Low torque and vacuum seed meter

摘要

A seed meter is provided for use with a row crop planter or seed planter that includes a seed disk assembly that rotates within a meter housing cavity and that has a seed disk assembly cavity in which a vacuum pressure is applied for pulling seeds into seed pockets of a seed disk of the seed disc assembly. The vacuum pressure is applied to the seed disk assembly by pulling a vacuum airflow through a spindle that supports the seed disk assembly. A wiper seal is arranged in a fixed position within the seed disk assembly cavity and seals against the seed disk assembly as a support plate and seed disk of the seed disk assembly rotate over the wiper seal, so that the wiper seal creates a boundary between a vacuum zone and a non-vacuum zone inside of the seed disc assembly cavity.

主权项

1. A seed meter, comprising:
a housing assembly that defines a housing cavity, the housing cavity including a seed portion for receiving seeds therein; and a seed disk assembly that is arranged for rotation inside of the housing cavity, the seed disk assembly including,
a support plate that has a back wall;a seed disk having first and second sides and being mounted to the support plate, the first side of the seed disk communicating with seeds received in the seed portion of the housing cavity and the second side being directed toward the support plate such that a seed disk assembly cavity is defined between the support plate back wall and the second side of the seed disk; anda wiper seal that is arranged within the seed disk assembly cavity and that extends between and engages each of the support plate back wall and the seed disk so as to create a seal that divides the seed disk assembly cavity into a vacuum zone in which is connectable to a vacuum pressure such that the vacuum pressure in the vacuum zone of the seed disk assembly cavity holds seeds received in the seed portion of the housing against the seed disk and a non-vacuum zone in which the seeds are not held against the seed disk by vacuum pressure.