Soil conditioner implement

Details Soil conditioner implement Soil conditioner implement

2000-12-04

2002-12-24

Novosad, Christopher J. (Department: 3671)

Earth working

With drive means for tool or cleaner

Tool driven about axis transverse to draft line

C172S123000, C172S537000, C172S554000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06497294

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to rotary drum soil conditioners. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved soil conditioner that may be used in conjunction with a skid-steer utility vehicle.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Preparing land for construction of buildings, parking lots, and golf courses often involves extracting rocks and other debris from an upper portion of the soil profile and may involve generally planing the prepared soil profile as well. A number of implements have been prepared for those purposes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,315,546, issued to Fahrenholz Feb. 16, 1982, discloses a double roll rock windrower. The rock windrower of Fahrenholz includes a main roller and an auxiliary roller. The main roller is moved along the ground and is rotationally driven under power. The roller is disposed at an oblique angle with respect to the direction of travel, so that dislodged rocks are moved axially along the roller and laterally to the direction of movement, until the rocks are discharged at the trailing end of the roll in a windrow. The auxiliary roller is mounted above the main roller and spaced apart from the main roller. The auxiliary roller is unpowered. The auxiliary roller acts to prevent rocks from spilling over the main roller, thus making it possible to form larger windrows, while permitting dirt clods and some foreign material to pass between the main and auxiliary rollers. The auxiliary roller is mounted on arms which are pivotally mounted relative to the mounting for the main roller, thereby permitting the second roller to be spaced as desired relative to the main roller.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,639, issued to Hammarlund et al., May 14, 1985, discloses a powered landscape rake for fine grading of a landscape surface, as well as stone and debris removal therefrom. The rake is mounted to a tractor and includes a drum rotatably mounted on a drum frame. The drum frame, in turn, is mounted to a turntable assembly for allowing the drum frame to pivot about an axis generally perpendicular to the drum frame and which is located generally midway of the drum frame. A frame member is attached to the turntable and extends to a point under the tractor frame in front of the tractor front wheels. The free end of the frame member is mounted to pivot and swivel on a frame attachment member. First and second cylinders are further attached to the turntable for positioning the drum frame at any desired angle in a vertical plane to the landscape and to allow the drum frame to sway in a horizontal plane about the front frame attachment point. The drum can be rotated in either direction by a hydraulic motor. The hydraulic motor and drum provide a kicking-type action to the soil of the landscape surface to further provide a smooth, fine, finished grade for seeding and covering seed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,732, issued to Baskett Oct. 29, 1991, discloses a cylinder-type, ground-raking attachment for a bucket-equipped tractor. The ground-raking attachment includes a tubed, cylindrical rotor. The cylindrical rotor works the soil and simultaneously rakes the ground free of rocks, refuse, roots, sticks, and other debris which is then transferred to the tractor bucket by action of the rotor.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,218, issued to Jones et al., Nov. 16, 1993, discloses a powered rake having a debris windrowing mechanism. The powered rake includes a main frame for coupling to a tractor, a subframe mounted for pivotal movement relative to the main frame about an upright pivot axis, a roller pivotal with the subframe at an oblique angle relative to the direction of travel, and a material control member including a blade extending along the length of the roller and presenting a gap therebetween. The subframe is preferably pivotal for presenting the roller at an oblique angle to the right or left with respect to the intended direction of travel, thereby permitting the powered rake to continuously windrow the debris in the path of the roller. The roller is rotatably mounted on a pair of downwardly and forwardly extending legs which present substantially open areas outboard the roller. These substantially open areas permit debris to pass freely outboard into a windrow without obstruction from the frame or subframe. The roller preferably presents a plurality of circumferentially spaced, radially projecting splines. The splines are spirally oriented about the longitudinal axis of the roller to present an even load on the roller as the roller rotates in engagement with the soil.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,268, issued to McPherson et al., Apr. 9, 1996, discloses a bi-directional field implement for preparing a field. The bi-directional field implement includes a ground-engaging device which allows the implement to be pushed or pulled on the field. The ground-engaging device includes a reversible roller with projections joined to an outer surface thereof to engage the ground. The projections do not extend along the complete length of the roller, but rather only a portion thereof. The implement includes reversible/removable guards for keeping the disturbed soil in front of the roller when the guards are positioned to extend in the direction of travel of the vehicle to which the implement is attached. Such guards must be manually repositioned based on the expected direction of travel.
While some or all of these implements extract and windrow rocks and other debris and plane the profile of the soil being prepared, there is a need for an implement which is mountable to a prime mover such as a skid steer type vehicle, which will extract and windrow debris from the soil profile, which will generally plane or level the soil profile as well, and which operates when being either pushed or towed. Further, there is a need for an implement in which the profiling device is moveable proximate fixed objects, such as a tree or a building to effect a desired ground profile immediately adjacent to the object. Additionally, the implement should occupy minimal space on a transport vehicle when the implement is being transported between sites. The device should be simple to construct and maintain.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The following features comprise at last some of the novel features and improvements of the soil conditioner of the present invention.
1. Flip-up bolster member. The flip-up bolster member provides for unlocking the bolster member from its normal position with the caster wheels engaged with the ground and supporting the bolster member above the drum. In such disposition, the drum is the leading element of the soil conditioner. This allows the operator to work much closer to walls and other obstructions. Additionally, the soil conditioner may be operated in a reverse direction leaving no wheel traces on the ground to present a more attractive appearance of the conditioned soil. Further, with the bolster member in the flipped-up disposition, the transportation length of the soil conditioning implement and its supporting skid steer vehicle is substantially reduced. This is an important consideration as the soil conditioner implement and skid steer vehicle are frequently trailered from job site to job site on limited length trailers.
2. Oscillating bolster. The bolster member of the present invention has a beam axle supporting the two caster wheels. The beam axle is pivotally joined to the bolster frame by a pin. The pin is aligned with a longitudinal axis of the bolster member. This allows for oscillation of the beam axle and caster wheels about the longitudinal axis of the soil conditioning implement responsive to changes in the elevation of the soil being conditioned. Such oscillation assists in maintaining the drum in even contact with the ground that is being conditioned.
3. The bolster member adjusts the height of the drum relative to the ground. In the past, the height of the bolster was adjusted by separately adjusting the height of each caster relative to the beam axle by adjusting the height of a caster pin relative to the knuckle at the end of the beam axle. This required two separate adj

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