Ridge-forming tool

Abstract

To provide a ridge-forming tool capable of flatly leveling an upper part of a ridge and forming the ridge to have a desired dimension.SOLUTION: A ridge-forming tool 80 can adjust a value of a bed width c of a ridge 5 by a side blade adjustment part 74, can adjust an angle θ of a slant face on an upper part of the ridge 5 by a ridge-forming blade adjustment part, and can adjust a height b of the ridge 5 by a height adjustment mechanism 22a of a wheel 22 and a body position adjustment part 40. Therefore, the ridge-forming tool 80 can form an upper part of a piled soil 1 to be the set height b, the bet width c and the angle θ of the slant face. Further, a burden of a worker can be significantly reduced, and the cultivation of crops can be performed by a producer with the ridge 5 having a shape requested by himself / herself.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention particularly relates to a ridge forming tool for forming the upper part of a high ridge into a desired dimension.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, when cultivating crops in a field, it is common to raise the soil to form ridges and plant and cultivate the crops on these ridges. Here, [Patent Document 1] below discloses an invention related to a ridging device that can be attached to a tiller or the like to simultaneously form a plurality of ridges.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Here, particularly in the case of greenhouse cultivation of strawberries, cultivation is carried out on high ridges 5 with a height b of 30 cm to 50 cm as shown in FIG. 8(b), rather than on the ridges for ordinary vegetable cultivation. In the formation of such high ridges 5, as the height b of the ridges 5 increases, the soil mounds 1 piled up from both sides form a double peak at the upper part as shown in FIG. 8(a) and the center becomes concave. This depression requires the operator to level it manually, which has the problem of a large burden on the operator. Also, although there are cases where it is desired to adjust the shape of the upper part of the ridge 5 to the preference of the producer, manual work by the operator has a large variation and there is a problem that high ridges 5 with ideal dimensions cannot be uniformly formed.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a ridge forming tool that can particularly level the upper part of a high ridge and form it into a desired dimension.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The present invention relates to (1) a ridge forming tool for forming the upper part of a strip-shaped embankment 1 into a ridge 5 having a predetermined shape, an end blade 70 for leveling the upper part of the embankment 1, a side blade 72 for forming the slope of the ridge 5, a ridge forming blade 60 composed of the end blade 70 and two side blades 72 for forming the upper part of the embankment 1 into a substantially trapezoidal shape, a soil pushing blade 50 for pushing the soil of the embankment 1 to the side of the ridge forming blade 60, a blade holding part 30 for holding the ridge forming blade 60 and the soil pushing blade 50, and wheels 22 for moving the ridge forming tool. By providing a ridge forming tool 80 characterized by having these components, the above problems are solved. (2) By further providing a main body position adjusting part 40 for adjusting the vertical position of the blade holding part 30, a side blade adjusting part 74 for adjusting the interval between the side blades 72, and a ridge forming blade adjusting part for adjusting the angle of the ridge forming blade 60, the above problems are solved by providing the ridge forming tool 80 described in (1) above. (3) By further providing a soil pushing blade adjusting part for adjusting the interval and angle of the soil pushing blade 50, the above problems are solved by providing the ridge forming tool 80 described in (2) above. (4) The ridge forming blade adjusting part has a shaft 64 passed through the side blade 72 side and a lifting part fixed to the end blade 70. By providing the ridge forming tool 80 described in (2) above, in which the ridge forming blade 60 rotates about the shaft 64 by adjusting the vertical position of the lifting part, and the angle θ of the slope of the ridge 5 formed by the ridge forming blade 60 changes, the above problems are solved. (5) The lifting part is provided with an operation grip 68c and is supported by a substantially isosceles triangle guide frame 27. By providing the ridge forming tool 80 described in (4) above, in which the operator slides the operation grip 68c along the guide frame 27, the ridge forming blade 60 rotates about the shaft 64, and the amount of soil forming the ridge 5 is adjusted, the above problems are solved.

Effect of the Invention

[0007] The ridge forming tool according to the present invention can form the upper part of the soil mound into a set height b, bed width c, and slope angle θ. Thereby, the burden on the operator can be reduced, and the producer can cultivate crops in ridges of the shape required by himself / herself. In addition, the ridge forming blade adjustment part of the ridge forming tool according to the present invention is provided with a mechanism for changing the opening of the ridge forming blade during operation. Thereby, the operator can appropriately operate the ridge forming blade adjustment part to maintain the amount of soil in the ridge forming blade at an appropriate amount. Thereby, even when there are variations in the swelling of the soil mound, the ridge forming can be continuously performed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] An embodiment of the ridge forming tool 80 according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) are perspective views of the ridge forming tool 80 according to the present invention. Also, FIG. 2(a) is a front view of the ridge forming tool 80 according to the present invention as viewed from the front, and FIG. 2(b) is a rear view as viewed from the rear. Further, FIG. 3(a) is a plan view of the ridge forming tool 80 according to the present invention as viewed from above, and FIG. 3(b) is a bottom view as viewed from below. Also, FIG. 4 is a side view of the ridge forming tool 80 according to the present invention.

