Abstract:
A haymaking machine, particularly a windrower for plant matter lying on the ground, comprising a frame bearing three raking wheels having soil resting wheels and raking forks, driven in rotation about support axes in a work position, which raking wheels are connected by carrying arms to the frame. The three raking wheels can be placed in a work position on the ground in which position the three raking wheels are substantially in the same plane and can be placed in a transport position in which the three planes formed by the three raking wheels are different and substantially perpendicular two by two.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a haymaking machine, particularly to a windrower for mown plant matter, comprising a frame with three raking windrowing wheels, which raking wheels are driven during work about substantially vertical axes and can be configured into a position of minimum space-occupancy for transport that does not exceed the heights and widths permissible for travel on the public highway.  
         [0003]     2. Discussion of the Background  
         [0004]     Various windrowers having several raking wheels are already known and used in agricultural concerns, these machines usually forming several windrows, one per raking wheel, and having a working width that is directly dependent on the number of raking wheels and on the diameter thereof.  
         [0005]     Windrowers comprising raking wheels aligned at right angles to the direction of travel are known from document EP 465 393 or EP 1 142 468. All these machines propose folding the raking wheels vertically, in a position at 90° with respect to the work position for the transport of the machine. This transport configuration may lead to the folded machine having a significant height and consequently occupying an important amount of space that is incompatible with the roadways that are to be used.  
         [0006]     Indeed, given the permissible heights and widths for these public highways, arrangements have to be made for the machine to be transported as an “exceptional load”, which entails an additional vehicle equipped with a flashing light and the requisite personnel. This type of expensive displacement has to be planned ahead, and this is not always possible for the farmer to achieve, particularly if he is working alone.  
         [0007]     For reasons of productivity it is also desirable to produce large-capacity windrowers which are able to gather the fodder together in a single windrow collected from the largest possible area of ground, namely a machine that allows a minimum number of passes over the field, these machines are therefore designed with raking wheels of large diameter and the number of which is as high as is technically feasible.  
         [0008]     These large-capacity windrowers therefore present problems of transport when moving them from one working space to another along the public highway.  
         [0009]     As already mentioned, there are windrowers that have raking wheels that are aligned in a plane perpendicular to the direction of forward travel of the tractor, these machines are restricted in terms of dimensions because of the folding configurations that can be achieved and because of their design which does not allow the fodder to be gathered together into a single large windrow per pass.  
         [0010]     In consequence, the compromise that can be reached between the size of the machine, particularly the size of the raking wheels, against the need to transport the machine easily from one work site to another, and against the number of windrows formed is very unfavorable for windrowers of this type.  
         [0011]     Machines with raking wheels offset in the opposite direction from the direction of travel of the tractor in order to collect several zones in a single pass and gather them together into a single windrow have been conceived. This way of raking the field allows the number of passes of the machine tasked with the subsequent collection of the fodder to be reduced.  
         [0012]     An example of such a windrower with offset raking wheels is described in document EP 1 290 936, although, as in the case of the in-line raking wheels described earlier, a compromise has to be reached between the permissible length of the machine coupled behind the tractor and the number of raking wheels that can be set out in this way. The problem of siting a large number of raking wheels on the machine while having the most compact transport configuration possible still arises.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0013]     It is therefore an objective of the invention to overcome the drawbacks of the known machines by proposing a windrower which has a very large working width and can be folded for transport at the road-going track width and that requires no special authorization for moving it from one work site to another.  
         [0014]     The invention relates to a haymaking machine, particularly a windrower for plant matter lying on the ground, comprising a frame bearing three raking wheels having soil resting wheels and raking forks, driven in rotation about support axes in a work position, which raking wheels are connected by carrying arms to the frame, which haymaking machine is one wherein the three raking wheels can be placed in a work position on the ground in which position the three raking wheels are substantially in the same plane and can be placed in a transport position in which the three planes formed by the three raking wheels are different and substantially perpendicular two by two.  
         [0015]     The advantages of a haymaking machine according to the invention are numerous: 
        such a machine allows work to be carried out over great widths with good maneuverability while at the same time raking gently.     The compactness of the folded position allows the machine to be transported on all roads and tracks and makes it easier to put away.     The special folding of the windrower in the transport position allows the use of a shorter length towed assembly.     The switch between the transport position and the work position is rapid and can be performed from the tractor.     The displacement of the fodder into a single large-volume windrow makes it possible to optimize the passes over the fields both for windrowing and for subsequent collection.       
 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0021]     Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description which will follow with reference to the attached drawings which are given solely by way of nonlimiting examples.  
