JP7533943B2 - Tractor connection structure - Google Patents

Description

Article 30, paragraph 2 of the Patent Act applied Performance test conducted by Atsushi Sugihara and Daisuke Higashi at the East Hokkaido TMR Center on June 21, 2020

The present invention relates to a structure for connecting a towed device such as an agricultural implement (hereinafter referred to as the "towed device") to a tractor, and more specifically, to a connection structure for a tractor that prevents interference with the lower link of the tractor.

Generally, a towed device such as a transport device for storing roughage is connected to a tractor, and agricultural work is carried out using the towed device (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

When connecting a relatively large towed device, such as a transport device for storing roughage, to such a tractor, the towed device is connected to a connector located in the center of the rear of the tractor, and the towed device can work while following the tractor using the tires attached to it.

JP 2013-111036 A

However, when working with a towed device connected in this way, the following problems arise:

Specifically, as shown in Fig. 5, the rear of the tractor has a connecting part 51 provided at the bottom center and lower links 54 provided at approximately the same height on both the left and right sides of the connecting part 51. When a large transport device 1a or the like is connected to follow the tractor, the transport device 1a is connected to the connecting part 51, and when a small fertilizer spreader (not shown) or the like is connected to spread fertilizer in stripes, the fertilizer spreader is connected to the lower link 54 so that it can be operated with the fertilizer spreader raised. However, since these connecting parts 51 and lower links 54 are provided at approximately the same height (as shown in Fig. 6), when the transport device 1a is connected to the central connecting part 51 and turned, the main arm 2a of the transport device 1a interferes with the lower link 54 as shown in Fig. 7. For this reason, conventionally, when connecting the transport device 1a to the connecting portion 51, the lower link 54 is raised beforehand to prevent interference with the main arm 2a. However, this not only makes the task of lowering the lower link 54 cumbersome, but also creates the problem that the lowered lower link 54 comes into contact with the ground when the tractor moves from a steep slope to flat ground.

The present invention was developed to address the above-mentioned issues, and aims to provide a connection structure for a tractor that prevents interference with the lower links on the left and right sides when connecting a towed device to a connection part located in the center of the rear of the tractor.

In other words, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a connection structure to a tractor that connects a towed device between left and right lower links at the rear of the tractor, comprising a connecting portion that is provided between the left and right lower links and has a rear end located forward of the rear end of the lower link, a vertical arm that is rotatably attached to the connecting portion and has an upper end located above the lower link from the connecting portion at a position forward of the rear end of the lower link, and a main arm that is provided facing rearward from the vertical arm, and is configured to connect the towed device using the main arm.

In such an invention, the towed device may have its own tires and may be driven by a tractor to be able to turn.

Furthermore, the vertical arm is rotatably connected to the connecting portion via a bearing member with respect to a pin provided on the connecting portion.

In addition, the vertical arm is rotatably connected to the connecting portion via a bearing member relative to a pin provided on the connecting portion, and the bearing member is attached via an adjustment portion that can be attached by adjusting the height position relative to the vertical arm.

Also, the vertical arm is provided with an opening through which a hydraulic hose from a tractor passes.

According to the present invention , even when the towed equipment is turning, the main arm of the towed equipment does not interfere with the lower link. Also, since there is no need to keep the lower link lowered all the time, even when the tractor moves from a steep slope to flat ground, the lower link does not come into contact with the ground.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state in which a tractor and a transporting device (towed device) are connected to each other, illustrating one embodiment of the present invention. A diagram showing the vicinity of the coupling part of the tractor in the same configuration. FIG. 11 is a front view showing the bearing member, the vertical arm, and the main arm in the embodiment; A diagram showing the relationship between the lower link and the main arm during turning in this configuration. A diagram showing the rear of the tractor in the same configuration. A diagram showing the state in which a tractor and a transport device are connected in a conventional example. FIG. 13 shows a state of interference with a lower link during turning in a conventional example.

