Patent Publication Number: US-2007102172-A1

Title: Rotating scraper

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)  
      This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/734,824 filed on Nov. 9, 2005 which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to a scraper for a farm implement. More particularly, the present invention relates to a scraper having a rotating blade that is attached to a farm implement.  
      There are many types of farm implements that are used to till soil in preparation for seeding or planting. One such farm implement is a tandem disk.  
      A typical configuration of a tandem disk includes a front gang of disks proximate a front end of the tandem and a back gang of disks proximate a back end of the tandem disk. The front gang of disks are configured generally in a V-shaped pattern and the back gang of disks are configured in the inverse V-shaped pattern.  
      As the tandem disk is pulled through the field by a tractor, or other prime mover, the front gang of disks mulches debris on the surface and also tills the soil by forcing the soil transversely away from a plane in the direction of travel of the tractor and the tandem disk. The back gang of disks also mulch debris and tills the soil by forcing the soil transversely towards the plane in the direction of travel of the tractor and the tandem disk.  
      However, when the soil is moist or wet while being tilled with a tandem disk, the soil has a tendency of accumulating on a concave surface of the disks. As soil accumulates on the concave surface of the disk, the disk looses its effectiveness in penetrating the soil and mulching the debris.  
      To prevent soil from accumulating on the concave surface of the disk, static, rigid scrapers are typically positioned near the concave surface of the disk. However, the static, rigid scrapers have a tendency of bending or rotating away from the concave surface of the disk and thereby allow the wet soil to accumulate on the concave surface of the disk which adversely affects the ability of the disk to till the soil and mulch the debris. Further, the debris has a tendency of collecting between the static scraper and the disk which may prevent the disk from rotating.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention includes a scraper for mounting to a tool bar of a farm implement having at least one rotating disk for tilling soil. The scraper includes a support mounted to the tool bar and a shaft extending from the support where the shaft has a central axis. A scraper blade is rotatably attached to the shaft and the scraper blade comprises a perimeter that rotatably engages a side surface of the rotating disk to prevent soil from accumulating on the side surface and prevents debris from accumulating between the side surface and the scraper blade.  
      The present invention also includes a farm implement having at least one rotating disk for tilling soil and a tool bar proximate the at least one rotating disk. The farm implement also includes at least one scraper attached to the tool bar where the scraper includes a support mounted to the tool bar and a shaft extending from the support where the shaft has a central axis. A scraper blade is rotatably attached to the shaft and wherein the scraper blade has a perimeter that rotatably engages a side surface of the rotating disk to prevent soil from accumulating on the side surface and prevents debris from accumulating between the side surface and the scraper blade. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a side view of a portion of a gang of disks having a rotating scraper engaging a concave surface of each disk.  
       FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the rotating scraper of the present invention.  
       FIG. 3  is a sectional view of the rotating scraper of the present invention.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS  
      A rotating scraper for a disk blade attached to a farm implement is generally illustrated in  FIG. 1  at  10 . Each rotating scraper  10  includes a scraper blade  40  that rotatably engages a side surface  14  of a disk blade  12  to prevent soil and/or debris from accumulating on the disk blade  12 . Typically, the side surface  14  of the disk blade  12  is concave, however the side surface  14  could also be substantially flat or convex.  
      Typically, the rotating scraper  10  is attached to a tool bar  20  of a tandem disk where the disk blades  12  are secured to a shaft  16  to form a gang  13  of a tandem disk. The disks  12  rotate along with the shaft  16  in the rotational direction of arrow  18 . While the rotating scraper  10  is typically utilized with a tandem disk, the rotating scraper  10  can also be utilized with disks on other agricultural equipment.  
      Typically, the disk blades  12  have a circular perimeter  11  that penetrates the ground between about one inch and about six inches depending upon the farm implement being utilized. The scraper blade  40  typically has a circular perimeter  41  that engages the side surface  14  of disk blade  12  in an arcuate engagement extending between two points on the perimeter  11  on the side surface  14  of the disk blade  12  where a lowest contact point of the perimeter  41  of the scraper blade  40  with the side surface  14  of the disk blade  12  is beneath the deepest penetration depth of the disk blade  12 , thereby preventing soil from accumulating on the side surface  14  or debris from accumulating between the side surface  14  and the scraper blade  40 .  
      The rotating scraper  10  can be utilized to prevent soil from accumulating on a surface ranging from a concave configuration as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , to a substantially flat configuration to convex configuration depending upon the angle of the support utilized to attach the scraper blade  40  to the tool bar  20 . For a flat vertical surface, the support utilized would be configured to position the scraper blade  40  in a substantially vertical position. For a convex surface the support would be configured to position the scraper blade  40  into engagement with the side surface  14  of the disk blade  12  along one side of the disk blade  12  where the perimeter of the scraper blade  40  engages the perimeter of the side surface  14  of the disk blade  12 . In any configuration of the support, the rotating scraper  10  would include a shaft attached to the support where the shaft attaches to the scraper blade  40  in a manner that allows the scraper blade  14  to rotate about the axis of the shaft.  
      Referring to  FIG. 1  and  2 , each of the rotating scrapers  10  is secured to the tool bar  20 , or other frame member, by positioning a U-shaped bolt  22  over the tool bar  20  and through apertures  24  in a substantially flat surface  26  of a mounting bracket  30 . The U-shaped bolt  22  is secured to the mounting bracket  30  with a threaded engagement of threaded ends with nuts  28  to prevent the lateral movement of the mounting bracket  30  along a length of the tool bar  20 .  
