AU2003268595A1 - Tine mounted press wheel - Google Patents

Description

Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicant: Manutec Pty Ltd Actual Inventor: Gary Vane Address for Service: MADDERNS, 1st Floor, 64 Hindmarsh Square, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia Invention title: TINE MOUNTED PRESS WHEEL Details of Associated Provisional Appln No: 2002953293 dated 12 t December 2002.

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us.

(PatAU131 I The invention relates to agricultural equipment and in particular to a press wheel mounting arrangement. The invention has application to tine mounted press wheels and also press wheels which are attachable to a horizontal mounting bar on a mobile frame.

The invention has been developed primarily for use with a variety of different types of tines and will be described hereinafter with reference to this application. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this particular field of use.

Tines have been used since ancient times in the cultivation of crops. Commonly, one or more tines are connected to a tine mounted press wheel which includes a base plate at one end and a press wheel at the other. A plurality of the tine mounted press wheels are disposed in a side-by-side arrangement.

Generally, the base plate forms part of a mounting bracket to which the shank of a tine is bolted or otherwise releasably fixed. A swivel joint is most commonly disposed intermediate the base plate and the press wheel to allow relative movement of the press wheel with respect to the base plate.

Unfortunately, tines come in a variety of shapes and many different tines are available. These different tines are generally configured to impact the ground at a predetermine angle and/or have a predetermined size. When changing tines to suit a particular soil type, the base plate needs to be removed and replaced with one which is configured to hold the substitute tine. For example, heavy soils require a tine that is smaller than for light soils.

There is a large disadvantage in known tines and tine mounted press wheels that each type of tine requires a different base plate to bolt to. For users of the tines, a particular base plate configuration for each type of tine is required. As a result, tines are not readily interchangeable in known tine mounted press wheels.

It is an object of the invention to provide a tine mounted press wheel which will overcome or substantially ameliorate at least some of the deficiencies of the prior art, or provide a useful alternative.

According to this invention therefore, there is provided a press wheel mounting assembly including: a mounting bracket support arm having a leading end and a trailing end; an angularly adjustable mounting bracket pivotally attached to said support arm adjacent said leading end for rotation about a transverse hinge axis, said mounting bracket having an attachment plate adapted for attachment to a tine shank or a transverse mounting bar, first adjustable locking means arranged to lock said mounting bracket in any one of a plurality of selected angular positions relative to its said support arm, a swivel joint mounted at the trailing end of said support arm and having a pivot mount depending rearwardly therefrom, a press wheel trailing arm pivotally attached to said end, a pivot mount near the upper end of the arm whereby the trailing arm can be rotated about a transverse axis relative to the swivel joint, and second adjustable locking means between said pivot mount and the upper end of the trailing arm for selectively locking the trailing arm in any one of a plurality of selected angular positions with respect to the ground.

Therefore, an improved tine mounted press wheel is provided which allows a different type of tine to be mounted to a common mounting bracket. Furthermore, there is also provided a means of adjusting the press wheel and tine angles to provide more or less pressure from the tine and press wheel to the ground.

Preferably, the support arm is formed by a pair of transversely spaced apart, aligned side plates which extend between the mounting bracket and the swivel joint, with the mounting bracket having secured thereto a rearwardly projecting apertured lug which locates between said side plates.

Preferably, the lug terminates in a crown portion which is formed with teeth separated by transverse grooves extending across the width of the lug there being a plurality of locking apertures in each side plate which correspond to each other, and a locking pin disposed through a selected pair of corresponding plate apertures and engaging a respective said transverse groove between a pair of adjacent teeth on the crown to releasably lock the angle of the lug, and thereby the mounting bracket, relative to the side plates.

Of course the crown could be formed as a part of the support arm at the leading end thereof, with a fork being formed on the mounting bracket and which receives the crown end of the arm.

Desirably, the pivot mount for the trailing arm is a channel bracket having a pair of depending side plates, there being a pivot bolt or pin passing through aligned holes in the side plates and the upper end of the arm to provide the pivotal connection for the trailing arm.

Desirably, each of the side plates of the channel bracket has a plurality of locking apertures which correspond to each other, the trailing arm also having a locking aperture adjacent its upper leading end and which is alignable with a respective pair of said apertures in the side plates, the arm being locked in a selected position by a transverse pin or bolt.

REFERENCE TO THE DRAWINGS Several preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a tine mounted press wheel assembly according to a first embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the mounting assembly shown in Figure 1; while

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Figure 3 is a side elevational view of an alternative mounting bracket arrangement for attaching to the shank of a tine.

