JP2001269060A - Apparatus for collecting seedling box - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for collecting seedling boxes, having a picking up structure 3 capable of precisely picking up and collecting the whole seedling boxes without restricted by several kinds of the seedling boxes different in the outer sizes, the structures or the like, and the seedlings arranged by using a plastic sheet. SOLUTION: This apparatus for collecting the seedling box is constituted of a self-propelled vehicle 1, a conveyor 2 for picking up the seedling box, and the picking-up structure 3. The self-traveling vehicle 1 has driven wheels 4, direction-changing wheels 5 and an operation part 6 for operating the change of the direction of the direction-changing wheels 5 installed in a body frame 1-1, and the conveyor 2 for picking up the seedling boxes has a conveying passage 16 constituted by arranging an endless belt 2-2 capable of conveying the seedling boxes X from the convey-starting end side set at the vicinity of the ground P in a state in which the conveyor 2 is directed to the front direction of the travel of the self-propelled vehicle 1, to the end side of the conveyance on the self-propelled vehicle 1 at a prescribed conveying speed. The picking up structure 3 has a driven roller 3-1 driven and rotated so as to follow the ground surface P, picking up the seedling box X on the conveying passage 16 while gradually taking up the seedling box X by the interfacial friction force with at least folded edge part X-1 of the seedling box X, and arranged at the starting end side of the conveyor for picking up the seedling box X. The driven roller 3-1 is constituted of a rubber-based member excellent in contact friction power at least with the seedling box X, and having elastic recovery.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a seedling box which is arranged in a row and in a grid pattern on the ground in a greenhouse or the like, and after seedlings of rice, vegetables and other crops have grown to a predetermined size, the seedling box is removed from the house. The present invention relates to a seedling box collection device that picks up and collects a seedling box on the ground so that the seedling box can be carried out, and more particularly to an improvement of a picking mechanism provided at a starting end of a seedling box picking-up conveyor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-20589 discloses a collecting apparatus for picking up and collecting seedling boxes arranged on the ground.
No. 0 (hereinafter the former), JP-A-11-89433 and JP-A-11-89439 (hereinafter the latter). By the way, the seedling box, which grows rice, vegetables and other crops, especially rice seedlings, which is shallow and has a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, has a constant size and shape in the long side and short side regardless of the manufacturer. The outer dimensions and the folded dimensions (height) of the folded edge that hangs outward from the upper edge of the opening, and the structure, etc., are designed by each manufacturer in order to provide strength and other characteristics. In the dimensions, especially the shape (structure), there are various ununiformities, for example, a folded edge portion exists over the entire width of one side, intermittently exists, and a reinforcing rib exists. It is presumed that ten kinds of seedling boxes exist.
Also, when arranging seedling boxes in a line and in a grid pattern on the entire ground of a greenhouse or the like, a vinyl sheet may be laid for the purpose of adjusting humidity according to the geology or the like, and the seedling boxes may be arranged thereon.

[0003]

Therefore, like the former apparatus, the seedling box pick-up conveyor for transferring the picked seedling boxes obliquely upward is provided at the starting end of the seedling box pick-up conveyor and at the folded edge of one side of the seedling box. As described above, in the case of a collection device including a pickup mechanism configured to pivot the engaging claw to be locked from front to back and up and down by the movement of the link mechanism, as described above, the folded size of the folded edge of the seedling box ( The types of seedling boxes that can be collected are limited, such as the fact that the engaging claws cannot be securely engaged with the folded edges in some seedling boxes due to differences in height, structure, etc., depending on each manufacturer. It was something that would. Further, in the former device, it is necessary to pivot the engaging claws up and down and up and down by using a link mechanism, so that not only is the structure complicated and costly, but also the folding edges of the seedling boxes arranged one by one in the traveling direction. Therefore, it is difficult to adjust the relationship between the movement for securely engaging the engaging claw to the part and the traveling speed of the traveling part, and the like, which is not practical.

[0004] Further, like the latter two devices, right and left scooping tools projecting forward from the transport start end of a transport conveyor for transporting the picked-up seedling boxes obliquely upward so as to contact the ground. In a collection device including a box pick-up mechanism configured to lift the seedling boxes arranged on the ground from the bottom, the folding dimensions of the folded edges are different depending on the type of the seedling boxes as in the former. Although it is possible to collect the seedlings on the vinyl sheet laid on the ground as described above, when the seedling boxes are scooped up on the conveyor, the tip of the scooping tool is caught on the vinyl sheet, Problems such as tearing or pulling the sheet and breaking the arrangement of the seedling boxes are likely to occur, and it is limited to collecting seedling boxes arranged without using vinyl sheets It was the.

