Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02221388 1997-11-18
Patent
36-6
Tool Adjustment mechanism for Use With an Agricultural Implement
Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to agricultural implements and more
particularly to a means
for opening the soil for example for seeding and subsequently closing the
soil, for example
after seeding, especially for such implements adapted to form angled furrows.
Background of the Invention
Numerous depth gauge means are known. For example, United States Patent
4,986,200 in the
name of Johnston entitled Depth Gauge Wheel is directed to a wheel removably
securable to
a coulter disc to control the cutting depth of the disc, wherein the wheel is
formed of a high
density plastic to which soil and debris are said not to adhere.
Another United States patent, number 4,423,788 in the name of Robinson et al.
discloses an
agricultural furrow forming apparatus depth control.
A more recently issued United States patent number 5,452,768 in the name of
Korberlein,
assigned to Worksaver, Inc. of Litchfield Ill. discloses a tillage implement
to be pulled
2o behind a tractor having a conventional frame with one or more furrowing
elements
depending from the frame or plough share. Each furrowing element has a disc-
like coulter, a
shank, and a replaceable plough share mounted on the soil engaging end of the
shank. One
or more gauge wheels can be adjusted to vary the height of the implement from
the soil so as
to adjust the depth of the tillage extending down from the frame.
United States Patent number 5,609,114 to Barton describes an apparatus for
agricultural
seeding, the apparatus having a rotating coulter disk that is inclined both
with respect to the
vertical and the horizontal, and a furrow-closing packer wheel that is also
inclined with
respect to the vertical and the horizontal, the vertical inclination angle
being in the opposite
3o direction than the respective angle of the coulter disk.
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Although many of these devices appear to perform their intended function,
there is a need for
an easy-to-adjust depth adjustment mechanism that will enable the positioning
of the coulter
blade, or another ground-opening, furrow forming element relative to the
closing element or
another associated ground engaging element.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved depth
adjustment mechanism
for an agricultural implement including an opener element (hereinafter termed
simply
"opener" for brevity) coupled with a ground surface engaging element, e.g. a
closing
element, the depth adjustment mechanism linked to the opener and to the ground
surface
to engaging element (hereinafter abbreviated as GSE element), wherein the
height of the GSE
element can be adjusted relative to the opener to control the relative height,
typically also the
cutting depth, of the opener while maintaining a predetermined angle between
the coulter
element and the GSE element, the height adjustment being accomplished with a
substantially
linear motion.
Preferably, for reasons explained hereinbelow, the GSE element is a ground
closing element,
but it can also be another element.
In accordance with the invention, there is provided, generally, a seeding or
fertilizing
2o implement intended to be moved in a line of travel, comprising:
a frame,
an opener extending from the frame, said opener defining a verticalmost axis,
a seed or fertilizer delivery mechanism disposed substantially behind the
opener in
the line of travel,
a GSE element disposed substantially in the line of travel behind the delivery
mechanism, and
a tool adjustment mechanism linked to the opener and to the GSE element for
adjusting the relative height between the opener and the GSE element.
The tool adjustment mechanism comprises
a first arm linked with the opener,
a second arm linked with the GSE element,
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the first arm and the second arm having each an engaging surface matching each
other, and
a releasable locking means for biasing the engaging surfaces together such as
to
immobilize, or lock the surfaces during operation.
The engaging surfaces when not biased to each other, are substantially
linearly
movable relative to each other in a plane substantially parallel to the
verticalmost axis of the
opener, whereby the opener and the GSE element remain at a substantially
constant angle
throughout depth adjustments of the mechanism.
to Advantageously, the implement in accordance with the invention provides a
closing element,
e.g. a closing wheel, that is adjustable in height relative to the opener,
e.g. a coulter wheel, in
a plurality of positions, without the use of tools, while substantially
maintaining a
predetermined angle between the coulter wheel and the closing wheel.
Furthermore, at any
height adjustment, the coulter wheel and closing wheel are maintained in
relative position
15 such that the closing wheel (or closing element) substantially follows the
line of travel of the
coulter wheel.
