GB2127262A

GB2127262A - A soil cultivating machine

Info

Publication number: GB2127262A
Application number: GB08325747A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Der Lely Cornelis Van
Original assignee: Patent Concern NV
Current assignee: Patent Concern NV
Priority date: 1982-09-28
Filing date: 1983-09-27
Publication date: 1984-04-11
Also published as: DE3334727A1; GB2127262B; NL8203748A; FR2533407B1; DE3334727C2; GB8325747D0; FR2533407A1

Abstract

A soil cultivating machine in the form of a plough has soil cultivating members (11) (plough shares and mouldboards), in front of which there is a roller (20). The roller (20) comprises discs (23) and intermediate ground- engaging projections (24A Figure 4) and serves to press vegetation against the ground, and to chop the vegetation into smaller pieces, in order to avoid clogging of the soil cultivating members (11). The plough also comprises subsoil agitators (13), which work the soil at a lower level than the soil cultivating members (11) and are disposed to exert a force in opposition to that exerted by the soil cultivating members (11). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A soil cultivating machine This invention relates to a soil cultivating machine, and particularly, although not exclusively, to such a machine in the form of a plough.

Under some conditions, and in particular if very dirty fields (i.e. fields on which there is a lot of plant matter) have to be ploughed, the plough members hitherto used frequently comprise front shares intended to press down material lying on the ground such as straw and dead weeds. However, the use of front shares requires an appreciable increase in power for ploughing, which is undesirable.

According to the present invention there is provided a soil cultivating machine comprising at least one soil cultivating member and, in front of the soil cultivating member, a roller which bears on the ground in operation in a manner such that plants and the like are pressed against the ground.

With such a construction, the risk of clogging inherent in the known ploughs when working highly fouled fields is considerably reduced without the need for much additional power in the form of tractive power. This effect is further enhanced when the roller is caused to rotate by the power take-off shaft of the tractor so that it has a propelling function.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a soil working machine comprising at least one soil working member and a subsoil agitator disposed adjacent the soil working member such that in operation, a force exerted through the subsoil agitator on the machine has a component directed opposite to a component of a force exerted through the soil working member on the machine.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a soil working machine comprising at least one soil working member and a subsoil agitator which is disposed on the machine in a manner such that it works a soil layer at a greater depth than the soil layer engaged by the soil working member.

For a better understanding of the present invention and to show how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a soil cultivating machine in the form of a plough; Figure2 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow in Figure 1; Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line Ill-Ill in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow IV in Figure 3; and Figure 5 is a plan view of another form of soil cultivating machine.

The plough shown in Figures 1 to 4 comprises a substantially horizontal frame beam 1 which is inclined to the intended direction of operative travel of the plough, as indicated by an arrow A. The frame beam 1 is, in normal operation, at an angle of about 40 to the direction A. Upwardly extending supports 2 are provided on the top of the frame beam 1, disposed near the ends and at regular intervals between them. The supports 2, which each have a channel-shaped cross-section with rearwardly directed limbs, are upwardly tapered (Figures 1 and 2).

Two parallel arms 4 and 5 are mounted between the limbs of each of the supports 2, just above the frame beam, by means of a pin 3 extending transversely of the direction A. The arms 4 and 5 initially extend horizontally and are then curved smoothly to terminate in a downwardly and forwardly inclined, straight part. As is shown in Figure 1, the arm 5, which is located to the right of the arm 4 as viewed from the rear, has a longer horizontal part than the arm 4. Between the two arms 4 and 5, near the rear ends of the horizontal parts, there is a pair of upwardly extending lugs 6. Between the lugs 6 is pivotally mounted a transverse piece having a bore near its middle for receiving one end of a rod 8. The other end of the rod 8 is pivotable about a shaft 9 extending transversely of the direction A and mounted near the top of the respective support 2.

The rod 8 is surrounded by a compression spring 10 in a manner such that upwards movement of the arms 4 and 5 is resisted. The forwardly and downwardly inclined straight parts of the arms 4 and 5 constitute a support for a cultivating member 11, which in the illustrated embodiment is a plough body having a mouldboard and an adjoining share.