The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional situation, and its object is to provide several kinds of seedling boxes having different outer dimensions and structures, and seedling boxes arranged using vinyl sheets. It is an object of the present invention to provide a seedling box collection device improved so as to be able to reliably pick up and collect all the seedling boxes without being restricted by the above.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the problems, the present invention provides a self-propelled vehicle, a seedling box pick-up conveyor that is installed in an inclined manner from the self-propelled vehicle toward the front of the vehicle, and a seedling box pick-up conveyor. A pick-up mechanism provided at the starting end of the pick-up conveyor and picking up seedling boxes arranged on the ground to the conveyor, wherein the self-propelled vehicle has a body frame, drive wheels, and turning wheels. And an operation unit for operating the direction change of the wheels, wherein the seedling box pick-up conveyor is mounted on the self-propelled vehicle from the transport start end side approaching or contacting the ground in a state facing the traveling front of the self-propelled vehicle. Endless transport belt that transports the seedling box at a predetermined transport speed toward the transport end side of the transport path, and the pickup mechanism is driven to rotate along the ground. At least, the seedling box is gradually moved by the contact frictional force with the folded edge of the seedling box. A driving roller for picking up to the runway while being lifted is provided at the starting end of the seedling box pick-up conveyor, and further, the driving roller is excellent in at least a contact friction force with the seedling box and has a rubber recovery member having an elastic recovery force. It consists of. The rubber member is made of urethane rubber or other rubber. It is also desirable that the rotation speed of the drive rotor, which picks up the seedling box from the ground to the transport path by contact frictional force, is set to be equal to or faster than the traveling speed of the self-propelled vehicle. or,
The width of the runway on the starting end side of the seedling box pick-up conveyor is gradually expanded in a plane from an intermediate position toward the starting end entrance. According to such technical means, among the seedling boxes in each row arranged in a row and in a grid pattern on the ground, the drive roller at the beginning of the seedling box pick-up conveyor is opposed to the front row of the seedling boxes arranged in a row. Drive a self-propelled car. Then, the contact frictional force of the drive roller, which is driven or rotated at a speed higher than or equal to the traveling speed of the self-propelled vehicle, to the folded edge of one side of the seedling box, and the rotational force of the drive roller that lifts up the one side, cause the seedling box to move. One side is gradually lifted, picked up by the seedling box, picked up on the conveyor runway, and guided. Each seedling box picked up on this transport path is sequentially transported to the transport terminal side on the self-propelled vehicle by a transport belt synchronized with the rotation speed of the drive roller. During the collection operation, the self-propelled vehicle travels straight through the operation unit, and the seedling boxes transported to the transport terminal side of the transport path of the seedling box pick-up conveyor are transferred from the terminal side to a transport vehicle such as a seedling pick-up truck. The replacement work is performed by an operator.

Further, in the collection device of the present invention, the seedling box pick-up conveyor is driven by a horizontal adjuster mechanism for horizontally moving the seedling box pick-up conveyor horizontally (in the orthogonal direction) with respect to the straight running direction of the self-propelled vehicle. It is supported on the body frame of the car.This horizontal adjuster mechanism is used when the straight running of the self-propelled vehicle running along the row of seedling boxes of each row to be picked up and recovered is disturbed by uneven ground surface etc. The box pick-up conveyor is moved horizontally (transversely) in line with the row of seedling boxes arranged in a row to correct the disturbance of the straight running of the self-propelled vehicle.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings show an example of an embodiment of the collection device of the present invention. A self-propelled vehicle 1 and a seedling box pick-up conveyor 2 installed on the self-propelled vehicle 1 in a forwardly inclined state with the transport start end approaching the ground P. And a pick-up mechanism 3 that is provided on the transport start end side of the seedling box pick-up conveyor 2 and picks up the seedling box X from the ground P to the conveyor 2. Each of the collecting devices is arranged in a row on the ground P by a pick-up mechanism 3 provided on the transport start end side of the inclined seedling box pick-up conveyor 2 while the self-propelled vehicle 1 is traveling forward at a predetermined speed. X is transported one by one to the transport path 16 of the seedling box pick-up conveyor 2 and sequentially transported at an appropriate transport speed toward the transport end side while being guided. Then, the seedling box X conveyed to the conveyance end side of the seedling box pick-up conveyor 2 is transferred by a worker to an appropriate carrier such as a seedling pick-up cart (not shown) and carried out from a greenhouse or the like.

