JP6153643B2 - Transplantation device and transplantation method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a plant transplanting apparatus and a transplanting method.

  In recent years, cultivation techniques using machines and devices have been introduced in the agricultural field because crops can be cultivated with a small labor force. In addition, demand for low-agricultural chemicals and high-quality crops is increasing, and crop cultivation by plant factories has been started under such a background. A plant factory can cultivate crops with high nutritional value in a desired environment by controlling the amount of agricultural chemicals used and adjusting temperature, humidity, light intensity, light quality, and the like.

  Generally, a plant factory is provided with a panel having a plurality of through holes, and a pot containing a culture medium is inserted into the through holes. Plants are planted in the medium, and a water passage hole through which water passes is provided at the bottom of the pot. The bottom of the pot is immersed in water containing a chemical solution, and the culture medium absorbs water that has entered through the water passage holes. Plants absorb water and grow.

  Since the branches and leaves extend sideways as the plant grows, the plants may interfere between adjacent pots. To avoid this, it is conceivable to increase the distance between adjacent pots from the sowing stage to such an extent that interference can be avoided, but the number of crops that can be produced in one panel is limited, and the production efficiency is reduced. descend.

  Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a cultivation apparatus that performs cultivation with pods arranged in one row in a single cultivation unit, and sequentially moves to the next row when the plants in the row have grown to some extent. Has been. The distance between adjacent rows is appropriately set so that the plants do not interfere with each other.

  Patent Document 3 discloses a cultivation apparatus using a plurality of cultivation panels. Each cultivation panel has staggered holes for inserting pots. The hole interval differs between the cultivation panels, and transplantation is performed from a cultivation panel with a narrow hole interval to a cultivation panel with a large hole interval according to the degree of plant growth.

  Patent Document 4 discloses a cultivation apparatus for transplanting from a fixed planting panel in which holes for inserting pots are opened in a lattice shape to a growth panel in which holes are opened in a staggered pattern.

JP-A-2-190123 JP-A-2-276515 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-147857 JP-A-11-289820

  In the culture medium of the transplant source, when the extraction is started from the center portion, there is a risk that the transplant mechanism contacts the plants arranged on the edge portion side and damages. Moreover, in the culture medium of the transplant destination, when transplantation is started from the edge portion side, when transplanting to the central portion side, there is a possibility that the transplant mechanism contacts the already transplanted plant and is damaged.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transplantation device and a transplantation method that can prevent a plant from being damaged.

  The transplanting apparatus according to the present invention is a transplanting apparatus that transplants between a plurality of medium plates that grow a plurality of plants arranged side by side. It is characterized by having a transplantation mechanism that starts transplantation from the central part of the ground and sequentially transplants to the edge part side.

  The transplanting method according to the present invention is a transplanting method performed between media plates for growing a plurality of plants arranged side by side, taking out plants from the edge portion side of the media plate at the transplant source, and the central portion of the media disc at the transplant destination And a step of sequentially transplanting to the edge portion side.

  In the present invention, the removal of the plant is started from the edge portion in the medium plate of the transplant source, and the transplant is started from the central portion in the medium plate of the transplant destination. When extraction is started from the central portion, there is a risk that the transplanting mechanism will come into contact with and damage the plants arranged on the edge portion side. In addition, when transplantation is started from the edge portion side, when transplanting to the central portion side, the transplanting mechanism may come into contact with and damage the already transplanted plant. Plant damage is avoided by transplanting according to the procedure described above.

