GB1594331A - Device for mounting appliances on a vehicle - Google Patents

Description

(54) DEVICE FOR MOUNTING APPLIANCES ON A VEHICLE (71) We, DORMAN SPRAYER LIMITED (formerly The Dorman Sprayer Co. Limi ted), a British Company of Brays Lane, Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- The present invention concerns devices for mounting appliances, and is particularly, though not especially, concerned with mounting spray booms on spraying vehicles or tractors.

Spraying vehicles are in common use for applying pesticides and fertilisers to agricultural crops. In order to ensure substantially uniform application of the materials being sprayed it is desirable to insulate the movement of the spraying nozzles from the movements of the spraying vehicle as it moves over the ground.

Accordingly the present invention consists in a device for mounting an appliance on a vehicle, the device comprising a fixed frame adapted to be secured to the vehicle, a movable frame mounted on said fixed frame so as to be capable of moving with respect to said fixed frame, spring means limiting movement of said movable frame with respect to said fixed frame, a third frame suspended from said movable frame by a pair of connecting links, each link being pivoted at its upper end to said movable frame and at its lower end to said third frame.

Preferably said movable frame carries guide means which restrain movement of the swinging frame to a plane substantially parallel to the plane in which the movable frame can move relative to the fixed frame.

The spring means may be compression springs.

According to a feature of the present invention the connecting links are arranged so that in their normal positions their longitudinal axes converge in a downward direction.

When the device set forth hereinbefore is used to mount a sprayboom on a vehicle, the swing frame may be provided with double hinges at each side thereof, each double hinge being adapted to mount a section of the sprayboom in such a manner that the section can both swing forwards and rearwards during travel, and may also be folded upwardly.

In order that the present invention may be more readily understood, an embodiment thereof will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is an end view of a device for mounting a sprayboom on a vehicle and constructed in accordance with the present invention, and Figure 2 is a section on line A-A of Figure 1.

The mounting arrangement shown in the accompanying drawings comprises a back frame 1 having a pair of vertical guide members 11, the back frame 1 being arranged to be mounted by any suitable means to the chassis of a spraying machine (not shown). A frame 2 is fixed by suitable clamps or bolts to the back frame 1, the height of the frame 2 being adjustable with respect to the ground by sliding the frame 2 upwardly or downwardly in the slotted vertical guide members 11 after the clamps or bolts have been loosened. A winch may be provided for raising and lowering frame 2.

A movable frame 3 is mounted on the frame 2 so that it can move in a substantially vertical plane when the frames 1 and 2 are mounted on a vehicle, the movement of the frame 3 being limited by a pair of compression springs 21 carried by frame 2. A shock absorber may also be provided between frames 2 and 3 to dampen their relative movement. The frame 3 carries at each of its two uppermost corners a hinge 8 from which a link member 4 is pivoted, the link members 4 extending downwardly and being pivoted at their lower ends to the upper part of a swinging frame 5. The links 4 have a rubber bush at the pivotal connections at their upper ends and a metal bush at their lower ends.As shown in Figure 1 the longitudinal axes of the links 4 normally converge downwardly so that the axes intersect at a point substantialy coincident with the centre of gravity of a sprayboom when carried by the swinging frame 5. Those parts of the sprayboom relevant to the present invention will be more fully described hereinafter.

The geometry of the links 4 is such that as the spraying vehicle travels across sloping land the sprayboom will remain parallel to the slope. However, it also allows the sprayboom to remain parallel to the land when one side of the vehicle is suddenly raised or lowered such as when one wheel rides over a ridge.

The swinging frame 5 is restrained for movement only in a vertical plane by stationary guides 6 fixed to the movable frame 3.

The guides 6 are spring-loaded at 7 to allow small movements of the swinging frame 5 in the fore and aft directions, the rubber bushes 9 of the links 4 helping to accomodate this movement. This arrangement is required to reduce the yawing effects caused by the steering systems of modern tractors when passing over rough agricultural land.

The sprayboom consists of a pair of boom main sections 20 which are only shown in part as apart from their linkages they are entirely conventional. The main boom sections 20 and associated boom stays 21 are hinged at 22, 23 respectively to the outermost ends of the swinging frame 5. The main boom sections 20 are hinged to the swinging frame 5 by means of double hinges so that the main boom sections are free to swing backwardly or forwardly about an outwardly inclined axes should they strike obstructions when the spraying machine is moving, and return to their original positions under their own weight. Further the hinges 22 allow pivoting about a substantially horizontal axis to permit the main boom sections to be folded during travel.The pivots of each double hinge have inclined axes such that when the hinge is opened in either direction the sprayboom section mounted thereon rises so that whenever a sprayboom section is deflected by an obstacle it will always have a tendency to return to its central position at which point the potential energy of the system is at a minimum. The hinges 22, 23 prevent stresses resulting from rapid acceleration of the spraying vehicle causing violent whipping of the sprayboom.

