Patent US3921547A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3921547A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Dispensing rod like articles
Assignee: Massey Ferguson Services NV
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Filing: 1973-12-07
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Granted: 1975-11-25
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Expires: 1993-12-07
Abstract
Abstract Sugar cane planter for planting cane billets produced by a chopper type cane harvester. Billets in random orientation in a hopper are raked by an operator onto a conveyor belt. The billets are aligned parallel to the direction of travel of the conveyor by the combined effect of walls along side the conveyor and a driven roller between the walls and having rubber paddles. The billets engage a stop and are lifted over the stop and thereby fed to a furrow in the ground at a desired rate by a cam-operated lifter mechanism.
Inventors
- 👤 Cecil C Etwell
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 12:58
CPC Classifications
A; A01; A01C; A01C11/00
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim
259 words
A sugar cane planter for planting sugar cane billets including a frame, at least one furrow opening means mounted on the frame, a billet container with a billet outlet for storage of randomly oriented sugar cane billets mounted on the frame; conveyor means for conveying sugar cane billets from the billet container to the furrow opening means including a continuous belt conveyor mounted on the frame with a portion of the belt positioned below the billet outlet from the billet container; alignment means including at least two side walls mounted on the frame directly above the continuous belt conveyor and spaced apart a distance less than the length of the major portion of the sugar cane billets to form a channel with the conveyor belt as the bottom of said channel and the side walls as the sides of said channel, said channel having a long axis that is generally parallel to the long axis of the continuous conveyor to orient the billets so that their long axes are generally parallel to the long axis of the channel; and a metering mechanism mounted on the frame adjacent to the delivery end of the continuous belt conveyor for metering cane billets from the continuous belt conveyor, said metering mechanism including a stop positioned to intercept aligned billets fed toward the stop by the continuous belt conveyor, a movable feed member positioned for engagement with sugar cane billets that are in engagement with the stop and actuating means for operating the feed members to dislodge sugar cane billets from said stop.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
259 words
A sugar cane planter for planting sugar cane billets including a frame, at least one furrow opening means mounted on the frame, a billet container with a billet outlet for storage of randomly oriented sugar cane billets mounted on the frame; conveyor means for conveying sugar cane billets from the billet container to the furrow opening means including a continuous belt conveyor mounted on the frame with a portion of the belt positioned below the billet outlet from the billet container; alignment means including at least two side walls mounted on the frame directly above the continuous belt conveyor and spaced apart a distance less than the length of the major portion of the sugar cane billets to form a channel with the conveyor belt as the bottom of said channel and the side walls as the sides of said channel, said channel having a long axis that is generally parallel to the long axis of the continuous conveyor to orient the billets so that their long axes are generally parallel to the long axis of the channel; and a metering mechanism mounted on the frame adjacent to the delivery end of the continuous belt conveyor for metering cane billets from the continuous belt conveyor, said metering mechanism including a stop positioned to intercept aligned billets fed toward the stop by the continuous belt conveyor, a movable feed member positioned for engagement with sugar cane billets that are in engagement with the stop and actuating means for operating the feed members to dislodge sugar cane billets from said stop.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
70 words
The sugar cane planter of claim 1 wherein the alignment means includes roller means mounted on the frame above the continuous belt conveyor for rotation about an axis transverse to the direction of movement of billets on the conveyor, said roller means including paddle members which are engageable with sugar cane billets moved by the continuous belt conveyor to allow only a one cane billet-thick layer of cane to pass.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
13 words
The sugar cane planter of claim 2 wherein the paddle members are resilient.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
22 words
The sugar cane planter of claim 1 wherein the movable feed member is an arm that is pivotally supported by the frame.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
19 words
The sugar cane planter of claim 1 wherein the actuating means for operating the feed members is a cam.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
20 words
The sugar cane planter of claim 4 wherein the actuating means is a cam that is engageable with said arm.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
24 words
The sugar cane planter of claim 1 wherein the metering mechanism includes a plurality of movable feed members and a plurality of actuating means.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US1678643A
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US3073265A
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US3286858A
Cited
US3344830A
Cited
US3556281A
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US3714700A
Cited
US3702664A
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-11-24 | 1979-05-26 | 1979-11-25 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-11-24 | 1983-05-26 | 1983-11-25 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-11-24 | 1987-05-26 | 1987-11-25 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |