JP7251520B2 - transplanter - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a transplanter for transplanting vegetable seedlings such as onions and lettuce into fields.

Conventionally, a seedling feeding device in which a plurality of feeding cups circulate at the rear of a traveling vehicle body, and one seedling planting hopper for planting seedlings dropped and supplied one by one from the seedling feeding device into a field. There is known a transplanter that feeds seedlings while following and walking on the side of the plant (Patent Document 1).

This one seedling planting hopper is located approximately in the center in the lateral direction of the traveling vehicle body, and although there are exceptions depending on the working conditions, basically the seedlings are planted in the lateral center position of the ridge or planting row. .

In addition, a seedling supply device in which a plurality of supply cups circulate at the rear of the machine body, and a plurality of seedling planting hoppers for receiving the seedlings supplied from the plurality of drop supply positions of the seedling supply device and planting them in the field are provided. is known a transplanter equipped with a work seat on which a worker rides during planting work (Patent Document 2).

JP 2019-198326 A JP-A-2020-68742

The transplanter of Patent Literature 1 is less prone to misalignment of seedling planting positions, and is basically suitable for planting seedlings near the left and right centers of ridges or planting rows. However, since the operator needs to follow the movement of the machine and walk, and periodically put the seedlings into the seedling supply device, there is a problem that the operator expends a lot of labor. In particular, since the seedlings are planted row by row, the worker has to walk a longer distance to put in the seedlings, which requires more labor.

In the transplanter of Patent Document 2, the worker who puts in the seedlings sits on the work seat, so the labor required for movement is greatly reduced. However, the transplanter that can be boarded is for multi-row planting, and there is a problem that it cannot be used when transplanting seedlings of crops where single-row planting is desirable or essential in cultivation.

Although it is possible to change the interval at which seedlings are fed into the seedling supply device so that only one row of seedlings is planted, accuracy is required depending on the timing of supplying seedlings, and there is the problem of reduced work accuracy and work efficiency. be.

In addition, in a configuration in which a plurality of seedling planting hoppers are provided, each seedling planting hopper is arranged away from the left-right center of the machine body, so it is difficult to plant seedlings near the left-right center of the ridge or planting row. be.

In consideration of the conventional problems, the present invention is a transplanter that allows a worker to ride a seedling during planting work and that can plant seedlings in the vicinity of the left and right centers of ridges or planting rows with high accuracy. The purpose is to provide

In order to solve the above problems, the following technical measures were taken.

The invention according to claim 1 comprises a planting device (14) for planting seedlings in a field on a traveling vehicle body (11), a seedling supply device (15) for conveying and supplying seedlings to the planting device (14), In a transplanter provided with a riding part (30, 35) on which an operator who feeds seedlings into the seedling feeding device (15) rides, the seedlings are fed from the seedling feeding device (15) to the planting device (14). is performed at or near the center position in the left-right direction of the seedling supply device (15). A follower mechanism (40) is provided, the ridge follower mechanism (40) comprising a side contact (44) for contacting the side of the ridge and a top contact (46) for contacting the top of the ridge, the top contact (46) is configured to be positioned on the rear side of the fuselage relative to the side contact body (44), and includes a side contact sensor (48) for detecting the contact state of the side contact body (46); A top surface contact sensor (49) for detecting the contact state of each is provided, and a notification device (51) is provided for notifying that the end of the ridge is approaching when the side surface contact sensor (48) is in a non-detecting state. 2. The transplanter is characterized by comprising a travel stop device (52, 56) for stopping travel of the travel vehicle body (11) when the upper surface contact sensor (49) is in a detection state.

In the invention according to claim 2, a steering member (13) for steering the traveling vehicle body (11) during non-work traveling or turning traveling is provided, and driving force is provided to the seedling supply device (15) and the planting device (14). A transmission case (19) is provided to transmit the operation member (13 ) to the traveling vehicle body (11) are mounted on the other left and right sides of the transmission case (19).

In the invention according to claim 3, the transmission case (19) is provided with a ridge sensor (26) for detecting the height of the ridge, and the ridge sensor (26) is connected to the planting device (14). 3. The transplanter according to claim 2, characterized in that a avoidance notch (27) is formed to avoid interference of the .

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In the first related invention according to the above claims 1 to 3 , the traveling vehicle body (11) includes a traveling wheel (17) that is driven to rotate and a support roller provided on the front side of the traveling wheel (17). (25), a roller lifting member (60) for vertically lifting the supporting roller (25) is provided, and an inclination sensor (61) for detecting the inclination of the traveling vehicle body (11) is provided. 2. The transplanter is characterized in that the rolling wheel elevating member (60) is adapted to expand and contract according to the inclination in the longitudinal direction of the machine body detected by the inclination sensor (61).

In the above claims 1 to 3 or the second related invention related to related invention 1 , a pair of left and right support wheels (25) are provided, and the left and right support wheels (25, 25) are provided with the wheel lifting member. (60, 60) are provided respectively, and each of the rolling wheel lifting members (60, 60) is expanded and contracted according to the inclination in the lateral direction of the machine body detected by the inclination sensor (61) . as a transplanter .

According to the invention of claim 1, the seedling planting position by the planting device (14) can be aligned near the left and right central portions of the ridges, so the seedlings can be planted linearly on the ridges, and the planting accuracy can be improved. Improvement is planned.

