JP2006050963A - Method for transferring tea branch and leaf and apparatus for transfer thereof and tea cutting machine equipped with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique for transferring tea branches and leaves designed to immediately lift and transfer the branches and leaves just after cutting, shorten the front and rear dimensions from an apparatus for transfer to a plucking machine and compose the plucking machine compact without installing a horizontally transfer part in, e.g. the plucking machine accompanied with lifting and transferring and to provide a tea cutting machine to which the technique is applied. <P>SOLUTION: The technique for transfer is equipped with a transfer duct 6 for making an air stream flow to a cutting blade 22 for cutting off the tea branches and leaves A such as tea leaves or branches and trunks in the interior for the cutting blade 22 and transferring the tea branches and leaves A after cutting to prescribed positions by pneumatic feeding in the transfer duct 6. Back winds W are fed from a blow-off port 38 provided at the rear of the cutting blade 22 into the transfer duct 6 to thereby transfer the tea branches and leaves A. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a tea mower for plucking tea leaves, pruning branch branches, etc., and in particular, a novel method for transferring tea branch leaves after cutting such as plucked tea leaves, pruned branch trunks, etc. It relates to a tea cutter.

For example, as a plucking machine for plucking tea leaves, there is a relatively large riding type plucking machine. This is one that can accommodate a large amount of tea leaves, such as one that has a large capacity container installed as a container for picked tea leaves, or that has a plurality of tea bags attached in a suspended state to form an accommodating part. Many.
In such a plucking machine, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, a blower pipe with a branch nozzle 47 ′ for transferring tea leaves is arranged on the front side of the cutting blade 22 ′, and this branch nozzle 47 ′. It was common to transfer tea leaves A by blowing air from. Further, the transfer path for transferring the tea leaves A from the cutting blade 22 ′ to the storage portion 4 ′ is connected so as to face the horizontal transfer portion X extending substantially rearward of the cutting blade 22 ′ and thereafter the upper portion of the storage portion 4 ′. In general, the ascending transfer part Y is provided (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

At this time, prior to the ascending transfer, the horizontal transfer of the tea leaves A to the rear side of the cutting blade is due to the fact that the blower is blown from the front of the cutting blade. That is, in order to ascend and transfer the tea leaf A, it is necessary to give the tea leaf A a certain flow velocity before that, and for this reason, the tea leaf A immediately after cutting is first sent to the rear side (horizontal) and fully accelerated. To do. In other words, the horizontal transfer part X is responsible for the action of the runway for increasing the flow rate of the tea leaves A or for accumulating energy in preparation for ascending transfer.
However, in such a transfer mode (blow mode), there is a problem that the length of the transfer device 5 ′ and thus the front and rear of the plucking machine becomes longer due to the need for the horizontal transfer part X, and the handling performance of the plucking machine is reduced. .
For this reason, it is conceivable to shorten or eliminate the horizontal transfer portion X as much as possible. However, the air blown from the branch nozzle 47 ′ has a sufficient air blowing force to lift and transfer the tea leaf A, and the cutting blade 22 ′. In such a state where strong air is blown from the front, the tea leaves A are likely to be damaged if the transfer direction is suddenly switched from horizontal to upward, and the horizontal transfer is performed while adopting the air blow form from the front of the cutting blade. It was impossible to exclude part X.

On the other hand, a demand for shortening the longitudinal length of the apparatus is manifested by a multi-stage mower tea cutter such as a two-stage mower. Here, as a two-stage cutting and plucking machine, for example, there are ones in which two cutting blades that can be set to different cutting heights are arranged at the front and rear, and each cutting blade has a rising transfer path. At this time, if the distance between the cutting blades in the front-rear direction is too large, the uneven surface of the tea plantation tends to appear on the plucked surface, and the cutting may not be performed cleanly. In this case, the uniformity of the picked tea leaves is lowered, and old leaves may be mixed into the harvested tea buds (for example, new shoots), and the subsequent tea making process may not be performed smoothly.
For this reason, it has been strongly desired to reduce the distance between the cutting blades as much as possible even in a two-stage cutting and plucking machine or the like. Since the transfer part X is required, a certain limit has occurred in order to narrow the space between the cutting blades.
For this reason, the present applicant has reviewed the air blowing form from the front of the cutting blade, which has become common technical knowledge, and has attempted to shorten the transfer device and thus the plucking machine from the air blowing form (transfer form) itself. Is.
JP 2001-95346 A

  The present invention has been made in view of such a background.In the case of, for example, a plucking machine accompanied by ascending transfer, for example, in the case of a plucking machine with ascending transfer, immediately after cutting, , A novel tea branch and leaf transfer method, a transfer device thereof, and a tea cutter using the same, in which the tea leaf can be moved up and down, the front and rear dimensions of the plucking machine are shortened, and the plucking machine can be configured compactly. This is an attempt to develop.

  That is, the method for transferring tea leaves and leaves according to claim 1 is a method for transferring tea leaves and leaves such as branches and stems cut by a cutting blade toward a predetermined position by air sending through a transfer duct, after cutting. When the tea leaves and leaves are transferred toward a predetermined position, the tea leaves and leaves are transferred by sending back wind from the rear side of the cutting blade to the transfer duct.

  Moreover, in addition to the requirement of the said claim 1, the transfer method of the tea branch leaf of Claim 2 is formed so that the said transfer duct may surround a cutting blade seeing from a plane, When the back wind is applied from the rear of the cutting blade, it is sent as a rising flow from the transfer start portion into the transfer duct.

