Patent Application
20160353654
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The present invention relates to an agriculture cultivator marker and, more particularly, to a flat fold cultivator marker.
A commodity farmers revenues are a result of their crop yield times the total area in production. As a result they must take advantage of as much area as possible within their fields. This involves planting as close to perimeter boundaries such as fences, trees and other obstacles. When planting their crops, care must be taken to not strike these obstacles with their seeding implements. This task becomes harder as the width of the seeding implement increases, making it harder for the operator to judge the distance between the edge of the implement and the surrounding obstacles. As can be seen, there is a need for an improved cultivator marker.
The present invention includes a flat fold cultivator marker. The present invention aids the operator of the seeding implement by giving them a mark or furrow in the soil to follow when planting. The operator utilizes a seeding implement with the same width (or slightly smaller width if a clearance is desired) as the cultivator. The operator then only needs to concentrate on keeping the tractor and seeding implement centered on this mark instead of trying to judge clearances with outlying obstacles. The present invention places a mark in the soil while doing secondary tillage operations. These secondary tillage operations are done before planting in order to prepare the soil for planting. The present invention provides a better quality mark in the soil than current devices. The present invention also folds up when not in use allowing it to not interfere with the tillage implement or surroundings.
Geometric centerline is a term used in automotive engineering and is a line drawn from the center of the rear axle through the center of the front axle. This term is used in this disclosure with some adjustment for application to a pulled tillage implement 5.
The geometric centerline 45 of the tillage implement 5 is a horizontal line that extends through the hitch 6 and along the front to rear direction of the implement. The furrow 8 and disk blade 10 are vertically under the geometric centerline 45.
The outer arm 12 is affixed to the arm bracket 15. The arm bracket 15 rotates about a pivot pin 25 on the base 16 via a hydraulic cylinder 22.
The base 16 mounts to the tillage implement 5 via a pair of swiveling mounts 18. The swivel mounts 18 may be equal length so as each swivel mount 18 may rotate, the base 16 will remain horizontal.
The swivel mounts 18 use a parallel arm design to keep the main structure base 16 horizontal with the ground at all times. This is important in transport position to keep a low profile. This is important in the field position to keep the disk blade 10 consistently engaged with the soil.
The hard stop 23 is affixed to the base 16.
To provide a limit for movement toward the extended position, the linkage arm 21 contacts the pivot pin 25. The detail of how these parts interact can also be seen in
The base 16 is the fixed bar of the linkage. The cylinder shaft 35 provides the input to the linkage via the shaft pin 33. The arm bracket 15 is the output of the linkage.
The finished device may include several painted weldments, attaching hardware and a hydraulic cylinder 22 and hoses. The painted weldments start out as individual steel plates and structural tube parts which are produced with equipment such as plate lasers and CNC lathes and mills. The parts are positioned in a welding fixture and joined via a GMAW (MIG welding) process. After welding, the parts are either painted or zinc plated to inhibit oxidation (rust). A hydraulic cylinder 22 acts as the actuator. Standard hardware is used to retain the components.
A method of using the present invention may include the following. The marker arm 7 is attached to the tillage implement 5. Once mounted, then the desired inner arm 12 position can be adjusted to ensure proper contact of the disk blade 10 with the soil. Hydraulic lines would be run from the tractor to the hydraulic cylinder 22. The device can then be operated from the tractor by the operator via only the hydraulic remote control. The hydraulic remote actuates the cylinder shaft 35, which takes the device from the “folded” or “retracted” state to the “field” or “extended” state. The operator engages the hydraulic remote until the cylinder shaft 35 fully takes the device from one state to the next. Hard stops are present on the device to prevent against damage from over extending the device in either state.
Although the invention has been described in terms of specific embodiments and applications, persons skilled in the art can, in light of this teaching, generate additional embodiments without exceeding the scope or departing from the spirit of the claimed invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the drawings and description in this disclosure are provided to help the reader understand the invention, and do not limit the scope of the claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/170,417 filed Jun. 3, 2015, titled “Flat Fold Cultivator Marker”, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein, both bodily and by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62170417 | Jun 2015 | US |
