JP2000093005A - Seedling box expander - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make whole seedling boxes be placeable on a vertical carrying means and capable of detecting its presence by dividing whole means to vertically carrying means of a seedling box and laterally carrying means of a seedling box and laterally transferring the seedling box laid on the laterally carrying means by only one box and make the seedling box be simultaneously expanded by changing the carrying frame to front lowering inclined attitude. SOLUTION: This seedling box expander has a carrying frame 21 in a traveling machine body 9 in a state changeable from about horizontal attitude to a front lowering inclined attitude and a vertical carrying means 24 loading plural seedling boxes N in right and left direction and carrying the boxes to front downward in the front lowering inclined attitude and a lateral carrying means 25 transferring the seedling boxes N from seedling boxes carrying in side to the right and left sideward by only one box in about horizontal attitude and arranging the seedling boxes on the vertical carrying means 25, and a box detecting means 36 detecting the finish of carrying in of the seedling box onto the vertical carrying means 24 by the lateral carrying means 25.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a seedling box unfolding machine for unfolding seedling boxes on the ground.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the seedling raising work of rice and vegetables, after germination, seedling boxes are arranged in a house (cured house) in units of several hundred to 1,000 sheets to perform greening and / or hardening treatment. Techniques for mechanization have been developed for efficient collection on narrow premises. As a technique to deploy and collect seedling boxes,
There is one disclosed in JP-A-10-127172. This technology includes a front-rear transport mechanism that can move a set of seedling boxes back and forth and can simultaneously transfer a plurality of sets of seedling boxes on the left and right with respect to the ground. It has a vertical and horizontal transport mechanism that can move the seedling boxes one by one between the transfer position and the base position halfway in the left-right direction, while being able to move the seedling boxes back and forth at the same time.

When this prior art is used to lay a seedling box, the seedling box is distributed and moved laterally from a base position to a left and right transfer position by a vertical and horizontal transport mechanism, and a plurality of right and left sets are set from each transfer position. The seedling boxes are simultaneously moved forward and transferred to the front-rear transfer mechanism, and the left and right sets of plural seedling boxes are simultaneously transferred from the front-rear transfer mechanism to the ground, and have a width equal to or less than the width of the seedling box. It is released to the ground while forming a sidewalk and laid side by side.

[0004]

In the above-mentioned prior art, the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism is used for both deployment and recovery, and uses a roller with an inclined axis, so that the seedling box can be moved both vertically and horizontally. Although it can be transported, the structure is complicated, expensive and large, and all seedling boxes on it must be driven by applying driving force. It has become difficult to deploy it.

Further, since all the seedling boxes are driven by applying a driving force to them, even if the seedling box in the middle is clogged and stopped, the seedling box at the end moves, so that all the seedling boxes are moved to the required positions. It is difficult to detect whether or not they are arranged. An object of the present invention is to provide a seedling box unfolding machine capable of solving such a problem.

According to the present invention, the entire seedling box is divided into a means for vertically transporting the seedling boxes and a means for horizontally transporting the seedling boxes, and the seedling boxes placed on the horizontal transport means are moved laterally by one box on the loading side. Can be placed on the vertical transport means and can also be detected, and by changing the transport frame to the forward-downward inclined posture,
An object of the present invention is to provide a seedling box unfolding machine capable of unfolding a seedling box at the same time.

[0007]

The first concrete means for solving the problems in the present invention is that a traveling frame 9 is mounted on a transport frame 21.
Is provided so that it can be changed from a substantially horizontal position to a forward-downward inclined position,
A vertical transport unit 24 for placing a plurality of seedling boxes N on the transport frame 21 in the left-right direction and transporting the seedling boxes N forward and downward in the forwardly inclined position.
The horizontal transport means 2 for moving the seedling box N from the seedling box loading side by one box to the left and right sides in a substantially horizontal posture and arranging them on the vertical transport means 24
5 and a box detecting means 36 for detecting completion of the transfer of the seedling box to the vertical conveying means 24 by the horizontal conveying means 25.

As a result, when the seedling boxes N placed on the horizontal transport means 25 on the carry-in side are moved laterally by one box, the seedling boxes N are sequentially arranged on the vertical transport means 24, and the seedling boxes N at the tip end are sequentially moved. Is detected, the completion of the placement of all the seedling boxes N is detected, and when the transport frame 21 is changed to the downwardly inclined position, the seedling boxes N are simultaneously spread out from the entire area of the vertical transport means 24 to the ground.

A second concrete means for solving the problem in the present invention is that, in addition to the first concrete means, the box detecting means 36 is provided with a transfer frame 21 in the forward direction of the seedling box moving direction by the horizontal transfer means 25. That is, a contact-type sensor is provided on the side.
Thus, the completion of the placement of the seedling boxes N on the vertical transport means 24 is reliably detected, and even if there is a detection error, the seedling boxes N are prevented from falling off.

A third concrete means for solving the problem in the present invention is that, in addition to the first or second concrete means, the vertical transport means 24 has a number of rollers rotatable around the left and right axes. Roller conveyor 22 and a drive roller 23 that is positioned in front of the roller conveyor 22 and is driven to rotate around the left and right axes. Thereby, a simple and inexpensive one is used for the vertical transport means 24, and the seedling box N is unfolded smoothly by tilting forward and downward.

