Abstract: A rotatable implement depth control apparatus consisting of a mounting plate having an upper end, a lower end, a forward face, a rearward face, a right side, a left side, and a lateral axis extending from the right side to the left side, the mounting plate being rotatable about the lateral axis; a rollable trolley, the rollable trolley having a forward end, a rearward end, a right side, and a left side; a rotatable implement carrying frame having a forward end, a rearward end, a right side, and a left side, the forward end of the rotatable implement carrying frame being pivotally attached to the rollable trolley; a rotatable implement having a right side, a left side, and having an axis of rotation extending from the right side to the left side, the rotatable implement being rotatably mounted within the rotatable implement carrying frame; and, a plurality of arms for transferring rotational motion of the mounting plate about the lateral axis to pivotal motion of the frame about the pivotal attachment to the r

Abstract: A horizontal-axis cutter for soil cultivation of the type comprising a horizontal-axis rotor (2) fitted with a number of blades and a gear motor (4), connected on one side to the power take-off of the tractor and on the other to the rotor, in which the gear motor is located in the front part of the machine, forward of a vertical axis A--A passing through the rotor axis.The cutter includes a pair of stiffening bars (10. 11), one fitted at the front of the machine and the other at the back of it, the stiffening bars constituting an integral part of the machine frame and being able to slide inside corresponding seatings in a support (1) to be connected to the power take-off of the tractor.

Abstract: A hydraulic lift apparatus for a farm implement has a sleeve mounted to the frame of the cultivator in a substantially upright position, and a fluidic cylinder mounted atop the sleeve. A caster wheel with a shaft is fully, rotatably, and slidably received within the sleeve and cylinder. When the cylinder is actuated, the cylinder piston pushes downward on the caster shaft and forces the shaft partially out of the cylinder and sleeve, thereby raising the frame of the farm implement and the blades attached to the frame. When the farm implement is to be returned to an operating position, the pressure on the cylinder is released and gravity returns the frame to its original position. A washer and cap screw on the caster shaft interact with a shoulder in the sleeve to prevent the caster shaft from falling out of the sleeve. A guide bushing at the bottom of the sleeve interact with a stop member on the caster shaft to limit upward motion of the caster shaft.

Abstract: An apparatus for adjusting the operating position of a cultivator tool includes a tool bar with a frame secured thereto, a tool arm pivotally mounting the cultivator tool on the frame, a bracket having a plurality of holes therein mounted on the frame, and a tiltable lever arm mechanism pivotally mounted on the frame. The latter includes a lever having a first end portion constituting a handle, a second end portion, and a detent pin adapted to engage the holes in the bracket. A spring assembly yieldingly urges or tilts the bracket and lever together so the pin normally engages one of the holes. A handle extension can be installed to apply additional leverage, if needed. When the second end portion is connected to the frame by torsional spring, the downpressure exerted on an implement mounted on the frame can be varied. In another embodiment, a linkage bar pivotally connects the second end portion of the lever with the tool arm and allows the apparatus to raise and lower the tool.

Abstract: A soil tillage implement to be pulled behind a tractor having a conventional frame with one or more furrowing elements depending from the frame or plough share. Each furrowing element has a disc-like coulter, a shank, and a replaceable plough share mounted on the soil engaging end of the shank. One or more gauge wheels, which can be adjusted to vary the height of the implement from the soil so as to adjust the depth of the tillage extending down from the frame. Each gauge wheel employs a counterbalance spring assembly to support the weight of the gauge wheel during adjustment.

Abstract: An aerator includes a frame supported on a pair of forward drive wheels and a pair of rearward caster wheels. An aerator head is mounted on a pivot frame on the forward end of the aerator frame, pivotable to move the aerator head from a disengaged position above the ground, downwardly to an engaged position wherein tines on the aerator head work the soil. The pivot frame includes a forwardly projecting arm upon which the aerator head is mounted, and a rearwardly projecting arm upon which the forward wheels of the frame are mounted, such that movement of the pivot frame will engage either the forward wheels of the frame or the aerator head with the ground. The aerator head is mounted forwardly of the forward end of the frame such that the tines on the aerator head form the forward most part of the aerator.

