IL100138A - Equipment for drilling a row of holes in soil - Google Patents

Description

EQUIPMENT FOR DRILLING A ROW OF HOLES IN SOIL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIO The invention relates to equipment adapted to drill a row of relati ely shallow holes in the while tra elling along at uniform without stopping during drilling of each The equipment is particularly useful in digging equidistant holes for the purpose of planting trees or erecting fence The conventional equipment for drilling holes in the soil usually consists of a vehicle equipped with a vertical rotating earth drill or auger attached to a boom which is adapted to lower and urge the rotating drill into the soil and to pull it out of the drilled hole after its The preferably a is moved from hole to hole and remains in each location until the hole is before being mo ed to the next The drill is generally rotated by either hydraulical or mechanical transmission means operated by the tractor and its output is between 4o to 100 holes per under fa orable With the aim to the output of drilled holes the present inventors designed drilling equipment for attachment to an agricultural traction vehicle which was capable of drilling eral hundred of holes per hour while moving across the soil at uniform out having to be stopped at each hole The equipment was patented in Israel 77493 of and in under dated and includes a carriage attached to a traction vehicle which is provided with at least one earth auger having cutting lips at its which auger is about its central The auger is attached to the carriage by a re vol vable axle positioned perpendicular to the direction of tra el and rotated by means of a chain dri ve f om a road wheel of the carriage at a proportional to the speed of the The tip of the rotating and revol ing auger enters the and the auger drills a hole lea es it while the equipment whereby the the auger are adjusted to the distance and the shape of the holes to be In accordance with our abo vementio ed patents the carriage carrying one or two augers is attached to the tractor in central whereby the holes are drilled along a line between the tractor In since the carriage is drawn by the the operator is obliged to look rearwards in order to check the holes in respect of size and Another drawback disco ered during operation of the augers is that they work well in loose but that their efficiency is low in harder taking into the action of the cutting lips at the auger It was also learned that adjustment of the aver position for drilling holes of different depth was complicated with the equipment as protected by the and that new means to be found for this It the object of the present invention to impro ve the operation of the hole drilling equipment along the following To drill holes outside of the track of the on one or both instead of centrally aligned with the tractor To impro e the action of the augers in all kinds of especially hard To permit drilling of holes of different depth and of different To permit ready exchange of the quantity and of the shape of the holes to be To pro ide equipment of sturdy and SUMMARY OF THE The equipment for drilling at least one row of substantially equidistant in soil a carriage attached to the front or the rear of a traction said carriage being supported by at one road a rotatable main shaft mounted on said carriage positioned perpendicular to the direction of travel of said equipment and being rotated by the of the engine of said traction vehicle through first transmission gear at least one second transmission re vol vably mounted on said carriage with its input shaft coaxially aligned and coupled said main shaft and with its at least one shaft perpendicular to said input said transmission gear being re ol ed during tra el of said equipment by chain gear means coupling said at least one road wheel to said transmission its re olutions being proportional to those of said road at least one earth auger including an auger cutting lips at the tip and helical blades wound around said said auger shaft being firmly and rotatably coupled to said at least one output shaft of said second transmission gear so as to being revolved in a vertical plane perpendicular to said main shaft and rotated about its during each re olution it enters the soil to a predesignated depth and excavates the soil by action of said helical The auger is preferably provided with exca ating blades in the form of a double wherein the tip of each helix is provided with and hard digging In the case of more e ery blade ends in of similar The peripheral edges of the helical are preferably studded with hard cutting in addition to the kni es at their In order to permit the augers to dig deeper holes they may be lengthened by a member interposed between the output shaft of the transmission and the top of the The second is positioned at the end of a tubular shaft which surrounds the main shaft and is supported in bearing means fastened near the lateral end of the The drilling equipment preferably carries augers at each lateral end causing holes to be drilled on both sides of the traction With the aim to obtaining distant holes at closer it is proposed that two augers each are fastened to two opposite output shafts of each resulting in four augers all The carriage includes a crosswise extending beam attached to a tractor hitch in a conventional the main shaft and the first transmission as well as the bearings for the tubular shaft or shafts are firmly connected to the preferably underneath it in order to limit the length of the equipment One or two road wheels are attached to the rear of the beam by either fixed or pivoted the latter serving to adjust the height of the beam abo e The transmission ratio between the road wheel and the second transmission gear can be adjusted so as to change the interval between adjacent With a view to obtaining holes of different lengthwise shape both the transmission ratio and the length of the auger can be changed by exchanging or both sprocket wheels of the as well as placing intermediate members of different length between the auger shaft and the mission Another way of changing the shape of the holes is by raising or lowering the equipment by attaching the wheel to the beam by a pi voted arm and altering the angle of attachment in a suitable In as for instance for planting