GB1591795A

GB1591795A - Seed dispensing devices

Info

Publication number: GB1591795A
Application number: GB973580A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Hestair Farm Equipment Ltd
Current assignee: Hestair Farm Equipment Ltd
Priority date: 1977-10-28
Filing date: 1977-10-28
Publication date: 1981-06-24

Description

(54) SEED DISPENSING DEVICES (71) We, HESTAIR FARM EQUIP MENT LIMITED, a British Company, Godinton Way, Ashford, Kent, TN23 1PB, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to seed dispensing devices and to seed drills comprising such devices.

In British Patent No. 1,450,677 there is disclosed a seed dispensing device of the kind comprising a housing, a seed inlet in the housing whereby seeds can be supplied to the housing to form a seed reservoir in the housing, a seed selector member mounted for rotation within-the housing, a seed selector element in the form of a seed cup mounted on the seed selector member so as to pass through the seed reservoir as the seed selector member rotates and to pick up a seed from the reservoir, and a seed outlet formed in the housing to receive seeds from the seed selector element. In seed dispensing devices of this kind as opposed to seed dispensing devices of the kind comprising a rotatable cell wheel or a driven seed selector belt, the problem arises that foreign matter in the seed reservoir does not get carried away by the seed selector element during use - as it does in the case of cell wheel and seed selector belt type mechanisms.

After a prolonged period of use foreign matter can build up in the seed reservoir and interfere with the proper operation of the dispensing device. In belt and cell wheel type dispensing mechanisms the belt and cell wheel themselves serve to carry away foreign matter from the seed reservoir throughout operation and the same problem does not arise.

An object of the invention is to provide means whereby foreign matter is removed from the seeds in the reservoir of a seed dispensing device of the kind referred to above.

According to the invention there is provided a seed dispensing device comprising: a housing; a seed inlet in the housing whereby seeds can be supplied to the housing to form a seed reservoir in the housing; a seed selector member mounted for rotation within the housing; a seed selector element mounted on the seed selector member so as to pass through the seed reservoir as the seed selector member rotates and pick up a seed from the reservoir and a seed outlet formed in the housing to receive seeds from the seed selector element; wherein the housing has seed cleaning means to remove foreign matter from the reservoir of seed therein, the seed cleaning means comprising: an aperture formed in the housing in the region of the bottom of said seed reservoir; a cover plate for said aperture, the plate being mounted in relation to said aperture so as to define a gap therewith through which foreign matter can escape while seed is retained; and a drive to oscillate the cover plate to promote the passage of foreign matter through said gap.

Preferably the cover plate is arcuate in form and is mounted for pivotal movement about an axis in the region of the centre of curvature of the plate, the drive-being arranged to oscillate the plate about said axis. The drive to oscillate the cover plate may comprise a cam associated with the seed selector member and operative on rotation of the seed selector member to displace the cover plate against the action of a return spring.

Preferably the gap between the cover plate and the housing through which foreign matter can escape is adjustable in size to correspond to different sizes of seed being dispensed.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of the apparatus of this invention, but with a side of the housing removed for clarity; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the seed dispensing device taken on line II--II of Figure 1, but with the seed hopper removed for clarity; and Figure 3 is a side view of the side wall of the housing of the seed dispensing device of Figure 1; and Figure 4 shows, on a larger scale, a detail of the seed dispensing device. The Figure shows a seed dispensing cap passing through a rotatable cleaning brush, the direction of viewing being in the axial direction of the rotatable brush, Referring to the drawings, there is shown a seed dispensing device of a kind similar to that described in British Patent Specification No.

1,450,677. The seed dispensing device shown in the accompanying drawings and described in detail below however differs from that described in Specification 1,450,677 in certain respects which aid the performance and operation of the seed dispensing device.

In Figures 1 to 3 of the drawings, there is shown a seed dispensing device comprising a housing 10 of generally circular cross-sectional shape, the housing having a seed selector member or wheel member 11 rotatably mounted therewithin on a shaft 12. The wheel member 11 has a plurality of spoke-like projections or arms 13 each projection having a seed selector element in the form of a dispensing cup 14 detachably mounted at its free end. The mouth of each cup 14 is directed generally tangentially and forwardly, considering the normal direction of rotation of the wheel member 11, shown by arrow A in Figure 1. The housing 10 includes a seed outlet or chute 15 for seeds dispensed by the device, the chute 15 communi cating via a port 16 with the interior of the housing. The lower part of the housing 10 is formed as a reservoir for a mass of seeds 17, the seeds being introduced thereto via a seed inlet or port 18 formed in a cover plate 19 for the housing.

m the manner described in our earlier Specification No. 1,450,677 (to which reference should be made for a more complete description) seeds are picked up one at a time by the cups as they pass through the mass of seeds in the reservoir and are carried by the cups to point B whereat the seeds are discharged from the cups under the combined effects of centripetal and gravitational forces to be flung through the outlet port 16 into the chute 15.

