| CPC A01D 41/141 (2013.01) [A01B 73/005 (2013.01); A01D 75/002 (2013.01)] | 14 Claims |
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1. A self-propelled agricultural working machine comprising:
a feeder at a front of the machine configured to be moved up or down; and
a header that is detachably coupled to a front of the feeder, wherein the header comprises:
a back wall;
two support and transport wheel assemblies on either side of the feeder, designated as front and rear wheel assemblies, each of the front and rear wheel assemblies comprising an axle and two wheels attached at the two ends of the axle, the wheel assemblies being movable between a field position wherein the axle of each assembly is essentially parallel to a longitudinal direction of the header and a transport position wherein the axle of each assembly is transversal to the longitudinal direction; and
two actuating systems configured to move respective ones of the wheel assemblies from the field position to the transport position and vice versa, wherein the wheels of the wheel assemblies are pivotable relative to their respective axles and about axes which are transversal to the respective axles, in order to steer the wheel assemblies;
wherein the front wheel assembly comprises:
a pivotable base that is pivotably connected to a central location of the axle of the front wheel assembly, the pivotable base being pivotable about an essentially vertical axis, and optionally a deployable drawbar coupled to said pivotable base;
a first tie rod arrangement configured to transfer the pivotal position of the base to the wheels of the front wheel assembly; and
a first variable length actuator pivotably coupled to the axle of the front wheel assembly and to one of the wheels of the front wheel assembly;
wherein the rear wheel assembly comprises:
a second tie rod arrangement configured to transfer the pivotal position of one rear wheel to the other rear wheel; and
a second variable length actuator pivotably coupled to the axle of the rear wheel assembly and to one of the wheels of the rear wheel assembly;
and wherein the operation of the variable length actuators of the front and rear wheel assemblies is synchronized, so as to synchronize the pivotal positions of the wheels of the front and rear wheel assemblies;
wherein at least one of the actuating systems is configured to move a respective wheel assembly from the field position to the transport position and vice versa, the at least one actuating system comprising:
a first frame element and a first actuator mechanism coupled between the first frame element and the back wall of the header, wherein the first actuator mechanism is configured to actuate a forward movement of the first frame element from a position behind the back wall of the header to a forward position and vice versa, when the header is lifted up to a given height by the feeder; and
a second frame element and a second actuator mechanism coupled between the first frame element and the second frame element, wherein the axle of the respective wheel assembly is coupled to the second frame element, and wherein the second actuator mechanism is configured to actuate a swivel movement of the second frame element and thereby of the respective axles and the respective wheels relative to the first frame element when the first frame element is in the forward position, and wherein the swivel movement is configured to bring the respective wheel assembly to or from a position wherein the respective axle is transverse to the longitudinal direction of the header.
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