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US 4,791,996 AGranted
Agricultural tractor with lightweight frame and front and rear wheels forming substantially continuous wheel path
OwnerCornelis van der Lelyinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tractor having a high power-to-weight ratio (power 100 kw, weight 3500 kg) is obtained by using light-weight components (e.g., made from synthetic resin) for the cab, and by making the wheels smaller than is usual, i.e., with a diameter of 1.3 meters, and from aluminum or other light-weight material. Tractor is improved by providing an implement or implements which, in operation, are driven form power take-off shafts and act to propel the tractor.
Claims11
An agricultural tractor for seedbed preparation which comprises an engine having a power rating between sixty and one hundred kilowatts;
- a lightweight frame which supports said engine, the tractor's drive train and an operator cab, the tractor's structural components including said frame having a weight which is between twenty-five hundred and four thousand kilograms arranged so that the tractor has a power-to-weight ratio which is 0.02 kilowatts per kilogram or higher;
- a plurality of front and rear wheels for supporting said frame, each of said wheels having low pressure tires thereon each of the same size and having ground contacting surfaces which are at least forty centimeters in width, said front and rear wheels being aligned such that in a front elevational view said front tires are offset to one side of said rear tires wherein the tracks of said front and rear wheels form a wheel path which is substantially continuous in width with the major thickness of each said tire being visible from the front so that the underlying soil is compacted to a relatively minor degree over a relatively extended total width of all said heels;
- and at least one power take-off shaft to which power driven agricultural machines are connectable.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.