Flow control assembly for an agricultural metering system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10058022-B2
Application number	US-201715709959-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 20, 2017
Priority date	Nov 4, 2014
Publication date	Aug 28, 2018
Grant date	Aug 28, 2018

Abstract

A flow control assembly for an agricultural metering system includes a first gate control shaft configured to drive a first gate of a seed meter to transition between an open position and a closed position. The flow control assembly also includes a handle configured to drive the first gate control shaft to rotate via rotation of the handle between a first position that corresponds to the open position of the first gate and a second position that corresponds to the closed position of the first gate. In addition, the flow control assembly includes a locking assembly configured to secure the handle to the first gate control shaft at least while the handle is in the first position, and to enable the handle to be released from the first gate control shaft at least while the handle is in the second position.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A flow control assembly for an agricultural metering system, comprising:
a first gate control shaft configured to drive a first gate of a seed meter to transition between an open position and a closed position via rotation of the first gate control shaft;
a second gate control shaft configured to drive a second gate of the seed meter to transition between an open position and a closed position via rotation of the second gate control shaft;
a handle configured to selectively engage each of a first engagement portion of the first gate control shaft and a second engagement portion of the second gate control shaft, wherein the handle is configured to drive the first gate control shaft to rotate via rotation of the handle between a first position that corresponds to the open position of the first gate and a second position that corresponds to the closed position of the first gate while the handle is engaged with the first engagement portion, and the handle is configured to drive the second gate control shaft to rotate via rotation of the handle between a third position that corresponds to the open position of the second gate and a fourth position that corresponds to the closed position of the second gate while the handle is engaged with the second engagement portion; and
a locking assembly configured to secure the handle to the first engagement portion at least while the handle is in the first position, to enable the handle to be released from the first engagement portion at least while the handle is in the second position, to secure the handle to the second engagement portion at least while the handle is in the third position, and to enable the handle to be released from the second engagement portion at least while the handle is in the fourth position.

2. The flow control assembly of claim 1 , wherein the handle comprises at least one recess configured to engage a corresponding first protrusion on the first engagement portion and a corresponding second protrusion on the second engagement portion to non-rotatably couple the handle to a respective engagement portion while the handle is engaged with the respective engagement portion.

3. The flow control assembly of claim 2 , wherein each engagement portion comprises a first receptacle and a second receptacle each configured to receive a respective protrusion, the first protrusion is coupled to the first receptacle on the first engagement portion, the second protrusion is coupled to the second receptacle on the second engagement portion, the first receptacle is positioned such that a grip portion of the handle is oriented at a desired angle while the handle is in the second position, and the second receptacle is positioned such that the grip portion is oriented at the desired angle while the handle is in the fourth position.

4. The flow control assembly of claim 1 , comprising a stop configured to block rotation of the handle away from the second position while the handle is in the first position, to block rotation of the handle away from the first position while the handle is in the second position, to block rotation of the handle away from the fourth position while the handle is in the third position, or to block rotation of the handle away from the third position while the handle is in the fourth position.

5. The flow control assembly of claim 1 , wherein the locking assembly comprises a locking bar coupled to a frame of the agricultural metering system, wherein the locking bar comprises at least one recess configured to selectively receive a locking plate of the handle at least while the handle is in the first position and the third position to secure the handle to a respective engagement portion.

6. The flow control assembly of claim 5 , wherein the at least one recess comprises a first recess configured to receive the locking plate at least while the handle is in the first position and a second recess configured to receive the locking plate at least while the handle is in the third position.

7. The flow control assembly of claim 1 , comprising:
a first gate control link coupled to the first gate control shaft, wherein the first gate control link is configured to couple to the first gate of the seed meter, and the first gate control link is configured to move the first gate between the open position and the closed position in response to rotation of the first gate control shaft; and
a second gate control link coupled to the second gate control shaft, wherein the second gate control link is configured to couple to the second gate of the seed meter, and the second gate control link is configured to move the second gate between the open position and the closed position in response to rotation of the second gate control shaft.

8. The flow control assembly of claim 1 , comprising:
a first engagement feature non-rotatably coupled to the first gate control shaft and movable along the first gate control shaft, wherein the first engagement feature is configured to block rotation of the first gate control shaft while the first engagement feature is engaged and to facilitate rotation of the first gate control shaft while the first engagement feature is disengaged, and the first engagement feature is configured to disengage via translation in a longitudinal direction relative to the first gate control shaft; and
a second engagement feature non-rotatably coupled to the second gate control shaft and movable along the second gate control shaft, wherein the second engagement feature is configured to block rotation of the second gate control shaft while the second engagement feature is engaged and to facilitate rotation of the second gate control shaft while the second engagement feature is disengaged, and the second engagement feature is configured to disengage via translation in the longitudinal direction relative to the second gate control shaft.

9. A flow control assembly for an agricultural metering system, comprising:
a first gate control shaft configured to drive a first gate of a seed meter to transition between an open position and a closed position via rotation of the first gate control shaft;
a second gate control shaft configured to drive a second gate of the seed meter to transition between an open position and a closed position via rotation of the second gate control shaft;
a third gate control shaft configured to drive a third gate of the seed meter to transition between an open position and a closed position via rotation of the third gate control shaft;
a handle configured to selectively engage each of a first engagement portion of the first gate control shaft, a second engagement portion of the second gate control shaft, and a third engagement portion of the third gate control shaft, wherein the handle is configured to drive the first gate control shaft to rotate via rotation of the handle between a first position that corresponds to the open position of the first gate and a second position that corresponds to the closed position of the first gate while the handle is engaged with the first engagement portion, the handle is configured to drive the second gate control shaft to rotate via rotation of the handle between a third position that corresponds to the open position of the second gate and a fourth position that corresponds to the closed position of the second gate while the handle is engaged with the second engagement portion, and the handle is configured to drive the third gate control shaft to rotate via rotation of the handle between a fifth position that corresponds to the open position of the third gate and a sixth position that corresponds to the closed position of the third gate; and
a locking assembly configured to secure the handle to the first engagement

Assignees

• Cnh Ind Canada Ltd

Inventors

• Zacharias Darwin Lloyd
• Stuart Graham Douglas

Classifications

• A01C7/102 Primary

  Regulating or controlling the seed rate · CPC title

• A01C7/081

  Seeders depositing seeds in rows using pneumatic means · CPC title