Seeding row unit having a primary actuator to adjust depth and to raise and lower the seeding row unit

Dnyanesh Dhobale, Pune (IN); Elijah B. Garner, Bettendorf, IA (US); Kamalakannan Natarajan, Pune (IN)

USPTO: us-12628727 · published 2026-05-19 · patents · A01C 7/203· A01C 5/064· A01C 7/205

Seeding row unit having a primary actuator to adjust depth and to raise and lower the seeding row unit

Dnyanesh Dhobale, Pune (IN) , Elijah B. Garner, Bettendorf, IA (US) , Kamalakannan Natarajan, Pune (IN) This is my paper

Pith reviewed 2026-05-20 11:30 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification patents A01C 7/203A01C 5/064A01C 7/205

keywords seeding row unitdepth adjustmentprimary actuatorgage wheelmulti-bar linkagelimiting devicefurrow formation

0 comments

The pith

A single primary actuator first changes planting depth via a depth-adjust link and then lifts the entire seed-deposit assembly once a limiting device on the raise/lower link contacts the main arm.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

The patent describes a seeding row unit that uses one actuator to perform two sequential tasks. Retraction of the actuator first rotates the depth-adjust link, moving the gage wheel relative to the disk to set furrow depth. Once a limiting device on the raise/lower link touches the main arm, continued retraction lifts the whole seed-deposit assembly off the soil. This arrangement removes the need for separate depth and lift cylinders while keeping the multi-bar linkage compact.

Core claim

The row unit comprises a seed deposit assembly with gage wheel and disk, a multi-bar linkage having a main arm, raise/lower link, and depth-adjust link, and a primary actuator connected to the raise/lower link. Retraction of the actuator first rotates the depth-adjust link to alter gage-wheel-to-disk spacing; after the limiting device on the raise/lower link contacts the main arm, further retraction raises the seed deposit assembly relative to the soil.

What carries the argument

Multi-bar linkage with a limiting device on the raise/lower link that sequentially engages the main arm after depth adjustment is complete.

Load-bearing premise

The linkage geometry stays free of binding or over-travel for every soil condition and depth setting.

What would settle it

Observation of binding, jamming, or unintended lift during continuous retraction across the full range of depth settings on a working prototype.

read the original abstract

1 . A row unit for depositing seeds in a furrow formed in soil, the row unit comprising: a seed deposit assembly including a gage wheel and a disk, the gage wheel configured to contact a top surface of the soil and the disk configured to cut the furrow in the soil for receiving the deposited seeds, a disk axle of the disk fixedly connected by an arm to a gage wheel axle of the gage wheel; a multi-bar linkage assembly operatively connected to the seed deposit assembly, the multi-bar linkage assembly comprising a main arm, a raise/lower link, and a depth adjust link, the depth adjust link coupled to the disk axle, the raise/lower link being pivotally coupled to the main arm at a first pivot location; a primary actuator operatively connected to the multi-bar linkage assembly, the primary actuator being controllably actuated between a retracted position and an extended position, a first end of the raise/lower link being pivotally coupled to the primary actuator; and wherein the raise/lower link comprises a limiting device positioned between the first pivot location and a second end of the raise/lower link, the limiting device being positioned to, as a depth of the disk in the soil is adjusted, be movable into contact with the main arm as the raise/lower link is rotated in a first direction with retraction of the primary actuator, and wherein further rotation of the raise/lower link in the first direction by retraction of the primary actuator with the limiting device in contact with the main arm lifts the seed deposit assembly relative to the soil; wherein the disk axle is rotated by a rotation of the depth adjust link in response to an actuation of the primary actuator, and wherein the arm is rotated by a rotation of the disk axle to adjust a position of the gage wheel rela

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Desk Editor's Note private letter to a colleague

Utility patent on a single-actuator row-unit linkage that sequences depth adjustment then lift via a limiting stop on the raise/lower link.

read the letter

This patent describes a row unit where one primary actuator both sets planting depth and lifts the seed deposit assembly. Retraction first rotates the depth-adjust link to move the gage wheel relative to the disk; once the limiting device on the raise/lower link hits the main arm, further retraction raises the whole unit. The kinematic sequence is laid out clearly in the claims and avoids obvious contradictions in the given text. The approach reduces actuator count compared with separate depth and lift cylinders, which is a practical incremental step for row-crop planters. No dimensions, load calculations, or range-of-motion checks are supplied, so it is impossible to verify that the limiting device contacts the arm only after depth adjustment finishes and that binding or over-travel does not occur under typical soil forces. The geometry must be tuned within a narrow window of link lengths and angles; without that evidence the claimed two-phase behavior stays unconfirmed. The work is aimed at equipment designers who need prior-art references or mechanical layout ideas rather than researchers seeking new data or derivations. It does not contain results that would justify sending the document to peer review.

