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EP-4739087-A1 - METER FOR AGRICULTURAL MATERIAL

EP4739087A1EP 4739087 A1EP4739087 A1EP 4739087A1EP-4739087-A1

Abstract

A meter (100) configured to meter agricultural material comprising: a housing (110), wherein the housing has a gear section (111), a hopper section (112), and a discharge section (113); an auger (140) disposed in the housing; a motor (120) at least partially disposed in the housing and operably connected to the auger to drive the auger; and a controller interface (130) connected to the motor and configured to operate the motor, wherein the meter has a top (101), a bottom (102), a front side (103), and a rear side (104).

Inventors

  • MORGAN, MATTHEW
  • SCHWIND, Timothy
  • CAUDILL, Kyle
  • STUBER, Luke

Assignees

  • Precision Planting LLC

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240606

Claims (20)

  1. 1. A meter configured to meter agricultural material comprising: a housing, wherein the housing has a gear section, a hopper section, and a discharge section; an auger disposed in the housing; a motor at least partially disposed in the housing and operably connected to the auger to drive the auger; and a controller interface connected to the motor and configured to operate the motor, wherein the meter has a top, a bottom, a front side, and a rear side.
  2. 2. The meter of claim 1 further comprising a connector connected to the discharge section.
  3. 3. The meter of claim 2 further comprising a wall disposed between the connector and the discharge section to partially block an area between the connector and the discharge section.
  4. 4. The meter of claim 3, wherein the wall has a top and a bottom, and as measured from the bottom towards the top, the wall blocks 40 to 60% of the area.
  5. 5. The meter of claim 4, wherein the area that is blocked is about 50%.
  6. 6. The meter of any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the connector further comprises a lid 165.
  7. 7. The meter of claim 6, wherein the lid is hingably connected to the connector.
  8. 8. The meter of any preceding claim, wherein the meter is inclined at an angle a from greater than 0 to 45°.
  9. 9. The meter of any preceding claim, wherein the motor is aligned under the auger.
  10. 10. The meter of any preceding claim, wherein motor is connected to a first gear, the auger is connected to a second gear, and the first gear is configured to drive the second gear.
  11. 11. The meter of claim 10 further comprising an intermediate gear between the first gear and the second gear.
  12. 12. The meter of claim 10 or 11, wherein the first gear and the second are disposed in the gear section and aligned vertically from the top to the bottom.
  13. 13. The meter of any preceding claim further comprising a gate connected to the hopper section.
  14. 14. The meter of any preceding claim, wherein the motor extends out of the housing and further comprises a motor housing disposed over the motor and connected to the housing.
  15. 15. The meter of any preceding claim further comprising an interface having a first side connected to the hopper section and a second side configured to connect to a hopper.
  16. 16. The meter of claim 13, wherein the hopper section has an inlet frame having a first mating connector and a second mating connector, the gate has a gate frame having a first pin holder and a second pin holder, the gate frame is connected to an interface, wherein the first mating connector mates with the first pin holder and is releasably retained by a first connector pin, and the second mating connector mates with the second pin holder and is releasably retained by a second connector pin.
  17. 17. An agricultural planter or seeder comprising: a toolbar; a plurality of row units attached to the toolbar; a multirow hopper having a compartment and a plurality of outlets and disposed on the toolbar and configured to provide material to at least two of the plurality of rows; and a meter connected to each of the plurality of outlets, wherein the meter is the meter of any one of claims 1 to 16.
  18. 18. An agricultural planter comprising: a toolbar; at least one row unit attached to the toolbar; a hopper disposed on the at least one row unit; and a meter connected to the hopper, wherein the meter is the meter of any one of claims 1 to 16.
  19. 19. The agricultural planter of claim 18, wherein the hopper is connected to a central fill hopper.
  20. 20. The agricultural planter or seeder of claim 18, wherein the hopper is connected to a seeder tower.

