WO1997016957A1

WO1997016957A1 - Laterally mounted mower

Info

Publication number: WO1997016957A1
Application number: PCT/DK1996/000465
Authority: WO
Inventors: Georg Agertoft Lauritzen
Original assignee: Kverneland Taarup A/S
Priority date: 1995-11-10
Filing date: 1996-11-11
Publication date: 1997-05-15
Also published as: AU7561096A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a laterally mounted mower (1) comprising a main frame (2) for mounting on tractors and an arm (3) which is pivotally secured to the main frame (2) and extends transversally to the advancing path of the mower (1) and outwards to a cutter bar (4) which may be pivoted about an axis of rotation (5) whereby the cutter bar (4) may be moved between a working position in which the cutter bar (4) extends substantially horizontally and a transport position in which the cutter bar (4) extends upwards. Furthermore the mower (1) comprises a driving device (6) arranged for transmitting a rotating movement from the tractor's power take-off to a substantially horizontal driving shaft (7) which extends substantially in the advancing path of the tractor, and which is connected to a gear (8) that drives the cutter means of the cutter bar (4). The mower (1) according to the invention is characterised in that the axis of rotation (5) of the cutter bar (4) is situated between the main frame (2) and the driving shaft (7) seen in a horizontal plane when the mower (1) is in its working position, and at a vertical distance from the horizontal cutting plane (9) in which the cutter means cuts which is smaller than the total distance constituted by the vertical distance between the driving shaft (7) and the cutting plane (9) and the horizontal distance between the driving shaft (7) and the axis of rotation (5).

Description

Laterally mounted mower

Technical field

The present invention relates to a laterally mounted mower comprising a main frame for mounting on tractors and an arm which is pivotally secured to the main frame and extends transversally to the advancing path of the mower and to a cutter bar that may be rotated about an axis of rotation whereby the cutter bar may be caused to alternate between a working position in which the cutter bar extends substantially horizontally and a transport position in which the cutter bar extends upwards. Moreover the mower comprises an driving device arranged for transmitting a rotational movement from the power take-off of the tractor to a substantially horizontal driving shaft which extends substantially in the advancing path of the tractor and is connected to a gear that operates the cutter means of the cutter bar.

However, mowers of the type described in the introductory part are known. In these prior art mowers the cutter bar is arranged at a distance from the driving shaft, i.a. because space must be available for the gear, etc., between the driving shaft and the cutter bar. This distance means that the gear, the cutter bar, etc., are caused to extend an extra distance beyond the driving shaft seen vertically when the cutter bar is moved from the working position to the transport position by rotation about the driving shaft whereby the cutter bar is caused to extend upwards which means that often the mowers have such width that they extend a substantial distance beyond the side of the tractor. This is inconvenient since hereby the tractor with the mower mounted thereon becomes more difficult to transport, and consequently efforts have so far been made to reduce this distance, e.g. by making the gear more compact.

Object

It is the object of the present invention to provide a laterally mounted mower of the type described in the introductory part which has a smaller transport width than the prior art mowers but without an ensuing reduction of the working width. It is a further object of the invention to provide a more simple mower which is easy to use and operate and which may be used in a soiled environment without ensuing damage.

Novel aspects of the machine

The mower according to the invention is characterised in that the axis of rotation of the cutter bar is situated between the main frame and the driving shaft seen in a horizontal plane when the mower is in its working position, and at such vertical distance from the horizontal cutting plane in which the cutter means cut which is smaller than the total distance constituted by the vertical distance between the driving shaft and the cutting plane and the horizontal distance between the driving shaft and the axis of rotation.

Advantages

Hereby a mower with a small transport width is obtained since the axis of rotation of the cutter bar does not coincide with the driving shaft but is, on the contrary, arranged in correspondence with the guidelines described above, i.e. the axis of rotation of the cutter bar is caused to be more proximate to the main frame seen in a horizontal plane. This means that, in its transport position, the cutter bar does not extend as far to the side as the known constructions.

It is a further advantage that a simple mower is provided with is easy to use and operate and which may be used even in soiling environments.

Mode of operation

Installation of the mower according to the invention takes place by mounting of the main frame of the mower on a tractor or the like, following which power take-off, etc., is connected to the mower. Hereby the rotating movement is transmitted from the tractor's take-off to the gear that drives the cutter means of the cutter bar.

