Abstract: A tractor-mounted tree stump puller having articulating components that create a mechanical advantage to remove buried objects or the like from the ground in response to forward movement of the tractor. The implement comprises at least two components pivotally joined to form an articulating structure that shifts from a retracted position to an extended position upon forward movement of the tractor. An articulating structure so formed has a first end pivotally coupled to the tractor, and a second end rigidly attached to a forked structure. Just prior to the removal process, the forked structure is disposed to engage a buried object. With the forked structure engaging a buried object, the tractor moves in a forward direction causing the articulating components to shift from a retracted position to an extended position.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for controlling a power output of an engine of a crawler vehicle; such as, large sized bulldozers, at a time when shoe slip of such crawler vehicle occurs in operation, the crawler vehicle being provided with working equipments; such as, dozing units or blades, ripping units or rippers or the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to an adaptive engine power output mode setting method for automatically keeping the engine of the crawler vehicle in an optimum power output condition according to rates of the shoe slip or shoe slip rates of the crawler vehicle.

Abstract: A starter plant (10) is planted in soil (17) in a bottomless container (18), which is placed on a support surface (28). The plant is allowed to grow in a controlled environment until a time in its growing season when its root system is sufficiently developed to hold the soil (17) in the container (18) when the container (18) is removed from the surface (28). Then, the plant and the container (18) are planted as a unit in soil (30) in a field. The plant is allowed to grow to full size in the field, where it develops a densely rooted basal plate (32) inside the container (18) and feeder roots (34) that extend below the bottom of the container (18) into the soil (30). The plant is harvested from the field by undercutting the feeder roots (34) and removing the container (18) and the plant as a unit from the soil (30). The foliage (12) may be trimmed to a volume no bigger than the container (18), and the trimmed plant (38) may be stored or shipped.

Abstract: A cultivator includes a handle having a lower end with a tool member connected thereto. The tool member has first and second spaced-apart tines, each of the tines having an outer tip and being tubular with a longitudinal interior hollow extending to the tip. A flexible member, such as a wire, extends from the hollows of the times and between the tips thereof. There are devices for securing the flexible member in tension between the tips of the tines. Preferably the tines have outer portions which are thinner and harder than inner portions of the tines. For example, the outer portion of each tine may be a tubular insert telescopically received within the inner portion. The devices for securing the wire may include a reel secured to one end of the wire.

Abstract: A planting spacer and planting depth defining device includes a central rod on which a block is slidably mounted to define the depth of plant-receiving planting holes. A ruler is slidably received in the block and is used to define the spacing between plant-receiving holes. The plant-receiving holes are defined by forcing a point of the rod into the ground at the location marked using the ruler. The block is positioned on the rod element at a location to set the depth of the plant-receiving hole when the rod element point is forced into the soil until the block engages the soil.

Abstract: A moldboard support is pivotally hinged to its carrier and has a medial rearward portion pivotally connected to a lower link, the upper portion of the link having an arcuate ramp with a portion engaging a detent mounted in an upper link that is pivotally connected to the lower link at its lower end portion and to the carrier at its upper end. The support and two links form a toggle in which the pivot pin connecting the two links is normally slightly rearward of a line connecting their upper and lower pivot pins and that permits the support to pivot rearwardly and upwardly when an obstruction is met and to return by gravity when the carrier is raised. The operating angular position of the support may be changed by shifting the pivot pin for the upper link.A tension spring is mounted to exert an initial resetting force on the moldboard support in its upper tripped position to assist in breaking away from impacting materials.

Abstract: A planter monitor system monitors, measures and displays a plurality of planter performance parameters. The system includes a display console, a plurality of row unit modules and a plurality of seed sensors. The system can be used with a wide variety of planters made by different manufacturers and on many different planter types. The system can accurately monitor a wide variety of seed types (e.g. both small and large) and a wide variety of seed planting rates (low and high) and any combination thereof which can occur within the wide scope of seed planting. The system calculates an error rate from a set of data, in graph form, representing experimentally determined actual seed rates versus seed rates as would be measured, thus allowing the operator to optimize seed population and distribution by adjusting the speed of the planter apparatus and/or the seed distribution system.

