JP2002281836A - Root cutting machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a root cutting machine enabling root cutting operation to be made efficiently and properly in view of the fact that since a seedling box is closely arranged with many raising seedling pots, it is difficult to manually make a root cutting into the seedling pots, leading to poor operating efficiency; by the way, for facilitating a root cutting operation, when a root cutting is made into seedling pots packed with soft/weak nursery bed such as muddy soil or packed with no nursery bed, seedlings put to root cutting tend to fall down. SOLUTION: This root cutting machine includes a seedling feeder for feeding seedlings to a specified position, a seedling box conveyor for conveying seedling boxes to the position corresponding to the above position, and a root cutting device for making a root cutting of the thus fed seedlings into the seedling boxes, wherein this machine further includes a seedling support tool 57 functioning to butt sideways of a seedling put to root cutting by the root cutting device and then move upward.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a seedling machine for inserting seedlings such as rushes into a seedling box.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When rush is cultivated, seedling raising in a seedling field and seedling raising in a seedling box are alternately repeated a plurality of times to increase the number of strains by division. Then, about 20 times the original parent strain is divided and transplanted to Honda at an appropriate time (usually around November). In the cultivation process of the above rush, the work of replanting the seedlings divided into one plant at a time,
In the past, it was all done manually.

[0003]

Since a large number of seedling pots are arranged in the seedling box and the seedling pots are densely arranged, it is difficult to insert the seedlings into the seedling pots by hand and to insert the seedlings. Work efficiency was poor. Also, in order to make it easier to insert seedlings, if the seedlings are inserted into a nursery pot filled with soft nursery such as muddy soil or a seedling pot with no seedbed filled, Seedlings are easy to fall. Under such circumstances, the development of a seedling machine that can efficiently and properly insert seedlings is expected.

[0004]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is configured as follows. That is, a seedling supply device for supplying seedlings to a predetermined seedling supply position, a seedling box transfer device for transferring a seedling box to a position corresponding to the seedling supply position, and a seedling supplied by the seedling supply device to the seedling box. A seedling machine is provided, which is provided with a seedling device for inserting a seedling, and provided with a seedling support tool which moves upward after the seedling device comes into contact with the seedling from the side.

[0005] Therefore, the seedling machine inserts seedlings into the seedling box conveyed by the seedling box conveying device by the seedling apparatus, and the seedlings are inserted by contacting and supporting the inserted seedlings from the side. Prevent seedlings from falling. Then, the seedling support moves upward, and the seedling can be moved toward the center.

[0006]

The seedling machine according to the present invention has a configuration in which the seedlings supplied by the seedling supply device are inserted into the seedling boxes transported by the seedling box transport device, so that the seedlings can be inserted efficiently. Yes, it is possible to prevent the seedlings inserted by the seedling support from falling down, and to move the seedling to the center side by moving the seedling support upward, so that the posture of the seedling can be corrected.
Seedlings can be properly inserted into the seedling box.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention shown in the drawings will be described below. The seedling insertion machine 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 supplies a seedling cartridge 6 holding the rush seedling to a predetermined seedling supply position A.
A seedling box transfer device 3 for transferring the seedling box 7 to below the seedling supply position A; a seedling that takes out the rush seedling from the seedling cartridge 6 at the seedling supply position A and inserts the seedling into the seedling pot of the seedling box 7 Device 4.

As shown in FIG. 5, the seedling cartridge 6 used in the seedling insertion machine 1 has eight seedling storage portions 61,... There is a seedling container 62 arranged side by side in the left-right direction at an interval. The seedling storage units 61 are alternately shifted back and forth. Each seedling storage part 61 has a funnel shape with a widened upper portion, and the upper end opening is alternately deviated to the opposite side across the rows L1 and L2 of the seedling storage parts for each seedling storage part 61, The deflection direction is oblique to the rows L1 and L2. By setting the shape of the seedling storage portions 61,... As described above, the upper end opening of the seedling storage portions 61,. It becomes easy to replenish seedlings. Support portions 63 and 64 that are supported by the chains of the chain conveyors 11 and 12 described later are formed on both sides of the upper end portion of the seedling container 62. In addition, hanging bodies 15, 21 described later are provided on the front and rear inner sides.
Are formed from the lower side.

