AU694095B2 - Variable span modular agricultural gantry - Google Patents

Description

P/00/01Il 28/W5i Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT 11 j :::lvetin ite: VARIABLE SPAN MODULAR AGRICULTURAL GANTRY 7 ~~Thefollowing statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:- 1* 1 *5 C

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,2 Background to the invention.

Most mechanised farmers presently use tractors, to which various attachment implements are connected to suit the particular field task required. For example, these can be for tillage, or seeding of crop, or spraying of crops, or harvesting of crops. These attachments are generally connected via a three point linkage mechanism provided on the rear of the tractor, or sometimes a similar linkage at the front of the tractor, or the implement has its own wheels and is towed via a drawbar on the tractor.

,,,il I t tDepending upon the size of the tractor, and the nature of the field task, these attachment implements may be of various operating widths, and have wheels in various positions.

Alternatively, a small number of farmers have used gantries, which are similar to tractors in generally having one wheel in each of their four corners, but which i: generally have a relatively higher ground clearance and the ability to carry alternative attachment implements underneath their main s*NrIjural frame.

A new farming system called "controlled traffic" requires specific lanes in farm fields to be retained in fixed locations, with all field wheel traffic being confined to those lanes of wheel compacted soil and on which crops are generally not planted. Crops are grown on the soil between the "controlled traffic" lanes, where the soil is not subjected to compaction by any wheel traffic in the field.

Traditional tractors with attached trailed implements are generally inconsistent with "controlled traffic", having tractor and various implement wheels at random spacings, and with the wheels of the generally separate crop harvester being at another spacing.

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3 A gantry configuration, where front and rear wheels run in alignment in the direction of travel, and where the attachment implements need no wheels of their own, can allow the adoption of Controlled Traffic farming especially if the crop harvesting function is also performed by a combine harvester attachment to the same gantry frame.

All known such gantries have consisted of a single structural span, of a width to suit the particular farming application intended for the machine, but with the :possibility of attachment implements being of widths of greater or lesser span than 9. :that of the Gantry.

The functionally feasible operating width of a single span gantry will vary with operations, but will often be limited to less than 10m by variations in soil surface profiles and the need for accurate control of attachment implement operating height.

Many farmers with large areas to manage require machines with operating widths considerably greater than 10m in order to be able to perform specific field operations within the time limits that are imposed by uncontrollable factors crop disease control dictated by weather, crop planting dates dictated by rainfall events, etc.

Many of the implements which farmers now use and which are trailed behind their tractors do provide relatively wide operating widths, and some of these are of a modular design which allows variation of their width by the use of more or less of those modules. Such machines are however not able to be manoeuvred within the headland space generally available in row-crop farming conditions. Because each of the various trailed machines which are used for the various field functions are separate machines, they are generally of various widths, dependent upon the nature of the function to be performed relatively narrow for primary tillage, wider for secondary tillage and seeding, and wider again for crop spraying functions.

HCS 25393.CAP LUdc Generally, none of these tractor drawn machines have wheel locations consistent with Controlled Traffic farming.

Gantries inherently provide a number of advantages over the tractor and trailed implement alternative. Controlled traffic operation is facilitated. The undercarriage functional elements which are the equivalent of the alternative trailed implements are of lower cost, eliminating the need for the separate and duplicated supporting wheels, hydraulic depth control systems, and drawbars, rpresently a part of each trailed machine. These items are generally not required on implements which are mounted on the Three Point Linkage which is fitted to I 10 most smaller tractors, but such implements are limited by considerations of stability to operating widths of generally less than 1 Om.

Si:; The functional elements carried under gantry modules for field operation are simply exchanged for various operations by the Gantry being driven end-wise, in its transport mode. Elements to be detached are left sitting on the ground as the machine drives over and off them. New elements to be connected are similarly engaged by the machine driving over and onto them, with an engagement cprovision similar to a monorail railway system being employed to make that engagement.

Modular agricultural gantries have been proposed to provide a design which allows for matching of the total width of the machine to the productivity requirements of a farm by the utilisation of varying number of module units.

