Planting – Drilling – Including trash control accessory
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-29
2001-05-01
Batson, Victor (Department: 3671)
Planting
Drilling
Including trash control accessory
C172S604000, C111S924000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06223663
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to agricultural implements and, more specifically, to structure for clearing trash from a narrow area ahead of an opener or similar earthworking tool and for breaking surface crust on soil during planting.
2) Related Art
During planting operations, residue such as wheat straw or corn stalks is often encountered by the furrow opening device on the seeding implement. If the soil is soft or the residue is very tough, much residue is pushed into the seed trench. The residue prevents seed from contacting soil and reduces the opportunity for seed germination and healthy initial plant growth. In heavy residue conditions, trash remaining over the seed or thrown over the furrow by an adjacent device can block sunlight and hinder or even prevent growth of the new plant. Often, a surface crust needs to be broken during planting to assure good emergence, but soil throw must be kept to a minimum to avoid piling too much trash over rows previously planted by trailing openers, to avoid weed emergence problems, and to help keep seed coverage more uniform from row to row.
Different cleaning wheel devices are available including those with long or spoked teeth wheels steered relative to the forward direction to move trash to the side of the row. In certain kinds of straw such as encountered in wheat fields, the straw slips between the teeth and fails to be swept to the side of the row. At times, the straw tends to wrap around the wheel. Depth control is also very erratic with the long tooth design, and the wheel can dig in when soil is loose and ride to high in hard ground conditions. Excessive tillage and soil throw are common with long or spoked teeth, and excessive movement of soil away from one furrow and piling of trash and some additional soil over an adjacent furrow, particularly if high speed planting is attempted, results in less than ideal germination and initial growth of the seeds placed in the furrows. The planting speed of the planting unit can actually be limited by the cleaning wheel structure.
Mounting a cleaning device in the limited space available adjacent an opener has been a source of several problems. Fixed cleaning arrangements which are connected directly to the opener assembly or frame without provision for independent movement are subject to damage if obstacles or other large ground surface irregularities are encountered, and the location of the cleaning device relative to the opener can change detrimentally as the opener follows the ground contour. Pivoting arrangements often fail to track well, and if the cleaning wheel structure is supported closely adjacent the disk opener, the structure can actually hit the opener. Moving the cleaning structure farther ahead of the wheel to avoid interference requires more room than often is available, and as the cleaning wheels are moved ahead there is less holding of the trash close to the soil entry point of the disk so trash hairpins more easily at the disk edge. Supporting the cleaning device in a limited space and providing effective operation without nose-diving or bulldozing of soil during operation have continued to present problems.
A typical cleaning wheel is angled from the forward direction and presents high side loads on the supporting arrangement. If a pivoting arrangement is provided, the high side loads often cause premature bearing failure and can cause the support linkages to bind so good depth control and tracking are lost. The linkages can actually be bent under certain conditions. Providing good side load support for proper pivoting action and long bearing life, without widening the planting unit to the point where narrow row spacings are not available, has been a continuing problem. Clearance under the unit has also been limited by support brackets which project downwardly and catch straw and other debris.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved row cleaning structure for an opener or similar implement. It is a further object to provide such a structure which overcomes most or all of the aforementioned problems.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a row cleaning structure having substantially improved tracking compared to previously available structures.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a row cleaning structure with an improved cleaning wheel. It is a further object to provide such a structure wherein the wheel penetrates trash well without causing excessive soil throw, even at relatively high operating speeds.
It is yet another object to provide a row cleaning structure with a cleaning wheel that effectively moves most types of straw away from a narrow area. It is another object to provide a wheel for such a structure that is supported at an angle to the forward direction to move straw laterally and has a tooth structure that prevents straw from slipping relative to the wheel. It is another object to provide such a wheel for a row cleaning structure that penetrates the straw layer well but does not cause over-tillage, excessive soil and trash throw or straw wrapping. It is still another object to provide such a wheel that is capable of carrying a wide range of loads with good trash movement and little soil disturbance.
It is another object of the invention to provide a improved cleaning structure for clearing a narrow strip of ground ahead of an opener or similar tool. It is a further object to provide such structure which effectively moves most types of straw from the strip without throwing the straw over a previously planted row.
A cleaning structure constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention includes a shallow-toothed, planar clearing disk supported by a four-bar linkage from the upper end of the opener drawbar assembly. The four bar linkage is connected by a bracket which includes at least one link and corresponding pivot structure located above the drawbar to increase trash clearance and eliminate trash build-up. The linkage has a virtual center located close to the front of the center of the opener for good tracking and for permitting the clearing disk to be located closely adjacent to the opener disk without interference and excessive forces when the disk encounters obstacles. The clearing disk can rock vertically to follow ground contour and prevent excessive digging and movement of soil. The disk is angled with respect to the forward direction to clear trash to one side of the row, preferably the side opposite the depth control wheel for the opener. The disk is also angled with respect to the vertical to increase transport height and reduce upward throw of soil and trash.
The shallow disk teeth provide better cleaning structure depth control and reduce soil penetration and soil disturbance compared to most previously available cleaning wheels. The shape of the teeth allows good trash penetration, while shallow rounded gullets between the teeth pin trash and prevent sliding of trash away from the clearing influence of the angled disk. Little or no straw is pressed into the furrow so that seed contact with the soil is maximized. The disk effectively clears trash to the side of the opener opposite the gauge wheel to assure optimum depth gauging for the opener. The gear-type structure is capable of operating over a wide range of down pressures and loads while breaking any existing crust in the cleared path with little soil disturbance. The minimum tillage with little soil displacement assures more uniform planting depth, both in the row being cleared and in any adjacent trailing rows. There is less tendency for straw to wrap with the above-described shallow gullet structure.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description in view of the drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5076180 (1991-12-01), Schneider
patent: 5095832 (1992-03-01), Rumbaugh
patent: 5129282
Stephens Lyle Eugene
Wendling Ignatz
Batson Victor
Deere & Company
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