During operation the cutter bar is advanced along a substantially vertical cutting plane at a distance above the ground surface which corresponds to the desired cutting height. During transportation of the mower the one end of the cutter bar is rotated about the axis of rotation of the mower from the working position to a transport position in which the cutter bar extends upwards. During the rotating operation of the cutter bar, the driving shaft is also rotated about the rotational axis of the mower.

Advantages of preferred embodiments.

Convenient embodiments will appear from the dependent claims.

According to a particularly convenient embodiment of the mower according to the invention, the driving device comprises first and second driving wheels which are interconnected. Hereby it is ensured that the rotating movement is easily transmitted therebetween by means of e.g. belts or chains.

According to an alternative preferred embodiment the first and second driving wheels are connected via an driving belt. Hereby a simple and inexpensive transmission of the movement of rotation between the first and the second driving wheels is obtained. Moreover driving belts are inexpensive in use.

When the mower is in its driving position, the axis of rotation may advantageously be situated substantially in the same level as the driving shaft. Hereby a particularly reduced transport width is obtained.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention the axis of rotation is arranged more proximate to the main frame than the driving shaft. Hereby a particularly reduced transport width is obtained.

Advantageously the driving device may further comprise a tightening device that consists of an arm arranged between the first and the second driving wheel and the length of which may be adjusted. Hereby it is possible for the user to tighten the driving belt as a consequence of e.g. wear, and the distance between the driving wheels may also be reduced in connection with the change of driving belts.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the mower, the cutter bar extends substantially vertically upwards in the transport position. Hereby it is ensured that neither of the cutter bar's ends protrude sideways, while simultaneously enabling swift change of the cutter bar from the transport position to the working position and vice versa. Reference to the drawings

The invention will now be explained in further detail with reference to the drawings, where

Figure 1 illustrates the mower according to the invention in its working position seen from the side,

Figure 2 the same in the working position seen from the side, and

Figure 3 the same mounted at the rear of a tractor shown in the working position as well as in the transport position.

Detailed description of advantageous embodiments

Figure 1 illustrates a laterally mounted mower 1 comprising a main frame 2 for mounting on the three-point suspension means at the rear of a tractor. From the main frame 2 of the mower 1 an arm 3 extends sideways transversally to the advancing path of the mower 1. At the outermost end of the 3 a cutter bar 4 is pivotally secured. The arm 3 is also pivotally secured to the main frame 2 whereby the extreme end of the arm 3 may move up and down. Hereby it is possible to allow for planar differences in the ground surface.

This up-and-down movement may advantageously be moderated whereby it is ensured that the cutter bar 4 moves in a controlled manner. The moderation may e.g. be carried out by incorporating a spring device between the arm 3 and the main frame 2. The cutter bar 4 consists of an elongate beam wherein a number of not shown cutter blades are arranged which are rotated about substantially vertical axes during harvesting while the cutter bar 4 is simultaneously advanced in the advancing path of the tractor. This harvesting method will not be described in further detail herein as it is well known to the persons skilled in the art.

The cutter bar 4 is arranged for being pivoted about an axis of rotation 5 whereby the cutter bar 4 may be caused to alternate between a working position (shown in Figure 1) in which the harvesting beam 4 extends substantially vertically along the cutting plane 9 in which the cutter bar 4 cuts, to a transport position in which the cutter bar 4 extends vertically upwards as shown in Figure 2.

Moreover, the mower 1 comprises a driving device 6 arranged for transmitting a rotating movement from the power take-off of the tractor to a substantially horizontal driving shaft 7 that extends substantially in the advancing path of the tractor and which is connected to a gear 8 that drives the cutter blades of the cutter bar 1. Via the gear 8 the driving shaft 7 is permanently embedded relative to the cutter bar 4.

In the embodiment shown the rotating movement is transmitted from the power take-off of the tractor via a not shown cardan shaft to a first driving wheel 10 arranged at the main frame 2. Via a driving belt 11 the rotating movement is transmitted to a second driving wheel 12 which is secured to the substantially horizontal driving shaft . From here the rotation movement is transmitted via the gear 8 to the cutter blades of the cutter bar as described above. Between the first driving wheel 11 and the second driving wheel 12 a tightening device is also provided that consists of a tightener arm 13. The length of the tightener arm 13 may be adjusted to regulate the distance between the driving wheels 10,12 whereby the driving belt 11 may be tightened or loosened.

When the mower 1 is in its working position the axis of rotation 5 of the mower 1 is situated between the main frame 2 and the driving shaft 7 seen in a horizontal plane. In Figure 1 this is indicated by the axis of rotation 5 being situated to the left of the dotted line A-A.

