Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
RESIDUE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR AN AGRICULTURAL ROW UNIT ASSEMBLY
Field
The present disclosure relates to systems for managing crop residue on a
seeder or planter row unit
assembly.
Background
Agricultural implements, such as seeders, planters and the like (collectively
herein referred to as seeders
or seeder/planters), may incorporate row unit assemblies having relatively
narrow spacing between each
assembly. For example, not intending to be limiting, some row unit assemblies
may be spaced apart so
as to have 12 inches between each row, and furthermore, such row unit
assemblies may include opener
blades that create a paired row, having four inches between the pair of rows.
Such seeders, configured
for no-till farming, may advantageously provide for ideal agronomic conditions
for most crops, for
example by reducing the loss of carbon and moisture into the atmosphere during
the seeding process.
However, the applicant has observed that no-till machines with narrow row
spacing are associated with
an increased risk of field residue becoming wedged in and around the opener
blades, including residue
build up in the space between a leading coulter disc and the leading edge of
the opener blade. The
applicant has observed that when even a small buildup of residue occurs on a
single opener blade, such
buildup may quickly lead to a large residue buildup spanning across multiple
adjacent opener blades.
When this occurs during seeding operations the residue buildup may result in a
wide swath of bare soil in
which no seeding has occurred. Typically, to avoid residue buildup, the
operator is required to monitor
for problematic residue buildup occurring and periodically halt the seeding
operations in order to clear
the residue buildup. Each halting of seeding operations to clear residue
buildup on the opener blades
results in downtime for the seeder and increases the time required to complete
seeding operations. The
problem is exacerbated when crop residue may include upstanding residue of all
heights from short to
tall. One example, not intending to be limiting, occurs with rice crops where
the crop residue may be
sufficiently high, for example 16-18 inches high, to be a problem for coulter
wheels which are simply
incapable of sufficiently cutting or otherwise processing such residue.
A coulter disc is typically positioned in front of the opener blade for
facilitating the opening of a furrow in
the ground, into which furrow the opening blade is pulled by the seeder so as
to deposit agricultural
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Date recue/ date received 2021-12-23
products in the furrow, which agricultural products may include seeds and
pelletized fertilizer or nutrients.
The applicant has found that the trailing circumferential edge of the coulter
disc is optimally placed at a
distance of substantially 1/4 inches apart from and in-line with, the opener
blade, and additionally the
coulter disc optimally extends beneath the bottom of the opener blade at a
depth of substantially 3/8
inches. However, the serrated teeth of the coulter disc will wear over time
with use, therefore requiring
coulter disc to either be replaced, or to be adjusted so as to bring it closer
to the opener blade and to
penetrate further into the ground, so as to maintain the ideal substantially
1/4 inch placement apart from
the opener blade, and penetrating into the ground at a depth of 3/8 inches.
Traditional opener blades are of a unitary construction, typically made of an
iron casting. Over time, an
opener blade will wear down and eventually require replacement. In some cases,
the tip and/or the tail
of the opener blade may wear out faster than the body of the opener blade.
When the opener blade is
of unitary construction, the entire opener blade must be replaced when either
the tip or the tail become
too worn. Furthermore, if an operator wishes to have different configurations
of product placement
within the furrow, for example having a paired row that is spaced three inches
apart in the lateral direction
.. as opposed to spaced four inches apart in the lateral direction, an
entirely separate opener blade must be
installed on the seeder to provide for such different configurations of paired
rows.
An opener blade may be fed by a metering pod, the pod typically including at
least four different metering
devices for dispensing four different types of agricultural product through
the opener blade and into the
ground. As described in the Applicant's United States Patent No. 9,907,224,
the entirety of which is
incorporated herein by reference, agricultural products are fed from metering
assemblies, via a flow re-
director, into a manifold, and then into a corresponding opener having
conduits to transport the
agricultural products into the soil. The flow re-director and manifold provide
for blending of combinations
of agricultural products for each opener, according to a field prescription.
