WO2005006833A1

WO2005006833A1 - Seed cultivating tool

Info

Publication number: WO2005006833A1
Application number: PCT/EP2004/007604
Authority: WO
Inventors: Uwe Struck
Original assignee: Struck, Michael, D., V.
Priority date: 2003-07-11
Filing date: 2004-07-09
Publication date: 2005-01-27
Also published as: DE20310748U1; DE112004001262D2

Abstract

The invention relates to a seed cultivating wheel for controlling weeds by cutting the roots, especially for essentially straight rows of seeds. The inventive seed cultivating tool (1) for controlling undesired plant growth comprises a holding device (12) for the handling of the seed cultivating tool by a user, a guiding element (50) for guiding the seed cultivating tool (1) on the ground, and a cutting device (30) for cutting off the roots of the undesired plant growth.

Description

Saatpflegewerkzeug

description

Nature of the invention

The invention relates generally to a seed care tool and to a seed care wheel for controlling weeds or weeds by trimming the roots in particular.

Background of the Invention

Removing unwanted vegetation or weeds has always played a major role in arable farming.

Chemical agents, so-called herbicides, are often used to combat them. However, these are expensive and may be undesirable due to their potential harm to health.

Alternatively, tools for mechanical weed control are used. Common garden hoes are typically used for this.

Depending on the type of hoe or the weed to be removed, it is sometimes necessary for the user to bend down, which makes working with these tools very tiring.

Tools with claw-like thorns and a more or less long handle are also known, by means of which the weeds are completely removed, more precisely is plucked out. In this case, bending down may not be necessary.

But even these tools are not used continuously, but at least two steps are necessary for each plant, namely plucking out and removing, so that the work remains tedious and tedious.

In any case, working with the known tools is inefficient and these tools are in need of further improvement.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a seed care tool which enables weeds to be controlled mechanically in a simple and efficient manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide a seed care tool which is particularly suitable for essentially straight rows of seeds.

Another object of the invention is

To provide seed care tool that avoids or at least mitigates the disadvantages of known tools.

The object of the invention is already achieved in a surprisingly simple manner by the subject matter of the independent claims. Advantageous developments of the invention are defined in the subclaims.

According to the invention, a hand-operated seed care tool, in particular for controlling weeds, is provided, which comprises a holding device for handling the seed care tool by a user. The holding device is realized in particular by a handle with at least one handle attached to it, so that the user can hold and guide the seed care tool well.

Furthermore, the seed care tool comprises a guide element, in particular a guide disk for guiding the seed care tool on or partially in the ground. The guide element is preferably designed in such a way that it sinks into the ground at least in sections and to a predefined depth, depending on the floor and embodiment, preferably between 3 mm and a maximum of 40 mm.

In order to achieve a suitable weight and thus an adapted sinking of the seed care tool into the ground, the guide element consists of a metal with a density of 1.5 g / cm ³ to 10 g / cm ³ , in particular between 7 g / cm ³ and 9 , 5 g / cm ³ , preferably iron or 1.5 g / cm ³ and 3.5 g / cm ³ , preferably light metal, for example aluminum.

In addition, there is a cutting device which is guided past the weed at a certain distance during operation, for example when a user pushes the seed care tool along seed rows in front of him. The cutting direction in operation preferably slides at least in sections at a predefined depth essentially horizontally below the ground surface and cuts off or cuts off the roots of the weeds. Due to the cut nutrient supply, the weeds then die of their own accord in a short time. Advantageously, the weeds can thus be controlled very efficiently and with little effort. The seed care tool according to the invention is also suitable especially for professional or commercial use or the more or less ambitious home gardener for use in long and essentially straight seed rows between which the weeds sprout. It is only driven with the seed care tool once at a predefined distance along each row of seeds.

The cutting device advantageously plunges so deeply into the ground that the weeds are safely killed or at least its growth is considerably impeded.