Description

METER FOR AGRICULTURAL MATERIAL CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Application No. 63/511,960, filed 5 July 2023, and U.S. Application No. 63/644,348, filed 8 May 2024, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. FIELD [0002] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to a solid particulate meter. BACKGROUND [0003] In certain regions around the world, such as South America, many of the farm inputs are granular materials, such as seeds, fertilizer, insecticide, or herbicide. Typically, on a planter there is a multirow hopper in which one hopper supplies material meters at each row typically with gravity or forced air. The meters are typically metering wheel style meters or auger screw meters, and the meters are all connected together to a common mechanical linkage system that drives all the meters simultaneously in unison, typically via ground drive or with a hydraulic motor. The drawback with meters working in unison is that they do not allow for swath control, turn compensation, or variable rate application on a row by row basis. It would be desirable to have row by row control of granular application. BRIEF SUMMARY [0004] In an aspect, there is provided a meter configured to meter agricultural material comprising: a housing, wherein the housing has a gear section, a hopper section, and a discharge section; an auger disposed in the housing; a motor at least partially disposed in the housing and operably connected to the auger to drive the auger; and a controller interface connected to the motor and configured to operate the motor, wherein the meter has a top, a bottom, a front side, and a rear side. [0005] Within the scope of this application it should be understood that the various aspects, embodiments, examples and alternatives set out herein, and individual features thereof may be taken independently or in any possible and compatible combination. Where features are described with reference to a single aspect or embodiment, it should be understood that such features are applicable to all aspects and embodiments unless otherwise stated or where such features are incompatible. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0006] One or more embodiments of the disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: [0007] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a meter; [0008] FIG. 2A is a right side elevation view of the meter of FIG. 1 ; [0009] FIG. 2B is FIG. 2 A inclined at an angle; [0010] FIG. 3 is a left side elevation view of the meter of FIG. 1 ; [0011] FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the meter of FIG. 1; [0012] FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the meter of FIG. 1; [0013] FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of the housing of the meter of FIG. 1; [0014] FIG. 7 is a right side elevation view of the meter of FIG. 1 with the housing removed; [0015] FIG. 8 is a right side elevation view of the meter of FIG. 7 with the connector removed; [0016] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the meter of FIG. 1; [0017] FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the meter of FIG. 1; [0018] FIG. 11 A is a top perspective view of an interface; [0019] FIG. 1 IB is a bottom perspective view of the interface of FIG. 11 A; [0020] FIG. 12A is a top perspective view of an interface; [0021] FIG. 12B is a bottom perspective view of the interface of FIG. 12 A; [0022] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a multirow hopper with the meter of FIG. 1 connected thereto; [0023] FIG. 14 is a side elevation view of a granular hopper with the meter of FIG. 1 connected thereto; [0024] FIG. 15 is a side elevation view of a central fill system with the meter of FIG. 1 connected thereto; [0025] FIG. 16 is a schematic of a seeder tower with minihoppers. [0026] FIG. 17 is a top perspective view of an interface connected to a modified gate frame with pin holder. [0027] FIG. 18 is bottom perspective view of the interface connected to the modified gate frame with pin holder of FIG. 17. [0028] FIG. 19 is side elevation view of the interface connected to the modified gate frame with pin holder of FIG. 17. [0029] FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the safety coupler from FIG. 17. [0030] FIG. 21 is a perspective view a meter having a modified inlet frame with mating connectors for the pin holder. [0031] FIG. 22 is a side elevation view of the meter having the modified inlet frame with mating connectors for the pin holder of FIG. 21. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0032] All references cited herein are incorporated herein in their entireties. If there is a conflict between definitions herein and in an incorporated reference, the definition herein shall control. [0033] Figures 1 to 10 illustrate a meter 100. Meter 100 is configured to meter granular material or seed from storage to an agricultural row. Granular material that can be metered includes, but is not limited to, seed, fertilizer, insecticide, herbicide, minerals, or any other granular/pa