Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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The present invention relates to an agricultural
machine, particularly a machine for sowing seeds or the like
particulate material.
The machine of the invention is of the type comprising
a frame made up of a central section at both ends of which side
sections are pivoted. The central section is provided with a
feeding hopper and distributors that receive the seeds from the
feeding hopper and let them drop freely through a cone, there
being a cone for each plowshare of the machine. From there, by
10 means of a high-speed air flow created by protuberances pro-
jecting inside tubular outlet of a pneumatic distributor, the
material is entrained through some fittings having several air
inlet holes of which the diameters are of varying dimensions,
being bigger at the center and decreasing toward the periphery.
In this manner, a constant front of material speed is produced
over the whole working width of the sowing machine.
Known sowing machines have the disadvantage that when
it rains, the rain water gathers in the sowing tubes which
become clogged thereby reducing the working width of the machine
as well as affecting seeding uniformity. Furthermore, joining
the plowshares directly to the side sections of the frame leads
to a complicated construction increasing the time required for
folding the sowing machine from working position to transport
position.
More specifically, the invention is an agricultural
machine for distributing seeds or the like particulate material
and comprising a frame having a bar formcd of a ccntral
horizontal section and two side sections respectively pivotaIly
end-connected to the ends of the central section to be displaced
between a position in which the side sections are coaxial with
the central section and a position in which they upstand there-
from. A plurality of plowshare means are mounted on the
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sections, being spaced therealong, each plowshare means including
an arm secured at one end to one of the sections and having a
plowshare at the other end applicable against the earth for
plowing. There is provided pneumatic distributor means including
a pneumatic pressure fluid reservoir located about the central
section and having a width not exceeding the central section.
This distributor means further includes fluid conveying tubes,
one for each of the plowshare means. Each tube is connected at
one end to the reservoir to receive pressure fluid from it and is
connected at the other end to the plowshares to feed the parti-
culate material thereto as the plowshares dig furrows into the
earth.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the
reservoir has fluid outlet holes therethrough to which the tubes
are operatively connected, the tubes increasing in diameter from
the center towards the ends of the reservoir whereby to produce
substantially constant flow velocity of particulate material in
the tubes.
In another preferred embodiment, the tubes are inclined
downwardly from the reservoir towards the plowshares at an angle
of approximately 9 whereby the particulate material may also
fall by gravity.
A preferred embodiment of the invention wlll now be
described having reference to the appended drawings wherein:
Figure 1 is a side elevation view of the sowing machine;
Figure 2 is a top plan view of the machine of Figure l;
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken in a plane
along line A-A of Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view through
the pneumatic distributor, taken in a plane along line B-B of
Figure 2, and
Figure 5 is a rear elevation view of the sowing machine.
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Referring to the drawings, the sowing machine is shown
to have a frame A made up of a central section 1 and side
sections 2 articulated to the ends of the central section 1. A
feeding hopper 3 is mounted on the central section 1 by means of
a bracket 4 and of vertical walls 5. The hopper 3 is provided
with a feed valve 6 having a feeding mouth a, valve 6 being
manually operated.
The flow of seeds coming from the hopper 3 is controlled
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by means of a gearbox and valve assembly 7 mounted on an axle 8
operable by a handle 9 secured on a toothed sector 10 and working
with the assistance of a latch 11.
The grains in the hopper 3 are kept in continuous
motion by means of an agitator 12 and, being helped by the
feeding mouth a, the grains come in contact with distributors 13
having spurs _. The distributors 13 are mounted in a casing 14
secured by screws 15 to the hopper 3.
From the distributors 13, the seeds fall freely into
cones 16 leading into a vertical tube 17 and thence into a pneuma-
tic distributor means comprising a fluid pressure reservoir 18
to which a series of tubes 24 are connected to be supplied with
pressure fluid, as will hereinafter be more fully disclosed. The
fluid pressure reservoir is secured at one end of a pressure pipe
from a blower 19 operated by a power-take-off 20 of a tractor,
for instance, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The blower 19 is
brought into rotation by an assembly comprising a large size
pulley 21 connected to the power-take-off 20, V-belts 22 winding
over pulley 21 as well as to a small size pulley 23 whlch is
secured to the rotor axle of the blower 19.
Referring particularly to Figure 3, the tubes 19 leading
from the cones 16 enter into the tubes 24 and create therein a
restriction intended to increase the air speed flow from the
reservoir 18 in the tubes 24 whereby to increase the dynamic
pressure. The tubes 24, as aforesaid, lead to one of the plow-
shares 25 to feed grains thereto. Each plowshare 25 is solid with
a lever 26 secured to the frame A.
An arm 27 fixed to the frame A supports a wheel 28. For ~ -
each plowshare, a bar 29 is articulated on the lever 26 with the
upper ends thereof sliding in a part 30 secured to the frame A.
Between this part 30 and the lower end of the bar 29, there is
provided a spring 31 intended to take up any oscillations of the
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plowshares 25 when riding ov1er ~e soil.
Power for the operation of the distributors 13 is
obtained from the wheels 28 by means of a sprocket wheel 32
mounted on the axle of the wheel 28, by a second sprocket wheel
34 mounted on the axle of the distributors 13 and by a chain 33
winding over the said sprocket wheels 32, 34, the assembly being
such that any sliding of the wheel 28 is also sent to the dis-
tributors 13.
The cylinder 18 of the pneumatic distributor means, as
shown in Figure 4, has an intake air port d and fittings e having
holes f of different diameters.
The levers 26 of the plowshares 25 are linked to an
angle bar welded on the frame A of the sowing machine, which is
made up of three sections, one of which a central section 35 whose
ends are longer than the central section of the frame in order to
pass over the linking point of the two short parts 36 and 37 which
are welded on the side parts of the frame.
The air flow from the blower 19 branches into several
jets suitable to the fittings e having some outlet holes ~ and
inlets holes _ of which the diameters increases from the center
to the periphery in order to provide a constant front of air
speeds on the entire working width of the sowing machine.
When the machine for sowing grains is in operation, the
distributors 13 take the seeds out of the feeding box 3 and let
them fall freely into the cones 16. From there to the feed tubes
17, they pass into the tubes 24 of the pneumatic distributor means,
being driven by the air flow and the gravity through the tubes 24
whose length increases from the centre to the periphery. The
hopper 3 and the reservoir 18 of the pneumatic distributor means
are so located that the peripheral tubes 24 leading to the plow-
shares 25 are given an angle of approximately 9 whereby they
are provided with a draining slope sufficient enough for the
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rain water to drain to the plowshaxes 25.
The machine for sowing seeds according to the invention
has the followin~ advanta~es as compared to previously used
sowin~ machines. It ensures continuous operation; it permits
easy exploitation, and it has a simple and solid construction.
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