AU2017265108B2 - Improvements to nursery trays for automation - Google Patents

Abstract

A nursery tray (30) is provided for use with an automatic transplanting apparatus. The nursery tray (30) includes a plurality of cells (31) in an array for containing a plurality of plugs containing seedlings. Each cell (31) is defined by walls (38) and a base (39) and has an opening (46) through which a seedling may protrude. The base (39) has a hole (36) sized to receive an ejection member of the transplanting apparatus. The tray (30) has two side rows (48) of cells (31), one on either side of the tray, an outer side wall (34) on the outer side of each side row (48) and an inner side wall (35) on the inner side of each side row (48). The inner side walls (35) and outer side walls (34) on each side of the tray (30) form dual walls. The dual wall arrangement provides strength to the tray (30), while maximising the volume of cells (31) in the array, particularly when the tray (30) is held in a vertical orientation when in use on the automatic transplanter with plugs and seedlings to be ejected horizontally. Figure 3 2/6 13 171 20 17A FIUR 2

Description

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IMPROVEMENTS TO NURSERY TRAYS FOR AUTOMATION FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to nursery trays of the type including a cell array adapted to contain seedlings and plugs of growing medium and to be handled by an automatic transplanting system.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

[0002] Nursery trays are traditionally a rectangular structure comprised of reverse pyramid cells which are filled with growing media called "a plug" in which a seed is placed and covered to germinate the seed which will eventually grow into a seedling. The tray is later transferred from the nursery with a mature seedling ready to be transplanted into the field.

[0003] Figure 1 shows an underside view of a row of cells of a standard type nursery tray. The row of cells shown are adjacent an outer side wall 3a and outer end wall 4a, the outer end and side walls being spaced apart from the cells. A rectangular tray has two outer end walls and two outer side walls around its perimeter. The lower edge of the outer side walls 3a, 4a have "U" shaped indents 2a. Injection die blades 5a connect the outer side and end walls 3a, 4a to the interior walls that define the cells. These injection die blades 5a are vulnerable and form a weakness in the tray design.

[0004] In the manual form of transplanting the seedling is grasped by hand and pulled upward to remove the seedling plant complete with the plug root and growing media.

[0005] There also exist semiautomatic transplanters where the operator who is seated on the transplanter machine removes the seedlings and plugs by hand

20609447_1 (GHMatters) P42434AUAU and drops them into a mechanical planter which completes the field transplanting process.

[0006] A number of automatic transplanter systems exist that use a standard nursery tray or flat in a horizontal position with automatic apparatus moving over the X/Y axis of the tray which push needles or rods obliquely into the plug for extraction. Maintaining the nursery tray in a horizontal position can mean that it is extremely difficult for the automatic transplanter to plant with close row spacing.

[0007] The present applicant has previously provided the automation of a nursery tray placed on its edge, the tray being held in a vertical position such that the seedlings protrude in the horizontal direction. The automation and indexing of a tray of this type in a vertical position is permitted through gear-like protrusions which are formed as a skirt of material along the underside of the top surface of the side wall of the tray. The gear-like protrusions form what may be known as a gear rack.

[0008] It would be desirable to provide an improved seeding tray for use with an automatic transplanting system. For example, it would be desirable to provide a tray which can be formed using less material to reduce weight and cost. It would also be desirable to provide a seedling tray for use in an automatic transplanting system that is more robust than previously used trays. It would further be desirable to provide a tray that may have an increased volume in each of the cells for improved efficiency and output. Furthermore, it would be desirable to provide an improved gear rack for a nursery tray.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] An aspect of the present invention provides a nursery tray for seedlings for use with an automatic transplanter, the tray comprising: a plurality of cells disposed in a predetermined array, each cell configured to contain a plug of

20609447_1 (GHMatters) P42434AUAU growing medium containing a seedling, wherein each cell has an open front side through which a seedling may protrude and a rear side comprising a hole configured to receive an ejection member; two outer side walls on opposite sides of the tray; two rows of said cells, each of said rows located adjacent to a respective one of the outer side walls; and two inner side walls extending substantially parallel to the two outer side walls, each inner side wall being positioned adjacent to and on an opposite side of a respective one of the two side rows of cells corresponding to a respective one of the two outer side walls, wherein each inner side wall and its respective outer side wall form a dual wall, wherein the nursery tray further comprises a plurality of corner energy absorption ribs, wherein the corner energy absorption ribs are each spaced apart from one another and are positioned at a corner location between four cells of the predetermined array, and wherein the nursery tray is configured for use in a substantially vertical orientation in which the two outer side walls and two inner side walls extend substantially vertically, such that plugs containing seedlings may be ejected from the cells in a substantially horizontal direction when the nursery tray is in the substantially vertical orientation.

