AU769937B2

AU769937B2 - Ground following assembly

Info

Publication number: AU769937B2
Application number: AU44799/99A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Glen Jerome Bischof
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-08-28
Filing date: 1999-08-27
Publication date: 2004-02-12
Anticipated expiration: 2019-08-27
Also published as: AU4479999A

Description

r P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title: "GROUND FOLLOWING ASSEMBLY" 0.

0..0 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: THIS INVENTION relates to agricultural equipment and, in particular, to a ground following assembly which might mount a tyne in an operative disposition of the kind wherein a plurality of ground working devices, such as tynes, are commonly mounted to a cultivator bar or beam therefor.

The ground following assembly of the invention is particularly suitable for, but not limited to mounting the trailing of tynes of a cultivator bar, and the tynes may be may be associated, in use, with a suitable seeder, operative to deliver seed at a desired depth, or other devices as will be known in the art.

In prior Australian patent specification number 67962/96, to the present applicant, is seen a tyne mounting assembly mounted off a cultivator draw bar on a trailing arm which is pressed down by an hydraulic ram. This tyne mounting assembly improved on prior parallelogram mounts which are expensive to manufacture and do not provide good "breakout" characteristics if the tyne strikes an obstruction (eg. a large rock).

The earlier tyne assembly was limited in size due to the fact that the trailing arm connection had to be far enough behind the depth wheels that the downward force created by the ram intersecting the trailing arm would transfer back through the unit to apply downward pressure to the tyne and press wheel. The problem with this is that if the assembly is lengthened and raised to allow 10/12 2003 WED 12:32 FAX +61 7 32210597 FISHER ADAMS KELLY *4 IP AUSTRALIA 0004/007 3 greater clearance for trash flow, the pivot point where the trailing arm and the planter intersects is too high and too far behind the front depth wheels to create excess stresses on the frame.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a ground following assembly which is less affected by dimensional constraints and will still deliver desirable breakout characteristics.

Other objects and various advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.

In a broad aspect, the present invention resides in a tyn ground following assembly for mounting rrountable on a cultivator bar: or the like, including: a trailing arm, pivotally mounted at a forward end to a bracket on the cultivator bar, and extending in a trailing direction of *the cultivator bar; a walking beam, for mounting a tyne or a like type tool or implement, pivotally connected to the trailing arm at a rearward end of the trailing arm; at least a first ground following means at a forward end o' of the walking beam; at least a second ground following means at a rearward end of the walking beam; and a biassing means pivotally connected to the bracket, spaced from the pivotal connection of the trailing arm to the bracket, and pivotally connected to the walking beam at a point rearward of the pivotal connection of the walking beam to the trailing arm; the biassing means, the bracket, the trailing arm and the walking barn forming a trapezoidal linkage; and the biassing means operating to apply a downward force to the walking beam.

Preferably, the pivotal connection of the trailing arm to COMS ID No: SMBI-00529222 Received by IP Australia: Time 13:34 Date 2003-12-10 the bracket is below the cultivator bar; the pivotal connection to the biassing means to the bracket is above the cultivator bar; and the biassing means includes an hydraulic ram.

A trash-cutting disc is preferably provided with the depth wheel, at the forward end of the walking beam, ideally interposed between a pair of depth wheels spaced apart from and on each side of, the cutting wheel.

The above defined assembly enables a lengthening over what was previously possible and also a raising of the parts to gain greater trash clearance. The press wheel can be mounted on a slide as before to enable variable downward pressure. The main different is in the draw arm. It no longer applies a downward pressure. It is simply a lower linkage arm which pulls the unit. It allows for vertical movement. In association with this is the hydraulic ram or spring.

This applies the downward force which is applied downwards and rearwardly to develop a breakout force at the tyne and a downward force at the press wheel. The connection of the ram or spring to the walking beam may be varied to allow variation in forces for adaption S* 20 to different soil conditions. The positioning of the draw arm and ram or spring established a trapezoid linkage allowing the assembly to follow ground contours whilst maintaining a desired tyne breakout and wheel pressure.

Overall, the invention achieves a range of advantages. It 25 achieves excellent ground following to maintain an optimum planting depth. The geometry adopted for the walking beam can enable the cutting disc to be demounted for operation without it when it is not required, with minimal effort. The assembly allows for excellent tyne breakout without adding a special breakout mechanism such as the usual spring release or shear pins. Cost, size, and weight of the units is reduced. A sliding press wheel gives greater control over press wheel pressure without the use of the cumbersome linkages or springs of the prior art. The geometry can be reduced in width to a substantial degree over the prior art devices to achieve greater trash clearance in heavy trash conditions.

