FR2543793A1 - METHOD AND DEVICE FOR INTRODUCING SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL PLANTS INTO A CONTAINER - Google Patents

Abstract

THE INVENTION CONCERNS A PROCESS AND A DEVICE FOR INTRODUCING SENSITIVELY CYLINDRICAL PLANTS 9 EACH CONSISTING OF AN ENVELOPE SURROUNDING THE FILLING MATERIAL, WHICH MAY CONTAIN AT LEAST ONE SEED, IN A TRAY 2 WHERE THE SEEDS ARE THEN BROUGHT TO GERMINATE. TO FILL THE BINS, THE PLANTS BROUGHT ONE INTO SUCCESS OF THE OTHERS, TRANSVERSALLY TO THEIR LONGITUDINAL AXES, ARE GATHERED IN ROWS 10 OR THEY HAVE CONSTANT SPACING BETWEEN THEM. AFTER THE FORMATION OF A COMPLETE ROW PRESENTING A DETERMINED NUMBER OF PLANTS, THESE LATTER ARE PREFERRED SIMULTANEOUSLY, MOVING IN THE DIRECTION OF THEIR LONGITUDINAL AXES, TRANSFERRED INTO ALVEOLES OF THE BAC.

Description

Method and device for introducing substantially cylindrical plants

  The present invention relates to a process for introducing substantially cylindrical "plants 9 ', each consisting of an envelope surrounding a filling material which may contain at least one seed, in a container where the

  seeds or fragments of plants are caused to germinate.

  The invention further relates to a device for introducing substantially cylindrical plants, consisting

  each of an envelope surrounding the filling material

  pleating which may contain at least one seed, in a container where the seeds or fragments of plants are caused to germinate. By "filling material" is meant here material in which seeds can, at least for a certain time, germinate and take root A

  in this respect it may be peat, humus or substan-

  these analogs with or without fillers (for example cellular materials) and fertilizers The filling material may contain a seed or be made suitable, for example by making a recess therein, to receive

  seeds or fragments of plants such as cuttings.

  Thanks to the published German patent application no. 3,049,576 it is known to connect cylindrical plants, such as they are produced for example according to the process described in American patent NO 3,456,386, between them by means of a strip spacing and allow the seeds to germinate at the desired time The plants are then, after having been thus cultured, transplanted in a manner not shown in the field, the spacing strip

  determining in this respect the spacing of the plants.

  The present invention aims to allow cylindrical plants of the kind mentioned above to be introduced into trays where the seeds placed and / or contained in the plants can be caused to germinate For their further development young plants can then be removed from the tanks again,

  for example to be transplanted into fields.

  This object is achieved according to the invention by the fact that the plants brought one after the other in a direction transverse to their longitudinal axes are gathered in well-defined rows in which they are at constant intervals with respect to the others and the plants are transferred to the tank

  in the direction of their longitudinal axes.

  An embodiment of the invention in which the equidistant plants gathered in rows are each

  times transferred simultaneously to the bin is particularly

  This is particularly advantageous since it allows rapid transfer of the plants. In order to avoid entanglement of the roots of plants developing from the seeds and in order to first grab the plants to remove them from the tank, the plants are introduced into the tank in places where they are kept separate from each other. can be done by transferring the seedlings into cells of the tank or by pushing the seedlings with a frontal side on pointed projections If it is a question of putting the seeds later in place in the seedlings, then it is advantageous to arrange a recess in the front face concerned of the plants This operation can in a particularly advantageous manner be combined with the transfer of the plants in the tank by pushing, during or immediately after the transfer, the front faces of the plants distant from the bottom of the tank so as to train there

suitable recesses.

  When plants are continuously produced at a high throughput (number of plants per unit of time), produced and brought in to be introduced into a tank, there is a problem which consists in that, after the formation of 'a full row, the following plants would abut, during the transfer of the row, against the row just transferred To avoid this drawback it is provided according to a particular embodiment of the invention to allow a full row of be lifted, by an amount at least somewhat greater than the diameter of the plants, from a gathering plane so as to be brought into a transfer plane, so that the ready row is transferred into

  the tray being in the higher transfer plane.

  The advantage of this operating phase is that the newly brought plants can, when transferring from the previously formed row, already arrive in the gathering area where they then enter the receiving troughs or recesses after the transfer By separating the gathering plan of the transfer plan in space, it allows the supply of plants to be never influenced and possibly disturbed for example by means

mechanical.

  Another solution to this problem is that during the transfer of the plants the entire row is mechanically separated, for example by means of a stop member mechanically interposed on the supply path, from the newly brought plants After the transfer of the row in the tray this stop member is, removed from the supply path so that the plants can reach the

assembly area in rows.

