Adjustable cutting edge for a moldboard

Abstract

An adjustable cutting edge for a moldboard having a material engaging surface and a bottom edge. The adjustable cutting edge has a series of cutter bodies. Each cutter body has a top edge, a bottom cutting edge opposite the top edge, a first side, a second side opposite the first side, a front surface having a concave curvature, a rear surface opposite the front surface and having a convex curvature, and a position control profile extending along at least a portion of the rear surface. A series of retainers are carried by the moldboard, each retainer permitting a respective cutter body to move along the concave curvature to advance or retract the bottom cutting edge relative to the bottom edge of the moldboard and engaging the position control profile of a respective cutter body to retain the respective cutter body in a selected position.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An adjustable cutting edge for a moldboard, the moldboard comprising a material engaging surface and a bottom edge, the adjustable cutting edge comprising:
 a series of cutter bodies, each cutter body having a top edge, a bottom cutting edge opposite the top edge, a first side, a second side opposite the first side, a front surface having a concave curvature, a rear surface opposite the front surface and having a convex curvature, and a position control profile extending along at least a portion of the rear surface; and   a series of retainers carried by the moldboard, each retainer permitting a respective cutter body to move along the concave curvature to advance or retract the bottom cutting edge relative to the bottom edge of the moldboard and engaging the position control profile of a respective cutter body to retain the respective cutter body in a selected position.   
     
     
         2 . The adjustable cutting edge of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second sides of the cutter bodies comprise side engagement surfaces, the side engagement surfaces engaging adjacent cutter bodies and permitting movement of each cutter body by the respective actuators. 
     
     
         3 . The adjustable cutting edge of  claim 1 , wherein the top edge and the bottom edge comprise end engagement surfaces, the end engagement surfaces permitting a following cutter body to be attached to a top edge of a cutter body in use. 
     
     
         4 . The adjustable cutting edge of  claim 1 , wherein the convex curvature matches the curvature of the moldboard. 
     
     
         5 . The adjustable cutting edge of  claim 1 , wherein the convex curvature matches the concave curvature. 
     
     
         6 . The adjustable cutting edge of  claim 1 , wherein the position control element prevents movement outward from the concave curvature. 
     
     
         7 . The adjustable cutting edge of  claim 1 , wherein the position control element and the retainer comprise a tongue and groove channel for permitting movement along the concave curvature. 
     
     
         8 . The adjustable cutting edge of  claim 7 , wherein the tongue comprises a dovetail and the groove comprises a dovetail groove. 
     
     
         9 . The adjustable cutting edge of  claim 1 , wherein the position control element comprises a first profile, each actuator having a second profile that engages the first profile, each actuator moving the respective cutter body by manipulating the second profile to apply a force to the first profile. 
     
     
         10 . The adjustable cutting edge of  claim 1 , wherein the series of retainers are spaced along a length of the bottom edge of the moldboard such that the respective cutter bodies form a continuous cutting edge. 
     
     
         11 . The adjustable cutting edge of  claim 1 , wherein the retainers further comprise actuators that selectively move the respective cutter body along the concave curvature to advance or retract the bottom cutting edge. 
     
     
         12 . The adjustable cutting edge of  claim 11 , wherein each actuator is independently controlled. 
     
     
         13 . The adjustable cutting edge of  claim 11 , wherein each actuator comprises a worm gear, the worm gear engaging the position control element of the respective cutter body. 
     
     
         14 . The adjustable cutting edge of  claim 11 , wherein each actuator is operated by an electric motor. 
     
     
         15 . The adjustable cutting edge of  claim 11 , further comprising a microcontroller connected to the series of actuators, the microcontroller controlling the position of each cutter body based on commands from an operator. 
     
     
         16 . The adjustable cutting edge of  claim 15 , wherein the microcontroller is programmed with instructions to advance the bottom cutting edge of selected cutter bodies and retract the bottom cutting edge of other cutter bodies to create a cutting edge profile. 
     
     
         17 . The adjustable cutting edge of  claim 15 , comprising sensors for sensing the position of each bottom cutting edge. 
     
     
         18 . The adjustable cutting edge of  claim 1 , wherein each cutter body is fixedly connected relative to the respective retainer, and the retainers are fixedly connected to the moldboard.