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US 12,201,051 B2Granted
Apparatus and method for seed germination and planting
AssigneeEden Concepts, LLC
InventorWalter A. Cromer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods for seed germination and planting include: a germinator unit providing an environment for seeds to germinate in water, and means to deliver the germinated seeds in batch form, suspended in an aqueous hydrogel; and a planting unit to accept batches of suspended seeds and dispense the seeds, preferably in singulated manner, to selected locations in a planting environment. The planting unit may be man-portable, mounted on a trailer or autonomous vehicle, or substantially stationary for use in a greenhouse. The planting environment may be a field or it may be a planting tray, pot, or other container for use in a greenhouse.
Claims14
A seed planting apparatus comprising:
- a container for holding a selected quantity of germinated seeds suspended in a thixotropic hydrogel fluid;
- a source of compressed air;
- a source of vacuum;
- a fluid conduit through which said hydrogel fluid passes so that said seeds become singulated from one another within a fluid stream;
- a first sensor to detect optically a passage of said singulated seeds within said fluid conduit;
- a second sensor to detect electrically flow conditions within said fluid conduit;
- an outlet though which said singulated seeds, each with a quantity of surrounding hydrogel fluid, are discharged at selected points in a planting medium;
- a control system and power supply to control said sources of compressed air and vacuum, monitor outputs of said first and second sensors, and provide information to a user interface device;
- a buffer device upstream of said outlet and having a plurality of chambers receiving said hydrogel fluid and controlled so that:
- a chamber having a seed will be discharged into a next available planting location;
- and,
- a chamber containing only hydrogel fluid without a seed will be ignored so that each available planting location will receive a seed;
- and wherein:
- said control system receives data on a status of said buffer device and provides an output signal to slow a speed of forward progress of a planter if a number of seeds in the buffer device falls below a first selected value, and provides an output signal to increase a speed of forward progress of the planter when the buffer device has been reloaded to a second selected value.
11 more elements
A seed planting method comprising the steps of:
- germinating a batch of seeds in water;
- adding a gel forming agent to said water to form a thixotropic hydrogel suspension in which said germinated batch of seeds are suspended;
- placing a selected quantity of the hydrogel suspension into a container;
- providing a source of compressed air and a source of vacuum to alternately apply positive and negative pressure to said hydrogel suspension to cause said hydrogel suspension to flow intermittently through a fluid conduit of sufficiently small diameter so that said seeds become singulated from one another as said seeds flow through said fluid conduit;
- using an optical detector to detect said singulated seeds as they pass through said fluid conduit;
- using an electrical detector to detect onset and stoppage of said flowing hydrogel suspension;
- discharging discrete volumes of said hydrogel suspension through an outlet at selected places in a planting area, each volume containing a single seed;
- controlling said sources of compressed air and vacuum with a control system and power supply;
- monitoring outputs of said optical detector and said electrical detector with the control system;
- providing information to a user interface device from the control system;
- receiving said singulated seeds upstream in a buffer device having a plurality of chambers;
- controlling said buffer device so that:
- a chamber having a seed will be discharged into a next available planting location;
- and, a chamber containing only hydrogel without a seed will be ignored so that each available planting location will receive a seed;
- using said control system to receive data on a status of said buffer device;
- using said control system to provide an output signal to slow a speed of forward progress of a planter if a number of seeds in the buffer device falls below a first selected value and provide an output signal to increase a speed of forward progress of the planter when the buffer device has been reloaded to a second selected value.
13 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.