AU2008207456B2 - Transplanting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

P \OPER\RSHVI612?MW-CAP dc-2t)/082nIXJ An apparatus for transplanting of seedlings in a single row, comprising a main frame, a skid plate for supporting the main frame for movement along the bed, a blade assembly 5 projecting beneath the skid plate for cutting a furrow for the row to be planted, a drop tube for delivering a seedling to a holding position for planting in the furrow, means for discharging the seedling from the holding position into the furrow, means for returning displaced soil into the furrow over the root zone of the seedling, and means for removing a plurality of seedlings simultaneously from a seedling tray and for depositing the separate 10 seedlings into a separate holder, one for each seedling, from which the seedlings are discharged successively into the drop tube for planting. 6- 00000 0 OD 0000000 6 EOEI:IE0(20o 0 0 -20-4 22 o o 18 -20 Figure 1

Description

Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT (ORIGINAL) Name of Applicant: Transplant Systems Pty Ltd Actual Inventor: Colin Brewer Address for Service: DAVIES COLLISON CAVE, Patent Attorneys, I Nicholson Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000. Invention Title: "Transplanting apparatus" Details of Associated Provisional Application No.: 2007904497 21 August 2007 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: Q:\OPER\RSH\une 08 - Dec 08\30632806-CAP-232.doc - 20/8/08 H:\pl\neroven\NRPortbl\DCC\PLW\59952681doc-4A)2/2014 TRANSPLANTING APPARATUS The present invention relates to transplanting apparatus and more particularly to apparatus for transplanting seedlings into prepared ground at high speed. 5 For transplanting of vegetable or salad seedlings into prepared ground at high speed (typically 4000 to 5000 seedlings per hour) it is normal practice to use transplanting apparatus which is able to handle that quantity of seedlings by planting in a single row. Two or more such transplanters may be grouped together in parallel and/or in tandem 10 behind a common tractor to permit multi-row planting, although the transplanters are still independently operable. A single-row high speed transplanter in widespread use comprises a rotating carousel of individual seedling holders which successively discharge seedlings into a drop tube for 15 planting. While transplanters of this type operate quite satisfactorily, it is necessary to load the seedlings manually from seedling trays into the holders in the carousel. This is labour intensive work and due to rising labour costs, and indeed labour shortages, usage of these types of transplanters is becoming less commercially viable. While there are high speed single row automatic planters, these have tended to be rather complex and prone to 20 malfunction in operation. According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus for transplanting of seedlings in a single row, comprising a main frame, means for supporting the main frame for movement along the bed, a blade assembly for cutting a furrow for the row to be 25 planted, a drop tube for delivering a seedling to a holding position for planting in the furrow, means for discharging the seedling from the holding position into the furrow, means for returning displaced soil into the furrow over the root zone of the seedling, and means for removing a plurality of seedlings simultaneously from a seedling tray and for depositing the separate seedlings into a separate holder, one for each seedling, from which 30 the seedlings are discharged successively into the drop tube for planting. In a preferred embodiment, the means for supporting the main frame for movement along the bed comprises a skid plate and the blade assembly projects beneath the skid plate.