  So that the introduction of seedlings into the bin

  can be performed without incident in a relative space-

  ment restricted and with a large flow it is important that the rows are formed, with maximum precision, plants as far as possible equidistant, avoiding

  gaps due to the absence of plants According to another case

  of the invention the plants brought transversely

  Lement to their longitudinal axes are, in order to form a row, successively sucked upwards in hollows, for example troughs, equidistant, a plant being sucked upwards in a trough which in the direction of supply -is close to the trough occupied by the plant previously brought. Another possibility is to allow the plants, as soon as they leave a machine which manufactures them, to be brought transversely to their longitudinal axes, in a stream of a single row, in equidistant hollows whose intervals correspond to those of the plants in the tank, and successively lifting each of the rows of plants formed from this flow so as to bring

  these in the transfer plan.

  According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that, after the transfer of a substantially horizontal row of plants, the container automatically moves in height by a step which corresponds

  at the desired spacing of rows of plants in the tank.

  When a bin is completely filled with plants, the bin is advantageously removed, in the direction of the axes

  length of the plants, from the filling plan of prefe-

  vertical rence, whereas in the opposite direction an empty container can be brought into the filling plane The movements of full and empty containers can be synchronized so that the supply of the empty container is already made during

  emptying the full bin For example, in case of

  pleating of a tray moving step by step in the vertical filling plane the filled tray can, after transfer

  of the last row of seedlings, move one step

  slightly larger cement so that it reaches an exit conveyor and is thus distant; simultaneously the feeding of the empty tank into the filling zone can already take place so that the filling rate is not interrupted. According to the invention, the supply and output conveyors can, very advantageously, constitute themselves- same positions storing respectively

empty and full bins.

  Both from the point of view of the cost price and that of the storage capacity necessary to keep the tanks in reserve, it is advantageous that they are as much as possible thin-walled and flat. However, this poses handling problems. these are resolved according to an advantageous embodiment of the invention by the fact that a container is brought in while lying down, that is to say transversely to its receiving cells, and is put by tilting in the filling plane of vertical preference After filling the container returns by tilting from the vertical position to the horizontal position and is transported, for example to a stacking device, transversely

to the longitudinal axes of the plants.

  The device mentioned above is characterized in that it comprises a conveyor intended to bring the plants transversely to their longitudinal axes, a row forming equipment intended to form rows of a predetermined number of plants equidistant from each other, and a transfer means for transferring the plants of a row, in the direction of their axes

  longitudinal, in cells of the tank.

  Other advantageous features of

  the invention are defined below.

  The invention is explained in more detail below and illustrated by way of example in the appended drawings in which: FIG. I is an overall view of a filling device according to the invention; Figure 2 shows an example of a plant to be introduced into the tank by means of the filling device; FIG. 3 is a perspective view, on a larger scale, of equipment for forming rows (suction head) for plants; Figure 4 is a partial longitudinal section, on a larger scale, of the row forming equipment of Figure 3; Figure 5 is a section along the line V-V of Figure 4; FIG. 6 represents a plant which, instead of being provided with a seed (FIG. 2), has a recess for receiving a seed or fragments of plants, for example a cutting; Figure 7 is a top view of a partially filled container having square cells; Figure 8 is a partial side view, in section along line VIIIVIII of Figure 7, of the container of Figure 7; Figures 9 and 10 show an embodiment of the tank, modified with respect to that of Figures 7 and 8, comprising spacing devices inside the cells to enlarge the space available for the formation of roots; Figure 1 l shows an additional embodiment of a tray; Figures 12 and 13 are detailed views, on a larger scale, of the tray of Figure ll the tray of Figure 13 being filled with plants; FIG. 14 is an overall view of another filling device according to the invention which is equipped with transport members for bringing plants; Figure 15 shows details of a plant conveyor chain, which is part of Figure 14; Figure 16 shows details of a suction head of the filling device of Figure 14; Figure 17 shows the suction head of Figure 16 in cross section; FIGS. 18 and 19 represent, compared with FIG. 16, different phases of displacement of the suction head; FIG. 20 shows details of a pusher intended for each time transferring a row of plants from the suction head into a container for the filling device of FIG. 14; Figures 21 to 23 show different displacement phases of the pusher of Figure 20; Figure 24 shows details of a lifting mechanism of the filling device of Figure 14; and FIG. 25 shows members equipping the filling device of FIG. 14 and intended for

  transport and tip bins.

