WO2005074666A1

WO2005074666A1 - A plough

Info

Publication number: WO2005074666A1
Application number: PCT/IB2005/000266
Authority: WO
Inventors: Daniel Stefanus Rossouw
Original assignee: Daniel Stefanus Rossouw
Priority date: 2004-02-09
Filing date: 2005-02-03
Publication date: 2005-08-18

Abstract

A plough 10 for no-till farming applications, comprises a mounting formation 12, a planar upper blade portion14, a planar first lower blade portion 16 and a planar second lower blade portion 18. The blade portions 14 and 16 have tapered leading edge formations 30 and 44, respectively, with a rake angle of 45° being defined between the blade portions 14 and 16. The plough includes a shatter plate 45 which extends laterally outwardly and rearwardly from the blade portion 16 and which provides for loosening of sub-surface soil along with the blade portion 16 with little disturbance of surface soil. The blade portion 18 is disposed parallel to the blade portion 14 and assists in counteracting side draught forces acting on the plough. The blade portion 18 has a forwardly-extending tine formation 52 for assisting in the penetration of hard soils.

Description

A PLOUGH

FIELD OF INVENTION

THIS INVENTION relates to a plough.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to the invention there is provided a plough comprising

mounting means;

an upper blade portion extending downwardly from the mounting means;

a first lower blade portion which is connected to and which extends downwardly and laterally from the upper blade portion to one side thereof; and

a second lower blade portion which is connected to and which extends downwardly from the first lower blade portion.

The upper blade portion may have a planar configuration and may define a rectilinear leading edge and a rectilinear trailing edge. The leading edge of the upper blade portion may slope forwardly and downwardly with respect to the forward direction of travel of the plough.

The leading edge may define a lead angle of between 3° and 15°, the lead angle being defined between the leading edge and a vertical plane that is perpendicular to the direction of travel of the plough and that intersects the leading edge.

The trailing edge of the upper blade may slope forwardly and downwardly with respect to the forward direction of travel of the plough.

The trailing edge may define a trailing angle of between 10° and 30°, the trailing angle being defined between the trailing edge and a vertical plane that is perpendicular to the direction of travel of the plough and that intersects the trailing edge.

The first lower blade portion may have a planar configuration and may define a rake angle of between 25° and 50°, the rake angle being defined as the acute angle defined between the planes of the upper blade portion and the first lower blade portion.

The first lower blade portion may define a rectilinear leading edge.

The leading edge of the lower blade portion may define a lead angle of between 10° and 45°, the lead angle being defined between the leading edge and a vertical plane that is perpendicular to the direction of travel of the plough and which intersects the leading edge.

The plough may include a shatter plate which is connected to and which extends laterally outwardly and rearwardly from the first lower blade portion. The shatter plate may extend downwardly from a lower portion of a trailing edge of the first lower blade portion.

The shatter plate may have a planar configuration.

The shatter plate may have a trapezoidal configuration when viewed in plan view.

The shatter plate may define an angle between the plane of the shatter plate and of the first lower blade portion, of between 15° and 45°.

The angle between the planes of the shatter plate and of the first lower blade portion may be between 20° and 30°.

The plough may include a wing plate which is integrally connected to and which extends laterally outwardly from an upper region of a lower side of the first lower blade portion.

The wing plate may have planar configuration and may define a rake angle of between 45° and 65° with the first lower blade portion, the rake angle being defined between the plane the first lower blade portion and the plane of the wing plate.

The wing plate may define a rectilinear leading edge which extends rearwardly relative to the direction of travel of the plough and which has a lead angle of between 20° and 50°, the lead angle being defined between the leading edge of the wing plate and a vertical plane that is perpendicular to the plane of the upper blade portion that intersects the leading edge.

The second lower blade portion may have a front end and a rear end and may define a forwardly extending tine formation at its front end. The plough may have a first bend line defined between a lower edge of the upper blade portion and an upper edge of the first lower blade portion, which is rectilinear and which extends, in use, in a direction parallel to direction of travel of the plough.

