System for the fast road transportation of cumbersome industrial or agricultural equipment

A system for the fast road transportation of a cumbersome equipment comprises a first plate coupled with a lifting unit and connected by a hydraulic jack to the equipment. Against this plate a second plate is coupled which is provided with two parallel, horizontal and elongated curved slots cooperating with four fixed pins, three of them being placed at the apices of a horizontal base triangle, the fourth being located in the middle of the horizontal base of the triangle. The slots extend as anti-clockwise curved slots, the upper one directed downward, the lower one directed upward and having radiuses equal to the distance of the fourth pin respectively from the apex pin and from the base pin. A further anti-clockwise curved slot is provided directed downward which starts from the lower slot at a distance from its end equal to the double of the distance from the fourth pin to the base pin.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to an economical and efficient system that, 
by allowing a smooth, simple and fast shift into a vertical position, 
driven by a towing means, of a cumbersome industrial or agricultural 
equipment, it makes possible the road transportation of said equipment. 
2. Discussion of the Background 
It is well known that some industrial, mainly agricultural, equipment such 
as harrows, tedders, sowing machines, cutters, pathway makers, fertilizer 
distributors a.s.o. shows an overall width that very much exceeds 2.50 
meters, maximum value permissible for the road circulation. 
Therefore there is a problem for its road transportation, which is more and 
more important with the coming into force of new road traffic regulations. 
The above problem is currently solved by disconnecting the equipment from 
the towing means, and connecting said towing means with a special trailer 
suitable to carry the equipment, placed on it with its higher dimension 
parallel to the movement direction. The uneasiness of such a solution is 
readily apparent, which, apart from requiring a considerable waste of time 
for the operations of the equipment disconnecting, the rising and 
positioning on the trailer as well as the reverse operations, once the 
operating zone is reached, requires also the availability of a cumbersome 
and expensive special trailer. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the present invention to avoid the above-mentioned 
drawbacks and to provide for an efficient system which allows the 
reduction of the size of the equipment to permissible proportions, without 
disconnecting it from the towing means. 
The above object is substantially reached by rotating the equipment through 
90 degrees around a fixed pin, coupled with the towing means, up to a 
complete vertical position thereof, after having rised and sideway moved 
it, to make possible such rotation without any ground interference. 
More particularly, the above rotation is mechanically obtained by means of 
three pins placed on a first fixed plate, coupled with the towing means, 
and located substantially at the apices of a triangle having an horizontal 
base, and by means of a fourth pin placed in the middle of the horizontal 
base of the above triangle. 
The above fixed pins cooperate with two parallel and horizontal elongated 
slots provided on a second plate coupled with the equipment and placed 
against the first plate. The above two slots subsequently extend to two 
anti-clockwise curved slots, the upper one directed downward, the lower 
one directed upward, said curved slots having a radius equal to the 
distance of the above fourth pin respectively from the apex fixed pin and 
the base fixed pin. A further corresponding anti-clockwise curved slot, 
directed downward, is provided, having the radius equal to the distance of 
said fourth fixed pin from one of the above base. Such further curved slot 
starts from the above lower curved slot at a distance, from its elongated 
portion, equal to the double of the distance of the above fourth fixed pin 
from one of the two base fixed pins. 
In such a way, a movement of the second plate with respect to the fixed 
first plate, obtained by means of a hydraulic jack hinged between said 
first fixed plate and a projected tailpiece of the equipment, will firstly 
compel the second plate, and as a consequence the entire equipment, to 
move sidewise until the horizontal slot ends are blocked by the 
corresponding fixed pins of the first fixed plate. Thereafter, said 
movement, being the pins located at the apices of the triangle, just in 
correspondence of said curved slots, will compel said pins to follow the 
patterns of the above curved slots. It results, therefore, being the pins 
fixed, a substantial rotation of the second plate, and consequently of the 
equipment, around said fourth fixed pin acting as a fulcrum. 
On the other hand, since the above rotation does not 
the equipment, lead to an exact verticality of additional means are 
provided to compensate the rotation as well as supporting means for the 
upright equipment. 
As a matter of fact, the system according to the present invention for the 
fast road transportation of a cumbersome industrial or agricultural 
equipment connected to the lifting unit of a towing means, is 
characterized in that it comprises a first fixed plate connected by 
hinging to the brackets of the towing means a lifting unit. Such plate has 
three pins located substantially at the apices of a horizontal base 
triangle, as well as a fourth pin located in the middle of the horizontal 
base of said triangle, said fixed pins cooperating with two slots 
parallelly and horizontally elongated and provided on a second plate 
placed against the first plate and coupled with said equipment, such slots 
subsequently extending to two anti-clockwise curved slots, the upper one 
directed downward, the lower one directed upward, having radius equal to 
the distance of said fourth fixed pin respectively from the apex fixed pin 
and the base fixed pin. A further corresponding anti-clockwise curved slot 
is provided which is directed downward and having a radius equal to the 
distance of said fourth fixed pin from one of the two base fixed pins, 
said further slot starts from the above horizontal slot at a distance, 
from its elongated end, equal to the double of the above distance of said 
fourth fixed pin from one of two base pins. Said first plate is hinged to 
one end of a driving hydraulic jack, whose second end is hinged to a 
projecting tailpiece of said equipment, further means being provided to 
additionally compensate the verticalization as well as to support the 
weight of said upright equipment. 
