Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02387024 2002-05-21
IN-LINE SUB-SURFACE SEEDING, FERTILIZING AND WATERING SYSTEM
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of no-tillage opening blades which may be
partially submerged into earth, for example in a farmers field, so as to pass
the blade at a
submerged depth for delivery of seeds, fertilizer or water into the earth, and
to the mechanical
system for actuating same.
Ba.ck~round of the Invention
This invention relates to blade delivery systems which have replaced tillage
plows
and the like. It is known that the use of plows or other devices having for
example tillage discs for
tilling the earth or otherwise opening and turning a furrow through the ground
suffer from the
disadvantage that the moisture in the soil is unnecessarily exposed to
evaporation. In the past it
was necessary to open the earth so that the ground beneath the surface could
be seeded, fertilized
and watered. Whether this was accomplished by machinery or done manually,
prior art machines
or manual systems also suffered from the disadvantage that fertilizer was
typically delivered into
close proximity to the seeds being sown occasionally resulting in the seeds
becoming chemically
2 0 burnt.
Thus there exists a need for, and it is an obj ect of the present invention to
provide, a
blade and actuating system wherein the blade may be partially submerged into
earth and translated
therethrough, where the blade disturbs the earth minimally and without tillage
and is adapted to
deliver one or all of seeds, fertilizer or water from the blade in
advantageous spaced apart relation
2 5 as hereinafter described.
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CA 02387024 2002-05-21
Summary of the Invention
The sub-surface seeding, fertilizing and watering system of the present
invention
includes a mechanical actuating parallelogram linkage for actuating an opening
blade. The blade
has first and second sides extending between a leading edge and an aft edge.
The first and second
sides are advantageously generally symmetrical to each other on either side of
a first plane, where
the first plane generally bisects the opening blade, and the leading edge and
the aft edge lie
generally in the first plane.
The opening blade has an upper surface and a lower surface extending between
upper and lower edges respectively of the first and second sides of the blade.
First and second
wings are mounted to the first and second sides respectively in generally
oppositely disposed
relation so as to be cantilevered outwardly therefrom. The first and second
wings extend between
first and second forward wing edges and first and second aft-opening wing
apertures in the first
and second wings respectively. The first and second wings are mounted to the
first and second
sides at, respectively, first and second distances from the lower surface
measured generally parallel
to the first plane. First and second canards may be mounted to the tip of the
blade ahead of the
wings, the canards similarly disposed so as to extend oppositely generally
horizontally from the
sides of the blade.
The opening blade has therethrough, and generally lying in the first plane,
first and
second conduits, extending from, and cooperating with, at uppermost ends
thereof, first and
second infeed ports in the upper surface. The first and second conduits
cooperate with, at
lowermost ends thereof, first and second wing ducts extending aft through the
first and second
2 5 wings respectively between the lowermost ends of the first and second
conduits and the first and
second aft opening wing apertures. The first and second conduits and the
corresponding first and
second wing ducts are thereby in material flow communication between the first
and second infeed
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ports and the corresponding first and second aft opening wing apertures for
seed, fertilizer or fluid
flow, as fed from a material feeder, therethrough during the forward
translation of the blade.
The opening blade is mountable to the actuating linkage so as to be generally
vertically disposed, when mounted thereon, for partial submerging into soil to
a first submerged
depth advancing the leading edge through the soil. The first and second
distances are less than the
first submerged depth so that the first and second wings are submerged in the
soil during the
forward translation of the blade.
In one preferred embodiment, the opening blade further includes a third
conduit
extending in material flow communication between a third infeed port in the
upper surface and an
aft opening blade aperture in a rearward position on the opening blade in
proximity to the aft edge
for seed, fertilizer or fluid flow therethrough, as fed from the material
feeder. Advantageously, the
aft-opening blade aperture is centrally disposed relative to the first plane
so as to lie generally
symmetrically across the first plane, and may be positioned so that the
aperture intersects the lower
surface of the blade. Thus the aft-opening blade aperture is formed at the
intersection of the lower
surface and the aft edge of the blade. The aft-opening blade aperture may lie
in a second plane at
generally 30° inclined relative to a third plane generally containing
the lower surface of the blade,
wherein the third plane is generally orthogonal to the first plane.
