Abstract: An agricultural drawbar adapted to be pulled by a power source and used for farming operations such as spraying or harrowing, is equipped with right and left wing booms which are adapted to be folded or unfolded from the transport to operating positions. To enable the drawbar to move more quickly and easily from one position to another, lockable inner caster wheels are attached to a tensioning/control assembly which is attached to the cart. During the folding process the inner lockable caster wheels are progressively turned as the wings move to the folded transport position, thus easing the implement quickly into the transport position without skidding or binding of the wheels. Furthermore, a semi-lockable outer caster wheel is adapted to rotate inwardly to a toe-out position to facilitate the unfolding of the drawbar when the drawbar is pushed rearwardly.

Abstract: A cultivator is equipped with detachable harrows or detachable packers. When the cultivator is used for direct seeding, narrow openers cut through the earth, and seed pneumatically transported from an air seeder, is placed immediately behind the openers. Thereafter a series of packers, mounted to the rear of the cultivator, pack the seed. Spring tensioned support arms support the packers or harrows. Through various adjustments, these support arms can generate packing pressures from 0.5 psi to 3.5 psi, depending upon soil conditions. The same implement with the narrow openers and packers removed can be equipped with sweeps and mounted harrows to act as a general soil preparation device. When the harrows are mounted for field operation the adjustable spring tensioned support arms are adjusted to relax downward pressure. The unit as a whole, therefore, serves as a seeding or general tillage device, saving the operator extensive capital costs in farm machinery.

Abstract: A unique and improved seed and fertilizer coulter-type drill is disclosed. The drill has a plurality of coulter wheels in four rows, the front two rows of coulters cut first furrows and deposit seed. The rear two rows of coulters cover the seed in the first cut furrows and produce a second set of furrows in which fertilizer is deposited, approximately 1 inch away from the seed. The two sets of coulters are followed by a plurality of press or packer wheels which ensure good seed to soil contact and cover the *remaining fertilizer furrows.

Abstract: An active rotary harrow is towed with its longitudinal horizontal axis at an acute angle relative to a line perpendicular to the direction of travel. A plurality of unitary tines are mounted by bolts or rivets on mounting plates which are secured to a shaft aligned along the horizontal axis. Each tine is made from spring steel which is flattened on one end, the flattened portion being mounted directly on the mounting plate by two or more fasteners. The tines are curved such that the outer end of the tine, being rounded in shape, is directed towards the trailing end of the harrow when in operation. The tines, and to a lesser extent, the mounting plates, are resilient in nature and can be deflected towards the trailing end of the harrow, when obstacles such as rocks are encountered. The tines are also capable of some pivotal deflection, to a lesser extent.

Abstract: There is disclosed a new and improved rearwardly folding combination harrow sprayer drawbar. A plurality of quick detach harrow arms are adapted to be quickly connected and disconnected to a plurality of harrow arm receivers. The implement can be used for spraying and harrowing at the same time, or once the harrows are detached and left in the field, the implement can be used for post-emergent spraying. A wet spray boom can be height adjusted by means of a plurality of manual spring loaded levers. The unit is equipped with hinged boom draws which can be pinned to be rigid such that it can be moved rearwardly in order to re-attach the harrows quickly and easily. The unit is also capable of lifting the harrows into a transport position and folding rearwardly into a narrow transport position in order to pass over roads or move through narrow entrance ways.

Abstract: For use with agricultural sprayers, a unique spray shield is disclosed. The shields are mounted in pairs along the wet spray boom fore and aft in approximately the same plane, thereby shielding the nozzles of the sprayer. The shields are elongate and each is equipped with an air intake opening facing away from the wet spray boom. An air outlet of smaller cross-section is located at the bottom of each shield. As the sprayer moves in a direction against the wind, air enters the intakes of the fore shields and is directed downwardly and outwardly at a greater velocity thereby producing a curtain of air immediately in front of the sprayed area, thereby breaking the wind and avoiding disruption of the spray. Similarly, on the return passage over the land when the wind is blowing from the rear of the implement, the spray shields on the rear of the spray boom entrap the air and turn it downwardly, again creating a curtain of air behind the sprayed area.

Abstract: The invention herein discloses an improved and unique new sprayer implement for spraying crops. The sprayer comprises two wing booms, a left and a right which are controlled independently from one another by hydraulic cylinders. The sprayer is capable of maintaining one wing boom in the transport position while the other main wing boom is extended transversely to the direction of travel in the operating position therefore allowing the operator to spray with one side of the sprayer only. This allows the operator to have access to areas of a field where he would not normally be able to work with a wide sprayer. The sprayer is also equipped with an anti-damage locking system whereby a resilient spring or shear pin is released when either one of the main wing booms strikes an obstacle such as a tree or power pole.

Abstract: A wing packer has a middle frame section and two wing frame sections to which rollers are attached. The packer can be converted to a transport position by a hydraulic system which lifts the middle section and pivots the wing sections upward. The rollers are connected to the frame about a two-axis pivot which facilitates their remaining in contact with the ground on uneven terrain.

Abstract: The linkage mechanism between the front and the rear wheels of a farming implement includes a front and a rear arm the free ends of which suspend the respective wheels. Each arm has a transverse bracket near its other end. The bracket defines, at its free end, a pivot joint of a normally generally horizontal connecting rod whose other end is similarly connected to the bracket of the other arm. Each arm is mounted in a respective bearing for swinging about a point to raise or to lower the frame of the implement. The three pivot points associated with each arm define a respective linkage triangle. The geometry of the linkage triangles is developed from a reference triangle, divided by a median into two triangles of which one corresponds to one of the linkage triangles and the other corresponds to or is similar to the other one of said linkage triangles. The invention facilitates the designing of the linkage.

Abstract: A farming implement is disclosed having a series of wheel subassemblies supporting a towed frame. Each subassembly has a front wheel, preferably a castor wheel, and a rear wheel arrangement. According to the invention, the rear wheel arrangement is secured to a trailing arm which is connected by a connecting rod with a front arm. The connecting rod, the pivot point of the rear and the front arms and the point at which the rear and the front wheels are secured to the respective arms form, in the preferred embodiment, identical right-angled triangles. The rear arm is operatively associated with a hydraulic cylinder for raising or lifting the trailing arm as the need arises. The movement of the trailing arm is transmitted through the linkage to the front wheel whereby the frame of the implement is maintained at a generally horizontal position at all times.