Patent Application
20230095347
The disclosure relates generally to tillage implements and, in particular, to tillage implements utilizing seedbed floor conditioners.
A wide range of agricultural implements have been developed and are presently in use for tilling, cultivating, harvesting and so forth. Tillage implements, for example, are commonly towed behind tractors and may cover wide swaths of ground which may include various types of residue. Such residue may include materials left in the field after the crop has been harvested. These residues typically include stalks and stubble, leaves and seed pods. Good management of field residues can increase efficiency of irrigation and control of erosion in the field.
Certain agricultural implements include ground engaging tools configured to interact with the soil. For example, a tillage implement may include gangs of disc blades configured to break up the soil for subsequent planting or seeding operations. The configuration of the tilling implement gangs and their constituent discs will determine the quality and quantity of the passes required to effectively till an area of soil. For example, typical tillage implements may utilize two rows of blades or discs running at a certain defined angle relative to a direction of travel. This results in untilled soil between the blades which is not ideal for seed placement and germination. Certain tillage implements may utilize adjustable blades angles (e.g., adjustable between approximately 0 and 19 degrees relative to the direction of travel) which create even wider sections between the blades of untilled soil. In this scenario, during planting, some of the seed are disposed on the tilled areas of soil while other seeds are disposed on untilled areas of soil. This results in variable seed germination and affects root growth and yield.
Certain embodiments commensurate in scope with the originally claimed subject matter are summarized below. These embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter, but rather these embodiments are intended only to provide a brief summary of possible forms of the disclosure. Indeed, the disclosure may encompass a variety of forms that may be similar to or different from the embodiments set forth below.
In one embodiment, a tilling implement is provided. The tilling implement includes a frame having a front and a rear. The tilling implement also includes a first row of disc blades coupled to the frame adj acent the front. The tilling implement further includes a rolling seedbed floor conditioner coupled to the frame adjacent the rear and behind the first row of disc blades, wherein the rolling seedbed floor conditioner includes a plurality of blades, the plurality of blades are indexed to the first row of disc blades, and the rolling seedbed floor conditioner is configured to till the soil between disc blades of the first row of disc blades to smooth a seedbed floor below a soil surface.
In another embodiment, a rolling seedbed floor conditioner for a tilling implement is provided. The rolling seedbed floor conditioner includes a row bar, a mounting bracket coupled to the row bar, and a shaft coupled to the mounting bracket. The rolling seedbed floor conditioner also includes a plurality of blades disposed on the shaft, wherein each blade of the plurality of blades of the rolling seedbed floor conditioner includes a hub and a plurality of tangs circumferentially disposed about the hub relative to a rotational axis of the hub.
In a further embodiment, a tilling implement is provided. The tilling implement includes a frame having a front and a rear. The tilling implement also includes a first row of disc blades coupled to the frame adjacent the front. The tilling implement further includes a rolling seedbed floor conditioner coupled to the frame adjacent the rear and behind the first row of disc blades, wherein a first angle of the plurality of blades of the rolling seedbed floor conditioner relative to a direction of travel of the tilling implement is configured to change as a second angle of the disc blades of the first row of disc blades changes relative to the direction of travel.
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. In an effort to provide a concise description of these 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,” “the,” and “said” 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.
The present disclosure is generally directed to a seedbed floor conditioner (e.g., rolling seedbed floor conditioner) for an implement (e.g., tillage or ground working implement). An implement includes a frame and a first row of blades (e.g., fluted concave disc blades) coupled to the frame adjacent a front of the frame. In certain embodiments, the seedbed floor conditioner also includes a second row of blades located behind the first row of blades. The implement also includes a rolling seedbed floor conditioner coupled to the frame adjacent the rear and located behind the first row (and second row) of blades. The seedbed floor condition includes a plurality of blades (e.g., fan-like or propeller-like blades) that are indexed to the first row (and second row) of blades. The seedbed floor conditioner is configured to till the soil between the disc blades of the first row (and second row) of blades to smooth a seedbed floor below a soil surface. The blades of the rolling seedbed floor conditioner will remove untilled areas left by the row of blades. In certain embodiments, as the angle of the disc blades on the rows of disc blades change, the angle of the seedbed floor conditioner changes. For example, as the angle of the disc blades decreases, the angle of the seedbed floor conditioner increases to cover additional untilled areas and vice versa. In certain embodiments, a bottom of the blades of the seedbed floor conditioner operate at a same soil depth as the row of disc blades. In contrast to typical soil conditioners, the rolling seedbed floor conditioner enables tillage of the soil without creating a smear layer (e.g., due to no backside pressure on the blades). The disclosed seedbed floor conditioner enables even seed germination, strong root growth, and increased crop yield.