The self-propelled vehicle 1 is provided with a pair of left and right drive wheels 4 at appropriate intervals on the lower surface on the rear side of the body frame 1-1 formed by using a suitable pipe material such as a square pipe.
A turning wheel 5 is provided on the front side so as to be able to swing and rotate, and is configured to be able to self-run at a predetermined speed in a backward or forward direction by a driving wheel 4. And the body frame 1-
An operation unit 6 for operating the turning wheel 5 is provided on the rear side of the vehicle 1, and the self-propelled vehicle 1 is steered by changing the turning wheel 5 to a straight traveling direction or a left or right direction by operating the operation unit 6. It is configured to be able to run by itself.

The drive wheels 4 are mounted on the lower surface of the vehicle body frame 1-1 in a state where the drive wheels 4 are connected to a drive motor 7 with a speed reducer driven by the supply of electric power from a battery by an appropriate connecting means 8 such as a belt or a chain. The drive axles 9 are fixedly supported by the left and right drive axles 9.

Although not shown, the drive motor 7
The connection between the drive wheel 4 and the connecting means 8 is separated by a switching clutch or other appropriate means,
By switching the connection, it is of course possible to allow the traveling vehicle 1 to be driven by the drive motor 7 and free-run by pushing or pulling by the operator. For example, when the collection device is moved from the storage location to the greenhouse, the driving wheels 4 are in a free state, and the worker manually presses the collection device by gripping a handle 6-1 described later of the operation unit 6, Of course, it is also possible to make it movable by pulling or the like.

The direction changing wheel 5 rotates on an axle 11 fixed to the lower end of a rotatable shaft 10 rotatably provided at the front center of the body frame 1-1 of the self-propelled vehicle 1 in a substantially inverted T-shape in front. The shaft 10 is rotatably mounted on both sides so as to sandwich the shaft 10, and the direction changes around the rotation shaft 10. That is, it is provided so as to be swivelable like a caster. A connecting rod 6 (described later) of the operating unit 6 is attached to a protruding end of the axle 11 protruding from the direction changing wheel 5.
By pivoting the other end of 3, the steering wheel 6-1 is steered in either the left or right direction, so that the direction is changed by the same angle in the same direction as this steering direction .

The seedling box pick-up conveyor 2 includes a body frame 1-
While being supported by the column 12 raised from 1, the transport start end is extended toward the ground P in front of the traveling of the self-propelled vehicle 1, and is installed at a desired tilt angle at a desired tilt angle close to the ground. It serves to transport the seedling box X picked up from the P to the transport start end side by the pickup mechanism 3 to the transport end side on the self-propelled vehicle 1 at a predetermined transport speed, and has a long side of the seedling box X. It has parallel frame members 2-1 on both sides that extend in the front-rear direction at the same size as or slightly wider than the outer dimension (long side width), and are rotatably bridged between these two frame members 2-1. Among several pulley shafts provided in the transfer direction, an endless transfer belt 2 extends over a drive pulley shaft 14 on the transfer end side driven by power from a drive motor 13 with a speed reducer and a free pulley shaft 15 on the transfer start end side. -2 is wound and stretched, and the guide walls 2-3 corresponding to the height of the seedling box X are raised from the frame materials 2-1 on both sides. And the transport path 16 is configured, and the transport conveyor 2-2 is driven by power from the drive motor 13, so that the seedling box X picked up by the pickup mechanism 3 at the transport start end side is moved from the transport start end side. It is configured to be transported at a predetermined transport speed to the transport terminal side on the self-propelled vehicle 1.

