Seed planter, planter assembly and method of picking up and discharging single seeds

摘要

A seed planter comprises a seed transport member, usually in the form of a disc, having a number of depressions provided with ramp surfaces sloping downwardly from the surface of the seed transport member into the depression. Air is fed into the deepest portion of the depression and a single seed is trapped in this portion by the low pressure region which forms between the seed and the walls of the depression. Ejection of the seed from the depression is accomplished by increasing the pressure in this low pressure region. The planter is capable of metering spherical seeds very accurately at metering rates of about 40 seeds per second and can be made of small width so that a single row of planters on a planter assembly can plant closely spaced rows. The planter can also be used for sorting seed, for example by distinguishing spherical seeds from flat seeds. A planter assembly capable of planting multiple rows of seeds is provided by mounting a plurality of the seed planters on a frame.