Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
SOIL TILLAGE APPARATUS AND METHOD
[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure relates to machines and systems for agriculture.
More specifically,
the present disclosure is related to machinery used for tilling and planting.
BACKGROUND
[0003] In the farming and agriculture industries, a variety of apparatuses are
used to prepare the
soil, such as harrows and plows. Harrows and plows may incorporate discs,
chisels, or other
components. One common method to till the soil uses discs and is known as
disking. However,
disking is very inefficient as it typically requires multiple passes to get
the proper depth and
tillage. This results in excessive wear and tear, fuel, hours on tractors and
equipment, and soil
compaction due to multiple passes with the equipment. Often, fields with large
quantities of crop
residue require a pass with a mowing or shredding device prior to disking.
Rototillers dig up the
soil, but are very slow and high maintenance as a result¨especially for
heavily compacted soil.
Chisel-type sub-soilers and sweeps fracture ground well, but leave a very
rough surface. There is
also a lot of top soil and organic matter in the way, which requires more
horsepower to drag
through it.
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[0004] The typical disc has two sets of gangs, one behind another. The rear
discs aren't as
efficient because they must disc (cut) through matter that the front discs
throw back. This means
that the same soil is often maneuvered twice: once by the front discs and once
by the rear discs.
This also means that the rear discs cannot reach the depths needed. In order
to ensure proper
disking, the operator of the tractor will generally ensure that its speed does
not exceed around 7
miles per hour any faster and the discs throw dirt and soil, which can
create furrows. The more
discs in the system, the greater the horsepower required to turn the discs.
[0005] Rototillers make soil ready for planting by making it fine and level.
However, standard
rototillers till unnecessarily deep, which not only buries organic matter, but
takes excessive
horsepower and fuel. Burying organic matter creates rot and carbon dioxide,
which creates soil
imbalances and kills microorganisms. Rototillers also move very slowly, which
creates
significant and unwarranted wear on the tiller.
[0006] As such, there remains a need for equipment that can prepare the soil
more efficiently,
thereby using less fuel and creating a more nutrient rich soil. The present
invention solves these
and other problems.
SUMMARY OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS
[0007] In one embodiment, a soil tillage apparatus comprises a frame having an
earth cutter, a
hammer tiller, chiselers, a soil leveler, and a packer wheel all in a linear
arrangement. The earth
cutter comprises a plurality of discs and is positioned at the front of the
frame, proximal to a
tractor, truck, or other pulling means. The hammer tiller is positioned behind
the earth cutter and
comprises a rotary drum having one or more pulverizes attached thereto for
pulverizing soil
received from the earth cutter. The chiselers are positioned next and dig deep
into the soil that is
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not passed above by the hammer tiller. The soil leveler comprises a rotary
drum with a plurality
of protrusions for leveling the soil. The packer wheel likewise comprises a
rotary drum with a
plurality of protrusions which may be used for leveling purposes or for seed
bed furrowing,
depending upon the arrangement.
[0008] In another embodiment, a soil tillage apparatus comprises a frame
having an earth cutter,
a hammer tiller, and chiselers.
[0009] In yet another embodiment, a soil tillage apparatus comprises a frame
having an earth
cutter, a plurality of hammer tillers, and chiselers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a soil tillage apparatus;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a soil tillage apparatus;
[0012] FIG. 3A is a detailed perspective view of a hammer tiller of a soil
tillage apparatus;
[0013] FIG. 3B is a detailed perspective view of another embodiment of a
hammer tiller of a soil
tillage apparatus;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of soil tillage apparatus;
[0015] FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a soil tillage apparatus;
[0016] FIG. 6 is a side elevation view of a soil tillage apparatus with a
three-point hitch;
[0017] FIG. 7 is a top elevation view of a soil tillage apparatus with a three-
point hitch;
[0018] FIG. 8 is a side elevation view of a soil tillage apparatus having more
than one hammer
tiller; and
[0019] FIG. 9 is a top plan view of a soil tillage apparatus having more than
one hammer tiller.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS
[0020] The following descriptions depict only example embodiments and are not
to be
considered limiting of its scope. Any reference herein to "the invention" is
not intended to
restrict or limit the invention to exact features or steps of any one or more
of the exemplary
embodiments disclosed in the present specification. References to "one
embodiment," "an
embodiment," "various embodiments," and the like, may indicate that the
embodiment(s) so
described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but
not every embodiment
necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic.
Further, repeated use of the
phrase "in one embodiment," or "in an embodiment," do not necessarily refer to
the same
embodiment, although they may.
[0021] Reference to any included drawings is done throughout the disclosure
using various
numbers. The numbers used are for the convenience of the drafter only and the
absence of
numbers in an apparent sequence should not be considered limiting and does not
imply that
additional parts of that particular embodiment exist. Numbering patterns from
one embodiment
to the other need not imply that each embodiment has similar parts, although
it may.
[0022] Accordingly, the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to be
illustrative only and
not limiting as to the scope of the invention, which is to be given the full
breadth of the appended
claims and any and all equivalents thereof. Although specific teiiiis are
employed herein, they
are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of
limitation. Unless
otherwise expressly defined herein, such terms are intended to be given their
broad, ordinary,
and customary meaning not inconsistent with that applicable in the relevant
industry and without
restriction to any specific embodiment hereinafter described. As used herein,
the article "a" is
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intended to include one or more items. When used herein to join a list of
items, the term "or"
denotes at least one of the items, but does not exclude a plurality of items
of the list. For
exemplary methods or processes, the sequence and/or arrangement of steps
described herein are
illustrative and not restrictive.
[0023] It should be understood that the steps of any such processes or methods
are not limited to
being carried out in any particular sequence, arrangement, or with any
particular graphics or
interface. Indeed, the steps of the disclosed processes or methods generally
may be carried out in
various different sequences and arrangements while still falling within the
scope of the present
invention.
[0024] Referring first to the soil tillage apparatus 101 shown generally in
FIGS. 1 and 2, the
hitch point 10 is for connecting to a pulling source (such as a tractor,
truck, or other similar),
which is attached to the main tongue member 14 with the assistance of the
connecting support
plates 12 for added support. The main tongue member 14 is reinforced by the
tongue support
members 18 as well as tongue cross member 19 which gives the main tongue
member 14
structure and strength. The tongue components 14,18,19 are then attached to
main frame 28
through pivoting connecting members 20 and 22 by a connecting pin or bearing
mechanism 26.
[0025] The main frame 28 comprises a front cross-member 40 and a rear cross-
member 46. A
sub-frame 36 is connected to, and positioned below, the main frame 28 and
comprises front
cross-member 32, and front mounting member 34. A carriage-frame 154 is
connected to, and
positioned below, the sub-frame 36 and comprises front angle member 150, lower
frame
mounting member 42, carriage support member 152, and the carriage rear
vertical member 156.
[0026] The tongue-to-machine height ratio is set by an adjustable mechanism
170 such as a
hydraulic ram or other mechanisms for the purpose of setting tillage depth and
other functional
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options. The adjustable mechanism 170 is connected on one end to main tongue
member 14 by
the means of connecting plates 16 and connecting pin 26 and on the other end
to main frame 40
by the means of connecting plates 30 and connecting pin 26.
[0027] The soil tillage apparatus 101 has a front and rear adjustable-height
assembly, which
allows for adjustability of the soil tillage apparatus 101 for over-the-road
travel from field-to-
field, as well as various working depths and angles in the field. The front
adjustable height
assembly is attached to the sub-frame cross-member 32 by the means of
connecting plate 38 and
pivot mechanism/bearing 136 which is connected through pivot pin/shaft
assembly 138 to front
side members 132. The front side members 132 have wheels 144 and axle members
142 attached
to the lower end. Between the two front side members 132 there is a cross-
member 48 that
connects the opposite sides together. The adjustable-height assembly is raised
and lowered by an
adjustable mechanism 170 (e.g., hydraulic piston) which is attached on upper
end to main frame
front member 40 by connecting plates 30 and connecting pin 26 and on the other
end is attached
to cross member 48 by the means of connecting plates 130 and connecting pins
26.
[0028] The rear adjustable-height assembly is attached to the sub-frame rear
cross-member 32 by
the means of connecting plate 128 and pivot mechanism/bearing 136 which is
connected through
pivot pin/shaft assembly 138 to rear side members 132. The rear side members
132 have wheels
144 and axle members 142 attached to lower end. Between the two rear side
members 132 there
is a cross-member 48 that connects the opposite sides together. The adjustable-
height assembly is
raised and lowered by an adjustable mechanism 170 which is attached on an
upper end to main
frame rear cross-member 46 by connecting plates 30 and connecting pin 26 and
on the other end
is attached to cross-member 48 by the means of connecting plates 130 and
connecting pins 26.
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[0029] Positioned behind the front adjustable height-assembly is the earth
cutter 103, which may
be comprised of a plurality of discs 52 or similar devices. The earth cutter
103 is attached
utilizing connecting arm member 54 to sub-frame front cross-member 34. The
earth cutter 103
slices and feeds topsoil up into a hammer tiller 105 (more fully detailed
below and detailed views
shown in FIGS. 8-9). In one embodiment, the hammer tiller 105 is positioned at
a height above
that of the earth cutter 103 and, therefore, above the ground. Although the
hammer tiller 105 is
not required to be at a height greater than the earth cutter 103, best results
are achieved with such
an arrangement. The hammer tiller 105 then pulverizes the topsoil/organic
matter and passes it
over the top of lower carriage mounting member 42. In other words, the hammer
tiller 105
pulverizes soil in mid-air as it is thrown upwards from the earth cutter 103.
