging the adjacent belts 4.

[0067] The stresses transmitted by the agricultural products in fact can sometimes force the bending of the plate 10, up to the point of even touching the belt 4 itself or the adjacent one. Elastic deformability avoids the danger that in this situation the plate 10 might be deformed permanently and/or might damage the belt 4 that makes contact with the plate 10.

[0068] More generally, it should be noted that the choice to resort to an elastically deformable plate 10 is of absolute interest in applications which provide for two belts 4 which are aligned (along a common work direction B).

[0069] In these applications, in fact, the plate 10 of each belt 4 is designed to transit cyclically in the gap between the two belts 4.

[0070] It might therefore occur that a plate 10, which is integral with one of the belts 4, slides against the adjacent belt 4: in this case, the elastic deformability prevents this from causing damage to the plate 10 and/or to the adjacent belt 4 itself.

[0071] Even if the risk mentioned above is negligible, there is still the (far more frequent) possibility that the plate 10 of a belt 4 might affect the plate 10 of the adjacent belt 4: again, even in this case the colliding plates 10 would merely undergo a temporary elastic deformation, which would disappear as soon as they continue their motion, moving mutually apart.

[0072] It is therefore possible to adopt plates 10 without having to provide large distances (gaps) between adjacent belts 4 and likewise the elastically deformable plates 10 allow to keep unchanged the distance (the gap) between adjacent existing belts 4, thus being able to work effectively on already circulating devices with minimal modifications.

[0073] Although the use of plates 10 having a rectangular or square (or other) shape is not excluded, one embodiment of considerable practical interest (shown merely by way of example in the accompanying figures) provides for the edge 10a of the plate 10 that is arranged at the opposite end with respect to the belt 4 to be at least partially pointed (meaning with this that it can be absolutely sharp or can have at least one partially blunted or rounded tip).

[0074] The pointed edge 10a can increase the action of the plate 10 in breaking the bonds and intertwinings with which the agricultural products may appear, thus increasing the effectiveness of the disclosure.

[0075] In particular, the plate 10 is coupled stably to the belt 4 with an orientation that is substantially perpendicular to the work direction B. In this manner, the entire extension of the plate 10 (all of its face directed toward the unloading region C) is capable of affecting agricultural products lifted by the elements 3 and therefore the effectiveness of the plate 10 is maximized.

[0076] Advantageously, in order to obtain the desired elastic deformability, the plate 10 is made of an elastomeric material, of the kind of rubber and the like.

[0077] For example, mention is made of the (preferred but not exclusive) possibility to provide the plate 10 by obtaining it from a fabric-lined rubber belt.

[0078] In any case, whatever the specific constructive choice, the elastomeric material ensures an action on the product that is more vigorous thanks to the high coefficient of friction of said rubber. Furthermore, by deforming, the rubber plate 10 adapts optimally to the region of contact with the agricultural product, creating a larger contact area.

[0079] Moreover, the high deformability of the rubber allows to maintain a greater height of the plate 10 (of the pointed edge 10a): as shown, in fact, even if the dimensions are such as to cause at each cycle the temporary sliding of the plate 10 on the adjacent belt 4 or the collision between plates 10 of adjacent belts 4, the elastic deformability in fact avoids the danger of damage to the involved components, since each plate 10 can bend elastically and then resume the nominal configuration.

[0080] In the embodiment shown in the accompanying figures by way of nonlimiting example of the application of the disclosure, the plate 10 has a trapezoidal shape, which allows to form an edge 10a that has a tip that penetrates with great ease the agricultural products being moved.

[0081] A similar result can be achieved by adopting a plate 10 that has a triangular shape.

[0082] It is useful to note, in any case, that plates 10 can also be provided according to other shapes, even provided with two or more tips (or none), and are in any case within the protective scope claimed herein.

[0083] With further reference to the constructive solution shown in the accompanying figures, the plate 10 is arranged proximate to the side 4a of the belt 4 that lies opposite the elements 3 (and therefore is intended to move proximate to the barrier 8).

[0084] Usually, in fact, the unwelcome accumulations of product that the belt 4 is unable to entrain correctly indeed form at this transverse height and therefore this choice is of considerable practical interest.

[0085] Moreover, it is useful to note that usually at this transverse height the agricultural products are normally slowed down by the friction action generated by the barrier 8: this sometimes causes difficulty in entrainment and a slowing which can also generate mounds or can be in any case unwelcome.