The operator of the seeder
may configure where each product is deposited in the furrow, as the opener
blade includes at least three
or four different outlets that are positioned on different portions of the
opener blade, by selecting the
product to be supplied to each particular metering device, as each metering
device is in fluid
communication with a corresponding outlet of the opener blade through a series
of conduits or flexible
hoses. In this prior system, the operator must use the metering device that
corresponds to the desired
outlet on the opener blade, or else may manually configure which meter feeds
each outlet in the
corresponding opener blade by manually switching the flexible hoses leading
from each meter to the
opener blade, in order to deposit the selected agricultural product through
the desired outlet on the
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Date recue/ date received 2021-12-23
opener blade. Furthermore, the Applicant's previous designs of an opener
blade, as described in
Applicant's United States patent nos. 6,182,587 and 6,408,772, the entireties
of which are incorporated
herein by reference, are limited to three furrow placements for three
different agricultural products.
Summary
For use in managing crop residue, which may range in height from short to
tall, in addition to or separate
from the herein mentioned improvements, a crop residue mower may be mounted
directly ahead of
corresponding row units on a seeder/planter to pre-mulch the crop residual so
as to be then processed
by the corresponding coulter discs. The crop residue may include, for example,
and not intending to be
limiting, upstanding residue which stands higher than the mower. In one
embodiment, the mower is a
mower having a deck housing, such as illustrated in the accompanying Figures,
enclosing at least one blade
rotating in a horizontal plane. As used herein, residue which is taller than
the mower means that at least
some of the upstanding crop residue stands higher than the deck housing.
The present residue management system thus, in one aspect_includes a mower
mounted ahead of a
coulter disc mounted to a swing arm. A tension spring urges the swing arm into
a default position that,
for example, positions the coulter disc at 1/4 of an inch from the opener
blade, as measured at the tip of
the opener blade, and so as to penetrate the ground beneath the coulter disc
by 3/8 of an inch. On one
embodiment the gap between the coulter disc and the opener blade is preferably
1/4 of an inch as
measured at the tip, the gap opening up to a distance of approximately 3/8 of
an inch adjacent the upper
portion of the opener blade and adjacent a residue guide as better described
below. Advantageously, the
widening of the gap between the coulter disc and the opener blade assists with
preventing the residue
from jamming the coulter disc.
The opener blade includes a leading edge and a residue guide, the residue
guide extending upwardly from
an upper end of the leading edge, the leading edge and the residue guide
together forming a curved edge
that is substantially concentric with the coulter disc. As the coulter disc
rotates, residue from the ground,
which may include soil, plant material and stones or rocks, is carried by the
serrated teeth of the coulter
disc along the curved edge, travelling from the leading edge of the opener
blade to the residue guide, and
then as the residue reaches the residue guide, gravity pulls the residue back
down to the ground so that
it falls away from the coulter disc and opener blade. In this manner, residue
buildup is avoided by
removing the residue from the space between the coulter disc and the opener
blade, which would
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Date recue/ date received 2021-12-23
otherwise become trapped between the coulter disc and the curved edge of the
opener blade and residue
guide. Furthermore, when a larger object, such as a rock, becomes trapped
between the coulter disc and
the curved edge, the tension spring compresses to bring the swing arm forward
into a tripped position,
moving the coulter disc away from the opener blade so as to open up the space
between the coulter disc
and the opener blade. While the swing arm is in the tripped position, the
large object such as a rock is
released falls away from the opener blade. Once the large object falls out of
the space between the
coulter disc and the opener blade and residue guide, the compressed spring
pushes the swing arm and
coulter disc back to the default position, so that the coulter disc is
adjacent to opener blade.
In some embodiments, the residue management system further includes a
mechanism for adjusting the
position of the coulter disc relative to the opener blade and the ground.
The coulter disc may also be adjusted so as to move the coulter disc towards
or away from the opener
blade, by adjusting the default stop.
In some embodiments of the residue management system, the residue guide is
integrally formed with the
opener blade of the row unit, the residue guide extending from an upper
surface of the upper end of the
opener blade. In other embodiments, the residue guide is manufactured of a
resilient plastic, and wherein
when debris comes into contact with the residue guide so as to deform the
residue guide, the residue
guide flexes and then returns to its original position so as to push the
debris laterally away from the coulter
disc.