Advantageously, the first, second and third conduits are generally parallel
and raked
aft of their corresponding first, second and third infeed ports. The first,
second and third conduits
may be raked aft at an angle of approximately 55° relative to a fourth
plane generally containing
the upper surface of the blade if the upper surface is a planar generally
horizontal surface, although
2 5 this is not necessarily so.
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In one embodiment, but not so as to be limiting, at least the first and second
conduits are formed by mating of corresponding opposed facing channels in
oppositely mounted
side panels, oppositely mounted in, or mountable into, first and second sides
of the blade.
In a further aspect of the design, the third conduit is generally parallel and
adjacent
the aft edge and the leading edge is concavely curved so as to substantially
follow the curvature of
an in-line coulter wheel mounted ahead of and adjacent the leading edge of the
blade, the leading
edge forming a pointed toe at the intersection of the leading edge and the
lower surface of the
blade a first distance from the coulter wheel. Advantageously, the pointed toe
may be made of
hardened material relative to the hardness of material forming the balance of
the opening blade.
The coulter wheel and leading edge form an opening at the toe of the blade
which is sufficiently
narrow to prevent large rocks or boulders becoming jammed therebetween.
In a further aspect, the opening blade may be defined as having a longitudinal
length dimension and a height dimension, where the longitudinal length
dimension is
perpendicular to the height dimension and both dimensions lie in the first
plane. Further, the
opening blade has a lateral width dimension perpendicular to the first plane.
The longitudinal length dimension extends between the leading and aft edges of
the
2 0 blade, the height dimension extends between the upper and lower surfaces
of the blade, and the
lateral width dimension extends between the first and second sides of the
blade. In the present
design, the length dimension is much, that is, significantly greater than the
width dimension, as
described hereinafter. The height dimension in one embodiment is greater than
the submerged
depth so that the blade is supported above the soil and the blade thus
partially submerged during
2 5 forward translation, although this is not intended to be limiting. That
is, it is readily conceivable
to mount the blade to a support that itself becomes partially submerged in the
soil.
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Further advantageously, the first and second wings are wedge-shaped and the
forward wing edges are vertices of the wedge-shaped wings.
The sides of the blade may be thought of as having upper and lower portions
respectively above and below the wings. Thus, the first and second sides have
upper portions
generally located, respectively, between the first and second wings and the
upper surface of the
blade, and lower portions generally located between, respectively, the first
and second wings and
the lower surface of the blade. The lower portions collectively form a waisted
or foot shape so that
a forward width dimension of a forward flared portion of the lower portion of
the opening blade
and an aft width dimension of an aft flared portion of the lower portion of
the opening blade, the
forward and aft width dimensions extending between the lower portions of the
first and second
sides, are greater than an intermediate width dimension of a waisted portion
longitudinally
extending contiguously between the forward and aft flared portions.
The first wing may be defined as being set back a first longitudinal distance
from
the leading edge and the second wing as being set back a second longitudinal
distance from the
leading edge. 'Thus, in one aspect of this design, the first longitudinal
distance may be greater than
the second longitudinal distance. Correspondingly, the first wing mounted to
the first side of the
blade at a first longitudinal location generally corresponding to the aft
flared portion of the blade,
2 0 and the second wing may be mounted to the second side at a second
longitudinal location generally
corresponding to the waisted portion of the blade.
In the wing design, an upper wing surface on the first and second wings
extends aft
over the corresponding first and second aft-opening wing apertures on aft
cantilevered upper wing
2 5 members. The lower wing surface on the first and second wings may form a
first wedge angle of
approximately 5° with the upper wing surface. Further, laterally outer-
most wing surfaces extend
between the upper and lower wing surfaces. The laterally outer-most wing
surfaces may
advantageously intersect the corresponding first and second sides of the blade
at their
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CA 02387024 2002-05-21
corresponding first and second forward wing edges. Thus the laterally outer-
most wing surfaces
may form a second wedge angle of approximately 5° relative to the first
and second sides of the
blade respectively. Advantageously, the first and second wings may themselves
also be inclined
downwardly so that a pair of corresponding planes bisecting the wedge angle
between the upper
and lower wing surfaces on each of the first and second wings, where the pair
of corresponding
planes contain the corresponding forward wing edges, are inclined forwardly
and downwardly at
approximately 5° relative to a generally horizontal plane containing
the lower surface, it being
taken for the sake of this defined relationship that the lower surface is
generally planar and
horizontal, although this is not intended to be limiting, and is not
necessarily so, notwithstanding
that the preferred embodiment hereinafter described is illustrated as such.
