Structural orientation and protective apparatus for tillage assembly

• US 4,051,792 A
• Filed: 01/15/1976
• Issued: 10/04/1977
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/1976
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Deere & Company
• Original Assignee: Deere & Company
• Inventors: Sorlie, Donald Thomas, Brandt, Henry William Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Coven, Edward M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Feyrer, James R.
• Application Number:
  US05/649,278
• Time in Patent Office: 628 Days
• Field of Search: 111/1, 111/17, 111/22, 111/14, 111/60, 111/61, 111/69, 111/52, 111/85, 111/62, 111/86, 111/87, 111/66, 111/88, 111/63, 172/188, 172/387, 172/392, 172/393, 172/764, 172/727, 172/681, 172/518, 172/582, 172/19, 172/519, 172/538, 172/536, 172/557, 172/671, 172/674, 172/669, 172/548, 172/574 , 172/47, 172/378, 172/697, 172/60, 172/556, 172/68, 172/71, 172/120
• US Class Current: 111/134
• CPC Class Codes: A01C 7/008 Sod or grassland seeding A01C7/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 111/902 Pasture renovation

Abstract

A structural orientation and protective apparatus is disclosed that is particularly useful in a tillage assembly for sod seeding purposes. The apparatus includes a pair of skids each of which is adjacent to a cutter wheel mounted on the tillage assembly for cutting a furrow in ground to be seeded, each skid including a ground engaging portion to determine the maximum depth of furrow cut by the cutter wheel. Each skid is mounted for pivotal motion about a horizontal axis at the forward end, with the forward end being inclined upwardly from the ground engaging portion. A vertical mounting plate on each skid has a bracket mounted therebetween at the rear portion to receive a vertical adjustment rod, one portion of which is connected to the frame of the apparatus for controlling the selected depth of furrow to be cut. A seed tube boot is fastened to the rear portion of the skid so that regardless of the selected depth of furrow cut, the tube remains in the same position relative to the ground. The particular positioning of the seed boot on the skid, as well as the particular structure of the skid itself, protects the seed boot against foreign objects that could damage or otherwise impair proper functioning of the seed boot.

Claims

1. In a tillage unit having a cutter wheel mounted thereon, a structural orientation and protective apparatus, comprising:

skid means mounted on the unit independently of and adjacent to said cutter wheel of said tillage unit to control the depth of a furrow cut by said wheels;

seed tube means having a seed boot rearwardly spaced from the cutter wheel with a discharge portion rigidly connected to a rearwardly extending portion of said skid means in a manner such that said seed boot is vertically aligned with the furrow and protected by said skid means against foreign matter, said seed tube means being adapted to deposit seed in a cut furrow; and

depth adjustment means connected to said skid means for selectively adjusting the depth of furrow cut by vertically adjusting the cutter wheel and skid means relative to one another while said discharge portion of said seed boot is maintained in substantially the same relative position with respect to the ground level regardless of the selected depth of furrow cut.

2. The structural orientation and protective apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rear portion of said skid means is connected with said depth adjustment means.

3. The structural orientation and protective apparatus of claim 1, wherein said depth adjustment means includes a threaded vertical rod that is received in a U-shaped bracket connected with said skid means to thereby permit adjustment of the depth of a furrow cut by a cutter wheel adjacent to said skid means.

4. The structural orientation and protective apparatus of claim 1, wherein said skid means includes at least one skid having a generally flat and horizontally positioned ground engaging portion and an upwardly inclined forward portion.

5. The structural orientation and protective apparatus of claim 4, wherein said skid means includes a pair of spaced skids each of which is associated with separate cutter wheels mounted on said tillage unit.

6. In a tillage unit having a cutter wheel mounted thereon and rotatively driven, a structural orientation and protective apparatus, comprising:

skid means including a pair of spaced skids mounted on the tillage unit independently of and adjacent to said cutter wheel of said tillage unit to control the maximum depth of a furrow cut by said wheel when rotated, each said skid means including a generally flat and horizontally positioned ground engaging portion, an upwardly inclined front portion and a vertically positioned mounting plate the bottom portion of which is connected to said ground engaging portion;

a seed boot rearwardly of the wheel and fixedly connected to said mounting plate at the rear portion thereof in a manner such that said seed boot is vertically aligned with the furrow and protected by said skid means against foreign matter; and

depth adjustment means for selectively adjusting the depth of furrow cut by vertically adjusting the skid means and cutter wheel relative to one another, said depth adjusting means including a vertical adjustment rod and U-shaped bracket connected with the rear portion of said mounting plate of each said skid so that the depth of a furrow to be cut may be adjusted while at the same time maintaining said seed boot in substantially the same position relative to the ground regardless of the selected depth of the furrow to be cut.

7. The structural orientation and protective apparatus of claim 6, wherein the upwardly inclined front portion of each said skid terminates in a curled portion adapted to provide a pivot about which said skid may be pivoted as a part of said selected depth adjustment.

8. The structural orientation and protective apparatus of claim 6, wherein each said mounting plate includes a generally triangular portion connected with said ground engaging portion and a generally rectangular portion the back of which has said seed boot mounted thereon with the discharge portion of said seed boot being adjacent to the lower edge of said rectangular portion but terminating above the lower edge of said ground engaging portion of said skid means.