GB2305587A

GB2305587A - Combined plough and soil preparation device

Info

Publication number: GB2305587A
Application number: GB9523336A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Einar Ognedal
Original assignee: Kverneland Klepp AS
Current assignee: Kverneland Klepp AS
Priority date: 1995-09-30
Filing date: 1995-11-15
Publication date: 1997-04-16
Anticipated expiration: 2015-11-15
Also published as: GB9523336D0; GB9520003D0; GB2305587B

Abstract

A combination of a plough and a soil preparation device being intended to be mounted at the rear of a tractor, and to be capable of carrying out a combined ploughing and tilling action during a single pass across a field, comprising a carrying beam (12 fig 1) having a number of plough bodies 11 arranged along its length; and a carrying arm on which the soil preparation device is mounted, said arm being mounted at one end on the combination, and at its other end having a swivel mounting (23 fig 2) which permits the device to adjust itself to carry out a tilling action on ground already turned-over by the plough bodies; characterised in that: (a) the carrying arm comprises a first part 21 which is coupled rigidly to the carrying beam 12, and a second part 22 having one end which is pivotally connected to a free end 25 of the first part 21 and having an opposite end to which said device is coupled; (b) a pivotal mounting 26 is provided to pivotally connect the second part 22 to the first part 21, said mounting defining a pivot extending generally parallel to the surface of the ground and (c) an actuator 28 is coupled with the second part 22 and is operative to pivot the second part about the mounting pivot 26 between a lowered operative position and a raised inwardly folded transport position in which the second part 22 extends upwardly and generally rearwardly.

Description

INTEGRATED COMBINATION OF A PLOUGH AND A SOIL PREPARATION DEVICE This invention relates to a combination of a plough and a soil preparation device, said combination being adapted to be fully mounted or semi-mounted on a rear lifting device of a propelling vehicle.

The invention has been developed primarily in connection with a plough/packer combination (an integrated combination) which is adapted to be mounted at the rear of a tractor, but it should be understood that the invention is not restricted to such a combination. The invention therefore is intended to include the possibility of use of: (a) other types of seed preparation device than a "packer", eg a set of harrows; (b) a fully mounted combination; (c) a semi-mounted combination; (d) mounting at the rear of a suitable propelling vehicle other than a tractor; (e) the integration of a seed distribution device; (f) use on non-reversible ploughs; (g) use on reversibly mounted ploughs; and (h) any combination of the above.

As will be well known to operators of plough/packer combinations, the combination takes up a substantial width during soil-working operations, when trailed behind a tractor, but which have to be adjusted to take up a transport position of much reduced width, at the end of a ploughing operation, so as to pass through entrances to fields, and along the public highway.

Bearing in mind that a typical plough has a long ploughcarrying beam extending transversely of the direction of travel, and usually provided with a considerable number of plough bodies along its length, the plough itself occupies a substantial width, with respect to the direction of forward travel, when in a ploughing position, and in addition one or more packer is usually coupled with the plough beam, and extends transversely therefrom, so as to further increase the overall working width of the plough/packer combination.

Therefore, in order to adjust the component parts of the combination so as to take up a reduced width for transport purposes, it is necessary to carry out substantial manipulation of the various parts of the combination, and to adjust the component parts to the transport position.

In the case of one known design of a plough/packer combination, the plough is a semi-mounted plough, but of the non-reversible type, and a first packer is mounted on the plough beam near the forward end thereof via a packer arm, and a further packer is mounted on the plough beam near the rear end thereof, via a further packer arm. Each packer arm comprises two component parts, of which a first part (the inboard part) is coupled rigidly with the plough beam, whereas the outer part of the packer arm (to which the packer is coupled) is adjustably connected to the inboard part.An adjusting strut allows the angular position of the inboard part to be adjusted, to give varying lateral position of the respective packer, so that the packer can be moved between a soil/working position (in which it crumbles or "prepares" previously formed ploughed furrows) and a position in which the packer can be adjusted to the transport position. In order to adjust the plough/packer combination to the transport position, because of its very wide plough/packing position, a major amount of manipulation of the component parts is required, including adjustment of the inboard packer arm parts to maximum laterally outwardly extended position, followed by unfastening of the outer packer arm parts, eg unscrewing, movement of the outer parts to a transport position and refastening.Clearly, this is a time consuming task which has to be carried out, including some entirely manual operations, which have to be carried out both to adjust the combination to the transport position upon exit from a ploughed field, and transport along the highway, and then further manipulated to return the combination to the operative position when a new ploughing and packing operation is required.

