GB2129381A

GB2129381A - Vehicle for use off the highway, in particular an agricultural machine

Info

Publication number: GB2129381A
Application number: GB08308886A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Franco Capizzi
Original assignee: ITALO SVIZZERA MACCH AGRI
Current assignee: ITALO SVIZZERA MACCH AGRI
Priority date: 1982-11-03
Filing date: 1983-03-30
Publication date: 1984-05-16
Also published as: DE3311387A1; FR2535253A1; IT8203581A0; GB8308886D0; GB2129381B; IT1201014B

Abstract

The vehicle in question, for use on land where the conditions are difficult or there is a slope, is provided, for at least one of its guide wheels 2, with a disc 20 placed parallel thereto, rotatable idly around its centre and supported at one extremity of a "U" shaped arm 10 that enshrouds the wheel and is fixed, at the other extremity, to a rotatable element 3 through which the suspension supports the wheel. The outside part of the said arm is rotatable around a horizontal axis coincident with the central member 14 of the said "U" shaped arm, and means are provided for regulating the said disc in height with respect to the wheel. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Vehicle for use off the highway, in particular an agricultural machine The requirement that it is possible to satisfy with the vehicle according to the invention stems principally from the fact that any vehicle that operates off the highway, such as, in particular, all agricultural machines, often have to be used on land where the working conditions are difficult because of the soil being muddy, soft or loose, or because of the ground being excessively on a slope. This leads to the vehicle not maintaining a perfectly straight course and of it sliding over the ground which thus does not permit the agricultural implements for sowing, cultivating and harvesting to be given the thrust and the tow in the right position and direction, especially when working in rows.

In this connection, devices have been studied and created that are able to tackle the said problem, constituted by a pair of discs supported by the frame of the machine that normaliy operate in the region of the guide wheels, internally with respect thereto, and can more or less be sunk into the ground in such a way as to constitute a sort of "track" for the vehicle which is thus guided and transversely sustained.

It does happen, however, for the very reason that the said discs are supported by the fixed frame of the machine, that the solution in question fails to satisfy in full the target objects since the discs, as a result of the oscillations the machine suffers whilst in operation, are not able to more or less penetrate into the ground at the same depth and thus do not give the machine identical direction characteristics.

In other much more simple solutions, the problem is overcome by placing in a fixed position, externally preferably to the guide wheels and coaxially thereto, a pair of discs, iarger in diameter than the wheels themselves.

Despite the said method being quite a good one from the point of view of the result achieved, with it the need exists to mount the said discs at the time of need and to remove them when the machine is ready to leave the field where it has been working.

The essential object of the invention is, therefore to construct a vehicle for use off the highway, in particular an agricultural machine, that can be used both on ground that slopes or is particularly difficult and on land where the characteristics are normal, without the need to resort to adjustments to the machine of a particularly complex nature; all this through a solution in which, during operation, the conditions of the ground and the oscillations of the machine play no part.

This and other objects too are all achieved with the vehicle forming the subject of the invention, characterized by the fact that it comprises, in the region of at least one wheel: a disc placed parallel to the said wheel, rotatable idly around its centre and supported there at one extremity of an arm in the shape of a "U" that enshrouds the wheel and is fixed, at the other extremity, to the element through which the wheel is supported by the suspension, the outside part of the said "U" shaped arm being movable with respect to the fixed section thereof, means being provided for regulating the said disc in height with respect to the wheel.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention in question will become more apparent from the detailed description that follows of one preferred embodiment, illustrated purely as an unlimited example on the accompanying drawing, in which: Figure 1 shows, diagrammatically in a plan view, the vehicle in question in the region of one of its wheels; Figure 2 shows, diagrammatically in a lateral view, the vehicle in Figure 1.

With reference to the accompanying drawing, at 1 is shown a vehicle for use off the highway, in particular an agricultural machine, in the region of, for example, its front lefthand guide wheel 2.

The said wheel 2 rotates loosely around a horizontal shaft of an axle 3 which, in turn, is able to rotate around a vertical axis V in order to allow the said wheel to rotate. As is customary practice, the said axle is supported by the suspension elements shown globally at 5.

Rendered integral with the axle 3 is a "U" shaped arm, shown globally at 10, which extends behind and around the wheel in such a way that the extremity 11 of its outside part 1 2 arrives in proximity of the centre of the wheel 2.

The "U" shaped arm 10 is composed of an inside fixed section 13, a rear horizontal member 14 and the said outside part 1 2 which, through a pivot connection, is able to rotate around the axis of the member 14.

To the free extremity 11 of the outside part 1 2 is loosely pivoted a disc 20 of dimensions proportional to the wheel 2 and placed parallel thereto.

The said disc 20 is thus movable vertically, or rather, is able to rotate around the horizontal axis of the member 14 in such a way as to position itself at the depth required with respect to the wheel, under the action of a hydraulic jack 22 pivotally connected to a fixed protruding part 1 4a on the part 14 and to the said outside movable part 12.

The operation of the vehicle described herein is extremely simple.

If the vehicle has to be used on or pass across ground that is compact or not sloping, under the action of the jack 22, the disc 20 is kept raised above the wheel resting plane P, as shown with an unbroken line in Figure 2; vice versa, depending on the nature of the ground or compatibly with the requirements, the jack 22 is operated until it has made the disc 20 sink into the ground as far as is wished (see the dashes in Figure 2), with the certainty that the disc will always remain immersed to the same extent independentiy of the rotation of the wheels or of the oscillations the frame of the machine may undergo whilst in movement.

In this way, it is ensured that the vehicle follows a straight path under any utilization condition since the disc is subjected, on account of the way in which it is positioned, to all the direction and oscillation movements that the wheel is caused to undergo.

For the practical embodiment of the vehicle according to the invention, forms differing from what has been described above may be adopted and, in particular, numerous modifications of a practical nature may be introduced, such as, for example, the "U" shaped arm being positioned at the front of the wheel or vertically, though fixed to the rotatable element of the wheel, without in any way deviating from the framework of protection afforded to the invention.

Claims

1. Vehicle for use off the highway, in particular an agricultural machine, characterized by the fact that it comprises, in the region of at least one wheel: a disc 20 parallel to the said wheel, 2, rotatable idly around its centre and supported there at one extremity of an arm 10 in the shape of a "U" that enshrouds the wheel 2 and is fixed, at the other extremity, to the element 3 through which the wheel 2 is supported by the suspension 5, the outside part 12 of the said "U" shaped arm 10 being movable with respect to the fixed section 14 thereof, means 22 being provided for regulating the said disc 20 in height with respect to the wheel 2.

2. Vehicle according to Claim 1, characterized by the fact that the said "U" shaped arm 10 is placed in a virtually horizontal plane with the inside section 1 3 fix3d to the element 3 through which the suspension 5 supports the wheel 2 and with the outside part 12 rotatable around a horizontal axis, means 22 being provided for positioning the said disc 20.

3. Vehicle according to the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that the said means 22 are constituted by a jack pivotally connected to a protruding part 1 4a integral with the fixed section 14 of the "U" shaped arm 10 and to the said outside movable part 12.

4. Vehicle according to Claim 1, characterized by the fact that the said arm 10 is placed in the region of the guide wheels and is fixed to the rotatable element 3 through which the suspension 5 supports the wheel 2.

5. Vehicle according to Claim 1, characterized by the fact that the axis of the said disc 20 describes, during the oscillation movement of the said movable part 12, an arc that passes through the axis of the said wheel 2.

6. Vehicle for use off the highway, in particular an agricultural machine substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.