  In the transplanting apparatus and the transplanting method according to the present invention, the plant starts to be taken out from the edge portion of the transplant source medium disc, and the transplant starts from the central portion of the transplant destination media disc. When extraction is started from the central portion, there is a risk that the transplanting mechanism will come into contact with and damage the plants arranged on the edge portion side. In addition, when transplantation is started from the edge portion side, when transplanting to the central portion side, the transplanting mechanism may come into contact with and damage the already transplanted plant. Plant damage can be avoided by transplanting according to the procedure described above.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a transplant device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is process drawing which shows a transplant process. It is the schematic diagram which illustrated the holding | maintenance panel transferred. It is explanatory drawing explaining the change of the space | interval between pots by transplant. It is explanatory drawing explaining the change of the space | interval between pots by transplant. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a transplantation device according to a second embodiment. It is a top view which shows schematically the hand mechanism accommodated in the housing | casing of Y movement mechanism. It is a schematic diagram which shows the linear motor part of a hand mechanism. It is explanatory drawing explaining operation | movement of a transplant mechanism. It is a top view which shows schematically other Example 1 of a hand mechanism. It is a top view which shows schematically other Example 2 of a hand mechanism. It is a top view which shows schematically other Example 3 of a hand mechanism. FIG. 12 is a side view schematically showing another embodiment 3 of the hand mechanism. It is explanatory drawing explaining a transplant procedure.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings showing a transplantation apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a transplantation device, and FIG. 2 is a process diagram showing a transplantation process. In FIG. 1, the second transfer panel 22 is not shown in order to facilitate understanding of the configuration of the transplantation device.

  The transplanting device includes two transplanting mechanisms 1 and 1 for transplanting plants, and the transplanting mechanism 1 includes two Y rails 12 and 12 extending in the left-right direction. Y rails 12 and 12 are juxtaposed in the front-rear direction. An X moving plate 11 that can move in the left-right direction is provided on the Y rail 12. The X moving plate 11 includes two fitting grooves 11a and 11a on the lower surface, and Y rails 12 and 12 are slidably fitted into the fitting grooves 11a and 11a.

  Two Y rails 13, 13 extending in the front-rear direction are provided on the upper surface of the X moving plate 11. On the Y rail 13, a rectangular parallelepiped main body 10 which is long on the left and right is provided. The main body 10 includes two fitting grooves 10c and 10c on the lower surface, and a Y rail 13 is slidably fitted into the fitting groove 10c. On the front surface of the main body 10, vertically long rectangular through holes 10b are juxtaposed in the left-right direction, and lift plates 10a for raising and lowering a moving panel described later protrude from the through holes 10b in the front-rear direction. The lift plate 10a is parallel to the left and right and front and rear directions.

  The transplanting mechanism 1 includes a control unit (not shown), and the transplanting mechanism 1 moves on the Y rail 12 and the Y rail 13 and moves the lift plate 10a up and down by a command from the control unit.

  The front surfaces of the two transplanting mechanisms 1 and 1 are opposed to each other, and one medium disc 200 for growing plants is provided between the opposing ones of the transplanting mechanisms 1, and another medium disc 200 is provided next to the medium disc 200. is there. The two medium boards 200, 200 are arranged in the left-right direction, and the two medium boards 200, 200 are designed with the same dimensions. The culture medium board 200 includes a rectangular storage tray 20 for storing plants. Locking grooves 20 a are formed on the entire inner periphery of the upper surface of the edge portion of the storage tray 20. An edge portion of a rectangular holding panel 23 that holds a plant is locked in the locking groove 20a. The holding panel 23 is provided with a plurality of holding holes 23a, 23a,. The holding holes 23a are arranged in a lattice shape in plan view.

  A rectangular first transfer panel 21 is placed on the holding panel 23, and a plurality of small-diameter holes 21a and large-diameter holes 21b are alternately formed in the first transfer panel 21 at positions corresponding to the holding holes 23a. is there. As shown in FIG. 2, the small-diameter hole groups 21a, 21a,..., 21a and the large-diameter hole groups 21b, 21b,.

  A second transfer panel 22 is placed on the first transfer panel 21, and the second transfer panel 22 has a small diameter hole 22a and a large diameter hole 22b at positions corresponding to the small diameter holes 21a of the first panel. There are several alternately. The small diameter hole groups 22a, 22a, ..., 22a and the large diameter hole groups 22b, 22b, ... 22b are arranged in a lattice pattern.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the small diameter holes 21a and 22a of the first transfer panel 21 and the second transfer panel 22 have substantially the same diameter. The large diameter hole 22b of the second transfer panel 22 has a diameter longer than the total diameter of the small diameter hole 21a and the large diameter hole 21b of the first transfer panel 21. The small diameter hole 21a and the large diameter hole 21b of the first transfer panel 21 are located inside the large diameter hole 22b of the second transfer panel 22, and the small diameter hole of the second transfer panel 22 adjacent to the large diameter hole 21b. 22 a is arranged coaxially with the small diameter hole 21 a of the first transfer panel 21.

