Abstract:
A coulter assembly has a resilient spring tine that bears against the compression face of the angled coulter during field operations to remove dirt clumps that otherwise inhibit the furrow-forming action of the coulter. A special spring coil mounting of the tine provides a lively vibratory action as the tine encounters various impact loads from different directions during field operations, thus rendering the tine essentially self-cleaning insofar as trash accumulations are concerned. The angle of attack of the tine relative to the ground and the coulter can be readily adjusted without diminishing the vibratory action of the tine.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to farm equipment and, more particularly, to a coulter assembly which may be attached to the frame of an implement and used for introducing seeds, fertilizer or both into the ground as the implement is advanced.  
         BACKGROUND  
         [0002]    It is known in the art to use an angled coulter blade to open a furrow in the soil that receives seeds, fertilizer, or both. The generally flat coulters are most often used in fields where it is necessary to cut through trash left on the surface of the fields from previously harvested crops.  
           [0003]    It is also well known to use a variety of scrapers on one or both faces of the coulter to keep mud from accumulating on those faces and interfering with proper functioning of the unit. One mechanism of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,179 which shows a floating scraper blade against the trailing face of the angled coulter and a rigid tine on the leading or “compression” face of the coulter. However, the rigid tine in the &#39;179 patent is designed and adapted to collect trash during operation and form what is referred to as an “organic wear pad” to remove soil build-up and avoid excessive wear between the coulter and the tine. In heavy trash conditions, such accumulation and build-up of trash materials can be detrimental to proper functioning of the coulter.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    The present invention provides a coulter assembly with a cleaning tine that removes accumulating soil from the face of the coulter and yet has the ability to shed itself of trash that otherwise tends to accumulate and build up, thus avoiding the problems of excessive trash build-up suffered by prior art devices. This ability to shed trash is derived from a resilient mounting arrangement for the tine so that it exhibits a live, vibratory action during field operations as countless random forces impact the tine from a variety of different angles. Instead of having a stiff and rigid mounting as in the prior art, the tine of the present invention has a transverse spring coil at its mounting end that allows the tine to actively deflect and vibrate as dirt clods and trash impact the tine, such erratic movement having the effect of dislodging trash materials before they can accumulate on the tine in any significant way. Thus, metal-to-metal contact between the working tip of the tine and the face of the coulter is promoted. Furthermore, the spring coil is made in such a way that its adjacent convolutions progressively increase in diameter as the working leg of the tine is approached. Thus, when mounted on a supporting surface or hub passing through the center of the coil, one or more of the coils closest to the working leg of the tine can be diametrically spaced out of contact with the hub so as to provide spring action by resiliently contracting in diameter as the working leg is deflected. This oversizing of convolutions adjacent the working leg also facilitates resiliency in a transverse direction so the working leg can vigorously flex toward and away from the face of the coulter. Additionally, the tine is mounted in an adjustable manner so that its angle relative to the ground surface can be changed independently of the coulter to provide the best trash-shedding and coulter cleaning action. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0005]    [0005]FIG. 1 is a right side elevational view of a coulter assembly constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention, the assembly being illustrated in field operation;  
         [0006]    [0006]FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view thereof;  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 3 is a left side elevational view thereof;  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the coulter assembly with the mounting bar of the implement frame fragmentarily shown;  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the assembly taken along a horizontal cut plane passing through the pivot axis of an adjustable mounting member of the assembly;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 6 is an isometric view of one embodiment of a spring tine constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 7 is an exploded isometric view of certain components of the coulter assembly;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 8 is a right side elevational view of the coulter assembly of FIG. 1 illustrating the manner in which the cleaning tine is free to actively flex in a vertical plane to shed trash during field operations;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 5 on a reduced scale illustrating the way in which the tine is free to actively flex toward and away from the face of the coulter during field operations to shed trash; and  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 10 is an exploded isometric view of certain components of the coulter assembly illustrating details of construction.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0015]    The present invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms. While the drawings illustrate and the specification describes certain preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that such disclosure is by way of example only. There is no intent to limit the principles of the present invention to the particular disclosed embodiments.  
         [0016]    As shown particularly in FIGS.  1 - 4 , a coulter assembly constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention is broadly denoted by the numeral  10  and is adapted for attachment to the frame  12  of a farm implement (not shown). A U-bolt clamp assembly  14  accomplishes this function in the illustrated embodiment. Coulter assembly  10  in FIG. 1 is illustrated as moving from left to right during field operations, as well understood by those skilled in the art.  