[0086] The plate 10 that is integral with the belt 4 and can move along said transverse height is capable of obviating this drawback effectively, propelling with a speed that is equal to the speed of the belt 4 also the products that move close to the barrier 8 or in contact with it, thus smoothing the flow of products toward the unloading region C.

[0087] Likewise, placement of the plate 10 at a different transverse height, as a function of the specific requirements of application, is not excluded.

[0088] Although it is specified that a single plate 10 can be coupled to the belt 4, the assembly 1 may also comprise a plurality of plates 10 aligned along an imaginary straight line that is perpendicular to the work direction B.

[0089] At the same time, the assembly 1 may also comprise a plurality of plates 10 distributed longitudinally along the belt 4 (therefore at a same transverse height).

[0090] The protection claimed herein is in any case extended to any combination of the options indicated above, and more generally to any distribution, along the entire surface of the belt 4, of a number at will of plates 10.

[0091] Conveniently, the assembly 1 comprises a supporting apparatus 11, which is coupled stably to the belt 4, for the plate 10 (or plates 10). The plate 10 can be supported by the apparatus 11 in one selectively among a plurality of different positions (different transverse heights, for example), as a function of the specific requirements and with the possibility to modify simply and rapidly the choice made as the surrounding conditions change.

[0092] In particular, in the preferred embodiment, proposed in the accompanying figures by way of nonlimiting example, the supporting apparatus 11 comprises a transverse bar 12, which rests on the belt 4 (although it might be slightly raised with respect to it) and is gripped rigidly at its ends by respective clamps 13 which are integral with the belt 4 (as can be seen in particular from FIG. 2).

[0093] The plate 10 is therefore rigidly supported by the bar 12; it should be noted that the bar 12 may also have additional sets of teeth 14 to facilitate the correct entrainment of the agricultural products and optionally increase the action for breaking the bonds among the agricultural products that is performed by the plate 10.

[0094] The bar 12, moreover, allows to obtain in a practical manner the embodiment described in the preceding pages, in which multiple plates 10 are arranged along an imaginary straight line that is perpendicular to the work direction B.

[0095] The bar 12 is in fact arranged along such imaginary straight line and therefore it is possible to mount thereon two or more plates 10 in order to obtain the desired result.

[0096] Two or more bars 12 can also be arranged along the belt 4, so as to be able to obtain additional distributions of the plates 10.

[0097] Even more particularly, the plate 10 is fixed to the bar 12 by means of connecting units of the type of screws, bolts and the like. Each one of said units can be inserted at an axial height of the bar 12 that is chosen at will, indeed so as to allow coupling to the belt 4 in one selectively among a plurality of different positions.

[0098] By choosing appropriately the unit to be used (even of a known type), it is possible to render the coupling provided by it easily detachable, so as to allow practical methods for disassembly and reassembly (at a different transverse height) of each plate 10, so as to adapt it to different operating conditions.

[0099] Advantageously, the assembly 1 comprises at least one housing 15 which is arranged so as to cover an external end portion of the framework 2 and more precisely the end portion that faces, proximate to the unloading region C of the agricultural products (which of course depends on the direction of motion of the belt 4), the side 4a of the belt 4 that lies opposite the elements 3.

[0100] When the plate 10, in its integral motion with the belt 4, reaches the unloading region C of the agricultural products, said products slide against the housing 15, which by friction imparts thereto a thrust in the opposite direction, such as to avoid the danger that the products might be entrained below the belt 4 (following the return stroke of the plate 10) and/or might become entangled around the belt 4 during its motion reversal around the corresponding supporting shaft.

[0101] Normally, in fact, due to the relative motion of the assembly 1 with respect to the ground (along the advancement direction A) and to the friction and retention action generated by the ground and by the products that have already fallen, the trajectory traced in falling by the agricultural products tends indeed to deviate toward such external end portion of the framework 2, where the housing 15 is arranged effectively.

[0102] The housing 15 therefore facilitates the release to the ground of the agricultural products, since it ensures the quick disengagement of the plate 10 from the agricultural products at the unloading region C.

[0103] In a first embodiment, the assembly 1 is provided with a single housing 15 (arranged proximate to the designated unloading region C).

[0104] In the embodiment of the accompanying figures, which is a nonlimiting illustration of the application of the disclosure, the housing 15 is substantially shaped like a dome, which is optionally open toward the top (as can be seen in FIG. 3), but different constructive options are not excluded.

