Row crop planting machine

A row crop planting machine, comprising a center chassis frame and flanking chassis frames hinged to the center frame at opposite lateral sides thereof so as to rise and fall according to ground contour;

• ground-engaging wheels secured to the flanking frames;
• seed hoppers and planting devices carried by at least the flanking frames;
• each of said frames comprising transverse frame members at front and rear and longitudinal frame members secured to said transverse frame members, certain of said longitudinal frame members of at least the flanking frames being associated with the hoppers and planting devices carried by those frames;
• front and rear hinge means between each flanking frame and the center frame, each front hinge means comprising a hinge member carried and held rigidly by the center frame;
• and stabilizer members for said front hinge means, each of said stabilizer members being connected at one of its ends to a flanking frame and at its other end to the said hinge member of the adjacent front hinge means, the said connections being pivotal and including provision for lost motion.

A row crop planting machine, comprising a center chassis frame and flanking chassis frames hinged to the center frame at opposite lateral sides thereof so as to rise and fall according to ground contour;

• ground-engaging wheels secured to the flanking frames;
• seed hoppers and planting devices carried by at least the flanking frames;
• each of said frames comprising transverse frame members at front and rear and longitudinal frame members secured to said transverse frame members, certain of said longitudinal frame members of at least the flanking frames being associated with the hoppers and planting devices carried by those frames;
• front and rear hinge means between each flanking frame and the center frame;
• each of the flanking frames having an upper and lower, front, transverse frame member and only a lower, rear, transverse frame member;
• and said certain of the longitudinal frame members comprising respective sets of an upper and a lower longitudinal frame member at one lateral side of an associated seed hopper and planting device and only a lower longitudinal frame member at the other lateral side of said associated seed hopper and planting device, the said upper longitudinal frame member of the set sloping downwardly from attachment to the upper transverse frame member at the front of the frame to attachment to the lower transverse frame member at the rear of the frame.

A row crop planting machine, comprising a center chassis frame and flanking chassis frames hinged to the center frame at opposite lateral sides thereof so as to rise and fall according to ground contour;

• ground-engaging wheels secured to the flanking frames;
• seed hoppers and planting devices carried by at least the flanking frames;
• each of said frames comprising transverse frame members at front and rear and longitudinal frame members secured to said transverse frame members, certain of said longitudinal frame members of at least the flanking frames being associated with the hoppers and planting devices carried by those frames;
• front and rear hinge means between each flanking frame and the center frame, the center frame being narrower than the flanking frames and not carrying seed hoppers and planting devices;
• each front hinge means comprising an elongate and upstanding hinge member carried and held rigidly by the center frame, having its lower end positioned below the chassis frames, and being provided with a hinge pivot in its lower end, and further comprising a second hinge member that is relatively short, is secured to a flanking frame, and is pivotally connected to the first hinge member in face-to-face relationship therewith by said hinge pivot thereof;
• and a cross-piece interconnecting the upper ends of the first hinge members of the front hinge means.

A row crop planting machine, comprising a center chassis frame and flanking chassis frames hinged to the center frame at opposite lateral sides thereof so as to rise and fall according to ground contour;

• ground-engaging wheels secured to the flanking frames;
• seed hoppers and planting devices carried by at least the flanking frames;
• each of said frames comprising transverse frame members at front and rear and longitudinal frame members secured to said transverse frame members, certain of said longitudinal frame members of at least the flanking frames being associated with the hoppers and planting devices carried by those frames;
• front and rear hinge means between each flanking frame and the center frame, said hinge means each comprising flat plate hinge members attached, respectively, to the center frame and a flanking frame and disposed face-to-face and depending below the frames to provide respective planes of oscillation extending transversely of the direction of travel of the machine, and means pivotally interconnecting said face-to-face members below the frames so oscillation of the frames relative to one another will be along said planes of oscillation on hinge axes disposed below the frames;
• and limit stop stabilizer means between each flanking frame and the center frame for limiting up and down relative movement of the frames to predetermined maximum deviations in ground contour.