Patent Application
20230200275
The present invention relates to farm, construction, and other working implements that attach to the three point hitch or the drawbar of a tractor.
The three point hitch and drawbar are standard and common ways of attaching various working implements to a tractor. Dozens if not scores of different implements exist, each with a different working function. Examples of such implements include box blades, mower/cutters, grader blades, land planes, tillers, cultivators, disc harrows, aerators, rippers, seeders, and many others.
Each prior art tractor-drawn implement has its own functional structure as well as its own structure or frame for connecting to the tractor. Accordingly, a tractor owner who uses the tractor for many different types of work often owns (and has to store) numerous different implements, each with its own frame and attachment structure for the tractor. The present invention is a single universal implement frame which connects to a tractor's three point hitch or drawbar and which features a structure adapted to removably receive a wide range of different tools for different work functions. In this way, the tractor owner or user need only have a single universal implement frame which never (or rarely) needs to detach from the tractor. Rather, the universal implement frame can be converted from one type of job to another by adding or removing parts. In this way, the space necessary to store various tractor drawn implements can be reduced as much as 50%, since each tool no longer has a dedicated and integrated frame and attachment method. The present invention provides the additional advantage that the cost and weight of individual implements are significantly reduced.
Features in the attached drawings are numbered with the following reference numerals:
According to one object of the invention, there is provided a universal frame from which a broad range of 3-point hitch and drawbar attached implements can be created, used, and/or combined by attaching additional parts.
Referring to the figures, a preferred embodiment of the invention comprises two parallel beams 1, two telescoping struts 3 that are arranged between and perpendicular to the beams 1, and two parallel stabilizers 4 connected to the strut connection plates 23. The beams 1 are preferably arranged so that their longitudinal axes are parallel to the direction of travel. The beams and stabilizers need not be utilized simultaneously. The invention also includes a tractor three point hitch attachment assembly including a front frame 5 and two adjustable rear frame legs 7. The front frame can be used to attached to a tractor's drawbar in lieu of the three point hitch.
The beams 1 each have a plate portion 9 and a flange portion 11 along at least a partial perimeter of the plate portion 9. The plate portion 9 and flange portion 11 have patterned bolt holes 15 for attaching the struts 3 and for attaching additional equipment/parts that are independent of the frame.
The telescoping struts 3 may be any type of telescoping structure with fixable positions. The examples shown in the Figures are made of one larger and two smaller hollow structural shapes 17, 19 (HSS) that slide via wear pads 21. The larger HSS 17 may be fitted connection plates 23 with holes where the front frame 5, adjustable rear frame legs 7, and the tractor's 3-point hitch lower arms can connect. The smaller HSS 19 have end plates 25 for fastening to the beams' plate portions 9. There are slotted holes 27 on two opposing faces of the larger and smaller HSS members. Clamping mechanisms 29 on the struts secure their length once they are adjusted.
The stabilizers 4 are stiffening elements that connect to the struts and include hole patterns for fastening implements and for fastening to the struts at varying locations along their length. The examples shown in the figures are made of common structural angles.
The front frame 5 may be made of two longitudinal members having lower holes for fastening to the connection plates 23 on the struts 3, and upper holes for fastening the adjustable rear frame legs 7 and the top link of the tractor's 3-point hitch or to the tractor's drawbar.
The adjustable rear frame legs 7 may be constructed of longitudinal members 7a and 7b with hole patterns. The holes on the ends of the plates 7a and 7b are used to fasten to the front frame 5 and to the connection plates on one of the telescoping struts 3. The interior holes are for adjusting the overall length of the rear frame legs 7a and 7b, depending on where the telescoping struts 5 are attached to the beam plate portion 9.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63292813 | Dec 2021 | US |