There is therefore a need to provide an improved means for converting the component parts of a plough/seed preparation device combination between operative positions (suitable for ploughing and/or seed preparation) and transport positions.

According to the invention there is provided an integrated combination of a plough and a soil preparation device, said combination being intended to be mounted at the rear of a propelling vehicle, and to be capable of carrying out a combined ploughing and soil preparation action during a single pass across a field, in which the combination comprises: a carrying beam having a number of plough bodies arranged along its length; mounting means at the forward end of the carrying beam to mount the combination at the rear of the propelling vehicle; and, a carrying arm on which said device is mounted, said arm being mounted at one end on the combination, and at its other end having a swivel mounting which permits the device to adjust itself to carry out a soil preparation action on ground already turned-over by the plough bodies; characterised in that: (a) the carrying arm comprises a first part which is coupled rigidly to the carrying beam, and a second part having one end which is pivotally connected to a free end of the first part and having an opposite end to which said device is coupled; (b) a pivot mounting is provided to pivotally connect the second part to the first part, said mounting defining a pivot axis extending generally parallel to the surface of the ground being worked and transversely of the general longitudinal axis of the first part; and (c) an actuator is coupled with the second part and is operative to pivot the second part about the axis of the pivot mounting between a lowered operative position in which the device can carry out a ground-working operation and a raised inwardly folded transport position in which the second part extends upwardly and generally rearwardly so as to suspend the device in a raised inwardly displaced position thereby to reduce the overall width of the combination suitable for transport purposes.

Preferably, the axis of the pivot mounting extends in a direction non-perpendicularly of the general longitudinal axis of the first part, whereby upon operation of the actuator, the second part of the carrying arm is able to move between the lowered operative position, in which it extends generally parallel to the ground surface, whereby ground engaging elements of the soil preparation device can work the turnedover soil, and an obliquely upwardly extending position such that the soil preparation device is raised out of contact with the ground and moved laterally inwardly towards the carrying beam.

Preferably, the swivel coupling is operated in an unlocked mode, when it is carrying out soil working operations, but a locking device may be provided in order to lock the swivel coupling temporarily against rotation, whereby upon upward and inward movement of the second part of the carrying arm, the usually generally horizontal extending pivot axis of the working elements of the soil preparation device moves from a generally horizontal position, ie generally parallel to the ground surface, to a generally upright position. This presents a minimum width profile of the soil preparation device, which extends generally upwardly, and this fact, together with the laterally inward displacement of the second part of the carrying arm causes a substantial reduction in the overall width of the combination.

An integrated combination according to the invention may be applied to a fully mounted, or a semi-mounted combination, and the plough bodies may be of the non-reversible type, or of the reversible type as required. Evidently, in the case of reversible plough bodies, the carrying beam will be mounted on the plough frame in such a way as to be capable of being rotated about a substantially horizontal pivot axis relative to a usual forward "headstock" in order to reverse the plough bodies at the end of each pass across a field, prior to an adjacent return pass.

The actuator may comprise any suitable power operated device, such as a fluid pressure operated piston/cylinder device. One end of the actuator is mounted at any suitable fixed part of the frame of the combination, and the other end is coupled directly or indirectly, via a "universal" type coupling with the second part of the carrying arm. The universal coupling permits the upward and downward, and laterally inward/outward movement of the second part about the transverse pivot axis provided by the pivot coupling.