A horizontal shaft 6 is provided below the seedling container 62.
A lower end positioning body 66 rotatably supported by the fifth and fifth members 65 is provided. The lower end positioning member 66 is urged by a spring 67 and is located immediately below the seedling container 62 in a normal state.
By drawing 8, it can be retracted to the position shown by the chain line in FIG. 5 (c). Lower end positioning body 66
Is provided with a lower end positioning plate 80 located below each seedling accommodation section 61.
Is bent in a V-shape in side view, and the seedling is positioned by bringing the lower end of the seedling into contact with the bent portion 80a, which is the lower end. The bending angle of the bent portion 80a of the lower end positioning plate 80 is formed to be an acute angle.

Therefore, since the roots of the seedlings are accommodated in the bent portions, the lower ends of the stems of the seedlings can be positioned at the lower end positioning plate 80 without much influence of the root amount of the seedlings. The seedlings can be positioned by contacting the seedlings, and the height from the lower end of the gripping position of the seedlings by the seedling hand 41 described later can be stabilized, and the depth of seedling into the seedling raising pot of the seedling box can be stabilized. Seedlings can be properly inserted.

Next, a seedling box used in the seedling cutting machine 1 is shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. The seedling box 7 is made of plastic and has portability. A plurality of seedling raising pots 71,... Are arranged at equal pitches in the vertical and horizontal directions, and the pots are connected to each other on the opening side. At the center of the left and right sides of the seedling box, there is provided a wide space portion 72 in which the space between the pots is wide, and each pot is divided into two groups of the same number across the wide space portion. A cut 73 for draining and removing the seedling is formed at the bottom of the seedling raising pot. The square hole denoted by reference numeral 75 is used for intermittent feeding by the seedling transplanter, and is provided in accordance with the longitudinal interval of the pots 71,. Each seedling pot 71,
The seedlings filled with… are irrigated to obtain a nursery bed for each strain in a soft state with relatively high water content.

The seedling supply device 2 is provided with two sets of chain conveyors 11 and 12 for conveying the seedling cartridge 6 in a state where the support portions 63 and 63 are supported from below by a pair of chains. One is a supply conveyor 11, which conveys the seedling cartridge 6 rightward in FIGS. The other is a return conveyor 12, which conveys the seedling cartridge 6 leftward in FIGS. Both conveyors 1
Emergency stop switches 13 and 14 for respective conveyors are provided in the vicinity of 1 and 12, respectively.

[0013] A first suspension that can engage the engaging portions 64 of the seedling cartridge 6 from below from the transport end of the supply conveyor 11 to the transport start end of the return conveyor 12 to suspend the seedling cartridge 6. The seedling cartridge 6 is transferred by the lowering body 15. The first suspension body 15 is moved up and down by an elevating actuator 16 and moved back and forth by an anteroposterior actuator 17.

The first suspension 1 is moved from the transport end of the return conveyor 12 to the transport start end of the supply conveyor 11.
The seedling cartridge 6 is provided by the second suspension 21
Is to be transferred. This second suspension 21
Is moved up and down by an elevating actuator 22 and is moved left and right by an anteroposterior moving actuator 23.

A plurality of seedling cartridges 6,... Are conveyed by the supply conveyor 11 and the return conveyor 12 in a continuous state. When the seedling cartridge 6 conveyed by the supply conveyor 11 reaches the conveyance end of the conveyor,
The engaging portions 64 of the seedling cartridge 6 fit into the first suspended body 15 waiting at the transport end of the supply conveyor 11. In this state, the first suspension body 15 slightly rises,
The seedling cartridge 6 is suspended. Next, the first suspension body 15 moves backward and descends, and the seedling cartridge 6 is returned and transferred to the transport start end of the conveyor 12.

