| CPC A01M 7/0075 (2013.01) [A01M 9/0076 (2013.01)] | 9 Claims |
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1. A narrow transport boom folding hinge system for an agricultural product applicator with a boom supported by a chassis of the agricultural product applicator, the boom having multiple boom sections and defining an unfolded in-use position when in a boom in-use state and a folded transport position when in a boom fully folded state, the narrow transport boom folding hinge system comprising:
an intermediate hinge arranged between a pair of adjacent boom sections of the multiple boom sections, the intermediate hinge defining an intermediate hinge pivot axis, one boom section of the pair of adjacent boom sections being pivotable about the intermediate hinge pivot axis with respect to another boom section of the pair of adjacent boom sections to define a boom partially folded state as a stack of partially folded boom sections, the intermediate hinge pivot axis being arranged in a first orientation when the one boom section of the pair of adjacent boom sections pivots with respect to the other boom section of the pair of adjacent boom sections from the boom in-use state to the boom partially folded state;
an inner hinge arranged between the chassis of the agricultural product applicator and an inner-most boom section of the multiple boom sections, the inner hinge defining an inner hinge pivot axis, the boom being pivotable about the inner hinge pivot axis from the boom partially folded state to the boom fully folded state, the inner hinge pivot axis being misaligned with respect to the intermediate hinge pivot axis so that while the stack of partially folded boom sections pivots from the boom partially folded state to the boom fully folded state, the intermediate hinge pivot axis changes to a second orientation, the inner hinge comprising:
a hinge arm having a first hinge arm end and a second hinge arm end;
two hinge lobes including a first hinge lobe and a second hinge lobe, each of the first hinge lobe and the second hinge lobe having a hinge lobe pivot portion and a hinge lobe rod portion, the first hinge arm end of the hinge arm extending from a sidewall of the hinge lobe pivot portion of the first hinge lobe, and the second hinge arm end of the hinge arm extending from a sidewall of the hinge lobe pivot portion of the second hinge lobe, the first hinge lobe and the second hinge lobe being coaxially aligned to define the inner hinge pivot axis; and
an actuator arm extending from the hinge arm, the actuator arm being spaced apart from the first hinge lobe and the second hinge lobe; and
an actuator engaged with the actuator arm, the actuator being selectively operable to pivot the boom about the inner hinge pivot axis;
wherein the inner hinge pivot axis defines a compound pivot axis angle, the compound pivot axis angle being both:
tilted in one of a longitudinal forward direction or a longitudinal rearward direction with respect to a longitudinal axis of the agricultural product applicator; and
tilted in one of a transverse inward direction or a transverse outward direction with respect to the longitudinal axis of the agricultural product applicator.
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9. A method of folding a boom of a self-propelled dry agricultural product applicator comprising the steps of:
pivoting an outer boom section of a fully extended boom arm horizontally in a first direction to sit in a side-by-side orientation next to an intermediate boom section;
pivoting the outer boom section and the intermediate boom section together in the side-by-side orientation horizontally in a second, opposite, direction so the intermediate boom section is directly against an inner boom section and the outer boom section, the intermediate boom section, and the inner boom section sit in a side-by-side orientation with respect to each other with the intermediate boom section sandwiched between the outer and inner boom sections as a horizontal stack; and
controlling an operation of an actuator to pivot the outer boom section, the intermediate boom section, and the inner boom section together in the side-by-side orientation as the horizontal stack about an inner hinge pivot axis both horizontally and vertically to reorient the horizontal stack to a vertical stack that is generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of the self-propelled dry agricultural product applicator, the inner hinge pivot axis being defined by an inner hinge joint between the inner boom section and a chassis of the self-propelled dry agricultural product applicator, the inner hinge joint comprising a hinge arm having a first hinge arm end and a second hinge arm end, a first hinge lobe located at the first hinge arm end, and a second hinge lobe located at the second hinge arm end, with the first and second hinge lobes coaxially aligned with each other to define the inner hinge pivot axis, an actuator arm extending from the hinge arm, the actuator arm being spaced apart from the first hinge lobe and the second hinge lobe, the actuator being engaged to the actuator arm,
wherein the inner hinge pivot axis defines a compound pivot axis angle, the compound pivot axis angle being both:
tilted in one of a longitudinal forward direction or a longitudinal rearward direction with respect to the longitudinal axis of the self-propelled dry agricultural product applicator; and
tilted in one of a transverse inward direction or a transverse outward direction with respect to the longitudinal axis of the self-propelled dry agricultural product applicator.
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