Abstract:
A support stand for an implement such as farming equipment is provided. During use of the implement when the implement is connected to a tractor, the support stand is in a stowed position adjacent to a surface of the implement. When the implement is disconnected from the tractor, the support stand is rotatable outwards from the surface of the implement and downwards towards the ground and rests against the ground to maintain the implement in a generally upright position.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of, and claims the benefit of, U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 12/829,992, filed on Jul. 2, 2010, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/829,992 further claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/222,666, filed on Jul. 2, 2009, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to the field of tractor-based, rotary-driven power equipment, and more particularly relates to a support stand for tillers and other such implements. 
       BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    A support stand for a tiller or other such implement is provided. In operation, tillers and other farming implements are pulled behind a tractor. It is desirable to have a kickstand or support stand to support the tiller in an upright position when it is not hitched to the tractor and/or during hitching of the tiller to the tractor. 
         [0004]    The tiller comprises a support stand that is stowable when not in use. In this regard, a spring clip retains the support stand against the side of the tiller. A pivot plate rotatably receives the support stand and allows the support stand to pivot out from the tiller during deployment to avoid contact with the tiller components. The pivot plate is rotatably connected to the wall of the tiller. When the support stand is fully deployed, it rests against a stop extending from the wall of the tiller. The stop prevents further rotation of the support stand. 
         [0005]    For purposes of summarizing the invention, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features of the invention have been described herein. It is to be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any one particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    The disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The elements of the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the disclosure. Furthermore, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of an exemplary tiller in accordance with the present disclosure, with the support stand in its fully deployed position. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a side plan view of the tiller of  FIG. 1 , with the support stand in its stowed position. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged detail view of the tiller of  FIG. 2 , taken along detail line “A” of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a side plan view of the tiller of  FIG. 1 , with the support stand in a partially deployed position. 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a side plan view of the tiller of  FIG. 1 , with the support stand in a fully deployed position. 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is an enlarged detail view of the tiller of  FIG. 5 , taken along detail line “B” of  FIG. 5 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  is a top plan view of the tiller of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 8  is an enlarged detail view of the tiller of  FIG. 7 , taken along detail line “C” of  FIG. 7 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 9  is a top plan view of the tiller of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 10  is a top plan view of the tiller of  FIG. 4 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 11   a  is a side perspective view of a pivot plate according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0018]      FIG. 11   b  is a side plan view of the pivot plate of  FIG. 11   a.    
           [0019]      FIG. 11   c  is an end view of the pivot plate of  FIG. 11   a.    
           [0020]      FIG. 12   a  is a side perspective view of a spring clip according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0021]      FIG. 12   b  is an end view of the spring clip of  FIG. 12   a.    
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0022]      FIG. 1  depicts a front perspective view of a tiller  10  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The tiller  10  comprises a tiller body  75  and rotating tines  76  for conditioning soil (not shown). A support stand  11  is rotatably connected to a side  12  of the tiller  10  via a pivot plate  14 . The support stand  11  contacts the ground (not shown) when the support stand  11  is in a “fully deployed” position, as discussed further herein. The support stand  11  enables the tiller  10  to remain upright even when the tiller  10  is unhitched from a tractor (not shown). 
         [0023]    In this regard, the tiller  10  comprises a pair of skids  15  which contact the ground. In normal operation, the tiller  10  is supported by the skids  15  and by the tractor, the tractor&#39;s support being provided via a standard three-point hitch (not shown). If the tiller  10  is unhitched from the tractor, the tiller  10  would not remain upright due to the curved nature of the skids  15 . The support stand  11  provides support to maintain the tiller  10  in an upright orientation. 
         [0024]    In the illustrated embodiment, the support stand  11  comprises a tubular bar with a generally rectangular cross section. The support stand  11  is rotatably connected to the pivot plate  14  via a fastener  19 . The support stand  11  rotates around an axis (not shown) running through the fastener  19 . 
         [0025]    The pivot plate  14  is rotatably connected to the side  12  of the tiller  10  via a pivot plate fastener (not shown). In this regard, the pivot plate  14  rotates in the same plane as the side  12  of the tiller  10 . In the illustrated embodiment, this plane is the x-y plane. The support stand  11  is thus effectively rotatable in two different directions with respect to the tiller  10 . First, the support stand  11  rotates with respect to the pivot plate  14  as discussed above. Second, the support stand  11  rotates with respect to the tiller  10  via the rotation of the pivot plate  14  in the x-y plane. 
