AU654478B2 - Agricultural shares - Google Patents

Description

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (Original) FOR OFFICE USE 654478 Application Number: PJ9567 Class Lodged: 9 April, 1990 Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: Priority: Int. Class 00 S 0 00 0 0 *0 eq..

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TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT Name of Applicants: CLAREWOOD PTY LTD FOUNDRY PTY LTD and WUNDOWIE Address of Applicants: of 34 Great Eastern Highway, South Guildford, and Hawke Avenue, Wundowie, respectively, both in the State of Western Australia, Commonwealth of Australia.

VICTOR LESLIE HUNTER and WILLIAM EDWARD PEARCE.

Actual Inventors: Address for Service:- Wray Associates Primary Industry House 239 Adelaide Terrace Perth Western Australia 6000.

Complete Specification for the invention entitled: "Agricultural Shares" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:- 1 2 THIS INVENTION relates to agricultural shares.

Agricultural shares typically comprise a body having a pair of sides which converge together to form a point at the forward end of the body. The converging sides define a pair of leading edges for cutting through soil and a land area immediately behind the leading edges.

The point at the forward end assists the agricultural share in penetrating the soil surface and cutting through the soil. The point is, however, prone to wear and can rapidly become rounded which is disadvantageous as it results in a decline in the performance of the 00 *0 agricultural share.

0 0* o 0: A further disadvantage of such typical agricultural shares is that through continued use they lead to formation of a hard pan beneath the surface of the soil. The hard pan is formed by downward compaction forces exerted on the soil below the surface thereof by the land area as the agricultural share advances through the soil. The

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presence of a hard pan in the soil is particularly 20 undesirable as it can be detrimental to growth of agricultural crops.

The present invention seeks to provide an agricultural share which can retain a pointed formation at the forward end thereof for a longer period of service than typical agricultural shares as described hereinbefore. The present invention also seeks, in at least one of the embodiments thereof, to provide an agricultural share which can break up a hard pan formed in tho soil.

In one form the invention resides in an agricultural share comprising a working portion including a forward portion 3 defining a nose and a pair of lateral wings each having a leading edge extending rearwardly and laterally from a region disposed rearwardly of the front of the nose, wherein the nose includes a pair of laterally opposed flanks and a pair of working edges which extend forwardly of the laterally opposed flanks and converge towards the front of the nose, said leading edges of the wings extending rearwardly and laterally from the flanks, and wherein a downwardly depending blade portion is provided on said working portion.

Preferably, the nose has a bottom face from which the blade depends.

Preferably, the flanks are generally parallel to the .direction of movement of the agricultural share. With 15 this arrangement, the nose defined by the forward portion may extend downwardly below the plane of the leading edges of the wings.

Preferably, the downwardly depending blade portion defines a forward extension of the nose.

20 Preferably, a reinforcing rib is provided on a front face of the working portion of the agricultural share.

The reinforcing rib may extend along the forward extension of the nose.

The mounting portion may include a mounting shank and a mounting aperture, the mounting shank merging with the reinforcing rib.

Preferably, a recess is provided in the mounting shank and the reinforcing rib to surround the mounting aperture for accommodating the head of a mounting bolt.

4 A shoulder may be provided for restraining the head of the mounting bolt against rotation when received in the recess. For preference there are two such shoulders in laterally opposed relationship.

Preferably, each shoulder is generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the agricultural share, said longitudinal axis being an axis extending in the direction of travel of the agricultural share.

Preferably, the recess is elongated, the major axis being generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the agricultural shai:e.

Preferably, said wings have rear edges and a reinforcing rib is provided on a rear face of each wing adjacent said rear edge.

Preferably, the reinforcing ribs on the rear face of the "wings merge with a further reinforcing rib associated with S: the mounting portion.

The invention will be better understood by reference to the following description of two specific embodiments 20 thereof as shown in the accompanying drawings in which:- Fig. 1 is a perspective view from above and to one side of an agricultural share according to a first embodiment; Fig. 2 is an underside view of the agricultural share of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the agricultural share of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the agricultural share of Fig. 1; 5 Fig. 5 is a rear elevational view of the agricultural share of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a perspective view from above and to one side of an agricultural share according to a second embodiment; Fig. 7 is a front elevational view of the agricultural share of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is an underside view of the agricultural share of Fig. 6; Fig. 9 is a side elevational view of the agricultural share of Fig. 6; and Fig. 10 is a rear elevational view of the agricultural share of Fig. 6.

