Patent Application
20230133831
This application relates generally to the field of earth working equipment, and more particularly to towed earth moving implements.
In the agricultural sector, blade-equipped implements towed behind a tractor are known for the purpose of levelling out the soil level in agricultural fields. Earth moving implements of this type are often configured with a pull tongue whose front end connects to the hitch of the tractor for towed forward conveyance of the implement therebehind, a blade assembly attached to a rear end of the pull tongue in a position lying cross-wise thereto to displace earth forwardly during such towed conveyance of the implement, and a wheeled frame on which the blade assembly is carried from therebehind.
One example of an implement of this type is Applicant's Gladiator implement, where the blade assembly has a center blade lying perpendicularly of the pull tongue, and a pair of wing blades affixed to opposing ends of the center blade and angling forwardly and outwardly therefrom in obliquely oriented relationship thereto, with bottom working edges of the three blades lying in a common plane. One set of actuators connected between the blade assembly and a blade-carrying subframe of the wheeled frame is operable to perform angular tilting between blade assembly and the wheeled frame about a transverse axis to raise and lower the blade relative to the ground. Another set of actuators connected between the blade-carrying subframe and a wheel-carrying subframe of the wheeled frame are operable to perform a swivelling action therebetween about a longitudinal roll axis of the implement, allowing either end of the blade assembly to be tilted up or down relative to the other end to laterally tilt the working plane of the blade assembly to follow or impart an angled grade during use of the implement.
While suitable for such leveling and grading operations, it would be desirable to improve upon an implement of this general type in a manner enabling it to perform a wider variety of different ground shaping operations involving creation of more complex ground surface profiles.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a towed earth moving implement comprising:
a pull tongue running in a longitudinal direction and configured at a front end thereof with a coupling arrangement for connection to a tow vehicle for pulling of the implement in said longitudinal direction;
a blade assembly coupled to the pull tongue and comprising:
a wheeled frame on which said blade assembly is carried for rolling travel over an earthen surface workable by said blade assembly;
a pivotal blade-pitch connection between the pull tongue and the blade assembly that defines a blade pitch axis lying transversely of the longitudinal direction; and
at least one blade-pitch actuator operable to adjust a pitch angle of the blade, relative to the pull tongue, about said blade pitch axis.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a towed earth moving implement comprising:
a pull tongue running in a longitudinal direction and configured at a front end thereof with a coupling arrangement for connection to a tow vehicle for pulling of the implement in said longitudinal direction;
a blade assembly coupled to the pull tongue and comprising:
a wheeled frame on which said blade assembly is carried for rolling travel over an earthen surface workable by said blade assembly;
wherein each of the center and wing blades has a respective bottom working edge, and the blade assembly is movable between at least two of the following three operational positions, in each of which the respective bottom working edge of the center blade resides in a horizontal working plane:
a pitch-neutral levelling position in which the respective bottom working edges of the wing blades both reside in the same horizontal working plane as the respective working edge of the center blade;
an upwardly pitched ditching position in which the respective bottom working edges of the wing blades reside in forwardly inclined working planes of forwardly inclined relation to the horizontal working plane; and
a downwardly-pitched crowning position in which the respective bottom working edges of the wing blades reside in forwardly decline working planes of forwardly declined relation to the horizontal reference plane.
One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
The drawings illustrate a towable earth moving implement 10 of the present invention that includes a winged blade assembly that is of adjustable pitch angle relative to the pull tongue of the implement, and whereby working edges of angled outer wing blades of the blade assembly can be re-oriented between horizontal, forwardly inclined and forwardly declined orientations relative to the working edge of a center blade to whose ends the angled outer wing blades are affixed. As a result, the inventive implement 10 is capable of not only performing the same levelling and grading operations as other towable earth moving implements of the prior art, but is also capable of performing ditching and crowning operations for imparting non-linear profiles to the earthen surface being worked by the implement. The same piece of equipment can thus be used for a larger variety of tasks compared to the prior art.
The implement 10 features a pull tongue 12 for connection to the rear hitch of a tow vehicle (typically a tractor at a front end 12A of the pull tongue, a winged blade assembly 14 connected the pull tongue 12 at a location of rearwardly distal relation to the hitch-connectable front end 12A thereof, and a wheeled frame 16 residing behind the blade assembly 14, and on which the blade assembly 14 is carried for travel of the implement 14 over an agricultural field or other ground area via a set of ground wheels 18 rotatably mounted to the wheeled frame 16.
In similar manner to the prior art, the blade assembly 14 is mounted to a front end of the wheeled frame 16 via a pivotal frame-tilt connection 20, and a pair of frame-tilt actuators 22 are connected between the wheeled frame 16 and the blade assembly for the purpose of adjusting a relative tilt angle between the frame and blade assembly about a frame tilt axis AF of this connection 20. Adjustment of this tilt angle adjusts an elevation of the blade assembly 14 relative to the ground surface on which the ground wheels 18 reside. The novel implement 10 of the present invention differs from prior in the addition of another degree of freedom to the blade assembly's positional maneuverability, more specifically by novel inclusion of a pivotal blade-pitch connection 24 between the blade assembly 14 and the pull tongue 12, and a corresponding set of one or more blade-pitch actuators 26 operable to adjust a pitch angle of the blade about a blade pitch axis AP of this connection 24. More details concerning these pivotal connections of the blade assembly 14 to the wheeled frame 16 and pull tongue 12 are given herein further below, after first setting forth other constructional details of the implement 10 for context.