Brief Description of the Drawings
FIG. 1 is a side profile view of an embodiment of the residue management
system for a row unit assembly,
in accordance with the present disclosure.
FIG. 1A is a close up of a portion of the residue management system shown in
FIG. 1.
FIG. 1B shows, in rear perspective view, a plurality of row units on a small-
scale seeder/planter, the row
units including the system of FIG. 1 except as described below, a mower
mounted ahead of the
seeder/planter directly ahead of the row units in the direction of travel.
FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the residue management system of FIG. 1,
with the coulter disc in a
tripped position.
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Date recue/ date received 2021-12-23
FIG. 3 is a side perspective view of the residue management system of FIG. 1,
with the coulter disc in a
default position.
FIG. 4 is a side perspective view of the residue management system of FIG. 1,
with the coulter disc in a
tripped position.
FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a shim.
FIG. 6 is a close-up view of a shim stack of the residue management system
shown in FIG. 3.
FIG. 7 is a cutaway perspective view of a metering pod incorporating an
embodiment of the product
redirection system in accordance with the present disclosure.
FIG. 8 is a front profile view of the metering pod shown in FIG. 7.
FIG. 9 is a cross section view of the metering pod taken along line A-A in
FIG. 8.
FIG. 10 is a side profile, partially exploded view of the modular opener blade
in accordance with the
present disclosure.
FIG. 11 is side profile, partially exploded view of the modular opener blade
shown in FIG. 10.
FIG. 12 is a front perspective view of the opener blade shown in FIG. 10.
FIG. 13 is a front profile view of the opener blade shown in FIG. 10.
FIG. 14 is a rear profile view of the opener blade shown in FIG. 10.
FIG. 15 is an exploded front perspective view of the opener blade shown in
FIG. 10.
FIG. 16 is an exploded rear perspective view of the opener blade shown in FIG.
10.
FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing the placement of agricultural product
deposited through the
opener blade shown in FIG. 10.
FIG. 18 is a front perspective view of an embodiment of the residue management
system for a row unit
assembly, including a singulation assembly.
FIG. 19 is a rear perspective view of the embodiment of the residue management
system for a row unit
assembly shown in FIG. 18.
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Date recue/ date received 2021-12-23
Detailed Description
In one aspect of the present disclosure, a residue management system for a
seeder/planter row unit
assembly includes a coulter disc mounted to a swing arm, the swing arm
tensioned by a tension spring so
that large objects will trip the swing arm into a tripped position with the
coulter disc moved away from
the opener blade, thereby enabling large objects, such as rocks, to be
released from the space between
the coulter disc and the opener blade. The residue management system further
includes a residue guide,
the residue guide positioned above an upper portion of the opener blade. The
residue guide extends the
curvature of the leading edge of the opener blade, so as to guide the residue
as it is carried along the
opener blade and the residue guide by the serrated teeth of the coulter disc.
As the residue from the
ground, which may include soil and plant material, reaches the upper portion
of the opener blade and
continues to be carried along the residue guide by the rotating coulter disc,
the residue is pulled
downward by gravity, thereby causing the residue to fall away of the coulter
disc rather than building up
in the space between the coulter disc and opener blade.
The present embodiments may include at least one mower mounted ahead of
corresponding row units,
for example and advantageously for use on a small scale seeder/planter
incorporating for example, and
not intending to be limiting, between two and twelve row units. Each mower may
be a mower having a
deck housing enclosing at least one horizontally rotating blade, wherein the
deck housing and blade may
be remotely lowered into its cutting position. The mower may be remotely
actuated so as to mulch crop
residue in advance of processing of the mulched residue by the coulter discs.
As may be seen in FIG. 1B the small-scale seeder/planter may for example
include hoppers feeding the
metering devices for the openers.