A preferred embodiment of integrated combination of plough and soil preparation device according to the invention will now be described in detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a general type of integrated combination of plough and soil preparation device to which the invention may be applied; Figure 2 is a schematic and perspective illustration of a new and inventive carrying arm which mounts the soil preparation device on the frame of the plough in a preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 2a is a perspective illustration, and in more detail, of the construction shown schematically in Figure 2;; Figure 3 is a side view illustration of the soil preparation device, and its carrying arm, and in a lowered ground-working position to break down or "work" the ground already turned-over by the plough bodies of the plough; Figure 4 is a perspective side view illustration showing an intermediate stage in the movement of the carrying arm (and the soil preparation device coupled rigidly therewith) between the operative ground engaging position and a raised and inwardly displaced transport position; Figure 5 is a perspective side illustration of the carrying arm and the device an inoperative position with the soil preparation device extending generally vertically; Figure 6 is a view, similar to Figure 5, showing the carrying arm in a raised inoperative position, but in which the device maintains a generally horizontal attitude so that ploughing only can be carried out when required;; Figure 7 is a perspective illustration in detail, partly in plan, of the carrying arm in the fully lifted position; Figure 8 is a perspective illustration, similar to Figure 7, but showing the carrying arm and the soil preparation device in the operative position; and, Figure 9 is a perspective illustration from the side, also showing the carrying arm in the operative position.

Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to Figure 1, there is shown a general type of integrated combination of plough and soil preparation device, to which the invention may be applied. It will be convenient to describe this general type of integrated combination first, to provide background to the subsequent description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, as shown in Figures 2 to 9 of the drawings.

Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of an integrated combination of a plough 10 and at least one soil preparation device 18, although in the illustrated arrangement a pair of devices 18 is provided, a first of which is coupled nearer to a forward end of a carrying beam 12 of the plough 10, whereas the other of the devices 18 is coupled to the carrying beam 12 near to the wheel supported rear end thereof. The rear wheel is not shown in Figure 1, but is arranged to support the rear end of the beam 12 to provide a semi-mounted implement. The device 18, in the illustrated example, takes the form of a "packer", comprising a set of rotating discs, as will be well known to those of ordinary skill in the art.The combination is intended to be mounted at the rear of a propelling vehicle, which will usually be an agricultural tractor, and during a single pass across a field, a combined ploughing and soil preparation action will take place. It will be apparent from Figure 1 that the devices 18 only partially overlap the turnedover furrows formed by the plough bodies 11 arranged along the carrying beam 12, and the forward one of the devices 18 carries out soil preparation action mainly on the turned-over furrows from a previous pass of the combination, whereas the rear most device 18 carries out soil preparation on the ground which has been turned over by the plough bodies 11 in front of it during each pass.

Any suitable mounting means 14 is provided at the forward end of the carrying beam 12, to mount the combination at the rear of the propelling vehicle. This mounting may be a fully mounted arrangement, or a semi-mounted arrangement as shown in the drawings. Also, in Figure 1, the plough bodies 11 are of the non-reversible type, but it should be understood that the features of the invention may be applied to an integrated combination of a reversible plough, in which case the plough bodies will comprise pairs of bodies arranged along the length of the carrying beam, and with suitable means being provided to rotate the carrying beam about a substantially horizontal pivot axis, relative to a usual "headstock", in order to reverse the plough bodies at the end of each pass across a field prior to an adjacent return pass.

Each device or packer 18 is mounted on a respective carrying arm 20, and the inboard end of the arm 20 is coupled (by means not shown in detail in Figure 1) on the carrying beam 12. The packer 18 includes a swivel mounting, known per se, eg from international application PCT/GB93/00492, or PCT/GB95/01188, and which allows the packer to adjust itself to carry out a soil preparation action on ground already turnedover by the plough bodies, and despite variation in the contour of the ground.