The plough has a second bend line defined between a lower edge of the first lower blade portion and an upper edge of the second blade portion, which is rectilinear and which is parallel to the first bend line.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Further features of the invention are described hereinafter by way of a non- limiting example of the invention, with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying diagrammatic drawings. In the drawings:

Figure 1 shows a schematic perspective view from the rear, of one side of a plough in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 shows a schematic perspective view from the front, of said one side of the plough of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 shows a schematic perspective view from the front, of an opposite side of the plough of Figure 1 ;

Figure 4 shows a schematic perspective view from the rear, of an opposite side of the plough of Figure 1 ;

Figure 5 shows a schematic side view of the plough of Figure 1 ;

Figure 6 shows a schematic rear end view of the plough of Figure 1 ; Figure 7 shows a schematic perspective view from the rear, of one side of another embodiment of a plough in accordance with the invention;

Figure 8 shows a schematic perspective view from the front, of said one side of the plough of Figure 7;

Figure 9 shows a schematic perspective view from the front, of an opposite side of the plough of Figure 7; and

Figure 10 shows a schematic rear end view of the plough of Figure 7.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to Figures 1 to 6 of the drawings, a plough in accordance with the invention, is designated generally by the reference numeral 10. The plough 10 comprises, broadly, mounting means in the form of a mounting formation 12, an upper blade portion 14, a first lower blade portion 16 and a second lower blade portion 18.

The mounting formation 12 has an elongate slender configuration and defines a rectangular socket 20 in which a complementary spigot-type mounting shank of a seeding/planting assembly (not shown) can be received. The mounting formation 12 is bolted to the mounting shank in an arrangement wherein the bolts pass through bolt holes 22.1 and 22.2 defined in the mounting formation 12 and the shank. The mounting formation defines a leading edge 15 and a trailing end 17. The mounting formation defines a tapered leading edge formation 21 that tapers toward the leading edge 15. It will be appreciated that the shape and configuration of the mounting formations may vary according to the type of shank or adapter to which the plough is to be mounted. The upper blade portion 14 has a planar configuration and defines a rectilinear leading edge 24 and a rectilinear trailing edge 26. A bend line 28 defines the lower edge of the upper blade portion 14. The upper blade portion 14 is integrally connected to and extends downwardly from the mounting formation 12.

The leading edge 24 slopes forwardly and downwardly with respect to the forward direction of travel of the plough as is indicated by direction arrow A in Figure 5. The leading edge 24 defines a lead angle of 5°, the lead angle being defined between the leading edge and a vertical plane that is perpendicular to the direction of travel of the plough and which intersects the leading edge. Similarly, the trailing edge 26 slopes forwardly and downwardly with respect to the forward direction of the travel of the plough. More particularly, the trailing edge defines a trailing angle of 19° defined between the trailing edge 26 and a vertical plane that is perpendicular to the direction of travel of the plough and which intersects the trailing edge.

The upper blade portion 14 defines a tapered leading edge formation 30 which tapers towards the leading edge formation 24 at a taper angle of 30°. The tapered leading edge 24 assists with soil penetration as the plough travels in the forward direction through soil, in use. The leading edge formation 30 is lined with wear-resistant tiles 32 of tungsten carbide material. The upper blade portion has a first side 34 and a second side 36.

The first lower blade portion 16 is integrally connected to the upper blade portion at the bend line 28 and extends downwardly and laterally from the upper blade portion towards the side 34 of the upper blade portion. The first lower blade portion 16 has an operative upper side 38 and an operative lower side 40 and has a planar configuration. The first lower blade portion 16 defines a rectilinear leading edge 42 and a tapered leading edge formation 44. The leading edge formation 44 is lined with tungsten carbide wear-resistant tiles 32 and tapers from the side 38 only towards the leading edge 42 at a taper angle of 30°. The tapered leading edge formation 44 assists with soil penetration when the plough travels in the forward direction. The leading edge 42 defines a lead angle of 34°, defined between the leading edge 42 when the blade portion 16 is viewed in side view and a vertical plane that is perpendicular to the forward direction of travel of the plough and which intersects the leading edge. The first lower blade portion defines a rake angle α of 45° (shown in Figure 6), the rake angle α being defined as the acute angle defined between the planes of the upper blade portion 14 and the first lower blade portion 16 as is illustrated in Figure 6.

The plough includes a shatter plate 45 which is integrally connected to and which extends laterally outwardly and rearwardly from the first lower blade portion 16. The shatter plate 45 has a planar configuration and extends outwardly from a lower portion of the trailing edge of the first lower blade portion. The shatter plate has a trapezoidal configuration when viewed in plan view. The shatter plate 45 defines a rake angle of 25° with the first lower blade portion 16, the rake angle being defined between the plane of the shatter plate and the plane of the first lower blade portion.

The plough 10 defines a second bend line 46 between a lower edge of the first lower blade portion 16 and an upper edge of the second lower blade portion 18. The bend line 46 is rectilinear and parallel to the first bend line 28. More particularly, it is envisaged by the applicant that the plough 10 will be mounted to a seeding/planting assembly in an arrangement wherein the bend lines 28 and 46 are disposed parallel with respect to the forward direction of travel of the plough.