Spring Tensioned Swing Arm
With reference to FIGS. 1 - 6 an embodiment of the row unit assembly 1 is
illustrated, with the metering
device and the flexible hose is removed for clarity. The row unit assembly 14
is mounted to a seeder
implement (not shown), and includes a row unit assembly frame having a
horizontal plate 10 and a vertical
plate 12. On the vertical plate 12 there is mounted a default stop 14 and a
forward stop 16. The swing
arm 20 is pivotally mounted to the middle portion 12a of the frame vertical
plate 12 at a pivot axle 22. A
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Date recue/ date received 2021-12-23
tension spring 24 is mounted to a lower end 12 the of the frame vertical plate
12. The coulter disc 26 is
mounted to a distal end 20a of the swing arm 20, and at a proximate end 20b of
the coulter arm, proximate
to the pivot axle 22, there is mounted a stop plate 28 of the swing arm 20.
When the coulter disc 26 is in
a default position, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the stop plate 28 is resting
against the default stop 14 and
held in that position by the tension spring 24, which tension spring is
mounted at a first end 24a to the
lower end 12b of the frame vertical plate 12, and this tension spring 24 is
mounted at a second end 24b
to the swing arm stop plate 28. As such, the tension spring 24 urges the stop
plate 28 against the default
stop 16 when the swing arm 20 is in the default position, as shown for example
in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG.
1A, in a preferred embodiment, the default position of the coulter disc 26
relative to the opener blade 30
is at a distance A of substantially 1/4 of an inch between the leading edge 31
of the opener blade and the
outer diameter D of the coulter disc 26, as measured at the tip 94 of the
opener blade 30. The gap or
space between the coulter blade 26 and the opener blade 30, preferably,
gradually increases along the
leading edge 31 of the opener blade and the residue guide, such that the
distance F of the space increases
to approximately 3/8 of an inch at the residue guide 33. Additionally, the
penetration distance B of the
coulter disc 26 into the ground G is preferably 3/8 of an inch. As will be
explained further below, in some
embodiments the residue management system preferably includes a mechanism for
changing the position
of the coulter disc default position shown in FIG. 1, relative to both the
opener blade 30 and the ground
G.
During operation, when a larger object, such as a rock R, enters the space 21
between the coulter disc 26
and the leading edge 31 of the opener blade 30, advantageously the swing arm
20 swings outwardly away
from the opener blade 30 in rotational direction X, thereby compressing
tension spring 24. The swing arm
20 travels outwardly away from the opener blade 30, in direction X, while the
stop plate 28, which extends
beyond the pivot axle 22, moves downwardly in direction Y until it comes to
rest against forward stop 16,
as best viewed for example in FIG. 2. In the tripped position, as shown in
FIGS. 2 and 4, the space 21
between the coulter disc 26 and the leading edge 31 of the opener blade 30
opens up, allowing the large
objects such as a rock R, to fall out of the space 21. Once the rock R or
other object falls out of the space
21, the compressed spring 24 urges the stop plate 28 in the opposite direction
Z, thereby bringing the
stop plate 28 to rest against the default stop 14, thereby returning the
coulter disc 26 to its default position
as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.
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Date recue/ date received 2021-12-23
Residue Guide
A further aspect of the residue management system includes the residue guide
33. Residue guide 33 may
be attached to or adjacent to an upper portion 30a of the opener blade 30. In
some embodiments, the
residue guide 33 may be a separate piece that is separate from the opener
blade 30; in other
embodiments, residue guide 33 may be integrally formed with the opener blade
30, and therefore an
extension of the opener blade 30. Preferably, the residue guide 33 is
manufactured of a high molecular
weight polymer, or any other suitable material for making a strong and
resilient residue guide which will
yield or flex when it is hit by residue or objects, including rocks.
Advantageously, when the residue guide
33 has some flexibility to it, it may better deflect residue in a lateral
direction outwardly and away from
row unit assembly 1.
A leading edge 33a of the residue guide 33 may have substantially the same
curvature radius as the leading
edge 31 of the opener blade 30, thereby effectively extending the curved edge
35 of the leading edge of
31 of the opener blade and the leading edge 33a of the residue guide. As best
viewed in FIG. 1, the curved
edge 35 of the combined leading edge 31 of the opener blade and the leading
edge 33a of the residue
guide is approximately concentric to the outer diameter D of the coulter disc
26.