[0010] First, the ridge forming tool 80 according to the present invention forms a strip-shaped ridge 1 into a ridge 5 of a predetermined shape, and is mainly intended to form the upper part of a high ridge 5 with a ridge height b of 30 cm to 50 cm used in, for example, strawberry greenhouse cultivation into a desired dimension. However, the present invention is not limited to high ridges 5 and can also be applied to ridges 5 for general agricultural crops.

[0011] And the ridge forming tool 80 according to the present invention includes a ridge forming blade 60 composed of an end blade 70 and side blades 72, a pair of soil gathering blades 50 for gathering the soil of the ridge 1 to the side of the ridge forming blade 60, a blade holding portion 30 for holding these ridge forming blade 60 and soil gathering blades 50, wheels 22 for moving the ridge forming tool 80, and further includes a main body position adjusting portion 40 for adjusting the vertical position of the blade holding portion 30, a side blade adjusting portion 74 for adjusting the interval between the side blades 72 of the ridge forming blade 60, a ridge forming blade adjusting portion for adjusting the angle of the ridge forming blade 60, and a soil gathering blade adjusting portion for adjusting the interval and angle of the soil gathering blades 50.

[0012] In addition, the ridging tool 80 according to the present invention has a base frame 26, and wheel frames 24 provided with wheels 22 are connected to the left and right sides of the base frame 26. And below the base frame 26, a blade holding portion 30 is connected via the aforementioned main body position adjusting portion 40. Further, a handle 28 for an operator to push the ridging tool 80 and a guide frame 27 described later are installed on the base frame 26. Incidentally, the base frame 26 and the wheel frame 24 are preferably configured such that the wheel frame 24 can be inserted into and removed from the base frame 26, and the distance between the left and right wheels 22 can be adjusted. In this configuration, it is possible to adjust the distance between the wheels 22 according to the skirt width a of the embankment 1 forming the ridge 5, and the ridging tool 80 of the present invention can be applied to embankments 1 with various skirt widths a. Further, it is preferable to provide a height adjustment mechanism 22a for the wheels 22 on the wheel frame 24. In this configuration, it is possible to widen the adjustment range of the vertical positions of the respective blades (the ridge forming blade 60 and the earth moving blade 50), and it is possible to expand the range of the height of the high ridge 5 that can be formed. Furthermore, it is particularly preferable from the viewpoint of reducing equipment costs that the wheel frame 24 is detachable from the base frame 26 and can be diverted as the wheels 22 of another agricultural working cart during the period when the ridging tool 80 is not used.

[0013] Next, the blade holding portion 30 and the main body position adjusting portion 40 will be described. Here, FIG. 5 is a side view showing only the blade holding portion 30, the main body position adjusting portion 40, and related parts. First, the main body position adjusting portion 40 connects the base frame 26 and the blade holding portion 30, and is connected to the blade holding portion 30 via a ball joint 42 that can be freely bent. Further, an elastic member 32 such as a spring is provided between the base frame 26 and the blade holding portion 30, and the blade holding portion 30 is biased downward by this elastic member 32. Then, by this ball joint 42 and the elastic member 32, the blade holding portion 30 and each blade hang down swingably with respect to the base frame 26.

[0014] Further, the ball joint 42 of the body position adjusting unit 40 is fixed to a feed screw shaft 44 formed with a thread groove, and the thread groove of this feed screw shaft 44 is screwed with a nut member fixed to the base frame 26. Further, a handle 46 is fixed to the upper end of this feed screw shaft 44. By an operator turning the handle 46, the feed screw shaft 44 rotates, and the blade holding portion 30 screwed with this feed screw shaft 44 moves up and down with respect to the base frame 26.