         [0017]    The coulter assembly  10  includes an upright tubular support  16  of generally rectangular cross-sectional configuration, such support  16  being adjustably received within and secured to a collar  18  that is in turn clamped to the frame  12  by the U-bolt clamp assembly  14 . At its lower end, support  16  has a yoke  20  presented by a pair of laterally spaced apart, downwardly and rearwardly extending ears  22  and  24  (see also FIG. 10). Ears  22  and  24  are provided with a pair of corresponding holes  26  and  28  (FIG. 10) that are transversely horizontally aligned for the purpose of receiving a pivot bolt  30  defining a first transverse axis of swinging or pivoting movement as will hereinafter be further described.  
         [0018]    Pivotally attached to yoke  20  via bolt  30  is a generally U-shaped carrier  32  (see FIG. 10 in particular) comprising a pair of laterally spaced arms  34  and  36  that are rigidly interconnected adjacent their forward ends by a transversely extending, cylindrical hub  38  welded at its opposite ends to the arms  34 , 36 . As shown in FIG. 10, hub  38  houses a tubular spacer  40  on bolt  30 , as well as a pair of bushings  42  and  44  on opposite sides of spacer  40 . A nut  46  and lock washer  48  retain bolt  30  and carrier  32  on yoke  20 .  
         [0019]    A generally flat, sharp-edged coulter blade  50  is rotatably supported on arm  34  of carrier  32 . While arm  34  is disposed in generally perpendicular relationship to hub  38 , the axis of rotation of coulter  50  is not parallel to the axis of up and down swinging movement of carrier  32  defined by bolt  30 . Instead, the axis of rotation of coulter  50 , denoted by the numeral  52  in FIGS. 4 and 5, is cocked forwardly so that it converges toward bolt  30  as arm  36  is approached. Thus, coulter  50  is correspondingly skewed at an oblique angle with respect to the forward path of travel of the implement, presenting a slightly leading or compression face  54  on one side and a trailing face  56  on the opposite side. Thus, as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2,  3  and  8 , coulter  50  cuts through the soil during field operations and pushes the soil slightly to one side (FIG. 2) to prepare a shallow trench or furrow  58  into which seeds and/or fertilizer may be deposited. In the illustrated embodiment, the coulter assembly  10  selected for purposes of illustration may be termed a “right hand” assembly wherein coulter  50  is angled with compression face  54  on the right side so as to correspondingly produce a slight lift or lip of soil  59  (FIG. 2) as coulter  50  travels through the soil. It will be noted also that coulter  50  is tilted back slightly so the bottom extremity of coulter  50  is somewhat closer to arm  36  than the top extremity. This also results in axis  52  being slightly upwardly and rightwardly inclined as illustrated in FIG. 2.  
         [0020]    Carrier  32  and coulter  50  are yieldably biased downwardly by a coil spring assembly  60 . Such assembly  60  includes an elongated, fore-and-aft extending, rigid strap  62  that is anchored at its rear end to a rearward portion of arm  34  and at its forward end passes through a slot  64  (FIGS. 4 and 10) in an upturned abutment plate  66  that is rigidly affixed to support  16  just above yoke  20 . A retainer pin  68  or the like (FIG. 4) prevents strap  62  from pulling back out of slot  64  and keeps carrier  32  and coulter  50  from dropping down beyond a predetermined limit of travel. Spring assembly  60  further includes a coiled compression spring  70  trapped between abutment plate  66  at the upper end and a shoulder  72  at the lower end to provide yieldable resistance to upward swinging of carrier  32  and coulter  50 .  
         [0021]    Attached to the rear of arm  34  is a scraper assembly broadly denoted by the numeral  74 . Assembly  74  includes a mounting bracket  76  bolted or otherwise secured to arm  34 , and a slightly inwardly curved scraper blade  78  secured to the lower extremity of bracket  76 . Blade  78  is designed to contact trailing face  56  of coulter  50  generally within the second quadrant thereof as viewed in FIG. 3 for the purpose of scraping dirt and mud from trailing face  56  as it begins to lift up and out of furrow  58 . The lowermost edge of blade  78  is angled upwardly and forwardly in a diagonal manner across the lower rear portion of trailing face  56 .  