Referee Report

1 major / 1 minor

Summary. The patent describes a seeding row unit employing a single primary actuator connected to a multi-bar linkage (main arm, raise/lower link, depth adjust link) that first rotates the depth-adjust link to vary gage-wheel-to-disk spacing for depth control and, after a limiting device on the raise/lower link contacts the main arm, further retraction lifts the seed deposit assembly.

Significance. A working single-actuator design that reliably sequences depth adjustment before lift would reduce component count and hydraulic/electric demand on planters; the absence of any load, clearance, or kinematic verification leaves this potential advantage unconfirmed.

major comments (1)

[Abstract and Claim 1] Abstract/Claim 1: the asserted two-phase sequence (depth-adjust rotation completes before limiting device contacts main arm) is geometrically possible only for specific pivot locations and link lengths; no dimensions, free-body diagrams, or range-of-motion analysis are supplied to demonstrate that the ordering holds across stated depth settings and soil conditions without binding or over-travel.

minor comments (1)

[Abstract] The provided abstract text is truncated mid-sentence.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

1 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for the detailed reading and for identifying the need to confirm the kinematic ordering of the two-phase motion. The following response addresses the single major comment directly.

read point-by-point responses

Referee: [Abstract and Claim 1] Abstract/Claim 1: the asserted two-phase sequence (depth-adjust rotation completes before limiting device contacts main arm) is geometrically possible only for specific pivot locations and link lengths; no dimensions, free-body diagrams, or range-of-motion analysis are supplied to demonstrate that the ordering holds across stated depth settings and soil conditions without binding or over-travel.

Authors: The patent specification and the accompanying drawings define the relative locations of the pivots, the limiting surface on the raise/lower link, and the contact geometry with the main arm. These features are arranged so that rotation of the depth-adjust link reaches its travel limit (set by the gage-wheel-to-disk relationship) before the limiting device bears against the main arm. Because the claims are functional and the drawings illustrate an enabling embodiment, explicit numerical dimensions or separate kinematic plots are not required for patentability. Nevertheless, we acknowledge that an examiner or practitioner may benefit from an explicit statement that the pivot geometry prevents over-travel; we are prepared to add a short paragraph in the detailed description referencing the figures to make this ordering explicit. revision: partial

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

No circularity: direct mechanical description with no derivations or fitted quantities

full rationale

The document is a utility patent claiming a specific kinematic arrangement of links, pivots, and a limiting device. No equations, parameters, predictions, or self-citations appear; the two-phase motion sequence is asserted by the geometry of the claimed assembly rather than derived from prior results or data fits. The reader's circularity score of 0.0 is therefore confirmed.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

0 free parameters · 0 axioms · 0 invented entities

No free parameters, mathematical axioms, or postulated physical entities are introduced; the disclosure rests entirely on standard mechanical linkage principles.

pith-pipeline@v0.9.0 · 5917 in / 981 out tokens · 26901 ms · 2026-05-20T11:30:31.694503+00:00 · methodology

discussion (0)

Lean theorems connected to this paper

Citations machine-checked in the Pith Canon. Every link opens the source theorem in the public Lean library.

IndisputableMonolith.Foundation.RealityFromDistinction reality_from_one_distinction unclear

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unclear
Relation between the paper passage and the cited Recognition theorem.

primary actuator... first rotates the depth adjust link to change gage-wheel-to-disk spacing and, once the limiting device contacts the main arm, further retraction lifts the seed deposit assembly

What do these tags mean?

matches: The paper's claim is directly supported by a theorem in the formal canon.
supports: The theorem supports part of the paper's argument, but the paper may add assumptions or extra steps.
extends: The paper goes beyond the formal theorem; the theorem is a base layer rather than the whole result.
uses: The paper appears to rely on the theorem as machinery.
contradicts: The paper's claim conflicts with a theorem or certificate in the canon.
unclear: Pith found a possible connection, but the passage is too broad, indirect, or ambiguous to say the theorem truly supports the claim.