  A pot 25 for supporting a plant is inserted into the small diameter holes 21a, 22a, the large diameter holes 21b, 22b and the holding hole 23a. The pot 25 has a truncated cone shape whose upper and lower surfaces are open, and its side surface is curved so that the upper side is expanded. At the lower end of the pot 25, a plurality of water holes 25a, 25a,. In the pot 25, a medium excellent in water absorption made of foamed polyurethane or the like is provided. Water containing a chemical solution exists in the storage tray 20, and the culture medium absorbs water that has entered through the water passage holes 25a. The medium is seeded and the plant extends upward from the medium.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, pots 25 are inserted into the small diameter hole 21a and the large diameter hole 21b of the first transfer panel 21 located inside the large diameter hole 22b of the second transfer panel 22, respectively. The diameter of the small diameter hole 21a is smaller than the maximum diameter of the pot 25, and the pot 25 inserted into the small diameter hole 21a is locked to the small diameter hole 21a. The diameter of the large-diameter hole 21b of the first transfer panel 21 is larger than the maximum diameter of the pot 25, and the pot 25 inserted into the large-diameter hole 21b is not locked to the large-diameter hole 21b. Moreover, the large diameter hole 22b of the 2nd transfer panel 22 has a diameter more than twice the largest diameter of the pot 25, and the pot 25 does not latch to this large diameter hole 22b.

  A pot 25 is inserted into the small diameter hole 22 a of the second transfer panel 22. The diameter of the small diameter hole 22a is smaller than the maximum diameter of the pot 25, and the pot 25 inserted into the small diameter hole 22a is locked to the small diameter hole 22a. The pot 25 is also inserted into the small diameter hole 21a of the first transfer panel 21 and is also locked to the small diameter hole 21a.

  Although the first and second transfer panels 21 and 22 are arranged on the holding panel 23 of one medium plate 200, the two transfer panels 21 and 22 are not arranged on the other medium plate 200.

  The transplant mechanism 1 performs the transplant as follows. As shown in FIG. 2A, the transplant mechanism 1 slides on the Y rail 13 to approach one medium plate 200 and inserts the lift plate 10 a between the first transfer panel 21 and the holding panel 23. As shown in FIG. 2B, the transplant mechanism 1 raises the lift plate 10a and lifts the first and second transfer panels 21 and 22 upward. At this time, the plurality of pots 25 arranged in a zigzag shape, which are locked in the small diameter holes 21 a of the first transfer panel 21, rise together with the two transfer panels 21 and 22.

  The transplanting mechanisms 1 and 1 slide on the Y rail 12 and move to the front and rear sides of the other medium plate 200 to align the holding holes 23a of the medium plate 200 and the positions of the pots 25. As shown in FIG. 2C, the transplanting mechanism 1 lowers the lift plate 10 a and inserts the pot 25 into the holding hole 23 a of the other medium plate 200. The transplant mechanism 1 slides on the Y rail 13 and moves away from the culture medium board 200. At this time, the pots 25 are arranged in a staggered manner on the two medium plates 200, 200, the number of pots 25 arranged on the single medium plate 200 is halved, and the interval between the pots 25 is larger than that before transplantation. Become.

  When performing the next transplantation, the transplantation mechanism 1 slides on the Y rail 13 and approaches the culture medium board 200, and inserts the lift plate 10 a between the first and second transfer panels 21 and 22. As shown in FIG. 2D, the transplanting mechanism 1 raises the lift plate 10a to lift the second transfer panel 22 upward. At this time, the plurality of pots 25 arranged in a lattice shape locked to the small-diameter holes 22a of the second transfer panel 22 are raised. Then, the second transfer panel 22 is moved to the next adjacent culture plate 200, and the pots 25 are arranged in a lattice shape. At this time, the number of pots 25 arranged on a single medium board 200 is halved, and the interval between the pots 25 is larger than before transplantation.

  Three or more transfer panels may be overlapped. Also in this case, as described above, the transplanting mechanism 1 can sequentially transfer the transfer panel, halve the number of pots 25, and widen the interval between the pots 25.

