JP3096137B2 - Automatic tray feeding device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for filling a pot with soil, watering, sowing,
The present invention relates to an automatic tray supply device in a seeding plant for covering soil.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The supply structure of an automatic tray supply device in a conventional seeding plant is as shown in FIGS. FIG. 12 is a schematic side view of a conventional automatic tray feeder, and FIG. 13 is a schematic front view of the same. That is, the lowermost tray T1 of the trays supported and stacked by the support 10 'is
While being pushed out and conveyed by the chain pusher 6a constituting the feeding device 6, the actuators 18L and 18R, which are driven by air cylinders and the like from right and left in the right upper tray (the second tray from the bottom) T2 while being conveyed. It is supported by projecting a pin or the like in the horizontal direction. By supporting the upper tray above the tray being transported in this way, the upper tray is prevented from dropping and hitting the lowermost tray, and both trays are prevented from being damaged or deformed. When the lowermost tray is carried out in the next step, the actuator releases the sandwiched tray, whereby the tray is placed on the chain and waits for the next conveyance.

[0003]

In the conventional automatic tray feeding apparatus as described above, two actuators are required on both the left and right sides, and the actuator must be supported by a horizontal force. An actuator is required, and the tray to be loaded cannot be supported if the tray is loaded too much.

[0004]

The present invention uses the following means in order to achieve the above objects. That is, in a tray supply device in which a plurality of trays are stacked and four corners are supported by columns, and the lowermost tray is carried out, an actuator is provided below the lowermost tray, and the lowermost tray is being carried out by the tray transport device. smell
And push up and support the center of the second tray from the bottom with the actuator, and move the lowermost tray to the tray transport device.
After being carried out, the loading tray pushed up by the actuator is lowered. And
In the automatic tray feeding device, a switch is disposed at the end of the tray transport device, an extruder is provided in the tray transport device, and the pusher is disposed so as to be pressed against the switch. When transported, the actuator is turned on to support the uppermost tray, the lowermost tray is unloaded by the tray transport device , and the actuator is turned off by the pushing tool that unloads the tray pressed against the switch. is there.

[0005]

The chain constituting the tray transport device is driven, and the lowermost tray among the trays placed on the chain is pushed out by the pusher provided with the chain, and the lowermost tray has the front-rear length. When the position reaches about half the position, the actuator is raised by a timer control or a position detection sensor or the like, and the immediately upper tray is pushed up from below and supported. At this time, since the actuator supports almost one point of the tray, the tray loaded slightly inclines, but it is supported by the pillars erected at the four corners, and does not become large, and the tray is placed on the chain. Will not fall. Then, when the lowermost tray is carried out in the next process, and the pusher immediately after carrying out the tray presses the limit switch, the actuator descends, whereby the upper tray descends and is placed on the chain, The above operation is repeated.

[0006]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention; 1 is an overall side view of the seeding plant, FIG. 2 is an overall plan view thereof, FIG. 3 is a side view of the tray supply device A, FIG.
5 is a plan view, FIG. 5 is a front view, FIG. 6 to FIG. 8 are diagrams showing an actuator control mechanism, FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing an initial state of tray supply, and FIG. 8 is a schematic side view when the actuator is lowered, FIG. 9 is a schematic side view showing another embodiment of the actuator, FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the tray T and the seedling raising pot P, and FIG. It is a side view of a state.

First, the overall configuration of a seeding plant will be described with reference to FIGS. The tray containing the seedling raising pot is stacked in the tray supply device A, and is carried out onto the tray transport device . The tray carried out from the tray supply device A is filled with soil in the pot by the soil filling device B. B 'is a soil collection device for collecting excess soil. Then, after being irrigated by the watering device C, a hole for sowing is made in the topsoil by the crushing tool of the crushing seeding device D, and the sowing tool vacuum-adsorbs the seed in the hopper and drops the seed into the hole. Seeded by Then, after the soil is covered by the soil covering device E, the water is again irrigated by the water irrigating device F, and the seeding is completed.

In driving the tray transport device , the motor M1 performs a chain drive in the tray supply device A,
The roller driving in the soil filling device B and the watering device C is performed by the motor M2, the belt driving in the repressing and seeding device D and the roller driving in front thereof are performed by the motor M3, and the roller driving in the soil covering device E and the watering device F is performed by the motor M4. Do.

