Seed selecting mechanism

Claim 2

A seed selecting mechanism comprising a housing with a seed inlet; a relatively stationary plate within the housing; seed engaging means supported within the housing biased toward and movable relative to said plate and including first and second seed engaging portions operable to engage relatively small seed and large seeds respectively so that small seeds are held by said first portion and large seeds are held by said second portion in sliding contact with the plate as said seed engaging means is moved relative to said plate and toward a seed outlet; means operable to move said seed engaging means along said plate; and an offset surface portion on said plate over which the seeds are carried by said seed engaging means, said offset surface portion being operable to dislodge extra seed from between the seed engaging means and plate if more than one seed is engaged by said seed engaging means, and said offset portion being composed of first and second areas recessed from the normal surface of the plate and sloping surfaces leading into and out of said first and second areas over which seed engaged by said seed engaging means will pass.

Claim 3

A seed selecting mechanism as set forth in claim 1 in which said seed engaging means includes a plurality of tubular members with eacH having an integral portion projecting from the tubular member that is deformed into said first and second seed engaging portions.

Claim 4

A seed selecting mechanism having a housing having a seed supply area and a seed discharge area; a relatively stationary plate mounted in the housing against which seeds may be held in sliding contact between a supply area and a seed discharge area; a rotatable finger support having a continuous outer edge and supported within the housing to rotate relative to the plate; a plurality of seed selecting fingers having elongated portions radially supported on the finger support and seed engaging means at the radial outer end of each of the elongated portions disposed outwardly of said edge, said fingers further having cam follower means at the inner end of each of the elongated portions, said seed engaging means and said cam follower means extending outwardly from the elongated portion; biasing means connected to and extending between adjacent fingers operable to bias the seed engaging means toward said plate, and cam means fixed within the housing to contact the cam follower means upon rotation of the finger support and operable when in contact with said cam follower means to hold the seed engaging means away from said plate.

Claim 5

A seed selecting mechanism having a housing having a seed supply area and a seed discharge area; a relatively stationary plate mounted in the housing against which seeds may be held in sliding contact between a supply area and a seed discharge area; a rotatable finger support having a continuous outer edge and supported within the housing to rotate relative to the plate; a plurality of seed selecting fingers having elongated portions radially supported on the finger support and seed engaging means at the radial outer end of each of the elongated portions disposed outwardly of said edge, said fingers further having cam follower means at the inner end of each of the elongated portions, said seed engaging means and said cam follower means extending outwardly from the elongated portion; biasing means connected to and extending between adjacent fingers operable to bias the seed engaging means toward said plate, and cam means fixed within the housing to contact the cam follower means upon rotation of the finger support and operable when in contact with said cam follower means to hold the seed engaging means away from said plate.

Claim 6

In a seed selecting mechanism set forth in claim 3 in which said seed engaging means is provided with adjoining first and second seed engaging portions, said first seed engaging portion being concave with respect to the surface of said plate and disposed adjacent the elongated portion and operable to engage relatively small seed and to hold said small seed in sliding contact with the plate, said second seed engaging portion being spaced from the elongated portion and being concave with respect to the surface of said plate and operable to engage relatively large seed and to hold said large seed in sliding contact with the plate.

Claim 7

In a seed engaging means as set forth in claim 4 in which the engaging surface of the first seed engaging portion extends from and forms a concave surface with the adjacent surface of the elongated portion, the engaging surface of the second seed engaging portion is concave, and the outer end of the engaging surface of the first seed engaging portion is at an angle to the adjacent inner end of the engaging surface of the second seed engaging portion.

Claim 8

In a seed selecting mechanism as set forth in claim 3 in which said seed selecting finger is a one piece molded plastic.

Claim 9

In a seed selecting mechanism as set forth in claim 3 in which said seed selecting finger is provided with a pair of spaced apart portions engageable by said biasing means, said spaced apart portions being disposed between said seed engaging means and said cam follower.

Claim 10

In a seed selecting mechanism as set forth in claim 3 in which said elongated portion is formed of a rod, one end being bent at an angle to form said cam follower, and the other end having welded thereto said seed engaging means.

