GB2418891A

GB2418891A - Cab for an agricultural vehicle

Info

Publication number: GB2418891A
Application number: GB0422114A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jean-Pierre Vandendriessche; Pieter M I Steen; Liesbeth M M Longueville
Original assignee: CNH Belgium NV
Current assignee: CNH Industrial Belgium NV
Priority date: 2004-10-06
Filing date: 2004-10-06
Publication date: 2006-04-12
Also published as: GB0422114D0

Abstract

In a cab 10 for an agricultural vehicle having a base 20, a roof 22 and a waist lying vertically between the base 20 and the roof 22, the distance between the sides of the cab at the waist is greater than adjacent roof. It is preferably also greater than adjacent the base of the cab so that the cab is barrel shaped when viewed from the front.

Description

CAB FOR AN AGRICULTURAL VEHICLE

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to the design of a cab for an agricultural vehicle and has particular application to the cab of a forage harvester.

Background of the invention

As is well known, a forage harvester is a vehicle that gathers crop, chops it into forage and discharges forage through a spout into a container of a vehicle, such as a tractor or a lorry, that is driven alongside the harvester.

In a forage harvester, it is of great importance for the driver to be able to monitor that the forage discharged from the spout is being correctly dropped into the container that is being driven alongside.

In order to appreciate the problems overcome by the invention, it is necessary first to realise that the tip of the spout may be some five metres above ground level, and more than a metre above the driver's eye level. The improved visibility that is needed is not therefore only in azimuth but also in elevation.

One way of increasing vertical visibility would be to raise the height of the roof. This however is not possible in practice because limits are imposed on the height of the vehicle to enable it to operate on normal roads and to avoid contact with overhead obstructions such as bridges and power cables.

Another possibility would be to make the cab narrower in order to bring the door nearer to the driver and minimise the obstruction to visibility presented by the roof.

However, that would restrict the space within the cab and it - 2 - would not be possible to accommodate the driver's seat, a passenger seat and the control console.

A still further possibility would be to provide a window above the side door but such a window would not be cleaned by the windscreen wiper that is normally mounted on the door and would become useless within a very short time

of operation in the field.

Object of the invention

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The present invention is concerned with improving the dimensions of the cab in such a manner that the driver has a more spacious and comfortable cab interior, while the visibility to the spout to bee seen by the driver remains optimal.

Summary of the invention

According to the present invention, there is provided a cab for an agricultural vehicle, having a base, a roof and a waist lying vertically between the base and the roof, wherein the distance between the sides of the cab is greater at the waist than adjacent the roof.

Preferred features of the invention Preferably, the sides of the cab are continuously curved, the cab being barrel shaped when viewed from the front of the vehicle.

Advantageous, the distance between the sides of the cab is also greater at the waist than adjacent the base of the cab.

The invention mitigates the above-described problems by bringing the top end of the side door nearer to the driver i - 3 without reducing the width of the cab at its waist. At the height where is matters, the cab is sufficiently wide to accommodate the driver' seat, a passenger seat and a control console but at its highest, the cab is narrower and therefore affords the driver better visibility of the spout.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front view of the outer shell of a cab for a forage harvester, Figure 2 is a side view of the cab in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a plan view of the cab in Figure 1, and Figure 4 is a perspective view of the cab of Figure 1.

Detailed description of the Preferred embodiment

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The terms "front and rear" are used herein in their normal sense to refer to the sides of the cab that face forwards and backwards, respectively, in the direction of travel of the vehicle.

The drawings show a cab 10 for a forage harvester. As most clearly seen from Figure 4, the cab has single piece glass front 12, two glass side doors 14 and a rear window 16. The glass front 12, the side doors 14 and the rear window 16 are all curved in both the horizontal and the vertical plane and are supported on a tubular frame 18. The base 20 and the lower part of the back 28 of the cab are made of sheet metal secured to the tubular frame 18.

The roof structure 22 of the cab is formed of an outer skin 22a and an inner skin 22b. On the outside of the cab, the headlights 24 are situated between the two skins of the roof structure in two lateral projections 26 that make the - 4 - roof structure resemble a hammer-head shark. Within the cab the roof structure is used to house ancillary equipments such as a radio, the temperature control panel and ducts for the air conditioning system.

As best seen in Figure 2, the two skins are widely spaced at the front of the cab but the space between them reduces gradually towards the back of the cab so that the upper edge of the door 14 meets the roof structure along an lo upwardly convex curved edge 14a. The reduction in the depth of the roof structure 22 at the rear of the cab 10, allows the height of the glass door 14 to be increased at its rear end to improve the vertical visibility from the driver's seat.

When viewed from the front, the cab 10 can be seen to be barrel shaped, being wider at its waist than either its top or its base. The narrow base allows room on each side of the cab for access steps and the wide waist allows room within the cab for a driver's seat, a console panel and a buddy seat (the interior of the cab has been omitted from the drawings in the interest of clarity). The reduced width of the cab at the top improves vertical visibility by allowing the driver to see the discharge spout and avoid the need for him to bend down and peer through the top of the door 14.

The glass of the door 14 is kept clean by means of a wiper mounted near the top of the hinged side of the door, as represented by the three mounting holes 30 shown in Figure 2. The wiper is able to sweep the entire area of the door up to the edge where is meets the roof structure thereby enabling the extra afforded by the present invention to improve vertical visibility to be maintained clean at all times.

Claims

1. A cab (10) for an agricultural vehicle, having a base (20), a roof (22) and a waist lying vertically between the base (20) and the roof (22), wherein the distance between the sides of the cab (10) is greater at the waist than adjacent the roof (22).

2. A cab (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lo distance between the sides of the cab (10) is also greater at the waist than adjacent the base (22) of the cab.

3. A cab (10) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the sides of the cab (10) are continuously curved, the cab being barrel shaped when viewed from the front of the vehicle.

4. A cab (10) for an agricultural vehicle as claimed in claim 1, substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.