Abstract: There is disclosed a plow constructed for displacement, by a traction vehicle, a predetermined direction. It comprises a cultivator having a generally U-shaped frame with a pair of lateral arms parallel to the above direction and interconnected by a bight. The cultivator further has a soil-chiselling assembly mounted on and transversely between the arms, this assembly including a horizontal rotary shaft provided with longitudinally spaced sets of coplanar flat radial shares. The cultivator is mounted on retractable wheels movable between the first position, wherein the wheels engage the soil for displacement of said cultivator with the soil-chiselling assembly stands inoperative above the soil, and a second position, wherein the wheels are retracted and stand above the soil and the soil-chiselling assembly operatively engages the soil.

Abstract: A rotary ditcher has a flywheel type rotor carrying impeller blades that pick up and throw soil to the side of the rotor as the rotor is advanced into a body of soil in the direction of its axis of rotation. In advance of the rotor are two ripper blades that loosen the soil to be picked up and discharged by the rotor.

Abstract: The farm machine 1 for working the soil comprises tools 21 each of which consists of a concave disk 47 provided with a plurality of spades 48 at its periphery. The concavity of the concave disk 47 is directed toward the forward end 12 of the rotor 16, considering the work direction 3 of the farm machine 1. A lateral stabilizing element 41 comprising at least one share 43 extends behind the rearward lateral end 11 of the frame 9 of said farm machine 1. The farm machine 1 also comprises support wheels 36, 38, one 36 of which extends in front of the forward lateral end 12 of said frame 9.

Abstract: The invention relates to a soil working device, comprising a substantially cylindrical soil working member, which is mounted between two main supporting arms for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis and is axially composed of a number of sections which are mutually connected and connected with two shaft end sections journalled in said main supporting arms respectively through couplings of the universal type, the coupling between each two sections being supported by an auxiliary supporting arm which extends into the travelling direction and pivotally engages a connecting bar extending between said main supporting arms parallel to and in front of said soil working member.

Abstract: A cultivator for such crops as beets, maize, potatoes, etc., planted in rows. A machine frame can be mounted on the three-point hitch of a tractor. Several chopping tools mounted on it, can be detached from tool holders, and are rotated on vertical shafts. Force from a common drive mechanism is distributed to the shafts through a transmission. Each tool is rotated by one shaft and is mounted on a parallelogram. Each chopping tool (20) has one or more brushes that can be secured to the tool holder (18) and that have bristles of a flexible and resilient material and is shaped like an inverted flower pot. A stop (22) that rests against the ground at a level that can be adjusted in relation to the tool is accommodated in the inside (21) of the tool and can be detached from its center.

Abstract: A cultivation implement which is comprised generally of forward and rear thatching reels which rotate in opposite directions relative to each other under positive drive power from a tow vehicle, such as a tractor. Each reel unit is rotatably disposed in its own carriage or frame, which carriages are hingedly connected to each other and to said tow vehicle. Each carriage rides, when the implement is not in use, on free spinning road wheels. For use, each carriage may be selectively lowered from the non-use, raised, position to a lowered, in-use, position, by actuation of hydraulic means. To assure even and smooth operation of the implement while the reel units are engaging the ground, unique ground engaging members, or skids, are connected to each carriage and positioned relative to each said reel unit so as to be interengaged by the vertical blade members.

Abstract: A land grader for grading an unprepared or partially prepared soil surface, as a step in the preparation of a roadbed. The land grader has a frame fixed at a forward end to the tractor and is supported at a rearward end to a plurality of tamping wheels. On the frame are mounted a plurality of rotary cutters which are offset laterally and axially from one another along an angle to the direction of travel. The rotary cutters have scraper blades mounted between them.

