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INTRODUCTION
This invention relates to a pull type swather or windrower and, more
particularly, to a pull type swather which features a double swath
capability and enhanced transport to operation mode conversion
characteristics.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As the size of wheat farms increases, it is desirable to reduce the amount
of operator time in the field by enlarging operating machinery. In cutting
a crop with a swather or windrower, it is clearly desirable to cut as much
crop as possible with one pass of the swather so that time of operator and
equipment in the field can be reduced. Thus, the size of swathers has
increased over the last few years from ten and twenty to forty feet in
width and even wider.
While the increased width of swathers serves the function of decreasing
field time well, the size of large swathers has unattractive features. For
example, the large size of such swathers in operation causes
transportation problems as often the crop in the field is far removed from
the location where the equipment is generally stored and it may be
necessary to transport the swather along public roads and through openings
designed for smaller vehicles. While a transport mode has been designed
for many large swathers, such a mode requires various relatively large
changes to the swather such as adding stabilizer wheels, wheel spindles,
hitches and the like to avoid an unstable apparatus while the swather is
under transport. This is undesirable from an efficiency and a cost
viewpoint.
Yet a further undesirable feature of most large pull type swathers is that
only one swath, separated from another swath by a relatively large
distance, can be obtained. If a second swath is located adjacent a first
swath, the tractor may have to travel through the first swath which is
obviously unacceptable. Two adjacent swaths are desirable in order to
reduce the operating time of a combine which will subsequently gather and
thresh the swath. While double swath capabilities on pull type swathers
have been obtained, these are usually obtained only by extending the
draper deck. Such an addition is expensive and bulky and the complexity of
the addition often may result in failure of the addition in the field as
well as poor swath formation.
Yet a further undesirable feature of present large swathers is that as
ground speeds increase and in travelling over rough terrain, the typical
sidewise extending operating position is difficult to maintain in its
correct operating position because the moment created by the heavy weight
of the swather will tend to create an angle between the swather and a line
normal to the pulling tractor. Such an angle causes cutting dislocations
and inconsistent swaths. To overcome this problem, an approach used has
been to lighten the machine which can result in the deletion of attractive
features such as table flotation, table lift characteristics and the like.
This is clearly unsatisfactory.
Yet a further problem with pull type swathers relates to the flexibility of
laying the swath. With present pull type swathers, there is no ability to
lay a swath in the centre portion of the swather and, as well, to also lay
the swath at either end of the table.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the invention, there is disclosed a swather
comprising a frame, a table connected to said frame, a first draper deck
on said table having a belt operable to move bidirectionally in directions
substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said swather, a hitch
pivotally connected to said frame about a substantially vertical axis and
extension and retraction means connected between said t-bar and said
frame.
According to a further aspect of the invention, there is disclosed a method
of obtaining a double swath using a pull type swather comprising pivotally
mounting a hitch to a swather about a vertical axis adjacent one end of
said swather, moving the draper deck of the table of said swather in a
first direction, adjusting the angle between said hitch and said swather
to obtain a first operating condition, moving said draper deck of said
swather in the opposite direction from said first direction and adjusting
said angle between said hitch and said swather to obtain a second
operating condition.
According to yet a further aspect of the invention, there is disclosed a
swather comprising a frame, said frame including a rear frame and a
subframe, said subframe being pivotally connected to said rear frame, a
hitch connected to said frame about an axis and locking and release means
between said rear frame and said subframe.
According to yet a further aspect of the invention, there is disclosed a
pull type swather comprising a frame, a hitch pivotally connected to said
frame adjacent one end of said frame, a table connected to said frame, a
wheel assembly connected to said frame on said one end and weight mounting
means located on said one end of said frame adjacent said wheel assembly.
According to yet a further aspect of the invention, there is disclosed a
pull type swather comprising a frame, a table connected to said frame, a
hitch pivotally connected to said frame, adjustment means to adjust the
angle of said hitch relative to said table, a first draper deck mounted to
said table, a belt for said draper deck, first power means to move said
belt in a first direction and a second direction opposite to said first
direction and first movement means for said draper deck being operable to
move said deck relative to said table.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of
example only, with the use of drawings in which:
FIG. 1A is a diagrammatic plan view of the swather according to the
invention in an operating mode wherein a first swath is being laid;
FIG. 1B is a diagrammatic plan view of the swather of FIG. 1A but wherein a
second swath is being laid;
FIG. 1C is a diagrammatic plan view of the swather of FIG. 1A but wherein a
centre delivery swath is being laid;
FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of the swather of FIG. 1 in the
transport mode;
FIG. 3 an enlarged plan view of the swather according to the invention
illustrating in greater detail the rear frame, subframe and transport
wheels and their associated elements in the operating mode with their
transport mode positions illustrated in phantom;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the transport wheel and its operating
elements taken along IV--IV of FIG. 3 in the operating mode with its
transport mode position being shown in phantom;
FIG. 5 is a view of the subframe wheel and its operating elements taken
along V--V of FIG. 3;
FIG. 6 is a view of the rear frame wheel and its operating elements taken
along VI--VI of FIG. 3;
FIG. 7 is an enlarged and exploded isometric view of the twin axis elements
between the rear frame and the subframe;
FIG. 8 is an isometric view taken along the line VII--VII of FIG. 1A of the
weights mounted on the rear frame; and
FIG. 9A is a diagrammatic rear view of the table of the swather, draper
decks and their associated operating elements;
FIG. 9B is an enlarged partial view of various of the elements illustrated
in FIG. 9A.
