Patent Application
20140034340
Tillers are known in the art and are used in agriculture for “tillage,” or preparation of soil by agitation such as digging, stirring, and overturning. Tillage using hand tools such as shovels, picks, hoes, and the like is difficult and not well suited to modern farming. Smaller-scale, gas-powered rotary tillers are also well known. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,978,929 Clark discloses a rotor tiller designed for use with a walking attendant for cultivating a swath of ground. However, larger-scale agriculture typically use tillers that are attached to, and powered by, a tractor or similar farm implement. Such tillers are capable of working relatively large tracts in a relatively short period of time.
Tillage may be classified as primary tillage and secondary tillage. Primary tillage (including plowing and rotary tilling, for example) typically refers to deeper agitation of the soil, and secondary tillage (harrowing, for example) refers to a shallower and/or selective working of the soil. Primary tillage, therefore, produces a rougher surface which may require additional working prior to planting, and secondary tillage generally produces a smoother surface to make a good bed for many crops.
A tractor-mounted rotary tiller is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,386,661, to McCanse et al., which uses the power takeoff (PTO) from a tractor to power the tiller through a gearbox that drives the rotary tiller assembly. More recently, in U.S. Pat. No. 8,181,711, to Fraley et al., a tiller is disclosed having a removable tine rotor, which is mounted on spindles, such that the rotor can be more easily removed from the tiller for repair and the like.
Tractor-powered rotary tillers drive tines through soil, to loosen and agitate the soil, typically to prepare the soil for planting. Agitation of soil requires significant work and power. Moreover, the tiller will typically encounter obstacles, such as rocks, plant matter, and/or other debris in the soil, that may require significant additional power delivery to the tiller rotor. Tillers may incur damage when encountering such obstacles, which can result in significant and expensive downtime for disassembly, repair, and reassembly of the tiller.
Conventional rotary tillers typically produce an uneven surface that is not suitable for planting without further working of the soil. In particular, it is often desirable to provide planting beds that are raised or separated by trenches or footpaths to permit planting, maintenance, and harvesting of the produce.
A tiller assembly is disclosed herein that overcomes many of the disadvantages of prior art tilling assemblies. For example, tillers are disclosed with improved power transfer to the rotor, and that are relatively easy to repair. In a particular embodiment the tiller includes an integral bed former assembly operable to form a raised planting bed while tilling the soil.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
A tiller apparatus includes a support structure, a rotor housing assembly supported by the support structure, a rotary tiller assembly rotatably mounted in the rotor housing assembly, a drive assembly that drivably engages the rotary tiller assembly, and a bed former assembly that extends rearward from the rotary tiller assembly. Optionally, the tiller apparatus may include a shovel assembly disposed on either side of the rotary tiller assembly.
In an embodiment, the support structure includes a hitch assembly, preferably a three-point hitch assembly, and a rear support structure that extends behind the tiller assembly. The bed former assembly includes a pan hingedly attached to the rotor housing assembly that defines an inverted channel with a converging portion. An adjustable screw assembly attaches the pan to the rear support structure.
In an embodiment, the drive assembly includes a gearbox that receives power from the tractor PTO and drives left and right belt drive systems that rotatably drive the tiller. The drive pulleys, driven pulleys, and belts are cogged.
In an embodiment, the hitch assemblies include a plurality of beams that extend rearward and support a curved panel that engages oppositely disposed end plates to form the rotor housing.
In an embodiment, the bed former assembly includes a pan defining an inverted channel, with a cylindrical roller rotatably mounted in the channel, and configured to compact the soil during use. The pan may be pivotally attached to the rotor housing, with an adjustment mechanism for adjusting the angle of the pan.
In an embodiment, the rotary tiller assembly includes a rotor that mounts a plurality of tine assemblies having curved tines for tilling the soil. The curved tines may be arranged such that the tines overlap longitudinally to improve the tilling functionality. In a particular embodiment, the tines are fixed to two-part mounting brackets such that pairs of oppositely curved tines are disposed every 120 degrees, and neighboring tine assemblies are rotationally offset such that the tines of one tine assembly are disposed between the tines of neighboring tine assemblies.
The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
A particular embodiment of a cultivator or tiller 100 with an integral bed former assembly 170 in accordance with the present invention will now be described with reference to the FIGURES, wherein like numbers indicate like parts.
The tiller 100 in this embodiment includes a support structure 110, a drive assembly 130, a rotary tiller assembly 150, outboard shovel assemblies 190, and an adjustable bed former assembly 170.
