Patent Application
20230036782
The present invention relates, in general, to a new adjustment system for mounting and fixing supports on toolbars of agricultural implements, such as planters and seeders. More particularly, this adjustment system comprises technical, constructive and functional features designed and developed to eliminate gaps realized during the assembly and fixation of the supports of the planting row units on the toolbar of the agricultural implements. Also, the present invention deals with a new agricultural implement that has this adjustment system for mounting and fixing the supports of the planting row units on the toolbar.
Several models of agricultural implements are known in the state of the art, for example planters and seeders that are used for the distribution of seeds, fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and fungicides on the planting rows in the field. As must be appreciated by a person skilled in the art, these models of agricultural implements can be self-propelled or not, and in the latter case, they are towed by a work vehicle, for example, a tractor.
Usually, these implements have a rigid structural chassis that is mounted on wheels installed at strategic points to allow their displacement, and this structural chassis also supports, a plurality of planting row units which are assembled and installed longitudinally along the entire length of said structural frame, with each planting row unit responsible for cutting the straw, opening a furrow in the ground, applying manure/fertilizers, depositing the seeds at a desired depth, covering the furrow and compacting the ground. Normally, these implements also comprise silos and tanks intended for the storage of seeds, fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and fungicides, which end up being supported by the aforementioned structural chassis.
As must be appreciated by a person skilled in the art, these planting row units are normally installed on the toolbar through supports that are mounted in a way that they can be moved laterally to allow the definition of the distance between the planting row units and, consequently, the distance of the planting rows in the field, since, for each type of planted crop, a predetermined distance is required.
In this context, it is observed that these supports for the planting row units need to include means that facilitate this spacing and the positioning between the planting row units, because throughout the year, the same agricultural implement can be used to plant and sow different crops and, therefore, the farmer needs to make these adaptations with some frequency. Therefore, for these reasons, there are known technical solutions that try to facilitate this work, for example, in some models the toolbars have rails or guides where it is possible to mount the supports and, somehow, slide them before carrying out the effective locking by means of fasteners.
Despite facilitating the assembly and fixing of the planting row units, there were some inconveniences related to small gaps between the assembly components, especially between the supports and the toolbar that, during use, due to the conditions of the ground that these equipment's circulate, end up causing high levels of trepidation that can interfere in working conditions, in the control of the distribution of seeds and other agricultural products in the field that, in the end, can affect the productivity and efficiency of the process of deposition of materials in the field. Moreover, depending on the level of trepidation, there is a risk that the fasteners will loosen and, with this, jeopardizing the displacement of the planting row units whose results can be disastrous and dangerous, both from the point of view of productivity and safety of the work performed.
As must be appreciated by a person skilled in the art, these small gaps are being formed particularly due to the way these components are manufactured, which there are parts that do not require high precision, being usually cast and welded, which ends up making it difficult to obtain a standardization in the dimensional of the parts and, consequently, generating small variations that can cause the aforementioned gaps when assembling and fixing the parts on the agricultural implement.
Thus, as can be seen, the agricultural implements, of the planter and seeder type, known in the state of the art, lack a practical, functional, and mainly efficient solution, which is capable of eliminating the assembly and fixing gaps of the supports for the planting row units and, with this, eliminate the risk of falling productivity and accidents eventually caused by the vibrations usually caused by the gaps resulting from the manufacture and assembly of the parts. Therefore, these are, among others, the inconveniences, limitations and solutions that it is intended to solve and obtain with the development of the present invention.
Thus, according to the above, the present invention aims to provide a new adjustment system for assembling and fixing supports on agricultural implements tool bars, particularly those intended for the distribution of seeds, manures, herbicides, pesticides and fungicides in the field, such as planters and seeders, and this new adjustment system was designed and developed to obtain a practical, functional and efficient solution to the problems, limitations and inconveniences revealed in the state of the art, as summarized above.
More particularly, it is one of the objectives of the present invention to provide a new adjustment system for mounting and fixing supports on agricultural implements toolbars that comprises technical, constructive and functional features: capable of eliminating possible gaps obtained in the assembly and fixation of the support for planting row units on to the toolbar and, with that, guarantee the positioning and ensure the working conditions in the field of all the planting row units of the agricultural implement.
Also, it is one of the objectives of the present invention to obtain an agricultural implement, such as a planter, seeder, fertilizer spreader or a sprayer, which comprises planting row units installed on the toolbar through supports that are mounted and fixed through said adjustment systems, as mentioned above.
Thus, in order to achieve the technical and functional improvements summarized above, among others, the present invention refers to a new adjustment system for mounting and fixing supports on agricultural implements toolbars, designed to be applied to the mounting guides of the tool bar and it is formed by at least one upper mounting assembly and at least one lower mounting assembly, which comprise upper and lower support blocks that are associated with said support through fasteners, being at the same time at least one of said support blocks comprises at least one opening for accommodating an eccentric bushing whose the passing hole is offset from the center of that bushing.
According to an embodiment of the present invention said support blocks are configured to move vertically.
Still, according to another embodiment of the system, according to the present invention, these support blocks comprise only one opening. Alternatively, these support blocks comprise two or more openings.
Also, according to a further embodiment of the present invention, said eccentric bushings are applied to the lower mounting assembly, the upper mounting assembly, or both mountings assemblies.
