Abstract:
An agricultural working machine, such as a combine harvester or forage harvester, has a feeding assembly arranged on the front for accommodating a header attachment which is designated to harvest and convey a harvested crop, and a gauge wheel attachment comprising at least support wheel associated with the header attachment on one or both sides of the feeding assembly, wherein the header attachment is arranged pivotally about a rotation axis extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the agricultural working machine on the feeding assembly in such a manner that the header attachment can be automatically rotated from a working position into a transport position when the feeding assembly is lowered, and at least one support wheel of at least one gauge wheel attachment supports the header attachment on the ground in the transport position. This ensures that the use of a separate header trailer is not necessary. At the same time such a rotating mechanism enables support wheel arrangements to be brought quickly from a working to a non-working position without heavy physical work being required for that alteration.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO A RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     The invention described and claimed hereinbelow is also described in European Patent Applications EP 06 121 526.5 filed on Sep. 29, 2006 and EP 07 108 301.8 filed on May 16, 2007. This European Patent Applications, whose subject matter is incorporated here by reference, provide the basis for a claim of priority of invention under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d).  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The invention relates to an agricultural working machine, such as a combine harvester or forage harvester, with a feeding assembly arranged at the front for accommodating a header attachment.  
         [0003]     An agricultural working machine of the type mentioned is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,810. The combine harvester disclosed there is provided with an inclined feed duct with which is associated, on the front, a crop cutting unit with a large working width. To ensure that the weight of the crop cutting unit need not be fully supported unilaterally on the ground by the vehicle axles of the combine harvester, and to ensure at the same time that a separate header trailer is not necessary, support wheel arrangements are associated with the header attachment on both sides of the inclined feed duct in its rear region. In the shown embodiment, one of the traveling mechanisms has a supporting wheel while the other traveling mechanism has support wheels arranged in pairs. If the header attachment is in the so-called working position, the axles of the support wheels run substantially parallel with the crop cutting unit so that the support wheels associated with these vehicle axles support the header attachment on the ground during the harvesting operation and consequently a portion of the header attachment weight reaches the ground via the support wheels, which ultimately results in some relief of the load from the vehicle axles.  
         [0004]     In the so-called non-working position the gauge wheel attachments of the header can be rotated 90° so that the axles bearing the support wheels are now arranged transversely to the header attachment. This enables the support wheels of the header attachment to be used as a system for transporting the header in the non-working position without the necessity of a separate trailer system. To ensure that the support wheels reach this road transport position, the operator of the agricultural working machine must reposition the relevant gauge wheel attachments when the header attachment is raised and refit them in the new position, offset by 90°, on the locking device provided for the new position. Such a conversion process is time-consuming and also requires major physical effort of the person carrying out the rebuilding work. The weight of the gauge wheel attachments are often high and may require several people for the conversion process.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     The object of the invention is therefore to avoid the disadvantages of the prior art described above and, in particular, to provide a device which eliminates the need for a separate header attachment carriage and which, at the same time, enables support wheel arrangements to be converted from a working to a non-working position without heavy physical work being required for the conversion process,  
         [0006]     In keeping with thee objects and with others which will become apparent hereinafter, one feature of the present invention resides, briefly stated, in an agricultural working machine, comprising a feeding assembly arranged on a front; a header attachment accommodated in said feeding assembly and configured to harvest and convey a harvested crop; a gauge wheel attachment including at least support wheel and associated with said header attachment on at least one side of said feeding assembly, said header attachment being at least arranged pivotally about a rotation axis extending transversely to a longitudinal direction of the agricultural working machine on said feeding assembly in such a manner said header attachment is automatically rotatable from a working position into a transport position when said feeding assembly is lowered, and wherein said at least one gauge wheel attachment has at least one support wheel which supports said header attachment on a ground in the transport position.  
         [0007]     By designing the agricultural machine with a feeding assembly arranged on the front for accommodating a header attachment, where the adapted header attachment accommodates at least one gauge wheel attachment comprising at least one support wheel on one or both sides of the feeding assembly, and where the header attachment is arranged so that it can be rotated at least about one rotation axis extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the agricultural working machine on the feeding assembly in such a manner that the header attachment can be simply rotated from a working position into a transport position when the feeding assembly is lowered and at least one of the support wheels of at least one of the gauge wheel attachments supports the header attachment on the ground in the transport position, it is ensured that the use of a separate header attachment carriage is not necessary. At the same time such a rotation mechanism makes it possible to bring support wheel arrangements from a working into a non-working position without heavy physical work being required for the conversion process,  
         [0008]     In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the rotation of the header attachment from the working position into the non-working position comprises a rotation range of substantially 90°, so that this small rotation range can be covered quickly and only a small volume is required to perform this rotational movement.  
