JP2016015896A - Automated seedling box arranging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automated seedling box arranging apparatus capable of arranging seedling boxes having different sizes and shapes, such as seedling boxes for mature seedlings, in a house without intervals.SOLUTION: A horizontally moving car B is placed on a horizontal rail 5 in a horizontal direction fixed on a vertically moving carriage. The horizontally moving car B comprises a box loading part 8 stacking and loading seedling boxes 3, and a box take-out part 13 holding the seedling box 3 on the top of the box loading part 8 and taking town the seedling box to bed soil and releasing it. The box take-out part 13 comprises: a guide support 14 vertically rising on the horizontally moving car B; a lifting body 15 moving up and down along the guide support 14; an openable/closable box holding claw 16 holding the seedling box 3; a claw frame 17 supporting the box holding claw 16; a turning arm connecting the lifting body 15 with the claw frame 17; sprockets having the same number of teeth fixed to a lifting shaft 19 provided in the lifting body 15 and a claw frame turning shaft 20 provided in the claw frame 17, respectively; a turning chain 23 connecting both sprockets; and a motor rotating the sprockets.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

In order to grow seedlings for rice planting machines, rectangular seedling boxes are aligned vertically and horizontally on the floor soil prepared in the house, and arranged in a grid pattern without any gaps, and temperature and irrigation are controlled intensively. It has been broken.
At this time, a seedling box laying device is used to arrange the seedling boxes. The representative example has a structure having a length substantially the same as the width (frontage) of the house, and a wheel provided at the center moves on a rail laid in the vertical direction (depth direction) at the center of the house. Then, a box storage part with a large number of seedling boxes stacked is mounted so as to be movable in the horizontal direction, and the seedling box is placed on the floor soil while moving the box storage part intermittently along the lateral width of the house. Drop down and line up sequentially. When the seedling boxes are arranged side by side across the width of the house, the apparatus is advanced along the rail by the length of one box, and the seedling boxes are arranged in the next horizontal line. By repeating this work, a large number of seedling boxes are neatly arranged in the house.
The present invention relates to an improvement of such a seedling box laying apparatus.

  The conventional seedling box laying device stacks a large number of seedling boxes in the box storage part, releases the support from the bottom in order, and lowers them to the ground. At that time, the seedlings at the bottom are kept so that other seedling boxes do not fall together. Only the box is released from the support mechanism, and the seedling box immediately above is structured to maintain support.

  Thus, in order to repeat the operation of releasing the support of only one seedling box, it is necessary that the shape of the seedling box is constant. If the shape is different, the release timing will not match and it will not be possible to unload them one by one accurately.

  In this respect, the seedling boxes for seedlings have no problem because the shape is unified, but for the seedlings for adult seedlings, there are various shapes, especially the folding shape of the frame, so conventional laying equipment that lowers in order from the bottom can not cope There was a problem.

Japanese Patent No. 2733834

  The present invention solves the problem of laying a seedling box regardless of the difference in shape.

  That is, the object of the present invention is to first arrange seedling boxes arranged in a house without trouble even in seedling boxes with different dimensions and shapes, such as for adult seedlings, and secondly, arrange seedling boxes in the full width of the house, Don't make useless spaces without seedling boxes.

