Patent Application
20150163988
Disc tillage implements used in agriculture have a plurality of discs rotatably mounted to an implement frame. These disc implements are available in a wide variety of configurations. The discs can be flat, concave, or have a rippled or spoked perimeter, and the rotational axis of the discs may be oriented in a range from perpendicular to the operating travel direction, such that the disc simply cuts a slit in the soil surface with negligible lateral soil movement, to 20 degrees or more off perpendicular where the angled disc orientation causes considerable lateral soil movement.
When the rotational axis of the discs is oriented at an angle other than perpendicular to the operating travel direction, a leading face of the disc pushes soil laterally. The rotational axis of the discs can be horizontal, or may be tilted vertically such that the leading face of the disc lifts soil upward. In this tilted orientation, lifted soil exerts a downward force on the disc that helps the disc to penetrate hard soil. It is well known to orient the discs at a compound angle such that the leading face of the disc both moves soil laterally and lifts the soil upward.
Thus depending on the particular object of the tillage operation, a farmer can select a suitable disc implement and orientation. To reduce ridging from lateral soil movement, tillage discs are commonly mounted with rotational axes thereof in alignment such that soil moved laterally by one disc falls generally into the location where the adjacent disc has removed soil. This aligned mounting is commonly achieved by mounting a plurality of such discs on an single axle to form a disc “gang”. The axle is mounted to a frame member on bearing hangers, and several gangs may be mounted in alignment on one or more frame members to provide a wider implement section with all discs aligned. Such a disc arrangement is illustrated for example in U.S. Pat. No. 7,108,075 to Powell et al.
To allow the operator to vary the amount of lateral soil movement it is also known to adjust the orientation of the frame member or members to which the disc gangs are mounted. When more lateral soil movement is desired, the angle of the rotational axis of the discs with respect to the operating travel direction is increased, and when less lateral soil movement is desired the angle is decreased. Such an angle adjustment is also disclosed by Powell.
Powell discloses an disc implement with a single row of discs along the front of the implement. The discs on the right half of the implement are oriented at an angle to the operating travel direction that is opposite to the orientation of the discs on the left side. This is a common configuration of discs, as such an equal ,and opposite disc orientation on right and left sides of the implement equalizes side draft caused by the soil forces exerted laterally on the leading faces of the discs.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,074,728 to Kovach et al. illustrates a common disc tillage implement with front and rear rows of aligned discs. The discs on the front right half of the implement are oriented at an angle to the operating travel direction that is opposite to the orientation of the discs on the front left side, and also opposite to the orientation of the discs on the rear right side. Correspondingly, the discs on the front left half of the implement are oriented at an angle to the operating travel direction that is opposite to the orientation of the discs on the front right side, and also opposite to the orientation of the discs on the rear left side. Again this configuration substantially equalizes the side draft on the implement.
Disc implements such as disclosed by Kovach are well known. The front and rear rows of discs must be separated by enough distance to allow the disc angle to be adjusted through the desired range. In order to follow ground contours while maintaining a constant tillage depth of disc penetration it is desirable to have front and rear rows as close together as possible. Implements such as that of Kovach with a significant distance between the front and rear rows do not maintain consistent tillage depth in rolling ground contours.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,534,374 to Hake et al. discloses a disc tillage implement with front and rear rows of shorter disc gangs where the angle of adjacent disc gangs can be adjusted individually. The rotational axis of discs on one gang may be at the same angle as an adjacent gang, but here the rotational axes of the adjacent gangs are not aligned. A reduced distance between the front and rear rows of discs is possible with the Hake implement.
In the Twister™ disc implement, manufactured by Mandako Agri Marketing Inc. of Plum Coulee, Manitoba, Canada, a plurality of disc assemblies, each with two discs, are mounted to a lateral frame member to form the disc gang. Each disc assembly comprises an arm pivotally attached to the lateral frame member and an axle mounted at a midpoint thereof to the bottom end of the arm with a disc on each end of the axle. The arm can pivot up and down against a bias force to allow the discs to move upward when an obstruction, such as a rock, is struck. The lateral frame member can be moved to change the angle of the disc gang with respect to the operating travel direction.