In operation, as the row unit assembly translates along a field in direction
C, coulter disc 26 rotates in
direction W, thereby breaking up the ground ahead of the opener blade 30. As
coulter disc 26 rotates in
direction W, the plurality of serrated 27 of the coulter disc 26 may carry
residue from the field, such as
soil and plant matter, along the leading edge of the opener blade 31, and then
as the coulter disc 26
travels beyond opener blade 30 to the residue guide 33, the residue from the
ground G remains held in
the space 21 between the coulter disc 26 and the residue guide 33. As the
residue trapped between the
coulter disc 26 and the residue guide 33 reaches the upper end 33b of the
residue guide, the force of
gravity pulls the residue back towards the ground, causing the residue to fall
away from the coulter disc
26 and the opener blade 30. To the extent that hard debris, such as a rock R,
strikes against the residue
guide 33, advantageously a resilient residue guide 33 may also deflect the
residue outwardly away from
the residue guide 33 in a lateral direction.
Coulter Disc Adjustment
In a further aspect of the present disclosure, in some embodiments the residue
management system may
also include an adjustment mechanism for adjusting the position of the coulter
disc 26 relative to the
opener blade 30 and the ground G. As the coulter disc is used over time, the
serrated teeth 27 will
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Date recue/ date received 2021-12-23
gradually wear down, thereby reducing the outer diameter D of the coulter disc
26. As mentioned
previously, a preferred distance A between the disc 26 and the opener blade
leading edge 31 is
substantially one quarter of an inch as measured at the tip of the opener
blade, with the distance of the
space between the coulter disc and the curved edge of the opener blade and the
residue guide gradually
increasing to substantially 3/8 of an inch towards the upper end of the
residue guide, and the coulter disc
26 preferably penetrates into the ground at a vertical distance B of
substantially 3/8 of an inch. Because
the coulter disc 26 wears over time with use, thereby reducing the outer
diameter D of the coulter disc
26, it becomes necessary from time to time to adjust the positioning of the
coulter disc 26 relative to the
ground G and the leading edge 31 of the opener blade so as to maintain the
preferred default position of
the coulter disc 26.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the adjustment mechanism
comprises a vertical
adjustment bar. An opener assembly 40, comprising packer wheels 41, packer
wheel frame 42, metering
device 91 mounted to the metering device mount 43, opener blade 30 and the
residue guide 33 which are
mounted to an opener blade support 34, are all supported on a lower end 45a of
the vertical adjustment
bar 45, as best viewed for example in FIG. 6. At the upper end 45b of the
vertical adjustment bar 45, there
is supported a shim stack 50. The shim stack 50, comprising a plurality of
shims 51, is sandwiched between
the vertical plate 12 of the row unit assembly frame and the upper end 45b of
the vertical adjustment bar
45. Each shim 51 of the shim stack 50 includes an aperture 54 at one end of
the shim 51, and a shim body
56. The shim body 56 may occlude a notch 57 for receiving a support post or
bolt (not shown), the support
post or bolt extending downwardly from the vertical plate of the row unit
assembly frame and slidably
journaled through the upper end 45b of the vertical adjustment bar 45. The
shim stack 50 is supported
adjacent the upper end 45 of the vertical adjustment bar 45 by a spring-loaded
pin 52, the spring-loaded
pin 52 mounted through a pin support 53 on the vertical frame plate 12. Spring-
loaded pin 52 is journaled
through the apertures 54 of the plurality of shims 51.
When it is desired to adjust the position of the coulter disc 26 relative to
the opener blade 30 and the
ground G, shims 51 may be added to or removed from the shim stack 50 so as to
increase or decrease the
distance the between the vertical frame plate 12 and the upper end 45b of the
vertical adjustment bar
45, thereby effectively moving the position of the opener assembly 40 relative
to the row unit assembly
frame 12. For example, in one embodiment, shims may be easily added to or
removed from the shim
stack 50 by rotating each shim 51 about the spring-loaded pin 53 and the
aperture 54 that runs through
each shim 51. When shims 51 are added to the shim stack 50 sandwiched between
the vertical frame
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Date recue/ date received 2021-12-23
plate 12 and the vertical adjustment bar 45, the distance E increases, thereby
moving the vertical
adjustment bar 45 downwardly in direction M away from the row unit assembly
frame 12. Because the
opener assembly 40 is mounted to the lower end 45a of the vertical adjustment
bar 45, adding shims to
the shim stack 50 effectively moves the leading edge 31 of the opener blade
downwardly in direction M
and away from the coulter blade 26. On the other hand, removing shims 51 from
shim stack 50 decreases
the distance E between the vertical plate 12 and the upper end 45 the of the
vertical adjustment bar,
which effectively moves the row unit assembly 40 in the opposite direction N
towards the row unit
assembly frame 12, thereby moving the row unit assembly including the opener
blade 30 upwardly and
closer to the coulter blade 26.
