US1722850A - Disk plow and frame for same - Google Patents

Description

July 30, 1929..

A. P. M KAY DISK PLOW AND FRAME FOR SAME Filed May 17', 1926 s Sheets-Sheet July 30, 1 A. P. M KAY DISK PLOW AND FRAME FOR SAME s Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 1'7, 1926 July 30, 1929. A. P. McKAY I DISK PLOW AND FRAME FOR SAME Filed May 17, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet Fatented July 30, 1929. 1

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE.

AUGUSTA POSTELLA MGKAY, or EoME, GEORGIA, nssronon TO TOWERS & SULLIVAN MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF ROME, GEORGIA, Aoo roEA'rIon 0 GEORGIA.

DISK PLOW AND FRAME FOR SAME.

Application filed May 17, 1926. Serial No. 109,685.

The present invention relates to improvements in disk plows, and has for an ObJBCl] to provide an improved plow frame constructed and arranged with reference to the wheel supports and disk mountings as to secure improved strength and resistance to the tortional strains set up incident to the use of the disk plows, and whereby also an effective distribution of the weight is had to oppose the tilting tendency in the frame resulting from the reaction of the disks upon the soil.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means for the raising and lowering of the plow with particular reference to the operator who, under present day practice, is seated upon a tractor used for drawing the plow. Under this practice it becomes necessary that the raising and lowering device be within easy reach of the tractor seat at all times, and this for many reasons is impracticable with the well known system of levers now in general use.

The invention also contemplates certain improved constructional parts in the plow frame, steering mechanism and disk mounting's, whereby ease in operation, great strength and economy in production are se-,

section taken on the line 4 i in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a front elevation of the spring support for the raising and lowering device. Figure 6 is a cross section taken on the line 6-6 in Figure 2.

Figure 7 is a similar section taken on the line 7'? in Figure 2.

Figure 4 1s a fragmentary longitudinal,

Figure 8 is also a cross section taken on the line 8-8 in Figure 2.

Figure 9 is a front elevation of thedisk support.

Figure 10 1s a cross section, with parts shown in elevation, taken through the guide lever and support for the raising and lowering mechanism.

Figure 11 is a fragmentary elevation, with parts shown in section, of the movable stand of the raising and lowering device, and

' Figure 12 isa section taken on the line 12- 12 in Figure 11.

Referring more partlcularly'to the drawings, 14 designates an elongated narrow bar forming the front portion oft-he frame and being reinforced by the central upstanding rib 15, which terminates short in the enlarged head 16 of the .bar to which is pivoted as on the fulcrum 17 av bell cranklever 18 carrying the clevis 19 for attach ment to the draw bar of a tractor.

, The clevis 19 is carried forwardly of the head 16 by one branch arm of the bell crank lever 18; while the lateral branch of this bell crank leveris pivotally coupled to an end of a link 20 extending back along and" above the neck bar 14: and preferably being twisted at some point intermediate its endsto strengthen the barv and to enable it to be made of thin strap metal. This metal is therefore enabled to lie along side the lever 21 to which it is attached as by the bolt 22.

the bolt 23 to the web or reinforcing rib l5'of the neck bar 14. shown in Figure 10, whereinthe neck bar is shown to be of channel construction having downwardly extending side flanges 24 and 25. These flanges are therefore offset from the reinforcing rib 15, which extends upwardly from approximately the central portion of the neck bar. The lever 21 isadapted to swing about the bolt 23 and for this purpose a flanged bushing'26 is fitted about the bolt. 23 and in an opening in the-lower end of the lever 21. In a similar way' the link 20 is fitted to the bolt 22 passing through the lever 21 at-a point above its lower end by a similar flanged bushing 27.

The lever 21 swings back and forth in a plane coincident with the direction of move- This, construction is 'The lever is bolted at its lower end as by ment of the machine or the longitudinal center line thereof, and the lever carries a spring-pressed latch 28 under the control of a hand grip 29. 1 The latch is adapted to fit in the teeth of a segmental rack bar 30.

By gripping the handle or upper end of the lave-r21- the hand grip 29 may be at the same time squeezed in the hand and the latch 28 withdrawn from the segmental rack 30 to enable the lever to be swung about its fulcrum point 23 and consequently through the link to adjust the clevis. The rack bar is bolted to the web or rib-15. v

The web 15 intersectsa flange 31 and ex tehds to and joins with a companion flange 32. The flanges 31 and 32 are curved in form and spaced apart and they stand up at the opposite edges of the curved frame member or casting 33; The casting 33 origi- P nates approximately at the rear end of the neck bar 14-, and the neck bar is widened at thisarear portion where it merges into the flange 31- and casting and theflange 31 ex tends completely across the wider rear end portion of the neck bar '14 in a sweeping curve and it is curved to the forward end of the' inner flange The inner flange is preferazbi higher and the flanges are joined and rein orced' by the re'ar'portion of the web or rib'15; These flanges and the casting the tailfia-nge 37. From this point of junc-' ture thetlail flange 37 i's directed rearwardly insubstantial'ly the direction of movement of the machine and an apron extends outwardly from this tail flange 37 joining at its forward end to the inwardly directed end portion of the outer flange 31.

