AU603831B2 - Module carrying vehicle - Google Patents

Description

amn~nim1ts r. (QOM$VONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA ritn Patents Act 1952 prntn C 0 M P L E T E S PE C IF IC A TION

COMPLETE

(Original) Class Int. Class.

Application Number Lodged Complete Specification Lodged Accepted Published 24-9-87 24-9-87 Priority Related Art 44-4 -Al; :r.Am-AAF 'C Uzmi1-.Ne 26641()-.

Name of Applicant Address of Applicant Actual Inventor Address for Service Ludwig George Mueller Euroliebah-Farni, Narrandera, New South Wales 2700 As Applicant.

H.J.Rantzen Co., Patent Attorneys, of John Street, Woollahra, New South Wales 2025.

'Complete specification for the invention entitled: MODULE CARRYING VEHICLE Following statement is a full description of this Invention Including the best method of performing it known to me .7/ 94% YLLl__il~-- -C 1- THIS INVENTION relates to a vehicle and is more specifically concerned with one serving as a tool carrier for elongated modules carrying implements used for various purposes in crop cultivation. The modules may, for example, carry implements for preparing the ground, seeding the ground, or spraying the surface of the ground with an insecticide or a selective weed-killer.

Conventionally, farm implements are towed behind a tractor. If the implement has to be supervised, either the tractor driver has to sit half-turned in his seat to keep an eye on the towed implement as well as on the direction he is going. Alternatively, the implement can be separately manned but this increases the cost. As the cost of production reflects the time and labour involved, various suggestions have been made for reducing both and some of them are given below.

The laboui charge has been reduced in some cases by mounting the implement in front of the tractor so that the driver can supervise it more easily. Unfortunately it is not practical to push some implements because of the effect it has on the steering of the tractor when turning, as is necessary at the end of each pass of the implement across a field. It has been suggested that this problem can be overcome by using a specially designed tractor having an attachment beneath its body which allows an implement to be mounted beneath the tractor between its front and rear wheels. This overcomes the steering problem but involves a purpose-built tractor having a high ground clearance for accommodating the Implement. Also the module providing the implement has to be loaded onto the tractor from beneath and one side. This is effected by specially designed loading trolleys which enable the module to be rolled under the body of the tractor. Such I a procedure Is both time-consuming, costly and awkward if the loading Sof the Implement is to be carried out on soft ground.

The time taken to perform a succession of cultivation operations on a field can be reduced by using more than one implement carried at the same time behind, beneath and in front of the tractor which then has to make one pass only over the field whereas previously three passes were required. Not only is a single pass quicker, but there is less compaction of the ground beneath the wheels of the tractor. However, a more powerful and therefore larger tractor than would otherwise be necessary has now to be used, and a larger tractor means a heavier one and more ground compaction in consequenrce.

Also, a tractor is usually required on a farm to perform a wide range of different operations, and the cost of purchasing and running a powerful tractor often cannot be justified.

An object of this invention is to provide a vehicle which reduces oo :4 or avoids many of the problems referred to above.

4 In accordance with the present invention there is provided a vehicle constructed as a carrier of elongated module-irr.plement-modules used in crop cultivation, the vehicle having a horizontally-extending carrier member spaced sufficiently above ground level to enable I Vc a module to be carried crosswise beneath it, spaced ground wheels ,20 supporting one end of the carrier member, pivotal first means turnable about a vertical axis and supporting the other end of the carrier ,c member in a way which allows the vehicle to turn horizontally about the axis through an angle of at least 90° between a module loading position and a module-carrying position, attachments for lifting and r 25 supporting a module horizontally beneath the carrier member with Sopposite ends of the module jutting out from beneath opposite sides of the carrier member, and second means permitting the spaced ground wheels to turn horizontally from the module-carrying position, at which their axes of rotation are collinear, to the module-loading position at which the spaced wheels lie in, or substantially In the same vertical plane and their axes are parallel.

The advantage of a vehicle constructed in accordance with the invention, is that it can be easily loaded with a module as its wheels allow it to be rolled horizontally perpendicularly to the carrier member which enables the carrier member to be brought easily over the centre of the module it is required to carry. The module can then be lifted vertically into its carried position beneath the member.

