WO2025024914A1 - Structural arrangement for a maize seed conveying disc - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an arrangement comprising an inner housing (2), a casing (3), an inner motor (4) with a fan (5), and an outer motor (6) that rotates a maize seed conveying disc (7), upstream of which a chamber (8) is formed, having a lower air flow inlet (9) and a circular filter (10); said maize seed conveying disc (7) has recesses (11) each defined by a semi-oval cavity formed by a smaller radius (R1) and a larger radius (R2), with rounded edges (20); a common centreline (L1) defines the major longitudinal axis of the inclined semi-oval cavity, forming an angle (θ)< 90° relative to the radius (R3) of the disc; the semi-oval cavity has an inclined depth, wherein the shallowest section coincides with the smaller radius (R1), while the deepest section coincides with the larger radius (R2), and at this point, said deepest section is pierced by an opening (21).

Description

CONSTRUCTION DISPLAY IN CORN SEED CONDUCTOR DISC

TECHNICAL SECTOR

[01] More particularly, this Utility Model refers to technical and functional improvements specially introduced in a particular type of perforated conductive disc to be used in corn seed metering devices that operate with positive air pressure and that are integrated in different planters.

[02] It is well known that the main element in a seed meter is precisely the perforated disc or seed-conducting disc, since it is the part responsible for singulating the seeds. The disc in question has at least one collar of holes with geometrically designed details to form ideal housings for capturing corn seeds using positive air pressure, which drags the seeds against their housings. Once captured, the seeds are moved to a position where they are released with a blast of auxiliary air into a conducting tube and from there to the planting furrow.

STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE

[03] As is known, a pneumatic seed meter is normally formed by a housing that, on the outside, receives parts to form a casing, while on the inside it fixes and centralizes two concentric motors, an internal one with a propeller to establish an air flow from the outside to the inside and an external one to receive and rotate a corn seed conducting disk. Said disk has its external diameter adjusted to the corresponding diameter of the casing and, with this, on one side of said perforated disk, a type of chamber is formed with a lower air flow inlet that also establishes the entry by dragging of the corn seeds. Therefore, a flow of seeds and air is established inside said chamber. This air flow causes the corn seeds to be forced against the surface of said disk, where at least one collar of holes configures housings for accommodating the corn seeds and, with the rotation of said disk, each housing with the respective seed passes through small lower discharge chamber, where there is no positive pressure and, therefore, the said seed is thrown downwards and into a conducting tube which, in turn, has its lower end aligned with the sowing furrow, where the said seeds are dispensed equidistantly and, immediately afterwards, are covered in the soil automatically by the planter.

[04] Since the beginning of agricultural mechanization, particularly in planting, one of the greatest concerns in the development of equipment has always been the provision of means to accurately control the "populations" of seeds to be sown. With the evolution of scientific research, it became evident that large grain seeds: corn, soybeans, cotton, etc. should be better "quantified" along the sowing furrow due to their cost.

[05] Currently, a large part of the cost of planting grains is represented by seeds. Thus, it is vitally important to put the "exact" amount of seeds in the soil.

[06] At the same time, the planting periods between one harvest and the next have decreased drastically. In some places, up to three harvests per year are possible. Thus, in addition to saving seeds, the "speed" of the planting machines (planters and seeders) has also had to increase from 7/8 km/h to 15/16 km/h.

[07] In this way, different seed dispensers were created that are "attached" to new or used planting machines to meet the requirements: plant population per hectare, precision, speed and economy.

[08] In particular, current seed meters (vacuum pneumatic) and seed drivers (with belts or conductive brushes) are expensive and made up of dozens of components that can fail and wear out when used in adverse conditions, such as dust, humidity and straw, in direct planting crops.

[09] It is known in the art that the various agricultural seeds that are used for mechanized planting are very different from each other, both in terms of shape and specific weight. Therefore, for them to be retained in the planting discs, they must have specific cavities for each particular seed, such as: soybean, corn, sunflower, cotton, beans, among others. There are discs that are quite simple with only round holes, and that do not guarantee 100% seed fixation and, therefore, affect the accuracy of the seeds placed in the soil, with gaps (the seed is not fixed) or double (more than one seed is fixed on the disc).

[10] At the same time, there are discs for vacuum use with special holes and cavities for each type of seed. The discs also vary in diameter and number of holes. These parameters are taken into account for the good performance of the mechanism: disc rotation, vacuum or pressure, planting speed, vibration of the planting assembly in crops under direct planting and plant population per hectare.