The invention of the automatic seedling box laying device according to claim 1
The center of the horizontal horizontal rail is fixed on the vertical moving carriage that moves on the vertical vertical rail laid in the center of the house, and the horizontal moving vehicle is placed on this horizontal rail. A box loading section for stacking and loading seedling boxes, and a box take-out section for picking up the seedling box on the top of the box loading section and lowering it to the floor soil and releasing it,
The box take-out part includes a guide column that stands vertically to the laterally moving vehicle, an elevating body that moves up and down along the guide column, an openable / closable box nail that holds the seedling box, and a nail frame that supports the box nail, A swivel arm that connects the lifting body and the claw frame, a lifting shaft provided in the lifting body, a sprocket with the same number of teeth fixed to the claw frame turning shaft provided in the claw frame, a turning chain that connects both sprockets, and the sprocket. A motor, and
Thus, while the vertical moving carriage is stopped and the horizontal moving car is moved along the horizontal rail by the width of the seedling box, the seedling boxes in the box loading section are placed on the floor soil one by one by the box take-out section. When the horizontally moving vehicle reaches a predetermined position, move the vertically moving carriage by the length of the seedling box, and again align the seedling boxes horizontally and vertically while moving the horizontally moving vehicle again. It is characterized by.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the automatic seedling box laying device according to the first aspect, the box stacking unit has a stacking unit position switching mechanism for changing the position to the right side or the left side of the guide column, and When reaching a predetermined position in the house side by side, the box stacking unit is moved to the opposite side of the guide column by the stacking unit position switching mechanism, and the seedling box is lowered onto the floor soil.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the automatic seedling box laying device according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined position is a left end or a right end in the house, and the box stacking portion changes the position to the right side or the left side of the guide column. When the laterally moving vehicle reaches the left end in the house with the position switching mechanism, the box loading section is moved to the right side of the guide column by the loading section position switching mechanism and the seedling box is loaded in the box. On the contrary, when the horizontally moving vehicle reaches the right end of the house, the loading unit position switching mechanism moves the box loading unit to the left side of the guide column to move the seedling box to the right side of the box loading unit. It is characterized by lowering.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the automatic seedling box laying apparatus according to the first aspect, the box take-out portion has a pair of left and right box-separating rods, and the seedling box that is driven by turning one of the rods and lowered to the floor soil is adjacent. It is characterized by being directed toward the seedling box.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the seedling boxes stacked on the box loading section are picked up in order from the top by the box take-out section, so that any seeds can be securely grasped regardless of the difference in the shape of the seedling box. Can be lowered to floor soil. The box take-out part connects the lifting shaft and claw frame turning shaft via sprockets with the same number of teeth and rotates both shafts at the same angle, so that the posture of the claw frame changes even if the turning arm turns. Instead, it can move from the box loading section to the floor soil while keeping the grasped seedling box horizontal.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the position of the box loading portion on the laterally moving vehicle can be changed by the loading portion position switching mechanism, the box loading portion does not interfere with the seedling box lowering work, and the seedling box Can be lined up to the edge of the house, and no wasteful empty space without seedling boxes is created, so the house site can be used to the maximum extent possible.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the predetermined position of claim 2, that is, the position switching point of the box stacking portion is the left end or the right end in the house, the effect of easy detection of the position of the laterally moving vehicle is achieved. Play.

  According to the invention of claim 4, since the seedling box of the floor soil is pushed toward the adjacent seedling box by the rod of the box take-out portion, the space between the seedling box and the seedling box can be packed and laid without a gap.

