GB2463679A

GB2463679A - Hand held seed sowing device

Info

Publication number: GB2463679A
Application number: GB0817235A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Kenneth Hoare
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-09-20
Filing date: 2008-09-20
Publication date: 2010-03-24
Also published as: GB2463776A; GB2463776B; GB0916548D0; GB0817235D0

Abstract

A hand-held seed sowing device 1 comprises a hopper 2 for holding a plurality of seeds 24 and a seed release portion 3 for dispensing seeds from the hopper. The hopper includes a floor 12 in which there is a plurality of apertures 13 through which seeds may pass. The seed release portion 3 includes beneath the floor a gate member 14 having a plurality of openings 15 which when aligned with the apertures 13 permits at least one seed 24 to be dispensed through each aperture and when not aligned blocks the passage of seeds. The gate member 14 is relatively movable with respect to the hopper floor 12 so that the gate member openings 15 can be momentarily brought into alignment with the floor apertures 13 to control the dispensing of seeds from the hopper during seed sowing.

Description

Hand-held Seed Sowing Device

BACKGROUND

a. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for the sowing of seeds by hand.

b. Related Art When sowing seeds by hand, it is usual to sprinkle seeds evenly along a row or to broadcast (scatter) them over an area. Once germinated, the seedlings then have to be thinned, to provide the correct spacing between the plants so that they have enough room to grow to maturity. If the seedlings are not thinned, the crowded plants are likely to tangle together and will not thrive.

However, this process is wasteful of seeds, as most seedlings are simply discarded during thinning. Furthermore, the act of removing many unwanted seedlings has the potential to harm the root system of the nearby healthy plants.

Although single seeds could be planted at the desired spacing, this is particularly difficult for smaller seeds. In addition, a percentage of the seeds will usually not germinate, and the result will be a reduced final crop.

In the case of larger seeds, which may be planted initia((y at the correct spacing, it is time consuming to measure the correct distance and ensure that the correct number of seeds are deposited at each location.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a more convenient and efficient apparatus and method for sowing seeds.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, there is provided a hand-held seed sowing device comprising a hopper for holding a plurality of seeds to be sown and a seed release portion for controlling the dispensing of seeds from the hopper dur,ng seed sowing, wherein: -the hopper includes a floor in which there is a plurality apertures through which seeds may pass during said seed dispensing; -the seed release portion includes beneath the floor a gate member having a plurality of openings which when aligned with said plurality of apertures permits at least one seed to be dispensed through each aperture and when not aligned blocks the passage of seeds through each aperture; and -the gate member is relatively movable with respect to the hopper floor so that the gate member openings can be momentarily brought into alignment with said plurality of apertures to control the dispensing of seeds from the hopper during seed sowing.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the floor of the hopper is provided by a first plate not attached to the hopper walls, so that it may be removed easily from the device. An advantage of this is that a range of different plates may be used comprising different sized apertures to suit the size and shape of the seeds being sown. A similar advantage may also be gained if the gate member is in the form of a second plate, not attached to other parts of the seed release portion, In this embodiment, a set of lower plates could be used to provide a range of openings at different spacings.

In use, the hopper is partially filled with the seeds to be sown. After preparation of an area of soil in which the seeds are to be sown, the device is placed in the desired sowing location. In a preferred embodiment, the device is designed such that the hopper is moved while the support remains stationary. To dispense the seeds the hopper floor is moved by hand relative to the gate member, preferably in a sliding motion, so that the apertures and openings are momentarily brought into alignment. To aid positioning of the device on the soil, for example at locations along a planting row, it is preferable to include in the device at least one downwardly extending projection at fixed positions relative to the openings in the gate member. These projections can be pressed into the soil to help to locate the device in subsequent sowing locations while maintaining a consistent spacing between the sown seeds.

The combination of a plurality of apertures and openings, and the downwardly extending projection, enables the user to sow a large number of seeds along a planting row quickly and easily.