  Furthermore, in addition to the requirements of claim 1 or 2, the transfer duct according to claim 3 is provided with a rear duct along the transfer duct on the rear side in the cutting direction. In the upper part of the rear duct, an introduction part for taking in the pressure wind into the duct is formed, and when the rear wind acts from behind the cutting blade, the downward pressure wind from the introduction part is introduced into the rear duct. After taking in, it is characterized in that it is sent into the transfer duct as an upward flow from the transfer start portion of the transfer duct.

  Further, in addition to the requirement of claim 3, the method for transferring tea branch leaves according to claim 4 is arranged in the back duct with pressure air taken from the introduction portion into the back duct in the width direction of the cutting blade. An expansion guide body that guides it so as to expand is attached.

  In addition to the requirement of claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, the transfer method for tea branch leaves according to claim 5 is such that the transfer duct is provided with a front duct along the transfer duct at the front side in the cutting direction. In transferring the tea leaves and leaves, the front wind directed from the diagonally upper side of the cutting blade to the upper surface of the cutting blade through this front duct was generated in addition to the back wind to transfer the tea leaves and leaves. Is a feature.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the requirement of the fifth aspect, the introduction portion is provided with a guide plate that distributes the pressure air introduced therein to the rear duct and the front duct. The front wind is applied to the transfer start portion of the transfer duct together with the back wind.

  The tea branch and leaf transfer device according to claim 7 further comprises a transfer duct for flowing an air flow inside the cutting blade for cutting tea leaves and leaves such as tea leaves and trunks, and after cutting by air blowing in the transfer duct. This device transfers the tea leaves and leaves toward a predetermined position, and is characterized in that it comprises a blowout port for sending back wind into the transfer duct from the rear of the cutting blade.

  Moreover, in addition to the requirement of the said claim 7, the said transfer duct has the transfer start part formed so that the cutting blade might surround a cutting blade seeing from a plane in addition to the requirements of the said claim 7, The back wind is sent as an upward flow from the transfer start portion into the transfer duct.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the requirement of the seventh or eighth aspect, the transfer duct is provided with a rear duct along the transfer duct on the rear side in the cutting direction, and the rear surface. In the upper part of the duct, an introduction part that takes in the pressure air into the duct is formed, and the rear side wind starts to be transferred as an upward flow of the downward pressure air taken into the rear duct from the introduction part. It is characterized by being fed into the transfer duct from the section.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the requirement according to the ninth aspect, the back duct guides the pressure air taken from the introduction portion so as to expand in the width direction of the cutting blade. The expansion guide body is provided inside, and is characterized in that.

  In addition to the requirement of claim 7, 8, 9 or 10, the transfer device for tea branch leaves according to claim 11 is provided with a front duct along the transfer duct on the front side in the cutting direction. The front duct is formed with a branch nozzle directed obliquely from above the cutting blade to the top surface of the cutting blade, and the rear wind is sent into the transfer duct together with the front wind generated from the branch nozzle. It is characterized by

  In addition to the requirement described in claim 11, the tea branch and leaf transfer device according to claim 12 is provided with a guide plate that distributes the pressure air introduced therein to the rear duct and the front duct. It is characterized by this.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tea machine that travels across a teacup, a tea machine that is attached to the car body and that performs a plucking operation or a pruning operation, and a rear part of the tea machine. And a storage unit that can accommodate the tea leaves that have been plucked and a transfer device that transports the tea leaves and leaves such as the harvested tea leaves and trunks from the tea cutter body to the storage unit, and plucking or pruning work depending on the purpose A tea cutter that can perform the above-described process, wherein the transfer device is applied with the device according to claim 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the requirements of the thirteenth aspect, the tea cutter body includes a plurality of cutting blades capable of appropriately changing the cutting height, and the transfer device also includes each trimming machine. A plurality of units are provided in accordance with the blades, and multi-stage cutting can be performed at a time by one run.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the requirement according to the fifteenth aspect, the storage unit can separately store the tea leaves harvested for each cutting blade. .

  The above-described problems can be solved by using the configuration of the invention described in each of the claims. That is, according to the invention of claim 1 or 7, in order to transfer the tea branches and leaves to a desired part by sending an air flow into the transfer duct from the rear of the cutting blade, for example, without horizontally transferring the tea branches and leaves immediately after cutting, It can be transported upwards, etc., and a very innovative and innovative transport form can be adopted.

  According to the second or eighth aspect of the present invention, by applying an upward rear wind from the rear of the cutting blade, the tea branch leaves immediately after cutting can be immediately moved upward without horizontal transfer.

  Furthermore, according to the invention of claim 3 or 9, in order to send the pressure wind introduced into the back duct from the introduction section into the transfer duct (transfer start section) as the upward back wind, A rational configuration that moves up and down as it is will be realized. In addition, when the transfer duct is formed so as to rise substantially vertically, the length of the transfer device and thus the front and rear of the tea cutter can be shortened by the amount that does not require a horizontal transfer path. In addition, about the point of this shortening, providing a back surface duct in the close_contact | adherence state with respect to the transfer duct also contributes to shortening.

  According to the invention described in claim 4 or 10, since the expanding guide is provided in the rear duct, even the pressure wind taken from a part of the rear duct is transferred to the transfer start portion of the transfer duct. Can be applied almost uniformly over the entire width of the cutting blade.

  According to the invention described in claim 5 or 11, since the front wind from the front of the cutting blade is caused to act in addition to the back wind from the rear of the cutting blade, the tea branch can be reliably transferred. In addition, for example, when adopting a form in which the tea leaves immediately after plucking are fed to the rear of the cutting blade and accommodated in the tea bag as they are, the energy of the front wind acting from the front of the cutting blade can be significantly reduced compared to the conventional case.