Claim 11

In a seed selecting mechanism as set forth in claim 8 in which said rod is pierced transversely between its ends to provide a pair of spaced apart portions engageable by said biasing means.

Claim 12

In a seed selecting mechanism as set forth in claim 8 further characterized by the provision of a member having spaced apart apertures engageable by said biasing means, said member being secured to said rod between its ends.

Claim 13

In a seed selecting mechanism as set forth in claim 3 in which said discharge area includes a discharge orifice and said cam means is fixed relative to said plate means with a ramp surface disposed adjacent said seen discharge orifice, whereby as said seed engaging fingers are moved past said orifice said ramp will be contacted by said cam follower means and cause said seen engaging means to move away from the plane of said plate.

Claim 14

In a seed selecting mechanism as set forth in claim 3 in which said biasing means comprises a plurality of coil springs, there being one coil spring dIsposed between each pair of adjacent seed selecting fingers, the ends of each coil spring being in engagement with said fingers.

Claim 15

In a seed selecting mechanism as set forth in claim 12 in which each of said seed selecting fingers is formed entirely of sheet metal, the elongated portion including a pair of spaced apart apertured tabs, said coil springs extending between tabs of adjacent fingers, the springs being provided with ends attachable in said apertures.

Claim 16

A seed selecting mechanism comprising: plate means against which seeds may be held in sliding contact between a seed supply area and a seed discharge area, a disc-shaped finger holder rotatably mounted alongside the plate means and having an inner portion axially offset from the plate means and mounted for movement relative to said plate means, a plurality of radially outwardly extending seed selecting fingers held for rotation by said holder, each of said seed selecting fingers including an elongated portion held between said holder and said plate, seed engaging means radially outwardly of the finger holder in opposed relation to the plate and fixed to the outer end of the elongated portion, and cam follower means at the inner end of the elongated portion disposed between the inner portion of the finger holder and the plate means, and cam means fixed relative to said plate means between the inner portion of the finger holder and plate means having a cam face spaced away from said plate means and engageable with the cam followers on the fingers to shift the said seed engaging means in respect to the plate.

Claim 17

A seed selecting mechanism comprising: plate means against which seeds may be held in sliding contact between a seed supply area and a seed discharge area, a disc-shaped finger holder rotatably mounted alongside the plate means and having an inner portion axially offset from the plate means and mounted for movement relative to said plate means, a plurality of radially outwardly extending seed selecting fingers held for rotation by said holder, each of said seed selecting fingers including an elongated portion held between said holder and said plate, seed engaging means radially outwardly of the finger holder in opposed relation to the plate and fixed to the outer end of the elongated portion, and cam follower means at the inner end of the elongated portion disposed between the inner portion of the finger holder and the plate means, and cam means fixed relative to said plate means between the inner portion of the finger holder and plate means having a cam face spaced away from said plate means and engageable with the cam followers on the fingers to shift the said seed engaging means in respect to the plate.

Claim 18

In a seed selecting mechanism including circular plate means against which seeds may be held in sliding contact between a seed supply area and a seed discharge orifice, and a plurality of seed selecting fingers mounted for movement about said circular plate means with a seed engaging portion of each of the seed selecting fingers normally biased toward said circular plate means as the seed selecting finger is moved between the seed supply area and the seed discharge orifice, the improvement comprising: a plurality of angularly spaced surface offsets on the plate means in the path of the seed engaging means immediately before the seed discharge orifice, said offsets including at least two spaced apart offset surfaces lying in planes parallel to the surface of said circular plate means, said spaced apart surfaces being interconnected with each other and the surface of the plate means by sloping areas disposed in the path of the seed engaging means.

Claim 19

In a seed selecting mechanism including circular plate means against which seeds may be held in sliding contact between a seed supply area and a seed discharge orifice, and a plurality of seed selecting fingers mounted for movement about said circular plate means with a seed engaging portion of each of the seed selecting fingers normally biased toward said circular plate means as the seed selecting finger is moved between the seed supply area and the seed discharge orifice, the improvement comprising: a plurality of angularly spaced surface offsets on the plate means in the path of the seed engaging means immediately before the seed discharge orifice, said offsets including at least two spaced apart offset surfaces lying in planes parallel to the surface of said circular plate means, said spaced apart surfaces being interconnected with each other and the surface of the plate means by sloping areas disposed in the path of the seed engaging means.