Additionally, the default stop 16 may be adjusted, for example by means of a
screw mechanism. Thus,
the default stop 16 may be extended in direction P, thereby moving the swing
arm 20 and coulter disc 26
in direction X away from the opener blade 30; similarly, retracting the
default stop 16 in direction Q moves
the swing arm 20 and the coulter disc 26 in a direction opposite of direction
X, thereby bringing the coulter
disc 26 closer to the leading edge 31 of the opener blade 30 when the coulter
disc 26 is in the default
position.
Modular Opener Blade
As best viewed in FIGS. 10 to 17, a modular opener blade assembly 30 comprises
a blade 82, the blade 82
having a front portion 82a and a rear portion 82b. The front portion 82a of
the blade 82 may comprise a
tip mounting flange 84 and the rear portion 82b may comprise a tail mounting
flange 86. The tip mounting
flange 84 mates with a corresponding slot 94a on the tip 94, and the tail
mounting flange 86 mates with
a corresponding slot 96a on tail 96. Advantageously, because the tip 94 and/or
the tail 96 may typically
wear faster than the blade 82 during use of the opener blade 30, providing an
opener blade assembly 30
with modular components, such as the separate tip 94 and tail 96, such
components may be replaced as
they wear out, rather than having to replace the entire opener blade assembly
30 when only a portion of
the opener blade assembly 30 has worn.
A further advantage of the modular design of the modular opener blade assembly
30 is that an operator
may readily reconfigure the placement of product within a furrow during
seeding operations. For
example, as can best be seen in FIG. 12 and without intending to be limiting,
the opener blade assembly
may include three product inlets, including a deep centre inlet 81a, and left
and right ledge inlets 81b,
30 81c. In other embodiments more than three product inlets are provided,
for example, and without
Date recue/ date received 2021-12-23
intending to be limiting, four product inlets, for distributing up to four
different agricultural products into
the ground via the opener. The opener blade assembly 30 shown in FIGS. 10
through 16 opens a furrow
in the ground having a deep central vertical position 100, approximately 2.5
inches beneath the surface
of ground G. The opener 30 will additionally create a left ledge position 102
and a right ledge position
104, with the left and right ledge positions 102, 104 horizontally spaced
apart from each other by four
inches. The shallow product ledges 102, 104 are created by left and right
wings 88b, 88c of the tail 96,
with the tail outlets 96b, 96c positioned at the rear portion of the left and
right wings 88b, 88c
respectively. As may be best viewed in FIG. 14, inlet 81c corresponds to
outlet 96c and inlet 81b
corresponds to outlet 96b. Whereas, the deep centre inlet 81a corresponds to
the deep centre outlet 82a
of the blade 82, as best seen in FIGS. 12 and 16. The deep centre outlet 82a
is positioned at a lower
elevation relative to the wings 88b, 88c and the corresponding wing outlets
96b, 96c, thereby resulting in
depositing agricultural product from the deep centre outlet 82a at a deeper
vertical position 100 within
the furrow, for example a depth of 2.5 inches beneath the surface, as compared
to the left and right ledge
positions 102, 104, in which positions product is deposited from the left and
right wing outlets 96b, 96c.
As mentioned, the configuration of furrow placement, such as shown in FIG. 17,
may be changed by
changing the tail 96 that is attached to the blade 82. For example, without
intending to be limiting, a tail
96 having the left and right wings 88b, 88c positioned more closely together
may result in a three-inch
paired row as opposed to a four-inch paired row, wherein the left and right
ledge positions 102, 104 are
spaced apart from one another in a paired row configuration at a horizontal
distance of three inches as
compared to a horizontal distance of four inches. Such furrow placement
reconfiguration provided herein
is an illustrative example, not intended to be limiting.
As shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, a further reconfiguration may include, for
example, mounting a singulation
assembly 90, the singulation assembly 90 including a singulation metering
device 91, the singulation
metering device 91 depositing seeds into a seed tube 92, the seed tube 92
having a seed tube outlet 93
arranged above either the left or right shelf outlets 96b, 96c. The seed tube
92 may be supported, for
example, on a rear face 98 of the tail 96, and rotated so as to deposit a
singulation product onto either
the left or right ledge positions 102, 104 as seen in FIG. 17. Alternatively,
the singulator may be rotated
so as to direct the depositing of the singulation product into the central
vertical position 100 within the
furrow.
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Product Redirection System
As shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9, a metering pod 60 comprises a pod housing 61
containing at least four
metering devices 62a, 62b, 62c and 62d. The four metering devices 62a through
62d are supplied by pod
inlets 64a, 64b, 64c and 64d. As shown in FIG. 7, a pod 60 may include two
sets of metering devices 62a
through 62d (eight metering devices in total), for supplying agricultural
product to two separate opener
blades 30 through two separate product funnels 66; however it will be
appreciated by person skilled in
the art that a pod 60 may include only four metering devices 62a to 62d, for
feeding only one product
funnel 66 for one opener blade 30.
As best viewed in FIG. 7, each metering device 62 includes a metering device
inlet 67 and a metering
device outlet 68. The metering device outlet 68 is in fluid communication with
the funnel 66 through a
flexible hose 69. The flexible hose 69 is attached to a slider block 71 and
one or more slider rods 72. An
outlet 69a of the flexible hose 69 projects below the bottom surface of the
slider block 71. As best viewed
in FIG. 9, the funnel 66 may be divided into at least three separate
compartments 66a, 66b, 66c. The
slider blocks 71 for each of the four metering devices 62a through 62d may be
selectively positioned over
any of the three compartments 66a to 66c. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the
slider block 71a
corresponding to metering device 62a is positioned over the first funnel
compartment 66a. The slider
block 71b is positioned over the second funnel compartment 66b, and the slider
block 71c, corresponding
to the metering device 62c, is positioned over the third funnel compartment
66c. As can be seen in FIG.
9, it is also possible to position a slider block so that it is positioned
over one of the dividing walls 65 of
the funnel 66, which splits the funnel 66 into three different compartments.
For example, slider block
71d, corresponding to the fourth metering device 62d, may be positioned over
the second and third funnel
compartments 66b, 66c, such that the agricultural product dispensed from
metering device 62d will be
dispensed into both the second and third funnel compartments 66b, 66c.
As will be appreciated, the three funnel compartments 66a, 66b, 66c lead to
three separate funnel outlets
63a, 63b, 63c. The funnel outlets 63a through 63c are each in fluid
communication with particular outlets
of the opener blade through a corresponding conduit, leading from the funnel
outlet to an inlet of the
opener blade. Advantageously, the product redirection system enables directing
agricultural product
dispensed from the metering devices 62a to 62d to particular positions within
the furrow as determined
by the configuration of the opener blade outlets. For example, without
intending to be limiting, funnel
outlets 63a and 63b may deposit agricultural products on the right and left
seed ledges created by the
opener blade in a four inch paired row opener configuration. Whereas, the
third funnel outlet 63c may
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be configured to meter agricultural product to the centre deep position 100 of
the furrow.
Advantageously, by providing the slider blocks 71 and slider rods 72, an
operator of the seeding
equipment may selectively redirect agricultural products from each of the
different metering pods 62a
through 62d to particular positions within the furrow.
In some embodiments, the slider blocks 71 and slider rods 72 may be automated,
so as to enable for
reconfiguration of the products being directed into the opener blade on-the-
fly while conducting a
seeding operation. For example, such automated product redirection may be
advantageously used to
configure product furrow placements during the seeding operation which may
change in accordance with
a field prescription. The slider blocks 71 and slider rods 72 may be actuated
by electromechanical means,
for example by using motors or hydraulics to slide the slider block 71 so as
to selectively position the slider
block 71 over a particular funnel compartment 66a, 66b or 66c.
In some embodiments, the funnel outlets 63a through 63c may be mounted to a
funnel outlet block 74,
the outlet block 74 mounted to the funnel 66 by means of a clamp 74a. In some
embodiments, the funnel
outlet 63a through 63c may include optical or proximity sensors embedded
within the outlets 63a through
63c, for monitoring and detecting when a blockage has occurred in any one of
the funnel outlets 63a to
63c. Advantageously, the blockage sensors may provide a signal to the control
system of the seeding
equipment when a blockage is detected, informing the seeding equipment
operator of the location of the
blockage. Conveniently, such blockages at the outlet of the funnel 66 may be
easily cleared by releasing
the clamp 74a, removing the outlet block 74b, and clearing the blockage before
continuing operations.
Mower
As seen in FIG. 1B at least one mower 120 is mounted over the ground in front
of an array of row units 1'.
In the example illustrated, which is not intended to be limiting, mower 120
may in one embodiment be
mounted in front of a reduced size or reduced scale seeder/planter so that,
when engaged with crop
residue and actuated so as to rotate the mower blades (not shown) at their
rotational cutting velocity, the
mower mulches the crop residue S, which may for example include residue
ranging in height from short
to tall. As the seeder/planter is translated forwards, for example pulled
behind a tractor (not shown), in
direction C, mower 120 produces mulch S' for processing by coulter discs 26 on
a correspondingly reduced
number of row units 1'. For example, in the example of the illustrated
embodiment having a single mower
120, four row units 1' are mounted across the seeder/planter. Agricultural
product is fed into the row
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units' corresponding metering devices 62 from hoppers 122. The row units 1'
otherwise operate, and
structurally are as described herein in the other illustrated embodiments
employing row units 1.
Mower 120 may be mounted forward of row units 1' on tow bar 124. At its
forward end, tow bar 124 is
connected to the tractor. The rearward end of tow bar 124 is mounted to the
seeder/planter frame 126
supporting row units 1' and hoppers 122. The mower deck 120a which provides a
housing containing the
horizontally rotating mower blades (not shown) is coupled to tow bar 124 by a
parallelogram linkage
system 128 so as to be elevated or lowered while mower deck 120a remains
level. In one embodiment,
the power take-off (not shown) on the tractor may be used to power the mower
120 so as to rotate the
mower's blades within mower deck 120a. An actuator (not shown) which may be
remotely actuated, is
coupled to bell crank 128a to actuate linkage system 128 via bell crank
linkage 128b to raise, lower or hold
steady the mower deck 120a. Mower 120 is supported in its selectively elevated
or lowered position by
linkage system 128. Because linkage members 128c are spaced laterally and
equally on opposite sides of
tow bar 124, the mower deck 120a is laterally stabilized. Tow bar 124 and
frame 126 are supported on
wheels 130 on opposite sides of frame 126. The cutting height of the mower
above the ground is not
precise or critical if for example in the order of 2-3 inches above ground so
as to mulch the crop residue.
Although shown elevated in FIG. 1B, it will be understood that during
operation row units 1' are lowered
to engage openers 30 and coulter discs 26 with the ground so that the coulter
discs 26 may effectively
process the mulch S' much as they would normally process residue R as defined
herein. Without the pre-
processing of residue S by mower 120 to create mulch S', the long and
sometimes stringy residue S, as for
example from a rice crop, would quickly foul the coulter discs 26, negatively
impacting the performance
of the openers distributing agricultural product into the ground. Applicant
has observed that the pre-
processing by mower 126 to produce mulch S' creates a mulch of small pieces
that cover what is sown
after the opener passes and the mulch S' has time to settle. Once the mulch S'
settles and packs it provides
a thick coat that protects the soil, for example from moisture loss, and
thereby protects the seeds. The
cover provided by the settled mulch may, it is thought, reduce disease, and
supports the seedlings as they
grow.
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