Rotary cultivator
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture
InventorJerry C. Serimian
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The rotary cultivator enables an operator to cultivate an area immediately adjacent to (for example) perennial plants. The cultivator is a tractor-mounted tool with an articulated boom. A rotary cultivator head is disposed at a distal end of the boom so that a tractor operator can manipulate the boom and attached cultivator head through a full range of motions. The cultivator head includes a rotary disk with two essentially identical blade assemblies. Each blade assembly has a short blade that rotates within the periphery of the disk, and a long blade that extends beyond the periphery of the disk. The long blade has an extended segment that is flexible and elastic so that when the long blade extended segment contacts the stalk/trunk of a perennial plant, the extended segment elastically deforms so that the stalk/trunk is not damaged.
Claims17
A rotary cultivating device comprising:
- a rotary base,
- at least one long blade, the long blade having a non-cultivating edge disposed adjacent the rotary base, and a cultivating edge projecting away from the rotary base, the long blade comprising:
- (a) a long blade base segment, the long blade base segment being attached to the rotary base so that the long blade base segment is effectively rigid and non-elastic,
- (b) an elastic long blade mid segment, the long blade mid segment being attached to the long blade base segment, the long blade mid segment extending to a periphery of the rotary base, and
- (c) an elastic long blade extended segment, the long blade extended segment being attached to an end of the long blade mid segment, the long blade extended segment extending beyond the periphery of the rotary base,
- at least one short blade, the short blade comprising an effectively rigid base segment and an elastic semi-rigid short blade extended segment:
- wherein as the rotary base rotates the long blade, the long blade cultivating edge penetrates and cultivates a soil surface so that when the long blade extended segment contacts a fixed object projecting from the soil surface, the long blade extended segment elastically deforms, thereby limiting an amount of force imparted from the long blade extended segment to the object.
A method of making a rotary cultivating device, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a rotary base,
- attaching a center member to the rotary base, the center member having a proximal side facing a center of the base, and a distal side facing a periphery of the base,
- connecting a short blade to the distal side of the center member, the short blade extending to a periphery of the base, the short blade comprising an effectively rigid base segment and an elastic semi-rigid short blade extended segment;
- connecting an elastic long blade to the proximal side of the center member, a long blade extended segment extending beyond the periphery of the base,
- creating at least a first bend in the long blade so that the long blade bends away from the center member, the long blade being structured so that the long blade extended segment flexes towards the periphery of the base when the long blade extended segment contacts a fixed object.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.