Claim 20

A seed selecting mechanism comprising: plate means having a seed discharge orifice and a surface against which seeds may be held in sliding contact between a seed supply area and the seed discharge orifice; a disc-shaped rotatable finger holder mounted to move adjacent said surface; a plurality of radially outwardly extending seed selecting fingers carried by said holder, each of said seed selecting fingers including an elongated portion, seed engaging means at one end of the elongated portion positioned radially outwardly of said holder, and cam follower means at the inner end of the elongated portion; biasing means extending between said fingers biasing the seed engaging means toward said surface, cam means fixed relative to said surface and spaced from said surface whereby said cam follower means may be disposed between said cam means and said surface, said cam means being engageable with and operable when contacted by said cam follower to hold the seed engaging means away from said surface when the seed engaging means is in said seed supply area, said cam follower being provided with two spaced apart bearing surfaces, one of said bearing surfaces being engageable by said cam means to cause the seed engaging portion to move away from the surface of the plate means as the seed engaging means passes through said supply of seeds, the other bearing surface being operable to contact the plate means to limit the distance the seed engaging portion can Move away from the surface of the plate means, and means on the holder adapted to effect movement of the holder to move the seed engaging means in sequence from the seed supply area to the orifice.

Claim 21

A seed selecting mechanism comprising: plate means having a seed discharge orifice and a surface against which seeds may be held in sliding contact between a seed supply area and the seed discharge orifice; a disc-shaped rotatable finger holder mounted to move adjacent said surface; a plurality of radially outwardly extending seed selecting fingers carried by said holder, each of said seed selecting fingers including an elongated portion, seed engaging means at one end of the elongated portion positioned radially outwardly of said holder, and cam follower means at the inner end of the elongated portion; biasing means extending between said fingers biasing the seed engaging means toward said surface, cam means fixed relative to said surface and spaced from said surface whereby said cam follower means may be disposed between said cam means and said surface, said cam means being engageable with and operable when contacted by said cam follower to hold the seed engaging means away from said surface when the seed engaging means is in said seed supply area, said cam follower being provided with two spaced apart bearing surfaces, one of said bearing surfaces being engageable by said cam means to cause the seed engaging portion to move away from the surface of the plate means as the seed engaging means passes through said supply of seeds, the other bearing surface being operable to contact the plate means to limit the distance the seed engaging portion can Move away from the surface of the plate means, and means on the holder adapted to effect movement of the holder to move the seed engaging means in sequence from the seed supply area to the orifice.

Claim 22

In a seed selecting mechanism as set forth in claim 16 in which each of said seed selecting fingers is formed of sheet metal, said elongated portion being generally tubular in cross section, and said cam follower portion being generally U-shaped with spaced apart generally parallel legs, the latter having the two spaced apart bearing surfaces.

Claim 23

A seed selecting mechanism comprising: plate means having a seed discharge orifice and a surface against which seeds may be held in sliding contact between a seed supply area and the seed discharge orifice; a disc-shaped rotatable finger holder mounted to move adjacent said surface, said holder being provided with a plurality of curved inner and outer spaced apart radially aligned bearing surfaces; a plurality of radially outwardly extending seed selecting fingers carried by said holder, each of said seed selecting fingers including an elongated portion rotatably disposed within an aligned pair of bearing surfaces and in contact with said surface, seed engaging means at one end of the elongated portion positioned radially outwardly of said holder, and cam follower means at the inner end of the elongated portion; biasing means disposed in the spacing between the inner and outer bearing surfaces and extending between said fingers biasing the seed engaging means toward said surface, cam means fixed relative to said surface and engageable with and operable when contacted by said cam follower to hold the seed engaging means away from said surface when the seed engaging means is in said seed supply area, and means on the holder adapted to effect movement of the holder to move the seed engaging means in sequence from the seed supply area to the orifice.

