JP7825865B2 - Vine cutting device and work machine equipped with vine cutting device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vine cutting device for cutting vines. For example, cutting vines is a task performed before harvesting vine crops such as pumpkins.

Conventionally, there have been sweet potato vine cutters, such as the one described in Patent Document 1. The device in Patent Document 1 is equipped with a flail blade and is used to cut the stems and leaves of sweet potatoes.

Patent No. 3019300 Publication

Sweet potatoes are vines, but they are also tuberous plants with the main edible part underground. Cutting the stems with a flail blade to cut the vine leaves does not damage the edible part below ground. Therefore, cutting sweet potatoes can be done without any special care.
However, some creeping plants, such as pumpkins, have edible parts that grow above ground. For such plants, the flail blade cannot be used to cut the stems and leaves, as the edible part of the pumpkin would also be cut by the flail blade.
Therefore, there was a need for a vine cutting device that could cut only a portion of the vine.

The present invention solves the problem by adopting the following means.
The vine cutting device is provided with a guide and a cutting device, and the tip of the guide is made of a material harder than resin and becomes a resin part from the middle, and guides the vine from the ground surface to the cutting device which is at a predetermined height, and the cutting device is provided downstream of the guide.

This invention makes it possible to efficiently cut only part of the stems and leaves of vine crops without damaging the edible parts.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a work machine equipped with a vine cutting device. 2A and 2B are explanatory diagrams of the components of the vine cutting device, with FIG. 2A being a plan view and FIG. 2B being a front view. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the circled area A in FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the circled area B in FIG. FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the guide portion. 6A and 6B are explanatory diagrams of the height adjusting section and the guide, where FIG. 6A is an enlarged perspective view of the guide section, and FIG. 6B is a perspective view of the guide section with the ground contact body (sled) removed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals in different drawings denote parts with the same functions, and duplicated descriptions in each drawing will be omitted as appropriate.
In this specification, right and left refer to the right and left as viewed from the seat of the tractor T. In addition, the terms front and rear refer to the direction of travel of the tractor T as the front.

(Example)

1 is a perspective view of a work machine equipped with a vine cutting device 2. The vine cutting device 2 of the embodiment is attached to a connecting part 1 provided at the front of a tractor T. The connecting part 1 is composed of a mounting link 11 and a horizontal machine frame 13. The mounting link 11 has the horizontal machine frame 13 attached to its tip. A lifting cylinder 12 provided on the mounting link 11 extends and retracts the mounting link 11, thereby raising and lowering the horizontal machine frame 13.
The horizontal machine frame 13 is a hollow member. The open ends at both ends of the horizontal machine frame 13 contain a smaller member in the hollow portion, and by expanding or contracting the smaller member, a left-right width adjustment section 131 is formed, which allows the left-right width of the horizontal machine frame 13 to be adjusted.
In this embodiment, two vine cutting devices 2 are arranged, one on the left and one on the right of the horizontal machine frame 13. The distance between the two vine cutting devices 2 is adjusted using the left-right width adjustment unit 131 so that it is the same as the width of the ridges. Vines that extend beyond one ridge to the adjacent ridge are cut by the vine cutting device 2.

[Vine Cutting Device]
2A and 2B are explanatory diagrams of the components of the vine cutting device, with FIG. 2A being a plan view and FIG. 2B being a front view.
The vine cutting device 2 is broadly composed of a machine frame section 3, a cutting section 4, and a guide section 6, and each section is arranged in this order.

[Machine frame]
The rear side of the frame 3 is connected to the horizontal frame 13 and supports the vine cutting device 2. The frame 3 may have any suitable structure as long as it can support the cutting section 4 and other components. In this embodiment, a mechanism is adopted that moves up and down to follow the unevenness (convexoconcave) of the ground surface.
The grass dividing bodies 31 are provided in pairs on the left and right below the machine frame 3, and are used to push the harvested crops (pumpkins, etc.) to the left and right so that they are not run over by the wheels of the tractor T. In the embodiment, the grass dividing bodies 31 are attached to the machine frame 3, but they may also be attached to the cutting section 4, and it is up to the matter of what they are attached to.

