CA1329888C - Spot mounder method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

Method and apparatus for forming spot mounds used in assisting the germination and growth of tree seedlings in reforestation. A crawler moves forwardly while a digging blade connected to a frame is lowered into the soil in order to overturn the soil and form a mound. After the digging blade is lowered into the ground, the digging blade rotates so as to better form and thereafter pass the formed mound without interference.

Description

SPOT MOUNDER METHOD A~D APPAR~TUS

INTRODUCTION

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for constructing a mound from earth and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for constructing a ~
mound on which to plant tree seedlings. ~ ;

BACKGROUND OF THE I~VENTION ~-Re~orestation is desirable for many reasons and is generally required by statute following the logging of ~orested areas. Such reforestation requires that ~eedlings be planted to provide forest regrowth for environmental and economic reasons. ~ ~ -The survival and subsequent growth rate Or planted seedling~, however, i~ heavily dependent on the conditions under whlch such seedling~ are planted and nurtured. I~ a re~orestation site has poor drainage and cool ~oil temperature~, it is bene~icial to provide the ~ ~
seedlings with better growing conditions such a~ enhanced ~ ,!
drainage, warmer ~oil temperature~, increaeed access to nutrients and decrea~ed competition ~rom surrounding vegetation. ; ;
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The u~e o~ mounds in which to plant seedlings is :, . .
known to increase their growth rate. ~he method of oonstru¢tion o~ such mounde, however, i5 important. For example, it may be desirable to invert the "duff cover"
which comprl~e~ the nitrogen rlch lltter, ~ermentation and humu~ ~oll layer~ Or the ~ore~t rloor 80 as to make the du~ cov~r acc0~ible for the sensitlve ~eedling roots.
The durr cover wlll be burled under the mineral soil aoverlng whlch ~orm~ the top Or the mound. The mlneral ~ ,.
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soil will facilitate warming by the sun and generally lead to increased soil temperatures in the mound. If the depth of the mineral soil is sufficient, it also assists in controlling the growth of competing vegetation surrounding the seedling. The elevated planting position is beneficial on wet sites. A mineral soil mound, without -~ -inverted "duff cover", may be desirable on some sites, and can be created by removing the duff cover before mounding.

Previously, mounds have been machine constructed in a process called "spot mounding" using apparatuses called "spot mounders" but some such techniques have often been less than satisfactory. In one machine used for site preparation, for example, two sets of scarifying wheels 15 are used which continuously rotate and which are attached ~-to a frame pivotally attached to and towed behind a prime mover such as a tractor or crawler. A braking system slows the rotation of the scarifying wheels when it is desired to form the mounds used for seedling planting.
While the device operates satis~actorily in some soil conditions, it does not operate well in all soil condition~i. This is so because the scarifying wheelis are not driven into the ground nor i8 the towed ~rame heavy enough to give the required depth to the digging elements in heavy compacted soil or thick du~ layer conditions.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect o~ the invention, there is provlded a spot mounder apparatus operable to be mounted on the rear end o~ a prime mover comprising a digglng blade plvotally connected to a shank and having an open concave sur~ace directed towards ~aid prime mover in 8 ~lrst posit~on, said shank being connected to a digging 35 blAde ~rAme, A connection allowing the raising and low-ring of ~ald dlgglng blade and sald shank, mean~ ror - ` 1 3 ~ ~ ~ 8 ~ ~

rotating said digging blade relative to said shank from -said first position to a second position wherein said concave surface is directed downwardly relative to said prime mover, a latch operably interposed between said :
digging blade and said shank for intermittently retaining and moving said digging blade relative to said shank so that said digging blade can move between said first and :: .
second positions, said digging blade and said shank being vertically movable during the rotation of said digging blade between said first and second positions.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of constructing mounds from ~ ::
earth comprising the steps of inserting the teeth of a ~ ~:
digging blade connected to a shank with the face of said digging blade having a concave surface being directed towards a prime mover to which said digging blade and ::
said shank are operably mounted to the rear end thereof, said teeth o~ said digging blade being inserted into the -ground at a predetermined time and location in a first position, applying downwards force to said shank and said digging blade, releasing and rotating said digging blade relative to said shank ~rom a first to a second position while raising said digging blade and said shank and : :.
rotatably returning said digging blade from said second to said $irst position.

