Patent ID: 8453755

Claim:
A mobile coulter unit operable to traverse soil and comprising: a rotatable coulter blade having a pair of opposed side faces and operable to penetrate the soil as the coulter unit traverses the soil; and a gauge assembly operable to limit the depth of said coulter blade in the soil and to minimize soil disruption as the coulter blade traverses the soil, said gauge assembly including a pair of continuous, shiftable loops respectively located astride and proximal to a corresponding coulter side face so that the loops straddle the coulter blade, and a carriage assembly supporting said loops having, for each loop, spaced apart fore and aft lower loop supports, each of said loops presenting an upper run and a lower run, the lower runs of said loops being generally flat and extending between corresponding fore and aft lower loop supports, and operable to engage the upper surface of the soil, said gauge assembly including apparatus for maintaining said lower loop runs in substantial contact with said soil surface as the coulter unit traverses the soil.