Patent Application
20200337221
The present disclosure relates to agricultural equipment, and more particularly to a configurable hoe opener having interchangeable components for single shoot or double shoot deposition of fertilizer and seed.
Seeding implements are typically towed behind a tractor or other work vehicle across a field. For example, a tongue of the seeding implement may be connected to a drawbar of the tractor, or a mast of the seeding implement may be connected to a hitch of the tractor. In order to plant seeds within the field, the seeding implement typically includes ground engaging tools or hoe openers that form trenches in the soil for seed and fertilizer deposition into the soil of the field. Different types of hoe openers may be utilized with different techniques of delivering the seed and fertilizer into the soil. For example, a single shoot hoe opener deposits seed, fertilizer, or a mixture of seed and fertilizer in the trench after it is formed by a nose of the hoe opener. In contrast, a double shoot hoe opener separately deposits the seed and the fertilizer in the trench after it is formed by the nose of the hoe opener. In order to switch between using a single shoot hoe opener and a double shoot hoe opener, an operator of the seeding implement may decouple the single shoot opener from the seeding implement and couple the double shoot opener, or vice versa. However, this process may be time-consuming and laborious. Additionally, repeated contact between the soil and the hoe opener may cause wear on the hoe opener over time and, ultimately, the hoe opener may be repaired or replaced. However, repair or replacement of the entire hoe opener may be costly.
A summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein is set forth below. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Indeed, this disclosure may encompass a variety of aspects that may not be set forth below.
In certain embodiments, a row unit of an agricultural seeding implement has a hoe opener assembly that may engage soil to form a trench in the soil and to deposit one or more agricultural products in the trench. The hoe opener assembly has a base structure having a mount and a nose removeably coupled to the base structure. The nose may form the trench in the soil. The hoe opener assembly also has a double shoot attachment removeably coupled to the mount. The double shoot attachment may separately deposit the fertilizer and the seeds into the trench. The hoe opener assembly also has a first conduit that may deliver the fertilizer to the double shoot attachment and a second conduit that may deliver the seeds to the double shoot attachment.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:
One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below. These described embodiments are only exemplary of the present disclosure. Additionally, in an effort to provide a concise description of these exemplary embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not be described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.
When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. Additionally, it should be understood that references to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” of the present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features.
Modern farming uses a variety of agricultural implements to harvest crops, prepare the soil for planting, and for planting. These agricultural implements are commonly referred to as harvesters, tillers, seeders, and planters. A seeder first opens a trench in the soil with an opening system. The seeder then deposits seeds and/or fertilizer into the trench, after which the trench may be covered with soil by a closing system. In order to plant seeds, the seeder may use a hoe opener that forms the trench in the soil with a nose and delivers the seeds and/or the fertilizer to the trench before the trench is covered with soil. An operator may use different types of hoe openers to implement different techniques for delivering the seed and/or fertilizer into the soil. For example, a single shoot hoe opener deposits seed, fertilizer, or a mixture of seed and fertilizer in the trench, while a double shoot hoe opener separately deposits seeds and fertilizer in the trench. In order for an operator to switch between using a single shoot hoe opener and a double shoot hoe opener, the operator decouples the type of hoe opener in use and couples the desired hoe opener. However, this process may be time-consuming and laborious. Additionally, repeated contact between the soil and the hoe opener may cause wear on the hoe opener over time and, ultimately, the hoe opener may be repaired or replaced. As such, it may be desirable to provide an improved hoe opener that decreases the time and labor associated with switching between a single shoot configuration and a double shoot configuration, as well as reduces costs compared to the repair or the replacement of the hoe opener.
Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to an improved hoe opener assembly that may decrease the time and labor associated with switching between a single shoot configuration and a double shoot configuration, as well as reducing repair and replacement costs. For example, the hoe opener assembly may have a base structure that may be utilized with both the single shoot configuration and the double shoot configuration of the hoe opener assembly. In the single shoot configuration, a rear mount of the base structure may be coupled to a single shoot attachment that facilitates delivery of seeds, fertilizer, or a mixture of seeds and fertilizer to a trench created by a nose of the hoe opener. In the double shoot configuration, the rear mount of the base structure may be coupled to a double shoot attachment that facilitates separate delivery of the seeds and the fertilizer to the trench. In this way, an operator may easily and efficiently exchange the single shoot attachment with the double shoot attachment, or vice versa, based on the desired seed and fertilizer deposition technique.
Additionally, certain components of the hoe opener assembly may be replaceable to reduce costs compared to the repair or the replacement of the hoe opener assembly after experiencing wear. For example, the nose of the hoe opener assembly may directly engage the soil, and the single shoot attachment and the double shoot attachment may also engage the soil during operation of the hoe opener assembly. As such, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a replaceable nose of the hoe opener assembly in addition to the interchangeable single shoot and double shoot attachments described above. That is, the nose of the hoe opener, the single shoot attachment, and the double shoot attachment are removeably coupled to the base structure of the hoe opener assembly, such that the components may easily and efficiently be replaced with replacement components by an operator after the components have experienced a certain amount of wear.
