Seed meter having seed disk aperture cleaning wiper and brush arrangement

• US 4,793,511 A
• Filed: 03/17/1986
• Issued: 12/27/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/1984
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Deere & Company
• Original Assignee: Deere & Company
• Inventors: Olson, Jay H., Ankum, Robert H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Marmor, Charles A.
• Application Number:
  US06/840,536
• Time in Patent Office: 1,016 Days
• Field of Search: 209/684, 221/162, 221/265, 221/211, 221/278, 221/254, 221/260, 221/257, 222/346, 222/352, 222/349-350, 222/342, 111/6-7, 111/34, 111/77
• US Class Current: 221/211
• CPC Class Codes: A01C 7/046 with perforated seeding discs

Abstract

In a seed meter in which individual seeds from a seed mass within a first chamber on a first side of a seed disk rotatably mounted within a housing are transported by at least one circumferential row of apertures within the seed disk to a separate seed discharge area within the first chamber by the reduced pressure of a vacuum source coupled to a second chamber within the housing and on the opposite side of the seed disk from the first chamber, a brush and wiper arrangement mounted within a third chamber within and sealed from the second chamber and located opposite the seed discharge area bears against the second side of the seed disk to aid in dislodging and expelling debris from the apertures in the seed disk. The brush and wiper arrangement includes at least one circular brush rotatably mounted within the third chamber and a spring arrangement for biasing the circular brush and an adjacent circular band against the second surface of the seed disk at the at least one row of apertures. Also included is a relatively thin, generally planar wiper blade having a straight edge disposed against the second side of the seed disk and a leaf spring mounting the wiper blade and operative to bias the wiper blade against the second side of the seed disk at the at least one row of apertures.

Claims

1. In a seed meter in which a rotatable seed disk has at least one row of apertures extending through the seed disk from a side surface thereof, the row of apertures being arranged generally circumferentially about the seed disk and being operative to carry seeds from a seed mass to a seed discharge area, the improvement comprising a brush assembly disposed adjacent the side surface of the seed disk, the brush assembly including at least one rotatably mounted circular brush engaging the side surface of the seed disk at the row of apertures, the brush assembly including a circular band disposed adjacent and rotatble with the circular brush, the circuit band having an outer diameter smaller than an outer diameter of the circular brush and engaging the side surface of the seed disk.

2. The invention set forth in claim 1, wherein the brush assembly includes a rotatable shaft having the circular brush and the circular band mounted thereon, the shaft being spaced-apart from and generally parallel to the side surface of the seed disk and being disposed generally radially relative to the seed disk.

3. A seed meter comprising the combination of:

a housing having a hollow interior;

a seed disk rotatably mounted within the hollow interior of the housing, the seed disk having at least one row of apertures therein extending through the thickness of the seed disk between opposite first and second sides of the seed disk, the at least one row of apertures being arranged generally circumferentially about the seed disk, the seed disk dividing the hollow interior of the housing into a first chamber at the first side of the seek disk and a second chamber at the second side of the seed disk, said first side of the disk including recesses at the apertures defining seed cells for receiving seeds;

means for introducing seeds into the first chamber to provide a mass of seeds therein adjacent the first side of the seed disk and the recesses therein, wherein said apertures are smaller than the recesses to prevent seeds from passing through the apertures to the second chamber;

means defining a separate seed discharge area within the first chamber;

means for providing a pressure differential between the first chamber and the second chamber;

means defining a third chamber within the second chamber, the third chamber being generally sealed from the second chamber and being disposed on the opposite side of the seed disk from the seed discharge area; and

an aperture cleaning arrangement disposed within the third chamber and bearing against the second side of the seed disk at the row of apertures, the aperture cleaning arrangement being operative to dislodge debris within the apertures and including a wiper blade and means for resiliently biasing the wiper blade against the second side of the seed disk at the row of apertures to move the debris toward the first side of the disk and into the seed discharge area.

4. The invention set forth in claim 3, wherein the wiper blade has a relatively straight edge engaging the second side of the seed disk and disposed generally radially relative to the seed disk and the means for resiliently biasing comprises a leaf spring rigidly mounted within the third chamber at a first end thereof and having the wiper blade mounted thereon at an opposite second end thereof.

5. The invention set forth in claim 4, further including a brush assembly disposed within the third chamber and having a housing mounted over the first end of the leaf spring, at least one circular brush rotatably mounted within the housing and engaging the second side of the seed disk, and means for resiliently biasing the circular brush against the second side of the seed disk.

