GB2279547A

GB2279547A - Apparatus for burying netting

Info

Publication number: GB2279547A
Application number: GB9413824A
Authority: GB
Inventors: James Mackenzie Sutherland
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1993-07-10
Filing date: 1994-07-08
Publication date: 1995-01-11
Anticipated expiration: 2014-07-08
Also published as: GB2279547B; GB9314312D0; GB9413824D0

Abstract

Apparatus for burying netting 9/3 to prevent access by burrowing animals is provided with a means for forming a trough in the ground in the form of a plough head 4, means carrying netting 7 and means for supplying the netting to the trough 11/12. The netting is then buried in the trough by the apparatus. The plough removes a furrow slice from the ground and replaces it once the netting has been placed in the trough. The apparatus can be trailed behind or formed as part of a tractor which can drive along a fence line burying the netting at the foot of the fence. <IMAGE>

Description

APPARATUS FOR BURYING NETTING This invention relates to an apparatus for burying netting. In the fields of agriculture, horticulture, forestry and other fields where the movement of animals must be restricted, it is necessary to form a barrier to control the movement of vermin or livestock.

In this field it is already known that effective barriers restricting the movement of animals can be created by erecting netting with an appropriate mesh size and gauge which is manufactured from a suitable material. In the United Kingdom rabbits are the most common pest species whose movement needs to be restricted. Rabbit netting has been erected in the past either against an existing stock fence or as part of a new fence line. As rabbits are burrowing creatures attempts must be made to insert netting below the base of a fence to prevent rabbits or other animals from burrowing underneath the fence.

There are two principal ways of preventing animals such as rabbits from burrowing underneath the fence.

Firstly, a trench can be dug by hand immediately alongside the line of the existing or new stock fence.

A typical trench is up to 300 mm wide and deep. Rabbit netting is then rolled out along the line of the stock fence and fixed to the foot of the fence, typically to the lower 200-450 mm of the fence. The rabbit netting hangs down the side and across the bottom of the trench pointing towards the rabbit infested ground and away from the ground to be protected. The trench is then filled in by hand securing and burying the netting.

Rabbits digging down the netting come across the horizontal portion of the netting at the bottom of the trench and are deterred from proceeding further.

Secondly, the netting is rolled out along the line of the fence but no attempt is made to bury the netting.

Instead the netting is fixed to the fence and the bottom part of the netting is turned horizontally out from the fence towards the rabbit infested ground and either pegged to the ground with wire loops or held down with stones or turf. Rabbits approaching this barrier will be standing on the netting and therefore will not be able to dig their tunnels underneath the fence from the place at which they are most likely to try.

These two methods have the disadvantages that they are both slow, laborious and costly. The first method is the most effective but it is extremely laborious.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus for burying netting comprising a means for forming a trough in the ground, means for carrying netting, means for supplying the netting to the trough and means for burying the netting in the trough.

Preferably, the means for forming the trough is in the form of a ploughing head.

Preferably, the ploughing head comprises a plough share and/or mouldboard adapted to turn the furrow slice into an upright position. Means may be provided for holding the furrow slice in that position temporarily and then return it to its original orientation.

Preferably, the netting is provided in the form of a roll of netting and the means for supplying the netting is in the form of unwinding means.

Preferably, a cutting means is provided in the form of a rotating disc for cutting any vegetation prior to forming a trough in the ground.

Preferably, there is provided a support means for the roll of netting in the form of a quick release spool.

Preferably, a guide arm is provided for guiding the netting into the trough.

Preferably, there are means for positioning the trough forming means adjacent to a fence or barrier.

Preferably, the positioning means is in the form of a telescopic arm disposed orthogonally to the line of the trough.

The apparatus for burying netting may be in the form of an attachment to a tractor, the apparatus being disposed at the side of the tractor.

Alternatively, the apparatus for burying netting may be formed as an independent vehicle.

Preferably, the apparatus for burying netting has sensor means and self-adjusting means for adjusting the trough forming means to compensate for variations in the ground and other parameters.

Preferably, the adjusting means are powered by hydraulic power provided by the tractor.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a plan of the apparatus in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus from Direction A of Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a side elevation of the apparatus from Direction B shown in Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, an apparatus 1 is provided for burying netting adjacent to a fence. The apparatus 1 is attached to and pulled by an agricultural tractor.

The apparatus 1 is mounted on the tractor lift arms.

However the apparatus 1 could be adapted to a trailed version or alternatively it could be mounted on an alternative power source.

The apparatus 1 consists of a specially designed "plough like" head 4 which is offset to the side of the tractor. The head 4 is protected against shock loading by a shear-bolt system 10. The head 4 is proceeded by a rolling disc 5 to cut the grass turf prior to the passage of the head 4. The disc 5 can either be in a fixed position in relation to the head 4 or can be made to swing through a short arc on an arm allowing it to be spring loaded to hold it against the line of the fence 2 thereby ensuring that the cut edge of the open furrow and therefore the final position of the buried portion of the netting is as close to the fence 2 as possible. The share and mouldboard 11 mounted on the head 4 are, unlike an ordinary plough, designed not to invert the "furrow slice" 6 turned out but to set it on its edge so that the plough head 4 can pass between it and the fence 2.

Immediately behind the head 4 is mounted the netting holder and dispenser 7. This is vertically adjustable 8 and accepts a standard roll of netting 9 on a quick fill spool in such a way that the end of the roll of netting 9 can be attached to the adjacent fence 2 and then as the tractor moves forward pulling the head 4 through the ground, the netting is unrolled in the shelter of the mouldboard 11 and its deflector plates 12 to be left sitting partly across the bottom of the still open furrow and up its side wall with the remainder positioned against the adjacent fence 2.