In a preferred embodiment, the lower face of the hopper floor is maintained in sliding contact with the upper face of the gate member by means of a spring-loaded fixing. The fixing includes a member that passes through holes in both the hopper floor and gate member, with one of the holes elongated in the direction of the relative sliding movement. Additionally, the relative sliding movement of the hopper floor and the gate member could be spring-biased towards a position in which the apertures and openings are not aligned, to prevent seeds being dispensed when the device is not in the required location.

In general, the container will hold more seeds than are dispensed in one use.

Therefore to facilitate storage of the stock of seeds not currently being dispensed it is preferable to provide a seed storage area, such that, in use, a number of seeds may be tipped into this area while other seeds are being dispensed. Preferably, the seed storage area is in the form of an elongate trough at least one end of which is shaped to aid pouring of unused seeds out of the trough. This has the advantage that unused seeds may be returned to a seed packet or similar after the required seeds have been sown, reducing the number of seeds wasted.

The invention further provides a method of sowing seeds using a hand-held seed sowing device according to the invention, the method comprising the steps of: introducing seeds to be sown into the hopper so that seeds enter the apertures in the hopper floor; -orienting the device over an area to be sown with seeds; -moving by hand the hopper floor relative to the gate member so that the gate member openings are momentarily brought into alignment with said plurality of apertures in the hopper floor so that at least one seed falls through each of the openings to sow seeds on said area.

When a seed storage area is provided in the hopper, after the seeds have entered the apertures in the hopper floor, the hopper can be tilted so that excess seeds are collected on the seed storage area away from the apertures. This prevents more than the required number of seeds falling through the openings when the apertures and openings are brought momentarily into alignment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be further described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a cross-sectional side view of a hand-held seed sowing device according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; Figures 2 and 3 are, respectively, plan views from above and from the end of the hand-held seed sowing device of Figure 1; and Figure 4 shows partial sections of the seed sowing device of Figure 1, showing how the seeds are released by alignment of apertures in a hopper floor and openings in a gate member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figure 1 shows a hand-held sowing device 1 according to a first embodiment of the invention. The hand-held sowing devtce consists of an upper hopper 2 and a lower seed release portion 3. The hopper is bounded by a perimeter wall comprising two longer side waIls 4, 5 and two shorter end walls 6, 7. The hopper has both rectangular horizontal and vertical cross-sections and has a rectangular opening to the top. The side walls 4, 5 are fixed, by their bottom edge, to a gate member 14. The end walls 6, 7 are trapezoid in shape with the top and bottom edges parallel and the top edge shorter than the bottom edge. The ends of the bottom edges of the end walls 6, 7 are fixed to the gate member 14. The middle sections of the bottom edges of the end walls 6, 7 are cut away to provide a gap for insertion of a plate-like hopper floor 12. The shape and dimensions of the cut away are such that there is a snug sliding fit between the hopper floor 12 and the end walls 6, 7 when the plate-like floor is positioned on the upper face of the gate member 14.

The seed release portion 3 has a lower support 8 which includes vertical end projections 10, 11. The lower support defines an area with a substantially rectangular horizontal cross-section. In this embodiment, the distance between the vertical end projections 10, 11 of the lower support is less than the distance between the end walls 6, 7 of the hopper. The gate member 14 is substantially rectangular and has a length greater than the distance between the hopper end walls 6, 7, and a width greater than the distance between the hopper side walls 4, 5.

A number of openings 15 are present in the gate member 14. The openings 15 are equally spaced, the spacing determining the spacing between deposits of seeds. In this example, the openings 15 are circular and are positioned in a single row along the longitudinal centre line of the gate member 14.

The positions of the end projections 10, 11 of the lower support 8 with respect to the openings 15 are such that they can be used to mark the soil to indicate a subsequent position of the seed sowing device 1. That is, after one set of seeds has been dispensed, the hand-held sowing device 1 may be moved so that, for example, the one projection 10 sits on the mark made at the previous position of the end projection 11. In this way, the spacing between a last deposit of seeds in a previous position and a first deposit of seeds in a new position is the same as the spacing between the openings 15 in the gate member 14. In the preferred embodiment, the projections 10, 11 are in the form of panels at the ends of the lower support 8, however, the projections may also be in the form of support legs, additional peg-like projections, or a similar structure that can be used to mark the ground indicating the position of the device when in use.

