GB2305837A - Combined seed drill, power harrow and packing roller - Google Patents

Abstract

A seeding drill comprises a rigid frame (24) which has means for attachment to a towing vehicle, a power harrow (20) adjustably secured to the frame to allow adjustment of the vertical position of the harrow relative to the frame, a compacting roller fixed relative to the frame, and a number of seeding coulters (27) mounted for setting in a number of different vertical positions relative to the frame. The form of the seeding drill allows wear on the tines of the power harrow to be compensated for without the need to adjust the setting of the seeding coulters.

Description

Seeding Drill The present invention is concerned with seeding drills, which are used in the agricultural industry to introduce seed into the ground, at a predetermined distribution and depth, when the drill is moved over the ground, usually by towing behind a tractor.

Numerous drills of the foregoing general type are available and they may comprise various components. However one conventional such drill incorporates three main components to carry out three successive operations in sequence. A power harrow by which the ground is subjected to an initial breaking up is followed by a compacting roller, which firms up or consolidates the broken-up soil, and by an array of coulters by means of which the seeds are introduced below the ground surface.

In a similar conventional drill, the compacting roller follows the coulters and thus firms up the ground after the seeds have been sown.

Most drills carry out these three operations, namely power-harrowing, soil compacting and seeding, in one sequence or another. In use, the component most frequently requiring attention is the harrow.

The heavy ground-breaking work carried out by the harrow causes wear on its tines, which as a consequence may progressively fail to penetrate the ground to the required depth. In order to compensate for this effect, the harrow must be lowered towards the ground but, since the power harrow unit is usually fixed relative to the frame of the drill, the whole frame must be lowered, for example by adjusting its position relative to the compacting roller. One result of such adjustment is that the height of the drill coulters relative to the frame must then in turn be modified to compensate for the lowering of the frame.

Thus to take account of the wear on the tines of the power harrow, it has been necessary to adjust the settings of both the compacting roller and the drill coulters.

It will be apparent that, with such prior seeding drills, corrective action to compensate for wear on the harrow tines, which may be necessary almost daily when the drill is in continuous use, is inconveniently long and complicated. It is an object of the present invention to provide a seeding drill by means of which some at least of the disadvantages of prior drills are reduced or eliminated.

The seeding drill according to the present invention comprises a rigid frame having means for attachment to a towing vehicle, a power harrow adjustably secured relative to said frame for attachment thereon in a plurality of different relative vertical positions, - a compacting roller fixedly secured relative to said frame, and a plurality of seeding coulters adjustably secured relative to said frame for setting in a plurality of different vertical positions relative to said frame.

In the seeding drill according to the present invention, because the level of the power harrow relative to the frame is adjustable while the compacting roller is at a fixed height relative to the frame, the harrow can be adjusted to compensate for wear on the harrow tines without any consequent adjustment of the coulters being necessary.

The power harrow may be of any of the wide range of types already known for this general purpose. Most preferred are those in which the tines are mounted for rotation about a vertical axis but tillers in which the soil-breaking heads are in the form of rotors or discs, in which these tools are rotated about a horizontal axis, or conventional harrows having radial tines, which may be spring-loaded, about a horizontal axis, are also suitable for use in the seeding drill of the present invention.

The compacting roller may have a generally plain surface or may be provided with rows of teeth to aid the compacting, especially where the soil is relatively heavy. It may be unitary or comprise two or more segments along a common axis. The roller or its components may be of steel or rubber.

The coulters are mounted so as to be able to be set at a chosen depth relative to the frame and thus relative to the compacting roller. However it is not necessary to adjust their operating depth when the harrow tines become worn, as with existing seeding drills. The coulters are preferably set along the length of one or more bars running transverse to the direction of travel of the drill, so that their setting may be varied by adjusting the position of the bar(s). They may be of any available type1 although in the present case coulters of the Suffolk type, in which the seed is led to the ground by a fixed shoe, are preferred.

However the coulters may alternatively be of the rotary disc type, in which the discs cut the furrows for seeding.

The sequence in which the components are mounted upon the frame of the drill, in the direction of the length of the drill, is in part a matter of choice, depending upon the condition of the soil upon which the drill is to be used and also upon the preference of the user. In general, it is preferred that the power harrow be mounted forwardly of the other two main components, that is the compacting roller and the coulters. The roller preferably follows the coulters but may precede them, in which latter case some device to close the furrows over the sown seed, for example a set of covering tines or press wheels or a press coil, is preferably provided.

As has been emphasised above, the mounting of the power harrow upon the frame of the drill is such as to allow adjustment of the height of the harrow thereon. In one form, the harrow is designed to be attached to the frame in a discrete number of positions. However it is much preferred that the relative positions of harrow and frame be continuously variable. Preferably the adjustment is carried out hydraulically, using power supplied by a towing vehicle, especially a tractor, but if desired the adjustment may be manual.