[0015] Next, the configuration of the soil gathering blade 50 and the soil gathering blade adjusting unit will be described with reference to FIG. 6. Here, FIG. 6(a) is a front view only of the soil gathering blade 50 and the soil gathering blade adjusting unit, and FIG. 6(b) is a plan view. First, the soil gathering blade 50 is a substantially rectangular plate-shaped member, and as shown in FIG. 6(b), it is installed in a V-shape that is narrow in the rear (toward the ridge forming blade 60 side) and wide in the front in a plan view. Also, as shown in FIG. 6(a), it is installed in a V-shape that is wide in the lower part and narrow in the upper part in a front view. Incidentally, basically, due to the self-weight of the blade holding portion 30 and the resistance of the soil, the front of the soil gathering blade 50 drops and the rear side toward the ridge forming blade 60 rises during use.

[0016] Also, the soil gathering blade adjusting unit connects the soil gathering blade 50 and the blade holding portion 30, and preferably has at least a gap adjusting portion 54a for adjusting the gap between the left and right soil gathering blades 50, and further includes an angle adjusting portion 54b for adjusting the angle of the soil gathering blade 50. And the gap adjusting portion 54a is composed of, for example, long holes provided respectively at the front and rear portions of the soil gathering blade 50 and fixed to the blade holding portion 30 side, and screw members inserted into these long holes and fixing the soil gathering blade 50 and the long holes. When adjusting the gap between the soil gathering blades 50, it is performed by loosening the screw member of the gap adjusting portion 54a, sliding the soil gathering blade 50 in the left-right direction along the long hole, and tightening and fixing the screw member at a position with a desired gap. Incidentally, the gap between the soil gathering blades 50 is set according to the gap of the side blades 72 described later.

[0017] Further, the angle adjustment part 54b of the soil gathering blade adjustment part adjusts the angle of the soil gathering blade 50 by, for example, screwing the front end and the rear end of the soil gathering blade 50 together at one point. When adjusting the angle of the soil gathering blade 50, the screw is loosened, the soil gathering blade 50 is rotated to a desired angle, and the screw is tightened and fixed at that position. By setting the angle of the soil gathering blade 50 to a value close to the angle of the slope of the ridge 1, it becomes possible to efficiently gather soil toward the ridge forming blade 60 side.

[0018] Next, the configuration of the ridge forming blade 60, the side blade adjustment part 74, and the ridge forming blade adjustment part will be described with reference to FIG. 7. Here, FIGS. 7(a) and (d) are side views of only the ridge forming blade 60, the side blade adjustment part 74, and the ridge forming blade adjustment part, FIGS. 7(b), (e), and (f) are rear views, and FIG. 7(c) is a bottom view. First, the ridge forming blade 60 is composed of a substantially rectangular plate-shaped end blade 70 and a pair of side blades 72 fixed to the end blade 70. The lower side of the end blade 70 becomes a forming side 70a that levels the upper part of the ridge 1. Further, the side blade 72 is a plate-shaped member bent at two locations, and the lower side of the portion connected to the end blade 70 at a predetermined angle becomes a forming side 72a that forms the slope of the upper part of the ridge. Further, a cover part 71 that closes the space between the side blade 72 and the soil gathering blade 50 is provided on the front side of the side blade 72, and guides the soil gathered by the soil gathering blade 50 toward the ridge forming blade 60 side. Then, as shown in FIGS. 7(b), (e), and (f), the forming side 70a and the left and right forming sides 72a exhibit a substantially trapezoidal shape with an open bottom in a front view and a rear view.

[0019] Further, the side blade adjustment unit 74 is mainly composed of, for example, a long hole formed in the left - right direction of the end blade 70 and a screw member inserted into this long hole to fix the side blade 72. When adjusting the interval between the side blades 72, loosen the screw member of the side blade adjustment unit 74 and slide the side blade 72 in the left - right direction along the long hole of the end blade 70, and then tighten and fix the screw member at a position with a desired interval. Then, the interval between the side blades 72 corresponds to the bed width c of the ridge 5 shown in FIG. 8(b), and by changing the interval between the side blades 72 by the side blade adjustment unit 74, the value of the bed width c of the ridge 5 can be adjusted.

