WO1994026089A1

WO1994026089A1 - Agricultural machinery

Info

Publication number: WO1994026089A1
Application number: PCT/GB1994/000973
Authority: WO
Inventors: Stewart George Campbell; Roderick Donald Macdonald
Original assignee: Stewart George Campbell; Roderick Donald Macdonald
Priority date: 1993-05-06
Filing date: 1994-05-05
Publication date: 1994-11-24
Also published as: GB2283649A; GB2283649B; GB9500139D0; GB9309371D0

Abstract

The invention relates to an agricultural machine that may be towed by a tractor. The machine comprises a frame (2) which supports agricultural instrumentalities such as couters (12), or fertiliser dispensers and a first roller means comprised, in the example described, by a soil crumbling bar (8) and a soil compacting bar (10) which rotate when the machine is towed in direction A by a first tow bar attachment means (22). A second roller means is comprised by road wheels (30) which rotate about an axis parallel to direction A, and which are pivoted to an out-of-the-way position while the machine is operational. When the road wheels (30) are in contact with the ground, second tow bar attachment means (26) are extended in direction B, at right angles to direction A, and the operating instrumentalities (12) are swung upwardly and inwardly to reduce the width of the machine in direction A. Field wheels (36) may be dropped down by power-jacks (40) to lift the machine should the bars (8, 10) become bogged down in use.

Description

AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY

The invention is concerned with improvements in or relating to mobile agricultural machinery, particularly, but not exclusively, to a machine adapted to perform at least one of a number of functions, for example, sowing, furrowing, soil packing, applying fertiliser, mowing and so on.

It is often necessary in carrying out such functions on, say, arable land, to move machinery from one area or field to another, the areas being linked by public roads or by roads or gateways narrower than the width of the machinery. It is desirable when operating on an area of land to cover with each pass as wide a swath as possible and it is unacceptable for the width of the machinery, and therefore of the swath, to be restricted by non-relevant factors such as the width of roads.

The present invention provides an agricultural machine adapted to be towed by a suitable mobile power plant and comprising a frame device supporting agricultural operating instrumentalities, a first tow bar attachment device adapted to extend in a first direction with respect to the frame device, said operating instrumentalities being arranged to extend in at least one row or group in a second direction at right angles to said first direction, said frame device being provided with first roller means arranged to rotate about an axis extending in said second direction and adapted to permit movement of the frame device in said first direction when being towed, wherein there are further provided second roller means being arranged to rotate about an axis parallel to said first direction and arranged to one side of said frame device and a second tow bar attachment means provided to extend from an opposite side of said frame device, and wherein at least selected ones of said operating instrumentalities are mounted for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to said second direction so as to permit movement of said selected ones of the instrumentalities from an extended operating condition to an out-of-the-way condition in which the overall dimension of the machine is reduced in the sense of said first direction.

Advantageously, said first and second tow bar attachment means may be moveable between operating and withdrawn, inoperative conditions and said second roller means, which may conveniently be wheels, are movable between a ground-contacting condition and an inoperative condition.

Conveniently, said first and/or said second tow bar attachment means may be telescopically retractable or may be pivotable upwardly about a respective axis thereof.

Preferably, said selected ones of the operating instrumentalities are mounted upon a portion of said frame device, the frame portion being itself mounted on the frame device about an axis parallel to said second direction in order to permit said frame portion to pivot so that said selected ones of the operating instrumentalities may be swung upwardly from their extended operating condition into the out-of-the-way condition.

The present invention further provides, in a machine of the kind described in the third paragraph of this specification, a set of field wheels mounted for heightwise movement with respect to said frame device when in its operative condition between an out-of-the-way position clear of the ground and a ground-contacting position, continued downward movement from the out-of-the-way position causing the frame device to be lifted, thus freeing the operating instrumentalities from a position in which the machine has become bogged down in mud.

There will now be described an example of the machine according to the invention. It will be understood that the description, which is to be read with reference to the accompanying drawings, is given by way of example only and not by way of limitation.

In the Drawings:-

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the machine, with parts broken away for the sake of clarity; and

Figure 2 is a schematic side view of the movement range of operating instrumentalities of the machine and of field wheels thereof, with other parts omitted. The machine illustrated in the drawings comprises a frame device 2 supporting a plurality of rows of agricultural instrumentalities extending from one side of the frame device 2 to the opposite side, including a plurality of earth-digging tines 4 mounted on a crossbar 6, a rotatably mounted multi-toothed crumbier bar 8, a second row of tines 4, mounted on a second crossbar 6, a rotatable soil compacting bar 10 and a row of seed sowing devices 12 known as couters, capable of distributing seed and fertiliser in an even manner across the width of a swath of a field. The couters 12 are supplied via tubes 14 with seed and fertiliser granules from hoppers 16, 18 mounted on upper portions (shown in part at 20) of the frame device 2.

A first tow bar attachment means 22 is provided on the frame 2 which extends in the direction of arrow A to allow the frame and the instrumentalities to be pulled, conveniently by a tractor, in the direction of the arrow A thus rotating the bars 8 and 10. The tow bar is pivotally mounted about an axis 24 to allow the bar to pivot upwardly as shown by arrow W to an out-of-the-way position, for reasons which will be explained below.

It is clear that the treatment of a given area of land will be achieved more quickly with fewer passes if a machine is used which is capable of treating a wide swath than a machine having a limited swath width.