.The casting extends in an arc to one side ofthe neck bar 14 and at its ends it is provided" with the spaced and substantially parallel" supports 39 and 40 which lie diagonally with respect to the longitudinal axis of the frame; These supports or hangers 39,. and 40' are adapted totcarry the disk plows 41 and 42 and these plows are mounted; for rotation upon the pins 43 shown in Figure 8. The: pins and their bushings 44 are fnount'ed in tapered sockets 45- carried 31;. the lower portion of plates 46, shown in Figure 9, which plates are'provided withthe openings 47 for the attaching bolts 48, which passthrough the supports or hangers 39 and 40 The plates have their lower ends reduced and bent outwardly to give the disks the proper inclination. The plates 46 are furtherprovi-ded with the enlargements 49 and 50 along their opposite vertical edges and at the inner sides of the plates 46 are the horizontally extending shoulders 51., which take beneath the supports or hangers 39 and 40, as shown in Figure 8.

The disks 41 and 42 are shown as spaced both longitudinally and laterally and they are offset diagonally in accordance with the usual practice. structe'dwith view tomeeting the resistance and the reaction set up by disk plows so arranged and disposed as will be later explained I i The rear plow support or hanger 40 is provided with a leg 52 substantially parallel tot-he roar-most portion of the tail rib 37 and the tail rib and the leg 52 join with op zosite enlarged ends of the sleeve 53. The axle 54 is received through this sleeve as shown in Figure 6 and bolts 55 in any suitable number are passed through the axle and sleeve to support the axle and avoid its rotation. The axle carries the ground wheel 56. The otherground wheel 57 is offset rearwardly from the companion ground wheel 56 and is carried in a supplemental frame 53having the arms 59 and 60, which re fitted to rotate about the axle 54 at opposite ends of the sleeve 53. The bolts 55 passing through the sleeve also serve to hold the supplemental frame 58 against longitudinalor axial motion on the axle 54. The rear portion of the supplemental frame 58 carries the tnbular bearing 61 in which is fitted the stub shaft 62 for carrying the ground Wheel 57. The shaft is preferably held in the tubular bearing and against mo- 'tion by use of thebolt 63.

The supplemental frame 58 is provided. with an upstanding web64-at its enter side to which is coupled as by bolts or other suitable means a post 65 useful for swinging the supplemental frame about the and thus adjusting the depth of the disk plows. The wheel 57 carried by this adjustable frame tracks in rear of the rearmost disk plow 4.2, while the weight wheel 56 is at the outer end ofthe elongated axle 54 and is spaced from the frame and from the disks. Any number of weights may be fitted to this wheel or its axle in accordance with prevailing practice. The post 65, shown in Figures 1,11 and 12 extends up wardly from the web 64 of the supplemental frame and is passed through a yoke 66 provided with an opening to receive the post and having the upstanding arms 67 and 68 perforated near their upper free ends to receive trunnions 69 and 7 0 upon the swivel nut 71 through which the screw rod 72 is threaded. A collar 73 is fitted about the post 65 above the yoke 66 and is secured to the post as by the cotter pin 74. The post projects above the collar 73 and receives at its upper end an opening in the U-shaped brace 75, the arms of which are secured as by the rivets 76 and 77 to the side The curved frame is conbars 67 and 68 of the yoke. I The yoke carrying the swivel nut 71 is thus free to turn on the post 65. In other words the yoke is swivelly mounted about a vertical axis and the nut 71 is swivelly mounted in the yoke about a horizontal axis. This permits the yoke and nut to accommodate itself to changes in positions of the parts to which they are connected.

. The screw rod 7 2 extends forwardly abovethe disks and at its forward end into and through a shell or casing 7 8 having lateral trunnions 7 9 mounted in the arms of a yoke 81 similar to the yoke 66. This yoke is mounted for movement about the vertical axis of the standard 82 and it is supported on the standard by means of the collar 83 pinned to the standard and engaged at its upper end by the U-shaped brace 84: riveted to the side arms 80 of the yoke 81. This construction is shown in Figure 10. 1 The shell 78 is thus permitted to move universa-lly about both vertical and horizontal axes. The shell and its associated parts are shown more particularly in Figures 3, 4t and 5.

