Seed Furrow Closing Apparatus

• US 20110155031A1
• Filed: 12/30/2009
• Published: 06/30/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Great Plains Manufacturing Incorporated (Kubota Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Great Plains Manufacturing Incorporated (Kubota Corporation)
• Inventors: Arnett, Gregory W., Evans, Thomas J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,333,161 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 111/193
• CPC Class Codes: A01C 5/066 Devices for covering drills or furrows

Abstract

A seed furrow closing wheel has a generally dish-shaped body defined by a central portion and a notched outer flange portion that circumscribes the central portion and projects obliquely outwardly from the plane thereof. The notched flange portion is configured to present a series of circumferentially spaced, non-radial, obliquely projecting teeth that function to fragment and squeeze together opposite sidewalls of the seed furrow when a pair of the wheels are rolled along opposite sides of the furrow outboard of the furrow itself, crumbling the sidewalls and covering the seeds.

Claims

1. In a seed planting machine capable of opening a seed furrow in the ground and depositing seeds in the furrow as the machine advances, the improvement comprising:

a pair of side-by-side, ground-driven, rotatable closing wheels adapted to be disposed on opposite sides of said furrow for closing the furrow after seeds have been deposited therein,

each of said wheels having a generally dish-shaped configuration presented by a central portion and a circumferentially extending, peripheral flange portion that projects obliquely outwardly away from said central portion and the other wheel,

said flange portion being circumferentially notched to present a series of circumferentially spaced, obliquely projecting teeth,

each of said wheels having a back side facing toward the other wheel and a front side facing away from the other wheel,

the back sides of the teeth of the two wheels cooperating to present generally opposed, downwardly and outwardly diverging wedge surfaces that cooperate to squeeze together and fragmentize the sidewalls of the furrow as the wheels rotate down into the ground during use.

2. In a seed planting machine as claimed in claim 1,

said wheels being rotatable in inclined planes that converge downwardly and inwardly toward one another as the lower extremities of the wheels are approached.

3. In a seed planting machine as claimed in claim 1,

said teeth of each wheel curving outwardly and rearwardly from the central portion with respect to the normal direction of rotation of the wheel such that notches between the teeth open in a generally outward and rearward direction with respect to the normal direction of rotation of the wheel.

4. In a seed planting machine as claimed in claim 3,

each of said teeth including a base portion and a rearwardly turned, outermost foot portion.

5. In a seed planting machine as claimed in claim 4,

said base portion tapering in width as the foot portion is approached,

said foot portion being of generally constant width.

6. In a seed planting machine as claimed in claim 4,

the rearmost tip of each foot portion with respect to the normal direction of rotation of the wheel being convexly rounded.

7. In a seed planting machine as claimed in claim 1,

each wheel comprising a body of plate material having a uniform thickness throughout the entirety of the body.

8. In a seed planting machine as claimed in claim 1,

each wheel being constructed from a body of plate material that is cut to present said teeth and formed out of an initially flat plane to render the body generally dish-shaped.

9. In a seed planting machine as claimed in claim 1,

each wheel being constructed from a cast body of material.

10. A seed furrow closing wheel comprising:

a generally dish-shaped body having a central portion and a circumferentially extending, peripheral flange portion that projects obliquely outwardly away from said central portion,

said flange portion being circumferentially notched to present a series of circumferentially spaced, obliquely projecting teeth,

said body having a generally concave front side and a generally convex back side,

the back sides of said teeth presenting a series of wedge surfaces for use in displacing and fragmenting a sidewall of the furrow as the wheel rotates down into the ground during use.

11. A closing wheel as claimed in claim 10,

said teeth of each wheel curving outwardly and rearwardly from the central portion with respect to the normal direction of rotation of the wheel so that notches between the teeth open in a generally outward and rearward direction with respect to the normal direction of rotation of the wheel.

12. A closing wheel as claimed in claim 11,

each of said teeth including a base portion and a rearwardly turned, outermost foot portion.

13. A closing wheel as claimed in claim 12,

said base portion tapering in width as the foot portion is approached,

said foot portion being of generally constant width.

14. A closing wheel as claimed in claim 13,

the rearmost tip of each foot portion with respect to the normal direction of rotation of the wheel being convexly rounded.

15. A closing wheel as claimed in claim 10,

said body being constructed of plate material having a uniform thickness throughout the entirety of the body.

16. A closing wheel as claimed in claim 10,

said body being constructed from plate material that is cut to present said teeth and formed out of an initially flat plane to render the body generally dish-shaped.

17. A closing wheel as claimed in claim 10,

said body being constructed from cast material.

18. A method of closing a seed furrow comprising:

engaging the ground laterally outboard of opposite sidewalls of the furrow with generally opposed, downwardly and outwardly inclined, circumferentially interrupted wedge surfaces of a pair of closing wheels to squeeze together and fragmentize the sidewalls of the furrow as the wheels advance along the furrow and rotate down into the ground.

19. A method of closing a seed furrow as claimed in claim 18,

said interrupted wedge surfaces being presented by circumferentially spaced apart teeth of the closing wheels.

20. A method of closing a seed furrow as claimed in claim 19,

said teeth projecting generally obliquely outwardly laterally away from the furrow as the teeth engage the ground.

21. A method of closing a seed furrow as claimed in claim 19,

said teeth of each wheel curving outwardly and rearwardly from a central portion of the wheel with respect to the normal direction of rotation of the wheel to present notches between the teeth that open in a generally outward and rearward direction with respect to the normal direction of rotation of the wheel.

22. A method of closing a seed furrow as claimed in claim 21,

each of said teeth including a base portion and a rearwardly turned, outermost foot portion.

23. A method of closing a seed furrow as claimed in claim 22,

said base portion tapering in width as the foot portion is approached,

said foot portion being of generally constant width.

24. A method of closing a seed furrow as claimed in claim 23,

the rearmost tip of each foot portion with respect to the normal direction of rotation of the wheel being convexly rounded.