Multi-function draft implement
First Claim
1. In a seed planting unit for use with an air seeder having means for delivering a pressurized stream of air and seeds to the planting unit, the improvement in said planting unit comprising:
- an upright knife for making a single vertical trench in the ground as the seeder is advanced,said knife having a lowermost extremity that forms the bottom of the trench;
a fertilizer delivery conduit associated with said knife for use in delivering a band of fertilizer into the bottom of the trench prepared by the knife; and
an opener having an inlet adapted to receive a pressurized stream of air and seeds and to deposit the seeds in the ground at a shallower depth than the fertilizer band,said opener being disposed in fore-and-aft alignment with said knife with respect to the path of travel of the seeder and having a transverse, leading, soil-engaging edge spaced above said lowermost extremity of the knife and extending outwardly beyond the knife in opposite lateral directions for producing a pair of seed-supporting shelves in substantially undisturbed soil along and outboard of opposite lateral sides of the trench above the bottom thereof,said opener further having passage means communicating with said inlet and including at least a pair of passages having trailing rearwardly opening seed discharge outlets located laterally outboard of the knife but inboard of the outermost extremities of said soil-engaging edge and at substantially the same level as said edge for depositing at least a pair of rows of seeds on the shelves on opposite sides of the single trench as the seeder is advanced,said outlets being spaced rearwardly from said edge and being separated from said edge by a fore-and-aft extending top surface of the opener causing soil to be lifted off the shelves at said edge, maintained above the shelves by the top surface until the seeds are deposited on the shelves, and then dropped back down on top of the seeds to cover the same.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A multi-function draft implement for opening, seeding, and fertilizing is disclosed. The implement provides a vertical knife opener for creating a vertical trench in the ground, a horizontal sweep for opening a horizontal swath in the ground and creating a seed-supporting shelf. The seed-supporting shelf thus created allows the seeds to be deposited on the shelf on either side of the vertical trench. Fertilizer can be placed in the vertical trench and the ground is replaced over the shelf-supported seed and fertilizer. In one embodiment, the vertical knife is biased with respect to the horizontal sweep and depth-controlling ground-engaging wheels are provided for controlling the depth of the planting sweep. In another embodiment, the vertical knife and the horizontal sweep are in adjustable fixed relation. The implement allows for no till, minimum till, and conventional till planting operations with precise seed placement and a single-pass multiple ground preparation seeding, fertilizing, and herbicide application. The planting sweep allows seed placement in parallel paired rows in proper position with the deposited fertilizer in the trench between the rows to maximize yield. Depth control is provided with parallel linkage and the use of ground-engaging packer wheels, colter wheel, or a combination. Methods of single-pass and minimum tillage fertilizing and paired row planting are also disclosed.
50 Citations
36 Claims
-
1. In a seed planting unit for use with an air seeder having means for delivering a pressurized stream of air and seeds to the planting unit, the improvement in said planting unit comprising:
-
an upright knife for making a single vertical trench in the ground as the seeder is advanced, said knife having a lowermost extremity that forms the bottom of the trench; a fertilizer delivery conduit associated with said knife for use in delivering a band of fertilizer into the bottom of the trench prepared by the knife; and an opener having an inlet adapted to receive a pressurized stream of air and seeds and to deposit the seeds in the ground at a shallower depth than the fertilizer band, said opener being disposed in fore-and-aft alignment with said knife with respect to the path of travel of the seeder and having a transverse, leading, soil-engaging edge spaced above said lowermost extremity of the knife and extending outwardly beyond the knife in opposite lateral directions for producing a pair of seed-supporting shelves in substantially undisturbed soil along and outboard of opposite lateral sides of the trench above the bottom thereof, said opener further having passage means communicating with said inlet and including at least a pair of passages having trailing rearwardly opening seed discharge outlets located laterally outboard of the knife but inboard of the outermost extremities of said soil-engaging edge and at substantially the same level as said edge for depositing at least a pair of rows of seeds on the shelves on opposite sides of the single trench as the seeder is advanced, said outlets being spaced rearwardly from said edge and being separated from said edge by a fore-and-aft extending top surface of the opener causing soil to be lifted off the shelves at said edge, maintained above the shelves by the top surface until the seeds are deposited on the shelves, and then dropped back down on top of the seeds to cover the same. - View Dependent Claims (2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
3. In a seed planting unit for use with an air seeder having means for delivering a pressurized stream of air and seeds to the planting unit, the improvement in said planting unit comprising:
-
an upright knife for making a vertical trench in the ground as the seeder is advanced, said knife having a lowermost extremely that forms the bottom of the trench; a fertilizer delivery conduit associated with said knife for use in delivering a band of fertilizer into the bottom of the trench prepared by the knife; and an opener having an inlet adapted to receive a pressurized stream of air and seeds and to deposit the seeds in the ground at a shallower depth than the fertilizer band, said opener being disposed in fore-and-aft alignment with said knife with respect to the path of travel of the seeder and having a transverse, leading, soil-engaging edge spaced above said lowermost extremity of the knife and extending outwardly beyond the knife in opposite lateral directions for producing a pair of seed-supporting shelves in substantially undisturbed soil along and outboard of opposite lateral sides of the trench above the bottom thereof, said opener having passage means communicating with said inlet and including at least a pair of passages having trailing rearwardly opening seed discharge outlets located laterally outboard of the knife but inboard of the outermost extremities of said soil-engaging edge and at substantially the same level as said edge for depositing at least a pair of rows of seeds on the shelves on opposite sides of the trench as the seeder is advanced, said outlets being spaced rearwardly from said edge and being separated from said edge by a fore-and-aft extending top surface of the opener causing soil to be lifted off the shelves at said edge, maintained above the shelves by the top surface until the seeds are deposited on the shelves, and then dropped back down on top of the seeds to cover the same, said knife being disposed in trailing relationship to the opener.
