Patent Application
20090145692
The present invention relates to devices and methods for accessing the engine servicing platforms of combine harvesters, and it particularly relates to platform ladders and methods for using such ladders at the rear of a combine.
A variety of different ladders are presently known to provide access between the ground and the engine service platform of a combine. Folding ladders incorporating spring biased over-centering linkages to hold the ladders in stowed or closed positions without the need of a separate latching mechanism, have been known since 1978 from U.S. Pat. No. 4,131,293 by Kindle. However, typical ladders for combines remain relatively short, on the order of three to five steps, and typically the ladders simply swing or pivot from deployed position into a position for storage. Additionally, several folding step arrangements are in the prior art. Also ladders that fold into or against a vehicle body are known, and there are known embodiments utilizing tracks to align a ladder into a storage hold.
However, there are certain recent model combines which have functional drawbacks inhibiting the deployment of ladders at the extreme rear end of the combine. Principally, among these drawbacks, is the difficulty of accommodating the discharge of straw and other M.O.G. (material other than grain) at the rear of the combine. That is, the ladder must be stored while also allowing ample room for the discharging straw and M.O.G. to flow freely, without being obstructed by the ladder. For purposes of homologation, the ladder, when deployed, must be long enough to extend beyond the discharge opening. Also prior art ladders do not accommodate variations in vehicle height resulting from variation in the tire package. Furthermore, the ladders, when in the storage position at the rear, will accumulate straw and M.O.G. discharge, which subsequently spills onto the operator when he manually deploys the ladder into the service position.
An access device or ladder, and a method for storing and deploying same while overcoming the above-described drawbacks, would provide an unexpected advancement in combine harvester design, while satisfying a longfelt need for accessing combine harvester engine service platforms, when there is a discharge port located at the rear of the combine, which location heretofore necessitated having the access ladders on the right-hand side of the combine service platform, rather than at the rear.
The above-described drawbacks and others which will be apparent to those skilled in the art are overcome by the access ladder and method of the present invention which embodies a ladder having a smaller portion that flips up at the bottom of the ladder, which bottom portion of the ladder connects to adjustable trim panel on the combine allowing cooperation with variations in vehicle height and width. The trim panels enable the ladder's deployment from machines of varying height or width without the need to modify the individual ladder or platform assembly. The ladder also has an upper portion which, in the storage position, allows the ladder to be in the same plane as the hand railing on the engine servicing platform, but which upper portion slides both vertically and rearwardly, along tracks, when deployed, without the necessity of spring-biased linkages for holding the ladder in a stowed or closed position. The upper portion is connected to contoured lower support arms that wrap around the straw and M.O.G. discharge door, which support arms neck into a narrow position, but allowing the deployed ladder to clear the discharge door for the straw and M.O.G. discharge port.
Referring generally to the accompanying drawings, the invention disclosed herein can be illustrated on an agricultural vehicle such as the combine shown generally as 10. The combine will typically include a chassis or body 12 having vertical side walls 14. The body 12 is supported on a pair of large driven wheels 16 at the front of the combine 10 and a pair of wheels 20 at the rear thereof. An operator's platform 32 and cab 50, a crop gathering header (not shown), a feeder 26 and a grain delivery chute 80 are conventional. An engine service and access platform or catwalk 32 having guardrails 34 is provided at the rear end 36 of the combine. Referring to
Referring to
It will be understood that changes in the details, materials, steps, and arrangements of parts which have been described and illustrated to explain the nature of the invention will occur to and may be made by those skilled in the art upon a reading of this disclosure within the principles and scope of the invention. The foregoing description illustrates the preferred embodiment of the invention; however, concepts, as based upon the description, may be employed in other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following claims are intended to protect the invention broadly as well as in the specific form shown.
