The present invention relates to a plough comprising a set of at least two plough shares at least partially arranged behind one another, including a first and a last plough share.

The present invention relates to a method in which, by means of a first plough share, a mass of soil is cut from a furrow which is subsequently filled with soil from a neighbouring plough share.

Such a plough is generally known. A drawback of the known ploughs resides in that during carrying out

successive operating steps it has to be taken into account that after each operating step an open furrow with a mass of cut out soil is produced which has to be filled in the next operating step with soil being cut out in this step. The interdependence of the successive operating steps is the reason why it becomes increasingly difficult to plough in a straight line.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved plough, as well as an improved method, capable of ploughing without creating an open furrow after each operating step.

To achieve this, the plough according to the

invention is characterized in that said plough further comprises a conveying means extending above the plough shares, said conveying means being arranged to convey the soil cut out by the first plough share upwards and to the furrow cut by the last plough share.

An advantage of the plough according to the invention resides in that said plough not only does not require an initial furrow, but it also does not leave an open furrow after ploughing, making said plough very suitable for use as, in particular, but not exclusively, a so-termed traffic lanes plough. This means that over a number of years, use is made of fixed traffic lanes between which there are cultivation beds which need to be ploughed. The plough according to the invention is particularly suitable for this purpose. In addition, random, not necessarily

successive, cultivation beds can be ploughed. This is favourable in the case of so-termed "intercropping", in which crops are grown in not necessarily successive

cultivation beds and ploughing is carried out accordingly. In addition, it is easy to plough banks such as ditch banks. A further advantage is that the number of plough shares can be chosen freely, in principle, dependent on the strip of land to be ploughed in each operating step. In practice, this relates to the specific width of the

cultivation bed in the traffic lanes system in question. For example, there are traffic lanes systems having width dimensions of 3 meter, 2.2 meter and 1.5 meter.

A particular embodiment of the plough according to the invention is characterized in that the plough comprises a second set of at least two plough shares at least

partially arranged behind one another, including a first and a last plough share, wherein the first set and the second set comprise an equal number of plough shares arranged symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal axis of the plough, and each set comprises a conveying means provided between the first and the last plough share.

The use of this plough which is symmetrically

constructed with respect to the longitudinal axis resides in that it does not have the tendency to slip out of alignment. By virtue thereof, continual steering

corrections are not necessary, allowing ploughing in a straight line with minimum power requirements and minimal fuel consumption. A further embodiment of the plough according to the invention is characterized in that the conveying means in the respective set(s) is or are arranged such that the soil cut out by the first plough share is deposited upside down into the furrow cut by the last plough share.

This embodiment of a so-termed two-way plough meets the practical requirement of depositing cut out soil, including that from the first furrow, upside down into the respective last furrow.

A subsequent embodiment of the plough according to the invention is characterized in that the plough comprises a pair of discs provided in front of the first of a set of plough shares, which discs are spaced a distance apart for cutting a strip of soil whose width is equal to the width of the soil to be cut by the first plough share situated behind said pair of discs.

By cutting the soil by means of said discs before the soil is undercut and lifted by the chisel, it is achieved that a strip of soil which is well defined as to dimensions and depth is conveyed by the first plough share via the conveying means to the last plough furrow in an

operationally safe and reliable manner.

Further detailed, possible embodiments, which are set forth in the remaining claims, are mentioned together with the associated advantages in the following

description .

The plough and the relevant method according to the present invention will now be explained in greater detail with reference to the figures mentioned below, in which corresponding components are indicated by the same

reference numerals.

In the figures : Figure 1 shows a plan view of an embodiment of the plough according to the invention;

Figure 2 shows a side view of the plough shown in figure 1; and

Figure 3 shows an embodiment of the plough according to the invention which is symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal axis.

Figure 1 shows a diagrammatic plan view of a plough 1, which, in this case, is comprised of a set comprising four plough shares, which are collectively indicated by means of the reference numeral 2 in this description, which plough shares are arranged partly next to each other and partly behind each other in a customary manner. In figure I , the direction of movement of the plough 1 is from left to right, and the set may comprise, for example, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or more plough shares 2. The most right-hand plough share shown in figure 1 and in the side view of figure 2 is the first plough share 2-1, and the most left-hand one is the last plough share 2-2. The plough shares 2 are each attached to a plough beam, which is not shown in the drawings and which is often moved along by a vehicle, and to which a blade or coulter may be additionally attached if it is required to first make a vertical cut in the soil to be ploughed. Each one of the plough shares 2 cuts the soil from below if necessary by means of a chisel 3. The first plough share 2-1 cuts out the soil which may or may not have been cut loose from below already, after which the soil is transported to a conveying means 4 extending above the plough shares 2, said conveying means being arranged to transport the soil cut out by the first plough share further upwards and to a furrow cut by the last plough share 2-2. The second plough share, which is situated next to the first plough share 2-1, conveys the generally turned over, cut out soil to the furrow cut by the first plough share 2-1. Similarly, the soil cut out by the third plough share is deposited into the empty furrow cut by the second plough share, and the soil cut out by the fourth plough share 2-2, which is the last plough share in this case, is deposited into the furrow cut by the third plough share. And the furrow cut by the fourth and last plough share 2-2, is filled, as explained hereinabove, with soil supplied via the conveying means 4 which originates from the first plough share 2-1. In this way, unfilled furrows behind the plough 1 are prevented, which simplifies the subsequent levelling of a field ploughed in this manner. In addition, the plough 1 does not require an initial furrow. By virtue thereof, the plough 1 is very suitable for use as a traffic lanes plough. This can be attributed to the fact that in a so-termed fixed traffic lanes system, beds, such as

cultivation beds, situated between fixed traffic lanes are used over and over again, and over a period of several years, driving takes place only on these previously

determined fixed traffic lanes, which consequently do not have be ploughed.

In general, the conveying means 4 will be provided with a trough 8, 9, between which a driven conveyor belt moves from the first plough share 2-1, over the

intermediate plough shares 2, to the final plough share 2- 2. Turning over the soil cut out by the first plough share 2-1, if necessary, can take place before, during or after the transport of the soil by means of the conveying means 4.

The plough 1 may comprise a pair of discs 5 provided in front of the first plough share 2-1 of a set of plough shares, which discs are spaced a distance apart for cutting a strip of soil whose width is equal to the width of the soil to be cut out by the first plough share 2-1 situated behind said pair of discs. In this case, a knife 7 may be provided between the discs 5 and, if so, the strip of soil cut out with the help of said knife is moved upwards to the conveying means 4. Figure 3 shows an embodiment in which the plough 1 is symmetrically constructed with respect to a longitudinal axis extending vertically therein. One set of plough shares 2 extends to the left of the longitudinal axis and the other set of plough shares extends to the right of said longitudinal axis. Such a mirror symmetrical plough 1 comprising an equal number of plough shares 2 in

corresponding positions on the left-hand side and the right-hand side, it is precluded that the plough moves out of alignment because any transverse forces balance each other, thereby making it easier to create straight furrows with the plough 1. In this case, each set comprises a first and a second plough share, and each set comprises its own conveying means 4. In this case, the plough 1 shown in figure 3 comprises discs 5 which first make a cut in the soil when the plough 1 moves upwards as shown in figure 3.