Abstract:
A farm implement for replacing displaced earth into a wheel track rut includes a pair of blades and a rotatable auger carried by a frame which is moved over and along a rut. The blades scrape displaced earth laterally toward and into the rut, and the auger discharges the scraped earth to the rear of the frame. A weighted wheel pulled behind the frame compacts the discharged earth and stabilizes the frame against unwanted transverse movement.

Description:
[0001]     This application is a continuation-in-part of presently pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/641,367, filed Aug. 13, 2003, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates generally to wheeled irrigation systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to refilling the ruts created by the wheels of an irrigation system.  
         [0004]     2. Related Art  
         [0005]     Mobile irrigation systems are often used to irrigate large fields. A mobile irrigation system consists of a long feed pipe fed with water at one end and distributing water to numerous sprinkler heads. The feed pipe and sprinklers are supported by a wheeled structure that is slowly moved across the field by a motor. One particular type of mobile sprinkler system is known as a pivot irrigation system. In a pivot irrigation system, a well or other source of water at the center of the field provides water to the feed pipe. The pivot irrigation system rotates around this center, irrigating a circular field region.  
         [0006]     Repeated travel of the irrigation system wheels in the same track creates wheel track ruts in the field. Earth is displaced by the wheels and builds up beside the rut. Additionally, the soil within the rut can become compacted by the weight of the irrigation system. Because it is typically wet under the irrigation system, displaced earth and compacted soil may dry to form hard clumps. Over time, the ruts can also become quite deep, sometimes more than 12 inches deep.  
         [0007]     Wheel track ruts can cause numerous problems with farming a field. For example, the ruts can undesirably channel and redirect irrigation water. Driving harvesting equipment across the ruts can cause damage such as broken springs or axles. Plowing across the ruts can result in irregular cultivation and damage to farm equipment. To address some of these problems, pivot irrigated fields are typically worked in a circular pattern to ensure uniform cultivation. Plowing in circles, however, is inefficient, and the danger presented when necessarily crossing the ruts to reach centermost portions of the field remains.  
         [0008]     Numerous approaches to solve the problems created by wheel track ruts have been attempted. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,781 issued to Buhler and U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,911 issued to Bean disclose devices which may be attached to the irrigation system to push displaced earth back into the rut as the irrigation system moves around the field. Added resistance from these devices unfortunately requires additional drive power from the motor that moves the irrigation system about the field. Additionally, each wheel of the irrigation system must be configured with one of these devices. Alternately, a tractor with a scraping implement may be used to level the ruts. The combination of deep ruts, waterlogged soil, and vegetation has, however, proven challenging. Known scraping implements are designed for different objectives and have performed poorly when used in an attempt to fill wheel track ruts.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     It has been recognized that it would be advantageous to develop a wheel track rut filler which is particularly adapted for filling wheel track ruts and can be used to restore a field to its original level surface.  
         [0010]     The invention provides a farm implement for replacing displaced earth into a rut. The farm implement includes a frame that may be attached to a prime mover and moved over the rut. The farm implement may include a pair of blades mounted to the frame and angled to scrape earth laterally towards the rut. The farm implement may include an auger rotatably mounted to the frame between the blades and oriented to discharge earth to the rear of the farm implement. The farm implement may also include means for stabilizing the frame against transverse movement to prevent the auger from bouncing out of the rut.  
         [0011]     Additional features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description which follows, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which together illustrate, by way of example, features of the invention. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a wheel track rut filler with a transverse stabilizer in a lower position viewed from near the front in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0013]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a wheel track rut filler with a transverse stabilizer in a raised position viewed from near the front in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a wheel track rut filler viewed from near the rear in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 4  is side plan view of a wheel track rut filler in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0016]      FIG. 5  is side plan view of a wheel track rut filler in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0017]     Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language will be used herein to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Alterations and further modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, and additional applications of the principles of the inventions as illustrated herein, which would occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the invention.  