With the seed care tool, in particular the crop plants in the immediate vicinity of the cotyledon stage can be freed of weeds (weeds) and wild herbs, which is generally not possible with other hoes at this early stage of sowing or crops.

It is also advantageous that the weeds do not have to be plucked out and composted with difficulty, but rather only killed and can therefore even act as a natural fertilizer for the seeds to be cultivated after rotting.

The seed care tool can be guided very precisely by the guide element, so that damage to the seed to be cultivated can largely be avoided.

The guide element is preferably a metallic guide disk.

The diameter and the thickness of the guide disk or the guide element are adapted to the respective soil conditions in order to achieve a suitable sinking depth when guiding the tool. The inventors have found that a diameter of 100 to 500 mm, preferably between 150 and 300 mm, particularly preferably in the range of 230 mm and / or a thickness of 1 mm to 20 mm, preferably between 2 mm and 10 or 5 mm, particularly preferably in Range of 3 mm are particularly suitable for most floors.

The guide element is particularly preferably rotatable, in particular designed to be rotatable about an essentially horizontal axis. In other words, it is

Guide disc a guide wheel, by means of which the seed care tool can be rolled along a seed track. This simplifies handling and allows precise guidance along the seed path.

Furthermore, the holding device preferably comprises a handle with a preferred length of at least 120 cm, particularly preferably about 180 cm.

The stem is in particular in a sleeve

Connecting element with a further receptacle for an axle bolt extending perpendicular to the handle, which defines the axis of rotation of the guide element, so that the guide disc rotates about an axis perpendicular to the handle.

The cutting device comprises in particular a

Cutting knife, which extends transversely to the axis at an angle between 95 ° and 175 °, preferably between 120 ° and 150 °, particularly preferably around 135 ° to the handle.

This ensures that in operation the cutting knife runs essentially vertically when the handle is held and guided by the user at an appropriate angle to the surface of the earth, which is a comfortable operation allowed. The cutting knife is preferably fixed or detachably attached to the seed care tool so that it does not rotate with the guide disk.

The cutting device preferably comprises a second holding section, which extends downward in the operating position, and a substantially L-shaped cutting knife, in particular detachably connected thereto. The L-shaped cutting knife in turn comprises a first one which is essentially vertical in the operating position

Holding section and a substantially horizontal blade for separating the weed roots. The blade is preferably sharpened on both sides so that work can be done in the forward and backward directions. In order to increase the stability of the cutting knife, the thickness of the cutting knife tapers from the first holding section to the blade. Preferably only one blade is provided on one side of the guide element.

In order to further improve handling, a handle is releasably attached to the handle, which is adjustable in height and can be rotated around the handle after loosening a clamping screw. This allows adjustment to people of different sizes and to right and left-handed people.

For the seed care tool according to the invention, a height of the handle in the range from 70 cm to 120 cm from the axle bolt has proven to be advantageous. Further preferably leaves

adjust the angular position of the handle from at least about + 45 ° to about -45 ° with respect to the plane of rotation of the guide disc in the direction of movement. According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the cutting knife is attached to the seed care tool so that it can be adjusted in height with respect to the guide element, so that the depth of the blade can be adjusted in order to adapt the seed care tool to the particular type of weed.

The cutting device further preferably comprises a sleeve which is fastened on the axle pin and is formed in one piece with the second holding section running transversely to the axle pin, to which in turn the L-shaped cutting knife is attached, so that the axle pin and the cutting device essentially have a U- Form.

The blade is also preferably arranged in the vertical direction between the outer edge of the guide element and 50 mm, preferably between 10 mm and 25 mm above the outer edge of the guide disc, so that the blade cuts relatively close to the bottom surface. For this purpose, the first holding section is preferably releasably attached to the second holding section for height adjustment so as to be displaceable transversely to the axis of the guide element.