In Figure 41: particularly the shell is shown as being contracted at its end 85 to provide an internal shoulder for the series of antifriction balls 86. A collar 87 takes against these balls at the opposite end and this collar is secured by the pin 88, or otherwise to the screw shaft 72. A second series of balls 89 is mounted against the opposite side of the collar 87 to take up the end thrust of the screw rod. The latter balls 89 are confined by a sleeve 90 fitted about the screw rod 72 and having an outer plate 91 extending against the flange 92 on the forward end of the shell 78 and aflixed to this flange 92 as by the countersunk bolts 98. The plate 91 is provided with the forwardly extend ing rim 94 having a number of notches 95 therein. These notches are shown to divide the rim 94% into quadrants, or in other words to be, located at 90 degrees apart; but any number of notches may be provided.

These notches are arranged to cooperate with a dog 96 upon an operating lever 97, which is provided with the forwardly extending handle 98 for-purposes of rotation. The lever 97 is provided with the elongated slot 99, as shown in Figure 3 to straddle the collar 100 of the device shown in Figure 5. This device is a spring support or spring backer and it is secured to the screw rod 72 by the use of a pin 101, which also extends outwardly and through the lever 97 in order to form a rocking joint for the lever 97 to enable the lever to rock the dog'96 into and out of engagement with the notches 95. A coil spring 102 acts to hold the dog 96 in one of the notches 95 and this coil spring is seated in a socket 103 in the end of the lever 97 opposite the handle 98. The spring 102 engages about a stud 104 on an arm 105 forming part of the spring support or backer. The arm 105 extends radially from the collar 100 and the boss 104 extends through the coil spring 102 and partially into the socket 103. V

In operation of the invention, it is to be understood that the disk plow is in reality a turning plow, are provided with a land-side, of which are First, to support the plow share against depressing stresses, thereby assuring a furrow of uniform depth;

Second, to support the plow share against the lateral pressure of the moldboard, thereby securing uniformity in the width of furrows. The landside also relieves the plow frame, or beams, of excessive side thrusts, which result from obstructions being encountered by the angular portions of the plow share and the moldboard.

The disk plow has no landside. Therethe functions fore, all side thrusts and depressing strains,

together with the torsional stresses resulting therefrom must be borne by the plow frame, because the wheels function as landsides, and the strains described above must be trans mitted to the wheels through the medium of the plow frame and the axles. Thus it will be seen that rigidity is one of the most essential qualities of the disk plow frame.

Untll quite recently, the idea prevailed among disk plow designers that it was necesloo sary to make each plow a self contained unit so far as its supporting wheels were concerned, that is to say that each plow provided with three wheels regardless of the number of disks carried, and these wheels were arranged so that after the plow had made its first cut around a land and started on the second round, the front wheel ran in the furrow previously cut by the rear disk, thus serving as a land-side in its relations to the front disk: The rear but all other turning plows wheel running in the furrow behind the rear disk, functioned as a land-side in relation to the rear disk, while the third wheel ran out on the unplowed land and served to balance the plow in an upright position.

In the above described cases, the plows were connected to the tractor by means of a more or less flexible hitch, which did not support any part of the weight of the plow, nor receive any of the strains described above, its only function being that of a draft mechanism.

In the present type of two wheel disk plows, to which the invention appertains, the front wheel has been eliminated, as has also the flexible hitch, the main frame of the plow being projected forward so as to form takes its pro rata of the depressing strains and side thrusts; but since this draft mechanism is connected to the tractor draw bar by means of a short toggle or pivotal connection, it does not take its pro rata of the torsional strains, these being'transmitted to the plow wheels through the medium of the plow frame and axles.

It has been proven by conclusive experiments that any appreciable amount of resiliency in the frame of this type of plow will permit the disk to bob up and down in he ground, which is due to the absence of a front wheel to furnish a close-up support for the front disk. This bobbing motion of the disks is accentuated by the rear wheel dropping into the low places and then rising to mount the high places left in the bottom of the furrow as a result of the disks bobbing-up and down, and eventually this bobbing develops into an undulating motion, which causes the plow to rise and fall like a small boat riding heavy waves.

It will be noted that the trouble described above is not due to the plow crossing small ridges on the surface of the ground. Infact this trouble is less apparent when crossinga continued series of small ridges than when plowing on an apparently smooth sur face. It seems that a series of small ridges has a tendency to break the sway of this undulating motion, which becomes more or less uniform on smooth surfaces and especially in soft ground.

The above described trouble, in addition to causing unsatisfactory work, soon results in undue wear and elongation of bolts and rivets when these are used to assemble plow frame which is composed of a multiplicity of parts, and it is obvious that a plow of this type will not work at all if permitted to become shackly.

For these and many other reasons well known to those in this art the rigidity is probably the most important factor inthe frame of a plow of this type; The rigidity with relation to torsional strains is especially important.