The vertically spring frame 3 carries a hinged latch 12 fixed between the swinging frame 5 and one of the lower guide spaces which latch can lock the swinging frame 5 at 11 by placing one end of the latch over a fixed pin on the swinging frame. The latch 12 may be rotated clear of the swinging frame 5 when the spraying machine is working.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A device for mounting an appliance on a vehicle, the device comprising a fixed frame adapted to be secured to the vehicle, a movable frame mounted on said fixed frame so as to be capable of movement with respect to said fixed frame, spring means limiting movement of said movable frame with respect to said fixed frame, a third frame suspended from said movable frame by a pair of connecting links, each link being pivoted at its upper end to said movable frame and at its lower end to said third frame.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said movable frame carries guide means which restrain movement of the swinging frame to a plane substantially parallel to the plane in which the movable frame can move relative to the fixed frame.

3. A device as claimed in either of the preceding claims, wherein the connecting links are arranged so that in their normal positions they converge in a downward direction.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the connecting links converge towards a point coincident with the centre of gravity of the appliance to be carried by the device.

5. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and including a latch member operative to lock the swinging frame against movement.

6. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and in combination with an agricultural spray boom spray comprising a pair of spray boom sections mounted one on each side of the swinging frame.

7. A combination as claimed in claim 6, wherein each spray boom section has an associated spray boom stay, each section and each stay being coupled to the swing frame by a double hinge which permits the coupled stay or section to be folded upwardly and to swing forwardly and rearwardly.

8. A combination as claimed in claim 7, wherein the hinge axes are so arranged and inclined that when the spray boom sections swing forwardly or rearwardly, the swinging sections tend to rise.

9. A device for mounting an appliance on a vehicle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (9)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. coincident with the centre of gravity of a sprayboom when carried by the swinging frame 5. Those parts of the sprayboom relevant to the present invention will be more fully described hereinafter. The geometry of the links 4 is such that as the spraying vehicle travels across sloping land the sprayboom will remain parallel to the slope. However, it also allows the sprayboom to remain parallel to the land when one side of the vehicle is suddenly raised or lowered such as when one wheel rides over a ridge. The swinging frame 5 is restrained for movement only in a vertical plane by stationary guides 6 fixed to the movable frame 3. The guides 6 are spring-loaded at 7 to allow small movements of the swinging frame 5 in the fore and aft directions, the rubber bushes 9 of the links 4 helping to accomodate this movement. This arrangement is required to reduce the yawing effects caused by the steering systems of modern tractors when passing over rough agricultural land. The sprayboom consists of a pair of boom main sections 20 which are only shown in part as apart from their linkages they are entirely conventional. The main boom sections 20 and associated boom stays 21 are hinged at 22, 23 respectively to the outermost ends of the swinging frame 5. The main boom sections 20 are hinged to the swinging frame 5 by means of double hinges so that the main boom sections are free to swing backwardly or forwardly about an outwardly inclined axes should they strike obstructions when the spraying machine is moving, and return to their original positions under their own weight. Further the hinges 22 allow pivoting about a substantially horizontal axis to permit the main boom sections to be folded during travel.The pivots of each double hinge have inclined axes such that when the hinge is opened in either direction the sprayboom section mounted thereon rises so that whenever a sprayboom section is deflected by an obstacle it will always have a tendency to return to its central position at which point the potential energy of the system is at a minimum. The hinges 22, 23 prevent stresses resulting from rapid acceleration of the spraying vehicle causing violent whipping of the sprayboom. The vertically spring frame 3 carries a hinged latch 12 fixed between the swinging frame 5 and one of the lower guide spaces which latch can lock the swinging frame 5 at 11 by placing one end of the latch over a fixed pin on the swinging frame. The latch 12 may be rotated clear of the swinging frame 5 when the spraying machine is working. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A device for mounting an appliance on a vehicle, the device comprising a fixed frame adapted to be secured to the vehicle, a movable frame mounted on said fixed frame so as to be capable of movement with respect to said fixed frame, spring means limiting movement of said movable frame with respect to said fixed frame, a third frame suspended from said movable frame by a pair of connecting links, each link being pivoted at its upper end to said movable frame and at its lower end to said third frame.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said movable frame carries guide means which restrain movement of the swinging frame to a plane substantially parallel to the plane in which the movable frame can move relative to the fixed frame.

3. A device as claimed in either of the preceding claims, wherein the connecting links are arranged so that in their normal positions they converge in a downward direction.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the connecting links converge towards a point coincident with the centre of gravity of the appliance to be carried by the device.

5. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and including a latch member operative to lock the swinging frame against movement.

6. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and in combination with an agricultural spray boom spray comprising a pair of spray boom sections mounted one on each side of the swinging frame.

7. A combination as claimed in claim 6, wherein each spray boom section has an associated spray boom stay, each section and each stay being coupled to the swing frame by a double hinge which permits the coupled stay or section to be folded upwardly and to swing forwardly and rearwardly.

8. A combination as claimed in claim 7, wherein the hinge axes are so arranged and inclined that when the spray boom sections swing forwardly or rearwardly, the swinging sections tend to rise.

9. A device for mounting an appliance on a vehicle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~