GB2222398A

GB2222398A - Tractor with articulated arm for moving materials

Info

Publication number: GB2222398A
Application number: GB8919369A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Eugenio Todeschini; Gerald Hampel
Original assignee: Same SpA
Current assignee: Same SpA
Priority date: 1988-08-30
Filing date: 1989-08-25
Publication date: 1990-03-07
Also published as: DE8909514U1; IT215379Z2; FR2637556A3; FR2637556B3; ES1011423Y; GB8919369D0; IT8821773V0; ES1011423U; PT91464A

Abstract

A tractor 1 has an articulated arm for moving materials, the articulated arm 11 being supported by means of a three-point connection 4 provided on the tractor at the rear thereof. Support means for the articulated arm are positioned on the lower end of a substantially vertical support branch 12 of the arm and have at their lower end at least one support wheel 23 providing a rolling support for supporting the arm 11 on the ground when the arm is in its position of use. Two wheels 23 may be mounted in a common fork 24 which may be detachably mounted as by pins 27 on branch 12. With this arrangement, the whole tractor 1 acts as a counterweight. <IMAGE>

Description

"TRACTOR WITH ARTICULATED ARM FOR MOVING MATERIALS" The present invention relates to a tractor with an articulated arm for moving materials, and, more precisely, to a tractor in which the articulated arm is supported by means of a three-points connection instaled on the rear side of the tractor.

Such a kind of tractor is disclosed in the U.K.

Patent Application N. 8826326.4 filed on November 10, 1988 by the same Applicant.

The positioning of the articulated arm on the rear side of the tractor shows several advantages over the frontal position, which was used in the past. It gives the tractor driver a wider visibility of the area of action of the articulated arm, and makes it possible a higher operating precision to be obtained in that, inasmuch as in case of steering the tractor rotates around a vertical axis passing through a point situated on the axis of the rear wheels, the arm rotation radius results to be considerably reduced.

When the arm is not used, it occupies a limited overall room, in that it can be positioned retracted in a position adjacent to the driver S cab, and parallel to it.

The arm can be mounted on the connection on three points, so as to enable the tractor to be used with other implements connectable to the three-points connection.

Unfortunately, the so arranged arm requires a suitable counterweighing action by the tractor, which should be the higher, the longer is the range and/or the mass of the load to be lifted with the articulated arm.

This matter of fact requires a suitable ballasting of the tractor, which however causes an increase in tractor weight and therefore a worsening of the manoeuvrabiLity of the tractor, besides causing an increase in costs.

The purpose of the present invention is of providing a tractor with an articulated arm for moving materials of the initially cited type, which makes it possible the range of, and/or the weight lifted by, the articulated arm to be increased, without ballasting problems, and without worsening the manoeuvrability of the tractor.

A further purpose of the present invention is of providing a tractor of the above said type in which said increase in lifted weight, or said increase in arm range can be obtained with low-cost means.

These and still other purposes of the present invention which are better understood from the following disclosure, are achieved by a tractor with an articulated arm for moving materiaLs, in which the articulated arm is supported by means of a three-points connection provided on the tractor on the rear side of the same tractor, characterized in that support means for the art,culated arm are provided, which are positioned at the tower end of a substantially verticaL support branch of the articulated arm, and are provided at their lower end with at least one support and sliding wheel suitable for constituting a sliding support for supporting the arm on the ground when the arm is in its use position.

Advantageously, the support means can be constituted by a wheel-carrier framework or arm, which can be fastened onto the substantially vertical branch of the articulated arm, and in particular can be fastened with possibility of removal, e.g., by means of pins and split pins.

In a tractor according to the present invention, inasmuch as the articulated arm is borne by the threepoints connection, which can be lifted and lowered, the arm can be lowered until the sliding wheel(s) come(s) to rest on the ground when stability is required, which makes it possible the load lifted by the articulated arm to be increased in that in this situation, the whole tractor acts as the counterweight. Thanks to the wheeLs, the increase in lifted load is also secured while the tractor is traveling, and not only under its stationary condition.

The details and the advantages of the present invention will be clearer from the following disclosure in which a form of practical embodiment is disclosed, as shown in the hereto attached drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a side elevation view of a tractor according to the present invention with the articuLated arm retracted in its resting position; Figure 2 shows a partial view of the tractor of Figure 1, with its articulated arm being in its operating position; Figure 3 shows a detail of the lower portion of the arm, as seen from the tractor.

Referring to the attached drawings, a tractor 1 according to the present invention, in particular an agricultural tractor, is equipped, in a known way, with a drivers cab 2, in front of which the engine unit 3 is installed, and behind which, low-lying, a three-points connection 4, pease known, is installed.

The connection is provided with two ploughtails 5 and 6 hinged onto the chassis 7 of the tractor, and an upper central piston link 8, also hinged onto the chassis 7. The free ends of the ploughtails 5 and 6 and of the piston link 8 define the true three-points connection.

The ploughtails 5 and 6 are supported by respective tie-rods 9, in their turn controlled by drive arms 10, actuated by means of a hydraulic drive in a ears known way, in order to lift and lower the ploughtails 5 and 6 according to as required.

Onto the outwards facing ends of the ploughtails 5 and 6 and of the piston link 8 an univeral arm, generally indicated by the reference numeral 11, is hinged. More particularly, the arm 11 is provided with a substantially vertical support branch 12 with two appendices 13 at its lower end which protrude downwards and Laterally and are hinged onto the ends of the ploughtails 5 and 6 by means of pins 14. Above the appendices 13, the support branch 12 is provided with an opening through which the end of the piston link 8 passes, hinged onto the branch 12 by means of a pin 16 running through side walls of the branch 12, as well as the end of the piston link 8. The arrangement is such as to enable the branch 12 to be connected, with possibility of removal, to the threepoints connection 4.