The exact position of the netting in the bottom of the trench is controlled by a guide arm 13 which holds the netting down long enough for the falling furrow slice 6 to catch and grip it in its final resting place. The furrow slice 6described above is positively retained on edge by a specially shaped arm 14 which in adverse conditions stops it falling onto its back and after the passage of the head 4 and the roll of netting 9 pushes it down onto the newly installed netting.

The netting holder and dispenser 7 described above is designed to give a quick change over between rolls of netting 9. It consists of a lower locating cone 15 over which the roll of netting 9 is dropped before the internal roller 16 is dropped through an upper locating ring down through the centre of the roll of netting 9 and over the lower locating cone 15. At present a standard roll of netting 9 is 50 metres long but longer lengths of netting would reduce the downtime required to change rolls of netting 9.

In situations where there is no turf on top of the ground or if the soil is of a friable nature it has been found that the furrow slice 6 will not sit conveniently and neatly on edge. For these soil conditions a secondary plough is used consisting of several revolving concave discs which are mounted approximately vertically in an overlapping line at about 450 to the line of travel. The secondary plough is mounted behind the furrow retaining arm 14 mentioned above, in such a way that the loose or lumpy soil is moved sideways into the open furrow and on top of the netting foot. This function can also be achieved less effectively but more cheaply by a sweep arm similarly positioned at 450 to the line of travel of the apparatus 1.

In order that a fence 2 can be followed more accurately than ordinary tractor driving will allow, there are positional control mechanisms which enable the netting to be consistently placed to within 25 mm of the existing or new fence line 2. These control systems are an integral but not essential part of the apparatus 1. One, some or all of them can be removed without compromising the ability of the apparatus 1. However as each one is removed the quality of the work will drop incrementally because it will not be possible to place the netting so accurately alongside the fence 2 thereby leading to aesthetic and practical deficiencies in the finished article. These are described below: (1). The head 4 is mounted on a telescopic arm 17 which travels at right angles to the fence line 2. This allows the operator to constantly adjust the distance between the whole head 4 and netting holder and dispenser 7 and the fence 2 thereby compensating for ground variations and driving error. This movement could be produced in other ways for instance by the use of a parallel linkage.

(2). The head 4 is pivoted at its mounting point 18 to the end of the telescopic arm 17 in order that the netting holder and dispenser 7 can be adjusted to be approximately vertical to the adjacent fence 2.

This allows the apparatus 1 to cope with uneven terrain and particularly where the fence 2 which is being followed is not built perpendicular to the ground on which it sits. The facility can also be used to maintain the netting which is left above the ground at a constant height to improve the finished appearance.

(3). At all times the netting holder and dispenser 7 is fixed in the plane which is at right angle to the direction of travel, in a position perpendicular to the head 4 and its mounting beam. However, although positioned in the plane running along the line of travel and the netting holder and dispenser 7 is approximately perpendicular, it has been found that a certain degree of movement is beneficial to allow the netting to be played out in a tidy manner behind the apparatus 1 and to adjust its height. This is achieved by pivoting the netting holder 19.

Each of these adjustments is powered by a double acting hydraulic cylinder (HC) controlled by the operator through a valve chest connected to the tractor hydraulics. On more sophisticated versions of the apparatus 1 a sensor is mounted between the head mounting beam 20 and the fence 2 which allows control of Systems (1) and (2) to be exercised constantly either through a mechanical linkage or by electric servos.

The whole apparatus 1 is carried, whilst in work, on two land wheels 21 one on either side. These are adjustable vertically either simply by a clamp mechanism or by screw adjustment or by hydraulic cylinders.

Due to the large lengths of netting which can be erected by the apparatus 1 in a day it has been found necessary to mount a netting carrying cradle 22 on the apparatus 1 to minimise the number of returns to base.

The apparatus 1 because of its control systems is able to operate close to post and wire fencing erecting the netting precisely and immediately adjacent to the fence 2. These same control systems enable the apparatus 1 to operate over very difficult terrain and still maintain a high standard of work.

The apparatus 1 can achieve high workrates when compared with the existing methods of erecting/burying by hand.

Improvements and modifications could be made to the aforementioned without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

CLAINS

1. An apparatus for burying netting comprising a means for forming a trough in the ground, means for carrying netting, means for supplying the netting to the trough and means for burying the netting in the trough.

2. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the means for forming the trough is in the form of a plough head.

3. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the plough head comprises a plough share and/or mouldboard adapted to turn a furrow slice into an upright position.

4. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 3, wherein means are provided for holding the furrow slice in an upright position temporarily and then return it to its original orientation.

5. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the netting is provided in the form of a roll of netting and the means for supplying the netting is in the form of unwinding means.

6. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein a cutting means is provided in the form of a rotating disc for cutting any vegetation prior to forming a trough in the ground.

7. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 5 or 6, wherein there is provided a support means for the roll of netting in the form of a quick release spool.

8. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein a guide arm is provided for guiding the netting into the trough.

9. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein there are means for positioning the trough forming means adjacent to a fence or barrier.

10. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 9, wherein the positioning means is in the form of a telescopic arm disposed orthogonally to the line of the trough.

11. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the apparatus is an attachment to a tractor, the apparatus being disposed at the side of the tractor.

12. An apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 10, wherein the apparatus is formed as an independent vehicle.

13. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the apparatus has sensor means and self-adjusting means for adjusting the trough forming means to compensate for variations in the ground and other parameters.

14. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 13, wherein the adjusting means are powered by hydraulic power provided by the tractor.

15. An apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.