Agricultural machine comprising a towed support frame and rollers provided with a set of dome profile pneumatic tyres

• US 20050087351A1
• Filed: 10/21/2004
• Published: 04/28/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Otico
• Original Assignee: Otico
• Inventors: Piou, Denis
• Granted Patent: US 7,124,835 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 172/578
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 29/043 Tire-packers
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 29/06 with special additional arrangements

Abstract

The machine comprises a given number of roller pairs respectively connected to the machine frame by a linking part (32). The linking part (32) of each roller pair is adapted so as to enable the rollers (12a, 12b) to incline freely about a first roll axis (YY′) perpendicular to and coplanar with the longitudinal axis (XX′) of the rollers and about a second axis (HH′) parallel to the pitch axis of the frame (10), no matter what deformations of the road or terrain are encountered. Application in particular to seed drills for agricultural machines.

Claims

1. Agricultural machine comprising a support frame and several rollers connected to said support frame, each roller being equipped with a set of pneumatic tyres engaging round a tube and having respective dome-shaped, circumferential profiles able to form a set of furrows in the ground, and having a number of roller pairs respectively connected to the machine frame by a linking part, the linking part of each roller pair being adapted to enable the rollers to incline freely about a first roll axis perpendicular to and coplanar with the longitudinal axis of the rollers and about a second axis parallel to the pitch axis of the frame, no matter what road or terrain deformations are encountered.

2. Agricultural machine according to claim 1, wherein each tube of a roller pair is mounted on a hub at the end of an axle, said axle having a longitudinal axis coinciding with the longitudinal axis of the rollers.

3. Agricultural machine according to claim 2, wherein said axle of each roller pair is made integral with the support frame by a towing leg fixed by one of its ends to the centre of the axle and engaged by its other end in a thrust bearing fitted to the linking part.

4. Agricultural machine according to claim 3, wherein said linking part is shaped like a gallows, comprising an upright and a crossbar arranged at right angles and is articulated level with the intersection of the upright and the crossbar about an articulation axis parallel to the pitch axis of the frame, the towing leg being articulated by its end engaged in the thrust bearing of the linking part about the roll axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rollers.

5. Agricultural machine according to claim 4, wherein said thrust bearing is fixed to the upright of the linking part at its end opposite to that common with the crossbar.

6. Agricultural machine according to claim 4, wherein said towing leg is rotated about the first roll axis by two jacks arranged symmetrically and respectively bearing at the ends of a support bar fixed in its centre at the end opposite to that which is fixed to the axle and oriented in a direction parallel to that of the longitudinal axis of the rollers and in that the ends of the jacks opposite to those bearing on the support bar are fixed to a second support bar integral with the crossbar and oriented in a direction parallel to the second articulation axis.

7. Agricultural machine according to claim 4, including a shock absorber placed between the free end of the crossbar and the frame.

8. Agricultural machine according to claim 2, wherein said hubs are provided with drum brakes or disk brakes.

9. Agricultural machine according to claim 1, wherein said pneumatic tyres are held between two end flanges ensuring the holding and securing of the set of tyres.

10. Agricultural machine according to claim 9, wherein said flanges are removable so as to be able to fit or replace the tyres.

11. Agricultural machine according to claim 2, including a transverse disk fixed perpendicular to the inner wall of each of the tubes in order to ensure the fixing of each tube to respectively the two hubs fitted at the ends of the axle.

12. Agricultural machine according to claim 11, wherein radial brackets are positioned on either side of each of the disks and are fixed between the surfaces of each of the disks and the inner wall of each tube.

13. Agricultural machine according to claim 1, wherein said roller pairs located at the two ends of the roller pair assembly are folded back about a hinge fixed to the frame during road transport of the machine.