According to a preferred development of the invention, the axle bolt is clamped onto the axle bolt in an opening or transverse bore in the connecting element and the cutting device by means of at least one screw. To prevent rotation, a groove is milled into the axle bolt, in which a screw engages to lock the rotation.

The invention is described below with reference to

Exemplary embodiments explained in more detail with reference to the drawings, the same reference numerals being the same or Name similar parts and the features of different embodiments are interchangeable or can be combined with each other.

Brief description of the figures.

1 shows a schematic cross section through the seed care tool according to a first embodiment of the invention, FIG. 2 shows a schematic side view of the seed care tool from FIG. 1, seen from the right in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 shows a schematic side view of the seed care tool from FIG. 1, seen from the left in Fig. 1,

4 shows a schematic top view of the stem with a handle, FIG. 5 shows a schematic cross section through the seed care tool according to a second embodiment of the invention,

6 shows a schematic side view of the seed care tool from FIG. 5, seen from the right, FIG. 7 shows a schematic side view of the seed care tool from FIG. 5, seen from the left, FIG. 8 shows a view like FIG. 5 with measurement in cm, FIG 9 shows a view like FIG. 6 with dimensions in cm, FIG. 10 shows a view like FIG. 7 with dimensions in cm, FIG. 11 shows a schematic cross section through the seed care tool according to a third embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 12 shows a schematic side view of the seed care tool from FIG. 11, seen from the right, and FIG. 13 shows a schematic side view of the seed care tool from FIG. 11, seen from the left. Detailed description of the invention

1, a first embodiment of the seed care tool or seed care wheel 1 according to the invention is shown. The seed care tool 1 comprises an approximately 180 cm long implement handle 12 which e.g. made of wood, metal or plastic. The device handle 12 is fixed with a lower end 14 with a length of about 7 cm in a sleeve 16 of a connecting element 18. The fixation can also be releasable, e.g. with a standard connection from Gardena® or similar. The connecting element 18 also has an axle receiving section 20 with an axle bore 22, into which an axle bolt or a shaft 24 is inserted.

The connecting element 18 has a length of approximately

18 cm, of which the sleeve 16 has a length of approximately 7 cm and the axle receiving section 20 the remaining approximately 11 cm. The axle receiving section 20 is made of solid material e.g. Steel and is flattened across the shaft 24. The axis bore 22 is located approximately 2.5 cm from the lower end of the connecting element 18 and has a diameter of approximately 20 mm. The

Connecting element 18 can also have a shorter length, e.g. have in the range of 11 cm to 18 cm.

As can best be seen in FIG. 3, the lower end of the axle receiving section 20 is slotted up to the bore 22 and the shaft 24 is clamped with an Allen screw 26. Referring back to FIG. 1, the shaft 24 has a length of approximately 150 mm and has a milled groove 28 for locking the cutting device 30.

The cutting device 30 comprises a sleeve section or knife holder 32 with an approximately 42 mm long bore which is put over the shaft 24.

The sleeve section 32 is locked and adjusted with two screws 34 which engage in the groove 28. The locking mechanism achieves a high torsional strength of the cutting device 30 relative to the handle 12.

In a second embodiment of the seed care tool 1 according to the invention, shown in FIGS. 5 to 10, the shaft 24 has a length of 70 mm. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the shaft 24 has a 45 mm deep threaded hole on the side opposite the cutting device 30 and the shaft is locked with an M8 screw 92. The cutting device 30 is advantageously welded to the shaft 24. As a result, the groove 28 can be omitted.

The sleeve section 32 has on its outer edge an approximately 35 mm long and 30 mm wide and approximately 4 mm thick holding section 36 which is formed in one piece with the sleeve section 32 and extends essentially vertically or perpendicularly to the shaft 24.

