Rotatable Augur Seed Coater Pneumatic Agitation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing seed treaters face challenges in evenly and uniformly treating seeds without damaging them, while also preventing equipment jamming due to seed lodging, and ensuring sufficient throughput for commercial needs.
Innovation Solution
A batch seed coater with an upright, pneumatic, live-bottom bin and a central rotatable augur equipped with a central bore for coating liquid delivery and pneumatic agitation, featuring opposed outlets on the augur flighting for uniform coating and air delivery to prevent seed fracture and hangup.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If seeds are treated with pesticidal chemicals using conventional seed treaters, then seeds can be protected from pests and diseases, but seeds may be crushed or broken during the treatment process
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a vibratory tray that generates mechanical vibrations to keep seeds in constant motion during the coating process. This vibration prevents seeds from settling in one location and being subjected to excessive mechanical stress from coating material application, thereby reducing seed crushing and breaking while ensuring uniform coating distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs pneumatic delivery of coating materials through air streams that gently deposit pesticidal chemicals onto moving seeds. This pneumatic method replaces traditional mechanical application methods that directly contact and potentially crush seeds, allowing for effective chemical treatment without physical damage to the seed structure.
2Productivity
If conventional seed treaters are used to treat large batches of seeds, then commercial throughput requirements can be met, but seeds may become lodged in equipment interstices causing jamming
Solution Approach 1:
The vibratory tray continuously agitates seeds during treatment, preventing them from settling into equipment interstices or gaps where they could become lodged and cause jamming. This mechanical vibration maintains seed mobility throughout the treatment process, ensuring smooth operation continuity while processing large batches at commercial throughput rates.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transforms the static seed bed of conventional treaters into a dynamic, continuously moving seed stream on the vibratory tray. This dynamic approach allows seeds to flow continuously through the treatment zone rather than remaining stationary, preventing lodging in equipment gaps while maintaining high processing speeds for commercial productivity.
3Manufacturing precision
If coating liquid is applied to seeds in conventional treaters, then uniform coating distribution is achieved, but the coating process may be slow and reduce throughput
Solution Approach 1:
The vibratory tray creates continuous seed motion that exposes all seed surfaces to the coating material application zone, ensuring uniform coating distribution. Simultaneously, the rapid seed movement reduces the time each seed spends in the coating zone, enabling faster processing speeds without sacrificing coating uniformity, thus resolving the contradiction between precision and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The pneumatic delivery system atomizes coating liquid into fine droplets that are distributed evenly across the moving seed stream. This pneumatic spray method achieves uniform coating coverage rapidly as seeds pass through the treatment zone on the vibratory tray, simultaneously improving both coating precision and processing speed compared to slower conventional application methods.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution ensures even and efficient coating of seeds without damage, preventing equipment jamming and meeting commercial throughput requirements by using the pneumatic assembly to agitate seeds and the augur to swirl and distribute the coating liquid uniformly.
Implementation Method 1
a pneumatic assembly is employed for creating a live-bottom bin, which serves to further agitate the particulates during augur rotation and coating. The pneumatic assembly is designed to deliver pressurized air at the base of the bin, and particularly through a continuous clearance between the base of the augur and adjacent surfaces of the bin.
Implementation Method 2
the augur shaft has a central bore to receive the coating liquid, which is dispersed into the seed mass by ejectors located on the augur flighting
Data Source
AI summary
A batch-type particulate treating apparatus (10) includes an upright bin or hopper (20) equipped with a central, rotatable lifting augur (68) having a bored shaft (70) and helical flighting (80, 82). Coating liquid passes through the bore (72) of shaft (70), and is delivered through ejectors (86, 88) mounted on the augur flighting (80, 82). A pneumatic assembly (16) serves to direct pressurized air upwardly through a clearance (96) between the augur base and the adjacent inner surfaces of hopper (20). In operation, liquid coating material is ejected into the particulates during rotation of the augur (68) and operation of the pneumatic assembly (16), in order to uniformly and efficiently coat the particulates. The apparatus (10) is particularly designed for treating of seeds.