The vchicle can then be driven in the direction of the carrier member for operating the module mounted beneath it.

The vehicle preferably is adaptable for use in a towed configuration, in which case the first means may be a rotatable sleeve mounted on a vertical traction post at the rear of a tractor. Alternatively the vehicle may be self-driven and provided with one or more driven 0 0 ground wheels or a track, which also serve to steer the vehicle.

00 0 o0 o C o To enhance the versatility of the vehicle it is convenient to design f50 c the carrier so that it is extendible. Also, the spacing between the 0 6 O spaced ground wheels can be made adjustable to suit the ground 0 o lc over which the vehicle is to pass. More than one set of attachments may be provided beneath the carrier member so that more than one module can be c~pried oeneath it in a tandem configuration.

If the spaced ground wheels are provided at opposite ends of a cross-bar, 0 this is suitably adjustably positionable along the length of the carrier member to provide it with a desired length of wheel base.

The Invention will now be described in more detail, by way of examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- FIGURE 1 is a side view of a towed vehicle in its operating configuration; FIGURE 2 Is a side view of the vehicle of figure 1 in a module-loading conf!guration; FIGURE 3 is a side view of the vehicle in a self-driven mode, using a tracked drive and in a short wheelbase configuration; FIGURE 4 corresponds to figure 3 but shows the vehicle in a long wheelbase configuration; FIGURE 5 shows the vehicle of figure 4 in its module loading position; FIGURE 6 shows the vehicle of figure 5 in one of its operating modes; and, FIGURE 7 is a rear view of the vehicle in a further mode in which it is driven and steered by collinear, horizontally-turnable 00oooo ground wheels at its rear end.

00 0 o e 2 fitted with an upright cylindrical towing post over which is fitted 0o ,a sleeve 3 provided at the forward end of a vehicle 4.

The vehicle 4 has a frame 5 supported at its forward end by the C, mounting of the sleeve 3 on the draw bar 2, and at its rear end Sby a wheel sub-assembly 6 on which are mounted a pair of ground wheels 7. The centre portion of the frame 5 is provided by two C horizontal beams 9 beneath which are located three sets of attachments 8 for lifting and supporting respective modules (not shown) which are carried by respective rectangular support frames 10. The attachments 00 oo provide three-point supports for the frames 10. The attachments o C are movable to different positions lengthwise of the beams 5 to required operating positions. Tho wheel assembly 6 is also movable along the beams 5 and carries two of the attachments 8.

Figure I shows the vehicle 4 in its towed configuration when the wheels 7 are axially collinear. However, as shown in figure 2, the S wheels 7 can be turned horizontally about respective vertical shafts 11 so that they lie In, or substantially In, the same plane. The vertical pivot provided by the mounting of the sleeve 3 on the towving post allows the vehicle to be turned horizontally with respect to the tractor through 90 to the position shown in figure 2. If the tractor is now driven forwards, the vehicle rolls forwards at right angles to the beams 5 so that the attachments 8 can be brought over the centres of the modules which can then be lifted bodily upwards to their operating positions beneath the carrier member Once the modules have been lifted into their operating positions, the vehicle can be rolled back to its position behind the tractor and the wheels 7 returned to their operating positions shown in figure 1.

000 B 0 2 Figures 3 and 4 show the vehicle in its self-driven configuration.

iS The sleeve 3 is now behind a unit 20 mounted beneath the beams o 0 t o 9 and having a pair of driven ground wheels around which a drive-track a 23 runs and wvhich is steerable. The track Increases the ground adhesion of the vehicle and reduces the ground pressure so that soil compaction is reduced. The wheels 22 are driven by a drive mounted inside the unit 20. A steering wheel 26 In the cab 25 enables the wheels 22 a Ca to be turned to manouevre the vehicle.

C r The vehicle is shown in its short wheel-base configuration in figure 3 and the unused end-sections of the beams 5 protrude from the front of the wheel assembly 6. The positions of twvo of the module carrying !rames 10 usable in this configuration of the vehicle are apparent.

