AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT (Original) APPLICATION NO: LODGED: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION LODGED: ACCEPTED: PUBLISHED: RELATED ART: NAME OF APPLICANT: Henry Frank Jarvis ACTUAL INVENTOR(S): Henry Frank Jarvis ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: LORD AND COMPANY, Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys, of 4 Douro Place, West Perth, Western Australia, 6005, AUSTRALIA. INVENTION TITLE: "AGRICULTURAL SHARES" DETAILS OF ASSOCIATED PROVISIONAL APPLICATION NO'S: Australian Provisional Patent Application Number 2010900065 filed on 8 January 2010 Australian Provisional Patent Application Number 2010904843 filed on 29 October 2010 The following Statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me/us: TITLE "AGRICULTURAL SHARES" 5 The present invention relates to agricultural shares It is common for an agricultural share to have a limited life. Abrasive wear from frictional contact with the ground is also a major cause of failure. In addition, damage may occur to the share through the striking of hard objects such as rocks buried in the 10 ground. The present invention attempts to overcome at least in part the aforementioned disadvantages of previous agricultural shares. 15 In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided an agricultural share comprising a ground engaging portion and a second portion, wherein a front face of the ground engaging portion is provided with a forward facing groove for at least part of a length thereof and at least one wear resistant plate is arranged to engage the groove in a complementary manner, the arrangement of the groove and the at least one wear resistant 20 plate thereby acting to prevent wear of the ground engaging portion, in use. The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of an agricultural share in accordance with the present 2 invention; Figure 2 is an exploded view of the agricultural share of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective view of an agricultural share in accordance with the present invention. 5 Figure 4 is a perspective view of an agricultural share in accordance with another aspect of the present invention. Figure 5 is a perspective view of an agricultural share in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 is an exploded view of the agricultural share of Figure 5. 10 Figure 7 is a perspective view of an agricultural share in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. In figures 1 and 2 there is shown an agricultural share 10 comprising a ground engaging portion 22 having a front face 28 formed with a forward facing groove 26 for at least part 15 of its length. The groove 26 is arranged to receive at least one wear resistant wear plate. As shown in Figure 2, a first wear resistant plate 12 is arranged to engage the groove 26, a rear portion of the wear resistant plate 12 is of complementary shape to the groove 26. The groove 26 20 may be of any shape, the shape of the groove 26 preferably being chosen to maximise the contact surface area between the groove 26 and the wear resistant plates 12. The increased area of contact allows for a greater braze or weld area between the ground engaging portion 22 and the wear resistant plate 12. This increases the bonding strength of the wear plate 12 to the ground engaging portion 22 and improves the impact 3 resistance of the share 10. The wear resistant plate 12 comprises a front and a rear portion. The rear portion of the wear resistant plate 12 is affixed in close abutting contact with the groove 26 adjacent a 5 lower end of the groove 26. The forward facing portion of the wear resistant plate 12 may be arranged in any shape. Preferably, the forward facing portion of the wear resistant plate 12 is arranged to comprise a convex forward facing portion. 10 Further, a second wear resistant plate 14 may be arranged to engage the groove 26. The second wear resistant plate 14 may be of a similar shape to the first wear resistant plate and will have a rear portion complementary to the groove 26. The forward facing portion of the wear resistant plate 14 may be arranged in any shape. 15 Similarly, a third wear resistant plate 16 may be arranged to engage the groove 26. The third wear resistant plate 16 may be of a similar shape to the first and second wear resistant plates 12, 14 and will have a rear portion complementary to the groove 26. The forward facing portion of the wear resistant plate 16 may be arranged in any shape. 