P30PER\RSH\1x12,06-CAP do-2W /21MN -2 In a preferred embodiment the separate seedling holders are in the form of hoppers into which the seedlings are dropped from above, with the seedlings then being discharged in sequence from the respective hoppers to fall into the drop tube which is located directly 5 beneath the hoppers. Particularly advantageously, the means for removing the seedlings from the tray comprises a plurality of seedling pickers each associated with a respective one of the hoppers and operable to withdraw a seedling from the tray and to deposit the seedlings into the 10 associated hopper. Advantageously, the seedling pickers are mounted in a row to a common support for simultaneous movement between a position adjacent the tray, and a position above the hoppers. 15 Particularly advantageously, the means for returning displaced soil into the furrow comprises a pair of inclined press wheels. The press wheels are mounted to a subframe which can be raised or lowered relative to the skid plate whereby to vary the degree of compaction of the soil. 20 The skid plate is mounted to the main frame via a subframe which can be raised or lowered relative to the main frame to vary the depth of the furrow produced by the blade assembly. Particularly advantageously, the skid plate is formed by separate skids which lie to either 25 side of, and which are spaced laterally from, the blade assembly whereby to facilitate release of debris which may otherwise accumulate between the skids and the blade assembly. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the furrow is cut by a blade assembly 30 comprising blades which define a generally V-shaped configuration of vertical cross section and the drop tube is operative to discharge a seedling into a rear end portion of the P \OPER\RSHk3o632806-CAP doc-20 INM -3 blade assembly such that its root portion rests within the base of a blade assembly adjacent an open rear end thereof. Preferably the means for discharging the seedling comprises a kicker which is reciprocable within the blade assembly and has a cross-section which corresponds to that of the internal cross-section of the blade assembly. 5 An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying representations in which: Figure 1 is a view from the side of the upper part of transplanting apparatus in accordance with the preferred embodiment and showing a seedling tray, seedling pickers 10 and seedling hoppers associated with the pickers, the seedling pickers being shown in a condition in which they are positioned to withdraw seedlings from the tray; Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 but showing the pickers in a condition in which they are positioned to drop seedlings into the seedling hoppers; this figure also shows the tray indexed vertically from the position shown in Figure 1; 15 Figure 3 shows in greater detail the seedling pickers and their interaction with individual cells of the tray; Figure 4 is a view from the front of the lower part of the apparatus and showing a skid plate and associated blade assembly for forming a furrow; and Figure 5 is a view corresponding to Figure 4 but looking from the rear and showing 20 also a kicker block within the lower part of the blade assembly. The transplanting apparatus now to be described is designed for automatic (from seedling tray to ground) at high speed and in a single row. The apparatus comprises a main frame which carries at its underside a skid plate which rests on the seedling bed to support the 25 main frame from the bed. The main frame is connected by a linkage to a support frame which is adapted to be mounted to the rear of a tractor. The linkage allows the main frame to "float" relative to the support frame to ensure that the skid plate rests flat against the bed so that the main frame will always follow the contours of the bed and which may incline and/or decline along its overall length. 30 The main frame carries a tray conveyor (not shown) for a seedling tray. The seedling trays P OPE K R SHX10612 3 M-CA P doc-20/0Q8/20 -4 4 are loaded manually onto the conveyor by an operator. In the embodiment shown, the tray conveyor is orientated vertically and engages the tray to advance the tray vertically downwardly stepwise through increments equivalent to one row of seedling cells within the tray and also to index the tray horizontally. Tray conveyors of this type for advancing 5 and indexing seedling trays are well known in the art and will not be described in detail herein. A row of seedling pickers 6 is mounted in front of the tray 4. The pickers 6 are mounted on a horizontal bar 8 so that the row of pickers extends parallel to the horizontal rows of cells in the tray 4. The embodiment shown is designed for a row of three such pickers on the bar 8 although other embodiments may have more than three pickers as will 10 be described later. The bar 8 is mounted on a linkage for movement between a forward position in which gripper rods or fingers of each picker are directed horizontally in alignment with a separate cell in a horizontal row of cells in the tray to withdraw seedlings horizontally from the cells (see Figures 1 and 3), and a rear position further away from the tray in which the bar 8 is pivoted through 900 so that the gripper fingers are directed 15 vertically downwardly (see Figure 2); in this rear position, the pickers 6 lie directly above a seedling hopper 16, one associated with each picker, for temporary storage of a seedling deposited from the picker. In the preferred embodiment, the linkage for carrying the bar 8 comprises a pivotal arm at 20 each end of the bar and actuable by a pneumatic cylinder to swing the bar 8 between its forward and rear positions. The bar 8 is mounted to each of the two arms by a link arm which is rotatable so as to rotate the bar through 90' and thereby displace the row of pickers from horizontal to a vertical orientation. This rotation is controlled by a further pneumatic cylinder. It will be understood that other forms of linkage for displacing the bar 25 8 in the required manner could alternatively be used. Suitable seedling pickers are as described in our earlier patent no. 2007100035 to which reference may be made. The gripper rods or fingers of the pickers extend automatically to engage with the root zone of a seedling within a cell and are then retracted to withdraw the 30 seedling from the cell in the axial direction of the cell. When the pickers 6 are directed vertically above the hoppers 16, the fingers of the pickers release the seedlings. The P 1OPER\RSH\0612EMCAP doc-2u /23(W8 -5 seedling pickers are pneumatically operated. With reference to Figures 1 and 2, each seedling hopper 16 is of a downwardly tapering shape such that when a seedling is deposited into the hopper it will rest within the lower 5 part of the hopper with its root zone