Then, the width of the runway 16 on the starting end side of the seedling box pick-up conveyor 2 is gradually expanded from the middle part toward the starting end entrance, and is gradually picked up and guided by the pick-up mechanism 3. Each seedling box X is configured to be surely introduced into the runway 16 without being caught at the starting end entrance or the like (FIG. 1).
(A)). That is, the guide walls 2-3 on both sides constituting the transport path 16 which is set up from the frame members 2-1 on both sides with the same size as the outside size of the seedling box X (long side width) or slightly wider than that. The rising width (rise interval) of the seedlings X is bent toward the starting end entrance and gradually expanded, so that the seedlings box X is balanced by the weight of the whole seedlings box X, which varies depending on the condition of seedlings growing and the storage condition of the floor soil. Even if is picked up and guided to the runway 16 in an oblique state, the oblique state is corrected by the guide walls 2-3 on both sides that are expanded in a plane, and the seedling box X is surely moved to the runway 16. It is configured to be introduced.

The transport belt 2-2 is wound three times in a transport path 16 extending from the drive pulley shaft 14 at the end of the transport to an intermediate position toward the pulley shaft 15 at the transport start end.
Then, at the start end side portion from the pulley shaft 15 to the roller shaft 3-10, which will be described later, in front of the conveyance end, two are wound and stretched. In this way, by changing the winding and stretching form of the belt 2-2, and by connecting the frame members 2-1 on both sides to the upper end rotatably at the middle part on the starting end side, the seedling box pick-up conveyor 2 is rotated. With the intermediate part as a fulcrum, the transport start end side is folded obliquely upward toward the transport end side. As a result, the collection device can be extended to greenhouses, etc.
Alternatively, when moving to the storage location, the transfer start end side of the seedling box pick-up conveyor 2, especially the drive rotor 3-1 described later of the pick-up mechanism 3 does not collide with or catch on the ground P or the like.

The operation ON / OFF of the drive motor 7 of the self-propelled vehicle 1 and the drive motor 13 of the seedling box pick-up conveyor 2 is controlled by a switch operation of a control box 17 provided on a handle 6-1 of the operation unit 6. They can be performed separately, and their driving speed can be finely adjusted by operating the volume.

The operating portion 6 is a handle fixedly provided at the upper end of a vertical rod 6-2 which is rotatably fitted and supported in a vertically rotatable manner on a support cylinder 18 which is vertically mounted at the rear center of the body frame 1-1. 6-1 and one end is pivotally connected to an open end of a connecting arm 6-4 horizontally attached to a lower end portion of a vertical rod 6-2 located at an upper end opening of the support cylinder 18, and the other end is a turning wheel. And a connecting rod 6-3 connected to the turning wheel 5 and the vertical rod 6-2 so as to be pivotally mounted on the axle 11 of the vehicle 5. Thus, the turning wheel 5 changes the direction in the same direction by the same angle.

A pick-up mechanism 3 provided at the starting end of the seedling box pick-up conveyor 2 serves to pick up each seedling box X lined up on the ground P one by one into the transfer path 16. The drive roller 3-1 is axially controlled within the width of the transport path 16 in front of the extension of the 16 and the two transport belts 2-2 described above are extended over the roller shaft 3-10 of the roller 3-1. It is configured such that it can be driven and rotated by the transport belt 2-2 by being wound and stretched.

The drive roller 3-1 is excellent in contact friction with the seedling box X mainly made of a synthetic resin material, and has a moderate elastic recovery force. It is configured in an appropriate shape such as a cylindrical shape.
More specifically, the outer diameter is set to be about the height of the seedling box X or larger or smaller than that, and the length is set to a solid cylindrical shape having a length corresponding to one side width (long side outer dimension width) of the seedling box X. The rotor shaft 3-10 can be rotated between the tip (bearing) of the two arm rods 3-2 on both left and right sides that are formed and protrude forward from the start end of the seedling box pick-up conveyor 2 in parallel forward. As shown in the illustrated example, the drive conveyor 2-2 is wound around a drive pulley 3-3 fixedly attached to both ends of the rotor shaft 3-10. The contact frictional force against the folded edge X-1 on one side of the long side of the seedling box X, the locking force at which the lower end of the edge X-1 is hooked on the drive roller 3-1 and the folded edge X In the seedling box X having the reinforcing ribs 19 inside or the like, the contact frictional force against the reinforcing ribs 19 and the reinforcing ribs 19 are driven by the driving roller. The seedling box X is gradually lifted from one side of the long side by the synergistic action with the latching force which is hooked so as to bite into the ra 3-1 (from the state of FIG. 2 (a) to the state of FIG. 2 (b)). The bottom of the box X is also configured so that the seedling box X can be reliably picked up and guided to the transport path 16 by the synergistic action of the contact friction force and the latching force (the state shown in FIG. 2C).