Having now described the general type of integrated combination to which the invention may be applied, there will now be described a preferred embodiment of the invention, which is shown in schematic outline in Figure 2, and in more detail in the illustrations of Figures 2a to Figure 9.

The preferred embodiment of the invention incorporates a novel and inventive design of carrying arm, ie to take the place of the carrying arm 20 shown schematically in Figure 1, and will now be described in more detail. The carrying arm comprises a first part 21 which is coupled rigidly to the carrying beam 12, and a second part 22 having one end 23 which is pivotally connected to a free end 25 of the first (inboard) part 21. At the opposite end 24 of the second part 22, the packer 18 is coupled therewith, via any suitable design of coupling arrangement including a swivel mounting.

The packer carrying arm arrangement, namely the coupling together of first and second parts 21 and 22, incorporates a pivot mounting 26, arranged at the free end 25 of the part 21, and which defines a pivot axis 29 which extends generally parallel to the surface of the ground being worked and transversely of the general longitudinal axis 27 of the first part 21.

An actuator 28 is coupled with the second part 22 via a universal type coupling 30, and in the illustrated embodiment takes the form of a fluid pressure operated cylinder. The actuator 28 is operative to pivot the second part 22 about the pivot axis 29 between a lowered operative position, as shown in Figures 2 and 2a (in which the packer 18 can carry out a ground working operation), and a raised inwardly folded transport position in which the second part 22 extends upwardly and generally rearwardly so as to suspend the packer 18 in a raised and inwardly displaced transport position of reduced width.

Figures 3, 4 and 5 show respectively, the operative position, an intermediate position, and the transport position.

It will be noted from Figure 5 that the general axis of the packer 18 extends vertically, ie the usual packer discs extend substantially horizontally, and the packer takes up this position by being locked (by means not shown in detail) relative to its swivel mounting, so that the carrying arm part 22 and the packer 18 move as a rigid assembly between the operative position and the transport position. However, if the swivel coupling remains unlocked, the packer 18 is able to maintain a horizontal attitude, as shown in Figure 6, as the part 22 is moved to the raised and inwardly folded position.

This raised inoperative position of the packer 18 allows ploughing only to take place when required, eg when first ploughing along the edge of a field.

Therefore, Figures 2, 2a, 3, 8 and 9 show the new packer carrying arm arrangement in the soil working position of the packer, whereas Figures 5, 6 and 7 show the second part (the outboard part) of the carrying arm in the upwardly and rearwardly extending raised position. Figure 4 shows an intermediate position of the outboard part of the carrying arm.

After completion of a ploughing operation, and when it is desired to transport the integrated combination of plough and packer(s), which will involve a passage of the combination through an entrance to a field, and along a public highway, it is important that the overall width of the combination should be reduced substantially, when compared with the overall width of the combination when carrying out ploughing and/or packing operations. To achieve this, the swivel mounting of each packer is locked, as referred to above, while still in the operative position, and therefore the packer moves as a unit with the outboard part of the carrying arm, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, and Figure 5 is the raised (transport) position in which the axis of rotation of the packer discs extends substantially vertically.

However, when it is required merely to lift the packer from the ground for the purposes of permitting ploughing only, eg in order to plough along the edge of a field, ie during commencement of ploughing of a field, the swivel coupling is not locked, and therefore the packer is able to maintain a generally horizontal attitude, throughout the pivotal adjustment of the outboard part 22 of the carrying beam from the operative position shown in Figure 4 to the raised position shown in Figure 6.

