Agricultural tillage device

• US 8,359,988 B2
• Filed: 10/28/2010
• Issued: 01/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dawn Equipment Company
• Original Assignee: Dawn Equipment Company
• Inventors: Bassett, Joseph D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pezzuto, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): Troutman, Matthew D
• Application Number:
  US12/914,039
• Publication Number:
  US 20110036602A1
• Time in Patent Office: 824 Days
• Field of Search: 172/287, 172/534, 172/536, 172/672, 172/624.5, 172/176, 172/145, 172/146, 172149-151, 172/177, 172/175, 172/518, 172/13, 172/15, 172/17, 172/556, 172/532, 172/559, 172/561, 172/562, 172/484, 172/662, 172/683, 172/456, 172/196, 172/540, 111/140, 111/927, 111/81, 111/165, 111/166, 111/167, 111/169, 111/137, 111/157, 111/139, 111/149, 111/62, 111/85, 111/52, 111190-195, 171/111, 171/112, 171/116
• US Class Current: 111/135
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 63/008 Vertical adjustment of tools A01B63/10 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 63/045 for vertically adjusting wheels or similar rotary supporting elements

Abstract

An agricultural implement for tilling at least a strip of soil to be planted includes a tillage device for penetrating and tilling a strip of soil and displacing soil and residue upwardly, the tillage device including at least one coulter wheel mounted for rotation about a first axis of rotation and positioned at least in part below the soil, when tilling the strip of soil, such that the coulter wheel is able to cut a slit in the soil, and a depth control device laterally offset from the centerline of the strip of soil and mounted for rotation about a second axis of rotation located rearwardly of the trailing end of the tillage device. The depth control device is positioned to intercept soil and residue displaced upwardly by the tillage device. Multiple tines made of a polymeric material are mounted on the depth control device, extending laterally away from only one side of the depth control device toward the centerline to intercept a portion of the soil and residue displaced upwardly by the tillage device.

Claims

1. An agricultural implement for tilling at least a strip of soil to be planted, comprising

a tillage device for penetrating and tilling a strip of soil and displacing soil and residue upwardly, said tillage device including at least one coulter wheel mounted for rotation about a first axis of rotation and positioned at least in part below the soil, when tilling said strip of soil, such that said coulter wheel is able to cut a slit in the soil;

a depth control device laterally offset from the centerline of said strip of soil and mounted for rotation about a second axis of rotation located rearwardly of the trailing end of said tillage device, said depth control device being positioned to intercept soil and residue displaced upwardly by said tillage device, said depth control device having a soil-engaging surface for controlling the elevation of said implement such that the first axis of rotation and the second axis of rotation are fixed relative to each other; and

multiple tines made of a polymeric material, mounted on said depth control device, and extending laterally away from only one side of said depth control device toward said centerline to intercept a portion of the soil and residue displaced upwardly by said tillage device, said tines being attached to said depth control device only at one end of each tine with the attachment end of said tines located radially inwardly from said soil-engaging surface of said depth control device and the free ends of said tines terminating laterally short of said centerline and vertically between the elevations of the upper and lower edges of said depth control device, whereby said tines remain entirely above the soil engaged by said depth control device (i) as said depth control device rotates above the soil, and (ii) while said coulter wheel is positioned at least in part below the soil to cut a slit in the soil.

2. The agricultural implement of claim 1 in which each of said tines is sufficiently thin that it bends during rotation of said depth control device.

3. The agricultural implement of claim 2 in which each of said tines has a thickness in the range of from about ⅛

inch to about ⅜

inch.

4. The agricultural implement of claim 1 in which said depth control device includes a metal rim, and each of said polymeric tines is attached to a metal bracket attached to said metal rim.

5. The agricultural implement of claim 4 in which each of said polymeric tines is attached to said bracket with rivets, and said bracket is attached to said rim with at least one bolt so that said bracket can be detached from and re-attached to said rim.