  Further, according to the invention described in claim 6 or 12, a rational method for generating the front wind as well as the back wind is made concrete.

  According to the invention described in claim 13, in order to apply the above-described transfer method to a tea-cutting machine, for example, in a tea-cutting machine that lifts and transfers tea leaves after cutting, a horizontal transfer unit is provided immediately after cutting. Therefore, the tea branches and leaves can be lifted and transferred as they are, the front and rear length can be shortened, and a compact tea cutter can be realized. Further, in a tea cutter that does not involve ascending transfer, that is, a tea cutter that transfers the tea leaves after cutting to the rear side of the cutting blade as it is, the blowing force of the front wind that acts from the front of the cutting blade can be significantly reduced. Or, such a front wind can be omitted at all, and a tea cutter with a simple structure can be realized.

  According to the invention described in claim 14, for example, in order to apply the above-described transfer method to a multi-stage mower, such as a two-stage plucking machine, a horizontal transfer portion is not required, so that the front and rear direction of each cutting blade The separation distance in can be reduced as much as possible, and the uneven surface of the tea plantation can hardly appear on the cut surface, and can be cut cleanly.

  Further, according to the invention described in claim 15, for example, in the case of two-stage cutting (two-stage picking), the quality of the tea leaves and the quality of the tea leaves are somewhat lower than those according to the growth status of the tea buds, but the quality is good. The tea leaves can be stored separately, and subsequent tea processing can be performed separately, so that tea processing can be performed efficiently.

The best mode of the present invention is as described in the following examples. In the description, first, a plucking machine will be used as an example of the tea cutter of the present invention, the overall configuration will be schematically described, and a tea branch and leaf transfer device which is the apparatus of the present invention will also be described. In addition, as this plucking machine, a so-called large-sized riding type plucking machine (branch-plucking type plucking machine 1) in which the cut tea leaves A are lifted and transferred and accommodated in the accommodating portion will be described as an example.
Incidentally, the transfer method itself of the present invention can be used not only for plucking the tea buds, but also for pruning work for pruning the trunks in order to prepare the tree shape and restore the state of the tree. The term “tea branch leaf” described in the name of the present invention, claims, etc. is a general term for the picked tea leaf A and the pruned branch trunk (the tea branch leaf is also given the same symbol A as the tea leaf). The term “tea mower” or “tea mower” is a general term for plucking (plucking machine) and pruning (pruning machine). A specific form of the pruning operation will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 as an example, a teacup crossing type plucking machine 1 to which the transfer method of the present invention is applied, and a traveling machine body 2 that travels across the teacup T, and the traveling machine body 2 serve as a teacup. The plucking machine body 3 supported so as to be located on the upper surface of the T, the storage unit 4 provided behind the plucking machine body 3 for storing the plucked tea leaves A, and the plucked tea leaves A are transferred from the plucking machine body 3 to the storage unit 4 It comprises a transfer device 5. Hereinafter, each component will be described.

  First, the traveling machine body 2 will be described. This is one that travels on the ground between the teacups T across the teacup T, and has a frame 11 that is formed in a substantially gate shape when viewed from the running direction. The frame 11 includes a leg frame 11A provided in a standing state between the ridges, a connecting frame 11B that connects the leg frame 11A, and an elevating bracket 11C that is attached to the leg frame 11A so as to be movable up and down. Is. And the traveling body 12 which applied the crawler as an example is provided in the lower end of the leg part frame 11A. Of course, the traveling body 12 is not limited to such a crawler, but a form in which a pneumatic tire that does not excessively press the saddle, or both is applied (for example, a form in which a pneumatic tire is applied to the front side and a crawler is applied to the rear side). Etc. can be taken as appropriate.

  Further, on the upper part of the connecting frame 11B, there is provided a control seat 15 for performing control and operation of the operator's seat 13, the control stick 14 and the extractor, on which an operator who has boarded the extractor sits. A motor 16 to which, for example, a diesel engine is applied is mounted on the side of the operator seat 13. As an example, a hydraulic pump (not shown) is driven by the motor 16 and supplied by the hydraulic pump. The traveling oil 12 drives the driving body 12, the cutting blade 22 of the plucking machine body 3 to be described later, and further drives the cylinder (not shown) responsible for the lifting and lowering movement of the lifting bracket 11C.

Further, a blower 17 is provided on the connecting frame 11B to blow the tea leaves A cut by the cutting blades 22. The blower 17 is directly driven by the prime mover 16. And from this blower 17, a pressure wind is supplied to the transfer apparatus 5 (plucking machine body 3 side) via the ventilation duct 18. As shown in FIG. Note that part or all of the air duct 18 is configured by a flexible duct 18 </ b> A and is connected to the transfer device 5.
In this embodiment, since the picked tea leaves A are accommodated in the tea bags B, the connecting frame 11B has a rotating arm 19 (see FIG. 2) for temporarily placing the tea bags B filled with the tea leaves A. When the tea bag B is provided, the rotating arm 19 is expanded in a wing shape so as to project to the side of the plucking machine, and is placed here.

  Next, the plucking machine body 3 will be described. This substantially plucks the tea leaves A, and has the cutting blade 22 as a main member. The cutting blade 22 is, for example, a pair of upper and lower cutting blade bodies 22A, a cutting blade support frame 22B that slidably supports the cutting blade bodies 22A, and a reciprocating sliding of the cutting blade body 22A with an eccentric plate, an eccentric shaft, or the like. And a pair of upper and lower cutting blade bodies 22A are reciprocated alternately to reap tea leaves A by the clipper action of the blades (teeth) formed on each cutting blade body 22A ( (See FIG. 2).

