SPECIFICATION
This invention is concerned with a no-till drill planting system and, more particularly, with methods and apparatus for removing trash, such as prior crop residue, so as to prevent obstruction of a seed drilling operation and provide for uninterrupted no-till drill planting without requiring prior preparation of the area to be planted.
No-till planting has economic advantages as well as benefits for the soil. In conventional planting systems, soil preparation for seeding requixed several soil working ; 10 operations. Generally these involved conventional plowing, chisel plowing, or undercutting of the soil to turn under prior crop residue or similar trash, disking of the soil to break up lumps, and one or more passages over the soil with a harrow to smooth and further pulverize the soil before planting. Such repeated workings of the soil are costly in time, fuel usage, and equipment wear. In addition to exposing loose soil to wind and water erosion, such steps can be organically harmful in breaking up root structures and inter-rupting certain subsurface organic activities.
~., However, to take advantage of no-till planting methods has, in the past, often required mulching of prior crop residues early after harvesting, removing such trash completely, or other operations which required considerable expenditure of time and fuel.
It is a primary objective of the present invention to provide a no-till drill planting system which enables uninterrupted planting through surface trash, such as .
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lZ31'7 prior crop residue, with a single passage of equipment over the area to be planted and without prior planting surface preparation.
For example, with the present invention, corn, soy beans, or small grains such as barley, oats, or wheat can be drill planted after harvesting a previous crop. The trash, i.e., the straw or stalks, from the previous crop remains on the field to be returned to the soil as organic matter. The trash is scattered to protect the soil by holding moisture in the soil and helping to eliminate wind and rain erosion problems.
Prior to the present invention, when using con-ventional grain drilling equipment, such trash would impede the seed drilling operation, and prevent uniform planting, lS by accumulating in front of the seed drill equipment as it was moved over the area to be planted causing plugging of the seed feeders or other problems which made seeding or germination non-uniform. Under most conditions, full advantage of no-till planting programs could not be realized , 20 without prior preparation of the area to be planted.
Important contributions of the present invention are conservation of time and energy in enabling no-till drill planting in heavy accumulations of plant residue and under various conditions of such residue enabling precise and uniform seeding for dependable germination. These contri-butions are provided with a single passage of planting equipment while avoiding interruptions, plugging of seeding ' equipment, and impediments to the seed drilling operation caused by field trash such as residues of previous crops.
There is provided in accordance with the present invention no-till drill planting apparatus enabling seeding below soil level through surface trash such as plant residue of a previous crop while avoidins building up of surface trash in front of and clogging of drill means during movement over an area to be planted, comprising: frarne means for mounting no-till planting apparatus on a conveyance for move-ment to establish a planting direction over an area to beseeded; seed drill rneans associated with the frame means so as to move in the planting direction established by move-ment of such conveyance over the area to be seeded; such seed . drill means including soil opening means extending from the : frame means to below original soil level to open the soil . for deposit of seed below original soil level; seed supply . means associated with the seed drill means for deposit of ~, seed below original soil level within an opening provided by the seed drill means; trash removal means including rotatably - ~0 mounted trash walker means; support means for such trash re-moval means providing for movement of such trash removal means in the planting direction in association with the seed drill means; and drive means for rotatably driving such trash walker means to remove surface trash from the area of the seed drill means rearwardly in a direction opposite to the direction of movernent of the conveyance to avoid build-up of such surface trash in front of the seed drill means durina movement in the planting direction and to avoid clogging of such seed drill means so as to provide for controlled uniform drill seedinS~
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The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings wherein:
Figure l is a schematic general arrangement view in side elevation of an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 2 is a perspective view showing positional relationship of seed drill means and trash walker means of the invention;
Figure 3 is a view in elevation taken along line 3-3 of Figure l showing a bank of seed drill means and relative position of the trash walker means and drive means for the : trash walker rneans forming part of the invention;
Figure 4 is a side elevation view taken along line . 4-4 of Figure 3;
Figure 5 is a schematic side elevation view similar to Figure 4 with portions cut away, and Figure 6 is a peripheral elevation view of a trash walker wheel ernbodiment.
In the embodiment of Figure l, tractor lO is connected to conveyance 12 supplying hydraulic power fluid to the con-veyance and providing for movement of the conveyance in the planting direction over the area to be planted. Support frame 14 of conveyance 12 supports a bank of seed drills such as 16, trash walker wheels such as 20, furrow covering - 3a -followers such as 24, and seed reservoir 28.
Control panel 30, mounted on tractor 10, controls delivery of hydraulic drive power for trash walker means through conduit means 32. Control of seed dispensing is implemented through control line 36. Drive power for the trash walker means can be other than hydraulic and seed can be dispensed pneumatically or otherwise using conven-~ tional seed handling methods and apparatus.
