Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BACKGROUND OF l'HE INVENTION
Field of the_invention
The present invention relates to improvements in a
5 plow of the type having a rotary shaft on which are mounted
spaced sets of radial shares for tilling the soil.
More particularly, the invention relates to a plow
having a rotary shaft on which are mounted spaced-apart sets
of coplanar flat radial shares for use in "chiselling" the
soil.
In the following description and claims, the word
"chiselling" is intended to designate the kind of soil
lifting and soil loosening that are obtained when the flat
radial shares of the plow are rotating.
Description of the prior art
U.S. Patent No. 4,545,438 discloses a plow of the
above mentioned type, whose original characteristic lies
mainly in the particular configuration of the blades
mounted in spaced sets on a horizontal shaft to till the
soil (i.e. to lift it up and turn it over as the shares
leave the ground). The plow, intended to be drawn by a
traction vehicle, has no wheels for use where it has to be
displaced on roads. It only has a wide and heavy roller
acting as a support, as well as serving to break soil lumps,
which roller is located behind the shares. This roller is
quite unsuitable for riding on firm grounds such as on
roads. Additionally, the roller restricts seriously the
possibility of making full effective use of the tilling
blades because both the shaft and the roller are mounted on
the same solid frame with no possible adjustment of their
relative positions.
A main object of the invention lies in providing
an improved rotary plow which on the one hand, has
chiselling shares instead of tilling shares and which, on
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the other hand, avoids the above difficulties.
Other patents of less interest, known to
Applicant, are U.S. Patent Nos. 3,120,279 and 4,290,4~8.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Broadly, the invention is a plow constructed for
displacement along a prede~ermined direction, which plow
comprises a cultivator having a generally U-shaped frame
with a pair of lateral arms parallel to the above direction
and interconnected by a bight. The cultivator further has a
soil-chiselling assembly mounted on and transversely between
the arms, this assembly including a horizontal rotary shaft
provided with longitudinally spaced-apart sets of coplanar
flat radial shares. The cultivator is mounted on
retractable wheels movable and adjustable between a first
position wherein the wheels engage the soil for displacement
of said cultivator and the soil-chiselling assembly stands
inoperative above the soil, and a second position!~ wherein
the wheels are fully retracted and stand above the soil and
the soil-chiselling assembly is deeply engaged in the soil.
Of course any adjustement of the wheels between these first
and second position makes it possible to control the depth
of engagement of the assembly in the soil. Finally, the
plow has a soil-lump breaker which is mounted on the free
ends of the lateral arms of the cultivator frame and which
includes lump-breaking elements disposed between the spaced
sets of flat shares.
According to a preferred embodiment of the
invention, the lump breaker comprises a generally U-shaped
frame having a transverse support and lateral legs, the
lump-breaking elements being mounted on the support and
extending in the predetermined direction mentioned above
toward the soil-chiselling assembly. The plow further
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comprises means mounting the free ends of the legs on the
free ends of the lateral arms of the cultivator frame for
pivoted movement o~ the lump breaker about an axis which is
transverse to the above-mentioned predetermined direction,
and other means for adjusting the angular position of the
lump breaker frame relative to the cultivator frame.
In one particular form, the means mounting each
wheel on the cultivator frame comprise a bar having one end
pivoted to the bight of the cultivator frame for pivoted
movement about an axis perpendicular to the direction of
displacement of the plow while .he wheel is mounted for
free rotation at the other end. A power jack connected to
both the bar, near the wheel, and the bight allows the wheel
to be _etracted in the frame and moved out of it for use
when the plow has to be displaced on a road.
In another particular form, the two bars are
coaxial and solid with the two legs of the lump breaker
frame at the legs pivoted ends so as to form with them a
pair of upwardly open bell-crank levers; the wheels being
mounted for free rotation at the free ends of the bars,
respectively. In this case, the power jacks are connected,
respectively, to the bars adjacent to the wheels and to the
free ends of the lateral arms of the cultivator frame.
