WO1998006251A1

WO1998006251A1 - Agricultural implement

Info

Publication number: WO1998006251A1
Application number: PCT/AU1997/000008
Authority: WO
Inventors: Noel Colin Eveans; Brian Lesie Fowler
Original assignee: Hydras-Trim Pty. Ltd.
Priority date: 1996-08-09
Filing date: 1997-01-09
Publication date: 1998-02-19
Also published as: AUPO151196A0

Abstract

An articulated boom device for mobile vehicles comprises a tiltable and telescopically extendable mast (4) pivotally connected via independently telescopically extendable parallel links (5, 6) to a support arm (7) supporting a work head (8). The boom assembly (1) is supported on a mounting bracket (3) for rotation about an upright axis by means of a powered worm and pinion gear assembly (9). The work head (8) comprises one of a selection of interchangeable functional operators which are capable of placement within the forward view of a vehicle operator to permit safe monitoring and control of the functional operator whilst the vehicle is in forward motion.

Description

TITLE AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT

FIELD OF INVENTION This invention is concerned with improvements in mobile agricultural implements and particularly, although not exclusively, with mobile agricultural implements adaptable to carry out a plurality of functions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Most agricultural implements are designed with a specific function in mind. Accordingly, farmers, orchardists, local government councils, contractors and the like must make capital investments in a wide range of single purpose implements to carry out specific functions at regular intervals or in accordance with seasonal demands. While individual single purpose implements may be quite satisfactory for their purpose, the need to utilise a wide range of implements is inefficient due to the time taken to interchange implements on a mobile powered vehicle such as a tractor. This inefficiency is exacerbated by the fact that such implements lie idle for major periods of time and this in turn can lessen the lifespan of the implement.

Single purpose agricultural implements of the type described above are typically adapted for connection to a three point linkage of a tractor and draw a source of power from the tractor power take off unit or from an hydraulic power system if fitted. While some implements such as rotary grass slashers may be suspended beneath the tractor chassis between the front and rear wheels, the majority of such implements are adapted for attachment to the three point linkage at the rear of the tractor. The main disadvantage with such rear mounted implements is that it is virtually impossible to safely monitor and control operations of the implement whilst the tractor is in forward motion due to the simultaneous need to maintain a watchful eye on forward motion of the tractor. This situation, apart from being inherently unsafe, can lead to neck and back strain in the tractor operator.

It is known to mount certain agricultural implements such as grass mowers to the side of a tractor for extended lateral reach. One such prior art side mounted mower is described in United States Patent No.

5210997 which comprises a vegetation cutter pivotally mounted on the end of an articulated boom extending from one side of a tractor.

Another side reach vegetation cutter is described in United States

Patent No. 5396754 which describes a vegetation cutter tiltably mounted to an elevated articulated boom extending to one side of a tractor. The boom is elevated to permit the vegetation cutter to reach over a fence or the like to cut grass on the far side thereof.

While generally effective for their purpose, heavy side mounted implements capable of extended reach usually require a counterweight on the opposite side of the tractor to avoid accidental roll over when the boom is fully extended.

Moreover, the side mounted implements are almost as unsafe in operation as rear mounted implements whilst the tractor is moving due to the necessity of the tractor driver having to turn his head through 90° to monitor forward progress while simultaneously monitoring and controlling the implement.

Neither of the above mentioned implements is capable of pivotal movement about an upright axis and thus extension and retraction of the cutter head follows a single path extending at 90° to the direction of travel of the tractor.

United States Patents 4887417, 4912916 and 4956965 all describe mowers attached to a three point linkage at the rear of a tractor and powered by the tractor power take off. The mower is mounted on the end of an articulated boom pivotally mounted to the tractor about an upright axis to permit movement of the mower head from one side of the tractor to the other. A similar but non rotatably mounted rear mounted mower for a small lawn or garden tractor is described in United States Patent No. 4869056.

United Kingdom Patent No. GB 2282950-A describes a hydraulically operable boom assembly for a vegetation cutter which permits mounting at the rear of a tractor such that in a transport mode, an hydraulic reservoir does not extend laterally beyond one side of the tractor and the cutter head does not extend beyond the other side of the tractor.