In all, there are seven soil cultivating members 11 disposed at regular intervals along the frame beam 1.

The longer arm 5 of each pair of arms 4,5 is provided at its lower end with a downwardly and rearwardly inclined carrier 12 for a subsoil agitator 13. The front edges of the carrier 12 and the subsoil agitator 13 are formed as cutting edges. The longer edge of the subsoil agitator 13 extends in a transverse direction. The effective width of each subsoil agitator 13 is slightly smaller than the effective width of a plough body. Each subsoil agitator 13 is tilted so that the side nearer the adjacent plough body is at a higher level than the other side. As a result, and owing to a rearwardly extending strip 14, reactive forces are produced in operation which act in opposition to the reactive forces produced by the cultivating members 11 so that during operation the assembly is more stable.As is shown in Figure 1, the cutting edges of the subsoil agitators 13 are aligned with each other, along a line which is substantially parallel to the frame beam 1. Figure 1 shows that each subsoil agitator 13 is located at least partly below the share of the adjacent plough member or plough body.

At its front end, the frame beam 1 is fastened to a frame beam 15 extending transversely of the direction A, at a position near one end of the frame beam 15. The frame beam 15 extends over the total working width of the soil cultivating members. The other end of the frame beam 15 is connected by a supporting beam 16 to the middle of the frame beam 1.

A frame beam 18 extends parallel to the frame beam 15, and some distance in front of it. The ends of the beams 15 and 18 are interconnected by vertical plates 19 extending in the direction A. Below the frame beams 15 and 18 and substantially midway between them there is a roller 20 (Figure 2 and 3). The roller 20 comprises a tubular carrier 21, which is freely rotatable, being mounted on stub shafts 22 supported by bearings in the plates 19. The length of the carrier 21 is about 3 metres and its diameter is preferably about 50 cms. Near its ends and at regular intervals between its ends the carrier 21 is provided with discs 23 disposed so that each of the discs 23 is located in front ofthefrontmost part of the respective one of the cultivating members 11, in this case, the share of the plough body.Each disc 23 is provided at its periphery with serrations formed by regularly spaced, arcuate recesses 24. The entire serrated peripheries of the discs 23 may be formed as cutting edges. Between each pair of adjacent discs 23 are disposed circumferential rows of ground engaging projections or tines 24A. The distance between the two rows or groups is substantially the same as the distance between each row or group and the adjacent disc 23. Each row has four pairs of tines 24A, each pair being made from a single piece of material bent substantially to the shape of a U.

The two tines 24A of each pair are straight and raked rearwardly with respect to the direction of operative rotation B of the roller at an angle of about 10 to a radial line (Figure 3). The part 25 between the two tines 24A of each pair is curved so that it is in surface contact with the tubular carrier 21. Each of the tines, as shown in Figure 3, tapers in a chisel-shaped manner towards the end extending transversely of the direction A and is slightly twisted about its longitudinal axis so that, with respect to the direction of rotation B, one end of the free edge is further ahead than the other. As shown in Figure 3, one tine 24A of eah pair is located at the same circumferential position as one of the recesses 24. The free ends of the tines are disposed at the outer circumference of the discs 23.Although not shown, the tines of adjacent groups may be relatively off-set about the rotary axis of the roller. At one end the stub shaft 22 for supporting the roller 20 is extended into a screening casing 26. Inside the screening casing 26 the extended stub shaft 22 is provided with a sprocket 27, which is drivably connected by a chain 28 with a sprocket 29 on a shaft 30, which is accommodated in a tube 31. The tube 31 is supported by a gear box 32 arranged between, and midway along, the frame beams 15 and 18. The shaft 30 extends into the gear box 32 where it is provided with a bevel gear wheel 33. The gear wheel 33 is drivably in mesh with a bevel gear wheel 34 on a shaft 35 extending in the direction A and projecting from the rear of the gear box 32 into a change-speed gear box 36.Inside the change-speed gear box 36, the shaft 35 is drivably connected by exchangeable wheels 37,38 with a shaft journalled in the gear box 32 and extending in the direction A to emerge from the front. The projecting end of the shaft can be coupled by an auxiliary shaft to the power take-off shaft of a tractor.

