Abstract: A one-pass primary tillage machine provides a combination of shallow and deep tillage, residue cutting and mixing, and clod size reduction and leveling of the field to prepare the field for the next planting season. A front group of flat coulters slice through the residue to reduce its size, followed by deep shanks that improve the tilth of the soil to a point below the intended planting depth. Following the shanks, a group of concavo-convex conditioning discs mix the residue with the soil, reduce clod size, and level the field.

Abstract: A mechanism for mounting a soil leveling device to the mounting arm of a leveling attachment operates in either a fixed setting or a floating setting. The mechanism includes a rearwardly extending carrier arm which carries the soil leveling device at its distal end. The carrier arm is pivotably connected at its proximal end to the mounting arm of the leveling attachment for upward and downward movement. A connecting link is mounted to the mounting arm and a spring assembly extends between the link and the carrier arm. The connecting link is selectively operable in either a fixed setting or a released, floating setting. When the connecting link is in the fixed setting, the spring assembly biases the carrier arm and the leveling device with a downward force. When the connecting link is in the floating setting, the leveling device can move across a soil surface free of a downward bias from the spring assembly.

Abstract: A tillage tool includes a relatively narrow shank that slices through the soil while a ripper point at its lower end fractures and lifts the subsoil. Minimum surface disturbance adjacent the opposite sides of the shank is assured through the provision of a pair of independently mounted down-pressure wheels on opposite sides of the shank that engage and apply constant downward pressure against soil tending to erupt at the top surface. Each down pressure wheel is mounted to the shank assembly by its own leaf spring so that the two wheels react to ground changes independently of one another and without adversely affecting each other. A guide plate associated with each leaf spring prevents twisting of the spring as it flexes and provides stops for limiting the opposite extremes of up and down flexing of the spring.

Abstract: A tarping apparatus for the open top container of a refuse handling truck has a pair of tarp deployment arms on opposite sides of the container that pull the tarp onto and off of the open top of the container as the arms are hydraulically swung back and forth along the container. One end of the tarp is anchored to a stationary mast at the front end of the truck body while the opposite end of the tarp is wound around a spring-loaded take-up roll that pays out the tarp as the arms are swung rearwardly and then automatically rolls up the slack as the arms are returned toward the front end of the truck. If necessary to accommodate dimensional variances between different size containers which may be carried by the truck, the pivot points for the deployment arms may be adjustably shifted by hydraulic cylinders either forwardly or rearwardly such that the arc of travel of the tarp roll is correspondingly displaced either forwardly or rearwardly.

Abstract: A tillage implement has its residue incorporating gangs of discs hydraulically adjustable on-the-go to vary the extent of residue incorporation. Cylinders connected with the gangs are of matching volumetric capacities and are connected in a series hydraulic arrangement so that all of the cylinders operate in unison and in equal amounts. Each cylinder has a rod that extends through the entire length of the cylinder and projects outwardly from opposite ends thereof. Each cylinder is also provided with a relief spring coiled about its exterior and trapped between a lower shoulder on the cylinder and an upper slip collar that is trunnion-mounted to the attaching bracket of the implement frame, thus permitting the cylinder to slip upwardly through the collar under the resistance of the relief spring when an obstacle is encountered by the incorporating discs.