Solid state seed sensor

Claim 2

A seed sensor comprising: first and second housing halves secured together to form means for supporting electronic components and providing a passage for seeds to be sensed, a light source secured in said first housing half and arranged for directing its light across said seed passage toward said second housing half, light responsive means mounted in said second housing half and arranged for receiving light from said light source, longitudinal ribs formed within the interior of each of said housing halves and adjacent said light source and said light responsive means, said ribs extending into the seed passage a distance greater than said light source and said light responsive means to prevent impingement of seeds thereon, a component receiving compartment formed in said first housing half for receiving circuit components connected to said light source, a second component receiving compartment formed in said second housing half for receiving electronic circuit components connected to said light responsive means, and passage means formed between said first and second component receiving compartments and passing through said first and second housing halves for interconnecting the electronic components secured in said first and second component receiving compartments.

Claim 3

The seed sensor according to claim 1, wherein said light source is a light-emitting diode and said light-responsive means includes a pair of photoresponsive transistors.

Claim 4

The seed sensor according to claim 1, further including a quantity of clear epoxy over said light source and a separate quantity of clear epoxy over said light-responsive means, with each said quantity of epoxy substantially grippingly secured in place by the corresponding ones of said ribs.

Claim 5

The seed sensor according to claim 1, wherein a quantity of optical grade clear epoxy is formed over said light source a separate quantity of optical grade clear epoxy is formed over said light-responsive means to substantially reduce the amount of static charge formed within the seed passage correspondingly to reduce the amount of dust accumulated as a result thereof.

Claim 6

The seed sensor according to claim 1, further including a circuit board mounted in each of said component receiving compartments, said light source and said light-responsive means including electrical leads extending rearwardly therefrom and into said component receiving compartments, the extent of said electrical leads being selected to pass into said circuit board for electrical connection to the electronic components mounted thereon.

Claim 7

A seed sensor comprising: housing means providing a passageway therethrough for seeds and the like, a light source mounted at one side of said passageway, photo-responsive means mounted adjacent said passageway in substantial opposition to said light source so that the passage of seeds past said light source will cause said responsive means to provide a signal, and light transmitting means at least covering said light source and said responsive means and at least defining opposed liner wall portions of said passageway and positioned to be wiped by seeds passing therebetween to prevent accumulation of dust and the like between the light source and the responsive means, said light-transmitting means and said opposed liner wall portions are formed of an integral unit of clear plastic material inserted into said housing means.

Claim 8

A seed sensor comprising: housing means providing a passageway therethrough for seeds and the like, a light source mounted at one side of said passageway, photo-responsive means mounted adjacent said passageway in substantial opposition to said light source so that the passage of seeds past said light source will cause said responsive means to provide a signal, and light transmitting means at least covering said light source and said responsive means and at least defining opposed liner wall portions of said passageway and positioned to be wiped by seeds passing therebetween to prevent accumulation of dust and the like between the light source and the responsive means, said light-transmitting means and said opposed liner wall portions are formed of an integral unit of clear plastic material inserted into said housing means.

Claim 9

The seed sensor as set forth in claim 6 wherein said integral unit of clear plastic material has converging wall portions substantially perpendicular to said opposed liner wall portions to provide a focusing path for the seeds passing therethrough, thereby insuring that all seeds pass between the light source and said photo-responsive means.

Claim 10

The seed sensor as set forth in claim 6 wherein said integral unit of clear plastic material has an annular flange formed on one of said opposed liner wall portions to define a window, said light source being positioned within said housing to be in register with said window, said integral unit of clear plastic material including a pair of annular flanges on the other of said opposed liner wall portions to define a pair of windows, and wherein said photo-responsive means includes a pair of photo-transistors placed in register with said pair of windows.

Claim 11

A seed sensor comprising: first and second housing halves secured together to form means for supporting electronic components and providing a passage for seeds therethrough, a clear plastic insert positioned within said housing halves and held in place thereby, said clear plastic insert having opposed liner wall portions providing diametrically opposed window areas to be wiped by seeds passing therethrough, a light source mounted within said housing to be in register with one of said window areas, light-responsive means mounted within said housing to be in register with the other of said window areas, whereby the passage of seeds through said clear plastic insert will interrupt the light from said light source to produce a pulse signal from said light-responsive means.

Claim 12

A seed sensor comprising: first and second housing halves secured together to form means for supporting electronic components and providing a passage for seeds therethrough, a clear plastic insert positioned within said housing halves and held in place thereby, said clear plastic insert having opposed liner wall portions providing diametrically opposed window areas to be wiped by seeds passing therethrough, a light source mounted within said housing to be in register with one of said window areas, light-responsive means mounted within said housing to be in register with the other of said window areas, whereby the passage of seeds through said clear plastic insert will interrupt the light from said light source to produce a pulse signal from said light-responsive means.

Claim 13

The seed sensor as set forth in claim 9 wherein said clear plastic insert further includes converging wall portions substantially perpendicular to said opposed liner wall portions to focus seeds passing therethrough to be in register with the light from said light source.

Claim 14

The seed sensor as set forth in claim 9 wherein a component receiving compartment is formed in said first housing half for receiving components connected in circuit to said light source, and a second component receiving compartment is formed in said second housing half to receive electronic components connected in circuit with said light-responsive means, and passage means formed between said first and second component receiving compartments and passing through said first and second housing halves for interconnection of electronic components mounted within said first and second component receiving compartments.