In addition, since the planting device (14) is positioned at the center of the body in the left and right direction, the weight balance in the left and right direction is stabilized, so that the traveling body (11) is less likely to be disturbed and the accuracy of seedling planting is improved.
In addition, by providing a ridge follow-up mechanism (40) that brings the side surface contact member (44) into contact with the side surface of the ridge and the upper surface contact member (46) into contact with the upper surface of the ridge, it is possible to control the condition of the ground and the collapse of the ridge. Even if the course of the traveling vehicle body (11) is disturbed by the influence, the ridge follow-up mechanism (40) returns the vehicle to traveling along the ridges, so that the planting position of the seedlings is less likely to be disturbed and the planting accuracy is prevented from being lowered. .
In addition, by arranging the upper surface contact member (46) on the rear side of the fuselage rather than the side surface contact member (44), the contact positions differ when the mulch film is laid on the ridges, thereby increasing the force to extend the mulch film. Since it works, it is possible to prevent the mulch film from loosening and preventing seedlings from being planted by the planting device (14) and from disturbing the planting posture.
In addition, when the side contact member (44) located on the front side of the fuselage moves away from the side of the ridge, the notification device (51) is operated to notify the operator of the approach to the edge of the ridge. Stopping operation of the traveling vehicle body (11) can be urged, seedlings are prevented from falling from the planting device (14) into the air after passing the edge of the ridge, and work to pick up the seedlings that have fallen to the ground is unnecessary. become.
Further, when the upper surface contacting body (46) leaves the ridge, the travel stopping device (56, 57) stops the travel of the traveling vehicle body (11). Since no further advance or planting is performed when reaching the end, there is no need to pick up the seedlings, and the traveling vehicle body (11) is extra moved when moving to the ridge where the next planting work is to be performed. work efficiency is improved.

According to the invention according to claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 1, by providing the lifting link mechanisms (141, 142) and the control frame (20) on different left and right side surfaces of the transmission case (19), Since the weight balance is stabilized and the space on the side of the transmission case (19) can be utilized, an increase in the lateral width of the machine body can be suppressed.

In addition, since the strength of the transmission case (19) can be used for mounting, it is difficult to be damaged even if the load is accumulated, and a highly durable structure can be obtained.

According to the invention of claim 3, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 2, the ridge sensor (26) is formed with the avoidance notch (27) for avoiding the planting device (14). Since the length of the grounded portion of the sensor (26) can be increased, the accuracy of detecting changes in ridge height is improved, and the planting depth of seedlings can be stabilized.

In addition, there is no need to dispose the ridge surface sensor (26) so as to avoid the planting device (14) and to deviate to the side of the machine body. can be detected so that the planting depth can be adjusted more precisely.

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Further, according to the first related invention, in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , the roller lifting member (60) can be adjusted according to the front-rear tilt detected by the tilt sensor (61). By the expansion and contraction of the support rollers (25), the support rollers (25) can be retracted upward by pushing down the steering member (13) to turn the traveling vehicle body (11) and lifting the front side of the machine body upward. The supporting rollers (25) are prevented from contacting the ground and becoming running resistance, thus improving working efficiency.

Further, when the front side of the vehicle body is lowered after turning, the supporting rollers (25) can be automatically lowered, so that the front side of the traveling vehicle body (11) is lowered too much to contact the ground and be damaged. prevented.

Further, since the vertical position of the supporting rollers (25) can be changed by operating the roller lifting member (60), the height of the front side of the machine body can be easily adjusted, and the seedling planting posture can be tilted forward or backward. is prevented.

Further, according to the second related invention, in addition to the effects of the first related invention, the left and right roller lifting members (60) are moved up and down according to the lateral tilt detected by the tilt sensor (61). , the traveling vehicle body (11) is kept horizontal in the left-right direction, and the seedling planting posture is prevented from being inclined in the left-right direction.

Further, when the inclination angle in the left-right direction becomes excessively large, the support rollers (25) move and are likely to touch the ground, thereby preventing the traveling vehicle body (11) from overturning.

Left side view of transplanter Top view of the transplanter Rear view of transplanter with wheel lift cylinder Top view of transplanter with wheel lift cylinder Block diagram showing connections between hydraulic components and sensors Flowchart showing the operation control of the notification device and the travel stop mechanism when reaching the edge of the ridge using the ridge guide roller Flowchart showing the operation control of another example of the notification device and the travel stop mechanism when reaching the edge of the ridge using the ridge guide roller Flowchart showing control for changing the timing of planting according to the forward movement of the traveling vehicle body Flowchart showing the vertical position control of the contact wheel corresponding to the horizontal tilt of the machine body Flowchart showing vertical position control of left and right ground wheels interlocked with planting depth control of traveling vehicle body Flowchart showing vertical position control of left and right ground wheels before and after turning operation

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a left side view showing a transplanter 10 for transplanting seedlings as an example of a transplanter according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view.

In the following description, the side on which the steering handle 13 is arranged is the rear, and the opposite side, ie, the side on which the engine 12 is arranged, is the front. When facing the front of the fuselage, the right hand side is the right side, and the left hand side is the left side.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the transplanter 10 of the present invention includes a traveling vehicle body 11 that allows the machine body to travel forward, a steering handle 13 for walking operation provided at the rear of the traveling vehicle body 11, and a planter for planting seedlings in a field. A planting device 14 and a seedling supply device 15 for supplying seedlings to the planting device 14 are provided.

A traveling vehicle body 11 is provided with a transmission case 16 at the front part of the vehicle body, and an engine 12 as a driving device is provided at the front side of the transmission case 16 . On both left and right sides of the transmission case 16, traveling transmission cases 18 for transmitting driving force to traveling wheels 17 serving as rear wheels are mounted so as to be vertically rotatable.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the left and right running wheels 17 are mounted on the rear side of the body of the running transmission case 18 with the transmission axle 17a protruding outward. It is also possible to make it protrude toward the inside of the machine body by work, and it is also possible to have a configuration in which the running wheels 17 are arranged between the left and right of the running vehicle body 11 and the running transmission case 18 .

