Differential Pressure Seed Meter With An Endless Belt Seed Transport Member

• US 20100192818A1
• Filed: 02/02/2009
• Published: 08/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Deere & Company
• Original Assignee: Deere & Company
• Inventors: Friestad, Michael E., Garner, Elijah, Mariman, Nathan A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,918,168 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 111/11
• CPC Class Codes: A01C 7/042 using pneumatic means
• CPC Class Codes: A01C 7/127 Cell rollers, wheels, discs or belts

Abstract

A seed meter is provided having an endless belt as a seed transport member together with a pressure differential to hold the seed onto the belt. The use of an endless belt as the seed transport member enables the spatial orientation of the seed transport member to vary from location to location along the path of the belt where different seed meter functions are performed. The belt allows greater freedom in determining the location of the seed pick-up region and the seed release or removal region beyond the constraints of a fixed diameter seed disk. The belt further allows for a narrow envelope seed meter which can cross-feed seed into a substantially vertically oriented delivery device.

Claims

1. An apparatus for metering seed comprising:

an endless belt having perforations therein;

means for moving the belt along a defined path; and

means for creating a pressure differential on opposite sides of the belt along at least a portion of the path between a seed pick-up region and a seed release region to adhere and retain seed on a seed side of the belt at the perforations.

2. The apparatuses defined by claim 1 wherein the means for creating a pressure differential on opposite sides of the belt includes a manifold having an opening covered by the belt and an air pump to create a pressure differential between the interior and exterior of said manifold.

3. The apparatus as defined by claim 2 wherein the air pump creates a lower pressure inside the manifold.

4. The apparatus as defined by claim 1 wherein a first plane defined by the seed side of the belt at the seed pick-up region is at a first angle relative to vertical and a second plane defined by the seed side of the belt at the seed release region is at a second angle relative to vertical.

5. The apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein the second plane is inclined to the vertical to create an overhang where the seed side of the belt faces downward so that the belt moves away from the seed after the seed is released.

6. The apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein the first plane is inclined to the horizontal less than ninety degrees at the seed pick-up region creating an uphill path as the belt moves from the seed pick-up region.

7. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 further comprising:

a housing adapted to hold a pool of seed to be metered with the belt adapted to be moved past seed in the pool; and

a pressurized air source connected to a nozzle to discharge air from the pressurized air source, the nozzle positioned to discharge air into the seed pool whereby the seed in the pool is agitated.

8. The apparatus as defined by claim 7 wherein the means for creating a pressure differential on opposite sides of the belt includes the pressurized air source.

9. The apparatus as defined by claim 1 further comprising:

a housing adapted to hold a pool of seed to be metered with the belt adapted to be moved past seed in the pool wherein seed is adhered to the belt; and

a pressurized air source connected to a nozzle to discharge air from the pressurized air source, the nozzle positioned to discharge air over the seed side of the belt after the seed pick-up region to remove excess seed therefrom.

10. The apparatus as defined by claim 9 wherein the means for creating a pressure differential on opposite sides of the belt includes the pressurized air source.

11. The apparatus as defined by claim 1 further comprising:

a housing adapted to hold a pool of seed to be metered with the belt adapted to be moved past seed in the pool wherein seed is adhered to the belt; and

the endless belt traveling along a curved path at a speed sufficient to remove excess seed by centrifugal force.

12. The apparatus as defined by claim 11 wherein the housing is adapted to capture the removed excess seed and return the seed to the seed pool.

13. The apparatus as defined by claim 1 wherein the seed side of the belt has a plurality of features each forming a confronting face in a travel direction of the belt.

14. The apparatus as defined in claim 13 wherein the features forming the confronting faces are recesses formed in the seed side.

15. The apparatus as defined in claim 14 wherein each aperture is surrounded by one of the recesses in the seed side with the confronting face following the aperture in the travel direction.

16. The apparatus as defined in claim 13 wherein the features forming the confronting faces project outward from the seed side.

17. The apparatus as defined in claim 16 wherein one of the confronting faces is formed adjacent each of the apertures and following the aperture in the travel direction.

18. The apparatus as defined in claim 13 wherein the confronting faces are laterally spaced relative to the apertures.

19. The apparatus as defined in claim 13 further comprising a housing which together with the belt forms a V-shaped trough to hold a pool of seed to be metered and wherein the confronting faces of the belt engage and agitate the seed in the pool causing a circular flow of seed in the seed pool.

20. The apparatus as defined by claim 1 wherein the belt is wrapped around pulleys whereby the belt has a radially inner surface and a radially outer surface and the seed side is the radially outer surface.

21. The apparatus as defined by claim 1 wherein the belt is wrapped around pulleys whereby the belt has a radially inner surface and a radially outer surface and the seed side is the radially inner surface.

22. A seed meter endless belt having a seed side and an opposite side with a lengthwise array of apertures extending through the belt between the seed and opposite sides and adapted to be driven in a travel direction through a pool of seed, the seed side having a plurality of features each forming a confronting face in the travel direction.

23. The seed meter endless belt as defined in claim 22 wherein the features forming the confronting faces are recesses in the seed side.

24. The seed meter endless belt as defined in claim 23 wherein each aperture is surrounded by one of the recesses in the seed side with the confronting face following the aperture in the travel direction.

25. The seed meter endless belt as defined in claim 22 wherein the features forming the confronting faces project outward from the seed side.

26. The seed meter endless belt as defined in claim 25 wherein one of the confronting faces is formed adjacent each of the apertures and following the aperture in the travel direction.

27. The seed meter endless belt as defined in claim 22 wherein the confronting faces are laterally spaced relative to the apertures.

28. A row unit for a seeding machine comprising:

a seed meter having an endless metering belt having apertures formed therein, means for moving the belt along a defined path having a seed pick-up region and a seed release region and means for creating a pressure differential on opposite sides of the belt along at least the portion of the path between the seed pick-up region and the seed release region to adhere and retain seed on the belt at the apertures; and

a seed delivery system receiving seed from the metering belt, the delivery system having an endless member contained within a housing, the housing having an upper opening through which seed is received from the seed meter with the endless member entrapping the seed between the housing and the endless member.

29. The row unit as defined in claim 28 wherein the endless member of the delivery system sweeps across the metering belt to remove seed from the metering belt.

30. The row unit as defined in claim 28 further comprising a transition member between the metering belt and the housing of the delivery system over which the endless member of the delivery system moves the seed.

31. The row unit as defined in claim 28 wherein the endless member of the delivery system is a brush belt having bristles to entrap the seed and which bristles move over the surface of the metering belt.

32. The row unit as defined in claim 28 wherein the metering belt has a feature following each aperture forming a confronting face to push seed on the aperture into the endless member of the delivery system.