~RIEF DESCRIPTION QF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS .

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be disclosed, by way o~ example only, with the use of drawing~ in which: :
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Figure lA is a side view o~ a crawler with the :.:
~pot mound-r npparatus accord1ng to the lnventlon ., . ~ ',, ' , .

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connected to the back end of the crawler in a lowered :. ~
position; .

Figure lB is a rear view of the crawler and spot ...
mounder apparatus of Figure lA;

Figure lC is a plan view of the crawler and spot mounder apparatus of Figure lA;

Figure 2A is an enlarged partial section side view of the digging blade and digging blade frame of the .
spot mounder apparatus;

Figure 2B is a rear view of the digging blade 15 and d~gging blade frame of Figure 2A; .

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`` 1329888 Figures 3A - 3J are side ~iews illustrating diagrammatically the sequential operation of the ~pot mounder apparatus;
: ~ -Figures 4A - 4F are schematics which are joined ~-together as illustrated in Figure 4G -~-:, - - .
Figure 5 illustrates the time actuation chart for variou~ of the operating cylinder elements of the -hydraulic circuit;
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Figure 6A is a diagrammatic side view of a further embodiment o~ the hydraulic 6ystem and spot mounder;
Figure 6B is a diagrammatic rear view of the ; ~ ;~
spot mounder o~ Figure 6A; and ..,,'~.. :., Figure 6C ie a view similar to Figure 6A but lllu~trating the spot mounder connected to the rear of the ¢rawler ~ESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT

RQrsrence is now made to the drawings and, in particular, to Flgure 1 where a spot mounder apparatus is --generally illustrated at 10 as being attached to the rearward end Or a prime mover such as a crawler tractor generally llluatrated at 11 The epot mounder 10 lncludes two digglng bl~de aasemblies generally illustrated at 12 A~ ~oen ln Flgure lB, two diqging blade assemblles 12 are - conn-Gted to the epot mounder 10 which i~ connected to th- baa~ end o~ the ¢rawlor tractor 11 The dlgglng blade ~aeomblloa 12 are connected together wlth a transverse croea beam 42, tho a~aembly belng generally re~erred to as the rlppor aseembly generally illuatrated at 15 For the : ', ~ ' .
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~ ';'' "'', , - 5 - 1329~8 -purpose of the subsequent description, only one digging blade assembly 12 will be described, it being understood that the oppositely located digging blade assembly 12 of the ripper assembly 15 is a mirror image and will operate in a virtually identical manner.

The digging blade assembly 12 compri~es a digging blade 19 operatively and rotatably connected to a digging blade frame 13. A connection in the form of a 10 four bar linkage 14 exte~ds between the ripper assembly 15 -~
and a back or support frame 20 which is rigidly connected ~
to the rearward end of the crawler tractor 11. Mechanical -stops 16 are connected to the back support frame 20 and are adapted to contact the ripper assembly 15 when the ripper assembly is in its lowermost and uppermost positions eo as to restrain further movement beyond these two positions.

With re~erence to Figures ZA and 2B, the digging Z0 blade 19 has a con¢ave ~orward surface 22 and is pivotably mounted about axis 18 on digging blade ~rame 13. The ~hape o~ the concave ~ur~ace 22 of the digging blade 19 is lmportant to properly ~orm the mounds. Re~erence i~ made to Flgure 2A where the centre 17 of the radius o~
curvature 18 given. A radlus o~ approximately 24" ~or the curvature of the digglng blade 19 has been ~ound ~atleractory. A hydraullc or ~llp cyllnder 23 i8 pivotably connected between the dlgglng blade 19 and the dlgglng blade ~rame 13. It extends to pivotably ~oin an arm 24 which 18 rlgidly connected to the digging blade 12.

