Air seeder for singulated and bulk seeding

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9699953-B2
Application number	US-201614994666-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 13, 2016
Priority date	Sep 3, 2015
Publication date	Jul 11, 2017
Grant date	Jul 11, 2017

Abstract

An air seeder apparatus has a frame and a plurality of furrow opener assemblies spaced across a width of the frame at a narrow row spacing, and a plurality of bulk product containers and a bulk meter mounted on each, one of which dispenses seeds through a distribution network to a seed tube on each furrow opener assembly. A plurality of singulating meter is provided, each dispensing singulated seeds to the furrow opener on one of the furrow opener assemblies. During singulating operation seeds are delivered to the singulating furrow opener assemblies only by the singulating seed meter, and during conventional operation seeds are delivered to the singulating furrow opener assemblies only by the bulk meter. A lift system, when in a singulating mode, maintains idle conventional furrow opener assemblies in the transport position while moving singulating furrow opener assemblies between the operating position and the transport position.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An air seeder apparatus comprising:
a frame mounted on wheels for travel along a ground surface in an operating travel direction;
a plurality of furrow opener assemblies mounted to the frame, each furrow opener assembly comprising a furrow opener on a bottom end thereof;
wherein the furrow opener assemblies are spaced evenly across a width of the frame at a narrow row spacing between a front end of the frame and a rear end of the frame;
a plurality of bulk product containers and a bulk meter mounted on each bulk product container, wherein at least one bulk meter is operative to dispense seeds from the corresponding bulk product container into a seed air distribution network and through the seed air distribution network to a furrow opener on each furrow opener assembly;
a plurality of singulating meters, each singulating meter operative to dispense singulated seeds to the furrow opener of one of the furrow opener assemblies, such that the furrow opener assemblies include singulating furrow opener assemblies, where seeds are delivered to the furrow openers thereof from the at least one bulk meter or the corresponding singulating meter, and conventional furrow opener assemblies, where seeds are delivered to the furrow openers thereof only from the at least one bulk meter;
a nurse system operative to transfer seed from at least one of the bulk product containers to each singulating meter;
wherein during singulating operation seeds are delivered to the furrow openers of the singulating furrow opener assemblies only by the corresponding singulating seed meter, and during conventional operation seeds are delivered to the furrow openers of the singulating furrow opener assemblies only by the at least one bulk meter;
wherein the singulating furrow opener assemblies are arranged across the width of the frame at a selected singulating spacing;
wherein a furrow opener lift system is operative to move the furrow opener assemblies from a lowered operating position, where each furrow opener engages the ground surface to create a furrow, to a raised transport position where each furrow opener is above the ground surface; and
wherein the furrow opener lift system is further operative when in a singulating mode to maintain selected idle conventional furrow opener assemblies in the transport position while moving the singulating furrow opener assemblies between the operating position and the transport position.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each furrow opener assembly comprises an opener arm pivotally attached to the frame and a leg attached to the opener arm with the furrow opener of the furrow opener assembly attached to a bottom end of the leg, and wherein the furrow opener lift system comprises an arm actuator on each furrow opener assembly operative to selectively pivot the opener arm up and down.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the furrow opener lift system is operative when in the singulating mode to pivot the opener arms of the singulating furrow opener assemblies up and down independent of the selected idle conventional furrow opener assemblies.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the arm actuators are provided by arm hydraulic cylinders and the furrow opener lift system is configured to control a flow of pressurized hydraulic fluid to the arm hydraulic cylinders, and wherein when the furrow opener assemblies are in the operating position, pressurized hydraulic fluid flows into and out of a down port of each arm hydraulic cylinder to exert a downward force on the opener arms while the opener arms move up and down to follow the ground surface, and when the furrow opener assemblies are in the transport position pressurized hydraulic fluid is directed into an up port of each arm hydraulic cylinder to maintain the furrow opener assemblies in the transport position.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein when in a conventional mode the furrow opener lift system directs pressurized hydraulic fluid to the arm hydraulic cylinders of the conventional furrow opener assemblies and the singulating furrow opener assemblies to move the conventional furrow opener assemblies and the singulating furrow opener assemblies between the operating position and the transport position, and when in the singulating mode the furrow opener lift system directs pressurized hydraulic fluid only to the up port of the arm hydraulic cylinders of the selected idle conventional furrow opener assemblies, and directs pressurized hydraulic fluid to the up and down ports of the arm hydraulic cylinders of the singulating furrow opener assemblies and any selected operating conventional furrow opener assemblies to move the singulating furrow opener assemblies and the selected operating conventional furrow opener assemblies between the operating position and the transport position.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein one of the bulk product containers is a fertilizer container and the bulk meter mounted on the fertilizer container is operative to dispense fertilizer from the fertilizer container into a fertilizer air distribution network and through the fertilizer air distribution network to the selected operating conventional furrow opener assemblies.

7. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the furrow opener lift system comprises an arm lock on each selected idle conventional furrow opener assembly operative to lock same in the transport position, and wherein when the furrow opener lift system is in the singulating mode, the arm locks are engaged to lock the opener arm of each selected idle conventional furrow opener assembly in the transport position.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein when in the conventional mode and when in the singulating mode the furrow opener lift system directs pressurized hydraulic fluid to the arm hydraulic cylinders of the conventional furrow opener assemblies and the singulating furrow opener assemblies to move the conventional furrow opener assemblies and the singulating furrow opener assemblies between the operating position and the transport position, and when the furrow opener lift system is in the singulating mode the engaged arm locks prevent the selected idle conventional furrow opener assemblies from moving out of the transport position.

9. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein when in the conventional mode the furrow opener lift system directs pressurized hydraulic fluid to the arm hydraulic cylinders of the conventional furrow opener assemblies and the singulating furrow opener assemblies to move the conventional furrow opener assemblies and the singulating furrow opener assemblies between the operating position and the transport position, and when in the singulating mode the furrow opener lift system directs pressurized hydraulic fluid only to the arm hydraulic cylinders of the singulating furrow opener assemblies and selected operating conventional furrow opener assemblies, and hydraulic fluid is prevented from moving into or out of the arm hydraulic cylinders of the selected idle conventional furrow opener assemblies.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein one of the bulk product containers is a fertilizer container and the bulk meter mounted on the fertilizer container is operative to dispense fertilizer from the fertilizer container into a fertilizer air distribution network and through the fertilizer air distribution network to the selected operating conventional furrow opener assemblies.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein one of the bulk product containers is a fertilizer container and the bulk meter mounted on the fertilizer container is operative to dispense fertilizer from the fertilizer container into a fertilizer air distribution network and through the fertilizer air distributio

Assignees

• Bourgault Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Jagow Scot
• Cresswell Mark

Classifications

• A01C7/201

  Mounting of the seeding tools · CPC title

• A01B73/00

  Means or arrangements to facilitate transportation of agricultural machines or implements, e.g. folding frames to reduce overall width (arrangements of lifting devices for soil working implements A01B63/00) · CPC title

• A01C7/081

  Seeders depositing seeds in rows using pneumatic means · CPC title

• Y02P60/16

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• A01C5/064 Primary

  with rotating tools · CPC title