Earth working – Lawn aerator or perforator – or plug remover
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-17
2001-03-13
Novosad, Christopher J. (Department: 3671)
Earth working
Lawn aerator or perforator, or plug remover
C172S699000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06199637
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Various embodiments of implements for deeply loosening soil are known. They have blades that are mounted in an adjustable blade holder and pivot up and down within a plane paralleling the progress of the vehicle, forced against a stop by a spring. The stop ensures that each blade before entering the soil will assume a specific angle that at least approximates the angle the force is applied at. The blade enters the soil as the vehicle progresses. The soil forces the blade to pivot, but not enough to break up the ground when retracted. The slight shifting of the blade in the soil out of the angle established by the stop lifts the blade against the force of the spring. Once free of the soil, the blade will be pivoted back again by the spring into its disengaged position against the stop. The blade or a row of blades is engaged in a known manner by a crank that rotates as the vehicle progresses to an extent that establishes how far the blade will enter the soil. An implement of this genus is known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,204,703 for example.
European Patent discloses a parallel position of the blade over a total cycle of motion, allowing the blade's penetration to be adjusted just by raising and lowering a frame in relation to a support, a roller, that rests on the ground. The stop can also be adjusted independently to vary the angle of the blade to the ground in order to control how the soil is loosened.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is an implement of the aforesaid genus that will not only be simpler, stronger, and easier to maintain, but will also facilitate varying both the angle and the depth of penetration of the blade.
This object is attained in an implement of the aforesaid genus in accordance with the present invention for deeply loosening soil, below the turf for example, that either travels under its own power or can be attached to a tractor, with a row of blades or blade holders perpendicular to the direction of progress, whereby each blade or holder is articulated to one end of a supporting arm and the other end of the supporting arm is articulated to a frame, whereby the frame is engaged by a connecting rod, especially a crank mechanism, that operates in a vertical plane paralleling the direction of progress, whereby a blade-adjustment lever with two arms is mounted on the frame and pivots coaxially with the tool holder's articulating shaft, whereby a stop is mounted on the downward-extending arm of the lever and points below that shaft, whereby a lever-adjusting mechanism engages the upward-extending arm of the lever and varies its angle to the supporting arm and hence, by way of the stop, the angle of the blade to the ground, whereby a spring assembly forces the blade holder against the stop, and whereby the resistance exerted by the soil as the implement progresses forces the blade away from the stop.
The position of the stop on, and the engagement of the lever-adjusting mechanism with, the arms of a blade-adjustment lever that pivots coaxially with the shaft of the blade holder makes it possible not only to direct the stop precisely at the section of the holder whereof the motion is to be stopped no matter how far the lever has been pivoted, but the adjustment is also carried out on the arm of the blade-adjustment lever pointing away from the stop and above the common articulating shaft at the end of the supporting arm pointing away from the pivoting bearing, allowing access to the lever-adjusting mechanism in order to vary the angle of the blade, away from the ground and above the supporting arm at the end of the arm extending backwards in relation to the direction of progress. The lever-adjusting mechanism is accordingly positioned where it cannot be contaminated by the soil being cultivated as well as within easy access.
Similarly away from the soil and in consideration of the overall demand for space, the spring assembly is preferably positioned next to the supporting arm in the form of two parallel tension springs preferably attached to one and the same side of the arm, whereas at least some of the components of the lever-adjusting mechanism extend along the other side, as seen from above, of the arm, which is preferably composed of two struts.
The lever-adjusting mechanism can comprise longitudinally variable components accommodated between two points of encounter, one at the free end of the upward-extending arm of the blade-adjustment lever and the other at least in the vicinity of the stationary articulation of the supporting arm to the implement frame, for each individual blade holder or associated lever in the row extending across the direction of progress. Tensioning-screw locking mechanisms and thread-adjustable linkages operated from the downward-extending end of the supporting arm are examples of such longitudinally variable components.
One particularly preferred embodiment includes a central shaft that shifts all the blade-adjustment levers at once. This central lever-shifting shaft is connected to the free ends of the upward-extending arms of the blade-adjustment lever by way of booms secured tight to the shaft and by way of connecting rods. The length of the rods can be fixed or altered by means of longitudinally variable components. The shaft can be adjusted, preferably continuously, to, and secured in, various positions in relation to the frame by means of a manually operated lever fixed to it. At least one row of, and preferably all, the levers can accordingly be similarly pivoted to various angles in relation to their associated supporting arms. Thus, the angle between the blades or blade holders and the ground can be varied by repositioning the stops on the lower arms of the blade-adjustment levers as well as by a pivoting motion on the part of the common blade-adjustment shaft.
In still another preferred embodiment, both the angle the blades are inserted into the ground at and the depth they are inserted to can be established simultaneously. Thus, establishing the depth will simultaneously establish the angle, and there will be no need to establish each separately. The height-establishing motion of the frame in relation to the roller that rests on the ground and supports it can for this purpose be transmitted by a pickup on the central lever-shifting shaft.
The stop at the free end of the downward-extending arm of the two-armed blade-adjustment lever can be a resilient and impact-accommodating component. It can alternatively be or be provided with a shock absorber in the form of a pneumatic or in particular hydraulic piston-and-cylinder mechanism. In the event of a piston-and-cylinder mechanism, the piston rod, which will preferably be the component exposed to the impact of the blade holder, will be sealed off dust-tight from the cylinder by a bellows. Valves in the piston and/or in a cylinder-interior bypass can ensure adjustment of the shock absorption and of the return stroke of the piston to the vehicle's drive mechanism even at high forward speeds. The shock absorber in one preferred embodiment can be adjusted, preferably by means of a counternut in the area facing away from the ground, to ensure that the particular shock-absorber component involved, preferably the piston rod, will impact on where the resilient blade holder comes to rest even before the holder can arrive in the vicinity of the stop itself.
The blade holder may tend, especially when even just one of the springs in the preferably two-spring spring assembly breaks, to pivot in the counter-stop direction. To cope with such a malfunction, the backward-extending section of the upward-extending arm of the blade-adjustment lever in one preferred embodiment has been provided with a backward-travel preventer, a nose, that will intercept the motion of the blade holder.
In another preferred embodiment, a shock-absorption mechanism is associated with the stop to ensure superimposition of the force-over-distance curves, especially in series connection and especially when the stop is equipped with an impact atten
Fogiel Max
Novosad Christopher J.
Wiedenmann GmbH
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