         [0018]     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a wheel track rut filler in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is indicated generally at  100 . The wheel track rut filler  100  may include a primary frame  102 , a pair of blades  104 , an auger  106 , a transverse scraping blade  130 , a secondary frame  150 , and a weighted drum  154 . The primary frame  102  may include a coupler  108  for attachment to a prime mover, such as a tractor. The coupler is shown in the form of a three-point hitch, although other couplers for attachment to different types of prime movers will be known to one skilled in the art.  
         [0019]     The blades  104  are attached to the primary frame. The blades are mounted at an angle with respect to the direction of travel, creating a wider opening in the front and a narrower opening in the rear. The blades may be permanently attached to the primary frame  102  or may be removably mounted with various fasteners. Preferably, the blades are installed with a removable blade edge  110  at the bottom which can be replaced or sharpened.  
         [0020]     The auger  106  is rotatably attached to the primary frame, for example, with bearings  112 . The auger is rotated by a drive source, for example, a hydraulic motor  114 . The hydraulic motor can be driven by tractor hydraulics. Alternately, the auger may be coupled to a tractor power takeoff. Other methods of rotating the auger will occur to one skilled in the art. The rotation and pitch of the auger are selected so the auger will force material to the rear of the wheel track rut filler  100 .  
         [0021]     The wheel track rut filler  100  may be pushed or pulled by a prime mover. For example, when pulled by tractor, the tractor and wheel track rut filler may be positioned to straddle the rut. The tractor three-point hitch may be used to adjust the wheel track rut filler to place the blade edge  110  at the original ground level. As the tractor pulls the wheel track rut filler along the rut, the blades scrape displaced earth laterally towards and into the rut. The auger  106  smooths the replaced earth and helps to move earth to the rear of the wheel track rut filler. The auger also helps to break up dirt clods that are caught between the blades. By positioning the auger slightly above the original ground level, a slight berm may be left where the rut was.  
         [0022]     The transverse blade  130  can be removably attached to the rear  132  of the primary frame  102 , above the auger  106 . As the auger displaces earth, the transverse blade can scrape and flatten the top of any berm left by the auger. Thus, the transverse blade can help in redistributing the displaced dirt into a flat surface. Additionally, the transverse blade can prevent large dirt clods from escaping the primary frame unbroken by forcing the clods back into the auger, rather than allowing them to escape out the back of the primary frame.  
         [0023]     The secondary frame  150  can be pivotally attached to the rear  132  of the primary frame  102  to allow vertical displacement while restraining the drum against transverse movement. The weighted drum  154  can be rotatably coupled on an axle to the secondary frame. The secondary frame can be pivoted between a raised position and a lower position by an actuator, for example, a hydraulic piston  152 . Other suitable methods of pivoting the secondary frame will occur to one skilled in the art.  
         [0024]     The weighted drum  154  can be filled with a displaceable material  156  to provide the weight necessary to achieve the stabilizing and compacting forces on the wheel track rut filler  10 . The displaceable material can be a suitable aggregate material such as sand or gravel, or the displaceable material could be a liquid, such as water. Other suitable displaceable materials may be used, as known to those skilled in the art. The amount of displaceable material used in the weighted drum can be varied to allow the weighted drum to have different weights. Thus, the weight of the weighted drum can be varied to accommodate differing environmental conditions at the time of use, such as size of the wheel rut, soil conditions, and speed of the prime mover.  
         [0025]     When the secondary frame  150  is in the lower position, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the weighted drum  154  can roll along the ground behind the auger  106 . As the weighted drum is pulled behind the primary frame  102 , the weighted drum can provide drag on the primary frame which stabilizes the primary frame against transverse movement and minimizes the possibility of the auger bouncing out of the rut. Additionally, the weighted drum can compact the slight berm back to the original ground level as the weighted drum is pulled behind the auger.  
         [0026]      FIG. 2  illustrates the secondary frame  150  in the raised position. In the raised position the weighted drum  154  can remain above the ground, but can still provide a stabilizing weight to the primary frame  102  to minimize transverse movement. However, any berm left by the auger  106  will not be compacted to the original ground level.  
