Kinze Manufacturing, Inc.

Raven Industries, Inc.

Alan F Barry

Harry C Deckler

Jon E Kinzenbaw

Lisle J Dunham

Mark H Eben

Steven D Rodgers

Kenneth E Shoup

Richard J Vokoun

Roger L Meek

Russell A Hagen

The invention provides a system, device and method for using a rotary actuator, e.g., a stepper motor to actuate a wrap spring clutch. Feedback from a system of sensors and GPS data, including rotational speed, travel speed and direction are provided to improve the reaction accuracy of the clutch. In one embodiment, a plurality of actuator controllers are connected in a configuration wherein one controller is a 'master' and the remaining controllers are 'slaves' to provide a higher level of machine control.

Systems and methods for disengaging and engaging a wrap spring clutch

An air seed meter having a rotating disc with seed openings arranged in a circumferential pattern includes a holder adapted to be mounted to the meter housing and carries two balls spring-biased to reciprocate and enter the seed openings as they pass and clear debris from the openings. The balls may also engage dimples on the seed disc located between seed openings or groups of seed openings (in the case of a hill drop planter) in the disc as it rotates to cause vibration in the disc to promote the release of seeds as they exit the vacuum chamber.

Air seed meter with debris clearing device

An agricultural implement, such as a planter, having a telescoping tongue for placing the implement in either a transport or field use configuration, includes an hydraulic pump located on the planter frame, preferably toward the rear, for powering the planting functions. A mechanical drive line from the PTO of the tractor to the remote hydraulic pump is disengaged as the planter frame begins to move from the planting position. The drive line permits the tractor to make full 90&#xb0; turns in the field.

Planter with remote hydraulic feed

An air seed meter for an agricultural planter includes a vacuum cover which has a central opening which exposes the central portion of the seed disc to the exterior. The central opening of the vacuum cover is centered on a location offset from the axis of rotation of the seed disc. This reduces disc wear at the disc-vacuum cover interface, and renders the disc more accessible for self-cleaning, visual inspection and verification of the proper disc. Openings in the central, open portion of the disc, the back wall of the seed housing and the side wall of the seed housing cooperate to equalize the air pressure in the seed reservoir to atmospheric pressure and reduce or eliminate reverse air currents in the discharge chute. An adjustable brush with three separate stations cooperates with an edge-release, beveled disc to apply a progressively more forceful singulation force to eliminate duplicate seeds.

Air seed meter

An agricultural seed meter is disclosed including a seed selection mechanism in the form of a belt or a drum having pockets and moving through a seed reservoir area for loading seeds into the pocket. A cut-off brush is movable between a singulating position and a volume metering position so that the meter may be used either as a singulating meter or for volume metering without changing, deleting parts or adding parts. In either mode, seed release is accurate and repeatable through the use of a retainer brush for holding the seeds in their associated pocket until the pocket, in a downward, curving path, passed beyond the end of the retainer brush, thereby releasing the seeds into a discharge conduit.

Agricultural seed meter

An agricultural planter having left and right hinged wing sections includes seed storage tanks carried by the planter frame and feeding individual row units, mounted fore and aft of the main toolbar, by flexible conduits. The tanks are mounted to permit the wings to flex independently to follow ground contour while extending the tanks from a wing section onto the center frame section.

Centralized seed distribution system for planter

A gauge wheel/coulter arrangement for an agricultural row unit. A pair of closely spaced, narrow, ground-engaging wheels in side-by-side relation are mounted to rotate about intersecting axes. Specifically, the wheels are angled inwardly toward each other at the forward and lower portions of the wheels so that adjacent edges of the wheels firmly engage each other to cause the wheels to rotate in unison when drawn through a field. The region of contact between the wheels extends from a point at or below the horizontal center lines of the two wheels, downwardly and rearwardly to a point adjacent where the two wheels engage the ground. A coulter is located between the gauge wheels and bisects the angle between them. The gauge wheels engage and pin down the crop residue while the coulter cuts the residue as it is held in place and tensioned by the passing, diverging gauge wheels. The angled gauge wheels in firm contact with each other in the lower front quadrant provide a narrow, wedge-shaped front profile to avoid row crop damage, and a continuous wall to ride over residue being traversed by the wheels.

Gauge wheel and coulter arrangement for agricultural implement

The wheel arms of a planter row unit are mounted to the row unit frame for independent pivotal motion. The ends of a saddle link are received in sockets formed on gauge wheel arms; and a yoke (or ring-shaped link) pivotally mounted to the frame engages a central saddle bearing surface on the saddle link. The wheel arms, saddle link and yoke are constructed and arranged such that when one gauge wheel raises when it encounters an obstruction, the other lowers and the frame raises by about one-half the distance which the first gauge wheel is raised.

