Rotary tiller apparatus and pivotal support structure therefor

A rotary tiller apparatus mountable on a vehicle having front and rear wheels and a hydraulic power supply for supplying hydraulic power to the apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

• an earth working tool;
• a first bracket adapted for side mounting to the vehicle at a location intermediate the front and rear wheels, the bracket including a flat mounting plate forming a generally horizontally oriented plane;
• a first support member having first and second ends and pivotally mounted to the mounting plate of the first bracket at the first end along a substantially horizontal pivot axis for pivotal movement between a substantially horizontal work position and an upwardly-inclined retracted position at a first pivot point, the first support member comprised of a flat plate having top and bottom surfaces forming a generally horizontally oriented plane;
• a second bracket mounted to and extending upwardly from the top surface of the first support member;
• a second support member having a first and second end and pivotally attached along a substantially vertical axis to the first support member at a second pivot point positioned between the first and second ends of the second support member, the first end of the second support member being mounted underneath the bottom surface of first support member, and the earth working tool being mounted proximate the second end of the second support member for pivotal motion about a substantially horizontal plane when the first support member is in the horizontal work position;
• first pivot means for pivotally connecting the first support member to the mounting plate of the first bracket at the first pivot point;
• second pivot means for pivotally connecting the second support member to the first support member at the second pivot point;
• a first hydraulic cylinder, first conduit means for transporting hydraulic fluid from the vehicle to the cylinder and back to the vehicle and first valve means for controlling the flow of hydraulic fluid, the first hydraulic cylinder having a first and a second end and being pivotally attached to the first bracket at the first end and to the second bracket at the second end so that the first member pivots between the work position and the retracted position;
• and
• a second hydraulic cylinder, second conduit means for transporting hydraulic fluid from the vehicle to the cylinder and back to the vehicle and second valve means for controlling the flow of hydraulic fluid independently from the first valve means, the second hydraulic cylinder being mounted underneath the bottom surface of the first support member and having a first and a second end, the second hydraulic cylinder being pivotally attached at the first end to the first end of the second support member and being pivotally attached at the second end to the first support member for driving the earthworking tool about the substantially horizontal plane in a sweep motion between an extended position and a retracted position adjacent to the vehicle.