Split-lift cultivator

Claim 2

An agricultural implement including a support element adapted to be carried by a mobile frame, an earth-working tool carrier element, and a pair of upper and lower substantially parallel link means pivotally connected to the support element and the carrier element to interconnect the two elements for groundtraversal in unison and enable vertical movement of the carrier element relative to the support element, characterized in that an adjusting element is positioned directly beneath one of the link means and pivotally connected to the support element for vertical swinging movement, power means is operatively connected to and acts between the support element and adjusting element to vertically move the adjusting element relative to the support element, and a resilient element is anchored between the one of the link means and the adjusting element so that, upon lowering movement of the adjusting element relative to the support element, the adjusting element will move away from the one of the link means and tension the resilient element to provide a downward bias on the pair of link means and carrier element, and upon raising movement of the adjusting element relative to support element, the adjusting element will contact the one of the link means and raise the pair of link means and connected carrier element relative to the support element.

Claim 3

An implement as defined in claim 1 wherein the adjusting element is positioned beneath the upper of the pair of link means and the resilient element is a coil spring having one end anchored at the pivotal connection Between the upper of the pair of link means and the carrier element and its other end anchored to the adjusting element.

Claim 4

An agricultural implement including an elongated support element extending transversely to the normal direction of movement of the implement and adapted to be carried by a mobile frame for raising and lowering movement, a plurality of earth-working tool carrier elements positioned rearwardly of the support element in spaced positions, and a plurality of pairs of upper and lower substantially parallel link means pivotally connected to the support element and carrier elements to interconnect the carrier elements with the support element for ground-traversal in unison and enable vertical movement of the carrier elements relative to the support element, there being a pair of link means for each carrier element characterized in that a first adjusting element is positioned directly between the links of a plurality of the pairs of link means and pivotally connected to the support element for vertical swinging movement, a second adjusting element is positioned directly between the links of a plurality of other pairs of link means and pivotally connected to the support element for vertical swinging movement, each of the adjusting elements includes an elongated bar extending parallel to the support element and positioned between the upper and lower link means of its respective pairs of link means, at least two pivot arms are secured to the bar and pivotally connected to the support element, one of the pivot arms for each bar is pivotally connected intermediate its ends to the support element and has one end connected to the bar, first and second power means are operatively connected to and act between the support element and the one pivot arm of the first and second adjusting elements, respectively, to move the adjusting elements relative to the support element, and each of the power means includes a hydraulic cylinder having one end connected to the end of the one arm remote from the bar and its other end operatively connected to the support element, the parts being so constructed and arranged so that upon raising movement of either one or both of the adjusting elements relative to the support element, the adjusting elements will contact the upper links of their respective pairs of link means and raise their respective pairs of link means and connected carrier elements relative to the support element.

Claim 5

An agricultural implement including an elongated support element extending transversely to the normal direction of movement of the implement and adapted to be carried by a mobile frame for raising and lowering movement, a plurality of earth-working tool carrier elements positioned rearwardly of the support element in spaced positions, and a plurality of pairs of upper and lower substantially parallel link means pivotally connected to the support element and carrier elements to interconnect the carrier elements with the support element for ground-traversal in unison and enable vertical movement of the carrier elements relative to the support element, there being a pair of link means for each carrier element characterized in that a first adjusting element is positioned directly between the links of a plurality of the pairs of link means and pivotally connected to the support element for vertical swinging movement, a second adjusting element is positioned directly between the links of a plurality of other pairs of link means and pivotally connected to the support element for vertical swinging movement, each of the adjusting elements includes an elongated bar extending parallel to the support element and positioned between the upper and lower link means of its respective pairs of link means, at least two pivot arms are secured to the bar and pivotally connected to the support element, one of the pivot arms for each bar is pivotally connected intermediate its ends to the support element and has one end connected to the bar, first and second power means are operatively connected to and act between the support element and the one pivot arm of the first and second adjusting elements, respectively, to move the adjusting elements relative to the support element, and each of the power means includes a hydraulic cylinder having one end connected to the end of the one arm remote from the bar and its other end operatively connected to the support element, the parts being so constructed and arranged so that upon raising movement of either one or both of the adjusting elements relative to the support element, the adjusting elements will contact the upper links of their respective pairs of link means and raise their respective pairs of link means and connected carrier elements relative to the support element.

Claim 6

The implement set forth in claim 3 wherein a resilient element is connected between each of the upper link means and their associated bar to provide a downward bias on the link means and connected carrier elements when the bars are pivoted downwardly and moved from contact with the upper link means.