FIG. 10 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the draper deck shown in
FIGS. 9A and 9B, corresponding to the circle 10 shown in FIG. 9B; and
FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line 11--11 of FIG.
10.
DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings, a pull type swather is shown generally at 10
in FIGS. 1 and 3 and is pivotally connected about axis 63 to a hitch 31
which extends to a tractor 11. The swather 10 includes a set of draper
decks generally illustrated at 12 and shown in more detail in FIG. 9 as
will be explained hereafter. The draper decks 12 are mounted to a table 15
which table 15 is mounted to a frame generally shown at 13 which comprises
a rear frame 14 and a subframe 20, the table 15 being mounted to the rear
frame 14. A transport wheel assembly is generally shown at 21 and in more
detail in FIG. 4, the transport wheel assembly 21 being pivotally mounted
on the subframe 20 as will be explained in greater detail hereafter. A
rear frame wheel assembly is generally shown at 22 and in more detail in
FIG. 6, the rear frame wheel assembly 22 being mounted on the rear frame
14 as will be explained in greater detail hereafter. A subframe wheel
assembly 25 is mounted on the subframe 20 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5
as will also be explained in greater detail hereafter.
A weight mounting or attachment area generally shown at 23 in FIG. 3 is
located on the rear frame 14 near the connection area generally denoted 24
between the rear frame 14 and the subframe 20 as illustrated more clearly
in FIG. 7 and as will be explained in greater detail hereafter. A series
of weights 84 are located on the rear frame 14 as more clearly seen in
FIG. 8 adjacent the subframe wheel assembly 25 and on the end of the frame
13 which is closest to the pivotal connection of the hitch 31 with the
subframe 20 and as also explained in greater detail hereafter.
A hitch 31 is pivotally connected about a substantially vertical axis on
each of the subframe 20 of the frame 13 of the swather 10 and the tractor
11. The vertical axis 63 on the subframe 20 is located adjacent one end of
the swather 10. An extension and retraction means by way of a first
hydraulic cylinder 32 is located between the hitch 31 and the subframe 20
of the swather 10 and may be extended or retracted from a position remote
from the swather 10 to alter the angle between the subframe 20 and the
hitch 31 as clearly seen in FIGS. 1B and 1C.
With further reference to FIGS. 9A, 9B, 10 and 11, the set of draper decks
12 comprise a twin set. Each of the first and second draper decks 12 has a
belt 33 mounted between a hydraulically driven drive pulley 34 and an
idler pulley 35 which are, in turn, individually mounted to draper frames
40 movable on the table 15 of the swather 10. Respective movement means by
the way of hydraulic motors 41 are provided for each draper deck 12 to
allow each draper deck 12 to move bidirectionally in directions
substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the swather 10 and
relative to the table 15 to each other. Each motor 41 is mounted on the
table 15 and drives a pinion 36 which meshes with a respective chain 37
connected between two points on each draper deck 12. The pinion and chain
arrangement allows each draper deck 12 to be moved relative to the table
15 and to each other. Similarly, the hydraulic motors which drive the
drive pulleys 34 of the belts 33 may be reversed either independently or
together such that the direction of motion of the belts 33 may move
simultaneously in one direction or they may move in opposite directions.
Referring to FIG. 1A, for example, it will be seen the direction of motion
of the belts 33 is identical for each belt 33, that motion being to the
right which acts to deposit a swath at the right hand end of the swather
10. Referring to FIG. 1B, it will be seen that the direction of motion for
the belts 33 is also identical but in an opposite sense to the direction
of motion seen in FIG. 1A. This motion acts to deposit a swath at the
lefthand end of the swather 10. Finally, referring to FIG. 1C, the belts
33 of the draper decks 12 are running in opposite directions and acting to
lay a swath between the two draper decks 12 and centrally of the swather
10.
