Importance

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Abstract

Sealing arrangement for a vacuum seed metering mechanism includes a housing assembly divided into a seed receiving chamber and a vacuum chamber by a circular seed disc having parallel and flat sides. The seed disc is provided with a circular row of openings proximate a periphery of the seed disc. Due to a pressure differential across the openings, seeds supplied to the seed receiving chamber of the seed metering mechanism are carried by the openings of the seed disc to a seed discharge area of the seed metering mechanism. The housing assembly of the seed metering mechanism includes a cover portion having an integrally formed sealing face; preferably formed of a pair of radially spaced annular flat sealing faces and a transverse ramp portion. The annular faces are joined to each other in a common plane to define the boundary of the vacuum chamber. The sealing faces of the housing assembly are disposed on opposed sides of the row of apertures in the seed disc, and arranged in confronting relation relative to a flat side of the seed disc. A drive structure supports the seed disc in sealing contact with the sealing face of the cover portion. A spring structure also may be provided to further urge the seed disc toward and into continuous sliding contact with the sealing face of the cover portion.

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First Claim