Row cleaner in combination of primary tillage shank system
AssigneeCNH America LLC
InventorsMichael G. Kovach, Rickey L. Gerber
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An agricultural primary tillage implement is disclosed with a row cleaner assembly attached in front of the shank. That row cleaner is adjustable fore-and-aft for optimum clearance between the shank and a leading soil preparation apparatus to maximize clearance for residue movement. The row cleaner is also adjustable for depth. The row cleaner assembly reduces the amount of residue in line with the shank path (row) and creates smaller clod sizes of soil in line with the shank swath, resulting in a better seedbed and faster warm up in the spring, enabling the planter to run in cleaner soil, preventing planter plugging and uneven seed planting depth as well as resulting in better seed-to soil-contact.
Claims18
A primary tillage shank system comprising:
- a rigid main frame having a front end, an opposing rear end and opposing first and second sides extending therebetween;
- a hitch having one end connected to said main frame and an opposite forward end adapted to be connected to a vehicle for towing said tillage implement across a field;
- a plurality of similar working units supported by said main frame at generally equal intervals between said first and second sides, each said working unit having a working line along which it works the soil generally in a straight line such that each said working unit works the soil and prepares a seedbed in a strip, and together the said plurality of working units prepare a plurality of generally parallel continuous seedbeds in the direction of travel of said tillage system;
- said working units each comprising a series of in-line working apparatus including, in a line generally along the respective said working line, a row cleaner to part the residue in front of the trailing tillage shank path, and a tillage shank to fracture and further loosen the soil.
10 In a primary tillage shank system having a wheeled main frame adapted to be towed through a field by a towing vehicle, said main frame having a front end, an opposing rear end and opposing first and second sides extending therebetween, the improvement comprising:
- a plurality of similar working units supported by said main frame at generally equal intervals between said first and second sides, each said working unit having a working line along which it works the soil generally in a straight line such that each said working unit works the soil and prepares a seedbed in a strip, and together the said plurality of working units prepare a plurality of generally parallel continuous seedbeds in the direction of travel of said tillage system;
- said working units each comprising a series of in-line working apparatus including, in a line generally along the respective said working line, a row cleaner to part the residue in front of the trailing tillage shank path, and a tillage shank to fracture and further loosen the soil.
The tillage implement of claim 11, wherein:
- said row cleaner comprises a pair of similar generally planar blades with elongated teeth spaced around the periphery thereof, said blades pivotally mounted on a fixture that holds said pair of blades angularly relative to the direction of travel of the tillage implement and to each other such that they generally form an arrowhead pointing in the direction of travel of the implement;
- and
- said row cleaner is attached to an elongated fore-and-aft extending rail and adjustable there along to vary the distance between said row cleaner and said tillage shank, and adjustable relative to the soil such that is may be positioned to engage surface residue and move residue outwardly away from the path of said tillage shank.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.