Referring now to the drawings,
The implement 10 includes a frame 20 (e.g., main frame) that includes a hitch assembly (e.g., hitch assembly 22 as depicted in
The number of pairs of disc blades 32 on a respective frame element may vary (e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5 or more). As depicted, the frame elements 24, 28 each include 3 pairs of disc blades 32. As depicted, disc rows 26, 30 of pairs of disc blades 32 are only illustrated on the portion of the implement 10 to the right of a center line (e.g., center line 37 in
The implement 10 also includes a seedbed floor conditioner 11 (e.g., rolling seedbed floor conditioner). The seedbed floor conditioner 11 includes a frame element 36 (e.g., row or tool bar). The seedbed floor conditioner 11 also includes a pair of mounting brackets 38 coupled to the frame element 36 and a shaft (not shown). A plurality of blades 40 (e.g., fan-like or propeller-like blades) are coupled to shaft. Each blade 40 includes a plurality of props or tangs 42 coupled to and circumferentially 44 disposed about a hub 46 relative to a rotational axis 48 of the hub 46 or blades 40. The number of props or tangs 42 may vary. As depicted, each blade 40 includes 8 props or tangs 42. The props or tangs 42 are mounted or formed on the hub 46 at a compound angle with respect to the direction of travel 12. The compound angle includes a steering angle and tilt angle relative to the direction of travel 12. The compound angle enables the blades 40 to lack backside pressure with the soil. The blades 40 of the seedbed floor conditioner 11 operate at a same soil depth (e.g., tillage depth) as the pairs of disc blades 32 on both disc rows 26, 30.
The seedbed floor conditioner 11 is located behind both disc rows 26, 30. In particular, the seedbed floor conditioner 11 is located closer to or more adjacent a rear portion 50 of the frame 20 and the disc row 26 is located closer to or more adjacent a front portion 52 of the frame 20. The disc row 30 is located between the disc row 26 and the seedbed floor conditioner 11.
The pairs of disc blades 32 in the first and second disc rows 26, 30 are indexed with respect to each other so that pairs of disc blades 32 in the second disc row 30 operate in the spaces between where the pairs of disc blades 32 in the first disc row 26 operate. The blades 40 of the seedbed floor conditioner 11 are indexed with respect to pairs of disc blades 32 in both the first and second disc rows 26, 30 so that the blades 40 operate in the spaces between where the pairs of disc blades 32 of both the disc rows 26, 30 operate.
As described in greater below, the angle of the seedbed floor conditioner 11 (and the blades 40) relative to the direction of travel 12 is configured to be adjusted by an operator (e.g., via linkages coupled to a cylinder). The angle of the seedbed floor conditioner 11 (and the blades 40) relative to the direction of travel 12 changes as the angle of attack (e.g., angle of pairs of disc blades 32 relative to the direction of travel 12) of the pairs of disc blades 32 changes. For example, as the angle of the pairs of disc blades 32 decreases, the angle of the seedbed floor conditioner 11 increases to cover additional untilled areas. Conversely, as the angle of the pairs of disc blades 32 increases, the angle of the seedbed floor conditioner 11 decreases. The angle of attack for the pairs of disc blades 32 may range from approximately 0 to 16 degrees. In certain embodiments, the upper limit of the angle of attack for the pairs of blades 32 may be a little higher (e.g., 17, 18, or 19 degrees or more). The angle of the seedbed floor conditioner 11 (and the blades 40) may range from approximately 0 to 16 degrees. In certain embodiments, the upper limit of the angle of the seedbed floor conditioner 11 may be a little higher (e.g., 17, 18, or 19 degrees or more).
The number of blades 40 on the seedbed floor conditioner 11 may vary (e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or more). As depicted, the seedbed floor conditioner 11 includes 7 blades 40. The seedbed floor conditioner 11 includes at least one more blade 40 than the number of disc blades on each respective disc row 26, 30. In certain embodiments, the seedbed floor conditioner 11 includes more than one blade 40 than the number of disc blades on each respective disc row 26, 30.
In certain embodiments, a diameter of each blade 40 may be the same on the seedbed floor conditioner 11. In certain embodiments, at least one of the blades 40 may have a different diameter (e.g., smaller diameter) from the rest of the blades 40. In certain embodiments, at most, two of the blades 40 may have a different diameter (e.g., smaller diameter) from the rest of the blades 40. If one or more blades 40 have a smaller diameter, the smaller blades 40 will be located on an end of the seedbed floor conditioner 11.
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While only certain features of the 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 disclosure.
The techniques presented and claimed herein are referenced and 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 claims 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).
