Seed drill with walking beam assembly
First Claim
1. A seed drill, comprising:
- a frame;
a walking beam suspended from the frame and pivotable about a first pivot point;
a spring member connecting the walking beam to the frame and movably biasing the walking beam downward relative to the frame; and
a first disk and a second disk rotatably mounted to opposite ends of the walking beam and positioned adjacent one another, the first and the second disks being positioned on opposite sides of the first pivot point.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A no-till drill with a novel walking beam assembly that allows the drill to be pulled over severe terrain conditions that include large rocks, fallen limbs and other large obstructions. The inventive walking beam assembly includes two independent pivot points that allow the cutting and opening disks to maintain substantially constant or continuous contact with the ground, such that the length of the furrow formed and seed deposited therein are maximized. A closing disk assembly is suspended from the rear of the drill independently from the walking beam assembly. This independent suspension allows the walking beam assembly to function without interference from the closing disks.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A seed drill, comprising:
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a frame;
a walking beam suspended from the frame and pivotable about a first pivot point;
a spring member connecting the walking beam to the frame and movably biasing the walking beam downward relative to the frame; and
a first disk and a second disk rotatably mounted to opposite ends of the walking beam and positioned adjacent one another, the first and the second disks being positioned on opposite sides of the first pivot point. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A seed drill, comprising:
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a frame;
a walking beam suspended from the frame and pivotable about a first pivot point;
a first disk and a second disk rotatably mounted to the walking beam and positioned on opposite sides of the first pivot point; and
a closing disk suspended from the frame by a closing disk suspension, the closing disk being suspended from the frame independently of the walking beam. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A seed drill, comprising:
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a frame;
a walking beam having a first disk and a second disk rotatably mounted thereto, the walking beam defining a first pivot point between the first disk and the second disk;
an arm member having a first portion pivotably attached to the walking beam at the first pivot point and a second portion pivotably attached to the frame at a second pivot point;
wherein pivotal movement of the walking beam about the first pivot point causes upward movement of one of the first and second disks and downward movement of the other of the first and second disks relative to the first pivot point; and
further wherein pivotal movement of the arm member about the second pivot point causes vertical displacement of the walking beam relative to the frame. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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30. A method of forming a furrow in uneven terrain, comprising:
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(a) providing a walking beam having a first disk and a second disk rotatably mounted to opposite ends thereof;
(b) aligning the walking beam along a direction of travel and moving the walking beam forwardly along the direction of travel over the uneven terrain while allowing the uneven terrain to pivot the walking beam about a pivot point located between the first and second disks; and
(c) applying downward force to the walking beam at the pivot point and thereby maintaining both the first disk and second disk in substantially constant contact with the uneven terrain, thereby forming the furrow. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33)
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Specification