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US 4,145,980 AGranted
Seeder for planting seeds at precise intervals
AssigneeA. Duda & Sons, Inc.
InventorVernie A. Boots
Life of this patent
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AssigneeA. Duda & Sons, Inc.
InventorVernie A. Boots
Estimating the term…
An automatic seeder for planting tiny seeds at a consistent depth and at evenly spaced intervals, utilizing a vehicle carrying a novel seed dispersing means operationally disposed a short, preascertained distance above a seed bed. A ground sensing arrangement is utilized, which automatically brings about necessary adjustment of the support arrangement for the seed dispersing means on an as-needed basis, in order that the seed dispersing means will be maintained by servo means at a proper, preascertained distance above the ground. A preferred embodiment of this invention involves furrow-creating means located forward of, and aligned with, the seed dispersing means, which furrow-creating means is arranged to create furrows of a consistent, desired depth, into which the seeds from the seed dispersing means are inserted at precisely controlled intervals. A spray arrangement is preferably utilized immediately forward of the seed dispersing means, for wetting the newly-created furrows, thus to eliminate any undesirable tendency of the seeds to bounce. Because of the laying down of the seeds in a precisely controlled manner, the seeds will sprout at equal intervals without any crowding, thus eventually resulting in plants of a consistent size.
A precision planting device for planting seeds in seedbeds, comprising a vehicle carrying seed dispersing means, said seed dispersing means being in the form of a power driven, perforate rotary drum operationally disposed a short, preascertained distance above a seedbed, such preascertained distance ordinarily being a small fraction of a foot, servo means for automatically maintaining the lowest portion of said rotary drum at such preascertained distance on a moment-by-moment basis, and means for causing said rotary drum to release seeds from its periphery at precisely controlled, equal intervals directly into the seedbed.
A precision planting device for planting seeds in seedbeds, comprising a vehicle having wheels arranged to straddle a seedbed, which vehicle forms the support for a rotatable seed drum, the periphery of which drum contains a large number of tiny holes, seed supply means adjacent said seed drum, means for maintaining a lowered pressure inside said drum, thus to cause seeds encountered by the outer surface of said drum to be releasably held at the hole locations, means for maintaining said seed drum at a relatively constant speed of rotation, means maintaining said seed drum at a preascertained distance above such seedbed, latter means including sensing means and servo means operative to maintain the lowermost part of said seed drum at a location spaced a consistently close distance from the seedbed, despite irregularities of seedbed contour, and means for causing a localized cessation of lowered pressure in said drum each time, as a result of drum rotation, seeds reach essentially the lowest point of travel on said drum, with the result that seeds are dispersed at even intervals directly into the seedbed from the periphery of said drum.
An automatic seeder for planting tiny seeds at a consistent depth and at evenly spaced intervals, comprising a wheeled main frame, and a secondary frame carried by the main frame, a rotatable disk array, utilizing a plurality of disks disposed at spaced intervals, being rotatably mounted on a forward portion of said secondary frame, with such rotatable disks serving to engage the ground and create parallel furrows of consistent depth, spray means disposed adjacent said disk array and serving to wet down such furrows, a perforate rotary drum carried by said secondary frame essentially parallel to said rotatable disk array, with said perforate drum disposed just above ground level, and means for rotating said drum in the direction of travel at essentially ground speed of the wheeled main frame, said perforate drum having a large number of tiny hols disposed in a series of evenly spaced encircling rows with each of such rows being in alignment with a disk of said rotatable disk array, seed-supplying means adjacent said drum, means for maintaining a low pressure relative to ambient atmospheric pressure inside said drum, such that encountered seeds will be maintained on the surface of said drum at the locations of said tiny holes, and means for selectively breaking the low pressure condition at a lower interior location in said drum such that seeds retained on the surface of the drum will fall away from the drum when reaching essentially the lowermost point of travel, and thus travel directly into respective furrows.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.