Another rear mounted vegetation trimmer is described in Russian Patent No. 2044457-C1. This implement moves between an elevated travelling position and a lowered operating position and comprises a cutter in the form of a blade, a counter cutter with symmetrical teeth and a cutter drive.

While all of the above implements are generally satisfactory for their respective intended functional purposes, all suffer from the disadvantages of being limited to a specific function and inherently incapable of safe monitoring and control by a vehicle operator whilst the tractor is in forward motion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an aim of the present invention to provide an agricultural implements which overcomes or ameliorates at least some of the disadvantages associated with prior art implements.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a mobile powered implement comprising:- an articulated boom assembly having at least two pivotally connected boom arms; mounting means for mounting said boom assembly to a mobile vehicle, said mounting means permitting at least limited rotational movement of said boom assembly about an upright axis; and, a work head located adjacent a free end of said boom assembly, said apparatus characterised in that said work head is locatable forward of an operator's position for operation within the field of view of said operator whilst said vehicle is in forward motion.

Preferably said articulated boom assembly is adapted for movement of said work head between an elevated position above said vehicle to a lowered position below said vehicle.

Suitably said boom assembly may comprise three or more boom arms.

If required, one or more of said boom arms may be telescopically extendable.

Said one or more telescopically extendable boom arms may be extendable by mechanical or fluid powered means.

Suitably, at least one of said boom arms is rotatable about its longitudinal axis. Preferably said boom arms are selectively movable about a respective pivotal connection between an extended position and a retracted position by fluid powered rams connected therebetween.

Preferably at least one of said boom arms comprises a parallel linkage. The mounting means for at least limited rotational movement of said boom assembly may be selectively actuated by mechanical, electromechanical or fluid powered means or any combination thereof.

Preferably the mounting means is actuated for rotational movement by fluid powered means. Suitably, control means is provided adjacent an operator's driving position to permit selective control of said work head during forward motion thereof.

Preferably said control means includes at least one joystick control for simultaneous relative operation of at least two operational functions of said work head.

The work head may be electrically, mechanically or fluidically powered.

Preferably the work head is powered by a source of pressurized hydraulic fluid.

If required the work head may comprise an integrally constructed functional operator.

Suitably the work head comprises one or more releasably securable functional operators.

The functional operator may comprise a vegetation cutter of any suitable form including a line trimmer, rotary cutting blade, reciprocating bar cutters, tree pruning shears and the like.

Alternatively the functional operator may comprise a spray head for selective application of fungicides, herbicides, pesticides, nutrients, pollination or the like.

If required the functional operator may comprise a crop harvesting device such as a trunk or branch shaker, picking jaws, pruning shears or the like with or without a crop collection container.

Suitably the functional operator is adapted to apply protective covers to banana bunches.

The functional operator may comprise a rotary brush. Preferably, the work head is tiltable from an operating plane substantially normal to a longitudinal axis of a boom arm supporting said work head to a plane substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said boom arm.

If required said mounting means is adapted for attachment to one side of a vehicle intermediate its front and rear ends.

Preferably said mounting means is adapted for attachment adjacent the front end of a vehicle.

Most preferably the mounting means is adapted for pivotal movement to permit operation of a functional operator on a selected side of the vehicle. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order that the invention may be more fully understood and put into practical effect, various preferred embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- FIG 1 shows a tractor mounted vegetation cutter.

FIG 2 shows an enlarged view of the work head of the embodiment of FIG 1.

FIGS 3-6 show schematically various configurations of an articulated boom assembly. FIGS 7-9 show schematic plan views of the extent of reach of a work head for an articulated boom assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In FIG 1 , the apparatus comprises an articulated boom assembly 1 mounted at the front end of tractor 2 by a fabricated mounting platform 3 attached to the tractor chassis or frame.

The boom assembly 1 comprises an upright mast 4, intermediate parallel links 5,6 and a support arm 7 supporting a functional operator in the form of a vegetation cutter 8. Mast 4 is telescopically extendable in an upright direction and is rotatably mounted on an upright pivotal axis for rotation by a worm and pinion gear mechanism 9 actuable by hydraulic motor 10.

