FR2779906A1 - Winding hook for plant support line - Google Patents

Abstract

The winding hook (1), for the support string (6), is carried by a small plate (8), of biodegradable material, such as wood, and which has a small elongated hole (80), through which passes one of the end sections (4) of the hook. The support line is wound around the reel section of the hook to form two separate sections (60a and 60b) of loops (60).

Description

The present invention relates to a reel hook for twine

  staking of a climbing plant, in particular of a tomato plant grown in a greenhouse. Inside the greenhouse, each tomato plant is supported by a string which is stretched between two points: a point below ground level, at the base of the plant, and an upper point located high, on a horizontal wire. extending parallel to the

  row to which the plant in question belongs.

  The free end of the string is attached to this lower point.

  In the upper part, the twine is wound on a spool hung on the wire

cited above.

  This coil, commonly called "tomato hook" is traditional-

  made of folded wire, inscribed in a plane (flat coil).

  At the start of the season, the string is vertical, the tomato hook overhangs

  bant the young plant. During the season, the plant will grow gradually, and fruiting will take place from bottom to top, in successive clusters. In order to facilitate picking, we make sure that the ripe tomatoes, which come in clusters, are at a height of between 1 meter and 1.50 meters approximately, which allows a

  convenient grip for people assigned to this task, who operate standing.

  To obtain this result, the lower portion of the plant stem is gradually tilted, so that at each successive picking, generally every

  weeks - the tomatoes are at the right height.

  To this end, a certain length of string is periodically unwound from the tomato hook to "give it slack" and allow the plant to be tilted. This operation is carried out by people perched on carts moving along the row of plants; they unhook one by one each hook, rotate them on themselves to unwind the desired length, and hang them on the wire in a slightly offset position (along the length of the wire) from the initial position, to give the

  twine the desired length and curvature.

  In general, the hanging wire of the tomato hooks is located at a height of about 3 meters above the ground. The length of the string is around 7 meters, which corresponds to a reserve of around 4 meters, sufficient for one season. At the start of the season, it is necessary to hang a hook on the wire.

  tomatoes directly above each young plant.

  The hooks are supplied by the manufacturers already supplied with the string.

  During this hanging, the operator, perched on a trolley, allows the desired initial length of twine to freely "spin", which depends on the height of the wire

  hanging - itself a function of the height of the greenhouse -, for example 3 meters.

  For this, it turns the hook several times on itself, which acts as a reel, to unwind the correct length. For this purpose, he counts each half-turn which he prints on the hook while letting the string spin. So if the winding length is

  16.5 cm, it will have to crochet 18 half-turns.

  We understand that this operation is long and very tedious, all the more

  that it is repetitive, the greenhouse being able to shelter a very large number of tomato plants.

  It is also a source of errors.

  The present invention aims to solve this problem, by proposing a tomato hook of the type described above which, while being inexpensive, has, pre-wound, a length of string corresponding to the initial length desired, this length being perfectly separated from the rest of the string, and able by

  therefore be rewound automatically, without calculation and without risk of error.

  To this end, the reel hook which is the subject of the invention comprises a part - called a separator - which is adapted to the hook in a removable manner, and which separates

  in two distinct parts the length of twine which is wound there.

  Thus, the manufacturer supplying the hooks furnished with string can place said separating piece on each hook so that the length which can be taken out first corresponds to the initial length desired (depending on the greenhouse delivered), for example 3 meters. When the operator, during reeling, meets the separating part, he knows that the desired length has been reached. He then removes this piece, and hooks the hook on the support wire. The hook - with its reserve of string - is then ready to be used, during the season which begins, in the same way as a traditional hook. In a preferred embodiment, the hook is made of a folded metal wire, inscribed in a plane, while the separating part is a flat bar having an elongated opening (lumen) capable of fitting onto a bent part

some thread.

  Preferably, this removable part is made of biodegradable material, for example wood. So, even if it is thrown on the ground, in the greenhouse, its presence is not

troublesome from an ecological point of view.

  The invention also relates to a removable part that fits thereon

kind of wire hook.

  With reference to the accompanying drawings, we will now describe the object

  of the invention, and explain how it is used.

  In these drawings: - Figure 1 shows, seen from the front, a traditional tomato hook; - Figure 2 shows the same hook lined with a string, and suspended from a wire, in the position of use; - Figure 3 shows schematically a tomato hook and string inside a greenhouse, associated with a young tomato plant; - Figures 3A, 3B and 3C are diagrams similar to Figure 3, showing the assembly in successive times, during the fruiting of

  plant, these figures illustrating the function of a tomato hook, whether of the traditional type-

  nel or according to the invention; - Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing a tomato hook according to the invention; - Figure 5 is a left view of Figure 4; - Figure 6 is a perspective view of a separating bar adapting

  on the hook of FIGS. 4 and 5, this same bar being shown in broken lines

  more in these two figures, in place on the hook; - Figure 7 shows the hook of Figure 4 lined with a string, the winding is cut for better readability of the figure; - Figure 8 shows the hook of Figure 7 suspended from a wire, in its context of use;

  FIG. 9 is a partial view of a variant of the hook of FIG. 4.

  The tomato hook shown in Figure 1 is a conventional hook, made from a folded wire. The hook is inscribed in a plane (plane of the drawing), and has a symmetrical shape with respect to a median transverse axis XX '. It has a central main branch 2, having a recessed median part 20, and ending in bent ends 21. These are connected to a concave portion 3, delimited by convergent sections 30, 31, which constitutes the winding zone for the twine (not shown). One (31) of the sections is extended by a bend 4 to form a

  free end portion 5, substantially parallel to the main branch 2, perpendicular to

  the axis XX '. The portion 5 and its elbow 4 form a hook which allow the hooking and suspension of the hook to a horizontal wire F, as illustrated in the

Figures 2 and 3.