A beam 39 extends in the direction A between the supporting beam 16 and a position near the rear end of the frame beam 1. As viewed from the side, the beam 39 is slightly in the form of a bracket, its central region being at a level above the ends. The centrai region is substantially horizontal and, near the middle of the beam 39, it is provided with a bracket-shaped carrier 40. The carrier 40 is pivotable about an upwardly extending shaft 41 which is preferably substantially vertical. At the front, the carrier 40 has a lug 42 having a number of holes 43 for receiving a pin 44.The pin 44 can also be inserted into a hole in a lug 45 secured to the beam 39 so that the carrier 40 can be set in any one of a plurality of positions, in which it is inclined at different angles between 6 to 14"to a vertical plane extending transverse of the direction A, the end of the carrier 40 nearer the frame beam 1 being positioned further and further to the rear relatively to the other end as the angle increases. A roller 46 is rotatably journalled between the downwardly extending ends of the bracket-shaped carrier 40 and is provided at its periphery with tines which are shown only schematically but may be identical to the tines 24A of the roller 20 and disposed in the same manner. The roller 46, however, does not have discs corresponding to the discs 23.At the end adjacent the frame beam 1, a stub shaft for the roller is provided with a bevel gear wheel 47. The gear wheel 47 is located in a gear box 48 where it is drivably in mesh with a bevel gear wheel 49 on a shaft 50 which projects from the front of the gear box. The end of the shaft 50 projecting from the front of the gear box 48 is coupled by a shaft 51 including universal joints with an end of a shaft 52 projecting from the rear of the gear box 32. Inside the gear box 32 the shaft 52 is provided with a bevel gear wheel 53 which cooperates with a bevel gear wheel 54 on the shaft 30.

Nearthe middle of the front frame beam 18 there is a trestle 55 which is provided at the top with a pair of lugs 56 extending in the direction A, between which the top arm of a three-point lifting device of the tractor can be fitted. At the front, the beam 18 is provided at equal distances from its middle-point with lugs 57 between which the lower arms of the lifting device of the tractor can be fitted.

Between the supporting beam 16 and the frame beam 1 on the one hand and the rear end of the trestle 55 on the other hand there are arranged supports 58 and 59 respectively.

During operation, the machine is moved in the direction A and the roller 20 at the front, extending over the effective width of the machine, is driven in the direction B from the power take-off shaft of the tractor through the transmission described above.

During travel, the discs 23 of the roller cut slits in the soil and also cut up any plants lying on the ground, the cut pieces being chopped further by the groups of tines 24A between the discs 23 so that there is practically no risk of clogging for the plough bodies.

In order to avoid an adverse effect on the function of the roller 20, scrapers 60 are arranged between adjacent groups of tines 24A and between the groups of tines 24A and the adjacent dics 23. The scrapers are in the form of strips preferably of resilient material. The scrapers 60 are fastened to a carrier 61 in a disposition such that a line connecting the point where the free end of the scraper bears on the carrier 21 and the rotary axis of the scraper is inclined by at least 400, preferably at least 60 , to the horizontal. The scraper is, moreover, inclined to a tangential plane at that point (see Figure 3). Similar scrapers may be provided for the roller 46.

The roller 20 has, in addition to its cutting action, a propelling effect and thus constitutes a propulsion member. Behind it, the soil is further engaged by the seven soil cultivating members 11 arranged in echelon and constituted in this embodiment by plough bodies. The width of the strip of soil to be worked is determined by the slits made by the discs 23 of the roller 20, and the thickness of the worked layer is preferably about 10 cms. The subsoil agitators 13 arranged to the rear of, and underneath, the soil cultivating members and working at a depth of preferably about 25 cms produce, by their specific disposition in which the left-hand side, as viewed from the rear, is lower than the right-hand side, reactive forces which at least substantially balance out the reactive forces produced by the plough bodies so that the assembly remains satisfactorily steerable.With the working depths mentioned above, the displacement of earth is relatively small so that power is saved. The roller 46, which constitutes a supporting member, can also have a propulsion effect by means of the tines 24A and provides, in addition, stabilizing reactive forces. Variation of the magnitude of the reactive forces can be achieved by the adjusting device constituted by the pin 43 and the lugs 44 and 45. The longer arm 5 provides a more effective support for the soil working member 11.