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, said means 
for the additional compensation of the verticalization of said equipment 
comprises a second hydraulic jack vertically hinged between said first 
plate and one of the hinges connecting said plate to the brackets of the 
lifting unit of the towing means, the hinging pin of said hinge passing 
through a vertical elongated hole provided on a bracket coupled to said 
first plate. 
Therefore by employing said second hydraulic jack it is possible to lower 
said first plate on the jack side of an extent equal to the length of said 
hole that results in a rotation of the entire system, and particularly the 
equipment, which may correct in such a way its verticalization. 
Finally according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, 
said means for supporting the weight of said upright equipment comprises 
in a holding and moving wheel that, turnably hinged to the lower end of 
the upright equipment, can be blocked in its position. 
In such a way, by lowering the upright equipment of the towing means, by 
means of the lifting unit of the towing mean, until said supporting wheel, 
once turned and blocked in its position, reaches the ground, the 
remarkable overall weight is supported, during the transportation, by said 
wheel only, with the exclusion of the lifting unit of the towing means. 
The invention will be better explained with reference to the annexed 
drawings illustrating a preferred specific embodiment of the invention 
provided as an example only, but not to be intended as limiting the scope 
of the invention in that, technical and structural changes can be made 
without departing from the scope of the invention. For instance, instead 
of employing hydraulic jacks, use can be made of mechanical or electrical 
means to move said second plate and therefore the equipment; the necessary 
side displacement of the equipment, indispensable to allow the vertical 
rotation, can be made also on the right side of the towing means in 
addition to the left side; furthermore, instead of a harrow, the equipment 
may be a tedder, a sowing machine, a fertilizer distributor or any other 
agricultural or industrial equipment exceeding the permissible width.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
In the figures, 1 indicates the cumbersome equipment, consisting of a 
harrows to be connected, using the fast transportation system of the 
invention, to three brackets 2,3, and 4 of a lifting unit, schematically 
represented in FIG. 1, of a towing means 6, also schematically represented 
in FIG. 1, equipped with transportation wheels 7. 
For the above purpose, a first plate 11, having three horizontal pins 12, 
13 and 14 substantially placed at the apices of a horizontal base triangle 
(see specifically FIG. 2) as well as a fourth horizontal pin 15 situated 
in the middle of the horizontal base of said triangle (see FIG. 2), is 
coupled with the above three brackets 2,3 and 4 by means of the hinges 8,9 
and 10. The above horizontal pins 14 and 12, 15 and 13 slip into two 
parallel and horizontally elongated slots, respectively 16 and 17, 
provided on a second plate 18, placed against the plate 11 and coupled 
with the equipment 1 by means of hinges 19 (see FIG. 1). 
Said lower slot 16 of the plate 18 forms then, at its right end, an 
anti-clockwise curved slot 20 directed upward having a radius equal to the 
distance of said fourth pin 15 from the base fixed pin 13. The above upper 
slot 17 forms an anti-clockwise curved slot 21 directed downward having a 
radius equal to the distance of said fourth pin 15 from the apex pin 14; a 
further anti-clockwise curved slot 22, directed downward and having the 
radius equal to the distance of said fourth pin 15 from the apex pin 12, 
is provided on the fixed plate 18 starting from said lower slot 16 at a 
distance, from its elongated end 16', equal to the double of the distance 
of said fourth pin 15 from the base pins 12 or 13. On the other hand said 
first plate 11 is also connected with the equipment 1 through a driving 
hydraulic jack 23, hinged between said plate 11 and a projecting tailpiece 
24 of said equipment 1. At the other end of the equipment a support and 
transportation wheel 25 is provided, which is turnably hinged to said end 
of the equipment and can be blocked in its position. 
Finally a second hydraulic jack 26 is vertically hinged between said first 
plate 11 and the hinge 9, whose hinging pin passes through an elongated, 
vertical hole 28 (see FIG. 1) of a bracket 29 coupled with said first 
plate 11. 
The operations are now evident. 
Once the equipment 1 is risen by the lifting unit 5, as shown in FIG. 2, 
the hydraulic jack 23 is started, so that it displaces to the left the 
equipment 1 and consequently said second plate 18, until the elongated 
ends 16' and 17', of the horizontal slots 16 and 17, reach the fixed pins, 
respectively 13 and 14, as it is illustrated in FIG. 3. At this moment the 
three fixed pins 12, 13 and 14 are just in correspondence of the relevant 
curved slots 22, 20 and 21 and the equipment can be rotated without any 
risk of interference with the ground. In fact by continuing the action of 
said jack 23, the cooperation between said pins and the corresponding 
slots makes said second plate 11, and consequently the equipment 1, 
anti-clockwise rotate around the fulcrum constituted by the fixed pin 15 
(see FIG. 4), until said pins reach the limit stop of their respective 
slots. At this moment, by starting and retracting the second hydraulic 
jack 26, a lowering of the equipment is obtained, on the side of the jack, 
to an extent equal to the length of such hole 28, resulting in a further 
clockwise rotation of the equipment 1 which may be, in such a way, 
perfectly verticalized. Finally, once the wheel 25 has been turned and 
blocked in its position and then lowered by means of the lifting unit 5 
until said wheel 25 reaches the ground 30, the equipment, supported by 
said wheel, is ready to be transported on the road.