The hopper floor 12 is a rectangular plate and has a width equal to the distance between the hopper side wafls 4, 5, and a length significantly greater than the distance between the hopper end waIls 6, 7. A number of apertures 13 are present in the hopper floor 12. The dimensions of the apertures 13 are such that the required number of seeds 23 to be dispensed at one location can be contained in the volume bound by the edges of the aperture and the thickness of the plate, as shown in Figure 4. In this example, the apertures are circular and are positioned in a single row along the longitudinal centre line of the hopper floor 12.

As shown in Figure 1, the number of apertures 13 in the hopper floor 12 is equal to the number of openings 15 in the gate member 14. However, the number of apertures 13 may be different to the number of openings 15. Also, as shown in Figure 2, the apertures 13 in the hopper floor 12 have a smaller diameter than the openings 15 in the gate member 14. In other embodiments of the invention, the apertures 13 and openings 15 may have the same diameter.

Although in this embodiment, a single row of apertures and openings is provided.

In other embodiments, it may be preferable to include more than one row of apertures and openings, for applications such as the sowing of peas in wider trenches or for sowing directly into seed trays, or the apertures and openings may be in a less ordered arrangement.

In the preferred embodiment, the hopper 2 has a perimeter wall 4, 5, 6, 7 which is fixed with respect to the seed release portion 3, and the hopper floor 12 is relatively movable with respect to the perimeter wall. However, it may also be the possible to design the device I such that the seed release portion 3 comprises a lower support 8 for supporting the gate member 14, such that the lower support 8 is fixed with respect to the hopper 2, and the gate member 14 is relatively moveable with respect to the lower support 8. Additionally, a perimeter wall of the hopper 2 may be fixed with respect to a lower support 8 of the seed release portion 3, and both the hopper floor 12 and the gate member 14 may be relatively movable with respect to the lower support 8 and to each other.

In embodiments in which either the hopper floor 12 or gate member 14 or both are removable, they may be colour-coded to distinguish different sized apertures 13 or openings 15 at a different spacing. Alternatively, they may be distinguished by a different means for example by lettering or numbers or by different shaped apertures or openings.

The apertures 13 in the hopper floor 12 and the openings 15 in the gate member 14 are positioned such that there is a significant length of the hopper floor 12, longer than the spacing between the apertures 13, without apertures at one end of the hopper 2. This volume of the hopper, away from the immediate vicinity of the apertures 13 and bounded by the side walls 4, 5, an end wafl 6 and a first aperture 13, serves as a seed storage area 25.

The hopper floor 12 and gate member 14 are joined using a spring loaded fastening. In this preferred embodiment, the fastening comprises a bolt 16 having a bolt shaft 30 which passes through a hole, with a diameter equal to the diameter of the bolt shaft, in the gate member 14 and through an elongated hole 21 in the hopper floor 12. The elongated hole 21 has a smaller dimension equal to the diameter of the bolt shaft 30 and a longer dimension at least twice as long as the smaller dimension. As shown in Figure 2, the elongated hole 21 is oriented such that the longer dimension lies parallel to the row of apertures 13, so as to permit longitudinal sliding motion of the hopper floor 12 with respect to the gate member 14. The shaft of the bolt 16 then passes through a hole in a spreader plate 18 that sits underneath the gate member 14. The spreader plate is designed to spread the force of a compression spring 19 evenly across the width of the gate member, so as not to create a stress concentration. As shown in Figure 3, the spreader plate 18 is designed to fit perfectly between side walls of the lower support 8 and has lateral extensions at either end that sit against the inner faces of the side walls. A compression spring 19 is placed over the bolt shaft 30 and secured in place with a washer 20 and a nut 17. To fasten the hopper floor 12 to the gate member 14, the nut 17 is tightened and a compressive force is applied to the compression spring 19, which in turn exerts a pressure on the spreader plate 18.

In use, the nut is tightened to such an extent that the hopper floor 12 and gate member 14 remain in contact, but such that relative sliding motion between these two parts can still occur, in the direction of elongation of the elongated hole 21.

