Forged toothed wheel for a row crop planter

• US 9,307,690 B2
• Filed: 10/11/2013
• Issued: 04/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dawn Equipment Company
• Original Assignee: Dawn Equipment Company
• Inventors: Bassett, Joseph D.
• Primary Examiner(s): TORRES, ALICIA M
• Application Number:
  US14/052,533
• Publication Number:
  US 20140033958A1
• Time in Patent Office: 914 Days
• Field of Search: D15/28, D15/29, 111139-143, 111190-193, 172/540, 172/548, 172/551, 172/555, 172/556
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 35/16 with rotating or circulating non-propelled tools
• CPC Class Codes: A01C 5/066 Devices for covering drills or furrows
• CPC Class Codes: A01C 7/006 Minimum till seeding

Abstract

A forged agricultural wheel with a radial grain pattern includes a plurality of teeth projecting radially outwardly from a hub, with each tooth having a tooth root adjacent to the internal periphery of the hub. Each tooth further has a leading soil-contacting surface extending from the tooth root in a curved counterclockwise manner and having a variable width with a maximum tooth width. A trailing surface opposite the leading soil-contacting surface extends from the tooth root in a curved counterclockwise manner. A tooth end is angled counterclockwise away from a radius passing from a central axis through a central point of the tooth root. The tooth end connects the two surfaces and converges to a point on a maximum outside diameter of the wheel. An adjoining root valley connects each pair of adjacent teeth and has a thickness that is substantially thinner than the maximum tooth width.

Claims

1. An agricultural closing wheel comprising:

a hub having a respective width and defining a central axis Z about which the wheel rotates in use, the hub having an outer edge defined by an internal periphery with a periphery diameter D2 and an inner edge defined by an internal circular hole with an internal diameter D1;

a plurality of teeth projecting radially outwardly from the hub to move soil into a furrow as the wheel rotates clockwise about its central axis, each tooth of the plurality of teeth having

a tooth root adjacent to the internal periphery of the hub,

a leading soil-contacting surface extending from the tooth root in a curved counterclockwise manner and having a variable width with a maximum tooth width W, the width of the hub being substantially thinner than the maximum tooth width W,

a trailing surface opposite the leading soil-contacting surface and extending from the tooth root in a curved counterclockwise manner, and

a tooth end angled counterclockwise away from a radius passing from the central axis Z through a central point of the tooth root, the tooth end converging to a point and terminating on a maximum outside diameter D5 of the wheel, the tooth end connecting the leading soil-contacting surface and the trailing surface, the tooth end trailing behind the leading soil-contacting surface relative to the clockwise wheel rotation; and

an adjoining root valley between each pair of adjacent teeth of the plurality of teeth, the root valley being along a tooth depth diameter D4 and having a thickness T that is substantially thinner than the maximum tooth width W.

2. The agricultural closing wheel of claim 1, wherein the periphery diameter D2 is approximately 6.5 inches.

3. The agricultural closing wheel of claim 1, wherein the tooth depth diameter D4 is approximately 8.48 inches.

4. The agricultural closing wheel of claim 1, wherein the maximum outside diameter D5 is approximately 12.91 inches.

5. The agricultural closing wheel of claim 1, wherein a distance between the outside diameter D5 and the tooth depth diameter D4 defines a tooth depth X, the tooth depth X having a range between approximately 0.75 inches and approximately 3 inches.

6. The agricultural closing wheel of claim 5, wherein the tooth depth X is approximately 2.21 inches.

7. The agricultural closing wheel of claim 1, wherein each tooth of the plurality of teeth has gradually transitioning surfaces for preventing soil accumulation, each tooth lacking sharp concave corners.

8. The agricultural closing wheel of claim 1, wherein the thickness T is thinner than the maximum tooth width W by a factor of approximately 3.5.

9. The agricultural closing wheel of claim 8, wherein the thickness T is approximately 0.25 inches and the maximum tooth width W is approximately 0.87 inches.

10. The agricultural closing wheel of claim 1, wherein the plurality of teeth includes 13 teeth.

11. The agricultural closing wheel of claim 1, wherein the wheel is forged.

12. The agricultural closing wheel of claim 11, wherein the forged wheel has a radial grain pattern through each of the plurality of teeth.