Boom shock and tilt system

A boom assembly control system for moving at least one vehicle mounted boom between a rigged in and a rigged out position and for tilting the boom when it is in the rigged out position, the system including first piston means for moving said boom between the rigged out and rigged in positions, second piston means for tilting the boom, a source of pressurized fluid, and control valve means for communicating said pressurized fluid with said first and second piston means, the improvement in said control system comprising:

• at leat one movable port in said control valve means,
• conduit means communicating said port with both said first and second piston means and said first and second piston means with each other, said port being movable to a single position to communicate said pressurized fluid to said first piston means through said conduit means to cause said first piston means to swing the boom from the rigged in to the rigged out position and to said second piston means through said conduit means when said first piston means has fully rigged out said boom to tilt said boom without further movement of said port, and
• shock absorbing means for absorbing shock imparted to the boom assembly in a direction substantially parallel to the direction of movement of the vehicle, said shock absorbing means tilting said boom in response to the occurrence of said shock to dissipate said shock, said shock absorbing means including said first and second piston means and said conduit means, said first piston means being movable in response to said shock imparted to the boom assembly to force fluid from said first piton means through said conduit means to said second piston means to tilt said boom to dissipate said shock.

In a spray boom assembly mountable on a vehicle for movement with the vehicle,

• at least one boom,
• shock absorbing means for absorbing shock imparted to said boom assembly in a direction substantially parallel to the direction of movement of the vehicle, said shock absorbing means lifting said boom in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of said shock in response to the occurrence of said shock to dissipate said shock,
• hinge means, said hinge means allowing at least a portion of said boom to rotate from a first normal position in which said boom portion extends substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement of the vehicle to a second breakaway position in which said boom portion extends rearward of the vehicle upon striking an obstacle, and
• spring means for returning said boom portion from said second breakaway position to said first normal position when said boom has cleared the obstacle, said shock absorbing means absorbing the shock imparted to said boom assembly when said boom portion is returning to said first normal position.

In a spray boom assembly mountable on a vehicle for movement with the vehicle,

• at least one boom,
• shock absorbing means for absorbing shock imparted to said boom assembly in a direction substantially parallel to the direction of movement of the vehicle, said shock absorbing means lifting said boom in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of said shock in response to the occurrence of said shock to dissipate said shock,
• piston means movable with and in response to movement of said boom in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the vehicle,
• fluid circuit means for absorbing shock imparted to said boom assembly due to movement of said boom in said direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the vehicle, said fluid circuit means including
• pressurizing means for maintaining the fluid in said fluid circuit means at a pressure in excess of atmospheric pressure, and
• check means, said check means providing substantially unrestricted flow of said pressurized fluid to said piston means upon upward movement of said boom and restricted flow of fluid from said piston means upon downward movement of said boom.