  Thus, the cutting blade 22 takes the form of a so-called cassette-type replacement blade in which the cutting blade body 22A, the cutting blade support frame 22B, the drive unit 22C, and the like are integrally assembled, and can be easily plucked by replacing the cutting blade 22. The specification can be changed from a machine to a pruning machine such as a shallow mower or an intermediate mower. Reference numeral 23 in the figure denotes a side plate portion that detachably holds such a cassette type cutting blade 22, and this side plate portion 23 is supported by the elevating bracket 11C, and the height of the cutting blade 22 is set freely. It can be configured.

The drive unit 22C of the cutting blade 22 is also preferably driven by hydraulic oil supplied from the hydraulic pump (driven by the prime mover 16 mounted on the traveling machine body 2). The driving of can also be performed by an engine separately.
The cutting blade 22 is not necessarily limited to such a clipper type, and for example, a rotary rotary blade can be applied.

  Next, the accommodating part 4 that accommodates the tea leaves A cut by the cutting blade 22 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 as an example, the storage unit 4 mainly includes a tea bag B attached in a suspended state from a discharge port 33 of a transfer duct 6 to be described later, and a frame unit 26 that forms a frame of the storage unit 4. It consists of a member. Of course, the frame portion 26 not only forms the skeleton of the accommodating portion 4 but also has an effect of protecting or guarding the tea bag B accommodating the tea leaves A.

In this embodiment, the plucking machine is attached so that the two tea bags B are arranged side by side when viewed from the back side, but the number of tea bags B, their arrangement, and the like can be appropriately changed. In addition, here, the tea bag B is attached in a substantially vertically suspended state to constitute the accommodating portion 4, but the tea bag B can be attached so as to be inclined when the plucking machine is viewed from the side.
Furthermore, as the accommodating part 4, the container type thing is employ | adopted instead of the form accommodated in such a tea bag B, and the form which accommodates the tea leaf A in this can also be taken.

  Next, the transfer device 5 for tea branch leaves A which is the device of the present invention will be described. The transfer device 5 is a part that transfers the cut tea leaves A toward a predetermined position. Here, the transfer apparatus 5 relays and transfers the tea leaves A from the plucking machine body 3 to the storage unit 4. Specifically, a mode is adopted in which the tea leaf A immediately after cutting is directed upwardly and directly above the cutting blade 22 toward the housing portion 4. Here, the transfer of the tea leaves A is an air flow, that is, a pressure wind is sent into the duct and is transferred to the accommodating portion 4. Here, the plurality of duct members are used, and these are collectively referred to as a duct unit 5A. To do.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the duct unit 5 </ b> A includes a transfer duct 6 and a rear duct 7 as main members. Among these, the transfer duct 6 is formed so as to face the upper part of the housing part 4 after being raised almost straight from the upper part of the cutting blade 22. Further, the rear duct 7 is a pressure wind (this is referred to as a rear wind W) that flows upward into the transfer duct 6 from the rear side of the cutting blade 22, that is, the rear side of the cutting blade 22 that is rearward with respect to the plucking direction. ). Hereinafter, the transfer duct 6 and the rear duct 7 will be described in more detail.

  First, the transfer duct 6 will be described. As described above, this is set up almost directly above the cutting blade 22 and ascends and transports the tea leaf A immediately after cutting to the accommodating portion 4. Here, in the transfer duct 6, the part (lower part) where the transfer of the tea leaves A is started is the transfer start part 31, and the part (upper part) where the transfer of the tea leaves A is finished is the transfer end part 32. A discharge port 33 that faces the storage portion 4 is formed at 32. Further, in this embodiment, the transfer start portion 31 is opened to the lower side and is formed so as to surround the cutting blade 22 when viewed from a plane. On the other hand, the transfer end portion 32 is appropriately curved so that the discharge port 33 faces the housing portion 4, and the discharge port 33 is provided with a hook 34 for attaching the open end side of the tea bag B.

  In addition, it is preferable that the transfer duct 6 does not change a width dimension, a cross-sectional area, etc. suddenly in the middle of the transfer from the transfer start part 31 to the discharge outlet 33 (transfer end part 32), and this is the damage of the tea leaf A accompanying transfer. Is to reduce as much as possible. Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 3A, the transfer path is formed so that the middle part branches into a bifurcated shape, and an introduction part that takes the pressure air from the blower 17 into the rear duct 7 into the branch part 35. 8 is provided (the introduction unit 8 will be described later). Since the branch part 35 is a part which divides the tea leaf A to be moved up and down into left and right parts, even if the tea leaf A hits the branch part 35, a smooth R shape, that is, a substantially U-shape as a transfer path so that the tea leaf A is not damaged as much as possible. Preferably, the tea leaves A are smoothly distributed to the left and right.

Further, such a transfer duct 6 (duct unit 5 </ b> A) is preferably configured such that at least a part thereof is formed in a nested shape or a flexible shape and can move up and down together with the cutting blade 22.
As described above, in the present embodiment, since the tea leaf A is not transported to the rear side of the cutting blade when it is transported upward, the transport device 5 and thus the length of the plucking machine can be shortened. In addition, when the plucking machine is viewed from the side, the introduction portion 8 is provided so as to substantially overlap the transfer duct 6, which corresponds to the thickness (the front-rear direction of the plucking machine) as the duct unit 5 </ b> A (transfer device 5). (Dimension) can be made thin, and it contributes to shortening the longitudinal length of the plucking machine.