  Empty bins 2 (hereinafter also called crates') are, as shown in FIG. 1, available at a station 1 with empty crates and are, by means of a lifting mechanism 3 equipped with a control member and carrying out a lifting and advancing movement according to arrow 5, transferred one after the other to a descent conveyor 7 (stepper conveyor) which, capable of being driven step by step by a control member 6 , allows a box 2 thus transferred to pass step by step in a vertical filling plane F in front of a filling station 8 Plants 9 of the genus shown in detail in FIG. 2 are brought to the filling station 8, by a conveyor of 'feed presented in the form of a strip 11, perpendicular to the plane of the drawing one after the other transversely to their longitudinal axes and gathered in a gathering plane A (Figure 4) in hollows (troughs -12) of a row training equipment, presented under the fo rme of a suction head 13 and mounted directly above the strip 11, so as to form an unbroken row of equidistant plants 9 The troughs 12 communicate via channels 14 with a space 16 o reigns in depression After the formation of the row, which is constituted by a well-defined number of equidistant plants 9, a control member 17 brings the suction head 13 into the transfer plane U by lifting it by an amount slightly greater than the diameter of the plants, so that the plants 9 brought later are not hampered when they arrive under the suction head 13 A transfer means presented in the form of a pusher 19 and driven by a control member 18 passes the entire row 10 through a mouth 21 in the box 2 o each plant enters a cell which is separated from the neighboring cells by partitions Then the control member 6 lowers the box 2 by a step which corresponds to the distance between two rows of plants, while the control member 18 causes the pusher 19 to perform a return movement and the control member 17 allows the suction head to descend to its starting position above the strip 11 o it

  collects a new row of plants.

  Thus the box 2 is filled with rows of plants formed successively After the transfer of a determined number of rows of plants the next empty box is transferred to the descent conveyor 7 by the control member 4; After having reached the level of a station 22 with filled crates, the filled crate is evacuated according to arrow 24 by a conveyor belt 23 representing an output Xtransporter The carriers 3-4 and 23 constitute not only respectively conveyors of supply and outlet for boxes 2 but at the same time storage stations for empty and full boxes Box 2 is divided, which is not visible in FIG. 1, in a honeycomb form by partitions extending horizontally and vertically and in this respect the horizontal partitions separate the different horizontal rows of plants from one another, while the vertical partitions separate the plants of the same row from each other The cells thus formed in the boxes 2 can be circular, triangular, rectangular (especially square) or polygonal, for example hexagonal If the cells are hexagonal their walls can be made like those of nests

bees.

  FIG. 2 shows a plant 9 comprising an envelope 26 which surrounds filling material 27 put in a substantially cylindrical form and composed of peat, organic fibers, humus or the like or mixtures thereof As material filling material can in principle be used any material in which a seed 28 is capable of germinating or of forming roots The envelope may be composed of a material, preferably paper, capable of rapidly rotting in the soil However other materials, for example suitable plastics, can also be used. A relatively resistant synthetic material can also be used, for example, provided that rapid decomposition of the envelopes is not necessary or desirable. FIGS. 3 to 5 illustrate the head in detail suction 13 intended for the gathering and lifting of rows of plants, including the relevant control members The suction head 13 can be be moved alternately upwards and downwards so that its position remains parallel to the supply conveyor belt 11 The movement of the suction head 13 is obtained by means of the piston of a pneumatic cylinder 31 which is mounted so as to be able to turn on part G of the machine frame and constitutes the driving element of the control member 17 (FIG. 1) This rotational movement is in turn transmitted by a piston rod 32, a connecting rod 33 and two levers 34 , mounted so as to be able to rotate, at the suction head 13 The levers 34 are mounted by means of bolts 36 The suction head 13 and the levers 34 are connected together by a hollow pin 37 forming a support which is fixedly connected to the levers 34 and is provided with a bearing The suction head 13 is thus mounted so as to be able to rotate on the hollow axis -37 which serves as a suction duct 38 for the aspirated air (see FIG. 4) The duct d suction 38 communicates via a flexible hose not shown with the suction side of a fan which is also not shown To allow the suction duct 38 to communicate with the vacuum space 16 of the suction head 13 an opening is provided in the hollow axis 37 41 which is dimensioned so that during each movement of the levers 34 and the corresponding cushion, provided in the suction head 13 still being in the lower position, the entire section of the suction channel 39 remains available for the air drawn in. the opposite of the opening 41 is provided in the hollow axis 37 a recess 42 This recess 42 corresponds to an air intake opening 43 provided additionally and which participates in the movement

back and forth of the levers 34.