Disc implements with no disc angle adjustment are also known, and are sometimes referred to as “compact” disc implements since the front and rear rows of discs can be very close together. The discs are aligned across the entire width of the implement, and typically are oriented with rotational axes at an angle to the operating travel direction such that there is a degree of lateral soil movement. Examples of such compact disc implements are the Rubin™ disc implement manufactured by Lemken GMBH & Co. KG of Alpen, Germany, and the Joker™ disc implement manufactured by Horsch Anderson of Andover, S.D., USA. These compact disc implements with the front and rear rows of discs close together can follow rolling ground contours with more consistent tillage depth.
The present disclosure provides a disc tillage implement that overcomes problems in the prior art.
The present disclosure provides a disc tillage implement comprising an implement frame mounted on wheels for movement along the ground in an operating travel direction, the implement frame comprising a lateral frame member. A plurality of disc assemblies is substantially equally spaced along the lateral frame member, each disc assembly comprising a pivot bracket pivotally attached to the lateral frame member about a substantially vertical bracket pivot axis, and a disc arm attached to a lower portion of the pivot bracket, with a disc rotatably attached to a bottom end of the disc arm. A control mechanism is operative to pivot the pivot brackets of each disc assembly about the corresponding bracket pivot axis of each disc assembly to a selected operating position.
The small amount of back and forth movement when changing the angle of the discs with respect to the operating travel direction allows the front and rear rows of discs to be close together as in conventional “compact” disc implements to follow rolling ground contours while maintaining good consistency of tillage depth between the front and rear rows of discs, while also allowing the angle of the discs to be changed. Thus the operator can readily vary the amount of lateral soil movement to suit the object of a wide variety of field operations.
While the invention is claimed in the concluding portions hereof, preferred embodiments are provided in the accompanying detailed description which may be best understood in conjunction with the accompanying diagrams where like parts in each of the several diagrams are labeled with like numbers, and where:
A plurality of disc assemblies 9 are substantially equally spaced along the lateral frame member 7. As shown in
A control mechanism 19 is operative to pivot the pivot brackets 11 of each disc assembly 9 about the corresponding bracket pivot axis BPA of each disc assembly 9 to a selected operating position. In the illustrated implement 1, the pivot brackets 11 extend forward from the lateral frame member 7 to a distal end thereof, and the control mechanism 19 comprises a control bar 21 pivotally attached to a distal portion of each pivot bracket 11 about a substantially vertical control pivot axis CPA, and an actuator 23 operative to move the control bar 21 laterally. As the actuator 23 moves the control bar 21 laterally, each pivot bracket 11 connected thereto moves the same amount, such that the discs 15 are oriented at the same angle with respect to the operating travel direction T.
The actuator 23 can be provided by an extendable cylinder, or by a rotating motor and gear mechanism, or any like mechanism that can move the control bar 21 to the selected operating position and then maintain same in that position until activated to move the control arm to a different selected operating position.
It is contemplated that the pivot brackets 11 could extend rearward from the lateral frame member 7 as well. For example in
The illustrated implement 1 has front and rear lateral frame members 7F, 7R and a plurality of disc assemblies 9 substantially equally spaced along each of the front and rear lateral frame members 7F, 7R. Front and rear control mechanisms 19F, 19R control the corresponding disc assemblies 9 on the front and rear lateral frame members 7F, 7R In
In
The small forward and rearward movement of the discs 15 means the discs in each row remain substantially aligned as the angle is changed such that soil ridging is reduced. Also the front and rear rows of discs 15 can be close together, allowing the implement 1 to follow rolling ground contours while maintaining a more consistent tillage depth.
To allow the discs 15 in each disc assembly 9 to move upward when encountering an obstruction and thus reduce damage, in the illustrated implement 1 the disc arm 13 is pivotally is attached to a lower portion of a distal portion of the pivot bracket 11 about a substantially horizontal arm pivot axis APA such that the disc arm 13 can pivot upward as schematically illustrated in
In the implement 1, the rotational axes R of the discs 15 is horizontal.
In the disc tillage implement of the present disclosure the front and rear rows of discs 15 can be close together since there is little back and forth movement when changing the angle of the discs 15 with respect to the operating travel direction T. Thus a disc implement is provided with front and rear disc rows close together as in the conventional “compact” disc implement, while also allowing the angle of the discs to be changed to vary the amount of lateral soil movement, making the implement suitable for a wider variety of conditions.
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous changes and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all such suitable changes or modifications in structure or operation which may be resorted to are intended to fall within the scope of the claimed invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2833682 | Nov 2013 | CA | national |
