Title: Seed drill element having improved topsoiling means
Abstract: The seed drill element comprises a frame, a seed tank, a seed dispenser, and a member for opening a furrow in the ground. The seed drill element further comprises mechanism for bearing against the ground, having a rear block and/or a front block, with each block having at least one wheel and an arm hinged to the frame, and also topsoiling mechanism including a rear link, two front links, and an intermediate link. The topsoiling mechanism also comprise a mechanism for moving the rear link relative to a reference part connected to the frame. In addition, the seed drill element includes a locking mechanism so that the topsoiling mechanism can be configured for front topsoiling, for rear topsoiling, and/or for rocker topsoiling.
Patent Number: 6,895,876 Issued on 05/24/2005 to Bergere, et al.
| Inventors:
|
Bergere; Dominique (Bressuire, FR);
Petraud; Gilles (Moncoutant, FR)
|
| Assignee:
|
Ribouleau Monosem (Largeasse, FR)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
391120 |
| Filed:
|
March 18, 2003 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
| Current U.S. Class: |
111/134; 111/195 |
| Intern'l Class: |
A01C 007/20 |
| Field of Search: |
111/134-137,186-194,52,77,69,73,151,154,155,195,196
172/142,169,175,195,643,657,684,748,734
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
| 3880100 | Apr., 1975 | Gillies et al.
| |
| 4135457 | Jan., 1979 | Willis.
| |
| 4148266 | Apr., 1979 | Weitz.
| |
| 4374500 | Feb., 1983 | Westerfield.
| |
| 4750441 | Jun., 1988 | Pfenninger et al.
| |
| Foreign Patent Documents |
| 766040 | Jan., 1957 | GB.
| |
Primary Examiner: Pezzuto; Robert E
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Welsh & Katz, Ltd.
Claims
1. A seed drill element for mounting on a chassis for driving relative to the
ground, the element being of the type comprising:
a frame for fixing to the drive chassis;
a seed tank;
a seed dispenser;
a member for opening a furrow in the ground, said member guiding seeds coming
from the dispenser to the bottom of the furrow;
means for pressing on the ground and comprising a rear block and a front block,
each block having at least one wheel together with at least one arm hinged to the
frame and connecting said at least one wheel to the frame; and
topsoiling means comprising at least one rear link and at least one front link
hinged relative to the frame together with an intermediate link interconnecting
the front and rear links,
wherein the topsoiling means further comprise a mechanism for moving the rear
link relative to a reference part connected to the frame, and
wherein the element includes means for selectively locking the rear arm to the
rear link, the reference part to the frame, or the rear arm to the reference part,
such that that when the reference part is locked to the frame and the rear arm
is locked to the rear link, the topsoiling means are in a rear topsoiling configuration,
and when the rear arm is locked to the reference part, the topsoiling means are
in a rocker topsoiling configuration.
2. A seed drill element according to claim 1, wherein by locking the reference
part to the frame, the topsoiling means are put into a front topsoiling configuration.
3. A seed drill element according to claim 1, wherein the selective locking means
include pegs or the like suitable for being removably received in corresponding
holes formed in the rear arm, the rear link, the reference part, and the frame.
4. A seed drill element according to claim 1, wherein the displacement mechanism
includes a lever hinged relative to the reference part and adapted to cause the
rear link to pivot about its hinge axis connecting it to the frame.
5. A seed drill element according to claim 4, wherein the position of the lever
relative to the reference part is indexed by means of perforations formed in a
face of the reference part.
6. A seed drill element according to claim 5, wherein the lever comprises a peg
of prongs suitable for being received in two of the perforations of the reference
part, said two perforations either facing each other or being offset relative to
each other.
7. A seed drill element according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the
hinge axis connecting said at least one rear arm to the frame and the point of
connection between said at least one rear wheel to said at least one rear arm is
substantially equal to the distance between the hinge axis connecting said at least
one front arm to the frame and the point of connection between said at least one
front wheel to the front arm.
8. A seed drill element according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the
hinge axis connecting the rear link to the frame and the hinge axis connecting
the rear link to the intermediate link is substantially equal to the distance between
the hinge axis connecting the front link to the frame and the hinge axis connecting
the front link to the intermediate link.
9. A seed drill element according to claim 1, wherein the hinge axis connecting
said at least one rear arm to the frame and the hinge axis connecting said at least
one front arm to the frame are at substantially the same distance from the vertical
axis of the seed dispenser.
