AU2019200262A1

AU2019200262A1 - Improved Cultivating Machine

Info

Publication number: AU2019200262A1
Application number: AU2019200262A
Authority: AU
Inventors: William Einar Peterson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2018-01-19
Filing date: 2019-01-16
Publication date: 2019-08-08

Abstract

The cultivating machine (10) has a plurality of tines (18) fixedly connected to a forward end of a frame (12) for ploughing the soil to a predetermined depth below its surface set by the depth of the tines. The machine (10) also has a plurality of toothed rollers (20) which are rotatably connected to the frame (12) rearwardly of the tines (18) for perforating the surface of the soil ploughed by the tines. C~(D

Description

IMPROVED MACHINE FOR CULTIVATING SOIL

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an improved cultivating machine and, in particular, to a mobile machine for cultivating soil in an improved manner to preserve its fertility.

BACKGROUND ART

It is well known that the fertility of soil, and especially the fertility of the uppermost layer of soil or topsoil, where plants take root, aerobic bacteria grow, humus forms and earthworms proliferate, is of critical importance to promoting the growth of crops and to ensuring a more productive agricultural land. These ecologically sensitive elements can be destroyed by poor farming practices. For example, the overuse of rotary hoes and rotary ploughs can transform a fertile topsoil into a dry, sterile and worthless tract of land, by turning the nutrient rich topsoil down into a deeper level to replace clay and other nutrient poor material which simultaneously is turned up into a top layer. Over time, weeds and plants less sympathetic to the delicate ecology of the soil may take root, bacterial and earthworm populations are depleted, and humus concentration falls.

The resulting shallower, coarser topsoil is susceptible to flooding in wet conditions and cracking in dry conditions as it is less able to absorb rainwater or hold moisture against the effects of evaporation by the sun or wind.

Furthermore, using traditional implements and machines to cultivate the soil leaves a hard pan at the depth to which the soil is cultivated. This limits the amount of moisture the soil can absorb, and so irrigating too early in dry weather will mean that the roots of crops will not reach the depth to which most seedbeds are cultivated, and so a large amount of humus forming material is wasted.

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DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

It has been found by the present inventor that these problems can be overcome by use of a mobile cultivating machine that has specially configured and operated soil disrupting implements.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a cultivating machine that, with use, will not adversely affect the fertility of the topsoil and its moisture retaining properties, but will achieve superior promotion of the growth of crops.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cultivating machine comprising:

(a) a mobile frame adapted to be conveyed over soil to be cultivated, (b) a plurality of tines fixedly connected to a forward end of the frame for ploughing the soil to a predetermined depth below its surface set by the depth of the tines, each tine comprising an upright shaft portion that extends downwardly from the frame, and a blade portion at the bottom of the shaft portion, the blade portion being configured to curve downwardly and forwardly of the shaft portion to a forwardmost ploughing point and to flare upwardly and rearwardly from that point, whereby the blade portion can separate, and thereby plough, the soil at the predetermined depth below its surface as the cultivating machine moves forward, and (c) a plurality of toothed rollers rotatably connected to the frame rearwardly of the tines for perforating the surface of the soil ploughed by the tines, the rollers being ground driven to rotate with forward movement of the machine, and being positioned one roller after the other, each roller comprising teeth arranged such that the teeth of one roller intermesh with the teeth of an adjacent roller as the rollers rotate, whereby the teeth can perforate the surface of the soil as the cultivating machine moves forward.

Preferably, the plurality of tines comprise rows of tines positioned one row after the other, the tines of a rearward one of the rows being located such that they can plough the soil that has not been ploughed by the tines of a forward one of the rows.

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It is preferred that the tines are fixedly connected to one or more toolbars which are secured to opposed side members of the frame.

In a preferred form, the cultivating machine further comprises means for adjusting the height and the lateral position of one or more of the tines along one or more of the toolbars.

It is preferred that the tine positional adjusting means comprises U-brackets, each Ubracket mounted around a toolbar at a desired position along the toolbar, the U-bracket 10 having an upright passageway for securely receiving therethrough the shaft portion of a respective tine at a desired height.

Each shaft portion is preferably securely received through the upright passageway of a U-bracket with a cooperating wedge member.

