Tilting implements and constructions for hillside implements such as hillside combine harvesters

An apparatus forming a hillside combine harvester with a body capable of lateral leveling in response to variations in ground slope, comprising:

• a front carriage assembly having opposing ground contacts adjacent opposing sides of the front carriage to allow overland movement thereon;
• a combine body at least partly supported upon the front carriage to allow lateral tilt adjustment thereon;
• at least one port leveling actuator connected between a port side of the front carriage and a port side of the combine body for controlled operation to extend and contract to effect tilting of the body about an opposing starboard tilt support connection which is detachable;
• at least one starboard leveling actuator connected between a starboard side of the front carriage and a starboard side of the combine body for controlled operation to extend and contract to effect tilting of the body about an opposing port tilt support connection which is detachable;
• a header tilt adjustment connection for supporting the header and for allowing header tilt relative to the ground;
• a header adjustment actuator for adjustably tilting the header relative to the ground.

An apparatus forming a hillside leveling vehicle which may adjust laterally to compensate for varying slopes of ground, comprising:

• a carriage for contacting the ground and following varying slopes thereof, said carriage being adapted to allow movement of the carriage overland;
• at least one body which is at least partly supported upon said carriage and adapted to allow lateral tilt adjustment of the body relative to the carriage;
• at least one leveler which is operable to move said at least one body relative to said carriage to provide lateral tilt adjustment;
• at least one support feature on said carriage for helping to support said at least one body upon the carriage;
• at least one rest connected to said at least one body so as to allow said at least one body to be at least partly supported upon said support feature and said carriage, said at least one rest being detachable from said at least one support feature when said at least one leveler is operated to move the at least one body to separate at least part of the at least one body from said carriage.

An apparatus forming a retrofit hillside vehicle having a body, comprising:

• a carriage assembly having at least one ground contact adapted to allow movement of the carriage over ground;
• body supports for mounting on opposing sides of the body;
• at least one port leveling actuator connected between the carriage assembly and at least one body support for extending and contracting to level the body relative to the port side thereof;
• at least one starboard leveling actuator connected between the carriage assembly and at least one body support for extending and contracting to level the body relative to the starboard side thereof;
• at least one detachable port tilt connection for helping support the body upon the carriage assembly;
• at least one detachable starboard tilt connection for helping to support the body upon the carriage assembly;
• said at least one port and said at least one starboard tilt connections being controllably detachable to allow distension of the body and resting of the body relative to the carriage assembly upon one side with the opposing side of the body extended or distended respectively to level the body relative to the carriage assembly.

A method of adjusting lateral body tilt of a hillside vehicle, comprising:

• attaching one end of a first at least one leveler actuator on the port half of at least one body of a hillside vehicle and attaching the other end of the first at least one leveler actuator on the port half of at least one carriage of the hillside vehicle supporting at least part of the at least one body;
• attaching one end of a second at least one leveler actuator on the starboard half of the at least one body corresponding to the at least one body of the hillside vehicle to which the first at least one actuator is attached and attaching the other end of the second at least one leveler actuator on the starboard half of the at least one carriage of the hillside vehicle corresponding to the at least one carriage of the hillside vehicle to which the first at least one leveler is attached;
• determining the approximate gravitational level lateral position of the at least one body of the hillside vehicle;
• referencing the approximate gravitational level lateral position of the at least one body of the hillside vehicle as the standard against which changes in the lateral tilt of the at least one body of the hillside vehicle will be determined;
• sensing changes from the lateral tilt of the at least one body of the hillside vehicle;
• raising the at least one leveler actuator on the downslope half of the at least one body of the hillside vehicle to raise the body on the downslope side of the hillside vehicle, and pivoting the at least one body on the uphill slope side of the carriage of the hillside vehicle supporting at least part of the at least one body, to return the at least one body approximately to its referenced level lateral position;
• and
• lowering the at least one leveler actuator on the uphill slope half of the at least one body of the hillside vehicle to lower the at least one body on the uphill slope side of the hillside vehicle, and pivoting the at least one body on the downhill side of the carriage of the hillside vehicle supporting at least part of the at least one body, to return the at least one body approximately to its referenced lateral level position.

A method of retro-fitting combine harvesters with lateral body tilt adjustment, comprising:

• attaching at least one support member to the port half of the combine harvester body;
• attaching at least one support member to the starboard half of the combine harvester body;
• attaching at least one tilt pivot to the port half of a carriage of the combine harvester;
• attaching at least one tilt pivot to the starboard half of the carriage of the combine harvester;
• connecting a first end of a first at least one actuator adjacent to the at least one port half support member on the body;
• connecting a second end of the first at least one actuator adjacent to the at least one port half tilt pivot on the carriage;
• connecting a first end of a second at least one actuator adjacent to the at least one starboard half support member on the body;
• connecting a second end of the second at least one actuator adjacent to the at least one starboard half tilt pivot on the carriage;
• attaching at least one leveling sensor to the body for sensing lateral body tilt;
• connecting the at least one leveling sensor to at least one control for controlling the first and second at least one actuator;
• connecting the at least one control to the first and second at least one actuator;
• and
• connecting the first and second at least one actuator to their motivating power source.