GB2158684A - Ground-working machine for hoeing tilling or the like - Google Patents

Abstract

A ground-working machine (1) is proposed for hoeing, tilling or the like with two motor-driven, rotating power take-off shafts (2, 3) mounted crosswise to the direction of travel. The power take-off shafts carry the tools (8). In order to ensure a high performance, the bearing points of the power take-off shafts are laterally offset from each other in the direction of travel. The power take-off shafts each sit in a transmission block (4, 5) which transmission block is coupled to the motor (7). To change the distance between the power take-off shafts in the direction of travel, the transmission blocks (4, 5) can swivel in relation to each other. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Ground-working machine for hoeing, tilling or the like This invention concerns a ground-working machine for hoeing, tilling or the like.

German Patent No. 1 782434 (US-PS 3773 112) proposes a motorised hand-held hoe, with two parallel shafts mounted one behind the other and crosswise to the direction of travel, equipped with hoeing tools and driven by a motor installed above the shafts. A transmission connects the motor and the shafts.

This known motorised hoe has several disadvantages. For example, the installation of various tools is limited by the diameter and the adaptation of various tools to different ground conditions and changing types of ground work is equally limited.

In addition, the range over which untouched, unloosened ground can be worked, is restricted by the use of a large, solid transmission.

Thus, the purpose of the present invention is to create a ground-working machine at reasonable cost and with a flexible design, which offers a better performance and allows a greater range, and which permits the use of tools with large diameters.

This purpose is met, on the one hand, by the fact that each of the power take-off shafts carrying the tool sits in its own transmission block, which is coupled to the motor, whereby these transmission blocks can swivel in relation to each other, in order to change the distances between the two power take-off shafts. The possibility to adjust the distance between the power take-off shafts permits the use of tools with various diameters, adapted to the conditions of the ground.If the ground to be worked contains large, solid elements such as, for example, rocks or pieces of wood, one may choose to increase the distance between the power takeoff shafts, in order to prevent obstructions between the power take-off shafts, their bearings and the tools, and to ensure a smooth operation free of interruptions, whereby risks diminish and safety increases, thanks to the avoidance of obstructions.

For reasons of soil biology, a strongly mixed, finely grained soil is often undesirable - this is yet another reason to choose a large distance between the power take-off shafts. If the ground to be worked is thickly overgrown, one may select a small distance between the power take-off shafts, so that plants and plant parts do not get entangled in the tools, but are reduced and mixed in, which ensures a smooth operation without the need to remove plant parts from the tools.

In addition, the purpose of the invention is met by the fact that the bearing points of the power take-off shafts, and therefore the power take-off shafts themselves, are laterally offset from each other in the direction of travel. As a result, the range of work will not be restricted - due to the placement of the transmission on untouched ground - underneath the transmission, because the tools of one power take-off shaft will work the untouched strip of ground near the other power takeoff shaft. Thus, the entire area underneath the ground-working machine will be worked in one single operation, thereby avoiding re-runs over the same surface area, which are sometimes inpossible, particularly when cultivation in rows is practised.Due to the lateral offset of the power take-off shafts, the tools are staggered in relation to each other, so that the individual bearing points do not have to be changed in order to use tools with large diameters.

The design proposed in the invention makes it possible to use symmetrical components at low cost, and ensures adaptation of the ground-working machine to the desired working conditions, the nature of the ground and the tools.

Further advantageous developments and improvements are possible. Via one or two drive shafts, the transmission blocks may be coupled to the drive motor and the ground-working machine, whereby the drive shafts may be mounted parallel to each other over a certain distance - a design particularly suitable for large ground-working machines with high power output; or be aligned on a common straight line - a solution which is economical and particularly suitable for light-weight and small equipment.