Claim 15

A housing assembly for a sensor of the type particularly adapted for use in a system which uses a predetermined type of radiated energy to monitor the flow of seeds through a passageway comprising: an insert member pre-molded from a material which transmits said radiation and having opposed inner wall surfaces which define a first seed passageway and which are positioned to be contacted by said seeds, said insert member having a radiation-source locating means adjacent to one of said wall surfaces for positioning a radiation source at a predetermined location with respect to said first seed passageway and a radiation-sensor locating means adjacent to said other wall surface and in substantial alignment with said radiation-source locating means for positioning a radiation sensor at a location suitable for receiving radiation from a radiation source at said predetermined location through said first seed passageway; an opaque outer housing member having opposed inner wall surfaces which define a second seed passageway, said outer housing member having a recess in said second seed passageway for receiving said insert member with said first and second seed passageways in general alignement, said outer housing member further having a radiation-source window in said recess in register with said radiation-source locating means and a radiation-sensor window in said recess in register with said radiation-sensor locating means, whereby the housing assembly provides for automatic alignment of a radiation source and radiation sensor so that a predetermined type of energy may be radiated from the source across the seed passageway to the sensor without interference caused by stray or ambient radiation such that the passage of seeds through the continuous passageway interrupts the radiated energy to thus generate a signal which may be utilized to detect the flow of seeds through the passageway.

Claim 16

A housing assembly for a sensor of the type particularly adapted for use in a system which uses a predetermined type of radiated energy to monitor the flow of seeds through a passageway comprising: an insert member pre-molded from a material which transmits said radiation and having opposed inner wall surfaces which define a first seed passageway and which are positioned to be contacted by said seeds, said insert member having a radiation-source locating means adjacent to one of said wall surfaces for positioning a radiation source at a predetermined location with respect to said first seed passageway and a radiation-sensor locating means adjacent to said other wall surface and in substantial alignment with said radiation-source locating means for positioning a radiation sensor at a location suitable for receiving radiation from a radiation source at said predetermined location through said first seed passageway; an opaque outer housing member having opposed inner wall surfaces which define a second seed passageway, said outer housing member having a recess in said second seed passageway for receiving said insert member with said first and second seed passageways in general alignement, said outer housing member further having a radiation-source window in said recess in register with said radiation-source locating means and a radiation-sensor window in said recess in register with said radiation-sensor locating means, whereby the housing assembly provides for automatic alignment of a radiation source and radiation sensor so that a predetermined type of energy may be radiated from the source across the seed passageway to the sensor without interference caused by stray or ambient radiation such that the passage of seeds through the continuous passageway interrupts the radiated energy to thus generate a signal which may be utilized to detect the flow of seeds through the passageway.

Claim 17

A housing assembly for a seed sensor of the type particularly adapted for use in a system which optically monitors seeds as they are being dispensed for planting, said housing assembly comprising: an insert member pre-molded from light-transmissive material and having opposed inner wall surfaces which define a first seed passageway and which are positioned to be wiped by the passage of seeds therethrough, said insert member having a light-source locating means adjacent to one of said wall surfaces for positioning a light source at a predetermined location with respect to said first seed passageway and a light-sensor locating means adjacent to said other wall surface and in substantial alignment with said light-source locating means for positioning a light sensor at a location suitable for receiving light from said light source through said first seed passageway; an opaque outer housing member having opposed inner wall surfaces which define a second seed passageway, said outer housing member in said second seed passageway having a recess for receiving said insert member with said first and second seed passageways in general alignment to form a continuous seed passageway, said outer housing member further having a light-source window in said recess in register with said light-source locating means and a light-sensor window in said recess in register with said light-sensor locating means, whereby the housing assembly provides for automatic alignment of a light source and light sensor so that a beam of light may be projected from the light source across the seed passageway to the light sensor without interference caused by stray or ambient light such that the passage of seeds through the continuous passageway interrupts the light beam to thus generate a signal which may be utilized to detect the number of seeds passing through the passageway.

Claim 18

A housing assembly for a seed sensor of the type particularly adapted for use in a system which optically monitors seeds as they are being dispensed for planting, said housing assembly comprising: an insert member pre-molded from light-transmissive material and having opposed inner wall surfaces which define a first seed passageway and which are positioned to be wiped by the passage of seeds therethrough, said insert member having a light-source locating means adjacent to one of said wall surfaces for positioning a light source at a predetermined location with respect to said first seed passageway and a light-sensor locating means adjacent to said other wall surface and in substantial alignment with said light-source locating means for positioning a light sensor at a location suitable for receiving light from said light source through said first seed passageway; an opaque outer housing member having opposed inner wall surfaces which define a second seed passageway, said outer housing member in said second seed passageway having a recess for receiving said insert member with said first and second seed passageways in general alignment to form a continuous seed passageway, said outer housing member further having a light-source window in said recess in register with said light-source locating means and a light-sensor window in said recess in register with said light-sensor locating means, whereby the housing assembly provides for automatic alignment of a light source and light sensor so that a beam of light may be projected from the light source across the seed passageway to the light sensor without interference caused by stray or ambient light such that the passage of seeds through the continuous passageway interrupts the light beam to thus generate a signal which may be utilized to detect the number of seeds passing through the passageway.

Claim 19

A housing in accordance with claim 13, in which each of said locating means comprises an annular flange.

Claim 20

A housing in accordance with claim 13, in which said opposed wall surfaces of said insert member are sloped inwardly to narrow said first passageway near said predetermined location, whereby the seed flow is focussed at the point in the passageway where the light beam intersects it to facilitate seed detection.

Claim 21

A housing in accordance with claim 13, in which said outer housing member has an outer wall surface adjacent said recess with each said outer wall surface having a compartment therein which is adapted to receive circuit components therein, said outer housing member further having an interior passage between said compartments which is adapted for receiving wires to connect circuit components in one compartment with circuit components in the other compartment.

Claim 22

A housing in accordance with claim 13, in which said light-transmissive material comprises optical grade clear epoxy.