lowermost. One wall 18 of the hopper is mounted at its upper end for swinging movement between an inner position in which the outlet from the hopper at its lower end is closed whereby a seedling deposited into the hopper will be retained therein, and an outer position in which its lower end is widely spaced from the other walls of the hopper to thereby open the lower end of the hopper 16 to permit 10 discharge of the seedling into a drop tube 20 located beneath the group of three hoppers 16. The swinging wall 18 of each hopper is moved by a separate pneumatic cylinder 22 associated with each hopper. In the embodiment shown, a row of four vertical baffles 24 is positioned above the upper ends of the hoppers 16 and it will be seen that when the picker fingers are directed vertically above the hoppers 16, the fingers of each picker 6 will lie 15 between adjacent pairs of baffles 24 (see Figure 2) to ensure that when the fingers of the three pickers 6 are simultaneously opened to drop the seedlings into the hoppers 16, there will be no interference between the adjacent seedlings. The seedlings are dropped successively from the hoppers 16, by successive actuation of the 20 cylinders 22, into the drop tube 20 which feeds the seedling into the base of a blade assembly for forming a furrow into which the seedling is discharged. The blade assembly 26 (see Figures 4 and 5) is substantially the same as that described in our earlier patent 2007100035 and comprises two blades which meet at their leading edges 25 to form a sharp edge which cuts through the soil and then diverge towards their rear so as to form a furrow of required width. The lower edges of the two blades meet or are closely adjacent and the two blades diverge in an upwards direction so that the blade assembly is V-shaped in order to produce a relatively narrow furrow also generally of V-shape. The drop tube 20 is positioned over the rear end portion (in the direction of travel) of the blade 30 assembly 26 so that a seedling released from one of the hoppers 16 and falling through the drop tube 20 will be directed into the blade assembly 26 where it will rest with its root P %OPERiRSH10K12K1V,-CAP do-21/X/20X) -6 portion in the base part which is open at its rear end. Forwardly of the zone into which the seedling is discharged, the blade assembly houses a reciprocatory kicker block 28 (see Figure 5) of a V-shaped cross-section which matches that of the blade assembly and which is a close fit therein. With the seedling deposited into the blade assembly at the rear end 5 portion thereof, the kicker block 28 is actuated to push the seedling out of the open rear end of the blade assembly and into the furrow. The blade assembly is mounted to the main frame separately from the skid plate. It is to be noted that the skid plate of the preferred embodiment of the present invention is 10 different to that of patent 2007100035 in that it is formed by two skids 30 which are spaced apart so that the blade assembly 26 extends downwardly between the inner edges of the two skids. Accordingly a space exists between the inner edge of each skid 30 and the adjacent side of the blade assembly 26 and through which debris on the ground can clear in order to avoid accumulation of debris on the blade assembly by wedging against the skid. 15 The skid plate formed by the two skids 30 is mounted on a sub frame which can be raised or lowered through a restricted distance relative to the main frame and thus relative to the blade assembly 26 to enable adjustment in the depth of the furrow produced. The skid plate is faced on its underside with a thick layer of a hard, low friction, wear-resistant 20 plastics material. A pair of inclined press wheels 32 is mounted behind the rear end of the blade assembly 26 in a V-shaped configuration which corresponds to that of the blade assembly. The press wheels serve to return the displaced soil back into the furrow following discharge of the 25 seedling by the kicker block 28 and also to compress the soil around the seedling. The pair of press wheels 32 is mounted on a separate sub frame which can be raised or lowered through a restricted distance relative to the main frame to thereby vary the degree of compaction of the soil. It is to be understood that the sub frame which carries the press wheels is quite separate from the sub frame which carries the skid plate whereby the 30 adjustment to vary the compacting pressure is quite independent of the adjustment to vary the depth of the furrow. The adjustment of soil compaction is particularly beneficial as it P OERRS i 2,PCAPdo ln/1i -7 enables the apparatus readily to be adjusted to suit different soil types. In operation, a single tray 4 is loaded into the conveyor which indexes the tray so that a first horizontal row of cells is in alignment with the row of pickers 6. The respective 5 pickers 6 are aligned with alternating cells in the row and in the described embodiment in which there is a set of three pickers, three seedlings will be withdrawn simultaneously from alternate cells at each cycle of operation. Following withdrawal of the seedlings from the cells by closing of the picker fingers and rearwards movement and rotation of the picker support bar 8, the seedlings are dropped from the pickers 6 into the respective 10 seedling hoppers 16 from which they are successively discharged into the drop tube 20 for planting by operation of the kicker block 28. The operation of the pickers, the pneumatic cylinders for controlling displacement of the picker bar, the pneumatic cylinders for controlling opening and closure of the seedling hoppers and a pneumatic cylinder for controlling operation of the kicker block are operated by a program control which ensures 15 correct sequence of operation. After withdrawal of a first group of three seedlings from the tray, the tray is indexed horizontally to present a second set of alternate cells in a position for withdrawal of seedlings therefrom when the picker bar has been returned to its forward position for 20 commencement of the next cycle of operation. This process continues until all of the seedlings in the row have been withdrawn at which time the seedling tray is indexed vertically to present the next row of seedlings to the pickers for withdrawal. Although each of the seedling hoppers 16 has a moveable wall 18 subject to the operation 25 of a separate pneumatic cylinder 22 to provide for timed discharge of the seedling from that hopper into the drop tube 20, depending on timing considerations for operation of the apparatus, one of the seedling hoppers may be held permanently open so that the seedling deposited into that hopper will immediately discharge into the drop tube with the seedlings in the other hoppers being successively discharged in timed relationship by programmed 30 operation of their controlling pneumatic cylinders.