Next, the back duct 7 will be described. This is a duct that feeds the back wind W into the transfer duct 6 (transfer start portion 31) from the rear side of the cutting blade 22 as described above, and is provided in close contact with the back side of the transfer duct 6. Here, reference numeral 38 in the drawing denotes a blow-out port for sending the back wind W into the transfer duct 6.
In this embodiment, the transfer unit 6 and the rear duct 7 having separate structures are stretched to form the duct unit 5A. However, due to the above-described configuration, these can be formed integrally. In this case, the rear wall surface of the transfer duct 6 can be made common with the front wall surface of the rear duct 7.

The rear duct 7 has a mountain shape with the upper introduction portion 8 as the top when viewed from the back of the plucking machine (see FIG. 3A), and the introduction is communicated with the introduction portion 8 above. The mouth 39 is opened. As a result, the back duct 7 can take in the pressure air from the introduction port 39, guide the pressure air downward, and send it as an upward flow into the transfer duct 6 (transfer start portion 31).
Incidentally, the back duct 7 is formed to have a substantially constant thin thickness, which also contributes to shortening the longitudinal length of the plucking machine.

  Further, an expansion guide body 40 is formed in the back duct 7, and this is a member for causing the pressure wind taken from the introduction port 39 to flow almost uniformly over the width direction of the cutting blade 22. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3A as an example, a plurality of brackets having an L-shaped cross section are used, and these are attached in a divergent shape or radially from the introduction port 39 toward the cutting blade 22. The And even if the pressure wind is taken in from one introduction port 39 by this expansion guide body 40, it is guided almost uniformly in the width direction of the cutting blade 22, and the back wind of the same strength over the entire width of the cutting blade 22 is obtained. It can be converted to W.

Next, the introduction unit 8 will be described. This is for guiding the pressure air from the blower 17 to the inlet 39 of the rear duct 7, and as an example, as shown in FIG. By providing the guide plate 43 in an inclined state, the above-described air flow, that is, the blowing of the pressure air supplied from the blower 17 by the flexible duct 18 </ b> A into the rear duct 7 is achieved.
The introduction portion 8 is in a state where the lower side and the left and right sides of the introduction portion 8 are closed by the guide plate 43 and both outer side surfaces of the transfer duct 6 sandwiching the guide plate 43 from both sides, and the pressure air supplied from the flexible duct 18A is supplied. The guide is guided almost directly into the rear duct 7 from the introduction port 39.

  The teabrush-stretching type plucking machine 1 that is an example of the tea mower of the present invention and to which the transfer method of the present invention is applied has the basic structure as described above. Hereinafter, in such a plucking machine, While explaining the mode of transferring tea leaves A, a method for transferring tea branch leaves which is substantially the method of the present invention will be described. In the description, the process of forming the back wind W will be described, and then the transfer mode of the tea leaves A will be described.

(1) Formation process of rear wind In order to generate the rear wind W, first, the prime mover 16 on the traveling machine body 2 is driven, and the blower 17 generates pressure wind. The generated pressure air is then guided to the introduction portion 8 through the air duct 18 (flexible duct 18A), where it is guided by the guide plate 43 and taken into the rear duct 7 from the introduction port 39. The pressure air introduced into the back duct 7 is then guided by the spreading guide 40 provided in the back duct 7 so as to spread almost uniformly in the width direction of the cutting blade 22, The air is sent from the outlet 38 into the transfer duct 6 (transfer start portion 31) as the back wind W. The rear wind W is an upward flow that is directed almost directly upward from the rear of the cutting blade 22, and has a transfer capability of conveying at least the tea leaf A to the discharge port 33 (transfer end portion 32) of the transfer duct 6.

(2) Transfer Mode of Tea Leaves With such a back wind W, the tea leaves A are first drawn to the rear side of the cutting blade 22 immediately after cutting, as shown in FIG. 4 as an example. This is because the back wind W is blown from the rear of the cutting blade 22, so that a negative pressure is formed in the vicinity of the rear of the cutting blade 22, specifically, in the vicinity of the outlet 38 of the back wind W. It is considered that the air is drawn toward the air outlet 38 from the side (hereinafter referred to as negative pressure suction action of the back wind W). Then, the tea leaves A attracted to the blower outlet 38 ride on the back wind W that forms an upward flow, and then rise in the transfer duct 6, and the tea leaves B are provided in the storage unit 4 from the discharge port 33. Is housed in.
[Other Examples]

  The present invention has the above-described embodiment as one basic technical idea, but the following modifications can be considered. That is, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the tea leaves A are transferred only by the back wind W acting from behind the cutting blade 22. However, depending on the growth state of tea buds to be plucked, the state of the transfer path (ascending transfer distance, etc.), the ability of the blower 17 to generate the back wind W, etc., for example, in addition to the back wind W as shown in FIGS. It is also possible to make the transfer wind (this is referred to as the front wind W1) act auxiliary from the front side of the cutting blade 22 (front side in the cutting direction). In this case, it is preferable that the front duct 9 for generating the front wind W1 is provided in close contact with the front side of the transfer duct 6, and the duct unit 5A includes the transfer duct 6, the rear duct 7, the front duct 9 and the like. It is mainly composed of

In order to generate the front wind W1, for example, as shown in FIG. 5B, the guide plate 43 of the introduction portion 8 is formed in a mountain shape in a side view by two inclined plates. is there. That is, the pressure air taken into the introduction part 8 is distributed to the rear duct 7 and the front duct 9 by the guide plate 43 (two inclined plates). Here, when the two inclined plates are displayed separately, the back guide plate 43A and the front guide plate 43B are distinguished from each other. In this case, for example, the flow rate balance between the back wind W and the front wind W1 can be determined by the alignment position of the back guide plate 43A and the front guide plate 43B, that is, the top position of the guide plate 43. It also serves to adjust the air volume between W and the front wind W1. Of course, the upward movement of the tea leaves A is mainly borne by the back wind W, so that the air volume (flow rate) introduced into the back duct 7 is large and generally occupies the majority.
In addition, for this reason, the inlet 46 for taking in the compressed air from the inlet 8 into the front duct 9 is also opened in the wall surface on the transfer duct 6 side.

