| CPC A01C 15/003 (2013.01) [A01C 7/082 (2013.01); A01C 15/006 (2013.01)] | 30 Claims |
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1. A product transfer system for providing a continuous supply of a plurality of agricultural products from a plurality of product tanks to an array of metering assemblies, the system comprising:
a bulk transfer cart comprising a plurality of product tanks, wherein each product tank of the plurality of product tanks feeds into a corresponding product conduit that is selectively pressurized with air from a cart air source; and
each product conduit is fluidly connected to a corresponding mini tank mounted on a central frame, the central frame coupled to an array of metering assemblies, each mini tank comprising a housing having a plurality of walls, a floor and a ceiling defining an interior cavity of the mini tank for receiving the agricultural product from a product inlet, each mini tank further comprising a level sensor, in communication with an electronic controller; and
each mini tank further comprising a plurality of pickup nozzles extending into said interior cavity, each pickup nozzle of the plurality of pickup nozzles incorporating a Venturi assembly and coupled to a metering conduit to convey the agricultural product from the mini tank to at least one metering assembly of the array of metering assemblies, wherein each metering assembly includes a local product reservoir sandwiched between the corresponding metering conduit and a metering device, the local product reservoir having a screen open to an atmosphere surrounding the product transfer system; and
each mini tank is in fluid communication with a first air source via a first air source manifold and a first air source conduit, wherein a first air stream generated by the first air source is pushed through a plurality of screened vents in the floor of the mini tank housing so as to entrain said agricultural product held within the interior cavity of the mini tank in the first air stream, the first air stream carrying said entrained agricultural product through the plurality of pickup nozzles and the corresponding metering conduits to a corresponding metering assembly; and
a second air source is in fluid communication with a point of constriction of each said Venturi assembly, the second air source generating a second air stream pushed through a second air manifold, a second air source conduit and the point of constriction of each said Venturi assembly of each said pickup nozzle so as to join the first air stream and thereby accelerate the entrained agricultural product of the first air stream through the plurality of pickup nozzles and corresponding metering conduits; and
wherein, when the level sensor detects the mini tank is nearly full, the controller generates a signal to shut off the cart air source supplied to the mini tank's corresponding product conduit so as to halt the conveying of agricultural product from the product tank to the corresponding mini tank; and
wherein, when the level sensor detects the mini tank is nearly empty, the cart air source is supplied to the mini tank's corresponding product conduit to resume conveying the agricultural product from the product tank to the corresponding mini tank; and
wherein agricultural product is continuously supplied from each mini tank to each metering assembly of the array of metering assemblies via the plurality of pickup nozzles and corresponding plurality of metering conduits by the first and second air streams.
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