Where such a machine is able to operate in-field in its normal forward field travel direction it can provide the benefits of "controlled traffic" farming, and the productivity of a wide machine, by using multiple modules, as well as the capital cost saving which is provided by each set of functional elements being less expensive than their current equivalents, as described above.

FASP CS125393.CAP L''iT O T 0 To provide the flexibility in total functional width that current railed implements provide, such a machine needs to use more or less modules to match the total functional width with the requirements of each particular field task.

The additional cost of each of these modules, which would generally not be required for other reasons like total power available (for example for a crop spraying operation), detracts from the capital cost attraction of the modular agricultural gantry concept.

t' I Some large area farmers grow irrigated crops (cotton for example) in a "row-crop' fashion and where the space available for the manoeuvring of 4 10 machines at headlands at the ends of crop rows is limited, and which precludes the use of wide trailed machines.

at In one aspect the present invention consists in a variable span modular a a I agricultural gantry comprising at least two modules connected to each other by an extensible beam, each module having at least one wheel driven by an 15 independent drive means, and all said wheels on said modules each being steerable about respective pivot axes by respective independent steering means, and wherein all said independent drive means and said independent steering means are controlled by an electronic management system to provide variation of the span of said extensible beam.

A modular agricultural gantry designed to be consistent with controlled Traffic farming would normally have multiple wheels (preferably two per module), and multiple driving wheels (either one or two per module). The drive to these wheels could be by means of a hydrostatic transmission, or by provision of a separate and self contained power unit (engine and transmission) mounted at each driven wheel.

The relative complexity created by a the multiple wheels to be steered, and the field work and the road transport operating directions (at 90' to each other), suggests that an electronic management system would be employed to control a hydraulic system which steers each wheel, in response to the master steering input of the machine operator.

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4 t Cc 15 Similarly, the multiple wheel drives would employ an electronic management system to control each hydrostatic drive element (or individual engine and transmission gear selection) in response to the operating speed requirement instruction of the operator.

Some of the large trailed implements now used by farmers are designed to be towed end-wise, to provide a reduced implement width for the transport operation. Such machines normally have multiple wheels, and some of these will be locked in the end-wise direction of travel to provide trailing stability in transport, and others are provided with means to allow them to castor to facilitate turning of the machine in transport.

c c i £t 441 C I Such trailed machines remain in a rigid rectangular conflguration, with all of their modules or elements being in alignment, whether the machine is working in the field or when it is being transported end-wise. In transport this rigid rectangular configuration, irrespective of which wheels are locked and which are castoring, substantially increases the effective width of the machine when it is turning corners. A machine which has a straight line transport width of 5m might require a clearance of 10m between obstructions if these are located where a corner must be negotiated. This consideration can force large-scale farmers to use machines of an operating width less than might otherwise be optimal for their field operations, and hence restrict their productivity.

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7 Such rigid machines also provide limitations on the operation of large machines in fields where obstructions occur (for example trees, power line poles, contour banks). Where the clearance between the obstructions is less than the operating width of the machine, some ground between those obstructions cannot be worked by the machine.

Similarly, where irregular shaped areas occur at the completion of working a field, these are commonly of a size and shape which do not match the operating width of the machine employed, and some of the ground must i i remain un-worked, or alternatively some adjoining ground must be worked twice.

It 4 i':ig The invention will be more fully understood in the light of the following descrptipon. The descripnvention is made with reference onto the accompanying 4* Stillage invoperation will be more fully understood inwith the "controlled traffic" farming meof the followd being employed; Figure 2 is a schematic view looking at the front of a modular agricultural gantry, equipped for a tillage operation in a field, and configured such that the pairs of wheels on each module operate consecutively on respective "controlled traffic" tracks; Figure 3 is a schematic end view of a modular agricultural gantry, equipped for a tillage operation, with wheel alignments to suit field operations;

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EF ^4J\SPECSV25393.CAP 0 0_ *i t p ft t ft I 8 Figure 4 is a schematic end view of a modular agricultural gantry, equipped for a tillage operation, with wheel steering alignments to suit end-wise transport movements; Figure 5 is a schematic plan view representation of a three span variable span modular agricultural gantry, operating at a headland traverse where a reversal of the undercarriage functional Elements is required during that traverse; Figure 6 is a schematic plan view representation of a three span Variable Span Modular Agricultural Gantry, entering a headland in transport mode.

Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, a modular agricultural gantry is illustrated, with each module having two wheels 1, with modules connected by an extensible beam 2, with each module having hydraulic cylinders 3 to control the height of the extensible beam and undercarriage elements (tools) 4, with each front wheel having a separate power unit 5, and all wheels operating on 15 Controlled Traffic tracks 6, and all wheels vertical steering pivots 7, and an operator's control cabin 8.

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9t ft ft) a ft I( ft The module spans of a variable span modular agricultural gantry are normally maintained by the extensible structural beam 2, which is the sole structural connection between consecutive modules. In this embodiment the beam is preferably of a telescopic design, with its collapsed length corresponding with the minimum module span at which the machine is to be operated. To allow module spans to be increased to a new fixed setting, operator controlled latches on extensible beam 2 are released, and the steering of the wheels of the machine are aligned in the transport direction, and the wheel power units of each module are controlled to drive the PA 4 modules to the required new spans, where alternative predetermined latch FiSPECS25393.CAP SNTc, 9 positions may be engaged. Where this machine expansion is being effected to suit the use of alternative undercarriage functional elements (for exanple for crop spraying), the new module spans will normally be a whole number multiple of the basic module span setting, to maintain wheel correspondence with Controlled Traffic tracks 6 during field operations.

Specific programming of the electronic management system which controls the multiple wheel steering and nmultiple power units of a variable span modular agricultural gantry is provided to logically sequence this span If *..expansion of consecutive modules.

10 The expanded variable span modular agricultural gantry then drives endwise over the functional elements which are to be employed for the required operation. These elements themselves may be of a length which is fixed to match that new chosen span, or they too may incorporate extensibility to r r allow the whole machine to expand and contract its width while the Elements are fitted, and/or while functioning in the field.

Some undercarriage functional elements will have fixed and predetermined operating spans, for example cotton picking heads used in row-crop conditions, where the picking head spans will be nominally fixed to match the cotton crop row spacing. This row spacing will also determine the spacing between adjacent heads on adjoining modules of a modular agricultural gantry. Each module may carry six picking heads at a row spacing of Im, with a three module machine then carrying a total of 18 heads.

Such a machine has a total operating width of about 18m and the headland S 25 provision attheendofthecroprows may beperhaps 1Om wide. The gantry configuration machine is able to mo;e across the headland to the next block S! S125393.CA LI: k of 18 rows by driving end-wise in the same manner as it is normally road transported (wheels as shown in Figure 4).

To enable the machine to operate in the reverse direction after crossing the headland, the functional elements (in this example the cotton picking heads) must be reversed by 180 degrees to be again facing the (then reversed) direction of machine working travel. The clearance between the sets of pickers on adjacent modules will be insufficient to allow this rotation to take place. It is a purpose of this invention to temporarily expand the span of each module during the traverse, to provide the clearance between modules 10 which is necessary to allow the reversal of undercarriage functional i: elements.

1 4 The variable span modular agricultural gantry programs the management system which controls its existing multiple wheel steering and power units, in conjunction with the extensibility of the telescopic beam between modules C t to, in this case, temporarily drive module spans out to a wide span during the headland traverse movement. The programmed sequence which is implemented by the electronic management system in this example of the purpose of the invention is illustrated in the following.

Figure 5 is a schematic representation of a three module variable span modular agricultural gantry, with the undercarriage elements 4 of each module being labelled respectively X, Y and Z. In the position designated as A, the machine is just completing oper iting in the direction as indicated by the arrows on each module undercarriage element 4 in representation A (and by the arrow in the box which represents the machine operator's control cabin 8).

In position B, the machine has entered the headland traverse space, and the 1]1 two wheels on the leading module have turned through 90 degrees to the required headland traverse orientation. These drive wheels alone are then engaged to drive across the headland, with a consequent increase of the span of the leading module carrying element X. This travel is allowed by disengagement of the latching on the extensible structural beam 2 connection between modules. This span increase provides the necessary clearance for the reversal (preferably by rotation about a vertical axis) of the module X element, as indicated by the arrow for that module in position B.