  The holding panel 23 may be transferred to similarly reduce the number of pots 25 by half. FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating the holding panel 23 to be transferred.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the holding panel 23 is alternately formed with small diameter holes 23b and large diameter holes 23c. The pot 25 has a cylindrical shape having a flange 25c at the upper end. The diameter of the small diameter hole 23b is smaller than that of the flange 25c, and the diameter of the large diameter hole 23c is larger than that of the flange 25c. Therefore, the pot 25 is locked in the small diameter hole 23b, but is not locked in the large diameter hole 23c. By moving the holding panel 23 up and moving, only the pots 25 locked to the small-diameter holes 23b are moved, and the number of pots 25 after transplantation can be halved.

  Moreover, you may comprise the holding panel 23 and the pot 25 as follows. As shown in FIG. 3B, the holding panel 23 is provided with a plurality of holding holes 23a having the same diameter. A pot 25 having the flange 25c described above and a cylindrical pot 25 having no flange 25c are prepared. The diameter of the pot 25 not having the flange 25c is smaller than the holding hole 23a. Also in the pot 25 having the flange 25c, the diameter of the portion other than the flange 25c is smaller than that of the holding hole 23a.

  The pots 25 are alternately inserted into the holding holes 23a. At this time, the pot 25 having the flange 25c is locked in the locking hole, and the pot 25 not having the flange 25c is not locked in the holding hole 23a. By moving the holding panel 23 up and moving, only the pots 25 locked to the small-diameter holes 23b are moved, and the number of pots 25 after transplantation can be halved.

  Next, a change in the interval between the pots 25 due to transplantation will be described. 4 and 5 are explanatory views for explaining a change in the interval between the pots 25 due to transplantation.

  The state in which the pots 25 are arranged in 33 columns and 32 rows in the medium plate 200 will be described as an initial state (see FIG. 4A). In the initial state, the pots 25 are arranged in a lattice pattern. From this state, half the pots 25 are transplanted in a staggered manner. For example, in FIG. 4A, a pot 25 shown in white is transplanted, and the filled pot 25 remains.

  As shown in FIG. 4B1, the remaining pots 25 are arranged in a zigzag pattern with 33 columns and 16 rows, and as shown in FIG. 4B2, the transplanted pots 25 are also arranged in a zigzag shape with 33 columns and 16 rows. By this transplantation, the density of the pots 25 is halved, and the distance between the pots 25 can be easily increased between the medium plates 200 of the same size.

  Next, from the pot 25 of 33 columns and 16 rows, the pots of 16 columns arranged in the even-numbered columns counted from the leftmost column are transplanted, and the pots of 17 columns arranged in the odd-numbered columns are left. . As shown in FIG. 5C1, the remaining pots 25 are arranged in a grid of 17 columns and 16 rows, and as shown in FIG. 5C2, the transplanted pots 25 are also arranged in a grid of 16 columns and 16 rows. By this transplantation, the density of the pots 25 is approximately halved, and the distance between the pots 25 can be easily increased between the medium plates 200 of the same size.

  Next, half pots 25 are transplanted in a zigzag form from pots 25 in 17 columns and 16 rows. For example, in FIG. 5C1, the pot 25 shown in white is transplanted, and the filled pot 25 remains. As shown in FIG. 5D1, the remaining pots 25 are arranged in a zigzag pattern with 17 columns and 8 rows, and the transplanted pots 25 are also arranged in a zigzag pattern with 17 columns and 8 rows, as shown in FIG. 5D2. By this transplantation, the density of the pot 25 is halved. Similarly, the density of the pot 25 is halved in the same manner. Note that the density of the 16-column 16-row grid-like pot 25 shown in FIG. 5C2 is also halved sequentially, as in 8 rows, 8 columns, and 4 rows and 4 columns.

  In the transplanting apparatus according to the first embodiment, when transplanting between the culture medium boards 200, the step of arranging the plants arranged in a lattice pattern in a staggered manner, and the plants arranged in a staggered manner in a lattice shape By repeating the step of arranging in the plant, every time one step is performed, the plants arranged in the medium board are halved.