[11] By increasing the planting speed and the seed population per hectare, we need higher frequencies for seed placement, up to around 100 Hz. Under these conditions, vacuum discs cannot guarantee 100% seed fixation, thus affecting the uniqueness and precision of planting.

MODEL OBJECTIVES

[12] A new constructive arrangement in a corn seed guide disc to ensure the uniqueness and quality of seed placement in the soil, using low-pressure positive air pressure to fix the seeds in the discs, without gaps or duplicates. At the same time, uniquely shaped alveoli were modeled in 3D to house the corn seeds in these perforated discs, exclusive to this seed meter with low pressure, low rotation, high planting speed and high seed population per hectare.

[13] This model allows us to offer farmers a seed meter with a specially created disc that guarantees uniqueness, precision, planting speed and the desired plant population at a cost appropriate to the benefit generated.

[14] On the other hand, another advantage of the model in question is the absence of any and all singulation mechanisms, which exist in all other commercial dosing and distribution projects. With the application of pressure positive pressure of air inside the seed reservoir, the capture by each alveolus is perfect. With the adequate pressure, a single seed lodges in the alveolus and remains there until it is "blown" inside the seed conducting tube, to the soil.

[15] Another advantageous aspect of the model in question is to provide a seed disc having a collar of semi-oval recesses and according to a geometry that invites and accurately conducts just one corn seed.

[16] Another advantage of the present utility model is to provide a disk with semi-oval holes that perfectly combines with the positive air pressure in each cell and creates a disturbance in the seed reservoir as it passes through it and, in this way, stably retains the seed until it reaches the point of being dispensed into the conductive tube. For this to occur accurately, several factors must concur. One of the most critical elements is the perforated disk that must retain the seeds even with high frequencies and high rotations of the disks.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[17] For a better understanding of this Utility Model, a detailed description of the same is provided below, with references to the attached drawings.

[18] FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing the external aspects of a seed meter equipped with the present corn seed guide disc.

[19] FIGURE 2 shows a rear elevation view with section indications A-A and B-B.

[20] FIGURE 3 illustrates an enlarged view of section A-A indicated in the previous figure, showing the internal details of the dispenser.

[21] FIGURE 4 is an enlarged view of the B-B section indicated in Figure 2.

[22] FIGURE 5 shows a perspective view of only the conductive disk.

[23] FIGURE 6 represents a front view of the conductive disc and two enlarged details with the indications of the cuts C-C and D-D.

[24] FIGURE 7 is a view of section D-D and an enlarged detail thereof.

DETAILED MODEL DESCRIPTION

[25] According to these illustrations and their details, more particularly Figures 1 to 4, the present Utility Model, a corn seed conducting disc, is of the type to be used in any pneumatic seed meter (1), such as that taught in document BR202023015343-2, normally formed by an internal housing (2) which, on the external side, receives parts to form a casing (3), while on the internal side it fixes and centralizes two concentric motors, an internal motor (4) with a fan (5) to establish an air flow from the outside to the inside and an external motor (6) to receive and rotate a corn seed conducting disc (7). Said disc has its external diameter adjusted to the corresponding diameter of the casing (3) and, with this, on one side of said perforated disc, a type of circular chamber (8) is formed, with a lower air flow inlet (9), which also establishes the entry by dragging of the corn seeds, and internally the air flow is intercepted by a circular filter (10) arranged inside said chamber (8). Therefore, a flow of seed and air is established inside said chamber (8). This air flow causes the corn seeds to be forced against the surface of said disc, where at least one collar of housings (11) receive the corn seeds and, with the rotation of said disc, each housing with the respective seed passes through a small lower discharge chamber (12), where there is practically no positive pressure and, with this, said seed is thrown downwards and into a conductive tube (13) which, in turn, has its lower end aligned with the sowing furrow, where said seeds are dispensed equidistantly and, immediately afterwards, are covered in the soil automatically by the planter.

[26] With regard to Figures 5, 6 and 7, the corn seed conducting disc (7) is of the type with an internal face (14) and an external face (15), parallel to each other, as it is also defined by an external diameter (16) and an internal diameter (17), next to the latter there are fittings or holes (18) for fixing said disc to the rotating part of the external motor (6).

