Patent Publication Number: US-2012032005-A1

Title: Agriculture distribution system

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCED TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Cross references is made to application Ser. No. ______, filed of even date and entitled “DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM FOR LIQUID MANURE SPREADER”, which is assigned to the same Assignee as the present application. That application is deemed incorporated herein in its entirety for any purpose. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     I. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to agricultural implements and, more particularly, to an agricultural application system which provides an increased load-carrying capacity with reduced soil compaction. Specifically, the present invention relates to a carriage system for a distribution system for liquid manure slurry or other material that enables an increased working width in fields, but which retains a narrow transport width for hauling over the road. 
     II. Related Art 
     Agricultural material distribution systems for spreading materials or performing other operations throughout large agricultural fields are becoming larger and more sophisticated. Such systems are used to seed and spray crops and to apply various types of dry and wet fertilizer material. 
     Typical of such systems are liquid manure spreading systems used in the transportation and application of liquid manure which is obtained generally from manure, ponds or lagoons associated with the keeping of farm livestock. The material is generally taken from the lagoon and recycled to agricultural fields. This is accomplished typically by pumping the material out of the lagoon into large tanks mounted on carriages with oversized wheels for field distribution of the slurry. 
     Liquid manure application systems generally include one or more large tanks mounted on a chassis designed to be towed by a tractor. The tanks may be of rather large capacity, normally several thousand gallons, and are connected through multiple hoses to a plurality of spaced outlets which distribute the liquid manure into the ground, typically using soil injection tools. The liquid manure is usually pumped from the tanks into a central distribution manifold, which has a number of outlet openings. These openings, in turn, are connected by the hoses to the soil injection tools, or the like, located at spaced intervals which can vary according to the distances between crop rows. 
     As indicated, these liquid manure application machines over the course of time have evolved into very large capacity units in which a plurality of large storage tanks, each holding thousands of gallons of material, are carried on elongated chassis having multiple spaced axles to meet road weight limit allowances, some units having up to four axles. This requires the units to be quite long and therefore, difficult to maneuver. In addition, the added weight of these large units has required the use of very wide tires in order to reduce the soil compaction factor. 
     While these earlier units have been somewhat successful, currently used systems do suffer from several significant limitations. Even when properly placed, the wide tires often interfere with current or future crop row placement. In addition, the soil incorporator or injection tools are normally located at the rear of the trailer unit, far from the operator, so that it is difficult for an operator to observe the injection operation. In addition, the number of individual incorporators is limited by the transport width of the applicator which must meet roadway limitations. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a versatile agriculture applicator system which enables relatively large agricultural field application systems to both be moved over roadways and to address fields using a wide swath application. The invention is particularly directed to a unique support carriage arrangement which features orthogonally disposed sets of support wheels including selectively deployable wheels that enable the carriage to move optionally parallel to the length or width of the chassis. 
     The chassis may further include a pair of opposed spaced chassis frame units pivotally attached to a center frame unit, each chassis frame unit further being mounted on a plurality of equally spaced, parallel, lateral support wheels disposed along the length thereof and parallel to the width thereof for providing low soil compaction support and carrying said applicator across a field parallel to the width thereof; and wherein the carriage also has a pair of lateral axles carrying wheels to optionally support the carriage for moving it in said lengthwise direction for movement over roadways to places of application. These lateral axles are deployable/retractable tag-type axles. 
     Hitch devices are attached to the carriage such that the applicator can be moved by a tractor both in a lengthwise direction for transporting to a place of application and in a lateral direction parallel to the width thereof for application operations. 
     One preferred embodiment is dedicated to the distribution of liquid manure material and includes a tank mounted on each chassis frame unit, each tank being in fluid communication with a fluid distribution system; a plurality of incorporation tools spaced along the length of each chassis frame unit and directed generally at right angles thereto, the incorporation tools being connected to receive and apply liquid manure from the tanks through the distribution system. 
     It will be appreciated that the number size and spacing of the wheels can vary depending on allowable spacing and the weight of the application system. Low soil compaction is an important factor. In certain embodiments, multiple rows of lateral support wheels may be used. Axle spacing and the number of axles for carriage support over the road must comply with the applicable axle spacing and load limit regulations. 
     The ability to treat fields with an applicator having a relatively wide swath also gives the operator on the pulling vehicle, normally a farm tractor, a much improved, closer view of the application process. 
     The applicator further generally includes a toolbar that carries a plurality of spaced soil treatment devices such as plows, disks and injector tools. It will be appreciated that the toolbar can be raised to a position that reduces the overall width of the applicator for moving the system over a roadway or the like. These devices may take many forms, as will occur to those skilled in the art. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote like parts: 
         FIG. 1A  is a perspective view of a dual slurry tank liquid manure applicator system including a support carriage arrangement in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIGS. 1B and 1C  are side elevational and end elevational views, respectively, showing an embodiment similar to that of  FIG. 1A  with the toolbar raised for storage or highway travel; 
         FIGS. 2A and 2B  are reduced side elevational and end elevational views of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  showing a towing tractor; 
         FIG. 2C  is a side view of a prior art system; 
         FIGS. 3A and 3B  are top and side views of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  with the chassis frame units shown in parallel and the tanks and toolbar removed for clarity; 
         FIGS. 3C and 3D  are sectional views along lines C-C and D-D, respectively in  FIG. 3A ; 
         FIG. 3E  is a side view of the applicator system of  FIGS. 3A and 3B  with the tanks and toolbar removed and illustrating the pivotal arrangement of the chassis frame units; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a carriage assembly in accordance with the present invention 
         FIG. 5  is an applicator system in accordance with the invention for the incorporation of anhydrous ammonia; 
         FIG. 6  is an applicator system in accordance with the invention for a seed and planter system; 
         FIG. 7  is an applicator system in accordance with the invention for a wide pattern sprayer; 
         FIG. 8  is an applicator system in accordance with the invention for a dry fertilizer spreader; 
         FIG. 9  is an applicator system in accordance with the invention for a seed tank and seeder system; and 
         FIG. 10  is an applicator system in accordance with the invention showing multiple rows of support wheels. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present invention provides a carriage support arrangement for agriculture applicator systems which enables relatively large agricultural field application systems to both be moved over roadways and to address fields using a wide swath application. The carriage support arrangement is characterized by orthogonally disposed sets of support wheels including selectively deployable wheels that enable the carriage to move optionally parallel to the length or width of the chassis. Embodiments described herein are introduced as examples of the concepts of the invention and are not intended to limit the scope in any manner as variations within these concepts may occur those skilled in the art. 