'The blade is mountable into a header of the parallelogram linkage. A pair of
parallel rigid drag arms extend between the header and a hanger assembly and
are pinned at their
respective ends so that rotation of the header relative to the hanger assembly
on the parallel arms
maintains a general horizontal orientation of the header thereby supporting
the blade downwardly
in a constant orientation. The hanger assembly is mountable to a supporting
frame. An array of
such assemblies supporting an array of linkages, coulter wheels and blades may
be mounted across
the supporting frame. Selective actuation means such as a hydraulic actuator
allows selective
control of a downward force urging the blade into the soil. Where the
selective actuation means is
2 0 a hydraulic actuator mounted between the hanger assembly or frame and the
parallel drag arms or
header, the actuating linkage may be selectively elevated so as to remove the
coulter wheel and
blade from the soil.
'The coulter wheel may be mounted to a forward end of the header, ahead of the
2 5 leading edge of the blade. In a further alternative embodiment, a furrow
closing means such as a
closing wheel or plurality, such as canted pair, of closing wheels are mounted
to a rear end of the
header so as to trail rearwardly therefrom in line with a furrow created by
the blade passing
through the soil. The closing means may be urged downwardly by a selectively
adjustable
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downward biasing means such as a pivotally mounted rocker arm pivotally
mounted to a rear end
of the header and selectively adjustable so as to be rotated downwardly to
downwardly bias the
furrow closing wheel.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Figure 1 is, in exploded perspective view, the inline, subsurface seeding,
fertilizing
and watering blade of the system of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view along line 2-2 in Figure 1.
Figure 3 is, in left side elevation view, the device of Figure 1.
Figure 3a is, in left side elevation view, an alternative embodiment of the
blade of
Figure 3.
Figure 3b is, in left side elevation view, a further alternative embodiment of
the
blade of Figure 3.
2 0 Figure 4 is, in bottom perspective view, the device of Figure 1.
Figure 5 is, in rear elevation view, the device of Figure I .
Figure 6 is the view of Figure 5 as the blade is passed through soil.
Figure 7 is the rear elevation view of Figure 6 with the blade removed for
clarity so
as to illustrate an approximation of the soil mechanics during an initial seed
placing and fertilizing
phase.
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Figure 8 follows on as a time-elapsed view of the view of Figure 7,
illustrating the
collapse of the soil and lateral translation of the seeds following the
initial phase.
Figure 9 is, in a generally side perspective view, the actuating linkage of
the in-line
sub-surface seeding, fertilizing and watering system of the present invention,
with the actuating
linkage in a lowered position.
Figure 10 is, in a rear and lower perspective view, the actuating linkage of
Figure 9.
Figure 11 is, in a rear and side perspective view, the actuating linkage of
Figure 9.
Figure 12 is the linkage of Figure 9 showing the coulter wheel and blade
lowered
into the soil.
Figure 13 is; in perspective view partially cut-away, a system of arrays of
the
actuating linkage, coulter wheel and blade of Figure 9 mounted in lateral
arrays on a wheeled
supporting frame.
2 0 Figure 14 is, in side elevation view, the system of Figure 13.
Figure 15 is the view of Figure 9, with the actuating linkage elevated to pass
over a
boulder.
2 5 Detailed Description of Embodiments of the Invention
As may be seen by way of example in Figure 1, the no-tillage in-line sub-
surface
seeding, fertilizing and watering blade of the system of the present invention
is depicted as
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CA 02387024 2002-05-21
opening blade 10. Opening blade 10 has an upper, ported, mounting block 12,
or, in the
embodiment of Figure 3b, mounting ears 12', rigidly mounted atop a generally
planar blade
structure 14. Blade structure 14 has a trunk 16 depending generally vertically
beneath the upper
ported mounting base or block 12 or ears 12'. Formed as part of the lower end
of trunk 16 is a foot
structure generally indicated by numeral 18.
As also seen in Figures 2-S, mounting block 12 and blade 14, including trunk
16
and foot 18, are elongate in a generally vertical first plane A. The first
plane includes longitudinal
axis A'. With the exception of wings 20 and 22 and canards 21, as better
described below, the
outer surface of trunk 16 smoothly merges into, so as to truncate in cross-
section as, a waisted or
foot-shaped lower surface 24. In one embodiment access panels 26 and 28, which
conformally
mount onto the lateral side walls of trunk 16, are symmetrically shaped
relative to the plane of
symmetry of trunk 16. The plane of symmetry of trunk 16 coincides with the
first plane.
