A transplanter mounting attachment for attachment to a crop harvester including a pivot shaft operatively connected for rotation about an axis extending longitudinally with respect to a support frame of a crop harvester. A rotating sleeve substantially orthogonally disposed with respect to the pivot shaft and rotatably mounted relative thereto. A connecting shaft substantially orthogonally disposed with respect to the pivot shaft and rotatably mounted relative thereto. At least one transplanter attaching assembly operatively connected to the rotating sleeve and being raised or lowered upon rotary motion being imparted to the rotating sleeve. Wheels are provided which are operatively connected to the connecting shaft for engaging the ground surface to support the transplanter attaching assembly. The transplanter attaching assembly is free to rotate about substantially horizontal axes which extend substantially parallel and perpendicular to the support frame of a crop harvester

Casada, James H.

Swetnam, Larry D.

Walton, Linus R.

English

University of Kentucky

University of KentuckyUKnowledgeBiosystems and Agricultural Engineering FacultyPatents Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering2-4-1986Transplanter Mounting Attachment for a HarvesterLarry D. SwetnamUniversity of Kentucky, larry.swetnam@uky.eduJames H. CasadaUniversity of KentuckyLinus R. WaltonUniversity of Kentucky, lwalton@ca.uky.eduRight click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits you.Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/bae_patentsPart of the Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering CommonsThis Patent is brought to you for free and open access by the Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at UKnowledge. It has been accepted forinclusion in Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Patents by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, pleasecontact UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu.Recommended CitationSwetnam, Larry D.; Casada, James H.; and Walton, Linus R., "Transplanter Mounting Attachment for a Harvester" (1986). Biosystemsand Agricultural Engineering Faculty Patents. 21.https://uknowledge.uky.edu/bae_patents/21. . Umted States Patent [191 [11] Patent Number: 4,567,836 Swetnam et al. [45] Date of Patent: Feb. 4, 1986 [54] TRANSPLANTER MOUNTING 4,191,262 ‘3/1980 Sylvester ........................... .. 172/459 ATTACHMENT FOR A HARVESTER FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS [75]- Inventors: Larry D. Swetnam, Paris; James H. 213784 9/1957 Australia 111/3 C8134“; Linus R- walm", b°th °f- 831341 2/1952 Fed. Rep. of Germany ........ .. 111/2 Lexmgton, all Of Ky- 1129151 1/1957 France .............................. .. 111/3 ~ _ - - 1496033 9/1967 France . . . . . . . . . . .. 111/2 [73] Asslgnee' ?fearch 685181 9/1979 U.S.S.R. ................................ .. 111/3 ! 1 - _ Primary Examiner-James R. Feyrer [21] Appl' No" 602’806 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Birch, ‘Stewart, Kolasch & [22] Filed: Apr. 23, 1984 Birch Related US. Application Data :7] l .ABSTRZCI f h , , _ transp anter mounting attac ment or attac ment toa - - . . 4 , 6, M 9, - - - - [63] gg'g'g‘ftflgno?g? 0(5); 2:; aligmigga?omimg?lof crop harvester including a p1vot shaft operat1vely con Ser‘ ’No_ 408,235’ A’ug"16, 1982, Pat No_ 4,470,242, e nected for rotation about an axis extending longitudi which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 252,315, nally wlth respqct to a support {mine of a crop ha!" Apr. 9, 1981, Pat. No. 4,367,621. vester. A rotatmg sleeve substannally orthogonally disposed with respect to the pivot shaft and rotatably cg ........................................... nilAlgllFlllll/g'l mounted relative thereto A connecting shaft substam . . . ..................................... "lab/413. 580/492, tiany orthogonally disposed with respect to the pivot [58] Field of Search _ ’111/1_3 shaft and rotatably mounted relative thereto. At least 111/5246 459 460’ one transplanter attaching assembly operatively con 322 4&2 413’ 677 748’ 282’ 397’, 56/’10 2’ nected to the rotating sleeve and being raised or low ’ ’ ’ ’ 121 l’_ 280’/492_4§li ered upon rotary motion being imparted to the rotating ' ’ sleeve. Wheels are provided which are operatively [56] References Cited connected to the connecting shaft for engaging the us PATENT DOCUMENTS ground surface to support‘ the transplanter attaching 1,844,124 2/ 1932 2,640,405 6/1953 2,836,112 5/1958 2,947,372 8/1960 3,151,407 10/1964 3,240,508 3/1966 Jordan .......................... .. 172/413 X Wheeler .. .. Grif?n Olson ........ .. Schmidt et al. Clausen et al. ................... .. 172/310 assembly. The transplanter attaching assembly is free to rotate about substantially horizontal axes which extend substantially parallel and perpendicular to the support frame of a crop harvester. . 8 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures _v us. Patent Feb. 4, 1986 Sheetl on ‘4,567,836 US. Patent , Feb.