CA1172500A - Soil cultivating machine - Google Patents
Soil cultivating machineInfo
- Publication number
- CA1172500A CA1172500A CA000394386A CA394386A CA1172500A CA 1172500 A CA1172500 A CA 1172500A CA 000394386 A CA000394386 A CA 000394386A CA 394386 A CA394386 A CA 394386A CA 1172500 A CA1172500 A CA 1172500A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- frame
- tines
- cultivator
- harrow
- transverse
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
- A01B—SOIL WORKING IN AGRICULTURE OR FORESTRY; PARTS, DETAILS, OR ACCESSORIES OF AGRICULTURAL MACHINES OR IMPLEMENTS, IN GENERAL
- A01B49/00—Combined machines
- A01B49/02—Combined machines with two or more soil-working tools of different kind
- A01B49/027—Combined machines with two or more soil-working tools of different kind with a rotating, soil working support element, e.g. a roller
Landscapes
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Soil Sciences (AREA)
- Environmental Sciences (AREA)
- Soil Working Implements (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE:
An agricultural machine and more specifically a cultivator intended to till the soil for the incorporation of chemical solutions and to prepare it for sowing. This cultivator has a double-wheel-mounted frame capable of being hitched to a tractor, at least one transverse row of tines at the front or drawing end and at least one additional transverse row of the tines at the rear. A single or double transverse cylindrical rolling harrow, spring-pressed downwardly and oscillating vertically, is provided behind the rear tines, the harrow having a churning action which breaks up the lumps left after the soil has been loosened by the tines. A further transverse rolling harrow is also provided right in between the front and rear rows of tines, generally at the center of the frame. This additional harrow is, like the rear one, pressed downwardly by springs and is also able to oscillate vertically. To ensure positive control of the depth into which the tines and harrows may be allowed to work, a mechanical stop may be provided for stopping the fall of the frame and its appended tilling equipment past a predetermined level with respect to the whells, thereby ensuring that the cultivation depth is kept constant regardless of any leak that may develop in the hydraulic system of the power jacks.
An agricultural machine and more specifically a cultivator intended to till the soil for the incorporation of chemical solutions and to prepare it for sowing. This cultivator has a double-wheel-mounted frame capable of being hitched to a tractor, at least one transverse row of tines at the front or drawing end and at least one additional transverse row of the tines at the rear. A single or double transverse cylindrical rolling harrow, spring-pressed downwardly and oscillating vertically, is provided behind the rear tines, the harrow having a churning action which breaks up the lumps left after the soil has been loosened by the tines. A further transverse rolling harrow is also provided right in between the front and rear rows of tines, generally at the center of the frame. This additional harrow is, like the rear one, pressed downwardly by springs and is also able to oscillate vertically. To ensure positive control of the depth into which the tines and harrows may be allowed to work, a mechanical stop may be provided for stopping the fall of the frame and its appended tilling equipment past a predetermined level with respect to the whells, thereby ensuring that the cultivation depth is kept constant regardless of any leak that may develop in the hydraulic system of the power jacks.
Description
1 ~72~00 The present invention relates to an agricultural machine and more specifically to a cultivator intended to till the soil for the incorporation of chemical solutions and to prepare it for sowing.
The cultivator of the invention is of the type generally having a double-wheel-mounted frame capable of being hitched to a tractor and having at least one transverse row of tines at the front or drawinq end and at least one additional transverse row of the tines at the rear. A single or double transverse cylindrical rolling harrow, spring-pressed downwardly and oscillating vertically, is provided behind the rear tines, the harrow or harrows having a churning action which hreaks up the lumps left after the soil has been loosened by the tines.
While the above cultivator has been found satisfactory, it is usually necessary that a second pass be made over the soil if adequate tillage is to be obtained because the first pass does not sufficiently loosen and churn the soil and general.ly adequately prepare it for sowing in a single pass. It will easily be appreciated that such a second pass is quite time-consuming and therefore expensive in manpower, let alone the cost of the tractor operation, particularly the rising price of the fuel energizing the tractor motor.
A major and basic object of my invention is therefore to improve the above cultivator in such a way as to avoid the necessity of the aforementioned second pass. I have indeed found that this object can surprisingly:be obtained simply by adding a further transverse rolling harrow right in between the front and rear rows of tines, generally at the center of the frame, this additional harrow being, like the rear one, - 1 - , I t 7250~) pressed downwardly by springs or other resilient means and being also able to oscillate vertically. The addition of another rolling harrow thus gives two successive arrangements of at l.cast one row of -ti.ncs and of one rolling harrow and I have found that the resulting tillage gives an incorporation of chemical products in the soil which is more accurate, uniform and homogenous, further providing a perfect seed bed because the action of the rolling harrows, one between the rows of tines and the other or others rearwardly of the rear tines, finally break the soil lumps, pack up and close up the soil at the surface whereby to retain moisture, preventing formation of surface crust and erosion. It seems therefore that the addition of this rolling harrow between the front and rear tines is responsible for providing such a thorough tillage of the soil, rendering the latter ready to receive seeds without a second pass being necessary.
Thus, in accordance with the broad concept of the invention, there is provided and claimed herein a cultivator of the type including: a frame and means mounting the frame on a single or dual pair of wheels rotatable about an axis extending transversely of the frame with respect to the direction of displacement of the cultivator, the frame having a drawing end and a rear end; at least one transverse row of tines forwardly of the wheel axis and at least one other transverse row of tines rearwardly thereof; means mounting the tines on the frame; at least one transverse cylindrical rolling harrow;
means mounting the rolling harrow on the frame at the rear end thereof, behind the rear one of the rows of tines, for oscillation of the rear harrow about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the rear harrow, and mea.ns resiliently biasing the rear harrow downwardly. The cultivator of my invention is characterized by the combination therewith comprising: at least one additional transverse cylindrical rolling harrow; means mounting the additional harrow on the frame, between the forward and rearward rows of tines, for vertical oscillation about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the additional harrow, and means reslliently biasing the additional harrow downwardly.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, two rows of tines are provided at the front and two rows at the rear with the rolling harrow being provided in between the front and rear tines. I have observed that the trash (weeds and others) accumulating in the front rows of tines is grasped by the additional rolling harrow. The action of the latter is to tear, shred and rip the trash into smaller and smaller parts, the process being continued as the trash passes thereafter between the rear rows of tines and the rear rolling harrow. The trash which is thus left on the surface aids in minimizing wind erosion damage.
~ nother disadvan-tage which I find in the present day cultivators is that they are not provided with adequate and precise cultivation depth control, if at all. This may be one of the reasons for needing a second tillage pass.
Now, proper cultivation requires that tillage be achieved only to the seed planting depth so as to allow the seedsto be located adjacent the level of the soil where the moisture remains undisturbed. This location of the seeds stimulates quicker germination, higher plant population and healthier plants more capable of establishing a sound root structure even under dry or drought conditions. Small grains experiencing severe drought conditions have been observed to stay green for up to seven days longer when they are planted in a seed bed in the above manner, that is close to the moist undisturbed soil. The yield at the end of the season has been ! 1 7 2 50 0 known to be 50% higher, when it has been possible to seed in this manner. It will be appreciated that this requires a positive control of the depth into which the tines and rolling harrows may be al~.owecl lo work.
To achieve the above cultivation control, known cultivators of the above type have a frame which is mounted on the wheels by suspensions allowing, by means of extendable hydraulic power jacks, the frame and its equipment to be pressed down against the soil. In operation, the pressure applied by the power jacks against the wheels is made to depend on the depth of cultivation desired. I have noted however that the present cultivators do not provide any safe ways of ensuring proper control over the hydraulic pressure of the jacks so that if there is a pressure fluid leak in the hydraulic system, the frame and its equipment drop thereby increasing the depth of cultivation, particularly of tines.
I have found a very positive way of avoiding the above drawback by providing a mechanical means of stopping the fall of the frame and its appended tilling equipment past a predetermined level with respect to the wheels thereby ensuring that the cultivation clepth ls kept constant regardless of any leak that may develop in the hydraulic system of the power jacks.