The arrangement of the running wheels 17 is changed when the ridge width differs depending on the type of crop to be transplanted, the soil quality of the field where the planting work is performed, or the practice of the work area. As a result, the transplanter 10 can stably travel along the furrows formed on the left and right sides of the ridge, and the seedlings can be planted in the center of the ridge in the left-right direction.

Some crops are planted in so-called flat furrows, which have low furrow heights or do not form furrows, depending on the type of crop. When a seedling is planted in a flat ridge, when the transplanter 10 travels while stepping on the seedling planting position, the soil is hardened and the weight of the transplanter 10 forms a depression, which makes it easy for water to accumulate, and the root of the seedling is fixed. is inhibited, and excessive absorption of accumulated water may result in poor growth.

Therefore, even when working on flat ridges, the growth of seedlings after planting is stabilized by appropriately securing the left-right spacing of the left and right running wheels 17 with respect to the planting position of the seedlings.

The left and right travel transmission cases 18 are rotated by expansion and contraction of a lifting cylinder 62 and a rolling cylinder 63, which will be described later, thereby varying the height from the contact surface of the travel wheels 17 to the travel vehicle body 11, thereby adjusting the vehicle height. .

This vehicle height adjustment is used not only when setting the planting depth according to the height of the ridge, but also when the operator pushes down the steering handle 13 before turning to make it easier to lift the front side of the machine, or when planting seedlings. This is also done to prevent the planting device 14 or the like from contacting the ground when it is not moving.

1 and 2, a transmission case 19, which is transmitted from the transmission case 16 and branches and supplies driving force to the planting device 14 and the seedling supply device 15, is provided at the rear portion of the traveling vehicle body 11. As shown in FIGS. Specifically, the planting device 14 is provided on one of the left and right sides of the transmission case 19, and the seedling supply device 15 is provided on the upper side of the machine body.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the other right and left sides of the transmission case 19 are connected to the front ends of the handle frames 20 that connect the steering handle 13 and the traveling vehicle body 11 . The handle frame 20 is twisted to look like an L shape when viewed from above, and the rear end of the body is connected to the vicinity of the left-right central part of the handle shaft 13a located on the front side of the body of the steering handle 13 . The steering handle 13 is composed of a handle shaft 13a extending in the lateral direction of the machine body, and handle arms 13b provided on both left and right sides of the handle shaft 13a and protruding rearward of the machine body.

A vehicle height adjustment lever 21 for adjusting the vehicle height by expanding and contracting an elevating cylinder 62 and a transmission case 16 are mounted on the rear side of the handle shaft 13a and between the left and right sides near the base of the left and right handle arms 13b. The main clutch lever 22 that turns on and off the internal main clutch to turn on and off the transmission to the left and right traveling transmission case 18 and the transmission case 19, and the traveling transmission of the traveling vehicle body 11 is changed to the moving speed, planting work speed, traveling neutral and A control panel 24 is provided with a main shift lever 23 for switching to either reverse.

Further, the left and right handle arms 13b are equipped with side clutch levers 28 that operate side clutches that are housed in the left and right traveling transmission cases 18 and switch on/off the driving of the traveling wheels 17, respectively. The side clutch lever 28 is arranged at a position where it is easy for the operator to grip the left and right handle arms 13b of the steering handle 13 when performing a turning operation or a moving operation.

As a result, when the operator is turning or traveling without planting seedlings, the operator stands at a position where it is easy to operate the control handle 13 and the control panel 24 on the rear side of the machine body. This makes it easy to perform appropriate operations and improves work efficiency.

In addition, when the operator is on the traveling vehicle body 11 for planting seedlings, the operator is separated from the operation handle 13 and the operation panel 24, so that the operation members are prevented from moving due to contact with the operator's body. , disruption of seedling planting posture, occurrence of missing seedlings in which seedlings cannot be planted, and deterioration of work efficiency due to stoppage of running can be prevented.

In addition, since it may be necessary to correct the deviation in the traveling direction when boarding, or to switch on and off the main clutch such as interruption of work, the side clutch operation is placed below the seedling supply device 15 in the traveling vehicle body 11, for example. It is preferable to provide left and right pedals and to arrange a separate lever for operating the main clutch.

On both left and right sides of the traveling vehicle body 11 on the front side of the body, there are provided ground rollers 25 which are also front wheels and rotate by contact resistance with the ground. The ground rollers 25 are adjustable in position in the left-right direction of the machine body, and together with the running wheels 17 are adjusted to appropriate positions according to the width of the ridge or the width of the planted rows.

Next, the planting device 14 provided on one of the left and right sides of the transmission case 19 will be specifically described.

On one of the left and right sides of the transmission case 19, an upper link arm 141 that rotates up and down in accordance with the vehicle speed of the traveling vehicle body 11, the set planting interval of seedlings in the front-rear direction, the so-called spacing between plants, and the upper link arm 141. A lower link arm 142 having an arc shape in a side view, which rotates up and down in conjunction with it, is mounted via a rotation shaft. The arc of the lower link arm 142 protrudes downward on the rear side of the machine body, so that when the planting hopper 145, which will be described later, is raised and lowered, it is swung in the front-rear direction.

The rear ends of the upper link arm 141 and the lower link arm 142 are attached to the link stay 143 in the vertical direction. An arm is attached and a planting hopper 145 is attached at the rear of the hopper support arm and at the inboard end of the fuselage. The planting hopper 145 is constructed by rotatably providing a pair of left and right hopper structures, and is opened and closed by rotating according to the vertical rotation of the upper link arm 141 and the lower link arm 142 . Configuration.

The installation position of the planting hopper 145 is set at an intermediate position in the left-right direction of the traveling vehicle body 11, more specifically, in the left-right direction between the left and right running wheels 17 and the ground rollers 25, so as to plant ridges or seedlings. When the lateral widths of the left and right running wheels 17 and the ground rollers 25 are appropriately adjusted according to the position, the seedling planting position is automatically adjusted to the vicinity of the left and right center positions.

