Soil cultivating implements

Claim 2

A soil cultivating implement comprising a frame and a plurality of soil working members pivoted on said frame in a row that extends transverse to the direction of travel, said members having tools located adjacent one another in working positions and driving means connected to said members to repetitively pivot said tools upwardly and downwardly to work adjoining strips of soil, said driving means comprising a central gear box and respective eccentric mechanisms engaged by shaft means turned by gears in said box, said mechanisms being mounted on separate shafts which are drivenly interconnected by sleeves, those mechanisms located adjacent opposite sides of said gear box being mounted on output shafts from said box and said output shafts being in driving connection with the separate shafts to which the other mechanisms are connected, said gears being connectable to a power take-off shaft of a tractor to which said implement can be coupled.

Claim 3

An implement as claimed in claim 1, wherein further said working members on reciprocable means are supported by said frame to the rear of said first mentioned members, said further members being reciprocable to and fro by said driving means to further work the soil.

Claim 4

An implement as claimed in claim 1, wherein each soil working member is connected to said frame through a pivotable polygonal linkage, said linkage being quadrilateral in configuration and having two upper pivot points on said frame and two lower pivot points connected to a fastening portion of the corresponding soil working member.

Claim 5

An implement as claimed in claim 3, wherein the distance between the two lower pivot points is less than the distance between the two upper pivot points, all of said pivot points defining axes which extend transverse to the direction of travel.

Claim 6

An implement as claimed in claim 4, wherein, as seen in side elevation, a line intersecting a forward two pivot points meets a line intersecting a rearmost two pivot points to define a further point about which said soil working portion rocks repetitively upwards and downwards.

Claim 7

An implement as claimed in claim 5, wherein the rearmost points of said linkage are connected by an arm to a respective eccentric mechanism of said driving means, neighboring mechanisms having eccentric discs spaced apart and offset from one another around their axes of rotation by an angle of substantially 180°.

Claim 8

An implement as claimed in claim 3, wherein a ground contacting leveling member extends in advance of said soil working members from at least one pivot arm connection to the frame, means locking said arm in any one of a plurality of positions to regulate the working depth of said soil working means.

Claim 9

A soil cultivating implement comprising a frame and a pluraity of soil working members pivoted on said frame in a row that extends transverse to the direction of travel, said members being positioned adjacent one another and being repetitively upwardly and downwardly displaceable in the soil, driving means connected to displace said members and work the soil, each member comprising a downwardly and rearwardly inclined fastening portion that is connected to a forwardly directed portion by a bend, lower edges of said forwardly directed portion being substantially horizontal when the corresponding members occupy operative positions, the fastening portions of neighboring members having different lengths and their forwardly directed portions being located at substantially the same horizontal level, said driving means being connected to said fastening portions.

Claim 10

A soil cultivating implement comprising a frame and a pluraity of soil working members pivoted on said frame in a row that extends transverse to the direction of travel, said members being positioned adjacent one another and being repetitively upwardly and downwardly displaceable in the soil, driving means connected to displace said members and work the soil, each member comprising a downwardly and rearwardly inclined fastening portion that is connected to a forwardly directed portion by a bend, lower edges of said forwardly directed portion being substantially horizontal when the corresponding members occupy operative positions, the fastening portions of neighboring members having different lengths and their forwardly directed portions being located at substantially the same horizontal level, said driving means being connected to said fastening portions.

Claim 11

An implement as claimed in claim 8, wherein said forwardly directed portion has a hoe-like blade of goose-foot configuration, said blade being inclined upwardly and rearwardly from a leading end thereof.

Claim 12

An implement as claimed in claim 9, wherein the blades of said members are positioned to work adjoining strips of soil during travel.

Claim 13

An implement as claimed in claim 10, wherein neighboring soil working members are offset relative to one another in the direction of travel of the implement.

Claim 14

An implement as claimed in claim 8, wherein each of the shorter fastening portions have longitudinal axes inclined to the longitudinal axis of a corresponding forwardly extending portion at an angle which is between about 25° to 30° greater than the angle between the longitudinal axes of the corresponding portions of those members which have longer fastening portions.

Claim 15

A soil cultivating implement comprising a frame and movable soil working means mounted on said frame, driving means connected to move said soil working means and work the soil, said working means comprising at least one elongated support that extends transverse to the direction of travel and said support being pivotable about an upwardly extending axis, said driving means connected to reciprocate the support in directions transverse to the direction of travel, a plurality of tines carried by said support along the length thereof and said tines having longitudinal axes that are contained in substantially vertical planes that extend substantially parallel to the direction of travel, said axes being inclined both to the horizontal and to the vertical, said support comprising bar means that has a soil deflecting surface and said surface extending upwardly and being inclined forwardly with respect to the normal direction of travel of the implement, said bar means being a bar of angular cross-section with limbs that diverge upwardly away from a junction between said limbs, said limbs being of substantially identical configuration and a leading limb being inclined to the horizontal at a greater angle than that of a rear limb.

Claim 16

A soil cultivating implement comprising a frame and movable soil working means mounted on said frame, driving means connected to move said soil working means and work the soil, said working means comprising at least one elongated support that extends transverse to the direction of travel and said support being pivotable about an upwardly extending axis, said driving means connected to reciprocate the support in directions transverse to the direction of travel, a plurality of tines carried by said support along the length thereof and said tines having longitudinal axes that are contained in substantially vertical planes that extend substantially parallel to the direction of travel, said axes being inclined both to the horizontal and to the vertical, said support comprising bar means that has a soil deflecting surface and said surface extending upwardly and being inclined forwardly with respect to the normal direction of travel of the implement, said bar means being a bar of angular cross-section with limbs that diverge upwardly away from a junction between said limbs, said limbs being of substantially identical configuration and a leading limb being inclined to the horizontal at a greater angle than that of a rear limb.

Claim 17

An implement as claimed in claim 13, wherein said tines are secured to the rear limb of the bar and the junction is located at a lower horizontal level than are fastening postions of said tines.