Seed retention brushes 20 and 21 are mounted within the housing to each side of the wheel member 11, brush 20 being attached to cover plate 19 and brush 21 being attached to the opposed side wall 23 of the housing.

The bristles of the brushes 20 and 21 face each other and the brushes are arcuately formed such that the cups pass therebetween as they move from the reservoir to point B. The arcuate extent of the brushes is arranged to be sufficiently long for the cups to be between the bristles for substantially the whole of their arc of travel after leaving the reservoir until they reach the discharge point B. The brushes 20 and 21 serve both to remove excess seeds picked up by the cups to leave a single seed in each cup, and to aid retention of the single seed in each cup until the cup reaches the discharge point B.

In addition to brushes 20 and 21, there are provided two further brushes or doffing 24 and 25, each extending generally radially, with one provided on the cover plate 19 and the other provided on the side wall 23. The position of brush 24, when the cover plate 19 is fitted, is shown in Figure 1, and it can be seen that the brushes are not directly opposed to one another but are circumferentially spaced. Considering the normal direction of rotation of the wheel member 11, a spoke-like projection first is swept by brush 25 and then by brush 24. These brushes are provided specifically to clear any seeds which may be carried in the forks 26 between the projections 13 of the wheel member and the hub part of the wheel member itself. The two brushes 24 and 25 are provided out of line with each other, so that if a seed is carried in a fork 26, it will be brushed first from one side and if it should still remain in position, the second brush will tend to sweep it out from the other side.

Though described separately, doffing brushes 24 and 25 may form a part of seed retention brushes 20 and 21 respectively.

Yet another pair of brushes 27 and 28 are provided respectively on the cover plate 19 and on the side wall 23 of the housing, with their bristles facing one another, which brushes serve to define the rear edge of the reservoir (considering the normal sense of rotation of the wheel member in the direction of arrow A).

The cups 14 of the wheel member 11 pass through the bristles of this pair of brushes 27 and 28 in order to enter the reservoir, and these brushes serve principally to prevent seeds being thrown rearwardly out of the reservoir and into the outlet chute 15 as the cups 14 agitate the mass of seeds 17 in the reservoir.

Any seeds removed from the cups 14 by the brushes 20 and 21 tend to become lodged in the bristles though some seeds may fall directly back into the reservoir. It is found that the seeds which become lodged are subsequently fed along the brushes in the direction of arrow A by the movement of the bristles as the cups successively pass through the brushes.

Eventually, a seed will work its way through the brush until it reaches the end of the brush adjacent discharge point B. In order to prevent such a seed falling under gravity into the chute 15, the cover plate 19 and the side wall 23 of the housing each have a gutter 30 and 31 respectively to catch seeds released from the brushes and to return these seeds to the reservoir. Each gutter 30 and 31 comprises a plate attached to the cover plate or side wall and extending across the housing towards the other gutter, but leaving a narrow gap through which the wheel member may pass. The gutters extend downwardly and towards the shaft 12 of the wheel member, and terminate after crossing over the top of brushes 27 and 28. A seed moving under gravity along a gutter will thus fall back into the reservoir after leaving the gutter.

In order to clean the cups 14 of any matter which may have become lodged therein prior to the cups entering the reservoir, therein provided a brush 32 in the form of a disc rotatably mounted about axis 33 on side wall 23 of the housing 10. This brush has bristles extending generally tangentially and is disposed so that the bristles enter the open mouths of the cups upon rotation of the wheel member 11, the cups then imparting rotation to the brush 32 such that the bristles tend to sweep foreign matter out of the cus.

The cover plate 19 of the housing is provided with an inlet port 18 for seeds to enter the reservoir. The inlet port 18 is connected by a duct 34 to a hopper 35 also mounted on the cover plate 19, but disposed so that the main bulk of the hopper lies above the housing 10 as a whole and the seeds may fall under gravity along duct 34 and thus through the inlet port 18 into the reservoir. As best seen in Figure 3, the inlet port lies wholly within the quadrant of the housing defined by radii X (extending horizontally) and Y (extending vertically). These two radii define the leading, lower quadrant of the housing, considering the normal sense of rotation of the wheel member in the direction of arrow A, and optimum filling is obtained by the positioning of the inlet port in this quadrant.

The inlet port itself is generally quadrilaterally-shaped, though the lower edge 36 is curved along its length generally in the same sense as the adjacent lower edge of the housing.