Upper ported mounting block 12 and mounting ears 12' have ports 30, 32 and 34
formed in their upper surfaces. The ports extend dpwnwardly through block 12
in cooperative
alignment with corresponding channels 36, 38 and 40 extending downwardly in
generally parallel
spaced apart array through trunk 16. Channel 40 also extends downwardly
through foot 18.
2 0 Channels 36 and 38 may, in one preferred embodiment not intended to be
limiting,
be formed by the alignment and snug adjacency of flanges 42 and 44 on the
inner sides of access
panels 26 and 28 respectively when the access panels are mounted conformally
in opposed
relation, to the lateral sides of trunk 16 so as to cover cavity 46 in trunk
16. Access panel 26 may
be mounted onto the port side of trunk 16 by means of tab 48 slidably engaging
corresponding slot
2 5 50, formed in the lower surface defining cavity 46, so as to protrude
downwardly into foot 18. In a
similar fashion, tab 52 on access panel 28 also slidably engages slot 50 when
mounting access
panel 28 onto the starboard side of trunk 16. The upper ends of access panels
26 and 28 may be
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secured by releasable fasteners, for example a cooperating, flush-mounted nut
and bolt pair (not
shown) journalled through apertures 56.
With access panels 26 and 28 mounted onto trunk 16, so as to cooperatively
align
and abut flanges 42 and 44, thereby completing forming and separation of
channels 36 and 38,
channels 36 and 38 form a pair of chutes in cooperative alignment between
ports 30 and 32 in
mounting block 12 and corresponding lower outlet ports 58 and 60. Lower outlet
ports 58 and 60
are directed laterally oppositely and open into the respective interior ducts
62 and 64 formed
within respective wings 20 and 22. Interior ducts 62 and 64 open out into
corresponding aft-facing
apertures from under their respective wings 20 and 22 as better hereinafter
described.
Toe 66, which may be of a different and hardened material relative to the
material
forming mounting block 12, trunk 16 and foot 18, is rigidly mounted, by
bolting or other means
known in the art, to the forward portion of foot 18 so as to form a forwardly
extending point or
snout 68, forwardly facing in the direction of forward translation B when the
blade is translated in
use. Advantageously, mounting block 12, trunk 16 and foot 18 may be made of
austempered
ductile iron (hereinafter ADI) and toe 66 may be made of a chrome alloy.
Access panels 26 and 28
and wings 20 and 22 may also be made of ADI.
2 0 Channel 40 is formed within and along the rear or aft edge of trunk 16 and
foot 18
so as to form a continuous generally linear conduit between port 34 and rear
aperture 70.
Advantageously, the rear-most end of foot lower surface 24 is upturned for
example as to provide
aperture 70 with an opening generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis
of channel 40.
Further advantageously, channels 36, 38 and 40 are generally parallel so as to
be raked aft in a
downward direction from ports 30, 32 and 34.
Wings 20 and 22 are each shaped as truncated wedges or otherwise as what may
be
described as irregular pyramid shapes wherein the vertex of each wedge or
pyramid is aligned so
CA 02387024 2002-05-21
as to be forward facing (in direction B) with the wedge diverging aft so as to
form correspondingly
shaped interior ducts 62 and 64 opening aft through the base of the wedges. In
one preferred
embodiment, the acute angles alpha (a)and beta (~3), formed at the vertex of
the wedges forming
wings 20 and 22, are each approximately 5 degrees. In the preferred embodiment
upper surfaces
20a and 22a, lateral surfaces 20b and 22b, and lower surfaces 20c and 22c of
wings 20 and 22
respectively are each generally planar. In one embodiment such as seen in
Figure 3a, upper
surfaces 20a and 22a are inclined forwardly further downwardly relative to the
plane containing
foot lower surface 24. thus a plane H bisecting angle ~3 would in this
embodiment advantageously
form an angle of approximately 5° relative to the plane F containing
lower foot surface 24.
