Patent ID: 7681656

Claim:
A furrow opener apparatus comprising: an arm assembly adapted at a front end thereof for pivotal attachment to a seeder frame such that a rear end of the arm assembly can move up and down; a single disc rotatably attached to the arm assembly about a disc axis oriented at a horizontal disc angle to the operating travel direction such that a leading face of the disc moves soil toward a first side of the disc when the disc is engaged in the ground to form a furrow; a walking beam pivotally attached to the arm assembly rearward of the disc about a beam axis oriented transverse to the operating travel direction such that the beam axis and disc axis are fixed with respect to each other during operation; a bias element operative to exert a force on the arm assembly such that a downward bias force is exerted on the walking beam at the beam axis; a packer wheel rotatably attached at a rear end of the walking beam about a packer wheel axis, rearward of the beam axis; a gauge wheel rotatably attached at a front end of the walking beam about a gauge wheel axis, forward of the beam axis; wherein the gauge wheel is configured to roll along the ground adjacent to the leading face of the disc, and the packer wheel is configured to roll along the furrow.