GB2419076A - Airborne seedling or plantlet device - Google Patents
Airborne seedling or plantlet device Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2419076A GB2419076A GB0422886A GB0422886A GB2419076A GB 2419076 A GB2419076 A GB 2419076A GB 0422886 A GB0422886 A GB 0422886A GB 0422886 A GB0422886 A GB 0422886A GB 2419076 A GB2419076 A GB 2419076A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- seedling
- plantlet
- ground
- planting device
- planting
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Pending
Links
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
- A01C—PLANTING; SOWING; FERTILISING
- A01C11/00—Transplanting machines
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
- A01C—PLANTING; SOWING; FERTILISING
- A01C11/00—Transplanting machines
- A01C11/02—Transplanting machines for seedlings
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
- A01C—PLANTING; SOWING; FERTILISING
- A01C7/00—Sowing
- A01C7/08—Broadcast seeders; Seeders depositing seeds in rows
- A01C7/085—Broadcast seeders
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64D—EQUIPMENT FOR FITTING IN OR TO AIRCRAFT; FLIGHT SUITS; PARACHUTES; ARRANGEMENTS OR MOUNTING OF POWER PLANTS OR PROPULSION TRANSMISSIONS IN AIRCRAFT
- B64D1/00—Dropping, ejecting, releasing, or receiving articles, liquids, or the like, in flight
- B64D1/16—Dropping or releasing powdered, liquid, or gaseous matter, e.g. for fire-fighting
Abstract
A helicopter or airship borne device that plants tree seedlings or plantlets from the air to rapidly reforest remote areas. The device is suspended from, powered by and controlled from the carrier vehicle; it contains racks of plants in special containers and ejects and plants them in a planned pattern. Each plant is contained in a biodegradable shaped container that aids planting into the ground, and contains the nutrients, hormones and disease suppressants to promote rapid and healthy plant growth. Preferably, the planting pattern can be varied.
Description
24 1 9076 AIRBORNE SEEDLING AND/OR PLANTLET PLANTING DEVICE This invention
relates to a device for planting trees and similar vegetation In differing patterns and densities from air vehicles such as helicopters or airships.
Worldwide climatic change due to global wamming is seen as an increasing threat to human existence and activity. A major cause of global warming is the Increasing amount of carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse, gases accumulating in the atmosphere. This accumulation can re reduced by controlling emissions of gases or increasing the amount of carbon dioxide (and thus carbon) absorbed and stored long term on land, in the sea' or by vegetation. A major long temm store of carbon is forests, especially tropical forests, but large areas once forested have been denuded by human intervention, without regeneration. To re-establsh this natural carbon storage quickly requires rapid planting of trees and related vegetation over large inaccessible de-forested areas where soil quality has been degraded, in such a manner that there is a high degree of certainty that the plants will flourish and reach maturity. Rapid reforestation can best be achieved by the use of both seedlings (plants grown from seed) and plantlets (plantlets being immature plants developed from cloned high quality plant material).
To enable the rapid and effective plantng of a large volume of young tree plants over a wide and inaccessible area with minimum manpower requirements, this invention proposes a mechanical planting system that is suspended from a slow moving air vehicle such as a helicopter or airship (the airborne carrier vehicle), that supplies the necessary power and electrical connections to control and operate the device. The device ejects seedlings and/or plantlets, each in a container made of bigdegradable material that contributes to plant growth and holds the seedling and/or plantlet set in nutrient medium of initially required plant nutrients that contains all the essential components for the young bree to grow to the point where it is able to break out of the bigdegradable closed ecological system of the container The nub lent medium in the container will be sterile to prevent plant diseases attacking the seedling and/or plantlet, and will also contain plant growth hormones to accelerate growth rates in excess of those found in nature. The container material will be impregnated with materials that will protect the developing tree from insect attack and fungal, viral and bacterial diseases, hence helping to ensure survival, and will be translucent to allow maximum light penetration to the growing tree.
