JP7633131B2 - Boom sprayer - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a boom sprayer.

Conventionally, boom sprayers are known that have side booms on both sides of the vehicle that are extended so that they are aligned with the center boom at the front of the vehicle, and while the vehicle is propelled by the driver, spray chemicals from multiple spray nozzles attached to the center boom and side boom.

With this boom sprayer, there is a risk of it rotating forward around the front wheels and tipping over, for example when entering a farm field. For this reason, the boom sprayer is equipped with a safety frame to ensure a safety area to protect the driver in the event of a tipping over due to forward rotation around the front wheels.

For example, in the following Patent Document 1, a gate-shaped main frame serving as the main pillar is erected behind the driver's seat on the vehicle body frame (machine frame) so as to straddle the chemical tank from the left and right of the vehicle, and a gate-shaped front frame is erected in front of the driver's seat so as to be connected to the vehicle body frame, and a safety frame is formed by connecting the upper parts of the main frame on both left and right sides of the vehicle to the upper parts of the front frame on both left and right sides of the vehicle by the respective upper frames. The area surrounded by this safety frame is referred to as the safety area.

JP 2004-074094 A

However, in the boom sprayer described in Patent Document 1, when the vehicle rotates forward around the front wheels as a fulcrum and falls over, if the front gate-shaped front frame collides with an object such as the ground, as can be seen from Figures 1 to 3 of Patent Document 1, the gate-shaped front frame is made of thin round bars or round pipes, so there is a high possibility that it will deform and there is a risk that the safety zone will be violated.

In addition, if the front frame is deformed and a colliding object collides with the rear main frame, the distance over which the rear main frame collides with the colliding object is longer than the distance over which the front frame collides with the colliding object, so the moment acting on the rear main frame becomes large, causing the rear main frame to also deform, and there is a risk that the safety area will become narrower.

The present invention was made to solve these problems, and aims to provide a boom sprayer that ensures a sufficient safety area.

The boom sprayer (100) according to the present invention comprises a vehicle (1) capable of self-propelling, on which a driver's seat (6), a chemical tank (11), and an engine room (10) are arranged from the front side in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle on a vehicle body frame (3); a center boom (20) arranged in front of the driver's seat (6) and extending in the left-right direction of the vehicle; a side boom (21) whose end is rotatably connected to the end of the center boom (20) and moves between an open position in which it is aligned in a straight line with the center boom (20) and a closed position in which it is rotated relative to the center boom (20) and folded to the side of the vehicle body frame (3); and a plurality of booms (21) provided on the center boom (20) and the side boom (21) for spraying the chemical solution. The boom sprayer (100) is equipped with a spray nozzle (23) for spraying the spray nozzle. The boom sprayer (100) is equipped with a gate-shaped main frame (25) erected on the vehicle body frame (3) on both sides in the left-right direction of the vehicle in front of the driver's seat (6) so as to extend above the driver's seat (6), and a safety frame (24) having a pair of support frames (26, 41) spaced apart in the left-right direction of the vehicle so as to extend in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, one end of which is connected to the upper part of the main frame (25) and the other end of which is connected to the vehicle (1) side rearward of the driver's seat (6), and the strength of the main frame (25) is greater than that of the support frames (26, 41).

With such a boom sprayer (100), the strength of the gate-shaped main frame (25) erected on both sides of the vehicle left-right direction in front of the driver's seat (6) on the vehicle body frame (3) so as to extend above the driver's seat (6) is greater than the strength of a pair of support frames (26, 41) which are provided spaced apart in the left-right direction of the vehicle so as to extend in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle, have one end connected to the upper part of the main frame (25) and the other end connected to the vehicle (1) side rearward of the driver's seat (6). Therefore, even if the front gate-shaped main frame (25) collides with an object such as the ground during a forward rotation and overturn with the front wheels (12) of the vehicle (1) as the fulcrum, deformation of the front gate-shaped main frame (25) can be largely suppressed. In addition, when the vehicle (1) rolls forward with the front wheel (12) as the fulcrum, the distance until the front main frame (25) hits the impact object is short, and the moment acting on the main frame (25) is small, so it is possible to largely suppress deformation of the front gate-shaped main frame (25). As a result, a sufficient safety area is ensured that is surrounded by the main frame (25) and the support frame (26, 41).

