A roller for a sheet product dispenser includes a roller shaft, a roller frame molded onto the roller shaft, and a plurality of flexible rubber portions overmolded onto the roller frame and spaced along a length of the roller frame. The rubber portions are configured to contact a sheet product for dispensing from the sheet product dispenser. A dispensing mechanism for a sheet product dispenser includes a chassis and a roller positioned within and coupled to the chassis. The roller includes a roller shaft, a roller frame molded onto the roller shaft, and a plurality of flexible rubber portions overmolded onto the roller frame and spaced along a length of the roller frame. The rubber portions are configured to contact a sheet product for dispensing from the sheet product dispenser.

An electrical system having an underlying structure resembling the double helix most commonly associated with DNA may be used to produce useful electromagnetic fields for various application.

The wire winding apparatus includes: a wire feeding member provided to a supporting member so as to be operable, for feeding a wire; a lock mechanism capable of inhibiting an operation of the wire feeding member; a winding mechanism for rotating a core about an axis thereof to wind the wire fed from the wire feeding member around the outer circumference of the core; a feed mechanism for moving the supporting member in an axial direction of the core in synchronization with the winding performed by the winding mechanism; a proximity sensor for detecting a movement amount of the wire feeding member with respect to the supporting member; and a control section for controlling an operation of the feed mechanism to adjust a movement amount of the supporting member moved by the feed mechanism based on a detection output from the proximity sensor.

A fly reel comprises a housing having a back plate, a spindle extending from the back plate, a spool rotatably mounted on the spindle, an adjustable drag assembly fixed to the spool and rotatably mounted with the spool, the adjustable drag assembly is adapted to provide controlled friction against the spool during rotation of the spool, a crank member for rotating the spool in a first direction, and a one way clutch operatively associated with the spindle for permitting rotation of the crank member in the first direction only whereby the spool is adapted to rotate independent of the crank in a second direction that is opposite the first direction. In addition, the drag adjustment knob of the reel is disposed on the same side as the reel crank handle and the drag components may be sealed within a cartridge.

The present invention relates to a small lightweight hand held cable reel comprising a spool configured to rotate around a central ergonomic handle, wherein the spool comprises of two winder knobs for rotating the spool around the central ergonomic handle; smaller, larger locator holes and larger elongated slotted holes on the outer spool face for attaching a cable. The hand held cable reel further comprises elongated slotted holes on inner spool face for attaching to a webbing strap of clothing or equipment.

A media spindle apparatus for supporting a media roll having media to be delivered to a printing apparatus. The apparatus includes a spindle configured to support the roll. The spindle defines an axial direction about which the roll rotates relative to the printing apparatus to deliver the media to the printing apparatus. A guide member is supported by the spindle and guides the media to the printing apparatus. The guide member is positionable in a first configuration in which a securing mechanism is disengaged and the guide member is translatable substantially in the axial direction relative to the spindle. The guide member is pivotable about the axial direction relative to the spindle to move to a second configuration and thereby engage the securing mechanism to inhibit the guide member from translating in the axial direction relative to the spindle and pivoting from the second configuration to the first configuration.

A filament winding apparatus prevents a fiber bundle supplied to a liner from interfering with other fiber bundles and fiber supplying guides. First and second guide units include a plurality of fiber supplying guides arranged radially and extending and contracting in a direction approximately perpendicular to a liner central axis. When a fiber bundle supplied from a first supplying guide of the first guide unit crosses between a second supplying guide of the second guide unit and the liner, the distance from the second supplying guide to the liner central axis is made larger than the distance from the first supplying guide to the liner central axis, and in the reverse case, the distance from the first supplying guide to the liner central axis is made larger than the distance from the second supplying guide to the liner central axis.

An extensible cord lead comprising a casing (11) containing a winding wheel (13) equipped with housings (15) intercepted by a pushbutton (16) to allow the partial or total blocking of the cord, the pushbutton (16) being equipped with a forward position blocking device consisting of a cursor (20) which slides or rotates in a transverse direction with respect to the axis of the pushbutton (16) in which it is inserted, said cursor (20) being activated by a thumb-turn (21) located on the head of the pushbutton (16), said cursor (20) being able to move from a blocked position to free sliding of the pushbutton, entering and exiting transversally to the sliding axis of the pushbutton (16), in a housing (22) in the box-like casing (11) of the winding device.