Abstract: A ball repair tool has a plurality of fingers which extend first vertically into the surface of the green. After extending into the green vertically a specified distance, the plurality of fingers are forced conically inward to force both dirt and grass into the unrepaired ball mark. Once repaired, the fingers are retracted leaving a repaired ball mark. The holes made by the blades of the fingers aid in the repair of the ball mark by aerating the area around the repaired ball mark. The vertical extension of the fingers into the green before the conical motion to force dirt and grass into the ball mark provides sufficient depth of the repair area to adequately support the green area.

Abstract: In an automatic draft control system for positioning a hitch, velocity feedback loop techniques are employed to control the rate of movement of the hitch. When the system is operating in an open loop position control mode, a switch mounted on a tractor fender enables an operator to manually control raising/lowering of the hitch for the purpose of attaching an implement. Hitch position is sensed and a microprocessor calculates the first derivative of the hitch position signal to determine actual hitch velocity. The actual velocity is subtracted from a desired velocity value to obtain a velocity error signal. The error signal is subjected to an integral control algorithm and the integrated value is used to energize raise or lower solenoids controlling a valve which raises or lowers the hitch. When the actual hitch velocity is equal to or greater than the desired hitch velocity, the integrated value is saved. When the next raise/lower sequence is initiated the integrator is reset to the saved value.

Abstract: The present invention is a mounting device for individually mounting rotary hoes on the shanks of row crop cultivators. The tractor pulls shanks through the fields to cultivate the soil with rotary hoes connected to the shanks by a mounting device. The mounting device includes a portion which clamps to the shanks and a portion which is pivotally connected to the clamping portion and extends to a rotatably mounted rotary hoe. The hoe may float over irregular surfaces of the ground to penetrate and dig up the soil. The rotary hoes may be biased by a spring to maintain a relatively constant ground depth, and they may include stops to limit their forward movement, backward movement, or both.

Abstract: A snow deflection system for a snowplow includes an arcuate foil and a preferred belt. Both the foil and the belt are attached to the moldboard of the plow so that the preferred belt keeps the plowed snow close enough to the moldboard to allow the arcuate foil to direct the flow of snow and air, which blows over the top of the moldboard, down and away from the plow vehicle.

Abstract: A rock picker includes a picker grate having a plurality of picker bars extending in a curved path forwardly and downwardly to a forwardmost end for engaging the rocks and lifting them onto the picker grate. A conventional sweeping reel sweeps the rocks to a hopper. The forward end of each of the grate bars includes a portion consisting of a vertical plate parallel to the direction of movement together with a rotating rod which extends across the full width of the picker and is supported by the cup-shaped forward ends of the grate bars. The rod improves the rock picking action and also allows the clearing of trash between the rod and the vertical plate portions exposed at the front of the grate bars. A second embodiment includes a further roe positioned with a trip mechanism forwardly and downwardly of the first rod.

Abstract: A cutting insert and a wear insert for use in an agricultural tool having a cutting edge for forming a furrow. The agricultural tool includes an essentially syncline shaped slicer having a leading member, a trailing member and a pair of sides tapered from the trailing member toward a sharp convex cutting edge extending longitudinally upwardly and forwardly from the trailing member toward the leading member. A leading deflector extends upwardly and forwardly from the cutting edge and is formed integral the slicer by a mounting web. The mounting web includes a pair of sides extending rearwardly from the leading deflector and expanding to a heel having first and second sides adjoining respective sides of the syncline shaped slicer and a rear portion. Each of the first and second sides having formed therein a notch and having affixed thereto a wear insert. A cutting insert is secured within a slot along the cutting edge.