According to a fourth specific means for solving the problems in the present invention, in addition to the third specific means, the outer peripheral surface of the driving roller 23 is slightly protruded above the conveying surface of the roller conveyor 22. That is. Thus, when the vertical transport means 24 is inclined forward and downward to deploy the seedling box N, the sliding seedling box N is temporarily stopped or braked to align the front.

A fifth specific means for solving the problem in the present invention is that, in addition to the third or fourth specific means, the drive roller 23 has a larger diameter than the roller conveyor 22 and / or has a contact resistance with a seedling box. That is set to large. This makes it possible to easily and easily manufacture a configuration for temporarily stopping or braking the sliding of the seedling box N.

A sixth concrete means for solving the problem in the present invention is that, in addition to any one of the third to fifth concrete means, at least one of the right and left sides of the carrying frame 21 on the loading side is provided.
The two extension transfer frames 47 are detachably attached to the transfer frame 2.
1 is provided with a horizontal transport means 25 and a vertical transport means 24 for transporting at least one seedling box in the left and right direction, and the extended transport frame 47 is provided with a vertical transport means 24 for transporting at least one seedling box in the left and right direction. 47 is that the drive roller 23 of the vertical transport means 24 is removably linked to the drive roller 23 of the vertical transport means 24 of the transport frame 21.

Thus, when the extension transport frame 47 is removed, the seedling box unfolding machine can be put in and taken out of a house with a narrow frontage, and if necessary, the number of seedling boxes N to be unfolded simultaneously can be increased or decreased. A seventh concrete means for solving the problem in the present invention is that, in addition to the first concrete means, the vertical transport means 24 and the horizontal transport means 25 are provided in a pair on the transport frame 21 on the left and right sides. Are provided with a central common shaft 25A, a pair of left and right driving shafts 25B that are driven to rotate in the opposite direction, and a winding transmission means 32 wound around each of the left and right driving shafts 25B and the central common shaft 25A. The central rotating body 32A of the wrapping transmission means 32 is freely rotatably provided on the central common shaft 25A.

As a result, the central shaft and the like are shared by the left and right lateral transport means 25, so that the structure is simplified and the device can be manufactured at low cost.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a seedling box unfolding and collecting machine 1 which can be changed to a seedling box unfolding machine A and a seedling box collecting machine B as a seedling box to ground treatment machine. The seedling box unfolding and collecting machine 1 is configured such that two or more seedling boxes N on each side can be horizontally arranged in a horizontally elongated state while forming a sidewalk at the center, and can be unfolded side by side and simultaneously collected on each side.

The seedling box unfolding and collecting machine 1 includes a working unit 3
The work unit 3 is roughly divided into a deployment work unit 3A and a collection work unit 3.
B. In the following description, the front side is the side on which the seedling box N is deployed, and the working unit 3 moves backward when deployed and moves forward when collected.

The unfolding operation unit 3A is shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 and 12, and includes a support frame 5 attached to the main unit 4 and a vertical and horizontal transport mechanism (transport device) having a rear portion pivotally connected to the support frame 5. 6A and support frame 5
And a tilting mechanism 7 that tilts the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6A. The collection work unit 3B is shown in FIGS.
11, a support frame 5 attached to the main unit 4, a vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6B having a rear portion pivotally connected to the support frame 5, and a vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6B provided on the support frame 5 side. Tilt mechanism 7 for tilting
And a box pick-up mechanism 8 attached to the support frame 5 or the main unit 4 side.

The supporting frame 5 and the tilting mechanism 7 of the unfolding work unit 3A and the collecting work unit 3B are common, and the vertical and horizontal transport mechanisms 6A and 6B are alternatively used.
The box pick-up mechanism 8 is attached to the main unit 4
It is detachably fixed to the side. The main unit 4 includes a crawler-type traveling body 9, a box delivery unit 10 disposed on the traveling body 9, a box lifting / lowering mechanism 11 disposed across the box delivery unit 10, and a box lifting / lowering mechanism 11. It has a box loading / unloading mechanism 12 disposed on the rear side, and the support frame 5 and the tilting mechanism 7, which are common devices of the unfolding operation unit 3 </ b> A and the collection operation unit 3 </ b> B, are permanently installed on the traveling machine body 9.

In FIGS. 1 to 9 and 12, a support frame 5 common to the unfolding operation unit 3A and the collection operation unit 3B is shown.
Is formed into a rectangular frame shape in plan view by combining a horizontal member and a vertical member, a pair of left and right engaging portions 15 is provided at a front portion, and stays 16 are provided at right and left side portions.
The bracket 17 pivotally supports a bending portion of a substantially L-shaped tilting member 18 in a side view via left and right front brackets 17.

The tilting member 18 has a substantially L-shaped lower part in an arm shape and extends forward, and an upper part is connected to an actuator 19 such as a hydraulic cylinder. The actuator 19 is supported by the stay 16, but the box elevating mechanism 11
The arm may be tilted downward by extension. The support frame 5, the tilting member 18
The actuator 19 and the like constitute a tilting mechanism 7 of the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism (transport device) 6.

The support frame 5 may be formed by projecting a pair of left and right plate members from the traveling machine body 9, or may be formed by tilting members 18.
May be formed by one arm member, and the actuator 19 may be provided between the arm member and the support frame 5. Figure 1
7 and 12, the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6A of the unfolding operation unit 3A includes a transport frame 21A formed by vertically and horizontally assembling a model steel, two or more pairs of the roller conveyor 22 in the horizontal direction within the transport frame 21A, for example, five pairs of roller conveyors 22 and transport. A vertical conveying means 24 formed by a driving roller 23 on the front side of the frame 21A;
And two pairs of front and rear horizontal transport means 25 arranged on the center side of the inside, and a pair of right and left vertical transport means 24 and horizontal transport means 25 are provided, and are symmetrical with respect to the center line of the traveling body 9. It has become.

