FR2788404A1 - Electrically-powered vehicle for moving along rows of vine plants has tubular chassis with wheels on either side of row joined by horizontal beam which allows width to be adjusted - Google Patents

Abstract

Vehicle has tubular chassis (10) with two vertical portions (11, 12) joined by horizontal beam (13) allowing width of vehicle to be adjusted. Vertical portions are mounted on wheels which move along on either side of row of plants. Portion of chassis carries rear wheel (2), motorized front wheel (3) and platform (14) with seat (15) for driver (O). Steering device (4) is connected to front wheel.

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle facilitating movement

  of a person in cultures arranged in

rows, such as the vine.

  Certain crops arranged in rows, mainly the vine, require many and varied interventions throughout the year, some of which can only be carried out

  manually, such as tying, pruning and shearing.

  These interventions are often carried out over the entire height of the vegetation, so that the operator must alternately stand or lean forward, or even squatting, this

which in the long run is tedious.

  To overcome this drawback, a trolley device has been proposed comprising a lowered seat adapted on a chassis carried by two wheels in line. The operator sits facing the vegetation and moves the carriage parallel to the said

  vegetation by leaning on the ground and pushing laterally.

  If this trolley device constitutes progress, it nevertheless has drawbacks, in particular as regards steering on the one hand since it is necessary to constantly put the carriage back in the axis, and on the other hand the inconvenience of

carry out a lateral push.

  Document FR 2,627,145 also discloses a self-propelled vehicle having a platform equipped with a seat allowing the operator to sit down and have access to the vegetation, while said vehicle advances along this last at a predetermined slow speed. This vehicle according to its embodiment, can roll in a vineyard road between two rows of crops, or in two roads by spanning a row of crops like a straddle tractor, in the latter case, the vehicle has two flat -forms allowing two

  operators to process three rows of crops simultaneously.

  This vehicle, whatever its embodiment, has the disadvantage of being relatively large in size, in particular when it comes to transporting it to the workplace. Indeed, it is not allowed to drive on the public highway, so it must necessarily be transported on the platform of a truck-type vehicle and be unloaded from it, then

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  loaded at the end of work, operations which are difficult

  be performed by a single person.

  The simplest version of this vehicle, that is to say the one intended to pass in a single road, has the same drawback although it is of less bulk. This vehicle also has the disadvantage of approximate guidance. Indeed, the guidance is carried out against the two rows of crops which border the road, or all the roads are not of the same width which requires, if that is

  possible, an adaptation for each road width.

  Document FR 2 686 767 also discloses a self-propelled cart having a platform provided with a seat and knee rests. The truck is fitted with one or two drive wheels at the rear and a steerable wheel at the front. It advances at low speed in a road between two rows of crops, which serve as support for a guide means connected to the steering wheel, which has the same drawback as

the one mentioned above.

  On the other hand, this trolley also has the disadvantage, in smaller proportions, however, of a large size requiring the use of a transport vehicle.

comprising a tray.

  The object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle

  to overcome these various drawbacks.

  The vehicle object of the present invention is of the straddle type, it comprises for this purpose a chassis comprising two parts mounted on wheels each intended to roll on either side of a row of cultivation, and it is essentially characterized in that said parts are articulated to each other around a vertical axis allowing the folding of one over the other, and in that one of said parts comprises on the one hand a rear wheel and a front wheel steerable, the rear wheel at least being driving, and between which is placed a platform allowing a person to sit or kneel, and on the other hand a guide means on a row of

  crop connected to said front steering wheel.

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  According to an additional characteristic of the device according to the invention, the platform is pivotally mounted on the part of the chassis which carries it so that it can be folded against said part. According to another additional characteristic of the device according to the invention, the drive of a wheel is ensured by an electric motor carried by the part of the chassis comprising said wheel and powered by a battery carried by the other

  part of the chassis that spans the crop row.

  According to another additional characteristic of the device according to the invention, the front steering wheel is permanently resiliently recalled in the direction of the reference crop row, while the guide means consists of a movable means in approaching or moving away from the vehicle , able to bear on said row of crops and to act by its displacement on the pivoting of said front steering wheel, while a determined position of said movable means relative to said vehicle coincides with an alignment of said

front wheel and rear wheel.

  According to a first embodiment of the vehicle according to the invention, the mobile means consists of a lever extending laterally at the base of said vehicle, and radially integral with a toothed wheel which meshes with a second toothed wheel

  integral with the pivoting shaft of the front wheel.