If the power take-off shafts are designed in such a way that they can be extended by means of protruding extension elements, it will make sense to select a lateral offset between the bearing points of the power take-off shafts which corresponds to half, or a multiple of, the length of the extension element, so that in case of narrow axle distances, the tools mounted on both power take-off shafts will be staggered, and will not touch or block each other. In the case of counter-rotating power takeoff shafts, the power feed for the control of the work range, the work speed and the work intensity can be selected separately.It will be an advantage to design hand-held ground-working machines equipped with a driving wheel in such a way that the power feed of the tools in the direction of travel will be largely halted when the power takeoff shafts rotate in reverse, because the wheels thus driven will only require little power feed to move the ground-working machine in the direction of travel. As a result, it is possible to design a lightweight and economical ground-working machine, with a safe and reliable performance.

The invention will be further apparent from the following description, with reference to the several Figures of the accompanying drawings, which show, by way of example only, a number of embodiments thereof.

Of the drawings: Figure 1 is a side view of a hand-held groundworking machine; Figure 2 is a plan view of the ground-working machine of Figure 1 in which the bearing points of the power take-off shafts are laterally offset; Figure 3 is a partial view of the two transmission blocks used in the ground-working machine of Figure 1, mounted on a common drive shaft; Figure 4 is a partial view of the transmission blocks of a second embodiment wherein the transmission blocks are mounted on parallel drive axles; and Figure 5 is a side view of a third embodiment of a hand-held ground-working machine, which is driven via one or more ground-engaging wheels.

The ground-working machine 1 shown in Figure 1 may, for example, be designed to serve as a motorised hoe, a tiller or a similar piece of equipment.

The ground-working machine 1 has two parallel power take-off shafts 2, 3 to which the tools 8 are attached. Depending on the application of the ground-working machine 1, these tools can be radial or disk-shaped hoeing blades, tillers, rollers or similar. The power take-off shafts 2, 3 sit in transmission blocks 4, 5 which are driven, via a drive shaft 10, by a driving motor attached to the housing 12 of the ground-working machine, above the power take-off shafts. The transmission blocks 4, 5 may be equipped with V-belts, with belt pulleys, sprockets, or cogwheels. Above tool 8, a protective cover 13 has been installed to shield the operator of the ground-working machine 1, and driving motor 7 from stones and clumps of dirt or other matter thrown up in the air.By means of a handlebar 14, connected to the housing 12 of the groundworking machine, the ground-working machine can be guided and, by means of various control elements (not shown) such as brakes, throttle, coupling or similar, the driving motor 7 and the transmission blocks 4, 5 can be controlled.

The ground-working machine 1 may be used in a forward as well as a reverse direction; the direction of travel is indicated by arrow 6.

Figure 2 shows a schematic plan view of the ground-working machine 1, in which the driving motor 7, the cover 13, the housing 12 and the handlebar 14 have been omitted for the sake of clarity.

Each of the parallel power take-off shafts 2, 3 carries a number of tools 8, whereby the power takeoff shafts may be extended by means of extension elements 11 which can be attached to them, thus increasing the number of tools 8. The power takeoff shafts 2, 3 sit in the transmission blocks 4, 5, whereby the transmission blocks 4, 5 and the bearing points of the power take-off shafts 2, 3 are laterally offset from each other in the direction of travel 6, over a distance C. In order to allow a tool 8, mounted on a power take-off shaft 3, to be staggered with respect to a tool 8 mounted on the power take-off shaft 2 - in case the diameter is larger than the one shown in Figure 2 - the rate of the lateral offset C of the bearing points of the power take-off shafts 2, 3 will correspond to half the length D of an extension element, or a multiple thereof.The drive shaft 10, which drives the power take-off shafts 2, 3 via the transmission blocks 4, 5 is shown in the centre by means of a hatched area.

Figure 3 shows a schematic side view of the mounting the transmission blocks 4, 5 on one or two drive shafts 10, which are in alignment.

By swivelling one or both transmission blocks 4, 5 along the swivel axis of the drive shaft 10, the distance A between the power take-off shafts 2, 3 and thus the distance between the tools 8, can be adjusted in different ways. This means that the distance between the power take-off shafts 2, 3 can be adapted to the size of the tools, the condition of the ground to be worked, and the desired mode of operation. The setting of the transmission blocks 4, 5 and therefore the adjustment of the distance A between the power take-off shafts 2, 3 can be achieved by means of power andlor mechanical connections such as, for example, screw connections, or by means of spring or other resilient devices. A double arrow 9 shows, in Figure 1, the possibility of swivelling one or both of the transmission blocks 4, 5 along the swivel axis formed by the drive shaft 10, in order to change the distance A.

