Claims:1. A flange arrangement (100) for a tillage implement, said tillage implement having a frame, at least one rotary shaft (102) and said at least one rotary shaft (102) mounted within said frame, said flange arrangement (100) comprising:
a plurality of flanges (104), each flange (104) coupled to said rotary shaft (102) at a predetermined position,
wherein,
each of said flange(104) is indexed such that each flange (104) is disposed at a predetermined angle with respect to corresponding preceding said flange(104) in a counter clockwise direction.
2. The flange arrangement (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein each said flange (104) defines a reference point (110), said flange (104) is sequentially arranged such that said reference point (110) of said flange (104) is disposed at said predetermined angle with respect to corresponding reference point (110) of said preceding flange (104) in said counter clockwise direction.

3. The flange arrangement (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein reference point (110) is at least a semi-circular groove.

4. The flange arrangement (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said predetermined angle defined between corresponding adjacent flanges (104) is 15º.

5. The flange arrangement (100)as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said flange(104)defines a plurality of openings (112) towards a circumference of said flange (104), said plurality of openings (112) are adapted to receive corresponding connecting means (108) to connect a plurality of blades (106) to said flange (104).

6. The flange arrangement (100) as claimed in claim 5, wherein said connecting means (108) is at least one of welding, bolt and nut assembly, and riveting.
7. The flange arrangement (100) as claimed in claim 5, wherein said plurality of blades (106) include at least one left-hand side curved blade (LH blade) (106a) and at least one right-hand side curved blade (RH blade) (106b).

8. A method (200) of providing a flange arrangement (100) for a tillage implement, said tillage implement having a frame, at least one rotary shaft (102), and said rotary shaft (102) mounted within said frame, said method (200)comprising:
coupling a plurality of flanges (or flanges) (104) to said rotary shaft (102) at predetermined positions; and
sequentially arranging said plurality of flanges (104), such that each flange(104) is disposed at a predetermined angle with respect to corresponding preceding said flange (104) in a counter clockwise direction.

9. The method (200) as claimed in claim 8, wherein said method includes defining a reference point (110) in each of said flange (104), wherein said flange (104) is sequentially arranged such that said reference point (110) of said flange (104) is disposed at said predetermined angle with respect to corresponding reference point (110) of said preceding flange (104) in said counter clockwise direction.

10. The method (200) as claimed in claim 8, wherein said predetermined angle is 15º.
, Description:TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] The embodiments herein generally relate to tillage implements. More particularly, to a method and a flange arrangement for the tillage implements.

BACKGROUND
[002] Many tillage implements have been designed and are used for conditioning the soil for planting. Traditional farming includes both primary and secondary tillage tasks to prepare the soil such as plowing, disking, field cultivating and harrowing. These operations are done mainly to loosen an upper layer of soil, to mix the soil with fertilizers and to remove weeds. Usually, tillage implement such as a rotavator is mounted on the tractor (or similar tillage vehicle) for performing the tilling operation.
[003] A cutter shaft assembly of the tillage implement may be arranged on a frame of the rotary cultivator through a short shaft and a bearing seat, a rotary blade is arranged on the cutter shaft through a blade holder, and the blade holders are symmetrically arranged on the cutter shaft in a cross shape. The blades erupt the soil from below a seed depth to upwards or ground surface so as to open up the soil and pulverize the soil to a desired condition. The conventional tillage implement is limited by the structural form of the cutter shaft assembly, and cannot be used for both dry farmland and paddy field, i.e. the cutter assembly cannot be used for paddy field operation when being used for dry farmland operation, and vice versa. Further, as the rotary blades of the existing tillage implement are symmetrically arranged in a cross shape, the axial distance and the radial distance of each row of blades on the cutter shaft are small, and the resistance of the rotary blades during the soil penetration is large, and the rotary tillage depth is different and uneven, which further effects the rotary tillage and quality. The existing arrangement of the rotary blades may cause mechanical damage and may further lead to power loss due to traction machinery.
[004] Furthermore, the rotary blades when pressed against hard objects would either result in bending or breaking or disengaging of blades from the rotating shaft or suffer other serious damage which is undesirable. Further, the blades are subjected to high amplitude vibration as they are mounted in a same phase. For example, the rotavator may be operated at 3 Hz frequency and two or more blades of the rotavator may touch the ground simultaneously, i.e., a blade on first flange and a blade on second flange which are mounted on the flange at the same phase touch the ground three times simultaneously in one rotation of the driven shaft. For example, the rotation frequency may be considered to be 3 Hz. A predominant frequency may arise which is 3*3 = 9 Hz when the rotation frequency is 3 Hz. A high amplitude vibration may be observed at >9 Hz frequency which affects the performance of the rotavator and reduces the life of the rotavator blades. Further, the existing arrangement of the rotary blades may increase operating time, cost and fuel consumption.
[005] Therefore, there exists a need for a method and a flange arrangement for the tillage implements, which eliminates the aforementioned drawbacks.