The pair of left and right vertical transport means 24 are separated from each other by a dimension for forming the passage L. The roller conveyor 22 of each vertical conveying means 24 employs an idler roller rotatable around the left and right horizontal axes, and two laterally long seedling boxes N can be placed on one set of the roller conveyors 22, Drive roller 23
Is provided with a roller 28 on a rotating shaft 27 supported via a bracket 26 on the front side of the transport frame 21A. The rotating shaft 27 is connected to a motor 30 via a transmission means 29 such as a chain transmission means on the side surface of the transport frame 21A. Can be driven.

The roller of the roller conveyor 22 is formed of a metal or plastic roller having a smooth surface and may be driven. However, in the vertical transport means 24, only the front drive roller 23 is moved forward. It is a drive unit. The driving roller 23 is a roller or roller made of rubber or plastic, and is formed of a material or a shape having a higher seedling box contact resistance (friction resistance) on the surface than the roller conveyor 22. Diameter d
It has a larger diameter, and its outer peripheral surface protrudes upward by a dimension t from the conveying surface of the roller conveyor 22.

Thus, when the vertical transport means 24 is inclined forward and downward, the seedling box N thereon slides down on the roller conveyor 22, but stops upon hitting the drive roller 23 or rides on the drive roller 23 to apply a brake. In addition, the landing shock when the seedling box is unfolded is reduced, and the damage to the seedling box N is reduced, and the front side of the seedling boxes N arranged side by side in the left-right direction is substantially aligned. After the braking, the seedling boxes N are transported forward by the driving of the drive rollers 23 and are arranged on the ground.

The diameter D of the driving roller 23 is set to be equal to or smaller than the diameter d of the roller conveyor 22, and the axis of the driving roller 23 is set higher than the axis of the roller of the roller conveyor 22. The outer peripheral surface of the roller 23 may be arranged at a position higher than the outer peripheral surface of the roller conveyor 22. Further, the dimension t is a dimension at which the seedling box N stops upon contact with the drive roller 23, or
The driving roller 23 is stopped, so that the driving roller 23 is stopped by receiving a braking force.

The roller conveyor 22 on the center side of the vertical transport means 24 is located at a position where the seedling box N is carried in from the rear box transfer means 10, and a stopper (not shown) is provided at the front of the roller conveyor 22. The seedling box N carried in from the box delivery means 10 does not fall. At the tip of the bracket 26, a grounding wheel 31 that can extend and extend the length of each set of the roller conveyor 22 or the driving roller 23 is supported. The grounding wheel 31 supports the front end of the vertical transport means 24 and also serves to push and align the seedling boxes N laid on the ground from behind.

The lateral transport means 25 supports a sprocket (rotating body) 32A on one central shaft (central common shaft) 25A so as to freely rotate, and a sprocket (rotating body) on each left and right shaft (drive shaft) 25B. 32B is fixed, a chain (wrapping body) 32C is wound around the center and left and right sprockets, and an engaging member (chain pusher) for engaging with the seedling box N is provided on the chain 32C. Roller conveyor 2
2 are arranged in the gap. The pair of sprockets 3
The winding transmission means 32 is constituted by 2A, 32B, the chain 32C, and the like.

The transfer frame 21A is provided with a motor 25C and a pair of sprockets 25D with gears. The sprockets 25D with gears are meshed with gears and have a chain between the sprockets provided on the left and right shafts 25B. The motor 25C is wound around and can drive one sprocket with gear 25D. Therefore, each left and right axis 2
5B, the power from the motor 25C is transmitted in the forward and reverse directions, and the right and left wrapping transmission means 32 move in opposite directions to each other, so that the two seedling boxes N which are carried in the front and rear are loaded.
Is pushed one box outward by the engaging member.

When the roller conveyor 22 is a free roller having a smooth surface, the right and left pushing of the seedling box N can be performed smoothly with only a slight resistance, even if the rotation direction of the roller is about the left and right axis. Conversely, when the resistance is small, the collision between the seedling boxes N at the time of pushing in the left-right direction is small, and the generation of noise is reduced. The lateral transport means 25 only pushes the seedling box N carried thereon by one box. When the seedling box N is sequentially pushed, the seedling box N pushes the seedling box N, Since a predetermined number of seedling boxes N can be arranged on the vertical transport means 24, and the same operation is performed simultaneously on the left and right sides, the right and left weight balance in the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6A is favorably maintained.

A box detecting means 36 is provided on one side or both sides of the transfer frame 21A. The box detecting means 36 is composed of a pair of front and rear limit switches or other contact-type sensors, and detects the most advanced seedling box N which has been pushed to the left and right by the lateral transport means 25, and detects the seedling box N. The counting is performed, and the seedling box unfolding machine A is caused to perform the next pre-transfer operation. The box detecting means 36 can be disposed at the rear or lower part of the transport frame 21A, and a non-contact type sensor such as an optical sensor can be used. It is preferable to use the type sensor because it is less erroneous and accurate, and also serves as a stopper for preventing the lateral transport seedling box N from dropping off from the transport frame 21A.