The following describes the connection structure to the tractor 5 in one embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

In this embodiment, the connection structure to the tractor 5 is, as shown in FIG. 5, a tractor 5 having a connecting part 51 at the rear, connected to a vertically long towed device 1 so that the towed device 1 can follow using its tires. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the tractor 5 has a bearing member 4 that is rotatably attached to the connecting part 51 at the rear of the tractor 5, a vertical arm 3 that is provided vertically from the bearing member 4, and a main arm 2 that is provided approximately horizontally from the vertical arm 3, and the towed device 1 can be towed using the main arm 2. By configuring it in this way, even when making a small turn, the lower links 54 provided on the left and right sides of the connecting part 51 pass under the main arm 2 as shown in FIG. 4, so that the main arm 2 does not interfere with the lower link 54. The connection structure in this embodiment will be described in detail below.

As shown in Figure 1, the towed device 1 is configured vertically and has its own tires, and is connected to the tractor 5 so that it can rotate around the connection part 51 (see Figure 5). Examples of such towed devices 1 include transport devices with cargo boxes, compost spreaders, roll balers, and roll bale wrapping devices, but here we will explain using a transport device with a cargo box as an example.

A hollow main arm 2 is provided in front of the towed device 1, extending toward the tractor 5. In this embodiment, the main arm 2 is provided in a substantially horizontal direction, but various shapes, such as a slightly inclined arm, can be used. The main arm 2 is used to tow the base frame of the towed device 1. If the main arm 2 is provided in a horizontal direction, the position of the base frame will be high relative to the ground because the main arm 2 is attached to the upper part of the vertical arm 3, which will be described later, and this may cause instability. For this reason, the main arm 2 is connected to the base frame of the towed device 1 so that the base frame is located downward, or the base frame is provided in a high position and attached so as to lower the center of gravity of heavy objects such as cargo boxes on the towed device 1.

A vertical arm 3 that is bent downward is provided at the tip of the main arm 2. The vertical arm 3 is provided so that its width in the front-rear direction is shorter than the length of the lower link 54 (preferably within a range of 30% to 70% of the length of the lower link 54), and its upper part is attached to the main arm 2 by welding. This allows the vertical arm 3 to withstand a large moment applied to the bent part of the vertical arm 3 and the main arm 2 when towing a heavy towed device 1. Although the vertical arm 3 and the main arm 2 are welded together here, they may be firmly attached using bolts and nuts (not shown). In this case, it is preferable to fix the vertical arm 3 and the main arm 2 at at least two points, at the front-rear and at the top-bottom, in order to withstand the moment applied during towing.

As shown in FIG. 3, an opening 32 is provided above the front surface of the vertical arm 3 (the surface facing the tractor 5) that communicates with the hollow portion of the main arm 2. This opening 32 allows the hydraulic hose of the tractor 5 to pass through, thereby preventing the hydraulic hose from being pinched in the connecting portion when turning.

On the other hand, the lower part of the vertical arm 3 is provided with a bearing member mounting part 33 for mounting the bearing member 4 connected to the connecting part 51 of the tractor 5. The bearing member mounting part 33 is attached by passing bolts and nuts through holes provided in the side walls of the bearing member 4 and holes provided in the side walls 31 of the vertical arm 3. Here, the height of the bearing member 4 can be adjusted by using the adjustment part 34. The adjustment part 34 has intermittent holes 41 along the vertical direction provided in the left and right side walls 31, and the bearing member 4 can be attached between the left and right side walls 31 and fixed with bolts and nuts. By adjusting the height position and mounting in this way, the towed device 1 can be made approximately horizontal. If the towed device 1 can be made approximately horizontal in this way, the towed device 1 can be turned in a horizontal plane when turning, and excessive strain will not be placed on the pin 53 attached to the connecting part 51.

This bearing member 4 is connected to a connecting part 51 provided at the rear of the tractor 5, and a pin 53 is attached between the bearing member 4 and a hole 52 provided in the connecting part 51, so that the bearing member 4 can rotate around the pin 53. When turning the towed device 1 using this bearing member 4, the towed device 1 may swing up and down while turning, so the hole 41 of the bearing member 4 is made slightly larger than the pin 53.

Next, we will explain the process of connecting the towed device 1 configured in this way to the connecting part 51 of the tractor 5, and the action when connecting and towing.

First, when connecting the towed device 1 to the tractor 5, the towed device 1 and the tractor 5 are brought close to each other and the main arm 2 of the towed device 1 is lifted.

