Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
CA 022248~4 l997- l2- l~
DISCLOSURE
Seeding System Alternating Paired Seed and Fertilizer Rows
Thls invention relates to a method of, and an
apparatus for, seeding and mid-row bandlng of fertlllzer for
farm crops.
Background
As farms become larger and labour becomes more
expenslve, capltol intensive farming and larger lmplements
operated by a single operator are becoming standard.
Furthermore, the high cost of fuel has preclpitated a need to
reduce the number of passes of machinery over the field to
accomplish cultivatlng, seeding, fertillzlng, packing,
spraying and eventual harvesting of the crop.
Of particular importance ls the trend towards one-
pass seedlng, fertlllzlng, cultlvatlng and packing of the
field. Unfortunately, it is not advantageous to deposit hlgh
rates of nltrogen fertllizer and seed together in the same
furrow. The nitrogen fertillzer wlll often reduce emergence
and delay crop development. Furthermore, too much fertllizer
at the onset of the plant's llfe can reduce yleld. Thus, lt
has been found that the most advantageous method of banding
fertillzer ls to place most or all of the nitrogen requlred to
grow a crop separate and away from the seed ln a one-pass
seedlng and fertlllzlng operatlon. Alternatlng fertlllzer
rows mld way between every palr of seed rows ls one form of
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mld-row bandlng. (Another way to mld-row band is to alternate
a fertllizer row between every seed row.)
Many types of attachments for seedlng implements
generlcally ldentlfled as dual-shoot openers have been
deslgned, bullt and tested over the years. The purpose of
these openers ls to provide seed and fertlllzer separatlon.
Many will only provide separation between the seed and
fertillzer in certaln soll types.
Other prlor art devlces have hlgh draft requirements
and leave the soil surface extremely rough, maklng future
operatlons such as spraylng and swathlng hard on equipment and
the operator.
Presently, fully functlonal mld-row bandlng systems
add separate fertlllzer dellvery systems between every other
pair of shanks on a cultlvator, chisel plow or alr hoe drill.
(Some dual shootlng type of openers place a row of fertlllzer
between two rows of seeds. The entlre dual shootlng mechanlsm
for accompllshlng thls is mounted on each shank assembly.)
The fertlllzer delivery system generally includes a means for
attaching an arm to the frame of the cultivator or other
implement, and an arm which generally has attached to it a
coulter disk for creating a slot for a fertilizer delivery
tube. All of the seeding implement shanks are dedicated to
producing a seed row, whereas the coulters are used to produce
fertilizer rows. These machines, however, are qulte costly.
Additlonally, because of the extra equlpment needed for the
mld-row banding, the implements are heavy. Thus, the machine
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must be constructed of materials of sufflcient strength to
carry the extra lmplements.
It is therefore an ob~ect of the present invention
to create a implement which is capable of seeding and mid-row
fertlllzer bandlng, which ls llght welght, versatlle, and low-
cost.
Therefore, this invention seeks to provide a farm
implement adapted to be pulled by a power source and used for
fertilizing, tilling, and seedlng the soll; sald lmplement
comprlslng: a frame with a plurallty of soll openers attached
thereto; said frame being supported by a plurality of support
wheels; sald soll openers belng arranged, ln operatlon, to
create a plurallty of furrows parallel to one another and
parallel to the llne of travel of sald power source and sald
lmplement; sald soll openers comprlslng: flrst soll openers,
adapted, ln operation, to each dellver a single row of
fertlllzer; and second soll openers adapted, ln operatlon, to
each dellver two parallel rows of seed; sald flrst and second
soll openers being mounted on sald farm lmplement in an
alternatlng arrangement transverse to the direction of travel
such that, in operation, sald lmplement creates two seed rows
between adjacent fertlllzer rows.
The lnvention further seeks to provide a method of
mld-row bandlng fertlllzer comprlslng: (a~ mounting first
soil openers and second soll openers ln an alternating
arrangement on frame cross members of a farm lmplement
positloned transverse to the dlrectlon of travel of a (b)
dlrectlng a stream of alr blown fertlllzer to a fertlllzer
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dlstrlbutlon port on each of sald flrst soll openers; (c)
dlrectlng a stream of alr blown seed to sald second soll
openers; (d) spllttlng sald stream of alr blown seed lnto two
seed dlstrlbutlon ports ad~acent sald second soll openers; (e)
movlng sald lmplement ln a forward dlrectlon thus creatlng two
parallel seed rows between ad~acent fertlllzer rows; and If)
packlng sald seed rows wlth packer wheels.