As an example, as shown in FIG. 5C, the front duct 9 has a substantially straight shape in the vicinity of the introduction portion 8 when viewed from the front, and is formed so as to spread in the width direction of the cutting blade 22 in the vicinity of the cutting blade. . Further, as shown in FIG. 5B as an example, at the lower end portion, a plurality of branch nozzles 47 directed to the cutting blade 22 obliquely below are formed along the cutting blade 22.
As described above, in this embodiment, the rear duct 7 and the front duct 9 are formed along the transfer duct 6 and the thickness dimension thereof is formed to be a substantially constant thin thickness. Contributes to shortening the length of the plucking machine. Of course, for this shortening, as described above, the horizontal transfer to the rear of the cutting blade can be omitted, or a branch part 35 is formed in the middle of the transfer duct 6, the introduction part 8 is provided here, and viewed from the side. Also, providing the introduction portion 8 so as to overlap the transfer duct 6 is a major factor in shortening.
The front wind W1 described above is provided only when the back wind W is supported.

Further, in the basic embodiment described above, the back side duct 7 is provided on the back side of the transfer duct 6 and the back wind W is fed into the transfer duct 6 from the rear side of the cutting blade. As shown, it is also possible to supply pressurized air from the side of the transfer duct 6, that is, from the lower part of the side surface, and convert it into back wind W. In this case, it is necessary to provide a wind direction body 50 that changes the direction of the pressure wind supplied from the side of the transfer duct 6 upward (backward wind W) (for example, the structure similar to the branch nozzle 47). Since the flexible duct 18A that introduces the air, the wind direction body 50, and the like substantially serve as the back duct 7, the back duct 7 itself can be omitted.
Further, in this case, since the introduction portion 8 that guides the pressure air from the blower 17 to the transfer duct 6 can be omitted, it is not necessary to provide the introduction portion 8 so as to overlap the transfer duct 6 when viewed from the side. The transfer duct 6 can be formed into a single tube (a single tube that does not branch in the middle).

  In the basic embodiment described above, the mode of the plucking machine with ascending transfer has been described as an example. However, as described above, the transfer method of the present invention is not limited to the plucking machine, and is used in a pruning machine. Can also be used. In this case, for example, the pruned trunk can be transferred to the intercostal space with a chute member provided so as to pass up through the transfer duct 6 and then dropped (for example, the present application). Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-136214 “Transportation structure of a pruned branch trunk in a teacup straddling type tea-cutting device” related to a human application). Of course, the pruned trunk does not necessarily have to be guided to the intercostal space through the accommodating portion 4. For example, in the case of the basic embodiment described above, the frame of the accommodating portion 4 is formed by the frame portion 26. Therefore, it is also possible to attach a duct from the discharge port 33 to the intercostal space so as not to interfere with this, and to drop the pruned branch trunk into the intercostal space. When the plucking machine is changed to a pruning machine, the specification of the plucking machine body 3 can be easily changed to a pruning machine body by changing the cassette-type cutting blade 22 described above to that for the pruning machine. is there.

  The transfer method of the present invention is suitable for a plucking machine with ascending transfer because the tea leaves A can be transferred almost directly above the cutting blade 22 without forming the horizontal transfer portion X on the rear side of the cutting blade 22. However, since the technique itself for transferring the tea leaves A by applying the pressure wind (back wind W) from the rear side of the cutting blade 22 is an extremely novel and novel idea, various techniques that do not necessarily involve ascending transfer are included. Application to models is also possible. For example, as shown in FIG. 7 (a), the tea leaves A are sent rearward as they are from the cutting blade 22, and are stored in a tea bag B set in a laid state, which is called a so-called simple riding plucking machine or a small riding plucking machine. It can be applied to things. Further, the present invention can also be applied to a pruning machine in which the pruned branch trunk is not sent through the inside of the housing portion 4 but is sent as it is toward the end of the hook and dropped into the furrow. And, when the transfer method of the present invention is applied to such a model, the energy of the transfer wind that has been acting from the front of the conventional cutting blade can be kept low, or all the air blowing from the front of the conventional cutting blade is unnecessary. The transfer method of the present invention has a wide range of use and is highly feasible.

  Further, the transfer method of the present invention generates a negative pressure in the vicinity of the air outlet 38 by the back wind W from the rear of the cutting blade, and draws the tea branch leaf A immediately after cutting to the rear side of the cutting blade by this negative pressure suction action. After that, the tea leaves A are put on the back wind W and transferred to an appropriate part such as the housing 4. For this reason, in order to efficiently use the negative pressure suction action of the back wind W, a configuration in which the back wind W is applied immediately after the cutting blade 22 is considered preferable. For example, as shown in FIG. In addition, the present invention can be applied to those having a relatively long distance from the cutting blade 22 to the air outlet 38 of the back wind W. In this case, as described above, the negative pressure suction action by the back wind W may be somewhat reduced. Therefore, the branch nozzle 47 by the front duct 9 is provided on the front side of the cutting blade 22, and the front side of the cutting blade is provided. It is preferable to perform air blowing in an auxiliary manner. In this case, as described above, even if the air is blown by the branch nozzle 47, the blower power of the branch nozzle 47 can be very small as compared with the air blow force that has conventionally been sent from the front. it is conceivable that.