The two embodiments are directed to agricultural shares in the form of tillage points formed of cast material.

The tillage point of the first embodiment is shown in Figs. 1 to 5 and comprises a body 11 having a working **e Ce ooe 6 portion 13 and a mounting portion 15 for attachment to an agricultural machine. The mounting portion 15 includes a mounting shanak 17 of conventional form and a mounting aperture 19 provided in the mounting shank.

The working portion 13 includes a front face 21 and a rear face 23.

The working portion 13 includes a forward portion defining a nose 25 and a pair of lat,4ral wings 27 each having a leading edge 29 disposed rearwardly of the nose. A land area 30 extending between the front and rear faces 21 and 23 is provided immediately behind the leading edges 29.

The nose 25 comprises a pair of laterally opposed flanks 31 and a pair of working edges 33 which extend forwardly from the flanks 31 and converge to a point 35 at the front of the nose. The nose has a bottom face 37 which is bounded by the working edges 33 and the bottom edges of the flanks 31, as best shown in Figure 2 of the drawings.

The trailing edges 39 of the bottom face 37 are shaped to correspond to the shape of the leading edges 31, as shown 20 in Figure 2.

The bottom face 37 is disposed below the plane of the leading edges 29 of the wings, as best seen in Figs. 3 and 4.

A central reinforcing rib 41 is provided on the front face 21 and extends from the point 35 at the nose 25 to the mounting portion 15. The rib 41 merges with the mounting shank 17 and is bifurcated so as to extend to each side of the mounting aperture 19. In this way, a recess 43 is provided to accommodate the head of a mounting bolt. The 7 recess 43 is elongated, the major axis being aligned with the longitudinal axis of the reinforcing rib 41. The recess 43 has a wall 45 which is defined by the reinforcing rib 41 and the mounting shank 17. The wall entirely surrounds the head of a mounting bolt received in the recess so as to afford at least some protection to the aggressive effects of oncoming soil when the tillage point is in use. The wall 45 defines a pair of opposed shoulders 46 for restraining the head of the mounting bolt against rotation, each shoulder being generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the share. With this arrangement, the head of the mounting bolt can be received S" in the recess with two opposed flats thereof against the shoulders. In this position the belt head presents its minimum width across the tillage point and so allows the lateral dimension of the recess to be minimised with the result that there is minimum disturbance to the flow of soil over the point.

Furthermore, the rib 41 acts to split the soil as the 20 agricultural share advances through the ground thereby U, promoting streamlined flow around the mounting portion generally and in particular around the recess 43. This feature of the rib is enhanced by the bifurcated nature of the rib. The action of splitting of the soil minimises soil disturbance and so provides energy savings in advancing the share through the ground.

As shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, a reinforcing rib 51 is provided on the rear face 23 of the agricultural share in the region adjacent the trailing edge 53 of each wing.

The two reinforcing ribs 51 merge with a further reinforcing rib 55 which is provided around the underside of the mounting shank 17. The rib 55 serves several purposes, one of which is to afford some protection to the 8 tyne on which the share is mounted against the aggressive nature of oncoming soil. Additionally, the rib engages against the tyne and so assists in resisting rotation of the share relative to the tyne about the mounting bolt.

Finally, the rib has a beneficial effect in providing additional reinforcement for the csting.

When the agricultural share according to the first embodiment is in use, the nose 25 serves to penetrate and break up the soil to facilitate entry of the lateral wings 27. This arrangement serves to reduce resistance to ground penetration experienced by the tillage point.

0 0* *e An advantage of the forwardly extending nose is that it is thicker than the wings owing to the presence of the reinforcing rib 41. As a consequence of this, the nose wears at a slower rate than the wings and so is maintained throughout the life of the tillage point for its primary purpose of penetrating soil ahead of the wings. By contrast, conventional points tend to develop a rounded leading working edge which is not conducive to ground 20 penetration.

The nose can also assists in penetrating and breaking up a Shard pan which might exist below the surface of the soil.