An approximately 5 mm wide and approximately 25 mm or 40 mm long slot 38 is provided in the flat holding section 36. The L-shaped cutting knife 40 is fastened to the elongated hole 38 by means of two screws 42, so that the cutting knife 40 can be adjusted in height. The cutting knife 40 comprises a vertical holding section 44 and a horizontal blade 46 formed integrally therewith. The vertical holding section 44 has a length of approximately 80 mm and the horizontal blade has a length of approximately 45 mm. The width of the vertical holding section 44 is approximately 25 to 30 mm and the thickness is approximately 5 mm. The width of the blade 46 is approximately 20 mm and the thickness is approximately 2 mm, the blade being sharpened or sharpened on both sides or in and against the forward direction in order to be able to work forwards and backwards.

The distance to the crop plants is about 0.5 cm to 1.0 cm in operation, the working width or blade length measured from this line is preferably a maximum of 5 cm. This dimension is adapted to the typical seed row spacing of at least 12 cm. The distance of 12 cm between the rows of seeds applies e.g. for radishes, lamb's lettuce, cress. Of course, the seed care tool can also be used for other crops. With a row spacing of more than 12 cm, a longer blade can be used or the remaining middle area with e.g. Wheel hoe are processed.

A guide disk 50 with a diameter of approximately 230 mm is rotatably mounted on the shaft 24 between the connecting element 18 and the cutting device 30. The guide disk 50 comprises an outer ring section 52 with a thickness of approximately 3 mm and an inner bearing section 54. A plastic bearing 56, for example made of polyacetal (POM) or Teflon, is provided to improve the bearing or reduce the rolling friction. In the second embodiment of the seed care tool 1 there is a washer 94 with a diameter of 45 mm under the screw 92 and the guide washer 50 is rotatably axially fixed between the cutting device 30 and the washer 94. The bearing 56 is fixed in a central bore in the guide disk, for example pressed in.

The size of the guide disk 50 and the thickness of the outer ring section 52 are optimized in such a way that relatively little soil is thrown on during operation of the device and, if necessary, distributed over the crop plants to be cared for.

Furthermore, the selected size ensures good guidance and smoothness so that work can be carried out exactly along a row of seeds.

Furthermore, the guide disc 50 is made of iron or steel, which in conjunction with the volume of the disc results in a predefined dead weight, which in this example is optimized for medium-heavy to slightly porous or slightly sandy soils with regard to the sinking depth of the guide disc and the blade 46 ,

The blade 46 can be adjusted at a vertical distance of approximately 1 cm to approximately 2.5 cm from the lower edge 56 of the guide disk 50. The horizontal distance of the blade 46 from the guide disc 50 is preferably less than 10 cm, more preferably less than 2 cm and most preferably less than 1 cm.

The sinking of the guide disk 50 and the cutting knife 40 into the floor 60 can best be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. For very sandy soils, a lighter version, for example with a guide disk made of light metal, is advantageous.

Referring back to FIGS. 2 and 3, this will be

Seed care tool 1 pushed in the forward direction V, the connecting element 18 or the stem 12 defining an angle of approximately α = 45 ° to the horizontal.

The cutting device 30 or the vertical holding section 44 of the cutting knife 40 are oriented approximately vertically during operation. In other words, the handle 12 is arranged at an angle of 100 ° to 170 ° to the cutting device 30, in this example approximately 135 °.

4, a handle 70 is shown, which is releasably clamped to the handle 12 by means of a clamping screw 72 and a wing nut 74.

The handle comprises a substantially U-shaped metal holder 76 and a cylindrical wooden handle 78 fastened in between.

Due to the releasable tightening of the handle 70, it can be adjusted in height and fastened rotatably about the handle 12.