  The underside of the conveyor belt is supported on a support plate 44 (see also FIG. 5) This support plate is placed between elements 46 and 47 of the frame in which are mounted so as to be able to rotate pulleys of return 48, 49 for the conveyor belt 11 The end 51 of the suction head 13 remote from the hollow axis 37 is, as shown in FIG. 3, mounted in levers 52 and 53 so as to be able to tilt and be withdrawn by means of to a slot 54 The levers 52, 53 are fixed to the frame elements 46 and 47 respectively by means of articulation pins 56, 57 (see also FIG. 5) so as to be able to tilt The upper arms 58, 59 of the levers 34 located at the hollow axis 37 form with the levers 52 and 53 a parallel guide for the suction head 13. The suction area of the suction head 13 is formed by recesses 12, produced in the form of troughs , intended to receive the plants 9 These recesses 12 communicate via diary of the channels 14 (FIGS. 1 and 5) with the vacuum space 16 The recesses 12 form the upper wall and the frame elements 46 and 47 as well as the support plate 44 and the conveyor belt They form the lower wall d '' a channel 61 through which air flows

  vacuumed by the vacuum space 16.

  The operating mode of the apparatus of FIGS. 3 to 5 is described below. The conveyor belt 11 brings the plants 9 succeeding each other regularly and these are sucked one after the other by the hollows 12, that is to say tell the suction slots 14 of the latter In the state shown in Figure 4, it has already been sucked four plants 9 which are spaced so as to have between them the same spacing 15 The fifth plant is certainly still far from fifth hollow 12 but is already subjected to the action of the air flow which acts in the direction of the arrow 62 At the beginning of the action exerted by the air flow on the plant, the latter is directed, due to the fact that it is driven by the conveyor belt 11, in the direction of the arrow 62 and approaches the corresponding recess in an accelerated manner 12 By approaching the recess more closely

  corresponding, the plant is lifted from the conveyor belt

  teuse 11 by the air flow and brought to the corresponding hollow

  laying 12 with a relatively high speed due to the draft The process described above is repeated for successive dips until all the plants have

  been sucked into the recesses 12 of the suction head 13.

2543793 '

  To allow the uninterrupted row 10 of plants formed in the assembly plane A as described above to be brought into a higher transfer plane U the pneumatic cylinder 31 is actuated so that the piston rod 32 retracts in the cylinder of the cylinder This movement of the piston rod 32 has the effect

  that the levers 34 tilt in the direction of arrow 63.

  Thus the suction head 13 is raised parallel to itself. Then the pusher 19, mentioned in connection with FIG. 1 but not shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 for reasons of clarity, pushes the plants of the raised row, in the direction of their longitudinal axis, out of the suction head 13, and passes them through the cells of the box 2 (FIG. 1) After the transfer of the row of plants, the suction head 13 is brought back into the assembly plane represented by reverse movement of the piston rod 32 During the transfer of a row 10 of plants from the suction head 13 into the box 2 the plants 9 subsequently brought by the conveyor belt ll pass under the suction head After the descent thereof the first plant automatically reaches the first hollow 12 of the suction head 13 since the depression is maximum at this trough When the hollow in question is occupied in this way by a plant, it is the neighboring open hollow which undergoes maximum depression When this depression is also occupied, the maximum depression passes to the next open depression until it is also occupied, etc. When the depression has reached the last depression (in the direction of plants first) and the latter is occupied, the change thus made in the conditions of vacuum relative to the interior of the vacuum space 16 is detected by a vacuum switch not shown and the upward movement as well as the transfer of the row are triggered The plants thus transferred are placed in the cells of the box 2

  above the others, as shown in Figure 7.

  During the lifting of the suction head 13 the openings 42, 43 for the air passage (FIG. 4) are superimposed so that during the transfer of the plants 9

  in tank 2 the depression is reduced or eliminated.

  Depending on the nature of the plants, it may also be advantageous to bring the plants out of the suction head 13 while the vacuum acts, in which case it is advisable

  not to provide the air passage openings 42, 43.

  Figure 6 shows a plant 9 'which, constituted by an envelope 26' surrounding the filling material 27 ', has, instead of a seed 28 (Figure 2), at a front face 30 a recess 29 for a seed or a seedling, for example a cutting. Such plants can also be placed automatically in tubs by means of the method and the device according to the invention. In FIGS. 7 and 8 is shown a container 2a which is not provided on its outside side with reinforcing ribs still indicated in FIG. 1 The container 2a has square cells 82a for receiving plants 9, 9 These cells are formed by a network of partitions 83 extending horizontally and of partitions 84 extending vertically The partitions are intended to allow the roots of plants grown from seeds or cuttings to be separated from each other The cells 82 a have in their lower side 86, which is opposite to the filling side in FIG. 1, circular openings 87 a through which water can flow through the openings 87 a can possibly be slid into the cells 82 a organs not shown for bringing out the plants 9, 9 'from the cells To prevent the plants 9, 9' from passing through the openings 87 a is provided at the bottom of each of the cells

82 has a bearing edge 88.

  Figures 9 and 10 show a tray 2 b modified with respect to tray 2 a of Figures 7 and 8 and in which a spacer device 89 consisting of four bars centers a plant 9, 9 'in the middle of a cell substantially

greater 82 b.

