Soil cultivating implements

Abstract

A cultivating implement has a row of driven rotor members that rotate about corresponding upwardly extending shafts, the rotor members have two or three support arms and a freely rotatable tool on the outer arm ends. Each tool has a central hub and radial arms with a tine secured at the outer end of each radial arm. The tools of each member are spaced from one another around their respective shaft by about 50 centimeters or less and are rotatable about axes inclined to that shaft by about 5.degree. to 10.degree.. Upon rotation of the rotor member, the tines of the tools contact the ground to rotate the tools. The tines have elongated, upper fastening portions that are angled to lower, elongated soil working portions. The cross-sections of the fastening portions are polygonal and held in matching bores of holders at the outer ends of the radial arms. A support roller is connected to the rotor members to regulate the working depths of the tines.

Description

Claims

1. A soil cultivating implement comprising a frame and a row of soil working members supported on said frame, said members being mounted on corresponding upwardly extending shafts, each member comprising radially extending arms, driving means connected to rotate neighboring members in relative opposite directions and said row extending transverse to the direction of implement travel, each member comprising at least two tined cultivating tools that are freely rotatable about respective downwardly extending shaft means supported adjacent the ends of said arms, said arms being substantially equally spaced apart from one another around the shaft of the corresponding soil working member and positioned such that the rotating paths of the tools on the adjacent arms overlap to work a continuous strip of soil said axes of rotation of the tools extending downwardly in convergent relationship with one another.

2. An implement as claimed in calim 1 wherein each soil working member has three rotatably mounted tined cultivating tools.

3. An implement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shaft means of the three tools are spaced apart from one another at substantially regular intervals around the axis of rotation of the corresponding working member.

4. An implement as claimed in claim 1, wherein each soil working member has an effective working width of about 60 centimeters.

5. An implement as claimed in claim 6, wherein said respective shaft means are spaced apart from one another by about 35 centimeters and downwardly inclined at angles of about 5.degree. to 10.degree. towards the axis of rotation of said corresponding member.

6. A soil cultivating implement comprising a frame and a row of soil working members supported on said frame, said members being mounted on corresponding upwardly extending shafts, each member comprising radially extending arms, driving means connected to rotate neighboring members in relative opposite directions and said row extending transverse to the direction of implement travel, each member comprising at least two tined cultivating tools that are freely rotatable about respective downwardly extending shaft means supported adjacent the ends of said arms, said arms being substantially equally spaced apart from one another around the shaft of the corresponding soil working member, and positioned such that the rotating paths of the tools on the adjacent arms overlap to work a continuous strip of soil, said axes of rotation of the tools extending downwardly towards said shaft by angles of about 5.degree. to 10.degree. and also extending towards one another.

7. An implement as claimed in claim 8, wherein the respective shaft means of said tools of said working member extend downwardly in convergent coplanar relationship with one another and are each inclined towards the axis of rotation of that member at an angle of about 6.degree..

8. An implement as claimed in claim 6, wherein said arms extend radially from a central hub and the outer end of each arm is bent-over downwardly at an angle greater than 90.degree., said ends each forming a stub shaft and a corresponding cultivating tool being rotatably mounted on said stub shaft.

9. An implement as claimed in claim 8, wherein each tool comprises three downwardly extending tines that are angularly spaced apart from one another at intervals of about 120.degree. around the stub shaft, each tine including an upper fastening portion and a lower soil working portion, the longitudinal axes of the two portions being inclined to one another.