Here, the body frame (3) is provided at its front with a body frame square pipe (17) extending in the left-right direction of the vehicle, and the upper and lower frames (27) which form the main frame (25) and extend in the vertical direction are provided at their lower parts with an insertion square pipe (30) which protrudes inward in the left-right direction of the vehicle, and it is preferable that the insertion square pipe (30) is inserted into the body frame square pipe (17) by inserting or extrapolating it. With this configuration, when the vehicle (1) rolls forward around the front wheel (12) as a fulcrum, if the front gate-shaped main frame (25) collides with an impact object such as the ground and the square plug pipe (30) of the main frame (25) tries to rotate, the square plug pipe (30) is inserted into the square pipe (17) of the vehicle frame, so the square pipes (17, 30) prevent the square plug pipe (30) from rotating relative to the square pipe (17) of the vehicle frame, and the main frame (25) becomes one with the vehicle frame (3), preventing deformation of the main frame (25).

The square pipes (17) of the vehicle body frame preferably support the rear link (16) of the four-section link mechanism (15) of the boom device (2) that moves the center boom (20) up and down. When this configuration is adopted, the square pipes (30) of the main frame (25) are supported on the square pipes (17) of the vehicle body frame that support the rear link (16) of the four-section link mechanism (15) of the boom device (2), so that the main frame (25) is firmly supported on the vehicle body frame (3).

In addition, when the other end of the support frame (26) extends and is connected to the rear end of the chemical tank (11), the other end of the rear support frame (26) that constitutes the safety frame (24) is connected at a position further rearward compared to the prior art (JP Patent Publication 2004-074094), in which the rear main pillar that constitutes the safety frame was erected directly behind the driver's seat, making it possible to expand the safety area rearward and to make it easier to get in and out of the driver's seat (6).

It is also preferable that the safety frame (24) is provided with a pair of standing parts (42) erected on both sides of the rear of the body frame (3) in the left-right direction of the vehicle, and a boom receiver (43) extending in the left-right direction of the vehicle and spanning the standing parts (42) for receiving the side boom (21), and that the other end of the support frame (41) is connected to the boom receiver (43). When such a configuration is adopted, the other end of the rear support frame (41) constituting the safety frame (24) is connected to the boom receiver (43) on the rear side of the body frame (3), so that the safety area can be greatly expanded rearward, and the boom receiver (43) can be used for multiple purposes, reducing the number of parts.

In this way, the present invention can provide a boom sprayer that ensures a sufficient safety area.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a boom sprayer according to an embodiment of the present invention, viewed obliquely from above and in the front. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the device shown in FIG. 1 with a sunshade, a handle, an operating device section, an operating section, a chemical liquid hose, an electric hydraulic cylinder, a hydraulic hose, etc. removed. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing a connection portion between a vehicle body frame square pipe and a main frame square pipe in FIGS. 1 and 2 . FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a safety frame in FIGS. 1 and 2 . FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the vehicle body frame square pipe before the main frame square pipe is connected to the vehicle body frame square pipe. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a support frame of a boom sprayer according to another embodiment of the present invention.

A preferred embodiment of the boom sprayer according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the attached drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the boom sprayer according to the embodiment of the present invention, seen from the front diagonally above. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of Fig. 1 with the sunshade, the handle for operating the vehicle in front of the driver's seat and the operating device for spraying the chemical solution, the operating unit arranged in front of the driver's seat and equipped with an opening/closing lever for opening and closing the side boom, the chemical solution hose for sending the chemical solution to the spray nozzle, the electric hydraulic cylinder for raising and lowering the center boom, and the hydraulic hose for the electric hydraulic cylinder removed. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing an enlarged connection portion between the vehicle frame square pipe and the main frame square pipe in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the safety frame in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 5 is a perspective view before the main frame square pipe is connected to the vehicle frame square pipe. The boom sprayer of this embodiment sprays chemical solution on crops, for example, while traveling in a field. In the following explanation, "front," "rear," "left," and "right" refer to directions relative to the boom sprayer.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the boom sprayer 100 is self-propelled and includes a vehicle 1 that can run and a boom device 2 for spraying chemicals from the vehicle 1.

