Detachable harrow sprayer

• US 5,251,704 A
• Filed: 01/31/1992
• Issued: 10/12/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Bourgault Industries Ltd.
• Original Assignee: FP Bourgault Industries Air Seeder Division
• Inventors: Bourgault, Gerard F., Kerr, Darryl
• Primary Examiner(s): Corbin, David H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): WARNICK IV, SPENCER K
• Application Number:
  US07/830,322
• Time in Patent Office: 620 Days
• Field of Search: 172/311, 172/456, 172/272, 172/273, 172/247, 172/249, 172/250-253, 172/199, 172/200, 172/762, 172/763, 172/751, 172/753, 239/161, 239/162, 239/164-168, 403/325, 403/378, 403/379
• US Class Current: 172/311
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 49/04 Combinations of soil-working tools with non-soil-working tools, e.g. planting tools
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 73/067 to a position essentially rearward of the axis, in relation to the direction of travel
• CPC Class Codes: A01M 7/0075 including folding means
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 403/599 Spring biased manipulator

Abstract

There is disclosed a new and improved rearwardly folding combination harrow sprayer drawbar. A plurality of quick detach harrow arms are adapted to be quickly connected and disconnected to a plurality of harrow arm receivers. The implement can be used for spraying and harrowing at the same time, or once the harrows are detached and left in the field, the implement can be used for post-emergent spraying. A wet spray boom can be height adjusted by means of a plurality of manual spring loaded levers. The unit is equipped with hinged boom draws which can be pinned to be rigid such that it can be moved rearwardly in order to re-attach the harrows quickly and easily. The unit is also capable of lifting the harrows into a transport position and folding rearwardly into a narrow transport position in order to pass over roads or move through narrow entrance ways.

Claims

1. A rearwardly folding harrow sprayer implement adapted to be towed by a power source such as a tractor for use in pre- and post-emergent spraying operations, said implement comprising:

a framed cart adapted to support a spray tank;

a wheeled support, including a forwardly extending hitch, supporting said framed cart;

a central main boom mounted on said cart, and at least two main wing booms attached to said central main boom by universal type joints;

a plurality of harrow arm receivers fixedly mounted to said main booms, extending rearwardly therefrom when the implement is in a field position, and vertically therefrom when the implement is in a transport position;

each of said harrow arm receivers comprising an elongate arm, rectangular in cross section, and a rectangular planar end plate of greater cross section than said arm, and which end plate is fixedly mounted to the remote end of, and extends above and below said arm when the implement is in the field position;

harrow frames each having a plurality of tines thereon;

a plurality of harrow lift arms each including a connection adapted to detachably receive one of said harrow arm receivers;

said harrow lift arms being flexibly connected to said harrow frames by means of cables or chains such that when said harrow lift arms are to be connected or disconnected to said harrow arm receivers, said harrow lift arms can be moved independently of said harrow frames without moving said harrow frames;

power means for rotating said main booms from said field position to said transport position and vice versa;

a dry spray boom comprising a central section and at least two wing sections, each of said sections being rotatably supported int he implement and being parallel to said main booms;

said sections of said dry spray boom lying adjacent said main booms, respectively;

a wet spray boom comprising a central section and at least two wing sections, each of said sections of said wet spray boom being spaced apart and parallel to respective sections of said dry spray booms and attached thereto by a series of struts which are perpendicular to said wet and dry spray booms;

means for rotating said dry spray boom sections thereby raising or lowering said respective wet boom sections;

a plurality of spray nozzles attached to said wet spray boom sections;

a boom draw attached to each of said main wing booms at a respective end thereof, each said boom draw including an inner boom draw arm, an outer boom draw arm pivotably attached to said inner boom draw arm, said boom draw arms capable of receiving a pin which will rigidly fix the positions of said boom draw arms relative to one another, a wing draw hitch latch arm extending outboard from said framed cart, a latch detachably connecting said wing draw hitch latch arm to said boom draw arms, and a support arm pivotally attached to said framed cart and to said inner boom draw arm; and

wheel means for supporting said main wing booms in said field and said transport positions;

whereby when said harrow arms are disconnected from said harrow arm receivers, said harrow arms, harrow frames, and tines can be left int he field permitting said implement to be used as a sprayer,

when said means for rotating said dry spray boom sections are activated, said wet spray booms are raised or lowered to a desired height from the ground to provide an effective spraying operation for crops which have emerged from the ground,

and when said spraying operation is terminated, and said implement is moved rearwardly to an original position, said wet spray booms can be raised to clear said harrow arms so that said harrow arms can be reconnected to said harrow arm receivers, thus providing an implement capable of both harrowing and spraying operations.