In another embodiment of the present invention, said fasteners are of the screw type, or they can also be of the screw and nut assembly type.
According to a possible embodiment of the present invention, the system can be configured to be applied to toolbars with linear type mounting guides, formed in a “C” type setting, or a combination of profiles.
Still, according to another particular embodiment of the system, according to the present invention, said eccentric bushing can comprise a smooth or threaded external diameter.
Additionally, as mentioned above, the present invention also deals with an agricultural implement that comprises a structural chassis supported by at least one assembly of wheels and also has toolbars on which several planting row units are installed through their respective supports, and the supports of this agricultural implement are mounted and fixed next to the toolbar through an adjustment system as mentioned above.
According to possible embodiments of the present invention, this agricultural implement can be, for example, a planter, seeder, fertilizer machine or a sprayer.
The features, advantages and functional improvements of the present invention, as indicated above, will be better understood by one skilled in the art from the following detailed description, as an exemplary mode, and not restrictive mode, of possible embodiments, and with reference to the figures attached, which:
The invention will now be described with reference to its exemplary embodiments, and with reference to the attached figures. Such figures are schematic, and their dimensions and/or proportions may not correspond to reality, since they aim to describe the present invention in a didactic way. Furthermore, certain known and common constructive details may have been omitted for greater clarity and conciseness from the description that follows. Reference numbers used are repeated throughout the figures to identify identical or similar parts. The terms eventually used such as “above”, “below”, “front”, “back”, “right”, “left” etc., and its variants must be interpreted according to the guidance given in
Now, with reference to the attached drawings and, more specifically to
Each planting row unit 22, as can be seen in
An agricultural implement 10 as described herein may be, by way of reference, a model of planter produced by CNH Industrial, commercialized under the brands Case IH and New Holland.
The terms referred herein as agricultural implement, planter, seeder and their variants are used interchangeably to designate equipment, or a machine designed and configured to promote the distribution of seeds, manure, fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and fungicides in the ground.
Thus, in view of the context indicated above, and with reference now to the other attached schematic figures, it appears that the adjustment system for mounting and fixing supports on toolbars 20 of agricultural implements 10, according to the present invention, is designed to be applied together with the mounting guides 20a of the toolbar 20 and configured for the mounting and fixing of the support 24 of each planting row unit 22, said adjustment system being formed by an upper mounting assembly 26 and a lower mounting assembly 28, which comprise upper 30 and lower 32 support blocks that are associated with support 24 through fasteners 34, wherein at least one of said support blocks 30, 32 comprises opening 36 for accommodating an eccentric bushing 38 whose the passing hole 38a is displaced from the center of said bushing 38.
Thus, as can be seen particularly in
Said support block 30, 32, according to possible embodiments of the present invention, may comprise only one opening 36 and, therefore, each support attachment point is used as one block, but optionally, this support block 30, 32 may comprise two or more openings 36, as shown in the attached figures.
It is worth noting that, although the figures represent the application of the eccentric bushings 38 only in the lower mounting assembly 28, as must be appreciated by those skilled in the art, these eccentric bushings 38 can also be applied only in the upper mounting assembly 26, or in both top 26 and bottom 28 mounting assemblies.
Optionally, according to possible embodiments of the present invention, said eccentric bushing 38 may comprise a smooth or threaded outer diameter and, in the latter case, the inner surface of the openings 36 has a corresponding configuration to interact with that outer diameter.
Regarding the fasteners 34, according to the present invention, they can be nut and bolt type, screws, or any other locking mechanism that provides the rotational movement of the eccentric bushings 38 at the time of fixing the support 24 on the toolbar 20.
The adjustment system, according to the present invention, can be applied to different models of toolbars 20, and more particularly to different types of mounting guides 20a. As shown in
In this way, it is observed that the new proposal for the adjustment system for mounting and fixing supports 24 on toolbars 20 of agricultural implements 10, according to the present invention, manages to simply and efficiently eliminate possible gaps (h) from failures in the dimensioning of the parts and, therefore, guarantee the correct positioning of the planting row units 22, without risk of affecting the productivity of work operations and also the safety and integrity of agricultural equipment.
In addition to these direct benefits provided by the present invention, this adjustment system can be easily applied, even in agricultural implements currently in use, that is, it is a practical solution that can improve the working conditions of equipment that are already in field without the need for high investments by the farmer.
Additionally, as mentioned above, the present invention deals with an agricultural implement 10, which comprises a structural chassis 16 that is supported by at least one set of wheels 18 and also has toolbars 20 on which several planting row units 22 are installed through respective supports 24, each support 24 being mounted and fixed together with the toolbar 20 with an adjustment system as defined and presented above.
According to possible embodiments of the present invention, that agricultural implement 10 can be a planter, seeder, fertilizer spreader or a sprayer.
Finally, considering all of the above, it is important to note that the present description aims only to present and define, in an exemplary way, particular embodiments of the new adjustment system for mounting and fixing the supports 24 on toolbars 20 of agricultural implements 10, as defined by the present invention. Therefore, as a person skilled in the art should appreciate, several modifications and combinations of elements and equivalent details are possible without, therefore, deviating from the scope of protection defined by the attached claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 102021015854 | Jul 2021 | BR | national |