In other embodiments the attachment means may be in the form of other fixings, or shaped parts of the device, restricting motion during use to a purely sliding movement of the hopper floor relative to the gate member.

As shown in Figure 2, a further feature of the hand-held sowing device 1 in this preferred embodiment is a pair of end plates 22 placed at one end of the hopper 2.

In this example the end plates 22 are placed vertically in the corners of the hopper at the end of the seed storage area 25, so as to come to a point in the centre of the end wall 6. The addition of these V-shaped end plates 22 aids in pouring any unused seeds out of the sowing device hopper 2 into, for example, a seed packet.

To use the hand-held seed sowing device 1, the hopper 2 is first closed by positioning the hopper floor 12 so that the openings 15 in the gate member 14 are covered. Seeds are then placed into the hopper 2. Preferably, the device includes a transparent lid 32 with a lip 33 that is shaped to engage with the perimeter walls 4, 5, 6, 7 and the V-shaped end plates 22. The sowing device is tipped so that seeds 23 fill each of the apertures 13 in the hopper floor 12, as shown in Figure 4.

The lid 32 retains the seeds while allowing the user to see when the apertures 13 have been fifled. Seeds can of a particular plant be of varying size and shape, so it is preferable if it takes more than one typical seed to fill each aperture so that each aperture holds at least one seed.

Once all the apertures 13 are filled, the sowing device is tipped at an acute angle to the horizontal so that the remaining seeds 24 slide across the flat floor 12 until these are held in the seed storage area 25 away from the apertures 13. in doing this, the user can see through the lid 32 that each aperture 13 still holds at least one seed while the remaining seeds are moved to one side away from apertures.

The sowing device 1 is then horizontally oriented and placed in a desired location and the hopper floor 12 is gripped at one end and slid longitudinally so that the apertures 13 in the hopper floor 12 are aligned momentarily with the openings 15 in the gate member 14, as shown in Figure 4. In this open position the seeds are free to fall through the seed release portion 3 to the soil below. If necessary, the user may tap the outside of the device with a finger to shake loose any seeds that -10 -do not drop immediately from the apertures until the user can view through the lid that all seeds there were in the apertures have been released.

During this process, the hopper floor may be moved continuously in one direction until the seeds have dropped out of the apertures 13 and until after the apertures have gone out of alignment so that the apertures become covered again by the gate. The floor 12 may then be moved in the opposite direction when the next set of seeds is to be sowed.

Alternatively, the floor and apertures may be moved in a reciprocating action with respect to the gate and holes, from a misaligned orientation, then in a first direction into alignment and then in an opposite second direction out of alignment.

In the preferred embodiment, seeds not held in the apertures during any one seed sowing operation are kept away from the apertures so there is no need for speed in moving from the aligned to misaligned orientations. The relative motion therefore does not need to be continuous and the momentary alignment therefore need not be of a very short duration, but may extend in duration from 0.1 s to as much as 10 s, but for the sake of efficiency will normally be less than I s in duration.

The process may then be repeated, with the new position of the device 1 guided by the marks left by the end projections 10, 11 of the lower support 8. Once sufficient seeds have been deposited, in one or more locations, unused seeds may be poured out of the seed storage area 25, assisted by the V-shaped end plates 22, and returned to a seed packet or similar (not shown).

In use, it is preferable for the hopper floor 12 to be moved while the seed release portion 3 remains stationary. However, an alternative arrangement may be used in which the gate member 14 is moved while the hopper 2 remains stationary.

The device may be made of plastic, for example Perspex (Reg. TM), but it may equally be made from sheet metal, or from a combination of more than one -11 -material, for example, the perimeter wall of the hopper and the lower support may be made of metal and the hopper floor and gate member may be made of plastic.

The dimensions of the hand-held sowing device I are such that the longer side walls 4, 5 of the hopper 2 are between 100 and 500 mm in length and the shorter end walls 6, 7 are between 20 and 100 mm in length.