A pair of left and right pivot shafts 33 are provided at the rear lower portion of the transfer frame 21A. The pivot shafts 33 are detachably engaged with the engaging portions 15 of the support frame 5 from above. . The pivot shaft 33 in the engaged state is concentric with the pivot point of the substantially L-shaped tilting member 18, but may be shifted back and forth or up and down. The tip of the arm portion of the tilting member 18 can freely contact and separate from a contact member 34 provided on the transport frame 21A.
By pivoting the tilting member 18 upward at 9, the transport frame 21A is lifted and pivoted about the pivot shaft 33, the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6A is set to a substantially horizontal posture, and the actuator 19 is operated in reverse to tilt the tilting member 18 By swinging downward
The transport frame 21A is lowered about the pivot shaft 33, and the vertical / horizontal transport mechanism 6A is tilted to a downward position before the grounding wheel 31 touches the ground.

When the grounding wheel 31 is in contact with the ground, the tilting member 1
When the tilting member 18 is further moved downward slightly to separate the tilting member 18 from the transport frame 21A, the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6A enters a floating state that follows the unevenness of the ground. The transfer frame 21A
Wheels are provided at both left and right ends or in the middle of the
The weight of A may be supported by the wheel, and the ground contact wheel 31 may be slightly raised from the ground. Also, the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6A can transport the seedling box N back and forth and laterally by using only one of the left and right sides.

The transport frame 21A and the vertical transport means 24 of the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6A are foldably connected to a position substantially corresponding to the side edge of the traveling machine body 9 and a position between the position corresponding to the lateral edge of the traveling machine body and the outer end. Part 35 is formed and the folding connection part 3
Numeral 5 is foldable around the front-rear axis, and the rotating shaft 27 is also connected via a universal joint at a position corresponding to the fold connection part 35.

The left and right vertical and horizontal transport mechanisms 6A are folded at two locations in the direction of lifting the outer end of the transport frame 21A upward, so that the working unit 3A is positioned within the front projection area of the main unit 4 as shown in FIG. And the whole seedling box unfolding and collecting machine 1 can pass if it is a frontage through which the main unit 4 can pass. Left and right vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6
In A, the left and right positions of the folding connection portion 35 are slightly shifted,
When the left and right outer portions are folded, they are arranged vertically offset on the front side of the main unit 4 and do not collide.

When the width of the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6A is narrow, the folding connection portion 35 is formed at a position substantially corresponding to the side edge of the traveling machine body or at a position between the corresponding position of the traveling machine side edge and the outer end. You. 8 and 9, the collection work unit 3
The vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6B of B is a transport frame 2 in which die steel is assembled vertically and horizontally.
1B and the central drive conveyor 37 in the transport frame 21B.
And vertical transport means 3 formed by side-side drive conveyor 38
9 and two sets of lateral transport means 40 arranged at positions overlapping the side drive conveyor 38 in the transport frame 21B.

The center drive conveyor 37 and the side drive conveyor 38 are symmetrical with respect to the center line of the traveling body 9, but the two sets of horizontal transport means 40 are shifted left and right by one box in the front and rear direction. The right and left central drive conveyors 37 of the vertical transport means 39 transmit the power from one motor 41 by a transmission means such as a chain transmission means, and the roller shaft of each central drive conveyor 37 has an outer side portion. The side drive conveyor 38 is connected to the roller shaft of the side drive conveyor 38 via a joint so as to drive the side drive conveyor 38 synchronously.

The center drive conveyor 37 is formed slightly longer behind the side drive conveyor 38 so that the seedling boxes N can be carried out to the box delivery means 10 at the rear. A notch 42 is formed on the outer side of the tip of the conveyor 38, and the front side of the transport frame 21 </ b> B is
8 so as not to interfere with the seedling box N on the ground that is not collected.

The left and right lateral transport means 40 are composed of one guide rail 40A and one engaging member 40 having an engaging claw at the tip.
B is disposed in the roller gap of each side drive conveyor 38, a chain is wound around a pair of sprockets driven by motors 43A and 43B, and an engaging member 40B is connected to the chain. Guide rail 40A
Then, the seedling box N carried into the engaging member 40B is hooked by the engaging member 40B and pushed by one box onto the central drive conveyor 37.

The seedling box N on the left side can be moved to the rear end of the left driving conveyor 38, while the seedling box N on the right side is provided with a stopper 45 at the rear of the right side lateral transport means 40, and moves backward beyond that. Not to be. This stopper 4
5 may be fixed or movable up and down. In the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6B, similarly to the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6A, the transport frame 21B and the vertical transport means 38 are provided with a foldable connecting portion 35 at a position substantially corresponding to a side edge of the traveling machine body 9 and a foldable connecting portion 35. Can be folded around the longitudinal axis,
9, the central drive conveyor 37 and the side drive conveyor 38
And the universal joint that connects.

By folding the left and right vertical and horizontal transport mechanisms 6B in the direction of lifting the outer end side upwards at one location, FIG.
Similarly to the above, if the working unit 3B is within the front projection area of the main unit 4 and the frontage through which the main unit 4 can pass, the entire seedling box unfolding and collecting machine 1 can pass. Note that a box pick-up mechanism 8 described later is foldable at the foldable connecting portion 35 or detachable from the traveling machine body 9.