If required, the base of mast 4 could be pivotally mounted about a transverse axis for tiltable movement by an hydraulic cylinder (not shown) pivotally connected between mast 4 and the housing for the worm and pinion gear mechanism 9 or a rotatable base mounting (not shown).

Parallel links 5 and 6 are pivoted at respective opposite ends to mast 4 and support arm 7 and the parallel links 5 and 6 are tiltable in concert by an hydraulic cylinder 11 or are independently operable. Each of parallel links 5 and 6 are telescopically extendable by means of hydraulic cylinders 5a, 6a to selectively adjust the angle of inclination of support arm 7.

Similarly, the mounting for the hydraulic drive motor 8 is coupled to the end of support arm 7 by means of a universal type linkage 12 tiltable through two pivotal axes normal to each other by means of hydraulic cylinders 13, 14.

The various tilting and rotational functions of the articulated arm assembly are controlled by hydraulic valves which are operated by levers or "joysticks' (not shown) located within the operator's cabin. An hydraulic oil reservoir 15 is conveniently mounted on mounting platform 3. In use the apparatus may be operated whilst the tractor is in motion or whilst the tractor is stationary depending upon the function to be performed.

For example with a vegetation cutter attached to hydraulic motor 8, the apparatus may be used safely while the vehicle is in motion by placing the vegetation cutter within the forward field of view of the operator. This for example may be adjacent the front wheel 16 of the tractor so that the operator can trim grass on either side of a fence and simultaneously monitor and control the vegetation cutter whilst positioning the front wheel 16 relative to the fence. Similarly with the articulated boom assembly 1 in a substantially horizontal extended position, and the drive motor tilted to an appropriate angle, the apparatus when fitted with a hedge trimming head (not shown) could be employed to trim the sides and top of a hedgerow beside a roadway. Still further, with the articulated arm assembly 1 extended to a more upright position, the apparatus could be employed to spray the foliage of rowed trees in an orchard while permitting the operator to keep the spray boom (not shown) in his field of vision whilst safely and accurately steering the tractor between the rows of trees. In stationary applications, the apparatus may operate through 360° to carry out a function beside, in front of or behind the tractor. As the mast 4 would not be tiltable to a great extent in the rearward direction in order to clear the operator's cabin, the field of operation behind the tractor would be less than that beside or in front of the tractor.

The articulated boom assembly is capable of an extended upright reach as well as an extended reach in a downward direction to carry out functions above or below the tractor position.

In a transport mode, the articulated boom assembly 1 could be supported on the tractor canopy with support arm 7 hanging downwardly.

Alternatively, the articulated boom assembly could be stowed with the support arm 7 located on a support bracket not shown between the tractor body and the rear wheel of the tractor.

FIG 2 shows an enlarged view of the functional end of support arm 7.

In the arrangement as shown, the hydraulic drive motor (not shown) is uncoupled from hydraulic fluid drive hoses 20, 21 by means of self sealing quick connect couplings 22.

At the lower end of the universal type coupling shown schematically at 23 is a mounting plate 24 having a conventional quick connect coupling mechanism 25 adapted to releasably locate a plurality of differing functional operators such as the boom spray head 26 shown. In this case a spray supply conduit 27 is fitted with a quick connect coupling 28 to enable ready removal of the boom spray head 26 and replacement with some other functional operator.

Figure 3 shows schematically a very simple two arm articulated boom.

In this case boom arms 30 and 31 may be of fixed length or either or both may be telescopically extendable.

As with the embodiment of FIG 1 , the articulated boom assembly of FIG 3 includes a worm and pinion gear mechanism 32 to rotate the boom assembly about an upright axis. Hydraulic cylinders 33, 34 provide control for extension and retraction of the boom assembly. FIGS 4-6 show schematically the degree of flexibility of the boom assembly of FIG 1 and for the sake of simplicity, like reference numerals have been employed.

As FIGS 4-6 illustrate the articulated boom assembly 1 can extend from a substantially upwardly vertical position through a horizontally extended position to a downwardly vertical position.