Methods for fumigating soil include providing a fumigant including at least one volatile substance into or onto soil and applying over the soil a multilayer polymeric film to form a vapor barrier between the fumigant-treated soil and the atmosphere to at least partially contain the fumigant. The multilayer film includes at least one barrier layer comprising at least one vinylidene chloride polymer and protecting layers on each side of the barrier layer. The multilayer film preferably has at least one UV protecting layer and optionally at least one reflective layer.

An agricultural implement system that includes a control system configured to receive a first signal to initiate seeding operations, to transition a ground engaging tool toward a working position at a first time after receiving the first signal, and to activate a product delivery system at a second time, different from the first time, after receiving the first signal.

A system for controlling air flow within an agricultural product metering system is provided. One system for distributing an agricultural product includes an air conveyance system having a blower configured to provide an air stream for moving metered product toward a distribution device. The air conveyance system is mounted on an air cart. The system also includes control circuitry mounted on an agricultural vehicle, and configured to adjust a speed of the blower based at least partially on a product flow rate from the air cart.

A stack-fold implement having a central bulk fill hopper assembly is provided. The bulk fill hopper assembly is mounted to the center frame section of the stack-told implement and does not affect the narrowness of the stack-fold implement when it's in a stacked, transport position, The hopper assembly includes a pair of bulk fill hoppers or tanks supported by cradle that is in turn supported by a pair of wheels. The cradle is removably coupled to the center frame section by a plurality of rigid frame members.

A double shoot coulter assembly for an agricultural implement includes a packer wheel. The packer wheel is disposed behind a soil engaging blade. The packer wheel is configured to press soil displaced by the soil engaging blade into trenches formed by the soil engaging blade and a disc blade. A centerline of the packer wheel extends adjacent to a soil displacing side of the soil engaging blade.

A method and apparatus for automating some of the tasks that heretofore required operator action at headland turns or similar events are provided. The present invention automates operation of lift assist wheels and/or gull wings, such as those found on a stack-fold implement, based on the position of the tractor hitch to which the implement is coupled. An operator may control the position of the implement, such as at a headland turn, by raising and lowering the tractor hitch using a remote control. The invention enables the planter to compare the tractor hitch position relative to an implement position and control operation of the implement accordingly without additional user inputs.

Agricultural devices, row unit adjustment systems, and methods of adjusting a depth of a furrow are provided. In some aspects, an agricultural device is adapted to plant seeds and includes a frame, a furrow opener coupled to the frame and adapted to cut a furrow including a depth, a sensor adapted to sense a characteristic associated with planting seeds and generate a signal associated with the sensed characteristic, and a processing unit receiving the signal associated with the sensed characteristic. The depth of the furrow is adjustable based on the signal associated with the sensed characteristic. Such characteristic may be a characteristic of the soil, a force applied to the agricultural device, or a position of a portion of the agricultural device.

An agricultural side dressing fertilizer coulter row unit includes a first attachment member adapted to be rigidly connected to a towing frame, and a second attachment member pivotably coupled to the first attachment member for pivoting movement about a substantially vertical axis. A linkage is pivotably coupled to the second attachment member for pivoting movement of the trailing end of the linkage relative to the second attachment member, and a tool-carrying stem pivotably coupled to the trailing end of the linkage carries a rotatably mounted coulter wheel for forming a slit in the soil, a liquid fertilizer dispenser for dispensing fertilizer, and a rotatably mounted closing wheel for closing the slit. A biasing element is pivotably attached to the linkage and coupled to the second attachment member for urging the stem downwardly with a controllable force.

A planter row unit is disclosed having an active downforce control system for the closing wheels. This separate control of the downforce pressure for the closing wheels is provided from the row unit downforce control. A single operator input is used to set a desired downforce for all row units. The control system then operates to produce the desired downforce. Alternatively, the control system may display a downforce load to the operator who then manually makes adjustments as desired.