         [0026]      FIG. 2  is a side plan view of the tiller  10  of  FIG. 1  with the support stand  11  in a stowed position. In this illustration, the support stand  11  is received by a spring clip  13 , which retains the support stand  11  against the side  12  of the tiller  10 . The spring clip  13  is rigidly connected to the side  12  of the tiller  10 , such that when the support stand  11  is retained by the spring clip  13 , the support stand  11  is prevented from rotating in any direction. 
         [0027]    In this embodiment, the spring clip  13  comprises a one-piece, unitary clip with upper and lower tabs  13   a  and  13   b,  respectively, which receive the support stand  11  and releasably restrain it via a friction fit. 
         [0028]    To release the support stand  11  from the spring clip  13 , a user (not shown) may either push tab  13   a  upwardly or press tab  13   b  it downwardly. Then the user may pull the support stand  11  outwardly (i.e., in the +z direction) from the spring clip  13 , and the support stand  11  will rotate around the fastener  19 . The support stand  11  may then be rotated counterclockwise to its fully deployed position. 
         [0029]    A stop  22  protrudes from the wall  12  and restrains the pivot plate  14  when the support stand  11  is in a fully deployed position. The stop  22  is partially obstructed by the support stand  11  in  FIG. 2 , but can be more clearly viewed in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . The stop  22  protrudes from the wall  12  such that it does not obstruct the rotation of the support stand  11 , but it will obstruct movement of the pivot plate  14 , as further discussed herein. 
         [0030]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged detail view of the tiller  10  of  FIG. 2 , taken along detail line “A” of  FIG. 2 . The stop  22  is an oblong protrusion that extends outwardly from the wall  12  of the tiller  10 . In this embodiment, the stop  22  comprises a forward straight side  80 , a rearward straight side  81 , a top rounded side  82 , and a bottom rounded side  83 , and an outermost edge  66 . 
         [0031]    The stop  22  extends generally perpendicularly from the wall  12  of the tiller  10 , but does not extend so far that it contacts the support stand  11 , as further illustrated in  FIG. 8  herein. After the support stand  11  is rotated in its fully deployed position, the stop  22  restrains the pivot plate  14  from further rotation, as further illustrated in  FIG. 6  herein. 
         [0032]      FIG. 4  is a side plan view of the tiller  10  of  FIG. 2 , with the support stand  11  partially rotated but not fully deployed. In this illustration, the support stand  11  has rotated counterclockwise from its stowed position (as illustrated in  FIG. 2 ), to a position mid-way to a fully deployed position. 
         [0033]    The spring clip  13  is unobstructed in this illustration, and is further described with respect to  FIG. 13  herein. The spring clip fastener  23  rigidly connects the spring clip  13  to the wall  12  of the tiller  10 . 
         [0034]      FIG. 5  is a side plan view of the tiller  10  of  FIG. 2 , with the support stand  11  in its fully deployed position. In this configuration, a bottom edge  20  of the support stand  11  rests upon the ground  16  as shown. The tiller is thus supported by both the support stand  11  and the skids  15  (only one of which skids is shown in  FIG. 5 ). 
         [0035]    When the support stand  11  is in its fully deployed position, it will not rotate further in the counterclockwise direction, and will only rotate clockwise, as indicated by directional arrow  24 . The support stand  11  is stopped from further rotation by the contact between the pivot plate  14  and the stop  22 , as discussed further with respect to  FIG. 6  below. 
         [0036]      FIG. 6  is an enlarged detail view of the tiller  10  of  FIG. 5 , taken along detail line B of  FIG. 5 . The pivot plate  14  comprises a first side bracket  25  and a second side bracket  26 . The first side bracket  25  and second side bracket  26  extend substantially perpendicularly from the pivot plate  14  and comprise openings (not shown) receive the fastener  19  that rotatably connects the support stand  11  to the pivot plate  14 . 
         [0037]    When the pivot plate  11  is fully rotated with respect to the side  12  of the tiller  10 , the first side bracket  25  contacts the stop  22  and is prevented from further rotation in the counterclockwise direction. In this regard, the stop  22  is angled such that the forward straight side  80  is generally parallel to an outer contacting surface of the first side bracket  25  when the support stand  11  is in its fully deployed position. 
         [0038]      FIG. 7  is a top view of the tiller  10  of  FIG. 1 , showing the support stand  11  in its stowed position. As was discussed above, the support stand  11  rotates in the direction indicated by directional arrow  27  and pivots around the fastener  19  in the pivot plate  14 . 
         [0039]    The stop  22  extends from the side  12  of the tiller  10 , and is in close proximity to, but does not interfere with the rotation of, the support stand  11 , when the support stand  11  is rotating with the pivot plate  14  in the same plane as the side  12  of the tiller  10 . 