Abstract: A rotary tiller device for tilling around trees and other similar obstacles comprises a rotary tilling head with a plurality of tines extending slightly outwardly, downwardly and forwardly from a support which rotates around a vertical axis of the head. A central plate rests upon the ground and defines a tilling depth of the tines. A cover prevents the support from damaging the tree. A mounting system for mounting the unit on the belly of a yard tractor includes a pair of rails mounted in place of the removed belly mower and a hydraulic fluid reservoir tank which slides into position on the rails and defines a support for the tiller head. A linkage between the tank and the tiller head includes a six-bar lever system mounted upon a pivotal plate.

Abstract: A wheeled vehicle having a pair of forwardly projecting support arms carrying a rotary dethatching drum. A volute housing encloses the upper portion of said dethatching drum and opens for tangential forward discharge above the drum. The drum includes axially-spaced blades mounted in circumferentially staggered array upon a polygonally cross-sectioned shaft. The drum is supported upon a vertically adjustable gauge roller used to set the working depth of the dethatching blades. The dethatching drum is driven in rotation from the wheeled vehicle. L-shaped lever arms project from the wheeled vehicle toward the dethatching drum and support a foot pedal subassembly which permits the dethatching drum and its housing to be lifted upwardly by foot pressure applied by the operator.

Abstract: The present invention entails an automatic soil sampling machine that is pulled through the field by a prime mover. A disk is utilized and is power driven by an internal combustion engine or other power source. About the outer circumference of the disk there is provided structure that effectively engages the soil as the disk is powered therethrough and flings the soil upwardly out of the ground into a rooster tail airborne configuration. A catching basket or container is mounted on the soil sampling machine and catches the soil particles being flung from the ground.

Abstract: A rotary tiller apparatus includes a main support frame having a first member that is pivotal in a generally vertical direction and a second member that is pivotally attached to the first member and pivots in a generally horizontal direction. The rotary tiller apparatus is pivotally mounted on a vehicle, such as a tractor for removing weeds and the like between plants planted in rows. A first hydraulic cylinder is provided to pivot the first support member in the generally vertical direction. The first hydraulic cylinder is attached to the first support member at one end and to the tractor at the other end. A second hydraulic cylinder is positioned to pivotally move the second support member with one end of the second hydraulic cylinder being attached to the second support member and the other end of the hydraulic cylinder being attached to the first support member.

Abstract: An integrated shredder/plow combination for reducing trash to facilitate its being mixed with the soil by the action of the trailing plow portion of the combination is disclosed. The shredder portion includes a unique arched structure positioned above a housing enclosing the shredder's cutting blades which permits the plow's drag to be transmitted directly to the tractor hitch so as to bypass the shredder assembly. The shredder assembly is thus not subjected to the large longitudinal forces associated with plowing operations as well as the high side loading encountered during turns and as a result of ground countour. This prolongs shredder operating lifetime and increases its reliability. By positioning the plow assembly immediately aft of the shredder mechanism, the cut-up vegetation, or trash, is more effectively turned under as it is in an agitated, suspended condition when it encounters the burying action of the trailing plow assemblies.

Abstract: The disclosure in this patent application includes a retractable in-row tiller device that has a parallelogram carriage structure for supporting the outrigger arm and tiller and for retracting and extending the outrigger arm and tiller in relation to the tractor on which it is mounted. It also includes an electro-hydraulic control system with a single wand plant feeler device that provides very accurate and responsive automatic control to guide the tiller around plants and which can be overridden and operated manually with ease and accurateness. It also includes an automatic positive depth control feature operated electro-hydraulically by a gauge wheel.

Abstract: An apparatus of the type designed to drill a plurality of equidistantly spaced bores of differing diameters in a lawn. The bores of smaller diameters are intended to aerate the lawn to provide holes into which seeds, water, and fertilizer can be deposited. Bores of larger diameters are intended to receive plugs of grass. The apparatus has the general appearance of a conventional lawnmower, having a planar in configuration base member and an insulated handle pivotally attached thereto. A linkage is provided to raise and lower the base member responsive to repositioning of the handle member. The drill bits are provided with welded ridges or heat treated flanges and are connected in driven relation to a motor mounted upwardly of the base member by a pulley and belt arrangement that differs depending upon the number of drill bits provided for a specific embodiment of the invention.