[0010] In preferred embodiments, a gear rack is formed along each dual wall. Preferably, the gear rack is in the form of a plurality of notches in at least one of the respective inner and outer walls of the dual wall. Each notch may be positioned between two adjacent cells of the respective side row of cells and the notches are uniformly spaced with the spacing between adjacent notches corresponding to the distance between the centres of adjacent cells in each side row of cells. Each notch may be in the form of a cut-out groove in a respective outer side wall and inner side wall that extends in shape between the outer side wall and inner side wall along cell cross walls.

[0011] According to embodiments, a plurality of cell cross walls extend between the inner side wall and outer side wall of each dual wall. Each cell cross wall may be positioned between adjacent cells of the row of cells between the outer side wall and inner side wall of the respective dual wall.

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[0012] According to embodiments, the nursery tray according further comprises two outer end walls extending substantially perpendicularly to the outer side walls, the outer end walls being located at opposite ends of the tray from one another, wherein when the nursery tray is in the substantially vertical orientation the two outer end walls extend substantially horizontally.

[0013] The nursery tray may further comprise two inner end walls extending substantially parallel to the two outer end walls, each inner end wall being positioned adjacent to and on an opposite side of a row of end cells which extend adjacently and parallel to the outer end wall.

[0014] According to embodiments, the nursery tray further comprises a cross network of walls extending between each adjacent cell in the predetermined array of cells. Preferably, the two outer side walls and two inner side walls have an increased wall thickness compared to each wall of the cross network of walls.

[0015] The nursery tray may also include reinforcements to ensure that the tray is strengthened and secure in use on an automatic transplanter, particularly when positioned in the vertical orientation with the seedlings projecting in the horizontal direction. According to embodiments, a first reinforcement is provided between the two inner side walls, the first reinforcement being in the form of a cross bracing rib. Preferably, the tray comprises a plurality of said first reinforcements which are spaced apart from and extend parallel to one another.

[0016] The nursery tray may further comprise a second reinforcement which is provided between the two outer end walls of the tray, the second reinforcement extending substantially vertically when the tray is in the substantially vertical orientation, and wherein the second reinforcement being in the form of a bracing rib. The tray preferably comprises a plurality of said second reinforcements which are spaced apart from and extend parallel to one another. The second reinforcements preferably extend perpendicularly to the first reinforcements.

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[0017] As discussed above, the aspect of the invention also includes that the nursery tray includes a plurality of corner energy absorption ribs, wherein the corner energy absorption ribs are each spaced apart from one another and are positioned at a corner location between four cells of the predetermined array. The corner energy absorption ribs may provide an additional bracing effect to the tray to improve it stability and strength.

[0018] The open upper side of each cell may have a diameter that is greater than a diameter of the rear side of said cell. The shape of each cell provided by this arrangement may be a truncated pyramid shape.

[0019] The nursery tray may be formed from any suitable material. Preferably, the tray is formed from a plastics material.

[0020] Another aspect of the present invention provides a nursery tray for seedlings for use in an automatic transplanter, the tray comprising: two outer side walls arranged to extend substantially vertically when in use in the automatic transplanter; two outer end walls arranged to extend substantially horizontally when in use in the automatic transplanter; a plurality of cells arranged in a predetermined array between the outer side walls and outer end walls, each cell being adapted to contain a plug of growing medium containing a seedling, each cell having an open front side through which the seedling protrudes and an open rear side adapted to receive an ejection member; and two inner side walls extending substantially parallel to the two outer side walls, each inner side wall being positioned adjacent to and on an opposite side of a respective one of the two rows of cells corresponding to a respective one of the two outer side walls, wherein each inner side wall and its respective outer side wall forms a dual wall, wherein the nursery tray further comprises a plurality of corner energy absorption ribs, wherein the corner energy absorption ribs are each spaced apart from one another and are positioned at a corner location between four cells of the predetermined array, and wherein the nursery tray is configured for use in a substantially vertical orientation such that plugs containing a seedling may be

20609447_1 (GHMatters) P42434AUAU ejected from the cells in a substantially horizontal direction, wherein when the nursery tray is in the substantially vertical orientation the two outer side walls and two inner side walls extend substantially vertically.