Next, the configurations of the tray T and the seedling raising pot P will be described with reference to FIGS. The tray T is made of a synthetic resin or the like, is lightweight and can be loaded and transported, and has a large number of drainage holes at the bottom of the tray.
The seedling raising pot P is made of a soft material, and is composed of a large number of cell parts Pa having a drain hole at the bottom so that seeds are sown one by one and seedlings are raised. When transported in the sowing plant, the seedling growing pot P is placed inside the tray T and set as shown in FIG.

Next, regarding the configuration of the tray supply device A,
This will be described with reference to FIGS. Left and right transport side plates 1L, 1R
The driven shaft 2 and the drive shaft 3 are laterally suspended between the front and rear positions. The drive shaft 3 is driven by a pulley 3 from the pulley M1a of the motor M1.
a, and sprockets 4 and 5 are fixed to the center portions of the driven shaft 2 and the drive shaft 3, respectively.
The chain constituting the tray transport device 6 is wound. Tre
A pusher 6a is attached to the chain of the transfer device 6 at intervals longer than the front and rear length of the tray.
With this configuration, the tray transport device 6 can be configured.
The tray T placed on the resulting chain is
By driving the tray 1, the tray conveying device 6 is driven, and at the same time, the extruding tool 6a pushes the tray and unloads it to the next step. In addition, sliding pipes 7L and 7R are arranged on both sides of the tray transport device 6 for smooth tray transport, and are supported by support plates 8 and 9.

A tray T is provided above the transport side plates 1L and 1R.
The columns 10 are erected at the four corner positions, and the trays T to be loaded are supported from the four corners so that the loading does not collapse. The columns 10 are parallel to each other and inclined rearward. Some trays are provided with protruding ribs on the back surface for stacking. In this case, if the four corners of the tray are aligned vertically, the ribs will enter the pot in the tray immediately below and be caught. The ribs cannot be transported well and cause breakage of the pot. However, by tilting the column 10 backward, such a problem is solved without the ribs entering the pot immediately below. .

Next, the tray supporting actuator will be described. A rotation shaft 11 is rotatably supported at a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction of the transport side plates 1L and 1R via a bearing or the like.
On the rotating shaft 11, the sliding pipe 7L and the tray transport device
Tray supporting rod 1 between the chain and
2L, a tray support rod 12R is fixedly mounted between the sliding pipe 7R and the tray transfer device 6, and both tray support rods 12L and 12R rotate integrally with the rotation of the rotation shaft 11. It is configured as follows. Tray support rod 12
L and 12R are each divided into two parts, one is provided with an elongated hole 12a, and the other is inserted with an adjusting screw 12b so that both can be fixed. The height of the rod allows the rod length to be adjusted. A roller 13 is pivotally supported at the tip of each tray supporting rod 12 so as to be freely rotatable. The tray T is transported by pushing out an extruding tool 6a attached to the tray transporting device 6. Some trays have a stacking protrusion on the back surface of the tray. It is possible.

Then, one of the tray supporting rods 12 (in this embodiment, the tray supporting rod 12L) is pivotally connected to the piston rod 14a of the air cylinder 14. The high-pressure air of the air cylinder 14 sucks the seeds in the hopper with the pressure-reducing seeding device D in the seeding plant,
It is sent from an air control device used for seeding on the soil in the pot P. In addition to the air cylinder, an actuator can be driven by a hydraulic cylinder or a motor.

A limit switch 15 is provided below the sprocket 5, and when the extruding tool 6a immediately after the tray T has been carried out to the soil filling device B in the next step rotates around the sprocket 5, the limit switch 15 is turned on. The 15 contacts are pressed and turned ON. By the input of the limit switch 15, the drive of the air cylinder 14 is turned off to lower the tray supporting rod 12, and after a certain time, the piston rod 14a is extended to control the tray supporting rod 12 to rise. I have.