The seedling cartridge 6 placed on the transport start end of the return conveyor 12 is transported to the transport end of the conveyor. Here, the engaging portions 64 of the seedling cartridge 6,
64 fits into the second suspended body 21 waiting at the transport end of the return conveyor 12. In that state, the second suspension 2
1 rises a little and suspends the seedling cartridge 6. Then, the hanging body 21 moves forward and descends to transfer the seedling cartridge 6 to the transport start end of the supply conveyor 11.

By repeating the above operation, the seedling cartridge 6 is moved to the feeding path of the supply conveyor 11 and the return conveyor 1.
And circulates through the second conveyance path. And the supply conveyor 11
While the seedling cartridge 6 is conveyed to the seedling supply position A, the seedling supply units 61,
… Seedlings are replenished one by one. Since the seedling supply section 61 has a funnel shape on the upper side, it is easy to supply seedlings. Return conveyor 1
Seedling cartridge 6 conveyed in 2 may be replenished with seedlings. When the seedling cartridge 6 containing the seedlings moves to the seedling supply position A, the seedling insertion device 4 takes out the seedlings from the seedling supply units 61,...

The seedling box transporting device 3 includes strip-shaped seedling box transporting plates 3a provided at predetermined intervals in front and rear, and places the seedling boxes 7 on the plate 3a with the longitudinal direction facing forward and backward. The seedling boxes are conveyed intermittently at every pitch. Note that the seedling box 7 is
The soil falling from the seedling box is discharged downward through the gap 3b between the seedling box transfer plates 3a, thereby preventing the soil from adversely affecting the operation of the seedling box transfer device 3. The seedling box transfer device 3 is provided below the seedling supply device 2 at the seedling supply position A so as to intersect the seedling supply device 2 at a right angle in plan view. A seedling box regulating guide plate 81 for regulating the left and right positions of the seedling box conveyed in contact with the side surface of the seedling box 7 is provided on the upper side of the seedling box conveying position from the seedling position D to the seedling box 7. Further, on the lower side of the seedling box transport from the seedling position D to the seedling box 7, a seedling regulating plate 82 is provided at a position higher than the seedling box 7 on the left and right sides, and the seedlings inserted by the seedling regulating plate 82 are moved from the seedling box in the left-right direction. Prevents protrusion. If necessary, a carry-in conveyor 31 carries an empty seedling box into the seedling box transport device 3.
And an unloading conveyor 32 for unloading the inserted seedling boxes from the seedling box transport device 3.

The seedling insertion device 4 includes a seedling hand 41 for inserting seedlings contained in the seedling cartridge 6 into the seedling box 7. The seedling hand 41 is located on the rear side of the seedling supply position A, and is entirely moved up and down by an elevating actuator 43 and is moved back and forth by first and second moving actuators 44 and 45.

The structure of the seedling hand 41 is shown in FIG. The seedling hand 41 is provided with the same number of sets of finger arms 47 </ b> L and 47 </ b> R as a pair of left and right for holding the seedlings as the seedling supply unit 61 of the seedling cartridge 6. A cushion material 48 such as rubber is attached to the inner surface of each finger arm. The support for supporting the left finger arm 47L and the support for supporting the right finger arm 47R are separate opening / closing actuators 49L, 49R, respectively.
And the opening / closing actuators operate in opposite directions to each other, so that the finger arms 47L, 47R
Open and close. The finger arm 47
The outer surfaces 47a of the distal ends of the L and 47R are tapered in a plan view so that the arms 47L and 47R become thinner toward the distal end. 47L, 4
7R, a gap 47 is formed at the distal end side of the arms 47L and 47R.
b is formed so that seedlings are not sandwiched between them.

The seedling hand 41 is paired with a front guide plate 52 provided separately from the seedling hand 41 at a lower position of the finger arms 47L and 47R to fix a posture of the seedling when holding the seedling. A plate 51 is provided. Thereafter, the tip of the guide plate 51 is corrugated in plan view so as to guide the seedling between the pair of finger arms 47L and 47R. The front guide plate 52 is a set of two upper and lower plates, and is moved back and forth by a front and rear movement actuator 54. The tip of the upper front guide plate 52 is corrugated in a plan view so as to guide the seedling between the pair of finger arms 47L and 47R.