The vehicle 1 is equipped with a body frame 3 that is generally rectangular and long in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 1, a driver's seat 6 is provided on the front of the body frame 3, which forms a space for an operator to sit in and which allows the operator to drive the vehicle using a handlebar 4 and spray chemicals using an operating device unit 5. An operating unit 8 is provided in front of the driver's seat 6, which includes an opening/closing lever 7 for opening and closing a side boom 21 (described below). A sunshade 9 is provided above the driver's seat 6. The sunshade 9 is installed on a safety frame 24 (described below).

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, an engine room 10 that houses an engine, a chemical liquid pressure pump, etc. is provided on the rear of the vehicle body frame 3. A chemical liquid tank 11 that contains the chemical liquid to be sprayed from the boom device 2 is mounted on the vehicle body frame 3 between the driver's seat 6 and the engine room 10.

A pair of front wheels 12 and a pair of rear wheels 13 are provided at the front and rear of the vehicle body frame 3 on both sides below the vehicle in the left-right direction. The front wheels 12 and rear wheels 13 rotate when driven by the engine. In this embodiment, the vehicle is four-wheel drive, so the front wheels 12 and rear wheels 13 rotate, but it may be front-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive. In addition, a step 14 is provided at the rear end of the vehicle body frame 3 to allow people to go up and down on the vehicle body frame 3.

In front of the driver's seat 6 on the vehicle body frame 3, a pair of four-bar link mechanisms 15 are arranged in the left-right direction of the vehicle, each of which serves as a boom lift, extending forward. The boom device 2 is supported by the vehicle body frame 3 via the four-bar link mechanisms 15.

Specifically, as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the four-bar link mechanism 15 has a rear link 16 extending in the vertical direction, which is fixed via a support member 18 to a highly rigid body frame square pipe 17 that extends in the left-right direction of the vehicle at the front of the body frame 3 (see Fig. 3). As shown in Fig. 1, the four-bar link mechanism 15 is operated by the expansion and contraction action of an electric hydraulic cylinder (actuator) 44, which causes the horizontal control device 19 connected to the front link of the four-bar link mechanism 15 to rise and fall (move up and down).

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the boom device 2 includes a horizontal control device 19 connected to the front link extending in the up-down direction of the four-bar link mechanism 15, a center boom 20 swingably connected to the horizontal control device 19 and extending in the left-right direction of the vehicle, and a pair of side booms 21 rotatably connected to both ends of the center boom 20. The center boom 20 is supported by the horizontal control device 19 so that it can swing like a pendulum in the left-right direction of the vehicle so that it becomes horizontal due to gravity. In other words, the center boom 20 becomes horizontal due to gravity in accordance with the horizontal control device 19. The horizontal control device 19 is provided with a locking device for arbitrarily stopping the horizontal control of the center boom 20.

A nozzle pipe 22 is attached along each of the center boom 20 and side boom 21, and each nozzle pipe 22 has multiple spray nozzles 23 for spraying chemicals arranged along the longitudinal direction. When spraying chemicals, the side boom 21 rotates from the closed position shown in the figure to an open position in a straight line with the center boom 20. In this way, the boom device 2 equipped with the center boom 20, side boom 21, and horizontal control device 19 is supported by the vehicle frame square pipe 17 via the four-section link mechanism 15, so that the strength of the vehicle frame square pipe 17 is very high.

Then, while the vehicle is self-propelled by the engine, the chemical liquid pressure pump is driven, and the chemical liquid in the chemical liquid tank 11 is sprayed downward from the spray nozzle 23 via the nozzle pipe 22 of the center boom 20 and the side boom 21. When chemical liquid spraying is not being performed, the side boom 21 is rotated and folded to the closed position shown in the figure, and is stored diagonally upward at the rear on the side of the vehicle body frame 3.