Two latch plns 30 are retalned in a latch pin arm 31 which extenda ~rom and is pivotably mounted to the digglng blade frame 13 at axis 34. Complementary rece~se~
32 ln receaa arm~ 33 are adapted to mato with the ends o~
the l~tch pin~ 30 when the digglng blade 19 ls ln lt~
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: - . -, -initial non rotated position as described in more detail -hereafter and as illustrated in Figure 2A. The latch pin arm 31 is rotated about axis 34 with hydraulic or latch cylinder 40 also as described in more detail hereafter.
A mud~lap 25 to protect the working mechanisms :
inside the digging blade assembly 12 when it is in the rotated position is connected between the digging blade frame 13 and the digging blade 19 by pins 26, 27, 28 which -are mounted in plastic self-lubricating bu~hings. A rear mudguard 35 for a similar function at the back of the -digging blade 19 i8 connected between the digging blade ;~
~rame 13 and a pin 36 located on the bottom of the digging blade 19.
With reference again to Figure lA, two hydraulic ripper cylinders 41 are connected between the four bar linkage 14 o~ the ripper assembly 15 and the back or ~upport frame 20. Hydraulic ripper cylinders 41 are used to li~t and lower the ripper assembly 15 and the two attached digging blade assemblies 12 relative to the back ~upport frame 20 and the crawler 11, between the two po~itlon~ lllu~trated in Flgure lA, the upper position o~
the ripper assembly 15 being the retracted positlon o~ the spot mounder 10 and the lower positlon being the operating po~ltlon o~ the spot mounder 10. It will be understood cylinders 41 can apply ~ubstantial downward ~orce to the rlpper assembly 15 ~o as to ~orce the assembly 15 and its assooiated digging blade assemblies 12 into even hard and compaoted ~oil.
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Two side plates 45 are mounted to the forward edge o~ the digging blade 19. The sideplates 45 act to retain the ~oil which i~ removed by the action o~ the 3S dlgglng blade l9. The sideplate 45 rotates with the dlgglng blade 19 when ln operation.
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The spot mounder apparatus lo is self-powered by an 2ngine 48 mounted in the upper portion of the spot mounder 10. A hydraulic circuit is used to provide power to the operating components of the spot mounder 10 and includes an accumulator 46 and a hydraulic fluid reservoir 47 mounted adjacent engine 48. The hydraulic circuit operation is initiated by computer control which allows the operator to determine the operation commencement time.

A ~chematic of the hydraulic circuit is seen in Figure 4. The principle elements include a control valve 55 which initiates the operating seguence of the flip, latch and ripper cylinders 23, 40, 41, respectively, ae seen in Figure 5. The upper, middle and bottom bar graphs illustrate the operating sequence of the ~lip, latch and ripper cylinders 23, 40, 41, respectively, and the operatlon o~ the cyllnder~ wlll be described in greater detail herea~ter.
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OPERA~ION
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In operation, lt wlll be assumed that the orawler 11 ie movlng ~orwardly or to the right as viewed in Flgure lA and that the ripper assembly 15 with lts connected dlgglng blade aesemblie~ 12 i5 ln the raised or li~ted posltlon lllustrated ln phantom ln Figure lA. The englne 48 wlll be operatlng and the accumulator 46 in the hydraullc system wlll have been brought to the correct pres~ure. -.. :
The operation ie initiated by the operator ngaglng tho computer controlled eleotrical system (not illu~trated) whlch lnitiates operation o~ the hydraull¢ally actlvated clrcultrlee (Flgure 5) by a 35 timer. The timer wlll lnltlate the operatlng sequence o~ ~-th~ ripper, latch and ~llp cyllnders 41, 40, 23, " '~: ': ' ."" . , ''' ~.' ',"

