Rotary stalk chopper apparatus
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 744,702, filed Nov. 24, 1976, now abandoned. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to agricultural implements and more particularly to tractor pulled, rotary apparatus for chopping vegetation and for churning and working the soil prior to and in preparation for a subsequent planting. 
     Extant grain harvesting machinery functions, in general, tp pick the grain crop, to remove the grain from the stalk and from the hull, to separate and store the grain, and to discharge waste parts of the plant back into the field. Frequently, various types of baling machinery are then utilized to pick up and bale the discharged waste to reclaim it for other purposes. What remains in the field is largely the stubble. 
     The stubble itself, however, is also useful, as it will decay in time and return nutrients to the soil. Also, decayed stalks, especially when finally divided, provide water absorption and retention means to preserve moisture within the top soil, thereby to serve as a moisture reservoir for the growing plant. Such decayed stalks act further to maintain the soil in a sufficiently loose condition to facilitate planting, cultivating, fertilizing, and ultimately crop growth. Hence, it is desirable to return the stubble to the soil finely divided and in as efficient a manner as is possible. 
     Certain difficulties have been associated with the prior art devices for chopping stalks and stubble. Among those difficulties have been a lack of efficiency and adjustability chopping, slowness of operation, and the necessity for an to varying terrain and soil conditions, incompleteness of excessive amount of manual adjustment and control in their operation. 
     In view of these and other difficulties associated with prior art devices, it is an object of the rotary stalk chopper apparatus of the present inventon to provide an apparatus which materially alleviates those difficulties. 
     It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a rotary stalk chopper apparatus which provides efficiency in use, speed and safety of operation, adjustability to varying terrain and soil conditions, and requires a minimum of manual adjustment and control. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The rotary chopper of the present invention comprises a horizontally disposed and rigid frame which supports a plurality of rotary shredder reels disposed across the frame and in tandem. The frame is supported by wheels which are retractable to lower the frame for engagement with the soil and which are extendable to raise the frame to disengage the rotary shredder reels from the earth for transportation of the apparatus. 
     The rotary shredder reels are supported individually by downwardly extending shaft support plates which depend from the frame. Each shaft support plate carries bearings which journal for rotation the ends of the reel shafts. A preferably laterally adjustable tongue is hinged to the front portion of the frame for limited radial motion about the longitudinal axis of the frame front. 
     Apparatus in accordance with the present invention includes a wheel extension and retraction mechanism having a rocker shaft disposed longitudinally along the frame and journaled for turning in bearing carried by the frame. Wheel struts carrying wheels extend downwardly and backwardly from the rocker shaft. A rocker lever arm is fixedly secured to the rocker shaft for radially turning the rocker shaft. A drive means, preferably in the form of a hydraulic cylinder, supplies force to the rocker lever arm for turning the rocker shaft, thereby to extend or retract the wheels for transportation and chopping respectively. 
     In a preferred embodiment the hydraulic cylinder is also operatively connected at the opposite end thereof to the tongue for urging the tongue upwardly simultaneously to retracting the wheels for engagement of the rotary shredders with the earth, so that the tongue will be automatically firmly supported both during transportation and during rotary operation and will be rendered substantially level during chopping for uniformity of weight distribution over the front and back disposed shredder reels. 
     In each rotary shredder reel a plurality of shredder blades extend longitudinal of the shaft and radially protrude therefrom. When the frame is pulled over the surface of the earth, the shredder blades turn and chop any stalks within their path while simultaneously working the earth. Preferably, the front rotary shredder reels have a different number of rotary blades from the back reels, in order to prevent tracking and missing of any stalks present. Additionally, supplementary weight may be applied to the apparatus by filling containers carried by the frame. 
     Various modifications of the present invention are intended to be embodied and will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the teaching of the principles of the invention in connection with the disclosure of the specification, the claims and the drawing. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     FIG. 1 is a plan view of the rotary stalk chopper of the present invention, showing the frame, the rotary shredders, the wheels, and wheelextending and retracting means, the tongue and the drive means; 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1 showing the details of the wheel extending and retracting mechanism, including wheel struts attached to a rocker shaft supported by shaft bearings, a rocker lever arm unitarily attached at one end to the rocker shaft for radial motion of the rocker shaft and hence retraction or extension of the wheel struts, and dirve means in the form of a hydraulic cylinder, which is attached to the tongue for supporting and leveling the tongue; 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a rotary shredder reel showing the shredder shaft, shredder blades, discs secured to the reel shaft, and angle irons connecting the shredder blades to the discs; and 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the frame, rotary shredder reels, wheels, wheel extension and retraction system, and the laterally and horizontally adjustable tongue. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to the Figures, wherein common numerals are used to designate common elements, and specifically to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, the rotary stalk chopper apparatus generally designated at 10 comprises a horizontally disposed, rigid frame which may be preferably rectangular in shape. The longitudinal axis of the frame extends normal to the direction of travel of the apparatus, which direction is indicated by Arrow A. The frame 10 has a front frame portion 11 and a back portion 12 connected by side members 13, 14 and re-enforcing intermediate frame members 15, 16, 17. 