P OPER\RSHVU632906-CAP doc-20A)M/200 -8 Although in the embodiment just described, the seedlings are withdrawn by a row of three pickers from a tray having 12 cells in each row, the invention is not confined to the use of three pickers and there may be more than three pickers in the row. To an extent, the number of pickers will be dependent on the number of cells in each row of the tray as all of 5 the seedlings in the row must be removed after a predetermined number of cycles of simultaneous operation of the pickers. For example, a row of four pickers is suitable for trays having 12 or 16 cells in each row. For trays with 15 or 20 cells per row, the number of pickers could be increased to 5 thereby providing a commensurate increase in output. 10 The embodiment has been described by way of example only and modifications are possible within the scope of the invention. Throughout this specification and claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will 15 be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

Claims (13)

1. An apparatus for transplanting of seedlings in a single row, comprising a main frame, means for supporting the main frame for movement along the bed, a blade assembly 5 for cutting a furrow for the row to be planted, a drop tube for delivering a seedling to a holding position for planting in the furrow, means for discharging the seedling from the holding position into the furrow, means for returning displaced soil into the furrow over the root zone of the seedling, and means for removing a plurality of seedlings simultaneously from a seedling tray and for depositing the separate seedlings into a 10 separate holder, one for each seedling, from which the seedlings are discharged successively into the drop tube for planting.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the separate seedling holders are in the form of hoppers into which the seedlings are dropped from above, with the seedlings then 15 being discharged in sequence from the respective hoppers to fall into the drop tube which is located directly beneath the hoppers.

3. Apparatus according to claim I or claim 2, wherein the means for removing the seedlings from the tray comprises a plurality of seedling pickers each associated with a 20 respective one of the hoppers and operable to withdraw a seedling from the tray and to deposit the seedlings into the associated hopper.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the seedling pickers are mounted in a row to a common support for simultaneous movement between a position adjacent the tray, and 25 a position above the hoppers.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the pickers are mounted in fixed positions to the support and the tray is mounted to a conveyor operative to index the tray to present different groups of seedling-containing cells to the pickers. 30

6. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the means for supporting H:\pli.ntmvoven\NRPortbl\DCC\PLW\5995268_l.dc-4/02/2014 - 10 the main frame for movement along the bed comprises a skid plate and the blade assembly projects beneath the skid plate.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the means for returning displaced soil into 5 the furrow comprises a pair of inclined press wheels.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the press wheels are mounted to a subframe which can be raised or lowered relative to the skid plate whereby to vary the degree of compaction of the soil. 10

9. Apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the skid plate is mounted to the main frame via a subframe which can be raised or lowered relative to the main frame to vary the depth of the furrow produced by the blade assembly. 15

10. Apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the skid plate is formed by separate skids which lie to either side of, and which are spaced laterally from, the blade assembly.

11. Apparatus according to any one of claims I to 10, wherein the blade assembly 20 comprises blades which define a generally V-shaped configuration of vertical cross section, and the drop tube is operative to discharge a seedling into a rear end portion of the blade assembly such that its root portion rests within the base of a blade assembly adjacent an open rear end thereof. 25

12. Apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the seedling is discharged from the blade assembly by a kicker which is reciprocable within the blade assembly and which has a cross-section which corresponds to that of the internal cross-section of the blade assembly.

13. Transplant apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the 30 accompanying drawings.