In an embodiment of the invention, there is provided an agricultural implement
having a
support frame, a rotatable coulter blade or wheel and a rotatable closing
wheel depending
2o from the support frame and forming a predetermined angle between the blade
and the wheel,
the predetermined angle being substantially constant as the closing wheel and
coulter blade
or wheel are relatively height-adjusted; the closing wheel being rotatable on
an axle
depending from a member having a lower arm and an upper arm, the lower arm
depending
from the upper arm at an elbow, the upper arm having means for engaging with
2s complementary engaging means on or attached to the support frame, and means
for bringing
together said engaging and complementary means into a releasable locking
engagement.
In accordance with the invention, there is further provided, a system for
opening and closing
ground comprising an opener, e.g. a coulter wheel, for cutting and opening the
ground at a
3o first predetermined angle, and a GSE element ,for example a closing element
for following
the coulter wheel for closing the ground, the GSE element engaging the ground
at a second
CA 02221388 1997-11-18
36-6 Patent
predetermined angle, the GSE element being adjustable in height relative to
the coulter
wheel, with the GSE element being adjusted at a plurality of adjustable
heights, while in use,
substantially maintaining the angles and maintaining the coulter wheel and GSE
element in a
relative position such that the portions of the wheels engaging the ground
traverse a
substantially same location, or in other words, the closing wheel engages the
ground
substantially in the line of travel of the coulter wheel such that the GSE
element engages the
ground substantially where the coulter wheel has cut the ground.
In yet another aspect of the invention, the implement may comprise two openers
and a tool
1o adjustment mechanism as defined above, the mechanism linked to both the
openers for
setting a relative height, or vertical position, between the openers. In such
a case, the
geometric relationship as described herein would apply correspondingly to said
openers, i.e.
the tool adjustment mechanism is provided to allow one of the openers to move
parallel to
the verticalmost axis of the other opener.
In one embodiment, the invention provides a depth adjustment mechanism having
a first arm
linked with the opener, a second arm linked with the GSE element, said first
arm and said
second arm having each an engaging surface matching each other, and a
releasable locking
means for biasing said engaging surfaces together such as to immobilize them
during
operation. The height of the GSE element relative to the opener may be
adjusted by
positioning a lever such that the wheel is movable into a plurality of
positions for controlling
the depth of the opener coupled therewith. When the GSE element is moved, the
relative
angle between the opener and GSE element is maintained and more importantly
the closing
wheel traverses the same location at a predetermined complementary angle that
allows the
open soil to be closed by the GSE element.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described in conjunction
with the
drawings, in which:
Fig. I is a rear view of a system including a coulter wheel shown in front of
a closing wheel;
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36-6 Patent
Fig. 2 is a side view of the system shown in Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a detailed exploded view of a wheel mounting assembly in accordance
with the
invention;
Fig. 4 is a detailed top view of an alternative embodiment of no-till opener
in accordance
with the invention;
Figs 5 is a detailed perspective view of the no-till opener shown in Fig. 4 in
accordance with
this invention,
Figs 6 is a detailed side view of the no-till opener shown in Fig. 4 in
accordance with this
invention,
l5
Fig. 7 is a schematic representation of the relative position of the coulter
blade and the
closing element during height adjustment, and
Fig. 8 is another embodiment of the invention wherein the implement has at
least one
20 additional tool as is shown in Figs 4 to 6.
Detailed Description of the Invention
Turning now to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, a system is shown having a coulter wheel 10
coupled with a
25 generally v-shaped closing wheel 12. The coulter wheel, as shown in Figs.
1, 5 and 6 is set at
a first angle to the vertical and at a second angle to the horizontal, or the
line of travel. The
angles are defined in the above-cited Barton US Patent 5,609,114. The closing
wheel, which
is also, as described in Barton, supra, set at an angle to the vertical and at
another angle to the
horizontal, is rotatably mounted on a substantially L-shaped closing wheel arm
14, wherein
30 the L is a lazy-L having an angle a greater than 90 degrees. A backside of
the L-shaped arm
14 includes a stair-like toothed surface 18 for mating with complementary
toothed surface 22
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36-6 Patent
on a wheel mounting bracket 20. A mounting bracket 24 is bolted to the wheel
mounting
bracket 20 which is used to couple the closing wheel 12 with the coulter wheel
10 by a
connecting member 26. A detailed exploded view of elements is shown in Fig. 3.