Abstract: A vibrating earth ripping machine which includes a main frame and a vibrating frame which is pivotally connected to the main frame by a pair of movable thrust absorbing arms. The vibrating frame extends beyond the main frame rear end, and is secured to a transversely extending tool bar having a plurality of downwardly projecting ripper tines detachably secured thereto. A mass is rotatably mounted on the tool bar for eccentric mass distribution during rotation about a horizontal axis. A resilient vibration damping system is mounted between the main frame and vibrating frame to damp vibratory movement imparted to the vibrating frame by the rotating mass.

Abstract: A retractable in-row tiller device is adapted for mounting on a movable vehicle and for tilling the ground around and between objects in a row. An outrigger arm with a rotary tiller mounted on its distal end is retracted inwardly and extended outwardly by a trapeze-type control arm which amplifies the velocity and magnitude of reciprocal motion produced by a hydraulic ram to move around and avoid objects encountered in the row. Both manually and automatically operable controls are included respectively to allow an operator to retract and extend the tiller out of and into the row as desired and to cause the tiller to be retracted and extended out of and into the row automatically upon encountering an object in the row. Manual control is also provided for the operator to override the automatic retraction control.

Abstract: The low-profile, lightweight tiller of compact, uncluttered design is adapted to be rigidly mounted upon the rear, powered lifting links of a garden tractor so as to be raised and lowered by the latter between transport and ground-working positions. Driving power for the transverse rotor of the tiller is obtained by a direct drive connection with the power takeoff shaft of the tractor. A right angle gearbox located inside the open bottom housing for the rotor is supported by the rotor shaft itself and has an upwardly and forwardly directed input shaft that connects directly with a telescoping, universal joint drive line connection with the power takeoff shaft.

Abstract: Tilling apparatus disclosed has a rotor shaft with axially spaced multiple tine and hub assemblies having hoe portions of adjacent tines overlapping one another. The apparatus is constructed as a central section and has wing sections pivotally connected to the central section. A first pivot axis for each wing section is the same horizontal plane as the rotor shaft. A first link connects at its lower end to the wing section at the first pivot axis and at its upper end to the central section at a second pivot axis. A thrust link driven by a two-way cylinder moves the wing section about the first pivot axis and then about the second pivot axis. Each tine hub is made in two half-bodies supporting two tines at 90 degrees, with a recess to turn adjacent hubs 30 degrees to one another. Each tine has a bevel on the outer side and a smooth hard surface on the inner side.

Abstract: A frame carries two transverse digger shafts each having a plurality of diggers mounted thereon in spaced apart relationship such that the diggers form independent furrows. The frame is supported on wheels on a single axis between the two digger shafts and it tiltable on this axis substantially independently of the three point hitch by virtue of a pair of pivoted connections between the hitch and the frame. A longitudinal tilt arm extends from an elevated position over the frame and is connected near its forward end by a resilient member to the hitch or to a selected attachment point on a rigid telescoping member also extending between the tilt arm and hitch. The tilt of the frame is also biased by placement of the wheel frame axis slightly to the rear of the frame's center of gravity. The digger shafts are connected to the drive for opposite relative rotation with the rear shaft rotating rearwardly whereby its diggers apply a retarding force to the frame and stabilize the frame on the frame wheel axis.

Abstract: A tractor drawn tillage implement having a front hood, rippers, a rotary tiller and a row former, conditions tight adobe soil ready for planting in one pass. The front hood, having rock deflectors, protects the operator from airborne objects while containing dust and soil disturbed by the rippers and the tiller. The rippers fracture the soil to aid water and root penetration, to increase water retention of the subsoil and to constrain development of hard pan. The rotatary tiller, driven by an auxiliary power unit and having its axis of rotation at or submerged below the ground surface, mulches the soil and plant residue and aerates the soil commensurate with rearward airborne discharge of the soil. A row former deflects the airborne soil into rows of predetermined height and width ready for planting and provides an air tight shroud to control dust and airborne objects. A tool bar is also incorporated for supporting add ons, such as fertilizers and planters.

