Soil cultivating implements

Abstract

A cultivator implement has a row of freely rotatable soil working members connected to a transverse frame beam by brackets. The members each have a stub shaft secured to an inclined web of a corresponding bracket so that the axis of rotation of each member is inclined to the vertical. Pairs of downwardly extending tines on support plates contact the ground and rotate the members. Between adjacent rotatable members, a cultivator tine is deflectably secured to the beam via an integral spring coil assembly. The cultivator tine is located non-centrally between rotary members and each tine is curved so that its lower tip extends forwardly. A soil working roller is positioned to the rear of the rotary members and is vertically adjustable on arms connected to the ends of the beam.

Description

Claims

1. A soil cultivating implement comprising a frame and a transverse row of soil working members rotatably mounted on respective stub shafts that define upwardly extending axes, each soil working member having downwardly extending tines positioned around its axis of rotation and being freely rotatable about its corresponding axis responsive to the contact of its tines with the ground, said soil working members being releaseably fastened with respective brackets on an elongated beam that extends transverse to the direction of travel, the stub shafts of said soil working members being held in said brackets, said brackets being positioned directly below said beam and being obliquely inclined to the vertical, said shafts being substantially parallel to one another and located in a transverse plane that extends substantially perpendicular to the normal direction of implement travel, each of said brackets being channel shaped with a base positioned between limbs, said limbs having dissimilar vertical lengths and said base being inclined to the horizontal, a respective stub shaft being journalled in said base, said tines each having a substantially straight soil working portion that in the lowest position of the tine, extends obliquely forwardly with respect to the front of the machine, a ground engaging roller being positioned to the rear of said row of soil working members and said roller being connected to the frame and supporting same, said roller extending at least partly across the working width of the implement, the axis of rotation of said roller extending substantially horizontal and parallel to said plane.

2. An implement as claimed in claim 1, wherein there are four tines positioned at 90.degree. intervals around said axis of rotation.

3. Am implement as claimed in claim 1, wherein a cultivator tine is secured to said beam between neighboring soil working members and said tine is resilient.

4. An implement as claimed in claim 3, wherein said tine is positioned nearer the axis of rotation of one soil working member than the axis of rotation of the neighboring soil member.