Narrow profile opener capable of high speed operation
First Claim
1. An opener for depositing material in a furrow in the ground and for closing the furrow over the material, the opener comprising:
- a drawbar adapted for movement in a forward direction over the ground;
an opener disk supported from the drawbar for rotation about a disk axis to form the furrow in the ground, the opener disk having first and second sides and leading and trailing edges;
a first ground engaging wheel supported adjacent the first side of the disk;
a second ground engaging wheel supported adjacent the second side of the disk;
a material placement boot located on the second side of the disk; and
wherein the first and second ground engaging wheels have forward most portions adjacent the trailing edge of the disk, the wheels also including lowermost portions engaging the ground adjacent the trailing edge on opposite sides of the furrow and cooperating to positively close the furrow immediately behind the material placement boot.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An opener assembly includes a single opener disk rotatably supported from a drawbar and angled approximately five degrees from the forward direction to define a shadow area behind the trailing surface of the disk. A material placement boot and delivery tube are supported adjacent the trailing surface substantially entirely within the shadow of the disk and have profiles conforming to the furrow profile. The boot and the outlet portion of the tube also lie within the periphery of the disk for protection. The tube has an upper portion with a round cross section which changes to an elliptical cross section towards the outlet to remain within the shadow while retaining high throughput capabilities. First and second wheels are supported on opposite sides of the disk to urge soil downwardly behind the outlet of the delivery tube immediately after the material is deposited. The immediate soil action caused by the closely spaced wheels pushes the material to the furrow bottom and prevents material bounce for more constant material depth. A short, lightweight wheel arm on the trailing side of the opener disk reduces assembly length and weight, and wheel bias towards the soil is primarily by spring action rather than weight for fast response to ground contours. The wheel on the leading side of the angled opener disk is supported behind the disk axis by an arm assembly which provides depth adjustment from the forward end of the drawbar. The wheels and the disk are angled generally in the same direction for handling trash.
127 Citations
49 Claims
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1. An opener for depositing material in a furrow in the ground and for closing the furrow over the material, the opener comprising:
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a drawbar adapted for movement in a forward direction over the ground;
an opener disk supported from the drawbar for rotation about a disk axis to form the furrow in the ground, the opener disk having first and second sides and leading and trailing edges;
a first ground engaging wheel supported adjacent the first side of the disk;
a second ground engaging wheel supported adjacent the second side of the disk;
a material placement boot located on the second side of the disk; and
wherein the first and second ground engaging wheels have forward most portions adjacent the trailing edge of the disk, the wheels also including lowermost portions engaging the ground adjacent the trailing edge on opposite sides of the furrow and cooperating to positively close the furrow immediately behind the material placement boot. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An opener for depositing material in a furrow in the ground and for closing the furrow over the material, the opener comprising:
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a fore and aft extending drawbar adapted for movement in a forward direction over the ground;
an opener disk supported from the drawbar for rotation about a disk axis offset from a direction transverse to the forward direction to form the furrow in the ground and define a shadow area, the opener disk having first and second sides, and a periphery with leading and trailing edges;
a first ground engaging wheel supported adjacent the first side of the disk;
a second ground engaging wheel supported adjacent the second side of the disk; and
a material placement boot located on the second side of the disk and having a material placement outlet forwardly adjacent the first and second ground engaging wheels for depositing material in a bottom area of the furrow, wherein the ground engaging wheels have ground engaging portions located forwardly of the trailing edge of the disk and forcing soil down over the material deposited in the furrow before the material can move upwardly from the bottom area of the furrow. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. An opener for depositing material in a furrow in the ground and for closing the furrow over the material, the opener comprising:
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a fore and aft extending drawbar adapted for movement in a forward direction over the ground;
an opener disk supported from the drawbar for rotation about a disk axis to form the furrow in the ground, the opener disk having a periphery with leading and trailing edges;
a material placement boot located on one side of the disk and having a material placement outlet located adjacent the periphery at a lowermost portion of the opener disk for depositing material in a bottom area of the furrow, wherein the boot, when viewed from a side of the opener in a direction transverse to the forward direction, is located entirely within the periphery of the disk so that the boot is protected against damage by the disk; and
wherein the disk axis is offset from a direction transverse to the forward direction to define a shadow area in the fore and aft direction, and wherein the material placement boot, when viewed from the forward direction, is entirely within the shadow area. - View Dependent Claims (34)
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35. An opener for depositing material in a furrow in the ground and for closing the furrow over the material, the opener comprising:
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a fore and aft extending drawbar adapted for movement in a forward direction over the ground;
an opener disk supported from the drawbar for rotation about a disk axis to form the furrow in the ground, the opener disk having a periphery with leading and trailing edges;
a material placement boot located on one side of the disk and having a material placement outlet for depositing material in a bottom area of the furrow, wherein the boot, when viewed from a side of the opener in a direction transverse to the forward direction, is located entirely within the periphery of the disk so that the boot is protected against damage by the disk;