The
coulter wheel 10 and the closing wheel 12 are coupled through a frame F shown
in Fig. 8.
The frame F is equivalent to the element 26 of Fig. 2.
Referring now to Fig. 3, a handle 30 with a cammed or helical pad 32 on one
side is shown
adjacent to a pointer plate 34 having guide tabs 33a and 33b. A mounting pin
25 with a
cotter and a nut engages the handle 30 to hold the assembly (20, 24, 30, 34)
together. In use,
the helical surface 32 when the handle is in a locking position presses
against the pointer
plate and then against the closing wheel arm to force the arm into engagement
with the wheel
mounting bracket, wherein the two complementary sets of teeth engage one
another. When
the handle 30 is rotated into an unlocked position, the teeth are allowed to
disengage and the
wheel at the end of the closing wheel arm can be adjusted by being lowered or
raised. As
will be described in greater detail later, this adjustment is easily made
wherein a slot 15
within an upper portion of the L-shaped arm 14 only allows the wheel mounting
bracket to
slide therealong until a desired height is reached. The wheel is then locked
into a fixed
position by turning the handle 30 to a locked position. Advantageously, no
separate
adjustment is necessary to control lateral movement of the closing wheel 12.
The placement of the closing wheel in relation to the angled coulter wheel
into one of a
plurality of positions along a substantially linear path defined by the
toothed surfaces 18, 22
is important to the performance of this system. The closing wheel is used both
to close the
furrow and as a gauge wheel to control the depth of penetration of the
coulter. Conveniently,
the staircase depth adjustment mechanism positions the closing wheel both
laterally and
vertically with a single adjustment. No tools are required to adjust the
height of the closing
wheel. A depth scale is provided on the L-shaped arm 14 and the pointer plate
points to the
current depth. The scale allows all of the soil openers to be set for a same
depth, or allows
particular different settings to be selected.
The staircase surface 18 of the L-shaped arm 14 is a serrated interface
between the closing
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36-6 Patent
arm 14 and the wheel-mounting bracket 20 that is fixed at an angle from the
vertical axis.
When tightened, by positioning the handle in the locked position, the arm and
the bracket
interlock to hold the wheel 12 in place. The toothed surfaces 18, 22 are
released by turning
the handle mechanism. The helical pad between the handle and the pointer plate
is such that
the whole mechanism is loose along the axis of the mounting pin 25 with the
handle 14 in
one position, allowing sliding between the serrated pieces, and tightly locked
when the
handle is turned. The figures show the handle in the locked position when
horizontal and
unlocked when rotated to vertical.
The guide tabs 33a, 33b on the pointer plate maintain it in relation to the
slot 15 in the
closing wheel arml4. When the handle is pivoted to release the helical pad 32,
the closing
wheel arm 14 can be slid vertically until the desired depth is reached. Due to
the angle of the
interface surface the wheel moves laterally as well. The arm is then placed in
the locked
position to tighten the mechanism and prevent further sliding.
Fig. 7 illustrates, in front view, the relative movement of the closing wheel
and the coulter
blade during height adjustment. The left part of Fig.7 shows the coulter wheel
10 in the
furrow to a depth H~. The right part of Fig. 7 shows the coulter wheel 10
inserted to a depth
H2, In both cases (and generally in all depth adjustment positions of the
mechanism), the
2o closing wheel 12 is disposed at the same angle relative to the coulter
wheel and its lower tip
is spaced at the same distance y,=y2 from the furrow created by the wheel 10.
It is known
that the distance should be substantially the same regardless of the height
adjustment so that
the closing wheel rides over the lip L of the furrow and closes the furrow
effectively.