More specifically, and in accordance with a preferred form of the invention claimed herein, the cultivator frame is made up of a pair of parallel cross-members disposed on either side of the axis of the wheels-and has longitudinal members that join the cross-members, the means that:mount the frame on the wheels comprising, along either side of the frame: a wheel leg which is pivotally mounted at one end on the frame for oscillation beneath the frame and in a vertical plane, and axle means at the other end on which one of the wheels is 1 1~2500 mounted for free rotation about its axis; a pair of braces interconnected at o~e end and connected at the other end respectively to one of the cross-members so as to form a vertical triangular structure, and a power jack interconnecting one of the braces and the wheel leg,-jack which is suitable to cause oscillation of the leg and thus relative displacement of the frame and wheel. According to this preferred embodiment and in order to ensure proper control of the cultivatlon depth, there is provided additionally an upwardly standing telescoping asscmbly which compriscs: a hollow tubular member with a rod freely slidable therein; the hollow member having, at one end, a series of holes therethrough which are spaced in pairs therealong and a lock pin removably extending through a selected one of the pairs of holes to prevent the rod from sliding in the member, upwardly past the lock pin. The upper end of the hollow mernber is connected at the apex of the triangular structure while the lower end of the rod is con-nected to the wheel Leg away from its pivot end. In this manner, upon release of pressure in the power jack and conse-quent lowering of the frame, the rod rises in the hollow member until it butts against the lock pin andprevents further down-ward movement of the frame. A positive way of controlling the deptll of tillage is thus obtained.
Usefully and advantageously, the telescoping assembly of each wheel may comprise additional pairs of safety holes through the hollow member, safety holes that are disposed at a distance from the first-mentioned pairs of holes, away from the apex. These additional safety holes are useful to prevent falling of the frame, below a predetermined point, when the said frame is raised relative to the wheels, for displacement of the cultivator on roads. It is thus to be understood that the tines and rolling harrows are, when the frame is at the ~ 1 725~0 predetermined point above-mentioned, in inactive raised position.
I have also noted that, in cultivators of the above-lcnown typc, as the cultivator is being pulled by thc tractor, the forward tines tend to dig into the ground more forcefully than the following ones so that the frame tilts forwardly so that the rear tines and harrows till the soil at increasingly shallower depth. Again, this situation may be one of the reasons why a second tillage pass is necessary. It is therefore in accordance with a preferred feature of my invention to provide a cultivator having a system that keeps the frame appreciably level from front to rear so as to retain a depth of cultivation which may be more constant from front to rear.
More specifically, a preferred form of the cultivator of my invention further includes a frame levelling system which comprises- a draw bar arrangement for connection, at one end, to a tractor hitch device and pivotally connected, at the other end, to -the drawing end of the frame; a tetrahedron structure rising above the draw bar arrangement and the frame, the structure having a front rod connected at one end to the one end of the draw bar arrangement, a pair of rear rods connected at one of their ends to points on the frame rear end that are transversely spaced apart, and means connecting the other ends of the fron-t and rear rods together to form the apex of the tetrahedron, and jack means connected between the apex of the tetrahedron and the forward end of the frame whereby dis-placement of the apex with respect to the frame by the jack means causes relevant displacement of the rear end of the frame with respect to the frame drawing end.
Conveniently also, and in accordance with yet another form of the invention, there is additionally provided a trans-verse soil levelling blade attached to the drawing end of the ~ 17250V
frame, the attachment including resilient means allowing the blade ground-contacting ed~e to tilt backward so as to be able to clear obstacles. The attachment also includes a hydraulic or mcchanical power jack which lowers and raises the blade to active and inactive positions. This blade of course levels the ground and fills in holes in it. This permits a saving in herbicide and fertilizer solutions.
With the above levelling blade arrangement, the system for spraying chemical solutions may advantageously be provided immediately Eorwardly of the forward row of tines and behind the levelling blade.
In order to provide powerful loosening action of the top soil, prior to and after the center rolling harrow, the cultivator of the invention preferably uses vibrating tines of the S-shaped type as will hereinafter be more fully described.
Their u~e, with the rolling harrows, ensures thorough incorpora-tion of the chemical solutions in the soil. The vibrating S-shaped tines mix the solution laterally in the soil whi]e the rolling harrows tend to blend them vertically.
A better understanding of the invention will now be had by the following description of a preferred embodiment having reference to the appended drawings wherein:
Figure 1 is a top plan view of the hereinafter described embodiment;
Figure 2 is an elevation view, partly broken away, intended particularly to illustrate both the central harrow feature and the rear to front levelling system;
Figure 3 is a second elevation view more parti-cularly intended to illustrate the telescoping assembly in-tended to control the depth of cultivation;
F`igure 4 is a partial view, in perspective and broken away, intended to i]lustrate both the cultivation depth t t72500 control telescoping assembly and the wheel mounting assembly;
Figure 5 is a perspective view, broken away, of an S~shaped tine and part of the frame to which it is mounted;
Figures 6 and 7 are, respectivel~, partial plan and side elevation views of the levelling blade arrangement.
Referring to the drawinc~s, where the like reference numerals refer to the same elements, there is shown a culti-vator made according to the teachings of the present invention which incorporates a frame l mounted on a sing~e pair of wheels 3, each mounted for rotation about its own axis extending across the frame 1, in a manner to be hereinafter more fully described. By transverse, in this specification, is to be meant of course a direction perpendicular to the direction of displacement of the cultivator.
~asical]y, the frame l is macle up of two transverse members 5 interconnected by two longitudinal members 7 and two diagonal members 9. One transverse member 5 is located at the drawing end of the frame, that is the end of the frame used for pulling the cultivator, and the other transverse member 5 is at the rear end of the frame.
Two transverse rows of tines 11 are provided at the drawing end of the frame l while two additional rows of tines 11 are provicled at the rear cnd, heing connected thereto in a manner fully to be described hereinafter. Suffice it to say, for the moment, that two rows are provided on either side of the axes of the wheels 3.
A pair of -transverse cylindrical freely-oscillating harrows 13 are provided behind the rear tines 11 for oscilla-tion about an axis which is parallel to the longitudinal axes of the harrows so that the latter are able to pivot in a vertical plane. In the case of a larger cultivator, additional harrows, may be provided end-to-end, the two pairs being ' 1 72500 inclependent of one another. Ilowcver, since their construction is the same, reference will be made hereinafter to a single pair.
The harrows 13 and their mounting means on the frame 1 are well ]cnown and will be described briefly.
Each harrow 13 is made up of a series of spiral b].ades 21 secured a]onCJ tlleir lowcr edges on the periphery of a series of vertical cheek plates 23, of which only the end ones are shown, spaced along and onto a longitudinal axle (not shown) of which the ends project beyond the end cheek pla-tes 23. This assembly forms the previously mentioned rolling harrow 13. Two such harrows are mounted at the downward ends of the two sides of angular terminal supports 25 which are interconnected, at the apex thereof, by a connecti.ng bar 27 which is secured, centrally thereof, to one end of an arm 29 of which the other end is pivoted, as at 31, inside a box housing 33. It will be noted that -the pivot 31 is located inside and upwardly of the box llousi.ncJ 33 so that the l.owcr frontal edge 35 of the housing 33 may serve as a stop for the oscillating arm 29 to prevent downward fall of the harrows 13 past a predetermined level.
The aforementioned spring assembly intended to press the harrows 13 down agains-t the soil is best illustrated in Figure 1 where it consists of a pluralityof springs connected, at one end, to wings 37 laterally projecting from the box housing 33 and connected, at the other end, to one end of chains or any other means of attachment whose other ends are removably secured to the rear end of the oscillating arm 29. Thus, the strength of the spring assemblie 15 may be varied by having different links of the said chains secured to the rear end of the oscillating arm 29, the removable mountiny of the various links of the chains being achieved in any known manner.
g _ -! 1 7 2 5 0 0 The additional central rol,lipg haxrow assembly which, as mentioned above, cons-titutes the basic co~cept of the present invention, is shown like the rear harrow 13 as made up of two harrow sections 17, 17' cxtendin~ end-to-end, transversely of the frame 1. The moun.ting of the two harrow sections 17, 17' on the frame 1 being ide~tical, one only need be described here and it will be noted that the mounting is, in fact, essentially the same as that for the rear harrows 13.
Likewise, wherein each central,harrow assembly is shown to include only one rolling harrow 17, it may be of the double type like the rear harrow assembly 13.