Other features and advantages of the invention
will become apparent from the description that follows, of
preferred embodiments having reference to the appended
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a diagrammatic top plan view of a
rotary plow according to a first embodiment of the
invention;
Figure 2 is a diagrammatic side elevation of the
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plough of Figure l, which the lump breaker disconnected;
Figure 3 is a view similar to that of Figure 2,
including the lump breaker;
~igure 4 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view,
on an enlarged scale, of the central portion of the soil-
chiselling assembly;
Figure 5 is a view similar to that of Figure 1 but
showing, on the rightward side and for purposes of
comparison, a plough according to a second embodiment of the
invention;
Figure 6 is a diagrammatic top plan view of a
rotary plough according to the second embodiment of the
invention;
Figure 7 is a diagrammatic side elevation view of
the retractable wheels and lump breaker combination
according to the second embodiment of Figure 6;
Figure 8 is a diagrammatic top plan view of a
first form of drive mechanism for the rotary cultivator;
Figure 9 is a diagrammatic top plan view of a
second form of cultivator drive mechanism;
Figure lO is a diagrammatic side elevation view of
the form of Figure 9;
Figure ll is a diagrammatic top plan view of a
third form of cul.tivator drive mechanism;
Figure 12 is a partial cross-sectional view taken
along line XII-XII of Figure l;
Figure 13 is a perspective view of one form of one
soil lump-breaking element;
Figures 14, lS and 16 are side views of other
forms of lump-breaking elements;
Figure 17 is a cross-sectional view of an
alternative form of assembly for mounting a rotary share on
a drive shaft;
Figure l8 is a side elevation view of the assembly
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of Figure 17; and
Figure 19 is another form of the assembly of
Figures 17 and 18.
5 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERR~:D EMBODIMENTS
Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 3, there is shown a
rotary plow 1 to be hooked to a tractor or other traction
vehicle 3 (Figure 2) by means of a hitch device 5 at the end
of a draw bar construction 7.
The plow 1 comprises a cultivator 9 having a
generally U-shaped frame 11, with a pair of lateral arms 13,
extending parallel to the direction of displacement of the
plow and interconnected at one end by a transversed bight
15. For ease in maintenance work, the ends of the bight 15
have terminal connection plates 16 secured, by bolts, to the
inner ends of the lateral arms 13. The cultivator 9 further
has a soil-chiselling assembly or rotor 17 mounted for
rotation on and between the two lateral arms 13 at their
- 20 free ends. The rotor assembly 17 includes a horizontal
rotary shaft 19 provided with longitudinally spaced-apart
sets 21 of radial coplanar shares 23 in the form of flat
curved blades having replaceable chiselling tools (not
shown) at their free ends.
The cu:Ltivator 9 has a wheel train located between
the frame bight 15 and the soil-chiselling assembly or rotor
17. Its wheels 25 are mounted on the frame 11 for movement
between a first position where they engage the soil and
where the rotor 17 is inoperative and moved above the soil,
and a second position which is that of Figures 2 and 3,
where the wheels 25 are retracted above the soil and the
rotor engages and chisels the soil as a plurality of
pick-axes would do.
The plow 1 further comprises, on the other side of
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the rotor 17, a breaker 27 for breaking soil lumps formed
between the sets 21 of blades 23. This lump breaker is
mounted on the free ends of the cultivator lateral arms 13
and includes lump-breaking elements 29 disposed between the
spaced sets of blades.
As shown, the lump breaker 27 is also shaped as a
U, having a transverse support 31 for the breaking elements
29 and lateral legs 33 of whicn the free ends are mounted,
by means of bracket plates 35, on the free ends of the
lateral arms 13 of the cultivator frame 11, for pivotal
movement of the lump breaker 27 about a transverse axis.
Adjustment of the angular position of the lump breaker 27
with respect to the cultivator frame 11 is by means of
turnbuckles 37 of which the ends, as shown in Figure 3, are
connected, respectively, to brackets 39 of the lateral arms
13 and brackets 41 of the lateral legs 33.
As shown in Figures 13 to 16, the lump-breaking
elements 29 may take various forms.
In Figures 13, 14, each lump-breaking element 29'
is an upwardly curved stiff metal blade of which one end is
resiliently pressed toward the support 31 and of which the
other end has a flat horizontal cross-foot extending on
either side of the blade 29'. More specifically, the blade
one end is passed loosely across a brace 45 for holding the
blade 29' upright and a pin 47 is slid through a holed at is
lower end; this pin being secured to the vertical branch of
an angular bracket 49 and a spring 51 wound around it with
its ends being applied respectively against the bracket
vertical branch and the lower end of the blade 29'. It is
to be understood that the rotor chiselling blades 23 rotate
counterclockwise so that the soil lumps move upward causing
the lump-breaking elements 29' to move up also, which
movement is resisted by the springs 51.