wherein the disk axis is offset from a direction transverse to the forward direction to define a shadow area in the fore and aft direction, and wherein the material placement boot, when viewed from the forward direction, is entirely within the shadow area; and
wherein the disk includes a hub area adjacent the disk axis and the boot extends substantially greater than 180 degrees around the hub area to provide a generally continuous trash-shedding around the hub area. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37)
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38. An opener for depositing material in a furrow in the ground and for closing the furrow over the material, the opener comprising:
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a fore and aft extending drawbar adapted for movement in a forward direction over the ground;
an opener disk supported from the drawbar for rotation about a disk axis to form the furrow in the ground, the opener disk having a periphery with leading and trailing edges;
a material placement boot located on one side of the disk and having a material placement outlet for depositing material in a bottom area of the furrow, wherein the boot, when viewed from a side of the opener in a direction transverse to the forward direction, is located entirely within the periphery of the disk so that the boot is protected against damage by the disk;
wherein the disk axis is offset from a direction transverse to the forward direction to define a shadow area in the fore and aft direction, and wherein the material placement boot, when viewed from the forward direction, is entirely within the shadow area;
a substantially vertical material delivery tube supported behind the disk axis within the shadow of the disk; and
wherein the delivery tube has a cross section which changes in the vertical direction to maintain the tube within the shadow area, wherein the tube includes an upper portion generally circular in configuration, the tube changing to an elliptical cross section near the material placement outlet so that the tube is maintained within the shadow for a disk axis offset as small as five degrees while maintaining a material throughput capability sufficient for planting at speeds above five miles per hour.
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39. An opener for depositing material in a furrow in the ground and for closing the furrow over the material, the opener comprising:
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a fore and aft extending drawbar adapted for movement in a forward direction over the ground;
an opener disk supported from the drawbar for rotation about a disk axis to form the furrow in the ground, the opener disk having a periphery with leading and trailing edges;
a material placement boot located on one side of the disk and having a material placement outlet for depositing material in a bottom area of the furrow, wherein the boot, when viewed from a side of the opener in a direction transverse to the forward direction, is located entirely within the periphery of the disk so that the boot is protected against damage by the disk;
wherein the disk axis is offset from a direction transverse to the forward direction to define a shadow area in the fore and aft direction, and wherein the material placement boot, when viewed from the forward direction, is entirely within the shadow area;
a substantially vertical material delivery tube supported behind the disk axis within the shadow of the disk; and
including a pivot connecting the delivery tube to the drawbar above the disk axis, and a U-shaped spring having side legs supported between the tube and the drawbar urging the tube towards the disk, the side legs extending generally horizontally adjacent the pivot.
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40. An opener for depositing material in a furrow in the ground and for closing the furrow over the material, the opener comprising:
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a fore and aft extending drawbar adapted for movement in a forward direction over the ground;
an opener disk supported from the drawbar for rotation about a disk axis to form the furrow in the ground, the opener disk having a periphery with leading and trailing edges;
a material placement boot located on one side of the disk and having a material placement outlet for depositing material in a bottom area of the furrow, wherein the boot, when viewed from a side of the opener in a direction transverse to the forward direction, is located entirely within the periphery of the disk so that the boot is protected against damage by the disk;
wherein the disk axis is offset from a direction transverse to the forward direction to define a shadow area in the fore and aft direction, and wherein the material placement boot, when viewed from the forward direction, is entirely within the shadow area; and
including ground wheel structure supported adjacent the disk including first and second wheels spaced on opposite sides of the disk, wherein the wheels have leading ground engaging portions located forwardly of the trailing edge of the disk and forcing soil down over the material deposited in the furrow before the material can move upwardly from a bottom area of the furrow. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43)
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44. An opener for depositing material in a furrow in the ground where trash is present and for closing the furrow over the material, the opener comprising:
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a fore and aft extending drawbar adapted for movement in a forward direction over the ground;
an opener disk supported from the drawbar for rotation about a disk axis offset from a direction transverse to the forward direction to form the furrow in the ground, the opener disk having first and second sides, and a periphery with leading and trailing edges;
a first ground engaging wheel supported adjacent the first side of the disk;
a second ground engaging wheel supported adjacent the second side of the disk;
a material placement boot assembly located on the second side of the disk and having a material placement outlet forwardly adjacent ground engaging portions of the first and second ground engaging wheels for depositing the material in the furrow; and
wherein the first and second ground engaging wheels are both steered in one direction away from the forward direction to move the trash from between the ground engaging wheels and towards one side of the opener. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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Specification