Patent Application
20230329141
The present invention relates generally to methods and devices for clearing crop debris for use with planters and other agricultural implements. In particular, the present invention relates to a conversion kit for mounting a seeding unit mounted residue managing device or crop clearing apparatus to the toolbar.
The problem with many industry debris or residue managers is that they are mounted to the face plate of a planter. When they encounter unevenness in fields, they negatively affect the planter's performance.
In general terms, this invention provides a conversion kit that allows the debris or residue manager to be mounted to the tool bar. Mounting the residue manager to the toolbar takes the weight off the row unit and doesn't negatively affect the ride of the seeding planting unit.
The present invention provides a conversion kit for a debris clearing device, having a mounting frame with a device section for receipt of a seeding unit mounted debris clearing device. The device section has a first mount adapted for connection of a seeding unit mounted debris clearing device to the device section of the mounting frame.
A tool bar section is spaced from the device section. The tool bar section has a second mount for attachment of the mounting frame to a tool bar. A central section connects the device section and the tool bar section.
The conversion kit allows a seeding unit mounted debris clearing device to be mounted to the device section of the conversion kit and then mounted to a tool bar instead of a seeding unit of an agricultural device.
The conversion kit is also designed to be easy to ship and assemble. As disclosed, there are only six pieces that interconnect when assembled. Due to the design, the pieces can be stacked and nested for shipping reducing the cost of shipping.
These and other features and advantages of this invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description of a preferred embodiment. The drawings that accompany the detailed description are described below.
Referring to
Attached to a forward portion of the planter unit's frame 12 is a pivoting parallel linkage arrangement 19 for facilitating mounting of the planter row unit 10 to the tool bar 20 of an agricultural implement. The planter unit 10 is coupled to the tool bar 20 by means of the pivoting parallel linkage arrangement 19 and a mounting plate 21. The mounting plate 21 is secured to an aft surface of the tool bar 20 by conventional couplers, such as U-bolts (not shown in the figure for simplicity). The parallel linkage arrangement 19 includes links 22, 23 pivotally coupled at their respective aft ends to a forward portion of the planter row unit's frame 12 and at their respective forward ends to the mounting plate 21 to allow for vertical displacement between the tool bar 20 and the planter row unit 10.
Attached to a forward portion of the planter row unit's frame 12 is the residue manager or debris clearing apparatus 11. The debris clearing apparatus 11 can be mounted to the frame 12 in the manner disclosed in Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 8,393,407, which is incorporated herein by reference. The debris clearing apparatus 11 can also be used with other agricultural implements, such as fertilizer applicators, strip till machines, seeders, and soil testing implements, and the configuration of the mounting brackets used to attach the apparatus to such implements will vary depending on the implement.
The debris clearing apparatus 11 includes a pair of substantially flat discs 24A, 24B that are rotatably mounted via a hub 25 to a bracket arm 26 attached to a mounting bracket 27 on the implement. The discs 24A, 24B have a center hole for receiving the hub 25 and a plurality of mounting holes for receiving mounting bolts 30. The discs 24A, 24B are mounted to the bracket arm 26 for rotation about generally horizontal axes with the discs 24A, 24B toed-in toward each other relative to a direction of travel 18 of the implement. In this mounting arrangement, a geometric plane containing the first disc 24A intersects a geometric plane containing the second disc 24B.
The flat discs 24A, 24B each have a first side and an opposing second side. A plurality of teeth 32 extend from a periphery of each disc 24A, 24B. In the illustrated embodiment, each disc 24A, 24B has 12 teeth equally spaced around the disc at 30-degree intervals.
The seeding residue manager conversion kit is shown generally at 50 in
The bracket arms 54 as disclosed have an opening for receipt of the tool bar 20. Holes 64 receive fasteners to mount the brackets arms to the tool bar 20. They can be secured by conventional couplers.
In the disclosed embodiment, cross braces 70 extend between the sides 58 to strengthen the conversion kit 50. As illustrated, the braces 70 have tabs 72 that are received in slots 74 formed in the side members 52.
As will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art. The conversion kit 50 is easy to ship and assemble. There are only 6 pieces which generally can be stacked and nested for shipping. The conversion kit 50 can be initially assembled by connecting the cross braces 70 and the bracket arms 54. The residue device 11 can then be attached.
With reference to
With reference to
The foregoing invention has been described in accordance with the relevant legal standards, thus the description is exemplary rather than limiting in nature. Variations and modifications to the disclosed embodiment may become apparent to those skilled in the art and do come within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of legal protection afforded this invention can only be determined by studying the following claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/329,052 filed Apr. 8, 2022, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63329052 | Apr 2022 | US |