However, a machine having an extended operational width will be found very cumbersome if not impossible to haul through conventional field gates and too wide for many country lanes. Moreover, added width on a trailer towed on a public road requires at best a police escort and in many cases renders the transfer of the machine from field to field quite impossible.

The machine illustrated in the drawing is therefore provided with additional features.

While the machine, as operated normally in the direction of arrow A, travels with its greatest dimension transversely arranged with respect to that direction A, when the machine is being transported by towing from one field to another in a journey involving public roads, narrow roads, gateways and the like, the towing vehicle is hitched to a second tow bar attachment means 26 which extends in the direction of arrow B i.e. at right angles to the tow bar attachment means 22. This tow bar is mounted for telescopic retraction into a sleeve 28 on the frame 2 between a dotted-line position in the retracted state while the machine is operating normally and a full-line, extended, position during transit.

When the machine is to be towed in the direction of arrow B, i.e. by the tow bar attachment means 26 being attached to the tractor, it is necessary not only to swing the tow bar 22 upwardly, but also to bring into operation road wheels 30 pivotable about an axis arranged parallel to direction A. These road wheels may thus be swung from an upper, inoperative position during normal use of the apparatus to an operative, road-contacting position as shown by arrow X.

The frame 2, which supports the agricultural instrumentalities 4, 8, 10 and 12 is provided at a hinge line 32 with a heightwise movable frame portion 34 (see also Figure 2) which supports the couters 12, the hinge line permitting the frame portion 34 and the couters 12 to be swung upwardly (see arrow Y) into an out-of-the-way position shown at 34' and 12" respectively. It will be appreciated that the overall dimension of the apparatus measured in the direction of arrow A is thus considerably reduced (by an amount D) and may readily be arranged to be within legal and practical limits of vehicle/trailer widths. Furthermore, the arrangement makes for ease of maintenance of the couters which are more readily accessible than at ground level. It is also easier to access the hoppers 16, 18, when the device is in its narrower configuration.

It will be observed from the drawings that a further pair of wheels 36 is also provided on the frame 2, the wheels 36 being mounted for rotation about an axis parallel with the direction of arrow B and supported by means of sub-frame members 38. The sub-frame members 38 are each mounted on the frame 2 by means of a hydraulic jack device 40 which comprises a normally retracted piston-and-cylinder arrangement. However, when the - 7 - condition of the ground being operated upon by the agricultural instrumentalities is such that the machine is unable to operate, the instrumentalities may be freed from the mud by extending the jack device 40 so that the wheels 36 come into contact with the ground. Continued extension of the jack devices causes the frame 2 to be lifted to an extent Z that the mud is cleared by the instrumentalities and the machine is moved forward on the wheels 36 by a short distance. The jacks 38 are then retracted and the machine continues normal operation. Additionally, the wheels 36 may be used to support the entire machine as it is turned at swath ends, thereby avoiding the undesirable compaction of the soil at the field edges.

Various modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Claims

- 8 - CLAIMS :

1. An agricultural machine adapted to be towed by a suitable mobile power plant and comprising a frame device supporting agricultural operating instrumentalities, a first tow bar attachment device adapted to extend in a first direction with respect to the frame device, said operating instrumentalities being arranged to extend in at least one row or group in a second direction at right angles to said first direction, said frame device being provided with first roller means arranged to rotate about an axis extending in said second direction and adapted to permit movement of the frame device in said first direction when being towed, wherein there are further provided second roller means being arranged to rotate about an axis parallel to said first direction and arranged to one side of said frame device and a second tow bar attachment means provided to extend from an opposite side of said frame device, and wherein at least selected ones of said operating instrumentalities are mounted for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to said second direction so as to permit movement of said selected ones of the instrumentalities from an extended operating condition to an out-of-the-way condition in which the overall dimension of the machine is reduced in the sense of said first direction.

2. A machine as claimed in claim 1, in which said selected ones of the instrumentalities are mounted upon a portion of said frame device, the frame portion being itself mounted on the frame device about an axis parallel to said second direction in order to permit said frame portion to pivot so that said selected ones of the operating instrumentalities may be swung upwardly from their extended operating condition into the out-of-the-way condition.

3. A machine as claimed in claim 1, in which there is provided a set of field wheels mounted for heightwise movement with respect to said frame device when in its operative condition between an out-of-the-way position clear of the ground and a ground-contacting position, continued downward movement from the out-of-the-way position causing the frame device to be lifted, thus freeing the operating instrumentalities from a position in which the machine has become bogged down in mud.

4. A machine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the first and second tow bar attachment means are movable between operating and withdrawn, inoperative conditions and said second roller means are movable between a ground-contacting condition and an inoperative condition.

5. A machine as claimed in claim 4, wherein said second roller means are wheels.

6. A machine as claimed in claim 4, in which at least one of said first and second two bar attachment means are telescopically retractable.

7. A machine as claimed in claim 4, in which at least one of said first and second tow bar attachment means are upwardly pivotable about an axis thereof.

8. A machine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which said agricultural instrumentalities are selected from the group comprising sowing and fertiliser applying devices.

9. A machine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which there are further provided furrowing or soil crumbling and/or packing devices.

10. A machine as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, in which said first roller means comprises a soil packing device.

11. An agricultural machine adapted to be towed by a suitable mobile power plant constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the drawings.