Seed planter apparatus with covering wheel

A seed planter apparatus comprising:

• (a) a frame, said frame being adapted to be connected to a mobile power source for towing;
• (b) a pair of opposed furrow-forming disks rotatably mounted on said frame with the disks substantially contacting each other at the approximate point of entry into the soil and diverging apart rearwardly and upwardly relative to the direction of travel;
• (c) a seed tube supported from said frame, one end of said tube extending toward the furrow and the other end being adapted for connection to a seed dispenser;
• (d) a pair of gauge wheel means individually mounted on said frame for regulating the height of the frame from the soil and thus furrow depth, each gauge wheel means including a support pivotally mounted on said frame and a gauge wheel located in contact with the soil generally adjacent the furrow and an outer surface of each disk and rotatably mounted on said support;
• (e) adjustment means for moving said support and said gauge wheels relative to said frame to vary furrow depth;
• and
• (f) furrow closing and seed soil contact means mounted on said frame, said closing and contact means including an arm structure pivotally mounted on said frame and extending rearwardly to rotatably support furrow closing and seed soil contact structure rearward of said disks to close the soil over the seed, and spring means connected to said frame above said arm structure pivot and to said arm structure below and forward of said pivot, said spring means biasing said arm structure and thus said furrow closing and seed soil contact structure downwardly, and means, including said arm structure and said spring means, for causing the force of the furrow closing and seed soil contact structure on the soil to increase substantially linearly with said furrow depth upon adjustment of said gauge wheels to increase said furrow depth and thus reduce the height of said frame above the soil.