The three-point hitch (British English: three-point linkage) most often refers to the way ploughs and other implements are attached to an agricultural tractor. The three points resemble either a triangle, or the letter A. Three point attachment is the simplest and the only statically determinate way of joining two bodies in engineering.
A three point hitch attaches the implement to the tractor so that the orientation of the implement is fixed with respect to the tractor and the arm position of the hitch. The tractor carries some or all of the weight of the implement. The other main mechanism for attaching a load is through a drawbar, a single point, pivoting attachment where the implement or trailer is not in a fixed position with respect to the tractor.
Ferguson's invention was that where an implement such as a plough exerts a drag force, the linkage may use this to increase the downward force on the rear wheels, and thus the traction available.
The hitch's utility and simplicity has made it an industry standard.
Read more about Three-point Hitch: Components, Size Categories, History
Famous quotes containing the word hitch:
“Now that is the wisdom of a man, in every instance of his labor, to hitch his wagon to a star, and see his chore done by the gods themselves. That is the way we are strong, by borrowing the might of the elements. The forces of steam, gravity, galvanism, light, magnets, wind, fire, serve us day by day and cost us nothing.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)