Upper surfaces 20a and 22a extend aft and are cantilevered outwardly over the
aft
apertures of interior ducts 62 and 64. The aft apertures of interior ducts 62
and 64 are
advantageously formed by reducing the longitudinal length of lateral side
walls 20b and 22b and
raking the rearmost edge of lower surfaces 20c and 22c so as to extend them
contiguously aft from
the rear edge of lateral side walls 20b and 22b respectively to blend with
foot 18.
In the preferred embodiment, foot 18 is curvaceously waisted along its
longitudinal
length so as to form between curved side walls a forward expanded lateral
dimension 72 smoothly
tapering into a reduced lateral dimension 74 corresponding to the waisting
and, progressing aft, a
2 0 gentle flaring to an aft expanded lateral dimension 76. In the preferred
embodiment the waist of
foot 18 approximately corresponds, in the longitudinal direction of axis A',
to the position of the
forward ends of wings 20 and 22. As seen in Figure 3b, the lower surface 24
may be concave or
upwardly scalloped and the removable tip may include a pair of canards 21
disposed oppositely on
either side of the tip. Mounting ears 12' may include horizontal flanges or
ridges 12a' which allow
2 5 the blade to be mounted slightly higher or lower relative to the coulter
wheel described below.
In use, blade 16 is translated in direction B through soil 78. As seen in
Figure 6,
blade 16 is driven forwardly and positioned as better hereinafter described so
as to maintain wings
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20 and 22 submerged at a shallow depth below the surface of soil 78. Such
motion opens the soil
upwardly from point 68 on toe 66 upwardly along the leading edge of foot 18
and blade 16 causing
a small lifting and separating of soil 78 in opposite directions C. As blade
16 translates through
the soil, material fed into ports 30, 32 and 34 flows under the force of
gravity through respective
channels 36, 38 and 40. Material flowing through channel 40 exits through
aperture 70 at the
lowermost position of the narrow furrow 80 seen in Figure 7 formed in soil 78
by the passing of
blade 14 therethrough. The passing of wings 20 and 22 through soil 78 form
shelves 82 in the soil
as the soil is displaced by the wings so as to form shoulders 84 approximated
in the illustration of
Figure 7.
The forward movement in direction B of blade 14 through soil 78 draws material
such as fertilizer 86 from aperture 70, and also draws material such as seeds
88 from ducts 62 and
64 as the seeds are fed from channels 36 and 38 through outlet ports 58 and 60
respectively.
It has been found that the passing of wings 20 and 22, and in the embodiment
of
Figure 3b canards 21, and the passing of foot 18 in their form as described
herein, causes a fluid-
like circulation in direction D of soil 78 aft of wings 20 and 22. It is
understood that the view of
Figure 7 is an approximation of the cross-section through the soil immediately
behind blade 14 as
it is translating through the soil. The soil, acting in a fluid manner,
collapses so as to drop down
2 0 shoulders 84 as the soil beneath shelves 82 is circulated in counter-
rotation in direction D.
Applicant has found that this circulation transports seeds 88 laterally
outwardly along shelves 82
so as to facilitate advantageous lateral spacing apart of seeds on either side
of furrow 80 separated
both laterally and vertically from fertilizer 86 so as to inhibit chemical
burning of the seeds for
example by reason of the spacial relationship approximated by the illustration
of Figure 8.
It is understood that the order and type of materials introduced into ports
30, 32 and
34 may be changed as would be known to one skilled in the art so as to
introduce, for example,
seeds through ports 30 and 32 and water through port 34. A person skilled in
the art would also
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understand that ports 30, 32 and 34 would have to be attached by appropriate
conduits to
corresponding hoppers or reservoirs carried, for example on a tractor (not
shown) or trailer.
In the preferred embodiment, although not intended to be limiting, certain
planes
assist in defining the relationship of the elements of the present invention
relative to one another as
described above and claimed hereinbelow. Firstly, blade structure 14 is
generally bisected by a
first plane A, referred to above as coinciding with the plane of symmetry of
trunk 16, which
contains both the axis A' and the cross-sectional view reference line 2-2 seen
in Figure 1. The
cross-sectional view of Figure 2 is a view through a cutaway along first plane
A. A second plane
E is the plane containing the edges of aperture 70 at the lowermost end of
channel 40. A third
plane F is the plane containing foot lower surface 24. A fourth plane G is the
plane containing the
upper surface of mounting block 12. Lastly, a wing bisecting plane H bisects
wing 20 by bisecting
angle beta. A corresponding parallel wing bisecting plane bisects wing 22 by
bisecting the
corresponding angle on wing 22.