The second lower blade portion 18 is integrally connected to the first lower blade portion 16 and extends downwardly there from. The second lower blade portion 18 has a main body portion 50 and a forwardly-extending tine formation 52 which is integrally connected to a front end of the main body portion 50. The second lower blade portion 18 has a rear end 54 which is defined by the main body portion 50 and a front end 56 which is defined by the tine formation 52. The main body portion 50 has a first side 58 and a second side 60. The second side 60 is lined with tungsten carbide wear-resistant tiles 62. The tine formation 52 has a lower side 64 and slopes downwardly and forwardly from the bend line 46 to the lower side 64. The tine formation has a leading edge formation 66 which terminates in a leading edge 68. The leading edge formation 66 tapers from a side of the tine formation 52 adjacent the side 60 of the main body portion 50, to the leading edge 68. The leading edge formation 66 is lined with tungsten carbide wear-resistant tiles 62.

The second lower blade portion 18 is planar and is disposed in a plane parallel to the plane of the first blade portion 14.

In use, the plough 10 is adapted for use in no-till farming applications wherein the plough optimizes the performance of no-till planters/seeders by not disturbing surface residue while loosening the sub-surface soil profile up to a maximum depth of about 200mm. The tapered leading edge formations 30 and 44 are generally wedge-shaped and taper from one side of the blade-portions 14 and 16, respectively thereby to penetrate and displace soil to one side of the plough. This action of the blade portions causes fracturing and loosening of the subsurface soil. The leading edge formations 30 and 44 cause lateral forces to be exerted on the plough towards a side of the plough opposite to the side on which the leading edge formations are defined as the plough travels through soil. As such, the applicant envisages the plough will be produced in left and right hand versions which will be mounted in equal number and in a manner so as to cancel out the sideward draught forces acting on each plough.

In use, the leading edge formation 21 of the mounting means 12, moves above the soil surface and is tapered so as to penetrate the soil and plant material residue in a slicing action and cause minimum disturbance to the surface of the soil and enhance plant material residue flow around the mounting shank. Further, the narrow shape of the upper blade portion 14 facilitates more effective soil penetration causing little disturbance of surface soil and residue and forming a desirable narrow furrow. This is in contrast with the soil displacement caused by mouldboard ploughs as well as the pulverization and soil throw caused by conventional chisel ploughs and even the amount of soil throw created by conservation tillage or no-till narrow tined ploughs.

The first lower blade portion 16 and the shatter plate 45 provide for loosening of the sub-surface soil. The tine formation 52 of the second lower blade portion 18 assists the plough in penetrating hard soils and further assists in protecting the leading edge 42 of the first lower blade portion 16 by loosening solid soil ahead of the first lower blade portion 16. The blade portion 18, by being disposed parallel to the blade portion 14, assists in counteracting side draught forces acting on the plough.

With reference to Figures 7 to 10 of the drawings, another embodiment of a plough in accordance with the invention, is designated generally by the reference numeral 100. In Figures 7 to 10, the features of the plough 100 which are the same as or similar to the features of the plough 10, are designated by the same and/or similar reference numbers. The plough 100 is similar to the plough 10, with the only difference being that the plough 10 includes a wing plate 170 which is integrally connected to and which extends laterally outwardly from an upper rear region of the lower side 40 of the first lower blade portion 16.

The wing plate 170 has a planar configuration and defines a rake angle β of 100° with the first lower blade portion 16, the rake angle being defined between the plane of the blade portion 16 and the plane of the wing plate 170. The wing plate 170 has a tapered leading edge formation 172 defining a rectilinear leading edge 174. The leading edge formation 172 is lined with a tungsten-carbide wear- resistant tile 162. The leading edge 174 extends rearwardly and as such, has a lead angle of 27°, the lead angle being defined between the leading edge 174 14 and which intersects the leading edge 174. The size and shape of the wing plate may vary depending on the application, while still incorporating the principles described hereinabove. For instance, if a soil loosening action is required over a larger area, a larger using plate can be used.

The wing plate 170 and the first lower blade portion 16 project outwardly from opposite sides of the plough 100. In use, this causes soil on both sides of the plough 100 to be loosened. Besides providing a wider loosened area of soil than is the case with the plough 10, the plough 100 can be used to provide loosened soil of sufficient width to accommodate the formation of two furrows in which seeds can be planted. Furthermore, in circumstances where the plough 10 is used with a planter where the spacing between the ploughs cannot be altered and the spacing is too wide to provide soil loosening across the complete soil cross-profile, the applicant envisages that the plough 10 can be substituted with the plough 100 to provide a wider soil loosening cross-profile. The location of the wing plate 170 (i.e. extending laterally outwardly from an upper rear region of the lower side 40 of the first lower blade portion 16) has been determined to ensure that effective soil loosening is achieved with negligible surface disruption.