[27] As already mentioned, the aforementioned corn seed conducting disc (7) has its internal face (14) with at least one collar of housings (11) close to its external diameter (16), where each housing is preceded by radial grooves (19) guide the corn seeds towards each housing (11).

[28] As shown in the enlarged details of Figure 6, each housing (11) is characterized by the fact that it is formed by a semi-oval cavity, the ends of which are defined by two radii, a smaller one (Rl) and a larger one (R2), both with rounded edges (20), as well as the common center line (Ll) between such radii defining the larger longitudinal center of the semi-oval recess which, in turn, is inclined according to an angle (o)<90° (less than 90 degrees) in relation to the radius (R3) of the disc.

[29] The semi-oval recess has a depth or inclined bottom part, where the shallowest part coincides with the smallest radius (Rl), while the deepest part coincides with the largest radius (R2) and, at this point, said deepest part is hollowed out by a hole (21) in two diameters, thus defining a cavity with the entire internal surface curved and semi-ovoid.

[30] Regarding the enlarged detail of Figure 7, the portions of the lateral surfaces of each housing (11) describe gentle inward arches and in accordance with a radius (R4) which, on the upper side, agrees with the rounding (20), while on the lower side it agrees with another rounding (22) of the hole (21); consequently, such detail accentuates the tapering in the transverse direction a little more, which combines with the other surfaces and creates a housing (11) with an efficient ovoid geometry, not only to ensure the entry of only one corn seed during the rotation of the disc (7), but also to make the operation of dosing the corn seeds into the doser (1) more efficient.

[31] Still in relation to Figures 4 to 7, it is noted that the conductive disc (7) presents all the construction details so that the corn seeds are guided until they are stably accommodated inside the housings (11), that is, the positive air flow moves the seeds against the face of the disc (7), where its rotation combines with the air flow and the radial grooves (19), promoting a centrifugal force against the corn seeds, dragging them radially to the housings (11) which, in turn, have an ideal geometry to stably accommodate each seed, keeping it stable for movement to the lower discharge chamber (12) and from there to the conductive tube (13), thus realizing the technical and practical advantages previously mentioned.

[32] As can be seen, after what has been exposed and illustrated, the object in question, a constructive arrangement in a corn seed conducting disk, fits perfectly within the criteria that define the Utility Model, since, in addition to being susceptible to industrial application, it also presents a new form or arrangement, involving an inventive act, which results in a functional improvement in its use and in its manufacture.

Claims

CLAIM 1. CONSTRUCTION DISPLAY IN CORN SEED CONDUCTING DISC, used in any pneumatic seed meter (1), composed of an internal housing (2) that, on the external side, receives a casing (3), while on the internal side it concentrically fixes an internal motor (4) with a fan (5) and an external motor (6) that, in turn, rotates a corn seed conducting disc (7), which has its external diameter adjusted to the corresponding diameter of the casing (3) and, with this, on one side of said perforated disc, a type of circular chamber (8) is formed, with a lower air flow inlet (9), which also establishes the entry by dragging of the corn seeds, and internally the air flow is intercepted by a circular filter (10) arranged inside said chamber (8); the said corn seed conducting disc (7) is of the type with an internal face (14) and an external face (15), parallel to each other, as it is also defined by an external diameter (16) and an internal diameter (17), next to the latter are distributed fittings or holes (18) for fixing the said disc to the rotating part of the external motor (6); characterized by the fact that each housing (11), in addition to being preceded by a radial groove (19), is defined by a semi-oval cavity, the ends of which are formed by two distinct radii, a smaller radius (Rl) and a larger radius (R2), both with rounded edges (20), as well as the common center line (Ll) between such radii (Rl and R2) defining the larger longitudinal center of the semi-oval recess which, in turn, is inclined according to an angle (o)<90° (less than 90 degrees) in relation to the radius (R3) of the disc; the aforementioned semi-oval recess has a depth or inclined bottom part, where the shallowest part coincides with the smallest radius (Rl), while the deepest part coincides with the largest radius (R2) and, at this point, said deepest part is hollowed out by a hole (21) in two diameters, and, furthermore, the portions of the lateral surfaces of each housing (11) describe gentle inward arches and in accordance with a radius (R4) which, on the upper side, agrees with the rounding (20), while on the lower side it agrees with another rounding (22) of the hole (21), accentuating the tapering a little more in the transverse direction, which combines with the other surfaces and creates a housing (11) with an ovoid geometry.