In a particularly preferred form of the seeding drill according to the invention, the power harrow is detachably mounted upon the frame of the drill, to allow servicing of the harrow at a location removed from the drill. This facility also allows the power harrow to be repLaced by a different component, for example a cultivator or rotavator attachment, if it is desired to carry out a different operation.

The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example only, two preferred embodiments of the seeding drill according to the present invention and wherein: Fig. 1 is an elevation from the side of the first form of drill; and Fig. 2 is a simplified elevation from the side of the second form of drill.

The drill illustrated in Fig. 1 is constructed upon a frame comprising the members 10, 11 and 12, provided with a conventional three-point linkage 13 to enable the drill to be attached to the rear of a tractor (not shown) by which it is moved over the ground to be seeded, in the direction from right to left of the drawing as illustrated.

Rigidly attached at the rearward end of the frame is a toothed compacting roller 14.

At the forward end of the frame a power harrow 15 is adjustably mounted so that the depth to which tines 16 on the harrow project downwardly into the ground can be varied. Two rows of coulters 17, by which the seeds to be sown are led into the soil) are mounted upon pivotal coulter bars extending across the drill between the harrow 15 and roller 14. Seed is fed to the coulters 17 at a controlled rate from a hopper 18 mounted above the frame.

As the illustrated drill is moved over the ground, the tines 16 on the harrow 15 are rotated about vertical axes and thereby break up the ground and provide a light level surface for sowing.

The coulters form narrow furrows in this surface and deposit seed at intervals along the furrows.

The soil is lightly compacted over the seed by the roller 14, which provides a firm bed in which the seed can develop but which leaves the soil sufficiently open to allow rainfall to penetrate below the surface.

The wear on the tines 16 is significant, to the extent that they may require adjustment or other maintenance every two or three days in the sowing season. However, because the drill frame is set at a fixed level by the roller 14 but the harrow 15 is adjustably mounted upon the frame, the level of the harrow, and thus the operating depth of the tines 16, can be varied to compensate for wear on the tines, without any adjustment of the coulter bars.

The second embodiment of the seeding drill according to the invention, illustrated in Fig.

2, is very similar to the first. However the manner of mounting and adjustment of the power harrow and the coulters is shown.

The powered harrow 20 is provided with hooks 21, which are designed to engage cross-bars (not visible in the drawing) on a support frame 22, which in turn is mounted upon pivots 23 on the drill frame member 24. The harrow 20 can readily be disengaged from the support frame 22 to allow for maintenance of the harrow, in particular for replacement of tines 25. In normal use of the drill, the harrow and its tines can be raised or lowered relative to the frame of the drill by a hydraulic ram 26, operated, for example from the cab of a towing tractor, using the tractor's hydraulic system to provide the necessary power.

Thus, by means of the ram 26, the operator can vary the depth of the tines 25 as circumstances may require, in particular tQ compensate for wear of the tines. The setting of coulters 27 may be left unchanged, although provision is made, in the form of a handle 28, to allow manual adjustment of the coulter bar 29 to enable the depth of penetration of the coulters, that is the depth at which the seed is sown, to be modified when necessary.

Claims (12)

1. A seeding drill comprising a rigid frame having means for attachment to a towing vehicle, a power harrow adjustably secured relative to said frame for attachment thereon in a plurality of different relative vertical positions, a compacting roller fixedly secured relative to said frame, and a plurality of seeding coulters adjustably secured relative to said frame for setting in a plurality of different vertical positions relative to said frame.

2. A seeding drill as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the power harrow comprises tines mounted for rotation about a vertical axis.

3. A seeding drill as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the power harrow comprises rotors, discs or tines mounted about a horizontal axis.

4. A seeding drill as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the compacting roller is provided with rows of teeth.

5. A seeding drill as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the seeding coulters are set along the length of one or more bars which are adjustably mounted transverse to the direction of travel of the seeding drill.

6. A seeding drill as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the seeding coulters are of the fixed-shoe type.

7. A seeding drill as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the power harrow is mounted forwardly of the compacting roller and seeding coulters.

8. A seeding drill as claimed in Claim 7, wherein the seeding coulters are mounted forwardly of the compacting roller.

9. A seeding drill as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the relative vertical positions of the power harrow and the rigid frame are continuously variable.

10. A seeding drill as claimed in Claim 9, wherein the adjustment of the relative vertical positions of the power harrow and the rigid frame is carried out hydraulically.

11. A seeding drill as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the power harrow is detachably mounted upon the rigid frame.

12. A seeding drill substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, Fig.l or Fig.2 of the accompanying drawings.