  Figures 11 to 13 show yet another tray 2 c. This has relatively low side walls 91 and raised angles 92 made so as to be able to engage with each other for stacking purposes. receiving organs of the plants 9, 9 ′ are provided with pointed projections 93 on which the plants 9, 9 ′ are stitched In the bottom 94 of the tank 2 c is formed around each of the pointed projections 93 a shallow cell 96 intended to retain water or a

nutrient solution.

  The overall view of FIG. 14 schematically shows another embodiment of the invention. From a flange 102 forming plants advancing continuously in the direction of the arrow 101 are separated from the plants 109 by means of a blade 104. continuously turning in the direction of the arrow 103 By means of two eccentric discs 106 a and 106 b, which are driven respectively in the direction of the arrows 107 a and 107 b and grip the plants 109 between them, the latter are accelerated, so as to be brought at a certain distance from each other, to be then transported, by a conveyor belt 112 rotating in the direction of the arrow 101 around pulleys of return Mîla and lllb, towards a diverter mechanism 113 which makes deviate the plants 109 from a transport direction extending along their longitudinal axes in a transport direction transverse to their longitudinal axes For this purpose the deflector mechanism 113 has a pallet 114 which is fixed to a le vier 116 The lever 116 is mounted with an oblong hole 117 on a fixed guide pin 118 and with a support 119 on an eccentric 122 rotating in the direction of the arrow 121 By means of the diverter mechanism 113 the plants 109 are brought by the pallet in recesses 123 of a feed conveyor presented in the form of a conveyor chain 124 These recesses 123 are constituted by troughs 126 formed in the links 127, as shown in FIG. 15 The recesses 123 are located one by relative to the others at distances which correspond to the intervals of the cells 82 a, 82 b or of the pointed projections 93 of the tanks 2 a, 2 b, 2 c in which it is a question of placing the plants 109 The conveyor chain 124 is guided around of chain wheels 128 a and 128 b (Figure 16) and is driven in the direction of the arrow 129 A row forming equipment presented in the form of a suction head 131, the operation of which is explained below in using figures 16 and 1 7 o this equipment is shown in more detail, and which is mounted on a gearbox 132 of a filling device 133 successively removes each of the rows of a well-defined number of plants 109 from the recesses 123 of the conveyor chain 124, which forms a gathering plane A, and lifts each successive row so as to bring it into a transfer plane U in front of a transfer means presented in the form of a pusher 134 shown in more detail on the

figure 20.

  The pusher 134 can carry out on a console 136 of the filling device 133 alternately forward movements towards a tank 2 c and return movements, as represented by the double arrow 137 When moving towards the tank 2 c the pusher 134 pushes each time a row of plants 109 out of the suction head 131 and onto the pointed projections 93 of a tank 2 c The tanks 2 c are removed manually or else mechanically from a stack 138 and brought by the intermediary of a lower feed conveyor 139, being placed horizontally, to a tilting mechanism 141 represented in FIG. 25 A lifting mechanism 142 represented in FIG. 24 and produced as a stepwise conveyor takes up the bins 2 c one after the other of the tilting mechanism 141 and move each bin 2 c step by step in front of a filling mechanism 133 upwards towards another tilting mechanism 143 shown in FIG. 25 and which deposits e filled bins 2 c on an upper outlet conveyor 144 which brings them to a stacking station 146 The conveyor chain 124, the suction head 131 and the lifting mechanism 142 are driven by a central control device of a machine manufacturing the rod 102 forming plants, which is represented by a shaft 147 rotating in the direction of the arrow 148, a chain control mechanism 149, a gearbox 151 and a second

  chain drive mechanism 155.

  Details of the suction head 131 are shown.

  tees in Figures 16 and 17 The suction head 131 consists essentially of a casing 152 for a vacuum space 153 which communicates via a flexible pipe 154 with a source of relative vacuum not shown The underside of the casing 152, located on the side of the conveyor chain 124, has recesses in the form of relatively shallow troughs 156 which lie between them at intervals corresponding to those of the

  hollow 123 of the conveyor chain 124 and, consequently,

  quent, at the intervals of the sharp projections 93 of the tanks 2 c The troughs 156 are in communication through

  air channels 157 with vacuum space 153 The envelope

  loppe 152 is mounted by means of two oscillating arms 158 a, 158 b eccentrically on two crank discs 159 a; 159 b (lifting mechanism), which are mounted in the gearbox 132 shown in FIG. 14 By means of a stepping transmission mechanism, for example a roller star transmission mechanism, the