-
-
5. In a seed planting unit for use with an air seeder having means for delivering a pressurized stream of air and seeds to the planting unit, the improvement in said planting unit comprising:
-
an upright knife for making a vertical trench in the ground as the seeder is advanced, said knife having a lowermost extremely that forms the bottom of the trench; a fertilizer delivery conduit associated with said knife for use in delivering a band of fertilizer into the bottom of the trench prepared by the knife; and an opener having an inlet adapted to receive a pressurized stream of air and seeds and to deposit the seeds in the ground at a shallower depth than the fertilizer band, said opener being disposed in fore-and-aft alignment with said knife with respect to the path of travel of the seeder and having a transverse, leading, soil-engaging edge spaced above said lowermost extremity of the knife and extending outwardly beyond the knife in opposite lateral directions for producing a pair of seed-supporting shelves in substantially undisturbed soil along and outboard of opposite lateral sides of the trench above the bottom thereof, said opener further having passage means communicating with said inlet and including at least a pair of passages having trailing rearwardly opening seed discharge outlets located laterally outboard of the knife but inboard of the outermost extremities of said soil-engaging edge and at substantially the same level as said edge for depositing at least a pair of rows of seeds on the shelves on opposite sides of the trench as the seeder is advanced, said outlets being spaced rearwardly from said edge and being separated from said edge by a fore-and-aft extending top surface of the opener causing soil to be lifted off the shelves at said edge, maintained above the shelves by the top surface until the seeds are deposited on the shelves, and then dropped back down on top of the seeds to cover the same, said inlet of the opener including an upright seed conduit having internal splitter means at the bottom thereof for dividing a single stream of air and seeds into a pair of stream flowing through said passages, said passages diverging outwardly and rearwardly from the central conduit and being closed at the bottom along the entire fore-and-aft length thereof, said outlets being disposed in an upright, rear edge of the opener at the rear of said passages, said upright conduit having an internal sidewall of circular cross-section provided with a vertically extending series of transverse, parallel ripples to cause the stream of air and seeds to swirl as the stream moves downwardly through the conduit toward the splitter means.
-
-
7. In a seed planting unit for use with an air seeder having means for delivering a pressurized stream of air and seeds to the planting unit, the improvement in said planting unit comprising:
-
an upright knife for making a vertical trench in the ground as the seeder is advanced, said knife having a lowermost extremely that forms the bottom of the trench; a fertilizer delivery conduit associated with said knife for use in delivering a band of fertilizer into the bottom of the trench prepared by the knife; and an opener having an inlet adapted to receive a pressurized stream of air and seeds and to deposit the seeds in the ground at a shallower depth than the fertilizer band, said opener being disposed in fore-and-aft alignment with said knife with respect to the path of travel of the seeder and having a transverse, leading, soil-engaging edge spaced above said lowermost extremity of the knife and extending outwardly beyond the knife in opposite lateral directions for producing a pair of seed-supporting shelves in substantially undisturbed soil along and outboard of opposite lateral sides of the trench above the bottom thereof, said opener further having passage means communicating with said inlet and including at least a pair of passages having trailing rearwardly opening seed discharge outlets located laterally outboard of the knife but inboard of the outermost extremities of said soil-engaging edge and at substantially the same level as said edge for depositing at least a pair of rows of seeds on the shelves on opposite sides of the trench as the seeder is advanced, said outlets being spaced rearwardly from said edge and being separated from said edge by a fore-and-aft extending top surface of the opener causing soil to be lifted off the shelves at said edge, maintained above the shelves by the top surface until the seeds are deposited on the shelves, and then dropped back down on top of the seeds to cover the same, said opener including a generally flat, triangular sweep having a forwardmost apex and a pair of laterally outwardly projecting wings, said wings having leading edges which diverge from said apex and present said transverse, soil-engaging edge of the opener, said opener further including an upright conduit projecting upwardly from the sweep and presenting said inlet, said wings extending rearwardly beyond said conduit and being separated from one another to define an open space therebetween behind the conduit, said passages intersecting with said conduit at the bottom of the latter and diverging outwardly and rearwardly therefrom within the wings to a location spaced rearwardly beyond the conduit.
