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US 5,669,451 AGranted
Adjustable guide rig structure for an agricultural implement
AssigneeDeere & Company
InventorsJames Thomas Noonan, Terry Lee Lowe, David Carl Winter
Life of this patent
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AssigneeDeere & Company
InventorsJames Thomas Noonan, Terry Lee Lowe, David Carl Winter
Estimating the term…
A floating row crop cultivator rig is supported behind a rigid guide tire. A guide wheel standard straddles a bracket which mounts the forward end of a rig parallel bar linkage to a toolbar. A tool support depends from the aft end of the parallel bar linkage and carries a ground engaging element directly rearwardly of the guide tire. Instead of a conventional rig tire to control rig depth, an adjustable length member with a lost motion connection controls the lowermost position of the linkage and thus of the tool support while permitting upward movement of the linkage when an obstacle is encountered. A rod threaded through a trunnion on the tool support has a forward end supported in a slotted bracket on the lower bar of the parallel linkage to adjustably limit the lowermost position of the linkage while permitting the linkage to pivot upwardly against the bias of rig weight and an adjustable down pressure spring arrangement to clear obstacles. A spring trip standard may be supported by the tool support to additionally provide trip protection.
In a row crop implement adapted for forward movement through a field planted in parallel rows of crop, the implement having a tubular tool-supporting frame of rectangular cross section with front and rear faces, tools transversely spaced on the tubular frame and adapted to run between the rows of crop, rig and guidance structure for following a preexisting groove in the soil and maintaining the tools transversely positioned with respect to the rows, the rig and guidance structure comprising:
In a row crop implement having tools transversely spaced on a frame and adapted to run between rows of crop, rig and guidance structure for following a preexisting groove in the soil and maintaining the tools positioned with respect to the rows, the rig and guidance structure comprising:
In a row crop implement having a tubular frame with an aft face, and tools transversely spaced on the frame and adapted to run between rows of crop, rig and guidance structure for following a preexisting groove in the soil and maintaining the tools in alignment with the rows, the rig and guidance structure comprising:
In a row crop implement having tools transversely spaced on a frame and adapted to run between rows of crop, rig and guidance structure for following a preexisting groove in the soil and maintaining the tools in alignment with the rows, the rig and guidance structure comprising:
In a row crop implement having tools transversely spaced on a frame and adapted to run between rows of crop, rig and guidance structure for following a preexisting groove in the soil and maintaining the tools in alignment with the rows, the rig and guidance structure comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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No related US applications are recorded in the indexed filing history.
Drawn by animal or tractor or man-power: with spring tools or with resiliently- or flexibly-attached rigid tools
Soil working in agriculture or forestry
Term ended 6 Dec 2015 (estimated)
USPTO file history isn’t available for this patent, so only indexed dates are shown.
1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to tillage implements and, more specifically, to rig and guidance structure for an implement such as a row crop cultivator.
2) Related Art
FIG. 1 is a side view of a cultivator rig and guidance structure.
FIG. 2 is a top view of a portion of the rig and guidance structure of FIG. 1.
Referring now to FIG. 1, therein is shown a transversely extending main frame or toolbar 10 of an agricultural implement such as a row crop cultivator 12 or the like. The tool bar 10 is supported from the hitch (not shown) of a tractor for forward movement over the ground where crops are planted in parallel rows. A guidance furrow or groove 14 is provided in the soil by a previous tillage or planting operation. Guide wheel structure 18 is fixed to the toolbar 10 and includes a ribbed tire or guide wheel 20 which rotates about a transverse axis 22 and rides in the groove 14 to steer the tool bar 10 and maintain a desired lateral positioning of the implement 12 relative to the crop rows. A sweep or other ground engaging element 24 is supported behind the ribbed tire 20 by an adjustable floating linkage arrangement 26. The element 24 works the soil, and reforms the groove 14 if necessary for a subsequent operation. Additional ground engaging tools, such as barring off disks 28 (FIG. 2), may be supported from the floating linkage arrangement 26.
An upright standard 30 supports the guide wheel structure 18 with the wheel axis 22 located below the toolbar 10. The standard 30 includes a pair of transversely spaced flanged members 32 which are supported against the aft face of the toolbar 10 by U-bolts 34. The members 32 have upper ends which generally embrace the forward end of the floating linkage arrangement 26 (FIG. 2) and lower ends between which the guide wheel 20 rotates.
The linkage arrangement 26 includes forward angle brackets 42 connected by U-bolts 44 (FIG. 2) to the aft face of the toolbar 10 between the flanged members 32. Upper and lower parallel bars 46 and 48 have forward ends sandwiched between and pivotally connected at 56 and 58 to rearwardly directed flanges on the brackets 42. A rear tool support 60 is pivotally connected to the aft ends of the bars 46 and 48 at 66 and 68 (FIG. 1) and extends downwardly below the lower bar 48. The tool support 60 includes a pair of upright side plates 70 with upper portions embracing the aft ends of the bars 46 and 48 and lower portions embracing tool mounting structure 74 for attaching conventional tillage tools such as the sweep 24 and the barring off disks 28. As shown, a spring trip standard 76 is connected to the structure 74 and provides trip capabilities for the sweep 24 to complement the float provided by the linkage arrangement 26.