10. A seed drill element for mounting on a chassis for driving relative to the
ground, the element being of the type comprising:
a frame for fixing to the drive chassis;
a seed tank;
a seed dispenser;
a member for opening a furrow in the ground, said member guiding seeds coming
from the dispenser to the bottom of the furrow;
means for pressing on the ground and comprising a rear block or a front block,
each block having at least one wheel together with at least one arm hinged to the
frame and connecting said at least one wheel to the frame; and
topsoiling means comprising at least one rear link and at least one front link
hinged relative to the frame together with an intermediate link interconnecting
the front and rear links,
wherein the topsoiling means further comprise a mechanism for moving the rear
link relative to a reference part connected to the frame, and
wherein the element includes means for selectively locking the rear arm to the
rear link, the reference part to the frame, or the rear arm to the reference part,
such that when the reference part is locked to the frame and the rear arm is locked
to the rear link, the topsoiling means are in a rear topsoiling configuration,
and when the rear arm is locked to the reference part, the topsoiling means are
in a rocker topsoiling configuration.
11. A seed drill element according to claim 10, wherein the selective locking
means include pegs or the like suitable for being removably received in corresponding
holes formed in the rear arm, the rear link, the reference part, or the frame.
Description
The present invention relates to a seed drill element.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Such seed drill elements are designed to be mounted either individually or as
a group on a chassis, itself pulled by an agricultural tractor.
The invention applies in particular to sowing seeds one at a time, in particular
for cultivating maize (corn), beet, and sunflowers, whose seeds need to be put
into the ground individually, and they need to be spaced apart with predetermined spacing.
One of the important parameters for good sowing is the depth at which seeds are
buried in the ground, i.e. the distance between the surface of the ground and the
seed. In agriculture, this depth at which the seed is buried can be referred to
as the "topsoiling" (or covering) depth. In addition, there are three different
topsoiling techniques depending on whether the weight of the seed drill element
is supported mainly in front of the furrow-opening zone, mainly behind said zone,
or both in front and behind said zone by means of a rocker structure.
For this purpose, modern seed drill elements are thus provided with topsoiling
means designed to implement each topsoiling technique and to impose a substantially
constant depth of furrow depending on the nature, the firmness, and the surface
irregularities of the ground being sown.
At present, some such topsoiling means are in the form of a micrometer screw
which
causes the arm holding the front or rear wheel to move towards or away from the
frame of the element so as to decrease or increase the difference in height between
the bottom face of the furrow-opening member and the level of the front or rear
wheel pressed against the ground. This can be referred as topsoiling depth being
set by the front or the rear wheel(s).
When topsoiling depth is determined by a rocker, i.e. by co-operation between
a front block and a rear block, the means for setting topsoiling depth often comprise
a handle for adjusting the length of the intermediate link in such a manner as
to adjust the difference in height between the front wheel(s) and the rear wheel(s)
so as to set the height of the furrow-opening coulter, thereby adjusting the depth
to which the furrow-opening member penetrates into the ground.
All of those means for adjusting topsoiling depth are lengthy to adjust and difficult
to reproduce from one seed drill element to another, which means that it is not
possible to guarantee uniform topsoiling for a group of seed drill elements all
mounted on the same drive chassis.
OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a seed drill element of the
above-defined type which makes it equally possible to adjust topsoiling depth either
by means of the front wheel(s), or by means of the rear wheel(s), or else by means
of a rocker, in a manner that is easy and accurate, and that provides excellent repeatability.
For this purpose, the invention provides a seed drill element of the above-specified
type and possessing the characteristics of claim 1.
Other characteristics of this seed drill element, taken in isolation or in
any technically feasible combination are defined in the dependent claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be better understood on reading the following description
given purely by way of example and made with reference to the accompanying drawings,
in which:
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view, partially in longitudinal section, showing a
seed drill element of the invention;
FIG. 2A is a view analogous to that of FIG. 1, on a scale larger than FIG. 1
and showing only a portion of the frame, of the presser means, and of the topsoiling means;
FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the seed drill element of FIG. 1 with only
the frame, the ground presser means, and the topsoiling means being shown;
FIGS. 3A and 3B show the front topsoiling configuration of the seed drill element
of the invention, FIG. 3A being a view analogous to FIG. 1, and FIG. 3B being a
view analogous to FIG. 2B;
FIGS. 4A and 4B show the rear topsoiling configuration of the seed drill element
of the invention, FIG. 4A being a view analogous to FIG. 1, and FIG. 4B being a
view analogous to FIG. 2B; and
FIGS. 5A and 5B show the rocker topsoiling configuration of the seed drill
element of the invention, FIG. 5A being a view analogous to FIG. 1, and FIG. 5B
being a view analogous to FIG. 2B.
MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 shows a seed drill element
1 essentially comprising:
- a frame 2 having means 4 disposed thereon for fixing to
a chassis (not shown) and serving to pull the following element in a travel direction
represented by arrow S;
- a tank 6 for containing seeds, commonly referred to a hopper;
- a seed dispenser 8 in the form of a single-seed pneumatic device
adapted to recover one seed at a time from the tank 6 by suction and then
to allow the seed to fall in the direction represented by arrow G;
- a member 12 for opening a furrow in the ground, constituted by
a V-shaped coulter 14 extended by two plates 15 converging downwards
towards each other, without meeting and adapted both to leave a passage 16
between them for guiding seeds coming from the dispenser 8 and to keep the
furrow open immediately behind the coulter 14 so that the seeds drop down
to the bottom of the open furrow; and
- means 18 enabling the frame 2 to press against the ground,
together with topsoiling means 20, i.e. means for adjusting the depth of
the furrow and described in greater detail below.
The seed tank
6, the dispenser
8, and the furrow-forming member
12 are fixed securely to the frame
2. The means
4 for fixing
the frame to the above-mentioned chassis comprise firstly a hinged parallelogram
allowing the seed drill element to move relative to the chassis in a vertical direction,
and a bracket for securing the parallelogram to the chassis.
Only the frame
2, the presser means
18, and the topsoiling means
20, which are shown in greater detail in FIGS. 2A and 2B, are described
in greater detail below, it being understood that the other members can be embodied
in a variety of ways. Thus, by way of non-limiting example, the pneumatic dispenser
8 may be replaced by a mechanical dispenser; similarly, the coulter
14
may be associated with or replaced by one or more furrow-opening disks.
The means
18 for pressing the frame against the ground are adapted in
particular to ensure that the seed drill element
1 is stable in a transverse
direction on the ground. The topsoiling means
20 are adapted to impose an
adjustable depth to the furrow so as to ensure that the seeds sown are buried to
a greater or lesser depth.
The topsoiling means
20 can be configured in three different ways, depending
on whether the desired topsoiling is controlled from the front (FIGS.
3A
and
3B), in particular when sowing beet seeds, from the rear (FIGS.
4A
and
4B), in particular when sowing maize (corn) seeds, or by means of a
rocker (FIGS.
5A and
5B), in particular when sowing on ground that
is very irregular.
As shown in FIG. 2B, the ground presser means
18 comprise a rear block
22 constituted by a pair of rear wheels
24 mounted on a common hub
and inclined relative to a vertical plane so as to form a V-shape with its point
directed towards the ground, and also by a generally U-shaped rear arm
26
connecting the common hub of the wheels
24 to the frame
2. The arm
26 is hinged to the frame about a pivot connection on an axis referenced
D which is spaced apart from the point of the arm that is connected to the hub
of the wheels by a distance referenced d in FIG.
2A. The rear wheels
24
are adapted to close the furrow opened by the member
12, by pushing over
and compacting the earth displaced on either side of the coulter
14 as the
seed drill element moves over the ground.
The ground presser means
18 also comprise (as a main component in the
front and rocker topsoiling configurations, and as an optional component in the
rear topsoiling configuration), a front block
28 formed by a wheel
30
and a pair of front arms
32 constituting a generally U-shape connecting
the hub of the wheel
30 to the frame
2. The arms
32 are hinged
to the frame about a pivot connection, having an axis referenced A and spaced apart
from the connection between the wheel hub and the arm by a distance a, which distance
is advantageously substantially equal to the distance d. The hinge axes A and D
are disposed in such a manner as to be substantially symmetrical about the midplane
of the seed dispenser
8. The front wheel
30 is selected to be wide
enough to compact the ground prior to a furrow being opened by the coulter
14.
The front block
28 includes a clod-guard
34 fixed to the front
end of the arm
32 so as to project ahead of the wheel
30 and move
clods or large stones out of the way.
In addition, the topsoiling means
20 include a linkage adapted to impose
a height relative to the frame
2 either on the rear wheels or on the front
wheels, or else to impose a difference in height between the front and rear wheels.
This linkage is shown in detail in FIG.
2A and comprises:
- a rear link 40 hinged to the frame 2 about the hinge axis D;
- a pair of front links 42 hinged to the frame 2 about the
hinge axis A; and
- an intermediate link 44 connecting the rear link 40 to
the front links 42, the rear link 40 being hinged at one end to the
link 44 via a pivot connection on an axis C, and the front links 42
being hinged to the other end of the link 44 via a pivot connection on an
axis B.
