Harvesters – Motorized harvester – Including plural operating units and drive
Patent
1997-07-23
2000-02-29
Pezzuto, Robert E.
Harvesters
Motorized harvester
Including plural operating units and drive
180234, A01B 5102
Patent
active
060294310
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
A vehicle is known, for example, as described in WO90/07866 which comprises an elongate section having chassis sections at its ends. Each chassis section carries a drive wheel and a further wheel. The drive wheels can be driven to enable the vehicle to travel transverse to or longitudinally of the elongate section. A cab for a driver is provided at one end of the vehicle mounted on one of the chassis sections.
The vehicle described in WO90/07866 includes a single engine carried by one of the chassis sections at one end of the vehicle. The single engine powers a hydraulic motor mounted on each driving wheel through a hydraulic system.
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a vehicle comprising a structure including an elongate section, at least one driving wheel carried by a further section of the structure adjacent each end of the elongate section and drive means for driving the driving wheels, the drive means comprising two engines, one engine being carried by each further section and driving the or each driving wheel of that further section.
Providing an engine on each further section of the vehicle which carries at least one driving wheel provides improved traction in comparison with the known vehicle as the weight distribution of the vehicle in relation to the wheels is improved.
Preferably, each engine drives the or each driving wheel of the further section by which it is carried by a hydraulic motor.
The use of a single engine and the consequent splitting of the hydraulic drive is complex requiring extensive use of hydraulic conduit along the length of the elongate section to the opposite chassis section to power that wheel. Two hydraulic pumps must be driven at constant speed, output from the pumps being controlled at a splitter box to enable the required amount of hydraulic fluid to be fed to the drive wheels at either end of the vehicle. The use of an engine at each end of the vehicle of the invention significantly simplifies that system, as each engine is close to the wheel which it must drive and thus power need not be transmitted from one end of the vehicle to the other. The length of hydraulic conduit needed in the vehicle of the invention is greatly reduced over the prior known vehicle and while splitter box arrangements are still required, this is a significant improvement.
Preferably, a hydraulic motor is provided for each driving wheel.
A plurality of driving wheels may be carried by each further section. The vehicle may also be arranged to be driven longitudinally of the elongate section.
Tractors and other such vehicles are used to pull an elongate frame mounting a plurality of implements across the field. The frame is frequently longer than the width of the tractor and so tends to be attached centrally of the frame.
According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a vehicle comprising an elongate section and drive means for driving the vehicle in a direction transverse to the elongate section, the elongate section including a plurality of linkages, each linkage being arranged to be connected to the ends of adjacent frames carrying tools to be drawn over a surface by the vehicle.
As the vehicle linkages are connected to the ends of adjacent frames, the frames follow the ground contour in a much improved manner compared with connection to the frame mid-points and improved coverage of the around is achieved.
Preferably, the vehicle is also arranged to be driven longitudinally of the elongate section. At least one driving wheel to be driven by the driving means may be carried by a further section provided at each end of the elongate section.
Each linkage may be mounted in any suitable way but preferably is slidably mounted on a rail which extends along the elongate section. Preferably locking means is provided to lock each linkage onto the rail. The angle of each linkage to the elongate section is preferably adjustable. The vehicle preferably includes at least one height sensor to determine the height of the vehicle above a surface it is driving over and
REFERENCES:
patent: 3568778 (1971-03-01), Swisher, Jr. et al.
patent: 3692134 (1972-09-01), Shepherd et al.
patent: 4611683 (1986-09-01), Hilmer
Dowler David
Thomson David John
Watts Lawrence G.
LandOfFree
Vehicle does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Vehicle, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Vehicle will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-672208