The central transverse cylindrical rolling harrow 17 is exactly of the same type as one rear harrow 13, that is made up of a plurality of longitudinally spirally wound blades 21 connected at their ends to and around cheek plates 23 and ' to the periphery of a certain number of cheek plates (not shown) between the cheek plates 23. The cheek plates 23 as well as the intermediate ~ cheeK plates are mounted on an axle rotatably journalled to the lower ends of an inverted U-shaped harrow support 39. The latter is mounted on the frame 1 by means of three arms 43, one at either end of the support 41 and one at its center. One end of each arm 43 is secured to the top of the harrow support 39 while -the other end is received within a hollow square bar 45 where it is pivotally mounted at 47. Bars 45 themselves are secured to the frame forward trans-verse member 5, transversely thereof. A strength adjustable spring and chain assembly 19, si.milar to spring and chain assembly 15,biases the central harrow 17 against the ground.
The downward movement produced by the spring and chain assembly 19 is stopped when the hollow bars 45 butt against the lower edges of the hollow bars 45.
Thus, and in accordance with the invention, the ~ 1 72500 central rolling harrows are mounted on tne frame between the forward and rearward rows of tines 11 for vertical oscillation about an axis 47 which is parallel to the longitudinal axis of these additional harrows 17, the latter being biased downwardly by the spring assemblies 19 until, as aforesaid, the oscillating arms 43 are stopped in their downward movement when they hit the lower edge of their respective hollow bar 45.
Each of the two or more wheels 3 of the cultivator is mounted on the frame 1 by a suspens.on which is lllustrated in Figures 3 and 4.
This assembly comprises a wheel leg 49 pivotally mounted, at one end, to a square bar 51 itself fixed beneath the transverse member 5 of the frame 1. Tn the installation of Figure 4, one end of the wheel leg 49 branches out into a fork having a transverse bearing sleeve 53 which is aligned with a similar bearing sleeve 55 of thesquare bar 51, secured to and beneath the transverse member 5 of the frame 1. A pivot pin 57 is then slid through the sleeves 55, 53 to allow vertical oscillation of the wheel leg 49.
A stub axle 59 extends laterally of and at the other end of the wheel leg 49, serving as a shaft for the wheel 3 while a nut 61, screwed onto a threaded end of the stub axle 59, prevents the wheel from coming off, the said wheel being then freely rotatable on the stub axle 59.
Oscillation in a vertical plane of the wheel leg 49 and the wheel 3 is obtained by means of a hydraulic or pneumatic power jack of which the cylinder 65 is connected at the upper end to a triangular assembly, to be described hereinbelow, and oE which the lower end of the jack rod 67 is pivotally con-nected -to the weel leg 49 through a transverse tube 69, fixed thereto, inserted between two spaced ears 71 ups-tanding from the leg 49 and pierced wi-th holes aligned with the bore of the -! 1 7 2 50 0 tube 69, a pin 73, slidable through the holes of the ears 71 and the bore of the tube 69 constitues the shaft about which the power jack 65, 67 may pivot relative to the wheel leg 49.
The triangulated assembly, a~orementioned, is made up of a pair of braces fixed, at their lower ends to respectively the forward and rearward transverse members 5 of the frame 1 and interconnected at their upper ends.
One of the braces is constituted by a pair of spaced members75 each having at their lower end a horizontally extending ~-shaped bolt 77 straddling the square bar forward transverse member 5 of the frame 1 and of which the threaded ends project forwardly of member 5 to receive a fastening bar 79. Nuts, not shown, are thereafter screwed onto the threaded ends of the U-bolt 77 to hold the relevant brace member 75 upwardly. The other brace 81 of the triangular structure is fixedly secured, at the lower end, to the rearward transverse member 5 by a U-shaped bolt assembly similar to that described with respect to the brace members 75. The other end of the brace 81 branches out into a fork of which the prongs 83 receive, in between, the upper end of a hollow member 85 of the aforementioned telescoping assembly. As shown, the upper ends of the brace members 75, the upper ends of the prongs 83 and the upper end of the hollow member 85 are pivotally inter-connected by a bolt and nut assembly 87, 89.
A rod 91 is inserted into the hollow member 85 of the telescoping assembly for free sliding motion therein, having its lower end connected to the wheel leg 49 in the same manner as the lower end of the jack rod 67 so that no further des-cription need be given. Suffice it to say that the lower end of the rod 91 is pivotally mounted at the wheel end of the wheel leg 49.
t 1 72500 The upper end oE the hollow member 85 is provided with a series of spaced through ho~es 93, cooperating in pairs so that a lock pin 95 may be inserted into a selected one of the pairs, for a purpose to be determined hereinafter. For the moment, it will be noted that the pairs of holes extend through the two sets of opposing faces of the square member 85 and may for instance be spaced one inch apart~ In staggering the holes of one set of opposi~g -Eaces with respect to the holes of the other set of opposing faces, it is thus possible to place the lock pin 95 selectively at half inch intervals.
An additional pair of holes 97 is provided further down the hollow member 85.
Finally, the upper end of the cylinder 65 of the power jack is connected to and between the two brace members 75 by means of an assembly similar to that connecting the end of the jack rod 67 to the wheel leg 49, i.e., by means of a transverse tube bearing g9 and a bolt and nut assembly 101, 103.
The operation of the wheel mounting assembly just described is as follGws.
During transportation on roads or the like when the tilling implements beneath the frame 1 are not in use, the power jack 65 is placed under pressure thereby lifting the frame 1 with respect to the wheels 3 sufficiently so that the tilling implements are safely above the ground. At that moment, the lock pin 95 is inserted through the holes 97 of the telescoping assembly. During transportation, should there be a leak of hydraulic fluid in the system feeding the power jack, the latter would then closeand the rod 91 would slide upwardly into the hollow member 85 until it would be stopped by the safe-ty pin 95 thus preventing any further falling of the frame.
The location of the holes 97 is of course determined to ensure that the tilling implements would, under this condition, be ! 1 72500 safely above ground so as to avoid damage thereto~
Whenever the cultivator is to be used, the lock pin 95 is withdrawn from the holes 97 and located into a suitable pair oE holes 93 corres~)onclill(3 to tlle depth of cultivatlon required. Indeed, it will be understood that if again too much ~rcssu~c is lct oFf thc powcr jack 65, fi7, the ramc 1 and its ti.l.lingimi~lclncll~s would tllen drop to an uncontrollable depth would it not for the lock pin 95 which, as aforesaid, is adjusted to allow only a predetermined drop of the frame and tilling implements corresponding to the desired cultivation depth.
As mentioned previously, a blade 105 is preferably.
provided, forwardly and at a substantial distance from the forward row of tines 11. As said, this blade allows levelling of the soil and filling of holes thereby resulting in a saving of fertilizer, herbicide or other chemical composition.
The blade attachment to the frame 1 is best illustra-ted in Figures 1, 3, 6 and 7. With reference to Figures 1 and 6, the attachment will be seen to be made up of a support com-prising a transverse ~ar 107 having, fixed near the ends thereof, a pair of longitudinal bars 109 of which the ends opposite bar 107 are pivotally mounted, in any known manner, on thc Eorward -transvcrsc member 5 of the frame 1. The support further includes pairs of mounting metal straps 111, 111', solid with bars 107, 109 and projecting forwardly of transverse bar 107. Projecting metal straps 111, 111' are disposed on either side of the flanges of channelshaped brackets 113 of which the back of the web thereof is welded or otherwise secured to the upstanding blade 105. Bolt-and-nut assemblies 115 pivotally mount the said support and the blade 105 together.
With reference to Figure 7, it will be seen that compression springs 117, of which the ends are respectively ! 172~00 lodged into bucks-like housings 119, 119' at the bottom of the L-shaped blade 105 and along the longitudinal bars 109, serve to hold the blade 105 upright but allow it to tilt rear-wardly whenever the blade meets an obstacle which would other-wise damage at least the lower edge of the blade.
The blade 105 and its frame attachment above-described can be lifted off the ground into aninact~ive position by means of a hydraulic or mechanical power jack 119 whose rod end is pivotally connected in any known manner to the transverse bar ]07, at the center thereof, and likewise pivotally connected at the other end to the upper end of a vertically inclined solid post 121 fixedly secured, at the base, to the forward transverse member 5 of the frame 1.
The convenient location of the levelling blade 105, at an appreciable dis-tance from the drawing end of the frame 1, makes it possible to efficiently mount the chemical composition spraying assembly with the spraying nozzles 123 thereof located immediately forwardly of the forwardmost row of tines 11.
I have found that with such an arrangement, the chemical composition not only appropriately wet the soil surface but is immediately incorporated into the soil by the powerful and thorough loosenlng thereo~ under the vibrating action of the first tines 11 immediately behind the nozzles 123.