The hinge axes C and B are free relative to the frame
2, for example the
hinge axis B can be received in a through slot
45 made in the frame
2
and extending substantially in the travel direction S. In addition, the distance
b between the axes A and B and is advantageously substantially equal to the distance
c between the axes C and D.
The rear link
40 is provided with a through hole
46 (FIG. 2A) situated
facing the rear arm
26. This hole
46 is adapted to be placed facing
a pair of through holes
48 (FIG. 4B) formed facing each other in the branches
of the rear arm
26 when the topsoiling means
20 are in the rear topsoiling configuration.
In addition, a slot
49 is formed through the rear portion of the link
40,
this slot opening out towards the rear of the seed drill element.
The topsoiling means
20 also comprise a U-shaped part
50 whose
branches
52 extend on either side of the rear link
40 and whose web
54 carries a convex outside face. The branches
52 are hinged to the
frame
2 about the hinge axis D and include at least two pairs of facing
holes
56,
57. Each of the holes
56 (FIG. 2A) is adapted to
face a corresponding hole
58 (FIGS. 2B and 5B) formed in the rear arm
26
while the topsoiling means are in the rocker topsoiling configuration. The holes
57 (FIGS. 3B and 4B) are adapted to face a corresponding hole
60
(FIG. 2A) formed in the frame
2 when said means are in the front or rear
topsoiling configuration.
The topsoiling means
20 also have selective locking means for locking
the rear arm
26 to the rear link
40, the part
50 to the frame
2, and the rear arm
26 to the part
50, depending on whether
the topsoiling means are in the front, rear, or rocker topsoiling configuration.
More precisely, at least one peg or screw
61 is provided to be received
inside the holes
57 and
60, thereby locking the part
50 to
the frame
2, as shown in the exploded views of FIGS. 3B and 4B. Similarly,
a locking rod
62 is provided to be received in the holes
46 and
48,
thereby locking the rear link
40 to the rear arm
26, as shown in
exploded view in FIG.
4B. At least one peg or screw
63 is provided
to be received in the holes
56 and
58, thereby locking the part
50
to the rear arm
26, as shown in exploded view in FIG.
5B.
The seed drill element
1 also comprises an adjustment mechanism
66
comprising a lever
68 hinged to the part
50 via a pivot connection
of axis E, the lever extending substantially between the branches
52 of
the part
50. More precisely, the lever
68 is made up of two symmetrical
prongs
70 connected together at their rear end by means of a handle
72
and connected to each other in their middle portions by a slider
74 that
is extended forwards by a structure provided at its front end with a cross bar
and with a transverse rod
78 forming the hinge axis E. The bar
76
bears against the rear portion of the rear link
40, extending inside the
slot (FIG. 2A) and the rod
78 is housed in an oblong hole
79 formed
through the rear link.
The slider
74 is movable in a slot
81 extending along the convex
web
54 of the part
50, and the front portions of the prongs
70
are adapted to be received in perforations
82 (FIG. 2B) formed through the
web
54 of the part
50 so as to secure the lever
68 in releasable
manner to the part
50, thereby forming a kind of reference part. The perforations
82 are in the form of two symmetrical rows extending along the length of
the outside face of the web
54 substantially parallel to the slot
81
so that each prong
70 can be fixed in one of the holes in each row. The
two fixing holes for the prongs
70 can be selected either so that one faces
the other, or else so that one is offset relative to the other, which amounts to
being able to determine the position of the lever
68 relative to the reference
piece
50 either stepwise going from one pair of facing holes to the pair
situated immediately above it or below it, or else in half-steps by changing only
one of the fixing holes on each adjustment step.
The seed drill element
1 operates as follows:
In all three possible topsoiling configurations, the seed drill element
1
is driven, possibly together with other elements in parallel therewith, by a suitable
vehicle, for example an agricultural tractor. The seed dispenser
8 delivers
one seed at a time from the tank
6 at regular intervals to the passage
16
formed immediately behind the furrow-forming coulter
14.
The depth of the furrow is determined by the topsoiling means
20.