  According to a second embodiment of the vehicle according to the invention, the mobile means comprises a horizontal bar positioned longitudinally and laterally to said vehicle, pivotally mounted relative to the latter by means of bars which are perpendicular to it, one of which is connected to one

  connecting rod integral with the pivot shaft of the front wheel.

  The advantages and characteristics of the device according to

  the invention will emerge more clearly from the description which

  follows and which relates to the attached drawing, which represents

  several nonlimiting embodiments.

  In the accompanying drawing: - Figure 1 shows a front view of a vehicle according to

  the invention in its configuration of use.

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  - Figure 2 shows a side view of the same vehicle

in the same configuration.

  - Figure 3 shows a top view of the same vehicle

in the same configuration.

  - Figure 4 shows a top view of the same vehicle

in its transport configuration.

  - Figure 5 shows a front view of the same vehicle

in the same configuration.

  - Figure 6 shows a top view of part of the

  same vehicle according to a first embodiment.

  - Figure 7 shows a top view of the same part

  of the same vehicle according to a second embodiment.

  - Figure 8 shows a front view of the same part of the

same vehicle.

  Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 3, we can see a vehicle 1 according to the invention in its working configuration in a row crop such as a vine. The vehicle 1 is of the straddle type, that is to say which moves in two routes R in

spanning a row of culture.

  For the sake of simplification, the row of crops spanned will be identified by RE, while the other row of crops bordering route R will be identified by RR for reference rank for

  reasons which will be explained below.

  The vehicle 1 comprises a tubular chassis 10 having two parts 11 and 12 each rolling in a road R and connected by a transverse beam 13 which passes over the row of

culture spanned RE.

  The part 11 of the chassis 10 comprises two aligned wheels, namely a rear wheel 2 and a front steering wheel 3, as well as a platform 14 provided with a seat 15 and a knee rest 16 allowing an operator O to stand either seated or

  knees facing the row of culture spanned RE.

  The part 12 of the chassis 10 comprises a wheel 17 disposed opposite the rear wheel 2, above which is placed a battery B intended to power an electric motor, not shown, placed on the part 11 of the chassis 10 and allowing

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  to rotate the rear wheel 2, and possibly a

  second motor for driving the front wheel in rotation 3.

  The arrangement of the battery B above the straddle wheel 17 constitutes a counterweight which improves the stability of the assembly. The motor is equipped on the one hand with a variator and a potentiometer making it possible to vary the speed, for example from 0.49 to 4.9 km / h according to the needs of the operator O, and on the other hand

  starts with two forward and reverse contacts.

  Battery B is also intended for powering tools such as a pruner or pruner, and also

  a lighting system when necessary.

  It will be noted that the vehicle i according to the invention can also be equipped with a transparent shelter A, shown in broken lines, passing above the transverse beam 13 and externally to the parts 11 and 12, and possibly on the rear side, in order to protect operator O from rain and wind. If we now refer to Figures 4 and 5, we can see that in its transport configuration the vehicle i according to the invention can be folded. The platform 14 can pivot on the part 11 by means of a pivot 18, while the transverse beam 13 pivots on the part 11 so as to be placed substantially parallel thereto, and the wheel 17 can

  also swivel to stand parallel to the front wheel 3.

  For example, a vehicle according to the invention can have the following characteristics: weight: 75 kg length: 1.80 m height: 1.65 m width: overall 1.50 m width folded 0.45 m Such a vehicle can be transported in a small transport vehicle, a van for example, or else fixed to the trailer hitch of a car by means of a known type of device. In addition, it can

  be easily implemented by a single person.

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  In FIGS. 1 to 5, it can also be seen that the vehicle 1 comprises a guiding device 4 according to a first mode of

  embodiment, the detail of which is shown in FIG. 6.

  In this FIG. 6, it can be seen that the front wheel 3 is mounted on a shaft 30 allowing it to pivot on the part 11 of the chassis 10 about a vertical axis. On the shaft 30 is locked in rotation a toothed wheel 40 on which meshes a toothed wheel 41 pivotally mounted on the part 11 of the frame 10 and to which is secured a lever 42 which extends laterally and

  externally to chassis 10 in the direction of row of crops RR.

  It will be understood that, as shown in FIG. 3, the movement of the lever 42 in approach to the chassis 10 results in the pivoting of the front wheel 3 in the direction of the row

  of culture spanned RE, and vice versa.