The draper decks 12, as noted, may be moved with the chain and pinion
arrangement relative to table 15 and to each other. In FIG. 1A, the draper
decks 12 are illustrated as being adjacent each other in the left hand
side of the table 15 of swather 10 thereby leaving an open area at the
right hand end of the swather 10. In FIG. 1B, the draper decks 12 are
illustrated as being adjacent each other in the right hand side of the
table 15 of swather 10 thereby laying a swath at the left hand end of the
swather 10. In FIG. 1C, the draper decks 12 are separated so as to leave
an open area in the central area of the swather 10 and thereby being
operable to lay a swath between the draper decks 12.
Referring now to the transport wheel assembly 21 which is shown in more
detail in FIG. 4, a tire 42 is mounted to an axle 43 which is held by a
fork 44. Fork 44 is pivoted at axis 50 and a hydraulic cylinder 51 is
connected between the fork 44 and the subframe 20. Hydraulic cylinder
moves the fork 44 together with a locking and release means in the way of
a locking bracket 52 between the raised position indicated with solid
lines which shows the transport wheel assembly 21 in its operating mode
and the lowered position indicated with phantom lines which shows the
transport wheel assembly 21 in its transport mode. In the operating mode,
the locking bracket 52 retains a pin 45 connected to the rear frame 14
which securely couple or lock the rear frame 14 and the subframe 20
together in a substantially parallel relationship as seen in FIGS. 1 and
3. In the transport mode with the transport wheel assembly in its lowered
position, the locking bracket 52 is disengaged from its contact with the
pin 45 of the rear frame 14 such that the rear frame 14 and subframe 20
proceed in a substantially normal relationship as best seen in FIG. 2.
Thus, the locking bracket 52 is operable by movement of the transport
wheel assembly 21. Guide plates 55 is connected to the subframe 20 to
allow for smooth movement of the subframe 20 into a parallel relationship
with the rear frame 14 when the swather 10 is moved from the transport to
the operation mode and to deactivate the pivotal and relative movement of
the rear frame 14 and subframe 20 about axes 75,82.
The rear frame wheel assembly 22 of FIGS. 1 and 3 is shown in greater
detail in FIG. 6 and is connected to the rear frame 14. A tire 53 is
mounted to a fork arm 54 by an axle 62, which fork arm 54 is connected to
rear frame 14 and which is pivotal about an axis 60. A hydraulic cylinder
61 is connected between the fork arm 54 and the rear frame 14. Hydraulic
cylinder 61 is operable to move the fork arm 54 between the operating mode
position shown in FIGS. 1,3 and 6 and the transport mode position shown in
FIG. 2 and in phantom in FIG. 6, which position is normal to the operating
mode position as is clear.
The subframe wheel assembly 25 of FIGS. 1 and 3 is shown in greater detail
in FIG. 5. The subframe wheel assembly 25 is not rotatable about the axis
75 but, rather, maintains a continuous orientation on the subframe 20 as
illustrated. A tire 64 is connected by axle 70 to fork leg 71 which is
securely mounted in the subframe 20 and maintained in that position by a
bracket 72 connected between the fork leg 71 and the subframe 20.
The connection area 24 between the rear frame 14 and the subframe 20 of
FIG. 3 in its operating mode is shown in greater detail in FIG. 7. The
subframe 20 is pivotally connected to rear frame 14 about axis 75 using
the pin 73 which is part of the fork leg 71 of the subframe wheel assembly
25. Pin 73 is inserted through the lower leg 80 of bracket 74 and thence
through the pin receptacle 85 on subframe 20, through the upper leg 81 of
bracket 74 where it is then retained by a retaining nut 86. Bracket 74 is
rotatable about the axis 82 of pin 83 and relative to the rear frame 14
which also rotates about axis 82.
The weight attachment area 23 of FIG. 3 is illustrated more clearly in FIG.
8. A plurality of weights 84, only one of which is shown in FIG. 8, are
connected to the rear frame 14 by attaching a weight lip area 90 to a
receiving complementary extension 91 located on the bottom portion of rear
frame 14. A retaining bracket 92 is then secured to the weight 84 and
extends over the top of the complementary extension 91 of rear frame 14.
It is advantageous to add the weights 84 to the rear frame 14 in a
leftmost position on the side of the rear frame 14 closest to the pivotal
connection of the hitch 31 and as close to the subframe wheel assembly 25
as practicable. In this manner, a moment opposite to the moment caused by
the side draft of the swather 10 will be created which will act to enhance
the retention of the true operating position of the swather 10. Depending
on the operating conditions under which the swather 10 is to be used, an
increase or decrease in the number of the weights 84 may be made.