A metering system for a seeding machine is provided. The metering system includes selectively powered metering sections operable to individually allow or restrict seed dispensation. A damper arrangement is also provided so that pneumatic conveying of the particulate within the machine is consistently maintained when particulate flow is varied between the metering sections.

A seeder implement (125) includes a fork (146) having a first spindle support arm (150) that supports a first spindle (164) and a second spindle support arm (152) that supports a second spindle (168). A first disk (160) is supported on the first spindle (164), wherein the first spindle (164) is oriented in a first orientation and at a first acute angle relative to a lateral line. The first disk (160) is oriented at a second acute angle relative to the ground surface. A second disk (166) is supported on the second spindle (168), wherein the second spindle (168) is oriented in a second orientation and at a third acute angle relative to the lateral line. The second disk (166) is oriented at a fourth acute angle relative to the ground surface. The first disk (160) is longitudinally offset ahead of the second disk (166), and there are no structural components between the first and second disks (160, 166) other than the first and second spindles (164, 168). In one embodiment, a packing wheel (142) is disposed to close and compact furrows opened by the disks (160, 166) and is disposed in the same orientation as one of the disks (160, 166).

An agricultural device includes a number of row units that each includes a seed furrow opener that creates a furrow in the soil for seed placement. Each row unit is mounted to a toolbar of the device by a four-bar linkage which allows each row unit to move vertically to adjust to the contour of the soil independently of the other row units on the same toolbar. The four-bar linkages include one or more springs which work to transfer weight from the toolbar to the row unit. An actuator varies the tension in the spring thereby adjusting the down or up force applied to the row unit.

A dynamic supplemental downforce control system for a planter row unit. The system includes closed-loop feedback circuit that cooperates with a downforce actuator to dynamically control fluid flow to the downforce actuator to maintain balance between the actual gauge wheel downforce and a desired gauge wheel downforce during planting operations.

A seed meter is provided for use with a row crop planter or seed planter that includes a seed disk assembly that rotates within a meter housing cavity and that has a seed disk assembly cavity in which a vacuum pressure is applied for pulling seeds into seed pockets of a seed disk of the seed disc assembly. The vacuum pressure is applied to the seed disk assembly by pulling a vacuum airflow through a spindle that supports the seed disk assembly. A wiper seal is arranged in a fixed position within the seed disk assembly cavity and seals against the seed disk assembly as a support plate and seed disk of the seed disk assembly rotate over the wiper seal, so that the wiper seal creates a boundary between a vacuum zone and a non-vacuum zone inside of the seed disc assembly cavity.

A method and apparatus for managing undesired material in an area. A sensor system monitors the area for the undesired material. A number of operations is performed on the area using a vehicle system. The vehicle system comprises a vehicle and a structure connected to the vehicle. A computer system receives data for the area from the sensor system. The computer system identifies a presence of the undesired material along a number of paths in the area using the data to form an identification. The computer system initiates removal of the undesired material based on the identification.

A seed metering assembly for a farm implement has a meter roller that can be accessed and removed in a relatively quick manner. The seed metering assembly includes a fluted meter roller that is segmented into a number of discrete fluted sections. Each fluted section has an associated flow control member that is selectively operable to impede the flow of granular material from a seed hopper to its corresponding section of the fluted meter roller.

A seed metering assembly for a farm implement has a meter roller that can be accessed and removed in a relatively quick manner. The seed metering assembly includes a fluted meter roller that is segmented into a number of discrete fluted sections. Each fluted section has an associated flow control member that is selectively operable to impede the flow of granular material from a seed hopper to its corresponding section of the fluted meter roller.

The present invention is directed to a hopper for a seed metering system that has a series of individualized and independently controlled metering units. The hopper has a plurality of discharge openings that can be selectively opened and closed to expose an opening to a respective one of the plurality of metering units. Each seed metering unit is selectively driven by a common drive member, such as a drive shaft. When a seed metering unit is engaged with the drive member, the unit will meter granular material. On the other hand, when the seed metering unit is not engaged with the drive member, the metering unit will not meter granular material. Hence, the present invention provides a seed metering apparatus that provides effective sectional control.

