A Tractor-mounted Hydraulically Operated Platform

G. K. CHARLTON*

1. Introduction one to drive the tractor while the other con-

The hydraulically operated orchard platform
shown in Fig. 1 was designed to give access to the
upper parts of large trees for the assessment of
spray deposition, and insect and disease inci-
dence.’ Self-propelled commercial machines
used in orchards for picking and pruning were
limited in reach, and a tractor-drawn machine of
adequate size was difficult to manoeuvre. It was
thought that a tractor-mounted platform would
better meet the requirements for easy manoeuvr-
ing in an orchard and for stability on soft or
uneven ground. Two operators are required,
?? Spraying
Department, N.T.A.E.
trols the movement of a platform on which he
stands. The platform can be raised to a height
of 22 ft and moved horizontally 1I ft either side
of the tractor centre line.
2. Construction
The major components of the machine are the
main supporting frame (A), lower arms (B),
upper arm support (C), upper arm (D) and the
operating platform (E). The main supporting
frame comprises two horizontal, 4 in. square,
box sections, one on each side of the tractor
engine, and a plate (F) bolted to the front of the

E .
B

Fig. I. The hydraulically operated platform

G. K. CHARLTON
engine casting, which supports their front ends.
These sections are mounted at their rear ends on
the tractor rear axle casting; they provide rigid
hinge points for the lower arms and anchorage
for the main hydraulic cylinders (G). The two
lower arms on each side form a parallel linkage
which keeps the upper arm support horizontal.
The compression member is made from 4% x 28
in. x 7 s.w.g. box section steel and is cross-braced
to the corresponding member on the other side.
The tension arms are made from 28 x 2i in. x
10 s.w.g. box section. The upper ends of the
arms are pivoted (H) on the upper arm support.
On this support platform is the main swivelling
bearing (J) and a hydraulic cylinder assembly
(K) which traverse the upper arm horizontally.
A second cylinder (L) which raises and lowers
the arm is mounted on the swivelling bracket
which carries the vertical hinge of the arm. The
42 x 2# in. x 7 s.w.g. box-section upper arm is
in turn provided with a parallel link motion in
the form of a 18 x # in. tie bar hinged at its
lower and upper ends on the swivelling bracket
and the operating platform respectively. The
operating platform, which is 2 ft square, is fitted
with a safety rail at waist height on which a bank
of 3 lever-operated control valves (M) is fitted.
Hydraulic power for the operation of the
platform is obtained from the tractor hydraulic
pump at the rate of 3 gal/min at 1500 lb/in2. The
supply is taken continuously via a needle flow-
control valve to the valves on the operator plat-
form, then back to the sump of the tractor
pump. To ensure an adequate supply of oil the
various hydraulic circuits and cylinders are
primed with oil additional to the normal tractor
pump supply. The control valves are fitted with a
common relief valve and their associated cir-
cuits are :-
(a) Lower arm control. The circuit supplies,
through a 4-way directional spool valve,
two 19 in. stroke x 1.78 in. bore double-
acting hydraulic cylinders.
(b) Upper arm control. The circuit delivers
oil from a 3-way directional spool valve
through a non-return valve (N) into an
11 in. stroke x 2.75 in. bore single-acting
cylinder. A by-pass of the non-return
valve is also provided to allow the
cylinder to empty, and into the by-pass
line is fitted a restriction (0) which
x7
throttles the downwards movement of the
upper lifting arm and acts as a safety
feature in the event of a supply line
failure.
(c) Horizontal traverse. The circuit supplies,
through a 4-way directional spool valve, a
14 in. stroke x 1.42 in. bore double-
acting hydraulic cylinder mounted on the
upper lifting arm support platform.
Orifice restrictions (P) in both supply and
return lines to this cylinder prevent too
rapid sideways movement of the operat-
ing platform.
The platform is fitted on a small tractor, and
to give adequate stability, the wheels are set to a
64 in. track. The rear wheels are water-ballasted
and wheel weights fitted to the front wheels. It
is necessary to fit oversize tyres to the front
wheels to take the extra load of the platform.
The tractor is also fitted with a frame which
supports the upper arm clear of the driver when
it is in the transport position (overall length
17 ft).
3. Use
In transport the unit could be driven on the
highway at full tractor speed without difficulty.
A grassed orchard could be negotiated even in the
wettest conditions and stability of the machine
was very good since the greater part of the weight
remained within the wheelbase. The chief limita-
tion was the need for a gap of about 30 in.
between trees up to a height of 9 ft to allow the
passage of the upper arm support. Large trees
are usually planted at sufficient distance apart to
allow free passage of a tractor with the wheels set
as described, but interlacing branches of over-
crowded trees sometimes obstructed passage of
the machine.
Movement of the platform was a little too slow,
but in any redesign the structure weight could be
reduced without undue loss of rigidity, and
raising and traversing speeds could be increased.
Where detailed observations were being made on
each tree, the tractor driver positioned the
machine and then dismounted to make observa-
tions on the lower part of the canopy while the
second operator on the platform examined the
upper parts. Trees up to about 25 ft dia could be
covered from two tractor positions; for larger
trees it was more convenient to examine one
8X TRACTOR-MOUNTED HYDRAULICALLY OPERA-I‘ED PI.ATFORM

quarter at a time. Where only limited observa-
tions were to be made on each tree, or leaves
were to be picked off for examination, it was more
convenient for the tractor driver to remain on
the machine and to deal with the lower parts of
the tree separately. The platform then gave only
a modest reduction in sampling time compared
with tree climbing and the use of steps or
ladders. The physical effort was, of course, much
reduced but, more important, the whole tree was
readily accessible and the quality of sampling
was therefore greatly improved. For this reason
it is considered that the use of some form of
power-operated platform is essential for research
entailing distribution measurements on large
trees. The tractor-mounted design described was
a satisfactory means of meeting this need for
trees up to 29 ft tall.
REFERENCE
’ Byass, J. B.; Charlton, G. K. Spraying techniques ,fbr
orchards of standurd trees. J. agric. Engng. Res.,
1965, 10 (1) 60