As seen in Figures 9 -13, blade 10 is mounted to an actuating linkage 110
whereby
the blade may be lowered into the soil 78 or elevated out of contact with soil
78.
Actuating linkage 110 is a parallelogram linkage for displacement in direction
I of
2 0 header assembly 112, specifically members I 12a and 112b relative to
hanger apparatus 114. The
members are pivoted relative to hanger apparatus 114 on pivotally mounted
upper drag arms 116
and lower drag arms 118. Each opposite end of the upper and lower drag arms
are pivotally
mounted by means of pins, bolts or the like. Thus upper drag arms 116 are
mounted at one end to
members 114a and 114b of hanger apparatus 114 by means of pin 120. The
opposite end of upper
2 5 drag arms 116, which include parallel arms 116a and 116b, are mounted
between the upper ends of
side plates 112a and 112b by means of pin 122.
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Lower drag arms 118 include an opposed pair of parallel rigid arms 118a and
118b
each pinned at the corresponding lower ends of hanger members 114a and 114b by
means of a pin
124. As better seen in Figure 11, arms 118a and 118b of lower drag arm 118 are
coupled to each
other by collar 126 as seen in Figure 10. The opposite end of lower drag arms
118 are pivotally
mounted to header members 112 by means of shaft 128.
Coulter wheel 130 is rotatably mounted on shaft 128, so as to sandwich the
lower
forward corners of header members 112a and 112b by means of a pair of mounting
plates 133.
Consequently, the coulter wheel is not free to swivel relative to blade 10,
but rather
is held aligned, generally co-planar, with the blade.
The parallelogram linkage of upper drag arms 116 and lower drag arms 118 and
header members 112 are actuated so as to rotate in direction I about hanger
apparatus 114 by, in
one embodiment, selective actuation of hydraulic ram 138. Hydraulic ram 138 is
fed by high
pressure hydraulic lines (not shown) as would be known by one skilled in the
art. The upper end
of hydraulic ram 138 is rigidly mounted to hanger apparatus 114, specifically,
between the upper
ends of hanger members 114a and 114b. The lower end of hydraulic ram 138 is
pivotally between
upturned lower ends of upper drag arms 116 by means of pinned coupling 144.
Extension of
2 0 hydraulic ram 13 8 causes rotation of the upper and lower drag arms
downwardly, about pins 120
and 124, relative to hanger apparatus 114. Retracting so as to shorten
hydraulic ram 138 rotates
the upper and lower drag arms upwardly. Thus with blade 10 mounted by means of
mounting
block 12 or mounting ears 12' between the lower rear ends of header members
112a and 112b, the
lower end of blade 10 may be selectively depressed below the surface of soil
78 so that blade 10
follows inline with the ground breaking engagement of coulter wheel 130 with
the soil. In the
embodiment of Figures 9-15 employing the blade of Figure 3b, flanges 12a'
interlock with
corrugations, grooves or channels 146a on the interior surfaces of the side
plates 146 of the header
assembly 112. Side plates 146 are clamped together so as to sandwich flanges
12a' and the upper
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CA 02387024 2002-05-21
end of blade 10 by means of bolts 148. Bolts 148 extend through elongate
apertures 150 in side
plates 146 and bolt holes 152 in the upper end of blade 10. Apertures 150 are
vertically elongate
so that the vertical position of blade 10 relative to side plates 146 may be
adjusted, for example to
compensate for erosive wear of coulter wheel 130.
As blade 10 is dragged in direction B through soil 78 a furrow 80 is created
as
described above. In one embodiment of the present system, a closure assembly
160 is mounted
between header members 112a and 112b. L-shaped arm 162 has its elbow pivotally
mounted on
pin 164 at the upper rear end of side plates 146, between members 112a and
112b. A closing
wheel 132, or pair or plurality of such wheels are rotatably mounted to the
lower rearward end of
arm 162 so as to press down into engagement with the upper surface of furrow
80 formed behind
blade 10 as blade 10 passes through soil 78. Downwards pressure is applied to
wheel 132 by the
force of actuator 138 and/or the weight of linkage assembly 110 and blade 10.
Arm 162 is
maintained in its angular position about pin 164 by means of arm 166, better
seen in Figure 11,
mounted to header member 112b.