The composition piping system leading to the nozzles 123 is of course of conventional design and need not be des-cribed any further here nor is it necessary to give any detailed description of the piping or tubing sys-tem feeding the power jacks 65 and 119.
It has been said before that, in known cultivators, the forward tines 11 tend to dig into the ground further than the rearward ones so that the efficiency of tillage is not quite satisfactory. This drawback is avoided, with the ! 1725~0 cultivator of the present inventiol-, by the following system suitable to level the frame 1, from the rear end to the drawing end thereof, so as to keep it relatively in parallel relation-ship with the soil being cultivated. The frame levelling system is best illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 and is described as follows.
It comprises a drawbar arrangement made up of a pair of pull rods 125 connected together at one end to a hitch member 127 of Icnown type which, itself, is of course to be attached to the hitch device of the tractor. The other ends of the pu]l rods 125 are connected at the other end, in any known manner, to the forward transverse member 5 of the frame 1 for pivotal movement about a horizontal transverse axis 126.
Thus, the drawbar arrangement is allowed to oscillate verti-cally about the said axis 126. The frame levelling system further provides for a te-trahedron structure rising above the drawbar arrangement aforesaid and the frame 1, this tetrahedron structure having a front rod 129 connected at one end to the hitch member 127 and having a pair of rear rods 131 connected at one of their ends to points 133, 133' on the rear end of the frame 1 and on either side thereof, the upper ends of the front and rear ends 129, 131 are pivotally connected together, in any known manner, to Eorm the apex 135 of the tetrahedron structure. It should be added that the lower ends of the rods 129, 133, 133' are pivotally connected, respectively to the hitch member 127 and to the frame 1, for movement about parallel horizontal axes. Finally and as best shown in Figure 2, this frame levelling assembly further comprises a ratchet jack 137 of known type connected between the apex 135 of the tetrahedron and the forward end transverse member 5 of the frame 1, rearwardly of the pivot axis 126 of the pull rods 125, whereby displacement of the apex 135 with respect to the frame 1 ! 1 72500 by the ratchet jack 137 causes relevant displacement of the rear end of the frame with respect to the drawing end thereof. More specifically, should there be a tendency for the Eorward tines 1] to dig deeper into -the ground than the rearward tines 11, then the ratchet jack 137 may be operated to draw the apex 135 of the tetrahedron structure closer to the frame 1 thereby applying a downward force at the rear end of tlle frame 1, through the rear rods 131 to compensate for the increase digging pressure of the forward tines 11.
The ratcllet jack 137 itself, as is known, is mainly made up of a central tube having a bore threaded in reverse direction at their ends into which are inserted two likewise threaded rods which are respectively connected to the apex 35 and to the front transverse member 5. Thus, rotation of the central tube by a ratchet lever arrangement causes withdrawal or insertion of the end rods, causing rising or lowering of the apex 135 with respect to the frame 1.
~ s to the preferred tines to be used with the culti-vator of my invention, one is shown in detail in Figure 5 to 20 WlliCll reference is now made. ~s aforedescribed, there are Eour rows oE such tines being used and, with the particular form hereinafter described, a multi-directional powerful vibrating action is obtained which shatters the soil by breaking down large clods and shaking weed roots loose, leaving them on the surface of the soil. The alternating rolling harrows 13 complement the tine process by levelling and firming the soil, pulverizing the remaining large clods and stripping all remaining soil of weed roots with improved efficiency. The tillage can thus be completed in just one pass, the top layer of soil being tossed into the air by the rolling harrows and set-tling over the fine particles which nestle next to the moist undisturbed earth. The small clods, because they are thrown ' ~ 72500 higher and further as they leave the rolling harrows, end upon the soil surface, giving the seed bed a remarkable resistance to wind erosion.
The tines illustrated in the present embodiment is, as shown in Figure 5, a vertically extending flat spring blade havlng the genera] conEiguration of an S with the upper end 139 inwardly curved to nest within the upper arc of the S.
The lower end of the spring blade has, secured thereto in any known manner, a share 141 which goes into the soil.
Each tine 11 is mounted at the end of a short transverse bar 143 which, itself, is secured at the middle on a support bar 145 secured at the center, transversely, to a transverse member 5 of the frame 1. There is provided, at the very end of such a bar 143, an angle plate 147 secured thereto with the two flanges lying over two adjacent faces of the square bar 143, the two flanges further extending past the remaining two faces of the square bar 143. The downwardly projecting flange has a rectangular slot 149 while the horizontal flange has a hole 151, both through the extensions of the flanges. To mount a tine 1] to such a rod 143, the upper end 139 of the tine is slid -through the slot 149 until a holc 153 at the end ~hereof vertically aligns with the hole 151 of tile horizontal Elange of the angle member 147. There-after, the upper end 139 of the tine is secured to the rod 143 by means of a nut-and-bolt assembly 155, 157.
In the aforedescribed manner, the tines are solely secured at their upper end and completely free thereafter to oscillate both vertically and laterally thereby providing a strong vibrating action capable of efficiently loosening the soil.
! 1 72~00 In the above description, reference has only be made to a cultivator having a single frame mounted on a single pair of wheels. It should be noted however that the.invention can also be applied to cultivators having aplurality of frames connected to each other generally in a transverse line, and to culti.vators having one or more frames mounted on tandem wheels.
Reference has also be made to a cultivator having one single row of harrows under the mi.ddle of its frame and two rows of harrows at the rear thereof. It should be noted however that in accordance with the invention, other kinds of cultivators having a different number of harrows or rows of harrows in the middle or at the rear of the frame could also be provided, with a variable number of arms of holding the harrows.
The cultivator of the invention is of the type generally having a double-wheel-mounted frame capable of being hitched to a tractor and having at least one transverse row of tines at the front or drawinq end and at least one additional transverse row of the tines at the rear. A single or double transverse cylindrical rolling harrow, spring-pressed downwardly and oscillating vertically, is provided behind the rear tines, the harrow or harrows having a churning action which hreaks up the lumps left after the soil has been loosened by the tines.
While the above cultivator has been found satisfactory, it is usually necessary that a second pass be made over the soil if adequate tillage is to be obtained because the first pass does not sufficiently loosen and churn the soil and general.ly adequately prepare it for sowing in a single pass. It will easily be appreciated that such a second pass is quite time-consuming and therefore expensive in manpower, let alone the cost of the tractor operation, particularly the rising price of the fuel energizing the tractor motor.
A major and basic object of my invention is therefore to improve the above cultivator in such a way as to avoid the necessity of the aforementioned second pass. I have indeed found that this object can surprisingly:be obtained simply by adding a further transverse rolling harrow right in between the front and rear rows of tines, generally at the center of the frame, this additional harrow being, like the rear one, - 1 - , I t 7250~) pressed downwardly by springs or other resilient means and being also able to oscillate vertically. The addition of another rolling harrow thus gives two successive arrangements of at l.cast one row of -ti.ncs and of one rolling harrow and I have found that the resulting tillage gives an incorporation of chemical products in the soil which is more accurate, uniform and homogenous, further providing a perfect seed bed because the action of the rolling harrows, one between the rows of tines and the other or others rearwardly of the rear tines, finally break the soil lumps, pack up and close up the soil at the surface whereby to retain moisture, preventing formation of surface crust and erosion. It seems therefore that the addition of this rolling harrow between the front and rear tines is responsible for providing such a thorough tillage of the soil, rendering the latter ready to receive seeds without a second pass being necessary.
Thus, in accordance with the broad concept of the invention, there is provided and claimed herein a cultivator of the type including: a frame and means mounting the frame on a single or dual pair of wheels rotatable about an axis extending transversely of the frame with respect to the direction of displacement of the cultivator, the frame having a drawing end and a rear end; at least one transverse row of tines forwardly of the wheel axis and at least one other transverse row of tines rearwardly thereof; means mounting the tines on the frame; at least one transverse cylindrical rolling harrow;
means mounting the rolling harrow on the frame at the rear end thereof, behind the rear one of the rows of tines, for oscillation of the rear harrow about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the rear harrow, and mea.ns resiliently biasing the rear harrow downwardly. The cultivator of my invention is characterized by the combination therewith comprising: at least one additional transverse cylindrical rolling harrow; means mounting the additional harrow on the frame, between the forward and rearward rows of tines, for vertical oscillation about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the additional harrow, and means reslliently biasing the additional harrow downwardly.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, two rows of tines are provided at the front and two rows at the rear with the rolling harrow being provided in between the front and rear tines. I have observed that the trash (weeds and others) accumulating in the front rows of tines is grasped by the additional rolling harrow. The action of the latter is to tear, shred and rip the trash into smaller and smaller parts, the process being continued as the trash passes thereafter between the rear rows of tines and the rear rolling harrow. The trash which is thus left on the surface aids in minimizing wind erosion damage.