With conventional narrow tines or blades used in no-till or conservative tillage applications, having two or more rows of tines, the tines or blades cannot be drawn at speeds above 8km/h as the soil throw from the rear tines at such speeds fall into the seed furrows formed in the soil by the front tines, causing uneven depth of seed placement with resulting germination problems. The applicant has found that with the plough in accordance with the invention, speeds of up to 11 km/h can be achieved without excessive soil throw with a 16mm seed placement knife behind it and, in favorable soil conditions, up to 15 km/h with a disc seed placement opener in tandem. This provides the plough in accordance with the invention, with a significant advantage over conventional narrow tines and blades in terms of time, cost, labour and capital savings and increased productivity and efficiency.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A plough comprising mounting means; an upper blade portion extending downwardly from the mounting means; a first lower blade portion which is connected to and which extends downwardly and laterally from the upper blade portion to one side thereof; and a second lower blade portion which is connected to and which extends downwardly from the first lower blade portion.

2. The plough as claimed in Claim 1 , characterized in that the upper blade portion has a planar configuration and defines a rectilinear leading edge and a rectilinear trailing edge.

3. The plough as claimed in Claim 2, characterized in that the leading edge of the upper blade portion slopes forwardly and downwardly with respect to the forward direction of travel of the plough.

4. The plough as claimed in Claim 3, characterized in that the leading edge defines a lead angle of between 3° and 15°, the lead angle being defined between the leading edge and a vertical plane that is perpendicular to the direction of travel of the plough and that intersects the leading edge.

5. The plough as claimed in Claim 4, characterized in that the trailing edge of the upper blade slopes forwardly and downwardly with respect to the forward direction of travel of the plough.

6. The plough as claimed in Claim 5, characterized in that the trailing edge defines a trailing angle of between 10° and 30°, the trailing angle being defined between the trailing edge and a vertical plane that is perpendicular to the direction of travel of the plough and that intersects the trailing edge.

7. The plough as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that the first lower blade portion has a planar configuration and defines a rake angle of between 25° and 50°, the rake angle being defined as the acute angle defined between the planes of the upper blade portion and the first lower blade portion.

8. The plough as claimed in claimed in Claim 7, characterized in that the first lower blade portion defines a rectilinear leading edge.

9. The plough as claimed in Claim 8, characterized in that the leading edge of the lower blade portion defines a lead angle of between 10° and 45°, the lead angle being defined between the leading edge and a vertical plane that is perpendicular to the direction of travel of the plough and which intersects the leading edge.

10. The plough as claimed in Claim 9, characterized in that the plough includes a shatter plate which is connected to and which extends laterally outwardly and rearwardly from the first lower blade portion.

11. The plough as claimed in Claim 10, characterized in that the shatter plate extends downwardly from a lower portion of a trailing edge of the first lower blade portion.

12. The plough as claimed in Claim 10 or Claim 11 , characterized in that the shatter plate has a planar configuration.

13. The plough as claimed in Claim 11 , characterized in that the shatter plate has a trapezoidal configuration when viewed in plan view.

14. The plough as claimed in Claim 13, characterized in that the shatter plate defines an angle between the plane of the shatter plate and of the first lower blade portion, of between 15° and 45°.

15. The plough as claimed in Claim 14, characterized in that the angle between the planes of the shatter plate and of the first lower blade portion is between 20° and 30°.

16. The plough as claimed in any one of Claims 7 to 15, characterized in that the plough includes a wing plate which is integrally connected to and which extends laterally outwardly from an upper region of a lower side of the first lower blade portion.

17. The plough as claimed in Claim 16, characterized in that the wing plate has a planar configuration and defines a rake angle of between 90° and 110° with the first lower blade portion, the rake angle being defined between the plane the first lower blade portion and the plane of the wing plate.

18. The plough as claimed in Claim 17, characterized in that the wing plate defines a rectilinear leading edge which extends rearwardly relative to the direction of travel of the plough and which has a lead angle of between 20° and 50°, the lead angle being defined between the leading edge of the wing plate and a vertical plane that is perpendicular to the plane of the upper blade portion of the plough and that intersects the leading edge.

19. The plough as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the second lower blade portion has a front end and a rear end and defines a forwardly extending tine formation at its front end.

20. The plough as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, characterized in that the plough has a first bend line defined between a lower edge of the upper blade portion and an upper edge of the first lower blade portion, which is rectilinear and which extends, in use, in a direction parallel to direction of travel of the plough.

21. The plough as claimed in Claim 20, characterized in that the plough has a second bend line defined between a lower edge of the first lower blade portion and an upper edge of the second blade portion, which is rectilinear and which is parallel to the first bend line.