  As an indication, the overall length L of the hook is of the order of 230 mm, while the winding length (distance between elbows 3) is of the order of mm, and its width i is of the order 45 mm; the metal wire constituting the hook

  is a round wire, with a diameter of the order of 2.5 mm.

  This type of hook is supplied to the nurseryman ensuring the cultivation of tomatoes

  in the greenhouse, already furnished with a certain length of string 6 intended for staking the plants.

  As shown in Figure 2, the string is wound on the hook inside the concave portions 3, the hook acting as a flat coil. The winding is referenced 60. In the greenhouse, the young tomato plants are distributed in rows

  parallel. Over each row is stretched a metallic wire F, arranged horizontally-

  ment, at a certain height H above the ground S (see Figure 3). This height is by

example of three meters.

  At the start of the production season, we will associate with each plant in the row a staking string 6. For this, we hang a tomato hook 1 lined with its string 6 above the concerned plant 7; this has for example a length of seven meters. The person assigned to this task begins by unwinding a length of string H, that is to say 3 meters, for example, from the hook, which it lets hang, then suspends the hook on wire F. It does the same for each plant in the row. For this purpose, it is perched on an ad hoc cart, which moves along the row. The lower end of each string is then fixed at ground level, at a point P near the base of the plant. Finally, we attach

  the rod at certain points, by known type links, to the string 6.

  It is this initial unwinding of the string which is very tedious, as explained above, because the operator must count the number of U-turns he performs.

  to unroll the twine, this for each hook.

  FIGS. 3A to 3C represent three successive stages of the fruiting

  tion, the ripe tomatoes - ready to be picked - being referenced there 70.

  Fruiting occurs from bottom to top.

  It is interesting that the ripe tomatoes are at a height h, au-

  above ground, which makes picking convenient for people standing, moving, scoring

  along the row. This height is of the order of 1 meter to 1.50 meters.

  To obtain this result, we will gradually tilt the stringer, to give it an increasingly arcuate configuration, as illustrated in FIGS. 3B and 3C. This inclination of the string, and of the stem of the plant that it supports, allows

  compensate for the shift of fruiting from bottom to top.

  For this it is necessary, periodically, generally every week, to lengthen the length of the string by unwinding an additional portion of

  twine (arrow Z), and by moving the hook on wire F (arrow Y).

  Of course, it is also necessary to regularly add links to best attach the stem and certain ramifications and leaves of the plant to the twine,

during its growth.

  The tomato hook 1 according to the invention, illustrated in Figure 4, is quite similar to that of Figure 1, and the same references have been used to

designate identical parts.

  It is distinguished from it simply by the fact that the free end portion 50

  sections 5 is bent outwards.

  The part 8 shown in FIG. 6 is a flat bar, preferably made of easily biodegradable material, for example of wood. It preferably has rounded edges, which gives it the appearance of an ice cream stick. On one of its sides, the

  strip 8 is crossed by an elongated rectilinear and longitudinal opening - or light -

  80. The width of this light is slightly greater than the diameter of the metal wire constituting the tomato hook 1. Its length is slightly greater than the spacing

  branches 5 and 31 at the end 50.

  Thus, as can be seen in FIG. 4, the bar 8 can be placed on one end of the hook 1, so that the light 80 fits onto the parts 4, 31-5; the ends of the bar then come to bear on the parts

  angled 21 and folded 50 (which acts as a stop).

  When placing the twine in the factory, we start by winding on the concave part 3 the length of twine which will serve as a reserve during the season (for example 4 meters). Once this length has been wound, which corresponds to the winding referenced 60b in FIG. 7, the strip 8 is put in place. The winding continuing, the residual length will be wound on one side around the strip and the other - as before - in the concave part 3. This residual length, which corresponds to the height H mentioned above, (for example 3 meters) corresponds to a coil 60a which is therefore separated from the coil 60b by the interposition of said bar. It is easy to understand that when the hook is put in place, the operator can easily unwind the desired initial length H, without having to count or think. As soon as the bar is discovered, the correct length is reached. He then removes the bar. The remaining length is the reserve that remains available for use during

season (Figure 8).

  The length H required is not exactly the same for all greenhouses. It goes without saying that in the factory, the length of each of the windings 60a and 60b is adapted to the greenhouse for which the hooks are intended. Instead of bending the free end portion 50 of the sections 5, we

  could provide, on these sections, a boss serving as a retainer for the bar.

  This variant is illustrated in FIG. 9, in which the boss is

  referenced 51, the bar 8 being shown there in broken lines.

  Although particularly suitable for growing tomatoes in a greenhouse, the invention could also be applied to other climbing plants capable of

require similar stakes.

  The invention is not limited to wire feed hooks, but could be applied, for example, to molded or cut plastic hooks

in a sheet.

Claims (3)

  1. Unwinding hook (1) for staking string (6) of a climbing plant (7), characterized in that it comprises a part (8), adapted on the hook detachably, which separates into two parts separate (60a, 60b) the length of twine (6) which is wound there.   2. reel hook according to claim 1, characterized in that it is made of a folded metal wire inscribed in a plane, and that said part (8) is a flat bar having an elongated opening (80) suitable for interlock on a part angled (31, 4, 5) of the wire.   3. Hook according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that   said removable part (8) is made of biodegradable material, for example wood.