[0021] According to embodiments, the dual walls each comprise a gear rack in the form of a plurality of uniformly spaced notches, each notch extending between adjacent cells between the inner and outer side walls, wherein the notches are adapted in use to engage with an indexing mechanism of the automatic transplanter.

[0022] The present invention provides a nursery tray that may be formed from less material than previous trays of this type. The dual wall structure at the sides of the tray also enable the strength to be increased. Further, the removal an additional wall around the perimeter of the cell array reduces the amount of material used in construction of the tray. The gear rack formation utilising notches in the dual walls creates an improved gear rack formation that does not require an additional skirt to be formed along and spaced from the sides of the tray. Further advantages of the invention according to the aspects and embodiments over the nursery trays of the prior art will be apparent to a skilled person in light of the description provided herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] The invention may be better understood by reference to preferred embodiments, as shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0024] Figure 1 shows perspective view of the underside of a row of cells on a side of a standard nursery tray of the prior art;

[0025] Figure 2 shows perspective view of the underside of a side row of cells of a tray according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure;

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[0026] Figure 3 shows perspective view of the underside of a row of cells of a tray according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0027] Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the top of a pair of trays according to the second embodiment placed side by side;

[0028] Figure 5 shows a perspective view of the underside of a tray according to the second embodiment; and

[0029] Figure 6 shows a perspective view of the tray according to the second embodiment when placed vertically on an automatic transplanter.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0030] Figure 2 is a rear view of a side row 10 of cells 11 of a nursery tray according a first embodiment of the present disclosure. The tray is preferably formed from a plastic material such that it may be manufactured at low cost with relative ease, such as through a standard moulding process. The tray does not have an additional outer wall or a skirt extending around its perimeter. The tray is provided with an array of cells 11 which are arranged in a grid formation, for example as shown in Figures 4 and 5. Each cell 11 comprises walls 18 which define an internal compartment sized to house a plug of growing medium containing a seedling.

[0031] At a front side 12, each cell 11 has an opening from which a seedling may protrude when the tray is in use to hold the plugs and seedlings. At a rear side 13, each cell 11 has a base 19, which acts as a lower platform which holds the plug and seedling during germination and transport. A hole 16 in the shape of a cross is provided in each base 19. The holes 16 are adapted to receive an ejection member, such as a pin or rod of a transplanting apparatus, preferably an

20609447_1 (GHMatters) P42434AUAU automatic transplanter. The holes 16 also allow excess water within the cells 11 during watering of the seedlings to drain out.

[0032] Each cell 11 is formed from four walls 18 providing the cell with a square or rectangular cross section. The walls 18 of each cell 11 define the shape of a truncated pyramid. The diameter of each cell 11 at the front 12 is larger than the diameter of each cell at the rear 13. The diameter of the cell 11 may transition smoothly between the front 12 and the rear 13 or alternatively the diameter may be tapered in certain sections between the front 12 and the rear 13. Other shapes of cells are possible with the scope of the present invention, providing that one or more of the inventive features described herein are present.

[0033] On the front side 12, the cells 11 share walls with adjacent cells 11 in the array. The truncated pyramid shape of the cells 11 in the tray means that the base 19 of adjacent cells 11 are spaced apart from one another by a space 17 defined between the adjacent cells 11.