~ nother disadvan-tage which I find in the present day cultivators is that they are not provided with adequate and precise cultivation depth control, if at all. This may be one of the reasons for needing a second tillage pass.
Now, proper cultivation requires that tillage be achieved only to the seed planting depth so as to allow the seedsto be located adjacent the level of the soil where the moisture remains undisturbed. This location of the seeds stimulates quicker germination, higher plant population and healthier plants more capable of establishing a sound root structure even under dry or drought conditions. Small grains experiencing severe drought conditions have been observed to stay green for up to seven days longer when they are planted in a seed bed in the above manner, that is close to the moist undisturbed soil. The yield at the end of the season has been ! 1 7 2 50 0 known to be 50% higher, when it has been possible to seed in this manner. It will be appreciated that this requires a positive control of the depth into which the tines and rolling harrows may be al~.owecl lo work.
To achieve the above cultivation control, known cultivators of the above type have a frame which is mounted on the wheels by suspensions allowing, by means of extendable hydraulic power jacks, the frame and its equipment to be pressed down against the soil. In operation, the pressure applied by the power jacks against the wheels is made to depend on the depth of cultivation desired. I have noted however that the present cultivators do not provide any safe ways of ensuring proper control over the hydraulic pressure of the jacks so that if there is a pressure fluid leak in the hydraulic system, the frame and its equipment drop thereby increasing the depth of cultivation, particularly of tines.
I have found a very positive way of avoiding the above drawback by providing a mechanical means of stopping the fall of the frame and its appended tilling equipment past a predetermined level with respect to the wheels thereby ensuring that the cultivation clepth ls kept constant regardless of any leak that may develop in the hydraulic system of the power jacks.
More specifically, and in accordance with a preferred form of the invention claimed herein, the cultivator frame is made up of a pair of parallel cross-members disposed on either side of the axis of the wheels-and has longitudinal members that join the cross-members, the means that:mount the frame on the wheels comprising, along either side of the frame: a wheel leg which is pivotally mounted at one end on the frame for oscillation beneath the frame and in a vertical plane, and axle means at the other end on which one of the wheels is 1 1~2500 mounted for free rotation about its axis; a pair of braces interconnected at o~e end and connected at the other end respectively to one of the cross-members so as to form a vertical triangular structure, and a power jack interconnecting one of the braces and the wheel leg,-jack which is suitable to cause oscillation of the leg and thus relative displacement of the frame and wheel. According to this preferred embodiment and in order to ensure proper control of the cultivatlon depth, there is provided additionally an upwardly standing telescoping asscmbly which compriscs: a hollow tubular member with a rod freely slidable therein; the hollow member having, at one end, a series of holes therethrough which are spaced in pairs therealong and a lock pin removably extending through a selected one of the pairs of holes to prevent the rod from sliding in the member, upwardly past the lock pin. The upper end of the hollow mernber is connected at the apex of the triangular structure while the lower end of the rod is con-nected to the wheel Leg away from its pivot end. In this manner, upon release of pressure in the power jack and conse-quent lowering of the frame, the rod rises in the hollow member until it butts against the lock pin andprevents further down-ward movement of the frame. A positive way of controlling the deptll of tillage is thus obtained.
Usefully and advantageously, the telescoping assembly of each wheel may comprise additional pairs of safety holes through the hollow member, safety holes that are disposed at a distance from the first-mentioned pairs of holes, away from the apex. These additional safety holes are useful to prevent falling of the frame, below a predetermined point, when the said frame is raised relative to the wheels, for displacement of the cultivator on roads. It is thus to be understood that the tines and rolling harrows are, when the frame is at the ~ 1 725~0 predetermined point above-mentioned, in inactive raised position.
I have also noted that, in cultivators of the above-lcnown typc, as the cultivator is being pulled by thc tractor, the forward tines tend to dig into the ground more forcefully than the following ones so that the frame tilts forwardly so that the rear tines and harrows till the soil at increasingly shallower depth. Again, this situation may be one of the reasons why a second tillage pass is necessary. It is therefore in accordance with a preferred feature of my invention to provide a cultivator having a system that keeps the frame appreciably level from front to rear so as to retain a depth of cultivation which may be more constant from front to rear.
More specifically, a preferred form of the cultivator of my invention further includes a frame levelling system which comprises- a draw bar arrangement for connection, at one end, to a tractor hitch device and pivotally connected, at the other end, to -the drawing end of the frame; a tetrahedron structure rising above the draw bar arrangement and the frame, the structure having a front rod connected at one end to the one end of the draw bar arrangement, a pair of rear rods connected at one of their ends to points on the frame rear end that are transversely spaced apart, and means connecting the other ends of the fron-t and rear rods together to form the apex of the tetrahedron, and jack means connected between the apex of the tetrahedron and the forward end of the frame whereby dis-placement of the apex with respect to the frame by the jack means causes relevant displacement of the rear end of the frame with respect to the frame drawing end.
Conveniently also, and in accordance with yet another form of the invention, there is additionally provided a trans-verse soil levelling blade attached to the drawing end of the ~ 17250V
frame, the attachment including resilient means allowing the blade ground-contacting ed~e to tilt backward so as to be able to clear obstacles. The attachment also includes a hydraulic or mcchanical power jack which lowers and raises the blade to active and inactive positions. This blade of course levels the ground and fills in holes in it. This permits a saving in herbicide and fertilizer solutions.
With the above levelling blade arrangement, the system for spraying chemical solutions may advantageously be provided immediately Eorwardly of the forward row of tines and behind the levelling blade.
In order to provide powerful loosening action of the top soil, prior to and after the center rolling harrow, the cultivator of the invention preferably uses vibrating tines of the S-shaped type as will hereinafter be more fully described.
Their u~e, with the rolling harrows, ensures thorough incorpora-tion of the chemical solutions in the soil. The vibrating S-shaped tines mix the solution laterally in the soil whi]e the rolling harrows tend to blend them vertically.
A better understanding of the invention will now be had by the following description of a preferred embodiment having reference to the appended drawings wherein:
Figure 1 is a top plan view of the hereinafter described embodiment;
Figure 2 is an elevation view, partly broken away, intended particularly to illustrate both the central harrow feature and the rear to front levelling system;
Figure 3 is a second elevation view more parti-cularly intended to illustrate the telescoping assembly in-tended to control the depth of cultivation;
F`igure 4 is a partial view, in perspective and broken away, intended to i]lustrate both the cultivation depth t t72500 control telescoping assembly and the wheel mounting assembly;
Figure 5 is a perspective view, broken away, of an S~shaped tine and part of the frame to which it is mounted;
Figures 6 and 7 are, respectivel~, partial plan and side elevation views of the levelling blade arrangement.
Referring to the drawinc~s, where the like reference numerals refer to the same elements, there is shown a culti-vator made according to the teachings of the present invention which incorporates a frame l mounted on a sing~e pair of wheels 3, each mounted for rotation about its own axis extending across the frame 1, in a manner to be hereinafter more fully described. By transverse, in this specification, is to be meant of course a direction perpendicular to the direction of displacement of the cultivator.
~asical]y, the frame l is macle up of two transverse members 5 interconnected by two longitudinal members 7 and two diagonal members 9. One transverse member 5 is located at the drawing end of the frame, that is the end of the frame used for pulling the cultivator, and the other transverse member 5 is at the rear end of the frame.
Two transverse rows of tines 11 are provided at the drawing end of the frame l while two additional rows of tines 11 are provicled at the rear cnd, heing connected thereto in a manner fully to be described hereinafter. Suffice it to say, for the moment, that two rows are provided on either side of the axes of the wheels 3.
A pair of -transverse cylindrical freely-oscillating harrows 13 are provided behind the rear tines 11 for oscilla-tion about an axis which is parallel to the longitudinal axes of the harrows so that the latter are able to pivot in a vertical plane. In the case of a larger cultivator, additional harrows, may be provided end-to-end, the two pairs being ' 1 72500 inclependent of one another. Ilowcver, since their construction is the same, reference will be made hereinafter to a single pair.