The boom sprayer 100 is provided with a safety frame 24 to protect the driver. The safety frame 24 has a main frame 25 on the front side and a support frame 26 on the rear side, and the sunshade 9 is installed on the main frame 25 and the support frame 26.

As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 4, the main frame 25 is formed in a gate shape, and is erected on the body frame 3 in front of the driver's seat 6 on both sides in the left-right direction of the vehicle, extending above the driver's seat 6, as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

A pair of support frames 26 are provided spaced apart in the left-right direction of the vehicle, extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, with one end connected to the top of the main frame 25 and the other end connected to the rear end of the chemical tank 11.

Here, the main frame 25 is made of square pipes, and as shown in FIG. 4, upper and lower frames 27, which are spaced apart in the left-right direction of the vehicle and extend vertically, are connected via a curved frame 28 to a connecting frame 29 that also extends in the left-right direction of the vehicle. Here, the connecting frame 29 is divided into two parts for assembly purposes.

A square plug pipe 30 that protrudes inward in the left-right direction of the vehicle is provided at the bottom of the upper and lower frames 27, and is inserted into the body frame square pipe 17 (see Figures 3 and 5). A mounting member 31 for mounting the square plug pipe 30 to the support member 18 (see Figures 3 and 5) is fixed, for example by welding, to a position of the square plug pipe 30 near the upper and lower frames 27. A recess 33 is provided on the inside of the mounting member 31 to accommodate a portion 32 (see Figure 5) of the body frame square pipe 17 that protrudes outward in the left-right direction of the vehicle from the support member 18. Note that some bolts, nuts, etc. are omitted in Figures 3 and 5.

Then, the recess 33 (see FIG. 4) of the mounting member 31 of the square plug pipe 30 of the upper and lower frames 27 is inserted into the square plug pipe 17 of the body frame, so that the portion 32 (see FIG. 5) that protrudes outward in the left-right direction of the vehicle from the support member 18 of the square plug pipe 17 is accommodated. As shown in FIG. 3, the mounting member 31 is butted against the support member 18 while the square plug pipe 30 is inserted into the square plug pipe 17 of the body frame, and the mounting member 31 is fixed to the support member 18 by fastening means such as bolts and nuts.

In this state, the opposing surfaces of the vehicle frame square pipe 17 and the insertion square pipe 30 inserted into the vehicle frame square pipe 17 are almost in contact with each other.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper parts of the upper and lower frames 27 are connected to each other by the joints 34 via the curved frame 28 and the connecting frame 29, to obtain the gate-shaped main frame 25 connected to the vehicle frame square pipes 17, as shown in FIG. 2.

Here, the support frame 26 is made of round pipes, and as shown in FIG. 4, it is made up of front and rear frames 35 that are spaced apart in the left-right direction of the vehicle and extend in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, an inclined frame 36 that inclines downward to the rear, and a curved frame 37 that connects a lower frame 38 that extends downward, and the front and rear frames 35 are connected and reinforced by a reinforcing frame 39 that extends in the left-right direction of the vehicle.

Then, the front and rear frames 35 of the support frame 26 are connected to the upper part of the gate-shaped main frame 25, and the lower frame 38 of the support frame 26 is fixed to the rear end of the chemical tank 11 by fastening means such as bolts and nuts, as shown in Figure 2, to obtain a safety frame 24 that ensures a safety area around the driver's seat 6.

Here, particularly in this embodiment, the strength of the main frame 25 is greater than the strength of the support frame 26.

Specifically, the square pipes constituting the main frame 25 are made of material STKR400 (square steel pipes) with a tensile strength of 400 N/mm ² , a wall thickness of 3.2 mm, component dimensions of 50 mm×50 mm, and a section modulus of 8787.836928.

On the other hand, the round pipes constituting the support frame 26 are made of SGP (carbon steel pipes for piping) and have a tensile strength of 290 N/mm ² , a wall thickness of 2.3 mm, a part size diameter of 31.8 mm, and a section modulus of 1467.197592.

As such, even when comparing simply the tensile strength, the main frame 25 is much stronger than the support frame 26 by a large margin.