         [0022]      FIG. 1  is a view from above of a machine according to the invention in the work position.  
         [0023]      FIG. 2  is a view from above of a machine according to the invention in the transport position. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0024]     As depicted in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the machine according to the invention comprises an elongate frame  1  in the shape of an inverted T which can be coupled by means of a coupling device to a tractor  2  and rests on the ground by virtue of two wheels  3  and  4 .  
         [0025]     The machine is hitched to a tractor which moves it in the direction of the arrow A.  
         [0026]     The frame  1  bears three raking wheels  5 ,  6  and  7  mounted to rotate about substantially vertical axes  8 ,  9  and  10 .  
         [0027]     The three raking wheels  5 ,  6  and  7  are of substantially identical design and at the lower end of the axes  8 ,  9  and  10  bear supports  11  equipped with four soil resting wheels  12 . These supports are hydraulically height-adjustable with respect to the corresponding axes  8 ,  9  and  10  so that the distance between the relevant raking wheel and the ground can be altered. The four soil resting wheels  12  allow the raking wheels to correctly take up the collecting surface thus giving the machine maximum efficiency.  
         [0028]     Each of the raking wheels  5 ,  6  and  7  is essentially made up of a central casing  13 ,  14 ,  15  mounted on a corresponding axis  8 ,  9 ,  10  by means of ball bearings. This central casing  13 ,  14 ,  15  bears several arms  16  which extend in a practically horizontal plane when the machine is in the work position for raking.  
         [0029]     The arms  16  are equipped at their ends furthest from said casing  13 ,  14 ,  15  with raking forks  17 .  
         [0030]     Each of these arms  16  is mounted in a bearing of the central casing  13 ,  14 ,  15  in such a way as to be able to pivot on itself, that is to say about its longitudinal geometric axis. In the central casing  13 ,  14 ,  15 , there is an operating cam which is fixed to the corresponding axis  8 ,  9 ,  10 .  
         [0031]     Each tine-bearing arm  16  has, at its end situated inside the central casing  13 ,  14 ,  15 , a roller which collaborates with said operating cam.  
         [0032]     The raking wheels described here are known and used in several machines such as those cited in documents EP 772 969 or EP 1 142 468.  
         [0033]     During work, the three raking wheels  5 ,  6 ,  7  rest on the ground, they all three rotate in the same direction, which direction is clockwise in the view from above as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , and collaborate to form a large-volume lateral windrow.  
         [0034]     According to the invention, the three raking wheels  5 ,  6 ,  7  are placed at the end of the arms  18 ,  19 ,  20  allowing them to be positioned in line and in an offset position with respect to the forward travel A of the tractor  2 , so as to cover a maximum working area.  
         [0035]     When the machine is operating, the raking area of the second raking wheel  6  partially overlaps that of the first wheel  5 , and that of the third wheel  7  partially overlaps that of the second wheel  6 , as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , so as to constitute a large-volume lateral windrow.  
         [0036]     According to the invention, the three raking wheels  5 ,  6  and  7 , in the working position on the ground, are aligned and offset in the opposite direction to the direction of forward travel of the tractor by an amount which substantially corresponds to their diameter. The developed working width is of the order of 9 to 10 meters depending on the diameter chosen for the raking wheels  5 ,  6  and  7 .  
         [0037]     With respect to the frame  1 , and in the view from above depicted in  FIG. 1 , the first raking wheel  5  is situated closest to the tractor, on the left-hand side of the frame  1 . The central second raking wheel  6  is slightly offset on the opposite side of the frame  1  with respect to the raking wheel  5  and the third raking wheel  7  is, for its part, on the right-hand side, at the end furthest from the tractor.  
         [0038]     According to this configuration, the fodder gathered together by the raking wheel  5  is deposited in the path of the raking wheel  6  which also covers its own collection area. The combined collection performed by the raking wheels  5  and  6  is then picked up by the raking wheel  7  which lays the windrow down laterally with respect to the tractor in a single large-volume row.  
         [0039]     According to the invention, the raking wheel  6  is slightly offset to the right with respect to the axis of the frame  1  so that the wheel  4  is not in the path of the windrow of said raking wheel  6  and does not compact the fodder, as this would degrade it and cause difficulties in its collection by the raking wheel  7 .  
         [0040]     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the raking wheel  7  is offset outwards with respect to the wheel  4  supporting the frame  1 .  
         [0041]     In the invention, the arms  18 ,  19 ,  20  are connected to the frame  1  in various configurations.  