As shown in Figure 2 (A), the dividing plant body 31 is positioned behind the side cover 45. The dividing plant body 31 acts to further push the vines and harvested crops pushed to the side by the side cover 45. As shown in Figure 1, the dividing plant body 31 in this embodiment has the shape of two rods lined up vertically. The dividing plant body 31 can be made of any structure, shape, material, etc.

[Cutting part]
Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the circled area A in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 mainly illustrates the structure of the cutting portion 4.
A connection part 47 is provided in front of the machine frame part 3 , and the connection part 47 connects the machine frame part 3 and the cutting part 4 .
The cutting unit 4 is equipped with a cutting device 41, which in this embodiment is a rotary blade. The cutting device (rotary blade) 41 rotates around a horizontal axis and cuts the vines fed in the left and right directions.
A drive unit (motor) 42 is directly attached to the rotation shaft of the cutting device (rotary blade) 41. Because the drive unit (motor) 42 is disposed very close to the cutting device (rotary blade) 41, the cutting device (rotary blade) 41 can be driven without the need for a complex and large-scale power transmission member.
The drive device (motor) 42 may be electrically driven or hydraulically driven, and the type of drive source is not important.
In the embodiment, a rotary blade is used for the cutting device 41, but a reciprocating blade may also be used.

The cutting device (rotary blade) 41 is surrounded by a protective frame 43 to prevent accidental contact with the cutting device (rotary blade) 41. The protective frame 43 also prevents cut vines from becoming entangled in the cutting device (rotary blade) 41.
The vine restraining frame 431 and safety frame 432, in addition to the protective frame 43's function, also function to enhance vine restraint and safety. The vine restraining frame 431 serves to hold down the vines guided by the guide section 6 from above toward the cutting device (rotary blade) 41. The vine restraining frame 431 prevents the vines from climbing over the cutting device (rotary blade) 41, contributing to smooth cutting of the vines. On the other hand, the safety frame 432 prevents hands and other objects from reaching the cutting device (rotary blade) 41, and serves solely to ensure safety. The number of protective frames 43 can be increased or decreased as needed depending on the purpose. The protective frame 43 can also be replaced by placing other components around the cutting device (rotary blade) 41.

The sides of the cutting unit 4 are covered by side covers 45. As can be seen in Figure 2, the side covers 45 cover both the left and right sides. Because vines can become entangled in the cutting device (rotary blade) 41 and cause problems, the side covers 45 prevent the vines from entering the inside of the cutting unit 4. The side covers 45 are also arranged diagonally so that they expand from front to rear. The cut vines are guided by the side covers 45 and pushed to the left and right. If a pumpkin is attached near the guided vine, the side covers 45 guide the pumpkin to the side, pushing it further away from the vine cutting device 2. Because there is a plant body 31 behind the side covers 45, the pumpkin is pushed further to the side. As a result, the pumpkin near the guided vine is ultimately pushed away from the wheels of the tractor T.

A sled 46 is attached to the bottom of the cutting section 4, sealing it off. The sled 46 contacts the field and prevents the vine cutting device 2 from sinking too far into the ground. In particular, when the field is muddy, the vine cutting device 2 may sink into the ground, causing it to stab. The sled 46, along with the grounding body (sled) 64 of the guide section 6 (described below), helps prevent this problem. Furthermore, the sled 46 determines the height of the vine cutting device 2 from the ground surface; by contacting the ground, it maintains a constant height for the cutting device (rotary blade) 41. While the specific structure will not be described, the sled 46 in the embodiment is height-adjustable, allowing the height of the cutting section 4 relative to the ground to be changed. As a secondary effect, the sled 46 prevents mud, leaves, vines, etc. from entering the interior of the cutting section 4 from the bottom.

[Guide section]
The guide portion 6 is a member located at the frontmost position of the vine cutting device 2. Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the circled area B in Fig. 1 .
The lower bar 65 and the surface material 62 are fixed to the cutting section 4. The guide 61 lifts the vine and guides it to the cutting device (rotary blade) 41 at a predetermined height.
The guide 61 is composed of a tip cylindrical member 621 , a resin part 613 and a rear mounting member 622 .