Figure 4 corresponds to the representation of Figure 3, except that the transmission blocks 4, 5 are mounted on parallel drive shafts 10, separated from each other by a distance B. The adjustment of distance A between the power take-off shafts 2, 3 is achieved, as in Figure 3, by swiveliing the transmission blocks 4, 5. In making this adjustment, the distance B has to be taken into account.

Figure 5 shows a hand-held ground-working machine, similar to the one in Figure 1, but equipped with one or more wheels 15, driven by the motor 7. The distance E between the centre(s) of the driven wheel(s) and the straight line connecting the centres of the power take-off shafts 2, 3 can be changed in a manner similar to the embodiments of Figures 3 and 4. This means that, for this example, the range of operation of the ground-working machine 1 can be adjusted.

When the ground-working machine 1 has been made ready for use, the direction of rotation of the power take-off shafts 2, 3 can be selected as desired. The power take-off shafts 2, 3 may both rotate in the same direction, or in directions opposite to each other, or vice versa, The reverse operation of the power take-off shafts 2, 3 makes is possible for the ground tools 8 to halt the power feed to a large extent. Consequently, the driven wheel(s) 15 will only require proportionally little feed power to move the ground-working machine 1 in the direction of travel. As a result, these ground-working machines can be designed at a lower cost, without endangering their reliability or safety.

The ground-working machine may be produced as a hand-held device, as shown in Figures 1 to 5, or it may be produced as an accessory for tractors with one or two axles.

Claims (12)

1. A ground-working machine for hoeing, tilling or the like having two motor-driven, rotating power take-off shafts which are mounted crosswise to the direction of travel and which carry the tools, characterised in that each power take-off shaft sits in a transmission block which is coupled to a motor and that, in order to change the distance between the power take-off shatfs in the direction of travel, the transmission blocks can swivel in relation to each other.

2. A ground-working machine according to claim 1, characterised in that the transmission blocks and the bearing points of the power take-off shafts are laterally offset from each other in the direction of travel.

3. A ground-working machine for hoeing, tilling or the like having two motor-driven, rotating power take-off shafts which are mounted cross-wise to the direction of travel and which carry the tools, characterised in that that the bearing points of both power take-off shafts are laterally offset from each other in the direction of travel.

4. A ground-working machine according to claim 3, characterised in that the bearing point of each power take-off shaft is equipped with its own transmission block and that both transmission blocks can swivel in relation to each other.

5. A ground-working machine according to one of claims 1, 2 or 4, characterised in that the power take-off shafts are driven via the transmission blocks by means of one or two aligned drive shafts coupled to the motor.

6. A ground-working machine according to one of claims 1, 2 or 4, characterised in that the power take-off shafts are driven via the transmission blocks by means of two aligned drive shafts coupled to the motor which are parallel to each other and separated by a distance.

7. A ground-working machine according to any one of claims 2 to 6 inclusive, characterised in that the power take-off shafts can be extended by means of extension elements and that the lateral offset of the bearing points of the power take-off shafts and of the power take-off shafts themselves, corresponds to half the length of the extension elements or a multiple of half the length of the extension elements.

8. A ground-working machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7 inclusive, characterised in that the direction of one or both of the power take-off shafts can be reversed.

9. A ground-working machine according to any one of claims 1 to 8 inclusive, characterised in that at least one driving wheel is driven by the motor.

10. A ground-working machine according to claim 9, characterised in that the distance between the centre of the driving wheel(s) and the extended line connecting the centres of the power take-off shafts can be changed.

11. A ground-working machine according to any one of claims 1 to 10 inclusive, characterised in that the power take-off shafts can rotate in opposite directions.

12. A ground-working machine substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated by Figures 1 to 3, Figure 4 or Figure 5 of the accompanying drawings.