         [0042]     The arm  18 , situated on the left-hand side of the frame at 90° with respect to the latter when the windrower is in the work position, is articulated to a support  21  secured to the frame  1  by a substantially horizontal axis  22  directed in the direction of forward travel A.  
         [0043]     The arm  19  bearing the raking wheel  6  is articulated by means of a substantially horizontal axis  23  to a support  24 . Said support  24  is itself articulated by means of a substantially vertical axis  25  to the frame  1 .  
         [0044]     The arm  20  bearing the raking wheel  7  is articulated by means of a substantially horizontal axis  26  to a second arm  27  which is articulated to the frame  1  using a substantially vertical axis  28 .  
         [0045]     This second arm  27  can be moved about the substantially vertical axis  28  by means of a hydraulic ram  29 . The arm  27  is also connected through a rod  30  to a lever  31  which is secured to the support  24  of the arm  19  supporting the second raking wheel  6 .  
         [0046]     The rod  30  and the lever  31  are articulated about a substantially vertical axis  32 , this rod assembly allowing a coordinate movement between the arms  19  and  20  as the raking wheels are moved into the transport position or into the work position.  
         [0047]     The transport position illustrated in  FIG. 2  shows the original folding of the three raking wheels according to the invention about the frame  1  in a configuration of minimum space occupancy.  
         [0048]     For transporting the windrower, the carrying arms  18  and  20  are lifted up by pivoting through 90° about the axes  22  and  26  by means of hydraulic rams which have not been depicted in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , into a substantially vertical position.  
         [0049]     The raking wheel  5  is pivoted through 90° about the axis  22  to clear the forks  17  from the ground and result in the transport configuration.  
         [0050]     The second raking wheel  6  is raised slightly about the articulation  23  to move it clear of the ground, it is also moved about the substantially vertical articulation axis  25  so as to center it with respect to the frame  1 . This movement is combined with the movement described hereinafter of the raking wheel  7 .  
         [0051]     The third raking wheel  7  is lifted up vertically about the articulation axis  26  and is folded using the second arm  27  by about 90° towards the frame  1  about the axis  28 . This folding is performed by means of the hydraulic ram  29 . At the same time, the rod  30  actuates the lever  31  in such a way that the latter moves the second raking wheel  6  into the position described hereinabove.  
         [0052]     Thus, in the windrower in the transport position, the raking wheel  5  is situated in a vertical plane parallel to that of the major axis of the frame  1 , the raking wheel  6  is in a horizontal plane parallel to that of the plane of work and the raking wheel  7  is in a vertical plane perpendicular to that of the major axis of the frame  1  and to the direction of forward travel A of the tractor  2 .  
         [0053]     According to the invention, the switch from the work position to the transport position, and vice versa, are performed from the tractor and achieved automatically by means of hydraulic rams connected to the tractor hydraulic system.  
         [0054]     As a preference, according to the invention, devices for locking the raking wheels in their transport position are planned, so as to avoid any risk of accident, such safety means are known in the art.  
         [0055]     The dimensions of the raking wheels can vary and it is conceivable to produce a raking wheel  5  with a larger diameter than the other ones, or even three wheels with different diameters, without departing from the scope of the invention, so that the machine develops the greatest possible working area.  
         [0056]     The diameters of the raking wheels  6  and  7  are limited by the space occupied by the machine for road transport. Typically, these wheels may be identical and smaller than 3 meters in diameter or may be configured so that their diameter corresponds to the maximum width allowed for transport at the standard road-going track width. The raking wheels  5 ,  6  and  7  may also be equipped with arms  16  that can be partially removable or foldable in order to reduce their dimensions for transport still further.  
         [0057]     Once the three raking wheels  5 ,  6  and  7  have been moved into the transport position, the width, height and length of the machine are reduced and the machine can easily be moved along roads and tracks. The limited space-occupancy in the three dimensions also makes the machine easier to put away at the farm.  
         [0058]     Various alternative forms are possible without departing from the scope of the invention; in particular, it may be envisaged for a windrowing deflector extending laterally with respect to the raking wheel  7  to be fitted. This deflector may be produced in the form of a grating or cloth directed in the direction of forward travel A.  
         [0059]     Various configurations for coupling the haymaking machine to the tractor are conceivable, the frame may be substantially elongate and the various elements described may have various dimensions, the raking wheels may contain a greater or smaller number of arms and forks and may be actuated in various ways without departing from the scope of the invention.  
         [0060]     Of course, the invention is not restricted to the embodiments described and depicted by way of examples but also encompasses all technical equivalents and combinations thereof.