small saplings in it is not necessary to excavate the holes but to loosen the soil to the depth the auger will For this purpose augers will be pro ided wherein the helical blades are completely omitted and two sets of digging kni ves are connected to the tip of the auger by means of sectional With a view to obtaining impro ved gripping of the soil by the ference is preferably studded with hard teeth similar to the teeth provided along the circumferential edges of the helical blades as afore SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a perspecti ve view of a equipment attached to a comprising one earth auger Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the drilling equipment of Figure Figure 3 is a perspecti ve view of a equipment attached to a comprising one auger on each side of the Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the equipment of Figure 5 shows the equipment illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 attached to the front an agricultural Figure 6 illustrates an auger pro ided with cutting digging kni ves at its tip and cutting teeth along its helical blades being Figure 7 is an end view of the auger shown in Figure Figures 8 and 9 show the digging kni ves an enlarged Figure 10 shows different shapes of holes available by using different speed ratios and drilling and Figure 11 a perspecti ve view of the drilling equipment as illustrated in Figure showing a road wheel connected to the beam of the equipment by means of a pivoted DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE Figure 1 shows a carriage I attached to the rear of an agricultural tractor II by means of its point hitch The carriage essentially includes a horizontal beam 1 aligned perpendicular to the direction of tra el and supported by one road wheel 2 attached to the beam by an arm As shown in Figure 5 the carriage may likewise be attached to the front of a tractor for this will be pro ided with connecting means and a at its front Referring now to Figures 1 and the drilling equipment is mounted neath the beam 1 and includes a first transmission gear 4 having its input shaft 20 coupled to the of the tractor and its output shaft to a horizontal shaft 5 connecting it to a second transmission gear 6 ser ving to rotate an auger IV about its The shaft 5 is supported by bearings and trans verses a tubular shaft 8 which supports the gear 6 and is itself rotatably supported in bearings positioned in a tubular housing 9 which is rigidly connected to the beam 1 by plates 10 and bolts A sprocket wheel 12 is mounted on the inner end of the the tubular shaft 8 rotates it by means of a chain dri e consisting of a chain 13 and a second sprocket 14 mounted on the axle of the wheel The auger IV includes a double helix of exca ating blades 7 which end each in one set of digging knives and cutting lips attached to the end of auger shaft The weight of the auger is balanced by a counterweight 16 fastened to the opposite output shaft of the transmission gear The digging kni es are shown at an enlarged scale n Figures 8 and As soon the tractor travels along its predesignated path the gear 6 and the attached auger IV are re vol ved the shaft 8 which is rotated by mo vement of the road wheel via the chain whereby the auger enters the soil during each revolution and and the digging kni es loosen the soil and drill a hole by force of their The helical blades then exca ate the loose soil and leave an open The auger is rotated by way of the transmission gear 4 which is coupled to the PTO of the the shaft 5 and the gear In accordance with the progressional speed of the auger tip in relation to the speed of tra el of the different shapes of holes can be drilled in the The drilling equipment illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 carries one auger IV and IV at each end of the the dr es for rotating and revol ing the two augers being identical with those shown in Figures 1 and and symmetrical to the axis of the tractor and the With the object of re ol ng the auger IV the road wheel 2 is mounted at the end of a rotating axle 21 which is supported by two arms 3 and The axle carries at each end a sprocket wheel which dri e two tubular shafts 8 and by chain transmissions consisting each of a sprocket wheel and a chain In all other respects the components of the auger dri ves correspond to those shown in Figures 1 and The ad antage of drilling two rows of holes simultaneously during one pass of tractor and equipment is but on the other hand one row alone is often required as for in the case of fence In this case either the equipment illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 will be or that of Figures 3 and 4 by temporarily remo the earth auger at one end of the With the aim to drilling holes at closer inter two earth augers each may be to the transmission gears 6 on opposite output thus ha ing four working In this case the counterweights 16 will be removed and replaced by This arrangement is not since it is The auger illustrated in Figures 5 and comprises the auger shaft 15 pro ided at its end with digging knives cutting lips and peripheral teeth while the helical blades been This auger es to drill holes without excavating the loosened but leaving it in the thisa type of hole is required in all cases where small tree saplings are to be planted into the loose enabling them to spread their roots out encountering hard ground and thus to grow The depth and shape of the drilled holes may be increased by fastening an intermediate member between the output shaft of the transmission gear 6 and the shaft 15 of the the length of the member defined by the additional depth Another way of changing the depth to which the auger will drill holes is shown in Figure the arm carrying the road wheel 2 is connected to the beam 1 of the equipment by its upper end being rotatably mounted on the tubular housing The position of the arm is fixed by a bolt 20 running in a slot 21 of a vertical plate whereto it can be bolted at the required angle according to the desired height of the beam above It will be understood that the equipment illustrated and described shows the principle of drilling parallel rows of holes in soil during continuous and that variations and modifications may be carried out to it by a person skilled in the within the scope of the appended insufficientOCRQuality

