Crop residue clearing device

A crop residue clearing arrangement attached to an agricultural planter, said planter having at least one planter unit coupled to a tool bar by a linkage that allows vertical displacement between the tool bar and the planter unit, said crop residue clearing arrangement comprising:

• a rigid support structure having a forward portion and an aft portion, wherein said forward portion is disposed in the direction of travel of the agricultural planter during use in a field and said aft portion is directly attached to said planter unit in a fixed manner, and said support structure extends forward of the planter unit;
• at least one pivoting arm attached to the forward portion of said support structure and having at least one rotatable soil engaging wheel attached thereto for reducing and clearing crop residue, wherein said at least one pivoting arm and said at least one rotatable wheel are pulled by said support structure through a field;
• a stop arrangement attached to said support structure for limiting the uppermost and lowest positions of said at least one soil engaging wheel;
• and
• a biasing structure for urging said at least one pivoting arm downward for increasing the extent of engagement of said at least one rotatable wheel with the soil and wherein the extent of engagement may be reduced by reducing the extent of downward urging by said biasing structure.

Apparatus for clearing crop residue from a field traversed by an agricultural planter, said planter having at least one planter unit coupled to a tool bar by a linkage that allows vertical displacement between the tool bar and the planter unit, said apparatus comprising:

• a rigid housing;
• a coupling arrangement for fixedly attaching said housing directly to the planter unit such that at least a forward portion of said housing extends forward of the planter unit to which said housing is attached;
• a first crop residue clearing device;
• a first pivoting coupler attaching said first crop residue clearing device to said housing such that said first crop residue clearing device is pulled through a field by the planter unit and is adapted for vertical displacement relative to the planter unit in traversing irregularities in the field.

For use with an agricultural implement including a planter for depositing seeds along a seeding pathway, said planter having at least one planter unit coupled to a tool bar by a linkage that allows vertical displacement between the tool bar and the planter unit, apparatus for removing crop debris from the seeding pathway comprising:

• a rigid support structure having a first forward portion disposed in the direction of travel of the planter during operation and a second opposed aft portion;
• a first connecting structure fixedly attaching the second aft portion of said support structure directly to a forward portion of the planter unit;
• a crop residue clearing device engaging the soil and positioned in alignment with the seeding pathway;
• and
• a second connecting structure pivotally attaching the forward portion of said support structure to said crop residue clearing device for pulling said crop residue clearing device through a field, wherein said crop residue clearing device reduces the size of the crop debris and discharges the reduced crop debris away from the seeding pathway.