Edges 37 ond 38 of the port extend generally vertically, and thus are parallel to radius Y, and edge 39 of the inlet port is defined by an adjustable gate member 40 releasably fastened to the housing by screws 41. The angle of this edge 39 is thus adjustable with respect to radius X, and also the vertical extent of the port may be adjusted by moving the whole of the gate member 40 vertically upwardly or downwardly. In this way, the filling of the reservoir from the hopper 35 may be controlled, as well as the absolutely depth of seeds within the reservoir.

In order to assist the cleaning of foreign matter out of the reservoir, seed cleaning means or apparatus 43 is provided at the bottom of the housing. This apparatus comprises an aperture 44 of generally rectangular shape in the cylindrical wall of the housng at the bottom of the reservoir, which aperture is partially blocked by an arcuate cover plate 45 fitting closely between the side walls of the housing, but defining gaps between the ends of the aperture through which foreign matter can escape while seed is retained. The plate is pivotally mounted by means of an integrally formed lug 46 on an arm 47 itself pivotally mounted on the housing, there being a screwthreaded adjuster 48 for moving the arm 47 relative to the housing, and thus moving the arcuate plate 45 further into or out of the aperture to change the size of the gaps. A spring 49 is provided to bias the arm against the action of the screw-threaded adjuster, away from the housing.

Lug 46 of the arcuate plate 45 is rigidly fastened to a shaft 50 which pivotally mounts the arcuate plate on arm 47 in the region of the centre of curvature of the plate 45, and this shaft is bent through a right-angle to form a lever arranged to lie parallel to the housing adjacent side wall 23 on the outside thereof.

The shaft 12 for the wheel member 11 is provided outside the housing and adjacent side wall 23 with a driving pulley 51, adapted to receive a V-belt drive from an appropriate power-operated source. In order to provide a drive to oscillate cover plate 45, the pulley 51 has a camming roller 52 rotatably mounted on its side face, which roller comes into engagement with the lever formed by shaft 50 on every turn of the pulley, and moves the lever against a bias provided by a return spring 53 to rock the arcuate plate about the pivot provided by shaft 50. It will be appreciated that by an appropriate adjustment of the screw-threaded adjuster 48 to give a suitable gap between the arcuate plate 45 and the edge of the aperture defined by the housing, the seeds will be moved within the reservoir as the plate rocks, though foreign matter of a smaller size will tend to be rolled out through the gap. The gap should therefore be adjusted so as to be slightly too small to allow seeds to pass therethrough, but large enough to allow foreign matter such as broken seeds and chaff as well as dust to leave the reservoir through the gap.

The main advantage of the embodiment of the invention described above lies in the simple and positive manner in which foreign matter is removed from seeds in the seed reservoir of the seed dispensing device. Maintenance of relatively clean seed within the reservoir helps to avoid the pick-up by the seed cups of the dispensing device of foreign matter in place of seeds.

The seed dispensing device described above is also disclosed and claimed in U.K. Patent Application No. 44763/76, (Serial No.

1,591,794).

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. A seed dispensing device comprising: a housing; a seed inlet in the housing whereby seeds can be supplied to the housing to form a seed reservoir in the housing; a seed selector member mounted for rotation within the housing;

