Compact Rear Hitch Assembly for Agricultural Tractors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pick-up hitch assemblies for agricultural vehicles, such as tractors, occupy significant space in the rear area, reducing accessibility and freedom of operation.
Innovation Solution
A compact rear connection assembly that integrates a cassette with a first hitch point element and a pair of lateral arms with coupling elements, actuated by a hydraulic cylinder, allowing for controlled movement of the hitch elements without the need for long support rods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If long support rods are used to connect the pick-up hitch assembly to the tractor body, then structural stability and strength are improved, but the encumbrance and space occupation in the rear area increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the long support rods from the structure entirely. Instead of using traditional long support rods to connect the pick-up hitch assembly to the tractor body, the invention employs a compact arrangement where the cassette is directly hinged to the tractor body and the cantilevered arm is hinged to the cassette, eliminating the need for extensive support rods and thereby reducing encumbrance while maintaining structural integrity through the hinge connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent reconfigures the spatial arrangement by positioning the hydraulic cylinder in an intermediate position between the tractor body and the cantilevered arm, and by arranging the telescopic arms in a compact configuration. This dimensional reorganization allows the assembly to achieve the necessary structural strength without requiring long support rods extending in the traditional direction, thus reducing the volume occupied in the rear area.
2Reliability
If multiple separate control systems are used for lateral lifting arms and pick-up hitch assembly, then control reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the control functions for the lateral lifting arms and the pick-up hitch assembly into a single integrated control system. The hydraulic cylinder serves as a common actuator that controls both the cassette movement and the cantilevered arm positioning through its intermediate connection point. This merging of control functions reduces device complexity while maintaining reliability through the unified hydraulic control mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The hydraulic cylinder positioned in the intermediate location serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as the actuator for the lateral lifting arms and as the control mechanism for the pick-up hitch assembly. This multi-functionality allows a single control system to manage both subsystems, reducing overall complexity while ensuring coordinated and reliable operation of the entire rear connection assembly.
3Stability of the object's composition
If telescopic arms are positioned laterally with respect to lateral arms, then structural stability is improved, but accessibility and freedom of operation in the rear area are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic hinge connections that allow the cassette and cantilevered arm to move relative to each other and to the tractor body. The hinge at the cassette enables the cantilevered arm to follow the cassette's circular path, providing dynamic adaptability that maintains structural stability during operation while improving accessibility by allowing the assembly to conform to different working positions without requiring fixed lateral positioning of telescopic arms.
Data Source
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AI summary
Agricultural vehicle (2) comprising a rear connection assembly (1), provided with a cassette (3), a pair of lateral arms (5), a pair of cantilevered arm (11), a pair connection element (13), each connecting a respective cantilevered arm (11) together with the corresponding lateral arm (5), actuation means (15) interposed between each cantilevered arm (11) and the respective lateral arm (5), wherein each actuation means (15) is connected via respective fourth and fifth hinges (17, 18) to the cantilevered arm (11) and the lateral arm (5), and wherein the rear connection assembly (1) comprises locking means (8, 19, 25) for selectively locking the position of the fourth and fifth hinges (17, 18) with respect to the vehicle's body (2a) and a joint element (21) connecting together the fifth hinge (18) to the cassette (3).