With reference to the overhead plan view of
For connection to the tow vehicle (not shown), the front end 12A of the pull tongue 12 features a suitable hitch coupling arrangement 28, which may of conventional design, and therefore is not described herein in any notable detail. A rear end 12B of the pull tongue lies longitudinally opposite of the front end 12A, and resides in front of the center blade 28 of the blade assembly 14. Whereas the rear end 12B of the pull tongue 12 would be rigidly affixed to the blade assembly 14 in the prior art, the rear end 12B of the pull tongue 12 in the present invention is instead movably coupled to the blade assembly 14 via the pivotal blade-pitch connection 24. The pull tongue 12 comprises a main tube 32 spanning longitudinally from the front end 12A of the pull tongue 12 to the opposing rear end 12B thereof. At the rear end 12B, the pull tongue 12 has a first mounting flange 34 that radiates outward from the main tube 32 around the circumference thereof for bolted receipt of a first knuckle assembly 36 (“first knuckle”, for brevity) that has a mating fastening flange 38 abutted flush against the mounting flange 34 of the pull tongue. Fixed atop the center blade 28 of the blade assembly 14 is a neck structure 40 (“neck”, for brevity) that juts a short distance forwardly from a top end of the center blade 28 at a midpoint thereacross, i.e. at a central midplane of the implement that coincides with the longitudinal axis AL and longitudinally bisects the implement 10. A front end of the neck 40 thus resides a short distance longitudinally forward of the center blade 28, and has mounted thereon a second mounting flange 42 to which a second fastening flange 43 of a second knuckle assembly 44 (“second knuckle”, for brevity) is bolted in flush relation thereagainst, just like the bolted attachment of the first knuckle to the first mounting flange on the main tube 32 of the pull tongue 12. The two knuckles 36, 44 reside in nested or intermeshed relation to one another, and are interconnected in pivotably hinged fashion by a pivot shaft 46 that penetrates transversely through the two knuckles. The pivot shaft 46 defines the blade-pitch axis AP, which is of parallel relation to the center blade 28, and to the transverse axis AT occupied by the bottom working edge 28A thereof, and is of perpendicular relationship to the longitudinal axis AL. The knuckles 36, 44 and cooperating pivot shaft 46 thus collectively form the pivotal blade pitch connection 24 between the blade assembly 14 and the pull tongue 12, by which a pitch angle of the blade relative to the pull tongue 12 can be varied about the blade-pitch axis AP.
In the illustrated example, in relation to width dimensions of the knuckles measured in the transverse direction of the implement, the first knuckle 36 on the pull tongue 12 is of narrower construction than the second knuckle assembly 44 on the neck 40 of the blade assembly. Accordingly, the narrower first knuckle 36 is received in nested fashion between side walls of the wider second knuckle 44, though the nested relationship between the two knuckles may alternatively be reversed. The pivot shaft 46 penetrates through the two knuckles 36, 44 at lower regions thereof. To effect pivotal movement between the blade assembly 14 and the pull tongue 12 about the blade-pitch axis AP, a set of one or more blade-pitch actuators 48 are connected between the pull tongue 12 and the blade assembly 14. The illustrated example features a pair of blade-pitch actuators 48 disposed in closely adjacent and symmetric relationship to one another across the longitudinal axis AL at a location of overhead relation to the pivot shaft 46. Each blade-pitch actuator 48 has one end pivotably pinned between a first set of connection lugs 50 that are rigidly mounted atop the first knuckle 36, and another end pivotally pinned between a second set of connection lugs 52 that are rigidly mounted atop the neck 40 of the center blade 28. The two blade-pitch actuators 48 are installed in hydraulically parallel relationship to one another for synchronous operation thereof, whereby extension and collapse of these actuators 48 in concert with one another is operable to pitch the blade assembly 14 in opposing directions about the blade-pitch axis AP relative to the pull tongue 12.
The wheeled frame 16 is composed of two distinct subframes, namely a front blade-carrying subframe 54 and a rear wheel-carrying subframe 56. The blade-carrying subframe 54 is composed of a pair of longitudinal beams 58 lying parallel to one another and to the longitudinal axis AL in symmetrically disposed positions on opposing sides thereof, a rear cross-beam 60 that perpendicularly interconnects to the two longitudinal beams 58 at rear ends thereof, and a pair of diagonal reinforcement braces 62 that each span internally and diagonally between the rear cross-beam 60 and a respective one of the longitudinal beams 58 on a respective side of the longitudinal axis AL. At a front end of the wheeled frame 16, each longitudinal beam 58 is pivotably coupled to the blade assembly 14 via a respective pivot pin 64. The pivot pin 64 penetrates transversely through a front end of the longitudinal beam 58, and also through a cooperating pair of lug walls 66 that are affixed to the rear of the blade assembly 14 near a respective end of the center blade 28, and between which the front end of the respective longitudinal beam 58 is received. The respective pivot pins 64 of the two longitudinal beams 58 are axially aligned with one another, and define a frame-tilt axis AF of parallel relationship to the blade-pitch axis AP.
