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US 12,089,526 B2Granted
Pressure balanced meter assembly and method of use
AssigneeDeere & Company
InventorRandall A. Maro
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A meter assembly for an agricultural machine includes a meter, a conduit, and a bypass. The meter includes a roller to move commodity to the conduit. The bypass is coupled to the conduit and the meter to facilitate air flow therebetween free of interference from the roller or the commodity.
Claims18
A meter assembly for an agricultural machine, comprising:
- a meter having an inlet, an outlet, and a roller including cavities configured to receive commodity from the inlet and release commodity to the outlet;
- a commodity tank configured to release commodity to the roller;
- a first conduit fluidly coupled to the outlet of the meter and configured to receive commodity therefrom;
- a commodity path including the inlet, the outlet, and the cavities of the roller;
- and
- a bypass assembly including at least one passageway fluidly coupled to the meter and the first conduit so as to bypass the commodity path to pressure balance the meter;
- wherein the bypass assembly includes a first end fluidly coupled to the meter above the roller and a second end fluidly coupled to the first conduit;
- and
- wherein the at least one passageway opens to the meter at a location above the roller and below the commodity tank.
6 more elements
A meter assembly for an agricultural machine, comprising:
- a tank configured to store commodity;
- a housing coupled to the tank and including an inner wall assembly and outer wall assembly;
- a meter including a roller positioned in the housing and configured to receive commodity from the commodity tank;
- a first conduit fluidly coupled to the meter and configured to receive commodity from the roller;
- and
- a bypass assembly including at least one passageway fluidly coupled to the meter and the first conduit so as to bypass the roller to pressure balance the meter;
- wherein the bypass assembly includes a first end fluidly coupled to the meter at one or more locations above the roller and a second end fluidly coupled to the first conduit;
- wherein the bypass assembly is defined between the inner wall assembly and the outer wall assembly of the housing;
- and
- wherein the at least one passageway opens to the meter at a location above the roller and below the commodity bank.
7 more elements
A method of using a meter assembly comprising:
- rotating a roller of a meter, the roller having a plurality of cavities configured to receive and release commodity;
- conveying commodity along a commodity path, the commodity path including:
- (i) a processing side of the meter defined above the roller, (ii) at least one cavity of the roller, (iii) an exhausting side of the meter defined below the roller, and (iv) a plurality of conduits fluidly coupled to the exhausting side of the meter;
- and
- facilitating air flow through at least one passageway that is substantially devoid of commodity and fluidly coupled to the processing side of the meter and the plurality of conduits to pressure balance the meter;
- wherein the at least one passageway is coupled to the plurality of conduits upstream of where the plurality of conduits couple to the exhausting side of the meter.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.