DESCRIPTION

Referring to the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2, there is shown a tine mounted press wheel assembly 10. The press wheel assembly 10 includes a rearwardly extending arm 11 having a mounting bracket 12 hingedly mounted at one end of the arm 11, to enable the bracket 12 to be angularly adjusted with respect to the arm 11. A swivel joint 14 is mounted at the other trailing end of the arm 11.

The mounting bracket 12 is rotatable relative to the arm 11 such that the rotation of the bracket 12 is substantially in the plane of the arm 11. The bracket 12 has a vertical attachment plate 15 which is configured to releasably attach to the shank of a tine 16, it being appreciated that the angle of the shank varies from one type of tine to another.

The arm 11, in this embodiment, is formed by a pair of spaced apart transversely aligned side plates 16 which at their trailing ends are pivotally attached to the swivel joint 14, while their leading ends are pivotally attached to opposite sides of a rearwardly projecting solid lug 17 welded to attachment plate A trailing arm 17 is pivotally mounted at its upper end to a transverse pivot bolt which is supported at distal end of depending bracket 18 which is fixed by welding to a bracket arm of swivel joint 14. The swivel joint allows the arm 17 to swivel relative to the arm 11. The distal end of the arm 17 rotatably supports a press wheel 19.

Both the arm 17 and mounting bracket 12 are releasably lockable at predetermined angles by means of respective position indexing devices with each being rotatable through an arc of approximately 600 or more.

Referring to Figure 2, the lug 17 terminates in a crown 21 having a plurality of teeth 22 separated by transverse grooves 23. The lug 12 has a transverse hole 26 for receiving pivot bolt 24 to pivotally join the arm 11 to the bracket 12 via the spaced apart side plates 16. Each side plate 16 includes a locking aperture 27 which aligns with that on the other plate 16. A removable locking pin or bolt 29 is disposed through a pair of corresponding apertures 27 and engages a selected groove 23 intermediate a pair of adjacent teeth 22 on the crown 21 to thereby releasably lock the angle of the lug 17, and thereby the bracket 12, relative to the side plates 16.

Each side plate 16 is also provided with further locking apertures 30 which transversely align with one another and lie on an arc of a circle having its centre coinciding with the axis of the pivot bolt 24, adjacent the leading end of the plate 16 ie on the opposite side of the pivot bolt 24 to that of the locking aperture 27. A further removable locking pin 31 passes through a selected corresponding pair of apertures 30 and also one of a pair of vertically aligned transverse apertures 32 formed in the lug 12. This ensures that the arm 11 is securely retained to the bracket 12 during operation of the press wheel.

Referring to Figure 1, the angular adjustment of arm 17 is achieved by a series of arcuately disposed locking apertures 35 formed in each of the side flanges 36 of the bracket 18 and a removable transverse locking bolt 37 which passes through a pair of aligned locking apertures 35 in the flanges 36 and an aperture adjacent the leading end of the arm 17.

Referring to the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 3 of the drawings, an alternative mounting bracket arrangement 40 for attachment to a transverse mounting bar (not shown) of a frame of an agricultural implement, comprises a vertical attachment plate 41, a C-shaped mounting bracket 42, and a vertical pivot bolt 43 which is journalled for rotation in bearings 44 carried by the attachment plate 41, whereby the bracket 42 is able to swivel about a vertical axis with respect to the attachment plate 41. The bracket 42 is provided with a rearwardly projecting lug which terminates in a crown portion 46 having a plurality of teeth 47 which are spaced apart by transversely extending grooves or recesses 48. Hole 50 extends transversely through the lug 45 and slideably accommodates a pivot bolt (not shown) which attaches the bracket 42 to a rearwardly extending support arm (similar to arm 11 in the first embodiment). A removable locking pin (not shown) engages in one of the transverse grooves 48 in order to lock the arm in a selected angular position. In this regard the assembly is identical to that described in the first embodiment. The secondary locking pin, ie pin 31 of the first embodiment, selectively locates in one of the transverse locking apertures 51 which extend through the lug 45 on the opposite side of the pivot hole 50 to that of the crown portion 46.

It should of course be appreciated that rather than having the crown portion formed on the rearwardly projecting lug on the mounting bracket, it may be formed as part of the main support arm at the leading end thereof, with the mounting bracket being formed with a pair of transversely spaced side plates between which the crown portion can be pivotally supported by a transverse pivot bolt passing through aligned apertures in the side plates and the crown portion.

As is shown in Figure 1, the swivel joint 14 includes a spring 55 which is retained by a retaining member 56 which is secured to and extends between the side plates 16 of the arm 11.