         [0009]     Such a rotation process can be achieved in a simple, compact design when the header attachment has a support frame in its rear region and when the rotation axis extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the agricultural working machine is associated at the top, and the corresponding support frame structure of the gauge wheel attachment or attachments is associated with this support frame,  
         [0010]     A rapid adaptation of the header attachment to the feeding assembly, which at the same time takes place almost without any fitting operations to be carried out manually by an operator, is provided in an advantageous alternative of the invention when the rotation axis extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the agricultural working machine is associated at the top of the header attachment, and the corresponding support frame structure of the gauge wheel attachment or attachments is associated with the support frame of the header attachment, and an intermediate frame is associated with the support frame of the header attachment and can be connected at least fixedly to the feeding assembly,  
         [0011]     To prevent the header attachment from rotating during the harvesting operation, it is proposed, in an advantageous embodiment of the invention, that the rotation axis extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the agricultural working machine be locked in the working position of the header attachment.  
         [0012]     The weight of the header attachment that can be supported by the gauge wheel attachment or attachments is even greater if, in an advantageous further development of the invention, the support frame structure of at least one of the gauge wheel attachments comprises at least one axle and the axle accommodates at least one support wheel on each side.  
         [0013]     So that the gauge wheel attachments associated with the header attachment can be used to support the weight of the header attachment on the ground in the working operation of the agricultural working machine, for example during its use when harvesting in a field , provision is made, in an advantageous embodiment of the invention, for the support frame structure of at least one of the gauge wheel attachments to accommodate a pivot mechanism, where the pivot mechanism is arranged fixedly or pivotally, by means of an intermediate frame structure, on the support frame of the header attachment or the intermediate frame. Since the pivot mechanism enables the axle to rotate at least 90 deg, the corresponding gauge wheel attachment can be rotated quickly between a working position and a non-working position, A particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention is achieved in this connection if the rotation of the pivot mechanism is able to operate automatically or manually. While automatic rotation relieves the operator of the agricultural working machine of physically heavy rebuilding work to a large extent, manual rotation represents a low cost alternative.  
         [0014]     In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the feeding assembly can be rotated about a rotation axis extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the agricultural working machine by means of adjusting cylinders, while at the same time, the rotation of the header attachment is effected about at least one of the swivel axes extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the agricultural working machine.  
         [0015]     By detecting the position of the adjusting cylinders of the feeding assembly and/or the spatial position of the feeding assembly, coding it in the form of position signals and transmitting these position signals to a control and evaluation unit, then generating cylinder adjusting signals for the adjusting cylinders of the header attachment in the control and evaluation unit as a function of the position signals of the feeding assembly, these adjusting signals resulting in automatic rotation of the header attachment about its rotation axis, it can be ensured, during the rotation process, that the support wheels are not overloaded/damaged.  
         [0016]     In another embodiment of the invention, provision may be made, during the lowering of the feeding assembly and rotation of the header attachment, for the agricultural working machine to be moved in the rearward direction. The advantage of this is that the horizontal displacement of the support wheel standing on the ground during the rotation process is reduced because at least a portion of this movement is now compensated for by the rearward motion of the agricultural machine. In this connection, a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention is provided if the distance covered by the agricultural working machine in the rearward direction closely corresponds to the horizontal variation of the length of the header attachment that takes place in the longitudinal direction of the agricultural working machine. This can almost fully compensate for the displacement of the support wheel on the ground during the rotation of the header attachment, so that the supporting wheel and structure are not damaged.  
         [0017]     The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the present invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0018]      FIG. 1  shows a section of an agricultural working machine with a header attachment adapted on the front, in a side view according to the present invention;  
         [0019]      FIG. 2  shows a detailed view of the gauge wheel attachment, with support wheels in non-working position A and working position B according to the present invention;  
         [0020]      FIG. 3  shows a detailed view of the rotation of the header attachment from the non-working position A into the transport position C according to the present invention, and  
         [0021]      FIG. 4  shows a detailed embodiment of the header attachment in a side view according to the present invention.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0022]      FIG. 1  shows schematically a front section of an agricultural working machine  1 , which may be designed, for example, as a combine harvester, forage harvester, or a self-propelled swather. Agricultural working machine  1  accommodates in its front region a rotation axis  2  arranged transversely to its longitudinal direction LR, about which axis a so-called feeding assembly  3  can be rotated from a working position to a non-working and vice versa. According to whether agricultural working machine  1  is designed as a combine harvester or a forage harvester, this feeding assembly  3  would be designed either as a well known inclined conveyor on the combine harvester, or as a drawing-in housing on a forage harvester, also known from prior art.  