This unique feature
(mid-air pulverization) allows for easier pulverization, which not only
creates less wear on the
equipment, but requires less horsepower which thereby saves on fuel and
money.
[0030] In one embodiment, a hammer tiller 105 comprises a drive mechanism 56
(hydraulic
motor or other system) which rotates the rotor drum shaft 62 which turns on
bearings 60 that are
located on both ends and are held by brackets 58. As best seen in Figs. 3A and
3B, the rotor
drum shaft 62 houses ring plate members 66 which are designed to contain
hammer tine holding
mechanism 68 which holds hammer tines/blades 70 or other type of earth
pulverizing/cutting
members that are either free swinging or solid mounted. As illustrated in
Figs. 3A and 3B, the
hammer tines/blades 70 may vary in shape and size without departing from the
present invention.
Because the hammer tiller has its own drive mechanism 56, it can vary in speed
according to the
need of the user. There may be also be a shield 160 that is held in place by
shield holding
member 158, that covers over the top/around the hammer tiller 105 for the
purpose of containing
flying soil/organic matter. Further, there may also be optional impact members
161 that can be
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added to the shield 160. This allows for soil material to be pulverized more
upon hitting impact
members 161 and returning back into the hammer tiller 105 repetitively. In
other words, as the
soil tillage apparatus is used, the earth cutter 103 cuts the earth, sending
soil towards the hammer
tiller 105. Top soil and pulverized earth will pass over the hammer tiller 105
as it rotates opposite
the direction of the movement of the soil tillage apparatus. Larger clods of
dirt will be pulverized
and either pass over the top or will be pulverized by the chisel-type
assembly, as described next.
[0031] Because the upper soil surface can be made finer utilizing the hammer
tiller 105 to
pulverize, it allows the lower tillage area to be loosened/fractured by using
simple chisel-type
soil fracturing/ripping tools that do less microbial damage to the soil and
use less fuel and
horsepower. With most of the soil/organic matter (debris/forage) passing over
the top of lower
carriage tillage area (i.e., chiselers 107), there are significantly fewer
problems with debris build-
up on tillage mechanisms. It allows for lower tillage depths without re-
handling the upper soil
layer. Therefore, organic crop residue and topsoil will remain on top of the
tilled earth, instead of
being buried unnecessarily deep, which can create unwanted CO2 gas. Further,
because the
topsoil travels through the air and over the next tillage set (chiselers 107),
it creates a relatively
debris free, lower depth tilling option for tillage tools such as chisel-type
sub-soiling, sweeps,
discs, rippers, and/or other tillage systems.
[0032] The chisel-type tillage system (also referred to as "chiselers") 107
that connects to the
lower carriage mounting member 42 illustrated throughout the figures is just
one example of
many types of tillage systems that are designed to be utilized behind the
hammer tiller 105. The
chisel-type tillage system 107 that is illustrated mounts to the lower
carriage mounting member
42 with tool mounting brackets 76 that clamp and adjust using the adjusting
mechanism 78
which holds the shank arm 74 having a chisel-type tillage tip 72.
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[0033] Referring back to upper soil flow coming from the hammer tiller 015, it
allows for
particle separation where the heavier, and larger, particles drop to the
ground before the smaller,
and lighter, particles flow above and eventually drop on top of the earth¨thus
leaving a finer
mulch-type covering material for a superior seed bed. In one embodiment, along
with the
extended versions (FIGS. 1-2 and 8-9) of the soil tillage apparatus, there is
an option wherein
when the soil is in midair, a percentage of the soil can be divided and routed
by an adjustable
shield guide divider 164 to a soil separation mechanism 98 that allows only
finer type soil to flow
onto a conveyor belt 90 held by end rollers 88 and driven by a drive mechanism
92. The hammer
tiller 105 will also break-up rocks and, overtime, help reduce the amount of
rocks in the field.
The hammer tiller 105 allows for rototiller consistency of the soil with less
horse power and
equipment wear.
[0034] While on the conveyor belt(s) 90, or other soil transfer mechanisms,
the soil is set to a
precise thickness/quantity by a leveling mechanism 84 (rotary or other type).
The conveyor
belt(s) 90 then feeds soil over and past the rotary soil leveler 109, and/or
other types of soil
handling systems, and the seed planting mechanism in a metered quantity. As
the soil comes off
the end of the conveyor belt(s) 90, there is a soil shield guide member 166
that helps guide the
soil downward to spread soil at as a precise depth over the seeds (soil
metering system). This is
an optional embodiment of creating a seed planting system wherein the seed is
covered by a
precisely metered amount of soil that is taken from in front of the seed
placement and fed onto
the seed after it is laid on the soil. Primarily utilizing soil flow created
by the hammer tiller 105
as a source of soil to create single pass tillage and planting system combined
into one.