; Tractor 10 moves the conveyance structure 12 over the area to be planted establishing a planting direction andestablishing the ground speed of planting. Seed reservoir 28 is connected by a seed tube such as 38 associated with each seed drill means for uniform seed delivery. After selection of the seeding rate, an interrelationship between seed delivery, tractor movement, and ground speed is automat-- ically coordinated, by known means as used in conventionally - prepared soil planting, to provide for uniformly spaced seed deposition along each furrow established by the seed drill means. However, such uniform seeding can only take place if obstructions to planting or clogging of seed drill feed means do not occur.
Uniform drill seeding has been limited to prepared or specially selected soil surfaces. ~he invention extends the application of no-till drill planting operations to take place over fields from which trash, such as plant residues from previous crops, have not been removed or treated, e.g., by pulverizing. In brief, the invention enables uninterrupted li~lZ3~7 no-till drill planting operations in fields not otherwise prepared for planting and saves the considerable time, equip-ment wear, and energy requirements of preparing soil for seed drilling in fields from which previous crop grain or beans have been harvested while leaving behind the straw or plants as residue.
Such "trash" can obstruct desired continuity and and uniformity of planting by accumulating in front of the seed drill means as the planter is moved over the field so that passage becomes lmpracticable or, by blocking or clog-; ging of seeding means, or by causing trash accumulations which prevent deposition of the seed in the soil for germina-tion.
The controllably-powered, driven trash walker ~ lS means of the present invention remove and scatter such plant - residue or trash from the area of each seed drill means.
Prepared field planting results are accomplished without costly prior field preparation. The plant residue is removed from the area of planting and scattered over seeded and closed furrows and adjacent areas to pro-tect the soil from wind and water erosion, aid in the retention of surface water and sub-surface moisture at the time of planting, and serve biological functions in returning to the soil.
Shovel press grain drills are shown in the drawings;
however, other well known seed drills, such as a colter or disk blade type, can be used where appropriate to the seeding operation. The seed drill means opens a furrow to a preselected depth. After seeding the furrow opened by each ; seed drill is closed by a follower. ~he ground intermediate the seed drills is not broken so that a maximum amount of sub-soil structure is maintained in its original condition.
As shown in Figure 2, a trash walker wheel 40 is closely associated with seed drill 44 to remove trash from the area of planting and prevent accumulations of trash as seed ;, drill 44 moves in planting direction indicated by arrow 45.
Trash walker means are controllably driven in accord-ance with the invention; for example, hydraulic drive power is provided for mechanical linkage 46 which rotates wheel 40 in the embodiment shown.
The trash walker means can be selectively driven ; dependent on conditions encountered. A full range of peripheral speeds can be provided including a peripheral speed which exceeds the ground speed of the conveyance over the area to be planted;
free-wheeling of the trash walker means can also be provided where appropriate. Such control of the trash walker means is exercised by the operator at control panel 30 on the tractor 10 using established and commercially available hydraulic flow controls capable of starting, stopping, and smoothly varying the RPM over a selected range, or holding a selected RPM with variations in the load.
The selection available enables the operator to vary the peripheral speed of the trash walker means dependent on the type and amount of trash being encountered and the ground speed desired to be maintained. A selected RPM is generally satisfactory for multiple trash walker wheels distributed 23~
laterally in a bank to cover the planting width. However, RPM con~rol of trash walker wheels in individual bank portions can be provided.
The trash walker wheel support structures shown are independently suspended. Provision is made for controlled and limited movement of the trash walker wheels in a vertical , arc to allow for differing ground contours encountered across a planting bank of multiple seed drills and associated trash walker wheels. Such suspension also allows a trash walker wheel or wheels to ride onto an existing accumulation of trash and remove the trash rearwardly.
Referring to Figure 2, conveyance frame bar 48 extends in the longitudinal or planting direction and lateral framing member 50 extends at right angles to the planting direction along the direction of the bank of seed drills.
Seed drill 44 is secured to lateral framing member 50 as is support structure 52 for trash walker wheel 40. Sprocket drive chain 46 for wheel 40 is within support structure 52;
other shielding (not shown) can be used to prevent trash from contacting the sprocket drive chain.
As shown in Figure 3, each trash walker wheel, such as 60 and 61,is mounted for driving by a driveshaft 62 through a sprocket chain for each trash walker wheel, such as 63, 64, (shown in broken lines in Figure 3). Trash wheel support structure is suspended to provide a pivotal movement, e.g., about the drive shaft axis, so that a trash walker wheel can move in the vertically oriented arc indicated by arrow 66 in 1141~3'7 Figure 4. Such vertical arcuate movement is guided, and movement is limited, by arm 68 attached to the trash wheel ;j support structure 69 (as best seen in Figure 5). Upper and lower limits of such movement can be adjustably selected at juncture 70. Also, provision is made for suspending the trash walker wheel support structure through pillow block 72 which is adjustable longitudinally (in the planting direction) along a conveyance frame bar 73 to control the longitudinal location of a trash walker wheel in relation to a seed drill.
In practice, the seed drill is set to provide a ; furrow of about three inches depth below original soil level;
the depth selected being dependent on the seed, soil moisture condition, and other agronomy-related factors.