         [0022]    A generally upright placement tube  80  is attached to and supported by the rear of bracket  76 , such tube  80  having a lower discharge end  82  that curves slightly downwardly and rearwardly generally in the vicinity of scraper blade  78 . Discharge end  82  of tube  80  is located somewhat above the bottom of furrow  58  and in transverse alignment with scraper blade  78  behind the latter so as to be in a protected position for discharging substances into furrow  58 , such as seeds and/or fertilizer. The upper end of placement tube  80  is, of course, coupled with a source of supply of the materials being deposited in furrow  58 . An upwardly and forwardly angled mounting sleeve  84  is also carried on bracket  76  but substantially outboard of tube  80  for the purpose of supporting an optional discharge tube (not shown) for other substances.  
         [0023]    A special vibratory cleaning tine  86  is mounted on carrier  32  in a resilient and adjustable manner for cleaning dirt and mud from the compression face  54  of coulter  50  without catching and accumulating trash. As illustrated in FIG. 6, tine  86  includes two major portions, i.e., an elongated working leg portion  88  and a transverse relief spring coil portion  90 . Working leg  88  includes an upper or forward segment  92  that extends at generally right angles to the axis of transverse coil  90 . Leg  88  further includes an intermediate, inturned segment  94  extending at an oblique angle to the axis of coil  90 , and a working tip segment  96  that projects rearwardly from intermediate segment  94  almost at the same angle as upper segment  92  but preferably inturned slightly with respect to the longitudinal axis of upper segment  92 .  
         [0024]    Spring coil  90  of tine  86  is integral with leg  88  and comprises a plurality of side-by-side convolutions that progressively decrease in diameter as working leg  88  is departed. In the preferred embodiment, three of such convolutions  98 ,  100  and  102  are provided, with convolution  98  being the largest in diameter and convolution  102  being the smallest. At its uppermost end, tine  86  is provided with an outturned tang  104  that projects generally at right angles to the convolution  102  and away from coil  90 . In one preferred embodiment tine  86  is constructed from ⅜″ inch diameter oil tempered spring steel wire.  
         [0025]    Tine  86  is mounted on carrier  32  by a special mount broadly denoted by the numeral  106 . Mount  106  includes an upwardly and rearwardly angled arm  108  that is swingably attached to arm  36  of carrier  32  by a pivot bolt  100  which passes through a hole  112  in arm  36  as illustrated in FIG. 7, such bolt  110  defining a third axis of pivoting or rotational movement. Arm  108  has a cylindrical hub  114  rigidly affixed thereto such as by welding, the hub  114  projecting laterally outwardly from the outboard face of arm  108  and receiving a bushing  116  in concentric relationship to pivot bolt  110 . Coil  90  of tine  86  encircles hub  114  and is trapped between the outboard face of arm  108  and a fore-and-aft extending leg  118  of a generally L-shaped keeper  120 . Pivot bolt  110  serves to attach the entire assembly consisting of keeper  120 , bushing  116 , tine  86  and arm  108  to arm  36  of carrier  32 .  
         [0026]    Tine  86  is oriented on hub  114  of mount  106  in such a manner that working leg  88  is closest to arm  108 , with coil  90  progressively decreasing in diameter as keeper  120  is approached. In a preferred embodiment, the largest convolution  98  is significantly larger in diameter than hub  114  so that convolution  98  does not engage the exterior surface of hub  114 . Likewise, convolution  100  is, for the most part, sufficiently large in diameter that the interior surface of convolution  100  does not engage the exterior of hub  114 . Convolution  102 , on the other hand, has substantially the same internal diameter as the exterior diameter of hub  114  such that convolution  102  physically engages the exterior of hub  114  over a complete 360° of wrap. Tang  104  on convolution  102  projects through and is received within a retaining hole  122  in leg  118  of keeper  120 . A first inturned protrusion  124  on leg  118  bears against smallest convolution  102  to help retain the latter in place on hub  114 , while a second inturned leg  126  of keeper  120  overlies upper segment  92  of working leg  88  and underlies the bottom edge of mounting arm  108  as illustrated, for example, in FIG. 2.  
         [0027]    Mount  106  and tine  86  are selectively adjustable about the axis of bolt  110  so as to permit adjustment of the angle of working tine leg  88  relative to the ground. As illustrated in FIG. 1, for example, working tine leg  88  extends generally downwardly and rearwardly diagonally across outer face  54  of coulter  50  just below axis  52 , but that angle can be adjusted as may be necessary or appropriate considering the running depth of coulter  50  and/or the trash flow in the vicinity of tine  86 . Generally speaking, it has been found beneficial to position the working tip segment  96  of tine  86  just slightly above the surface of the ground when coulter  50  is at operating depth. Moreover, it has been found that, in some conditions, tine  86  may more readily shed trash as working leg  88  is less inclined and more horizontally disposed. In any event, mechanism for rendering tine  86  selectively adjustable in this respect is broadly denoted by the numeral  128  and is the subject of related application Ser. No. ______ titled ______ filed contemporaneously with the present application.  
