IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
UP-0251097
(2008-10-14)
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등록번호 |
US-7717188
(2010-06-10)
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발명자
/ 주소 |
- Bjorge, Scott W.
- Maas, David R.
|
출원인 / 주소 |
- PlanetAir Turf Products, LLC
|
대리인 / 주소 |
|
인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
1 인용 특허 :
99 |
초록
▼
A soil aeration apparatus may include aeration tines that are actuated by a relatively compact gear system that reduces the size and weight of the apparatus. In addition, a soil aeration apparatus may operate without a centrally disposed support shaft, thus enabling the tine-holder shafts to be posi
A soil aeration apparatus may include aeration tines that are actuated by a relatively compact gear system that reduces the size and weight of the apparatus. In addition, a soil aeration apparatus may operate without a centrally disposed support shaft, thus enabling the tine-holder shafts to be positioned closer to one another and reducing the size of the apparatus.
대표청구항
▼
What is claimed is: 1. A soil aeration apparatus, comprising: a frame connectable to a towing vehicle for moving over a ground surface; a carrier rotatably attached to the frame such that the carrier is rotatable about a central axis; a plurality of tine-holder shafts rotatably coupled to the carri
What is claimed is: 1. A soil aeration apparatus, comprising: a frame connectable to a towing vehicle for moving over a ground surface; a carrier rotatably attached to the frame such that the carrier is rotatable about a central axis; a plurality of tine-holder shafts rotatably coupled to the carrier and extending substantially parallel to the central axis, each shaft having one or more curved aeration tines attached thereto; and a support member coupled to the carrier and spaced apart from the central axis; wherein the plurality of tine-holder shafts are spaced apart from the central axis such that the curved aeration tines pass through the central axis during operation without interference from another tine or shaft. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a gear system that urges the curved aeration tines to move in a compound motion as the curved aeration tines form aeration pockets in a ground surface. 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the gear system drives each of the curved tines to fully rotate about an axis of a respective tine-holder shaft while the tine-holder shafts are revolved about the central axis. 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein when the carrier rotates about the central axis: the tine-holder shafts are operative to revolve around the central axis, a first tine-holder shaft is operative to rotate about a first axis, and a second tine-holder shaft is operative to rotate about the second axis. 5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the gear system comprises a planetary gear coupled to each tine-holder shaft and a sun gear axially aligned with the central axis. 6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a coupling member to engage each sun gear with two or more planetary gears, wherein the coupling member includes a chain, cable, or belt. 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the curved aeration tines comprises a curved blade portion. 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the curved blade portion of each aeration tine is operative to penetrate into a ground surface to form a soil aeration pocket wherein when the carrier rotates about the central axis. 9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the curved blade portion of each aeration tine comprises a concave blade edge and a convex blade edge that extend toward a tip portion. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, the support member is fixedly mounted to the carrier and spaced apart from the plurality of tine-holder shafts such that the support member and the plurality of tine-holder shafts revolve about the central axis when the carrier rotates about the central axis. 11. A soil aeration apparatus, comprising: a frame connectable to a towing vehicle for moving over a ground surface; a carrier rotatably attached to the frame such that the carrier is rotatable about a central axis; a plurality of tine-holder shafts rotatably coupled to the carrier and extending substantially parallel to the central axis, each shaft having one or more curved aeration tines attached thereto; and a support member coupled to the carrier and spaced apart from the central axis, wherein the support member comprises a non-centrally located support shaft that is offset from the central axis and that provides mechanical support between the carrier and a second opposing carrier; wherein the plurality of tine-holder shafts are spaced apart from the central axis such that the curved aeration tines pass through the central axis during operation without interference from another tine or shaft. 12. The apparatus of claim 10, the plurality of tine-holder shafts extend from the carrier in an axial direction generally parallel to the central axis while the aeration tines extend from the plurality of tine-holder shafts in a direction generally transverse to the central axis so that the curved aeration tines pass through the central axis during operation. 13. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a gear system that urges the curved aeration tines to move in a compound motion as the curved aeration tines form aeration pockets in a ground surface. 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the gear system drives each of the curved tines to fully rotate about a longitudinal axis of a respective tine-holder shaft while the tine-holder shafts are revolved about the central axis. 15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein each of the curved aeration tines comprises a curved blade portion having a concave blade edge and a convex blade edge. 16. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the non-centrally located support shaft is fixedly mounted to the carrier so that the support shaft revolves about the central axis of the carrier. 17. A method for aerating a ground surface, comprising: towing a soil aeration apparatus over a ground surface, the soil aeration apparatus including: a carrier that is rotatable about a central axis, first and second tine-holder shafts that are rotatably coupled to the carrier, one or more curved aeration tines coupled to each of the tine-holder shafts, a non-centrally located support member fixedly coupled to the carrier; and driving the curved aeration tines to move in a compound motion while one or more of the curved aeration tines penetrate into the ground surface to form aeration pockets in the ground surface, wherein the first and second tine-holder shafts are offset from the central axis of the carrier such that the curved aeration tines pass through the central axis without interference when driven to move in the compound motion. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the non-centrally located support member is offset from the central axis so that the curved aeration tines pass through the central axis without interference. 19. The method of claim 17, wherein the curved aeration tines are driven to move in the compound motion by a gear system that urges each of the tine-holder shafts to rotate while the tine-holder shafts are revolved about the central axis. 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the gear system comprises a planetary gear coupled to each tine-holder shaft and a sun gear axially aligned with the central axis. 21. The method of claim 17, wherein driving the curved aeration tines further comprises penetrating curved blade portions of the curved aeration tines into the ground surface. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the curved blade portion of each aeration tine comprises a concave blade edge and a convex blade edge that extend toward a tip portion. 23. The method of claim 17, further comprising connecting a frame of the soil aeration apparatus to a vehicle for towing the soil aeration apparatus over the ground surface.
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