[0034] The nursery tray of the first embodiment has two opposed ends and two sides, the ends and the sides defining the perimeter of the array of cells. At each side an outer side wall 14 is provided. Each outer side wall 14 is formed by the outer wall of the row of cells 11 at the side of the tray. To form a continuous outer side wall 14 the spaces 17 between adjacent cells 11 on the side row of cells 11 are filled in with the material used to form the tray. Preferably, the outer side wall 14 will be increased in wall thickness compared to the other walls 18 between cells in the array that are not in a side row of the tray. Two outer side walls 14 are provided on the tray, positioned at each of the sides of the tray. A similar outer end wall may be formed at each end of the tray substantially perpendicular to the outer side walls. The outer end wall is preferably continuously formed by filling in the spaces 17 between the adjacent cells 11 of the respective outer end row of cells 11.

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[0035] An inner side wall 15 is similarly formed by the walls 18 of the side row of cells 11 on the opposite side of the cells from the outer side walls 14. The spaces 17 between the adjacent cells 11 are filled in to form a continuous inner side wall 15. Preferably, the inner side wall 14 will be increased in wall thickness compared to the other walls 18 between cells in the array that are not in a side row of the tray. A similar inner end wall may be formed on the end row of cells at each end of the tray which inner end wall is on the opposite side of the cells from the outer end wall. The inner end wall is preferably continuously formed by filling in the spaces 17 between the adjacent cells 11 of the respective inner end row of cells 11.

[0036] The filling in of the spaces 17 between the adjacent cells 11 to form the inner side walls 15 and outer side walls 14 in this case means that the entire space 17 between the adjacent cells 11 is not completely filled in, but the portions in line with the outer and inner walls 18 of the cells 11 are filled in. A gap 20 may still be retained between the cells 11. It is possible that these gaps 20 could also be filled in to form solid sections of material between adjacent cells, however this would use more material which may be undesirable. The gaps 20 between the adjacent cells 11 at the sides of the tray may be used for indexing purposes by transplanter apparatus. Indexing of the tray assists in positioning the tray correctly when the plugs with seedlings are to be ejected by the transplanter.

[0037] The tray is configured such that it is in a substantially horizontal orientation when seedlings are germinating. In the horizonal orientation the seedlings will protrude from the opening in the front side 12 of cells 11 in a substantially vertical position. The tray may also be kept in the substantially horizonal position after germination when the tray of seedlings is being transported. Preferably, the tray is held in a vertical orientation when in use on the automatic transplanting apparatus. In the vertical orientation the seedlings will protrude from the cells 11 in a substantially horizontal direction. The tray is configured that when in use on a transplanter the plugs with seedlings can be ejected from the cells 11 in a horizontal direction by the insertion of an ejection

20609447_1 (GHMatters) P42434AUAU rod or pin through the holes 16 in the cells 11. Once ejected, the plugs with seedlings will be handled by the transplanting apparatus to be planted into the ground in a desired location.

[0038] The inner side walls 15 and outer side walls 14 form a dual wall structure. The dual wall structure adds stability to the tray which is desirable particularly when the tray is to be used in a vertical orientation in an automatic transplanter. Dual wall structures are located at the sides of the tray and have a side row 10 of cells 11 between the respective outer and inner side walls 14, 15 of each dual wall. The walls 18 of the cells 11 in the dual wall structure which are substantially perpendicular to the outer side walls 14 and inner side walls 15 assist in reinforcing the dual wall structure to increase the stability it provides. The dual wall structure creates a stronger design compared to prior art trays that is particularly stronger when the tray is in a vertical orientation allowing the support of the weight of a tray fully loaded with plugs and seedlings in the array of cells 11.

[0039] A second embodiment of a tray 30 according to present invention is shown in figures 3 to 5. Figure 3 shows a rear view of a side row 48 of cells 31 of the tray 30 which have a dual wall structure of an inner side wall 35 and outer side wall 34 similar to that already described in relation to figure 2. The difference between the embodiment shown in figure 3 and figure 2 is that the spaces 37 filled in between the adjacent cells 31 to form the outer and inner side walls 34, are not completely filled in to define a straight edge along the rear side 33 of the tray. Instead in figure 3, notches 41, 42 are provided in the outer and inner side walls 34, 35 at the location where the spaces 37 are partially filled in. The notches 41, 42 are uniformly spaced from adjacent notches 41, 42. The notches 41, 42 and gap 40 between the notches 41, 42 form a continuous notch across the side row of cells 31, with a continuous notch formed between each adjacent pair of cells 31 in the side row. The side rows of cells 31 with a dual wall structure are provided at both sides of the tray 30. Other aspects of the

20609447_1 (GHMatters) P42434AUAU embodiment shown in figure 3 are consistent with those described above with reference to the first embodiment as displayed in figure 2.