As described above, it is possible to prevent the planting position of the seedlings from deviating significantly from the left-right center position of the ridges and planting rows. Prevents falling.

An upper link arm 141 and a lower link arm 142 for raising and lowering the planting hopper 145 are provided on one of the left and right sides of the transmission case 19, and the front end of the handle frame 20 is connected to the other left and right sides of the transmission case. 19 can be effectively used as a support member.

Since the transmission case 19 supports the planting device 14, the seedling supply device 15, and the operation handle 13, the exterior portion is designed to have a particularly high strength, so that it can receive the weight of a plurality of heavy objects and the driving load. However, damage and malfunction are less likely to occur.

In addition, the planting position of the seedlings is placed in the center of the machine, which stabilizes the weight balance in the left-right direction of the machine, making it difficult for the machine to shift in the direction of travel or tilt to the left or right, resulting in stable seedling planting accuracy. is planned.

Next, the seedling supply device 15 will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper end of the supply transmission shaft 151 protruding upward from the transmission case 19 is attached to the supply transmission case 152, and the driving force transmitted from the supply transmission case 152 causes the operator to move the seedlings. An endless chain pot 153 formed by connecting a plurality of seedling conveying pots 154 into which seedlings are thrown is arranged so as to be rotatably driven. The chain pot 153 has an elliptical shape elongated in the lateral direction of the machine body, and the supply transmission case 152 and the chain pot 153 are supported by a supply frame 155 having the same shape.

The seedling transport pot 154 has a rotatable bottom lid 154a, and the bottom lid 154a is biased in an opening direction by a biasing force such as a torque spring. The supply frame 155 is provided with a regulation rail that contacts the bottom lid 154a. The hopper 145 is divided above the planting hopper 145, and the bottom cover 154a is rotated downward to open above the planting hopper 145, thereby dropping and supplying seedlings. At this time, the seedlings are put in at the front side of the seedling supply device 15 and near the center in the left-right direction, and the seedlings are dropped after the seedling transport pot 154 moves a predetermined distance. .

It should be noted that the planting hopper 145 is positioned near the upper end (top dead center) or near the upper end of the vertical rotation trajectory when receiving the dropped seedlings. It shall prevent falling to the position away from the inlet of the planting hopper 145. - 特許庁

As a result, the seedlings put into the seedling transport pot 154 by the operator are automatically transported to the dropping supply position to the planting hopper 145, so that a plurality of seedlings can be continuously planted.

In addition, since the seedlings are dropped and fed after the seedling transport pot 154 has moved a predetermined distance after the operator puts in the seedlings, the operator has time to reinsert the seedlings even if there is an error in inserting the seedlings. It eliminates the need for workers to manually replant seedlings due to lack of seedlings.

The planting depth of the seedlings by the planting device 14 described above is set by changing the vehicle height of the traveling vehicle body 11 when entering the ridge. Since the ridges are not flat, the planting depth may differ from the set depth due to vertical shaking of the machine.

In order to change the vehicle height according to the ridges and grooves and keep the seedling planting depth almost constant, a ridge surface sensor 26 for detecting the ridge surface is attached to the lower part of the transmission case 19 so that it can rotate up and down. do. One side of an interlocking wire (not shown) that is connected to a hydraulic valve (not shown) that expands and contracts the elevating cylinder 62 is attached to the ridge surface sensor 26, and when there is a change in the amount of rotation, the degree of opening of the hydraulic valve changes. The structure is modified such that the elevating cylinder 62 expands and contracts to automatically raise or lower the vehicle height of the traveling vehicle body 11 .

In addition, the grounding portion of the ridge surface sensor 26 on the rear side of the machine body is elongated in the front-rear direction in order to improve the detection accuracy, and the rear end side faces below the planting hopper 145 . As a matter of course, when the planting hopper 145 descends to plant seedlings, the ridge surface sensor 26 interferes. Form.

The entry kerf 27 is, for example, U-shaped, and its end face is covered with an elastic member such as a rubber plate. You may let

Further, the ridge surface sensor 26 is urged toward the lower side of the fuselage, that is, in the direction of contact with the ridge surface by a load adjustment spring (not shown) whose urging force is adjustable. , the sensitivity for detecting changes in the height of the ridges, and the force for pressing the mulch film laid on the ridges may be changed.

When the sensitivity is set so that the vehicle height is automatically adjusted even if there is slight unevenness, if the vehicle height is changed frequently, the planting operation will be performed while the vehicle height is being changed, and the planting depth will be reduced. Since the height may differ from the setting, the urging force can be increased to even out the unevenness with the ridge surface sensor 26 if the unevenness is slight, thereby preventing the vehicle height from being changed.

In addition, by changing the force with which the mulching film is pressed, it is possible to prevent the mulching film from being torn and the slackness of the mulching film from being removed, thereby preventing the planting posture of seedlings from being disturbed.

In addition, it is not necessary to arrange the ridge surface sensor 26 near the left or right side of the ridge, avoiding the planting hopper 145. Since the unevenness can be detected, the planting depth is automatically adjusted according to the planting position of the seedlings, and the planting accuracy of the seedlings is improved.

A floor step 30 on which a worker moves is provided on the front side of the seedling supply device 15 and on the upper surface of the traveling vehicle body 11.例文帳に追加The floor step 30 is formed with a notch for avoiding the engine 12 and the transmission case 16 in the vicinity of the left-right central portion on the front side of the fuselage. A bonnet cover 31 that covers the engine 12 and the mission case 16 is detachably provided above the notch. The side portions of the engine 12 and the transmission case 16 are not covered with the bonnet cover 31 and are exposed to the outside air in order to efficiently cool and exhaust the air.