OBJECTS

[006] The principal object of the embodiments disclosed herein is to provide a flange arrangement for tillage implements.
[007] Another object of the embodiments disclosed herein is to provide the flange arrangement for the tillage implement in which the flanges are disposed in an indexed manner with respect to corresponding preceding flange coupled to a rotary shaft of the tillage implement.
[008] Yet another object of the embodiments disclosed herein is to provide the flange arrangement for the tillage implement which is configured to reduce high amplitude vibrations during tillage operation.
[009] Still another object of the embodiments disclosed herein is to provide the flange arrangement for the tillage implement which is inexpensive and easy to fabricate.
[0010] Also, another object of the embodiments disclosed herein is to provide a method of providing a flange arrangement for a tillage implement.
[0011] These and other objects of the embodiments herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following descriptions, while indicating embodiments and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the embodiments herein without departing from the spirit thereof, and the embodiments herein include all such modifications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0012] The embodiments herein are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, throughout which like reference letters indicate corresponding parts in the various figures. The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following description with reference to the drawings, in which:
[0013] FIG. 1a depicts a perspective view of a flange arrangement for tillage implement, according to an embodiment as disclosed herein;
[0014] FIG. 1b depicts a perspective view of the flange arrangement with a plurality of blades connected thereon, according to an embodiment as disclosed herein;
[0015] FIG. 1c depicts a side view of the flange arrangement, according to an embodiment as disclosed herein;
[0016] FIG. 2 is a graph depicting a torque comparison between a base model, a concept 1 and a concept 2, according to an embodiment as disclosed herein;
[0017] FIG. 3 is a graph depicting a bulk density comparison between the base model, the concept 1 and the concept 2, according to an embodiment as disclosed herein;
[0018] FIG. 4 is a graph depicting a voidage comparison between the base model, the concept 1 and the concept 2, according to an embodiment as disclosed herein;
[0019] FIG. 5 depicts a flow chart indicating a method of providing the flange arrangement in the tillage implement, according to an embodiment as disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
[0021] The embodiments herein disclose a flange arrangement for tillage implements. Further, the embodiments herein disclose the flange arrangement for the tillage implement in which the flanges are disposed in an indexed manner with respect to corresponding preceding flange coupled toa rotary shaft of the tillage implement. Furthermore, the embodiments herein disclose the flange arrangement for the tillage implement which is configured to reduce high amplitude vibrations during tillage operation. Additionally, the embodiments herein disclose the flange arrangement for the tillage implement which is inexpensive and easy to fabricate. Moreover, the embodiments herein disclose a method of providing a flange arrangement for a tillage implement.Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIGS. 1 through FIG. 5, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown embodiments.
[0022] For the purpose of this description and ease of understanding, the tillage implement is explained herein below with reference to provide a flange arrangement (100) in the tillage implement such as a rotavator used in a tillage vehicle such as tractor. However, it is also within the scope of the invention to provide the flange arrangement (100) in any other tillage implement (or tillage implement without otherwise deterring the intended function of the tillage implement as can be deduced from the description and corresponding drawings.
[0023] FIG. 1a depicts a perspective view of a flange arrangement for tillage implement, according to an embodiment as disclosed herein and FIG. 1b depicts a perspective view of the flange arrangement with a plurality of blades connected thereon, according to an embodiment as disclosed herein. In an embodiment, the tillage implement (not shown) includes a frame (not shown), at least one rotary shaft (102),a plurality of flanges (104), a plurality of blades (106), at least one connecting means (108), and a reference point (110).
[0024] In an embodiment, the tillage implement (not shown)is pulled by the tractor. The tractor has a power take-off shaft (not shown) extending rearward from its body and a drawbar structure mounted on the underside of the body, where the drawbar structure extends rearward from the tractor to terminate at its rearward end in a clevis type connection (not shown). These and all other features of the tractor are conventional and consequently details are neither shown nor described relative to those features.
[0025] The tillage implement includes the frame (not shown). The frame is composed of a front transverse beam (not shown) extending across a front end of the tillage implement. In an embodiment, the frame is configured to be connected to the clevis by means of a pin (not shown).In an embodiment, the frame may be adjusted vertically and relative to the ground. The tillage implement further includes a drive shaft (not shown).In an embodiment, the drive shaft(not shown)is rotated by the driving means (not shown).The driving means is rotated by a power take-off unit (PTO) of the tractor. The power take-off unit produces a torque T. The rotary shaft (102) is disposed in the frame. The rotary shaft (102) is driven by the drive shaft (not shown) through a drive shaft gear wheel (not shown). In another embodiment, the tillage implement may include a plurality of rotary shafts (102).
