Great Plains Manufacturing, Incorporated

Brent W Nelson

Bruce D Peterson

Paul Galle

A system for dispensing seeds and a treatment. The system includes a first tube for dispensing the seeds via a first outlet, a second tube for dispensing the treatment via a second outlet, and a first valve at an upper portion and a second valve at a lower portion of the second tube. The second outlet is located between the discs of a furrow-opening wheel. The first valve is positioned outside of the furrow during operation and controls movement of the treatment from a container into the second tube. The second valve controls release of the treatment from the second outlet into the furrow. The second valve may open and close in response to pressure exerted by the treatment in the second tube. Depending on the treatment, the valves may release the treatment on, adjacent to, or both behind and in front of the dispensed seeds.

System and method for dispensing seeds and treatment

A seed metering device for agricultural seeders has a meter housing, a seed disk covering an open side of the meter housing, and a brush assembly mounted within the meter housing and contacting the seed disk. The meter housing has a seed delivery opening for delivering a supply of seed into a seed pool area, an air inlet provided above the seed pool area for receiving a supply of positive pressure air into the meter housing, and a seed exit area where seed can be dropped into a seed tube. The seed disk has seed pockets spaced around its outer circumference that pass through the seed pool and pick up individual seeds as the seed disk rotates. The device includes several features that help singulate and drop seeds in a way that provides a desired number of seeds per acre and a uniform spacing between the seeds in the furrow.

Seed metering device and seed disk for agricultural seeder

Seed metering device for agricultural seeder

To produce, monitor, and control a flow of air for a seed conveying system and a seed metering system, an air-assisted planting system includes an air handling system having a single air source and an air controller for maintaining a generally constant air pressure to the metering system. The air controller includes a plurality of sensors associated with and operable to monitor an air pressure through the metering system. Based on a sensed air pressure, a microprocessor of the air controller instructs the air handling system to selectively divert the flow of air to the metering system on an as-needed basis to maintain the generally constant air pressure.

Air-assisted planting system having a single fan with pressure-responsive splitting of air streams for conveying and metering functions

A seed tube for an agricultural planter has a top entrance, a bottom exit, front and rear walls, and sidewalls. A lower seed tube locator fits around the main body of the seed tube as a separate component and provides a lower attachment point for the seed tube. The front wall of the seed tube is free of substantial molded structures that would tend to create a sink or warp the interior surface of the front wall during molding. A sensor is mounted to the seed tube to face an exterior surface of the front wall. Light is transmitted and received by the sensor through the front wall to detect seeds passing through the seed tube. The interior surface of the front wall is smooth, uninterrupted and sink-free to avoid any obstructions that might alter the trajectory of the falling seeds, thereby increasing the seed spacing accuracy of the planter.

Smooth flow seed tube for agricultural planters

Seeding apparatus has an opener mounted on the main frame in such a manner that the driven sprocket of a seed metering device on the opener moves slightly toward and away from the axis of the drive sprocket on the main frame as the opener moves up and down relative to the frame during changes in ground contour. To prevent the driving tight stretch of the drive chain between the drive sprocket and driven sprocket from undergoing significant length change during such movement of the opener relative to the frame, the tight stretch is trained around intermediate guide structure in such a manner that the different portions of the tight stretch thus defined all stay substantially constant in length at all times. An arrangement for use with a parallel linkage mounting of the opener has guides on the main frame and the opener that keep the chain portion spanning the frame and opener substantially parallel to the links of the linkage and of substantially the same length as such links. An alternative embodiment for use with a single pivot point-mounted opener positions the guide in the immediate vicinity of the pivot to maintain the spanning portion of the tight stretch between the guide and the driven sprocket substantially constant length at all times.

Growing community of inventors

Falun, KS, United States of America

Brent W Nelson