As shown in FIG 4, the functional operator head as represented schematically by hydraulic motor 8 is able to perform overhead functions such as tree pruning, crop harvesting, cleaning of roadway signs, spray painting or cleaning of walls, selective crop spraying, application of protective covers to banana bunches etc with an appropriate functional operator for the purpose.

For added stability, mast 4 is able to be inclined rearwardly to shift the centre of gravity of the boom assembly 1 towards the tractor wheelbase.

FIG 5 shows the capacity of the apparatus to, say, trim vegetation or spray herbicides etc on contoured culverts or revetment walls.

FIG 6 shows the capacity of the apparatus to carry out functions in a deep culvert or excavation or to perform a function over the side of a bridge railing such as pruning of foliage or the like therebeneath.

FIGS 7-9 illustrate schematically plan views of the extent of outward reach of a functional operator attached to the end of a boom assembly of the type illustrated in FIGS 1 and 4-6.

FIG 7 shows schematically a front mounted boom assembly capable o fextend4ed forward reach through at least 180°. Rearward reach is limited by the need to elevate parallel link arms 5, 6 to clear the tractor cabin.

FIG 8 shows sweep paths for alternate side mountings of the boom assembly and FIG 9 shows the sweep path for a rear mounted boom assembly. As can be seen in FIG 8, even with a rear mounted boom assembly, the functional operator head 8 can be placed within the forward field of view of an operator to permit safe monitoring and control of the functional operator head whilst the vehicle is in forward motion.

It will be clear to a skilled addressee that many modifications and variations may be made to the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

In particular, the range of functionalities of the functional operators in limited only by the imagination of the user who may select from a range of specific interchangeable functional operators to suit the end user's purpose. It will be equally clear to a skilled addressee that the articulated boom assembly according to the invention provides a substantially more flexible and otherwise useful apparatus than prior art purpose built devices.

Claims

1. A mobile powered implement comprising:- an articulated boom assembly having at least two pivotally connected boom arms; mounting means for mounting said boom assembly to a mobile vehicle, said mounting means permitting at least limited rotational movement of said boom assembly about an upright axis; and, a work head located adjacent a free end of said boom assembly, said apparatus characterised in that said work head is beatable forward of an operator's position for operation within the field of view of said operator whilst said vehicle is in forward motion.

2. An implement as claimed in claim 1 wherein said articulated boom assembly is adapted for movement of said work head between an elevated position above said vehicle to a lowered position below said vehicle.

3. An implement as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said boom assembly comprises three or more boom arms.

4. An implement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein one or more of said boom arms is telescopically extendable.

5. An implement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein at least one of said boom arms is rotatable about its longitudinal axis.

6. An implement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said boom arms are selectively movable about a respective pivotal connection between an extended position and a retracted position by fluid powered rams connected therebetween.

7. An implement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein at least one of said boom arms comprises a parallel linkage.

8. An implement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the mounting means for at least limited rotational movement of said boom assembly is selectively actuated by mechanical, electro- mechanical or fluid powered means or any combination thereof.

9. An implement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein control means is provided adjacent an operator's driving position to permit selective control of said work head during forward motion thereof.

10. An implement as claimed in claim 9 wherein said control means includes at least one joystick control for simultaneous relative operation of at least two operational functions of said work head.

11. An implement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the work head is electrically, mechanically or fluidically powered.

12. An implement as claimed in claim 11 wherein the work head is powered by a source of pressurized hydraulic fluid.

13. An implement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the work head comprises an integrally constructed functional operator.

14. An implement as claimed in any one of claims 1-12 wherein the work head comprises one or more releasably securable functional operators.

15. An implement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the work head is tiltable from an operating plane substantially normal to a longitudinal axis of a boom arm supporting said work head to a plane substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said boom arm.

16. An implement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said mounting means is adapted for attachment to one side of a vehicle intermediate its front and rear ends.

17. An implement as claimed in any one of claims 1-15 wherein said mounting means is adapted for attachment adjacent the front end of a vehicle.

18. An implement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the mounting means is adapted for pivotal movement to permit operation of a functional operator on a selected side of the vehicle.