To enable the invention to be more fully understood, various preferred embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a side view of a ground following assembly in o accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and 15 FIG. 2 is a plan view of the ground following assembly of FIG. 1.

S-In FIGS 1 and 2 is seen a plurality of the ground following assemblies 10 may be provided at set spacings along a cultivator bar 11. The cultivator bar 11 may be mounted on wheels or a 3-point linkage (not shown). A head bracket or mounting means 12 may extend transversely (as shown) from or off the cultivator bar 11 and it can be interconnected by a pivot pin 13 to a draw bar or trailing arm 17. A walking beam 19 can be pivotally mounted, 6 preferably forward of its centre, on the pivot 18 at the other end of the trailing arm 17. The forward portion 20 of the walking beam 19 is ideally angled downwardly to raise the walking beam 19 for better trash flow and it can have an axle 21 on which may be rotatably journalled a trash-cutting disc 22 between a pair of depth wheels 23,35 on each side. A pair of soil pressing wheels 25, 26 are ideally rotatably journalled on axles on the rearward portion 29 of the walking beam 19. A tyne 30, to which might be mounted a seeding boot (not shown), can be mounted generally intermediate the length of the walking beam 19. A double acting hydraulic ram 32 is preferably hingedly mounted on bracket 12 and its piston rod 34 can be connected to a selected one of the contact points 38 on the walking beam 19. The dual press wheels 25,26 can be replaced with a single press wheel as will be clear to those skilled in the art. The 15 tyne 30 may be selectively mounted at a chosen depth by means of a variable attachment wound by a handle 36 as is also known in the S"art. The tyne 30 is in a sliding bracket at 16 to enable its vertical adjustment relative to the walking beam 19. The press wheels 25,26 might be slidably mounted to the rearward end 29 of the walking beam 19 via a bolted sleeve 37 from which the press wheels depend.

It will be readily apparent to the skilled addressee that the trash-cutting disc 22 and a seeding boot might be omitted for certain operations if desired, and these are ideally adapted to be removably mounted in the assembly. It will be clear to those in the art that the various features which are described in greater detail in the earlier patent specification identified herein might be built into the assembly where desired and applicable.

e S e

Claims

1. A ground following assembly for mounting on a cultivator bar or the like, including: a trailing arm, pivotally mounted at a forward end to a bracket on the cultivator bar extending in a trailing direction of the cultivator bar; a walking beam, for mounting a tyne or a like type tool or implement, pivotally connected to the trailing arm at a rearward end of the trailing arm; at least a first ground following means at a forward end 00o of the walking beam; 0 at least a second ground following means at a rearward 15 end of the walking beam; and a biassing means pivotally connected to the bracket, spaced from the pivotal connection of the trailing arm to the bracket, and pivotally connected to the walking beam at a point rearward of the "pivotal connection of the walking beam to the trailing arm; 20 the biassing means, the bracket, the trailing arm and the walking bam forming a trapezoidal linkage; and :oo: the biassing means operating to apply a downward force 0000 to the walking beam.

2. A ground following assembly as claimed in Claim 1, wherein: the pivotal connection of the trailing arm to the bracket is below the cultivator bar; the pivotal connection to the biassing means to the bracket is above the cultivator bar; and the biassing means includes an hydraulic ram.

3. A ground following assembly as claimed in Claim 1 or COMS ID No: SMBI-00529222 Received by IP Australia: Time 13:34 Date 2003-12-10 3. A ground following assembly as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein: the first ground following means includes a trash-cutting disc interposed between a pair of depth wheels, spaced apart from and on each side of, the trash cutting disc, the respective disc and wheels being on a common axle supported at the forward end of the walking beam.

4. A ground following assembly as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3 wherein: the walking beam is elongate and extends rearwardly over the second ground following means, mounted to a support post attached adjustably to the walking beam to allow height setting; and the first ground following means is mounted on an arm angled downwardly off the walking beam.

5. A ground following assembly as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 4 wherein: the second ground following means includes at least one 0* press wheel.

6. A ground following assembly as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5 wherein: either or both of the trailing arm and the biassing means are attached to the walking beam at selectively adjustable positions.

7. A ground following assembly as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 6 wherein: 25 the biassing means applies an adjustable downward force to develop a desired breakout force at the tyne and downward force at the press wheel.

8. A ground following assembly as claimed in Claim 7 wherein the pivotal connection of the biassing means to the walking beam is variable to allow variation in downward force to suit different soil conditions.

9. A ground following assembly substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this second day of December 2003. GLENN JEROME BISCHOF By his Patent Attorneys FISHER ADAMS KELLY **e *oo *go oooo*