In the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6B shown in FIG. 9, four horizontally long seedling boxes N are placed on the vertical transport means 39 at the same time and moved rearward, and the two right seedling boxes N are stopped by the stopper 45. After that, the two left seedling boxes N are moved to the rear end of the transfer frame 21B. Then, the two right seedling boxes N are moved toward the center by the right side lateral transport means 40, and the left two seedling boxes N are shifted rearward therefrom.
The seedling boxes N are moved to the center side by the left lateral conveying means 40, and a total of four seedling boxes N are arranged at the center of the conveying frame 21B in the front, rear, left and right, and the center side driving conveyor 37 is driven again in that state. The entire seedling box N out.

When a total of four seedling boxes N, two right and left, are collected at the same time, the lateral transfer of the left and right seedling boxes N is substantially symmetric, and the weight balance is improved. 8 to 11, the box pick-up mechanism 8 can pick up four seedling boxes N in one row at a time corresponding to the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6B, and protrudes the stay from the box elevating mechanism 11 or the support frame 5 or the like. A front frame 51 attached to the stay and projecting forward, a plurality of hooks 52 provided on the front frame 51 in the left-right direction, and the seedling box forcibly flipping the hooks 52 upward and rearward. N and a stopper means 57 for restricting the operation of the forced release means 56.
A retracting means 58 forcibly releasing the stopper means 57 and retracting the hooking tool 52;
Has a return means 59 for returning to a position at which the camera substantially drops, and a control means 65 for controlling the operation.

The hook 52 is attached to the support shaft 54 provided on the corner member 51A of the front frame 51 with respect to one seedling box N.
The book is freely and freely swingably fitted, and the lower part thereof forms a hooking claw 52A having a substantially L-shape (hook shape) in side view.
With the hook claw 52A substantially grounded (state A in FIG. 10), the main unit 4 is hooked from below onto the peripheral edge Na of each seedling box N by the forward movement of the upper part as the main unit 4 moves forward.

When the hook 52 is hooked (FIG. 1)
(B), the seedling box N does not move, so that the seedling box N moves in an arc around the upper part, and the rear part of the seedling box N is lifted around the front part by the arc movement upward and backward (state C in FIG. 10). Then, the hook 52 is located above the front of the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6B in a state where the seedling box N is lifted (state C in FIG. 1). When the upper portion of the hook 52 further advances from this state, it swings by a certain angle or more. Then, the peripheral edge Na comes into contact with the upper part of the hook claw 52A, the hook claw 52A comes off from the peripheral Na by the leverage (natural departure angle, two states in FIG. 10), and the seedling box N falls. It is placed on the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6B.

The hook 52 is formed by a leverage action.
Before the A deviates from the peripheral edge Na, that is, before the swing angle becomes the spontaneous detachment angle, the forcible detaching means 56 forcibly jumps up and detaches (forcible detachment angle). The mechanism and operation of forcibly detaching the hook 52 and returning it to the set position will be described below.

The collection work unit 3B is advanced to face the seedling boxes N arranged side by side. At this time, if the sensor 65A detects the flip-up member 60 or the sensor 65B does not detect the flip-up member 60, the hooking tool 22 is in the substantially hanging state A, so that the working unit 3B is moved forward without change. Then, the motor 64 is rotated forward by one through the control unit 66, the return means 59 is driven, the flip-up member 60 is pivoted downward by the set lever 59A, and the flip-up member 60 is operated by operating the stopper means 57. It is held at the set position and detected by the sensor 65A.

When the hook 52 is set in the substantially hanging state A, the recovery operation unit 3B starts to advance and the hook 5
2 is dragged, and the hook claw 52A is hooked on each seedling box N that has been deployed. The rear of the seedling box N is lifted around the front end, and the hook 52 swings to a certain angle while drawing an arc trajectory upward and rearward around the support shaft 54, and immediately before the spontaneous departure angle is reached, the hook 52 Is the stopper member 62
Abuts on the release lever portion 62A and rotates it.

When the stopper member 62 is released, the flip-up member 60 is shockedly flipped up by the resilience of the urging member 61, forcibly flipping up all the hooks 52, and the hook claws 52.
A is removed from the seedling box N. As a result, the rear portion of the seedling box N is dropped onto the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6B. In this way, the seedling box N is lifted by the plurality of hooks 52 corresponding to each seedling box N, transferred onto the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6B, and the seedling box N is completely mounted on the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6B. After watching, the forward button is pressed, or after a set time from when the sensor 65B detects the flip-up member 60, the motor 64 is rotated by one forward direction, the return means 59 is driven, and the flip-up member 6 is moved by the set lever 59A.
0 is pushed down, the jumping-up member 60 is overrun, returned to the set position, the set lever 59A is raised, and the box pick-up mechanism 11 performs the seedling box pick-up operation again.

When the collection of the required seedling box N is completed, or when the working unit 3B is moved backward for some reason, when the backward button is pressed, the sensor 65A detects the jumping member 60 or the sensor 65B jumps. Raising member 6
If 0 is not detected, the hooking tool 52 is in the hanging state A. If the working unit 3B is moved backward as it is, the hooking tool 52 in the dragged state will bite into the ground. The motor 64 is rotated by one reverse to drive the retracting means 58.

The short rotating arm 64A swings the release lever 58A by reversing to push the release lever portion 62A of the stopper means 57, release the stopper member 62, and flip up the flip-up member 60, so that the full hook 52 Is forcibly lifted and evacuated. 2 to 9, the main unit 4
The upper box delivery means 10 are located in front of the traveling machine body 9 in a pair of right and left, and each box delivery means 10 is a roller type first moving means 6.
8, a chain-type second moving means 69, a roller-type receiving means 70, and a divider 73, all of which may be provided in the traveling body 9, but the chain-type second moving means 69 and the roller-type receiving means The means 70 is supported by the support frame 5.