[0040] The notches 41, 42 form a gear rack that permits rapid indexing of the tray 30 in discreet steps between rows of cells when used in an automatic transplanter. Similarly to the first embodiment, the tray 30 of the second embodiment is stronger and increased in stability due to the dual wall structure, which is an improvement over the prior art shown in figure 1.

[0041] At the end of each outer side wall 34 and outer inner wall 35, the tray may be provided with partial notches 43. The partial notches 43 are formed such that when like trays 30 are placed adjacent to one another, as shown in figure 4, additional notches 44 are formed between the inner side walls 35 and outer side walls 34 of the trays 30 by their respective partial notches 43. This arrangement means that two trays could be loaded adjacent to one another in a transplanter and indexing between rows of the two trays 30 may take place by using the adjacent additional notches 44 of adjacent trays 30 in an extended gear rack.

[0042] Figure 4 shows a front view of two trays 30 placed side by side with one of their ends adjacent the end of the other tray and with their respective sides parallel and in alignment. The openings 46 in the front side 32 of each cell 31 are shown in figure 4. Each tray 30 may adopt a substantially horizontal orientation for growing seedlings such that the plugs and seedlings can be held in the cells 31 with the seedlings growing substantially vertically during germination upwards out of the front side 42 of the cells. The tray 30 is preferably configured for use in a vertical orientation on an automatic transplanter with one end wall 47 facing downwardly and the other end wall 47' facing upwardly. In this vertical tray orientation, the seedlings will protrude horizontally and substantially perpendicularly to the vertical orientation of the tray 30.

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[0043] Adjacent cells 31 in the grid of the array share common wall 38 boundaries in perpendicular directions on the front side 32 of the tray. The cell array is arranged such that it maximises the volume in each of the cells 31 on the tray 30 by minimising the spaces between adjacent cells 31. The majority of the adjacent cells 31 do not share common wall boundaries on the rear 33 of the tray, due to the truncated pyramid shape of the cells 31 with the cell diameters of the rear 33 being smaller than the cell diameters at the front side 32. However, the cells 31 in rows at the sides and ends of the tray 30 share at least one common boundary, the inner and outer side walls 35, 34 and outer end walls 47 being shared by adjacent cells 31 at the sides and ends of the tray, even at the rear of the cells.

[0044] Due to the spaces 37 that are defined between the adjacent cells 31 that are not located in a row at the end or side of the tray 30, the rear 33 of the tray 30 may be provided with additional bracing means. Figures 3 and 5 show the rear side 33 of the tray 30 and bases 39 of each cell 31 with holes 36. Bracing and strengthening of the tray 30 may be provided by ribs 50, 51, 52 as shown in figure 5. The ribs 50, 51, 52 may take any form providing they fulfil the role of strengthening and bracing the rear 33 of the tray. The ribs 50, 51, 52 further assist in creating a robust tray that meets the needs required to be used in a vertical orientation when in use on a transplanter apparatus. In alternative embodiments alternative bracing means may be used instead of the ribs 50, 51, 52 shown in figure 5, or alternatively only one, two or other number of any of the ribs 50, 51, 52 may be used.

[0045] The ribs 50 traverse the rear side 33 of the tray 30 between the respective inner side walls 35 of each side of the tray 30. The ribs 50 are located in the spaces 37 between adjacent cells 31 at the rear side 33 of the tray 30. The ribs 51 traverse the rear side 33 of the tray 30 between each outer end wall 47; 48, these ribs 51 extending substantially perpendicularly to ribs 50. The ribs 51 are located in the spaces 37 formed between adjacent cells 31 that in lines between the outer end walls 47. In some embodiments the ribs 50, 51 may be

20609447_1 (GHMatters) P42434AUAU provided to at least partially fill all of the spaces 37 in the rear 33 of the tray 30, although this could potentially use a large amount of material to form such a tray depending on the form of the ribs 50, 51. Therefore, it may be preferable to include a reduced number of ribs 50, 51 on the tray 30, such as shown in figure 5 where two ribs 50 extend between the inner side walls 35 and four ribs 51 extend between the outer end walls 47.