2. An implement as claimed in claim 1, wherein each said connection of the harrow lift arms comprises a vertically oriented three-sided hitch mounted at right angles to the forward end of a bar of said harrow lift arm;

said hitch including;

a horizontally disposed rod fixedly connecting two sides of said hitch near the top portion thereof, and a pair of aligned apertures in said two sides near the bottom portion thereof,

said apertures being adapted to receive a slip bolt in a manner in which the slip bolt can protrude through said holes and be fixed in place with a clip; and

wherein said hitch is adapted to receive said rectangular planar end plate fixedly mounted on the rearmost end of said harrow arm receiver and to be lockably attached thereto by the slip bolt and clip.

3. An implement as claimed in claim 2 wherein said means adapted to rotate said dry spray boom sections comprises a plurality of mechanisms, each of which is adapted to individually rotate one of said dry spray boom sections manually, and wherein the implement further comprises arcuate gauges fixedly attached to said harrow arm receivers, each of said gauges defining a plurality of indentations, each of said mechanisms including a boom height adjustment lever fixedly attached to a said dry spray boom section and extending outwardly and perpendicularly therefrom, said lever including a spring-loaded projection adapted to rest in any one of a plurality of the indentations in a said arcuate gauge.

4. A rearwardly folding harrow sprayer implement comprising:

a plurality of main booms;

a plurality of harrow arm receivers fixedly mounted to said main booms and extending rearwardly therefrom when the implement is in a field position and vertically therefrom when the implement is in the transport position;

each of said harrow arm receivers comprising an elongate arm, rectangular in cross section, and a rectangular planar end plate of greater cross section than said arm, and which end plate is fixedly mounted to the remote end of, and extends above and below said arm when the implement is in the field position;

harrow frames each having a plurality of tines thereon;

a plurality of harrow lift arms each including a connection adapted to detachably receive one of said harrow arm receivers; and

said harrow lift arms being flexibly connected to said harrow frames by means of cable or chains such that when said harrow lift arms are to be connected or disconnected to said harrow arm receivers, said harrow lift arms can be moved independently of said harrow frames without moving said harrow frames.

5. A rearwardly folding harrow sprayer implement comprising:

a plurality of main booms;

a plurality of harrow arm receivers fixedly mounted to said main booms and extending rearwardly therefrom when the implement is in a field position and vertically therefrom when the implement is in the transport position;

each of said harrow arm receivers comprising an elongate arm, rectangular in cross section, and a rectangular planar end plate of greater cross section than said arm, and which end plate is fixedly mounted to the remote end of, and extends above and below said arm when the implement is in the field position;

harrow frames each having a plurality of tines thereon;

a plurality of harrow lift arms each including a connection adapted to detachably receive one of said harrow arm receivers;

said harrow lift arms being flexibly connected to said harrow frames by means of cables or chains such that when said harrow lift arms are to be connected or disconnected to said harrow arm receivers, said harrow lift arms can be moved independently of said harrow frames without moving said harrow frames;

each said connection of the harrow lift arms comprising a vertically oriented three-sided hitch mounted at right angles to the forward end of a bar of said harrow lift arm;

said hitch including;

a horizontally disposed rod fixedly connecting two sides of said hitch near the top portion thereof, and a pair of aligned apertures in said two sides near the bottom portion thereof,

said apertures being adapted to receiver a slip bolt in a manner in which the slip bolt can protrude through said holes and be fixed in place with a clip; and

wherein said hitch is adapted to receive said rectangular planar end plate fixedly mounted on the rearmost end of said harrow arm receiver and to be lockably attached thereto by the slip bolt and clip.

6. A rearwardly folding harrow sprayer implement adapted to be towed by a power source such as a tractor for use in pre- and post-emergent spraying operations, said implement comprising:

a framed cart adapted to support a spray tank;

a wheeled support, including a forwardly extending hitch, supporting said framed cart;

a central main boom mounted on said cart, and at least two main wing booms attached to said central main boom by universal type joints;

a plurality of harrow arm receivers fixedly mounted to said main booms extending rearwardly therefrom when the implement is in a field position, and vertically therefrom when the implement is in a transport position;

power means for rotating said main booms from said field position to said transport position, and vice versa;

a dry spray boom comprising a central section and at least two wing sections, each of said sections being rotatably supported in the implement and extending parallel to said main booms;

a wet spray boom comprising a central section and at least two wing sections, each of said sections of said wet spray boom being spaced apart and parallel to said dry spray boom sections, respectively, and attached thereto by a series of struts;

means for rotating said dry spray boom sections thereby raising or lowering said respective wet boom sections;

each of said dry spray boom sections being disposed to the rear of said main booms and mounted on the underside of said harrow arm receivers such that when said harrow lift arms are attached to said harrow arm receivers, the wet spray boom sections are capable of being moved to varying heights between the ground and the harrow lift arms for pre-emergent spraying, and when said harrow lift arms are detached from said harrow arm receivers, said wet spray boom sections are capable of being rotated through an additional arcuate path of approximately 90°

from the horizontal to the vertical for post-emergent spraying.