Perspective view of house with seedling boxes Front view of FIG. as well as (A) is a plan view and (B) is a side view. A use state is shown with a front view of an automatic seedling box laying device of an embodiment of the present invention. Plan view of FIG. FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state in which the box transport vehicle E is connected to the back of the longitudinally moving carriage A. In the side view of FIG. 5, a state in which the box transport vehicle E is separated from the vertically movable carriage A is shown. Enlarged front view of FIG. Enlarged plan view of FIG. The top view of the box nail | claw of the embodiment of this invention FIG. 11 is a front view showing a state where the box nail is opened. FIG. 11 is a front view showing a state where the box nail is closed. The top view of the boxing rod of the embodiment of the present invention The state where the boxing rod is opened is shown in the front view of FIG. The front view of FIG. 14 shows the state where the boxing rod is closed.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a nursery house covered with a light-transmitting sheet or glass, and two parallel vertical rails 2 along the depth direction (vertical direction) of the house are provided in the center of the inside. The vertical rail 2 extends from the outside of the house 1 through the entrance to the back of the house 1. 3 is a seedling box, and FIGS. 1 and 2 show a state in which the seedling boxes are arranged in the whole house after the laying operation is completed.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the seedling box 3 for rice seedling used in the embodiment is a rectangular shallow box shape, and the bottom plate 3a has many holes (not shown), and the bottom plate 3a. And the frame 3b surrounding the outer periphery thereof is integrally formed. The upper part of the frame 3b is folded outward to form a reinforcing skirt 3c. The length of the skirt 3c is various and not uniform. For example, in the seedling box of FIG. 3, the length L1 of the skirt portion 3c is longer than the length L2 of FIG. Reference numeral 3d denotes a reinforcing rib formed on the outer peripheral surface of the frame 3b.
In the seedling box 3, before bringing it into the nursery house 1, the soil is put in another place and seeded. When this bud germinates and grows in the nursery house 1, an adult seedling for a rice transplanter is obtained in which the roots of each other are entangled inside the seedling box 3 and the whole is connected in a mat shape. The seedling box used in the present invention is not limited to adult seedlings. It can also be used in seedling boxes for seedlings with a uniform shape.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the apparatus of the present invention, and A shows a longitudinally moving carriage. Reference numeral 4 denotes a wheel of the vertical moving carriage A, which runs on the vertical rail 2. Reference numeral 5 denotes a horizontal rail having substantially the same length as the horizontal width of the house. The central portion of the horizontal rail is fixed on the vertical moving carriage A, and the horizontal moving vehicle B is placed on the horizontal rail 5. Actually, there is one laterally moving vehicle B, but FIG. 5 shows a state in which the same one is located at the right end and the left end of the horizontal rail 5. The horizontal rail 5 is parallel to the front and rear, and both ends thereof are connected. 5a is the connecting piece (FIG. 6).
The connecting pieces 5a and 5a are provided with vertically movable support legs 6 and 6, and when the vertically movable carriage A is stopped, the lower end thereof is lowered and grounded to the floor soil, and the laterally moving car B is in a position off the center. Also, the horizontal rail 5 is supported so as not to tilt. When the vertically movable carriage A moves, the lower end of the support leg 6 is raised away from the floor soil so as not to get in the way.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the apparatus of the present invention, and shows a state in which a box transporter E is connected to the back of the longitudinally moving carriage A. In FIG. 6, the vertical rail 2 is omitted.
The box transport vehicle E is a vehicle for stacking a plurality of seedling boxes 3 on the loading platform 7 and transporting the seedling boxes 3 to a house 1 from a seeding work place different from the house 1 (see FIGS. 6 to 8).
7 and 8 are side views of the apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 7 shows a state in which the box carrier E is connected to the back of the vertical carriage A, and FIG. 8 shows a state in which the box carrier E is separated from the vertical carriage A. Respectively.
The laterally moving vehicle B includes a box loading section 8, and the loading platform 9 and the loading platform 7 of the box transporter E are designed to have the same height. As a result, when the box carrier E is connected to the vertical carriage A, the heavy seedling boxes 3 can be smoothly transferred from the box carrier E to the vertical carriage A while being stacked. Sliding rolls 10 are arranged at equal intervals on each loading platform 7, 9, and the seedling box 3 moves thereon. Reference numeral 11 denotes a wheel of the box carrier E, and 12 denotes a wheel of the laterally moving vehicle B.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged front view of the laterally moving vehicle B, and shows the process until the box take-out unit 13 grasps the seedling box 3 from the box loading unit 8 and lowers it to the floor soil at three different positions.
The box take-out unit 13 includes a guide column 14 that stands vertically to the laterally moving vehicle B, an elevating body 15 that moves up and down along the guide column 14, an openable / closable box nail 16 that holds and holds the seedling box 3, The same fixed to a claw frame 17 that supports the nail claw 16, a swing arm 18 that connects the lift 15 and the claw frame 17, a lift shaft 19 provided in the lift 15 and a claw frame swing shaft 20 provided in the claw frame 17, respectively. The sprockets 21 and 22 have the same number of teeth, a turning chain 23 that connects the sprockets 21 and 22, and a motor 24 that rotates the sprockets 21 and 22.
There are two guide struts 14 at the front and rear of the laterally moving vehicle B, each of which has a structure in which two metal plates each having a U-shaped cross section face each other, and is formed between these two metal plates. A pair of elevating bodies 15 are fitted so as to be movable up and down.
Reference numeral 25 denotes an elevating sprocket of the elevating body 15, which is connected to an elevating shaft 19 passed between the front and rear guide columns 14. Reference numeral 26 denotes a chain whose upper and lower ends are fixed to the guide column 14, and an elevating sprocket 25 is connected to the chain (FIG. 9). Reference numerals 27 and 27 denote free-wheeling sprockets that are pivotally supported by the elevating body 15, thereby securing the connection between the chain 26 and the elevating sprocket 25.