  Moreover, it starts from the step of arranging the plants arranged in a lattice pattern in a zigzag pattern, and more seeds can be arranged in the medium plate than when arranged in a zigzag pattern at the time of sowing.

  In addition, when the first transfer panel 21 and the second transfer panel 22 provided at the transplant source are moved, only the plants locked in the locking holes are transplanted to the transplantation medium plate and arranged in the non-locking holes. Plants remain in the source. Therefore, a large number of transplants can be realized easily and quickly in a single process. In the above-described embodiment, the first transfer panel 21, the second transfer panel 22, or the holding panel 23 is transferred by the transplantation mechanism 1, but may be transferred manually. Further, the hand 166 divided into two branches may be configured to approach or separate from each other. In this case, the hand 166 can securely pinch or release the pot 25 by approaching or moving away.

(Embodiment 2)
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings showing a transplantation device according to a second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing the transplantation device.
The transplant device includes a transplant mechanism 1, and the transplant mechanism 1 is provided on two tables 40 and 40 on which the culture medium board 200 is placed. The transplant mechanism 1 includes an X movement mechanism 50 that moves the hand 166 in the left-right direction, which will be described later, a Y movement mechanism 60 that moves the hand 166 in the front-rear direction, and a Z that moves the hand 166 in the up-down direction. And a moving mechanism 70.

  The X moving mechanism 50 stands up across the rear end portions of the two tables 40, 40. The X moving mechanism 50 includes a casing 51 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the left-right direction, and an opening 52 that is opened in front of the casing 51 and extends in the left-right direction. A ball screw mechanism (not shown) is accommodated in the housing 51, and a nut portion 53 of the ball screw mechanism protrudes from the opening 52. The protruding nut portion 53 is provided with a Z moving mechanism 70 for moving the hand 166 in the vertical direction.

  The Z moving mechanism 70 includes a casing 71 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the vertical direction, and an opening 72 that is opened in front of the casing 71 and extends in the vertical direction. A ball screw mechanism (not shown) is accommodated in the casing 71, and a nut portion of the ball screw mechanism protrudes from the opening 72. A Y moving mechanism 60 for moving the hand 166 in the front-rear direction is provided on the protruding nut portion.

  The Y moving mechanism 60 includes a casing 61 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the front and rear, and an opening 62 that is open on a side surface of the casing 61 and extends in the front and rear direction. A plurality of hands 166 whose one end side is divided into two are projected from the opening 62.

  7 is a plan view schematically showing the hand mechanism 160 housed in the casing 61 of the Y moving mechanism 60, and FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing a linear motor portion of the hand mechanism 160. As shown in FIG. A hand mechanism 160 is accommodated in the casing 61 of the Y moving mechanism 60. The hand mechanism 160 includes a linear rail 161a extending in the front-rear direction. Both ends of the linear rail 161 a are supported by two support plates 162 and 163. The support plates 162 and 163 are respectively fixed to the front part and the rear part of the housing 61. A plurality of linear movable elements 165a, 165a, ..., 165a are slidably arranged in parallel on the linear rail 161a.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the linear rail 161a includes a groove 161s extending in the front-rear direction. A plurality of electromagnetic coils 161t are juxtaposed in the front-rear direction on both side surfaces of the groove 161s. The linear mover 165a includes a holding plate 165s inserted into the groove 161s. Both surfaces of the holding plate 165s are opposed to both side surfaces of the groove 161s. A plurality of permanent magnets 165t, 165t,..., 165t are juxtaposed along the front-rear direction on both surfaces of the holding plate 165s.

  By passing a current through the electromagnetic coil 161t, a thrust in the front-rear direction is generated in the linear mover 165a. In other words, the linear rail 161a and the linear movable element 165a function as a linear motor. By controlling the current flowing through each electromagnetic coil 161t, each linear mover 165a can be moved individually. Therefore, the interval between the hands 166 provided on the linear movable element 165a can be arbitrarily set.

  The linear mover 165a may include an electromagnetic coil, and the linear rail 161a may include a permanent magnet. In this case, each linear mover 165a can be individually moved by controlling the current flowing through the electromagnetic coil of the linear mover 165a.