         [0028]    While details of adjustment mechanism  128  are described and claimed in the aforesaid co-pending application, mechanism  128  will be briefly described herein for a full and complete understanding of the present invention. To this end, it will be appreciated that mechanism  128  includes cooperating, interengageable structure on arm  36  of carrier  32  and arm  108  of mount  106 . More specifically, arm  108  at its upper and rearmost end includes an enlarged, generally arcuately configured locking segment  130  provided with a series of side-by-side teeth  132  and notches  134 . In the illustrated embodiment, a total of eight teeth  132  are provided, along with seven notches  134  interspersed between the teeth. The radially outermost faces  136  of teeth  132  are generally flat or at most slightly convexly radiused, while notches  134  are slightly tapered so as to widen progressively and by a small amount as the deep end of each notch is approached. Teeth  132  are substantially the same size as notches  134   
         [0029]    The other part of adjustment mechanism  128 , i.e., the structure on arm  36  of carrier  32 , includes structure for selectively engaging teeth  132  and notches  134  for the purpose of holding mount arm  108  in a selected position about the axis of pivot bolt  110 . Such structure includes a pair of generally upright detent bars  138  and  140  that are each sized and shaped to be easily received within a selected one of the notches  134 . Detent bars  138  and  140  are spaced apart on the arc of swinging travel of locking segment  130  a distance equaling the combined width of one notch and one tooth and, more particularly, a center-to-center distance equal to three times the center-to-center distance between a notch and an adjacent tooth. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 1, for example, when the detent bar  138  is aligned with a tooth  132 , the detent bar  140  is aligned with a notch  134  on the other side of the next adjacent tooth. A pair of generally vertically spaced, superimposed guide plates  142  and  144  slidably receive the two detent bars  138 , 140  for individual reciprocation thereof toward and away from locking segment  130 , and detent bars  138 , 140  are provided with coil compression springs  146  and  148  respectively for yieldably biasing the bars downwardly toward teeth  132  and notches  134 . Cross pins  150  and  152  in detent bars  138  and  140  respectively trap springs  146  and  148  against the underside of upper guide plate  142  to carry out this function.  
         [0030]    The detent bars  138  and  140  pass upwardly through and beyond upper guide plate  142  and are operably coupled at that location with a generally fore-and-aft extending operating lever  154 . The forward end of lever of  154  is pivotally connected to the upper end of detent bar  140  via a pivot  156 , while the mid-part of lever  154  is operably coupled with the upper end of detent bar  138  via a fore-and-aft slot  158  in lever  154  and a transverse pin  160  on bar  138 . The distal end of lever  154  thus functions as a gripping portion to facilitate manual actuation of lever  154 .  
         [0031]    In this respect, viewing FIG. 1 as an example, when lever  154  is depressed downwardly and rearwardly at its rear end so as to generally pivot about pivot  160 , the front end of lever  154  is raised, thereby extracting detent bar  140  from its notch. This effectively unlatches mount arm  108  and permits it to be manually indexed one digit forward or backward as may be desired, whereupon the coil spring  146  of detent bar  138  will snap bar  138  down into the next notch while detent bar  140  is blocked by the outer edge of an adjacent tooth from entering a notch. The operating end of lever  154  thus comes to be lowered relative to its FIG. 1 position, so that, to index mount arm  108  by the next increment, lever  154  must be lifted about pivot  156 . When this happens, detent bar  138  is extracted from its notch so that mount arm  108  is unlatched until it is manually indexed one increment in either direction about the axis of pivot bolt  110 , whereupon detent bar  140  snaps down into the next adjacent notch and detent bar  138  comes to rest upon the outer surface of a proximal tooth. In practice, if a significant amount of adjustment is desired, lever  154  is rocked through a series of successive lifting and lowering actions while mount arm  108  is essentially simultaneously moved in the desired direction and by the desired amount.  
