GB2208993A - Planting tube - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention concerns a planting tube comprising a tube (1) provided with a handle (4) and having at its lower end a fixed jaw (2) to which has been pivoted (21, 22) a turnable jaw (3) which can be moved with the aid of a pedal (18), said pedal being pivotally carried (19) on the lower end of said tube. As taught by the invention, to the turnable jaw (3) above its pivot arrangement (21) belongs a pivot support (20) and to the pedal (18) belongs a loop (26) cooperating with said pivot support and in which the pivot support can be disposed so that when the pedal is depressed with the pivot support moving in the loop the turnable jaw will open in the direction towards the pedal, that is, towards the operator. <IMAGE>

Description

Flanting tube The present invention concerns a planting tube through which the operator doing the planting drops the seedling into the earths into a hole made by the tube. The plant-.

ing tube meant for seedlings comprises a tube provided with a handle and having on its lower end a fixed jaw to which has been pivotally attached a turnable jaw which can be moved with the aid of a pedal.

In prior art seedling planting means of similar kind are knows which have been described for instance in the Swedish publicizing prints No. 44NES7 and 4471, in the Finnish Fatents No. 50033 and 63318, and in the Finnish patent application No. 95(f549. In these references the planting tube is provided with a blade producing a planting holes said blade consisting of a fixed jaw and an operable jaw pivotally attached thereto. This openable jaw can be opened to its planting position with the aid of a pedal lever. The movable jaw can thereafter be locked in position with the aid of a locking means.In these designs of prior art the movable jaw opens on depressing the pedal always in the direction away from the operator. It follows that after a seedling has been planted, the operator must move over to the side beyond the seedling so that he may properly compact around the seedling the soil which the turning jaw has displaced.

Since the planting work is done on a job-rate basis which is characterized by great hurry this earth compacting has not been done well enough, as tests that have been carried out show; the seedlings have instead come loose when pulled.

The object of the present invention is to eiiminate the drawbacks occurring in connection with existing means and to provide a seedling planting means with which positive planting results are achieved with ease and in orthodox manner, without Incurring slow or difficuit planting work. At the same time, the aim is to provide a durable, ersonomic and reliable implement in which the moving parts are replaceable. This aim is achieved by constructing a planting tube on which the openable jaw faces the operator instead OT facing away from him as is the case in planting tubes of prior art.

The planing tube of the invention is characterized in that the turning jaw comprises, above the pivot arrangement connecting it with the fixed jaw3 a pivot support3 and the pedal comprises a loop3 such as a suitable slitF in which the pivot support can move. Hereby3 when the pedal is depressed said loop and pivot support transmit the pedal movement to produce a movement opening the turning zaw. Said pivot support and loop are characterized in that they can move relative to each other 5 yet staying in constant contact. This relative movement is indispensable because jaw and pedal have been pivoted on the tube at separate points and therefore cannot have a common fulcrum when they turn.It is obvious that the invention also covers a means in which the pivot support is located on the pedal and the loop, on the turning jaw, The invention is described in the following in loser detail with the aid of one of its embodiments, and reference being made at the same time to the drawings, wherein: Fig, 1 presents the planting means in axonometric pro- ejection, seen from the leftS from the operator's posi tion3 and Fig. 2 shows the blade portion of the planting means3 seen from the right3 from the operator's position.

The planting tube of the invention comprises a tube 1 provided with a handle 4 on its upper end, the seedling being dropped through its top end into the hole that has been d b the planting tub. The tube 1 carries on its lower end two jaws 2,3 which when closed, constitute .

blade for driving the planting tube into the ground. One of the jaws3 23 is fixed and is attached to the tube 1 e.g. by welding. On this fied jaw has been mounted, e.g.

with a bolt and nut, a planting depth limiter 17, which has on its end a vertically downward angulated member, which as it enters the soil ensures that the olanting tube remains immovable once it has been driven into the ground. The depth limiter 17 may, when desired, also be used to assist when the tube is being driven into the ground, by pressing it down with one foot.