Fig. 5 is an exploded view of the guide unit 6. Fig. 6 is an explanatory view of the height adjustment unit and the guide unit 6, in which Fig. 6(A) is an enlarged perspective view of the guide unit 6, and Fig. 6(B) is a perspective view of the guide unit 6 with the grounding body (sled) 64 removed.
As the tractor T moves forward, the vines are guided by sliding along the upper surface of the guide 61.
The tip 611 of the guide 61 is sharp. The guide 61 is supported by a metal face plate 62. As shown in Figure 5, the face plate 62 has a tip tubular member 621 that forms part of the guide 61. The rear of the face plate 62 is adapted to fix a rear mounting member 622 for mounting the resin part 613 of the guide 61.
The hatched areas in FIGS. 6A and 6B are the tip tubular member 621 and the rear mounting member 622.
The guide 61 has a tip tubular member 621 made of a metal material, which is harder than resin, at its tip 611. The tip 611 of the guide 61 is the part that requires the most durability because it is inserted into the ground, and by making it out of a metal material, the durability of the guide 61 can be increased.

(Resin part)
In general, a resin guide 61 is advantageous in that it is less expensive than a metal guide 61. Furthermore, a resin guide 61 has a smaller coefficient of friction than a metal guide 61, and has advantageous properties as a guide 61. However, a resin guide 61 is inferior to a metal guide in durability.
On the other hand, constructing the guide 61 entirely out of metal can result in undesirable problems, such as high frictional resistance and vines getting caught along the way. The frictional resistance of a metal guide 61 gradually increases due to rust and other factors. If a vine stops sliding along the guide 61, it may merge with the vines being fed later, forming a vine clump. The clumped vines begin to move toward the cutting device (rotary blade) 41 after a while, but if the clump becomes too large or becomes tangled, it may spread vertically and become caught on the protective frame 43 without being cut. Furthermore, if even a portion of the vine remains near the cutting device (rotary blade) 41, the vines being fed one after another will become tangled before reaching the cutting device (rotary blade) 41. Such incidents can accumulate and lead to problems, forcing the worker to stop work.
The resin portion 613 of the guide 61 of the embodiment reduces the coefficient of friction and prevents such trouble from occurring.

The guide 61 continues from the tip cylindrical member 621 and becomes a resin part 613 with a low coefficient of friction from the middle, so that the tendrils can be guided smoothly.
Various resins can be used, but polyolefin resins are particularly preferred because they are thermoplastic resins, offering good moldability and flexibility, making them less likely to chip even when subjected to strong impacts. In this embodiment, polyethylene resin is used. High-density polyethylene is robust due to its high molecular weight. On the other hand, low-density polyethylene is flexible. Polyethylene resins come in a variety of types, including low-density, medium-density, high-density, and linear low-density, allowing for selection of the desired type. Furthermore, the resin portion 613 can be made to have the desired characteristics by blending polyethylene resins of different types and molecular weights. Alternatively, it may be a polymer blend resin, such as ABS resin, which is a blend (mix) of three resins: acrylonitrile, butadiene, and styrene. Polybutadiene resin has properties intermediate between plastic and rubber, and adding it can add flexibility. Furthermore, copolymer resins may also be used.

(Tip cylindrical member)
A tip tubular member 621 that encases the resin portion 613 is welded to the tip of the face material 62. The resin portion 613 is attached by being inserted into the tip tubular member 621. The tip tubular member 621 has a sharp tip that is convenient for piercing the soil. The tip tubular member 621 is also the tip 611 of the guide 61, and is a component that constitutes part of the guide 61. Because the tip tubular member 621 comes into contact with the ground surface, it is made of a material that is harder than resin, such as metal. Therefore, the tip 611 of the guide 61 comes into strong contact with the ground surface without being damaged.

In this embodiment, the rear end 612 of the guide 61 is a metallic rear mounting member 622. The rear mounting member 622 encases the rearmost portion of the resin portion 613 and is fastened and fixed to the face material 62. In this embodiment, the rearmost portion of the resin portion 613 is fixed by the rear mounting member 622, but any suitable mounting method can be used, and this embodiment is merely one example.

The rear end 612 of the guide 61 is positioned close to the cutting device (rotary blade) 41, which is located at a predetermined height above the ground, with a small gap between it and the cutting device (rotary blade) 41. The guided vine is picked up by the tip 611 of the guide (guide rod) 61, travels up the inclined, low-friction resin guide (guide rod) 61, and is sent out from the rear end 612 toward the cutting device (rotary blade) 41. In addition, the rear end 612 (rear mounting member 622) of the guide (guide rod) 61 is chamfered to allow the vine to be smoothly handed over to the cutting device (rotary blade) 41.

