Baseball infield conditioning apparatus

• US 4,836,295 A
• Filed: 12/04/1987
• Issued: 06/06/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/1987
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Rodger E. Estes
• Original Assignee: Rodger E. Estes
• Inventors: Estes, Rodger E.
• Primary Examiner(s): NOT, DEFINED
• Application Number:
  US07/128,702
• Time in Patent Office: 550 Days
• Field of Search: 172/150, 172/151, 172/149, 172/170, 172/197, 172/199, 172/200, 172/554, 172/172, 172/173, 172/684.5, 172/612, 172/189, 172/502, 404/128, 404/124, 404/127
• US Class Current: 172/146
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 29/06 with special additional arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 49/027 with a rotating, soil working support element, e.g. a roller
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 23/0825 rotary, e.g. gang discs

Abstract

An apparatus for leveling and conditioning baseball infields and the like includes a scarifier, pulverizer, drag, and roller, all mounted on a common frame. The frame and at least some of the implements may be adjusted to adjust or disable the scarifier, pulverizer, and drag individually. The apparatus may be pulled by a small garden tractor.

Claims

1. A device for conditioning of earth fields comprising:

a. A frame having a forward end including hitch means and a rearward end;

b. ground breaking means attached to the forward end of said frame for breaking the surface of the field;

c. ground engaging means including elevating means associated with the forward end of said frame for selectively raising and lower said frame for selectively adjusting the depth of cut of said ground breaking means;

d. leveling and sifting means suspended from said frame behind said ground breaking means for leveling and sifting the broken surface of the field, said leveling and sifting means being a generally planar, rigid, self-sustaining, perforate drag, said drag being suspended in a generally horizontal position in use; and

e. rolling means extending across the rearward end of said frame for compacting the field, said rolling means having a substantially horizontal axis of rotation, said frame pivoting around the axis of rotation of said rolling means.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein said ground breaking means comprises a toothed scarifier and a rotatable pulverizer.

3. The device of claim 2, further comprising means for selectively raising and holding said scarifier in an upward position relative to its operative position with respect to the frame.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein said scarifier comprises means for pivotally attaching said scarifier to said frame.

5. The device of claim 2, wherein said pulverizer has socketed tines which may be individually removed.

6. The device of claim 1, further comprising a scraper pivotally attached to said frame forward of said roller, said scraper extending upwardly and rearwardly to contact said roller such that the earth scraped from the roller will fall to said drag means.

7. The device of claim 6, further comprising spring means for biasing said scraper against said roller.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein said leveling and sifting means is suspended from the frame by hanging means for independently adjusting the height of the front and rear portions of said drag means.

9. The device of claim 1 wherein said elevating means comprises a ground-engaging wheel and adjustment means for changing the height of said frame with respect to said wheel.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein said elevating means permits raising the frame to a height at which at least one implement in front of said roller is disengaged from the ground.

11. A method of leveling, smoothing, and compacting a level dirt playing field comprising a step of attaching to the rear of a powered vehicle a device having ground breaking means for breaking the surface of the field, generally horizontal, rigid, perforate leveling and sifting means for leveling the broken surface of the field, and rolling means for compacting the field, and a step of pulling said device over said field to simultaneously break the surface of the field with the ground breaking means to form furrows and clods, level the broken surface of the field and sift clods with the leveling and sifting means, and compact the field with the rolling means.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said ground breaking means comprises a scarifier and pulverizer, and wherein said step of pulling said device over said field simultaneously cuts relatively coarse furrows in said field, forms more closely spaced furrows, and pulverizes material turned up in forming said relatively coarse furrows.

13. A device for the conditioning of earth fields comprising:

a. a frame having a forward end including hitch means and a rearward end;

b. ground engaging means including elevating means associated with the forward end of said frame for raising and lowering said frame;

c. toothed scarifier means for forming furrows and clods in the field, said scarifier means being attached to said frame behind the hitch means, and means for selectively raising and holding said scarifier in an upward position relative to its operative position with respect to the frame, the depth of cut of said toothed scarifier being adjustable with the elevating means;

d. rotatable pulverizer means for leveling furrows and breaking clods formed by said scarifier means, the height of said pulverizer means being adjustable with the elevating means, including raising the height of said pulverizer means to an inoperative position.

e. drag means attached to said frame behind said ground breaking means for leveling the broken surface of the field; and

f. rolling means extending across the rearward end of said frame for compacting the field, said rolling means having a substantially horizontal axis of rotation, said frame pivoting around said rolling means.