초록 ▼

A machine for distributing material over crops comprises a vehicle for moving across the ground together with a single boom which projects out from one side of the vehicle over a length which can be of the order of 120 feet. The boom is self-supporting and formed by four rails at the corners of a re

A machine for distributing material over crops comprises a vehicle for moving across the ground together with a single boom which projects out from one side of the vehicle over a length which can be of the order of 120 feet. The boom is self-supporting and formed by four rails at the corners of a rectangle together with a plurality of sets of spaced cross struts and longitudinal cables so that each of the rails is under compressive load. The boom is thus self-supporting and is coupled to a center cradle only at the ends of the rails. The boom can be broken down into separate sections. The cradle is a rectangular frame structure which is suspended on a horizontal tubular beam by a sleeve surrounding the beam having a diameter slightly bigger than the beam so that pivotal movement of the cradle tends to roll the sleeve around the beam thus lifting the center of gravity and dampening the pivotal action. A counterweight for the boom is mounted on an arm which can swivel about a vertical axis from an outwardly projecting working position to a retracted position alongside the cradle.

대표청구항 ▼

[ I claim:] [1.] An agricultural machine for dispensing material onto a crop comprising:a mounting frame arranged for transportation of the mounting frame on a transportation vehicle for movement across the ground in a working direction;a carrying frame supported on the mounting frame for pivotal mo

[ I claim:] [1.] An agricultural machine for dispensing material onto a crop comprising:a mounting frame arranged for transportation of the mounting frame on a transportation vehicle for movement across the ground in a working direction;a carrying frame supported on the mounting frame for pivotal movement relative thereto about an axis longitudinal of the working direction;a horizontal boom attached to the carrying frame and projecting outwardly therefrom to one side of the mounting frame for carrying a plurality of material dispensing elements at spaced positions along the length of the boom;the boom comprising:at least three longitudinally extending rails including at least one horizontally spaced top rail and two horizontally spaced bottom rails with said at least one top rail being spaced vertically from the bottom rails;a plurality of sets of cross beams at longitudinally spaced positions along the rails, each set of cross beams connecting the rails at a respective one of the positions therealong;connecting means for connecting an inner end of each of the rails to the carrying frame;and a plurality of tension cables connected along the boom and arranged within an area defined by the rails of the boom;some of the tension cables having one end connected to one of the bottom rails and an opposed end connected to said at least one top rail and extending diagonally therebetween and some of the tension cables lying generally in a horizontal plane and having one end connected to one of the rails and an opposed end connected to another of the rails and extending generally diagonally therebetween such that the tension cables place all of the rails under compression so as to effect stiffening of the boom;the tension cables being free from connection to the carrying frame such that the connecting means forms the only connection between the carrying frame and the boom and the whole of the weight of the boom is connected through the connecting means.