Trash wheel walker 60, e.g., can be set to operate when at its lower limit with its periphery at about ground level and to be movable in a vertically oriented arc as required. Both the lower position for the trash walker wheel and the upper limit of movement can be adjusted through arcuate bar 68 by selection of a lower position location at juncture 70 and placement of an upper limit pin in an aperture such as 74; such apertures and adjustments for juncture 70 can be distributed along the full length of arcuate bars such as 68. Support for juncture 70 is also adjustable longi-tudinally when pillow block 72 is adjusted.
The seeding and the trash walking function can be separately controlled; for example, the seeding can be interrupted when maneuvering the planter at the edge of a planting area, or under special conditions. Under ordinary circumstances, a selected interrelationship between seeding rate, the ground speed Df the tractor conveyance, and RPM
of the trash walker wheels accomplishes uninterrupted uni-formity of drill seeding over the full planting length of afield. The operator has options, such as slowing down the tractor or speeding up the RPM of the trash walker wheels, when differences in trash accumulations or other conditions are encountered when traversing an area to be planted.
The location of hydraulic motor 76 for driving trash walker wheels along a bank of seed drills is shown in Figure 3. A slip clutch can be part of the coupling 75 between motor 76 and drive shaft 62.
The seed drills can be spaced laterally as desired dependent on the crop and other agronomy-related aspects. For example, seed drills in the bank can be located to provide rows spaced by about four to about twelve inches or more depending on other agronomy-related factors.
A single trash walker wheel would ordinarily be associated with each seed drill and each trash walker wheel would ordinarily be independently suspended. However, dependent on spacing and other conditions, two trash walker wheels can be suspended from a common support and driven by a common sprocket chain drive to service adjacent seed drills. Also, a single trash walker wheel placed intermediate two closely spaced seed drills can service both; a trash walker wheel would then, generally, be located at each lateral end of a bank of seed drills.
li41Z37 Shaft guard means are provided to prevent accumulation of trash on the rotating wheel axles. Shaft guards 77 and 78 extend from the main body web portion of trash walker wheels 60 and 61, respectively, toward the support structures for the wheels which house sprocket chains 63 and 64. Such shaft guards help eliminate the possibility of trash wrapping around and accumulating on a trash walker wheel axle.
While trash walker wheels as shown represent a preferred embodiment capable of handling substantially any type of trash normally encountered, other trash walker means can be utilized. For example, for lighter weight trash, rotatably driven spoke-like tines can be mounted for operation on each lateral side of a seed drill means. Provision for vertical arcuate movement with changing ground contour, as well as guard means for the driving mechanisms, can be adapted to such an embodiment based on the above teachings.
Construction and material(s) for the trash walker wheels shown are selected to provide the strength required for heavy residue and to provide for long service life. In a typical embodiment, the trash walker wheels are formed from l/8" gage flat rolled steel with tooth-like blades formed about the periphery.
As shown in the preferred embodiment of a trash walker wheel of Figure 6, a web portion 80 has a dished con-figuration of compound curvature which provides added strengthand durability. A shaft guard 81 extends laterally (in angled relation to the plane of rotation) from the web portion 80;
` li~lZ37 shaft guard 81 comprises a circular band of metal radially spaced from hub means for the wheeli in a typical embodiment with a trash walker wheel of about seventeen (17) inch diameter the shaft guard would be about four (4) inches in diameter.
At least a portion of the radially-extending tooth-like blades also include a lateral direction component which disposes terminal ends of such blades laterally with relation to the plane of rotation. For example, referring to Figure 6, distal teeth, such as 82 and 84, alternate on opposite sides of a plane 86 which extends perpendicularly through rotation axis 88 of trash walker wheel 90. The span of the teeth would typically be about one inch on each side of plane 86.
Such teeth are preferably radially elongated, i.e.
longer in length than in width, and are of greater width at their juncture with the web portion of the wheel than at their terminal ends, as can be discerned from Figure 2. Also, preferably, the distal teeth have rounded terminal ends as - well as a compound curvature along their length. These configurational aspects help provide an important self-cleaning action for the trash walker wheel. Treatment of such teeth to harden the metal, or use of replaceable tips, can be provided as required depending on conditions of use.
Control of hydraulic fluid flow can be carried out with a conventional rheostat control mounted on the tractor such as the hydraulic control supplied by the Hydraulic Components Division of Prince Manufacturing Corporation, P.O. Box 187, Hartington, Nebraska 68739. A pressure relief iZ3~
valve supplied by the same company can take the place of a slip clutch for the drive shaft 62. Trash walker wheels for the seed drills shown can be power driven with a conventional hydraulic motor developing about ten (10) HP, with about twenty ~20) GPM flow, and a torque of about 1400 lbs. such as the "H" series hydraulic motor supplied by the Char Lynn Division of Eaton Corporation of Cleveland, Ohio.
Various materials and configurations have been set forth in describing a specific embodiment of the invention.
However, in the light of the above teachings, modifications in these items can be made without departing from the novel concept disclosed. Therefore, in determining the scope of the invention, reference should be made to the appended claims.