The harrows 13 and their mounting means on the frame 1 are well ]cnown and will be described briefly.
Each harrow 13 is made up of a series of spiral b].ades 21 secured a]onCJ tlleir lowcr edges on the periphery of a series of vertical cheek plates 23, of which only the end ones are shown, spaced along and onto a longitudinal axle (not shown) of which the ends project beyond the end cheek pla-tes 23. This assembly forms the previously mentioned rolling harrow 13. Two such harrows are mounted at the downward ends of the two sides of angular terminal supports 25 which are interconnected, at the apex thereof, by a connecti.ng bar 27 which is secured, centrally thereof, to one end of an arm 29 of which the other end is pivoted, as at 31, inside a box housing 33. It will be noted that -the pivot 31 is located inside and upwardly of the box llousi.ncJ 33 so that the l.owcr frontal edge 35 of the housing 33 may serve as a stop for the oscillating arm 29 to prevent downward fall of the harrows 13 past a predetermined level.
The aforementioned spring assembly intended to press the harrows 13 down agains-t the soil is best illustrated in Figure 1 where it consists of a pluralityof springs connected, at one end, to wings 37 laterally projecting from the box housing 33 and connected, at the other end, to one end of chains or any other means of attachment whose other ends are removably secured to the rear end of the oscillating arm 29. Thus, the strength of the spring assemblie 15 may be varied by having different links of the said chains secured to the rear end of the oscillating arm 29, the removable mountiny of the various links of the chains being achieved in any known manner.
g _ -! 1 7 2 5 0 0 The additional central rol,lipg haxrow assembly which, as mentioned above, cons-titutes the basic co~cept of the present invention, is shown like the rear harrow 13 as made up of two harrow sections 17, 17' cxtendin~ end-to-end, transversely of the frame 1. The moun.ting of the two harrow sections 17, 17' on the frame 1 being ide~tical, one only need be described here and it will be noted that the mounting is, in fact, essentially the same as that for the rear harrows 13.
Likewise, wherein each central,harrow assembly is shown to include only one rolling harrow 17, it may be of the double type like the rear harrow assembly 13.
The central transverse cylindrical rolling harrow 17 is exactly of the same type as one rear harrow 13, that is made up of a plurality of longitudinally spirally wound blades 21 connected at their ends to and around cheek plates 23 and ' to the periphery of a certain number of cheek plates (not shown) between the cheek plates 23. The cheek plates 23 as well as the intermediate ~ cheeK plates are mounted on an axle rotatably journalled to the lower ends of an inverted U-shaped harrow support 39. The latter is mounted on the frame 1 by means of three arms 43, one at either end of the support 41 and one at its center. One end of each arm 43 is secured to the top of the harrow support 39 while -the other end is received within a hollow square bar 45 where it is pivotally mounted at 47. Bars 45 themselves are secured to the frame forward trans-verse member 5, transversely thereof. A strength adjustable spring and chain assembly 19, si.milar to spring and chain assembly 15,biases the central harrow 17 against the ground.
The downward movement produced by the spring and chain assembly 19 is stopped when the hollow bars 45 butt against the lower edges of the hollow bars 45.
Thus, and in accordance with the invention, the ~ 1 72500 central rolling harrows are mounted on tne frame between the forward and rearward rows of tines 11 for vertical oscillation about an axis 47 which is parallel to the longitudinal axis of these additional harrows 17, the latter being biased downwardly by the spring assemblies 19 until, as aforesaid, the oscillating arms 43 are stopped in their downward movement when they hit the lower edge of their respective hollow bar 45.
Each of the two or more wheels 3 of the cultivator is mounted on the frame 1 by a suspens.on which is lllustrated in Figures 3 and 4.
This assembly comprises a wheel leg 49 pivotally mounted, at one end, to a square bar 51 itself fixed beneath the transverse member 5 of the frame 1. Tn the installation of Figure 4, one end of the wheel leg 49 branches out into a fork having a transverse bearing sleeve 53 which is aligned with a similar bearing sleeve 55 of thesquare bar 51, secured to and beneath the transverse member 5 of the frame 1. A pivot pin 57 is then slid through the sleeves 55, 53 to allow vertical oscillation of the wheel leg 49.
A stub axle 59 extends laterally of and at the other end of the wheel leg 49, serving as a shaft for the wheel 3 while a nut 61, screwed onto a threaded end of the stub axle 59, prevents the wheel from coming off, the said wheel being then freely rotatable on the stub axle 59.
Oscillation in a vertical plane of the wheel leg 49 and the wheel 3 is obtained by means of a hydraulic or pneumatic power jack of which the cylinder 65 is connected at the upper end to a triangular assembly, to be described hereinbelow, and oE which the lower end of the jack rod 67 is pivotally con-nected -to the weel leg 49 through a transverse tube 69, fixed thereto, inserted between two spaced ears 71 ups-tanding from the leg 49 and pierced wi-th holes aligned with the bore of the -! 1 7 2 50 0 tube 69, a pin 73, slidable through the holes of the ears 71 and the bore of the tube 69 constitues the shaft about which the power jack 65, 67 may pivot relative to the wheel leg 49.
The triangulated assembly, a~orementioned, is made up of a pair of braces fixed, at their lower ends to respectively the forward and rearward transverse members 5 of the frame 1 and interconnected at their upper ends.
One of the braces is constituted by a pair of spaced members75 each having at their lower end a horizontally extending ~-shaped bolt 77 straddling the square bar forward transverse member 5 of the frame 1 and of which the threaded ends project forwardly of member 5 to receive a fastening bar 79. Nuts, not shown, are thereafter screwed onto the threaded ends of the U-bolt 77 to hold the relevant brace member 75 upwardly. The other brace 81 of the triangular structure is fixedly secured, at the lower end, to the rearward transverse member 5 by a U-shaped bolt assembly similar to that described with respect to the brace members 75. The other end of the brace 81 branches out into a fork of which the prongs 83 receive, in between, the upper end of a hollow member 85 of the aforementioned telescoping assembly. As shown, the upper ends of the brace members 75, the upper ends of the prongs 83 and the upper end of the hollow member 85 are pivotally inter-connected by a bolt and nut assembly 87, 89.
A rod 91 is inserted into the hollow member 85 of the telescoping assembly for free sliding motion therein, having its lower end connected to the wheel leg 49 in the same manner as the lower end of the jack rod 67 so that no further des-cription need be given. Suffice it to say that the lower end of the rod 91 is pivotally mounted at the wheel end of the wheel leg 49.
t 1 72500 The upper end oE the hollow member 85 is provided with a series of spaced through ho~es 93, cooperating in pairs so that a lock pin 95 may be inserted into a selected one of the pairs, for a purpose to be determined hereinafter. For the moment, it will be noted that the pairs of holes extend through the two sets of opposing faces of the square member 85 and may for instance be spaced one inch apart~ In staggering the holes of one set of opposi~g -Eaces with respect to the holes of the other set of opposing faces, it is thus possible to place the lock pin 95 selectively at half inch intervals.
An additional pair of holes 97 is provided further down the hollow member 85.
Finally, the upper end of the cylinder 65 of the power jack is connected to and between the two brace members 75 by means of an assembly similar to that connecting the end of the jack rod 67 to the wheel leg 49, i.e., by means of a transverse tube bearing g9 and a bolt and nut assembly 101, 103.
The operation of the wheel mounting assembly just described is as follGws.
During transportation on roads or the like when the tilling implements beneath the frame 1 are not in use, the power jack 65 is placed under pressure thereby lifting the frame 1 with respect to the wheels 3 sufficiently so that the tilling implements are safely above the ground. At that moment, the lock pin 95 is inserted through the holes 97 of the telescoping assembly. During transportation, should there be a leak of hydraulic fluid in the system feeding the power jack, the latter would then closeand the rod 91 would slide upwardly into the hollow member 85 until it would be stopped by the safe-ty pin 95 thus preventing any further falling of the frame.
The location of the holes 97 is of course determined to ensure that the tilling implements would, under this condition, be ! 1 72500 safely above ground so as to avoid damage thereto~
Whenever the cultivator is to be used, the lock pin 95 is withdrawn from the holes 97 and located into a suitable pair oE holes 93 corres~)onclill(3 to tlle depth of cultivatlon required. Indeed, it will be understood that if again too much ~rcssu~c is lct oFf thc powcr jack 65, fi7, the ramc 1 and its ti.l.lingimi~lclncll~s would tllen drop to an uncontrollable depth would it not for the lock pin 95 which, as aforesaid, is adjusted to allow only a predetermined drop of the frame and tilling implements corresponding to the desired cultivation depth.