Moreover, the axis of rotation 5 is arranged at a vertical distance from the horizontal cutting plane 9 in which the cutter means cut and which is smaller than the total distance constituted by the vertical distance between the driving axis 7 and the cutting plane 9 and the vertical distance between the driving axis 7 and the axis of rotation 5. In Figure 1 this is indicated by the axis of rotation 5 being situated in the area below, to the left of the dotted line B-B.

When the mower 1 is to be moved from the working position to the transport position the cutter bar 4 with its gear 8 and driving shaft 7 is rotated about 90° about the axis of rotation 8. In Figure 2 the cutter bar 4 is thus rotated about 90° anticlockwise seen relative to the mower 1 shown in Figure 1. Hereby the cutter bar is caused to occupy its vertical position.

It should be noted that when the cutter bar 4 is rotated from the one position to the other, the driving shaft 7 to which the cutter bar is secured is rotated about the axis of rotation 8 and thus describes a circular-arch path whose radius corresponds to the distance between the axis of rotation 8 and the driving shaft 7. The driving shaft 7 and the second driving wheel 12 are hereby moved.

It being at all times desirable to maintain a constant distance between the first and the second driving wheels 10,12, the first driving wheel 10 is moved simultaneously with the second driving wheel 12 being rotated about the axis of rotation 8. This movement of the first driving wheel 10 is effected by the driving wheel 12 which is pivotally secured to the arm 3 via a support arm 14 is rotated about the axis 15 which is the axis of rotation of the support arm 14.

Figure 3 outlines the principles of the mower 1 according to the invention mounted at the rear of a tractor. In the drawings dotted lines indicate how the first driving wheel 10 alternates between two different positions. Moreover a moderation device 16 is shown that moderates the up-and-down movement of the cutter bar 4.

Many modifications may be carried out without departing from the idea behind this invention. Thus, in the embodiments shown a laterally mounted mower is shown but the invention also lends itself to other similar agricultural machinery, e.g. windrowers.

Moreover, it should be noted that the driving device 6 may be made in many ways. Thus, in the embodiment shown it comprises two driving wheels 10,12 and a driving belt 11, but it may also consist of e.g. a permanent shaft.

Claims

C l a i m s

1. A laterally mounted mower (1) comprising a main frame (2) for mounting on tractors and an arm (3) which is pivotally secured to the main frame (2) and extends transversally to the advancing path of the mower (1) and to a cutter bar (4) which may be pivoted about an axis of rotation (5) whereby the cutter bar (4) may be moved between a working position in which the cutter bar (4) extends substantially parallel and a transport position in which the cutter bar (4) extends upwards, and wherein the mower (1) further comprises a driving device (6) which is arranged for transmitting a rotating movement from the tractor's power take-off to a substantially horizontal driving shaft (7) which extends substantially in the advancing path of the tractor and which is connected to a gear (8) which drives the cutter means of the cutter bar (4) , c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the axis of rotation (5) of the cutter bar (4) is situated between the main frame (2) and the driving shaft

(7) seen in a horizontal plane when the mower (1) is in its working position, and at a vertical distance from the horizontal cutting plane (9) in which the cutter means cut and which is smaller than the total distance which is constituted by the vertical distance between the driving shaft (7) and the cutting plane (9) and the horizontal distance between the driving shaft (7) and the axis of rotation (5) .

2. A laterally mounted mower (1) according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the driving device (6) comprises a first driving wheel (10) arranged at the main frame (2) of the mower and connected to the power take-off of the tractor, and a second driving wheel (12) connected thereto and arranged at the cutter bar (4) and connected to the driving shaft (7) .

3. A laterally mounted mower (1) according to claim 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the first (10) and the second (12) driving wheels are connected via a driving belt (11) .

4. A laterally mounted mower (1) according to any one of claims 1 through 3, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the axis of rotation (5) is situated in substantially the same level as the driving shaft (7) when the mower (1) is in its working position.

5. A laterally mounted mower (1) according to one or more of claims 1 through 4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the axis of rotation (5) is situated at a distance from the main frame (2) which is smaller than the distance between the driving shaft (7) and the main frame (2), when the mower is in its working position.

6. A laterally mounted mower (1) according to one or more of claims 1 through 5, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the driving device (6) comprises a tightening device which is constituted of a tightener arm (13) arranged between the first (10) and the second (12) driving wheel and the length of which is adjustable whereby the driving belt (11) may be tightened.

7. A laterally mounted mower (1) according to one or more of claims 1 through 6, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the cutter bar (4) extends substantially vertically upwards in its transport position.