Claims (12)

- 10 - 100,1:38/2 C L A I M S : -

1. Drilling equipment to be attached to a traction vehicle and being adapted for drilling at least one row of substantially equidistant holes in soil, said at least one row being beyond the tracks of said traction vehicle, said equipment comprising, a carriage attached to the front or to the rear of said traction vehicle, said carriage being supported by at least one road wheel, a rotatable main shaft mounted on said carriage substantially perpendicular to the direction of travel and being rotated by the output of the engine of said traction vehicle through first transmission gear means, at least one second transmission gear revovably mounted on said carriage beyond the tracks of said traction vehicle, with its input shaft coaxially aligned with, and coupled to, said main shaft and with its at least one output shaft positioned perpendicular to said input shaft, said transmission gear being adapted to be revolved during travel of said equipment by transmission means coupling said at least one road wheel to said second transmission gear, effecting said gear to revolve proportional to the revolutions of said road wheel, at last one earth t .'auger including an auger shaft, cutting lips at the tip of said shaft, and helical blades wound around said shaft, said auger shaft being firmly and rotatably coupled to said at least one output shaft of said second transmission gear so as to be revolved in a vertical plane parallel to the direction of travel and rotated about its axis, whereby during each revolution said earth auger enters the soil to a predes i gnated depth and excavates the soil by action of said helical blades.

2. The drilling equipment of Claim 1, wherein said auger includes at least two sets of blades arranged in parallel helical alignment, and wherein each end of said blades is provided with a set of digging knives.

3. The drilling equipment of Claim 1, wherein the outer edges of said helical blades are provided with small hard cutting teeth.

4. The drilling equipment of Claim 1, wherein said carriage comprises a horizontal beam extending perpendicular to the direction of tra el beyond the width of said traction vehicle, and one said second transmission gear rotatably fastened to at least one lateral end of said beam, said second transmission gear carrying at least one said auger adapted to being rotated about its axis by said main shaft through said second transmission gear.

5. The drilling equipment as defined in Claim 4, wherein said second transmission gear is mounted at the outer end of a tubular shaft which surrounds said main shaft and is rotatably mounted in bearing means underneath said beam, said tubular shaft being adapted to be rotated during tra vel of the equipment by means of a chain dri ve coupling said tubular shaft to the hub of said road wheel of said carriage.

6. The drilling equipment of Claim 1 attached to a tractor by means of its three-point-hitch, wherein said main shaft is rotated . by means of said . first transmission gear coupled to the power-take-off of said tractor.

7. The drilling equipment of any of the preceding claims wherein the depth of the drilled holes can be increased by adding an intermediate member between said auger and the output shaft of said second transmission gear.

8. The drilling eguipment as defined in any of the preceding claims wherein one said tubular shaft, one second transmission gear and auger is mounted at each end. of said main shaft, and wherein two road wheels are pro ided each ser ing to revol e one said tubular shaft and said second transmission gear by means of one chain dri ve each .

9. The drilling eguipment of Claim 4, wherein said road wheel is attached to said horizontal beam by means of an arm carrying said road wheel at its lower end.

10. The drilling eguipment of Claim 9, wherein said arm is fastened to said beam by pi ot means permitting the adjustment of the height of the eguipment abo e ground le vel and thereby adjustment of the depth of the holes to be drilled by each auger.

11. Equipment for drilling at least one row of substantially equidistant holes in soil comprises a carriage attached to the front or to the rear of a traction vehicle, said carriage being supported by at least one road wheel, a rotatable main shaft mounted on said carriage substantially perpendicular to the direction of travel and being rotated by the output of the engine of said traction vehicle through first transmission gear means, at least one second transmission gear re vol vably mounted on said carriage with its input shaft coaxially aligned with, and coupled to, said main shaft and with its at least one output shaft positioned perpendicular to said input shaft, said transmission gear being adapted to be re ol ed during tra el of said equipment by transmission means coupling said at least one road wheel to said second transmission gear, causing said gear to revolve proportional to the re olutions of said road wheel, at least one earth '.'auger including an auger shaft, provided at its tip with cutting lips and digging teeth, said auger shaft being firmly and rotatably coupled to said at least one output shaft of said second transmission gear so as to be re olved in a vertical plane parallel to the direction of travel and rotated about its axis, whereby during each revolution it enters the soil to a predesignated depth and loosens the soil by action of said cutting lips and said digging teeth.

12. The equipment for drilling a row of holes in soil substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. For the Applicants, E . AJ Glucksman Patent Attorney