A planting unit for a seeding machine having a frame member and a seed meter mounted thereto. The seed meter has a housing and a metering member rotatably mounted therein. The metering member has a sidewall with an inner surface and an outer surface with a rim portion of the sidewall adjacent an outer edge of the sidewall. The inner surface of the side wall and the housing form a trough at a bottom portion of the metering member to hold a seed pool. A mechanical seed delivery system takes seed from the metering member and moves seed to a discharge location adjacent a seed furrow formed in soil beneath the seeding machine.

A seed delivery apparatus and methods in which a seed conveyor delivers seed from a metering device to a furrow in a controlled manner to maintain seed placement accuracy within the furrow.

Systems, methods and apparatus are provided for controlling an agricultural implement having a plurality of row units. In some embodiments, seeds are planted by rotating a seed disc in a first direction; seeds are then unloaded from a seed disc into a seed pool by rotating the seed disc in a second direction. In some such embodiments an amount of rotation in the second rotation is selected to ensure that seeds are released into the seed pool and not released from the from the seed meter.

A sowing machine and a method for separating and spreading granular material, such as seed or the like, are described, where the material is supplied by way of conveying airflows from a central container to metering devices via conveying ducts respectively associated with them. Furthermore, the material supplied in the conveying ducts is separated from the respective conveying airflow and the resulting discharge airflows are supplied via discharge air ducts to the respectively associated metering devices which are thus pressurized. Furthermore, the metering chambers are pressurized by way of supply airflows via supply ducts respectively associated with the former. The material is separated in the metering chambers by way of separating disks.

A planting unit for a seeding machine having a frame member and a seed meter mounted thereto. The seed meter has a housing and a metering member rotatably mounted therein. The metering member has a sidewall with an inner surface and an outer surface with a rim portion of the sidewall adjacent an outer edge of the sidewall. The inner surface of the side wall and the housing form a trough at a bottom portion of the metering member to hold a seed pool. A mechanical seed delivery system takes seed from the metering member and moves seed to a discharge location adjacent a seed furrow formed in soil beneath the seeding machine.

A row unit for a seeding machine includes a frame and first and second seed meters. The first seed meter has a first metering member for singulating seeds, and the second seed meter has a second metering member for singulating seeds. A conveyor having a conduit defining a path for receiving seeds from the first and second seed meters is configured to discharge the seeds from the seeding machine. A wall is movably mounted with respect to the frame between a first position and a second position. In the first position the wall intersects the path of the conduit for guiding a seed into the conduit, and in the second position the wall is spaced from the path of the conduit.

A motor drives a seeding system. A sensor senses a characteristic of the motor and a motor jam is detected based on the sensed characteristic. The motor is momentarily reversed, when a jam is detected.

A direct drive seed metering device for a row crop sowing machine with a seed metering disc rotatable about a central shaft having a plurality of seed capturing and retaining holes for capturing and retaining the seeds and laying them in a controlled manner in a furrow. The seed disc has a flexible sealing member attached to an inner wall of the housing and sealingly pressed against a face of the metering disc thereby forming a vacuum chamber by a the vacuum generator that lowers the air pressure on a face of the metering disc so as to capture and retain the seeds. The vacuum chamber is created by the vacuum generator being fluidly connected to the chamber through a hollow shaft of a drive motor and through a perforated hollow hub.

A direct drive seed metering device for a sowing machines with a rotatable vacuum chamber operated by vacuum and driven by a coaxial electric motor. The rotatable vacuum chamber has a seed metering disc for capturing seeds from a reservoir and laying them in a controlled manner in a furrow in the soil. The rotatable vacuum chamber is created by a concave plate located within the housing and sealingly attached to a face of the seed metering disc that is supplied a vacuum by a non-rotatable tube having a protruding hollow member, a flange and an of extraction outlet attached to a vacuum generator. A motor with an annular hollow-shaft is coupled to the concave plate wherein the vacuum generator lowers the air pressure on a face of the metering disc so as to capture and retain the seeds within the seed capturing and retaining holes arranged on another face of the metering disc opposite the rotatable vacuum chamber.

A seed research plot planter includes a rotating seed plate for picking up and transporting seeds from a seed chamber to a release point, and a sensor that detects the rotational position of the seed plate. A distance measuring device measures a distance traveled by the planter. A controller uses a first signal from the sensor and a second signal from the distance measuring device to control a sequence of operations of the planter based on the rotational position of the seed plate and the location of the planter within the field. A field layout system is provided for creating a plot field layout having a desired number of ranges, a desired number of planter passes, and desired parameters for each plot within the field. The field layout system allows different plot lengths and seed populations to be input for individual plots within the same planter pass through the field.