Improved turf aerator.

摘要

The application provides a turf aerator (10) wherein a plurality of tyne arms (30), having tynes (31) attached to their lower ends, extend substantially vertically downwardly from the cranks of a crankshaft (14) located transversely of the direction of travel of the aerator. The aerator may either be self propelled or towed behind a tractor in which case a drive linkage connects the crankshaft to the power take-off of the tractor and is driven such that, as the aerator is moved forward, the crankshaft moves with the lower arc of its rotation in the rearward direction. In the case of a self propelled aerator a motor (20) is provided to both propel the aerator and to drive the crankshaft. The length of the tyne arms is such that they are projected into the ground as the respective crank moves through its lower arc and they are lifted clear of the ground as the crank moves through the upper arc of it's travel. While the tynes are engaged with the ground, the tyne arm is maintained in a substantially vertical orientation by the rearward motion of the respective crank through the lower arc of its rotation. The lower end of each tyne arm extends through a slot (34) running longitudinally of the aerator such that lateral movement of the tyne arm is prevented. Each tyne arm is biassed toward the forward end of it's slot by a spring (35) and the tyne arm moves reardwardly in the slot when the tyne is engaged in the ground due to the forward motion of the aerator over the ground. When the tyne is retracted from the ground by the crankshaft the tyne arm is returned to the forward end of its slot by the spring. In operation the tynes penetrate the turf with a reciprocating action, individual groups of tynes being staggered in their operation relative to other groups of tynes such that, at any one time, at least some of the tynes are in engagement with the ground, while others will be clear, thereby distributing the effort of driving the tynes into the ground over a full revolution of the crankshaft. The tyne battery is raised and lowered by hydraulic means to allow ground clearance during transporation.