The nose.is useful in this regard because its bottom face so:. 37 is disposed below the leading edges 29 and the land area Referring now to Figs. 6 to 10 of the drawings, the tillae point according to the second embodiment is somewhat similar to the first embodiment with the exception that a depending blade portion 61 is provided on the rear face 23. The blade portion 61 defines a forward extension 63 on the nose 25. The forward extension 63 9 comprises a pair of longitudinal edges 65 and a pair of leading edges 67 which converge to a point. The central reinforcing rib 41 extends along the forward extension 63 of the nose and terminates at the point.

The blade has a pair of longitudinal sides 69 tnd a bottom face 71 which is disposed below the face 37 of the nose.

The longitudinal sides 69 extend rearwardly to a location on the underside of the working portion 13 rearward of the nose.

The presence of the blade facilitates ground penetrating and assistc in breaking up hard pan in the soil as it can a. extend relatively deeply into the hard pan.

0 0S ~Although the invention has been described in relation to several specific embodiments it should be appreciated that it is not limited thereto and that various alterations and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Indeed, it should be understood that while the invention has been devised particularly for cast agricultural shares it is not necessarily limited thereto 20 and may have application to pressed metal agricultural shares.

Claims (13)

1. An agricultural share comprising a working portion including a forward portion defining a nose ana a pair of lateral wings each having a leading ecye extending rearwardly and laterally from a region disposed rearwardly of the front of the nose, wherein the nose includes a pair of laterally opposed flanks and a pair of working edges which extend forwardly of the laterally opposed flanks and converge towards the front of the nose, said leading edges of the wings extending rearw'rdly and laterally from the flanks, and wherein a downwardly depending blade portion is provided on said working portion. 0

2. An agricultural share according to claim 1 wherein the nose has a bottom face from which the blade depends. o.9. 9*9

3. An agricultural share according to claim 2 wherein said downwardly depending blade portion defines a forward extension of the nose.

9. 4. An agricultural share according to claim 3 wherein saLd forward extension of the nose comprises a pair of longitudinal edges and a pair of leading edges which converge to a point. An agricultural share according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein said blade portion comprises a pair of longitudinal sides and a bottom face, said bottom face being disposed below the nose. 6. An agricultural share according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein said blade portion extends rearwardly to a location rearward of the nose. 7. An agricultural share according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the flanks occupy respective 11 planes parallel to the direction of movement of the agricultural share. 8. An agricultural share according to any one of the preceding claims wherein each flank has a bottom edge and wherein the bottom face of the nose is bounded by the working edges of the nose and the bottom edges of the flanks. 9. An agricultural share according to any one of the preceding claims wherein a reinforcing rib is provided on a front face of the working portion of the agricultural 0 share.

10. An agricultural share according to claim 9 wherein said reinforcing rib extends along said forward extension of the nose to said point.

11. An agricultural share according to claim 10 wherein the reinforcing rib extends from a mounting portion o. provided on the agricultural share to the point at the Sforward extension of the nose. e* a too*

12. An agricultural share according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the mounting portion includes a mounting shank and a mounting aperture, the mounting shank merging with the reinforcing rib.

13. An agricultural share according to claim 12 wherein a recess is provided in the mounting shank and the reinforcing rib to surround the mounting aperture for accommodating the head of a mounting bolt.

14. An agricultural share according to claim 13 wherein a shoulder is provided for restraining the head of the mounting bolt against rotation when received in the As ,A recess. 12 An agricultural share according to claim 14 wherein there are two such shoulders in laterally opposed relationship.

16. An agricultural share according to claim 14 or wherein the or each shoulder is generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the agricultural share.

17. An agricultural share according to claim 16 wherein the recess is elongated, the major axis being generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the agricultural share. S18. An agricultural share according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said wings have rear edges and a reinforcing rib is provided on a rear face of each wing adjacent said rear edge.

19. An agricultural share according to claim 18 wherein the reinforcing ribs on the rear face of the wings merge with a further reinforcing rib associated with the m. ounting portion.

20. An agricultural share substantially as herein S: described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this ninth day of September, 1994 CLAREWOOD PTY LTD and WUNDOWIE FOUNDRY PTY LTD Applicants WRAY ASSOCIATES Petth, Western Australia Patent Attorneys for the Applicants