[0020] Further, the ridge forming blade adjustment unit includes a shaft 64 passed through, for example, the upper part of the cover portion 71 of the side blade 72, and a lifting portion fixed to the end blade 70. The lifting portion mainly includes a lifting shaft 68b connected to the end blade 70 via a universal joint 68a, an operation grip 68c screwed to the upper part of the lifting shaft 68b, and a guide frame 27 fixed to the base frame 26 and slidably supporting the operation grip 68c. Further, the distance between the operation grip 68c and the universal joint 68a can be adjusted by changing the screwing position of the operation grip 68c. When the distance between the operation grip 68c and the universal joint 68a is reduced, the position of the universal joint 68a moves upward, and thereby, as shown in FIG. 7(d), the ridge forming blade 60 rotates upward about the shaft 64 and the angle changes. At this time, the trapezoid formed by the forming sides 70a and 72a has a steeper angle of the slope of the trapezoid in the front view and the rear view, as shown in FIG. 7(e). The angle of the forming side 72a in the front view and the rear view corresponds to the angle θ of the slope of the ridge 5 to be formed, and the angle θ of the upper slope of the ridge 5 can be adjusted by adjusting the vertical position of the lifting portion (operation grip 68c). Further, the height of the forming side 70a corresponds to the height b of the ridge 5, and since this can be adjusted by the height adjustment mechanism 22a of the wheel 22 and the main body position adjustment unit 40, therefore, the ridge forming tool 80 according to the present invention can adjust the height b, the bed width c, and the slope angle θ of the ridge 5, and can form a ridge 5 having dimensions required by the producer. Incidentally, by making the forming sides 70a and 72a straight lines in the front view and the rear view instead of trapezoids, or by sufficiently widening the interval between the side blades 72, the ridge forming tool 80 according to the present invention can also level only the upper surface of the embankment 1 while leaving the slope of the embankment 1 as it is.

[0021] Further, the guide frame 27 is composed of, for example, two frames sandwiching the front and rear of the operation grip 68c, and the operation grip 68c is configured to be slidable left and right along the guide frame 27. Further, the guide frame 27 preferably has a shape such that the position of the universal joint 68a drops when the operation grip 68c is tilted, particularly, a substantially isosceles triangle shape when viewed from the front or the rear. In this configuration, by sliding the operation grip 68c along the guide frame 27 and tilting it down or standing it up, the angle adjustment of the ridge forming blade 60 can be operated by the operator within a certain range at the operator's hand. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7(f), the position adjustment of the ridge forming blade adjustment unit and the main body position adjustment unit 40 is preferably performed in a state substantially in the middle between the state where the operation grip 68c is tilted down and the state where it is standing up. In this configuration, when the operation grip 68c is stood up, the ridge forming blade 60 can be rotated upward to expand the opening formed by the forming sides 70a and 72a. Further, when the operation grip 68c is tilted down, the ridge forming blade 60 can be rotated downward to narrow the opening formed by the forming sides 70a and 72a. Then, the ridge 5 is formed in a state where the operation grip 68c is at the middle position of the guide frame 27. For example, when excess soil is about to overflow from the inside of the ridge forming blade 60, the operation grip 68c is stood up to raise the ridge forming blade 60, and the opening formed by the forming sides 70a and 72a is temporarily expanded, so that the excess soil in the ridge forming blade 60 can be discharged. Further, for example, when the soil in the ridge forming blade 60 is insufficient, the operation grip 68c is tilted down to lower the ridge forming blade 60, and the opening formed by the forming sides 70a and 72a is temporarily narrowed, so that the soil can be stored in the ridge forming blade 60. Thereby, even when there is a variation in the height of the embankment 1, the formation of the ridge 5 can be continuously performed.

[0022] Next, a method of using the ridge forming tool 80 according to the present invention will be described. First, using a well-known ridging machine such as a tillage tractor, as shown in FIG. 8(a), a strip-shaped embankment 1 having a height b' and an upper width c' close to the target ridge 5 is formed. Note that in this embankment 1, the soil on both sides is raised and the upper surface is in a double-hill shape.

[0023] Next, position the ridge forming tool 80 at the end of the strip of the embankment 1. Next, adjust the positions of the left and right wheel frames 24 so that the left and right wheels 22 straddle the embankment 1 and the ridge forming blade 60 comes to the center of the embankment 1. Next, use the height adjustment mechanism 22a of the wheel 22 to position the blade holding part 30 near the height b of the target ridge 5. Next, operate the angle adjustment part 54b of the soil pushing blade adjustment part to make the angle of the soil pushing blade 50 substantially equal to the angle of the slope of the embankment 1. Next, operate the interval adjustment part 54a of the soil pushing blade adjustment part to adjust the interval between the rear ends of the left and right soil pushing blades 50 to a position slightly narrower than the bed width c of the target ridge 5. Next, operate the side blade adjustment part 74 to adjust the interval between the left and right side blades 72 on the end blade 70 to the value of the bed width c of the target ridge 5. Next, operate the ridge forming blade adjustment part to adjust the angle of the forming side 72a so that it becomes the angle θ of the slope of the target ridge 5 when viewed from the front and the back. At this time, it is preferable to perform the adjustment with the operation grip 68c in the middle of the guide frame 27. Next, if necessary, operate the interval adjustment part 54a of the soil pushing blade adjustment part to adjust so that the rear end of the soil pushing blade 50 abuts on the cover part 71 of the side blade 72. Finally, turn the handle 46 of the main body position adjustment part 40 to adjust the height position of the forming side 70a of the end blade 70 to the height b of the target ridge 5.