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respectively, according to the sequence illustrated in Figure 5. Initially, as viewed in Figure 5, the ripper cylinders 41 will lower the digging blade assemblies 12 ~ -and the digging blades 19 and, in so doing, the "duff 5 layer 43" and the mineral soil layer 44 of the soil are .
penetrated as illustrated in Figure 3 until the proper operating depth or lowermost position is reached for the digging blade assemblie~ 12 as viewed in Figure lA. The side plates 45 (Figure 2A) are lowered with the digging 10 blade~ 19 and keep a substantial portion of the soil .
displaced forward of the digging blade 19 as the ground is entered. The mudflap 25 will be in the position as illustrated in Figure 2A at this time. The latch .
cylinders 40 will maintain the digging blade 19 in po~ition and are required to counteract the large force applied on the digging blade 19 which tends to rotate the blade 19 in a clockwise position about axis 18.
.
AB the digging blade 19 enters the 50il, the du~ layer 43 Lnitially and the mineral 80il layer 44 ..
therea~ter, will move upwardly on the concave forward ~ur~ace 22 of the digging blade 19 as 6een in Figures 3B ..
and 3C until the 50il i~ turned over as be~t seen in Flgure~ 3D and 3E and a mound 50 is ~ormed from the soil with the du~ layer 43 on the bottom and the mineral soil layer 44 on the top of the mound 50. -~ .

In accordance with the sequence chart of Figure S, and a~ the ~oil moves upwardly on the concave ~orward ~ur~ace 22 o~ the digging blade 19, the automatic control ~y~tom wlll inltlate wlthdrawal of the ripper as~embly 15 and digging blade assemblie~ 12 by activating the ripper cyllnder~ 41. A~ the ripper a~sembly 15 i~ withdrawn from the ground, the latch cylinder~ 40 will be actlvated to 35 rotate the latch pin arm 31 counter clockwise as viewed in : .

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9- 13~8~
Figure 2A and to therefore remove the pins 30 from the complimentary rece~ses 32 on the recess arms 33.

When the latch pin arm 31 is rotated to an extent such that the pins 30 are removed from recesses 32 and the digging blade 19 is therefore unlatched, the flip cylinder 23 will extend and rotate the digging blade 19 clockwl6e as seen in Figure 2A about pivot axis 18 as seen in Figures 3D-3F. The movement of the flip cylinder 23 will assist in forming the mound 50. When the mound 50 is ~ully formed, the digging blade 19 will have assumed the position illustrated in Figures 3E and 3F.

A~ the crawler 11 continues to move to the left 15 a~ viewed in Figure 3, the rotation o~ the digging blade ~ .
19 under the in~luence o~ hydraulic flip cylinder 23 will continue until the digging blade 19 clear~ the mound 50 as illustrated in Figure 3G. Thereaiter, the digging blade 19 i8 rotated clockwise under the in~luence o~ hydraulic 20 ~lip cyllnder 23 untll the initial condition o~ the blade `
19 i~ assumed a~ illustrated in Figure 3I. The latch cylinder 40 reinsert the pins 30 in their recesses 32 whereupon the spot mounder 10 i8 then ready ~or a ~urther operatlng seguence. . `.
When the digging blade 19 is rotated under the in~luence o~ ~lip cyllnder 23, the mud~lap 25 will rotate wlth the digging blade 19 about pins 26, 27, 28 relative .~
to the digglng blade ~rame 13. The extended area o~ the ~: . `
30 mud~lap 25 will clo~e the slde area o~ the dlgging blade~ i `
assembly 12 as ~eon ln Flgure 3F whlch is otherwise open to dlrt and other contaminant~. A~ well, the lateral or ~rontal area 29 o~ the mud~lap 25 will clo~e the ~rontal ~rea o~ the digging blade assembly 12 ~or the same 35 ~urpo~e. .
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The use of the latch pins 30 in association with the recess 32 on recess arm 33 have been found m advantageous ae described above. When the digging blade 19 initially contacts the ground surface, there is a S tendency for the blade 19 to rotate due to the large longitudinal drag ~orces on the digging blade 19 in the ground. The use Or the latch pins 30 on latch pin arm 31 which is under the control o~ hydraulic cylinder 40 tends to counteract ~uch forces and to stabilize the diqging 10 blade l9 in the ground until rotation of the digging blade 19 by the automatic control system commences as illustrated in Figure 3C and as earlier described.