The power from one central motor 71 is transmitted to the roller shafts of the first left and right moving means 68 via the chain transmission means and also to the second left and right moving means 69.
The second moving means 69 has an engagement piece 72 provided on the chain, and is configured to hook and push the front and rear ends of the seedling box N. The receiving means 70 is moved by the second moving means 69. Box N is received.

The box delivery means 10 comprises a main unit 4
When the unfolding work unit 3A is mounted on the first transfer unit 68, the seedling box N placed on the first transfer unit 68 is pushed by the second transfer unit 69 onto the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6A, and the collection work unit 3B is mounted. In this case, the seedling box N sent by the vertical transfer means 39 of the vertical and horizontal transfer mechanism 6B is moved to above the first transfer means 68 via the second transfer means 69, and the seedling box N with the vertical and horizontal transfer mechanisms 6A, 6B is moved. Delivery.

The second moving means 69 to the first moving means 6
When the seedling box N moves to the position 8, the divider 73 located at the rear portion between the left and right second moving means 69 sets the left and right intervals of the seedling box N, and the seedling box N is properly regulated with respect to the inner and outer receiving members 79A and 80A. Modify to be in position. The box delivery means 10 comprises:
The first moving means 68 or the second moving means 69 may be formed to be long, and may be constituted by only one. The first moving means 68 and the second moving means 69 may be driven by separate motors. .

The box raising / lowering mechanism 11 is shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, 8 and 9, and is disposed across the first moving means 68 of the left and right box delivery means 10, and has four seedlings in total. The box N can be moved up and down at intervals, and when the seedling box is unfolded, two seedling boxes N are supplied to each of the left and right first moving means 68, and at the time of collecting the seedling box, the left and right first moving means 68 are supplied. From seedling box N
Are picked up two at a time, and are delivered to a box loading / unloading mechanism 12 arranged on the rear side.

The box raising / lowering mechanism 11 includes a mechanism frame 76 fixed to the traveling machine body 9 and a box multi-stage lift supported by the mechanism frame 76 to raise and lower each of the left and right seedling boxes N one by one vertically. Means 77 and the whole seedling box N on the box multi-stage elevating means 77
And pusher means 78 for pushing out the rearward. The pusher means 78 is used only during the seedling box collection operation, and may be detachable from the mechanism frame 76.

The box multi-stage elevating means 77 includes a horizontally arranged seedling box N
Has a left-right symmetrical structure so that it can be moved up and down at the same time as the front and rear two and the left and right simultaneously. The left and right structures have a pair of an inner chain 79 and an outer chain 80 at the front and rear, and are installed on the front and rear inner chains 79. Two sets of front and rear seedling boxes N are received by the receiving member 79A and the receiving members 80A provided on the front and rear outer chains 80.

The receiving members 79A and 80A are made of an L-shaped angle member when viewed from the front, and can be lowered and transferred to the first moving means 68 while holding the seedling box N. By doing so, the seedling box N on the first moving means 68 can be picked up while being raised. Inner / outer chain 7
9 and 80 are hung on a sprocket supported by a mechanism frame 76, while the inner chain 79 is provided with a box multi-stage elevating means 77.
Since there is little space for winding around the center part of the outer chain 80, as shown in FIG.

The pusher means 78 has an actuator 82 such as a hydraulic cylinder supported by a mechanism frame 76, and a push member 83 provided on a cylinder rod or the like of the actuator 82. The push member 8 is actuated by the actuator 82.
3 can be pushed between the inner and outer receiving members 79A and 80A, and the seedling box N lifted from the first moving means 68 by the box multistage elevating means 77 during the collection operation is moved backward in a multistage state with a vertical interval. It can be extruded all at once.

The box loading / unloading mechanism 12 disposed at the rear of the main unit 4 is substantially a mechanism dedicated to unfolding work.
At the time of the collection operation, it plays a role of forming an arrangement space for the nursery rack 85. However, the box in / out mechanism 12 moves the vehicle 9 during the unfolding operation.
You may leave from. In FIGS. 1-3, 8, and 9, the box access mechanism 12 has a support frame 86 formed by erection of four columns on a base fixed to the traveling machine body 9 and connecting between upper and lower columns. The support frame 86 is provided with a stacking box separating device 91 so that the stacking seedling boxes N placed on the cradle 89 can be stored in the internal space.

The cradle 89 is for transporting a seedling box, on which two horizontally long seedling boxes N are set in front and rear, and the set includes a pair of left and right ones. The stacking box separator 91 guides the holding frame 92 to the support frame 86 so as to be able to go up and down freely, and makes it possible to go up and down by the chain elevating means 93 provided on the left and right sides, and stacks a total of four seedling boxes N in front, back, left and right. On the other hand, the holding frame 92 is lowered, the left and right sides of the seedling box N are hooked with the hooks, and then lifted. The receiving rail is swung upward to receive the seedling boxes N from the hooks.

On the holding frame 92, pushing means 1 for pushing forward and backward the two seedling boxes N received by the receiving rail.
07 are provided on the left and right. This pushing means 107
Simultaneously pushes forward and backward the two seedling boxes N on the receiving rail in the forward direction, and transfers the seedling boxes N to the inner and outer receiving members 79A and 80A located above the box multistage elevating means 77. During the collection operation, the box loading / unloading mechanism 12 raises the stacking box separating device 91 to the highest position, and the nursery rack 85 is stored and placed on the base below the stacking box separating device 91.