     In the drawings,  FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of a slurry tank manure spreading system incorporating a carriage construction in accordance with the present invention. The system, generally at  20 , includes a pair of large spaced slurry tanks  22  and  24  mounted on a heavy metal chassis  26  which includes orthogonally situated sets of support wheels and hitches, discussed in greater detail below. The support wheels include a selectively deployable highway set, two of which are shown at  28  with highway hitching arrangement  30  for transporting the system on roadways such as, for example, from work site to work site in an unloaded condition. Orthogonally-mounted parallel-spaced lateral support wheels as at  32  are located along the length of the chassis  26  and a second hitching arrangement is shown at  34  for hitching the system to a tractor (see  FIGS. 2A-2B ) for distributing the contents of the tanks across an agricultural field. 
     Spaced agriculture tillage devices such as plow bits  36  and disks  38  may be included along with manure injectors as at  40 . The system shown in  FIG. 1  is designed to treat 16 spaced crop rows simultaneously, but the system can be designed to treat any convenient number. The sets of wheels  28  are mounted on a tag axle arrangement generally at  42  which enables them to be raised out of contact with the ground when the orthogonally-mounted lateral wheels are to be used during application. 
     Slurry from the tanks  22  and  24  is fed using a central slurry feed system such as is shown at  50  which is configured to receive slurry from the two spaced slurry tanks using a slurry pump  56  which pumps the slurry through a supply pipe  58  which includes a flow meter  60  and is connected by an elbow to a hose barb  62 . A flexible hose (not shown) connects the feed system to the slurry distributor. Such a system is shown and described in above-cross-referenced co-pending application S.N. which is deemed incorporated herein by reference for any purpose. 
       FIG. 1B  is a side elevational view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1A  with the toolbar and said implements in a raised position for storage or travel. As best seen in the end elevational view of  FIG. 1C , the raised agricultural implement combination at  64  adds very little to the overall width of the trailer-mounted system as the implement package generally protrudes less than one foot beyond the corresponding wheels  28 . The toolbar and attached implements can be raised and lowered using fluid cylinders, or the like, in a well-known manner. 
       FIGS. 2A and 2B  show reduced side elevational and end views of the liquid manure applicator system of  FIG. 1  with a tractor  70  addressing the system. It is important to note that the tractor operator remains very close to the applicator system as it is pulled across a field to apply material to the soil. 
     In contrast, as shown in the prior art illustration of  FIG. 2C , the applicator system  80  must be moved in a direction parallel to the length of the system, both for over the road hauling and during the application operation. 
     The soil treating aspect  82  is located far from the tractor  84  and furthermore, the view of the operator is obscured or obstructed by the system  80 . 
       FIGS. 3A-3E  and  FIG. 4  depict additional details of the carriage support system and chassis frame unit. The chassis  26  includes a pair of spaced opposed frame units  90  and  92 , both of which include main stringers as at  94  and  96  and spaced cross-brace members as at  98  and  100 . The frame structures are supported from axle arrangements  102  associated with pairs of wheels  32 . The frame structures  90  and  92  provide a sturdy support for tanks  22  and  24 . 
     The tag axle arrangements are shown at  104  and  102  and include structural connecting frames  108  and  110  and fluid-operating cylinders  112  and  114  used to deploy and retract the sets of wheels  28 . 
     The spaced opposed frame units  90  and  92  are connected through a central connecting structure  116  and may be pivotally connected to compensate for fields that are not level.  FIG. 3E  shows both frames in a slightly downward pivoted position. A central axis is shown at  118 . 
     As shown in the figures, the side hitching arrangement  34  is a two-point hitch and includes deployable stabilizing legs  120  with feet  122 . Likewise, the end hitch  30  is preferably of a two-point construction. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the chassis frame units can be used to support anhydrous ammonia tanks as at  130  and this material may be incorporated into the soil in a manner similar to that used for liquid manure. 
       FIG. 6  depicts a carriage system in accordance with the invention used in conjunction with a seed and planting system in which a plurality of seed tanks  140  are used with soil planting devices  142 . In  FIG. 7 , tanks of material to be sprayed  150  are used in combination with a very wide spraying device  152 .  FIGS. 8 and 9  illustrate still further dry fertilizer and seeding combinations. 
       FIG. 10  illustrates an embodiment somewhat similar to that shown in  FIG. 1  which uses two rows of aligned support wheels  160  to support tanks  162  and  164 . Other parts have been removed for clarity. 
     This invention has been described herein in considerable detail in order to comply with the patent statutes and to provide those skilled in the art with the information needed to apply the novel principles and to construct and use embodiments of the example as required. However, it is to be understood that the invention can be carried out by specifically different devices and that various modifications can be accomplished without departing from the scope of the invention itself.