In operations to date, it has been found that a 15 tlmed ~equence o~ operations ~rom the position of the dlgglng blade 19 and digging blade ~rame 13 illustrated in Figure 3A to the position o~ the dlgging blade l9 and dlgglng blade ~rame 13 illustrated in Figure 3J will ~atl~aotorlly be S.0 seconds a~ indicated in Figure 5 20 wlth a ~peed o~ the crawler ll being 1.8 m.p.h. The engine o~ tho crawler ll at such a speed will typically have a ~peod o~ 2000 r.p.m.

A du~ layer 43 typically has a thickness o~ 3"
25 to 5" a~ ~een in Figures 3B and 3C. In the fully lowered po~itlon a~ viewed ln Flgure lA, the digging blade l9 1B
lntended to b~ ~ully 25" below the ground ~ur~ace. When th- dlgglng blade 19 1B rotated as seen in Figure 3G, the di~tance ~rom the uppormost concave sur~ace 22 to the 30 ground ~ur~ace 1~ contemplated to be 24". At the end o~
th- ~-qu-nc- a~ ~oen ln Flgure 3I, the dlgging blade l9 is located approxlmately 20~ above the ~ur~ace o~ tha ground.

Othsr dlmen~lon~ whlch are o~ lnterest are ~hown 35 ln Flguro 3J. AB seen, the dlstance ~or one cycle ~rom the ~olnt o~ ground penetratlon by the digging blade l9 to ~ ,., ., "
.. . .

"- 13~8~8 the commencement of a new cycle where ground penetration is again imminent is approximately lo'. A mound 50 is formed which is typically 14" high and which has a width of approximately 30".
A further embodiment of the spot mounder apparatus is illustrated in Figure 6. In this embodiment, the hydraulic system of Figure 4 is replaced with the hydraulic circuit generally illustrated at 50 in Figure 6A
and the ripper assembly 15 of Figure 1 is replaced with the ripper assembly generally illustrated at 51.

In thi~ embodiment, there exists only three ¢ylinders, namely one arm cylinder 52 and one scoop cylinder 53 ~or each digging blade 54. The latch cylinder 40 o~ the embodiment o~ Figure 1 is eliminated.
Similarly, the ~our bar linkage 14 is replaced by a link 70 which rotatee about axie 71 under the in~luence o~ arm cyllnder 52. It has also been ~ound that replaceable teeth 72 (Figure 6B) on the leading edge of each digging blade 54 are advantageoue to reduce the ~orce necessary to in~ert the dlgging blade 54 into the ground. Likewi~e, by the approprlate uee o~ accumulator 60 in hydraulic circuit 50, it ie intended to reduce the power requireme~te and, there~ore, to ellminate the need ~or the independent engine 48 o~ the Flgure 1 embodiment or, at least, to reduce the power required rrom the independent engine 48, with the hydraulic pump 61 being driven ~rom the engine o~
the crawler 62.
Ae seen in Figure 6A, the ecoop cylinder control valve 63 and the arm cylinder control valve 64 are ~olenold aontrolled and under the in~luence o~ an automatla control ~ystem elmilar to the automatic control 3S y~tem o~ the Figure 1 embodlment. In operation, the aontrol valve8 63, 64 are activated under the lnfluence o~
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- 12 - 1329~8 a programmable computer which allows the operator to adapt the spot mounder apparatus to a variety of soil and site conditions as in the case with the embodiment of Figures 1 - 5. In accordance, therewith, the raising and lowering of the digging blade frame and the rotation of the digging blade 54 relative to the digging blade frame are programmed in the same way as the programming described and illustrated in connection with the Figure 1 embodiment.

