Patent ID: 8001914

Claim:
A planter for planting seeds in the ground as the planter advances along a path of travel, the planter comprising: a mobile frame; a seed conveying system mounted on the frame and including— a seed manifold operable to contain a supply of seeds, a primary seed conveying air line operable to supply air under pressure to the seed manifold, and a plurality of secondary seed conveying lines fluidly connected to the manifold for transporting seeds and air from the seed manifold; a seed metering system mounted on the frame and including— a primary seed metering air line, a seed metering air manifold extending across a general width of the planter and connected to the primary seed metering air line, a plurality of secondary seed metering air lines connected to the air manifold, and a plurality of singulating meters respectively connected to the plurality of secondary seed metering air lines; and an air handling system mounted to the frame and operable to produce, monitor, and control a flow of air to the seed conveying and seed metering systems, the air handling system including— a fan assembly including a single fan for producing a flow of air, an air splitter assembly fluidly interposed between the fan assembly and the primary seed conveying air line and the primary seed metering air line and operable to selectively control the flow of air produced by the fan assembly through either or both of the seed conveying air line and the seed metering air line, and an air controller for monitoring and controlling the flow of air, the air controller including— at least one pressure sensor associated with the primary seed metering air line and operable to produce a pressure signal, and a microprocessor operable to receive the pressure signal and in response, instruct the air splitter assembly to selectively control the flow of air so as to provide a generally constant air pressure to the primary seed metering air line.