Roper Corporation

Gerold G Goertzen

Lee R Herscher

A tine assembly for use with a rotary tiller comprising a selectively rotatable tine shaft and a plurality of pivotally mounted tines. The tines each include stop surfaces associated with an innermost end of the tine whereby the tine pivots to one position when the tine shaft is rotated in a clockwise direction and automatically pivots to a second position when the tine shaft is rotated in a counterclockwise direction. The angle of pivot between the two positions is such that the leading edge of the ground engaging portion of the tine sweeps a larger radius than the following portion of the tine when the tine shaft is rotated in either the clockwise or counterclockwise directions.

Tilling machine with pivotal bi-directional operative tines

A walk-behind garden tiller having power driven ground wheels and a single shaft of tines which are driven at relatively high speed in a direction counter to that of the drive wheels such that during tilling the tines cut upwardly through the untilled soil at the working face, resulting in improved power efficiency and easier control of the tiller when operating in adverse soil conditions. For cutting and breaking long vegetation that is carried upwardly by the counter-rotating tines and for guiding such vegetation under the tine shaft so that it does not become entangled about the tine shaft or otherwise clog or impede operation of the tiller, a sloughing device is mounted transversally to and forwardly of the tine shaft. In one embodiment, the sloughing device is a plate disposed in a vertical plane on the longitudinal axis of the machine, and in another embodiment the sloughing device is a rotary disc.

Garden tiller with vegetation sloughing means

A walk-behind garden implement including a wheel-supported frame carrying a horizontal base member. A handle extends upwardly and rearwardly from the base member for manual guidance. A yoke of U-shaped cross section is interposed between the handle and base member. The lower end of the handle is pivoted between the side walls of the yoke for adjustment of angular elevation. The bottom wall of the yoke has a vertically extending pivot connection for side-to-side, or azimuthal, adjustment of the handle. The handle carries an arcuately arranged set of spaced recesses at its lower end and the base member is also formed with a set of recesses. A first latching member pivoted in the yoke has an upwardly projecting tooth for holding the handle rigidly at a selected elevation. A second latching member pivoted in the yoke has a downwardly projecting tooth for engaging one of the recesses in the base member so that the handle is held rigidly at a selected azimuth. The latching members are pivoted for rocking movement about a common horizontally extending axis in scissoring relation so that their adjacent outwardly presented ends move vertically in opposite directions as the latch members are engaged and disengaged. A single manually operated releasing member is coupled to the latching members for temporarily moving the same to their disengaged positions for adjustment purposes. In an alternate embodiment the latching members are embodied in a single centrally pivoted lever.

Adjustable handle assembly for walk-behind garden implement

A walk-behind garden tiller having power driven ground wheels and a single row of tines which are driven at relatively high speed in a direction counter to that of the drive wheels such that during tilling the tines cut upwardly through the untilled soil at the working face with each pass of the tines penetrating and severing a relatively thin uniform layer of soil, resulting in improved power efficiency and easier control of the tiller when operating in adverse soil conditions. A tine shield overlies the tines for confining flying and turbulent soil during tilling to the immediate area about the tines. The tine shield has a forward extension which defines an extended cavity in front of the tines within which a quantity of partially tilled soil directed upwardly and forwardly by the counter-rotating tines can accumulate for re-working and more thorough pulverization by the tines as the machine proceeds along its forward movement. The illustrated shield extension terminates in a downwardly and forwardly tapered lip for directing such partially tilled soil impinging upon the underside of the shield extension onto a continuously formed mound of partially tilled soil in front of the tines.

Growing community of inventors

St. Anne, IL, United States of America

Gerold G Goertzen