         [0023]     The rotation of the feeding assembly  3  is generally realized by lifting cylinders  4  arranged on the bottom of the feeding assembly  3 , where the piston rods  5  of these cylinders  4  bear upon retaining flanges  6  associated with feeding assembly  3 , while the other end of the cylinders  7  are arranged pivotally to the support frame  8  or a front axle  9  of the agricultural working machine  1  accommodating front wheels  10 . The feeding assembly  3  is then rotated in the vertically upward or downward direction by pressurizing or depressurizing of the lifting cylinders  4 . On its front end the feeding assembly  3  is adapted with the header attachment  12 , in the exemplary embodiment designed as crop cutting unit  11 , details of the adaptation will be described below. In a manner known from prior art, the header attachment  12  is provided with a cutter bar unit  13  for harvesting a grown crop  14 , which is positioned during the harvesting process by a reel  15  associated with the header attachment  12 , and is finally collected by a transverse conveying mechanism  16  and transferred to the feeding assembly  3  arranged rearward of the header attachment  12 .  
         [0024]     The rear wall  17  of the header attachment  12  is reinforced by a support frame  18 , which in its top region accommodates a rotation axis  19  extending transversely to the longitudinal direction LR of the agricultural working machine  1 . In the simplest case this rotation axis  19  is formed by retaining flanges  20  with through holes mounted on feeding assembly  12  in its front and top regions, to which flanges are fastened by a locking mechanism  21 , e.g. fastening bolts  21 . To ensure that the header attachment  12  bears precisely upon feeding assembly  3 , it is at the same time fixed to feeding assembly  3  by means of known locking devices  22  in its bottom region. These locking devices  22  may also be formed on one side by fastening bolts  23  interacting with flanges. However, it is also conceivable for fastening bolts  23  themselves to be designed as hydraulic or electrical adjusting elements  24 , so that these locking devices  22  could also be remotely activated and the fastening bolts  23  would not have to be inserted or pulled out directly by hand,  
         [0025]     Furthermore, retaining flanges  25 , which are fixedly connected to an intermediate frame structure  26 , are formed on support frame  18  of the header attachment  3  in its bottom region. Arranged almost centrally and on the side facing away from the header attachment  3 , the intermediate frame structure  26  accommodates a pivot mechanism  27 , which is connected fixedly or pivotally at the other end to the support frame structure  28  of a gauge wheel attachment  29 . The gauge wheel attachment  29  comprises, at the bottom, an axle  30 , which accommodates freely rotating support wheels  31  on both sides. It lies within the scope of the invention for the gauge wheel mechanism  29  described to be arranged on header attachment  12 , on both sides of the feeding assembly  3 , and to comprise only one support wheel  31  or a plurality of support wheels  31  which are carried by a frame structure or something like this for shaping a so-called under carriage structure.  
         [0026]     According to  FIG. 2  the support frame structure  28  of the gauge wheel attachment  29  accommodating support wheels  31  can be rotated from a so-called non-working position A, in which axle  30  is located in a vertical position extending almost along rear wall  17  of the header attachment  12  to a working position B, in which the axle of the gauge wheel attachment  30  then extends approximately parallel to the rear wall  17  of the header attachment  12 . In a very simple embodiment, this rotation may be carried out by hand. To accommodate this movement, the flanges  32  of the pivot mechanism  27 , lying one on top of the other, must contain holes  33  and a removable bolt  34  that are used to determine the position of the flanges  32  relative to each other in both the working position B and the non-working position A, In a user friendly embodiment, a remotely controllable adjusting element  35 , for example a lifting cylinder may also be provided, which cylinder can be electrically, hydraulically, or pneumatically actuated, which rotates the flanges  32  of the pivot mechanism  27  one against the other so that the gauge wheel attachment  29  can be automatically rotated between the working position B and the non-working position A.  
         [0027]     Because said gauge wheel attachment  29  can be rotated in the described manner, a position of the gauge wheel attachment  29  can be reached, in working position B, where the support wheels  31  support a considerable portion of the weight of the header attachment  12  directly on the ground  36  during harvesting, so that there is no overloading of the vehicle axles  9  of the agricultural working machine  1 . So that the gauge wheel attachment  29  always adopts an optimum position relative to the ground  36  due to the geometric conditions of the header attachment  12  and its association with feeding assembly  3  in the working position B, the intermediate frame structure  26  fastened to support frame  18  and accommodating gauge wheel attachment  29  has an inclined arrangement relative to the rear wall  17  of the header attachment  12 .  
