Planter with high speed seed delivery apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11730079-B2
Application number	US-202016949302-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 23, 2020
Priority date	Sep 29, 2017
Publication date	Aug 22, 2023
Grant date	Aug 22, 2023

Abstract

An agricultural planting implement includes a number of row units. The row units include one or more seed meters for receiving, singulating, and dispensing seed to the ground such that preferred spacing of subsequent seed is attained. A seed meter provides seeds one at time to a seed carrier, such as a brush wheel. The brush wheel may move the seeds one at a time to a seed conveyor by directly moving seeds along a curved portion of a seed disc in the seed meter. The seed conveyor may be a flighted belt, and the velocity of the seeds when transferred from the seed carrier may match the velocity of the flighted belt. The seed conveyor conveys the seeds to a position near the bottom of a furrow, and ejects the seeds with little or no horizontal velocity relative to the bottom of the furrow.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An agricultural planting implement, comprising:
a plurality of row units, wherein each row unit of the plurality includes:
a seed meter with a seed exit, said seed meter including a seed disc having a plurality of seed apertures radially spaced to form a seed path and a curved portion radially external the seed path; and
a seed conveyor in communication with the seed meter to receive seed from the seed meter, wherein the seed conveyor is adapted to move the seed towards an ejection location proximate to a bottom of a furrow and is adapted to eject the seed with substantially no horizontal velocity relative to the bottom of the furrow.

2. The agricultural planting implement of claim 1 , wherein the seed disc comprises a seed side and a pressurized side, and wherein the seed side is in communication with seed and the pressurized side in communication with a pressure source to create a pressure differential at the plurality of apertures.

3. The agricultural planting implement of claim 2 , further comprising a seal positioned inside an outer edge of the pressurized side of the seed disc and extending circumferentially about the outer edge of the disc to create a fully pressurized zone within the seal on the pressurized side of the seed disc.

4. The agricultural planting implement of claim 1 , further comprising a seed carrier in communication with the seed exit of the seed meter, said seed carrier receiving seed from the seed meter one seed at a time.

5. The agricultural planting implement of claim 4 , wherein the seed conveyor is in communication with the seed carrier to receive seed from the seed carrier at a transfer location remote from the seed meter, and wherein the seed conveyor is adapted to move seed from the transfer location towards the ejection location.

6. The agricultural planting implement of claim 5 , wherein the seed carrier is a brush wheel.

7. The agricultural planting implement of claim 6 , wherein the seed conveyor comprises a flighted belt.

8. The agricultural planting implement of claim 7 , wherein the brush wheel is adapted to release the seeds one at a time at the transfer location with a transfer velocity that substantially matches a velocity of the flighted belt.

9. The agricultural planting implement of claim 6 , wherein:
the seed disc rotates about a seed disc axis that is generally aligned with a direction of travel for the row unit; and
the rotating brush rotates about a brush axis that is generally horizontal and transverse to the seed disc axis.

10. The agricultural planting implement of claim 9 , wherein the brush axis is generally perpendicular to the seed disc axis.

11. A method of planting seeds using the agricultural implement of claim 1 , comprising:
moving the seed along the seed path of the seed disc of the seed meter;
transferring the seed from the seed path to a rotating brush in communication with the curved portion of the seed disc;
carrying the seed via the rotating brush to the seed exit;
at the seed exit, transferring the seed from the rotating brush to the seed conveyor, wherein the seed conveyor moves the seed from the seed exit towards the furrow wherein the seed is ejected proximate to the furrow with a horizontal velocity component being approximately zero relative to the furrow.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the seed disc rotates about a seed disc axis that is generally aligned with a direction of travel.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the rotating brush rotates about a brush axis that is generally horizontal and transverse to the seed disc axis.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the conveyor comprises a flighted belt within a conveyor cover.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising controlling movement of the flighted belt such that the rotational speed of the flighted belt is substantially synchronized with the rotational speed of the rotating brush whereby seed exits the rotating brush with a speed that substantially matches the movement of the flighted belt.

16. The method of claim 11 , further comprising sealing a pressurized side of the seed disc with a seal positioned inside an outer edge of the pressurized side of the seed disc and extending circumferentially about the outer edge of the disc to create a fully pressurized zone within the seal on the pressurized side of the seed disc.

17. The method of claim 11 , further comprising singulating seed along the seed path with a seed singulator that is biased axially and radially towards the seed disc and that includes at least one singulating element.

Assignees

• Kinze Mfg Inc

Inventors

• Wilhelmi Matthew
• Hahn Dustan
• Willis Philip
• Martin Dean
• Mcdowell Dalton
• Newell Gary

Classifications

• A01C7/0445

  Seed ejectors · CPC title

• A01C7/046

  with perforated seeding discs · CPC title

• A01C7/0443

  Seed singulators · CPC title

• A01C7/20 Primary

  Parts of seeders for conducting and depositing seed · CPC title

• A01C7/126

  Stubbed rollers or wheels · CPC title