It has proven useful for right-handed people to fix the handle 70 at an angle β of approximately -45 ° with respect to the forward direction or the plane 80 defined by the guide disk. For left-handers, the handle 70 can be brought into the angular position 82 (ß = + 45 °). Both the height and the angular position of the handle 70 are infinitely adjustable. The distance of the handle 70 from the shaft 24 should be between at least 70 cm and 150 cm, depending on the body size be adjustable, a distance of about 100 cm for a person with a height of about 1.90 m has proven to be suitable. 11 to 13 show an embodiment of the

Invention, in which the guide disc 50 has a central opening 100 into which a sliding sleeve 102, in particular made of organic plastic, is inserted. The sliding sleeve 102 is formed in two parts, the two halves 104, 106 of the sliding sleeve 102 on both sides of the

Guide disc 50 are arranged and the guide disc 50 is fixed between the two press-fit halves 104, 106.

The sliding sleeve 102 is placed on a shaft or axle 108 and is axially fixed with the screw 92 and washer 94, but is rotatably mounted. The seed care tool 1 thus comprises a three-part rotating element in the form of a slide bearing 112, comprising the two sliding sleeve halves 104, 106 and the shaft 108. The axis 108 extends through the axis receiving section 20 and is welded to the knife holder 32. Within the plain bearing 112, the shaft 108 can have at least one surface made of plastic. A plastic disk 110 is also provided between the sliding sleeve 102 and the axle receiving section 20. POM or Teflon have proven themselves as plastic for all parts. This third embodiment has proven to be very durable, smooth-running and is characterized by very precise guidance of the single and narrow guide disk 50.

It is obvious to the person skilled in the art that the above-described embodiments are to be understood as examples and the invention is not restricted to these, but can be varied in many ways without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Claims

Claims:

1. seed care tool (1) for controlling undesired plant growth, comprising a holding device (12) for handling the seed care tool by a user, a guide element (50) for guiding the seed care tool (1) on the ground, a cutting device (30) for cutting roots of unwanted vegetation.

2. seed care tool (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide element is a guide disc (50).

3. seed care tool (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the guide element (50) is rotatable.

4. seed care tool (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the holding device comprises a stem (12).

5. seed care tool (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by a connecting element (18) with a first receptacle (12) for an axle bolt (24) which defines the axis of rotation of the guide element (50) and a second receptacle (16) for the stem (12), the first and second receptacles (22, 16) substantially are arranged perpendicular to each other.

6. seed care tool (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the stem (12) and the cutting device (30) enclose an angle between 95 ° and 175 °.

7. seed care tool (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a handle (70) is attached to the stem (12).

8. seed care tool (1) according to claim 7, characterized in that the position of the handle (70) along the longitudinal axis of the stem (12) is adjustable.

9. seed care tool (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the angular position (β) of the handle (70) around the stem (12) is adjustable.

10. seed care tool (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cutting device (30) is fixedly attached to the seed care tool (1).

11. Seed care tool (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cutting device (30) is a substantially L- Shaped cutting knife (40) with a first holding portion (44) and a blade (46), wherein in the operating position, the first holding portion (44) downward and the blade (46) extend substantially horizontally.

12. seed care tool (1) according to claim 11, characterized in that the thickness of the cutting knife (40) tapers from the first holding portion (44) to the blade (46).

13. seed care tool (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the blade (46) is sharpened on both sides.

14. seed care tool (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cutting device (30) is attached to the seed care tool (1) in a height-adjustable manner.

15. seed care tool (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the blade (46) in the vertical direction between the outer edge (56) of the guide element (50) and 50 mm above the outer edge (56) of the guide element (50 ) is arranged.

16. Seed care tool (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cutting device (30) has a sleeve (32) which is fastened on the axle bolt (24) and a second holding section running transversely to the axle bolt (24) (36).

17. seed care tool (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the axle bolt (24) in an opening (22) in the connecting element (18) and the cutting device (30) by means of at least one screw (34) on the axle bolt (24) is clamped and the axle pin (24) has a groove (28) into which the at least one screw (34) engages to lock it in place.

18. seed care tool (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the guide element (50) has a diameter of 100 to 500 mm.

19. Seed care tool (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the guide element (50) comprises a material with a density of 1.5 g / cm ³ to 10 g / cm ³ .