[0024] Next, the operator advances the ridge forming tool 80 along the embankment 1 with the handle 28. At this time, the operation grip 68c is at a substantially middle position of the guide frame 27. As a result, the soil on the upper part of the embankment 1 is pushed to the center by the soil pushing blade 50 and formed into a ridge 5 with a desired height b, bed width c, and slope angle θ by the forming sides 70a, 72a of the ridge forming blade 60. Also, when the soil in the ridge forming blade 60 decreases or becomes surplus, the operator appropriately lies down or stands up the operation grip 68c to adjust the opening by the forming sides 70a, 72a and maintain the amount of soil in the ridge forming blade 60 at an appropriate amount. As a result, the upper part of the embankment 1 is formed into a ridge 5 with a desired height b, bed width c, and slope angle θ.

[0025] As described above, the ridge forming tool 80 according to the present invention can adjust the value of the bed width c of the ridge 5 by the side blade adjustment unit 74, and can also adjust the angle θ of the slope at the upper part of the ridge 5 by the ridge forming blade adjustment unit. The height b of the ridge 5 can be adjusted by the height adjustment mechanism 22a of the wheel 22 and the main body position adjustment unit 40. Thus, in addition to leveling the upper part of the soil mound 1, the ridge forming tool 80 according to the present invention can form the upper part of the soil mound 1 into a ridge 5 having a set height b, bed width c, and slope angle θ. This can significantly reduce the burden on the operator, and the producer can cultivate crops in the ridge 5 having the shape required by himself / herself.

[0026] In addition, the ridge forming blade adjustment unit of the ridge forming tool 80 according to the present invention is provided with an operation grip 68c for vertically moving the forming edge 70a of the ridge forming blade 60 during operation. Thus, the operator can appropriately operate the operation grip 68c to adjust the opening formed by the forming edges 70a and 72a, and can maintain the amount of soil in the ridge forming blade 60 at an appropriate amount. Thereby, even when there is a variation in the swelling of the soil mound 1, the formation of the ridge 5 can be continuously performed.

[0027] Note that the configurations, mechanisms, shapes, designs, etc. of the respective parts of the ridge forming tool 80 shown above are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to the above examples, and can be implemented with modifications without departing from the gist of the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0028] 1 Soil mound 5 Ridge 22 Wheel 27 Guide frame 30 Blade holding part 40 Main body position adjustment unit 50 Soil gathering blade 60 Ridge forming blade 64 Shaft 68c Operation grip 70 End blade 72 Side blade 74 Side blade adjustment unit 80-acre forming tool

Claims

1. A ridge forming tool for forming the upper part of a strip-shaped embankment into ridges of a predetermined shape, comprising: an end blade for leveling the upper part of the embankment; a side blade for forming the slope of the ridge; a ridge forming blade composed of the end blade and two of the side blades for forming the upper part of the embankment into a substantially trapezoidal shape; a soil gathering blade for gathering the soil of the embankment to the side of the ridge forming blade; a blade holding part for holding the ridge forming blade and the soil gathering blade; wheels for moving the ridge forming tool, and characterized by having the above components.

2. a main body position adjuster for adjusting the vertical position of the blade holding part; a side blade adjuster for adjusting the interval between the side blades; a ridge forming blade adjuster for adjusting the angle of the ridge forming blade, and further characterized by having the above components according to Claim 1.

3. The ridge forming tool according to Claim 2, further comprising a soil gathering blade adjuster for adjusting the interval and angle of the soil gathering blade.

4. The ridge forming blade adjuster has a shaft passed through the side blade side and a lifting part fixed to the end blade, and the angle of the slope of the ridge formed by the ridge forming blade changes by rotating the ridge forming blade around the shaft by adjusting the vertical position of the lifting part. The ridge forming tool according to Claim 2 is characterized by this.

5. The lifting part is provided with an operation grip and is supported by a substantially isosceles triangle guide frame, and the operator slides the operation grip along the guide frame, so that the ridge forming blade rotates around the shaft, and the amount of soil for forming the ridge is adjusted. The ridge forming tool according to Claim 4 is characterized by this.

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