Then, as shown in the plan view of FIG. 10, a claw frame turning shaft 20 that is passed back and forth is provided on the claw frame 17 to which the box clip claw 16 is attached, and the lifting shaft 19 and the claw frame turning shaft 20 are connected by the turning arm 18. To do. The connection between the turning arm 18 and the lifting shaft 19 and the connection between the turning arm 18 and the claw frame turning shaft 20 are both free to rotate.
Further, turning sprockets 21 and 22 having the same number of teeth are fixed to the lifting shaft 19 and the claw frame turning shaft 20, and a turning chain 23 is bridged between them. Reference numeral 24 denotes an arm turning motor capable of rotating forward and reverse that rotates the claw frame turning shaft 20 and is directly connected to one end of the claw frame turning shaft 20.
The box loading unit 8 of the laterally moving vehicle B has wheels 28 that roll on the box moving rails 29 provided in the laterally moving vehicle B so that the box loading unit 8 guides on the vehicle of the laterally moving vehicle B. The column 14 can be moved from right to left or vice versa (FIG. 6). A motor 30 rotates the wheel 28 forward or backward at this time.

As shown in FIGS. 11 to 13, the pair of left and right box sandwiching claws 16 are connected to an air cylinder 31 provided on the claw frame 17 via a fan plate 32 and a link 33, and the power of the air cylinder 31 is used. Opening and closing operations are performed by turning the fan plate 32.
14 to 16 show a boxing rod 34 provided alongside the box nail 16. Reference numeral 35 denotes a forward / reverse motor for turning the disc 36, which moves the link 37 at one end of the arc-shaped groove of the disc 36, thereby turning one of the left and right boxing rods 34 and seedling at the tip thereof. Move the box to the right or left.
Reference numeral 38 denotes a seedling box detection light sensor, which is attached to the left and right of the lifting body 15. A limit switch 39 is attached to both sides of the swing arm 18. A receiving plate 40 with which the limit switch 39 abuts is attached to the left and right of the guide column 14. A grounding sensor 41 is attached to the bottom of the lifting body 15. Reference numeral 42 denotes a position detection sensor for the laterally moving vehicle B, which is attached to the left and right of the laterally moving vehicle B. Reference numeral 43 denotes a forward / reverse rotation motor that rotates the wheel 12 of the laterally moving vehicle B, and reference numeral 44 denotes a chain that spans the motor 43 and the wheel 12. 45 is a battery.

Next, the operation will be described.
First, as illustrated in FIG. 9, the description starts from a state in which the box stacking unit 8 is on the right side of the guide column 14 and the laterally moving vehicle B is positioned at the left end of the horizontal rail 5.
In this state, the elevating body 15 starts to descend from the top dead center, and stops when the seedling box detection light sensor 38 detects the seedling box 3 of the box stacking unit 8.
At this time, the box clamping claws 16 are at the same level as the stacked seedling boxes 3, and the opened box clamping claws 16 are closed by the action of the air cylinder 31 to sandwich the skirt portion 3 c of the top seedling box 3 from the left and right. When the elevating body 15 is raised in this state, the tip of the box nail 16 is engaged with the skirt portion 3c and the seedling box 3 is gripped. Alternatively, when the revolving arm 18 is swung while the skirt portion 3c is sandwiched without moving the elevating body 15, the box nail claw 16 is engaged with the skirt portion 3c and holds the seedling box 3 (FIGS. 12 and 13). In this way, when the box nail 16 sandwiches the skirt portion 3c and ascends the elevating body 15 or turns the swivel arm 18, the box nail 16 is turned into a seedling box regardless of the lengths L1 and L2 of the skirt portion 3c. It will be in the state which grabbed 3. That is, regardless of the difference in the shape of the seedling box 3, it is possible to reliably grasp the long and short skirt portions 3c.