  crank discs 159 a, 159 b are driven by inter-

  mittence so as to carry out a complete revolution each time with a stop time at the upper reversing point of the crankpins 161 a, 161 b The operating mode of the suction head 131 is shown in FIGS. 16, 18 and 19 of in a manner sufficiently clear to require no further explanation, Figure 16 showing the suction head 131 at the start of a turn to remove a row of plants 109 from the recesses 123 of the conveyor chain 124, while Figure 18 shows the suction head 131 after a rotational movement of 1800 during which the plants 109 are removed from the conveyor chain 124 and FIG. 19 shows the suction head 131 arriving, after a complete revolution, in a rest position o the row 110 of plants 109 assembled can be pushed out of the suction head For this last operation is provided the pusher 134 mounted on the console 136 and which, as shown in Figure 20, is driven by a cam control mechanism 1620 This consists of a cam disc 164 driven by an electric motor 163 and provided with a pin 166 to which is fixed so as to be able to turn a swing arm 168 mounted on a pin 167 of the pusher 1340 In the pusher 134 itself another pusher 169, in the form of a comb, is mounted so as to be movable relative to the pusher 134 along the double arrow 171 The teeth of the comb-shaped pusher 169 are formed of pointed rods 172 which have a spacing between them corresponding to that of the hollows 156 of the suction head 131 and therefore also that of the pointed projections 93 of the tanks 2 c The pointed rods 172 of the comb-shaped pusher 169 must penetrate the front faces of the plants 109 and each time form a recess therefor to receive a seed (see Figure 6) The comb-shaped pusher 169 is held by a tension spring 173 in its starting position, shown in Figure 20, in the pusher 134 Au level of the comb-shaped pusher 169 is mounted on a journal 174 an actuating roller 176 which cooperates with a cam 177 of the cam disc 164 so that at the end of the working stroke of the pusher 134 the shaped pusher comb 169 is moved forward by the cam 177 so that the pointed rods 172 come out of the front face 178 of the pusher 134 and penetrate into the front faces of the plants 109 Depending on the eccentric arrangement of the journal 166 on the disc with cam 174 this disc, that is to say the cam 177 which it comprises, is produced so that the drive roller 176 only enters at the end of the working stroke of the pusher 134 in contact with the periphery of the disc with cam 164, that is to say with cam 177 of the latter The comb-shaped pusher 169 is then again withdrawn by the tension spring 173 The electric motor 163 can be put into action and out of action by

  example by two limit switches not shown

  one of which is actuated by the suction head 131 to start the electric motor 163 when the suction head has reached its upper end position, while the other is actuated by the pusher 134 to stop the electric motor 163, when this pusher after the return movement has reached its rear end position Figures 21 to 23 show the process of transferring a plant 109 from a hollow 156 of the suction head 131 to a pointed projection 93 of a tank 2 c During each movement of the pusher 134 a complete row of a well defined number of plants 109 is now pushed from the suction head 131 into the cells or on the pointed projections 93 of a tank 2 c which is then lifted d '' an amount equal to the distance from one row of cells to the next, etc. FIG. 24 shows that the lifting mechanism 142 intended to lift the tanks 2 c step by step consists of two conveyor chains 183 a, 183 b each guided respectively around chain wheels 181 a, 182 a; 181 b, 182 b and to which the drive brackets 184 a, 184 b are respectively fixed The drive brackets 184 a and 184 b are each provided with a projection 186 a, 186 b respectively The chain wheels 18 la and 182 a; 181 b and 182 b are driven respectively in the direction of the arrows

  187 a, 187 b so that during each step of displacement

  cement tanks 2 c are lifted by a cor-

  corresponding to the spacing of the rows of their pointed projections 93 In order to cross the greater distance between two trays 2 c which follow one another the step-by-step control mechanism carries out a lifting movement over a correspondingly increased distance or several lifting movements successive. In FIG. 25 are shown the feed conveyor 139, the outlet conveyor 144 and the two tilting mechanisms 141 and 143 The feed conveyor 139 is constituted by conveyor belts 189 a, 189 b guided around return pulleys (a deflection pulley 188 is only visible) and which can be

  driven step by step in the direction of the arrows 191 a, 191 b.

  The output conveyor 144 is also constituted by conveyor belts 193 a, 193 b guided around return pulleys 192 a, 192 b and which are driven in the direction of the arrows 194 a, 194 b The tilting mechanism 141 is constituted by a U-shaped element 197 which, intended to receive a container and capable of tilting about an axis 196, has a long rear wall 198 and a relatively short front wall 199 A control member not shown, for example a control mechanism with lever guided by a cam, switches the receiving element 197 from a position 197 'shown in phantom, in which the rear wall 198 is located between the conveyor belts 189 a and 189 b and a container 2 c can be slid into the receiving element 197, in a waiting position 197 '' also indicated in dashed lines From this waiting position the receiving element 197 provided with a container 2 c is brought by tilting into the position shown in solid lines, as soon as a container 2 c being moved upwards by the lifting mechanism 142 of FIG. 24 is raised enough to allow this tilting The container 2 c brought by tilting in the lifting plane is then seized by them

  drive brackets 184 a, 184 b of the transport chains

  teuses 183 a, 183 b and out of the receiving element 197 As soon as the container is lifted above the front wall 199 the receiving element 197 is brought back by tilting into position 197 ′ The different tilting movements of the the receiving element 197 are controlled by the projections 186 to the drive brackets 184 a of the conveyor chain 183 a, which projections cooperate with

  switches (not shown) arranged accordingly.