Agricultural seed planting systems are provided. In some aspects, the system includes a processing unit, a frame, a furrow opener coupled to the frame for opening a furrow in soil, and a sensor in communication with the processing unit and adapted to sense a characteristic associated with seed planting. The sensor may generate a signal associated with the sensed characteristic and the processing unit may receive the signal. In some aspects, the sensed characteristic may be either a soil characteristic or a seed characteristic. Information associated with the sensed characteristic can be saved in memory for future use and to assist with more effective planting in the future.

Agricultural planter row units feature soil finishing assemblies for closing a seed groove after seed is placed in the soil. An adjustable furrow closing assembly enhances upper seed groove coverage and closure with soil resulting in sustained relative humidity levels and optimum seed-to-soil contact for faster seed germination. The furrow closing assembly includes a closing wheel assembly having at least one closing wheel and a press wheel assembly having a press wheel following behind the closing wheels. The closing wheels and press wheel are attached to the planter row unit in a manner allowing the press wheel to move vertically relative to the closing wheels. Adjustable down-force systems are provided to vary the down force applied to the closing wheels and the press wheel to maintain optimum soil contact in irregular terrain and in varying soil densities and conditions to provide optimum soil coverage and compaction of the seed bed.

A seeding machine, such as a row crop planter, is described which is adapted to switch between two or more seed varieties as the machine traverses a field. The control system uses a programmed quantity of seed representing a number of seeds in the seed meter that need to be substantially consumed once the flow of a first seed variety is stopped before introducing a second seed variety to minimize seed mixing. The seed quantity can be determined by a calibration process or published from the manufacturer or third parties. The seed quantity can also be part of a seeding prescription that includes assignment of where each seed variety is to be planted in a field. The seed quantity and the distance traveled to empty the meter can be used to optimize the planting operation including the machine direction which can also be part of the prescription.

A seed meter control system is provided that allows for controlling seed meters of a row crop planter in a manner that reduces frequency of skip occurrences in which no seeds are delivered during a delivery event and double occurrences in which more than one seed is delivered during a delivery event. A target seeding session performance may be compared with an observed seeding session performance value and a delivery anomaly value to determine whether to make a corrective action by controlling at least one of the seed meters.

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.

A seeding machine, such as a row crop planter, is described which is adapted to switch between two or more seed varieties as the machine traverses a field. The control system uses a programmed quantity of seed representing a number of seeds in the seed meter that need to be substantially consumed once the flow of a first seed variety is stopped before introducing a second seed variety to minimize seed mixing. The seed quantity can be determined by a calibration process or published from the manufacturer or third parties. The seed quantity can also be part of a seeding prescription that includes assignment of where each seed variety is to be planted in a field. The seed quantity and the distance traveled to empty the meter can be used to optimize the planting operation including the machine direction which can also be part of the prescription.

The seed distribution tower of an air seeder has a distribution head that splits a single, primary stream of conveying air and seeds into a plurality of secondary streams for delivery to openers that deposit the seeds into the ground as the seeder advances. The outlets through which the secondary streams exit the head are constructed as modules that can be individually installed and replaced without disassembling the entire head. Shut-off valves and/or flow sensors may or may not be incorporated into certain or all of the modules to provide optimum user flexibility.

A method and system enables sectional control for an air seeding system of a farm implement by exposing a main header, or selected ports of the main header, to a purging air flow when product flow through the selected ports is stopped. A plenum of air is fluidly coupled to the main header and provides a purging air flow to any exit port of the main header that has been shut off from product flow. Valves are used to selectively flow couple the exit ports of the main header to the product flow and to the purging air flow.

The present invention is directed to a hopper for a seed metering system that has a series of individualized and independently controlled metering units. The hopper has a plurality of discharge openings that can be selectively opened and closed to expose an opening to a respective one of the plurality of metering units. Each seed metering unit is selectively driven by a common drive member, such as a drive shaft. When a seed metering unit is engaged with the drive member, the unit will meter granular material. On the other hand, when the seed metering unit is not engaged with the drive member, the metering unit will not meter granular material. Hence, the present invention provides a seed metering apparatus that provides effective sectional control.