  The linear motor using the linear rail 161a and the linear movable element 165a described above is merely an example, and the hand 166 may be moved using another linear motor.

  Next, the operation of the transplant mechanism 1 will be described. FIG. 9 is an explanatory view for explaining the operation of the transplantation mechanism 1. The transplantation mechanism 1 includes a control unit (not shown), and moves the hand 166 based on a command from the control unit. The transplant mechanism 1 drives the X movement mechanism 50 to move the hand 166 to the outside of the row located at the end of the row of pots 25 arranged on the culture medium board 200. At this time, the interval between the hands 166 is aligned with the interval between the pots 25, and the hands 166 are located adjacent to the pots 25 in plan view.

  Next, the transplanting mechanism 1 lowers the hand 166 by driving the Z moving mechanism 70. At this time, the hand 166 faces the central portion of the pot 25 in the front-rear direction. The interval between the hands 166 is longer than the diameter of the central portion of the pot 25 and shorter than the diameter of the upper end portion of the pot 25. Then, as shown in FIG. 9A, the transplanting mechanism 1 causes the hand 166 to approach the pot 25 by the Z moving mechanism 70 and holds the pot 25 inside the hand 166.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 9B, the transplant mechanism 1 raises the hand 166 by driving the Z moving mechanism 70, and pulls out the pot 25 from the holding hole 23 a. Then, as shown in FIG. 9C, the transplanting mechanism 1 moves the hand 166 by driving the Y moving mechanism 60 (hand mechanism 160), and increases the interval between the hands 166 so as to correspond to the holding hole 23a of the transplant destination. Next, the transplant mechanism 1 moves the hand 166 above the row of the transplant destination holding holes 23 a by driving the X moving mechanism 50. The row of the holding holes 23a is a row located in the central portion of the culture plate 200 at the transplant destination.

  9D, the transplantation mechanism 1 drives the Z movement mechanism 70 to lower the hand 166 and insert the pot 25 into the holding hole 23a. In the culture plate 200 at the transplant destination, the interval between the pots 25 is longer than the interval at the transplant source. The transplanting mechanism 1 may be arranged on both the front and rear sides of the culture medium board 200, and the transplanting operation may be executed from both sides.

  The hand mechanism 160 may be configured as follows. FIG. 10 is a plan view schematically showing another embodiment 1 of the hand mechanism 160. The hand mechanism 160 includes a male screw 161b instead of the linear rail 161a, and includes a plurality of hollow motors 165b, 165b, ..., 165b instead of the linear movable element 165a.

  The hollow motor 165b has a female screw portion inside, and the female screw portion is screwed into the male screw 161b. The female screw portion of the hollow motor 165b rotates around the axis of the male screw 161b, and the hollow motor 165b moves in the axial direction. The plurality of hollow motors 165b, 165b, ..., 165b can be moved individually. Therefore, the interval between the hands 166 provided in the hollow motor 165b can be arbitrarily set.

  FIG. 11 is a plan view schematically showing another embodiment 2 of the hand mechanism 160. The hand mechanism 160 includes a rack 161c instead of the linear rail 161a, and includes a plurality of transport units 165c, 165c, ..., 165c that transport the hand 166 instead of the linear mover 165a. The transport unit 165c includes a pinion (not shown) that meshes with the rack 161c, and a motor (not shown) that drives the pinion.

  The pinion rotates by driving the motor, and the transport unit 165c moves on the rack 161c. The plurality of transport units 165c, 165c, ..., 165c can be moved individually. Therefore, the interval between the hands 166 provided in the transport unit 165c can be arbitrarily set.

  When the grid-like and staggered arrangements are alternately repeated between the transplant source culture disc 200 and the transplant destination media disc 200, the spacing between the holding holes 23a formed in the media disc 200 is different between the transplant source and the transplant destination. Since there are many differences, it is necessary to change the interval between the hands 166 for every transplant.

  As described above, when the linear mover 165a, the hollow motor 165b, or the transport unit 165c is used, the interval between the hands 166 can be arbitrarily set. Even if the interval of 23a is different, it can be flexibly dealt with.

  In addition, the transplanting operation is performed a plurality of times according to the growth of the plant, but the interval between the hands 166 can be arbitrarily set, and therefore the same hand mechanism 160 can be used in any transplanting operation.

