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US 4,384,537 AGranted
Germinated seed planter
OwnerWilliam J. duBrucqinventor
Life of this patent
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OwnerWilliam J. duBrucqinventor
Estimating the term…
A planter for discharging a quantity of germinated seed and a gel into a seed bed covered by a plastic film which has an opening formed therethrough and a cavity formed in the seed bed thereunder to receive the seed and gel. In addition, the planter discharges a measured quantity of growth media, such as soil with nutrients or the like incorporated therein, onto the gel and germinated seed through the same opening in the plastic film or mulch. The planter includes a squeeze tube pump for discharging a measured quantity of gel and germinated seed which operates in timed unison with a heated, bullet-shaped burner for forming an opening in the thermoplastic film and a cavity in the underlying seed bed with ground-engaging wheels operating the mechanism for forming the openings and discharging the germinated seed and gel at predetermined intervals and thus at predetermined spatial relationships. The media distribution system includes a hopper with a rotatable plate arrangement having cylindrical pockets formed therein for discharging a predetermined quantity of media, such as soil and nutrients, through the same opening immediately in trailing relation to the discharge nozzle for the gel and germinated seed with the ground-engaging wheels also operating the media distribution system.
A planter comprising a supporting structure having at least one rotatable ground-engaging wheel adapted to rotate in response to movement of the supporting structure over a seed bed with a plastic mulch film thereon, a bullet-shaped burner mounted on said supporting structure and driven by said wheel to form a hole through the plastic mulch film and form a cavity in the underlying seed bed, a hopper mounted on said supporting structure providing a supply of germinated seed and gel, means to discharge a quantity of seed and gel through each hole formed in the mulch film and into the cavity in the seed bed, a hopper on said supporting structure for a growth enhancing media and means driven by said wheel to discharge a quantity of said media through each of the holes formed in the mulch film into the cavity in the seed bed immediately after the germinated seed and gel has been deposited therein.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.