  In the basic embodiment described above, a plucking machine (single-stage plucking machine) provided with only one cutting blade 22 has been described as an example, but the transfer method of the present invention moves the cutting blade 22 in the vertical direction. For example, FIG. 8 shows an example of a two-stage plucking machine 1A to which the transfer method of the present invention is applied. Here, when the two upper and lower cutting blades 22 are distinguished, the upper upper blade is distinguished as the upper cutting blade 22U, and the lower rear blade is distinguished as the lower cutting blade 22D. The two-stage cutting (two-stage picking) means, for example, that the front side 2/3 to 1/3 of the new shoots (mill shoots) are picked with the upper upper cutting blade 22U, and then the remaining lower cutting blade 22D This is a plucking method of plucking a part. For this reason, normally, the upper cutting blade 22U is often set at a higher position than the lower cutting blade 22D. However, for example, the two cutting blades 22U and 22D may be set at the same height.

  Here, the upper cutting blade 22U and the lower cutting blade 22D are each formed with a duct unit 5A, which are also distinguished as an upper blade duct unit 5AU and a lower blade duct unit 5AD, respectively. That is, here, the tea leaves A picked by the upper cutting blade 22U and the tea leaves A picked by the lower cutting blade 22D can be stored separately in separate tea bags B. In this case, when the tea leaves A having different properties are separately picked up by the upper cutting blade 22U and the lower cutting blade 22D, for example, the high quality tea leaves A close to hand-picked products are picked up by the upper cutting blade 22U, and the lower cutting blade 22D. Is slightly lower in quality than hand-picked items, but is suitable for storing good-quality tea leaves A, etc., and thus suitable for the properties of tea leaves A in the subsequent tea processing. Various processing conditions can be taken as appropriate.

The two cutting blades 22U and 22D are configured to be moved up and down together with the lifting bracket 11C, while the distance between the cutting blades (vertical interval) can be changed. Specifically, the lower cutting blade 22D is attached to the lifting bracket 11C side, and the upper cutting blade 22U is attached to the lower cutting blade 22D so as to move up and down. Here, reference numeral 51 in the figure is a handle for moving the upper cutting blade 22U up and down relative to the lower cutting blade 22D, and this is preferably configured to be driven either manually or automatically.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, two fans 17 driven by the prime mover 16 are also provided in accordance with the cutting blades 22. However, a single fan 17 is mounted, and from this, each duct unit 5AU, 5AD is provided. It is also possible to send the pressure air equally.

Next, the usefulness of applying the transfer method of the present invention to a multi-stage mower tea cutter such as the two-stage mower 1A described above will be described. In the two-stage plucking machine 1A, if the front and rear spacing between the upper cutting blade 22U and the lower cutting blade 22D is too large, the uneven surface of the tea plantation can easily appear on the plucking surface, and cutting may not be performed cleanly. In such a case, the uniformity of the picked tea leaves A is deteriorated, and parts that should not be picked (such as old leaves and branch trunks) may be mixed in the harvested shoots, which adversely affects the subsequent tea processing and price. It was sometimes affected.
For this reason, in such a two-stage plucking machine 1A, it is very effective for efficient plucking to narrow the front-rear distance between the upper cutting blade 22U and the lower cutting blade 22D as much as possible, In this respect, it can be said that the present invention in which the longitudinal length of the transfer device 5 can be shortened from the blower configuration is suitable for the two-stage plucking machine 1A. In other words, in the conventional two-stage plucking machine, the distance between the upper cutting blade 22U and the lower cutting blade 22D is inevitably increased by the amount of horizontal transfer. The limit was occurring.

  As described above, for the multi-stage plucking machine to which the transfer method of the present invention is applied, the length of the plucking machine can be shortened and the handling performance of the plucking machine at the time of plucking is improved due to this. In addition, there is a new effect that multi-stage mowing can be performed remarkably and efficiently.

It is explanatory drawing which shows collectively the transfer method of this invention, and the tea cutter (plucking machine) of this invention to which this is applied. It is the side view (a) and front view (b) which show the plucking machine which is an example of the tea mower of this invention. It is the perspective view (a) which shows the transfer device of the tea branch and leaf of this invention, and the perspective view (b) which expands and shows an introduction part. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that the tea leaf immediately after cutting is lifted and transferred substantially right above a cutting blade by making an upward back wind act from the back of a cutting blade. A rear view (a) and a side sectional view (b) showing another embodiment of a transfer device in which a front duct is provided in close contact with the front side of the transfer duct, and front wind is acted as an auxiliary from the cutting blade front side. And a front view (c). It is a perspective view which shows the other Example of the transfer apparatus which supplies a pressurized wind from the side of a transfer duct. Another embodiment is shown in which the transfer method of the present invention is applied to a small or simple riding type plucking machine, and the tea leaves after cutting are transferred to the rear side of the cutting blade by the back wind from the rear of the cutting blade. It is explanatory drawing (a) and explanatory drawing (b) which shows the transfer method in case the distance from a cutting blade to the blower outlet of back wind is comparatively long. It is the side view (a) and front view (b) which show the two-stage cutting and plucking machine to which the transfer method of this invention is applied. It is explanatory drawing which shows the transfer method of the conventional plucking machine.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Teacup crossing type plucking machine 1A Two-stage plucking machine 2 Traveling machine body 3 Plucking machine body 4 Accommodating part 5 Transfer device 5A Duct unit 5AU Duct unit for upper blade 5AD Duct unit for lower blade 6 Transfer duct 7 Rear duct 8 Introduction part DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 Front duct 11 Frame 11A Leg part frame 11B Connection frame 11C Elevating bracket 12 Traveling body 13 Pilot seat 14 Control stick 15 Control box 16 Motor | generator 17 Blower 18 Blower duct 18A Flexible duct 19 Rotating arm 22 Cutting blade 22A Cutting blade body 22B Cutting blade support frame 22C Drive portion 22U Upper cutting blade 22D Lower cutting blade 23 Side plate portion 26 Frame portion 31 Transfer start portion 32 Transfer end portion 33 Discharge port 34 Hook 35 Branch portion 38 Outlet 39 Inlet port 40 Expanding guide body 43 Guide plate 43A rear Id plate 43B a front guide plate 46 inlet 47 branches nozzle 50 air direction member 51 Handle A tea leaves (tea leaves)
B Tea bag T Teacup X Horizontal transfer part Y Ascending transfer part W Rear wind W1 Front wind