Claim 7

The implement set forth in claim 4 wherein each of the resilient elements is a coil spring having one end anchored to the connection between its associated upper link means and carrier element and its other end operatively anchored to one of the bars.

Claim 8

An agricultural implement for use with a tractor having vertically movable and power-operated hitch means, the implement including an elongated toolbar extending transversely to the normal direction of movement of the implement, means on the toolbar for integral connection with the tractor hitch, a plurality of earth-working tool carrier rigs positioned rearwardly of the tool-bar and each being interconnected with the toolbar by a pair of upper and lower links which form a four-bar linkage with the tool-bar and their associated rigs to enable vertical movement of the rigs relative to the toolbar, the implement being characterized in that a pair of elongated lift bars are positioned directly under the upper links in parallelism to the toolbar, one lift bar is positioned under the upper links for the rigs mounted on the tool-bar to one side of its transverse centerline and the other lift bar is positioned under the upper links for the rigs mounted on the toolbar to the opposite side of its transverse cenTerline, a pair of arms are secured to each lift bar and pivotally connected to the toolbar to enable vertical movement of the lift bars relative to the toolbar, independently operable power means are operatively connected between the lift bars and toolbar to move the lift bars vertically about the pivotal connections between the arms and toolbar, a coil spring is anchored between each of the upper links and its associated lift bar so that, when the lift bars are lowered about the pivotal connections between the arms and toolbar, the lift bars will move away from the upper links and tension the coil springs to provide a downward bias on the rigs, and the parts being so constructed and arranged so that, upon upward movement of the lift bars, the lift bars will contact the upper links to raise the rigs independently of raising movement of the toolbar, and the rigs on one side of the transverse centerline of the toolbar can be raised independently of the rigs on the other side of the transverse centerline of the toolbar.

Claim 9

An agricultural implement for use with a tractor having vertically movable and power-operated hitch means, the implement including an elongated toolbar extending transversely to the normal direction of movement of the implement, means on the toolbar for integral connection with the tractor hitch, a plurality of earth-working tool carrier rigs positioned rearwardly of the tool-bar and each being interconnected with the toolbar by a pair of upper and lower links which form a four-bar linkage with the tool-bar and their associated rigs to enable vertical movement of the rigs relative to the toolbar, the implement being characterized in that a pair of elongated lift bars are positioned directly under the upper links in parallelism to the toolbar, one lift bar is positioned under the upper links for the rigs mounted on the tool-bar to one side of its transverse centerline and the other lift bar is positioned under the upper links for the rigs mounted on the toolbar to the opposite side of its transverse cenTerline, a pair of arms are secured to each lift bar and pivotally connected to the toolbar to enable vertical movement of the lift bars relative to the toolbar, independently operable power means are operatively connected between the lift bars and toolbar to move the lift bars vertically about the pivotal connections between the arms and toolbar, a coil spring is anchored between each of the upper links and its associated lift bar so that, when the lift bars are lowered about the pivotal connections between the arms and toolbar, the lift bars will move away from the upper links and tension the coil springs to provide a downward bias on the rigs, and the parts being so constructed and arranged so that, upon upward movement of the lift bars, the lift bars will contact the upper links to raise the rigs independently of raising movement of the toolbar, and the rigs on one side of the transverse centerline of the toolbar can be raised independently of the rigs on the other side of the transverse centerline of the toolbar.

Claim 10

An agricultural implement including a support element adapted to be carried by a mobile frame, an earth-working tool carrier element, and a pair of upper and lower link means pivotally connected to the two elements to interconnect the two elements for ground-traversal in unison and enable vertical movement of the carrier element relative to the support element, characterized in that an adjusting element is positioned directly between the upper and lower link means and pivotally connected to the support element for vertical swinging movement, resilient means is anchored to and tensioned between the adjusting element and the upper link means, and power means is operatively connected between the support and adjusting elements to vertically move the adjusting element relative to the support element so that, upon lowering movement of the adjusting element, the resilient means provides a downward bias on the link means and carrier element.

Claim 11

An agricultural implement including a support element adapted to be carried by a mobile frame, an earth-working tool carrier element, and a pair of upper and lower link means pivotally connected to the two elements to interconnect the two elements for ground-traversal in unison and enable vertical movement of the carrier element relative to the support element, characterized in that an adjusting element is positioned directly between the upper and lower link means and pivotally connected to the support element for vertical swinging movement, resilient means is anchored to and tensioned between the adjusting element and the upper link means, and power means is operatively connected between the support and adjusting elements to vertically move the adjusting element relative to the support element so that, upon lowering movement of the adjusting element, the resilient means provides a downward bias on the link means and carrier element.