         [0032]    Operation  
         [0033]    As coulter assembly  10  is pulled forwardly through the soil after being set at a selected depth, the relatively sharp peripheral edge on coulter  50  cuts through trash on the surface of the ground and opens a slice in the soil to the selected depth. Furthermore, as a result of the oblique attitude of coulter  50  relative to the path of travel of the implement, coulter  50  simultaneously widens the slice into a furrow having a width corresponding to the silhouette of the angled coulter as viewed from the front or the rear as illustrated in FIG. 2, for example. Fertilizer or seeds can be dropped into the resulting furrow  58  through placement tube  80 , whereupon the lip of soil  59  formed on the compression side of coulter  50  can be pressed back down by a following closing wheel or other device to reclose the furrow and cover the deposited substance. If obstacles are encountered in the path of travel of the coulter  50 , it simply rides up and over such obstacles, swinging upwardly about the axis of pivot bolt  30  as a unit with carrier  32  and the appended scraper  78  and tine  86 . Coil spring  60  yieldably resists such movement and, once the obstacle is cleared, returns coulter  50  to the selected depth.  
         [0034]    As coulter  50  rotates through the soil in its furrow-forming action, clumps of dirt tend to adhere to trailing portions thereof as they move up and out of furrow  58 . However, scraper blade  78  continuously scrapes those materials from the trailing face  56  of coulter  50 , while tine  86  performs the same function on compression face  54 . While scraper blade  78  travels in the “shadow” or lee of coulter  50  and is thus essentially shielded from encounters with trash materials, tine  86  is not so protected and is instead fully exposed to trash materials that would tend to catch on working leg  88  thereof and accumulate. However, due in part to the resilient mounting of working leg  88  through spring coil  90 , working leg  88  is constantly undergoing a vigorous vibratory action in a variety of planes that helps it shake free of trash materials that would otherwise cling and build up on the tine. Such action is caused in part by impacts with the trash materials themselves but, in addition, by the clumps of dirt adhering to the face  54  of coulter  50  and passing under the working tip  96  that otherwise always remains in metal-to-metal contact with face  54 . Such encounters of tip  96  with dirt clumps has the tendency not only to flip the tine upwardly as illustrated in FIG. 8, but also to snap it outwardly away from the face of the coulter as illustrated in FIG. 9. Thus, the tine is continuously undergoing a lift and drop action as well as an in and out flexing, all of which has the effect of shaking otherwise clinging trash materials off the tine and on to the ground. Without build up of trash on the tine, tip  96  is free to maintain metal-to-contact with face  54  to provide improved cleaning action without trash build-up.  
         [0035]    Due to the special design of coil  90 , the spring action of working leg  88  is much more lively than would otherwise be the case. In this respect it will be noted that the two largest convolutions  98  and  100  of coil  90  are essentially open and unstressed when working leg  88  is under no load. Thus, not only is the inherent resiliency of operating leg  88  available over its operating length from hub  114  to working tip  96 , but also the length of wire presented by the unconstricted convolutions  98  and  100  is available to provide a resilient action. Thus, as working leg  88  is forced upwardly as shown in FIG. 8 out of its nominal position, the two largest convolutions  98  and  100  have considerable space to constrict or contract in a tightening action around hub  114 , thus storing up energy for a snap return of working leg  88  back toward its nominal or equilibrium position once the loading has been removed. Moreover, the open and unloaded condition of the two largest convolutions  98  and  100  allows them to twist and cant inwardly and outwardly as need be to provide for an extensive range of travel of operating leg  88  toward and away from compression face  54  as illustrated in FIG. 9 when a transverse loading is experienced by the working tip  96 . Again, this greater range of motion and resilience than would be provided if convolutions  98 ,  100  and  102  were all tightly wrapped around hub  114  provides a more animated action on the part of tine  86  to resist the accumulation of trash materials.  
         [0036]    Furthermore, this lively action of tine  86  can be obtained at any adjusted position thereof relative to coulter  50  and the ground surface. Regardless of the selected position of mount  106  about the axis of pivot bolt  110 , the performance of coil  90  is unaffected. It will be observed in this respect that coil  90  does not in any way tighten or loosen on hub  114  as mount arm  108  is adjusted. Instead, tine  86 , including both working leg  88  and coil  90 , moves as a unit with mount  106  in the direction of adjustment. In some cases it may be desirable to have working leg  88  more or less angled than illustrated in FIG. 1, but in either case the performance of coil  90  remains the same to provide superior vibratory action.  
         [0037]    Although preferred forms of the invention have been described above, it is to be recognized that such disclosure is by way of illustration only, and should not be utilized in a limiting sense in interpreting the scope of the present invention. Obvious modifications to the exemplary embodiments, as hereinabove set forth, could be readily made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention.  
         [0038]    The inventor(s) hereby state(s) his/their intent to rely on the Doctrine of Equivalents to determine and assess the reasonably fair scope of his/their invention as pertains to any apparatus not materially departing from but outside the literal scope of the invention as set out in the following claims.