Next, the turning arm 18 turns counterclockwise in FIG. 9 and stops turning when the limit switch 39 hits the receiving plate 40. While the revolving arm 18 is revolving, the lifting shaft 19 and the claw frame revolving shaft 20 are connected via sprockets 21 and 22 having the same number of teeth, and both axes rotate at the same angle. However, the posture of the claw frame 17 does not change, and the seedling box 3 that is gripped is kept horizontal throughout, so that the soil and seedling in the seedling box do not fall out.
When the turning of the turning arm 18 stops, the elevating body 15 starts to descend. The elevator 15 descends to the floor soil and stops when the ground sensor 41 contacts the floor soil. Then, the box nail | claw 16 opens and the seedling box 3 is released, and the raising / lowering body 15 raises. When the seedling box 3 is thus laid on the floor soil, the laterally moving vehicle B is moved to the right by one seedling box by the forward / reverse rotation motor 43.

Next, when the elevating body 15 reaches the top dead center of the guide column 14, the swing arm 18 is rotated 180 degrees clockwise, and the limit switch 39 hits the receiving plate 40 and stops. As a result, the elevating body 15 starts to descend, the seedling box detection light sensor 38 detects and stops the next seedling box 3 of the box stacking portion 8, and the box clamping claw 16 holds the next seedling box 3. Then, the second seedling box 3 is lowered to the floor soil in the same manner as the first seedling box 3 and arranged next to the right. Thereafter, the forward / reverse rotation motor 35 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 15 to turn the right boxing rod 34 to move the seedling box 3 to the left, eliminating the gap with the seedling box placed first (see FIG. 15). 15, 16).
When this operation is repeated and the laterally moving vehicle B reaches the right end of the lateral rail 5, the right position detection sensor 42 detects it and stops the laterally moving vehicle B, and the box stacking unit 8 is located on the left side of the guide column 14. Move (FIG. 5). Of the seedling boxes stacked on the left side, the uppermost seedling box is gripped and lowered to the right side of the guide column 14. When the laterally moving vehicle B reaches the right end or the left end of the horizontal rail 5 in this way, the box stacking unit 8 moves in a direction away from the end of the horizontal rail 5 to place the seedling box 3 downward.
In this way, the laterally moving vehicle B changes the position of the box loading unit 8 in the laterally moving vehicle B by the loading part position switching mechanism of the lateral rail 5 and the wheel 28, so that the box loading unit 8 lowers the seedling box. Without getting in the way, seedling boxes can be lined up to the edge of the house.

  Although the above is the explanation of the operation, the raising / lowering of the elevating body 15 is not limited to the example in the figure, and can be realized by a combination of a rack and a pinion. May be opened and closed. The position switching of the box stacking unit 8 is not limited to the end of the horizontal rail 5, and even if it is executed at a point where the laterally moving vehicle B returns to the center of the horizontal rail 5, the effect is not changed.

1 nursery house 2 vertical rail 3 seedling box 3c seedling box skirt A vertical moving carriage B horizontal moving cars 4, 11, 12, 28 wheels 5 horizontal rail 5a connecting piece 6 support leg E box transport cars 7, 9 loading platform 8 box loading Part 13 Box extraction part 14 Guide support 15 Lifting body 16 Box clamping claw 17 Claw frame 18 Revolving arm 19 Elevating shaft 20 Claw frame revolving shaft 21, 22 Revolving sprocket 23 Revolving chain 24, 30, 35, 43 Motor 25 Elevating sprocket 26, 44 Chain 27 Rotating sprocket 29 Box moving rail 31 Air cylinder 32 Fan plate 33, 37 Link 34 Box rod 36 Disc 38 Seedling box detection light sensor 39 Limit switch 40 Receiving plate 41 Grounding sensor 42 Position detection sensor

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the seedling boxes stacked on the box loading section are picked up in order from the top by the box take-out section, so that any seeds can be securely grasped regardless of the difference in the shape of the seedling box. Can be lowered to floor soil. In addition, the box take-out part fixes the same number of sprockets to the lifting shaft and claw frame swivel shaft, and connects both sprockets with a swivel chain, so if the sprocket on the lifting shaft side is fixed, the claw frame swivel shaft As the swivel arm rotates, the side sprocket rotates in the opposite direction as much as the swivel arm rotation angle. As a result, the posture of the nail frame does not change, and the grasped seedling box can be moved from the box stacking portion to the floor soil while being kept horizontal throughout.