Then, the height position of the bearing member 4 is set so that the towed device 1 is approximately horizontal, and the bearing member 4 is attached to the vertical arm 3.

With the bearing member 4 attached in this manner, the towed device 1 and the tractor 5 are brought even closer together, and a pin 53 is inserted into the hole 41 of the bearing member 4 and the hole 52 of the connecting part 51 of the tractor 5 to secure it in place.

When the towed device 1 is connected in this way with the pin 53, as shown in Figure 1, the lower link 54 of the tractor 5 is located below the main arm 2, and the bearing member 4 and vertical arm 3 are only present at the base end side of the left and right lower links 54.

Under these circumstances, when the towed device 1 is towed to perform work, the main arm 2 rotates in the rotation direction as shown in Figure 4. At this time, the lower link 54 is arranged to pass underneath it (dotted line portion in Figure 4), so there is no interference between the lower link 54 and the main arm 2.

Meanwhile, a bearing member 4 and a vertical arm 3 are provided near the connecting portion 51, but the vertical arm 3 is arranged to be shorter than the left and right lower links 54, so that it does not interfere with the lower links 54 except when rotating at an extremely large angle.

As described above, according to the embodiment, the connection structure for connecting the towed device 1 to the tractor 5 between the left and right lower links 54 at the rear of the tractor 5 includes the connection part 51 provided between the left and right lower links 54 and having a rear end located forward of the rear end of the lower links 54, the vertical arm 3 rotatably attached to the connection part 51 and having an upper end located above the lower link 54 from the connection part 51 at a position forward of the rear end of the lower link 54, and the main arm 2 provided rearward from the vertical arm 3, and the towed device 1 is connected using the main arm 2, so that even when the towed device 1 turns, the main arm 2 of the towed device 1 does not interfere with the lower link 54. Also, since it is not necessary to keep the lower link lowered all the time, the lower link 54 does not come into contact with the ground even when the tractor moves from a steep slope to flat ground.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be implemented in various ways.

For example, in the above embodiment, the vertical arm 3 and the bearing member 4 are described as separate members, but they may be used as an integrated member. Similarly, the vertical arm 3 and the main arm 2 are described as separate members, but they may be integrated. In this case, in the context of the present invention, the terms vertical arm 3 and main arm 2 are understood as names of parts of the arms.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the vertical arm 3 is arranged to face vertically, but it may be arranged to be inclined or curved upward as long as it does not interfere with the lower link 54.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the main arm 2 is arranged to be approximately horizontal, but if the center of gravity of the towed device 1 is high, it may be tilted downward from the vertical arm 3 so that the towed device 1 is towed at a position that does not interfere with the lower link 54.

1 ... Towed device 2 ... Main arm 3 ... Vertical arm 31 ... Side wall 32 ... Opening 33 ... Bearing member mounting portion 34 ... Adjustment portion 4 ... Bearing member 41 ... Hole 5 ... Tractor 51 ... Connection portion 52 ... Hole 53 ... Pin 54 ... Lower link

Claims (5)

A structure for connecting a towed device to a tractor between the left and right rear lower links of the tractor,
a connecting portion provided between the left and right lower links, the connecting portion having a rear end portion located forward of rear ends of the lower links;
a vertical arm rotatably attached to the connecting portion, the vertical arm having an upper end located above the connecting portion and above the lower link at a position forward of the rear end of the lower link;
a main arm provided rearward from the vertical arm,
A connection structure to a tractor, characterized in that a towed device is connected using the main arm. The connection structure to a tractor according to claim 1, in which the towed device has its own tires and is capable of turning when driven by the tractor. 2. A structure for connecting to a tractor according to claim 1, wherein the vertical arm is rotatably connected to the connecting portion via a bearing member with respect to a pin provided on the connecting portion. the vertical arm is rotatably connected to the connecting portion via a bearing member with respect to a pin provided on the connecting portion,
2. A connection structure to a tractor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bearing member is attached via an adjustment part that is attached by adjusting a height position relative to the vertical arm. The connection structure to a tractor according to claim 1, in which the vertical arm has an opening through which a hydraulic hose from the tractor can pass.

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