AU2002100852B4 - A support member for agricultural and earthmoving tines - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Applicant: COALFIELDS ENGINEERING PTY LTD Invention Title: A SUPPORT MEMBER FOR AGRICULTURAL AND EARTHMOVING

TINES

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: ln- A SUPPORT MEMBER FOR AGRICULTURAL AND EARTHMOVING TINES FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a quick release support member for a tine used on agricultural and earthmoving machinery and relates particularly, though not exclusively, to a removable knife point used for no-till seeding.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION No-till seeding involves cultivating with minimum controlled soil disturbance using a knife edge point tine to cut a groove through the soil from between 80 to 180mm deep to break up the ground only where planting is to be done. With conventional seeding the points are designed to turn the soil over and cause significant disturbance to the surface of the ground. By contrast, the points of a no-till cultivator cut deeper and narrower furrows and do not turn the soil over. No-till or minimum tillage seeding has been found to result in less soil erosion, improved moisture retention and maintains the earthworm population density.

The points on cultivator tines are subject to high wear, particularly for higher break-out tines employed in hard, abrasive and more rocky soils. This is particularly true for points on no-till cultivators. The points get damaged or worn and regularly require replacement if they are to perform according to specification. Therefore, there is a need to be able to readily remove and replace damaged or worn points. Two types of removable points are known in the prior art, a so-called knock-on shear point and a bolt-on point.

The knock-on shear point is a point having a sleeve which is knocked-onto a support stem attached to the tine using a hammer or mallet. A knock-on shear point is relatively easy to attach and replace, although there are problems with this type of point. One of F:\jnelson\keep\speci\A SUPPORT MEMBER FOR AGRCULTURAL AND EARTHMOVING TINES DIV P47481.doC the problems encountered is that the point tends to fly off the support stem on the rebound of the tine during break-out. The bolt-on type points are integrally formed with or may have a mounting plate welded to the point and use one or more bolts to fix the point to the tine. The problem with bolt-on points is that they are awkward to attach due to poor accessibility under the cultivator for tightening and loosening of bolts and nuts.

Also, the bolts and nuts tend to get covered in dirt and corrosion in use which further exacerbates the difficulties with tightening and loosening of fasteners during replacement.

Similar problems to that noted above are encountered with tines employed on earthmoving machinery.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a support member for engaging with a support bracket fixable to a tine, the support member being integral with a point element having a tip for cutting through soil at a prescribed angle, the support member defining a generally elongate member with the point element, and the support member including: an end portion remote from the point element, the end portion being receivable during use through retaining means of a support bracket so as to engage with said retaining means, and being arranged to receive locking means during use, said locking means serving to restrict disengagement of the support member from said support bracket during use by contact between the locking means and the retaining means; and a claw-shaped portion disposed at a location between the end portion and the tip, the claw-shaped portion being arranged to engage with an edge portion of a support bracket during use; the arrangement being such that during use when the support member is engaged with a support bracket, the end portion transfers a first force to said retaining means of the support bracket, and the claw-shaped portion transfers a second force to said edge portion of the support bracket.

H:\jnelson\keep\speci\A SUPPORT MEMBER FOR AGRCULTURAL AND EARTHMOVING TINES DIV P47635.doc Preferably, the engaging portion is disposed substantially centrally of the end portion and the tip.

The locking means may include a locking pin and the end portion includes an aperture for receiving the locking pin.

Preferably, the end portion includes a shoulder portion which acts during use against the retaining means so as to transfer at least a portion of the first force to the retaining means.