In the seedling placement position D immediately above the seedling box transfer route of the seedling box transfer device 3, a single row of right and left seedling raising pots 7 of the seedling box 7 is provided.
1 are provided with seedling guide plates 84 each having a cutout 83. The notch hole 83 has the same width as the width of the opening of the seedling raising pot 71 and has a configuration in which the lower side of the seedling box conveyance is opened. It is formed in an arc shape corresponding to the opening. Further, an end surface 84a of the seedling guide plate 84 constituting the cutout hole 83 is a tapered inclined surface so as to be located closer to the center of the cutout hole 83 as going downward.

Reference numeral 55 denotes the retracting plate, which retracts the retracting actuator (cylinder) 55a to retract the lower end positioning body 66 of the seedling cartridge 6 to the retracted position. Reference numeral 56 denotes a seedling head holding plate, which is provided above the seedling supply position A, and is moved up and down by a seedling head holding cylinder 56a. 57
Numeral denotes a seedling supporting tool, which is moved up and down by a seedling supporting vertical moving cylinder 57a, and is moved forward and backward by a seedling supporting longitudinal moving cylinder 57b. The seedling support 57 is formed of a bar that extends substantially horizontally in the left-right direction.

Next, the operation of the seedling apparatus 4 will be described with reference to FIGS.
1 will be described. [FIG. 9A] When the seedling cartridge 6 conveyed by the supply conveyor 11 moves to the seedling supply position A, the seedling head holding plate 56 moves the seedling cartridge 6.
Abuts or descends to just before abutment. Accordingly, when the seedling N is caught in the middle of the seedling supply unit 61 due to a bent leaf or the presence of a rhizome extending horizontally, the seedling pressing plate 56 presses the upper end of the seedling from above. Then, the seedlings are pushed until the lower end contacts the lower end positioning plate 80 of the lower end positioning body 66.

[FIG. 9B] Next, the seedling hand 41 waiting at a predetermined height corresponding to the seedling cartridge 6 projects, the front guide plate 52 projects, and the rear guide plate 51 of the seedling hand 41. And the front guide plate 52 grips a portion of the seedling N that is protruding downward from the seedling storage unit 61. At this time, each seedling is guided to the wave bottom portion of the rear guide plate 51, and the front-back position and the left-right position of the seedling are determined. Two front guide plates 52 are located above and below the rear guide plate 51, and are fixed so that the posture of the seedling is not disturbed. In this state, the finger arms 47L, 47
R closes and grasps each seedling.

The rear guide plate 51 and the upper front guide plate 52 are connected to a pair of finger arms 47L and 47L.
Since the tip is formed in a waveform in plan view so as to guide the seedling to the question of R, the front and rear positions and the left and right positions of the seedling are reliably determined by these two plates 51 and 52, and the seedling hand 41
The seedling position is stable, and thus the seedling position by the seedling hand 41 is stabilized, so that the seedling can be inserted into the seedling raising pot 71 accurately and properly.

[FIG. 9 (c)] When the seedling hand 41 grips the seedling N, the front guide plate 52 is retracted, and the retracting plate 55 is retracted and the pin 68 is pulled to move the lower end positioning body 66 to the seedling. The lower end is retracted from below to a position where it is not supported (shown by a chain line in FIG. 3).

[FIG. 9 (d)] In the above state, the seedling hand 41 descends, and the seedlings are taken out from each seedling storage 61 of the seedling cartridge 6. Since the seedlings are taken out in the direction of extension of the leaf stems of the seedlings in this way, the seedlings are not subjected to excessive force and are not damaged. [FIG. 10 (a), FIG. 11 (a)] The seedling hand 41 holding the seedling descends to a height where the lower end of the seedling is slightly higher than the upper surface of the seedling box 7 conveyed by the seedling box conveying device 3. I do.
At this time, the seedling supporting tool 57 is
In addition, the seedling N, which has been inserted last time, falls down to the opposite side to the already planted seedling in a state where the seedling N has been moved down to the already-planted seedling side (downward in the seedling box transport direction) at the lowered position by the back-and-forth moving cylinder 57b. If so, the seedlings are supported from the upper side in the seedling box transport direction.