In the variant of Figure 15, the blade 29" is
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downwardly curved and is made of resilient material; it has
one end secured to support 31, as shown.
AS to the variant of Figure 16, it is a vertical
plate 29"' of which one end is edgedly secured to the
support 31.
Returning to the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2,
the wheel mounting means are constituted, for each wheel 25,
by a bar 53 at one end of which the wheel is mounted for
free rotation while its other end is pivoted to a pair of
brackets S5, beneath the bight 15, for pivotal movement of
the bar and wheel about an axis which is perpendicular to
the direction of displacement of the plow 1. The pivotal
movement is obtained by means of a hydraulic power jack 57
connected to the bar 53, adjacent to the wheel, and
connected to the bight 15. The power jacks 57 are
mechanically connected as is known, to ensure movement of
the wheels 25 in unison.
In this embodiment of the invention, as will be
noted, the wheel train operates independently of the lump
breaker 27.
Accord.ing to a second embodiment of the invention,
the wheel train and lump breaker are joined solidly together
and reference is now made to Figures 6 and 7 for the
description that follows, in this respect.
In this embodiment, the wheel-mounting means
comprise a pair of bars 59 coplanar and solid with the
respective lateral legs 33 of the lump breaker 27, the bars
59 and legs 33 formi.ng together upwardly open bell-crank
levers, as best seen in Figure 7, pivoted at their apex 61
to the free ends of the lateral arms 13 of the cultivator
frame 11. The wheels 25 are mounted for free rotation at
the free ends of the bars 59. It will be appreciated that
the apices 61 correspond here to the pivoted ends of the
lateral legs 33 in the first embodiment. Pivotal movement
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of the two wheels 25 of the gear train between the retracted
and active positions, and consequently pivotal movement of
the lump breaker 27, is obtained by means of power jacks 63
respectively connected to brackets 65 of the bars 57, near
S the wheels 2S, and to brackets 67 at the free ends of the
lateral arms 13. Again, operation of the jacks 63 is
synchronized to ensure unison motion of the wheels of the
gear train 25, 59.
Referring now to Figure 4, the soil-chiselling
assembly 17 comprises a plurality of horizontally disposed
coaxial cylindrical sleeves 69 having radial collars 71 at
their ends that are releasably connected together end-to-end
by bolts and nuts 73 to form the aforesaid shaft 19 as a
hollow shaft. The bolts and nuts 73 also serve to removably
secure the chiselling blades 23 to and circumferentially
around the hollow shaft so that the blades project radially
and in sets of coplanar blades spaced longitudinally of the
shaft. As illustrated in Figures l and 12, the ends of the
hollow shaft 19 are closed by plates 75 from the center of
which stub shafts 77 axially project that freely rotate in
bearings 79 of the lateral arms 13 of the cultivator frame
11 .
In Figure 4, the shaft 19 is made up of two shaft
sections 19', 19", axially separated from one another to
allow for the insertion of a gear transmission 81 having an
input gear 83 in mesh with an output gear 85; which
transmission is part of the driving means which rotate the
shaft 19. The latter means further comprise: a driving
shaft 87 connected to the input gear 83 through a universal
joint 89; a pair of driven shafts 91, 93 each of which
located within one of the hollow shaft sections l9', 19", on
either side of the output gear 85; slip clutches 95, 97,
connecting one end of the driven shafts 91, 93, to the
output gear 85; and driving structures 99, 101, securing
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hollow shaft sections 19', 19", whereby to drive the shaft
19 into rotation.
The driving structure 99 has a terminal plate 103
secured to the free end of the shaft 91 and bolted to a tube
105 having a central outer radial shoulder 107 bolted to an
inner extension of a collar 71 of one of the hollow shaft
sleeves 69. The other driving structure 101 is of like
construction. Thus, whenever the shafts 91 rotate, they in
turn cause rotation of the sections 19', 19", of the hollow
shaft 19.
The slip clutch 95 has an inner part 109 solid
with the outer gear 85 and an outer part 111 meshing with
the inner part 109 through a slip gearing. A blind tube 113
extends axially from the clutch outer part 111 and connects
with the adjacent end of the driven shaft 91 through a
spline connection. Solid with the end of the shaft 91 is a
radial flange 115 receving one end of a strong spring 117 of
which the other end is forceably applied against a shoulder
formed between the clutch outer part 111 and its tubular
extension 113. The slip clutch 97 and its connection with
the other driven shaft 93 are of like construction. The
above arrangement is for clockwise rotation of the drive
shaft 87 and for counterclockwise rotation of the clutch
inner part 109, causing counterclockwise rotation of the
chiselling blades 23, as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3.