Preferably, the toothed rollers have axles and are rotatably connected to opposed side members of the frame by roller axle engaging brackets.

In a preferred form, the cultivating machine further comprises means for adjusting the 20 longitudinal position of one or more of the toothed rollers along the opposed side members of the frame.

It is preferred that the toothed roller positional adjusting means comprises open tracks formed in the opposed side frame members of the frame, each track having one of the 25 roller axle engaging brackets mounted thereto at a desired position along the track.

Each roller axle engaging bracket is preferably mounted to a respective track by one or more nut and bolt assembly.

Preferably, the teeth are triangular shaped.

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Preferably, the cultivating machine includes a towing attachment means configured for engagement to the rear of a tractor or other towing vehicle, although the machine may alternatively be towed by a draft horse, ox, or other plough-pulling animal.

There has been thus outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and put into practical effect, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated.

There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter. As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which the disclosure is based, may be readily utilized as the basis for designing other processes and systems for carrying out the objects of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the broad outline of the invention described above be regarded as including such equivalent constructions in so far as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cultivating machine according to a preferred 25 embodiment of the invention being towed by a tractor,

Figure 2 is a perspective view from the rear of the cultivating machine as shown in Figure 1 being towed by the tractor,

Figure 3 is an isolated plan view of a plurality of toothed rollers which are used in the cultivating machine as shown in Figures 1 and 2, showing the teeth of the rollers

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Figure 4 is an isolated plan view of the cultivating machine as shown in Figures 1 and 5 2,

Figure 5 is a side view of the cultivating machine as shown in Figures 1 to 4 being towed by the tractor,

Figure 6 is an isolated perspective view of a side portion of the cultivating machine as shown in Figures 1 to 5, showing the toothed roller positional adjusting means, and

Figure 7 is an isolated perspective view of the cultivating machine as shown in Figures 1 to 6, showing the tine positional adjusting means.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The cultivating machine 10, shown by way of one possible embodiment in Figures 1 to

7, includes a mobile frame 12 which, in this embodiment, is of a standard 1.8 metres in 20 width and can be towed behind a tractor 14 with the use of towing means 16 over soil to be cultivated.

The machine 10 has a plurality of tines 18 fixedly connected to a forward end of the frame 12 for ploughing the soil to a predetermined depth below its surface set by the 25 depth of the tines.

The machine 10 also has a plurality of toothed rollers 20 which are rotatably connected to the frame 12 rearwardly of the tines 18 for perforating the surface of the soil ploughed by the tines.

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Each tine 18 (as best shown in Figure 7) has an upright shaft portion 24 that extends downwardly from the frame 12, and a blade portion 26 at the bottom of the shaft portion. The blade portion 26 is configured to curve downwardly and forwardly of the shaft portion 24 to a forwardmost ploughing point 30 and to flare upwardly and rearwardly from that point. By this arrangement, the blade portion 26 can separate, and thereby plough, the soil at the predetermined depth below its surface as the cultivating machine 10 moves forward.

Each toothed roller 20 (as best shown in Figures 3 and 6) is ground driven to rotate with forward movement of the machine 10. They are positioned one roller after the other, and each roller 20 has teeth 28, which in this embodiment are triangularly shaped, arranged such that the teeth 28a of one roller 20a intermesh with the teeth 28b of an adjacent roller 20b as the rollers rotate. By this arrangement, the teeth 28 can perforate the surface of the soil as the cultivating machine 10 moves forward.

The plurality of tines 18 are formed in rows of tines positioned one row after the other, and the tines of a rearward one of the rows are located such that they can plough the soil that has not been ploughed by the tines of a forward one of the rows.

The tines 18 are fixedly connected to one or more toolbars 34 which are secured to opposed side frame members 36, 38 of the frame 12.

The cultivating machine 10 also has means for adjusting the height and the lateral position of one or more of the tines 18 along one or more of the toolbars 34 (as shown 25 by the arrows A and B in Figure 7).

The tine positional adjusting means utilizes U-brackets 40. Each U-bracket 40 is mounted around a toolbar 34 at a desired position along the toolbar. The U-bracket 40 has an upright passageway 42 for securely receiving therethrough the shaft portion 24 30 of a respective tine 18 at a desired height.

