Planting – Drilling – Hill-planting machines
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-10
2001-02-20
Novosad, Christopher J. (Department: 3671)
Planting
Drilling
Hill-planting machines
C172S002000, C172S126000, C701S050000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06189465
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to agricultural implements, including ground working apparatus, such as planters, and transversely elongated tool bars for supporting the ground working devices, and, more particularly, to a forwardly folding tool bar convertible between a wide, transversely extending operating configuration and a narrow, compact transport configuration.
The need to till and cultivate soil for the planting and growing of crops has been a long established practice in agriculture. More recently developed tillage implements have provided increased size and complexity to accommodate different types of crops and the tractors that tow the tillage implements to cover larger areas of soil. Increasing concerns for conservation of natural resources have also had an impact on the design of modern tillage implements, increasing the complexity of these implements. Planters of substantially equal transverse width have also been developed to work in conjunction with these tillage implements, or independently. More typically, large planting implements are operatively coupled with air carts to provide a substantial source of seed and fertilizer for the large demand accompanying such large planting implements.
Larger tillage and planting implements allow an operator to perform the required tillage operations over a larger area for each pass of the implement, permitting fuel conservation for the tractor and resulting in less compaction of the soil. The increasing levels of sophistication in tillage implements enable low-till and no-till planting techniques to be utilized with greater success. Since low-till and no-till planting techniques are preferably accomplished with a single pass of the implement over the field, the soil is disturbed only once, minimizing moisture loss and the amounts of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizer that are required. Such larger and more complex tillage implements introduce problems that have been heretofore unknown in the arts.
For example, an agricultural tractor could pull a planting implement Adding an air cart or a seed/fertilizer supply cart to the planting implement increases the weight of the combined implement and requires the tractor and operator to be able to control all of the functions of the combined implement as the single pass is made over the field to plant seeds, place fertilizer into the ground at the proper location, and apply appropriate amounts of herbicides and/or pesticides. Furthermore, that combined implement must be transported from field to field, usually over public highways, requiring the combined implement to be converted into a transport configuration that is substantially narrower in width than the preferred operating configuration of the combined implement.
It would be desirable to provide a tool bar for a tillage or planting implement with the capability of folding from a wide, transversely extending operating position to a narrow, compact transport configuration, requiring interacting latches and actuating devices to facilitate the conversion of the tillage implement and to keep the implement in the transport configuration while being towed from one field to another.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the instant invention to provide a tool bar that is convertible between a wide tranverse field operating configuration and a transversely narrow transport configuration.
It is another object of this invention to provide a tool bar that pivots in a forward direction to re-orient pivot axes and hydraulic actuators to allow the transversely extending wing members to fold forwardly into a transport configuration.
It is a feature of this invention that the wing members fold forwardly instead of rearwardly to reach a transport configuration.
It is an advantage of this invention that an air cart or other mechanism can be towed behind the tool bar without interfering with the conversion of the tool bar between field operating and transport configurations.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a transport lock mechanism for use with a forwardly folding tool bar apparatus.
It is another feature of this invention that the transport lock mechanism and a caster wheel lock mechanism are operatively interconnected to assist in converting the tool bar between field operating and transport configurations.
It is another advantage of this invention that the actuation of the transport lock simultaneously effects actuation of the caster wheel lock for the ends of the wing members.
It is still another feature of this invention that a single spring biases both the transport lock mechanism and the caster lock mechanism.
It is still another advantage of this invention that the spring is operable to bias the wing latch hook into a closed position when the implement is moving into the transport position and is operable to bias the caster lock into a locking position when the implement is moving into the field operating position.
It is still another feature of this invention that a single hydraulic cylinder is capable of actuating both the transport lock mechanism and the caster lock mechanism.
It is yet another object of this invention to improve stability of the implement when in a forwardly folded transport configuration.
It is yet another feature of this invention that the draw bar is telescopic to lengthen when in a folded transport configuration, while providing a shorter draw bar during operation to improve the stability of the implement, particularly when towing a cart behind the implement.
It is still another advantage of this invention to provide improved maneuverability of the implement around turns during operation.
It is yet another feature of this invention that the implement is provided with a brace interconnecting the pivotable wing members and the draw bar to enhance the stability of the implement in the field operating position, which braces effect the telescoping of the draw bar when the wing members are folded forwardly into a transport configuration.
It is yet another advantage of this invention that the telescopic draw bar is provided with a hitch latching mechanism that is cooperable with the transport lock mechanism to release the draw bar for telescopic movement when the implement is folded into the transport configuration.
It is yet another advantage of this invention that the telescopic draw bar is lengthened automatically when the implement is placed into a transport position.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a mechanism to allow the wing members to float vertically to follow ground undulations when in the field operating position.
It is a further feature of this invention to provide an unfold finger that is cooperable with the wing fold hydraulic cylinders when the implement is moving into the field operating configuration to allow the wing fold cylinders to fold the wing members outwardly, but retracted when the implement is placed in the field operating position to allow the wing fold cylinders to move with the floating wing members.
It is a further advantage of this invention that the unfold finger is pivotally mounted in a support structure that moves the unfold finger into an interfering position with respect to the opposing wing fold hydraulic cylinders when the actuators are retracted for folding the wings forwardly, and operates in conjunction with the actuators when the wings are unfolded rearwardly to a laterally extending field working position, and is retracted into a non-interfering position when the tool bar is rotated downwardly into an operative position.
It is still a further object of this invention to provide a lock mechanism for the tool bar to fix the tool bar in a forwardly rotated position.
It is still a further feature of this invention that the tool bar lock mechanism is actuated by a cable apparatus that is coupled to the wing members to allow a spring loaded clasp member to be moved into an unlocking position when the wing members are unfolded rearwardly into a field operating configuration.
It is yet a further obj
Burns Dustin G.
Hundeby David R.
Flexi-Coil Ltd.
Miller Larry W.
Novosad Christopher J.
Stader J. William
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