Claims (15)

It is a method of transferring tea leaves such as tea leaves and branch trunks cut by a cutting blade toward a predetermined position by air sending through a transfer duct,
In transferring the tea leaves after cutting to a predetermined position, the tea leaves are transferred by sending back wind from the rear side of the cutting blade to the transfer duct. Method. The transfer duct is formed such that the transfer start portion surrounds the cutting blade as seen from a plane.
2. The method for transferring tea branch leaves according to claim 1, wherein when the back wind is applied from behind the cutting blade, it is sent into the transfer duct as an upward flow from the transfer start portion. The transfer duct is provided with a rear duct along the transfer duct on the rear side in the cutting direction, and an upper portion of the rear duct is formed with an introduction portion that takes in the pressure air into the duct.
When the back wind is applied from the rear of the cutting blade, the downward pressure wind from the introduction portion is taken into the back duct and then sent into the transfer duct as an upward flow from the transfer start portion of the transfer duct. The method for transferring tea branch leaves according to claim 1 or 2.   The expansion guide body which guides the pressure wind taken in in the back surface duct from the introducing | transducing part so that it may expand toward the width direction of a cutting blade is attached to the inside of the said back surface duct. To transfer tea leaves and leaves. The transfer duct is provided with a front duct along the transfer duct on the front side in the cutting direction,
When transferring the tea leaves and leaves, the front wind directed toward the upper surface of the cutting blades from the diagonally upper side of the cutting blades through this front duct is supplementarily generated along with the back wind to transfer the tea leaves and leaves. The method for transferring tea branch leaves according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4.   The introduction portion is provided with a guide plate that distributes the pressure air introduced here into a rear duct and a front duct, and the front wind acts on the transfer start portion of the transfer duct together with the rear air. The method for transferring tea branch leaves according to claim 5. For a cutting blade that cuts tea leaves such as tea leaves and trunks, it has a transfer duct that flows an air flow inside, and a device that transfers the tea branches and leaves after cutting to a predetermined position by air blowing in the transfer duct Because
This apparatus comprises a blower outlet for sending back wind into the transfer duct from the rear of the cutting blade. The transfer duct has a transfer start portion formed so as to surround the cutting blade as viewed from above.
8. The apparatus for transferring tea branch leaves according to claim 7, wherein the back wind is sent as an upward flow from a transfer start portion into a transfer duct. The transfer duct is provided with a rear duct along the transfer duct on the rear side in the cutting direction, and an upper portion of the rear duct is formed with an introduction portion that takes in the pressure air into the duct.
The tea branch leaves according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the back wind is a downward pressure wind taken into the back duct from the introduction section and sent into the transfer duct from the transfer start section as an upward flow. Transfer device.   10. The tea branch leaf according to claim 9, wherein the back duct is provided with an expansion guide body for guiding the pressure air taken from the introduction portion so as to expand in a width direction of the cutting blade. Transfer device. The transfer duct is provided with a front duct along the transfer duct on the front side in the cutting direction, and the front duct is formed with a branch nozzle directed from the obliquely upper side of the cutting blade to the upper surface of the cutting blade.
11. The apparatus for transferring tea branch leaves according to claim 7, 8, 9 or 10, wherein the back wind is sent into a transfer duct together with the front wind generated from the branch nozzle.   The apparatus for transferring tea branch leaves according to claim 11, wherein a guide plate for distributing the pressure air introduced therein to a rear duct and a front duct is provided in the introduction section. A traveling aircraft that travels across the bowl,
A tea-cutting machine attached to the traveling machine and performing a plucking operation or a pruning work,
A storage section provided behind the tea cutter body and capable of storing the picked tea leaves;
A transfer device that transfers tea leaves and leaves such as the harvested tea leaves and branch trunks from the tea cutter body to the storage unit,
A tea cutter that can perform plucking or pruning work according to the purpose,
A tea cutter according to claim 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12, to which the transfer device is applied.   The tea machine body includes a plurality of cutting blades whose cutting height can be appropriately changed, and a plurality of transfer devices are provided for each cutting blade, so that multi-stage cutting can be performed at a time by one run. The tea cutter according to claim 13, which is configured to be able to perform.   15. The tea cutter according to claim 14, wherein the storage unit can separately store the tea leaves harvested for each cutting blade.

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