Next, the turning arm 18 turns counterclockwise in FIG. 9 and stops turning when the limit switch 39 hits the receiving plate 40. While the revolving arm 18 is revolving, the sprockets 21 and 22 having the same number of teeth are fixed between the elevating shaft 19 and the claw frame revolving shaft 20 , and the sprockets are connected between both sprockets. If so, the sprocket on the claw frame turning shaft side rotates in the opposite direction to the rotation angle of the turning arm as the turning arm rotates. As a result, the posture of the nail frame does not change, and the grasped seedling box is moved from the box loading section to the floor soil while keeping the grasped seedling box horizontal, and soil and seedlings in the seedling box are not spilled during the movement .
When the turning of the turning arm 18 stops, the elevating body 15 starts to descend. The elevator 15 descends to the floor soil and stops when the ground sensor 41 contacts the floor soil. Then, the box nail | claw 16 opens and the seedling box 3 is released, and the raising / lowering body 15 raises. When the seedling box 3 is thus laid on the floor soil, the laterally moving vehicle B is moved to the right by one seedling box by the forward / reverse rotation motor 43.

Claims (4)

The center of the horizontal horizontal rail is fixed on the vertical moving carriage that moves on the vertical vertical rail laid in the center of the house, and the horizontal moving vehicle is placed on this horizontal rail. A box loading section for stacking and loading seedling boxes, and a box take-out section for picking up the seedling box on the top of the box loading section and lowering it to the floor soil and releasing it,
The box take-out part includes a guide column that stands vertically to the laterally moving vehicle, an elevating body that moves up and down along the guide column, an openable / closable box nail that holds the seedling box, and a nail frame that supports the box nail, A swivel arm that connects the lifting body and the claw frame, a lifting shaft provided in the lifting body, a sprocket with the same number of teeth fixed to the claw frame turning shaft provided in the claw frame, a turning chain that connects both sprockets, and the sprocket. A motor, and
Thus, while the vertical moving carriage is stopped and the horizontal moving car is moved along the horizontal rail by the width of the seedling box, the seedling boxes in the box loading section are placed on the floor soil one by one by the box take-out section. When the horizontally moving vehicle reaches a predetermined position, move the vertically moving carriage by the length of the seedling box, and again align the seedling boxes horizontally and vertically while moving the horizontally moving vehicle again. Automatic seedling box laying device.   The box loading section has a loading section position switching mechanism for changing the position to the right or left side of the guide column, and when the laterally moving vehicle reaches the predetermined position in the house with the seedling boxes arranged side by side, the loading section position switching is performed. 3. The automatic seedling box laying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the mechanism loads the box stacking portion to the opposite side of the guide column to lower the seedling box on the floor soil.   The predetermined position is a left end or a right end in the house, and the box stacking unit has a stacking unit position switching mechanism for changing the position to the right side or the left side of the guide column, and the laterally moving vehicle arranges the seedling boxes side by side. When the vehicle reaches the left end, the loader position switching mechanism moves the box loader to the right side of the guide column and lowers the seedling box to the left of the box loader. 3. The automatic seedling box laying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, when reaching the position, the box stacking unit is moved to the left side of the guide column by the stacking unit position switching mechanism to lower the seedling box to the right side of the box stacking unit. 2. The automatic according to claim 1, wherein the box take-out part has a pair of left and right box-separating rods, and one of the rods is pivotally driven to bring the seedling box lowered to the floor soil toward the adjacent seedling box. Seedling box laying device.

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