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Each shaft portion 24 is, in this embodiment, securely received through the upright passageway 42 of a U-bracket 40 with a cooperating wedge member 44.

The toothed rollers 20 have axles 45 and are rotatably connected to opposed side frame 5 members 36, 38 of the frame 12 by roller axle engaging brackets 46.

The cultivating machine 10 also has means for adjusting the longitudinal position of one or more of the toothed rollers 20 along the opposed side frame members 36, 38 of the frame 12.

The toothed roller positional adjusting means utilizes open tracks 48 formed in the opposed side frame members 36, 38 of the frame 12. Each track 48 has one of the roller axle engaging brackets 46 mounted thereto at a desired position along the track.

Each roller axle engaging bracket 46 is mounted to a respective track 48 by one or more nut and bolt assembly 50.

The cultivating machine 10, in the specific embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 7, has two rows of tines 18, a forward row having five tines and a row behind the forward row 20 having four tines. The tines 18 of both rows are fixedly connected to respective toolbars extending across the forward end of the frame 12. There are also specifically shown in Figures 1 to 7 three toothed rollers 20 which are rotatably connected to the frame 12 rearwardly of the tines 18.

The blade portion 26, which, as mentioned above, is configured to curve downwardly and forwardly of the shaft portion 24 to a forwardmost ploughing point 30 and flares upwardly and rearwardly from that point, forms the general shape of a “duck foot”.

The blade portion 26 can, by virtue of this “duck foot” shape, separate, and thereby plough, the soil at the predetermined depth below its surface as the cultivating machine 10 moves forward.

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Having one or more rows of tines 18 with blade portions 26 having the aforementioned general shape not only loosens the soil at the required depth, but ensures, due to their shape, that the machine 10 will maintain its blade portions 26 at that operating depth and not lift them out of the soil. This configuration allows the soil to be ploughed without the adverse effects of killing the earthworms within the soil, lifting the separated soil to the surface or burying the topsoil to a deeper level.

As mentioned above, the toothed rollers 20 can, by virtue of the intermeshing of the teeth 28 of adjacent rollers, perforate the surface of the soil ploughed by the tines 18, such as by shredding the surface vegetation, as the cultivating machine 10 moves forward.

More specifically, as the teeth 28 on a rear side of a forward roller 20 move down, the teeth on a front side of an adjacent rearward roller move up, and these two rows of teeth intermesh at, or just above, ground level. This action occurs between two rows of teeth 28 on adjacent rollers 20 and causes the shredding of all material in the path of the rollers, leaving the shredded material on top of the ploughed soil for it to break down under natural conditions.

By so shredding or cutting into smaller pieces the surface vegetation, the earthworms below are left unharmed, the topsoil remains on the surface and the separated soil at the predetermined depth remains substantially unexposed to the climatic elements.

Thus, the use of the cultivating machine 10 will retain the fertility of the topsoil and its 25 moisture retaining properties, and will achieve superior promotion of the growth of crops.

In a variation of the embodiment of the machine described above, a toolbar supporting a number of tines can also be connected across the rear end of the frame 12. The tines can plough to a depth of from about 400mm to about 500mm.

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Also, the rollers 20 can be fitted with gears on each axle or shaft and connected by lugged belts. This allows the rollers to be locked into rotating in a synchronised pattern, thereby ensuring the intermeshing of teeth at ground level with the ensuing shredding of all material in the path of the rollers. The still fertile topsoil is not buried and so a water retaining top layer of soil is retained.

The gears on the roller shafts are a minimum size to prevent them being affected and damaged by dislodged soil and other material.

A slip clutch may be fitted to the middle (or second) roller to prevent damage to the machine.

Soil cultivated by the machine 10 has a finer texture at the top and a coarser texture at the bottom, the finer texture allowing heavy rain to penetrate the soil surface and then be absorbed by the coarser texture down deeper. This prevents run-off of rain water from higher ground until the soil at the higher ground has been fully saturated. Also, the shredded surface vegetation on the soil surface prevents the soil from drying out and cracking.

