- 1 AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT ORIGINAL Name of Applicant/s: Kenneth Lindsay Pagden Actual Inventor/s: Kenneth Lindsay Pagden Address for Service is: SHELSTON IP 60 Margaret Street Telephone No: (02) 9777 1111 SYDNEY NSW 2000 Facsimile No. (02) 9241 4666 CCN: 3710000352 Attorney Code: SW Invention Title: APPARATUS FOR SOWING CROPS Details of Associated Provisional Application No. 2007906073 dated 07 Nov 2007 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: File: 59050AUP00 - la APPARATUS FOR SOWING CROPS Field of the Invention 5 This invention relates to an apparatus for sowing crops. The invention is particularly useful for sowing crops in rocky, non-arable terrain or on inclines such as sloping hillsides. Background to the Invention 10 Whilst there exists various devices for the sowing of crops, typically it is difficult to sow in close, parallel lines on an inclined plane, such as a sloping hillside, as the weight of the machine causes the machine to drift down the hill, thereby resulting in uneven sowing patterns. 15 It is an object of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to provide a useful alternative. Summary of the Invention 20 To this end, a first aspect of the present invention provides an apparatus for sowing crops, said apparatus including: a coulter disc assembly including a plurality of leading coulter discs and a plurality of trailing coulter discs, said leading coulter discs being mounted for rotation about a first axis of rotation 25 said trailing coulter discs being mounted for rotation about a second axis of rotation wherein said axis of rotation of said leading coulter discs is at an angle to a centre line of the apparatus. Preferably, said leading coulter discs are rotatably mounted on a first connecting 30 arm. More preferably, said first connecting arm is pivotably mounted at a free end. Preferably, said trailing coulter discs are mounted on a second connecting arm. More preferably, said second connecting arm is pivotably mounted at a free end.
-2 Brief Description of the Drawings A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 5 Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a coulter disc assembly of a crop sowing machine; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a further embodiment of coulter disc assembly of a crop sowing machine; and Fig. 3 is a plan view of a coulter disc assembly of a crop sowing machine illustrating the configuration of the coulter discs according to the present invention. 10 Detailed Description of the Invention With reference to Fig. 1, a side elevation of one embodiment of a coulter disc assembly (1) of a crop sowing machine is illustrated. The assembly includes a pair of 15 leading coulter discs (2) and a pair of trailing coulter discs (3). The coulter discs (2, 3) are mounted on pivotably mounted connecting arms (4, 5) respectively. The assembly further includes a pivotably mounted rocker arm (6) and coil springs (7) which act between the rocker arm (6) and the connecting arms (4, 5). It will be readily observed by those acquainted with sowing machines that when the leading coulter discs (2) rise up 20 over an obstacle such as a rock (8), pressure is transferred by means of the spring-loaded rocker arm (6) onto the trailing arm (5) and coulter discs (3). This ensures constant sowing effectiveness is maintained right up to the edge of an obstacle, such as rocks, logs etc, and then recommences immediately after the obstacle as the rocker arm (6) transfers the spring-loaded pressure back onto the leading coulter disc (2) as it re-enters 25 the ground to recommence the sowing operation. With reference to Fig. 2, in a further embodiment the assembly includes a hydraulic ram (9) to provide constant downward pressure on the coulter discs connecting bar (6). A depth control linkage arm (10) mounted behind leading coulter discs (2) is connected to a pressure relief valve (11) in such a way that when the leading coulter 30 discs 2 commence to rise up over a rock 8, depth control linkage arm (10) activates pressure relief valve (11) allowing the complete disc and rocker arm assembly to move freely in a backward and upward arc allowing the discs to transverse the obstacle with relative ease. When the rocker arm and connected bar (6) returns to the level plane, the -3 depth control linking arm returns pressure relief valve (11) to its closed position, allowing the hydraulic ram (5) to resume its downward pressure onto connecting arm (6). With reference to Fig. 3, a novel aspect of the present invention is illustrated. In 5 accordance with the present invention the leading coulter discs (2) are mounted on connecting arm (4) at an angle a in the range of 50 to 100, and preferably approximately 70, to the longitudinal axis by means of an angle adjusting bearing assembly. Trailing coulter discs (3) are mounted transversely on connecting arm (5) and are angled in the opposing direction to the leading discs at an angle P in the range of 50 to 10 10*, and preferably approximately 70, to the longitudinal axis. In the preferred embodiment angle a and angle P are equal and are approximately 7*. The purpose of this configuration of disc angles is that when the sowing mechanism is operating on the inclined plane, such as on a hillside, one pair of coulter discs will be operating in an uphill direction, which acts to counter the inherent downhill drift of the machine owing 15 to its weight. With reference to Fig. 3 it will be noted that by mounting disc arm assembly of the trailing discs (3) at 00 to the centre line of the seeding machine, the sowing path of the trailing discs (3) intersects the sowing path of the leading discs (2). This means that the sowing width of leading discs (2) will be halved by means of the trailing discs (3) 20 cutting mid point of their sowing lines. In the preferred embodiment dimension a is approximately 75mm. Advantageously, as a result of the present invention a conventional row spacing of 150mm can be effectively halved to 75mm row spacings. By using the present invention, farmers can now achieve parallel close row spacings in both arable and non 25 arable rocky soils and on both level and undulating hilly terrain. The end result is that farmers can now utilise existing non-arable country instead of purchasing new land to increase their stocking rate, as pasture production is increased by at least 25% with 75mm row spacings. Although the invention has been described with reference to specific examples it 30 will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many other forms.