It is preferable that the rotation speed of the drive roller 3-1 is set to be synchronized with the traveling speed of the self-propelled vehicle 1 or slightly higher than the traveling speed. In this case, the setting method includes a driving pulley 3-3 for winding and stretching the transport belt 2-1.
This is performed by an appropriate means such as changing the diameter of the target.
As a method of transmitting rotational power to the drive roller 3-1, as described above, in addition to the method of winding the transport belt 2-2 of the transport path around the roller shaft 3-10, the frame members 2 on both sides are used. -1
It is optional and limited, such as winding an endless chain or the like from the pulley shaft to the roller shaft 3-10 outside the shaft, or transmitting rotational power to the drive roller 3-1 using a gear mechanism or the like. Not something.

In the recovery apparatus of the present invention, the seedling box pick-up conveyor 2 is supported on the body frame 1-1 of the self-propelled vehicle 1 via the horizontal adjuster mechanism 20 so as to be slidable. However, the seedling boxes X along each row of seedling boxes X
During the collection operation of picking up the seedlings, when the straight running of the self-propelled vehicle 1 is disturbed by the uneven ground surface of the ground P, and the self-propelled vehicle 1 is separated from the row X of the seedling boxes that are arranged substantially linearly, the seedling box is picked up. By moving the conveyor 2 horizontally, the traveling disturbance of the self-propelled vehicle 1 can be picked up so that the conveyor 2 can be reliably aligned with the row of the seedling boxes X and the seedling boxes X can be collected one by one. The lifting conveyor 2 is configured to be able to correct by a horizontal sliding movement.

The horizontal adjuster mechanism 20 includes a support portion 20-1 for supporting the seedling box pick-up conveyor 2 so as to be slidable left and right with respect to the body frame 1-1 of the self-propelled vehicle 1, and a handle 6- 1
An operation unit 20-2 provided in the vicinity and capable of rotating forward and reverse, and this operation unit
The operation transmission mechanism 20-3 is connected to the operation unit 20-2 and moves the seedling box pick-up conveyor 2 horizontally in one of the left and right directions in accordance with the operation of the operation unit 20-2. The support portion 20-1 of the horizontal adjuster mechanism 20 includes a pair of upper and lower rollers 22 each having a drum shape that supports the front and rear slide rods 21 sandwiched from above and below. Are provided at two positions on the left and right sides of the horizontal frame via mounting plates 23, respectively, to support the front and rear slide rods 21 so as to be able to move laterally, that is, to support the seedling box pick-up conveyor 2 so as to be able to slide horizontally. It becomes.

The operation unit 20-2 has a substantially crank-shaped rotary operation type handle having one end side elongated.
The short side (gripping side) is located on the handle 6-1 side of the self-propelled vehicle 1, and the long side is located on the rear side of the front side frame of the machine frame 1-1, and The short side is pivotally attached in a rotatable manner, and the short side is rotated in either direction, so that the long side is coaxially rotated in either direction. The sprocket 24 of the motion transmitting mechanism 20-3 is attached to the section.

The operation transmitting mechanism 203 includes a sprocket 24 fixedly mounted on the other end of the operation unit 202 so as to be coaxially rotatable;
The seedling box pick-up conveyor 2 consists of a chain 25 fixedly attached to the back side of the horizontal rail by screws or the like over the entire length, by engaging a sprocket 24 with this chain 25, and turning one end of the operation unit 20-2. The sprocket 24 is rotated so as to move the seedling box pick-up conveyor 2 horizontally. That is, the seedling box pick-up conveyor 2 is configured to be horizontally moved by the same connection relationship with the rack and the pinion.

When the straight running of the self-propelled vehicle 1 traveling along the row of seedling boxes X to be picked up and collected during the collection operation is disturbed by the uneven ground surface, the hand operation of the horizontal adjuster mechanism 20 is performed. The section 20-2 is rotated left or right, and the laterally slidable seedling box pick-up conveyor 2 is horizontally moved (transversely moved) to the side of the seedling box X row, so that the self-propelled vehicle 1 travels straight. While picking up the seedling box pick-up conveyor 2 with respect to the row of seedling boxes X due to the disturbance, the seedling boxes X are reliably picked up and collected one by one along the row of seedling boxes X arranged in a line. be able to. Note that the horizontal adjuster mechanism 20 is not always necessary. That is, the straight traveling of the traveling vehicle 1 in the direction in which the seedling boxes X are arranged is not disturbed in a place where the ground P on which the seedling boxes X are arranged is flat, so the seedling box pick-up conveyor 2 by the horizontal adjuster mechanism 20 is not disturbed. No need to correct the position error.