  The tilting mechanism 143 consists of a receiving element 202 which, fixed to carrier discs 201 a, 201 b and intended to receive a container, can be caused to tilt around an axis 203, by a tilting control member. not shown, from the position shown in solid lines in a position indicated in phantom and designated by 202 ', and vice versa In position 202' a container 2 c must be able to be grasped and evacuated by the conveyor belts 193 a and 193 b, reason why a rear wall of the receiving element 202 is produced in the form of a U-shaped frame 204 The frame 204 has lateral U-shaped guides 206 a and 206 b inside which a tank 2 c is slid, in the position of the receiving element 202 represented in solid lines, by the lifting mechanism 142 (FIG. 24), and which engage laterally around the tank 2 c for the tilting movement towards the conveyor belts 193 a, 19-3 b Tray 2 c is retained u in the receiving element 202 by a support bracket 208 fixed to a shaft 207 and which can be brought, by the operating projections 18 Gb of the drive brackets 184 b provided on the conveyor chain 183 b, to tilt towards the when a drive angle 184 b arrives with the tank 2 c at the corresponding height The return movement of the support bracket 208 provided on the receiving element 202 takes place when the receiving element 202 returns by tilting in the position shown in solid lines, the operating lever 209 being at this stage actuated by an operating projection (not shown) fixedly mounted on the frame of the machines

Claims (20)