20 The wear resistant plates 12, 14 and 16 are typically affixed to the share 10 by means of brazing or welding. Further, the wear resistant plate 12, 14 and 16 may have a lateral dimension which is 4 larger than that of the rest of the share 10. Having wear resistant plates with lateral dimension larger then the share reduces a tendency of the sides 24 to wear away preferentially in use when the share 10 is used in conjunction with abrasive soil. 5 Further, the wear resistant plates 12, 14 and 16 are preferably formed of tungsten alloy. The tungsten alloy may contain a minor proportion of cobalt such as between 5 and 15% by weight. The ground engaging portion 22 further comprises opposed sides 24. Each side (only one 10 of which can be seen) may, as shown, be provided with a respective recess 38 arranged to receive a wear resistant plate 18. As shown, the wear resistant plate 18 may be in the form of a triangular prism and the corresponding recess may be V-shaped, the shape of the rear of the wear resistant plate 18 is complementary to that of the recess 38. The wear resistant plate 18 affixed to sides 24 of the share 10 are also preferably formed of 15 tungsten alloy Alternatively, opposing sides 24 may have a hard facing material welded in place of the wear resistant member 18. Wherein there is no recess 38 cut into the opposing side 24 and the hard face material (wear resistant plate 18) is directly welded or brazed onto the 20 opposing sides 24. A second portion 36 of the share 10 comprises an intermediate engagement means 30 in the form of an arcuate slot. Further, there is provided adjacent an upper end an aperture 34. Also, there is provided an engagement means 32 in the form of a rear, upwardly 5 extending projection. The means 30, 32 and 34 enable the share to be mounted to an agricultural tine in known manner. As shown in Figure 3, a first wear resistant plate 12 is in the form of a rectangular prism 5 which may be a square prism. The rear portion of the wear resistant plate 12 is of complementary shape to the groove 26. Thus, the wear resistant plate 12 fits into the groove 26 adjacent a lower end of the groove 26. The wear resistant plate 12 engages with the groove 26 in such manner that a forward facing edge of the wear plate 12 projects forwardly. 10 A second wear resistant plate 14 in the form of a pentagonal prism 14 is arranged to fit into the groove 26. In this case a flat face of the wear resistant plate 14 faces forwardly. Similarly, a third wear resistant plate 16 in the form of a triangular prism is arranged to fit 15 in the groove 26 above the wear resistant plate 14. As shown, a flat face of the wear resistant plate 16 faces forwardly. Figure 4 shows an exploded view of the agricultural share of figure 3, showing the arrangement of the complimentary wear resistant plates 12, 14, 16. 20 Figure 5 shows an agricultural share in accordance with the present invention wherein the ground contacting portion is of a reduced length relative to that demonstrated in figure 3 and 4. 6 In Figure 6 of the accompanying drawings, there is shown an agricultural share 50, which is similar to the one shown in Figure 3. Like reference numerals denote like parts. In this case, however, the second portion 36 comprises a laterally extending plate member 52 having an in-turned lateral edge 54. The plate member 52 further comprises a pair of 5 aligned apertures 56. The aligned apertures 56 are arranged to engage an agricultural tine in known manner. In Figure 7 of the accompanying drawings, there is shown a chisel agricultural share 60, which is similar to the one shown in Figure 3. Like reference numerals denote like parts. 10 The first portion 22 of the share 60 is similar to the first portion of the share 10 as discussed for Figure 3. The second portion 36 comprises a hook portion 62 arranged to engage a transverse bar member 63 extending between a pair of flange members 64. The flange members 64 are attached to a laterally extending plate member 68 having an in turned lateral edge 69. The laterally extending plate member 68 is arranged to engage an 15 agricultural tine in known manner. In use, the disposition of the wear resistant plate 12 adjacent the lower end of the ground engaging portion 22 provides the share 10 with a wear resistant leading edge and with an enhanced ability to cut through ground being worked. 20 The wear resistant plates 18 reinforce the side 24 of the share 10 and reduce a tendency of the sides 24 to wear away preferentially in use when the share 10 is used in conjunction with abrasive soil. The provision of a convex front face of the wear resistant plates 12, 14 and 16 may further reduce the tendency of the sides to wear preferentially in abrasive soil. 7 The changes in pitch in the front face affecting the rate at which the soil collapses on to the side of the share. Abrasion resistance and wear life are not the only consideration when designing an 5 agricultural share. Impact resistance is also an important consideration. In a preferred form of the present invention, wherein the front facing portion of the wear resistant plate is convex, impacts are spread more evenly across the entire front face and hence damage to the leading edge of the wear resistant plates 12, 14 and 16 is minimised. 10 Modifications and variations as would be apparent to a skilled addressee are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention. 8