-4, 1986 I85 .184 [50 Sheet 2 of 4 22 - I65 U.S. Patent‘ Feb.4, 1986 .Sheet3of4 ' 4,567,836 4,567,836 1 TRANSPLANTER MOUNTING ATTACHMENT FOR A HARVESTER CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part of copend ing application Ser. No. 408,232, ?led Aug. 16, 1982, now US. Pat. No. 4,470,242 and is a continuation-in . part of copending application Ser. No. 496,306, ?led May 19, 1983, now US. Pat. No. 4,540,054. application Ser. No. 408,232 is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 252,315, ?led Apr. 9, 1981, now US. Pat. No. 4,367,621. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is directed to an attachment designed to be mounted on the rear portion of a har vester for planting seedling crops. ‘ 2. Description of Background Art In cultivating certain crops it is conventional to actu ally propagate the plant as a seedling and thereafter transplant the seedling into an area in which the seed ling will grow into a mature plant. The Burroughs US. Pat. No. 2,804,033, discloses a plant setting machine which is connected to a conventional tractor by means of the hitch bar 40 and arm attachments 46, 48. The plant setting machine is mounted on wheels 96 which support the entire weight of the machine on the ground surface. The Martin US. Pat. No. 3,306,239, discloses a trans planting machine which is connected by means of ‘a bar 10 to a tractor T. The weight of the machine is sup . ported on the wheels 9. Similarly, Webster, US. Pat. No. 4,177,743, discloses a transplanter 10 which is con nected by means of a rod 14 to a tractor T. The machine is supported on the wheels 20 during operation. Additional planting machines which employ a seed ling handling mechanism together with a tractor are disclosed by Braun et al, US. Pat. No. 4,111,135; Boa et al, US. Pat. No. 4,341,333 and Paladino, U.S. Pat. No. 4,364,316. These transplanting machines are similar to the machines discussed hereinabove and support the entire weight of the seedling handling device on wheels speci?cally provided for that purpose. SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a transplanter mounting attachment for a conventional crop harvester. Another object of the invention is to provide a trans planter mounting ‘attachment which is connected to a hydraulic system for raising and lowering the trans planter mounting attachment into and out of engage ment with the ground surface. A further object of the present invention is to provide a transplanter mounting attachment which may be at tached to a crop harvester without having a detrimental effect on the functioning of the crop harvester. These and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by providing a transplanter mounting attachment which may be easily attached to and de tached from the support frame of a crop harvester with out affecting the harvesting function. More speci?cally, the transplanter mounting attachment is designed to be mounted on the rear portion of a crop harvester for 2 planting seedling crops. The transplanter mounting attachment is designed to have rotational freedom about horizontal axes, both parallel and perpendicular to the . harvester frame. The transplanters are mounted to the mounting attachment such that an obstruction encoun tered by one transplanter does not interfere with the _ operation of the other transplanter. Raising, lowering 15 35 40 45 50 65 and operating depth of the transplanters are controlled with a single double-acting hydraulic cylinder. Assist wheels are provided for supporting the entire weight of the transplanters and workers when the transplanters are raised and only a portion of the weight when the transplanters- are at an operating depth. Further scope of applicability of the present inven tion will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood - that the detailed description and speci?c examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the inven tion, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modi?cations within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will become more fully under stood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein: FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the trans planter mounting attachment according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the trans planter mounting attachment connected to a crop har vester; FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the trans planter mounting‘ attachment connected to|a crop har vester with two transplanters operatively connected . thereto; FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the trans planter mounting attachment connected to the frame of a crop harvester; FIG. 5 is a rear view illustrating the transplanter mounting attachment connected to a crop harvester; and FIG. 6 is an enlarged view illustrating the mechanical connection between the transplanter mounting attach ment and the single hydraulic cylinder for actuating same. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the present invention is directed to a transplanter mounting attachment 100 which is adapted to be connected to a harvesting aid 10. The harvesting aid 10 includes a support frame 12 which is mounted on at least three wheels 16A, 16B and 160. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the rear wheel 16A is operatively connected to a motor 14 by means of a chain drive 19. A control rod 18 controls the speed and the movement of the harvesting aid 10. An operator’s seat 17A is positioned on the support frame 12 adjacent to the front end thereof. Positioned in close proximity to the operator’s seat 17A is a steering wheel 17B which may be utilized by the operator to steer the harvesting aid 10. The control rod 18 is utilized by the operator to control the movement of the harvest 4,567,836 3 ing aid 10 while seedling plants are being positioned in an open ?eld. As illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6, the trans planter mounting attachment 100 includes a pivot shaft 110 operatively connected to the chassis attachment members 111, 112. A support housing 113 is af?xed to the pivot shaft 110 and provides a mounting member to which the remaining portion of the transplanter mount ing attachment 100 is af?xed. A transverse support member 114 is orthogonally positioned with respect to the support housing 113. A ?ange 115 is operatively connected to the transverse support 114. A rotating sleeve 120 is operatively positioned with a connecting shaft 122 rotatably disposed therein. A ro tating sleeve 120 is mounted on each side of the pivot shaft 110. Each rotating sleeve 120 is positioned in a support sleeve 123, which surrounds a portion of each rotating sleeve 120 and guides the rotational movement thereof. Holding brackets 124 are mounted to con?ne the movement of the supporting sleeves 123 and the rotating sleeve 120. The holding brackets 124 are ?xed to the transverse support 114 which is ?xed to the sup port housing 113. Hydraulic cylinder attachment arms 130 are af?xed to one end of the rotating sleeve 120. Similarly, a hydraulic cylinder attachment arm 131 is affixed to the connecting shaft 122. A hydraulic cylin der 140 is operatively positioned between the hydraulic cylinder attachment arms 130, 131. By actuating the hydraulic cylinder 140 and moving the hydraulic cylin der arm 131, rotation is imparted to the connecting shaft 122. Similarly, by imparting rotation to the hydraulic cylinder actuating arms 130, rotation is imparted to the rotating sleeve 120. Transplanter attaching assemblies 150, 151 are opera tively connected to each side of the rotating sleeve 120. The transplanter attaching assembly 150 includes arms 152, 153, 154 and 155 which are af?xed to a first end of the rotating sleeve 120. The arms 152-155 operatively support a chassis 156 which projects rearwardly from the arms 152-155. Similarly, the transplanter attaching assembly 151 includes arms 162, 163, 164 and 165 which are affixed to the other side of the rotating sleeve 120. The arms 162-165 operatively support a chassis 166 which projects rearwardly therefrom. The connecting shaft 122 includes a frame member 170, 171, 172 and 173 operatively connected to respec tive ends thereof. The frame members 170, 171 opera tively retain a wheel frame support 174 which includes a U-shaped element 175 af?xed to one end thereof. The U-shaped element 175 retains a wheel 176 on an axle 177. Similarly, the frame members 172, 173 retain the wheel frame support 184 which includes a U-shaped member 185 af?xed to one end thereof. A wheel 186 is operatively retained relative to the U-shaped member 185 on an axle 187. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the transplanter mounting attachment 100 may be utilized to connect two one-row transplanters to the rear portion of the harvesting aid 10. The transplanters are designed to position two indi viduals on each transplanter to assist each other in planting seedling crops. As illustrated in FIG. 4, when the hydraulic cylinder 140 is actuated, it imparts movement to the hydraulic cylinder attachment arms 130, 131. By imparting move ment to the hydraulic attachment arms 130, the rotating sleeve 120 is rotated so as to raise or lower the trans planter attachment assemblies 150, 151. When the hy draulic cylinder 140 is actuated to impart movement to 5 15 20 25 35 40 45 55 60 65 4 the hydraulic cylinder attachment arm 131, rotation is imparted to the connecting shaft 122 which raises or lowers the wheel frame supports 174, 184 to bring the wheels 176, 186 into or out of engagement with the ground surface. In operation, when the transplanter mounting attach ment 100 is not being utilized, hydraulic ?uid is supplied through hydraulic lines 141, 142 and the hydraulic cyl inder 140 is actuated to raise the hydraulic cylinder arm 131 thereby rotating the connecting shaft 122 to raise the wheel frame supports 174, 184 upwardly, thereby disengaging the wheels 176, 186 from the ground sur face. The hydraulic cylinder attaching arms 130 are also actuated by the hydraulic cylinder 140 so as to impart rotation to the rotating sleeve 120, thereby raising the transplanter attaching assemblies 150, 151 upwardly to disengage the transplanters 180, 181 from the ground surface. In this operative mode, the transplanter mount ing attachment 100 completely supports the weight of the