OPERATION
In operation, it will be assumed that the swather 10 is in the operative
mode and is in the condition illustrated in FIG. 1A. That is, the hitch 31
is in the straight ahead position, the transport wheel assembly 21 is in
the engaged or raised position, the rear frame wheel assembly 22 is
parallel with the direction of travel and the two draper decks 12 are
located adjacent to each other at the left hand side of the table 15. The
belts 33 of the draper decks 12 will be travelling in a first direction
which is the same direction; that is, the top surface of both belts 33
will be travelling to the right as seen in FIG. 1A and acting to lay a
swath at the right hand end of the swather 10 as illustrated.
In addition, it will be noted that because of the engagement of the
transport wheel assembly 21 and, in particular, the locking bracket 52 of
that assembly, with the rear frame 14, the connection area 24 will be
rigid and no movement of the rear frame 14 relative to the subframe 20
will be permitted about either of the axes 75,82.
In addition, the operator of the tractor 11 with the attached swather 10
will have decided on the number of weights 84 which may be desirable to
add to the rear frame 14 (FIG. 8) under the particular ground and weather
conditions which he may expect to encounter.
It will again be assumed that the operator desires to lay a double swath
for ease of combining. The operator will commence to lay a first swath in
a first operating condition as illustrated in FIG. 1A. Although the
position of the hitch 31 is illustrated in the straight ahead position,
the operator may retract hydraulic cylinder 32 which will then adjust the
angle between the swather 10 and the table 15 to create an acute angle
between the hitch 31 and the longitudinal axis of the swather 10 which is
normal to the direction of the movement of the tractor 11 in order to move
the tractor 11 closer to the uncut crop.
As the operator proceeds around the field, he will encounter the first
swath. At this point, he will activate the chain and pinion arrangement
for the draper decks 12 and move the draper decks 12 under the influence
of the hydraulic motors 41, pinions 36 and chains 37, to the position
indicated in FIG. 1B, that is to a position opposite from the first
position on the table 15 adjacent the right hand side of the table 15. The
direction of movement of the top surface of both belts 33 will be reversed
to take the direction of movement indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1B. The
angle between the hitch 30 and the swather 10 will be adjusted by moving
the hitch 30 to the left with cylinder 32 so that the tractor 11 will miss
the swath cut from the previous round. The operator will then commence to
lay the second swath at the left hand end of the swather 10 as illustrated
in a second operating condition, the second swath being laid adjacent the
first swath.
As the operator proceeds with the swathing operation, the weights 84 which
are attached to the rear frame 14 act as a counterweight thereby creating
a counter moment to the sidedraft forces caused by the swather 10. It will
be noted that the weights 84 are mounted to the rear frame 14 in a
location as close to the subframe wheel assembly 25 as is practicable
(FIG. 3).
Following the completion of the swathing operation, the swather 10 will be
transported to a different location and, to that end, it will assume the
transport mode. With reference to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, hydraulic cylinder 51
will be retracted which will lower tire 42 and fork 44 to allow tire 42 to
contact the ground. The locking bracket 52 will be disengaged from the pin
45 connected to the rear frame 14 which will then allow relative movement
between the rear frame 14 and subframe 20 about axes 75,82.
As the transport wheel assembly 21 disengages from the pin 45 and rear
frame 14 and is lowered into its ground contact position, hydraulic
cylinder 61 connected between the rear frame 14 and the fork arm 54 is
extended such that the rear frame wheel assembly 22 assumes a final
transport position as indicated in phantom in FIGS. 3 and 6 and as
illustrated in FIG. 2. The operator will then simply commence to tow the
swather 10 which, under the towing force, will assume the position as
illustrated in FIG. 2.
When the operator wishes again to assume the operating mode, he will
reverse portions of the above procedure. He will more rearwardly until the
subframe 20 has pivoted about axis 75 and is in a position parallel to the
rear frame 14 with the guide plate 55 in position straddling the rear
frame 14 as illustrated in FIG. 4.. He will then extend hydraulic cylinder
51 to raise the tire 42 and fork 44 with locking bracket 52 until the
locking bracket 52 becomes engaged with pin 45 on rear frame 14.
Simultaneously, hydraulic cylinder 61 will be retracted until the rear
frame wheel assembly 22 assumes the position shown in FIG. 3. The swather
10 is then ready once again for the swather operation.
With reference to FIG. 1C, the draper decks 12 may assume the centre open
position illustrated if it is so desired. The operator will activate the
hydraulic motors 41 in opposite directions and the draper decks 12 will
assume the positions adjacent each respective side of the table 15. The
drive pulleys 34 will be given a direction of rotation such that the top
surface of the belts 33 will move in opposite directions so as to carry
the crop to the centre of the swather 10 and to deposit it, again as
illustrated in FIG. 1C.
Many modifications to the invention may be contemplated by those skilled in
the art to which it relates and the specific embodiments described should
be taken as illustrative only and not as limiting the scope of the
invention as construed in accordance with the accompanying claims.
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