With the foregoing in mind,
Each hoe opener assembly 19 of the row units 18 may be configured to engage the field and form a trench such that one or more agricultural products (e.g., seed, fertilizer, or inoculant) may be directed into the trench. In some embodiments, the row units 18 of the seeding implement 10 are arranged in rows 23 across the axis 21, where each row 23 may be generally parallel to the direction of travel 13. In addition, the row units 18 may be arranged in one or more ranks 25, where the ranks 25 of the row units 18 are offset from each other along the direction of travel 13. For example, the seeding implement 10 shown in
Although the hoe opener assembly 19 is configured for double shoot operation in the illustrated embodiment, in some embodiments, the hoe opener assembly 19 may be configured for single shoot operation. In such embodiments, the hoe opener assembly 19 may include a single shoot attachment instead of the double shoot attachment illustrated in
Referring back to
The cylinder 28 is attached to a shank 27 via a pin 46 at the end of the piston rod. The hoe opener assembly 19 is coupled to the shank 30 and configured to engage the soil of the field. The contact force between the nose 34 and the soil establishes a moment about a shank pivot joint 33. This moment is resisted by force applied to the shank 27 by the cylinder 28. Furthermore, the linkage is configured to facilitate vertical movement of the seeding implement, while substantially maintaining the nose 34 at a target penetration depth within the soil. As illustrated, the linkage is coupled to a packer support structure, such as the illustrated packer support plate 48.
A packer arm 50, which pivotally supports a packer wheel 52, is pivotally coupled to the packer support plate 48. The packer wheel 52 rotates along the soil surface to pack the soil on top of deposited seeds and/or fertilizer in the trench and to limit the penetration depth of the nose 34. As illustrated, a pin 54 disposed through openings within the packer arm 50 and the packer support plate 48 enables rotation of the packer arm 50 with respect to the packer support plate 48. However, in a working mode, rotation of the packer arm 50 relative to the packer support plate 48 is blocked by the depth adjustment assembly 44. The depth adjustment assembly 44 includes a fastener disposed within a slot in the packer support plate 48 and a corresponding slot in the packer arm 50. While in a locked position, the fastener blocks rotation of the packer arm 50 with respect to the packer support plate 48. Conversely, while in an unlocked position, the fastener may be translated within the respective slots to adjust the rotation of the packer arm 50 about the pin 54. Such an adjustment varies the vertical position of the nose 34 relative to the packer wheel 52, thereby altering the penetration depth of the nose 34. Once a desired penetration depth has been established, the fastener may be locked into position, thereby blocking rotation of the packer arm 50 and enabling the hoe opener assembly 19 to enter the working mode. As previously discussed, the packer wheel 52 rotates across a surface of the soil to limit the penetration depth of the nose 34. Consequently, the difference in vertical position between the packer wheel 52 and the nose 34 establishes the penetration depth of the nose 34 within the soil of the field. The packer wheel 52 may at least partially close the trench over the agricultural products disposed in the trench by the hoe opener assembly 19.
As described above, the hoe opener assembly 19 may engage the field with the nose 34 (e.g., a knife or a blade) of the hoe opener assembly 19 and form a trench in the field as the row unit moves in the direction of travel 13 through the field. The hoe opener assembly 19 may deposit fertilizer into the trench via the front conduit 36 and seeds into the trench via the rear conduit 38. For example, the hoe opener assembly 19 may receive the fertilizer from a first agricultural product delivery tube via the front conduit 36. After passing through the front conduit 36, the fertilizer may flow through the central section 40 of the double shoot attachment 30 into the bottom of the trench. The hoe opener assembly 19 may also receive the seeds from a second agricultural product delivery tube via the rear conduit 38. After passing through the rear conduit 38, the seeds may flow through the side delivery section 42 into the trench via a side delivery outlet 68.
The side delivery section 42 also has a soil spreader 67 (e.g., a lateral knife) that may deflect soil laterally to establish a lateral offset between the deposited fertilizer and the deposited seeds. In the illustrated embodiment, for example, as the hoe opener assembly 19 moves in the direction of travel 13 and forms the trench in the field, soil contacting the soil spreader 67 may be deflected laterally by an upper surface of the soil spreader 67, thereby establishing an indentation in the trench, which receives the seeds via the delivery outlet 68. In some embodiments, the upper surface of the soil spreader 67 may slope generally upwardly toward the central section 40 of the double shoot attachment 30. The soil spreader 67 may be formed from a carbide or another suitable material.
As described above, the fertilizer may flow through the central section 40 of the double shoot attachment 30 into the bottom of the trench formed by the nose 34 of the hoe opener assembly 19.
As mentioned above, the base structure 56 of the hoe opener assembly 19 may be coupled to the replaceable nose 34 and the double shoot attachment 30 to facilitate separate delivery of the seeds and the fertilizer to the trench.
