High Flow Fertilizer Meter With Secondary Nozzling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current agricultural implement systems face challenges in efficiently delivering particulate materials, particularly in reducing plugging in conduits, achieving high volume delivery, minimizing dust, and eliminating the need for mechanical seals and pressurized tanks, while ensuring effective material distribution across multiple row units.
Innovation Solution
The system incorporates a material moving meter assembly with primary and secondary nozzles, where pressurized air is used to create high velocity airflow through a metering assembly, eliminating the need for mechanical seals and allowing for efficient delivery of materials across multiple row units without plugging, using a ratio of primary to secondary nozzle areas of about 1:1.9.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional single-stage pneumatic systems are used to move particulate material, then material can be delivered to row units, but plugging occurs in conduits and delivery volume is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The pneumatic system is divided into two stages: a first pneumatic system that delivers material to a transition chamber, and a second pneumatic system that delivers material from the transition chamber to row units. This segmentation allows each stage to operate optimally without overpressurization, preventing conduit plugging while maintaining high delivery volume capability.
Solution Approach 2:
A transition chamber serves as an intermediary component between the first and second pneumatic systems. This intermediate chamber receives material from the first system and transfers it to the second system, enabling staged pressure reduction and preventing plugging in the final delivery conduits while maintaining high overall productivity.
2Stress or pressure
If mechanical seals are used in pneumatic systems to contain pressurized air, then system pressure can be maintained, but system complexity increases and maintenance difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes mechanical seals from the pneumatic system by using a transition chamber that allows staged pressure reduction. The first pneumatic system operates at higher pressure without seals, while the second system operates at lower pressure, eliminating the need for mechanical seals entirely and reducing system complexity and maintenance requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical seal technology with a pneumatic staged-delivery architecture. Instead of using mechanical components to contain and manage pressure, the system uses sequential pneumatic stages with a transition chamber, substituting mechanical pressure containment with pneumatic pressure management.
3Length of stationary object
If high pressure is used to move material through conduits, then material can be delivered farther, but dust generation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses periodic or staged pressure application through two distinct pneumatic stages. Material is first accelerated by high pressure in the transition chamber, then delivered at reduced pressure through the final conduits. This staged pressure approach maintains conduit reach distance while minimizing dust generation during the final delivery phase.
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
This configuration enables the efficient movement and delivery of high volumes of materials, reduces dust, eliminates the need for mechanical seals, and allows for easy cleaning and operation without a pressurized tank, effectively addressing the limitations of existing systems.
Implementation Method 1
A fan for providing pressurized air to the meter is also included
Implementation Method 2
The pneumatics are generally provided by one or more fans that move the material from the hoppers to the row units, such as via the Venturi effect. The Venturi effect is the reduction in fluid pressure that results when a fluid flows through a constricted section (or choke) of a pipe.
Data Source
AI summary
Agricultural implements are used to transport material, such as inputs in the form of fertilizer, seed, treatment, or some combination thereof, to row units that apply the material to an area of a field. Metering systems can aid in metering and providing a desired amount of material, such as on-demand, to the row units. The metering systems move the metered material to the row units, such as with pneumatics or other fluids. The metering system can be improved by having primary and secondary nozzles of different sizes, which aid in increasing the speed of the fluid moving the material towards the row units. For example, a smaller diameter for the secondary nozzle will provide improved suction and air speed.