Although not shown in the drawing, the turning wheel 5 is moved straight through a connecting rod 6-3 for connecting the turning wheel 5 to a vertical rod 6-2 of the operation unit 6 of the vehicle 1. The vehicle is provided with a straight knock mechanism for holding the knock in a state facing the direction and independently running the self-propelled vehicle 1 straight along the row X of seedling boxes arranged in a line. To release the knock of the turning wheel 5 by the straight knock mechanism, the handle 6-
1 is configured to be able to be performed by gripping a release lever provided on one of the left and right grip portions. That is, by releasing the release lever in a state where the turning wheel 5 is directed in the straight traveling direction, the straight traveling state is knocked and held,
Then, when the operator grips the release lever, the knocking holding state of the turning wheel 5 in the straight traveling direction is released, and the steering wheel is released.
The steering can be performed to change the direction of the direction changing wheel 5 to an arbitrary left and right direction by moving the 6-1.

In the figure, reference numeral 26 denotes a rolling wheel provided on the lower surface of the starting end side of the seedling box pick-up conveyor 2, and the driving wheel 3-1 is not affected by the rolling unevenness of the ground surface by the rolling wheel 26. Can be driven and rotated while slightly floating above the ground surface. That is, the distance from the turning wheel 5 of the self-propelled vehicle 1 supporting the seedling box pick-up conveyor 2 to the transport start end of the seedling box pick-up conveyor 2 provided with the drive roller 3-1 is long, and the ground surface is slightly Drive roller 3-
1 may hit or touch the ground surface. Rolling wheel 2
6 serves to keep the drive roller 3-1 slightly floating above the ground surface so that such a state does not occur. In other words, the seedling boxes X arranged on the vinyl sheet can be reliably picked up and collected by the drive roller 3-1 without involving the vinyl sheet.

Next, the collecting operation of the seedling box X by the collecting device having the above-described configuration and described in detail in this embodiment will be described. Drive motor 7 from collection place to greenhouse etc.
When the operator moves by hand or by hand, the operator grips the release lever and moves the steering wheel 6-1 while steering the steering wheel 6-1 in a state where the holding state (knock state) of the turning wheel 5 is released. . When collecting the seedling boxes X, the release lever is released in a straight running state in which the turning wheel 5 is directed to the front row of each row of seedling boxes X arranged in a line, and the turning wheel is turned by the knock pin of the straight knock mechanism. 5, the drive motor 7 of the self-propelled vehicle 1 is operated to travel in the row direction of the seedling box X, and the drive motor 13 of the seedling box pick-up conveyor 2 is also operated. Then, seedling box pick-up conveyor 2
The drive roller 3-1 provided in front of the starting end of the seedling box X
In the seedling box X having the reinforcing rib 19 such as the inside of the folded edge X-1 and the inside of the folded edge X-1 on one side of the long side, the contact is also made with the reinforcing rib and the one side of the long side Is gradually lifted by the synergistic effect of the contact frictional force against the folded edge X-1 and the latching force of the reinforcing ribs 19 and the like, so that the rotational force of the driving roller and the forward running of the vehicle 1 cause The seedling boxes are picked up one by one from the seedling box X one by one into the transport path 16 of the conveyor 2 for picking up the seedling boxes (from the state of FIG. 2A to the state of FIG. 2C). At this time, the seedling box X, which is lifted in an oblique state due to the balance of the weight of the entire seedling box X and is picked up and guided on the transport path 16, is guided by the guide walls 2-3 on both sides where the transport path 16 expands. The transport belt 2-2 sequentially transports the transport vehicle from the transport start end to the transport end on the self-propelled vehicle 1 while correcting the oblique form.

Then, each seedling box X transported and collected to the transport end side of the transport path 16 at a high position corresponding to the waist height of the worker is transferred to a transporting vehicle such as a seedling unloading truck (not shown), and is transferred to a vinyl carrier. Removed from the house.

