Agricultural seed meter and related devices, systems, and methods
AssigneeAg Leader Technology
InventorAlan F. Barry
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An agricultural seed meter system including a seed meter, a gravity type seed delivery tube, an adaptor configured to connect the seed meter and the gravity type seed delivery tube, a positive air flow source directed to a seed discharge point on the seed meter configured to accelerate a seed away from a seed disc and into the gravity type seed delivery tube, and a crowder brush disposed at or near the seed discharge point. The system allows high speed seed meters to be used with conventional gravity drop type seed tubes while maintaining population, spacing, and precision needs of high speed planting.
Claims20
An agricultural seed meter comprising:
- (a) a seed meter;
- (b) a gravity type seed delivery tube;
- (c) an adaptor configured to connect the seed meter and the gravity type seed delivery tube;
- (d) a positive air flow source directed to a seed discharge point on the seed meter configured to accelerate a seed away from a seed disc and into the gravity type seed delivery tube;
- and
- (e) a crowder brush disposed at or near the seed discharge point.
A seed delivery system for an agricultural planter, the system comprising:
- (a) a seed meter having a rotatable seed disc configured to singulate seeds;
- (b) a gravity type seed tube configured to deliver seeds to a furrow;
- (c) a drop tube adaptor configured to connect the seed meter and the gravity type seed tube;
- (d) a positive air flow source directed at a seed discharge point on the seed meter, the positive air flow source configured to accelerate seeds away from the seed disc and into the drop tube adaptor;
- and
- (f) a crowder brush disposed at or near the seed discharge point configured to orient seeds against an inner housing wall of the seed meter.
A method of delivering seeds in an agricultural planter, the method comprising:
- singulating seeds using a seed meter having a rotatable seed disc;
- breaking a vacuum holding a seed to the seed disc using an ejector wheel;
- directing positive air flow at a seed discharge point on the seed meter to accelerate the seed away from the seed disc;
- orienting seeds against an inner housing wall of the seed meter using a crowder brush;
- and
- delivering the seed through an adaptor and a gravity type seed tube to a furrow.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.