JPH03133832A - Device for piling seeding growing box in two stages - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce production of an impact exerted on a seeding growing box by a method wherein an air cylinder for lifting the seeding growing box is employed, and during lifting, air in the cylinder is functioned as a cushioning material. CONSTITUTION:Before a seeding growing box 1 is lifted to a lifting position, a first air cylinder 21 is expanded, and second air cylinders 24 and 24 are contracted. When a seeding growing box 1 is detected by means of a first sensor 25, the seeding growing box 1 is lifted and held in a state to be locked with lock pieces 23a... through contraction of the first air cylinder 21. Thereafter, when it is detected by a second sensor 26 that a next seeding growing box 1 is moved to a position approximately below the seeding growing box 1 in a lifting state, through expansion of the second air cylinders 24 and 24, the seeding growing box 1 in a held state is dropped to pile the boxes in two stages.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a device for stacking two-tiered seedling boxes, and more specifically, it lifts up a seedling box that has been sown and is sent in a horizontal direction, and stacks the seedling box that is sent in the next direction. It relates to a technique for overlapping on the top surface.

[Conventional technology]

When considering the raising of mat-shaped seedlings used in rice transplanters, there is a method called stacking seedling raising, which is called stacking seedling raising. Up to 30 seedling boxes that have been sown are stacked up to 30 and allowed to germinate in an environment of appropriate temperature and humidity. The process involves transshipping the seeds to other plants and growing them further.

In addition, the work of stacking up to 30 seedling boxes after sowing can be done manually or by machines (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-71025
Publication No.).

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Here, considering the process from seeding to stacking, as shown in the above cited example, sowing can be carried out while continuously feeding seedling boxes on a belt conveyor, etc., so the work efficiency is relatively high. It has become a thing.

However, if the process of stacking the seedling boxes after sowing is done manually, the worker must pick up the boxes one by one and transport them to the stacking position, which is time-consuming. The process is troublesome, and the work efficiency is low, requiring a large number of personnel.

In addition, when this stacking process is performed by a machine as in the above-mentioned reference, not only the stacking device in this reference but also those that perform the stacking mechanically must stop the horizontal movement of the seedling boxes. Since the stacking operation must be performed in the current state, the number of stacking operations to be processed cannot be increased.

To explain this inconvenience specifically, the seedling nursery box is filled with soil after sowing, so if the movement of the seedling nursery box is stopped rapidly, the soil will become uneven inside the seedling nursery box. This is because the high-speed movement of the seedling box is obstructed. Therefore, it may be possible to provide a braking device that gradually reduces the moving speed of the seedling nursery box, but this would complicate the structure and increase the cost of the device. Currently, the moving speed of the seedling boxes sent to the stacking device is greatly reduced.

An object of the present invention is to rationally configure a device that can improve the efficiency of stacking, whether the seedling boxes after seeding are stacked manually or mechanically.

[Means to solve the problem]

A feature of the present invention is that the lifting mechanism that lifts up the seedling raising box after sowing, which is sent in the horizontal direction, has locking pieces that extend from both sides of the seedling raising box to the lower side of the seedling raising box, and this locking piece. The device is configured to include a first air cylinder that moves the seedling box upward, and the lifting mechanism is operated to bring the locking piece into contact with the bottom of the seedling growing box.The seedling growing box is lifted, and the next seedling growing box is placed below A dropping mechanism for dropping the raised seedling box at the timing when the seedling growing box is sent is configured to include a second air cylinder that operates the locking pieces in a direction to separate them from each other, and a first air cylinder,
a single compressed air supply section that supplies compressed air to each of the second air cylinders;
comprising a pressure regulating valve for regulating the supply pressure of compressed air to at least one of the air cylinders;
Its action and effects are as follows.

[For production]

When the above characteristics are configured as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, for example, the seedling growing box (1) sent horizontally is lifted by the lifting mechanism (E) at a predetermined position, and the seedling growing box (1) sent next is lifted up at a predetermined position. ) are dropped to the predetermined position by the dropping mechanism (F) at the timing outlined above, resulting in each seedling growing box (1).

(1) can be stacked in two stages.

In addition, when operating for rising, it is necessary to reduce the rising speed of the locking piece (23a)... from the viewpoint of preventing soil and seeds from jumping up, and conversely, when operating for falling, A pair of locking pieces (23a)...It is important to separate the locking pieces (23a) from the seedling box (1) at the same time as possible (with a small time lag) as this will allow the seedling box (1) to fall in a horizontal position. It is desirable that the operating speed of the stop pieces (23a) in the separating direction is high, and in the present invention, the pressure regulating valve (CD) is equipped with a single compressed air supply unit (CD).
31), so the first air cylinder (21),
This makes it easy to create differences in the operating speeds of the second air cylinders (24).

