Header with Middle Belt and Additional Grain Loss Prevention Means

Abstract

A header for harvesting agricultural crop is designed to be mounted on a harvesting machine and has a support frame with a cutter bar arranged on the front side and blades fastened thereto. Conveying elements for transporting away the cut stalk material include at least two belt conveyors conveying the crop transversely relative to the travel direction and a central belt conveyor as a middle belt that conveys counter to the travel direction. A drive drives the cutter bar and the conveying elements. In order to better protect the middle belt against grain losses over the lateral edge of the revolving belt, the middle belt has, at lateral edges on its outwardly pointing surface, a grain-blocking elevation, respectively.

Claims

1. A header for agricultural crop for attachment to a harvesting machine, the header comprising: a support frame; a cutter bar arranged on a front side of the support frame and comprising blades fastened to the cutter bar; conveying elements for transporting away cut crop, the conveying elements including at least two belt conveyors conveying the cut crop in a transporting direction transverse to a travel direction of the header during harvesting and further including a centrally arranged belt conveyor as middle belt transporting the cut crop in a conveying direction counter to the travel direction; a drive drivingly connected to the cutter bar and the conveying elements; wherein the middle belt comprises an outwardly pointing surface with lateral edges and further comprises grain-blocking elevations arranged on the lateral edges.

2. The header as claimed in claim 1, wherein the grain-blocking elevations each have, across a length thereof, a lateral offset in a direction transverse to a direction of rotation of the middle belt.

3. The header as claimed in claim 1, wherein the grain-blocking elevations comprise incisions, notches, or free spaces which are oriented obliquely or transversely relative to the conveying direction of the middle belt and which extend over a part of a full height, or across the full height, of the grain-blocking elevations.

4. The header as claimed in claim 1, wherein multiple rows of the grain-blocking elevations are arranged adjacent to one another in a longitudinal direction of the middle belt, wherein the rows of the grain-blocking elevations are separated from one another by incisions, notches or free spaces and the incisions, notches or free spaces extend at least substantially in a longitudinal direction of the middle belt.

5. The header as claimed in claim 4, wherein the rows of the grain-blocking elevations have incisions, notches or free spaces which are oriented obliquely or transversely to the conveying direction of the middle belt and are formed offset relative to one another in a transverse direction of the middle belt.

6. The header as claimed in claim 1, wherein the grain-blocking elevations are comprised of an elastomer material.

7. The header as claimed in claim 1, wherein the grain-blocking elevations are comprised of multiple mutually adjacently arranged rows of molded bodies, the molded bodies each having a spacing to the next molded body in a row extension direction of the rows, respectively, and the rows are staggered relative to each other.

8. The header as claimed in claim 7, wherein the molded bodies have a cylindrical basic shape.

9. The header as claimed in claim 1, further comprising strips applied to the outwardly pointing surface of the middle belt, wherein the strips extend substantially transversely relative to the conveying direction of the middle belt and have an undulating shape across a length thereof in a transverse direction of the middle belt.

10. The header as claimed in claim 9, wherein an amplitude of the undulating shape of the strips is greater than half of a circumference of a deflecting roller of the middle belt.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] The invention will now be discussed in more detail on the basis of exemplary embodiments.

[0026] FIG. 1 shows a partial view of a middle belt in a view obliquely from the front.

[0027] FIGS. 2a, 2b, and 2c show views of an alternative embodiment with a lateral grain-blocking elevation arranged in loops.

[0028] FIG. 3 shows purely schematically a header with drive, transverse conveyors and middle belt, and cutter bar on a support frame.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0029] FIG. 1 shows a partial view of a middle belt in a perspective front view.

[0030] FIG. 1 shows a detail of a middle belt 2 in a perspective view from above. The middle belt 2 is driven in continuous circulating fashion in a conveying direction F, counter to the direction of travel of the harvesting machine into the standing crop. The middle belt 2 has lateral edges 4. In a draper header, the cut crop is conveyed to the middle belt 2 by lateral belt-type conveyors which discharge the crop past the lateral edges 4 onto the top side of the middle belt 2.

[0031] FIG. 1 shows six rows 8 of elevations 6 on the lateral edge 4 of the middle belt 2. In the embodiment, the elevations 6 are composed of molded bodies 10 which have a cylindrical basic shape. The molded bodies 10 are lined up with one another at uniform intervals. The rows 8 are offset with respect to one another in staggered fashion such that the molded bodies 10 of one row cover in a transverse direction a gap between the molded bodies 10 of an adjacent row, respectively.

[0032] In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the gaps or the free spaces have a width slightly greater than the diameter of a molded body 10. The gaps 10 may however also be smaller, and may even be narrowed to form a slot between adjacent material blocks of an elevation, which slot opens in scissor-like fashion only in the region of deflection of the middle belt about a deflecting roller 12, as can also be seen in FIG. 1 in the region of deflection for the molded bodies 10.

[0033] The gaps or free spaces shown in FIG. 1 extend from the top side of the molded parts 10 to the outwardly pointing surface of the middle belt 2. By contrast to this, it is also possible for the gaps to extend to a lesser depth by virtue of the base regions of the gaps in the region of the elevation 6 protruding above the outwardly pointing surface of the middle belt 2.

[0034] To the outwardly pointing surface of the middle belt there are applied strips 14 which extend substantially transversely with respect to the conveying direction of the middle belt and which have an undulating shape over their extent transversely across the middle belt. The amplitude of the undulating shape of the strips applied to the outwardly pointing surface of the middle belt is greater than half of the circumference of a deflecting roller of the middle belt.

[0035] FIGS. 2a, 2b, and 2c show views of an alternative embodiment with a lateral grain-blocking elevation 6 arranged in loops. The grain-blocking elevation 6 shown in FIGS. 2a, 2b, and 2c is laid in loops and has, over its length, a lateral offset transversely with respect to the conveying direction (direction of rotation) of the middle belt 2. Those sections of the lateral grain-blocking elevation 6 which are subjected to tensile load in the conveying direction (direction of revolution) F can pull material which is not subjected to tensile load, or which is subjected to only a very low tensile load, out of the material of the sections laid in loops. This can be seen in the regions in which the middle belt 2 is deflected about the deflecting rollers. Thus, it is possible to see regions 16 of the elevation 6 that have been stretched in the region of the deflecting rollers, in which regions the material of the elevation 6 has been pulled longitudinally and, here, material from the loop has been utilized in the conveying direction (direction of revolution) F for the flexible change in length of the elevation 6. In this way, the material of the lateral elevations 6 is altogether greatly protected against stress forces and relieved of load; this significantly increases the service life of the material of the grain-blocking elevations 6.

[0036] The invention is not restricted to the embodiments above. It poses no difficulties to a person skilled in the art to modify the embodiments in a manner that would appear suitable to him or her in order to adapt it to a specific usage situation.

[0037] The specification incorporates by reference the entire disclosure of the two German priority documents 10 2015 116 951.7 having a filing date of Oct. 6, 2015, and 2015 117 787.0 having a filing date of Oct. 19, 2015.

[0038] While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the inventive principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.