As mentioned previously, a blade 105 is preferably.
provided, forwardly and at a substantial distance from the forward row of tines 11. As said, this blade allows levelling of the soil and filling of holes thereby resulting in a saving of fertilizer, herbicide or other chemical composition.
The blade attachment to the frame 1 is best illustra-ted in Figures 1, 3, 6 and 7. With reference to Figures 1 and 6, the attachment will be seen to be made up of a support com-prising a transverse ~ar 107 having, fixed near the ends thereof, a pair of longitudinal bars 109 of which the ends opposite bar 107 are pivotally mounted, in any known manner, on thc Eorward -transvcrsc member 5 of the frame 1. The support further includes pairs of mounting metal straps 111, 111', solid with bars 107, 109 and projecting forwardly of transverse bar 107. Projecting metal straps 111, 111' are disposed on either side of the flanges of channelshaped brackets 113 of which the back of the web thereof is welded or otherwise secured to the upstanding blade 105. Bolt-and-nut assemblies 115 pivotally mount the said support and the blade 105 together.
With reference to Figure 7, it will be seen that compression springs 117, of which the ends are respectively ! 172~00 lodged into bucks-like housings 119, 119' at the bottom of the L-shaped blade 105 and along the longitudinal bars 109, serve to hold the blade 105 upright but allow it to tilt rear-wardly whenever the blade meets an obstacle which would other-wise damage at least the lower edge of the blade.
The blade 105 and its frame attachment above-described can be lifted off the ground into aninact~ive position by means of a hydraulic or mechanical power jack 119 whose rod end is pivotally connected in any known manner to the transverse bar ]07, at the center thereof, and likewise pivotally connected at the other end to the upper end of a vertically inclined solid post 121 fixedly secured, at the base, to the forward transverse member 5 of the frame 1.
The convenient location of the levelling blade 105, at an appreciable dis-tance from the drawing end of the frame 1, makes it possible to efficiently mount the chemical composition spraying assembly with the spraying nozzles 123 thereof located immediately forwardly of the forwardmost row of tines 11.
I have found that with such an arrangement, the chemical composition not only appropriately wet the soil surface but is immediately incorporated into the soil by the powerful and thorough loosenlng thereo~ under the vibrating action of the first tines 11 immediately behind the nozzles 123.
The composition piping system leading to the nozzles 123 is of course of conventional design and need not be des-cribed any further here nor is it necessary to give any detailed description of the piping or tubing sys-tem feeding the power jacks 65 and 119.
It has been said before that, in known cultivators, the forward tines 11 tend to dig into the ground further than the rearward ones so that the efficiency of tillage is not quite satisfactory. This drawback is avoided, with the ! 1725~0 cultivator of the present inventiol-, by the following system suitable to level the frame 1, from the rear end to the drawing end thereof, so as to keep it relatively in parallel relation-ship with the soil being cultivated. The frame levelling system is best illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 and is described as follows.
It comprises a drawbar arrangement made up of a pair of pull rods 125 connected together at one end to a hitch member 127 of Icnown type which, itself, is of course to be attached to the hitch device of the tractor. The other ends of the pu]l rods 125 are connected at the other end, in any known manner, to the forward transverse member 5 of the frame 1 for pivotal movement about a horizontal transverse axis 126.
Thus, the drawbar arrangement is allowed to oscillate verti-cally about the said axis 126. The frame levelling system further provides for a te-trahedron structure rising above the drawbar arrangement aforesaid and the frame 1, this tetrahedron structure having a front rod 129 connected at one end to the hitch member 127 and having a pair of rear rods 131 connected at one of their ends to points 133, 133' on the rear end of the frame 1 and on either side thereof, the upper ends of the front and rear ends 129, 131 are pivotally connected together, in any known manner, to Eorm the apex 135 of the tetrahedron structure. It should be added that the lower ends of the rods 129, 133, 133' are pivotally connected, respectively to the hitch member 127 and to the frame 1, for movement about parallel horizontal axes. Finally and as best shown in Figure 2, this frame levelling assembly further comprises a ratchet jack 137 of known type connected between the apex 135 of the tetrahedron and the forward end transverse member 5 of the frame 1, rearwardly of the pivot axis 126 of the pull rods 125, whereby displacement of the apex 135 with respect to the frame 1 ! 1 72500 by the ratchet jack 137 causes relevant displacement of the rear end of the frame with respect to the drawing end thereof. More specifically, should there be a tendency for the Eorward tines 1] to dig deeper into -the ground than the rearward tines 11, then the ratchet jack 137 may be operated to draw the apex 135 of the tetrahedron structure closer to the frame 1 thereby applying a downward force at the rear end of tlle frame 1, through the rear rods 131 to compensate for the increase digging pressure of the forward tines 11.
The ratcllet jack 137 itself, as is known, is mainly made up of a central tube having a bore threaded in reverse direction at their ends into which are inserted two likewise threaded rods which are respectively connected to the apex 35 and to the front transverse member 5. Thus, rotation of the central tube by a ratchet lever arrangement causes withdrawal or insertion of the end rods, causing rising or lowering of the apex 135 with respect to the frame 1.
~ s to the preferred tines to be used with the culti-vator of my invention, one is shown in detail in Figure 5 to 20 WlliCll reference is now made. ~s aforedescribed, there are Eour rows oE such tines being used and, with the particular form hereinafter described, a multi-directional powerful vibrating action is obtained which shatters the soil by breaking down large clods and shaking weed roots loose, leaving them on the surface of the soil. The alternating rolling harrows 13 complement the tine process by levelling and firming the soil, pulverizing the remaining large clods and stripping all remaining soil of weed roots with improved efficiency. The tillage can thus be completed in just one pass, the top layer of soil being tossed into the air by the rolling harrows and set-tling over the fine particles which nestle next to the moist undisturbed earth. The small clods, because they are thrown ' ~ 72500 higher and further as they leave the rolling harrows, end upon the soil surface, giving the seed bed a remarkable resistance to wind erosion.
The tines illustrated in the present embodiment is, as shown in Figure 5, a vertically extending flat spring blade havlng the genera] conEiguration of an S with the upper end 139 inwardly curved to nest within the upper arc of the S.
The lower end of the spring blade has, secured thereto in any known manner, a share 141 which goes into the soil.
Each tine 11 is mounted at the end of a short transverse bar 143 which, itself, is secured at the middle on a support bar 145 secured at the center, transversely, to a transverse member 5 of the frame 1. There is provided, at the very end of such a bar 143, an angle plate 147 secured thereto with the two flanges lying over two adjacent faces of the square bar 143, the two flanges further extending past the remaining two faces of the square bar 143. The downwardly projecting flange has a rectangular slot 149 while the horizontal flange has a hole 151, both through the extensions of the flanges. To mount a tine 1] to such a rod 143, the upper end 139 of the tine is slid -through the slot 149 until a holc 153 at the end ~hereof vertically aligns with the hole 151 of tile horizontal Elange of the angle member 147. There-after, the upper end 139 of the tine is secured to the rod 143 by means of a nut-and-bolt assembly 155, 157.
In the aforedescribed manner, the tines are solely secured at their upper end and completely free thereafter to oscillate both vertically and laterally thereby providing a strong vibrating action capable of efficiently loosening the soil.
! 1 72~00 In the above description, reference has only be made to a cultivator having a single frame mounted on a single pair of wheels. It should be noted however that the.invention can also be applied to cultivators having aplurality of frames connected to each other generally in a transverse line, and to culti.vators having one or more frames mounted on tandem wheels.
Reference has also be made to a cultivator having one single row of harrows under the mi.ddle of its frame and two rows of harrows at the rear thereof. It should be noted however that in accordance with the invention, other kinds of cultivators having a different number of harrows or rows of harrows in the middle or at the rear of the frame could also be provided, with a variable number of arms of holding the harrows.