         [0040]      FIG. 8  is a detail view of the tiller  10  of  FIG. 7 , taken along detail line “C” of  FIG. 7 . Note that there is a considerable gap  28  between the support stand  11  and the side  12  of the tiller  10 , and the stop  22  is disposed within the gap  28 . There is not a considerable gap between the bottom edge  29  of the pivot plate  14  and the side  12  of the tiller  10 . Therefore, when the pivot plate  14  contacts the stop  22  when the support stand  11  is in its fully deployed position as discussed herein, the stop  22  restrains the pivot plate  14  from further rotation. In other words, the distance between the bottom edge  29  of the pivot plate  14  and the side  12  of the tiller  10  for the pivot plate  14  is less than the distance between an outermost edge  66  of the stop  22  and the side  12 . Additionally, the distance between the support stand  11  and the side  12  of the tiller  10  is greater than the distance between the outermost edge  66  of the stop  22  and the side  12 . 
         [0041]      FIG. 9  is a top view of the tiller  10  of  FIG. 1 , showing the support stand  11  in its fully deployed position. In this position, the stop  22  contacts the first side bracket  25  of the pivot plate  14  and prevents the pivot plate  14  from rotating further. 
         [0042]      FIG. 10  is a top view of the tiller  10  of  FIG. 4 , showing the support stand  11  partially rotated but not fully deployed. In this illustration, the support stand  11  has rotated from its stowed position (as illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 7 ), to a position mid-way to a fully deployed position. In this position, the support stand  11  has been rotated out from the side  12  of the tiller  10  to remove it from the spring clip  13 . When the support stand  11  is in its fully deployed position, as shown in  FIG. 9 , the support stand  11  is rotated back toward the tiller  10  such that the support stand  11  contacts the inner surface (not shown) of the pivot plate  14 . The rotation of the support stand  11  outwardly during deployment enables it to clear the skids  15  and any protrusions (not shown) that extend from the side  12  of the tiller  10 . 
         [0043]      FIG. 11   a  is a side perspective view of the pivot plate  11 . In this embodiment, the pivot plate  14  is formed from a flat sheet of material, such as steel, and is bent into its final shape. The first side bracket  25  and second side bracket  26  comprise openings  31  and  32  which receive the fastener  19  ( FIG. 1 ) that rotatably connects the support stand  11  ( FIG. 1 ) to the pivot plate  14 . The brackets  25  and  26  are bent outwardly generally perpendicularly from a base  33  to form a U-shape when viewed from the end, as shown in  FIG. 11   c.    
         [0044]    An opening  30  in the base  33  receives the pivot plate fastener (not shown) that rotatably connects the pivot plate to the side  12  ( FIG. 1 ) of the tiller  10  ( FIG. 1 ). 
         [0045]      FIG. 11   b  is a side view of the pivot plate  14 . The bottom edge  29  of the pivot plate  14  is generally flat. In this embodiment, the opening  30  in the base  33  is located on an opposite end of the pivot plate  14  from the openings  31  and  32 , i.e., the opening  30  is offsent from the openings  31  and  32 . These locations ensure that the rotation of the support stand  11  ( FIG. 1 ) with respect to the pivot plate  14  does not interfere and is not interfered with by the rotation of the pivot plate  14  with respect to the side  12  ( FIG. 1 ) of the tiller  10  ( FIG. 1 ). 
         [0046]      FIG. 12   a  is a side perspective view of the spring clip  13  that retains the support stand  11  when it is in its stowed position. Upper and lower tabs  13   a  and  13   b,  respectively, receive the support stand  11  ( FIG. 2 ) and releasably restrain it via a friction fit. 
         [0047]      FIG. 12   b  is an end view of the spring clip  13  of  FIG. 12   a . The spring clip  13  retains the support stand  11  ( FIG. 2 ) within an opening  70  formed by a base  68  and two sidewalls  71 . The upper and lower tabs  13   a  and  13   b  are outwardly-angled angled for ease in receiving the support stand  11 . Protrusions  69  that retain the support stand  11  ( FIG. 2 ) when it is in its stowed position. An opening  67  in a base  68  of the spring clip  13  receives a fastener (not shown) that attaches the spring clip  13  to the side  12  ( FIG. 2 ) of the tiller  10  ( FIG. 2 ). 
         [0048]    Although the present disclosure primarily discusses the support stand  11  in use with a tiller  10 , the support stand  11  may be used on many different types of implements, for example, farm implements to be pulled behind a tractor. The term “tiller” as used herein may thus refer to any type of implement on which a support stand may be desired, and is not limited to an actual tiller.