The transmission case 16 is connected to an inter-plant transmission case (not shown) that changes the transmission speed when changing the planting hopper 145 between plants. A lever 32 and an auxiliary shift lever 33 are arranged on either the left or right side of the floor step 30 on the front side of the machine body. The inter-row main shift lever 32 and the inter-row auxiliary shift lever 33 are arranged vertically side by side, and protrude toward the front side of the machine body from left-right direction lever operation holes formed in the floor step 30. It is configured to be operable from outside the traveling vehicle body 11 while riding.

A seat frame 34 straddling over the bonnet cover 31 is provided on the front side of the floor step 30, and a work seat 35 on which an operator who feeds the seedlings to the seedling conveying device 15 rides on the seat frame 34. set up. The backrest side of the work seat 35 is located on the front side of the machine body, and the operator who is seated faces the rear side of the machine body.

Since the worker on the work seat 35 can feed the seedlings while facing the seedling feeding device 15, the worker can easily feed the seedlings and can visually confirm whether or not there is a feeding mistake. In addition, since the line of sight is directed to the rear side of the traveling vehicle body 11, it is possible to see whether or not the posture of the seedlings to be planted is appropriate and whether or not the seedlings have been planted, so that abnormal planting postures and the occurrence of missing plants can be quickly dealt with and replanted. Reduces the time and effort required to

On the other hand, since the traveling vehicle body 11 is in a state in which its back is turned to the traveling direction, it is necessary to look back to confirm whether the traveling vehicle body 11 is traveling correctly along the ridge. I have trouble concentrating.

If the lateral widths of the running wheels 17 and the ground rollers 25 are appropriately adjusted to the width of the ridge before work, the traveling vehicle body 11 can move straight along the ridge. When the running wheels 17 and the ground rollers 25 come into contact with each other, there are factors such as unevenness of the groove that slightly deviate the traveling direction from straight, so as the moving distance increases, the planting position deviates from the left-right center of the ridge. It is possible that

In order to deal with this problem, it is conceivable to provide a ridge guide roller mechanism 40 on the front side of the traveling vehicle body 11 . As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the ridge guide roller mechanism 40 has a ridge guide frame 41 mounted on the front side of the traveling vehicle body 11 in the lateral direction of the machine body, and side bosses 42 are provided on the left and right sides of the ridge guide frame 41, respectively. It is mounted so that it can slide in any direction. Base sides of slope roller arms 43 for rotatably supporting slope rollers 44 contacting the slope of the ridge are attached to the left and right side bosses 42, respectively.

The slope roller 44 is attached to the front end of the slope roller arm 43, which is U-shaped in plan view. It is preferable that the slanted position is positioned outside the upper end of the fuselage. Further, the base side of the slope roller arm 43 or the front end portion to which the slope roller 44 is attached is rotatable, and the angle can be arbitrarily adjusted, so that the slope angle can be freely adjusted. It is desirable to

Between the left and right side bosses 42, the bases of the left and right central roller arms 45 are provided so as to be rotatable up and down respectively in a posture toward the center of the traveling vehicle body 11 in the left-right direction. A ridged surface roller 46 is rotatably attached to the end to contact the ridged surface. More specifically, the left and right central roller arms 45 support a U-shaped ridged roller stay 47 in plan view, and the ridged roller stay 47 is rotatably mounted to the ridged roller stay 47 .

The ridge surface roller 46 may be configured to be pushed downward by providing an urging spring (not shown), and the ridge surface before planting the seedlings may be leveled by increasing the urging force. On the other hand, in the ridges on which the mulch film is laid, the biasing force is reduced to prevent the peeling of the mulch film. good.

The ridge rollers 46 are placed closer to the rear side of the machine body than the left and right slope rollers 44, and the front and rear positions of the left and right central roller arms 45 are changed by rotating up and down to reduce the force pressing the mulch film. It has an adjustable configuration.

In this configuration, there is no need to replace the urging springs according to the mulch film or ridges used, and the left and right central roller arms 45 do not need to be provided with extension mechanisms, thereby simplifying the configuration. Further, since it is not necessary to greatly change the force for pressing the mulch film, the structure can be simplified by only rotating the left and right central roller arms 45 .

Thus, the ridge guide roller mechanism 40 is configured.

With this configuration, the side bosses 42 can be slid in the horizontal direction according to the width of the ridge, and the grounding positions of the left and right slope rollers 44 can be changed. is prevented from occurring, and the traveling vehicle body 11 is prevented from moving in a direction deviating from the ridge.

Further, the ridge surface roller 46 is arranged in the vicinity of the central position in the horizontal direction and does not move laterally, so that the vicinity of the central position of the planted seedlings can be leveled and the mulching film can be appropriately stretched. The planting attitude of the seedlings becomes appropriate, the growth is stabilized, and the work of replanting the seedlings with disturbed attitudes becomes unnecessary.

In addition, since the ridge roller 46 and the left and right slope rollers 44 are separated from each other in the front-rear direction and the front-rear position of the ridge roller 46 can be changed, the mulch film to be used and the ridge on which the mulch film is to be laid can be adjusted. Since an appropriate pressing force can be set, the mulch film is prevented from being torn, and the mulch film is prevented from loosening and causing poor planting.