-
-
16. In an opener for preparing a seed bed below the top surface of the ground and depositing seeds onto the seed bed, the improvement comprising:
-
a subsurface portion adapted to operate below the surface of the ground during use and an above surface portion projecting upwardly from said subsurface portion and adapted to operate at least partially above the surface of the ground during use of the opener, said substrate portion having a leading, transverse edge extending laterally outwardly to the laterally outermost extremes of the subsurface portion and adapted to prepare one or more generally horizontal shelves in the soil as the opener is advanced, said transverse edge being disposed forwardly of said upright portion and extending outwardly beyond the upright portion in opposite lateral directions, said upright portion including a conduit for receiving a single stream of air and seeds from a remote source and directing the steam downwardly toward means for splitting the single stream into two separate streams, said subsurface portion including a pair of internal passages having forward ends intersecting with said conduit at the bottom of the latter for receiving the two separate streams and rear discharge outlets spaced rearwardly from the conduit and mutually laterally spaced from one another, said subsurface portion extending rearwardly beyond said bottom of the conduit and terminating in a generally upright, rearmost edge having said discharge outlets disposed therein, said passages being entirely closed along the top, bottom and sides thereof until reaching said outlets whereby to assure rearward discharge of the seeds from the opener and onto said shelf as the opener moves forwardly, said conduit being circular in internal cross-section and having internal upright sidewalls provided with an upright series of transverse ripples for causing the stream of air and seeds to swirl as the stream approaches the bottom of the conduit. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
-
-
19. In a planting method, the improvement comprising:
-
preparing a vertical trench in the soil; depositing a band of fertilizer in the bottom of the trench immediately behind the leading extremity of the trench as the trench is being prepared; moving through the soil with a transverse edge which is symmetrical with the trench and has a width exceeding that of the trench in opposite, lateral directions so that the edge encounters substantially undisturbed soil outside of the trench, said transverse edge being held at a shallower depth than the bottom of the trench during said movement of the edge whereby to produce a pair of shelves in the substantially undisturbed soil along and outboard of opposite sides of the trench above the bottom of the latter; and depositing at least two parallel rows of seeds on opposite sides of each trench on said shelves before covering the shelves with soil whereby to provide a deep source of fertilizer for the seeds after germination while protectively isolating the seeds from the deep fertilizer prior to germination. - View Dependent Claims (20, 22)
-
-
21. In a planting method, the improvement comprising:
-
preparing a vertical trench in the soil; depositing a band of fertilizer in the bottom of the trench immediately behind the leading extremity of the trench as the trench is being prepared; moving through the soil with a transverse edge which is symmetrical with the trench and has a width exceeding that of the trench in opposite, lateral directions so that the edge encounters substantially undisturbed soil outside of the trench, said transverse edge being held at a shallower depth than the bottom of the trench during said movement of the edge whereby to produce a pair of shelves in the substantially undisturbed soil along and outboard of opposite sides of the trench above the bottom of the latter; and depositing at least two parallel rows of seeds on opposite sides of the trench on said shelves before covering the shelves with soil whereby to provide a deep source of fertilizer for the seeds after germination while protectively isolating the seeds from the deep fertilizer prior to germination, said step of preparing a vertical trench being carried out rearwardly of the point of engagement of the soil with said transverse edge.
-
-
23. In an air-assisted undercut seeder having a pair of rearwardly diverging blade edges that cut through the soil as the seeder is advanced to create a generally flat, horizontal seedbed that passes beneath the seeder, and a central body between said blade edges that lifts and holds loose, undercut soil from the blade edges up off the seedbed until after the rear of the body has passed by, the improvement comprising:
-
a central conduit projecting upwardly from the body for receiving a stream of air and seeds from a remote source, said body extending rearwardly beyond the conduit an opposite sides thereof to present a trailing portion behind the conduct that has rearwardly facing air and seed outlets spaced entirely rearwardly behind the point of intersection of the conduit with the body; and means defining a pair of fore-and-aft extending, internal, generally horizontal passages within the body that intersect with the conduit adjacent a lower end of the conduit and diverge rearwardly therefrom through the trailing portion of the body to said outlets on opposite lateral sides of the conduit, said conduit having means adjacent said lower end thereof for splitting the incoming stream into two separate streams and directing the same into the passages, each of said passages having a closed, elongated bottom wall extending generally horizontally rearwardly from the conduit back to the outlet of the passage for preventing discharge of seeds through the bottom of the body and for causing the sees to be blow out the rear of the body in rearwardly directed, generally horizontal steams beneath the lifted, undercut soil. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
-
-
30. In a method of seed planting, the improvement comprising:
-
advancing an undercutting blade along a path of travel below and generally parallel to the surface of the ground whereby to produce a flat, generally horizontal seedbed that passes beneath the advancing blade as the blade moves along its path of travel; lifting loose undercut soil off the seedbed as it is cut by the blade and keeping the lifted soil from returning to the seedbed until after seeds have been deposited on the seedbed; and blowing a pressurized stream of air and seeds into a distributor body associated with the blade below the surface of the ground and splitting the stream into a pair of separate steams that are propelled horizontally rearwardly out the back of the body between the overhead flow of loose undercut soil and the underlying seedbed whereby to case the seeds to thereafter drop from the streams onto the seedbed and become covered by the loose soil at a location behind the blade. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
-
Specification