Abstract: A rotary weeding machine for the culture of plants in rows is disclosed. The machine comprises a transverse tool bar adapted to be attached to the regular three-point hitch of a tractor, two wheels mounted one at each end of the tool bar for supporting the bar above the ground, a plurality of vertical shafts mounted for rotation on the tool bar and each supporting a soil-working device adapted to cut the weeds between the rows of plants, a plurality of vertical plates mounted on the tool bar, one on each side of the soil-working devices for preventing earth and weeds displaced by the soil-working devices from being thrown against the plants, and means for coupling the shafts of the soil-working devices to the regular power take-off of the tractor.

Abstract: A soil cultivating machine has a row of cultivating members which are mechanically driven and rotatable about upwardly extending axes positioned on a transverse row. An elongated, transverse hollow frame portion supports at least twenty shafts of the cultivating members and the shafts are preferably about 15 cms apart. Transmission parts of the members are housed in the frame portion. The frame portion comprises two U-shaped parts clamped together at longitudinal edges between which edges gasket material and spacer members hold the longitudinal edges at a predetermined distance from one another. The cultivating members can each have a single downwardly extending tine with an upper flat fastening portion that extends substantially transversely of the rotary axis of the cultivating member, and a lower operative portion that joins the flat fastening portion eccentrically of the rotary axis of the cultivating member.

Abstract: A grinding machine towed by a vehicle and having a plurality of rotating grinding members to smooth the surface traversed by the vehicle. Various mechanisms are provided to adjust the orientation of the grinding members so they are substantially parallel to the surface to be ground. The grinding machine comprises a main support member, a plurality of rotating grinding members extending downwardly therefrom, motors for rotating the grinding members, a first hinge coupling of the support member to the vehicle, a second hinge coupling of the support member to a wheel, a first adjusting mechanism to adjust the elevation of the front of the support member via the first hinge coupling and a second adjusting mechanism to adjust the elevation of the rear of the support member via the second hinge coupling.

Abstract: A hammer plow is provided with a series of disks spaced along and rotatable with a sleeve that turns about an axle on a number of bearings located therebetween. Each of the disks has a plurality of hammers rotatably attached thereto, which are free to rotate in complete circles. The rotatable length of the hammers is shorter than the distance from the points of attachment to the disks to the sleeves or spacers therebetween. A hammer striking an obstruction in ground to be plowed will not break, but is free to counter-rotate relative to the disk to which it is attached. Numerous agricultural and construction grading operations can be performed in a single pass of the device over ground to be plowed.

Abstract: A power tillage device is provided having a passive rolling coulter as the prime mover for a power tillage blade which is carried in the lead of the coulter on a transfer case mounted as a radius arm on the counter shaft. The tillage blade rotates in the opposite direction from the coulter and is designed for optimum efficiency for shearing and lifting soil from a furrow.

Abstract: A cultivating implement has an elongated frame portion with soil working tines rotatably mounted along the length of the frame portion. The implement is supported, at least in part, by a leading member and a rear member each of which bear on the ground in advance and to the rear of the soil working tines. The supporting members can be wheels, rollers, a row of rods, levelling bars or combinations thereof which are interconnected by at least one linkage. Each supporting member has a respective carrier that is pivoted to a strip or pair of strips secured to the frame portion. The carriers include upwardly extending arms or plates with holes at different levels that receive pins and the pins interconnect the upper portions of the carriers to an adjustable connecting member. When one supporting member is displaced upwardly or downwardly, the other member is displaced in an opposite direction.

Abstract: A hitch assembly for detachably connecting an independently operable rotary ground tiller to the rear of a garden tractor or other riding vehicle for towed operation therebehind. Remote tiller clutch and tilling depth controls are mounted on the tractor within easy reach of the tractor operator.The hitch assembly includes a draw bar hitch pivotally mounted to the rear of the garden tractor, a tongue member mounted to and extending forward from the tiller, and a dual pivotal mounting universal joint releasably pivotally mounted to and between the draw bar and tongue. Removable pivot pins provide means for maintaining the universal joint in pivotally mounted relation between the tongue and draw bar.As hitched to the tractor, the rotary ground tiller, when desired, may be easily disconnected for independent walk-behind operation by removing one of the pivot pins from the hitch mounting, disconnecting the remote clutch control cable, and remounting the conventional tiller clutch control to the clutch.