The support structure 110, which is shown in
The hitch assembly 112 includes three clevis mounts 116 to provide a conventional three-point hitch. The two lower clevis mounts 116 are attached to corresponding support beams 118, and the upper clevis mount 116 is attached to a center mast 119. A rotor housing assembly 120 is attached to the beams 118 and the center mast 119, and is configured to enclose the upper portion of the rotary tiller assembly 150.
The rear support structure 114 includes a pair of parallel beams 122 that are attached to the back of the hitch assembly 112, and extend distally on either side of the bed former assembly 170. A transverse support structure 124 is fixed to an aft portion of the parallel beams 122, and supports a pair of hand-operable jackscrews 126 that allow the user to set the angular position of the bed former assembly 170.
Left and right shovel assemblies 190 are disposed on either side of the tiller 100. The shovel assemblies 190 and the rotor housing assembly 120 are shown in
The rotor housing assembly 120 includes oppositely disposed upright plates 121 that engage and support a curved or segmented transverse panel 123. Each of the upright plates 121 define a downwardly open slots 125 for attaching the driven pulley 135 for the tiller rotor shaft 151 (see,
The drive assembly 130 for the tiller 100 is illustrated in
This novel dual drive belt system, therefore, transmits power from the PTO to both ends of the tiller rotor shaft 151. This configuration provides better power transmission to the tiller rotor shaft 151, which has been found to be very beneficial to tiller applications. The belt system also provides benefits over systems having a hard linkage such as a chain or gear system. For example, if an unexpected obstacle is encountered, such as a large rock or the like, the belt may be designed to fail to protect components that are more difficult to replace. The belt system is more resistant to breakage and is much easier to replace, if needed.
A perspective view of the assembly rotary tiller assembly 150 is shown in
Tine assemblies 155 are fixedly attached to the shaft 151. In the disclosed embodiment eight tine assemblies 155 are provided, although more or fewer tine assemblies may be used to meet the needs of a particular application. Adjacent tine assemblies 155 are rotationally offset one hundred eighty degrees, as discussed below. Refer also to
Each tine assembly 155 includes a two-part mounting bracket 160 that rigidly supports three pairs of tines 156. The bracket 160 first part 161 includes an angled corner portion 162 sized to engage two sides of the shaft 151. A slot 165 is configured to receive and retain two tines 156 using suitable attachment hardware (not shown). One end of each tine 156 is inserted into the slot 165 such that the tines curve towards opposite sides of the bracket 160, and the tines 156 are fixedly attached. The second part 163 also includes an angled corner portion 164 that is sized to engage two sides of the rotor shaft 151. Two oppositely disposed slots 166 that are each configured to receive and retain two tines 156, which are also installed to curve in opposite directions.
The first part 161 and the second part 163 are positioned opposite each other on opposite sides of the shaft 151, and attachment hardware (not shown) connects the parts 161, 163, such that the mounting bracket 160 is clampingly fixed to the shaft 151.
Therefore, each tine assembly 155 includes three pairs of tines 156, wherein the tines 156 of each pair curve in opposite directions. The pairs of tines 156 for each assembly 155 are rotationally spaced by 120 degrees in a generally Y-shaped arrangement. Adjacent tine assemblies 155 are mounted to the shaft 151 in opposite orientations, i.e., rotationally offset by 180 degrees. Therefore, the tines 156 for one tine assembly 155 are disposed between the tines of the adjacent assemblies 155.
The tine assemblies 155 are also closely spaced such that the tines 156 of adjacent tine assemblies 155 overlap longitudinally. Therefore, for the longitudinally overlapping portions of the volume defined by the rotating tiller assembly 150 the tines 156 are rotationally spaced by sixty degrees. This tine assembly configuration provides for a very thorough agitation of the soil during use.
Referring again to
A cylindrical roller 175 is rotatably mounted near the aft end of the converging forward section 173. In a current embodiment, the cylindrical roller 175 is driven to rotate in the direction of motion of the tiller 100. In a current embodiment the cylindrical roller 175 is hydraulically driven from the tractor hydraulic system. As the tiller 100 is operated the agitated soil forms a raised bed as the converging forward section 173 causes the loosened soil to pile up. The cylindrical roller 175 then partially compacts the soil to prepare it for planting.
To use the tiller 100, it is attached to a tractor 90 using the three-point hitch assembly 112 and a drive shaft connects the tractor PTO to the tiller 100. The tiller 100 is lowered to the tilling position, and if desired the user may adjust the angle of the pan 171. The tiller 100 is pulled in a field, whereby the soil plants and other matter in the soil are tilled and loosened by the rotary tiller assembly 150. The tilled soil is formed into a raised planting bed 92 (
While illustrative embodiments have been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