The ridge guide roller mechanism 40 is desirably positioned as low as possible so as to contact the ridge when seedlings are planted on the ridge. It is desirable to Therefore, the ridge guide frame 41 is composed of a rotating shaft and a rotating pipe on its outer periphery, and this outer peripheral pipe and the telescopic side of the elevating cylinder 62 are connected by a wire or the like, and the vehicle height of the traveling vehicle body 11 is increased to a predetermined height or higher. If the height is increased, the ridge guide roller mechanism 40 may be rotated upward so as to assume a forward-rising inclined posture, and the separation distance from the ground may be increased.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, on both left and right sides of the traveling vehicle body 11, spare seedling frames 50 for loading seedling boxes containing supplementary seedlings are provided. The preliminary seedling frame 50 has the base of the seedling frame support 51 mounted on both the left and right sides of the work seat 35 of the traveling vehicle body 11, and at least one seedling mounting table 52 on the upper side of the seedling frame support 51, or in the vertical direction. Place multiple at regular intervals.

By mounting the seedling platform 52 on the traveling vehicle body 11 side, i.e., the inside of the vehicle body and the front and rear sides of the vehicle body in an open state, the worker positioned on the work seat 35 or the floor step 30 can hardly move the seedlings. Since the box can be taken out, the working efficiency is improved and the labor of the operator is reduced.

In addition, in order to prevent the seedling box from falling during movement, if a receiving portion having a shorter vertical length than the seedling box is arranged or formed in front, back, and inside of the body of the seedling mounting base 52 so as to face upward, the dropped seedling box can be prevented. In addition to eliminating the need for collection work, the height to be lifted when taking out the seedling box is reduced, and the labor of the operator is reduced.

Although an example in which the ridge guide roller mechanism 40 is provided in the above configuration has been described, a configuration in which a function utilizing the ridge guide roller mechanism 40 is added to further improve the efficiency of planting seedlings will be described.

As shown in FIG. 5, at least one of the left and right slope rollers 44 is provided with a first rotation sensor 48, and a ridge roller 46 is provided with a second rotation sensor 49. The traveling vehicle body 11 is provided with a control unit 50 that receives and records the presence or absence of rotation and the number of rotations. In addition, the control unit 50 is provided with a notification device 51 such as a buzzer or a lamp that operates under predetermined conditions, and an engine stop device 57 that operates under another predetermined condition.

In addition to this, the transmission case 19 or the transmission case 16 is provided with a stepping motor 53 for driving the upper link arm 141 and the supply transmission shaft 151 at regular intervals, and the control unit 50 controls the first rotation sensor 48 or the second rotation sensor 48. The configuration is such that control is performed to change the operation timing of the stepping motor 53 based on the rotation speed of the sensor 49 .

As described above, when the worker sits on the work seat 35, the worker has his or her back facing the direction of travel, and therefore cannot confirm the end of the ridge on the planting work end side without looking back. However, since it is necessary to carry out the operation of putting seedlings up to just before the end of the ridge, it is assumed that the operator cannot recognize the approach to the end of the ridge and the planting travel is not stopped until the end of the ridge is passed.

By traveling over the furrow end, the seedlings are released in the air from the planting hopper 145 and fall to the ground unplanted, requiring an operator to pick them up and manually plant them elsewhere. In addition, when turning the traveling vehicle body 11 to move to the next planting row located adjacent or in the vicinity, extra work such as backward movement to an appropriate position is required, which reduces work efficiency. There's a problem. On the other hand, if the frequency of turning around due to concern about the edge of the ridge increases, it becomes difficult to concentrate on the operation of feeding the seedlings into the seedling supply device 15, and there is a problem that the lack of seedlings and the like tend to occur.

In the configuration of the present application, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 , when the traveling vehicle body 11 reaches the vicinity of the ridge end, the slope roller 44 located on the body front side of the ridge surface roller 46 precedes the ridge surface roller 46 and separates from the ridge. The rotation of the roller 44 is no longer detected by the first rotation sensor 48 . Then, the control unit 50 activates the notification device 51 to make the operator aware that the edge of the ridge, that is, the terminal end of the seedling planting range is approached.

At this time, when it is desired to reliably prevent the seedlings from being released in the air and falling to the ground, the worker temporarily stops the planting work traveling, moves the transplanter 10 to the furrow end, and the planting work is performed. Seedlings are planted manually by workers in the vacant spaces of the ridges.

On the other hand, when the operation of the notification device 51 is not noticed, or when the seedlings are planted by the transplanter 10 to the end of the ridge, the planting work traveling is not stopped and the traveling vehicle body 11 is moved forward. Then, the ridge surface roller 46 is separated from the end of the ridge and is no longer subjected to ground resistance, so that the rotation is stopped. shall be stopped.

That is, the operation condition of the notification device 51 is that at least one of the slope rollers 44 reaches the edge of the ridge, and the operation condition of the engine stop device 57 is that the conditions for the operation of the notification device 51 are satisfied and the ridge roller 46 is to reach the furrow end.

As a result, even if the operator stops the seedling-throwing work, when the traveling vehicle body 11 reaches the vicinity of the edge of the ridge, the traveling and planting are automatically stopped. It is possible to reduce the time and labor required for the work of picking up and planting in other places.

In addition, since it is not necessary to move the traveling vehicle body 11 to the turning start position before turning, the working efficiency is improved and fuel consumption is suppressed.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the configuration in which the engine 12 is stopped by the engine stop device 57, it is necessary to restart the engine 12, and the load on each part of the aircraft when the engine 12 is started and the amount of fuel consumption are reduced. Since a problem such as an increase occurs, a main clutch actuator 55 for turning on and off the main clutch in the mission case 16 may be provided, and a main clutch stop mechanism 56 may be provided instead of the engine stop device 57 .

As a result, there is no need to restart the engine 12 each time the ridge end is reached, and the load cumulatively applied to the fuselage can be suppressed, and fuel consumption at the time of starting can be suppressed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the left and right slope rollers 44 are respectively provided with the first rotation sensors 48, and when the rotation of the left and right first rotation sensors 48 is not detected, the notification device 51 is activated. Since the notification device 51 is prevented from being activated when only one side of the slope is not detected due to the collapse of a part of the ridge, it is possible to prevent the operator from losing concentration on seedling input work due to unnecessary notification. be done.