The inboard part of the carrying arm, ie the first part 21, is mainly rigid, being secured to the carrying beam 12 of the plough bodies 11, but the pivot mounting 26, which forms the pivot connection between the inboard and outboard parts of the carrying arm, comprises a hinge having a pivot axis which extends generally parallel to the surface of the ground, and transversely of the centre line of the rigidly mounted inboard part. An angle of about 45" of the pivot axis to the centre axis is suitable, although it should be understood that this angle is not critical, and may be varied to suit requirement, and the particular dimensions of the component parts.The angle is selected such that, with the packer positioned at the outer end of the outboard part (22) of the arm, when the swivel is locked, the packer is able to move upwardly, and then to an inwardly folded position, during which time the axis of the packer moves from a horizontal position shown in Figure 3 to the vertical position shown in Figure 5. The angle and relative dimensions of the component parts will be selected so that this movement between the operative position and the transport position can take place, without any of the component parts blocking such movement, and an angle of about 45" has been found to be suitable, at least for the arrangement shown in the detailed illustrations of the drawing.At least for the particular example illustrated in detail in the drawings, a pivot axis which is at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the inboard part of the carrying arm may not be entirely suitable, because the packer would be raised to a substantial height during pivoting of the outboard part. However, it may be satisfactory in some circumstances.

With the transverse axis of the pivot, plus the universal type coupling at the end of the actuator, the combined upward and inward pivoting movement of the outboard part of the carrying arm can readily take place, under the action of the actuator. Therefore, bearing blocks at each end of the cylinder of the actuator are arranged to allow pivoting about two axes at right angles to each other, as can be seen in Figures 6 and 7.

The packer carrying arm arrangement shown in the drawings only requires a single actuator cylinder to operate it, and therefore only two pressure hoses are required to take hydraulic fluid to and from the tractor. Furthermore, the bracket mounting of the single cylinder actuator can be simplified, as compared with need for a more complicated bracket in a two cylinder actuator arrangement.

The inboard part of the carrying arm is mainly rigid, but has an adjustment strut, to allow variation in the angle of inclination of the carrying arm relative to the carrying beam 12 of the plough, to vary the lateral position of the packer 18 relative to the plough.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. An integrated combination of a plough (10) and a soil preparation device (18), said combination being intended to be mounted at the rear of a propelling vehicle, and to be capable of carrying out a combined ploughing and soil preparation action during a single pass across a field, in which the combination comprises: a carrying beam (12) having a number of plough bodies (11) arranged along its length; mounting means (14) at the forward end of the carrying beam (12) to mount the combination at the rear of the propelling vehicle; and, a carrying arm (20) on which said device (18) is mounted, said arm being mounted at one end on the combination, and at its other end having a swivel mounting (23) which permits the device (18) to adjust itself to carry out a soil preparation action on ground already turned-over by the plough bodies; characterised in that: (a) the carrying arm (20) comprises a first part (21) which is coupled rigidly to the carrying beam (12), and a second part (22) having one end (23) which is pivotally connected to a free end (25) of the first part (21) and having an opposite end (24) to which said device (18) is coupled; (b) a pivotal mounting (26) is provided to pivotally connect the second part (22) to the first part (21), said mounting defining a pivot extending generally parallel to the surface of the ground being worked and transversely of the general axis (27) of the first part (21); and (c) an actuator (28) is coupled with the second part (22) and is operative to pivot the second part about the axis (29) of the mounting pivot (26) between a lowered operative position in which the device (18) can carry out a ground working operation and a raised inwardly folded transport position in which the second part (22) extends upwardly and generally rearwardly so as to suspend the device (18) in a raised and inwardly displaced transport position of reduced width. 2. An integrated combination according to claim 1, in which the axis (29) of the pivot mounting (26) extends in a direction non-perpendicularly of the general longitudinal axis (27) of the first part (21) of the carrying arm. 3. An integrated combination according to claim 1 or 2, in which the axis (29) of the pivot mounting (26) extends at an angle of approximately 450 to the general longitudinal axis (27) of the first part (21). 4. An integrated combination according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in which the swivel coupling includes locking means for locking the swivel coupling against rotation, whereby upon upward and inward movement of the second part (22) of the carrying arm, the usually generally horizontal extending pivot axis of the soil preparation device (18) moves from a generally horizontal position to a generally upright position. 5. An integrated combination according to any one of claims 1 to 4, in which the soil preparation device (18) is moveable upwardly from the lowered operative position, upon upward and inward pivoting of the second part (22), with the swivel coupling unlocked, whereby the device (18) can maintain a substantially constant attitude during this adjustment, so as to take up a raised inoperative position, whereby ploughing only by the plough bodies (11) can take place when required. 6. An integrated combination according to any one of claims 1 to 5, in which the actuator comprises a single piston/cylinder device (28) which is coupled at one end to a fixed part of the frame of the combination, and at its other end is coupled to a mounting bracket on said second part (22) of the carrying arm. 7. An integrated combination according to claim 6, in II which the actuator has a "universal" type coupling provided on at least one end thereof, to permit obliquely upward and inward folding movement of the second part (22) under the action of the actuator (28). Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows

1. An integrated combination of a plough (10) and a soil preparation device (18), said combination being intended to be mounted at the rear of a propelling vehicle, and to be capable of carrying out a combined ploughing and soil preparation action during a single pass across a field, in which the combination comprises: a carrying beam (12) having a number of plough bodies (11) arranged along its length; mounting means (14) at the forward end of the carrying beam (12) to mount the combination at the rear of the propelling vehicle; and, a carrying arm (20) on which said device (18) is mounted, said arm being mounted at one end on the combination, and at its other end having a swivel mounting (23) which permits the device (18) to adjust itself to carry out a soil preparation action on ground already turned-over by the plough bodies; characterised in that: (a) the carrying arm (20) comprises a first part (21) which is coupled rigidly to the carrying beam (12), and a second part (22) having one end (23) which is pivotally connected to a free end (25) of the first part (21) and having an opposite end (24) to which said device (18) is coupled; (b) a pivotal mounting (26) is provided to pivotally connect the second part (22) to the first part (21), said mounting defining a pivot axis (29) extending generally parallel to the surface of the ground being worked and transversely of the general axis (27) of the first part (21); and (c) an actuator (28) is coupled with the second part (22) and is operative to pivot the second part about the axis (29) of the mounting pivot (26) between a lowered operative position in which the device (18) can carry out a ground working operation and a raised inwardly folded transport position in which the second part (22) extends upwardly and generally rearwardly so as to suspend the device (18) in a raised and inwardly displaced transport position of reduced width.

2. An integrated combination according to claim 1, in which the axis (29) of the pivot mounting (26) extends in a direction non-perpendicularly of the general longitudinal axis (27) of the first part (21) of the carrying arm.

3. An integrated combination according to claim 1 or 2, in which the axis (29) of the pivot mounting (26) extends at an angle of approximately 450 to the general longitudinal axis (27) of the first part (21).

4. An integrated combination according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in which the swivel coupling includes locking means for locking the swivel coupling against rotation, whereby upon upward and inward movement of the second part (22) of the carrying arm, the usually generally horizontal extending pivot axis of the soil preparation device (18) moves from a generally horizontal position to a generally upright position.

5. An integrated combination according to any one of claims 1 to 4, in which the soil preparation device (18) is moveable upwardly from the lowered operative position, upon upward and inward pivoting of the second part (22), with the swivel coupling unlocked, whereby the device (18) can maintain a substantially constant attitude during this adjustment, so as to take up a raised inoperative position, whereby ploughing only by the plough bodies (11) can take place when required.

6. An integrated combination according to any one of claims 1 to 5, in which the actuator comprises a single piston/cylinder device (28) which is coupled at one end to a fixed part of the frame of the combination, and at its other end is coupled to a mounting bracket on said second part (22) of the carrying arm.

7. An integrated combination according to claim 6, in which the actuator has a "universal" type coupling provided on at least one end thereof, to permit obliquely upward and inward folding movement of the second part (22) under the action of the actuator (28).

8. An integrated combination according to any one of claims 1 to 7, in which the plough is a reversible plough (10).

9. An integrated combination according to any one of claims 1 to 8, in which the soil preparation device is a packer (18).