A respective frame-tilt actuator 22 is provided atop each longitudinal beam 58 of the blade-carrying subframe 54, each having a frame-connected end pivotably pinned to the respective longitudinal beam 58 and an opposing blade-connected end pivotably pinned to the blade assembly 14 at points of elevated relation to the frame-tilt axis AF. In the illustrated example, the blade-connected end of each frame-tilt actuator 22 is pinned to the same pair of lug walls 66 between which the front end of the respective longitudinal beam 58 is received, but a higher location thereon. The two frame-tilt actuators 22 are installed in hydraulically parallel relationship to one another for synchronous operation thereof, whereby extension and collapse of these actuators 68 in concert with one another is operable to raise and lower the blade assembly 14 relative to ground level by varying a relative tilt-angle between the blade assembly 14 and the wheeled frame 16 about the frame-tilt axis AF.
The wheel-carrying sub-frame 56 is composed of an axle beam 70 that resides behind the rear cross-beam 60 of the blade-carrying subframe 54, and an upright stanchion 72 mounted atop the axle beam 70. The stanchion 72 resides at a centered location between the opposing ends of the axle beam 70, at which the ground wheels 18 are respectively mounted in rotatable fashion. The axle beam 70 is coupled to the rear cross-beam 60 of the blade-carrying subframe 54 by a swivel connection 74 that resides at the longitudinal midplane PM of the implement, and thus is located centrally of both the rear cross-beam 60 and axle beam 70. The swivel connection 74 defines a longitudinally-oriented roll-axis AR that resides in the longitudinal midplane PM and lies parallel to the longitudinal beams 58 and perpendicular to the frame-tilt axis AF, and about which blade-carrying and wheel-carrying subframes 54, 56 can be swivelled relative to one another. To control relative motion between the subframes 54, 56 about this roll axis AR, a pair of swivel actuators 78 reside on opposing sides of the wheel axle stanchion 72, and each have one end pivotally pinned to the rear cross-beam 60 of the blade-carrying subframe 54 near a respective end of the rear cross-beam 60 thereof, and another end pivotally pinned to the wheel axle stanchion 72 at a nearest side thereof.
By collapsing a selected one of the swivel actuators 78 and simultaneously extending the other, the pair of swivel actuators 78 are operable to perform swivelling of the front blade-carrying subframe 54, and the blade assembly 14 attached thereto, in either direction about the roll axis AR. Such swiveling movement in either direction about the roll axis AR raises one end of the blade assembly 14 (i.e. one of the wing blades 30), and lowers the other end of the blade assembly 14 (i.e. the other one of the wing blades 30). In a neutral state of both swivel actuators 78 (neither fully collapsed, nor fully extended), the bottom working edge 28A of the center blade 28 of the blade assembly 14 is parallel to the axle beam 70, and thus parallel to the wheel axes and to a ground contact plane in which the ground wheels 18 contact the underlying ground surface, whereby the working edge 28A of the center blade 28 acts to level out the ground surface at its existing grade during towed travel of the implement 10 over the ground. With either swivel actuator 78 extended and the other one retracted, one end of the blade assembly 14 is raised relative to the other, and so the bottom working edge 28A of the center blade 28 of the blade assembly 14 is obliquely tilted about the roll axis AR relative to the axle beam 70, and thus also obliquely tilted relative to the wheel axes and ground contact plane, whereby towed travel of the implement instead imparts a newly angled grade to the ground surface.
Such adjustment of the blade assembly about a roll axis AR between a neutral non-tilted roll position, for ground leveling operations, and one of two available tilted roll positions, for grading operations; and relative movement between the wheeled frame 16 and blade assembly 14 about a frame tilt axis AF to adjust the elevation of the blade assembly 14, are already known in the art, for example as evidenced by Applicant's aforementioned Gladiator implement. However, the novel addition of the blade-pitch connection 24 between the pull tongue 12 and the blade assembly 14, and the associated blade-pitch actuators 48 for adjusting the blade assembly's pitch angle relative to the tongue 12 about the blade pitch axis AP, enables greater variation of the blade assembly's orientation in a beneficial manner enabling more complex ground-shaping operations than the conventional leveling and grading operations achievable by adjustment of the blade's roll-position about the roll axis AR. Different attainable blade assembly positions of varying pitch angle are shown in
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The novel design of the land moving implement thus fully retains the same land levelling and land grading functionality of prior art implements, while adding new ditching and crowning capabilities. In the illustrate embodiment, this extra functionality is attained purely through additional pitch-adjustability of a blade assembly with fixedly-angled wings, rather than through incorporation of of movable blade sections by which the shape of the blade assembly itself could be modified to impart different shape profiles to the agricultural field or other ground surface being worked by the towed implement.
Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.