         [0027]     The wheel track rut filler  100  may also be equipped with various accessories, such as a guide wheel, coulters, fill hopper, or carriage wheels.  FIG. 3  illustrates a wheel track rut filler equipped with a guide wheel  116  and coulters  118  in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. The guide wheel is attached to the primary frame  102  and positioned forward of the blades  104  to ride within the rut to help keep the primary frame centered over the rut. The coulters may be positioned to cut slightly into the surface of the earth to separate vegetation that has grown into the area adjacent to the wheel track rut. Coulters may prove particularly helpful when refilling ruts before harvest where the vegetation is heavy or viny by preventing excessive damage to crops. Preferably, the guide wheel and coulters are attached to the primary frame in such a way that they may be adjusted. Possible attachments include bolting and fixing with a hitch pin. Various methods of attaching the guide wheel and coulters to the primary frame will be apparent to one skilled in the art.  
         [0028]      FIG. 4  illustrates a side view of a wheel track rut filler  100  equipped with a fill hopper  120  and carriage wheels  122  in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. The carriage wheels are positioned to hold the blade edge  110  at the original ground level  140 . For deep wheel track ruts, it may be necessary to add fill material to completely fill the rut. The fill hopper may be loaded with a fill material, for example, sand. The fill hopper has an orifice  126  located in line with the guide wheel  116  so that material discharged from orifice will enter the rut. An orifice control  124  controls the rate of discharge of material from the fill hopper. The orifice control is connected by a connecting rod  128  to the guide wheel. The guide wheel rides in the rut, and thus extends below the original ground level  140 . When the guide wheel drops into a deeper portion of the rut, the connecting rod will cause the orifice control to open wider discharging additional fill into the rut. Preferably, the connecting rod is adjustable so that the rate of discharge relative to the guide wheel position can be varied by the user.  
         [0029]     Carriage wheels  122  can be rotatably mounted to each side of the frame to provide additional stability for the frame. Preferably, when using a fill hopper, the primary frame  102  will be equipped with carriage wheels to prevent overturning. Optionally, the carriage wheels may be mounted to a rotating sub-frame assembly so that they can be retracted.  
         [0030]      FIG. 5  illustrates  FIG. 4  illustrates a side view of a wheel track rut filler  100  equipped with a fill hopper  120 , carriage wheels  122 , and a plate compactor  164  in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. The plate compactor  166  can be pivotally attached to the rear  132  of the frame  102  to allow vertical displacement while restraining the plate compactor against transverse movement. The plate compactor can be pivoted between a raised position and a lower position by an actuator, for example, a hydraulic piston  160 . Other suitable methods of pivoting the plate compactor will occur to one skilled in the art.  
         [0031]     When the plate compactor  166  is in the lower position, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the plate compactor can drag along the ground  140  behind the auger  106 . Additionally, the plate compactor can compact the slight berm left by the auger back to the original ground level as the plate compactor is pulled behind the auger. In the raised position the plate compactor can remain above the ground, however, any berm left by the auger will not be compacted to the original ground level.  
         [0032]     A wheel track rut filler  100  may be operated in the configuration shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , or may be equipped with any combination of the accessories as shown in  FIG. 3, 4  or  5 .  
         [0033]     By using the disclosed invention to fill wheel track ruts, farm fields may be worked more efficiently and evenly. Rather than plowing the fields to avoid the wheel track ruts, the wheel track ruts may be filled and the field plowed in a more efficient straight pattern. By filling the wheel track ruts before harvest, less stress will be placed on harvesting equipment.  
         [0034]     It is to be understood that the above-referenced arrangements are illustrative of the application for the principles of the present invention. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements can be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention while the present invention has been shown in the drawings and described above in connection with the exemplary embodiments(s) of the invention. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications can be made without departing from the principles and concepts of the invention as set forth in the claims.