Apparatus for sowing seeds

Claim 1

A PORTABLE, HAND MANIPULATED APPARATUS FOR SOWING SEEDS IN A PRESELECTED SPACED PATTERN IN A FLAT OR THE LIKE, COMPRISING A BASE PLATE HAVING A PLURALITY OF SPACED OPENINGS THERETHROUGH ARRANGED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRESELECTED SPACED PATTERN, AN UPPER PLATE ABOVE AND CONNECTED TO SAID BASE PLATE HAVING A PLURALITY OF OPEN-ENDED, SEED-RECEIVING COMPARTMENTS, THE LOWER OPEN ENDS OF SAID COMPARTMENTS BEING OUT OF REGISTER WITH THE OPENINGS THROUGH THE BASE PLATE, AN INTERMEDIATE PLATE SLIDABLY MOUNTED BETWEEN SAID BASE PLATE AND SAID UPPER PLATE AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF SPACED OPENINGS THERETHROUGH WHICH IN ONE POSITION OF SAID INTERMEDIATE PLATE ARE IN REGISTER WITH THE LOWER OPEN ENDS OF THE COMPARTMENTS IN THE UPPER PLATE, AND WHICH IN ANOTHER POSITION OF SAID INTERMEDIATE PLATE ARE IN REGISTER WITH THE OPENINGS THROUGH THE BASE PLATE, AND HAND OPERABLE MEANS CONNECTED TO THE BASE PLATE AND UPPER PLATE AND LOCATED ABOVE THE UPPER PLATE FOR GRIPPING BY ONE HAND OF AN OPERATOR AND MANUALLY POSITIONING THE APPARATUS, SAID HAND OPERABLE MEANS INCLUDING MANUALLY OPERATED CAM OPERABLE MEANS CONNECTED TO THE INTERMEDIATE PLATE, SAID CAM OPERABLE MEANS IN RESPONSE TO A FORCE APPLIED TO SAID HAND OPERABLE MEANS BEING ADAPTED TO MOVE IN A LINEAR DIRECTION SUBSTANTIALLY ALONG THE HORIZONTAL PLANE OF THE UPPER PLATE AND TO CAUSE THE INTERMEDIATE PLATE CORRESPONDINGLY TO MOVE THEREBY TO BRING THE OPENINGS THROUGH THE INTERMEDIATE PLATE OUT OF REGISTER WITH THE LOWER OPEN ENDS OF THE COMPARTMENTS IN THE UPPER PLATE AND INTO REGISTER WITH THE OPENINGS THROUGH THE BASE PLATE WHEREBY LIMITED QUANTITIES OF SEEDS FROM THE COMPARTMENTS IN THE UPPER PLATE ARE TRANSFERRED TO THE OPENINGS IN THE BASE PLATE AND DEPOSITED IN A PRESELECTED SPACED PATTERN IN SOIL CONTAINED IN A FLAT OR THE LIKE, SAID APPARATUS BEING EASILY RAISED AND MOVED FROM ONE FLAT, OR THE LIKE, TO THE NEXT AND ACTUATED BY THE ONE HAND OF AN OPERATOR GRIPPING THE HAND OPERABLE MEANS.