Abstract: A tractor drawn cultivator comprises a frame extending transversely to the direction of movement of the tractor. A plurality of spaced apart vertical axis rotary driven cultivator members comprising downwardly extending tines are supported from the frame. Surrounding each cultivating member and suspended from the frame is a screen having two spaced apart side walls and an interconnecting rear wall. The side walls have forwardly and outwardly diverging front parts with rearwardly and downwardly extending leading edges. At least a portion of the rear wall is vertically adjustable to control the rate of soil release from the screen. A tool bar to the rear of the main frame may support a plurality of ridging bodies, one behind each cultivator member.

Abstract: A rotary harrow has soil-working members that are protected and, to some extent, supported from the ground by an elongated transverse beam that is pivoted to the front of the frame. The beam is spring biased to an operative location adjacent the soil-working member connections and vertically adjustable with respect to those members. The beam is rounded off at its lower surfaces to level the ground and ride along the ground. If debris becomes lodged between the beam and soil-working members, the beam can pivot forwardly against spring opposition to release the debris. The pivot axis for the beam is substantially directly above the beam itself.

Abstract: A rotary harrow has a plurality of soil working members mounted on corresponding shafts that extend upwardy within a hollow frame portion. Each shaft is journalled in bearings within the frame portion and has a pinion gear in mesh with neighboring gears of adjacent soil working members. Either of two different sized transmission gears on top of the frame portion can be connected to the p.t.o. of a prime mover to rotate the soil working members at different speeds. The frame portion has similar upper and lower U-shaped pans that have rims detachably fastened to one another. The ends of the frame portion are closed by sector plates and a rear roller has arms pivoted to the harrow and adjustably connected to the sector plates to regulate the working depths of the soil working members. The roller is comprised of elongate elements mounted on hollow supports that have concave recesses around their perimeters.

Abstract: A rotary harrow has a plurality of soil-working members rotatably mounted on upwardly extending shafts and the shafts are journalled in an elongated frame portion that extends transverse to the direction of travel. A protective and supporting member of elongated and generally cylindrical configuration is secured to the frame portion by arms that are pivoted to that portion. The protective member can be rotatable or nonrotatable but is angularly displaceable about a horizontal axis that extends generally parallel to the frame portion. The protective member has an outer surface that can be of curved configuration and that outer surface extends adjacent the soil working members and is positioned relative to those members to direct debris downwardly to the ground. Stops on the frame portion and protective member limit the latter's movement relative to the remainder of the harrow.

Abstract: A combination implement has a leading cultivator with fixed tines and a rear rotary harrow with driven soil working tined members. The cultivator has side ground wheels with vertical adjusting means that controls the working depths of the fixed tines. The harrow has a trailing roller that is interconnected to the harrow frame with arms that also have an adjustment feature so that the working depths of the harrow's tined members can be regulated. The cultivator and harrow are linked to one another by a parallelogram linkage so that they can be disconnected from one another and individually connected to the three point lift of a prime mover. When the combination is assembled, a suspended drive shaft of the harrow's driving system is passed through the cultivator and connected to the p.t.o. of the prime mover.

Abstract: A harrow has side-by-side rotary soil working members mounted on upright shafts which are journalled in a frame portion that extends transverse to the direction of travel. Supporting members are pivoted to the harrow's frame in front of the soil working members and at each end of the frame portion. The supporting members have a wide ground engaging surface that is at least equal in width to the distance between adjacent shafts for the soil working members. The supporting members may be in the form a wheel with a low pressure tire, a wheel with a cage-like construction and longitudinal bars, or a skid with a ground-engaging surface of convex configureation.