transplanters 180, 181 and the individuals who are positioned on the transplanters. When the harvesting aid 10 is positioned in an open ?eld and it is desired to transplant seedlings into the ground surface, hydraulic ?uid is supplied through the hydraulic lines 141, 142 and the hydraulic cylinder 140 is actuated to impart movement to the hydraulic cylin der attachment arm 131, thereby rotating the connect ing shaft 122 downwardly to engage the wheels 176, 186 with the ground surface. In addition, the hydraulic cylinder 140 is actuated to impart movement to the hydraulic cylinder attachment arms 130, thereby rotat ing the rotating sleeve 120 to move the transplanter attaching assemblies 150, 151 downwardly so as to per mit the transplanters 180, 181 to engage the ground surface. In this operative position, the wheels 176, 186 only support a portion of the weight of the individuals and the transplanters 180, 181 when the transplanters are planting seedling crops at an operating depth. The transplanter mounting attachment 100 of the present invention permits rotational freedom about hor izontal axes both parallel and perpendicular to the frame of the harvesting aid 10. More speci?cally, the pivot shaft 110 is mounted to permit rotation of the transplanter mounting attachment 100 about the frame 12 of the harvesting aid 10. In this manner, as one of the transplanters 180, 181 engages an obstacle in the ground surface, the wheel frame support 174, 184 may pivot upwardly or downwardly so that the obstruction en countered by one of the transplanters 180, 181 does not interfere with the operation of the other transplanter. In addition, the transplanter mounting attachment 100 may be pivoted upwardly about the the rotating sleeve 120 and the connecting shaft 122 to permit the wheels 176, 186 and the transplanters 180, 181 to be moved into and out of engagement with the ground surface. Thus, the transplanter mounting attachment 100 permits two de grees of rotational freedom about horizontal axes which extend both parallel with the frame member 12 and perpendicular to the frame member 12. This feature allows the maintenance of proper transplanter attitude even when uneven terrain is encountered. The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such varia tions are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modi?ca tions as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the follow ing claims. 4,567,836 5 We claim: 1. A transplanter mounting attachment for attach ment to a crop harvester comprising: a pivot shaft operatively connected for rotation about an axis extending longitudinally with respect to a 5 support frame of a crop harvester; a rotating sleeve substantially orthogonally disposed with respect to said pivot shaft and rotatably mounted relative thereto; a connecting shaft substantially orthogonally dis posed with respect to said pivot shaft and rotatably mounted relative thereto; at least one transplanter attaching assembly opera - tively connected to said rotating sleeve and being raised or lowered upon rotary motion being im parted to said rotating sleeve; and wheels operatively connected to said connecting shaft for engaging the ground surface to support said transplanter attaching assembly; wherein said transplanter attaching assembly is free to rotate about substantially horizontal axes which extend substantially parallel and perpendicular to the support frame of a crop harvester. 2. A transplanter mounting attachment according to claim 1, wherein said rotating sleeve and said connect ing shaft are coaxially arranged with respect to each other. 15 25 30 35 45 50 55 6 3. A transplanter mounting attachment according to claim 1, wherein two rotating sleeves are provided one being positioned on each side of said pivot shaft. 4. A transplanter mounting attachment according to claim 1, wherein said transplanter attaching assembly includes arms af?xed to said rotating sleeve and a chas sis af?xed to said arms and extending along the length of said pivot shaft. . 5. A transplanter mounting attachment according to claim 1, wherein two transplanter attaching assemblies are provided one being positioned on each side of said pivot shaft. 6. A transplanter mounting attachment according to claim 1, and further including chassis attachment mem bers af?xed to said support frame of said crop harvester and rotatably supporting said pivot shaft. 7. A transplanter mounting attachment according to claim 1, and further including hydraulic cylinder at tachment arms ?xed to said rotating sleeve and a hy draulic cylinder attachment arm ?xed to said connect ing shaft for imparting rotary movement to said rotating sleeve and said connecting shaft. 8. A transplanter mounting attachment according to claim 7, and further including a hydraulic cylinder op eratively connected to said hydraulic cylinder attach ment arms for selectively imparting movement thereto. * * it it it 

Transplanter Mounting Attachment for a Harvester

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Transplanter Mounting Attachment for a Harvester

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