(Surface material)
The face material 62 has a shape of a substantially right-angled triangle, and as described above, the guide 61 is attached to the hypotenuse of the face material 62 .
As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6B, a lower bar 65 is welded to the lower part of the face material 62, and the strength of the face material 62 is improved so that it does not deform.
The face plate 62 has a fastening hole 623 on the rear side and a shaft hole 624 on the front side.

(Adjusting the height of the guide tip)
As shown in FIG. 6A, the height adjusting plate 63 has a grounding body (sled) 64 below it, and the height adjusting plate 63 and the grounding body (sled) 64 are integrated by welding or the like.
A long hole 631 is provided on the rear side of the height adjustment plate 63. A shaft insertion hole 634 is also provided on the rear side of the height adjustment plate 63. The shaft insertion hole 634 is aligned with the shaft hole 624 of the face material 62, and a shaft 633 is inserted through the shaft insertion hole 634. The face material 62 and the height adjustment plate 63 can be rotated around the shaft 633.

The height adjustment plate 63 is supported by a ground contact body (sled) 64 and always maintains the same height position above the ground. The height adjustment plate 63 can be fastened by inserting a height adjustment bolt 635 through the elongated hole 631 and fastening hole 623 provided in the face material 62. The height adjustment plate 63 is fixed in a predetermined positional relationship with the face material 62, and the height of the tip 611 of the guide 61 can be adjusted using the ground contact body (sled) 64 as a reference.
As shown in Figure 5, the position of the shaft 633 is approximately halfway along the overall length of the guide part 6. The guide 61, which is fixed to the oblique side of the face plate 62, rotates around the shaft 633, and the position of the tip 611 of the guide 61 moves up and down. To ensure reliable picking up of vines, the height of the tip 611 is adjusted based on the ground contact body (sled) 64 so that the tip 611 is positioned below the ground surface during operation.

The present invention can be applied not only to pumpkins but also to vine crops in general, such as sweet potatoes, and it goes without saying that the height of the guide 61 is appropriate depending on the type of crop and field conditions. Depending on the type of crop, the tip 611 may be adjusted to be above the ground surface.

In this embodiment, a spacer 66 is sandwiched between the height adjustment plate 63 and the face plate 62. Because the lower bar 65 is wider than the face plate 62, the spacer 66 is attached so that the face plate 62 and the height adjustment plate 63 are parallel surfaces. The spacer 66 is not essential for adjusting the height of the tip 611 of the guide 61.

In the embodiment, the height adjustment plate 63 and the surface material 62 are connected by a shaft 633 and rotated relative to each other to change the height of the tip 611 of the guide 61. When the tip 611 is inserted deep into the ground, the angle at which the tip 611 of the guide 61 enters the ground also increases with the rotation.
As the angle of penetration into the ground increases, a load is placed on the guide 61. Therefore, a modification utilizing the fact that the resin portion 613 is swallowed into the tip tubular member 621 is possible. By lengthening or shortening the length of the resin portion 613 inserted into the tip tubular member 621, the tip portion 611 expands or contracts, and the height of the tip portion 611 can be changed. In this case, the penetration angle remains the angle of the hypotenuse of the face material 62, and the penetration angle does not change.

In this embodiment, the height of the tip 611 of the guide 61 is freely adjustable using a height adjustment plate 63 equipped with a grounding body (sled) 64. The grounding body 64 may be a wheel. The grounding body 64 serves as a height reference by contacting the ground, and there are no limitations on the structure of the grounding body 64 as long as it is a member that can be in contact with the ground.
Furthermore, the face material 62 and the height adjustment plate 63 are not essential for adjusting the height. An alternative method may be to use a support rod instead of the face material 62 and the height adjustment plate 63, and to attach a gauge wheel (grounding body) that can be adjusted in height to the support rod.
Furthermore, the lifting cylinder 12 of the attachment link 11 to the tractor T can be adjusted in height over a wide range. In this embodiment, the height adjustment described above is adopted as fine adjustment.