The seedling raising rack 85 has a receiving bar 85A of substantially the same number of stages as the box multistage elevating means 77 and facing the same, and a total of four seedlings before, after, right and left extruded from the box multistage elevating means 77 by the pusher means 78. The boxes N are simultaneously received at all stages and taken out of the machine by a forklift or the like. Next, a seedling box unfolding method when the seedling box unfolding machine A is set by setting the unfolding operation unit 3A to the main unit 4 and setting the seedling box to ground processing machine 1 shown in the above-described embodiment to be usable. I do.

A total of four seedling boxes N before, after, right and left
The receiving tray 89 placed in a stacked state is transported by a forklift and inserted into the box access mechanism 12, and the seedling box deployment machine A is moved to the end of the deployment area in the house. Box in / out mechanism 1
The upper and lower four right and left seedling boxes N at the uppermost stage are picked up by the holding frame 92 of the stacking box separating device 91 by operating the second chain lifting / lowering means 93, and pushed forward by the pushing means 107 so that the box lifting mechanism 11 Supply.

The box raising / lowering mechanism 11 receives the seedling boxes N sequentially supplied from the box loading / unloading mechanism 12 with the members 79A and 80A, and intermittently descends and moves the first moving means 68 at the lowest position. The first moving means 68 supplies the received seedling box N to the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6A via the second moving means 70. Seedling boxes N carried in the left and right two sets before and after
Then, when the next seedling box N enters, it is sequentially pushed and moved to the left and right ends of the vertical transport means 24.

When the seedling box N has been supplied to the entire area up to the left and right ends of the vertical transport means 24, the box detecting means 36 detects this, and
After the horizontal transport means 25 stops, the tilting mechanism 7 operates to tilt the vertical / horizontal transport mechanism 6A forward and down, and deposits it on the ground, slides down all the seedling boxes N thereon, brakes with the drive roller 23, The driving roller 23 is driven to reliably transfer the rear seedling box N to the ground. This delivery is performed while the traveling body 9 moves backward.

Thus, for example, five seedling boxes N are arranged on the left and right sides of the passage L. Next, the seedling box ground treatment machine 1 is transferred to the main unit 4 by the collection work unit 3.
A method of collecting seedling boxes in a case where B is set in a usable state and used as a seedling box collecting machine B will be described.

The traveling machine 9 is advanced in a state where the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6B is in the downward inclined posture, and the hooks 52 of the box pick-up mechanism 8 hook the peripheral edges Na of the four seedling boxes N side by side. And lift the rear end of the seedling box N,
The document is transferred to the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6B. When the vertical transport means 39 is operated to move the four seedling boxes N rearward while the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6B is in a substantially horizontal posture by the tilting mechanism 7, the left two seedling boxes N
Moves to the rear end of the vertical transport means 39, while the right two seedling boxes N stop moving at the stopper 45 in the middle of the vertical transport means 39, and when the left and right horizontal transport means 40 is operated in this state, The left and right seedling boxes N are gathered at the center, and two sets of front and rear are made in pairs.

Then, the vertical transport means 39 is operated again to move the total of four seedling boxes N rearward by the second moving means 69, the position of the seedling boxes N is corrected by the divider 73, and the seedling boxes N are returned to their normal positions. It is sent to the first moving means 68 and supplied to the lower part of the box lifting mechanism 11. The box lifting / lowering mechanism 11 receives the seedling box N
Is received by intermittently raising the receiving members 79A and 80A, and is pushed backward by the pusher means 78 in a state where the seedling box N is inserted in all the stages.

A seedling rack 85 is previously arranged in the box access mechanism 12, and the seedling box N is mounted on all the receiving bars 85A of the seedling rack 85.
To store. The seedling rack 85 is lowered by a forklift and transported to a required position. FIG. 13 shows the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6
5A shows a modified example, in which at least one extended transport frame 47 (47A, 47A) is provided on the left and right sides of the transport frame 21A on the loading side.
B) is removably mounted, a horizontal transport means 25 and a vertical transport means 24 for transporting at least one seedling box in the left-right direction are provided in the transport frame 21A, and at least one seedling box in the left-right direction is transported to the extended transport frame 47A. Vertical transport means 24 is provided.

A concave engaging portion 48A is provided at a side end of the transport frame 21A.
Is formed at one left and right end of the extension transport frame 47, and a convex engagement portion 48B is formed at the other end of the extension transport frame 47. The extension conveyance frame 47A is extendedly connected to the extension position of the conveyance frame 21A, and the extension conveyance frame 47B can be extendedly connected to the extension position of the extension conveyance frame 47A.

The extension transport frame 4 connected to the outermost end
A limit switch of the box detecting means 36 is detachably attached to the side of 7B. The drive roller 23 of the vertical transport means 24 of the transport frame 21 is driven by a transmission means 29 having a shaft, a pair of bevel gears, and the like from a motor 30 provided on the seedling box N loading side (center side) of the transport frame 21. The transport frame 21A and the extended transport frames 47A, 4A
The drive roller 23 of 7B is removably and interlocked and connected via a coupling 49 or a universal joint.

The vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 6A of the modified example can increase and decrease the number of extension transport frames 47A to increase or decrease the number of seedling boxes N that can be deployed at one time.
By attaching and detaching 7A and 47B, the foldable connecting portion becomes unnecessary, and the extended transport frame 47B is dedicated to the outer end. However, the box detecting means 36 may be attached to the extended transport frame 47A.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be variously modified. For example,
The seedling box unfolding machine A is configured so that two sets of front and rear seedling boxes N in a horizontal arrangement are arranged and a set of four left and right pairs is processed as one set. Arrangement,
A pair of left and right devices may be constituted by only one, or a box delivery means 1
0, the seedling boxes N are supplied to the vertical conveying means 24 and the horizontal conveying means 25 one by one instead of the front and rear set, or the seedling boxes N are artificially supplied to the box delivery means 10 without providing the box elevating mechanism 11. Or you may.

[0075]

According to the present invention described in detail above, when one seedling box N placed on the horizontal conveying means 25 is moved laterally by one box on the loading side, a plurality of seedling boxes N are moved on the vertical conveying means 24. The completion of placement of all the seedling boxes N can be detected by detecting the seedling box N at the tip end by the box detecting means 36, and the transport frame 21 can be detected.
Is changed to the forward-downward inclined posture, so that the seedling boxes N can be simultaneously deployed on the ground from the entire area of the vertical transport means 24.

Further, since the vertical conveying means 24 is composed of a roller conveyor 22 having a number of rollers rotatable around the left and right axes and a driving roller 23, a simple and inexpensive apparatus can be used. By slightly projecting the outer peripheral surface of the roller 23 upward from the transport surface of the roller conveyor 22, when the vertical transport means 24 is inclined forward and downward to deploy the seedling box N, the sliding of the seedling box N is temporarily stopped or braked. You can align the front.

Further, by connecting detachably an extension transport frame 47 having the vertical transport means 24 to the transport frame 21,
It becomes easy to put in and take out the house with a narrow frontage, and it is possible to increase or decrease the number of seedling boxes N to be simultaneously deployed as needed.
Further, the vertical transport unit 24 and the horizontal transport unit 25 are connected to the transport frame 21.
And a common shaft 25A of the horizontal transport means 25, the structure is simplified and the device can be manufactured at low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory side view showing an entire seedling box-to-ground treatment machine of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the entire seedling box unfolding machine.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the seedling box unfolding machine.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the seedling box unfolding machine.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a main part of the seedling box unfolding machine.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the support frame and the tilting mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a support frame and a transport frame.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the entire seedling box collection machine.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the seedling box collection machine.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the box pick-up mechanism.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory front view of the box pick-up mechanism.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional side view of the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism.

FIG. 13 is an exploded plan view showing a modification of the vertical and horizontal transport mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 seedling box unfolding and collecting machine 3 working unit 4 main unit 5 support frame 6 vertical and horizontal transport mechanism 7 tilting mechanism 9 traveling machine body 21 transport frame 22 roller conveyor 23 drive roller 24 vertical transport means 25 horizontal transport means 32 winding transmission means 36 box detection Means 47 Extended transport frame A Seedling box unfolding machine N Seedling box

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takashi Nishijima 64th Ishizukitamachi, Sakai-shi, Osaka F-term in Kubota Sakai Works Co., Ltd. (Reference) 2B027 ND03 NE02 NE09 TC07 TC09 TC15 TC17 TC25

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A transport frame is provided on a traveling body so as to be changeable from a substantially horizontal attitude to a forward-downward inclined attitude, and a plurality of seedling boxes are placed on the transport frame in the left-right direction, and are transported forward and downward when the forward-downward inclined attitude. Vertical transport means, a horizontal transport means for moving the seedling box by one box from the seedling box loading side to the left and right sides in a substantially horizontal position and arranging the vertical transport means on the vertical transport means, A seed box unfolding machine, comprising: box detecting means for detecting completion of seedling box carrying-in. 2. The seedling box unfolding machine according to claim 1, wherein said box detecting means is provided with a contact type sensor on a side of a transport frame in a moving direction of the seedling box by the lateral transport means. 3. The vertical conveying means includes a roller conveyor having a large number of rollers rotatable around a left and right axis, and a driving roller positioned in front of the roller conveyor and driven to rotate about the left and right axes. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein
Or the seedling box unfolding machine according to 2. 4. The seedling box unfolding machine according to claim 3, wherein an outer peripheral surface of the drive roller slightly protrudes above a conveying surface of the roller conveyor. 5. The seedling box unfolding machine according to claim 3, wherein the drive roller has a diameter larger than that of a roller conveyor and / or a contact resistance of the seedling box is set to be large. 6. An at least one extension conveyance frame is detachably attached to the left and right sides of the conveyance frame on the loading side, and said conveyance frame includes a horizontal conveyance means and a vertical conveyance means for conveying at least one left and right seedling box. A vertical transport means for transporting at least one seedling box in the left-right direction in the extended transport frame, and a drive roller of the vertical transport means of the extended transport frame is detachably connected to a drive roller of the vertical transport means of the transport frame. The seedling box deployment machine according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein 7. A pair of left and right vertical transport means and horizontal transport means are provided on a transport frame, and the horizontal transport means is provided with a central common shaft, a pair of left and right drive shafts which are driven to rotate in reverse, each left and right drive shafts and a center. A winding transmission means wound around the common shaft is provided, and the center rotating body of the winding transmission means is freely rotatably mounted on the central common shaft. 2. The seedling box unfolding machine according to 1.