Incidentally, because the main frame 25 has a gate-shaped structure, it has sufficient strength to withstand loads from the left and right of the vehicle compared to a case in which there are only the upper and lower frames 27 (when there is no connecting frame 29).

According to the boom sprayer 100 configured in this manner, when the vehicle rolls forward around the front wheels 12 as a fulcrum, for example, when entering a field, the strength of the gate-shaped main frame 25 erected on both sides of the vehicle left and right direction in front of the driver's seat 6 on the vehicle body frame 3 so as to extend above the driver's seat 6 is higher than the strength of the support frame 26, which is provided in a pair spaced apart in the left and right direction of the vehicle so as to extend in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, one end of which is connected to the upper part of the main frame 25 and the other end of which is connected to the rear end of the chemical tank 11 on the vehicle 1 side behind the driver's seat 6. Therefore, even if the front gate-shaped main frame 25 collides with a collision object such as the ground, deformation of the front gate-shaped main frame 25 can be largely suppressed. In addition, when the vehicle rolls forward around the front wheels 12 as a fulcrum, the distance until the front main frame 25 collides with the collision object is short and the moment acting on the main frame 25 is small, so deformation of the front gate-shaped main frame 25 can be largely suppressed. As a result, a sufficient safety area is ensured between the main frame 25 and the support frame 26.

In addition, according to this embodiment, the vehicle body frame 3 is provided at its front with a vehicle body frame square pipe 17 extending in the left-right direction of the vehicle, and the upper and lower frames 27 that form the main frame 25 and extend in the up-down direction are provided at their lower parts with an insertion square pipe 30 that protrudes inward in the left-right direction of the vehicle, and the insertion square pipe 30 is inserted into the vehicle body frame square pipe 17 by insertion. Therefore, even if the front gate-shaped main frame 25 collides with an impact object such as the ground during a forward rotation and overturn with the front wheel 12 as the fulcrum, and the insertion square pipe 30 of the main frame 25 tries to rotate, the square pipes 17, 30 together suppress the rotation of the insertion square pipe 30 relative to the vehicle body frame square pipe 17, and the main frame 25 becomes one with the vehicle body frame 3, suppressing deformation of the main frame 25.

In addition, the square socket pipe 30 of the main frame 25 is supported on the square body frame pipe 17 that supports the rear link 16 of the four-section link mechanism 15 of the boom device 2, so that the main frame 25 is firmly supported on the body frame 3.

In addition, compared to the prior art (JP Patent Publication 2004-074094), in which the rear main pillar that constitutes the safety frame was erected directly behind the driver's seat, the other end of the rear support frame 26 that constitutes the safety frame 24 is connected to the rear end of the chemical tank 11, which is located further rearward, so the safety area can be expanded rearward and getting in and out of the driver's seat 6 is easier.

Figure 6 is a perspective view showing a support frame for a boom sprayer according to another embodiment of the present invention.

This embodiment differs from the previous embodiment in that, instead of the inclined frame 36, the curved frame 37, and the lower frame 38 (see Figure 4) of the support frame 26, a support frame 41 with an inclined frame 40 that extends further rearward is used.

Here, a pair of standing parts 42 are erected on both sides of the rear end, which is the rear part of the body frame 3, in the left-right direction of the vehicle, and a boom receiver 43 that extends in the left-right direction of the vehicle and receives the side boom 21 is suspended and connected to the pair of standing parts 42.

The rear end of the inclined frame 40, which is the other end of the support frame 41, is connected to the boom receiver 43 via fastening means such as a U-bolt or nut.

With this configuration, the other end of the rear support frame 41 that constitutes the safety frame is connected to the boom receiver 43 on the rear side of the vehicle body frame 3, allowing the safety area to be greatly expanded toward the rear, and the boom receiver 43 can be used for both purposes, reducing the number of parts.

The present invention has been specifically described above based on its embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the square plug pipe 30 is inserted into the square pipe 17 of the vehicle frame by internal insertion, which is particularly suitable, but it may be inserted by extrapolation.