The container will be pencil shaped, having a fine cone lower body with a cylindrical main section that will protect the seedling and/or plantlet during its early growth The container will have vertical fins at the top of the container made of the same material to ensure aerodynamic stability after ejection during the container's flight to the ground. Such vertical ens would also ensure an upright posture after the container hits the ground and penetrates the topsoil which would hold the nascent bree near vertically until such time as the tree's own roots would hold it upright. The walls of the cylindrical part of the container will have reinforcing ribs where required to maintain structural integrity on impact with the ground, interspersed with weakened sections coated with materials to aid subsequent bio-degradabon of the container. The ground penetrating point of the container will made of a strong material such as carbon fibre or similar, or have a carbon fibre or similar coating on top of a polypropylene/polyethylene/polycarbonate material, to prevent the container breaking up on impact with the ground; this strengthened sharp point will also facilitate topsoil penetration.
The ejection process will ensure a high degree of possibility that the seedlings and/or plantlets are planted at a sufficient depth for successful development, through light vegetation cover, and with a dispersion that can be altered to suit the plantng pattern and plant diversity required.
The device is suspended from a standard under slung load hook on the lower body of the airborne carrier vehicle that permits load jettison in emergency, and is connected to the electrical and hydraulic supply systems of the air vehicle to provide power to operate the device; these connections can be broken automatically in the event of emergency jettison of the device. A control panel and computer controlled management system are contained In the air vehicle and connected by the necessary electrical connections to the device; these connections can also be broken automatically in the event of emergency jettison of the device. The control panel receives measured ground speed and altibude above the ground of the airborne Garner vehicle from the airborne carrier vehicle; this information is used to manually or automatically adjust the planting pattern and dispersion to match the measured conditions The device contains a series of storage racks for holding the seedling and/or plantlet containers, with integral powered drive mechanisms to move the seedlings and/or plantlets into the ejection mechanisms as required. There will be separate racks for each type of seedling and/or plantlet needed to make the desired mix of plants, each connected to separate adjustable ejection mechanisms spaced and aligned mechanically (and adjustable in flight) to give the desired planting pattern matched to the height of the device above the ground and the airborne carrier vehicle's ground speed. The racks will hold sufficient seedlings and/or plantlets to permit a continuous planing sequence of as large an area as can be covered by the air vehicles range and endurance from the re-supply point. The movement of the seedlings and/or plantlets within the device and the ejection mechanisms will be powered by electric or hydraulic motors. The movement of the seedlings and/or plantlets and their ejection will be controlled by the management system in the air vehicle.
The management system may require an operator in the air vehicle or may be operated by the air vehicle crew.
The storage racks in the device will be designed to permit rapid and selective re-loadng of the racks with the required number and mixture of seedlings and/or plantlets, preferably while the air vehicle is stationary above the re-supply mechanism on the ground. The re-supply mechanism will be re-loaded while the air vehicle is planting the current load of seedlings and/or plantlets. This re-supply mechanism will be the subject of a separate patent application.
The total weight of the device when fully loaded will be such that the air vehicle can lift it while loaded with sufficient fuel to undertake the planned planting schedule in distance, operating altitude and plantng area. Preferably the air vehicle will have sufficient fuel when carrying the loaded device to carry out several sequential planting sorties before needing to be refuelled. /
Claims (18)
1. A seedling and/or plantlet planting device canned by an airborne canner vehicle, which can be either a helicopter or airship
2. A seedling and/or plantlet planDng device according to Claim 1 which is powered by power supplies from the airborne earner vehicle
3. A seedling and/or plantlet planting device according to Claim 1 which is controlled from the airborne can ier vehicle manually or automatically.
4. A seedling and/or plantlet planting device according to Claim 1 that can be reloaded rapidly with seedlings and/or plantlets in containers while the airborne carrier vehicle is hovering or on the ground.