[0026] The flange arrangement (100) includes the plurality of flanges (104) which are arranged in laterally spaced relationship on the rotary shaft (102). In an embodiment, the plurality of flanges (104) are rotated in a forward direction FD. However, it is also within the scope of the invention to provide any rotation direction for the plurality of flanges (104) without otherwise deterring the intended function of the rotation as can be deduced from this description and corresponding drawings.
[0027] Each of the flange (104) defines at least one reference point (110) on a circumference of the flange (104). The plurality of flanges (104) are sequentially arranged on the rotary shaft (102), such that the reference point (110) of each flange (104) is disposed at a predetermined angle with respect to corresponding reference point (110) of the preceding flange (104) in a counterclockwise direction CCW i.e. the plurality of flanges (104) sequentially indexed to one another with the predetermined angle defined there between. In an embodiment, the predetermined angle is 15º as shown in FIG. 1c.
[0028] Further, each of the flange (104) defines a central hole (not shown) and a plurality of opening (112) towards a circumference of the flange (104). The central hole is defined such that the flange (104) is received by the rotary shaft (102). Each opening (112) of the flange (104) is adapted to receive the connecting means (108) there through to secure the blade (106) to the flange (104).
[0029] In an embodiment, each flange (104) is adapted to receive the plurality of blades (106), where the plurality of blades (106) includes at left-hand side curved blade(106a)(LH blade) and at least one right-hand side curved blade (106b) (RH blade). In an embodiment, each flange (104) may be adapted to receive a plurality of LH blades (106a) and a plurality of RH blades (106b). In an embodiment, the blades (106a) and (106b) are fabricated in a shape selected from a group comprising L shape, C shape and J shape. However, it is also within the scope of the invention to provide the blade in any other shape without otherwise deterring the intended function of the blades (106) as can be deduced from this description and corresponding drawings. In an embodiment, the LH blades (106a) includes a blade body (not shown) which is bent towards left side (as shown in FIG. 1b) of the flange (104) with respect to a rotational axis (A) of the rotary shaft (102). Further, the RH blades (106b) includes a blade body (not shown) which is bent towards right side of the flange(104)(as shown in FIG. 1b)with respect to the rotational axis A of the rotary shaft (102).The plurality of blades (106) are connected to right-hand side of the flange (104). In an embodiment, the plurality of blades may be connected on left-hand side or right-hand side of the flange (104).
[0030] The blades (106) of the tillage implement is disposed such that each of the blade (106) coupled to each flange (104) is disposed in an offset manner with respect to corresponding each blade (106) coupled to its adjacent preceding flange(104).Each blade (106) coupled to each flange(104) is disposed at a predetermined distance X (not shown) from a reference line (not shown) defined by its preceding adjacent blade (106) coupled to its preceding adjacent flange (104).
[0031] The flange arrangement further includes the connecting means (108) which is adapted to secure the blades (106) to corresponding openings (112) defined in the flange (104).In an embodiment, the connecting means(108) is a bolt and nut assembly. However, it is also within the scope of the invention to provide any type of connecting means without otherwise deterring the intended function of connecting means as can be deduced from this description and corresponding drawings. In an embodiment, the connecting means (108) is at least one of welding, bolt and nut, riveting and other similar means.
[0032] FIG. 2 is a graph depicting a torque comparison between a base model 1, concept 1 and concept 2, according to an embodiment as disclosed herein. For example, let us consider a base model 1 which is a conventional agricultural implement having a first predetermined flange arrangement, a concept 1, in which the flange (104) is sequentially arranged on the rotary shaft with 15º indexation in a clockwise direction, and a concept 2 which is the present invention with flanges arranged on the rotary shaft with 15º indexation in the counterclockwise direction. It can be inferred from the graph that the flange arrangement of the present invention provides better torque during the tilling operation.
[0033] FIG. 3 is a graph depicting a bulk density comparison between the base model 1, the concept 1 and the concept 2, according to an embodiment as disclosed herein. It can be inferred from the graph that the flange arrangement of the present invention provides better bulk density after tilling operation. In an embodiment, the flange arrangement of the embodiments flange used herein provides an improved bulk density of 10.9 % when compared to base model 1 and concept 1.
[0034] FIG. 4 is a graph depicting a voidage comparison between the base model 1, the concept 1and the concept 2, according to an embodiment as disclosed herein. It can be inferred from the graph that the flange arrangement (100) of the present invention provides better voidage after tilling operation. In an embodiment, the flange arrangement (100) of the embodiments flange used herein includes a voidage sensor which is disposed at a predetermined position and configured to record the looseness of the soil after tillage operation. In an embodiment, the flange arrangement (100) provides an improved bulk density of 10 % when compared to base model 1 and the concept 1.
[0035] Further, table-1 provides a comparison table of fuel consumption of the flange arrangement (100) with the base model 1, concept 1and the concept 2.
Table - 1
Concept 1 Concept 2 Base Model 1
Weight kg 412 412 510
Engine RPM set 1810 1810 1810
PTO RPM set 540 540 540
Gear used L3 L3 L3
Rotor RPM @ 540 PTO 185 185 200
Nominal speed (kmph) 3.64 3.64 3.64
Engine RPM drop on straight 150-200 150-200 150-200
Engine RPM drop on turn 200 200 200
Depth of cut (cm) 10 -12 10 -12 10 -12
No load speed (kmph) 3.41 3.41 3.41
on load speed (kmph) 3.27 3.27 3.27
wheel slippage (%) -2 -1 -2
Fuel consumption (lit/hr) 5.26 4.61 5.37
area covered (acre/hr) 1.37 1.41 1.37
Fuel consumption (lit/acre) 3.84 3.27 3.92