The machine 10 does not bury the topsoil but largely preserves its position. This allows a rapid build up of humus rich topsoil that will assist in retaining moisture. The machine 10 also opens up the ground deep below, allowing air to penetrate to depths and enabling rainwater to be deeply absorbed. Also, deep rooted weeds are brought to the surface where they may wither and die. This is in contrast to the rotary hoe which would bury the weeds and allow for their regrowth.

The machine 10 can also be used on fallow farmland to incorporate into the topsoil excess straw that is shredded by the machine. The shredded straw will break down rapidly in the spring season and retain moisture in the topsoil during the lifespan of the crop.

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Because the teeth of adjacent rollers are not intermeshed below ground level, the machine will not adversely affect earthworms and they will remain intact and productive.

Energy efficiency is also achieved by the machine because the ground speed of the machine is the same as the roller speed.

It will be apparent to persons skilled in the art that the cultivating machine and its component parts may be made of many suitable materials.

It will also be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in details of design and construction of the embodiments of the cultivating machine, and in the steps of using the machine described above, without departing from the scope or ambit of the present invention.

For example, the invention can encompass broad acre farming by connecting together, side by side, a plurality of the machines described above to form a broad acre cultivator. Any such additional machines could be pivoted upwardly relative to one of the machines for ease of transportation by road of the broad acre cultivator.

The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or admission or any form of suggestion that that prior publication (or information derived from it) or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavour to which this specification relates before the filing date of this patent application.

Claims

1. A cultivating machine comprising:

(a) a mobile frame adapted to be conveyed over soil to be cultivated,

5 (b) a plurality of tines fixedly connected to a forward end of the frame for ploughing the soil to a predetermined depth below its surface set by the depth of the tines, each tine comprising an upright shaft portion that extends downwardly from the frame, and a blade portion at the bottom of the shaft portion, the blade portion being configured to curve downwardly and forwardly of the shaft portion to a forwardmost 10 ploughing point and to flare upwardly and rearwardly from that point, whereby the blade portion can separate, and thereby plough, the soil at the predetermined depth below its surface as the cultivating machine moves forward, and (c) a plurality of toothed rollers rotatably connected to the frame rearwardly of the tines for perforating the surface of the soil ploughed by the tines, the rollers being 15 ground driven to rotate with forward movement of the machine, and being positioned one roller after the other, each roller comprising teeth arranged such that the teeth of one roller intermesh with the teeth of an adjacent roller as the rollers rotate, whereby the teeth can perforate the surface of the soil as the cultivating machine moves forward.

20

2. The cultivating machine of claim 1, wherein the plurality of tines comprise rows of tines positioned one row after the other, the tines of a rearward one of the rows being located such that they can plough the soil that has not been ploughed by the tines of a forward one of the rows.

25

3. The cultivating machine of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the tines are fixedly connected to one or more toolbars which are secured to opposed side members of the frame.

4. The cultivating machine of claim 3, and further comprising means for adjusting 30 the height and the lateral position of one or more of the tines along one or more of the toolbars.

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5. The cultivating machine of claim 4, wherein the tine positional adjusting means comprises U-brackets, each U-bracket mounted around a toolbar at a desired position along the toolbar, the U-bracket having an upright passageway for securely receiving therethrough the shaft portion of a respective tine at a desired height.

6. The cultivating machine of claim 5, wherein each shaft portion is securely received through the upright passageway of a U-bracket with a cooperating wedge member.

10

7. The cultivating machine of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the toothed rollers have axles and are rotatably connected to opposed side members of the frame by roller axle engaging brackets.

8. The cultivating machine of claim 7, and further comprising means for adjusting

15 the longitudinal position of one or more of the toothed rollers along the opposed side members of the frame.

9. The cultivating machine of claim 8, wherein the toothed roller positional adjusting means comprises open tracks formed in the opposed side frame members of

20 the frame, each track having one of the roller axle engaging brackets mounted thereto at a desired position along the track.

10. The cultivating machine of claim 9, wherein each roller axle engaging bracket is mounted to a respective track by one or more nut and bolt assembly.

11. The cultivating machine of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the teeth are triangular shaped.

12. The cultivating machine of any one of claims 1 to 11, and further comprising a 30 towing attachment means configured for engagement to the rear of a tractor or other towing vehicle, or to a plough-pulling animal.