         [0028]      FIG. 3  now describes the process according to the invention in which the header attachment  12  rotates into transport position C. at first the header attachment  12  is lifted into a raised position, shown in the first picture of  FIG. 3  by pressurizing of the lifting cylinders  4  associated with feeding assembly  3 . The gauge wheel attachment  29  is then positioned in its non-working position A by actuating the pivot mechanism  27 , as already described. The locking devices  22 , described in more detail below, which fixedly connect the header attachment  12  to the feeding assembly  3  in a region close to the ground, are then detached. While the pressurizing of the lifting cylinders  4  retracts the piston rods  5 , the feeding assembly  3  is lowered toward the ground  36 . Since the header attachment  12 , after locking devices  22  are detached, can now be freely rotated about its rotation axis  19  arranged transversely to the longitudinal direction LR of the agricultural working machine  1 , the header attachment  12  begins to rotate at that moment about this rotation axis according to arrow direction  37  as soon as one of wheels  31  is supported on the ground  36 ,  
         [0029]     As the feeding assembly  3  is lowered, the header attachment  12  will reach the so-called transport position C, where the support wheels  31  associated with the gauge wheel attachment  29  have reached a position in which they are able to support the weight of the header attachment  12  on the ground  36 , The header attachment  12  then being arranged so that its cutter bar unit  13  points substantially in a vertical and upwards direction. The particular advantage of this is also that there is reduced risk of injury from the knives of the cutter bar unit  13  during road transport since they point upwards and are therefore difficult to access. Another aspect of such an arrangement concerns the realizing of reduced transport widths to meet legal transport width requirements.  
         [0030]     In an embodiment of the invention provision may be made, according to  FIG. 4 , for the rotation axis  19  of the header attachment  12  to be integrated in an intermediate frame  36 , and for intermediate frame  38  to be fixedly connected, by suitable locking means  39  of prior art, such as quick-release fasteners, to the front region of the feeding assembly  3 . The advantage of such an arrangement is that the header attachment  12  can be adapted quickly to the agricultural working machine  1 . This effect is particularly advantageous, for example, when the rotation  37  of the header attachment  12  about its rotation axis  19  is caused by pressure-loadable lifting cylinders  40 . These could be integrated directly in the intermediate frame  38 , and, if necessary, also in the hydraulic supply systems required for their operation.  
         [0031]     As shown in  FIG. 4  the cylinder end of at least one lifting cylinder  40  is pivotally coupled with the front and lower end of the feeder house  3 . The piston rod end of at least one lifting cylinder  40  is pivotally connected with the rear wall  17  of the header attachment  12 .  
         [0032]     A particularly efficient support of the rotation of the header attachment  12  is provided when the pressurizing of these lifting cylinders  40  is coupled, described in greater detail later, to the pressurizing of the lifting cylinders  4  of the feeding assembly  3 . This would then also have the advantage that the header attachment  12  would not have to be supported almost completely by a support wheel  31  on the ground  36  during the rotation process, so potential damage resulting from the displacement of the wheel on the ground  36  and transverse to its axis of rotation would be reduced. In a preferred embodiment a control and evaluation unit  41  is associated either with the agricultural working machine  1  or the header attachment  12 , which unit determines the spatial position of the feeding assembly  3 . and particularly its position relative to the ground  36 , on the basis of the known geometric relationships from pressure signals X determined on the lifting cylinders  4  of the feeding assembly  3  in a manner known from prior art and therefore not described in further detail.  
         [0033]     Because the geometry of the relevant header attachment  12  and its position relative to the feeding assembly  3  are known, the control and evaluation unit  41  can now generate cylinder adjusting signals Y derived from the pressure signals X, which define according to the described invention the position signals Z, for pressurizing or depressurizing the lifting cylinders  40  associated with the header attachment  12 , whereas the cylinder adjusting signals Y control the rotation  37  of the header attachment  12  in such a manner that the loads acting on support wheels  31  are reduced. On the other side the sliding of the support wheels  31  on the ground may also be reduced or fully prevented thereby if the agricultural working machine  1  travels backwards as long as the header attachment  12  accomplishes a pivotal movement  37  on its rotation axis  19 , so that not the support wheels  31 , but the agricultural working machine  1 , compensates the length variations that occur and whereas the support wheels  31  remain substantially in one position.  
         [0034]     It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the type described above.  
         [0035]     While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in an agricultural working machine, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.  
         [0036]     Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.