In addition, in the above embodiment, a four-bar link mechanism 15 is used, but a boom lift other than the four-bar link mechanism 15 may also be used.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the vehicle frame square pipe 17 and the socket square pipe 30 are used, but for example, round pipes may be used. In this case, however, it is necessary to fix them by welding or the like so that they do not rotate relative to each other.

The reinforcing frame 39 of the support frames 26, 41 may be omitted. The other end of the support frame may be configured in a gate shape and connected to the vehicle 1.

In addition, in the above embodiment, square pipes are used for the main frame 25 as it is particularly preferable, but SS400 (general structural rolled steel) may also be used as a steel material with the same strength as the above-mentioned STKR400. In this case, for example, the structure may be such that the main frame 25 is connected to the vehicle frame 3 on or to the side via a bracket or the like, for example, by fastening means such as bolts and nuts, or by welding.

The members and materials used for the main frame 25 and the support frames 26 and 41 are not limited to those mentioned above, but the point is that the strength of the main frame 25 must be greater than the strength of the support frames 26 and 41.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the side booms 21 are connected to both ends of the center boom 20, but the present invention can also be applied to a boom sprayer in which the side booms 21 are connected to only one end of the center boom 20.

It can also be applied to a crawler-type boom sprayer in which a crawler is looped between a drive wheel and an idler wheel that are rotatably mounted on a vehicle body frame that constitutes the vehicle and spaced apart in the front-to-rear direction.

1...vehicle, 2...boom device, 3...body frame, 6...driver's seat, 10...engine room, 11...chemical tank, 15...four-section link mechanism, 16...rear link, 17...body frame square pipe, 20...center boom, 21...side boom, 23...spray nozzle, 24...safety frame, 25...main frame, 26, 41...support frame, 27...upper and lower frames, 30...square socket pipe, 42...standing section, 43...boom receiver, 100...boom sprayer.

Claims (5)

A boom sprayer (100) including a self-propelled vehicle (1) having a driver's seat (6), a chemical tank (11), and an engine room (10) arranged on a vehicle body frame (3) from the front side in the vehicle longitudinal direction, a center boom (20) arranged in front of the driver's seat (6) and extending in the left-right direction of the vehicle, an end of which is rotatably connected to an end of the center boom (20) and which moves between an open position where it is aligned in a straight line with the center boom (20) and a closed position where it is rotated relative to the center boom (20) and folded to the side of the vehicle body frame (3), and a plurality of spray nozzles (23) provided on the center boom (20) and the side boom (21) for spraying a chemical solution,
a gate-shaped main frame (25) provided upright on both sides of the vehicle left-right direction in front of the driver's seat (6) in the vehicle body frame (3) so as to extend above the driver's seat (6);
a pair of support frames (26, 41) extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction and spaced apart from each other in the vehicle transverse direction, one end of which is connected to an upper portion of the main frame (25) and the other end of which is connected to a side of the vehicle (1) rearward of the driver's seat (6);
The boom sprayer (100) is characterized in that the strength of the main frame (25) is greater than the strength of the support frames (26, 41). The vehicle body frame (3) is provided at its front with a vehicle body frame square pipe (17) extending in the left-right direction of the vehicle,
The upper and lower frames (27) constituting the main frame (25) and extending in the vertical direction are provided at their lower parts with square socket pipes (30) protruding inward in the left-right direction of the vehicle,
2. The boom sprayer (100) according to claim 1, wherein the socket pipe (30) is inserted into the vehicle frame square pipe (17) by inserting or extrapolating. The boom sprayer (100) according to claim 2, characterized in that the vehicle frame square pipe (17) supports the rear link (16) of the four-bar link mechanism (15) of the boom device (2) that moves the center boom (20) up and down. The boom sprayer (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the other end of the support frame (26) extends and is connected to the rear end of the chemical tank (11). A pair of upright portions (42) erected on both sides of the rear portion of the body frame (3) in the left-right direction of the vehicle;
a boom receiver (43) extending in the left-right direction of the vehicle, spanning the upright portion (42), and receiving the side boom (21);
The boom sprayer (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the other end of the support frame (41) is connected to the boom receiver (43).

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