Deere & Company

Matthew Brian Hagen

James Irwin Lodico

Nathan Albert Mariman

Christopher Allen Myers

A product-on-demand delivery system for agricultural product overcomes the problem of over pressuring near application units in order to achieve sufficient pressure to feed further application units. The invention provides two or more main hoppers, each hopper pressurized to a different level by a fan that charges the air nozzles on the hoppers. The near row application units have product delivery hoses that are coupled to a first hopper. The far row application units have longer product delivery hoses that are coupled to a second hopper. The fan charging the second hopper is configured to pressurize the second hopper to a higher pressure than the pressure of the first hopper. The invention provides separate product-on-demand delivery systems to better control the product flow to the row application units on the machine. A product-on-demand delivery system is also provided that can dispense two different products from two main hoppers operated at different pressures.

Agricultural machine with variable pressure product distribution system

A pneumatic seed on demand delivery system comprises a frame having a main hopper and an individual planting unit. An air pump directs pressurized air to a nozzle located at the base of the main hopper. The seed in the main hopper is taken up by the air stream passing through the nozzle and is directed to an auxiliary hopper located on the planting units. The auxiliary hopper has sidewalls that are provided with an opening into which is inserted a removable screen for venting the interior of the auxiliary hopper. An exterior wall extends outward from the auxiliary hopper to protect the removable screen and is open at the bottom to vent air from the removable screen. The removable screen is trapped in the opening by a removable lid engaging the sidewalls of the auxiliary hopper.

Auxiliary seed hopper having a removable screen

A seed receiving tray is removeably mounted on a frame of a planting unit for receiving seed from a seed meter as it is cleared. The seed tray comprises a bowl portion for receiving the seed, a cross bar receiving portion for engaging a frame cross bar, and a hook for engaging a recess formed in the frame. The bowl portion has a first end wall that is provided with the cross bar receiving portion and a vertical support receiving portion. The bowl portion has a second end wall having the hook.

Removable seed tray for a seed meter

A pneumatic seed meter comprises a housing and a rotatable seed disc. The rotatable seed disc divides the housing into a reduced air pressure side and a seed side. The rotatable seed disc is provided with seed cells to which individual seeds are attracted by an air pressure. A double eliminator is located in the housing on the seed side so that the double eliminator knocks extraneous seeds from the seed cells of the seed disc. The double eliminator is provided with an adjustment knob extending outside the seed side of the housing for adjusting the position of the double eliminator relative to the seed disc. A transparent viewing window is mounted on the seed side of the housing opposite the double eliminator so that adjustment of the double eliminator can be monitored.

Easily adjustable double eliminator

A seeding machine having a main seed hopper is in communication with a planting unit by a flexible tube. The planting unit has a horizontal working position and a vertical transport position. The main hopper supplies seed by gravity to the planting unit through the flexible tube. The planting unit comprises a unit hopper and a seed meter. Seed is metered by the seed meter before being discharged to a seed tube and eventually a planting furrow. Seed from the flexible tube passes through the unit hopper to the seed meter. The unit hopper is provided with a baffle. Seed passing through the unit hopper to the seed meter passes beneath the concave surface of the baffle. As the planting unit is pivoted from its horizontal working position to its vertical transport position seed from the seed meter flows over the top of the baffle and is held in the unit hopper. As the planting unit is pivoted back into its horizontal working seed flows back into the seed meter from the unit hopper before seed starts flowing back into the seed meter through the inlet.

Baffle for unit hopper

A seeding machine having a main seed hopper is in communication with a planting unit by a flexible tube. The planting unit has a horizontal working position and a vertical transport position. The main hopper supplies seed by gravity to the planting unit through the flexible tube. The planting unit is provided with a vacuum seed meter. The seed meter has a seed disc with a vacuum side and a working seed puddle side. An isolator brush, arranged in a chordal manner on the seed puddle side of the seed disc, defines the discharge area of the seed meter. A first brush intersecting the isolator brush extends downwardly and radially inward along the seed disc. The first brush, together with the isolator brush, defines boundaries of a transport seed puddle when the planting unit is pivoted into its vertical transport position. A second brush extends downwardly and radially inward along the seed disc. The first and second brushes define a seed return gap through which seed from the top of the seed meter can be returned to the working seed puddle.

Growing community of inventors

Bettendorf, IA, United States of America

Matthew Brian Hagen