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A cultivator adapted to straddle a windrow of material such as compost. A frame has an improved disintegrator and aerator comprising a horizontal drum crosswise of the windrow with a plurality of cultivator blades disposed in two helical arrays between opposite ends of the drum, the arrays being cir

A cultivator adapted to straddle a windrow of material such as compost. A frame has an improved disintegrator and aerator comprising a horizontal drum crosswise of the windrow with a plurality of cultivator blades disposed in two helical arrays between opposite ends of the drum, the arrays being circumferentially spaced 180°apart about the drum and extending equal distances on opposite sides of a central, longitudinal, vertical plane along the center of the frame. The blades on the right and left sides of the drum have paddle portions at their ends transversely offset toward the central vertical plane and contoured to move material sidewise and heap it up into a peak along the center of the windrow. The helical arrays of blades are identical and symmetrical on opposite sides of the windrow center, enabling repeated passes of the cultivator to circulate material between the inside and the outside of the windrow while maintaining it with a triangular cross-section of ever-increasing height and ever-diminishing base width for improved chimney effect and aerobic heat utilization within the windrow. Two specific blade shapes are shown, one primarily for windrow cultivation and aeration, and another for shredding paper, cardboard, magazines, and the like prior to composting. A modified form of rotor is disclosed, for agricultural use, to form parallel ridges and furrows in a ground surface to prepare it for planting and subsequent irrigation.

대표청구항 ▼

In a cultivator having a frame, wheel means adapted to support the frame over a windrow of material such as compost, power means for rotating said wheel means in a direction to tram the cultivator along the windrow, an improved windrow disintegrator and aerator rotor comprising: a drum journaled in

In a cultivator having a frame, wheel means adapted to support the frame over a windrow of material such as compost, power means for rotating said wheel means in a direction to tram the cultivator along the windrow, an improved windrow disintegrator and aerator rotor comprising: a drum journaled in the frame for rotation about a horizontal axis extending crosswise of the windrow and power means for rotating said drum in the direction of rotation of said wheel means; a plurality of radial mounting posts fixed to the drum, said posts being arranged in a helical pattern having substantially one complete revolution between opposite ends of the drum, a substantially equal number of said posts being on each side of a central vertical plane along the longitudinal centerline of the frame, said posts being thin relative to the space between adjacent posts measured axially of the drum to minimize shear resistance of the posts within the windrow; and cultivator blades supported on the outer ends of said posts, each of said blades having at its outer end a transverse paddle portion offset toward said central vertical plane and contoured to move material at the bottom of the windrow selectively sidewise along the ground toward the center of the windrow at said central vertical plane to thereby circulate material in the windrow in two distinct closed flow paths inwardly along the ground from the outer edges, upwardly along the central vertical plane, and then outwardly and downwardly with the aid of gravity along the top surfaces; whereby repeated passes of said cultivator centered along a windrow circulates material between the inside and the outside of the windrow to aerate it while maintaining the windrow with a triangular cross-section of ever-increasing height and ever-diminishing base width symmetrical in shape and size on opposite sides of said central vertical plane. In a cultivator having a frame, wheel means adapted to support the frame over a windrow of material such as compost, power means for rotating said wheel means in a direction to tram the cultivator along the windrow, an improved windrow disintegrator and aerator rotor comprising: a drum journaled in the frame for rotation about a horizontal axis extending crosswise of the windrow and power means for rotating said drum in the direction of rotation of said wheel means; a plurality of radial mounting posts fixed to the drum, said posts being arranged in a helical pattern having substantially one complete revolution between opposite ends of the drum, a substantially equal number of said posts being on each side of a central vertical plane along the longitudinal centerline of the frame, said posts being thin relative to the space between adjacent posts measured axially of the drum to minimize shear resistance of the posts within the windrow; and cultivator blades supported on the outer ends of said posts, each of said blades being flat in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the drum, each blade having an outer portion canted or curved backwardly relative to the direction of rotation of the drum, and the leading edge thereof being characterized by a knife-like cutting edge to facilitate shredding paper, magazines, cardboard cartons, and the like. In a cultivator for forming parallel ridges and furrows in a ground surface, a frame, wheel means adapted to support the frame for movement over the ground, power means for rotating said wheel means in a direction to tram the cultivator along the ground, and improved ridge and furrow forming rotor comprising: a power driven drum journaled in the frame for rotation about a horizontal axis extending crosswise of the line of movement of the frame; cultivator blades axially and circumferentially spaced in a helical pattern on said drum between opposite ends thereof; said rotor being adapted to make a plurality of ridges in the ground parallel to the line of movement of the frame, a center one of said ridges being positioned along a central vertical plane intersecting the mid-point of the drum, and at least two other of said ridges being spaced from said center ridge by furrows flanking said center ridge, said other ridges being positioned along other vertical planes intersecting the side portions of the drum; said cultivator blades comprising predetermined long and short blades; groups of said short blades being centered at said vertical planes to make said ridges, each group of short blades being flanked on both sides by pairs of groups of said long blades to create furrows spaced apart on opposite sides of the corresponding vertical plane; all of said blades, regardless of length, having at their extreme outer ends transverse paddle portions offset toward the nearest of said vertical planes and being contoured to move ground surface material sidewise along the ground from the long blades to the short blades toward the nearest ridge; whereby each pair of groups of long blades cooperate to dislodge material from the ground to create a pair of furrows spaced apart on opposite sides of a corresponding one of said vertical planes and move the material sidewise into the space between said furrows, and whereby further the group of short blades between each pair of groups of long blades help create a ridge by heaping said dislodged ground material to a high point along said corresponding vertical plane.