Figure 4 shows the vehicle of figure 3 ith its parts in yet another configuration. Here the cab 25 Is mounted on the carrier member Immediately above the unit 20, and a storage bin 24 Is mounted at the other end of the member 5 to distribute the weight of the vehicle b.-tter. The drive inside the unit 20 is conveniently an enginedriven oil pump driving swash-plate motors on the wheels. Flexible

I

hydraulic connections (not shown) allow hydraulic fluid under pressure to be fed to any required position along the parallel beams 9 forming the carrier member Figure 5 shows how the vehicle of figures 3 and 4 can be used to pick-up and lower the module carrier frames easily. The steerable drive track beneath the unit 20 is turned about its vertical steering axis through 90°, and the two spaced ground wheels 7 are turned about their vertical pivot positions so that they lie in, or substantially in the same plane. The vehicle can then be driven at right angles to the carrier member 5 to bring the attachments 8 over the centres of the module frames which lie beside one another on the ground beneath. As is apparent from figure 5, the beams 9 forming the carrier member have holes distributed along their lengths which allow the various items whose positions are adjustable along the beams o to be held in place by bolting them to the beams in their chosen 0 O I positions.

o 4o o ot 0' a Figure 6 shows the vehicle of figures 3, 4 and 5 in an operating o configuration In which the driver sits in the cab 25 in the front 4 4 of the vehicle and the storage bin 24 is mounted above the unit As illustrated, the vehicle is carrying three tool or implement modules: a disc harrow 30 in front of the wheel assembly 6, a rake s assembly 31 behind the wheel assembly, and a module support frame I10 ahead of the unit Figures 7 and 8 show a configuration in which the driven wheels comprise a pair of wheels 40 mounted at opposite ends of a floating axle 41 and each driven by its own swash-plate motor. Hydraulic connections to the motors are not shown. However they extend to an oil-compressor drive inside the unit The spaced wheel support assembly 6 includes a cross-bar 45 which is telescopically retractible, as shown at 46, to vary the spacing between the wheels 7. Hydraulic actuators 48 enable the extent of retraction to be varied to suit the spacing between crop rows over which the vehicle Is passing.

Claims (5)

1. A vehicle constructed as a carrier of elongated implement-modules used in crop cultivation, the vehicle having a horizontally extending carrier memb:r spaced sufficiently above ground level to enable a module to be carried crosswise beneath it, spaced ground wheels supporting one end of the carrier member, pivotal first means turnable about a vertical axis and supporting the other end of the carrier member in a way which allows the vehicle to turn horizontally about the axis through an angle of at least 90° between a module-loading position and a module-carrying position, attachments for lifting and supporting a module horizontally beneath the carrier member with opposite ends of the module jutting out from beneath opposite sides of the carrier member, and second means permitting the spaced ground wheels to turn horizontally from the module-carrying position at which their axes are collinear, to the module-loading position j at which the spaced wheels lie in, or. substantially in the same vertical plane and their axes are parallel. o 0 0 ,0 2. A vehicle as claimed in claim 1, in which the carrier member SoS is constructed as an extendible elongated frame. 00

3. A vehicle as claimed in claim I or claim 2, in which the spaced o, ground wheels are mounted at opposite end-portions of a crossbar extending horizontally across the carrier member. 4 s

4. A vehicle as claimed in claim 3, in which third means are t4 provided for adjusting the positions of the ground wheels beneath the cross-bar so that the spacing between them can be varied. A vehicle as claimed in claim 2, claim 3 or claim 4, in which Sfourth means are provided for moving the cross-bar lengthwise of the carrier member.

6. A vehicle as claimed In any one of the preceding claims, including fifth means for moving the points of attachment of a module lengthwise of the carrier member. 1111111 0 11111 A vhirlp cl nlamed. in any one of the,-pr-cedlng rnims, ,in which the second means includes a ground traction N el or track, driven by a drive unit mounted on the vehicle, a turnable horizontally about the first means to steer the vehicle.

8. A vehicle as claimed claim 7, including a driving cab movable to different positi along the carrier member and connected by flexible hy lic connections to power steering motors associated -wir th v driven grnind rmtrction. whpiel or track. -7 A vehicle as claimed in claim 1, arranged and adapted to operate substantially as described with reference to any one of the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. Dated this 24th. Day of September 1987. 00 4 e LUDWIG GEORGE MUELLER o t 0 00 oi I 0 °0o Applicant's Patent Attorney. 0 a lt 0 00 SIi V t-l