Figure 5 shows an embodiment in which a transverse beam 63 is mounted behind the roller 20 by means of supports 62 extending in the direction A.

The transverse beam 63 is provided with plates 64 which support a carrier 65 for a row of soil cultivating members 66. The soil cultivating members or plough bodies 11 are in the form of tines and are each disposed behind one of the discs 23. Instead of the tine-shaped members other cultivating members may be provided behind the propelling roller 20. The transverse beam 63 is connected by diverging supports 67 with the top of the trestle 55.

Whilst various features of the machines that have been described, and that are illustrated in the drawings, will be set forth in the following claims as inventive features, it is to be noted that the invention is not necessarily limited to these features and that it encompasses all of the features that have been described both individually and in various combinations.

Claims

1. A soil cultivating machine comprising at least one soil cultivating member and, in front of the soil cultivating member, a roller which bears on the ground in operation in a manner such that plants and the like are pressed against the ground.

2. A soil cultivating machine as claimed in claim 1, in which the roller is power driven in operation.

3. A soil cultivating machine as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the roller comprises a plurality of spaced discs.

4. A soil cultivating machine as claimed in claim 3, in which each disc is provided at its periphery with recesses.

5. A soil cultivating machine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which ground engaging projections are disposed between the discs.

6. A soil cultivating machine as claimed in claim 5, in which two groups of ground engaging projections are disposed between each two adjacent discs.

7. A soil cultivating machine as claimed in claim 5 or 6, in which the ground engaging projections are raked rearwardly with respect to the direction of operative rotation of the roller.

8. A soil cultivating machine as claimed in any one of claims 5to 7, in which the ground engaging projections have chisel-shaped ends extending sub stantiallytransversely of the intended direction of operative travel of the machine, the ground engaging projections being twisted about their longitudinal axes.

9. A soil cultivating machine as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 8, in which each ground engaging projection terminates in a cutting edge.

10. A soil cultivating machine as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 9, in which scrapers are arranged between the discs.

11. A soil cultivating machine as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 10, in which each disc is disposed in front of a frontmost part of a respective one of a plurality of soil cultivating members arranged at different positions across the width of the machine.

12. A soil cultivating machine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which a subsoil agitator is disposed adjacent each soil working member, each subsoil agitator being disposed such that, in operation, it exerts on the machine a force having a component which is directed opposite to a component of a force exerted by a soil working member.

13. A soil working machine comprising at least one soil working member and a subsoil agitator disposed adjacent the soil working member such that in operation, a force exerted through the subsoil agitator on the machine has a component directed opposite to a component of a force exerted through the soil working member on the machine.

14. A soil working machine as claimed in claim 12 or 13, in which the subsoil agitator comprises a blade member which is inclined such that it is higher on the side adjacent the soil working member than at the other side.

15. A soil working machine as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 14, in which the subsoil agitator is disposed at least partly below a share of the soil working member.

16. A soil working machine as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 15 in which the subsoil agitator is fastened to an arm of the soil working member.

17. A soil working machine as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 16, in which the subsoil agitator is arranged on the machine to work a soil layer at a greater depth than the layer engaged by the soil working member.

18. A soil working machine comprising at least one soil working member and a subsoil agitator which is disposed on the machine in a manner such that;t works a soil layer at a greater depth than the soil layer engaged by the soil working member.

19. A soil working machine as claimed in any one claims 12 to 18, in which the subsoil agitator comprises a blade member, the length of which extends transversely of the intended direction of operative travel of the machine and which is provided at the rear side with a prolongation.

20. A soil working machine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, which is a plough.

21. A plough substantially as described herein with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.

22. A method of ploughing soil in which any plants standing on the ground are first pressed down to the ground and cut up, as the case may be, after which the soil layer with the plants is turned over.