[0030]

Since the seedling box collecting device of the present invention is constructed as described above, the following effects can be obtained. When the self-propelled vehicle is run such that a drive roller made of a rubber-based member of a pick-up mechanism provided on the transport start end side of the seedling box pick-up conveyor is brought into abutting contact with one side of each seedling box lined up on the ground, The seedling is produced by the synergistic effect of the contact frictional force of the drive roller with the folded edge on one side of the seedling box and the inside of the folded edge of the drive roller, and the latching force of the same rib being caught in the drive roller. The box is gradually lifted from one side and is picked up and guided to the runway of the seedling box pick-up conveyor.

Since the width of the runway at the starting end of the seedling box pick-up conveyor is gradually widened toward the entrance of the starting end, the width varies depending on the condition of the seedlings growing and the storage condition of the floor soil. Even if the seedling box is picked up and guided to the runway diagonally due to the balance of the weight of the entire seedling box, the diagonal state is corrected by the guide walls on both sides of the expanding runway, and the The seedling box is securely transported to the terminal side.

Therefore, according to the collecting device of the present invention, the contact frictional force with respect to the folded edge of one side of the seedling box, the reinforcing rib existing inside the folded edge, and the like is hooked so as to bite. Since the seedling box is lifted and guided to the seedling box pick-up conveyor by a drive roller composed of a rubber member that gradually lifts the seedling box from one side thereof by a synergistic effect with the latching force, the conventional collecting method is adopted. All seedling boxes are picked up and transported to the conveyor runway without being restricted by several types of seedling boxes with different external dimensions and structures, or seedling boxes arranged using vinyl sheets, etc. It can be reliably and smoothly picked up. Therefore, it is possible to provide an epoch-making seedling box collection device that can collect all the seedling boxes from the ground irrespective of the type of the seedling boxes and meet the needs of the user.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an example of an embodiment of a collection device of the present invention,
(A) is a plan view of the entire device, with a part of the main part cut away, and (b) is a side view of the same.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part showing a process of lifting and picking a seedling box to a seedling box pick-up conveyor, and FIG. 2 (a) shows a driving roller brought into abutting contact with a turning edge of one side of a seedling box to turn the seedling box. Shows the state of lifting by the contact friction force with the edge,
(B) shows the seedlings that are slightly lifted by the contact frictional force against the reinforcing ribs and the like existing inside the folded edge of one side of the seedling box and the latching force that the reinforcing ribs and the like are caught by the driving roller. The state in which the box is further lifted from one side and is picked up to the runway of the seedling box pick-up conveyor is shown. (C) The seedling box in which one side is completely lifted is the advance of the self-propelled vehicle with the rotational force of the drive roller. Shows the state immediately before being picked up and guided to the runway of the seedling box pick-up conveyor by running

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Self-propelled 1-1: Body frame 2: Seedling box pick-up conveyor 2-2: Conveying belt 3: Pick-up mechanism 3-1: Drive roller 4: Drive wheel 5: Directional wheel 6: Operation unit 16: Transport Runway 19: Reinforcing rib X: Seedling box X-1: Turned edge

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A self-propelled vehicle, a seedling box pick-up conveyor installed in an inclined manner from the self-propelled vehicle toward the front of the vehicle, and a seedling box pick-up conveyor provided at the starting end of the seedling box pick-up conveyor and arranged on the ground. A pick-up mechanism for picking up the seedling box to the conveyor, wherein the self-propelled vehicle includes, on a body frame, drive wheels, direction change wheels, and an operation unit that operates the direction change of the wheels. The seedling box pick-up conveyor conveys the seedling boxes at a predetermined transfer speed from the transfer start end contacting the ground to the transfer end side on the self-propelled vehicle with the self-propelled vehicle facing the traveling front. The pick-up mechanism is driven and rotated along the ground to at least contact the seedling box by the contact frictional force with the folded edge of the seedling box. The drive roller that picks up the runway while lifting the box contacts the ground. The seedling box pick-up conveyor is disposed at the start end of the seedling box pick-up conveyor in a state of being touched or approached, and the drive roller is made of a rubber-based member having excellent contact friction force with at least the seedling box. Seedling box collection device. 2. A seedling box collecting device, wherein the rotation speed of the drive roller according to claim 1 is set to be synchronized with or slightly higher than the running speed of the self-propelled vehicle. 3. A seedling box collecting device, characterized in that the starting end side width of the transport path according to claim 1 or 2 is gradually expanded in a plane toward the starting end entrance.