[0035] The upper soil layer coming from the action of the hammer tiller 105
that is not fed to the
conveyor belt 90 for seed planting is guided back to the ground by the shield
guide divider 164
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which is adjustable from the pivot mechanism 162. After the upper soil is
returned back on top of
handled lower soil levels, behind the lower level tillage assembly (i.e.,
chiselers) 107, the soil is
available to be further handled by a variety of other soil handling mechanisms
such as a rotary
leveler, planting, and coulter packing systems.
[0036] Both the soil that is guided to the ground in front of a rotary leveler
109, as well as the
soil that is prepared by the lower level tillage assembly, are leveled at the
same time by the
rotary leveler 109. The rotary leveler 109 comprises a drive mechanism 94
(hydraulic motor or
other) that rotates the rotary leveler drum shaft 100 which turns on bearings
60 that are located
on both ends and are held by brackets 96. The rotary leveler 109 has blade
like members
(protrusions) 102 that work the surface of the ground for the purpose of
making a smooth/level
surface, or a contour forming mechanism for making a seed bed furrow ground
layout typical for
planting vegetable and planting row crop type systems.
[00371 In one embodiment, the seed planting system is located after the rotary
leveler 109, to
place seed upon a smooth/level or contoured soil surface in preparation to be
covered with soil
from the soil metering system. There is a holding bracket 104 for the seed
planting system to
which the seed planter 106 is connected. The seed planters are supplied
equally by seed
distribution augers 108 which are fed by seed feed shoots 110 which can be
located on both sides
that connect to seed bin 114 which has feeding augers 112 to supply seed to
feed shoots 110 and
a cover lid 116 to protect the seed.
[0038] In one embodiment, following the seed planting system is an optional
packer wheel 111
to tighten and texture the soil surface for other soil benefits and purposes.
The packer wheel 111
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has the ability to also be used as a height/angle adjusting mechanism for the
soil tillage
apparatus.
[0039] The packer wheel 111 may be attached to the sub-frame 36 by means of
connecting plate
118 and pivot mechanism/bearing 136 which is connected through pivot pin/shaft
assembly 138
to side members 120. The side members 120 contain a bearing assembly 60 that
holds the packer
wheel drum shaft 124. On the packer wheel drum shaft 124 there are a variety
of soil texturing
additions (e.g., protrusions) 126. Between the two side members 120 there is a
cross-member 50
that connects the opposite sides together. The adjustable height assembly is
raised and lowered
by an adjustable mechanism 170 which is attached on upper end to other main
frame rear cross-
member 46 by connecting plates 30 and connecting pin 26, and on the lower end
is attached to
cross-member 50 by the means of connecting plates 122 and connecting pins 26.
[0040] In one embodiment, as generally illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, a soil
tillage apparatus 101
comprises a main frame 28 having an earth cutter 103, a hammer tiller 105,
chiselers 107, a soil
leveler 109, and a packer wheel 111 all in a linear arrangement. The earth
cutter 103 comprises a
plurality of discs 52 and is positioned at the front of the main frame 28,
proximal to a tractor,
truck, or other pulling means. The hammer tiller 105 is positioned behind the
earth cutter 103
and comprises a rotary drum shaft 62 having one or more hammer tines 70
attached thereto for
pulverizing soil received from the earth cutter 103. The chiselers 107 are
positioned next and dig
deep into the soil that is not passed above by the hammer tiller 105. The soil
leveler 109
comprises a rotary drum shaft 100 with a plurality of protrusions 102 for
leveling the soil. The
packer wheel 111 likewise comprises a rotary drum shaft 124 with a plurality
of protrusions 126
which may be used for leveling purposes or for seed bed furrowing, depending
upon the
arrangement.
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[0041] In another embodiment, as generally shown in FIGS. 4-7, a soil tillage
apparatus 201
comprises a frame 28 having an earth cutter 103, a hammer tiller 105, and
chiselers 107. In
FIGS. 4-5, the tractor connecting means is a tongue 14 and in FIGS. 6-7, the
tractor connecting
means is a three-point hitch. Other mechanism may be used as well, such as
rotary leveler and
packer wheel, but are not required.
[0042] In yet another embodiment, as generally illustrated in FIGS. 8-9, a
soil tillage apparatus
101 comprises a frame 28 having an earth cutter 103, a plurality of hammer
tillers 105A-C, and
chiselers 107. As shown, the hammer tillers 105A-C may be two successive
assemblies, allowing
easier pulverization of rough terrain. Each hammer tiller 105A-C may have an
independent
motor 56, allowing for varying speeds between them. Likewise, the hammer
tillers 105A-C may
rotate in the same or opposite directions. As noted, the hammer tillers 105A-
305C need not be
the same size, and may be placed in varying locations to achieve the needs of
a user.
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