An emissions recycling system is used on a vehicle towing an agricultural implement to enrich the fertility of the soil. The system includes an exhaust collector for collecting exhaust emissions from the internal combustion engine of the towing vehicle and an exhaust distribution system for injecting at least a portion of the exhaust emissions collected by the exhaust collector into the ground worked by the ground working tools of the agricultural implement. Fertility of the soil is enriched by bioactivity within the soil's micro flora which consumes the greenhouse gas and emissions.

A seed tube guard for agricultural planters is cast from a high-chrome cast-iron alloy or manufactured from other wear-resistant material. The seed tube guard has right and left wear surfaces for engaging inner surfaces of a pair of opener discs. A fluid delivery channel is integrated within the body of the seed tube guard with an exit in the bottom surface for delivering fluid into a seed furrow ahead of a seed tube.

A seed singulator for use with a vacuum disk having a seed face and a shoulder. The seed singulator has a first member and a second member supported by biasing members. The first member has upper lobes disposed at a radius of curvature slightly less than the outside radius of a row of apertures on a seed plane of the vacuum disk. The seed member has lower lobes disposed at a radius of curvature slightly greater than the inside radius than the row of apradius. The biasing members permit the lobes to move with the seed plane and the shoulder as the vacuum disk rotates thereby maintaining their position with respect to the apertures.

A soil opener has a frog mount adapted to be coupled to a shank or other mounting member of a farm implement. A spreader is removably coupled to the frog mount and includes forward and rearward product delivery channels that are intended to be flow-coupled to product delivery tubes or hoses of the farm implement. A tip is removably coupled to the spreader. The leading edges of the frog mount, the spreader, and the tip, as well as the geometry between these components are such that drift is minimized even when the soil opener is pulled through the soil at higher speeds, e.g., excess of 5 mph. The soil opener may be equipped with an optional soil gathering module that gathers soil lifted by the tip and redirects the soil to a position generally rearward of the opener.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 illustrates a side elevation view of a single row unit (10) of a conventional row crop planter such as the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,438,006, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. As is well known in the art, the row units (10) are mounted in spaced relation along the length of a transverse toolbar (12) by a parallel linkage (14), comprised of upper and lower parallel arms (16, 18) pivotally mounted at their forward ends to the transverse toolbar (12) and at their rearward end to the row unit frame (20).

A horticulture apparatus for preparing and seeding a strip of farmland with a tractor includes a front frame fixed with the tractor and including a horizontal tine support bar for holding a plurality of downwardly-projecting tines. The front frame includes a middle frame pivot mount and pivot angle adjustment mechanism. A middle frame is fixed with the middle frame pivot mount and is adapted to be raised or lowered. A longitudinal support bar is fixed with a drill planter roller assembly that includes two drill planter roller frames each supporting at least one adjustable drill planter roller. A U-shaped back frame has two forward arms each pivotally fixed with the middle frame and including a rear drill planter roller. A seed distributing mechanism for fixing with the tractor includes a hopper having an open top end and a bottom end that includes a seed distribution opening and a seed spreader.

A no-till apparatus for application of herbicide and fertilizer, soil preparation, and seeding of a cover crop in a standing crop has inter-row assemblies configured to pass along inter-row areas between adjacent row lines of standing crop plants. Each assembly includes a fertilizer applicator, a no-till soil preparation element, a cover crop seed applicator, and a post-seeding element.

A seed singulator system for a seed planter may comprise a seed container including a housing defining an interior to hold seed. A seed pickup assembly may be configured to pick up seeds individually from the interior, and the pickup assembly defines a plurality of seed-retaining holes configured to hold seed when a vacuum is applied to the holes. A seed discharging assembly may be configured to discharge seed in a singular manner from the seed container. The seed discharge assembly may comprise a seed receiver structure configured to receive seeds from the seed pickup assembly, and may define a seed-receiving passage having an entry opening for a seed to pass through, with the seed-retaining holes being alignable with the entry opening. A seed ejecting structure may be configured to eject seeds one at a time from the seed pickup assembly into the entry opening of the seed receiver structure.

