1. Field of the Invention
The invention presented here involves a universal tool-holder designed to be installed, in a manner so that it can be removed, on a straddling vineyard tractor for the mounting of at least two agricultural machines fitted to perform identical or different work in plantations of trees or shrubs planted in rows such as vineyards or orchards.
2. Description of Related Art
Straddling vineyard tractors are usually used to support the different equipment of harvesting machines (mechanical grape harvesters . . . ) or treatment machines (sprayers . . . , or machines for pruning or thinning leaves, or machines for working the soil, etc.
In all cases, the equipment-holder chassis or tool-holder chassis used are shaped in a specific manner in order to comprise the working assemblies designed to accomplish the specified jobs. Taking into account the variety of the work to be done in the vineyards or other plantations, one is led to use several types of tool-holders, and this creates different types of restrictions (purchase cost and maintenance cost, time for assembly and disassembly, space for storage, etc.).
All of these chassis do not have a multifunctional character and do not allow the mounting of machines provided with standard attachment mechanisms on the three-point hitch device of inter-row farm tractors.
The invention intends, notably, to correct this insufficiency.
According to the invention, this objective is attained using a universal tool-holder that consists of: a main coupling chassis constructed so that it can be mounted, in a removable manner, on a straddling vineyard tractor; two secondary coupling chassis, each provided with a universal three-point hitch system; mechanisms connecting each secondary coupling chassis to the main coupling chassis; and mechanisms that make it possible to move each secondary coupling chassis of in a vertical or approximately vertical plane and, preferably, in a horizontal or approximately horizontal plane.
It is understood that it is possible to mount a farm machine, provided with the standard three-point mounting mechanisms, on each secondary coupling chassis of the universal tool-holder, and that these machines can be moved while simultaneously working in two adjacent inter-rows of the vineyard or other plantation, in a manner so as to perform jobs that are identical, complementary, or different, involving the two sides of the row that is straddled by the straddling vineyard tractor and one side of the two adjacent rows, or the two inter-rows positioned on either side of the row that is spanned. One obtains, in this manner, significant gains in the time it takes to perform the work.
It is understood that the universal tool-holder can support machines constructed to accomplish cultivation or treatment work such as: hoeing, mowing, plowing, harrowing, spraying, thinning out leaves, pruning, lopping, etc.
The use of this universal tool-holder thus proves to be very profitable relative to the use of several specific tool-holders, notably in the usage costs, the time for mounting/dismounting and maintenance, and the space dedicated to storage.
According to another characteristic arrangement, the mechanisms connecting each secondary coupling chassis to the main coupling chassis consist of, for each of them, an arm consisting of at least one beam connected, by means of its ends and joints at the perpendicular axes or at the crosspiece, on the one hand, to the secondary coupling chassis and, on the other hand, to the upper part and in the vicinity of one of the sides of the main coupling chassis.
According to another characteristic arrangement, the mechanisms connecting each secondary coupling chassis to the main coupling chassis also consist of a connecting rod or tie rod extending parallel to the beam and constituting, with this beam, the large sides of a deformable parallelogram arranged in a vertical plane.
According to another characteristic arrangement, the pivoting movements of the carrier arm in the vertical plane are obtained by means of a jack arranged below the arm and connected, by means of its ends and by means of joints, to the main coupling chassis and to the beam.
These arrangements make it possible to place the secondary coupling chassis carrying the cultivation or treatment machines either in a low position by which the machines are located correctly placed to do the work for which they are constructed, or in a high position by which the assembly comprised of the straddling vineyard tractor, the universal tool-holder, and the machines installed on it, can easily turn at the end of the row, even when the available space is relatively reduced, or in an intermediate position between the two preceding ones.
According to another characteristic arrangement, the mechanisms connecting each secondary coupling chassis to the main coupling chassis also comprise a connecting rod extending parallel to the beam and laterally relative to it, this connecting rod or tie rod constituting, with the beam, the large sides of a deformable parallelogram arranged in a plane perpendicular to the vertical plane.
According to another characteristic arrangement, the pivoting movements of the carrier arm in the plane perpendicular to the vertical plane are obtained by means of a jack arranged laterally relative to the arm and connected, by means of its ends and by means of joints, to the main coupling chassis and to the beam.
Using these arrangements, the secondary coupling chassis can be placed in the desired position as a function of the spacing of the rows of plants and the work to be done; they can, in addition, be placed in a position raised and close together, i.e. superpositioned, in a manner so that the width of the assembly comprised of the straddling vineyard tractor, the universal tool-holder and the machines mounted on it, does not exceed the size specified by the regulations of road traffic.
According to another characteristic arrangement, each secondary coupling chassis is equipped with a detector oriented downwards and making it possible to control the position, relative to the ground, of the assembly comprised of this secondary coupling chassis and the machine installed on it, the detector or sensor making it possible to monitor the height of this assembly by means of an appropriate hydraulic circuit.
According to another characteristic arrangement, each secondary coupling chassis is equipped with a hydraulic motor having an output shaft that is equipped with a coupling instrument similar to the power take-off shaft of a farm tractor.
This motor makes it possible to activate, for example, by means of a cardan shaft, one or more tools or active instruments of the machines carried by the secondary coupling chassis.
According to another characteristic arrangement, the tool-holder is constructed to receive the removable stands on which it rests when it is separated from the straddling vineyard tractor.
This device makes the mounting of the universal tool-holder on the straddling vineyard tractor extremely easy and allows its storage when it is not in periods of use.