Under normal condition of torque transmission and with the
illustrated particular characteristic of the slip gearing
between the parts 109, 111, firmly held in meshing condition
by the strong springs 117, the slip clutches 95, 97 transmit
power to the driven shafts 91, 93 and allow one of sections
19', 19" to rotate faster than the other driven by the
shaft, as may occur on a turn.
The stationary gear case 119 of the gear
transmission 81 is held fast with the bight 15 of the
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cultivator frame 11 by a body 121 enclosing the driving
shaft ~37. The tubular extensions 123, 125, enclosing the
driven shafts 91, 93, support the driving structures 99, 101
(and thus the shaft sections 19', 19") through suitable
roller bearing 127. The driven shafts 91, 93, are similarly
held by the tubular extensions 123, 125, at their other ends
by roller bearings 129, 131. Finally, the driving shaft 87
is connected to a compound gear-train 133 capable of
providing different speeds. The gear train 133 is of course
coupled to the power take-off 133 of the vehicle.
Alternatively, and with reference to Figure 8, the
driving shaft 87 may be connected to a hydraulic motor 135
provided with pressure fluid by a pump 137 coupled to the
power take-off 134 of the vehicle.
lS Other types of shaft drives are shown in Figures
9, 10 and 11 where the hollow shaft 19 may be in a single
section and mounted for rotation (on the free ends of the
lateral arms 13 of the cultivator frame 11 by the stub
shafts 77.
In Figure 9, the shaft drive comprises a pair of
hydraulic motors 139 mounted on the lateral arms 13 and
sprocket and chain connections 141 joining the motors 139
and the stub shafts 77 for rotating them. Power in the form
of pressure fluid is fed to the motors 139 through pipings
143 from a hydraulic pump 145 driven by the power take-off
134 through a speed- increaser 147.
A similar arrangement is proposed in the variant
of Figure 10 where, however, the power is not transmitted
directly from the motors 139 to the stub shafts 77 but
through conventional speed-reducing planetary gear sets 149.
In Figures 11, on the other hand, a pair of like
low speed high torque hydraulic motors 151 are provided at
the free ends of the lateral arms 13, having their output
shafts 153 facing inward of the frame arms 13 and coaxial
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and projecting inside the hollow shaft 19 to be made solid
with it by any convenient connection means 155. As in
l~igure 9, motors 151 are fed with pressure oil from pump 145
through pipings 143; the pump 145 being hooked to the power
take-off 134 through the speed-increaser 147.
In the shaft drives of Figures 9 and 10, it will
be appreciated that the shaft 19 need not be hollow but
solid so that its ends act as the stub shafts 77.
Alternatives of this type are shown in Figures 17, 18 and
19.
In Figures 17 and 18, the shaft 157 is a splined
shaft over which are secured a series of spaced collars 159,
each having a radial flange 161. As shown, each collar 159
is formed of two half-cylindrical parts; each part having a
lS radial flange and inner keys engaging in the splines of the
shaft 157 and clampingly locked on it by nuts and bolts 163.
Mounting of the chiselling blades 23 around each
collar flange 161 may be by bolting the blade connection
base 165, in the manner shown in Figure 12, which also
applies to the sleeves 69 of the hollow shaft 19 of Figure
4. In both cases, as illustrated, each base 165 is
releasably secured by the bolts 163 (73 in Figure 4) at two
selected points of two pairs of points on the relevant
flange 161 (71); the pairs of points being located,
radially, one above the other. ~his advantageously provides
the possibility of varying the tilt angle of the chiselling
blades.
In Figure 19, the cylindrical collars 167 are made
in a single piece and each collar has a radial flange 169
and inner keys that engage with the splined shaft lS9 so
that the collar can be non-rotatably slid along it. Each
collar further has a frusto-conical circumferential surface
171 dropping from the radial flange 169. A ring 173, having
bevelled bore corresponding to the inclination of surface
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171, rests flatly on the latter and is forceably driven
toward the flange 169 by bolts 175 so as to lockingly clamp
the collar on the shaft. The chiselling blades 23 are
secured by their connection base to the ring 173 in the same
manner as in Figure 12.
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