CLAIMS l Process for introducing substantially cylindrical plants, each consisting of an envelope surrounding the filling material, which may contain at least one seed, in a container where the seeds or fragments of plants are caused to germinate, characterized in that the seedlings (9, 9 ', 109) brought one after the other in a direction transverse to their longitudinal axes are gathered in rows (10) well defined where they are arranged with respect to each other at constant intervals and in that the plants are transferred to the tank (2; 2 a; 2 b; 2 c) in the direction of their longitudinal axes. 2 Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the plants (9, 9 ', 109) equidistant gathered in rows are for each row transferred simultaneously to the tray.   3 Method according to claim 1 or 2, charac-   terized in that the plants (9, 9 ') are transferred to the tank in places where they are kept separate others.   4 Method according to claim 3, characterized in that the plants are transferred into cells (82 a; 82 b) of the bin (2 a; 2 b).   5 Method according to claim 3 or 4, character-   laughed at in that the plants (9, 9 ', 109) are grown with a   on their front sides on pointed projections (93).   6 Method according to any one of the claims   previous actions, characterized in that during or immediately   After transferring the plants to the tank, a hollow   ment (29) intended to receive a seed is formed, by sinking, in the front faces (30) of the plants (9 ') away from the bottom of the tank.   7 Method according to any one of the claims   tions above, characterized in that a complete row (10) is raised by an amount which is at least slightly greater than the diameter of the plants (9, 9 ', 109) so as to be brought from a plane assembly (A) in a transfer plane (U) and in that the row is transferred to the bin while being in this plane higher transfer.   8 Method according to any one of the claims   tions above, characterized in that the plants (9) brought transversely to their longitudinal axes, in a single-layered flow are sucked up one after the other in equidistant hollows (12) so as to form a row ( 10), a plant being sucked up each time in a hollow which in the direction of supply   is close to the hollow occupied by the plant brought before.   9 Method according to any of the claims   tions 1 to 7, characterized in that the plants are brought transversely to their longitudinal axes, in a single row flow, in equidistant recesses (12) arranged at intervals corresponding to those of the plants in the tank, and in this that from this flow a row (10) of plants is each time raised successively so as to be brought in the transfer plan.   Process according to any one of the claims   tions above, characterized in that the -plants are brought together in substantially horizontal rows, and in that the container (2 c), after the transfer of a row of plants,   is moved up one step corresponding to the space-   desired rows in the bin.   ll Method according to any one of the claims   tions above, characterized in that a tank (2, 2 a, 2 b), after having been filled, is removed from the filling plane, preferably vertical, in the direction of the longitudinal axes of the plants (9, 9 ') found in cells (82 a, 82 b) of the tank.   12 Method according to any one of the claims   tions above, characterized in that a tank (2, 2 a, 2 b), in order to be filled, is brought into the filling plane, preferably vertical by moving in the direction of its cells (82 a; 82 b).   13 Method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that a tank (2 c), after having been filled, is caused to tilt from a vertical position into a horizontal position and is discharged   transversely to the longitudinal axes of the plants (109).   14 Method according to any one of the claims   1 to 10 and 13, characterized in that a tank (2 c) is   brought into a horizontal, i.e. transverse, position   lies in its cells, and passes by tilting in the plane   preferably vertical filling.   15 Device for introducing sensitive plants   cylindrical, each consisting of an envelope surrounding the filling material, which may contain at least one seed, in a container where the seeds or fragments of plants are caused to germinate, characterized in that it comprises a feed conveyor (11, 124) for bringing the plants (9, 109) transversely to their longitudinal axes, a row forming equipment (12 to 16, 131) intended to form rows (10, 110) of a predetermined number of plants equidistant from each other, and a transfer means (17 to 19, 134) allowing the plants of a row to be transferred, in the direction of their longitudinal axes, into receptacles or receiving projections   (82 a; 82 b; 93) from the bin (2 a; 2 b; 2 c).   16 Device according to claim 15, character-   laughed at in that it includes a means of transfer (17 to 19,   134) allowing equidistant plants (9; 109) to gather   wheat in a row (10; 110) to be transferred together   in cells (82 a; 82 b; 93) of the tank (2 a; 2 b; 2 c).   17 Device according to claim 16, character-   laughed in that it comprises a pusher (169) which, associated with the transfer means (134) and movable relative to the latter in the axial direction of the plants (109), is provided with pointed rods (172) which penetrate into the front plants.   18 Device according to any one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that it comprises, for the equipment for forming rows (13; 131), a lifting mechanism (17; 31; 159 a, 159 b) which is actuated after the formation of a complete row and by which the row forming equipment can be moved by an amount, which corresponds at least to the diameter of the plants (9; 9 '; 109), so as to be brought from a gathering plane (A) into a transfer plane (U) from which the row (10; 110) can be transferred by the transfer means (19, 134) into the tank (2 a; 2 b; 2 c).   19 Device according to any one of the claims   cations 15 to 18, characterized in that the row forming equipment is a suction head (13; 131), the lower side of which is arranged above the feed conveyor (11; 124) has equidistant recesses (troughs 12 ; 156) which are in relation to each other at intervals (15) corresponding to the intervals of the juxtaposed cells (82 a; 82 b; 93) of the tank (2 a; 2 b; 2 c), and which have channels (14; 157) leading to a vacuum space forming a passage (16; 153), which   communicates with a source of relative vacuum.   Device according to any one of the claims   cations 15 to 17, characterized in that it comprises a   feed conveyor (124) having equidistant recesses   tants (123) for the plants (109), which hollow present   try between them intervals corresponding to the inter-   valleys of the juxtaposed cells (93) of the tank (2 c), and row-forming equipment (131) which successively raises a row of plants from the hollows (123).   21 Device according to claim 20, character-   rised in that the row-forming equipment is a suction head (131) which rotates intermittently and whose lower side disposed above the feed conveyor (124) has equidistant recesses (156) , and in that there is provided a drive means (159 a, 159 b) which moves the suction head in the assembly plane (A) with a component corresponding to the movement of the feed conveyor and retains it in the transfer plan (U) to transfer a   row (110) of plants (109) in the tank (2 c).   22 Device according to any one of the claims   cations 15 to 21, characterized in that it comprises a step-by-step conveyor (7; 142) for causing the tank (2 c) to carry out a transport step each time after the transfer of a row of plants.   23 Device according to any one of the claims   cations 15 to 22, characterized in that it comprises a conveyor die outlet (23) for evacuating tanks (2, 2 a, 2 b), after their filling, from the filling plane in the direction of the longitudinal axes of the plants finding in the alveoli (82 a, 82 b).   24 Device according to any one of the claims   cations 15 to 22, characterized in that it comprises a mechanism   tilting mechanism (143) for tilting the trays   (2 c) -from a substantially vertical filling plane-   cal in a substantially horizontal transport plane, and an output conveyor (144) allowing bins   filled to be evacuated transversely to the axes longitu-   seedlings of plants <109) found in the alveoli (93).   Device according to any one of the claims   cations 15 to 24, characterized in that it comprises a feed conveyor (3, 4; 139) allowing empty tanks to be brought into the filling plane in view to be filled.   26 Device according to claim 25, character-   laughed in that it comprises a tilting mechanism (141) allowing the trays (2 c) brought in while being arranged flat in a substantially horizontal plane on the supply conveyor (139) to be placed by tilting in the plane of filling.