  Note that the lever 42 has a curved shape so that its end portion 43 is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle 1 when the front wheel 3 is in

rear wheel alignment 2.

  On the other hand, the front wheel 3 is recalled elastically, by means not shown, in the direction of the row of crops RR, so that without external intervention, and in the configuration as shown, the vehicle 1 tends to turn constantly

to the right.

  The elastic return means can consist of a spring

  connecting the shaft 30 and the part 11 of the chassis 10.

  In operation, the vehicle 1 due to the orientation of

  its front wheel 3 tends to approach the row of crops RR.

  When the lever 42 comes into contact with the row of crops RR, it approaches the chassis 10 and acts on the front wheel 3 until

  that it comes in line with the rear wheel 2.

  Thus, despite the unevenness of the ground, the vehicle 1 according to the invention advances in a straight line substantially at the same distance from the row of reference crops RR, and therefore always at

  the same distance from the crop row spanned RE.

  If we now refer to Figures 7 and 8, we can see that the vehicle i according to the invention is equipped with a

  guide 5 of different construction.

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  This guide system comprises a bar 50 folded substantially in a U so as to comprise a straight intermediate part 51 and two parallel end parts 52. The bar 50 is pivotally mounted on the part 11 of the chassis 10 by its end parts 52 along a horizontal axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle 1, and so that its intermediate part 50 extends laterally and externally at

  chassis 10 in the direction of the crop row RR, not shown.

  The end portion 52 of the bar 50 close to the front wheel 3 is connected by means of a connecting rod 53 to a connecting rod 54

  wedged on the shaft 30 of the front wheel 3.

  The guide device 5 operates on the same principle as the guide device 4, that is to say that the front wheel 3 is biased elastically in the direction of the reference crop row RR, and that the displacement of the bar 40 by means of its intermediate part 41 which comes into contact with the row of crops RR, causes the wheel to return

  front 3 in line with the rear wheel 2.

  It will be noted that the guiding devices 4 and 5 can very well be adapted to use as the reference culture row the culture row to be treated, namely the stepped culture row RE, however this complicates the design of the vehicle.

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Claims (6)

  1) Vehicle facilitating the movement of a person in crops arranged in rows, such as the vine, in the form of a straddle and comprising a chassis comprising two parts mounted on wheels each intended to roll on either side a row of crops, characterized in that said parts (11, 12) are articulated to each other around a vertical axis allowing the folding of one over the other, and in that the one of said parts comprises, on the one hand, a rear wheel (2) and a steerable front wheel (3), the rear wheel (2) at   less being motor, and between which is placed a platform   form (14) allowing a person (O) to sit or kneel, and, on the other hand, a means (4; 5) for guiding in a row   of culture (RR) connected to said front steering wheel (3).   2) Vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the platform (14) is pivotally mounted on the part (11) of the chassis (10) which carries it so that it can be folded against said part (11).   3) Vehicle according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the drive of a wheel (2, 3) is provided by an electric motor carried by the part (11) of the chassis (10) comprising said wheel and powered by a battery (B) carried by the other part (12) of chassis (10) which spans the row of culture (RE).   4) Vehicle according to any one of the claims   previous, characterized in that the front steering wheel (3) is permanently spring-loaded in the direction of the reference crop row (RR), while the guide means (4; 5) consists of a means (42; 50) movable towards or away from the vehicle (1), capable of bearing on said crop row (RR) and acting by its movement on the pivoting of said front steering wheel (3), while a determined position of said movable means (42; 50) relative to said vehicle (1) coincides with an alignment of said front wheel (3) and the rear wheel (2). 9 2788404   ) Vehicle according to claim 4, characterized in that the movable means consists of a lever (42) extending laterally at the base of the vehicle (1), and radially integral with a toothed wheel (41) which meshes with a second toothed wheel (40) mounted integral with the shaft (30) for pivoting the wheel before (3).   6) Vehicle according to claim 4, characterized in that the movable means comprises a horizontal bar (51) positioned longitudinally and laterally to the vehicle (1), pivotally mounted relative to the latter by means of bars (52) which are perpendicular, one of which is connected to a link (54) secured to the shaft (30) for pivoting the wheel before (3).   7) Vehicle according to any one of the claims   previous, characterized in that it is equipped with a shelter transparent (A).