As shown in FIG. 6, the state where the first rotation sensor 48 detects the rotation of the slope roller 44 and the second rotation sensor 49 does not detect the rotation of the ridge roller 46 is only the central portion of the ridge. It is considered that the condition is unsuitable for planting seedlings, and it is desirable to operate the engine stop device 57 or the main clutch stop mechanism 56 to stop the planting work traveling. However, when the slope roller 44 comes into contact with the ridge in that state, the slope collapses and the slope roller 44 does not touch the ground. Notification by means is desirable.

From the rotation detected by the second rotation sensor 49 provided in the ridge surface sensor 46, it is possible to determine whether the traveling vehicle body 11 is moving forward at a constant speed. For example, it can be assumed that the vehicle is traveling a constant distance at a constant speed without being affected by slippage or ground resistance. On the other hand, if the time required for one rotation is fast, the traveling vehicle body will be accelerated for some reason, and it will move forward in a shorter time than other places. It took longer than other places to advance.

The spacing set before the work is equal because the forward speed of the traveling vehicle body 11 is constant, and if there is a difference in the forward speed, the spacing will be narrower or wider than the setting. Depending on the distance between the seedlings, the seedlings compete for nutrients in the soil and the space around them, causing poor growth.

In order to prevent this problem from occurring, as shown in FIG. The time required for one rotation of the detected ridged surface roller 46 is compared, and when the time is shorter than the allowable range or longer than the allowable range, the timing of transmitting the actuation signal to the stepping motor 53 is changed.

As a result, the planting device 14 and the seedling supply device 15 can be operated at a timing as close as possible to the actual advancing speed of the traveling vehicle body 11, so that the distance between the seedlings becomes as set, and the growth is improved. , pests are less likely to occur.

As described above, when the transplanter 10 is moved to the next planting line, the vehicle height is raised, and the operator pushes down the steering handle 13 provided at the rear of the traveling vehicle body 11 to raise the front side of the traveling vehicle body 11 upward. It is lifted and rotated about 180 degrees with the side of the left and right running wheels 17 on the inner side of turning as a fulcrum. At this time, if the operator's force to push down the steering handle 13 is sufficient, the front side of the machine body is sufficiently separated from the ground, so that members arranged on the front side of the machine body do not come into contact with the ground during turning and cause resistance. .

However, if the pressing force is insufficient, the contact rollers 25, among the members positioned on the front side of the traveling vehicle body 11, cannot be separated from the ground, causing a problem of resistance to turning due to contact.

In addition, the vertical position of the ground roller 25 is different from the running wheel 17 mounted on the rotatable traveling transmission case 18, and the vertical shaft 25a on which the ground roller 25 is mounted is vertically moved by the operator. After that, it is necessary to perform fixing work, so moving it up and down every time it turns will lead to a decrease in work efficiency. In particular, since the present application is for single-row planting, depending on the size of the field, the frequency of turning is high, and changing the vertical height of the ground roller 25 for each turn consumes a great deal of time and labor.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the upper part of the vertical shaft 25a is connected to a lifting mechanism for the ground roller 25, for example, a roller lifting cylinder 60, and the vertical position of the ground roller 25 is adjusted by expanding and contracting the roller lifting cylinder 60. Configure mutable. As described above, since a pair of left and right ground rollers 25 are provided, it is desirable to provide each of the left and right roller lifting cylinders 60. It is good also as a structure which makes it move.

In addition, a tilt sensor 61 for detecting the tilt angles of the traveling vehicle body 11 in the front-back and left-right directions is provided at the central portion of the traveling vehicle body 11 in the front-back and left-right directions, for example, the lower part of the work seat 35 and the rear side of the bonnet cover 31 . . The angle detected by the tilt sensor 61 is transmitted to the control unit 50, and each roller lifting cylinder 60 and the rolling cylinder 63 are extended and contracted in the corresponding direction.

Note that the tilt sensor 61 may be provided separately as a front-rear tilt sensor and a left-right tilt sensor, but may be provided as a single sensor as long as the front-rear and left-right tilts can be detected.

First, as shown in FIG. 9, when the tilt sensor 61 detects a tilt in the left-right direction and the tilt angle is within a set value, the roller lifting cylinder 60 located on the lower side in the tilt direction is extended and grounded. While the rollers 25 are lowered, the rolling cylinders 63 are extended or contracted to vertically rotate the traveling transmission case 18 on one of the left and right sides to change the vertical position of the traveling wheels 17 . These operations are stopped when the left and right tilt angles detected by the tilt sensor 61 fall within the allowable range of 0 or near 0.

As a result, when the traveling vehicle body 11 tilts in the left-right direction due to factors such as the left-right difference in the depth of the ridges, the traveling vehicle body 11 is immediately returned to the horizontal position, so that the seedlings planted by the planting hopper 145 can be moved left and right. The tilted posture is prevented, and the planted seedlings are prevented from lodging under their own weight and requiring replanting by the operator.

In addition, not only the running wheels 17 but also the ground rollers 25 move up and down, thereby preventing the ground rollers 25 from rising from the ridges and making the running posture unstable.

When the left-right angle detected by the tilt sensor 61 exceeds the set value, there is a possibility that the vehicle body 11 is tilted at an angle at which it may tip over. The lifting cylinder 60 is extended to lower the ground roller 25 . At this time, changing the vertical position of the running wheels 17 may rather upset the balance, so the rolling cylinder 63 is not operated.