[0046] According to the embodiment shown in figure 5, corner ribs 52 are also provided at some of the corner intersections between the rear 33 of four adjacent cells 31. The corner ribs 52 may be in a set pattern as shown in figure 5 where they are placed in diagonal patterns, alternatively they be more randomly positioned or placed in different patterns. Corner ribs 53 may also be positioned in the spaces 37 between the inner side walls 35 and two cells 31 adjacent thereto. In some embodiments there may be no ribs 50, 51 and only corner ribs 52, 53 on the rear 33 of the tray 30 to provide the bracing effect. Alternatively, in some embodiments there may be elongate ribs 50, 51 and no corner ribs on the tray 30. The need for bracing and position thereof may be decided upon depending on the size of the tray and number of cells thereon. Larger trays 30 with a large number of cells 31 are likely to require more bracing compared to smaller trays 30 with less cells 31.

[0047] Figure 6 shows the tray 30 of the second embodiment shown in figures 3 to 5 in use adjacent to a conveyor 61 of an automatic transplanter apparatus of the type described in our Australian Provisional Patent Application No. 2017900730 filed on 3 March 2017, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The tray 30 is held in the vertical orientation with twin wall gear racks 90, defined by the inner and outer side walls 35, 34 and notches 41, 42, extending upwardly along each side of the vertical tray. In use the twin wall gear racks 90 permit the tray 30 to be indexed in direction 70 relative to the conveyer 61. The indexing mechanism which cooperates with the twin wall gear racks 90 is not shown in figure 6.

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[0048] The conveyer 61 includes a track 62 onto which are positioned a number of cleats 64. The cleats 64 and track 62 defining a number of cell pockets 63. The conveyer 61 is configured such that the track 62, cleats 64 and cell pockets 63 move along the conveyer to receive plugs and seedlings from the cells of the tray 30. The direction of motion of the conveyer 61 shown in figure 6 is that the upper row of cleats 64 moves to the left as figure 6 is viewed and the lower row of cleats 64 moves to the right.

[0049] The conveyer 61 is sized and includes a number of cell pockets 63 such that an entire row of plugs with seedlings may be received in the cell pockets at the same time. The plugs and seedlings are ejected from the cells of the tray 30 into the cell pockets 63 in direction 71 which is substantially perpendicular to the vertical orientation of the tray 30. Once the plugs have been ejected from the tray into the cell pockets 63, the conveyer 61 is set in motion. As the cell pockets 63 reach a position 66A the cleats 64 defining the cell pockets 63 spread apart and allow the plugs to be ejected if no live seedling is retained therein and the plug is a so-called 'dud' plug. Plugs with seedlings continue to 66B and are retained therein to be put into position with the transplanter for planting in the ground.

[0050] Comprises/comprising and grammatical variations thereof when used in this specification are to be taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components or groups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.

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Claims (20)

CLAIMS:

1. A nursery tray for seedlings for use with an automatic transplanter, the tray comprising: a plurality of cells disposed in a predetermined array, each cell configured to contain a plug of growing medium containing a seedling, wherein each cell has an open front side through which a seedling may protrude and a rear side comprising a hole configured to receive an ejection member; two outer side walls on opposite sides of the tray; two side rows of said cells, each of said rows located adjacent to a respective one of the outer side walls; and two inner side walls extending substantially parallel to the two outer side walls, each inner side wall being positioned adjacent to and on an opposite side of a respective one of the two side rows of cells corresponding to a respective one of the two outer side walls, wherein each inner side wall and its respective outer side wall form a dual wall, wherein the nursery tray further comprises a plurality of corner energy absorption ribs, wherein the corner energy absorption ribs are each spaced apart from one another and are positioned at a corner location between four cells of the predetermined array, and wherein the nursery tray is configured for use in a substantially vertical orientation in which the two outer side walls and two inner side walls extend substantially vertically, such that plugs containing seedlings may be ejected from the cells in a substantially horizontal direction when the nursery tray is in the substantially vertical orientation.