Claim 24

A seed selecting mechanism comprising: plate means having a seed discharge orifice and a surface against which seeds may be held in sliding contact between a seed supply area and the seed discharge orifice; a disc-shaped rotatable finger holder mounted to move adjacent said surface, said holder being provided with a plurality of curved inner and outer spaced apart radially aligned bearing surfaces; a plurality of radially outwardly extending seed selecting fingers carried by said holder, each of said seed selecting fingers including an elongated portion rotatably disposed within an aligned pair of bearing surfaces and in contact with said surface, seed engaging means at one end of the elongated portion positioned radially outwardly of said holder, and cam follower means at the inner end of the elongated portion; biasing means disposed in the spacing between the inner and outer bearing surfaces and extending between said fingers biasing the seed engaging means toward said surface, cam means fixed relative to said surface and engageable with and operable when contacted by said cam follower to hold the seed engaging means away from said surface when the seed engaging means is in said seed supply area, and means on the holder adapted to effect movement of the holder to move the seed engaging means in sequence from the seed supply area to the orifice.

Claim 25

In a seed selecting mechanism as set forth in claim 18 in which said finger holder is provided with a plurality of radially extending tabs extending over the space which receives the biasing means to prevent the accidental displacement of said biasing means.

Claim 26

In a seed selecting mechanism as set forth in claim 18 in which said finger is provided with engaging means extending outwardly of said elongated portion, said engaging means engaging the radial outer surface of one of said inner and outer bearing surfaces to limit inward movement of said seed selecting fingers.

Claim 27

In a seed selecting mechanism as set forth in claim 3 in which the plate is a hardened steel wear plate having an aperture at said seed discharge area and toward which the plurality of seed selecting fingers are biased to hold seed in sliding engagement with the wear plate.

Claim 28

In a seed selecting mechanism as set forth in claim 21 in which said hardened steel wear plate is provided with a pair of depressed areas in the path of said seed selecting fingers, said pair of depressed areas facilitating the removal of seed doubles.

Claim 29

A seed selecting mechanism comprising: plate means having a seed discharge orifice and a surface against which seeds may be held in sliding contact between a seed supply area and the seed discharge orifice; a disc-shaped rotatable finger holder mounted to move adjacent said surface; a plurality of radially outwardly extending seed selecting fingers carried by said holder formed entirely of sheet metal, each of said seed selecting fingers including an elongated portion having a pair of spaced apart aperture tabs, seed engaging means at one end of the elongated portion, and cam follower means at the other end of the elongated portion; biasing means comprising a plurality of coil springs, there being one coil spring disposed between each pair of adjacent fingers with each spring having ends attachable to the apertures in the respective aperture tabs and effective to bias the seed engaging means toward said surface, cam means fixed relative to said surface and engageable wiTh and operable when contacted by said cam follower to hold the seed engaging means away from said surface when the seed engaging means is in said seed supply area, and means on the holder adapted to effect movement of the holder to move the seed engaging means in sequence from the seed supply area to the orifice.

Claim 30

A seed selecting mechanism comprising: plate means having a seed discharge orifice and a surface against which seeds may be held in sliding contact between a seed supply area and the seed discharge orifice; a disc-shaped rotatable finger holder mounted to move adjacent said surface; a plurality of radially outwardly extending seed selecting fingers carried by said holder formed entirely of sheet metal, each of said seed selecting fingers including an elongated portion having a pair of spaced apart aperture tabs, seed engaging means at one end of the elongated portion, and cam follower means at the other end of the elongated portion; biasing means comprising a plurality of coil springs, there being one coil spring disposed between each pair of adjacent fingers with each spring having ends attachable to the apertures in the respective aperture tabs and effective to bias the seed engaging means toward said surface, cam means fixed relative to said surface and engageable wiTh and operable when contacted by said cam follower to hold the seed engaging means away from said surface when the seed engaging means is in said seed supply area, and means on the holder adapted to effect movement of the holder to move the seed engaging means in sequence from the seed supply area to the orifice.