H:\jnelson\keep\speci\A SUPPORT MEMBER FOR AGRCULTURAL AND EARTHMOVING TINES DIV P47635.doc 4 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to facilitate a more detailed understanding of the nature of the invention a preferred embodiment of the support member will now be described in detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a support member of the present invention shown in relation to a support bracket and a tine; Figure 2 illustrates in plan view a support bracket with which the support member engages during use; and, Figure 3 illustrates the support member of Figure 1 during use when engaged with the support bracket shown in Figure 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As illustrated in Figure 1, a preferred embodiment of a support member 18 in accordance 2 0 with the present invention is shown. The support member 18 in this example is integral with a point element 12. The point element 12 of this embodiment is a knife-point having a tungsten tip 16 provided at one end for cutting through the soil. The support member 18 is provided at the other end for supporting the point at a prescribed angle in the soil. The point element 12 is of generally rectangular cross-section with a thickness of between 10mm to 20mm depending on the width of the groove it is desired to cut through the soil.

In an alternative embodiment (not illustrated) the point element may be removably attached to the support member 18.

The point element 12 and support member 18 are intended to be engaged in use with a 3 0 support bracket fixed to an agricultural tine.

P:\Jne1son\keep\speci\A SUPPORT MEMBER FOR AGRCULTURAL AND EARTHMOVING TINES DIV P47481.doc The support bracket 14 has a first retaining means 20 and a second retaining means 22.

The first and second retaining means 20, 22 are designed to retain the support member 18 in the bracket 14 when received therein. In the illustrated embodiment, the support bracket 14 is made from a first piece of plate metal having a base portion 24, illustrated most clearly in Figure 2, for fastening the bracket to the tine, and having an upright portion 26 which forms part of said first retaining means 20. The second retaining means 22 comprises first and second side walls 28 of plate metal welded to the first piece of plate metal, and between which the support member 18 is slidably received in use. The support bracket may also be formed from a single piece of metal by forging or casting. In this embodiment the upright portion 26 extends at substantially right angles to the base portion 24 and is formed with a rectangular aperture 30 therein for slidably receiving a free end 32 of the support member 18 therein. The free end includes a shoulder portion 33 which bears against the upright portion 26 during use.

In the described embodiment, the side walls 28 extend over a front edge 40 of the base portion 24 and form a recess 34 therebetween of reduced width as can be seen most clearly in Figures 1 and 2. The support member 18 is provided with a section 36 located approximately mid-way of the point element 12 which is slidably received in the recess 34 in the assembled condition. As shown in Figure 1, the section 36 of the support member 18 is provided with an engaging portion, in this example a claw-shaped portion 38, which is designed to engage with the front edge 40 of the base portion 24 within the recess 34.

With the above arrangement, it will be apparent that the point element 12 can be removably attached to the support bracket 14 by sliding the support member 18 into engagement with the first and second retaining means 20, 22. In particular, the free end 32 of the support member 18 is slidably received within the recess 30 so as to engage with the upright portion 26 of the support bracket and so that the shoulder portion 33 bears against the upright portion 26, and the section 36 midway of the support member is slidably received within recess 34 so that the claw-shaped portion 38 engages with the edge 40 of the second angled portion 28 of the support bracket.

C;\TEMP\A SUPPORT MEMBER FOR AGRCULTURAL AND EARTHMOVING TINES DIV P47481.doc 6 The free end 32 also includes a hole 44 for receiving locking means for locking the point element 12 in the support bracket 14 in the assembled condition. In the described embodiment, the locking means comprises a locking pin 42 which is removably received in the hole 44. In its assembled condition, the free end 32 of the support member protrudes through the aperture 30 in the upright portion 26 of the support bracket. Hence, by inserting the locking pin 42 in the hole 44, the locking pin 42 acts to prevent the support member 18 from sliding out of the support bracket 14. A split pin 45 prevents the locking pin 42 from sliding out of the hole 44. Alternatively, any one of a number of other quick release locking mechanisms could be used to prevent the support member 18 from sliding out of the support bracket 14 in use.