6. A seed meter comprising the combination of:

a housing having a hollow interior;

a seed disk rotatably mounted within the hollow interior of the housing, the seed disk having at least one row of apertures therein extending through the thickness of the seed disk between opposite first and second sides of the seed disk, the at least one row of apertures being arranged generally circumferentially about the seed disk, the seed disk dividing the hollow interior of the housing into a first chamber at the first side of the seed disk and a second chamber at the second side of the seed disk;

means for introducing seeds into the first chamber to provide a mass of seeds therein adjacent the first side of the seed disk and the apertures therein;

means defining a separate seed discharge area within the first chamber;

means for providing a pressure differential between the first chamber and the second chamber;

means defining a third chamber within the second chamber, the third chamber being generally sealed from the second chamber and being disposed on the opposite side of the seed disk from the seed discharge area; and

an aperture cleaning arrangement disposed within the third chamber and bearing against the second side of the seed disk at the row of apertures, the aperture cleaning arrangement being operative to dislodge debris within the apertures, wherein the aperture cleaning arrangement includes a wiper blade engaging the second side of the seed disk at the row of apertures and at least one rotatably mounted circular brush engaging the second side of the seed disk at the row of apertures; and

wherein the seed disk rotates in a given direction to carry seeds in the at least one row of apertures from the mass of seeds to the seed discharge area and the at least one rotatably mounted circular brush is positioned downstream of the wiper blade in relation to the given direction of the seed disk so that each aperture in the at least one row of apertures in the seed disk encounters first the wiper blade and then the at least rotatably mounted circular brush as the aperture passes by the seed discharge area and the opposite third chamber.

7. A seed meter comprising the combination of:

a housing having a hollow interior;

a seed disk rotatably mounted within the hollow interior of the housing, the seed disk having at least one row of apertures therein extending through the thickness of the seed disk between opposite first and second sides of the seed disk, the at least one row of apertures being arranged generally circumferentially about the seed disk, the seed disk dividing the hollow interior of the housing into a first chamber at the first side of the seed disk and a second chamber at the second side of the seed disk;

means for introducing seeds into the first chamber to provide a mass of seeds therein adjacent the first side of the seed disk and the apertures therein;

means defining a separate seed discharge area within the first chamber;

means for providing a pressure differential between the first chamber and the second chamber;

means defining a third chamber within the second chamber, the third chamber being generally sealed from the second chamber and being disposed on the opposite side of the seed disk from the seed discharge area;

an aperture cleaning arrangement disposed within the third chamber and bearing against the second side of the seed disk at the row of apertures, the aperture cleaning arrangement being operative to dislodge debris within the apertures; and

wherein the aperture cleaning arrangement includes at least one rotatably mounted circular brush engaging the second side of the seed disk at the row of apertures and a housing mounted within the third chamber, a shaft having the at least one circular brush mounted therein, an opposite pair of bushings slidably mounted within the housing and rotatably receiving opposite ends of the shaft, and means mounted within the housing for biasing the opposite pair of bushings and the included shaft and circular brush in a direction to engage the second side of the seed disk with the circular brush.

8. The invention set forth in claim 7, wherein the at least one circular brush comprises a pair of circular brushes mounted on the shaft between the opposite pair of bushings and a circular band mounted on the shaft between the pair of circular brushes, and the means mounted within the housing for biasing comprises a pair of leaf springs mounted on opposite sides of the housing and each engaging a different one of the opposite pair of bushings.

9. A seed meter comprising the combination of:

a rotatably mounted seed disk having at least one row of apertures therein extending through the thickness of the seed disk between opposite first and second sides of the seed disk, the at least one row of apertures being arranged generally circumferentially about the seed disk;

means for providing a mass of seeds generally of predetermined size at the first side of the seed disk and the apertures therein, said apertures being sufficiently small to prevent the seeds from passing from the first side to the second side of the disk;

means for providing a pressure differential between the opposite first and second sides of the seed disk;

means defining a seed discharge area at the first side of the seed disk, the seed discharge area being separated from the seed mass and being isolated from the pressure differential; and

an aperture cleaning arrangement disposed opposite the seed discharge area and bearing against the second side of the seed disk at the row of apertures, the aperture cleaning arrangement including a wiper blade having a scraping edge and means for biasing the wiper blade against the second side of the disk with the edge scraping across the apertures to dislodge debris within the apertures and expel the debris toward the first side of the disk.

10. The invention set forth in claim 9, further including a housing disposed adjacent the seed disk and having a hollow interior defining a chamber at the first side of the seed disk, the chamber including the mass of seeds and the seed discharge area.

11. A seed meter comprising the combination of:

a rotatably mounted seek disk having at least one row of apertures of generally like size therein extending through the thickness of the seed disk between opposite first and second sides of the seed disk, the at least one row of apertures being arranged generally circumferentially about the seed disk;

means for providing a mass of seeds at the first side of the seek disk and the apertures therein, the mass of seeds being comprised of seeds having a nominal size which is larger than the generally like size of the apertures in the seed disk;

a seed discharge area at the first side of the seed disk and separated from the mass of seeds, the at least one row of apertures in the seed disk being operative to carry seeds from the seed mass to the seed discharge area; and

a wiper assembly disposed adjacent the second side of the seek disk and including a wiper blade and means for resiliently biasing the wiper blade against the second side of the seek disk at the row of apertures, the wiper blade being operative to dislodge seeds and debris which become lodged in the apertures and to expel the lodged seeds and debris toward the first side of the disk.

12. The invention set forth in claim 11, wherein the wiper blade has a relatively straight side edge thereof engaging the second side of the seed disk and forming an acute angle with the second side of the seed disk.

13. The invention as set forth in claim 11, wherein the means for resiliently biasing comprises a leaf spring rigidly mounted on a reference member at a first end thereof and having the wiper blade mounted thereon at the opposite second end thereof.