     Rotary shredder reels generally 18 are disposed in tandem and extending longitudinal across substantially the entirety of frame front portion 11 and back portion 12. Rotary shredder reels 18 comprise rotary blades 19 extending longitudinally and radially protruding from reel shafts 20 by means of angle irons 21. 
     A wheel retraction and extension mechanism is provided and includes a rocker shaft 22 journaled for radial turning within rocker shaft bearings 23, 24, and 25. Wheel struts 26, 27 are disposed on and depend downwardly and backwardly from rocker shaft 22. The wheel struts 26, 27 bear axles 28, 29 and wheels 30, 31 at the distal ends thereof. 
     A rocker lever arm 33 is fixedly secured to rocker shaft 22, such as by welding, for driving rocker shaft 22 in radial motion. A drive means, preferably in the form of a hydraulic cylinder 34, such as may be driven by the hydraulic system of the associated tractor, is pivotally connected to rocker lever arm 33 by means of cylinder rod 35, for providing driving force to turn rocker shaft 22 radially about bearings 23, 24, 25. Hydraulic cylinder 34 is hingedly connected to tongue 38 by means of anchor 39 and U-clamp 40, such that tongue 38 is firmly and resiliently supported both during transportation and chopping and such that tongue 38 is urged into substantially leveled horizontal disposition when the wheel struts 26, 27 are retracted. 
     Referring now particularly to FIGS. 3 and 4, side frame members 15, 16, 17 have vertically downwardly extending reel shaft support plates 13a, 14a, 15a, 16a and 17a respectively. Such support plates extend preferably the entire length of the respective supportive frame members and divide the frame into a plurality of compartments for containing the shredder reels and the wheel struts. The plates 13a, 14a, 15a, 16a and 17a support reel shaft bearings 43 which are disposed in paired, facing relationship on adjacent support plates, for independently journaling for rotation each reel shaft 20. 
     The details of construction of the individual reels 18 are best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4. Referring thereto, at least two discs 44 are fixedly secured, such as by welding, on each shredder shaft 20, preferably near and equidistant from the ends thereof. Angle irons 21 having a first angle side 45 and a second angle side 46 disposed at 90° to first side 45 are fixedly secured, such as by bolting and/or welding, at a proximal end 47 and by means of first angle side 45 to the disc 44. The second angle side 46 is bolted and/or welded to the shredder blade 19 at the distal end 48 of the angle iron 44, whereby each such shredder blade 19 is supported near each of its ends by an angle iron 21. The angle irons 21 are disposed radially and equicircumferentially about reel shafts 20 to support the shredder blades 19 longitudinally of the reel shafts 20 and in radial protrusion therefrom. 
     In an alternative embodiment (not shown) the discs 44 and attached angle irons 21 may be mounted on a sleeve which is disposed on and secured to the reel shaft. That alternative structure would function in essentially the same manner as the structure shown. 
     In one preferred embodiment the rotary shredder reels 18 disposed below front frame portion 11 have five shredder blades per shaft and the rotary shredder reels 18 disposed below back frame portion 12 have six shredder blades per shaft, thereby to prevent tracking and hence missing of any vegetation during chopping. 
     Portions of the frame may be hollow for filling with a liquid for supplying supplementary weight to the apparatus for greater stability and efficiency in the field. Alternatively, supplementary weight bearing pans may be carried by the frame. 
     The materials used are preferably 1/4&#34; steel for strength and durability. The four-row shredder, as illustrated in the Figures would weigh approximately 2600 pounds, for a shredder apparatus approximately 6 feet long (less tongue) and 13 feet wide. The tongue is preferably approximately 6 feet in length. No particular criticality is found in the specific dimensions disclosed and the rotary apparatus of the present invention may be constructed to cover any convenient number of rows of vegetation. 
     Preferably, the shredder shafts are approximately 2 inches in diameter and the rocker shaft is approximately 31/2 inches in diameter. The diamter of a rotary shredder reel is approximately 22 inches. Likewise, these particular dimensions may be varied. 
     The basic and novel characteristics of the present invention and the advantages thereof will be readily understood from the foregoing disclosure by those skilled in the art. It will become readily apparent that various changes and modifications may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the combination apparatus set forth hereinabove without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the preferred and alternative embodiments of the present invention set forth herein above are not intended to limit such spirit and scope in any way.