In the depicted example, to the support branch 12 only a mobile arm 17 is hinged at its upper end, and can be hydraulically or pneumatically actuated by means of a cylinder-ram unit 18 articulatedly linked between the support branch 12 and the mobile arm 17.

Onto the free end of the mobile arm 17, in the example shown a loader 19 is hinged, which is constituted by a framework with forks with mutually opposite, telescopically moving forks 20 and 21.

Of course, instead of the arm 11 shown in the drawings, to the three-points connection 4 another arm type could be connected, such as, e.g., an articulated arm bearing a loading bucket.

As one can see from Figures 1 and 2, the drivers cab is equipped for reverse drive, with a steering wheel and pedal controls being also provided on the rear side of the tractor 1, for an easy control of the articulated arm 11, all of the movements of which can be visually monitored by the driver.

According to the present invention, support means 22 for the articulated arm 11 are provided and are installed on the lower end of the substantially vertical support branch 12 of the articulated arm 11, and are provided, at their lower end, with at least one support and sliding wheel 23 suitable for constituting a sliding support for the articulated arm 11 on the ground when the arm is in its operating position.

As one can see in particular from Figure 3, the support means 22 are preferably constituted by a wheelcarrier arm or framework 24 fastened to the substantially vertical branch 12 of the articulated arm 11, and provided,, at its lower end, with a pair of fork portions 25 rotatably bearing respective wheels 23.

The framework 24 is fastened, in a preferably removable way, between two mutually opposite ears 26 fastened to the branch 12, or made integral with it; the fastening of the framework 24 with the possibility of removal is preferably obtained by means of two transversal pins 27 running through the ears 26 and a substantially rod-like shaped portion 28 of the framework 24, and relevant split pins 29, in such a way as to make it possible the framework 24 to be rapidly assembled and disassembled. Of course, other means for fastening the framework 24 to the branch 12 with the possibility of a removal, e.g., click means, could be used as well.

As one can see from the drawings, by means of such an arrangement the framework 24 results to be positioned adjacent to the substantially vertical branch 12 of the articulated arm 11 and inside the room defined by both appendices 13 of the branch 12, on the side facing towards tractor 1, in such a position as not to interfere with portions of the articulated arm 11 when this latter is in its closed position.

As it results from Figure 2, when the ploughtails 5, 6 of the three-points connection 4 are suitably lowered by means of the hereinabove disclosed hydraulic means until the wheels 23 come to rest on the ground, a stable support for the arm 11 is obtained, such that the load carried by the articulated arm 11 is counteracted at any time by the counterweight constituted by the weight of the whole tractor 1, with the weight of the load handled by the tractor being thereby increased without the tractor 1 having to be ballasted. This applies also while the tractor 1 is traveLing in that the wheels 23 roll on ground and continue to support the arm 11.

The resting of the handling arm 11 on the ground during the traveling of the tractor, not any longer made heavier by additional ballasts, renders this latter more controllable.

A further advantage of the present invention is that the wheels 23 constitute a stable support for the articulated arm 11 also in its position detached from the tractor 1, because the installation of the framework 24 on the arm 11 side opposite to the side facing towards the loader 19 prevents the arm 11 with the loader 19 from overturning, or anyway them from unstably resting on the ground when they are not used.

If desired, as shown in the drawings, the framework 24 could be given a slightly inclined orientation relatively to the development of the substantially vertical branch 12 of the articulated arm 11, with the inclination of the framework 24 being towards the tractor 1.

The use of support means according to the present invention only involves a small increase in costs, which is widely compensated for by the practical advantages attained.

The support means 22, instead of being fastened to the arm 11, could be fastened, preferably with the possibility of removal, to the three-points connection 4, equally supporting the articulated arm 11, even if indirectly.

Claims

1. Tractor with an articulated arm for moving materials, in which the articulated arm is supported by means of a three-points connection provided on the tractor on the rear side of the same tractor, characterized in that support means for the articulated arm are provided, which are positioned on the lower end of a substantially vertical support branch of the articulated arm, and are provided at their lower end with at least one support and sliding wheel suitable for constituting a sliding support for supporting the arm on the ground when the arm is in its use position.

2. Tractor according to claim 1, characterized in that said support means are constituted by a wheelcarrier arm or framework fastened onto the substantially vertical arm of the articulated arm.

3. Tractor according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said support means are fastened onto the substantially vertical arm of the articulated arm with possibility of removal.

4. Tractor according to claim 3, characterized in that said support means are fastened by means of pins and split pins.

5. Tractor according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said support means are provided -with an upper portion- o-f substantially rod-like shape, which can be fastened between two mutually opposite ears integral with the substantially vertical branch of the articuLated arm.

6. Tractor according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said support means are substantially positioned on that side of the articulated arm which is opposite to the side facing towards the load side.

7. Tractor according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said support means are given a slightly inclined orientation relatively to the development of the substantially vertical branch of the articulated arm, with the inclination of said support means being towards the tractor

8. Tractor according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said support means comprise two wheels rotatably borne by respective fork-shaped portions of said support means.

9. Tractor according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said support means are fastened, in a preferably removable way, to the three-points connection.

10. Tractor with an articulated arm for moving materials, substantially as herein disclosed and illustrated in the hereto attached drawings.