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. crossing over the top of brushes 27 and 28. A seed moving under gravity along a gutter will thus fall back into the reservoir after leaving the gutter. In order to clean the cups 14 of any matter which may have become lodged therein prior to the cups entering the reservoir, therein provided a brush 32 in the form of a disc rotatably mounted about axis 33 on side wall 23 of the housing 10. This brush has bristles extending generally tangentially and is disposed so that the bristles enter the open mouths of the cups upon rotation of the wheel member 11, the cups then imparting rotation to the brush 32 such that the bristles tend to sweep foreign matter out of the cus. The cover plate 19 of the housing is provided with an inlet port 18 for seeds to enter the reservoir. The inlet port 18 is connected by a duct 34 to a hopper 35 also mounted on the cover plate 19, but disposed so that the main bulk of the hopper lies above the housing 10 as a whole and the seeds may fall under gravity along duct 34 and thus through the inlet port 18 into the reservoir. As best seen in Figure 3, the inlet port lies wholly within the quadrant of the housing defined by radii X (extending horizontally) and Y (extending vertically). These two radii define the leading, lower quadrant of the housing, considering the normal sense of rotation of the wheel member in the direction of arrow A, and optimum filling is obtained by the positioning of the inlet port in this quadrant. The inlet port itself is generally quadrilaterally-shaped, though the lower edge 36 is curved along its length generally in the same sense as the adjacent lower edge of the housing. Edges 37 ond 38 of the port extend generally vertically, and thus are parallel to radius Y, and edge 39 of the inlet port is defined by an adjustable gate member 40 releasably fastened to the housing by screws 41. The angle of this edge 39 is thus adjustable with respect to radius X, and also the vertical extent of the port may be adjusted by moving the whole of the gate member 40 vertically upwardly or downwardly. In this way, the filling of the reservoir from the hopper 35 may be controlled, as well as the absolutely depth of seeds within the reservoir. In order to assist the cleaning of foreign matter out of the reservoir, seed cleaning means or apparatus 43 is provided at the bottom of the housing. This apparatus comprises an aperture 44 of generally rectangular shape in the cylindrical wall of the housng at the bottom of the reservoir, which aperture is partially blocked by an arcuate cover plate 45 fitting closely between the side walls of the housing, but defining gaps between the ends of the aperture through which foreign matter can escape while seed is retained. The plate is pivotally mounted by means of an integrally formed lug 46 on an arm 47 itself pivotally mounted on the housing, there being a screwthreaded adjuster 48 for moving the arm 47 relative to the housing, and thus moving the arcuate plate 45 further into or out of the aperture to change the size of the gaps. A spring 49 is provided to bias the arm against the action of the screw-threaded adjuster, away from the housing. Lug 46 of the arcuate plate 45 is rigidly fastened to a shaft 50 which pivotally mounts the arcuate plate on arm 47 in the region of the centre of curvature of the plate 45, and this shaft is bent through a right-angle to form a lever arranged to lie parallel to the housing adjacent side wall 23 on the outside thereof. The shaft 12 for the wheel member 11 is provided outside the housing and adjacent side wall 23 with a driving pulley 51, adapted to receive a V-belt drive from an appropriate power-operated source. In order to provide a drive to oscillate cover plate 45, the pulley 51 has a camming roller 52 rotatably mounted on its side face, which roller comes into engagement with the lever formed by shaft 50 on every turn of the pulley, and moves the lever against a bias provided by a return spring 53 to rock the arcuate plate about the pivot provided by shaft 50. It will be appreciated that by an appropriate adjustment of the screw-threaded adjuster 48 to give a suitable gap between the arcuate plate 45 and the edge of the aperture defined by the housing, the seeds will be moved within the reservoir as the plate rocks, though foreign matter of a smaller size will tend to be rolled out through the gap. The gap should therefore be adjusted so as to be slightly too small to allow seeds to pass therethrough, but large enough to allow foreign matter such as broken seeds and chaff as well as dust to leave the reservoir through the gap. The main advantage of the embodiment of the invention described above lies in the simple and positive manner in which foreign matter is removed from seeds in the seed reservoir of the seed dispensing device. Maintenance of relatively clean seed within the reservoir helps to avoid the pick-up by the seed cups of the dispensing device of foreign matter in place of seeds. The seed dispensing device described above is also disclosed and claimed in U.K. Patent Application No. 44763/76, (Serial No. 1,591,794). WHAT WE CLAIM IS:-

1. A seed dispensing device comprising: a housing; a seed inlet in the housing whereby seeds can be supplied to the housing to form a seed reservoir in the housing; a seed selector member mounted for rotation within the housing;

a seed selector element mounted on the seed selector member so as to pass through the seed reservoir as the seed selector member rotates and pick up a seed from the reservoir; and a seed outlet formed in the housing to receive seeds from the seed selector element; wherein the housing has seed cleaning means to remove foreign matter from the reservoir of seed therein, the seed cleaning means comprising: an aperture found in the housing in the region of the bottom of said seed reservoir; a cover plate for said aperture, the plate being mounted in relation to said aperture so as to define a gap therewith through which foreign matter can escape while seed is retained; and a drive to oscillate the cover plate to promote the passage of foreign matter through said gap.

2. A seed dispensing device according to claim 1 wherein the cover plate is arcuate in form and is mounted for pivotal movement about an axis in the region of the centre of curvature of the plate, the drive being arranged to oscillate the plate about said axis.

3. A seed dispensing device according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the drive to oscil late the cover plate comprises a cam associated with the seed selector member and operative on rotation of the seed selector member to displace the cover plate against the action of a return spring.

4. A seed dispensing device according to any preceding claim wherein the gap between the cover plate and the housing through which foreign matter can escape is adjustable in size to correspond to different sizes of seeds being dispensed.

5. A seed dispensing device according to any preceding claim wherein said seed selector element comprises a seed cup capable of loosely holding a seed and mounted at the periphery of the seed selector member and wherein seed retention brush means is mounted in the housing in the path of said seed cup to aid the retentiqn of seed in the cup between the seed reservoir and the seed outlet.

6. A seed dispensing device according to claim 1 substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

7. A seed drill comprising at least one seed dispensing device according to any one of the preceding claims.