It can be inferred from the table-1 that the flange arrangement (100) of the present invention achieves less fuel consumption. In an embodiment, the flange arrangement (100) provides an improved fuel efficiency of 2.39 % when compared to base model1 and concept 1. Further, the flange arrangement (100) achieves more area coverage of 3.39% when compared to base model1 and concept 1.
[0036] Further, table-2 provides a comparison table of the flange arrangement (100) with a base model 2 in wet land condition. For example, let us consider a base model 2 which is a conventional agricultural implement having a second predetermined flange arrangement, and the concept 2 which is the present invention with flanges arranged on the rotary shaft with 15º indexation in the counterclockwise direction.
Table - 2
Wet land condition
Rotavator Concept 2 Base model 2
no. of blades 42 L 54 L
Engine RPM set 2000 2000
PTO RPM set 540 540
Gear used L1 L1
Rotor RPM @ 540 PTO 229 239
Nominal speed (kmph) 3.64 3.64
Engine RPM drop during operation 50-100 50-100
Depth of cut (cm) 11 -13 12 -15
Fuel consumption (lit/hr) 3.624 4.475
area covered (acre/hr) 0.797 0.771
Fuel consumption (lit/acre) 4.524 5.786

It can be inferred from the table-2 that the flange arrangement (100) of the present invention achieves less fuel consumption in wet land conditions. In an embodiment, the flange arrangement (100) provides an improved fuel efficiency of 21.82 % when compared to base model2. Further, the flange arrangement (100) achieves more area coverage of 3.36% when compared to base model2.
[0037] FIG. 5 depicts a flow chart of a method (200) of providing a flange arrangement(100) for a tillage implement, according to an embodiment as disclosed herein. A method (200) of providing the flange arrangement (100) for the tillage implement is flange used herein. The method (200) includes coupling a plurality of flanges (or flanges)(104) to said rotary shaft (102) at predetermined positions (At step 202). Further, the method (200) includes sequentially arranging said plurality of flanges (104), such that each flange (104) is disposed at a predetermined angle with respect to corresponding preceding said flange (104) in a counterclockwise direction (At step 204).
[0038] The technical advantages disclosed by the embodiments herein are, the tillage implement mixes and pulverizes the tilled soil well resulting in a good clod size distribution. Furthermore, clogging of the rotary shafts of the rotavator during the soil operation is eliminated. Also, damage of the rotating shafts and blades due to impact of stones and roots in soil are evaded. Additionally, it reduces a high amplitude vibration.
[0039] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
[0040] “These reference signs are not, however, to be construed as limiting the scope, but merely aids to an easier understanding of the defined subject matter”.

Referral numerals:
100 Flange arrangement
102 Rotary shaft
104 Flange
106 Plurality of blades
106a left-hand side curved blade
106b right-hand side curved blade
108 connecting means
110 reference point
112 plurality of openings
FD Forward direction
A Rotational axis