[FIG. 10 (b), FIG. 11 (b)] Next, the seedling supporting tool 57 is raised by the operation of the seedling supporting vertical movement cylinder 57a, and the seedling hand 41 is placed above the seedling pot 71 where the seedlings are inserted this time. The seedling is advanced to above the seedling guide plate (seeding position). By raising the seedling supporting member 57 in synchronization with the advance of the seedling hand 41, interference between the seedling supporting member 57 and the seedling to be seeded this time is avoided, and the seedling that was previously seeded is opposite to the already planted seedling. To prevent a large fall. Especially, the rush seedlings tend to extend upward so as to radially spread outward, but the seedling support 57 rises while abutting on the seedlings that were previously inserted, so that the upper part of the seedlings is located at the center of the seedlings. It can be moved to the side, preventing the seedlings that were previously planted from interfering with the seedlings that are currently being planted.

[FIG. 10 (c), FIG. 11 (c)] Then, the seedling hand 41 is moved downward, and the seedling N gripped by the seedling hand 41 is passed through the cutout hole 83 of the seedling guide plate 84. Insert the seedling raising pot 71 in the seedling box 7. In conjunction with the downward movement of the seedling hand 41, the seedling supporting member 57 is moved backward by the seedling supporting longitudinal movement cylinder 57b, and is then moved downward by the seedling supporting vertical movement cylinder 57a. Side is in a standby state. When the seedling hand 41 moves down,
The seedling position D is set closer to the seedling box transport direction so that the root of the rush seedling is located on the upper side in the seedling box transport direction with respect to the center of the seedling pot 71.

[FIGS. 10 (d) and 11 (d)] Thereafter, the finger arms 47L and 47R are opened, and the seedling hand 41 releases the seedling N. Immediately before the finger arms 47L and 47R are opened, the seedling supporting member 57 is moved back and forth by the seedling supporting longitudinal cylinder 57b.
, And the seedlings inserted this time are supported from the upper side in the seedling box transport direction. Therefore, even if the finger arms 47L and 47R are opened and the seedlings N are released, the seedlings are supported by the seedling support members 57, and therefore do not fall to the side opposite to the already planted seedlings. The seedling hand 41 that has released the seedlings retreats horizontally and returns to the initial position. And seedling hand 41
The seedling box transport device 3 transports the seedling box 7 by one pitch of the seedling pot arrangement until the next seedling insertion. At this time, the seedling support 57 is moved forward by one pitch of the seedling pot arrangement by the front and rear moving cylinder 57b.
Since the notched holes 83 of the seedling guide plate 84 are open to the lower side in the seedling box transport direction, the seedlings that have been seeded by the transport of the seedling box 7 are evacuated from the notched holes 83. The above steps are repeated to perform the seedling work.

The above operations are controlled by a controller (not shown). The operating speed of each part can be arbitrarily adjusted according to the number, experience, degree of fatigue, etc. of the workers who replenish the seedling cartridge 6 with seedlings. As described above, this seedling machine 1
Is a seedling supply device 2 for supplying seedlings to a predetermined seedling supply position A.
A seedling box transfer device 3 for transferring the seedling pot 71 of the seedling box 7 to a predetermined seedling position D corresponding to the seedling supply position A;
The seedling supplied by the seedling supply device 2 is placed in a seedling raising pot 7 in a seedling box.
The seedling insertion device 4 is provided with a seedling support device 57 that moves upwardly after the seedling insertion device 4 comes into contact with the seedling box from the upper side in the seedling box transport direction.