To achieve this geometric relationship, the movement of the closing wheel 12
relative to the
coulter wheel 10 should be effected along the dashed line 13 which is
substantially parallel to
the verticalmost axis 10' of the coulter wheel 10. This is also illustrated in
Fig. 1. It will be
seen that the general plane of the toothed surface 18 and the surface 22 is
parallel to the axis
10' of the coulter wheel I 0 which itself is angled relative to the above-said
general plane.
3o The verticalmost axis is of course inclined to the vertical as the coulter
wheel is tilted to
achieve an angled furrow. In the embodiment illustrated, the "verticalmost
axis" of the
CA 02221388 2003-11-21
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coulter wheel is the line running through the uppermost point, center arid the
lowermost point
of the coulter wheel when in use.
It will also be seen in Fig. 7 that the verticalmost axis 10' of the opener 10
(the axis is easy to
define when the opener constitutes a wheel, but somewhat difficult to define
when the blade
is a knife) is meant to represent the overall, or median, profile of the
furrow created by the
blade. This is evident when one recognizes that, as described in the Barton US
Patent
5,609,114, the coulter blade is practically always toed in relative to the
line of travel to push
the walls of the furrow away from each other; the walls of the furrow are then
somewhat
to angled to each other, and the plane of symmetry of the furrow is parallel
to the verticalmost
axis of the blade (i.e. coulter wheel in the embodiment illustrated).
Fig. 8 illustrates an embodiment of the invention wherein the implement has,
apart from the
main furrow opener (coulter blade) 10 and the closing element 12, a second
furrow opener
~ 5 36, all coupled through a common frame F (similar to item 26 in Fig. 2).
The second opener
36 has again a depth adjustment mechanism similar to that illustrated in Fig.
3, the arms 14
and 20 being now referenced as 38 and 40 respectively, with the exception of
the lever 30
being replaced by a pair of bolts. The arms 14 and 20 lie in the same plane as
the arms 38 and
40, respectively, however this is not clear when viewing Fig. 8. The depth
adjustment
2o mechanism of the second opener serves to adjust its height with relation to
the first opener
wheel 10. When the bolts are released, the arm 38 is movable relative to the
arm 40 in a
plane parallel to the verticalmost axis 10' of the coulter blade 10. The
movement is also in a
direction parallel to the axis 10' due to the angle of mounting of the arm 38
on the frame F.
It will again be noted that the plane parallel to the verticalmost axis of the
first coulter blade
25 10 is substantially the median plane of the furrow cut by the coulter blade
10.
The above-described arrangement, with two openers, reflects a so-called double-
shoot
implement. Such implement is useful to create a second furrow which is cut
within a wall of
the first furrow and is vertically spaced therefrom as described in the Barton
patent, supra, so
3o that fertilizer can be deposited in the lower furrow and seeds can be
placed in the upper
furrow. The second, higher furrow is cut in the wall of the first furrow.
During the cutting of
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the second furrow, some soil is removed and dropped to the bottom of the
deeper furrow
thereby covering the fertilizer which may have been deposited therein. It is
evidently
important that the placement of the second opener must be constrained relative
to the
placement of the first opener (and thus the angle of the first, deeper
furrow), otherwise the
s second furrow will not be formed in the proper part of the first furrow and
consequently,
either the seed will be too close or spaced too far from the fertilizer.
It will be noted that the plane of the second coulter wheel 36 is not parallel
to the plane of the
first wheel 10 for the purpose of the double-shoot embodiment. As shown in
Fig. 8, the GSE
element is a closing wheel 12.
to
Of course, a plurality of other ground opening and closing tools may be
attached to the
implement in a similar manner, using the depth adjustment mechanism of the
invention.
A key advantage to the mechanism is that the operator does not have to be
concerned with
15 the correct lateral placement of the closing or the second opener wheel.
The lateral
placement is preset at whichever depth the closing wheel is placed. This also
improves the
angled coulter performance since the lateral positioning is not susceptible to
operator error.
Of course, numerous other embodiments may be envisaged, without departing from
the spirit
2o and scope of the invention. For example, many types of engaging surfaces of
the respective
arms of the coulter and the closing element are feasible, with each surface
having a plurality
of recesses and matching protrusions, teeth, other known engaging elements
etc. or simply
friction-enhancing features.
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