Seed Meter Flap Prevents Overfilling During Transport
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pneumatic seed planters often malfunction due to overfilling when raised for transport or obstacle avoidance, leading to overplanting as seeds accumulate and are not effectively prevented from entering other areas of the metering chamber or air duct.
Innovation Solution
A metering device with a metering chamber and moveable flaps that prevent seeds from leaving the sump and moving elsewhere within the chamber when the device is in a non-planting position, using a combination of fixed and hingedly connected flaps to obstruct seed movement during positional changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the meter is raised for transport or obstacle avoidance, then the planter can be transported or avoid obstacles, but the chamber overfills with seeds causing malfunction
Solution Approach 1:
The obstruction is positioned in advance within the metering chamber to prevent seeds from leaving the sump before the meter is actually raised. This preliminary positioning of the obstruction ensures that when the meter is raised for transport or obstacle avoidance, seeds are already contained and cannot migrate to other areas of the chamber, thus preventing overfilling and malfunction while allowing the planter to be transported or avoid obstacles
2Ease of operation
If a sliding shutoff gate is used to restrict seed flow, then seed flow from hopper to sump can be restricted, but seeds already in the sump can still move to other areas of the chamber or air duct
Solution Approach 1:
The solution segments the metering chamber into distinct zones: the sump area where seeds are contained, and the rest of the chamber where seeds should not be. The obstruction creates a physical barrier that segments the seed containment area from the discharge area, ensuring that even when the meter is raised, seeds remain confined to the sump and cannot migrate to other areas or the air duct, thus preventing overplanting while maintaining manual control capability
3Ease of operation
If manual operation of sliding gate is required for each planting unit, then seed flow can be controlled, but operator time and effort increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The obstruction is designed to automatically position itself within the metering chamber based on the meter's orientation. When the meter is raised for transport, the obstruction automatically moves into position to contain seeds in the sump without requiring any manual intervention. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for operators to manually operate sliding gates on each planting unit, saving significant time and effort while still providing effective seed flow control
Data Source
AI summary
A metering device having an obstruction within its metering chamber to prevent inputs such as seeds from passing from a seed sump to other areas within the metering chamber and causing to the metering device to become overfilled with seeds when the metering device is raised out of the planting position. In one embodiment, the obstruction includes one or more hingedly connected flaps that move due to the changing orientation of the metering device. In one or more positions of the metering device, the obstruction is positioned to prevent the seeds from leaving the seed sump. The seeds are prevented from leaving the seed sump without having to manually shut a gate on each metering devices of a planter.