Seed meter with floating singulator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10863665-B2
Application number	US-201916388587-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 18, 2019
Priority date	Mar 22, 2011
Publication date	Dec 15, 2020
Grant date	Dec 15, 2020

Abstract

A seed meter for an agricultural planter in which the seed disc is rotatably mounted within a seed meter housing. As the seed disc rotates, the apertures in the disc rotate along a seed aperture path through a horizontally adjacent seed pool area. The seed disc includes cavities disposed along the seed aperture path to agitate the seeds in the seed pool area. A singulator having multiple co-planar singulator surfaces is biased against the seed side surface of the seed disc.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A seed singulator for a seed meter, the seed meter including a seed disc rotatably mounted within a meter housing about an axis of rotation, the seed disc having a plurality of seed apertures therethrough, a seed-side surface and a vacuum-side surface, whereby the rotation of the seed disc in a direction of rotation about the axis of rotation defines a seed aperture path, the meter housing including a seed housing covering the seed-side surface of the seed disc and a vacuum housing covering the vacuum-side surface of the seed disc, the seed housing holding a pool of seeds which seeds become entrained over the seed apertures as the seed apertures rotate in the direction of rotation along the seed aperture path through the pool of seeds, the seed singulator comprising:
an upper lobe plate having at least one upper lobe extending in a direction toward the axis of rotation;
a lower lobe plate having at least one lower lobe extending in a direction away from the axis of rotation;
a base;
at least one arm connecting said upper lobe plate with said base;
at least one arm connecting said lower lobe plate with said base;
a radial spring mounted to the seed housing and operably biasing said upper lobe plate and said lower lobe plate radially with respect to the seed disc and relative to the seed aperture path;
an axial spring mounted to the seed housing and adapted to removably receive said base, said axial spring operably biasing said upper lobe plate and said lower lobe plate axially with respect to the axis of rotation and against the seed-side surface of the seed disc;
whereby the upper lobe plate is disposed radially outward relative to said seed aperture path and said lower lobe plate is disposed radially inward relative to said seed aperture path such that said at least one upper lobe and said at least one lower lobe bumps the seeds entrained over the seed apertures as the entrained seeds rotate past said at least one upper lobe and said at least one lower lobe in the direction of rotation along the seed aperture path.

2. The seed singulator of claim 1 , wherein said axial spring is elastically deformable.

3. The seed singulator of claim 1 , wherein said axial spring comprises spring steel.

4. The seed singulator of claim 1 , wherein said axial spring includes mounting ears that deflect to removably receive said base.

5. The seed singulator of claim 1 , wherein said upper lobe plate includes three spaced upper lobes.

6. The seed singulator of claim 5 , wherein said lower lobe plate includes two spaced lower lobes.

7. The seed singulator of claim 1 , wherein said upper lobe plate includes a leading annular surface, a trailing annular surface and a central annular surface between said leading and trailing annular surfaces, wherein each of said leading and trailing annular surfaces are disposed at a radius with respect to the axis of rotation that approximates an outer radial perimeter of the seed disc such that the outer radial perimeter of the seed disc contacts said leading and trailing annular surfaces, and wherein said central annular surface has a radius such that said central annular surface does not contact the outer radial perimeter of the seed disc.

8. The seed singulator of claim 7 , wherein said upper lobe plate includes a leading chamfer adjacent to said leading annular surface.

9. The seed singulator of claim 8 , wherein said upper lobe plate includes a trailing chamfer adjacent to said trailing annular surface.

10. The seed singulator of claim 7 , wherein said leading and trailing annular surfaces are concentric.

Assignees

• Prec Planting Llc

Inventors

• Sauder Derek
• Schaefer Tim

Classifications

• A01C7/0445

  Seed ejectors · CPC title

• A01C7/0443

  Seed singulators · CPC title

• A01C7/046 Primary

  with perforated seeding discs · CPC title

• A01C7/04

  Single-grain seeders with or without suction devices · CPC title

• A01C7/123

  Housings for feed rollers or wheels · CPC title