Air Seeder Distribution Apparatus with Independent Metering and Pressure Balancing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Air seeders face challenges in accurately measuring and distributing agricultural products due to uneven pressure and flow rates across different hoses and manifolds, leading to inconsistent application rates and increased frequency of tank refilling, as well as issues with sealing and crossover of air and product between seed and fertilizer streams.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of individual and isolated meter devices with independent drives on each tank, allowing for precise control of air stream pressure and product flow, along with a remotely controlled lid and air stream balancing apparatus to ensure equal pressure and flow across all hoses and manifolds, and the use of weight sensors for accurate product monitoring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If separate tanks with walls are used to carry different products, then product storage capacity is improved, but the ability to weigh product in each tank is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The tank assembly is divided into separate compartments with walls to store different products (seed and fertilizer) independently, allowing each product to be managed separately while maintaining overall storage capacity
Solution Approach 2:
A removable partition wall is introduced as an intermediary element that can be taken away to combine compartments into a single weighing unit, enabling both separate storage and collective weighing functionality
2Stress or pressure
If sealed lid and clamps are used to pressurize tank, then pressure differential is eliminated, but sealing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The air stream from the fan pressurizes the tank automatically during operation, eliminating the need for separate sealing mechanisms and clamps to maintain pressure differential
Solution Approach 2:
The fill opening lid is hinged to swing open rather than using complex sealing mechanisms, changing the dimensional approach from radial sealing to rotational opening
3Adaptability or versatility
If varied length hoses are used in distribution network, then flexibility and adaptability are improved, but flow equality is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Choke gates are installed at specific locations in the distribution network to locally adjust and equalize pressure and flow rates, compensating for variations in hose lengths without reducing overall system flexibility
Data Source
AI summary
An air seeder distribution apparatus has seed and fertilizer tanks, and a like plurality of metering devices mounted on each product tank. A manifold set comprises a like plurality of product manifolds and each manifold is separately fed from one metering device on each of the seed and fertilizer tanks. A control selectively starts and stops rotation of the feed roller of each metering device to feed product from either tank, or both tanks to the connected manifold. The weight of each tank can be displayed on a weight indicator. Balancing of the pressure in each supply conduit can be provided. A remote opener exerts downward force on the tank lid to maintain interior pressure.