[0105] Even more particularly, in the preferred embodiment the assembly 1 can comprise two housings 15, arranged so as to cover respective mutually opposite external end portions of the framework 2, which face on opposite sides the side 4a of the belt 4.

[0106] The use of two housings 15 arranged as indicated in the preceding paragraph achieves a dual goal.

[0107] First of all, in fact, this allows to benefit from the action of the housing 15 in the unloading region C even if the direction of motion of the belt 4 is reversed.

[0108] Moreover, even without reversing the direction of rotation, the housing 15 arranged on the opposite side with respect to the unloading region C (where, as shown, the mounds that are responsible for clogging form) is in any case useful. The housing 15 can in fact contrast the natural tendency of the products to fall on the opposite side, facilitating correct entrainment by the belt 4 and the plate 10.

[0109] As can be deduced from the figures, two additional housings 15 are also arranged on the other side of the belt 4 (toward the elements 3).

[0110] Operation of the assembly according to the disclosure is therefore evident from what has been described so far.

[0111] As already shown, the assembly 1 can be entrained by a respective drive unit along an agricultural field, on which agricultural products (grass or others) cut previously (for example by a mower) are distributed in a random and indiscriminate manner

[0112] By advancing progressively along the ground, the assembly 1 picks up from the ground the agricultural products (by means of the teeth 5) and delivers them to each belt 4, which deposits them on the ground at one or both sides of the assembly 1, thus forming the swath, or transfers them to an adjacent belt 4.

[0113] The plate 10 allows to obviate the drawbacks often caused, in known devices, by tangles of intertwined blades of grass, which can sometimes be encountered along the path and which, once lifted, can form accumulations of material, which in turn cause clogging and other problems.

[0114] As shown, in known solutions these tangles are not entrained correctly by known belts but remain blocked by the containment shoulders and/or are retained by other blades.

[0115] Vice versa, the plate 10, with its face directed toward the unloading region C, engages the agricultural products and ensures a more energetic entrainment and conveyance action, avoiding the danger of clogging and the forming of mounds.

[0116] The pointed edge 10a penetrates the tangles, tearing blades of grass or other intertwined agricultural products, and propels them toward the unloading region C, in its integral motion with the belt 4, facilitating their correct entrainment toward the designated unloading region.

[0117] This result of unquestionable interest is achieved without having to act on the belt 4 to increase its grip, which as mentioned would in any case cause additional problems, at least during the unloading of the agricultural products.

[0118] The choice to resort to elastomeric materials such as rubber, for the plate 10, ensures an action which in this regard is even more effective thanks to the high friction coefficient that these materials have.

[0119] Moreover, it should be noted that the roughness of the opposite faces of the plate 10 is increased at will in order to raise further the friction coefficient.

[0120] In case of high stresses, the plate 10 bends and flexes elastically, and even if it touches the adjacent belt 4 when it transits at the gap between two aligned belts 4, or affects a plate 10 that is indeed integral with the adjacent belt 4, it can bend temporarily without causing any damage, subsequently returning to the nominal configuration after moving beyond the gap.

[0121] The plate 10 therefore avoids the danger that mounds or large lumps of grass (or other agricultural products) may form on the belt 4, generating clogging or being unloaded suddenly on the ground, compromising the uniformity of the formed swath, and instead ensures effective operation.

[0122] This result of unquestionable practical interest is obtained, moreover, with a solution that is structurally very simple and requires only the mounting of one or more plates 10.

[0123] Moreover, it has been pointed out that simply by mounting and removing the plates 10 it is possible to adopt different operating modes without requiring complex assembly and/or disassembly interventions, thus highlighting the high versatility of the disclosure.

[0124] Moreover, in case of a simple reversal of the direction of motion of the belt 4, no intervention is required, since the plate 10, by keeping its relative position unchanged with respect to the elements 5 and the side 4a of the belt 4, is in any case capable of performing its function.

[0125] In practice it has been found that the assembly according to the disclosure achieves fully the intended aim, since the use of an elastically deformable plate that is coupled stably to the belt and is directed with one of its faces toward the unloading region allows to form swaths in an effective manner, avoiding or at least reducing the risk of clogging or of unwanted mounds of product in such swaths.

[0126] The disclosure thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims; all the details may furthermore be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.

[0127] In the exemplary embodiments shown, individual characteristics, given in relation to specific examples, may actually be interchanged with other different characteristics that exist in other exemplary embodiments.

[0128] In practice, the materials used, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to the requirements and the state of the art.