Equalizing gauge wheel mechanism for row crop planter unit

An agricultural implement such as a planter has wing sections which, when folded for transport, are stacked side-by-side above a center section. Improvements include structure which reduces bending moments about the pivot connections between a guide link forming part of a four-bar linkage which stacks the wings, and the wing frame. A drive train for the row unit meters is also placed in the transport position without disconnecting the drive shafts.

Agricultural implement with stacking wings

An improved frame for a drawn agricultural implement, such as a planter, includes a telescoping main frame. The main wheel set is mounted to a sliding carriage to support the central main frame, and may be moved between a forward and a rear position. As the main frame extends, the wing sections fold forwardly. When the wing sections in the illustrated embodiment are completely folded, hydraulic cylinders slide the main wheel set forwardly so that the down load on the hitch is reduced for road transport. Conversely, during the unfold cycle, the hydraulic cylinders return the wheel set to the rear position, and the wings are then extended (i.e., unfolded) for field use.

Forward-folding, winged, implement frame

A mechanical clutch for use in metering seeds in an agricultural planter unit allows for selecting the input drive from either a primary drive source operating at a first RPM or a secondary drive source operating at a second, reduced RPM for dispensing seed at two different speeds. A third mode of operation of the clutch may also be selected wherein the seed metering mechanism is disconnected from the two drive sources. This arrangement allows a ground driven implement such as a planter to either (1) plant at a first predetermined population per acre; (2) plant at a second, lower population per acre; or (3) not plant at all. The clutch is driven by a ground engaging wheel and drive wheel combination, with the two seed dispensing speeds as well as the planter by-pass mode on-the-go selectable by an operator via a suitable electrical switch and solenoid combination.

Dual-speed clutch for agricultural planter

An improved frame for a drawn agricultural implement, such as a planter, includes a central main frame which is extensible. As the main frame extends, the wing sections fold forwardly. When the wing sections fold to a predetermined position, positioning links act to pull the main wheel set, which is mounted to a carriage and supports the rear of the central main frame, forwardly so that the down load on the hitch is reduced. Conversely, during the unfold cycle, after the wing sections have unfolded to a predetermined position, as unfolding continues, the positioning links urge the carriage and main wheel set toward the rear of the main frame to the field use position. A hydraulic circuit for folding, unfolding and preparing the implement for transport is also disclosed.

An agricultural implement, such as a row crop planter, has a main carrier frame drawn by a tractor and including support wheels. Individual row units are mounted on a lift frame. The carrier frame includes a cornered lift post which is mounted for rotation about a vertical axis. A cornered sleeve or collar in the form of a tube is mounted to the lift frame for vertical sliding motion on the lift post. A lift hydraulic cylinder couples the lift frame to the carrier frame for setting the lift frame in (i) a use position wherein the row units are lowered to engage the soil; (ii) an intermediate, raised position wherein the row units are disengaged, for negotiating end turns; or (iii) a fully raised position wherein the lift frame and row units may be rotated from a transverse position to a longitudinal position, to narrow the implement for road travel. A swing hydraulic cylinder is arranged to rotate the lift post when the lift frame is raised to the uppermost position, to torque the lift frame to a longitudinal position for transport.

Agricultural implement with common mechanism for raising/lowering and

A two-wheeled grain cart adapted for pulling by a tractor includes a downwardly tapered lower hopper section with a discharge aperture and a hydraulically controlled, sliding access door. A conveyer having a first inlet end and a second discharge end is coupled to an outer side of the grain cart and is movable between a generally horizontal transport/storage position and an upright use position through the use of a hydraulic cylinder. When in the use position, the open inlet end of the conveyer is aligned with and disposed over the hopper discharge aperture for receiving grain under gravity feed and displacing the grain via a chain driven, paddle-type conveyer to its second discharge end for off-loading. A lower end of the conveyer is coupled via a sprocket drive arrangement to a shaft coupled to a tractor's power take-off (PTO) unit for driving the chain and paddle combination. A spring-loaded, jaw-type coupler engages as the conveyer is unfolded to the upright position to provide conveyor drive from the tractor's PTO unit. The conveyor's inlet end is wedged into tight-fitting engagement with the hopper adjacent the discharge aperture to prevent grain loss, while conveyor chain tension is maintained by hydraulic cylinders near its second discharge end. The conveyor is mounted to the grain cart via a hinge pin and includes a single elongated, rigid, unitary housing for grain transport and conveyor paddle return.

Growing community of inventors

Lincoln, NE, United States of America

Alan F Barry