Ground preparing apparatus for no-till planting

Claim 1

Apparatus for preparing ground for seed planting adapted to be drawn over along a field by an agricultural vehicle along with and forwardly of a planting machine, said apparatus comprising: (a) a first frame adapted to be connected at one end to said vehicle and at an opposite end to said planting machine; (b) a second frame having a leading end near said vehicle and a trailing end near said planting machine; (c) holding means connected to said first and second frames for supporting said second frame by said first frame in a manner permitting limited movement of said second frame in a direction toward and away from the ground; (d) a colter disc rotatably carried by said second frame, said disc penetrating the ground in a manner forming a slit in the ground in a direction substantially parallel to the direction of travel of said apparatus along the field, said colter disc serving to cut plant stalks and the like debris during formation of the slit; (e) first and second tooth elements carried by said second frame between said colter disc and said trailing end of said second frame, said first tooth element being located near said colter disc and laterally offset a relatively small distance to one side of the slit formed by said disc, said secnd tooth element being longitudinally spaced from said first tooth element and laterally offset a relatively small distance to the opposite side of the slit formed by said disc, the longitudinal spacing between first and second tooth elements being sufficient to allow any debris encountered by said first tooth element to move between said tooth elements in a manner preventing clogging of said tooth elements, said tooth elements penetrating the ground on opposite sides of the slit and cutting the ground in a manner forming a band-like region of prepared ground disposed substantially parallel to the direction of travel of said apparatus for receiving particulate matter including seed dispensed by said planting machine; (f) at least one ground contacting wheel element rotatably connected to said second frame, said wheel element laterally spaced from the band formed by said colter disc and said teeth, said wheel element controlling the depth of penetration of said colter disc and said tooth elements into the ground; and (g) means for connecting said leading end of said second frame to said first frame in a manner providing a degree of movement of said leading end of said second frame in a direction substantially perpendicular to the ground, said connecting means comprising means defining a slot in said first frame and a pin carried by said leading end of said second frame and movable along said slot in said first frame.