6. The agricultural implement of claim 1 in which said tillage device comprises first and second coulter wheels that are offset from each other both laterally and fore and aft, said first and second coulter wheels overlapping each other fore and aft with the trailing edge of each of said first and second coulter wheels located closer to the path of the other coulter wheel than the leading edge of the same coulter wheel.

7. The agricultural implement of claim 6 wherein the rearward edges of said first and second coulter wheels are tilted inwardly, and the lower edges of said first and second coulter wheels are tilted inwardly.

8. The agricultural implement of claim 6 which includes a common frame carrying said first and second coulter wheels so that said axes of rotation are fixed relative to each other.

9. The agricultural implement of claim 1 in which the free ends of said tines are located radially inwardly from the attachment ends of said tines.

10. The agricultural implement of claim 1 in which said depth control device is a gauge wheel, and each of said tines extends vertically along a chord of said depth control device when viewed in a side elevation of said depth control device from the free ends of said tines.

11. The agricultural implement of claim 8 in which each of said tines forms an acute angle with respect to a vertical plane passing through said depth control device.

12. The agricultural implement of claim 1 in which adjacent tines overlap each other when viewed in a side elevation of said depth control device from the free ends of said tines.

13. The agricultural implement of claim 1 which includes a second depth control device mounted for rotation about an axis of rotation located rearwardly of the axis of rotation of said first depth control device and said first and second depth control devices are located on opposite sides of the tilled strip, and

multiple polymeric tines mounted on said second depth control device and extending laterally away from said second depth control device toward said centerline to intercept a portion of the soil and residue displaced upwardly by said tillage device, said tines on said second depth control device being attached to said second depth control device only at one end of each tine, the free ends of said tines terminating laterally short of said centerline and vertically between the elevations of the upper and lower edges of said second depth control device.

14. The agricultural implement of claim 1, wherein each one of said tines is prone to bending in opposite directions to produce both convex and concave curvatures during each revolution of said depth control device.

15. A method of tilling soil to be planted, comprising

tilling at least a strip of the soil with a tillage device that penetrates and tills a strip of soil and displaces soil and residue upwardly;

inserting at least in part a coulter wheel into the soil to cut a slit, said coulter wheel being mounted for rotation about a first axis of rotation;

controlling the depth of said tillage device with a depth control device laterally offset from the centerline of said strip of soil and mounted for rotation about a second axis of rotation located rearwardly of the trailing end of said tillage device, said depth control device being positioned to intercept soil and residue displaced upwardly by said tillage device, said depth control device having a soil-engaging surface for controlling the elevation of said implement such that the first axis of rotation and the second axis of rotation are fixed relative to each other;

implement, and

rotating said depth control device above the soil while said coulter wheel is inserted into the soil for cutting said slit;

intercepting entirely above the soil a portion of the soil and residue displaced upwardly by said tillage device, with multiple tines made of a polymeric material, mounted on said depth control device, and extending laterally away from only one side of said depth control device toward said centerline, said tines being attached to said depth control device only at one end of each tine with the attachment end of said tines located radially inwardly from said soil-engaging surface of said depth control device and the free ends of said tines terminating laterally short of said centerline and vertically between the elevations of the upper and lower edges of said depth control device, whereby said tines remain entirely above the soil engaged by said depth control device as said depth control device rotates.

16. The method of claim 15 in which each of said tines is sufficiently thin that it bends during rotation of said depth control device.

17. The method of claim 15 in which each of said tines has a thickness in the range of from about ⅛

inch to about ⅜

inch.

18. The method of claim 15 in which said depth control device includes a metal rim, and each of said polymeric tines is attached to a metal bracket attached to said metal rim.

19. The method of claim 18 in which each of said polymeric tines is attached to said bracket with rivets, and said bracket is attached to said rim with at least one bolt so that said bracket can be detached from and re-attached to said rim.

20. The method of claim 15 in which the free ends of said tines are located radially inwardly from the attachment ends of said tines.