2. The nursery tray according to claim 1, wherein a gear rack is formed along each dual wall.

3. The nursery tray according to claim 2, wherein the gear rack is in the form of a plurality of notches in at least one of the respective inner and outer walls of the dual wall.

4. The nursery tray according to claim 3 wherein the notches are uniformly spaced and each notch is positioned between two adjacent cells of the respective side row of cells.

5. The nursery tray according to claim 3, wherein each notch is in the form of a cut-out groove in the respective outer side wall and inner side wall that extends in shape between the outer side wall and inner side wall along cell cross walls.

6. The nursery tray according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a plurality of cell cross walls extend between the inner side wall and outer side wall of each dual wall.

7. The nursery tray according to claim 6, wherein each cell cross wall is positioned between adjacent cells of the row of cells between the outer side wall and inner side wall of the respective dual wall.

8. The nursery tray according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising two outer end walls extending substantially perpendicularly to the outer side walls, the outer end walls being located at opposite ends of the tray from one another, wherein when the nursery tray is in the substantially vertical orientation the two outer end walls extend substantially horizontally.

9. The nursery tray according to claim 8, further comprising two inner end walls extending substantially parallel to the two outer end walls, each inner end wall being positioned adjacent to and on an opposite side of a row of each cell which extend adjacently and parallel to the outer end wall.

10. The nursery tray according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a cross network of walls extending between each adjacent cell in the predetermined array of cells.

11. The nursery tray according to claim 10, wherein the two outer side walls and two inner side walls have an increased wall thickness compared to each wall of the cross network of walls.

12. The nursery tray according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a first reinforcement which is provided between the two inner side walls, the first reinforcement being in the form of a cross bracing rib.

13. The nursery tray according to claim 12, wherein the tray comprises a plurality of said first reinforcements which are spaced apart from and extend parallel to one another.

14. The nursery tray according to claim 8, further comprising a second reinforcement which is provided between the two outer end walls of the tray, the second reinforcement extending substantially vertically when the tray is in the substantially vertical orientation, and wherein the second reinforcement being in the form of a bracing rib.

15. The nursery tray according to claim 14, wherein the tray comprises a plurality of said second reinforcements which are spaced apart from and extend parallel to one another.

16. The nursery tray according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the open upper side of each cell has a diameter that is greater than a diameter of the rear side of said cell.

17. The nursery tray according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each cell is in the shape of a truncated pyramid.

18. The nursery tray according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the tray is formed from a plastics material.

19. A nursery tray for seedlings for use in an automatic transplanter, the tray comprising: two outer side walls arranged to extend substantially vertically when in use in the automatic transplanter; two outer end walls arranged to extend substantially horizontally when in use in the automatic transplanter; a plurality of cells arranged in a predetermined array between the outer side walls and outer end walls, each cell being adapted to contain a plug of growing medium containing a seedling, each cell having an open front side through which the seedling protrudes and an open rear side adapted to receive an ejection member; and two inner side walls extending substantially parallel to the two outer side walls, each inner side wall being positioned adjacent to and on an opposite side of a respective one of two rows of cells corresponding to a respective one of the two outer side walls, wherein each inner side wall and its respective outer side wall forms a dual wall, wherein the nursery tray further comprises a plurality of corner energy absorption ribs, wherein the corner energy absorption ribs are each spaced apart from one another and are positioned at a corner location between four cells of the predetermined array, and wherein the nursery tray is configured for use in a substantially vertical orientation such that plugs containing a seedling may be ejected from the cells in a substantially horizontal direction, wherein when the nursery tray is in the substantially vertical orientation the two outer side walls and two inner side walls extend substantially vertically.

20. The nursery tray according to claim 19, wherein the dual walls each comprise a gear rack in the form of a plurality of uniformly spaced notches, each notch extending between adjacent cells between the inner and outer side walls, wherein the notches are adapted in use to engage with an indexing mechanism of the automatic transplanter.

WILLIAMES PTY LTD

WATERMARK INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PTY LTD

P42434AUP1