While the sequence of operations illustrated in Figure 3 has been described as being time activated, the functions could also be sequenced from the power take off assembly on the prime mover or crawler 11.
Many ~urther modi~ications w~ll occur beyond ;
those described and contemplated to those skilled in the art, which modi~ications will ~all within the scope o~ the lnvention. The embodiments described, there~ore, should be considered as illustrative o~ the invention only and not as limiting its scope as derined in accordance with the accompanying claims.

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Claims (20)

1. Spot mounder apparatus operable to be mounted on the rear end of a prime mover comprising a digging blade pivotally connected to a shank and having an open concave surface directed towards said prime mover in a first position, said shank being connected to a digging blade frame, a connection allowing the raising and lowering of said digging blade and said shank, means for rotating said digging blade relative to said shank from said first position to a second position wherein said concave surface is directed downwardly relative to said prime mover, a latch operably interposed between said digging blade and said shank for intermittently retaining and moving said digging blade relative to said shank so that said digging blade can move between said first and second positions, said digging blade and said shank being vertically movable during the rotation of said digging blade between said first and second positions.

2. Spot mounder apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said latch is hydraulically operated by a latch cylinder.

3. Spot mounder apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said connection is a pin.

4. Spot mounder apparatus as in claim 2, wherein said connection is a four bar linkage.

5. Spot mounder apparatus as in claim 4 wherein said shank moves substantially vertically relative to said digging blade frame during operation of said digging blade and said shank.

6. Spot mounder apparatus as in claim 3 wherein said shank and said digging blade rotate a limited distance about said pin during operation of said digging blade and said shank.

7. Spot mounder apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said means to rotate said digging blade is a hydraulic cylinder operatively connected between said digging blade and said shank.

8. Spot mounder apparatus as in claim 4 and further comprising a ripper hydraulic cylinder operatively connected between said digging blade frame and said four bar linkage.

9. Spot mounder apparatus as in claim 8 wherein said means to rotate said digging blade is a flip hydraulic cylinder operatively connected between said digging blade and said digging blade frame.

10. Spot mounder apparatus as in claim 9 and further comprising mud flaps rotatably connected between said digging blade frame and said digging blade.

11. Spot mounder apparatus as in claim 10, wherein said mudflaps have a frontal area and a side flap area, said mudflaps operatively closing the inside of said digging blade and said shank when said flip cylinder is activated to rotate said digging blade relative to said digging blade frame.

12. Spot mounder apparatus as in claim 11, wherein said mudflaps rotate on self-lubricated bearings.

13. Spot mounder apparatus as in claim 12 and further comprising teeth removably connected on the forward and lower portion of said digging blade.

14. Spot mounder apparatus as in claim 13 and further comprising hydraulic circuit means operatively connected to said ripper, latch and flip cylinders.

15. Spot mounder apparatus as in claim 14, wherein said hydraulic circuit of said spot mounder has independent power means from said prime mover to power said hydraulic circuit.

16. Spot mounder apparatus as in claim 15, wherein said flip, latch and ripper cylinders are operatively connected to a programmable computer in a predetermined sequential operation.

17. Spot mounder apparatus as in claim 16 and further comprising accumulator means in said hydraulic circuit.

18. A method of constructing mounds from earth comprising the steps of inserting the teeth of a digging blade connected to a shank with the face of said digging blade having a concave surface being directed towards a prime mover to which said digging blade and said shank are operably mounted to the rear end thereof, said teeth of said digging blade being inserted into the ground at a predetermined time and location in a first position, applying downwards force to said shank and said digging blade, releasing and rotating said digging blade relative to said shank from a first to a second position while raising said digging blade and said shank and rotatably returning said digging blade from said second to said first position.

19. A method as in claim 18 wherein said digging blade is fixed relative to said shank in said first position, said digging blade being maintained in said first position by a releasable latch, said digging blade being rotatable relative to said shank following the release of said latch.

20. A method as in claim 19 wherein the operation of said digging blade, said latch and said shank is initiated, maintained and terminated under the direction of a programmable computer.