In the preferred embodiment, this sequence is then repeated for modules V:4, 10 carrying Elements Y and Z as the machine continues its traverse across the headland to its next operating alignment. The programmed control of the :'wheel steering and wheel power units then implements the reverse of the above procedure to reinstate each module to its normal operating span as the machine reaches its new operating alignrment. This condition is indicated by position C in the Figure 5 (where all undercarriage elements SIt have been reversed, as have all of the wheels of the machine such that forward direction drive provisions remain available to the current forwards operating direction), and the machine has begun reverse direction operation.

C 4 The operator's control cabin has also been reversed in the same two stages 20 to also remain coincident with the directions of machine travel.

A further example of the purpose and function of the invention follows.

Figure 6 is a plan schematic representation of a five module variable span modular agricultural gantry, which is shown entering a narrow headland via a crossing over an irrigation channel. The geometry of the machine, in S 25 conjunction with the restricted space available, requires that the modules of the machine be able to articulate with respect to each other, such that the Ssuccessive pairs of wheels (on each successive module) can correctly track those preceding them with the operator having correctly steered the wheels I n the front (master) module on which his operator cabin ij mounted.

/2i I:SPECS125393.CAP 12 In the same way as clearance space between modules was required to allow reversal of elements as described above, clearance space (between adjoining elements) is required in this situation to allow the required articulation between consecutive modules.

A variable span modular agricultural gantry meets the requirement for this variation in module span by again using appropriate programming of the management system which controls its multiple wheel steering and wheel 6 power units, to drive module spans out to the necessary wide span as I t,,I respect!ve articulation movements are required. The electronic 4 10 management system in the preferred embodiment calculates this 4,f tI ttttfttrequirement from knowledge of the travel of the master module, and feedback of subsequent wheel rotations on trailing modules, and from preprogrammed information designating the physical size of the particular 44 undercarriage Elements fitted under each machine module at the time.

44 15 A further example of the purpose and function of the invention follows.

Where a variable span modular agricultural gantry encounters field obstructions which are spaced more closely than the normal operating width of the machine, the management system will similarly control the steering of all of the wheels of the machine to cause it to drive itself (while still S 20 operating) to the narrower span required. Or, if the obstructions are slightly wider than the normal total operating width, to drive the machine out to the wider width that will complete the task between those obstructions. Or, where irregular shaped areas remain at the conclusion -f a field, to match the operating width of the machine mor closely to that remaining shape.

In each of these cases, in the preferred embodiment, the programming of the management system will coordinae the steering orientation of all of the wheels of the machine, and the wheel power units determining the speed of CRA S25393.CAP FV1 PES239.

13 rotation of each driven wheel, such that all modules are driven equally and progressively by their wheel power units to the required wider or narrower span. During the procedure of effecting this change of machine operating span the management system will also maintain the operator instructed forward operating cpeed of the machine in the performance of its current field function.

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Claims (5)

1. A variable span modular agricultural gantry comprising at least two modules connected to each other by an extensible beam, each module having at least one wheel driven by an independent drive means, and all said wheels on said modules each being steerable about respective pivot axes by respective independent steering means, and wherein all said independent drive means and said independent steering means are controlled by an electronic management system to provide variation of the span of said extensible beam.

2. A variable span modular gantry as claimed in claim 1, wherein independent 10 drive means are provided to all wheels on all said modules. see t

3. A variable span modular gantry as claimed in claim 1, wherein said gantry includes a plurality of reversible tools carried by said modules to allow operation of the gantry in any direction.

4. The variable span modular agricultural gantry as claimed in claim 3, wherein when said gantry is used in an end-wise transport mode, said electronic management system is adapted to control the span of said beam to provide functional clearance between respective reversible tools carried by said modules, as the wheels of respective modules are controlled to track in alignment with those of a leading module as the gantry travels around corners.

5. The variable span modular agricultural gantry as herein described and with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this eighteenth day of May 1998 JOHN BADEN THOMAS By his patent attorneys PSPECS125393.CAP o 46 O~lu CARTER SMITH BEADLE r