It can therefore be seen that in use, a tine can be mounted to the bracket 12 which can be rotated to provide the angle required in order for it to match the angle of the shank of the tine. In this way, the bracket can be rotated by predetermined angles and the same bracket can be used for a variety of different tines.

Similarly with the press wheel trailing arm, the angle of the arm relative to the swivel joint can be varied to a predetermined angle to apply more or less pressure to the tine and press wheel. In use, the press wheel presses in seed that has been dropped in a depression created by the tine.

As is shown in Figure 1, an advantage of having the support arm comprised of a pair of spaced apart side plates, allows the seed tubes to pass through the gap between the side plates to thereby provide lateral support for the tubes.

The foregoing describes two preferred embodiments of the present invention, however, modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art, can be made there to without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims (9)

1. A press wheel mounting assembly including: a mounting bracket support arm having a leading end and a trailing end; an angularly adjustable mounting bracket pivotally attached to said arm adjacent said leading end for rotation about a transverse hinge axis, said mounting bracket having an attachment plate adapted for attachment to a tine shank or a transverse mounting bar; first adjustable locking means arranged to lock said mounting bracket in any one of a plurality of selected angular positions relative to its said support arm; a swivel joint mounted at the trailing end of said support arm and having a pivot mount depending rearwardly therefrom, a press wheel trailing arm having an upper leading end and a lower trailing end which rotatably supports a press wheel, pivot means joining said trailing arm near its upper end to said pivot mount whereby the trailing arm can be rotated about a transverse axis relative to the swivel joint; and second adjustable locking means between said pivot mount and said upper end of the trailing arm for selectively locking said trailing arm in any one of a plurality of selected angular positions with respect to the axis of the pivot means.

2. A press wheel mounting assembly according to claim 1 wherein said mounting bracket is provided with a rearwardly projecting lug attached to said attachment plate, and wherein said support arm comprises a pair of transversely spaced apart horizontally aligned side plates located on opposite sides of said lug, said side plates being pivotally attached to said lug by means of a horizontal transverse pivot bolt which passes through aligned apertures formed in the lug and the leading ends of said side plates.

3. A press wheel mounting assembly according to claim 2 wherein said rearwardly projecting lug terminates in a crown formation having a plurality of teeth separated by transversely extending grooves, wherein said first adjustable locking means includes a removable transverse locking pin or bolt which passes through a pair of aligned primary locking apertures formed in each of the side plates and engages in a respective said groove formed between a pair of adjacent teeth on the crown, to thereby releasably lock the mounting bracket relative to said side plates in a said selected angular position.

4. A press wheel mounting assembly according to claim 3 wherein said first adjustable locking means further includes a plurality of secondary locking apertures formed in each of the side plates and which lie on an arc of a circle which has its centre coinciding with the hinge axis of the pivot bolt, said secondary locking apertures being located between said hinge axis and the leading end of the side plate, and a further removable transverse locking pin or bolt disposed through a pair of corresponding secondary locking apertures and an aligned locking aperture extending through said lug, whereby the side plates and the mounting bracket are locked against relative pivotal movement on either side of the pivot bolt.

A press wheel mounting assembly according to claim 4 wherein there are two transverse locking apertures formed in the lug forwardly of the pivot bolt hole, said apertures being vertically aligned.

6. A press wheel mounting assembly according to anyone of the preceding claims wherein said pivot mount comprises a channel bracket having a pair of spaced apart side plates extending rearwardly away from the swivel joint, said upper leading end of the trailing arm being pivotally supported between said side plates by a transverse pivot bolt which passes through aligned holes formed in said side plates and said trailing arm, wherein said second adjustable locking means comprises a plurality of locking apertures formed in each of the channel bracket side plates and which correspond to each other, and a removable transverse locking pin or bolt which passes through a pair of corresponding said side plate locking apertures and a locking aperture in the trailing arm adjacent its leading end.

7. A press wheel mounting assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said trailing arm is downwardly biased by means of a coil spring mounted on said swivel joint.

8. A press wheel mounting assembly according to claim 2 wherein said attachment plate and said mounting bracket are hingedly connected by means of a vertical pivot bolt whereby the bracket can be rotatably adjusted about a vertical axis relative to the attachment plate when the mounting bracket is in an unlocked condition.

9. A press wheel mounting assembly according to claim 8 wherein said mounting bracket comprises a pair of vertically spaced upper and lower flanges joined by a web to which is fixed said rearwardly projecting lug. A tine mounted press wheel assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Dated this 12 t h day of December, 2003 Manutec Pty Ltd By its Patent Attorneys MADDERNS