Agricultural machine comprising a safety system with improved triggering kinematics

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11723310-B2
Application number	US-201816765667-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 20, 2018
Priority date	Nov 21, 2017
Publication date	Aug 15, 2023
Grant date	Aug 15, 2023

Abstract

An agricultural machine includes a hitching support, at least one tool or group of tools, at least one support arm which is connected to the hitching support by a first joint and to the tool or tool group, and which is mounted so as to pivot about a transfer axis between operational and raised positions, and a safety device making it possible to carry out a safety movement under the effect of pressure. The safety device includes a lift connected to the hitching support by a second joint. The second joint is offset relative to the first joint in the direction of travel. The safety movement can include a second movement phase during which the lift is able to move the tool or the group of tools away from the ground.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An agricultural machine that moves in a direction of forward travel during work, the machine comprising:
a hitching support;
at least one tool or group of tools having, in a work position, an extension transverse to the direction of forward travel and projecting laterally with respect to the hitching support;
a mounting arm connected to the hitching support via a first articulation and a fourth articulation offset forward with respect to the first articulation, in the direction of forward travel, and the mounting arm is connected to the tool or to the group of tools, the mounting arm being mounted to pivot about a transfer axis, substantially parallel to a plane of a ground when the machine is hitched, and about which the tool or the group of tools are configured to be transferred alternately between the work position in which it at least partially rests on the ground and at least one raised position, in which it is distanced from the ground; and
a safety device by which the tool or the group of tools perform a safety movement under sufficient pressure exerted on the tool or group of tools in an opposite direction to the direction of forward travel, the safety movement comprising at least a first phase of movement of which at least one component is rotated toward the rear with respect to the direction of forward travel, and about the first articulation,
wherein the safety device comprises lifting means connected to the hitching support by a second articulation and to the tool or to the group of tools, or to the mounting arm, by a third articulation,
wherein the first articulation directly connects the mounting arm to the hitching support,
wherein the second articulation is offset relative to the direction of forward travel with respect to the first articulation,
wherein the lifting means is configured to allow a variation in the distance between the second and third articulations over a determined range of lengths and to reach an end-stop state in which the distance exhibits a maximum or minimum value, and in which the lifting means exerts an upwardly directed force,
wherein each of the first, second and fourth articulations allows at least a limited rotation about an axis substantially parallel to the plane of the ground and substantially parallel to the direction of forward travel,
wherein each of the first, second and fourth articulations allows at least a limited rotation about an axis substantially perpendicular to the plane of the ground, and
wherein the safety movement comprises a second phase of movement that is consecutive to the first phase and in which the lifting means is in the end-stop state in which, when the pressure persists in the second phase of movement, the lifting means exerts on the tool or the group of tools an upwardly-directed force so as to distance the tool or group of tools from the ground.

2. The machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the transfer axis passes through the first articulation.

3. The machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the fourth articulation is offset downward toward the ground with respect to the second articulation.

4. The machine as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the first articulation and the fourth articulation together define the transfer axis.

5. The machine as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising at least a first cylinder for keeping the tool or the group of tools in the work position in a controlled manner, the first cylinder allowing the tool or the group of tools to perform the first phase of the safety movement.

6. The machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the second articulation is, in the work position, offset forward, relative to the direction of forward travel, and upward, away from the ground, with respect to the first articulation, and the lifting means in the end-stop state is a tie to transmit a pulling force between the tool or group of tools and the hitching support.

7. The machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the safety device comprises either a first cylinder or a connecting means comprising a chain or cable type.

8. The machine as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a guide device at the mounting arm that is configured to exert a force on the front of the tool or the group of tools so as to tilt the tool or the group of tools upward by rotation about the first articulation during the first phase of the safety movement.

9. The machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the second articulation is situated closer to a midplane of the hitching support, perpendicular to the plane of the ground and parallel to the direction of forward travel, than the first articulation, and each of the first, second and fourth articulations is a ball jointed articulation.

10. The machine as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising for each of the at least one tool or group of tools a raising cylinder configured to transfer the at least one tool or the group of tools alternately between the work position and at least one intermediate or final raised position, by pivoting about the transfer axis, and the raising cylinder is structurally associated with the lifting means and is secured to and arranged coaxially in the extension of a first cylinder that forms part of the lifting means and configured to be in a lengthened end-stop state at the end of the first phase of the safety movement.

11. The machine as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising two tools or groups of tools arranged on either side of the hitching support, and each of the two tools or groups of tools is connected to the hitching support by its own mounting arm and associated with a safety device.

12. The machine as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the two tools or groups of tools are of identical form and arranged symmetrically with respect to a midplane of the hitching support.

13. The machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one tool or the group of tools includes a member for mowing or treating cut plant matter, or a group of such members, attached by a pivot connection that forms a fifth articulation with an axis substantially parallel to the direction of forward travel in the work position, at the free end of the support arm that is the opposite end to the hitching support, the machine being of the mounted or drawn type.

Assignees

• Kuhn Sa

Inventors

• Billard Sylvain

Classifications

• A01D75/185 Primary

  Avoiding collisions with obstacles · CPC title

• A01D34/661

  Mounting means · CPC title

• A01D34/664

  Disc cutter bars · CPC title

• A01D67/00

  Undercarriages or frames specially adapted for harvesters or mowers (coupling arrangements between animal or tractor and harvester or mower A01B59/00); Mechanisms for adjusting the frame (adjusting devices for the cutter-bar A01D34/28); Platforms · CPC title

• A01B63/00

  Lifting or adjusting devices or arrangements for agricultural machines or implements (lifting mechanisms for the cutter-bar of a mower A01D34/24; adjusting devices for the cutter-bar of a mower A01D34/28) · CPC title