Claims (13)
1. In a cultivator of the type including: a frame and means mounting said frame on a single pair of wheels rotatable about an axis extending transversely of the frame with respect to the direction of displacement of the cultivator, said frame having a drawing end and a rear end; at least one transverse row of tines forwardly of said wheel axis and at least one other transverse row of tines rearwardly thereof;
means mounting said tines on said frame; at least one transverse cylindrical rolling harrow; means mounting said rolling harrow on said frame at the said rear end thereof, behind the rear one of said rows of tines, for oscillation of said rear harrow about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the said rear harrow, and means resiliently biasing said rear harrow downwardly, the improvement in the combination there-with comprising:
- at least one additional transverse cylindrical rolling harrow;
- means mounting said additional harrow on said frame, between said forward and rearward rows of tines, for vertical oscillation about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the said additional harrow, and - means resiliently biasing said additional harrow downwardly.
means mounting said tines on said frame; at least one transverse cylindrical rolling harrow; means mounting said rolling harrow on said frame at the said rear end thereof, behind the rear one of said rows of tines, for oscillation of said rear harrow about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the said rear harrow, and means resiliently biasing said rear harrow downwardly, the improvement in the combination there-with comprising:
- at least one additional transverse cylindrical rolling harrow;
- means mounting said additional harrow on said frame, between said forward and rearward rows of tines, for vertical oscillation about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the said additional harrow, and - means resiliently biasing said additional harrow downwardly.
2. A cultivator as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said means for mounting said harrows on said frame is a support assembly comprising: an arm extending parallel to said direction of displacement; means mounting one end of said arm to said frame for pivotal movement about a transverse axis; means mounting the respective harrow to the other end of said arm for free rotation thereof about its longitudinal axis, and resilient means biasing said arm downwardly with respect to said frame.
3. A cultivator as claimed in claim 2, wherein said resilient means is a strength-adjustable spring fixed at the ends thereof respectively to said frame and to the other end of said arm so as to force the said arm downwardly.
4. A cultivator as claimed in claim 3, said support assemblies further comprising stop means limiting the downward descent of said arms.
5. A cultivator as claimed in claims 1, 2 or 3, wherein there are two forward transverse rows of tines, the tines of one row being staggered with respect to the tines of the other row, and wherein there are two rear rows of tines, the tines of one row being staggered with respect to the tines of the other row.
6. A cultivator as claimed in claim 1, wherein said frame has a pair of parallel cross-members disposed on either side of said wheel axis and longitudinal members joining said cross-members, said means mounting said frame on said wheels comprising, along either side of said frame:
- a wheel leg pivotally mounted, at one end, on said frame for oscillation beneath said frame and in a vertical plane, and axle means at the other end of said leg on which one of said wheels is mounted for free rotation about said wheel axis;
- a pair of braces interconnected at one end and con-nected at the other end respectively to one of said cross-members to form therewith a vertically extending triangular structure;
- a power jack interconnecting one of said braces and said wheel leg suitable to cause oscillation of said leg and thus relative displacement of said frame and wheel, and - an upwardly extending telescoping assembly for controlling the cultivation depth of said cultivator, said assembly comprising:
-- a hollow tubular member and a rod freely slidable in said member, said hollow member having, at one end, a series of holes therethrough, spaced in pairs therealong, and a lock pin removably extending through a selected one of said pairs of holes to prevent said rod from sliding in said tubular member upwardly passed said lock pin;
-- means connecting the upper end of said hollow member at the apex of said triangular structure, and -- means connecting said rod, at the lower end thereof, to said wheel leg away from said pivot end of said leg, whereby upon release of pressure in said power jack and consequently lowering of said frame, said rod rises in said hollow member until it butts against said lock pin thereby preventing further downward movement of said frame and thus controlling the depth of tillage by said cultivator.
- a wheel leg pivotally mounted, at one end, on said frame for oscillation beneath said frame and in a vertical plane, and axle means at the other end of said leg on which one of said wheels is mounted for free rotation about said wheel axis;
- a pair of braces interconnected at one end and con-nected at the other end respectively to one of said cross-members to form therewith a vertically extending triangular structure;
- a power jack interconnecting one of said braces and said wheel leg suitable to cause oscillation of said leg and thus relative displacement of said frame and wheel, and - an upwardly extending telescoping assembly for controlling the cultivation depth of said cultivator, said assembly comprising:
-- a hollow tubular member and a rod freely slidable in said member, said hollow member having, at one end, a series of holes therethrough, spaced in pairs therealong, and a lock pin removably extending through a selected one of said pairs of holes to prevent said rod from sliding in said tubular member upwardly passed said lock pin;
-- means connecting the upper end of said hollow member at the apex of said triangular structure, and -- means connecting said rod, at the lower end thereof, to said wheel leg away from said pivot end of said leg, whereby upon release of pressure in said power jack and consequently lowering of said frame, said rod rises in said hollow member until it butts against said lock pin thereby preventing further downward movement of said frame and thus controlling the depth of tillage by said cultivator.
7. A cultivator as claimed in claim 6, further including an additional pair of safety holes through said hollow member, located at a distance from said first-mentioned pairs of holes away from said apex, for use to prevent falling of said frame below a predetermined point when the latter is raised relative to said wheels for displacement of the culti-vator on roads, said tines and rolling harrows being then in inactive raised position.
8. A cultivator as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a soil levelling blade extending transversely with respect to said direction of displacement, and attachment means connecting said blade to and forwardly of the drawing end of said frame, said attachment means including resilient means allowing the blade ground-contacting edge to tilt backwardly to clear obstacles, and power jack means for lowering and raising said blade to active and inactive positions.
9. A cultivator as claimed in claim 8, further comprising means for spraying a liquid solution on the soil being tilled, said means including a plurality of nozzles mounted immediately forwardly of said forward row of tines and behind said levelling blade.
10. A cultivator as claimed in claim 1, further having a system for the levelling of said frame, from said rear end to said drawing end, said system comprising: a draw bar arrangement for connection, at one end, to a tractor hitch device and pivotally connected, at the other end, to the drawing end of said frame; a tetrahedron structure rising above said draw bar arrangement and said frame, said structure having a front rod connected at one end to said one end of said draw bar arrangement, a pair of rear rods connected at one of their ends to points on said frame rear end that are transversely spaced apart, and means connecting the other ends of said front and rear rods together to form the apex of said tetrahedron, and jack means connected between said apex of said tetrahedron and the forward end of said frame whereby displacement of said apex with respect to said frame by said jack means causes relevant displacement of the rear end of said frame with respect to said frame drawing end.
11. A cultivator as claimed in claim 10, wherein said draw bar arrangement comprises a pair of pull rods con-nected together at one end to said one end of said arrangement and pivotally connected, at the other ends, to transversely spaced apart points of said frame drawing end.
12. A cultivator as claimed in claims 1, 6 and 8, wherein each tine is a downwardly extending S-shaped spring time solely secured, at the upper end, to the frame thereby allowing multi-directional vibration thereof as said culti-vator is displaced over the soil for cultivation.
13. A cultivator as claimed in claim 10, wherein each tine is a downwardly extending S-shaped spring time solely secured, at the upper end, to the frame thereby allowing multi-directional vibration thereof as said cultivator is displaced over the soil for cultivation.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000394386A CA1172500A (en) | 1982-01-18 | 1982-01-18 | Soil cultivating machine |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000394386A CA1172500A (en) | 1982-01-18 | 1982-01-18 | Soil cultivating machine |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1172500A true CA1172500A (en) | 1984-08-14 |
Family
ID=4121848
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000394386A Expired CA1172500A (en) | 1982-01-18 | 1982-01-18 | Soil cultivating machine |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1172500A (en) |
Cited By (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RU2495553C2 (en) * | 2008-09-08 | 2013-10-20 | Открытое акционерное общество "Новосибирский опытно-экспериментальный завод нестандартизированного оборудования" | Combined soil tillage implement |
| RU2581530C1 (en) * | 2015-04-13 | 2016-04-20 | Владимир Альбертович Геер | Combined tillage machine (plus screw roller harrow) |
| WO2017216589A1 (en) * | 2016-06-17 | 2017-12-21 | H Kovács József | Soil surface levelling device |
-
1982
- 1982-01-18 CA CA000394386A patent/CA1172500A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RU2495553C2 (en) * | 2008-09-08 | 2013-10-20 | Открытое акционерное общество "Новосибирский опытно-экспериментальный завод нестандартизированного оборудования" | Combined soil tillage implement |
| RU2581530C1 (en) * | 2015-04-13 | 2016-04-20 | Владимир Альбертович Геер | Combined tillage machine (plus screw roller harrow) |
| WO2017216589A1 (en) * | 2016-06-17 | 2017-12-21 | H Kovács József | Soil surface levelling device |
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| MKEC | Expiry (correction) | ||
| MKEX | Expiry |