The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 25, 2001
Filed:
Apr. 15, 1998
John F. Stufflebeanm, Romeoville, IL (US);
Lisle J. Dunham, Downers Grove, IL (US);
Thomas A. Olson, Bolinbrook, IL (US);
Chad M. Johnson, Lockport, IL (US);
David N. Slowinski, Naperville, IL (US);
Case Corporation, Racine, WI (US);
Abstract
A seed tube for an agricultural implement having a seed metering mechanism for uniformly dispensing seeds. The seed tube defined an enclosed curved seed pathway extending between opposite ends of the tube. To promote control over the seeds passing through the tube, the tube has a smooth but decreasing cross-sectional configuration between the ingress and egress ends of the tube. The tube generally includes a front wall, a rear wall and a pair of side walls. The front wall is generally separated into an upper and lower portion. An opening in the front wall, which is provided to receive a monitoring device, is associated with the lower front wall portion. In addition, the lower front wall portion is stepped forward relative to the upper front wall portion. The enclosed seed pathway further includes a narrowed front edge extending in an upward direction from the egress end of the tube along some section of the front wall. The narrowed front edge enhances control over the seeds such that individual seeds passing through the tube and deposited to the ground have equidistant spacings between the seeds on the ground. The stepped forward arrangement for the lower front wall portion also allows a monitoring device to be used without disrupting the flow of seeds in the seed tube.