The invention therefore provides a convenient and efficient apparatus and method for sowing seeds by hand. Advantages are that an accurate number of seeds may be sown at a desired spacing, and therefore, that the number of wasted seeds are reduced. -12-

Claims

CLAIMS1. A hand-held seed sowing device comprising a hopper for holding a plurality of seeds to be sown and a seed release portion for controlling the dispensing of seeds from the hopper during seed sowing, wherein: -the hopper includes a floor in which there is a plurality apertures through which seeds may pass during said seed dispensing; -the seed release portion includes beneath the floor a gate member having a plurality of openings which when aligned with said plurality of apertures permits at least one seed to be dispensed through each aperture and when not aligned blocks the passage of seeds through each aperture; and -the gate member is relatively movable with respect to the hopper floor so that the gate member openings can be momentarily brought into alignment with said plurality of apertures to control the dispensing of seeds from the hopper during seed sowing.
2. A device as claimed in Claim I, in which the floor of the hopper is provided by a first plate.
3. A device as claimed in Claim 2, in which the gate member includes a second plate in which said openings are provided.
4. A device as claimed in Claim 3, in which the first and second plates slide against each other during said relative movement between the hopper floor and the seed release portion gate member.
5. A device as claimed in Claim 4, in which there is provided an attachment means to permit the relative sliding movement of the first and second plates, the attachment means comprising a spring-loaded fixing to press the plates together.
6. A device as claimed in Claim 5, in which the attachment means includes a member that passes through holes in both the first and second plates, and at least one of the said holes is elongated in the direction of said relative sliding movement.
7. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the hopper has a perimeter wall within which said seeds are held, and the perimeter walt is fixed with respect to the seed release portion, and the floor being relatively movable with respect to the perimeter wall.
8. A device as claimed in any one of Claims I to 6, in which the seed release portion has a lower support for supporting the gate member, the lower support being fixed with respect to the hopper, and the gate member being relatively moveable with respect to the lower support.
9. A device as claimed in any one of Claims I to 6, in which a perimeter wall of the hopper is fixed with respect to a lower support of the seed release portion, and the floor of the hopper and the gate member are relatively movable with respect to the lower support and to each other.
10. A device as claimed in Claim 8 or 9, in which the lower support includes at least one downwardly extending projection at fixed positions relative to the openings in the gate member for marking the ground to indicate the next position of the device when sowing seeds along a planting row.
II. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the openings in the gate member have larger dimensions than the apertures in the hopper floor.
12. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the hopper floor includes an area without any apertures for serving in use as a seed storage area, so that the section of the hopper above the seed storage area may be used to contain a majority of seeds not being dispensed at any one time.

-14 -
13. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the seed storage area is an elongate trough at least one end of which is shaped to aid pouring of unused seeds out of the trough.
14. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the floor of the hopper includes a single row of apertures.
15. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the gate member includes a single row of openings.
16. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the relative sliding movement of the hopper floor and the gate member is spring biased towards a position in which said apertures and openings are not aligned.
17. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the device is made of metal.
18. A device as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 16, in which the device is made of plastic.
19. A device as claimed in any of Claims I to 16, in which the perimeter wall of the hopper and the lower support are made of metal and the hopper floor and gate member are made of plastic.
20. A method of sowing seeds using a hand-held seed sowing device as claimed in any preceding claim, the method comprising the steps of: -introducing seeds to be sown into the hopper so that seeds enter the apertures in the hopper floor; -orienting the device over an area to be sown with seeds; -moving by hand the hopper floor relative to the gate member so that the gate member openings are momentarily brought into alignment with said plurality of apertures in the hopper floor so that at least one seed falls through each of the openings to sow seeds on said area.
21. A method as claimed in Claim 20 when dependent from Claim 12, in which the method comprising after the seeds have entered the apertures in the hopper floor the step of tilting the hopper so that excess seeds are collected on the seed storage area away from the apertures.
22. A method as claimed in Claim 20 or 21, when dependent from Claim 13, in which the method comprises the additional step of pouring the unused seeds out of the trough back into a seed packet or similar after the required seeds have been sown.
23. A hand-held seed sowing device, substantially as herein described, with reference to or as shown in the accompanying drawings.
24. A method of sowing seeds using a hand-held seed sowing device, substantially as herein described, with reference to or as shown in the accompanying drawings.