Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to a hitch for a farm implement,
and in particular to a packer hitch for pulling behind a mold-
board plow.
Examples of hitches for farm implements are found in
Canadian Patents Nos. 382,268, which issued to W.H. Payne on June
27, 1939; 412,181, which issued to E.V. Briscoe on May 4, 1943
and 1,029,953, which issued to Earle H. Ellinger on Eebruary 28,
1978.
Existing, commercially available packer hitches for
pulling behind moldboard plows possess several disadvantages,
including lack of maneuverability, the addition of draft on the
plow above that intended by the plow manufacturer, the ability to
turn in one direction only - turning in the other direction causes
the packer to run into the plow, and the inability to operate in
reverse. Moreover, it is usually not possible to transport
the packers on roads without substantial wear and tear on the
packer, coils and wheels.
The object of the present invention is to overcome
the above menationed disadvantages by providing a relatively simple
farm implement hitch which makes it possible for the tractor
operator to steer the implement in either direction without
interferring with the towing vehicle and without changing the
draft of the towing vehicle in the case where the towing vehicle is
a plow. Moreover, the hitch can be operated in reverse when
necessary, and includes wheels which can be raised or lowered
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to permit fast transporting of the hitch on roads.
Accordingly, the present invention relates to a farm
implement hitch for connecting a farm implement to a towing vehicle
comprisingelongated, generally inverted U-shaped frame means;
said frame means including first and second post means and centre
bar means interconnecting the top ends of said first and second
post means; first coupling means on a free bottom end of said
first post means for pivotally connecting sai~ frame means to
the towing vehicle; second coupling means on said second post
means for pivotally connecting said frame means to the farm
implement; arm means extending outwardly from one side of the
bottom end of said second post means; and fluid operated cylinder
means extending between the outer free end of said arm means
and one side of said farm implement for steering the latter.
The invention will now be described in greater detail
with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate
a preferred embodiment of the invention, and wherein:
Figure 1 is a schematic side elevation view of a farm
implement hitch in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 2 is a plan view of the hitch of Fig. 1 with
parts omitted; and
Figure 3 is a schematic side elevation view of the
trailing end of a modified version of the hitch o Figs. 1 and 2.
APPARATUS
With reference to the drawings, a towing hitch in
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accordance with the present invention includes an elongated,
generally inverted U-shaped frame generally indicated at 1.
The frame 1 is defined by a front post 2, a rear post 3, a
top centre bar 5 connected to the top end of the front post 2
and extending rearwardly therefrom, and an inclined rear bar 6
connecting the rear end of the centre bar 4 to the top end of
the rear post 3. The front post 2, i.e. the front end of the
frame 1 is substantially shorter than the rear end thereof for
providing maximum clearance between the ground and the centre bar
4 of the hitch. A coupler 7 is provided on the bottom end of
the front post 2 for connecting the frame 1 to an elevated
portion of a towing vehicle (not shown). A front brace 9 extends
diagonally between the middle of the post 2 and the front end
of the centre bar 4. A second inclined brace 10 extends between
the rear post 3 and the rear end of the centre bar 4. The brace
10 is parallel to the rear bar 6. A farm implement in this case
a packer generally indicated at 12, is connected to the post 3
by a pair of couplers defined by arms 13 and 14 extending rear-
wardly from the post 3 and forwardly from a post 16 of the packer
12. A pin 17 extends between the arms 13 and 14 for pivotally
connecting the packer 12 to the frame 1.
The packer 12 is defined by an elongated rectangular
frame, including a front, bottom crossbar 18 supporting the post
16, a top centre crossbar 19, and a centre bar 21 extending
longitudinally between the post 16 and the centre of the crossbar
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19. End posts 22 extend downwardly from the ends of the crossbar
19. The bottom ends of the post 22 are connected to the ends of
the crossbar 18 by longitudinally extending bars 24. The shaft
(not shown) supporting a plurality of packer discs 25 is mounted
in bearings (not shown) in the bottom ends of the post 22.
Longitudinally extending and inclined braces 26 extend between the
top crossbar 19 and the front crossbar 18 at the bottom of the
post 16.
A pair of wheels 28 are mounted on stub axles 29, which
are supported by rearwardly extending arms 30. Braces 32 and
33 extend between the top crossbar 19 and the front crossbar 18,
and between the crossbar 19 and the arms 30.
Referring to Fig. 1, the axles 29 extend into the
bottom ends of arms 35. The top ends of the arms 35 are pivotally
mounted in slots 36 (Fig. 2) in the rear end of the arms 30,
so that the wheels 28 can be raised or lowered. For such purpose,
the arms 35 extend upwardly through the slots 36. A chain 37
extends rearwardly from the towing vehicle through a block 38
on each arm 30 to the top end of the arm 35. Thus, the arm 35
can be rotated around the rear end of the arm 30 for moving the
wheel 28 between an elevated position in which the discs 25
engage the ground and a lower position in which the rear end of
the frame 1 and the packer 12 are raised so that the discs 25
no longer engage the ground, i.e. the wheels are lowered to
transport position, so that the hitch and packer can be towed
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along the road.
The packer 12 is steered by means of a steering mechanism
generally indicated at 40 (Fig. 2). The mechanism 40 includes
an arm 41 extending outwardly from one side of the bottom end of
the post 3, and a hydraulic cylinder 42 pivotally connected
to the outer free end of the arm 41. A piston rod 44 extends
out of the cylinder 42 and is pivotally connected at its free
end to the bottom crossbar 18 of the packer 12. A diagonal
brace 45 extends downwardly and rearwardly from the rear end of
the centre bar 4 to the outer end of the arm 41 for supporting the
latter. By actuating the cylinder 42, the packer 12 can be caused
to rotate around the pins 17. Because the pins 17 are located
rearwardly of the posts 3, a relatively tight turn can be made
in either direction.
With reference to Fig. 3, in a second embodiment of
the invention, the wheels 28 and the stub axles 29 (not shown in
Fig. 3) are supported by rearwardly extending levers 47 (one shown).
Each lever 47 is pivotally connected to a bracket 48, which is
mounted on the packer frame. The lever 47 is generally triangular
in plan, including braces (not shown) similar to the braces
32 and 33 (Fig. 2). One end of a hydraulic cylinder 50 is
pivotally connected to the front or leading end of the packer
frame. A piston rod 51 extends rearwardly from the cylinder 50,
and the outer end thereof is pivotally connected to the top end
of the lever 47 for rotating the lever 47 and the wheel 28
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around the bracket 48. Thus, the wheels 28 can be raised or
lowered to the transport position.
OPERATION
In operation, with the wheels 28 in the lower position
(Fig. 3), the chain 37 is pulled or the cylinder 50 is actuated
to move the wheels 28 to the elevated position in which the packer
discs 25 engage the soil. In order to turn the packer 12, the
a
cylinder 42 is actuated. Retraction of the piston rod 44 is used
to effect a righthand turn, and extension of the piston rod 44
1~ causes the packer to turn to theleft in the direction of forward
travel.
When it is desired to transport the packer 12 on a
road, the arms 35 or the levers 47 are rotated to move the
wheels 28 to the lower position.
