Rip strip primary tillage system
AssigneeCase Corporation
InventorsMichael G. Kovach, Rickey L. Gerber
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An agricultural tillage implement is disclosed employing a series of apparatus to perform one-pass primary tillage. A coulter is the first apparatus that works the field. These coulters cut, size and part the residue without mixing it into the seedbed. Next, a tillage shank runs a point through the compaction layer to fracture and loosen the soil, providing proper soil aggregate size and air pore space relationship throughout the shank tillage profile. Next is a pair of soil-gathering blades that capture and gather the loose soil and residue together and to create a berm of a mixture of soil and residue. The last apparatus to work the field is a rotary reel that conditions the strip of soil to give ideal seed-to-soil contact and uniform berm size.
Claims20
A rip strip primary tillage implement comprising:
- a rigid main frame having a front end, an opposing rear end and opposing first and second sides extending therebetween, said main frame being generally horizontal in a plane parallel to the surface of the ground;
- 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 said plurality of working units prepare a plurality of generally parallel continuous seedbeds in the direction of travel of said tillage implement;
- said working units each comprising a series of generally in-line ground-working apparatus including, in a line generally along the respective said working line, a coulter arranged to cut residue and loosen the soil, a tillage shank to fracture and further loosen the soil, a pair of soil-gathering blades that capture and gather the loose soil and residue together and create a berm of a mixture of soil and residue, and a rotary reel that conditions the strip of soil to create a berm of generally uniform size.
In a rip strip primary tillage implement 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, said main frame further being generally horizontal in a plane parallel to the surface of the ground, 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 series of generally parallel continuous seedbeds in the direction of travel of said tillage implement;
- said working units each comprising a series of in-line ground-working apparatus including, in a line from said front end of said main frame and extending in a line parallel to said working line, a coulter arranged to cut residue and loosen the soil, a tillage shank to fracture and further loosen the soil, a pair of soil-gathering blades that capture and gather the loose soil and residue together and create a berm of a mixture of soil and residue, and a rotary reel that conditions the strip of soil to create a berm of generally uniform size.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.