It will be noted that when the disks are raised out of the ground, the weight of the plow is supported at three points, namely, at the hitch 19', wheel 56 and wheel 57. When the disks are lowered into the ground and the plow startsforward,.there is a backward pressure and a side thrust and a downward pressure against the lower cutting edges of the disks at points Panel Q Owing to the fact that the front disk 41, together with its supporting bracket, is projected beyond an imaginary line of support which runs along line X, Y, Figure l, this imaginary line of' support becomes the actual line of support. The weight of the plow together with the resisting forces already described; now restsupon the hitch 19- and the wheel 57 while the wheel 56 acts a strength and rigidity in the cross sections of.

the frame of this type of plow It will be seen that the combination of forces described above, namely, the backward and" downward pressure and the side thrust developed by the disks, operating against the lower edges of the disks, will be resolved into a torsional strain,- which: Is transmitted to the plow frame at point A anddistributed in a longitudinal direction along the dotted line AB and line C-B', crossing the line of support at point Land terminating near the pointof ballast at B. These torsional strains acting on the lines indicated show the necessity for the heavy fianges32 and 37. These flanges, together with the ribs, which connect them with flange at th'e' numerous points shown, reinforce this line torsional stress and make for a very highdegree of rigidity in the plow frame.

Moreover themain line of support is greatly reinforced against resiliency by means of the flange and the rib 15, both of which are again reinforced by means of the flange 31 which extends on both sides of the rib 1 5 or in other words intersects this rib.

The construction described does with the necessity for a front wheel and also avoids any bobbing up and downof the plows, particularly the front disk l-L which is the most diflicul't; to control.

The raising and loweriing device is operated solely through the handle 98 which is at all times accessible tothe' driver upon the seat of the tractor in front. This handle is rotated and is disengaged from its locking mechanism by pulling forwardly upon the handle 98, so that the operation may be achieved-by one hand while the other is left free for the control. of the steering mechanism and other necessary operations on the tractor. The'ro tary handle 98 l'iasbeen developed because of the diiiicul-ty encountered with the lever system of control. The lever is diilicult of access because it swings wide and" without the reach of the operator on the tractor seat and the lever apparatus is dificult to operate in hard soils. With the stop arrangement the crank handle may be instantaneously stopped and secured in any desired position and it Will therefore yield a nice adjustment.

v In Figure 7 the flanges 31 and 32" are shown as extending below the plane of the beam or curved frame member 33. The lower flanges extend in the same plane as the upper flanges 31 and 32 and thus the beam is composed of three elongated narrow strips, two of which, namely, the flanges 31 and 32 are disposed at right angles to the third strip, namely, the beam 33.

The elongated flanges will resist torsional specifically, described embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof, such changes and modifications be ing restricted only by the scope of the following claims What is claimed is 1. A disk plow comprising an elongated narrow neck bar, a reinforcing rib extending lengthwise of said neck bar, a curved beam made in one piece with said neck bar and extending rearwardly and laterally thereof, said beam having spaced upstanding flanges at its edges, the outermost flange intersecting said rib of the neck bar, the inner flange receiving thereagainst the end of the rib, supports for disk plows at the ends of said curved beam, and supporting wheels for the rear portion of the beam.

2. A disk plow comprising an elongated narrow neck bar, a reinforcing rib extending lengthwise of said neck bar, a curved beam joined at its front end with the rear end of said neck bar, said beam having spaced flanges at its edges, the outermost flange extending around the forward end of the beam and intersecting said rib of the neck bar, supportsfor disk plows extending from said curved beam, and supporting wheels for the rear portion of the beam.

. 3. An integral plow frame having a neck bar and a curved beam extending rearward- 1y and laterally thereof, said beam having spaced upstanding flanges at its edges and said neck bar having a reinforcing rib extending lengthwise of said neck bar and intersecting the outermost flange of said beam and terminating against the inner flange thereof, said rib having means forwardly and rearwardly of said outer flange for supporting a rack bar and also having means between said first means and forwardly of said outer flange for pivotally supporting a lever to traverse said rack bar, said neck 1 bar having at its outer end and in line with said rib means for coupling the neck bar to a draft device.

4. An integral frame for'disk plows and the like having a neck bar provided with a lengthwise extending reinforcing rib, and a curved frame member extending from the rear end of the neck bar, said curved member having spaced upstanding flanges and spaced substantially radially disposed reinforcing means between the flanges, the rib of the neck bar admitting the forward portion of the inner flange of the curved member, and the outer flange of said member being arched forwardly around the forward end of the member and intersecting the rib to interbrace the rib and flange structure and reinforce the juncture of the neck bar and the curved member. I

AUGUSTA POSTELLA MoKAY.

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