Patent Application
20210227741
The present invention is concerned with improved earth-engaging agricultural implements equipped with a pair of laterally spaced apart, rotatable crimper wheels operable to crimp surface crops as the implement traverses a field. More particularly, the invention is concerned with such implements, the crimper wheels themselves, and corresponding methods; the crimper wheels preferably comprise substantially circular rims with a plurality of elongated, circumferentially spaced apart bar elements secured to said rims and extending outwardly beyond the outer margins of the rims. The crimper wheels also serve as gauge wheels for the implement.
Many large-scale farming operations rely heavily on tillage for weed control. Tillage breaks up the soil to kill weeds and prepare for planting. However, intense tillage can compact the soil, cause erosion, and deplete soil nutrients; moreover, tillage is fuel- and labor-intensive. Consequently, some farmers are turning to cover crops in lieu of tillage for weed control. Cover crops, e.g., winter cereal rye or hairy vetch-triticale, are planted in the fall following cash crop harvesting; alternately, naturally occurring weeds and the like can serve as cover crops. The following Spring, the farmers make use of a roller crimper which mows the cover crop down and cuts or abrades the cover crop stems, terminating the growth thereof. This forms a matting or mulch of the cover crop, leaving a high amount of biomass on the soil surface. This matting blocks sunlight from reaching the soil surface, which inhibits weed establishment, and also provides a source of soil nutrients. Cash crop seeds can then be planted directly through the matting, which then grow up through the cover crop residue.
Conventional crimpers are generally in the form of large, elongated rollers having a series of outwardly extending, curved or chevron-pattern blades around the periphery thereof. Typically, the roller may be water-filled to increase its weight. In the use of such crimpers, it is usually necessary for a grower to make successive trips through a field, to first crimp the surface crop, and thereafter to plant seed. This is a time- and energy-intensive process.
Generally, large agricultural seed planters make use of rotatable coulters or trash wheels which initially open or otherwise condition the soil, along with a follower in the form of a dual-disk opener which serves to open a narrow furrow in the soil. A seed delivery assembly then deposits seed into the opened furrow. A follower closing wheel mechanism then closes the now-seeded furrow. In addition, these planters conventionally make use of gauge wheels in order to ensure that the depth of the furrow remains essentially constant as the implement passes through a field. Such gauge wheels may be in the form of resilient rubber-like tires, which are mounted adjacent or in spaced relationship to the disk opener.
In one aspect of the invention, agricultural implements are provided, which comprise a soil-engaging device, such as a furrow opener, with a pair of rotatable, right- and left-hand crimper wheels respectively mounted on opposite sides of the device and operable to crimp surface crops astride the device as the implement traverses a field. Implements in accordance with the invention may include planters, fertilizers, drills, scarifiers, tillers, and any other type of soil-conditioning equipment. One class of preferred implements are seed planters, each including a furrow opener, mechanism for depositing seed in the open furrow, and a closing wheel assembly designed to close the seeded furrow. The crimper wheels in such planters serve the dual purpose of crimping surface crops while also functioning as gauge wheels. Moreover, these planters allow a grower to simultaneously crimp surface crops while seeding, thereby eliminating separate crimping and seeding operations.
The rotatable crimper wheels per se are also novel and comprise a pair of substantially circular, laterally spaced apart rims presenting outer margins, with a plurality of elongated, circumferentially spaced apart bar elements extending between and operatively secured to the rims, the bar elements extending radially outwardly beyond the outer margins of the rims; further, the bar elements are oriented to move cover crop, field trash, and earth outwardly to prevent clogging of the crimper wheels. Structure is further provided to rotatably mount the crimper wheels in an operative relationship on opposite sides of the implement. In preferred practice, the crimper wheels are designed so that the rims thereof lie in respective planes, with the bar elements mounted at a non-orthogonal angle relative to the planes; the bar elements are also longitudinally twisted along the lengths thereof. In this way, the crimper wheels provide a limited amount of up-and-down “bouncing” over the cover crop, in order to properly crimp the cover crop. This is to be contrasted with perpendicularly oriented bars which could create excessive “bouncing” which may affect seed depth.