5. A seedling and/or plantlet planting device according to Claim 1 that can be Reasoned safely from its airborne carrier vehicle.
6. A seedling and/or plantlet planting device according to Claim 1 that contains racks for the required mix of seedlings and/or plantlets in their containers with powered mechanisms to move the seedlings and/or plantlets in turn with the required bming to the ejector mechanisms.
7. A seedling and/or plantlet plantng device according to Claim 1 that ejects seedlings and/or plantlets In their containers in a desired direction and speed through powered ejector mechanisms.
8. A seedling and/or plantlet planting device according to Claim 1 whose total loaded weight will pemmit carriage by the airborne canter vehicle for a defined time, distance and operating altitude.
9 A seedling and/or plantlet planting device according to Claim 3, whereby manual or automatic control can respond to the measured ground speed and altitude above the ground of the airborne carrier vehicle.
10. A seedling and/or plantlet planDng device according to Claim 3 where the plandng pattern and dispersion can be varied to match actual conditions and the desired planting result
11. A seedling and/or plantlet planting device according to Claim 6 that carries and seedlings and/or plantlets In containers made of big- degradable translucent material that will allow maximum light to reach the growing bree and protect the bree until it grows to the point where it is able to break out of the closed ecological system of the container.
12. A seedling and/or plantlet planting container according to Claim 11 that will be impregnated with materials that will protect the developing tree from insect attack and fungal, viral and bacterial diseases.
13. A seedling and/or plantlet planting container according to claim 11 Uhat holds the seedling and/or plantlet set in a supply of initially required plant nutrients and other matter including plant growth hormones to accelerate growth rates in excess of those found in nature.
14. A seedling and/or plantlet plandng container according to Claim 11 that is pencil shaped with a fine cone point to assist ground penetration, a cylindrical upper body to protect the seedUng and/or plant/et during early growth, and having vertical fins to ensure stable flight to the ground and upright penetration of the ground to hold the nascent tree vertical until its own root system is sufficiently developed.
15. A seedling and/or plantlet planting container according to Claim 14 the walls of which will have reinforcing ribs where required to maintain structural Integrity on impact with the ground, interspersed with weakened sections coated with materials to aid subsequent bio- degradation of the container.
16. A seedling and/or plantlet plandng container according to Claim 14 that has a penetrating point made of a strong material such as carbon fibre, or have a carbon fibre coating on top of a polypropylene/polyethylene/polycarbonate material, to prevent the container breaking up on impact with the ground and facilitate topsoil penetration 17. A seedling and/or plantlet plandng device according to Claim 1 that permits the planting of cloned plant material as well as seed generated material 18. A seedling and/or plantlet planting device according to Claim 17 that will contribute to big-diversity and the high quality of growing plants by the use of cloned plant material.
Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows
1 A seedling and/or plantlet planDng device earned suspended by an airborne carrier vehicle, which can be either a helicopter or airship 2 A seedling and/or plantlet planting device according to Claim 1 which Is powered by power supplies from the airborne carrier vehicle.
3. A seedling and/or plantlet planting device according to Claim 1 which Is controlled from the airborne carrier vehicle manually or automatically.
4 A seedling and/or plantlet planting device according to Claim 1 that can be reloaded rapidly with seedlings and/or plantlets in containers while the airborne carrier vehicle is hovering or on the ground.
A seedling and/or plantlet planting device according to Claim 1 that can be Jettisoned safely from its airborne carrier vehicle.
6 A seedling and/or plantlet planting device according to Claim 1 that contains racks for the required mix of seedlings and/or plantlets In their containers with powered mechanisms to move the seedlings and/or plantlets In turn with the required timing to the ejector mechanisms.
