US Patent 7478603 Seed meter monitoring system

A detector is supported adjacent the seed cells within a seed meter housing and provides an indication of the presence or absence of seeds in the cells. A processor receives the seed presence indications and provides an operator readout to facilitate adjustments to the seed meter system to maintain a single seed per seed cell at the given seed population. In one embodiment, the detector is a video camera and the readout includes a slow motion rendering of the seed cells downstream of a seed singulator. In another embodiment, a light source is located on one side of the seed cells, and a light detector is located on the opposite side of the seed cell to determine presence or absence of material in the cell.