Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The prevent inventlon relates to a device intended for use on
agricultural equipment for working arable land, such as rollers and harrows,
which comprise at least two laterally disposed sections transverse to the
direction of travel, which are mutually articulated by means of a ~oint
wLth lts axls substantially irl the direction of travel. Such agricultural
equipment usually has great width so that it can work over a large area when
it is ved over a field, and it is customarily drawn by a tractor. For
road transport, such equipment is usually provided with wheels enabling it
to be taken along a road and different devices are known for retracting the
different sections together to give a lesser width, making transport on
roads possible. Mutual retraction of the sections either takes place by
hand or, as is more usual today, with the aid of hydrualic cylinders supplied
with pressurized oil from the tractor hydraulic system. When the sections
have been folded to their retracted position and the hydraulic pressure is
cut off, they are prevented from swinging away from each other by a releasable
catch means, arranged so that, durlng the last part of the swinging movement
towards each other of the sections, it assumes a spring biassed locking
position whereby both sections cannot swing away from each other, but are
kept in the retracted position.
With a known device of the type described above, the driver of the
tractor can retract the sections from the driver's seat, the sections then
being automatically locked in the retracted position. On the other hand,
when the sections are to be swung out, the driver must release the catch by
hand, which means that he must leave the driver's seat. This is naturally a
large disadvantage.
An ob~ect of the present invention is to remove this disadvantage
and provide a device which both locks the sections when they reach their
retracted position, and releases the catch when the sections are to be swung
away from each other. Both these operations can be controlled from the
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driver's seat and take place completely automatically.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention there is provided
in a device for use with agricultural equipment intended for working arable
land, which comprises at least two laterally arranged sections transverse
to ~he dlrectlon of travel, which are mutually articu]ated at a ~oint havlng
its axis substantially in the direction of travel, the sections situated on
either side of the joint being disposed for swinging movement relative to
each other, under the action of operating means, between an operative
position and a retracted locked position, in which the sections are prevented,
by means of a releasable catch device, from swinging away from each other;
said catch device assuming a locking position during the last part of the
swinging movement of the sections towards each other, the improvement wherein
the operating means is connected to one of said sections by link means movable
between two stops and activating the catch device; said link means moving to
a first position wherein said catch device may assume its locking positi.on as
said sections swing toward each other, and moving to a second, free, position,
in which said catch device is prevented from locking, as said operating means
begins movement for swinging said sections away from each other.
The invention will now be described in detail in con~unction with
an embodiment selected as an example and which is illustrated on the accompany-
ing drawing, wherein:
Figure 1 illustrates the device in a locking position, with an
inset illustrating the position of the vital members in the free position; and
Figure 2 illustrates a roller of known type, to which the device
according to Figure 1 is fitted.
In Figure 2 there is shown a roller with a middle section provided
with transport wheels, the latter being retractable between a down position,
when they carry the roller during transport on a road, and an up position
retained during the working position of the roller. The roller has a
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hydraulic cylinder 40'~ the ends of which are each connected to an outer
section 20'. When the cylinder is telescoped, it lifts up both outer
sections to an upstanding position, where they are locked with the help of a
catch device lndicated by 30', thls taking place automatically, as mentioned.
The outer sectlons slope somewhat inwards over the middle section 10' in
this positlon.
Figure 1 illustrates the embodiment of a catch device, used for the
roller in Figure 2. In the figure, the numeral 10 denotes the section
situated on one side of the pivot ~oint and the numeral 20 the section
situated on the other side of the joint. The complete catch device is
denoted by the numeral 30.
The section 10 includes a beam 11 connected to a bracket 12, at
the upper end of which a detent 13 i9 formed. At the top of the detent there
is a guide surface 14, disposed obliquely and terminating at a locking tooth
15. A pivot ~oint 16 iB arranged at the right hand portion of the section.
The sectlon 20, arranged on the other slde of the pivot ~oint,
includes a beam 21, which carries two brackets 22, 23, each provided with a
hole 24, 25 through which a rod 31 moves. A pivot 26 is arranged above the
brackets for a moveable member in the form of a link 38.
Apart from the rod 31, which has a chamfered lower end 32, the
catch device 30 includes a pin 33 passing through the rod 31, and, via a
washer 34, this pin takes up the force from a spring 35 compressed
between the washer 34 and bracket 23. A further pin 39 is arranged at
the upper end of the rod 31 and constitutes a stop for a sleeve 36,
which can slide on the upper part of the rod 31. An operating arm 37 is
attached to the sleeve 36, the upper end of the former being pivotally
connected to the link 38. The link 38 is connected at it9 outer end, via a
pivot 41, to the piston rod 44 in a hydraulic cylinder 40, the other end of
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which cylinder is connected to a pivot 42 arranged on a bracket 43 on the
beam 11 of the section 10.
Figure 1 illustrates the position where the sections 10 and 20
are retracted or swung together with the catch device in the locking positlon,
by the end 32 of the rod 31 being lifted upwards by the guide surface 14
during the last part of the swinging movement, over the tooth 15 and behind
it. The rod 31 can execute the described movement without hindrance,
against the bias of the spring 35, the rod sliding in the holes 24, 25 of the
cleats 22, 23 and through the sleeve 36. The æleeve 36 is kept in the posi-
tion illustrated in the figure, during the retraction of the sections, bythe operating arm 37 and link 38, which are kept pressed against the stop
42 during retraction, when the hydraulic cylinder 40 lifts the section 20
by tensional force in the piston rod 44, pivot 41 and link 38.
When the sections are to be released from each other, the tractor
driver arranges the supply of hydraulic oil to the cylinder 40 90 that the
plston rod 44 i~ thrust outwards, i.e. upwards in Pigure 1. The link 38
pivots around the pivot 26 to the positlon 38', illustrated by dashed lines,
whereat the link hits the stop 45 and the pivot of the piston rod 44 reaches
the position 41'. Via the operating arm 37 the link 38 lifts the sleeve 36
during this movement and thereby the pin 39 and rod 31 a distance which is
given by the arrow 48. As is apparent from the inset, left-hand depiction
of the rod 31, it goes free from the detent 13 in this position and can pass
over the detent.
With continued movement of the cylinder 40 and piston rod 44, the
section 20 i8 thrust outwards by the link 38' via the force it exerts against
the stop 45. When section 20 has been thrust a small angular distance to the
right, it will continue to fall under the action of gravity. The llnk 38
thus moves from the stop 45 to engage instead against the stop 46 by moving
from the position 38' to the position 38. The movement of the section 20 can
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subsequently continue, fully controlled by the hydraulic cylinder 40 until
its travel is terminated.
In the described example, the hydraulic cylinder is arranged
between the frame of section 10, which can be the middle section 10'
illu~trated in Figure 2. The cylinder can natural]y also be attached as
shown in Figure 2, i.e. with the ends each connected to an outer section,
which ls then provided with links corresponding to the link 38 in Flgure 1.
The movable means actuating the catch device can be made in many
ways already known per se. For example, the piston rod can be provided with
an elongate slot for a sliding shaft. The sliding movement can be used for
resetting the catch device to the positions where it is respectively either
unhindered, or prevented, from assuming its locking position. One skilled
in the art can provide many different embodiments of the invention within the
scope of the patent claims.