Arms 162 and 166 may be releasably pinned together by a manually releasable
pin
168. Pin 168 may be removed to allow angular adjustment between arms 162 and
166, pin 168
being selectively insertable into an array of holes 170 along the rear end of
arm 166. Selectively
2 0 positioning the upper end of arm 162 outwardly along arm 166 rotates wheel
132 downwardly
relative to header assembly 112 about pinned shaft 164 so as to selectively
and adjustably apply a
downward pressure against the upper surface of furrow 80.
As better seen in Figure 12, each of hanger members 114a and 114b making up
2 5 hanger apparatus 114 may in fact each be parallel lobes of a rigid yoke in
the upper end of a single
rigid member 114' by u-shaped brackets 184.
CA 02387024 2002-05-21
In one preferred embodiment, such as seen in Figure 13, bar 182 extends
laterally
across a supporting frame structure 186 so that a laterally spaced apart array
of actuating linkages
110 may be mounted across one or more spaced apart bars 182. The supporting
frame structure
186 supporting bars 182 is preferably mounted on wheels 188 so that the entire
structure may be
towed by a tow coupling 190 or otherwise mounted to a tractor (not shown) or
the like thereby
simultaneously pulling a laterally spaced apart array of blades 10 through
soil 78.
Thus as also seen in Figure 14, the supporting frame structure 186 may also be
used
to support hoppers 192 on supporting legs 194. Hoppers 192 supply granular
material such as seed
or fertilizer to metering devices 196 mounted beneath the hoppers so as to
feed, via conduits 198
such granular material into blade apertures 30, 32 and 34 forming the infeed
inlets into blades 10.
In Figure 13, conduits 198 are omitted, with the exception of those extending
from the metering
devices 196 most closely in the foreground in order to maintain a clear view
of the arrays of
linkages 110 mounted to the parallel laterally extending bars 182. As may be
seen, a work
platform 200 and an associated ladder may also be mounted to legs 194 so as to
provide ease of
access to for example hoppers 192.
One advantage ofthe inline arrangement of coulter wheels 130 and corresponding
blades 10 is also illustrated in Figures 13 and 14. In particular, the leading
edge of blades 10 are,
2 0 as also seen in Figures 15 and 16, mounted adjacent to the outer
circumference of the coulter
wheel. As used herein, the term adjacent in describing the spatial
relationship between coulter
wheel 130 and blade 10 means that the distance dl between the outer
circumference of coulter
wheel 130 and the point of the toe on the leading edge of blade 10 is
sufficiently narrow so that
large rocks or boulders will not become jammed therebetween. With coulter
wheel 130 mounted
2 5 so as to rigidly maintain its inline alignment with blade 10, rather than
a large rock or boulder
impacting the leading edge of blade 10, the coulter wheel impacts the boulder
such as the
illustrated boulder 202 and rides up and over the boulder in direction J as
the coulter wheel rotates
in engagement with the ground. Because both coulter wheel 130 and blade 10 are
mounted to
16
CA 02387024 2002-05-21
header assembly 112, as coulter wheel rides up and over boulder 202 in
direction J, the entire
linkage 110 pivots upwardly, and because of the parallelogram formed by the
upper and lower
drag arms, blade 10 is not only elevated simultaneously with coulter wheel 130
but maintains its
angular orientation relative to the ground as the entire frame structure 186
is translated forwardly
in direction K on wheels 188. Thus as frame structure 186 is translated across
a field, at any one
time one or more of the coulter wheels 130 may encounter large rocks or
boulders. This will not
impede the progress of the frame structure and its associated arrays of
coulter wheels and blades as
only those coulter wheels and blades which encounter obstacles such as large
rocks or boulders or
the like will ride up over the obstacles and once pass the obstacles will once
again lower into
position at the optimal depth for seeding and fertilizing. Consequently it may
be seen the
advantage of having laterally extending arrays of linkages 110, one for each
set of inline coulter
wheels and blades. The use of two tiers of laterally extending arrays of
linkages 110 allows for
increased seeding density laterally across the width of the supporting frame,
that is, an increased
number of seeding rows or furrows formed across the width of the frame
structure notwithstanding
the physical width requirements of each linkage 110 and their associated
coulter wheels, blades,
closing wheels and feed conduits.
As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing
disclosure, many alterations and modifications are possible in the practice of
this invention
2 0 without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. Accordingly, the scope
of the invention is to be
construed in accordance with the substance defined by the following claims.
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