  In addition, since the pots 25 are arranged in a limited area of the medium plate 200, the interval between the holding holes 23a may vary depending on the portion of the medium plate 200. . Even in such a case, since the interval between the hands 166 can be set according to the interval between the holding holes 23a in each part of the medium plate 200, the degree of freedom of the arrangement of the holding holes 23a in the medium plate 200 is increased. Can be improved.

  The hand mechanism 160 may be configured as follows. 12 is a plan view schematically showing another third embodiment of the hand mechanism 160, and FIG. 13 is a side view schematically showing another third embodiment of the hand mechanism 160. As shown in FIG.

  The hand mechanism 160 includes a ball screw mechanism 170 extending in the front-rear direction. The ball screw mechanism 170 includes a motor 171, a male screw 172 connected to the output shaft of the motor 171, and a nut portion 173 screwed to the male screw 172 via a rolling element. The nut portion 173 moves in the front-rear direction by the rotation of the motor 171.

  A guide rail 161 extending in the front-rear direction is accommodated in the housing 61. Both ends of the guide rail 161 are supported by two support plates 162 and 163. The support plates 162 and 163 are respectively fixed to the front part and the rear part of the housing 61. The guide rail 161 and the ball screw mechanism 170 are juxtaposed in the left-right direction. On the guide rail 161, a connecting sliding member 164 connected to the nut portion 173 and a plurality of sliding members 165 located between the connecting sliding member 164 and the support plate 163 are slidably arranged in parallel. is there.

  The connecting sliding member 164 and the sliding member 165 are each provided with a bifurcated hand 166. The distance between the two forks is smaller than the diameter (maximum diameter) of the upper end portion of the pot 25 described later and larger than the diameter (minimum diameter) of the lower end portion.

  The support plate 163 located on the rear side (the Z moving mechanism 70 side), the connecting sliding member 164, and the sliding members 165 and 165 are connected by link mechanisms 167, 167, and 167, respectively. The link mechanism 167 for connecting the support plate 163 and the connecting sliding member 164 has two support pins 167c provided on the support plate 163 and the connecting sliding member 164, and one end portion of each of the support pins 167c so as to be rotatable. Two links 167a and 167b connected to each other, and a connecting pin 167d that rotatably connects the other ends of the two links 167a and 167b. The two links 167a and 167b are connected by a spring 167e. Due to the elastic restoring force of the spring 167e, forces in a direction approaching each other are acting on the links 167a and 167b.

  The link mechanism 167 for connecting the sliding members 165 and 165 and the connecting sliding member 164 and the sliding member 165 has two support pins provided in the connecting sliding member 164 or adjacent portions of the sliding member 165. 167c, two links 167a and 167b, each of which is rotatably connected to each support pin 167c, and a connecting pin 167d which is rotatably connected to the other ends of the two links 167a, 167b. Prepare. The two links 167a and 167b are connected by a spring 167e. Due to the elastic restoring force of the spring 167e, forces in a direction approaching each other are acting on the links 167a and 167b.

  The connecting sliding member 164 and the nut portion 173 are connected via connecting members 180 and 180. The link mechanism 167 expands and contracts by the movement of the sliding member 164 connected to the nut portion 173. All the link mechanisms 167 are designed with the same dimensions, and the spring coefficient of the spring 167e is the same.

  The rotation of the motor 171 causes the nut portion 173 to move in the axial direction on the male screw 172 axis, and the gripping member connected to the nut portion 173 moves on the guide rail 161 in the same direction as the nut portion 173. Further, since the other gripping members are also connected by the link mechanism 167, they move following the nut portion 173.

  As shown in FIGS. 12A and 13A, when the nut portion 173 is separated from the motor 171, the distance between the hands 166 and the distance between the hand 166 and the support plate 163 are shortened. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 12B and 13B, when the nut portion 173 approaches the motor 171, the distance between the hands 166 and the distance between the hand 166 and the support plate 163 become long. Since the spring 167e coefficient of each link mechanism 167 is the same, the distance between the hands 166 and the distance between the hand 166 and the support plate 163 are the same regardless of the position of the nut portion 173.

