Sugarcane planting device

Abstract

A sugarcane planting device comprised of a trailer including a tongue with a hitch means for connection to a tow vehicle, the trailer is provided with a large hopper for the reception of a substantial supply of sugarcane seed pieces, a plurality of driven chains are longitudinally disposed along the bottom of the hopper to move the sugarcane seed pieces to the rear of the device where, by the forces of gravity, it enters a downwardly inclined chute provided with an angular central structure to divide the chute into a pair of opposed side chute portions, a flow of seed pieces continues through each side chute portion and outwardly into contact with a compound conveyor assembly which reorients the seed pieces so that they are discharged into furrows in a parallel relation thereto. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention pertains to a sugarcane planting device and more particularly to a device of this nature which is adapted to carry a very substantial supply of sugarcane seed pieces and which divides a flow of seed pieces from the supply into two streams, each of which is directed onto conveyor means where the seed pieces are reoriented and discharged into a furrow in a parallel relation thereto. BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION A substantial portion of sugarcane is hand planted by either dropping short cane pieces into furrows or by hand dropping long cane stalks into the furrows and recutting them with a machete. Both planting methods are labor intensive and, at times, the labor is in short supply; therefore, efforts have been made to develop mechanical planting devices. One type of cane seed planting aid which is currently in relatively wide use is comprised of a wagon in which the seed pieces are moved to the rear by mechanical devices so that hand droppers can easily reach it to drop it into the furrows. A variety of other planting aid devices for cane seed have been built none of which is completely satisfactory in all respects. Therefore, one of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide a sugarcane planting device in the general form of an enlarged trailer with tongue and hitch means for attachment to a tow vehicle. Another principal object of the invention is to provide a large hopper on the trailer to receive a very substantial supply of sugarcane seed pieces. A further object of the instant invention is to provide means in the bottom of the hopper to move the seed pieces toward the rear end thereof. A still further object of the present invention is to provide a downwardly inclined discharge chute for the seed pieces in the rear end portion of the hopper and divider means to separate the stream of seed pieces flowing therethrough by gravity forces into two separate opposed side streams. Yet another principal object of the invention is to provide a compound conveyor means, disposed relative to each of the streams of cane pieces to receive same as they emerge from a chute to align the cane pieces in a parallel relation with a furrow and to discharge them thereinto. A further object of this invention is to provide a two-row sugarcane planter device which aligns the cane pieces in the two streams in a parallel relation to two furrows and which discharges said pieces into the furrows in the parallel relationship.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.