On the fixed jaw 2, in the centre-line plane of the tube 1, two pivot bolts 21,22 have been mounted by which the turning jaw is is pivoted to the fixed jaw. The part of the turning jaw 3 below the pivot bolts 21,22 may be narrower than the fied jaw 2. In that case the turning jaw will displace the earth ahead of itself with greater ease because, at driving the tube into the ground, the fixed jaw 2 has already cleft the soil layer. To the same purpose the turning jaw may also be provided with a longitudinal ridge.If moreover the part below the pivot bolts 21,22 of the turning jaw ic slightly shorter than the equivalent part of the fixed jaw - the fixed jaw will remain stationary while the turning jaw moves earth away The turning jaw ; carries in its upper part a pivot screw 20 provided with a bearing roller and accommodated in the loop 26 of the pedal 18. The loop 26 is U-shaped because the openable jaw 3 rises upward somewhat when it is being opened. The loop has furthermore been so dimensioned that contact with the turning jaw is maintained all the time, no matter whether the pedal 18 is pressed down with'the foot or loaded with the spring 25.The pedal 18 comprises a bearing sleeve, fitted into the hole, for turnable attachment of the pedal with a bolt 19 te the tube 1.

Moreover, to the lug 23 of the left pivot bolt 21 of the turning jaw 3 is attached spring t5 its esther end attached to a lug on the outer end of the pedal. The right-hand pivot bolt 22 of the turning jaw 3 engages with the right-hand lug 24. When the pedal 18 is pressed down with the foot, the upper end of the turning jaw ; is pushed towards the tube 1 by the pivot screw 20 in the loop 26 of the pedal; at the same time the lower end of the jaw . opens so that a seedling can be dropped through the planting tube and into the hole which the turning jaw z has made in the ground.

The locking mechanism provided for the turning jaw comprises a slide 15 which moves vertically reciprocatingly in a guide plate 1S affixed to the side of the tube 1.

The slide carries as its extension a sleeve 14, with a thread on its upper end, the triggering rod 12 being attached on this thread. The sleeve is locked relative to the triggering rod with a locking nt i., also serving adjustment of the vertical position of the slide 15. The locking screw ii attaches to the triggering rod 12 a sleeve 103 which rests against the spring 9 of the triggering rod. The spring 9 is a compression spring, resting with its upper end against the spring rest 8 in which a hole has been made for the triggering rod 12. The upper end of the triggering rod 12 attaches to a toggle lever 7; this lever is operated for instance with the thumb of the right hand, pressing down one end of the lever.

When the pedal is is pressed down from the position depicted in Fig. 1 into that of Fig. 23 the turning jaw , which faces the operator', opens and makes a hole for the seedling which is being planted. As the jaw ~. turns, the spring 25 comes under tension. fis soon as the upper margin of the turning jaw hits the rounded lower end of the slide 153 the jaw 3 pushes the slide 15 upwards and the triggering rod 1 connected to the slide causes compression of the spring 9. In the further course of turn ing of the jaw ., the slide 15 finally slips over to the other side of the jaw s top end , and the compression of the spring 9 is released.The slide 15 then descends and locks the turning jaw ; in the position shown in Fig. -, as it settles against the upper margin of the jaw. The seedling may now be inserted in the upper end of the planting tube.

After the planting process has been completed3 the operator presses down one end of the toggle lever 7 with the thumb on his right hand3 whereby the triggering rod ascends, compressing the spring 9 once again. At the same time the slide 15 ascends enough to release the turning jaw , and by action of the spring 25 the turning jaw closes against the fixed jaw 2'. and the pedal 18 comes up. The planting tube is now ready to be driven into the ground for depositing the net seedling. Compaction of the soil material is an easy operation at this stage because the soil matter pushed aside by the planting tbe was displaced towards the operator. Compaction is in this case effected using the ball of the foot. Hereby damage to the seedling is also excluded.

For adjusting the planting tube to be properly dimensioned for each individual operator, the handle 4 in the upper part of the tube 1 has been attached with a nut 9 on an adjustment arc 6 having holes 6 for mounting the handle at a suitable height. The handle 4 is provided with a resilient pad for damping the jolt produced when the implement is driven into the ground.

It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that different embodiments of the invention are not confined to the foregoing example and that they may vary within the scope of the claims following below.

Claims (5)

1. A planting tube comprising a tube provided with a handle and having at its lower end a fixed jaw to which is pivoted a turntable jaw which can be moved with the aid of a pedal pivotally mounted on the lower end of said tube, in which a loop and a pivot support are located one on the pedal and the other on the turntable jaw above the pivot thereof, the loop and pivot support being in operating engagement so that when the pedal is depressed with the pivot support moving in the loop the turntable jaw will open in the direction towards the pedal, that is, towards the operator.

2. A planting tube according to claim 1 in which the loop is formed on the pedal, and the pivot support is carried by the turntable jaw.

3. A planting tube according to claim 2 in which the loop on the pedal is a substantially U-shaped slit in which the pivot support is enabled to move.

4. A planting tube according to any one of the preceding claims in which a spring is connected to the pedal. for pulling the jaw back into closed position.

5. A planting tube substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.