  The distance between the hands 166 is defined by the link mechanism 167, and the distance between the plants held by each hand 166 becomes the arrangement distance of the transplant destination easily and quickly.

  Although the hand 166 is moved by using the ball screw mechanism 170, the hand 166 may be moved by connecting the connecting sliding member 164 to a piston moving in the cylinder.

  In the transplantation by the transplantation mechanism 1, the column located at the end is sequentially extracted from the column of the pots 25 of the transplant source, and the column at the center of the column of the holding holes 23a of the transplant destination not holding the pots 25 is placed. This is done by sequentially inserting into the position column. For example, a case where transplantation is performed from the culture medium board 200 having 6 rows and 6 columns of 25 pots to the culture medium board 200 having the holding holes 23a of 3 rows and 4 columns not holding the pot 25 will be described. It is assumed that transplantation mechanisms 1 are provided on both sides of the culture medium plate 200, respectively.

  FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the transplantation procedure. As shown in FIG. 14A, the transplanting mechanism 1 located on one side (the left side in FIG. 14) extracts the pots 25 in the first to third rows from the first 25 pots to be transplanted. The holding holes 23a are transplanted into the second holding holes 23a. Next, as shown in FIG. 14B, the transplanting mechanism 1 located on one side extracts the pots 25 in the first to fourth to sixth rows out of the 25 rows of transplanting pots, and holds the holding holes 23a in the transplanting destination. Are transplanted into the holding holes 23a in the first row.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 14C, the transplant mechanism 1 located on the other side (the right side in FIG. 14) extracts the pots 25 in the first to third rows of the sixth column from the transplant source pot 25 columns, Of the rows of holding holes 23a to be transplanted, transplantation is performed in the third row of holding holes 23a. 14D, the transplant mechanism 1 located on the other side extracts the pot 25 in the fourth to sixth rows in the sixth row out of the 25 rows in the transplant source pot, and the holding holes 23a in the transplant destination. The rows are transplanted into the holding holes 23a in the fourth row.

  Then, the medium plate 200 of the transplant destination is replaced with the medium plate 200 in which the pot 25 is not inserted, the pots 25 of the second row and the fifth row of the transplant source are transplanted in the same manner, and this is repeated.

  In this manner, the pots 25 are sequentially extracted from the edge portion side of the transplant source medium disc 200, and the transplanted pots 25 are transplanted from the central portion of the transplant destination media disc 200. And the pot 25 is transplanted to the edge part side sequentially. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the hand 166 from unnecessarily coming into contact with the transplant source plant and the transplant destination plant during the transplant operation, and to prevent the plant from being damaged.

  In the transplanting apparatus according to Embodiment 2, each plant is individually held and taken out from the culture plate 200 of the transplant source, and the transplant is performed by adjusting the distance between the plants to the placement interval of the transplant destination. it can.

  In addition, the extraction of the plant is started from the edge portion in the medium plate 200 of the transplant source, and the transplant is started from the center portion in the medium plate 200 of the transplant destination. This avoids plant damage.

  Of the configurations according to the second embodiment, configurations similar to those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  It should be thought that embodiment disclosed this time is an illustration and restrictive at no points. The scope of the present invention is intended to include all modifications within the scope of the claims and the scope equivalent to the scope of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transplant mechanism 21 1st transfer panel 22 2nd transfer panel 23 Holding panel (panel)
21a, 22a, 23b Small diameter hole 21b, 22b, 23c Large diameter hole 25 Pot 160 Hand mechanism 170 Ball screw mechanism 167 Link mechanism 200 Medium plate

Claims (2)

In a transplant device that transplants between a plurality of medium plates that grow a plurality of plants arranged side by side,
A transplanting apparatus comprising: a transplanting mechanism that takes out a plant from the edge portion side of the medium plate as a transplant source, starts transplanting from a central portion of the medium plate as a transplant destination, and sequentially transplants the plant portion toward the edge portion side. In the transplantation method performed between the medium plates for growing a plurality of plants arranged side by side,
A transplanting method comprising the steps of: taking out a plant from the edge part side of the medium plate as a transplant source, starting transplanting from the central part of the medium plate as a transplant destination, and sequentially transplanting to the edge part side.

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