Figure 3 illustrates the support member 18 and point element engaged with a support bracket 14 attached to a tine 46 of a cultivator. The support bracket 14 is fixed to the tine 46 by suitable fasteners 48 and typically remains permanently attached to the tine 46. The point element 12 is slidably received in the support bracket with the free end 32 of the support member engaging with the upright portion 26 of the support bracket and the shoulder portion 33 bearing against the upright portion 26, and with the claw-shaped portion 38 engaging with the front edge 40 of the support bracket. In use, the point element 12 is subject to horizontal and vertically upwards acting forces creating a lever action about a fulcrum provided by the edge 40 of the base portion 24 of the support bracket as the tip 16 engages with the soil. A reaction force provided by the upright portion 26 of the bracket is applied to the free end 32 of the support member 18 to counteract this lever action. Hence, it will be apparent that the locking pin 42 does not carry any load in use, all of the load being borne by the upright portion 26 and the front edge 40 of the support bracket 14. The side walls 28 provide additional support to prevent sideways movement of the point element 12 due to lateral forces.

Now that a preferred embodiment of the support member has been described in detail, it will be apparent that it provides a number of advantages over the prior art arrangements, including the following: F:\jnelson\keep\speci\A SUPPORT MEMBER FOR AGRCULTURAL AND EARTHMOVING TINES DIV P47481.doc 7 It is easy to attach to the tine, involving a simple "slip and clip" action; (ii) No tightening or loosening of fasteners is required; (iii) The point element is easily removed for replacement. The locking pin 42 is simply withdrawn and the point element 12 can then be slid out from the support bracket 14; (iv) It is of robust design, all of the load being borne by the support bracket; and, It can be adapted to other types of points.

Numerous variations and modifications will suggest themselves to persons skilled in the engineering arts, in addition to those already described, without departing from the basic inventive concepts. For example, the front edge 40 of the support bracket may be extended in length and formed with an aperture similar to the first angled portion 26, through which the support member 18 of the point element 12 is received to act as the second retaining means of the support bracket. Alternatively, the retaining means of the support bracket may take the form of a round or rectangular section tube extending substantially the full length of the support bracket. The support member 18 of the point element may be modified to receive a knock-on shear point thereon if desired.

Furthermore, the support member 18 may be modified to receive a bolt-on point or other soil-working implement thereon, thus providing for the possibility of a variety of soilworking implements to be employed on the same machine. All such variations and modifications are to be considered within the scope of the present invention, the nature of which is to be determined from the foregoing description and the appended claims.

P:\jnelson\keep\speci\A SUPPORT MEMBER FOR AGRCULTURAL AND EARTHMOVING TINES DIV P47481.doc

Claims (4)

1. A support member for engaging with a support bracket fixable to a tine, the support member being integral with a point element having a tip for cutting through soil at a prescribed angle, the support member defining a generally elongate member with the point element, and the support member including: an end portion remote from the point element, the end portion being receivable during use through retaining means of a support bracket so as to engage with said retaining means, and being arranged to receive locking means during use, said locking means serving to restrict disengagement of the support member from said support bracket during use by contact between the locking means and the retaining means; and a claw-shaped portion disposed at a location between the end portion and the tip, the claw-shaped portion being arranged to engage with an edge portion of a support bracket during use; the arrangement being such that during use when the support member is engaged with a support bracket, the end portion transfers a first force to said retaining means of the support bracket, and the claw-shaped portion transfers a second force to said edge portion of the support bracket.

2. A support member as claimed in claim 1, wherein the engaging portion is disposed substantially centrally of the end portion and the tip.

3. A support member as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the end portion includes a shoulder portion which acts during use against the retaining means so as to transfer at least a portion of the first force to the retaining means.

4. A support member as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the end portion includes an aperture for receiving the locking means. H:\jnelson\keep\speci\A SUPPORT MEMBER FOR AGRCULTURAL AND EARTHMOVING TINES DIV P47635.doc A support member substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings. Dated this 7th day of August 2003 COALFIELDS ENGINEERING PTY LTD By Its Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK Fellows Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia. H:\jnelson\keep\speci\A SUPPORT MEMBER FOR AGRCULTURAL AND EARTHMOVING TINES DIV P47635.doc