7. A seedling and/or plantlet planting device according to Claim 1 that ejects seedlings and/or plantiets in their containers in a desired direction and speed through powered ejector ".t mechanisms . i 8 A seedling and/or plantlet planting device according to Claim 1 whose total loaded weight will permit carnage by the airborne carrier vehicle for a defined time, distance and , , operating altitude 9 A seedling and/or plantlet planting device according to Claim 3, whereby manual or automatic control can respond to the measured ground speed and altitude above the ground of the airborne carrier vehicle. ( .
10. A seedling and/or plantlet planting device according to Claim 3 where the planting pattern and dispersion can be varied to match actual conditions and the desired planting result 11. A seedling and/or plantlet planting device according to Claim 6 that carries and seedlings and/or plantlets in containers made of bo- degradable translucent material that will allow maximum light to reach the growing tree and protect the tree until it grows to the point where it Is able to break out of the closed ecological system of the container.
12. A seedling and/or plantlet planting container according to Claim 11 that will be impregnated with materials that will protect the developing tree from insect attack and fungal, viral and bacterial diseases 13. A seedling and/or plantlet planting container according to claim 11 that holds the seedling and/or plantlet set in a supply of initially required plant nutrients and other matter including plant growth hormones to accelerate growth rates in excess of those found in nature.
14. A seedling and/or plantlet planting container according to Claim 11 that is pencil shaped with a fine cone point to assist ground penetration, a cylindrical upper body to protect the seedling and/or plantlet during early growth. and having vertical fins to ensure stable flight to the ground and upright penetration of the ground to hold the nascent tree vertical until its own root system is sufficiently developed.
A seedling and/or plantiet planting container according to Claim 14 the walls of which will have reinforcing ribs where required to maintain structural integrity on impact with the ground, interspersed with weakened sections coated with materials to aid subsequent bo- degradation of the container.
16 A seedling and/or plantlet planDng container according to Claim 14 that has a penetrating point made of a strong material such as carbon fibre, or have a carbon fibre coating on top of a polypropylene/polyethylene/polycarbonate material, to prevent the container breaking up on impact with the ground and facilitate topsoil penetration.
17. A seedling and/or plantlet planting device according to Claim 1 that permits the planting of cloned plant material as well as seed generated material
18. A seedling and/or plantlet planting device according to Claim 17 that will contribute to bo-diversity and the high quality of growing plants by the use of cloned plant material. . .
I r r ( : : e ( or r r I r r (
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB0422886A GB2419076A (en) | 2004-10-14 | 2004-10-14 | Airborne seedling or plantlet device |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB0422886A GB2419076A (en) | 2004-10-14 | 2004-10-14 | Airborne seedling or plantlet device |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB0422886D0 GB0422886D0 (en) | 2004-11-17 |
| GB2419076A true GB2419076A (en) | 2006-04-19 |
Family
ID=33462750
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB0422886A Pending GB2419076A (en) | 2004-10-14 | 2004-10-14 | Airborne seedling or plantlet device |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| GB (1) | GB2419076A (en) |
Cited By (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN102960104A (en) * | 2012-11-13 | 2013-03-13 | 上海交通大学无锡研究院 | Unmanned rice seedling slinging machine |
| US10814980B2 (en) | 2017-09-02 | 2020-10-27 | Precision Drone Services Intellectual Property, Llc | Distribution assembly for an aerial vehicle |