(Work equipment)
In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, two vine cutting devices 2 are mounted in front of a tractor T. It is also possible to attach the vine cutting devices 2 to an appropriate vehicle to use as a dedicated working machine for vine cutting.

(Combined with other work machines)
Pumpkin vines creep along the ground, stems grow upward from the vines, and leaves spread out at the tips of the stems, covering the ground. As pumpkins grow, their weight increases and they touch the ground. This makes pumpkins that are covered with overgrown vines and leaves difficult to find. Furthermore, just before harvest, the furrows are covered with overgrown vines and leaves. When workers drive tractor T, the fruits in the furrows are crushed by the tires, resulting in losses, and the vines can get caught on the tractor T and dragged along. The dragged vines can then become entangled with other vines, causing significant disruption to the tractor T's movement.
In order to ensure that the tractor T, which pulls the container to load the harvested pumpkins, can move smoothly, the pumpkins in the furrows and parts of the vines have to be removed in advance by hand.

Therefore, a possible combination of implements is to mount the vine cutter 2 of the embodiment on the front of the tractor T and a brush cutter equipped with a flail blade capable of high-cutting speed on the rear of the tractor T. With this combination of implements, the vine cutter 2 mounted on the front pre-cuts the vines to eliminate obstacles to travel, and the brush cutter mounted on the rear removes the stems and leaves covering the fruit. In one operation, the pumpkin fruits are pushed sideways from the furrows, and the leaves on the furrows are cut away to expose the fruit, dramatically improving the efficiency of subsequent harvesting work.
Pumpkin harvesting work is not yet mechanized and is often done manually, but the vine cutting device 2 of the embodiment can reduce the burden on the worker by assisting in the harvesting work.

Furthermore, because the vines are cut in advance by the vine cutting device 2 of the embodiment, the vines will not become entangled in the tractor T when it travels through the furrows for subsequent work, such as transporting a container. Pumpkin fruits in the furrows are moved outside the furrows (towards the ridges) by the plant cutting bodies 31, etc., so they will not be crushed by the wheels of the tractor T.

The above example of operation is just one example, and it goes without saying that the vine cutting device 2 of the present invention can be applied to all vine crops.

The specific configuration is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and design changes that do not deviate from the spirit of the present invention are also included in the present invention.

Furthermore, the various aspects described above can be combined by utilizing each other's technologies, as long as there are no particular contradictions or problems in their purpose, configuration, etc.

1 Connection part 11 Mounting link 12 Lifting cylinder 13 Horizontal machine frame 131 Left and right width adjustment part 2 Vine cutting device 3 Machine frame part 31 Grass body 4 Cutting part 41 Cutting device (rotary blade)
42 Drive device (motor)
43 Protective frame 431 Vine retaining frame 432 Safety frame 45 Side cover 46 Sled body 47 Connection part 6 Guide part 61 Guide 611 Front end part 612 Rear end part 613 Resin part 62 Face material 621 Front cylindrical member 622 Rear mounting member 623 Fastening hole 624 Shaft hole 63 Height adjustment plate 631 Elongated hole 634 Shaft insertion hole 633 Shaft 635 Adjustment bolt 64 Grounding body (sled)
65 Lower bar 66 Spacer T Tractor

Claims (7)

Equipped with guide and cutting device,
The guide is
The tip of the guide is made of a material harder than resin, and becomes a resin part halfway through,
The vine is guided from the ground surface to the cutting device at a predetermined height,
The cutting device is a vine cutting device provided downstream of the guide.
2. The vine cutting device according to claim 1, wherein the guide extends in the same direction as the direction of travel, and the resin constituting the resin portion is a polyolefin resin.
The guide has a tip end cylindrical member made of a metal material harder than resin, and the resin part is swallowed into the tip end cylindrical member, so that the resin part is formed from the middle.
2. The vine cutting device according to claim 1, wherein the cutting device is a rotary blade that rotates about a horizontal axis.
The rotary blade is driven by a motor,
5. The vine cutting device according to claim 4, wherein the motor is installed on the side of the rotary blade and is drivingly connected to the rotary blade.
2. The vine cutting device according to claim 1, wherein a grounding body is attached below said guide, and the height of the tip of said guide is freely adjustable with reference to said grounding body.
A work machine equipped with the vine cutting device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.