Back to results
US 10,772,254 B2Granted
Seed coating assembly with rotatable seed spreader
AssigneeUsc, L.L.C.
InventorMarty Layne Herbster
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A seed coating assembly (16) includes a housing (36) with a high-speed rotary coating atomizer (66) therein, and a relatively slow speed rotatable body (42) equipped with through-slots (44) located above the atomizer (66) in a location to divert and evenly spread incoming seeds prior to coating thereof. The body (42) is preferably a substantially circular disk mounted coaxially with the atomizer (66) at a distance of from about 1.5-10 inches above the atomizer (66).
Claims30
A seed coating assembly comprising:
- a seed coating housing;
- a rotary atomizer operable to generate a spray or fog of coating liquid within said seed coating housing;
- a rotatable spreader body located above said atomizer and operable to spread incoming seed to be coated for passage of the seed into said spray or fog of coating liquid, said body comprising a rotatable plate having a plurality of seed-spreading through-slots;
- and
- a drive assembly operably coupled with said spreader body in order to rotate the spreader body at a revolutions-per-minute (rpm) rate.
2 more elements
Seed coating apparatus comprising:
- a seed coating housing;
- a rotary atomizer operable to generate a spray or fog of coating liquid within said seed coating housing;
- a rotatable spreader body located above said atomizer and operable to spread incoming seed to be coated for passage of the seed into said spray or fog of coating liquid, said body comprising a rotatable plate having a plurality of seed-spreading through-slots;
- a drive assembly operably coupled with said spreader body in order to rotate the spreader body at a revolutions-per-minute (rpm) rate;
- a tubular seed input above said housing and in communication with the latter;
- and
- a coated seed outlet below said atomizer.
4 more elements
A method of coating seeds comprising the steps of:
- introducing seeds into a seed coating housing having therein a rotary atomizer operable to generate a spray or fog of coating liquid within said seed coating housing;
- spreading said introduced seeds above said spray or fog of coating liquid by causing the seeds to impinge upon a rotary spreader body and then pass through said spray or fog in order to coat said seeds, said spreader body comprising a rotatable plate having a plurality of seed-spreading through-slots, and
- rotating said spreader body at a revolutions-per-minute (rpm) rate during said seed-spreading and seed-coating steps.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.