An agricultural implement is provided that includes a first tool bar and a second tool bar each supporting respective ground engaging tools and fluid dispersal components. The second tool bar is pivotally coupled to the first tool bar. The agricultural implement further includes fluid conduits coupled to respective tool bars for conveying fluid to the respective fluid dispersal components. Additionally, each of the conduits has a flexible end adjacent to the other tool bar. Furthermore, the agricultural implement includes a fluid joint coupled between the first and second flexible ends and configured to provide a sealed connection between the first and second flexible ends during relative pivotal movement of the first and second tool bars in operation but to allow for uncoupling of the first and second flexible ends for servicing of the implement.

An apparatus for a vehicle used for positioning sod strips includes a structure for mounting on the vehicle frame and a pushing plate slidably mounted to the structure. The pushing plate is arranged to be abuttable to an edge of a sod strip. A pair of cylinders are operatively mounted between the structure and the pushing plate to slide the pushing plate away from the structure to laterally shift a sod strip to tighten up seams between adjacent sod strips. A pushing frame provides arms that are slidable into base tubes of a base frame and the cylinders are connected between the arms and the base tubes to slide the pushing frame with respect to the base frame. Further cylinders are employed to pivot the base frame, the pushing frame and the pushing plate between deployed and non-deployed positions.

A paired row opener has a furrowing tip arranged to be selectively supported on a body of the opener. The furrowing tip includes a knife portion and a pair of wing portions extending rearwardly and outwardly therefrom where are separable together from the opener body. A pair of deflector wings are integrally formed on the opener body above inner edges of the respective wing portions which are abutted with the opener body so as to deflect disturbed soil away from a seam between the inner edge of the wing portions and the opener body. An insulated mounting block is fastened onto a rear bracket of the opener body which receives an anhydrous ammonia delivery tube therethrough so permit optional delivery of anhydrous ammonia at a location which is insulated and spaced rearwardly from the opener body.

One closing assembly of a row unit for an agricultural implement includes a frame configured to support ground-working tools of the row unit. Multiple arms are coupled to the frame, each arm of the multiple arms being independently rotatable about a common axis. Each arm is configured to be coupled to a closing disc configured to direct soil into a trench.

An aqueous fluid treatment method and system is provided which preferably uses a 3 step electro-chemical oxidation process to remove organic contaminates from water. A high surface area electro-chemical reaction cell can be employed to remove organic particles and precipitate hardness salts from the aqueous solution. Several 3-phase spark arcs generated mixed oxidants and acoustic cavitations to remove dissolved organic compounds and oxidize organic metal compounds in the next step. Finally, a dielectric discharge in aqueous foam is used to eliminate recalcitrant organic compounds such as, but not limited to, polychlorinated aromatics, disinfectants, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals before release to environment or recycled.

Disclosed are apparatus and method for decontaminating and sterilizing chemical and biological agents, which can efficiently decontaminate and sterilize high precision electronic devices, communication devices, computers or inside of vehicles and air planes contaminated with chemical and biological agent by using mixture of non-thermal atmospheric pressure air plasma and oxidizing peroxide vapor. The apparatus according to the present invention comprises a decontamination and sterilization chamber 10; a first fluid supplying line L1 and a second fluid supplying line L2, which are installed in the form of closed circuit between the inlet 11 and outlet 12 of the decontamination and sterilization chamber 10; a peroxide vapor supplier which is installed on the first fluid supplying line; and a non-thermal atmospheric pressure air plasma reactor 70 which is installed on the second fluid supplying line L2.

A cell stack comprising a plurality of fuel cells or electrolysis cells has a combination of flow patterns between anode gas and cathode gas internally in each of the cells and between the cells relative to each other such that cathode and anode gas internally in a cell flows in either co-flow, counter-flow or cross-flow and further that anode and cathode gas flow in one cell has co-flow, counter-flow or cross-flow relative to the anode and cathode gas flow in adjacent cells.