In an alternatlve arrangement, a method of mld-row
bandlng fertlllzer comprlses: (a) mountlng flrst soll openers
and second soll openers ln an alternatlng arrangement on frame
cross members of a farm lmplement posltloned transverse to the
dlrectlon of travel; (b) dlrectlng a stream of alr blown
fertlllzer to a fertlllzer dlstrlbutlon port on each of sald
flrst soll openers; (c) dlrectlng a stream of alr blown seed
to sald second soll openers; (d) spllttlng sald stream of alr
blown seed lnto two seed dlstrlbutlon ports ad~acent sald
second openers; (e) movlng sald lmplement ln a forward
dlrectlon thus ln operatlon creatlng two parallel seed rows
between ad~acent fertlllzer rows; and (f) mountlng harrows on
the back cross members of the lmplement frame thus coverlng
the seed and fertlllzer and levellng the soll. If requlred,
packlng could be provlded by a wlng-up type packer located
behlnd the cultlvator, attached to elther the cultlvator or
alr seeder dependlng on the seedlng unlt's conflguratlon.
(The seedlng unlt can be conflgured to have the alr seeder
located ln front of the ground engaglng lmplement or behlnd,
dependlng on the preference of the farmer.) Packlng can also
be provlded ln a separate follow-up operatlon.
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In a simple embodiment of the present invention one
begins with a stock cultivator, chisel plow or air hoe drill
having existing mounted shanks with soil openers thereon.
Normally, these implements deliver one row of seed from a
single seed boot located behind each one of the soil openers.
However, in the present invention every second soil opener, in
a transverse line across the machine, is equipped with two
seed delivery ports, thereby being capable of depositing two
parallel rows of seed. Alternating existing shanks are
equipped with a single fertilizer boot or distribution port.
Thus, there is no need to add additional coulters or other
openers to create the fertilizer rows.
The soil openers used for seeding and fertilizing
are typically sweeps, spoons or single shoot knife openers
which are modestly priced in comparison with the dual shoot
boots or openers used in the prior art mid-row fertilizer
banding devices. Furthermore, the seed boots used for placing
seed in paired rows are relatively inexpensive when compared
with the dual shoot boots. The implement can be equipped with
packer wheels which are matched with the paired seed rows with
either one narrow packer wheel packing each seed row or a
single wide packer wheel packing a pair of seed rows or with
mounted harrows which assist in covering up the seed and
fertilizer rows and leveling the surface of the soil.
The distance between the paired rows and the
fertilizer rows will vary from situation to situation for the
perceived needs of the operator and the shank spacing on the
seeding implement. Generally, once a machine is configured at
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a certaln spaclng lt remalns at that spaclng for the entlre
llfe of the machlne.
A typlcal configuration to produce a crop wlth 8
lnch spaced apart rows ls to space fertlllzer openers at an 8
lnch distance between centers of the palred rows. The shanks
that produce the palred rows are equlpped wlth 12 lnch sweeps
and the shanks carrying the fertlllzer boots are equlpped with
4 or 5 lnch sweeps. The cultlvator could typlcally be
equipped with mounted packers wlth packer wheels at 8 lnch
centers with the center lines of the packer wheels placed in
alignment wlth the center llnes of the seed rows. All of the
fleld area would be cultlvated and the center llnes of each of
the seed rows would be 4 inches away from the center llnes of
the fertlllzer rows.
In another conflguration, the cultlvator shanks can
be spaced 10 lnches apart wlth the palr of seed rows belng
spaced eight lnches apart behlnd every alternate shank. The
fertlllzer ls placed ln a narrow row 10 inches from the center
line of ad~acent eight inch palred seed row center llne such
that the center llne of each individual seed row is six inches
away from the center line of the ad~acent fertilizer row.
Another configuration would be a 7 inch spaced air
hoe drill with a paired row spacing 4 inches between seed rows
and a single 4 1/2 inch packer wheel running over both rows.
The center lines of the fertilizer rows would then be 5 inches
away from the center lines of the seed rows. The sweep on the
shank produclng the palred row could be up to 12 lnches wlde
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whereas the sweep on the fertilizer opener could be up to 10
inches wide.
The invention will be described in greater detail in
conjunction with the following drawings wherein:
Figure 1 is a planar view of a cultivator/seeder/
fertilizer of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a planar view of a alternative
embodiment of the invention;
Figure 3 is a planar view of an alternative
embodiment of the invention;
Figure 4 is a perspective detailed view of the soil
opening sweeps and corresponding packer wheels; and
Figure 5 is a planar view of an alternative
embodiment of the invention.
In Figure 1 a cultivator/seeder/fertilizer implement
is shown generally as 1. The cultivator of this particular
embodiment has a central frame section 2, a left wing boom
frame section 3a, and a right wing boom frame section 3b. The
cultivator is towable by a floating hitch 4, which is attached
in a known manner to a power source such as a tractor.