As described above, the ground rollers 25 on the lower side of the left-right tilt, that is, the direction in which the machine body is likely to topple, are securely grounded on the ground to prevent the traveling body 11 from moving in the overturning direction. Also, the loaded seedlings are prevented from scattering in the field.

It should be noted that the overturning mentioned above is more likely to occur when a worker disembarks and steers the machine rather than when a worker is on board, especially when the machine intentionally loses its balance during turning. expensive.

Next, as shown in FIG. 10, when the height of the ridge detected by the ridge surface sensor 26 changes, the control unit 50 extends or contracts the elevation cylinder 62 to rotate the left and right travel transmission cases 18 up and down. When the vehicle height is lowered by extending the elevating cylinder 62, the left and right wheel elevating cylinders 60 are retracted, and when the vehicle height is raised by retracting the elevating cylinder 62, the left and right wheel elevating cylinders 60 are extended. At this time, the tilt sensor 61 continues to detect the front-rear tilt angle of the traveling vehicle body 11, and when the front-rear tilt angle reaches 0 or a permissible value close to 0, the expansion and contraction is stopped.

As a result, the traveling vehicle body 11 can be horizontally positioned not only in the horizontal direction but also in the front-rear direction, so that the seedlings to be planted are prevented from tilting forward or backward, and the planting accuracy of the seedlings is improved. .

In addition, when working in a sloping farm field, the left-right and front-rear tilts are automatically corrected according to the sloping state of the farm field, so that it is possible to cope with a wide range of differences in working conditions.

As shown in FIG. 11, when the front side of the aircraft is lifted by pushing down the steering handle 13, that is, when the tilt sensor 61 detects a tilt angle in the front-back direction that cannot occur during the planting work, it is determined to be a turning operation. The left and right roller lifting cylinders 60 are contracted to retract the ground roller 25 upward. At this time, when the set tilt angle is exceeded, the rolling wheel lifting cylinder 60 is contracted to the maximum extent unless the set tilt angle is less than the set tilt angle.

As a result, the left and right ground contact wheels 25 can be sufficiently separated from the ground, so that the ground contact wheels 25 are prevented from contacting the ground and causing resistance during turning.

When the angle detected by the tilt sensor 61 falls below the set tilt angle, the control unit 50 determines that the vehicle has finished turning, extends the left and right roller lifting cylinders 60, and grounds the ground roller 25. At this time, since the left and right running wheels 17 are lowered to the maximum for turning, the left and right rolling wheel lifting cylinders 60 are extended to the maximum extent.

If the wheel lifting cylinder 60 extends immediately after the angle detected by the tilt sensor 61 falls below the set value, the operator is required to keep the tilt angle of the traveling vehicle body 11 at a predetermined value or more during the turning operation. , the labor reduction effect fades. Therefore, it is desirable that the control unit 50 extend the roller lifting cylinder 60 when an angle exceeding the set value is no longer detected for a certain period of time. The control unit 50 is provided with a timer function.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The transplanter according to the present invention can be applied to operations such as accurately transplanting seedlings near the left and right central portions of ridges with the worker who puts seedlings on the vehicle body, and has high industrial applicability. .

11 traveling vehicle body 13 steering handle (steering member)
14 planting device 15 seedling supply device 17 running wheel 19 transmission case 20 handle frame (steering frame)
25 ground roller (support roller)
26 ridge sensor 30 floor step (boarding section)
35 Control seat (Boarding section)
40 ridge guide roller (ridge follow-up mechanism)
44 slope roller (side contact body)
46 ridge roller (upper surface contact body)
48 first rotation sensor (side contact sensor)
49 Second rotation sensor (upper surface contact sensor)
51 notification device 56 main clutch stop mechanism (travel stop device)
57 Engine stop device (travel stop device)
60 rolling wheel lifting cylinder (rolling wheel lifting member)
61 tilt sensor

Claims (3)

A planting device (14) for planting seedlings in a field on a traveling vehicle body (11), a seedling supply device (15) for conveying and supplying seedlings to the planting device (14), and the seedling supply device (15). In a transplanter provided with a riding section (30, 35) on which a worker who puts seedlings rides,
The seedlings are fed from the seedling supply device (15) to the planting device (14) at or near the center position in the lateral direction of the seedling supply device (15) ,
The traveling vehicle body (11) is provided with a ridge following mechanism (40) that contacts the ridge surface and causes the traveling vehicle body (11) to follow and travel, and the ridge following mechanism (40) is a side contact that makes contact with the side surface of the ridge. a body (44) and a top contact (46) for contacting the top surface of the ridge;
The top surface contact (46) is configured to be positioned on the rear side of the fuselage relative to the side surface contact (44),
A side contact sensor (48) for detecting the contact state of the side contact body (46) and a top contact sensor (49) for detecting the contact state of the top contact body (46) are provided respectively, and the side contact sensor (48) is provided. ) is in a non-detection state, a notification device (51) is provided to notify that the end of the ridge is approaching,
A transplanter comprising a travel stop device (52, 56) for stopping travel of a travel vehicle body (11) when the upper surface contact sensor (49) is in a non-detection state. A transmission case (19) is provided with a control member (13) for manipulating the traveling vehicle body (11) during non-working traveling or turning traveling, and transmits driving force to the seedling supply device (15) and the planting device (14). provided,
Lifting link mechanisms (141, 142) for lifting the planting device (14) are provided on the left and right sides of the transmission case (19),
2. The transplanter according to claim 1, wherein a control frame (20) for connecting said control member (13) to said traveling vehicle body (11) is mounted on the other left and right sides of said transmission case (19). The transmission case (19) is provided with a ridge sensor (26) for detecting the height of the ridge,
3. The transplanter according to claim 2, wherein the ridge sensor (26) is formed with a avoidance notch (27) for avoiding interference with the planting device (14).

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