| US20220264808A1 (en) * | 2017-07-20 | 2022-08-25 | Brett Evan Patrick | Method and apparatus for airborne dissemination and implantation of seeds |
Citations (12)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US2528986A (en) * | 1945-05-24 | 1950-11-07 | Lytle S Adams | Aerial seed distributor |
| US3273284A (en) * | 1963-10-28 | 1966-09-20 | George N Anagnostou | Planting container |
| US3755962A (en) * | 1970-09-24 | 1973-09-04 | Canadian Patents Dev | Aerial planting method and apparatus |
| US4333265A (en) * | 1980-03-13 | 1982-06-08 | Arnold Richard L | Air drop planting system and improved planting device for same |
| US4336669A (en) * | 1980-12-23 | 1982-06-29 | Gordon George N | Planting container |
| US4347686A (en) * | 1978-06-28 | 1982-09-07 | Canadian Patents & Development Limited | Fin-stabilized container of foldable sheet material |
| JPH04335830A (en) * | 1991-05-09 | 1992-11-24 | Yamawaki Noboru | Seedling pot for air-dropping |
| US5799439A (en) * | 1994-07-12 | 1998-09-01 | Desert Bloom Foundation | Protective enclosures for seeds |
| DE29920955U1 (en) * | 1999-11-29 | 2000-07-06 | Grund Torsten | Aerial afforestation device |
| US20020121562A1 (en) * | 2001-03-02 | 2002-09-05 | Fima Raoul G. | Aerial reforestation system |
| US6516565B1 (en) * | 2001-03-02 | 2003-02-11 | Raoul G. Fima | Airborne seed pouch delivery system |
| WO2004074214A2 (en) * | 2002-12-17 | 2004-09-02 | Eco New Technology Llc | Biodegradable material, products manufactured using said material and method for manufacturing said products |
-
2004
- 2004-10-14 GB GB0422886A patent/GB2419076A/en active Pending
Patent Citations (12)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US2528986A (en) * | 1945-05-24 | 1950-11-07 | Lytle S Adams | Aerial seed distributor |
| US3273284A (en) * | 1963-10-28 | 1966-09-20 | George N Anagnostou | Planting container |
| US3755962A (en) * | 1970-09-24 | 1973-09-04 | Canadian Patents Dev | Aerial planting method and apparatus |
| US4347686A (en) * | 1978-06-28 | 1982-09-07 | Canadian Patents & Development Limited | Fin-stabilized container of foldable sheet material |
| US4333265A (en) * | 1980-03-13 | 1982-06-08 | Arnold Richard L | Air drop planting system and improved planting device for same |
| US4336669A (en) * | 1980-12-23 | 1982-06-29 | Gordon George N | Planting container |
| JPH04335830A (en) * | 1991-05-09 | 1992-11-24 | Yamawaki Noboru | Seedling pot for air-dropping |
| US5799439A (en) * | 1994-07-12 | 1998-09-01 | Desert Bloom Foundation | Protective enclosures for seeds |
| DE29920955U1 (en) * | 1999-11-29 | 2000-07-06 | Grund Torsten | Aerial afforestation device |
| US20020121562A1 (en) * | 2001-03-02 | 2002-09-05 | Fima Raoul G. | Aerial reforestation system |
| US6516565B1 (en) * | 2001-03-02 | 2003-02-11 | Raoul G. Fima | Airborne seed pouch delivery system |
| WO2004074214A2 (en) * | 2002-12-17 | 2004-09-02 | Eco New Technology Llc | Biodegradable material, products manufactured using said material and method for manufacturing said products |
Cited By (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN102960104A (en) * | 2012-11-13 | 2013-03-13 | 上海交通大学无锡研究院 | Unmanned rice seedling slinging machine |
| US20220264808A1 (en) * | 2017-07-20 | 2022-08-25 | Brett Evan Patrick | Method and apparatus for airborne dissemination and implantation of seeds |
| US11730087B2 (en) * | 2017-07-20 | 2023-08-22 | Brett Patrick | Method and apparatus for airborne dissemination and implantation of seeds |
| US10814980B2 (en) | 2017-09-02 | 2020-10-27 | Precision Drone Services Intellectual Property, Llc | Distribution assembly for an aerial vehicle |
| US11718400B2 (en) | 2017-09-02 | 2023-08-08 | Precision Drone Services Intellectual Property, Llc | Distribution assembly for an aerial vehicle |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB0422886D0 (en) | 2004-11-17 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 732E | Amendments to the register in respect of changes of name or changes affecting rights (sect. 32/1977) |