Abstract: A sod roll-out machine with endless tracks having a low center of gravity to prevent tipping on hills or inclines. The machine can be operated and steered by one person, wherein the roll of sod can be unwound in a forward or reverse direction. A pair of arms are elevated by hydraulic cylinders to facilitate the loading of a roll of sod to the distal ends of the arms, and to maintain the roll of sod slightly above the earth during the unrolling process. Due to the unique two track driving mechanism, the machine can be turned in place and operated in areas having limited accessibility. The tracks are driven by a motor, wherein each track can be individually controlled to be rotated in either a forward or reverse direction. A hydraulic pump is driven by the motor, wherein hydraulic fluid is provided to each of the hydraulic cylinders to control the elevation of each of the elevating arms.

Abstract: Disclosed are improvements relating to injection of water-absorbent polymers, including a blend containing fine granules, using one or more air-blown, plowblade applicators. The process creates a "blanket" of moisture-retaining particles for the plant roots. A further aspect of the invention includes drawing a plowblade through the soil at an appropriate shallow angle and speed to establish a wave in the soil, together with the use of a deflector and control over the air pressure, all of which maximizes diffusion and distribution of the injected particles.

Abstract: A multi-row agricultural field cultivator for row crops having a row cultivator shovel sized and configured to penetrate soil adjacent a crop row to a depth of between one and three inches, a substantially flat soil deflector plate and a deflector plate attachment structure for attaching the deflector plate to the cultivator structure in a horizontal position above the local ground surface adjacent the cultivator shovel. The deflector plate downwardly deflects soil thrown up by the cultivator shovel during cultivating operations to achieve minimal crop damage at increase cultivator operating speeds.

Abstract: An agricultural tool including a disc blade incorporating hard wear resistant inserts for attachment to an axial member of an agricultural tool for rotation through the soil. The disc blade includes parallel spaced flat round front and rear surfaces having a central cylindrical opening. The front surface tapers radially outwardly to the rear surface thereby defining a common outer rim having a knife edge. A plurality of notches are spaced circumferentially along the front surface of the disc blade and inwardly from the outer edge of the front surface of the disc blade. The notches are configured to receive a plurality of hard wear resistant inserts to provide improved wear resistance.

Abstract: A high pressure liquid containment joint in an apparatus for injecting high pressure liquid into turf. A preferred high pressure liquid containment joint includes an O-ring (72). The high pressure liquid containment joint also includes a cylindrical plug (70). The plug (70) includes a first end and a second end, external threads (71) located between the first and second ends, a shoulder (73) for accepting the O-ring (72) wherein the shoulder (73) is located between the external threads (71) and the second end. The plug (70) also includes a hexhead (75) connected with the first end for accepting rotational force. The high pressure liquid containment joint also includes a high pressure liquid containment vessel for containing high pressure liquid wherein the vessel includes a threaded bore (74) wherein the bore (74) includes internal threads (172) for engaging the external threads (71) and two, smooth machined frusto-conical surfaces (174, 175) for contacting the O-ring.

Abstract: A towable road tender device for grading unpaved roadway surfaces. The tender device may be hitched to commercial vehicles but is particularly suited for use with private vehicles, such as small tractors and pickup trucks. A set of relatively lightweight frames reduce the weight to be pulled by the vehicle. The towable road tender device is sized to be operated using small-scale power take-off units commonly available in private vehicles, such as, for example, the power units of conventional front-end plows. The set of lightweight frames includes a support frame that secures the tending tool, a wheel frame that pivots the rear towing wheels either toward or away from the support frame, and an attachment frame joining the other two frames to a hitch on the towing vehicle. The attachment frame is designed to keep the support frame parallel to the plane of the underlying roadway surface as that support frame is raised or lowered.

Abstract: A hood support assembly (18) for controllably supporting a hood member (16) on an earth working machine (10) includes a support member (20) that is pivotally mounted, at each of two end portions (22,24) to the frame (12) of the machine. Arm members (26,28) and stop members (42,44) are attached to each of the end portions (22,24) of the support member (20). A pair of adjustable links (34,36) respectively pivotally connect the hood member (16) to each of the arm members (26,28). A pair of springs (52,54) attached to the frame (12) cooperate with the stop members (42,44) to maintain the lateral orientation of the hood member (16) with respect to the frame (12) and support a portion of the weight of the hood member during ground engaging operation of the machine (10).