Transport lock for forwardly folding agricultural implements

An agricultural implement comprising:

• a draw bar adapted for connection to a prime mover;
• a frame connected to said draw bar and having mounted thereon wheels for mobilely supporting said frame for movement over the ground;
• a tool bar connected to said frame and including left and right wing members pivotally movable about a wing pivot axis relative to said frame, said wing members being movable from a laterally extending field operating position to a forwardly folded transport position in which said wing members have been moved forwardly;
• a wheel assembly supporting each of said wing members at a distal end remote from said wing pivot axis by a wheel assembly;
• a transport lock mechanism operable to lock said wing members in said forwardly oriented transport position, said transport lock mechanism being movable between a locked position and a released position;
• a wheel lock apparatus operable to convert each said wheel assemblies from a fixed position in which said wheel assembly is fixed in a forwardly directing orientation relative to said wing assembly to a castering position in which said wheel assembly is free to caster relative to said wing assembly;
• and
• a wing latch actuator operatively connected to said transport lock mechanism and said wheel lock mechanism for joint actuation thereof, said wing latch actuator being operable to move said wheel lock apparatus to allow said wheel assembly to move into said castering position when said transport lock mechanism is moved toward said locked position.

An agricultural implement comprising:

• a draw bar adapted for connection to a prime mover;
• a frame connected to said draw bar and having mounted thereon wheels for mobilely supporting said frame for movement over the ground;
• a tool bar connected to said frame and including left and right wing members pivotally movable about a wing pivot axis relative to said frame, said wing members being movable from a laterally extending field operating position to a forwardly folded transport position in which said wing members have been moved forwardly;
• a wheel assembly supporting each of said wing members at a distal end remote from said wing pivot axis by a wheel assembly;
• a transport lock mechanism operable to lock said wing members in said forwardly oriented transport position, said transport lock mechanism being movable between a locked position and a released position and including
• a first latching mechanism supported on said draw bar forwardly of said wing members;
• and
• a second latching mechanism mounted on each of said wing members at a location remote from the respective said wing pivot axes, said second latching mechanism being engageable with said first latching mechanism when said wing members are pivotally moved from a laterally extending operating position to a forwardly extending transport position to lock said wing members in said transport position, said second latching mechanism being generally vertically movable relative to said draw bar when second latching mechanism is engaged with said first latching mechanism;
• and
• a wheel lock apparatus operable to convert each said wheel assembly from a fixed position in which said wheel assembly is fixed in a forwardly directing orientation relative to said wing assembly to a castering position in which said wheel assembly is free to caster relative to said wing assembly, the conversion of said wheel lock apparatus to said castering position being effected only after said wing members have started movement toward said transport position.

An agricultural implement comprising:

• a draw bar adapted for connection to a prime mover;
• a frame connected to said draw bar and having mounted thereon wheels for mobilely supporting said frame for movement over the ground;
• a tool bar connected to said frame and including left and right wing members pivotally movable about a wing pivot axis relative to said frame, said wing members being movable from a laterally extending field operating position to a forwardly folded transport position in which said wing members have been moved forwardly;
• a transport lock mechanism operable to lock said wing members in said forwardly oriented transport position, said transport lock mechanism being movable between a locked position and a released position;
• and
• a wheel assembly supporting each of said wing members at a distal end remote from said wing pivot axis by a wheel assembly, said wing members being supported on said wheel assemblies when in said forwardly folded transport position, said transport lock mechanism being operable to permit each said wing member to move generally vertically relative to said draw bar while remaining locked in said transport position.

An agricultural implement comprising:

• a draw bar adapted for connection to a prime mover;
• a frame connected to said draw bar and having mounted thereon wheels for mobilely supporting said frame for movement over the ground;
• a tool bar connected to said frame and including left and right wing members pivotally movable about a wing pivot axis relative to said frame, said wing members being movable from a laterally extending field operating position to a folded transport position in which said wing members have been moved into a longitudinally extending orientation;
• a wheel assembly supporting each of said wing members at a distal end remote from said wing pivot axis by a wheel assembly, said wing members being supported on said wheel assemblies when in said forwardly folded transport position;
• and
• a wheel lock mechanism operably associated with said wheel assembly to selectively convert said wheel assembly between a fixed configuration, in which said wheel assembly is locked into a forwardly directed orientation, and a castering configuration, in which said wheel assembly is permitted to caster relative to the corresponding said wing assembly.