Planting – Drilling – Including trash control accessory
Reexamination Certificate
2001-12-21
2003-06-10
Pezzuto, Robert E. (Department: 3671)
Planting
Drilling
Including trash control accessory
C172S540000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06575104
ABSTRACT:
This invention is in the field of agricultural seeding equipment, and in particular devices for clearing trash from the ground surface to permit effective working of the ground such as seeding, fertilizing, and the like.
BACKGROUND
Tillage has been much reduced in modem agriculture in order to reduce costs, conserve moisture, and so forth. Seeding without tillage, or no-till seeding, has become common and preferred by many for crops such as grains, oilseeds, and pulses grown on the prairies of North America. These crops typically are grown in narrow rows, from 6 to 12 inches apart.
Both disc and hoe type furrow openers are popular for no-till seeding as each have their own advantages. The performance of both disc and hoe types is best where crop residue such as straw and chaff, commonly referred to as trash, is light and evenly spread. Where trash is heavy, the disc may ride out of the ground. The discs can also push straws into the ground, a common problem called “hair-pinning”. Hoe type openers often gather straw between them as they proceed along the field, causing plugging.
Modem furrow openers also commonly include depth control wheels that maintain a constant depth of penetration into the soil, providing proper seed depth for optimum germination and growth. Heavy trash can interfere with proper operation of these depth control wheels, since ideally they should run on the ground, or over a thin, preferably consistent, layer of trash so that the proper depth is maintained. Where trash is thick and uneven, the depth control wheel rides up and over the trash, drawing the furrow opener out of the ground and reducing seed depth to less than optimum, often in fact leaving seed on top of the ground.
Prior art has been addressed to devices for clearing trash from the path of a furrow opener to improve performance. U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,890 to Martin, U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,020 to Bassett, U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,836 to Groff, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,678 to Stephens et al. disclose trash clearing apparatuses that include a pair of spoked or toothed trash clearing finger wheels in a V orientation in front of a furrow opener, such that the centers of the finger wheels are substantially located on a line parallel to the operating travel direction. The finger wheels clear trash in each direction from in front of the opener. Where such V oriented finger wheels are used in a narrow row spacing, with the furrow openers close together, the trash thrown away from the path by one of the finger wheels of the V apparatus is thrown against trash being thrown the opposite way by the opposite finger wheels of the adjacent V apparatus. The trash is thus not thrown clear since the two streams of trash meet.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,970,892 to Wendling et al. shows a single similar wheel, essentially one half of the V apparatus of the '678 patent to Stephens et al. The single wheel clears sufficient area to improve the performance of the disc. The clearing wheel is oriented to throw trash to the side of the row opposite the depth control wheel, and does not therefore clear trash from the path of the depth control wheel.
Trash clearing finger wheels are well known in a variety of types, as disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,020 to Bassett, U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,836 to Groff, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,678 to Stephens et al.
These finger wheel clearing apparatuses should be maintained in proper relation to the ground without entering the ground and thereby increasing draft and stress on the apparatus, as well as causing excessive soil to be thrown with the trash.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for clearing trash from a furrow opener path that is suitable for narrow row spacings. It is a further object of the invention to provide such an apparatus that can incorporate a furrow opening disc for applying agricultural product.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a paired row seeding implement where such a trash clearing apparatus clears trash from the path of two furrow openers.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved method of clearing trash suitable for use with narrow row spacings.
The invention provides, in one aspect, an apparatus for clearing trash from a furrow opener path, the trash clearing apparatus adapted for attachment to an implement for movement along the ground in an operating travel direction ahead of a furrow opener. The apparatus comprises a front finger wheel rotatably mounted to the apparatus and oriented to move trash from a first path to a first side of the apparatus and a rear finger wheel rotatably mounted to the apparatus behind the front finger wheel and oriented to move trash from a second path to an opposite second side of the apparatus. The front and rear finger wheels are mounted such that the first and second paths are adjacent to each other, and such that the separation along the operating travel direction between the front and rear finger wheels is such that a first trash stream thrown by the front finger wheel does not meet a second trash stream thrown by the rear finger wheel of an adjacent trash clearing apparatus. A depth control wheel is rotatably mounted to the apparatus such that the depth control wheel rolls along the ground on the first path cleared by the front finger wheel. The depth control wheel is operative to maintain bottom edges of the front and rear finger wheels at a substantially constant vertical position relative to the ground. An adjusting mechanism is operative to adjust a vertical position of the depth control wheel with respect to at least one of the front and rear finger wheels.
The front finger wheel is typically rotatably mounted to the apparatus about a first axis, the first axis oriented at a first angle to the operating travel direction such that a leading side of the front finger wheel is ahead of a trailing side, and at a first angle from the horizontal such that the leading side is below the trailing side thereof whereby trash moved from a first path by the front finger wheel moves to a first side of the apparatus. Similarly the rear finger wheel is typically rotatably mounted to the apparatus behind the front finger wheel about a second axis, the second axis oriented at a second angle to the operating travel direction such that a leading side of the rear finger wheel is ahead of a trailing side, and at a second angle from the horizontal such that the leading side is below the trailing side thereof whereby trash moved from a second path by the rear finger wheel moves to an opposite second side of the apparatus.
In a second aspect the invention provides A paired row seeding implement attachable to a towing vehicle for movement along the ground in an operating travel direction, the implement comprising: a trash clearing apparatus attached to the implement, the apparatus comprising a front finger wheel rotatably mounted to the and oriented to move trash from a first path to a first side of the apparatus, a rear finger wheel rotatably mounted to the apparatus behind the front finger wheel and oriented to move trash from a second path to an opposite second side of the apparatus, wherein the front and rear finger wheels are mounted such that the first and second paths are adjacent to each other and such that the separation along the operating travel direction between the front and rear finger wheels is such that a first trash stream thrown by the front finger wheel does not meet a second trash stream thrown by the rear finger wheel of an adjacent trash clearing apparatus, a depth control wheel rotatably mounted to the apparatus such that the depth control wheel rolls along the ground on the first path cleared by the front finger wheel, the depth control wheel operative to maintain bottom edges of the front and rear finger wheels at a substantially constant vertical position relative to the ground by; and an adjusting mechanism operative to adjust a vertical position of the depth control wheel with respect to at least one of the front and rear f
Frost Brown Todd LLC
Pezzuto Robert E.
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