An alignment interface 62 of the base structure 56 may facilitate proper alignment of the double shoot attachment 30 with the base structure 56 of the hoe opener assembly 19. In the illustrated embodiment, the alignment interface 62 is configured to engage a corresponding alignment interface 63 of the double shoot attachment 30. Thus, when the back mount 86 of the base structure 56 is coupled to the double shoot attachment 30, the first wall 70 and the second wall 71 of the central section 40 align with a first wall 90 and a second wall 91 of the base structure 56. The interface between the first wall 70 of the central section 40 and the first wall 90 of the base structure 56 and the interface between the second wall 71 of the central section 40 and the second wall 91 of the base structure 56 forms the first passage 69, which is fluidically coupled to the front conduit 36. As such, during operation of the hoe opener assembly 19, fertilizer may flow from the front conduit 36 to the trench in the soil via the first passage 69. Additionally, the first wall 74 and the second wall 75 of the side delivery section 42 align with a third wall 94 and a fourth wall 95 of the base structure 56. The interface between the first wall 74 of the side delivery section 42 and the third wall 94 of the base structure and the interface between the second wall 74 of the side delivery section 42 and the fourth wall 95 of the base structure forms the second passage 76, which is fluidically coupled to the rear conduit 38. As such, during operation of the hoe opener assembly 19, seeds may flow from the rear conduit 38 to the trench in the soil via the second passage 76.
In some embodiments, the base structure 56 of the hoe opener assembly 19 may be coupled to the replaceable nose 34 and a single shoot attachment to facilitate delivery of seeds, fertilizer, or a mixture of the seeds and the fertilizer to the trench.
An alignment interface 62 of the base structure 56 may facilitate proper alignment of the single shoot attachment 96 with the base structure 56 of the hoe opener assembly 19. In the illustrated embodiment, the alignment interface 62 is configured to engage a corresponding alignment interface 99 of the single shoot attachment 96. Thus, when the back mount 86 of the base structure 56 is coupled to the single shoot attachment 96, the first wall 100 and the second wall 101 of the central section 97 align with the first wall 90 and the second wall 91 of the base structure 52. The interface between the first wall 100 of the central section 97 and the first wall 90 of the base structure 56 and the interface between the second wall 101 of the central section 97 and the second wall 91 of the base structure 56 forms the first passage 69, which is fluidically coupled to the front conduit 36. Additionally, the first wall 104 and the second wall 105 of the side delivery section 98 align with the third wall 94 and the fourth wall 95 of the base structure 52. The interface between the first wall 104 of the side delivery section 98 and the third wall 94 of the base structure and the interface between the second wall 105 of the side delivery section 98 and the fourth wall 95 of the base structure forms a second passage 106, which is fluidically coupled to the rear conduit 38. The second passage 106 may direct the seeds to the first passage 69 within the single shoot attachment 96 to facilitate mixing of the seeds with the fertilizer passing through the first passage 69. As such, during operation of the hoe opener assembly 19, seeds, fertilizer, or a mixture of the seeds and the fertilizer may flow through the first passage 69 to the trench.
Technical effects of the improved hoe opener assembly described above include decreasing the time and labor associated with switching between a single shoot configuration of the hoe opener assembly and a double shoot configuration of the hoe opener assembly, as well as reducing costs compared to the repair or the replacement of the hoe opener assembly. For example, the hoe opener assembly may have a base structure that may be utilized with both a single shoot attachment and a double shoot attachment of the hoe opener assembly. In the single shoot configuration, a rear mount of the base structure may be coupled to the single shoot attachment that facilitates delivery of seeds, fertilizer, or a mixture of seeds and fertilizer to a trench created by a nose of the hoe opener assembly. In the double shoot configuration, the rear mount of the base structure may be coupled to the double shoot attachment that facilitates separate delivery of the seeds and the fertilizer to the trench. An operator may easily and efficiently exchange the single shoot attachment with the double shoot attachment, or vice versa, based on the desired seed and fertilizer deposition technique. Additionally, certain components of the hoe opener assembly may be replaceable to reduce costs compared to the repair or the replacement of the hoe opener assembly. For example, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a replaceable nose of the hoe opener assembly in addition to the interchangeable single shoot and double shoot attachments described above. That is, the nose of the hoe opener assembly, the single shoot attachment, and the double shoot attachment are removeably coupled to the base structure of the hoe opener assembly, such that the components may easily and efficiently be replaced with replacement components by an operator after the components have experienced a certain amount of wear.
While only certain features of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the present disclosure.
The techniques presented and claimed herein are referenced applied to material objects and concrete examples of a practical nature that demonstrably improve the present technical field and, as such, are not abstract, intangible or purely theoretical. Further, if any claims appended to the end of this specification contain one or more elements designated as “means for [perform]ing [a function] . . . ” or “step for [perform]ing [a function] . . . ”, it is intended that such elements are to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f). However, for any elements containing elements designated in any other manner, it is intended that such elements are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f).