      The mounting bracket  30  also includes left and right tabs  32  and  34 , respectively, that define a channel  36  having a width sufficient to position the left and right tabs  32  and  34  on opposite sides of a substantially square or rectangular cross-sectional tool bar  20 . The engagement of the tabs  32 ,  34  with the sides of the tool bar  20  prevent rotational movement of the mounting bracket with respect to the tool bar  20 .  
      Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the rotating scraper blade  40  is attached to a hub  44  with a plurality of bolts  46 . The bolts  46  are positioned through apertures  42  in the rotating scraper blade  40  and apertures  45  in the hub  44 , and are threadably engaged by the nuts  48  to removeably secure the rotating scraper blade  40  to the hub  44 .  
      The hub  44  includes a stub shaft  50  that is positioned within a bore  54  of a housing  56  that is attached to a distal end  60  of a shank  58 , preferably with a weld. Prior to positioning the stub shaft  50  into the bore  54 , a bushing  53  is positioned into the bore to prevent erosion of the housing  56  over time with use. A compression spring  52  is positioned within the bore  54  to bias the rotating scraper blade  40  into an engagement with the surface  14  of the disk blade  12 .  
      The rotating scraper blade  40  and the hub  44  are rotatably secured to the housing  56  by inserting a bolt  70  through an aperture  72  in an outer wall  74  of the shank  58  and an aperture  76  in an inner wall  78  of the shank  58  such that a threaded end of the bolt  70  threadably engages a threaded bore in the stub shaft  50 . A head  80  of the bolt  70  is positioned through the aperture  72  in the outer wall  74  where the head  80  of the bolt  70  has a diameter that is greater than the diameter of the aperture  76  in the inner wall  78  of the shank  58  such that the head  80  engages the shank  58  to retain the bolt  70  within the shank  58 .  
      The aperture  72  in the outer surface  74  of the shank  58  is typically of a size sufficient to allow a socket to be positioned through the aperture  72  to engage the head  80  to rotate the bolt  70  with a rachet. As the bolt  70  is rotated, a threaded end  82  of the bolt  20  engages a threaded bore  51  in the stub shaft  50  until a shoulder  84  on the bolt  30  frictionally engages an end  49  surface of the stub shaft  50  which secures the bolt  20  to the stub shaft  50 .  
      The frictional engagement of the shoulder  84  to the end  49  of the stub shaft  50  allows the bolt  20  to travel laterally along an axis  57  of the bolt  70  and the housing  56  when the disk  40  engages debris or soil on the surface  14  of the cutting disk  12 . The frictional engagement of the shoulder  84  with the end  49  of the stub  50  shaft also allows the bolt  70  to rotate about the axis  57  as the disk  40  rotates depending upon the location of the debris or soil on the surface of the disk.  
      The shank  58  is preferably a pipe having a continuous circular wall defining a through bore  73 . However the shank  58  may also be constructed from a square or rectangular cross-sectional tube as well as a solid material such as steel.  
      The shank  58  is secured to an angled portion  31  of the mounting bracket  30  with top and bottom U-shaped bolts  62 ,  64  positioned about the shank  58  and through apertures  33  in the slanted portion  31  of the mounting bracket  30 . With the U-shaped bolt  62  and  64  positioned about the shank  58  and through the apertures  33 , lock washers (not shown) are typically positioned about the threaded ends of the U-shaped bolts  62  and  64  and nuts  68  are threadably engaged with the threaded ends of the U-shaped bolts  62  and  64  to frictionally secure the shank  58  in a selected position.  
      The hub  44  also includes a dust shield  43  that forms a channel  90  with the stub shaft  50  that allows the hub  44  to move along the axis  57  when the scraper blade  40  engages accumulated dirt and debris on the side surface  14  of the disk blade  12 . A distal end  45  of the dust shield  43  extends beyond the end  49  of the stub shaft  50  and extends over distal end of the housing  56  to prevent dust, soil and debris from entering the through bore  54  in the housing  56  that contains the compression spring  52 , and thereby increases the efficiency of the rotating scraper  10 .  
      In operation, rotation of the disk blade  12  in direction of arrows  18  causes the disk blade  40  to rotate about the stub shaft  50  either clockwise or counter-clockwise about the axis  57  in a rotation of least resistance. Rotation of the scraper blade  40  as the disk blade  12  rotates in direction of arrows  18 , prevents soil from accumulating on the side surface  14  of the disk blade  12 .  
      Further, the bias of the compression spring  52  maintains the rotating scraper blade  40  in contact with the side surface  14  of a disk blade  12  to ensure that soil does not accumulate on the side surface  14  of the disk blade  12 . It has been found that the rotating scraper system  10  of the present invention provides a much more efficient system for maintaining the side surface  14  of the disk blade  12  free of soil.  
      The rotating scraper blade  40  also eliminates the issue of debris collecting between the scraper blade  40  and the side surface  14  of a disk blade  12 . As debris contacts the disk blade  12  and the scraper blade  40 , the scraper blade  40  rotates to prevent the debris from wedging between the disk blade  12  and the rotating scraper blade  40 . Therefore, the rotating scraper system  10  of the present invention provides an efficient way of maintaining a soil-free disk blade  12  while preventing debris from collecting between the disk  12  and the rotating blade  40 .  
      Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.