In a related aspect of the invention, soil-treating methods are provided, comprising the steps of using an implement to engage the soil, and, during such soil-engaging step, using a pair of spaced-apart, rotatable crimper wheels of the type described above, mounted on the implement to crimp cover crop on opposite sides of the implement during passage through a field. In the context of planters, a furrow is first created, seed is deposited therein, followed by closing of the furrow. The crimper wheels serve to both crimp cover crop and as gauge wheels to substantially maintain furrow depth.
While the drawings do not necessarily provide exact dimensions or tolerances for the illustrated components or structures,
Turning now to the drawings, and particularly
The coulter assembly 20 is itself conventional and includes a forwardly extending arm 32, which rotatably supports an earth-penetrating coulter blade 34 serving to initially open the soil as the row unit 10 traverses a field. In alternate forms, the arm 32 can support one or more trash-clearing disks (not shown) in lieu of blade 34. As used herein, “coulter” is generic to all types of forward soil-opening or conditioning devices.
The furrowing assembly 22 includes a pair of inclined, converging, rotatable disks 36, which lie in individual, converging planes so as to present a generally V-shaped base 38. The purpose of the disks 36 is to open a furrow 40 (see
The operating depth of the disks 36 can be adjusted by means of a conventional mechanism 51 having predetermined adjustment openings 51a. As is well understood in the art, the disks 36 can thus be up-or-down adjusted so as to create furrows 40 of greater or lesser depth as desired.
As mentioned previously, the assembly 22 is equipped with a pair of side-mounted crimper wheels 30, which are rotatably mounted on opposite sides of the disks 36. The crimper wheels are handed, i.e., right-hand and left-hand wheels are respectively mounted on corresponding sides of the assembly 22. As best illustrated in
Each crimper wheel 30 is mounted on a side of the unit body 14 by means of an adjustable mounting arm 62; normally, the arms 62 support conventional gauge rollers or tires, but are used in the context of the present invention to support the wheels 30. One end of the arm 62 has a bearing 64 received within the hub 60 of the associated crimper wheel 30, whereas the other end has a socket 66 which is secured to a corresponding mounting stud 68. In this way, the height of the respective crimper wheel 30 may be adjusted, thereby allowing the wheels to function as gauge wheels, as will be explained.
The furrow-closing assembly 26 is also conventional and includes a pair of V-oriented closing disks 70. These disks 70 are supported on a trailing leg 72 secured to unit body 14 and are adjustable by means of a lever 74.
Similarly, the parallel arm assembly 28 is well known, and includes an upright 75 and a pair of side-by-side spring units 76 serving to maintain the row unit in a level condition as it traverses a field.
The general operation of row unit 10 can readily be understood from the foregoing description. As the row unit traverses a field, the earth is first penetrated or conditioned by means of coulter 34 of assembly 20, followed by opening of the furrow 40 by the disks 36 of assembly 22. As the furrow 40 is opened, seed and/or fertilizer is deposited in the furrow 40 through the delivery tube 48. Finally, the furrow-closing assembly 26 serves to close the now-seeded and/or fertilized furrow 40. During this operation, the crimper wheels 30 come into play in order to crimp surface crop on either side of the disks 36, by virtue of the protrusion of each of the bar elements 56 outwardly beyond the margins of the rims 52, 54. Additionally, the handed orientation of the bar elements 56 serves to expel cover crop and other materials outwardly in both directions to inhibit or eliminate clogging of the disks 36. At the same time, the wheels 30 serve as gauge wheels in order to substantially maintain the depths of the disks 36. Consequently, the normally separate operations of surface crop crimping and seeding (and/or fertilizing) can be simultaneously performed.
The present invention provides appropriate crimping of cover crop without complete cutting or severing thereof. This is particularly the case where planting is carried out during the crimping operation. That is, crimping is done in the direction of planting, thus avoiding cross-cutting of the cover crop. This is to be contrasted with prior art techniques where planting and crimping are separately carried out. The resultant sequential field passages for crimping and seeding may result in cross-cutting because the separate field passages can be at an angle or even perpendicular to each other, and the cross-cut cover crop will then grow back, interfering with growth of the cash crop.
