AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT

MACHINE AGRICOLE

English Abstract

ABSTRACT
An agricultural implement having a welded
plate on the leading edges and an upstanding rib
extending from the point toward the shaft. This
results in a better earth engagement, a better
wear pattern by which the implement retains its
point and greatly increased life for the implement,

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. An earth engaging implement comprising a body formed
of metal plate, having a leading point and leading edges
extending rearwardly from said leading point along the lower
most portion of said body wherein two flanged metal plates
are welded to the leading edges of the implement body to
form leading edges having two layers of metal, and said
flanges abut to form a central upstanding rib extending
rearwardly from said leading point along the centre line of
said body between said leading edges.

Description

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This invention relates to an improved earth engag-
ing agricultural implement.
Agricultural shares and points commonly used in
agriculture are items which must be regularly replaced
because of wear. Many solutions have been proposed to
reduce the abrasive wear on points and shares including plat-
ing the points with wear resistant coatings or increasing
the hardness of the metal. These techniques have not proved
cost effective as the cost of increasing the wear resistance
by these means is not repaid by a corresponding cost saving
resulting from a prolonged useful life for the implement.
Another factor in earth engaging implement design
is the energy required to move the implement through the
soil. Obviously an implement which can displace a green
volume and weight of soil with less energy input from the
towing tractor is desirable.
It is an object of this invention to provide an
earth engaging implement which has improved wear resistance
is relatively ecomonical to manufacture and requires less
energy to move it through the topsoil.
To this end the present invention provides an earth
engaging implement comprising a body formed of metal plate, a
leading point and leading edges extending rearwardly from
said leading point along the lower most portion of said body
said edges comprising at least two layers of metal and an
upstanding rib comprising at least two abutting layers of
metal extending rearwardly from said leading ed8e along the
centre line of said body between said leading edges.
The double layer of metal forming the leading edge
of the implement means effectively that the thickness has
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1131977
been increased and this provides an increased wear life for
the implement. Preferably the double plating only extends
over a small portion of the surface area of the implement.
However, the central leading edge is the area most subject
to wear from soil abrasion and so the increased cost of
employing a small area of double thickness is more than
repaid in increased wear resistance.
Further it has been discovered that a centrally
located upstanding rib along the centre of the implement also
increases the wear resistance and working life of the imple-
ment. The central rib maintains a point on the implement
and thus the implement retains an earth engaging profile.
Further a double plated rib divides the soil and disperses it
to either side rather than pushing the soil forward. This
soil dividing action requires less energy than a soil moving
action.
Conveniently the double plated portion of the imple-
ment is formed by welding two plates having flanged edges
along one side to a standard implement so that the flanged
edges abut and lie along the centre of the implement.-
The accompanying drawing illustrates an embodiment
of this invention.
Figure 1 is a front view of a share according to
this invention while Figures 2 and 3 are perspective and slde
views respectively of the same share. Figures 4 and 5 are
perspective views of an agricultural cultivating point and an
agricultural sweep made according to this invention.
The share comprises a point 5 leading edges 6 and
7 a central spine 8 and a shaft portion 9.
The leading edges 6 and 7 have welded to thcm tri-
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angular plates 11 and 12 which are flanged at their abutting
sides 13 and 14. These flanges 13 and 14 form spine 8.
Generally the length of the spine 8 is at least
one third of the centreline length of the share.
Formation of the share is accomplished by forming
a share in one piece by conventional means and welding there-
to the plates 11 and 12. These plates can conveniently be
formed from metal scrap created in blanking out the convent-
ional shares or o~her implements. Alternatively the tri-
angular shapes an be cut from steel strip in ~ patt~rn which
will ensure no wastage of metal at all.
The flanging of one edge of the triangu~ar piecesis easily achieved by conventional means.
Spot welding is sufficient to secure each plate
11 and 12 to the share so that a significant length of the
leading edges 6 and 7 are double plated as well as creating
the doubly thick central upstanding spine.
In Figures 4 and 5 a conventional polnt 19 and a
conventional sweep 29 have been modified according to the
- present invention and the reference numerals in these two
figures re~er to the same parts as described in relation to
figures 1 to 3.
Field trials have shown that this implement
exhibits a wear life of at least 3'~2 times that of a convent-
ional implement (one without the metal plating). It has
also been observed that the implement of this invention has
improved soil penetration traits and tends to draw itself
into the soil. The action of the implement in the soil
exhibits aerodynamic qualities and thus vastly improves the
tillage action of the implement.
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From the above description it can be seen that this
invention not only provides an earth engaging implement of
improved wear resistance but also provides an implement
requiring less expenditure of energy. In addition the imple- -
ment of this invention can be produced in an economical
manner ensuring the cost effectiveness of the implement.
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