The relationship between tray conveyance and actuator drive control in the tray supply apparatus A having the above-described configuration will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. The actuator driving air cylinder 14 is driven by the operation of an electromagnetic valve 17 by a control device 16 having a limit switch 15 and the like as input means. First, when starting the operation from the initial state of FIG. 6, the lowermost tray T1 Torre
It is extruded by the pushing tool 6a of the transfer device 6 . The tray support rod 12 is in a lowered state in the initial setting or immediately after the unloading of the front tray. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, when the lowermost tray T1 reaches a half position of the front-rear length, the timer is set (actually, the limit switch 1 is set).
After a predetermined period of time since the switch 5 is turned on), or the position of the tray T1 is detected by a sensor, a signal is sent from the controller 16 to switch the electromagnetic valve 17, the piston rod 14a of the air cylinder 14 is extended, and the tray is supported. The support rod 12 rises, and the roller 13 is supported against the lower surface of the immediately upper tray T2. At this time, since the position of the roller 13 is concentrated at the approximate center of the front and rear of the tray T2, the front and rear ends of the tray T2 and the trays above it slightly incline, but since the four corners are supported by the columns 10, It does not tilt so much that the tray falls onto the chain. In addition, the supporting force of the actuator is small, and the two tray supporting rods 12 are driven by one air cylinder 14.

After the lowermost tray T1 has been carried out to the next step, as shown in FIG.
5, the signal of the switch is input to the control device 16, the electromagnetic valve 17 is switched, the piston rod 14a of the air cylinder 14 is contracted, and the tray supporting rod 12 is lowered. This piston rod 14a
When the size is reduced, if the size is suddenly reduced, a shock is generated in the placed tray, which may damage the tray and the transporting device. Therefore, a throttle 17a is provided in the electromagnetic valve 17 so as to lower slowly. . When the rising of the tray supporting rod 12 is controlled by the timer, the timer is started and the rod is kept lowered for a certain period of time. As described above, the upper tray is lowered after the lowermost tray T1 is carried out to the next process by the operation of the limit switch 15, so that the upper tray is dropped on the lowermost tray. Therefore, the tray can be reliably supplied while preventing the tray from being damaged or deformed.

As another configuration of the actuator, as shown in FIG. 9, the tray T is directly connected to the piston rod 14'a of the air cylinder (or hydraulic cylinder) 14 '.
It is also conceivable to push up. In this case, since the tray is pushed up only by the extension of the piston rod, a slightly strong expansion / contraction pressure is required. The drive control of the air cylinder is the same as that described above.

[0018]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained by the configuration described above. That is, in the automatic tray feeding device, conventionally, the upper tray was supported by the left and right actuators to support the upper tray during the transport of the lowermost tray, so a strong supporting force was required. Since the actuator is pushed up, the upper tray is supported at the four corners by pillars, so that the supporting force is small. For example, a conventional air cylinder is used for driving the actuator.
This required only one, so that the upper tray did not drop during the transfer of the lowermost tray, and even if the shape of the side of the tray was different, the position and shape of the actuator were not changed, and By the function of the limit switch, the lower tray is reliably carried out to the next step, and then the upper tray is lowered, so that the tray can be prevented from being damaged or deformed, and the tray can be reliably supplied.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall side view of a seeding plant.

FIG. 2 is an overall plan view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the tray supply device A.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the same.

FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing an actuator control structure in an initial state of tray supply.

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view when the actuator is raised.

FIG. 8 is a schematic side view when the actuator is lowered.

FIG. 9 is a schematic side view showing another embodiment of the actuator.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a tray T and a seedling raising pot P.

FIG. 11 is a side view of the seedling raising pot P placed on a tray T.

FIG. 12 is a schematic side view of a conventional automatic tray supply device.

FIG. 13 is a front view of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List A tray supply device T tray P nursery pot 6 tray transport device 6a pusher 12 tray support rod 13 roller 14 air cylinder 14a piston rod 15 limit switch

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP 4-81411 (JP, B2) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A01G 9/00 A01C 7/08 320

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A tray supply device for stacking a plurality of trays, supporting the four corners with pillars, and carrying out the lowermost tray, wherein an actuator is provided below the lowermost tray, and the lowermost tray is moved by a tray transport device. On the way out
The second tray center portion is supported by the push-up at the actuator from below in the bottom tray tray transporting
After being unloaded by the device, it is pushed by the actuator.
An automatic tray supply device configured to lower a raised stacking tray. 2. The automatic tray feeding device according to claim 1, wherein a switch is disposed at the end of the tray transport device, an extruding tool is provided in the tray transport device, and the pusher is disposed so as to press against the switch. When the tray is conveyed to about half of the front and rear position, the actuator is turned on to support the immediately upper tray, the lowermost tray is ejected by the tray conveyor , and the extruder that ejected the tray is pressed by the switch. The automatic tray supply device, wherein the actuator is turned off by hitting the tray.