The frame sections 2, 3a, and 3b, are supported in
the seeding/operating position by forward caster wheel
assemblies 5. The center frame section 2 is also supported by
cultivator support wheels 6, while the left wing boom frame
section 3a is supported by cultivator support wheel assembly
7a, and the right wing boom frame section 3b is supported by
right wing support wheel assembly 7b. The frame consists of a
plurality of transverse frame members 8 and longitudinal frame
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members 9. The comblnatlon soll openers, fertlllzer
dlstrlbutors, and seed dlstrlbutors wlll be dlscussed later ln
further detall, however they are mounted on the transverse
frame members 8 wlth brackets 10 on the top sldes of the frame
members 8 and by brackets 30 on the underslde of frame members
8.
The soll openers 12 and 14 are mounted rearwardly
and forwardly ln a staggered relatlonshlp. It ls to be
understood that such soll openers can be mounted ln any
conflguratlon to create narrower or wlder rows, however they
must be staggered to lnsure good trash sheddlng.
Downwardly extendlng shanks 11 are attached by
brackets 10 and 30 to the frame members 8. Attached to the
bottom of shanks 11 are seed dlstrlbutlon soll openlng sweeps
12 and fertlllzer dlstrlbutlon soll opener sweeps 14.
In the embodlments shown ln Flgures 1, 3 and 4, one
notes that the wldth of the seed dlstrlbutlon soll opener
sweeps 12 ls conslderably greater than that of the fertlllzer
dlstrlbutlon soll opener sweeps 14. The seed dlstrlbutlon
soll opener sweeps 12 are equlpped wlth a splltter seed boot
13. Thus, when seed ls lntroduced through the seed
dlstrlbutlon ducts 28, as shown ln Flgure 4, lt ls spllt lnto
two streams by the splltter seed boot 13, thereby creatlng a
palr of seed rows 16.
On the other hand, the fertlllzer soll opener sweeps
14 have a slngle fertlllzer boot 15 whlch creates a slngle
fertlllzer row 17 approxlmately mld-way between ad~acent seed
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rows. Fertlllzer ls fed to fertlllzer boot 15 through
fertlllzer duct 29.
One notes from the drawlngs that there ls only one
fertlllzer row 17 for each palr of seed rows 16. Thus, none
of the seed rows have fertlllzer placed on both sldes of the
seed row but only on one slde. Thls technl~ue ls known as
mld-row bandlng. Sufflclent fertlllzer can be placed ln row
17 to serve the needs of two seed rows 16.
As shown ln Flgures 1 and 3, plvotally mounted to
the rearmost transverse frame member 8 are a plurallty of
packer wheel assemblles shown generally as 18. These packer
wheel assemblles 18 each have a plurallty of slngle packer
wheels 20 whlch are, ln turn, each adapted to pack a slngle
seed row 16. One also notes ln Flgures 1 and 2, that wlng
frame sectlons 3a and 3b are plvotally mounted at 19 to center
sectlon 2 to enable a narrow transport wldth for the
lmplement.
The lmplement shown ln Flgure 2 ls very slmllar to
that shown ln Flgure 1 wlth a couple of exceptlons. One
notes, partlcularly ln Flgure 2, that the fertlllzer sweeps 22
have openers whlch have the same wldth as those of the seed
dlstrlbutlon soll opener sweeps 12. However, fertlllzer
sweeps 22 dlstrlbute only one row of fertlllzer 17, through
the fertillzer boot 15. Also shown ln Flgure 2 are wlder
packer wheels 21 which are adapted to pack two seed rows shown
as 16. Only one row of fertlllzer ls placed ad~acent a seed
row 16, l.e., that ls to say, fertlllzer ls placed on only one
slde of a seed row.
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Figure 3 is a slightly different type of
seeding/fertilizing/tilling implement known as an air hoe
drill 23. It is equipped with hydraulic cylinders 24 to raise
and lower the air hoe drill shanks 11 by raising the frame 2
between front castering wheel 5 and rear packer assemblies 18.
In Figure 4 the trip mechanism for fertilizer and
seed distribution soil opener sweeps 12 and 14 is shown.
Mounting bracket 10 has an upwardly inclined trip tower which
holds the upper end of a tension spring 26. Tension spring 26
is attached at its lower end to a shank holder 25, to which
the upper end of shank 11 is attached. When soil openers 12
or 14 strike an object, shank 11 is pushed upwardly and
rearwardly pivoting about horizontal axis 27 and placing
tension on spring 26. When an obstacle is cleared the
respective shank 11 returns to its normal position. Thus,
breakage of soil openers 12 and 14 is avoided.
In Figure 5 mounted harrows 28 replace parking
wheels to cover seed and fertilizer and level the soil.
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