When these means are in their front configuration, as shown in FIGS. 3A and
3B, only the reference part
50 is locked to the frame
2 by means
of one or two pegs
61 received or screwed into the hole
57 and the
hole
60 so that the rear wheel
24 is freely hinged relative to the
frame
2 via its hinge axis D. By acting manually on the handle
72
to move the slider
74 in the slot
81 so as to pivot the lever
68
about the axis E, the bar
76 moves the link
40 about the pivot D
so that the intermediate link
44 is moved in a direction substantially parallel
to the travel direction S of the seed drill element, the hinge axis B being moved
inside the groove
45 so as to describe a circular arc of radius b centered
on the axis A as imposed by the front links
42. In reaction to these front
links
42 hinged at B, the front arms
32 pivot about the hinge axis
A so that the front wheel
30 is moved substantially vertically upwards or
downwards. The difference in height between the level at which the front wheel
30 presses against the ground and the level at which the coulter
40
presses against the ground can thus be adjusted, in particular to comply with specifications
concerning the depth at which the seeds being sown should be buried.
The pivot angle of the lever
68 is indexed in accurate manner relative
to the reference piece
50 and thus relative to the frame
2 by locking
the prongs
70 in two perforations
82 of the reference part
50
once the desired adjustment has been achieved.
When the topsoiling means are in the rear topsoiling configuration, as shown
in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the locking of the part
50 to the frame
2 as
used in the preceding configuration is maintained, and the rear arm
26 is
locked to the rear link
40 by means of the locking rod
62 received
in the holes
46 and
48, such that the assembly comprising the rear
arm
26 and the rear link
40 is hinged to the frame
2 about
the axis D, which assembly should be considered as a single entity in this configuration.
The front block
28 is then optional and can be removed, as shown, or left
to float completely freely. By acting on the handle
72 to pivot the lever
68 about the axis E, the bar
76 of the lever causes the link
40
to pivot about the axis D so that the point connecting the hub of the rear wheels
24 to the rear arm
26 is moved substantially vertically upwards or
downwards. The difference in height between the level at which the rear wheels
24 press against the ground and the level at which the coulter
14
presses against the ground can thus be adjusted, with the pivot angle of the lever
68 being indexed in accurate manner relative to the reference part
50,
and thus relative to the frame
2.
When the topsoiling means are in the rocker topsoiling configuration, as shown
in FIGS. 5A and 5B, both of the two locking configurations described above are
undone, and the rear arm
68 is locked to the reference part
50 by
means of one or more pegs
63 received or screwed in the hole
56 and
the hole
58. In substantially the same manner as in the front topsoiling
configuration, pivoting the lever
68 about its axis E causes the following
in succession: the link
40 to pivot about the hinge axis D; the intermediate
link
44 to move in substantially rectilinear manner; and the front arms
32 to pivot about the hinge axis A. However, unlike the front topsoiling
configuration, pivoting the lever
68 relative to the reference part
50
does not amount to pivoting relative to the frame
2, but instead relative
to the rear arm
26, so that in substantially the same manner as in the rear
topsoiling configuration, pivoting the lever
68 about the hinge axis E causes
the link
40 to pivot about the axis D and thus causes the rear arm
26
to be moved upwards or downwards. Pivoting the lever
68 thus causes the
relative inclination between the front and rear portions
28 and
22
to be varied, thereby modifying the difference in height between the front wheel
30 and the rear wheels
24 as a function of the pivot angle imparted
to the lever which is indexed relative to the reference part
50.
The seed drill element of the invention thus enables all three possible topsoiling
techniques to be implemented without requiring the general structure of the element
to be modified. Topsoiling depth is easily set, even when a group of seed drill
elements are mounted on the same chassis.
Another advantage of the seed drill element of the invention consists in
its high degree of stability since the structure described makes it possible simultaneously
to have front and rear arm lengths a and d relative to the hinge axes A and D that
are practically equal, and also front and rear link lengths b and c relative to
the same hinge axes A and D that are likewise substantially equal. Similarly, since
the hinge axes A and D are situated symmetrically about the midplane of the seed
dispenser
8, the mechanical equilibrium of the seed drill element is further enhanced.
In a variant, a plurality of holes
57 and/or a plurality of holes
58
may be provided for each flank of the seed drill element. When the branches
52
of the reference part
50 have a plurality of holes
57 (e.g. two such
holes), a plurality of positions (e.g. two) are available for locking the part
50 to the frame
2 by means of one or more pegs or screws
61,
thus making it possible to have either a plurality (e.g. two) of ranges for adjusting
the height of the front block
20 relative to the frame
2 in the front
topsoiling configuration, or else a plurality (e.g. two) of ranges for adjusting
the height of the rear block
22 relative to the frame in the rear topsoiling
configuration. Similarly, when a plurality of holes
58 are provided in the
rear arm
26, the rear arm can be locked in a plurality of positions on the
rear link
40 by means of pegs or screws
63, thus making it possible
to have a plurality of adjustment ranges in the rocker topsoiling configuration.
*
