Sprayer Boom Breakaway Joint With A Staged Release And Forced Lift System

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2020281184-A1
Application number	US-201916293928-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 6, 2019
Priority date	Mar 6, 2019
Publication date	Sep 10, 2020
Grant date	—

Abstract

A sprayer boom breakaway joint with a staged release and forced lift system is implemented with an agricultural sprayer. The system provides positive locking to restrain a breakaway joint against movement from a neutral position until an impact with a breakaway boom segment provides sufficient force to overcome the neutral holding force. Once released from the neutral position, the breakaway boom segment may at least initially experience a lesser holding force that biases the breakaway boom segment toward the neutral position and the breakaway boom segment may move along a path that has an upward movement component in addition to a rearward movement component.

First claim

We claim:

1 . A sprayer boom breakaway joint with a staged release and forced lift system for use with a sprayer boom of an agricultural sprayer, wherein the sprayer boom includes first and second boom segments with the first boom segment arranged inwardly toward the agricultural sprayer and the second boom segment that defines a breakaway boom segment that is arranged outwardly of the first boom segment and farther from the agricultural sprayer; the staged release and forced lift system comprising:
a breakaway hinge assembly configured to allow the breakaway boom segment to move with respect to the first boom segment during a breakaway event, the breakaway hinge assembly including:
an inner bracket connected to the first boom segment;
an outer bracket connected to the breakaway boom segment;
a hinge pin that connects the inner and outer brackets and defines a pivot axis about which the breakaway boom segment pivots with respect to the first boom segment;
a staged release mechanism configured to hold the breakaway boom segment in a neutral position before the breakaway event; and a forced lift mechanism cooperating with the breakaway hinge assembly to lift the outer bracket and the breakaway boom segment while the breakaway boom segment pivots with respect to the first boom segment during the breakaway event.

2 . The sprayer boom breakaway joint of claim 1 wherein the forced lift mechanism comprises:
a ramp; and
a deflector that cooperates with the ramp to lift the outer bracket and the breakaway boom segment while the breakaway boom segment pivots with respect to the first boom segment during the breakaway event.

3 . The sprayer boom breakaway joint of claim 2 , wherein:
the ramp and deflector engage each other at a first position relative to the ramp to hold the ramp and the outer bracket in a stable neutral position when the breakaway boom segment is not experiencing a breakaway event; and the ramp and deflector engage each other at variable positions relative to the ramp while the outer bracket pivots to lift the outer bracket and the breakaway boom segment while the breakaway boom segment is experiencing a breakaway event.

4 . The sprayer boom breakaway joint of claim 2 , wherein the deflector comprises a wheel with an outer surface that engages the ramp to lift the outer bracket and the breakaway boom while the breakaway boom segment pivots with respect to the first boom segment during the breakaway event.

5 . The sprayer boom breakaway joint of claim 4 , wherein:
the wheel is mounted at a constant height with respect to the inner bracket; and the ramp is mounted at a variable height with respect to the inner bracket with the ramp configured to rotate across and be lifted by the wheel.

6 . The sprayer boom breakaway joint of claim 5 , wherein the ramp is mounted to the outer bracket and rotates in unison with the breakaway boom segment.

7 . The sprayer boom breakaway joint of claim 6 , further comprising a lift plate that has a lift plate trough adjacent the ramp, wherein the lift plate trough:
receives and holds the wheel when the breakaway boom segment is in a neutral position; and advances over the wheel to allow the ramp to engage and advance across and be lifted by the wheel during the breakaway event.

8 . The sprayer boom breakaway joint of claim 1 , the forced lift mechanism further comprising:
a lift plate that extends transversely from the outer bracket and includes:
a lobe that defines a ramp that angles downwardly from the outer bracket along a width of the lobe so that an outer portion of the ramp is lower than an inner portion of the ramp; and
a deflector that engages the ramp during the breakaway event to lift the lift plate and the outer bracket and breakaway boom segment while the ramp advances relative to the deflector.

9 . The sprayer boom breakaway joint of claim 8 , the lift plate further comprising:
a trough that defines an opening spaced from at least a portion of the ramp and configured to engage the deflector and hold the outer bracket and breakaway boom segment when in a neutral position when the breakaway boom segment is not experiencing a breakaway event.

10 . The sprayer boom breakaway joint of claim 1 , the staged release mechanism configured to hold the breakaway boom segment in the neutral position with a neutral holding force and wherein:
an initial release stage of the staged release mechanism is defined by the staged release mechanism holding the breakaway boom segment in the neutral position until the staged release mechanism experiences an initial release force that is greater than the neutral holding force and moves the breakaway boom segment away from the neutral position; and a continued breakaway stage of the staged release mechanism is defined by the staged release mechanism resisting further movement of the breakaway boom segment with a restorative force that is less than the initial release force so that further movement of the breakaway boom segment during at least part of the continued breakaway stage is easier than initial movement of the breakaway boom segment from the neutral position.

11 . The sprayer boom breakaway joint of claim 10 , wherein the continued breakaway stage defines a variable restorative force with the staged release mechanism providing an increasing restorative force as the breakaway boom segment moves increasingly farther from the neutral position.

12 . The sprayer boom breakaway joint of claim 11 , wherein:
the forced lift mechanism comprises:
a lift plate that extends from the outer bracket defines a ramp that angles downwardly from the outer bracket; and
a deflector that engages the ramp during the breakaway event to lift the lift plate and the outer bracket and breakaway boom segment farther upwardly as the breakaway boom segment moves farther from the neutral position; and
the staged release mechanism comprises:
a trough that defines an opening in the lift plate and is configured to receive and hold the lift plate at a lowest height of the lift plate when the breakaway boom segment is in the neutral position.

13 . An agricultural sprayer, comprising:
a chassis; a sprayer boom supported by the chassis and configured to deliver product to an agricultural field; the sprayer boom including a breakaway boom segment configured to pivot with respect to a remainder of the sprayer boom during a breakaway event; a forced lift mechanism cooperating with the breakaway boom segment, the forced lift mechanism configured to:
guide the breakaway boom segment to raise with respect to the remainder of the sprayer boom while the breakaway boom segment pivots during the breakaway event.

14 . The agricultural sprayer of claim 13 , further comprising a breakaway hinge assembly that is configured to guide the breakaway boom segment to pivot along a movement path at an angle that is both:
angularly rearward with respect to the remainder of the sprayer boom; and angularly upward with respect to the remainder of the sprayer boom.

15 . The agricultural sprayer of claim 14 , wherein:
the forced lift mechanism comprises:
a lift plate arranged within the breakaway hinge; and
a deflector that engages the lift plate during the breakaway event to lift breakaway boom segment progressively upwardly as the breakaway boom segment moves farther from a neutral position; and

further comprising:
a staged release mechanism comprising:
a trough that is configured to receive and hold the deflector to maintain the breakaway boom segment in the neutral position until the staged release mecha

Assignees

• Cnh Ind America Llc

Inventors

• Pilney Brian J
• Fallon Derrick

Classifications

• F16C11/12

  incorporating flexible connections, e.g. leaf springs · CPC title

• A01M7/0078 Primary

  including break-away devices · CPC title

• B05B1/20

  Perforated pipes or troughs, e.g. spray booms; Outlet elements therefor · CPC title