Therefore, this seedling insertion machine 1 is configured to insert seedlings supplied by the seedling supply device 2 into the seedling box 7 transported by the seedling box transporting device 3 so that seedlings can be inserted efficiently. It is possible to prevent the seedlings cut by the seedling support device 57 from falling on the opposite side to the already planted seedlings,
By moving the seedling support 57 upward, the seedling can be moved toward the center of the seedling and the posture of the seedling can be corrected, so that the seedling can be inserted into the seedling pot 71 of the seedling box in an appropriate posture. Also, when the next seedling is inserted into the adjacent seedling raising pot 71, the seedling that has been planted is prevented by the seedling support device 57 from falling down to the upper side in the seedling box transport direction, so that the seedling that has been planted has no adverse effect. The seedlings can be properly inserted into the seedling raising pot 71 of the seedling box.

The seedling supporting tool 57 supports the upper part of the seedlings from which the seedlings have been inserted, from the upper side in the seedling box transporting direction by the seedling box transporting device 3, so that the seedling hand 41 of the seedling placing device 4 finishes the seedlings and releases the seedlings. The seedlings are prevented from falling down to the side where the seedlings are not supported by the already planted seedlings until the next seedling gripped by the seedling hand 41 reaches the seedling position D where the next seedling is to be inserted. Seedlings can be inserted into the nursery pot 71 of the box.

Further, the seedling introduction machine 1 includes a seedling supply device 2 for supplying seedlings to a predetermined seedling supply position A, and a seedling pot 71 of a seedling box 7 to a predetermined seedling placement position D corresponding to the seedling supply position A. A seedling box transfer device 3 for transferring the seedlings; and a seedling device 4 for inserting seedlings supplied by the seedling supply device A into the seedling raising pot 71 of the seedling box 7. Seeding device 4 so that it is located on the upper side in the seedling box transport direction.
The seeding position D is set closer to the upper side in the seedling box transport direction, that is, from the side opposite to the open side 83a of the cutout hole 83 of the seeding guide plate 84 which is a seedling guide.

Therefore, the accuracy of the operating position of the seedling box transport device 3 or the seedling device 4 deteriorates, so that the seedling device 4 tries to insert a seedling slightly above the opening of the seedling pot 71 in the seedling box transport direction. Even if there is a seedling, the seedling can be guided into the notch hole 83 by the seedling guide plate 84 and can be inserted into the seedling raising pot 71. Conversely, even if the seedling device 4 attempts to insert seedlings slightly to the lower side in the seedling box transport direction, the seedling position D of the seedling insertion device 4 is originally set to the seedling raising pot 71.
Is set closer to the upper side in the seedling box transport direction with respect to the center of the seedling box, so that the seedlings can be reliably inserted into the seedling raising pot 71. Therefore, the seedlings can be reliably inserted into the seedling raising pot 71, the lack of seeds in the seedlings can be prevented, and the seedlings can be accurately inserted into the seedling raising pot 71 of the seedling box.

The embodiment of the present invention is directed to the seedling raising pot 7.
Although the case where the seedlings are inserted in a state where the cultivation soil is filled in 1,... Has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and the seedlings may be inserted in the seedling pots 71,. Alternatively, the seedlings may be inserted into nursery pots 71,.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a seedling machine.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the seedling machine.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the seedling device.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the seedling device.

5A is a front view, FIG. 5B is a plan view, and FIG. 5C is a side view of the seedling cartridge.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a seedling box.

7A is a view as seen from the arrow A1 in FIG. 6, and FIG. 6B is a view as seen from the arrow A2.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a seedling hand and a front guide plate.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an operation state when removing a seedling from a seedling cartridge.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an operation state of a seedling hand when a seedling is inserted into a seedling box.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an operation state of a seedling support when a seedling is inserted into a seedling box.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a part of a seedling guide plate.

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing a cutting position with respect to a seedling raising pot.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 seedling machine 2 seedling supply device 3 seedling box transport device 4 seedling device 6 seedling cartridge 7 seedling box 57 seedling support

Claims (1)

[Claims] A seedling supply device that supplies seedlings to a predetermined seedling supply position; a seedling box transport device that transports a seedling box to a position corresponding to the seedling supply position; A seedling machine comprising: a seedling box that inserts seedlings into the seedling box; and a seedling support that moves upward after the seedling insertion device abuts on the side of the inserted seedlings.