GB2238218A - A device for forming a raised earth bed - Google Patents

Abstract

A device for forming a raised earth bed using two leading and two trailing plough bodies 3,5 each pair being of opposite facing hand 4,5 and 7,7. The leading plough bodies 3 are closer together than the trailing plough bodies 5 so that a raised earth bed is formed between the plough bodies as the plough bodies are pulled over the ground. The plough bodies 3,5 are to be distinguished from known conventional ridgers used in conjunction with tines, to form raised earth beds. Employing plough bodies according to the invention much reduces the effort required to pull the device in comparison with the known ridger body and tine combination, especially through heavy and/or stone laden soils. <IMAGE>

Description

A Device for Forming a Raised Earth Bed" FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a device for forming a raised earth bed in particular raised earth beds which are then to be cleared of earth clods and stones prior to potato planting in the cleared beds.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The potato crop is particularly susceptible to damage during harvesting by modern mechanical farming methods which can be made worse by the presence of stones and other heavy materials in the potato ridges in certain types of soils.

The harvesting output is thus unnecessarily reduced below that which it should be and there is increased wear ad tear on the harvesting machinery.

Over recent years, methods have been introduced to remove the stones and earth clods from the ridges into which the potatoes were to be planted. In a particular technique the land would first be cultivated and formed into ridges or beds which would then be sifted of stones and clods to be deposited in the windrow of an adjacent untreated bed subsequently to be pressed into the soil by the tractor wheels in the following pass.

The known bed forming machines used in this technique essentially comprise two leading spaced tines and two equally spaced twin bladed ridger bodies, the tines being used to break the subsoil at the base of the furrows subsequently to be formed by the following in-line ridger bodies, and help to provide "suck" to keep the machine in the ground.

A raised earth bed is thus formed between the ridger bodies which can then be cleared of stones and earth clods by a sifter and separating machine which passes between the formed beds depositing the sifted material into adjacent furrows. At the same time the separator machine compacts deposited material in a previous pass into the furrows over which its wheels travel, compaction being assisted by the action of the tines of the bed forming machine having broken the subsoil at the base of the furrows during the bed-forming process as described above.

The known bed-forming device has proved unreliable in practice because it is extremely difficult to pull through heavy and/or stone laden soils even after thorough cultivation, and by the more powerful tractors currently available.

This is due primarily to the necessary bulkiness of the twin ridger bodies which are not designed to slice or cut and turn over the earth with the minimum of resistance, but rather simply to bull-doze the earth to one side in the ridge forming process. In finely tithed stone free earth the known system is able to work essentially trouble free but in heavy soils and/or containing stones--. and other obstructive materials, the converse tends to be the case.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the problems encountered with the earth bed-forming machines of the prior art.

According to the invention there is provided a device for forming a raised earth bed comprising a support frame for pulling over the ground, a pair of leading plough bodies on the frame and being of opposite hand acting to turn earth being ploughed respectively towards one another, and a pair of trailing plough bodies on the frame and at a wider spacing than said leading plough bodies, the facing blades of said trailing plough bodies being of opposite hand to turn earth being ploughed in the same direction as said two leading plough bodies so as to form a raised ploughed bed.

The above defined device does not suffer from the disadvantages of the known bed-former because it employs plough bodies rather than simple ridger bodies, it being understood that the former are to be distinguished from the latter by having blade operating faces designed such as to invert the soil rather than to simply ridge-it. By this means resistance to soil penetration and movement through the soil is considerably reduced.

The plough bodies may be of the conventional appropriately curved blade type or disc ploughs.

By virtue of the arrangement of differently spaced leading and trailing plough bodies it becomes possible to form raised earth beds in any soil ready for stone and clod separation and even where the ground has not been previously cultivated.

To improve cultivation of the bed, the device may be provided with a centrally positioned tine in relation to the spaced plough bodies, so as to improve soil breakdown centrally of the raised earth bed so formed.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described to assist in the understanding of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The preferred embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a raised earth bed forming device according to the invention and Figure 2 illustrates a usage of the device in Figure 1.

BEST MODES OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The raised bed earth forming device shown in Figure 1 comprises a support frame 1 provided with couplings 2 for hitching to a farm tractor (not shown).

A pair of spaced leading plough bodies 3 in the form of curved blades 4 are attached to the front of the frame 1, the design of curvature of the blades 4 being such as to invert the soil in accordance with conventional ploughing techniques.

The blades 4 are of opposite hand such that the earth being ploughed is turned inwardly with respect to the support frame 1.

A pair of spaced trailing plough bodies 5 are attached to the rear of the frame 1, each plough body having blades 6 the opposing faces 7 of which being of opposite hand to turn the soil being ploughed in the same direction as the leading plough bodies.

Although not illustrated the spacing between the leading and trailing plough bodies may be adjustable thereby to vary the width of the raised bed typically to a maximum width of 72".

The use of the device as above described is illustrated in Figure 2. It will be seen that the nearside tractor wheels 8 move in the furrow 9 formed on the previous pass of the bed-forming machine (not shown). The pulling tractor will move consecutively up and down the subject field in this manner until a series of raised beds 10 are formed ready for the sifting and separating machine which will deposit the separated material in the formed furrows as required.

By virtue of the employment of opposite hand plough bodies instead of the ridger bodies of the prior art, the device of the invention has a lower draught requirement and since it turns the land as it travels the necessary cultivated depth can readily be achieved.

In addition to the advantages already expressed in this disclosure the action of the device better exposes the wet bottom layer of a bed for improved and quicker drying or increase frost exposure thereby to produce the fine soil texture needed for destroying and decloding prior to planting.

Claims (8)

1. A device for forming a raised earth bed comprising a support frame for pulling over the ground, a pair of leading plough bodies on the frame and being of opposite hand acting to turn earth being ploughed respectively towards one another, and a pair of trailing plough bodies on the frame and at a wider spacing than said -leading plough bodies, the facing blades of said trailing plough bodies being of opposite hand to turn earth being ploughed in the same direction as said two leading plough bodies so as to form a raised earth bed.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said plough bodies are disc ploughs.

3. A device as claimed in claims 1 or 2 wherein a centrally positioned tine is arranged in relation to said spaced plough bodies.

4. A device as claimed in any preceeding claim wherein said leading and trailing plough bodies are adjustably mounted on said frame to permit variation of the spacing therebetween.

5. A method for forming a raised earth bed comprising providing two leading and two trailing plough bodies, spacing the two leading plough bodies closer together than the trailing plough bodies, arranging for the two leading and two trailing plough bodies to be of opposite facing hand so as to turn earth towards one another, and pulling the leading and trailing plough bodies over the ground to form the raised earth bed.

6. A device for forming a raised earth bed when pulled in a predetermined direction of travel over the ground comprising a support frame, a plurality of spaced plough bodies mounted on the frame said plough bodies being of opposite hand with respect to either side of said direction of travel thereby to turn earth between the plough bodies of opposite hand to form the raised earth bed.

7. A device for forming a raised earth bed substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

8. A method of forming a raised earth bed substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings.