Furrow closing wheel for agricultural seeders and mounting system therefor
First Claim
1. A furrow closing device for an agricultural seeder, comprising:
- a wheel-shaped structure having a generally planar center body portion and a plurality of spokes extending radially outwardly from the center body portion, said spokes each having a base attached to the center body portion and a blunt tip located radially outwardly of the base;
wherein said spokes each have a generally triangular shape in plan view, said triangular shape comprising generally flat leading and trailing sides that converge toward each other in a direction of said blunt tip, and said blunt tip extends between respective outer ends of said leading and trailing sides; and
wherein said spokes each have a thickness in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the wheel-shaped structure which is substantially constant from said blunt tip to said base.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A furrow closing wheel for an agricultural seeder has a center body portion and spokes extending radially outwardly from the body portion. The spokes each have a base attached to the body portion and a blunt tip located radially outwardly thereof. The blunt tip of each spoke has a circumferential length which is 1 to 6 times larger than a thickness of the blunt tip. The spokes each have a substantially constant thickness of about 0.1 to 0.5″ from the base to the blunt tip, and are tapered such that a circumferential length of the base of each spoke is 1.5 to 5 times larger than the circumferential length of the blunt tip. The spokes are 0.8 to 1.8 inches long in a radial direction from the base to the blunt tip. A mounting system having a protective shroud is provided for mounting the furrow closing wheel to the seeder.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A furrow closing device for an agricultural seeder, comprising:
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a wheel-shaped structure having a generally planar center body portion and a plurality of spokes extending radially outwardly from the center body portion, said spokes each having a base attached to the center body portion and a blunt tip located radially outwardly of the base;
wherein said spokes each have a generally triangular shape in plan view, said triangular shape comprising generally flat leading and trailing sides that converge toward each other in a direction of said blunt tip, and said blunt tip extends between respective outer ends of said leading and trailing sides; and
wherein said spokes each have a thickness in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the wheel-shaped structure which is substantially constant from said blunt tip to said base. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A furrow closing device attached to a row unit of an agricultural seeder behind a furrow opener and a seed-directing structure, the furrow closing device being arranged to close a furrow formed by the furrow opener after seeds are delivered into the furrow through the seed-directing structure, the furrow closing device comprising:
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a wheel-shaped structure having a center body portion and a plurality of spokes extending radially outwardly from the center body portion, said spokes each having a base attached to the center body portion and a blunt tip located radially outwardly of the base, said blunt tip being defined by a first thickness dimension (A) in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the wheel-shaped structure and a first length dimension (B) in a direction along a circumference of the wheel-shaped structure, the ratio of said first length dimension (B) to said first thickness dimension (A) being within a range of about 1;
1 to 6;
1;
wherein said spokes each have a generally triangular shape in plan view, said triangular shape comprising generally flat leading and trailing sides that converge toward each other in a direction of said blunt tip, and said blunt tip extends between respective outer ends of said leading and trailing sides; and
wherein said spokes each have a thickness in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the wheel-shaped structure which is substantially constant from said blunt tip to said base. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An agricultural seeder having a furrow closing device attached to a row unit behind a furrow opener and a seed-directing structure, the furrow closing device being arranged to close a furrow formed by the furrow opener after seeds are delivered into the furrow through the seed-directing structure, the furrow closing device comprising:
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a wheel disc having a planar body portion and a plurality of spokes extending radially outwardly from the planar body portion, said spokes each having a base attached to the planar body portion and a blunt tip located radially outwardly of the base;
said spokes each having a thickness in a direction parallel to an axis of rotation of the wheel disc which is substantially constant from said blunt tip to said base;
said spokes each having a generally triangular shape in plan view, said triangular shape comprising generally flat leading and trailing sides that converge toward each other in a direction of said blunt tip, and said blunt tip extends between respective outer ends of said leading and trailing sides;
the blunt tip of each spoke being defined by a first thickness dimension A in a direction parallel to an axis of rotation of the wheel disc and a first length dimension B in a direction along a circumference of the wheel disc, the ratio of said first length dimension B to said first thickness dimension A being within a range of about 1;
1 to 6;
1;
the base of each spoke having a second length dimension (C) in a circumferential direction of the wheel disc, wherein a ratio of said second length dimension (C) to said first length dimension (B) is within a range of about 1.5;
1 to 5;
1; and
said spokes each having a radial dimension (D) from the base to the blunt tip which is within a range of about 0.8 to 1.8 inches. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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22. A furrow closing device for an agricultural seeder, comprising:
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a wheel-shaped structure having a generally planar center body portion and a plurality of spokes extending radially outwardly from the center body portion, said spokes each having a base attached to the center body portion and a blunt tip located radially outwardly of the base;
wherein said spokes each have a generally triangular shape in plan view, said triangular shape comprising generally flat leading and trailing sides that converge toward each other in a direction of said blunt tip, and said blunt tip extends between respective outer ends of said leading and trailing sides; and
wherein said spokes each have a first thickness dimension (A) at the blunt tip in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the wheel-shaped structure and a second thickness dimension (A′
) at the base in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the wheel-shaped structure, a ratio of said second thickness dimension (A′
) to said first thickness dimension (A) is less than 3;
1, and said first and second thickness dimensions (A and A′
) are within a range of 0.1 to 0.5 inches. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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Specification