In other words, in the present invention, when manual stacking processing is performed, prior to performing this processing, the seedling growing boxes are stacked in two tiers using the two-tier stacking device according to the present invention. Since the operator can handle two seedling boxes that are already stacked in two layers at once, labor can be saved, and the feeding speed of the seedling boxes can be increased. Even in the case of stacking by a machine, the process in unit time of the machine can be reduced by previously performing a process of stacking the seedling boxes in two tiers using the two-tier stacking device according to the present invention before carrying out this stacking process. Even if the number is fixed, it is possible to double the number of plants to be processed, and the feeding speed of the seedling box can be increased.Furthermore, when operating for stacking two tiers, the rings on the floor do not jump up, ensuring reliable stacking. This makes it possible to match them.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Therefore, whether the seedling boxes after sowing are stacked manually or mechanically, a device that can improve the efficiency of the stacking process without deteriorating the condition of the soil etc. should be rationally constructed. It was.

In particular, in the present invention, an air cylinder is used to lift the seedling box, so during the lifting operation, the air in the cylinder functions as a buffer, reducing the impact acting on the seedling box, thereby reducing the condition of the ring on the floor. It also has the effect of being able to maintain it well.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

Figure 4 shows a plant that consistently performs everything from seeding to stacking. , this elevator unit (2)
A feeding device (3) that separates and sends out seedling growing boxes (1) one by one from a group of seedling growing boxes (1g); and this feeding device (3).
A seedling processing mechanism (A) performs sowing processing on the seedling raising boxes (1) that are continuously sent out from the seedling raising box (1), and a seedling raising box (1) that is sent from this sowing processing mechanism (^) via a roller conveyor (4). ) is stacked in two layers (upper and lower) and sent out (B
) and two-tiered seedling growing boxes (1) sent from this two-tier stacking device f (B) via a chain conveyor (5).
, and a stacking mechanism (C) that stacks the sheets (1) on the transport cart (6) until 30 sheets are stacked.

In addition, the seedling boxes (1) stacked in this plant are allowed to germinate in an environment of appropriate temperature and humidity, then transferred to a greening shelf (not shown), and grown by supplying moisture and sunlight. It is designed to allow

Further, the seeding processing mechanism (A) includes a belt conveyor (7).
, floor feeding device (8), irrigation device (9), seeding device (1
0), a soil covering device (11), and a rake-type conveyor (12) and two conveyors (13) for each of the floor supply device (8) and the soil covering device (11),
(13), and the stacking mechanism (C) is fed with two stacked seedling boxes (1).
, a lift device (14) that lifts the seedling boxes (1) in a horizontal position on a shelf, and a horizontal device that transports the seedling boxes (1), which have reached the upper end of the lift device (14), to the stacking position in a horizontal position. A feeding device (15) and an elevator (1) that supports the transport cart (6) in a stacking position in a level-adjustable manner.
6), and the two-stage stacking device (B) is constructed as follows.

In other words, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and 5, this two-tier stacking device (B) uses metal rollers ( 17a)...
A transport device (17) comprising a plurality of main frames (17) and a main frame (17).
18), an elevating frame (20) configured to be able to move up and down while being guided by guide rods (19)...
, a double-acting type first air cylinder (21) that raises and lowers this lifting frame (20), and a lifting frame (20).
), the guide rods (22) and (22) are guided by the guide rods (22) and (22) so that they can slide freely in opposite directions horizontally, and are moved in the direction in which they approach each other on the conveying device. A pair of slide members (23), (23) having a locking piece (23a) that reaches a position overlapping with the bottom surface (1a) of the seedling raising box (1), and a pair of slide members (23), (23). ), a pair of double-acting second air cylinders (24),
(24), a first sensor (25) that detects when the raised seedling box (1) has reached the lifted position, and a first sensor (25) that detects when the raised seedling box (1) is lowered to the next position. A second sensor (26) detects when the seedling boxes (1) have been sent, and a third sensor (26) detects that the seedling boxes (1) have been sent continuously.
27), a control device (28) into which signals from these three sensors are input, and first and second air cylinders (21).
, (24), and a compressed air supply section (D) that supplies air to (24), in this device,
Before the seedling raising box (1) reaches the lifting position, the first air cylinder (21) is extended and the second air cylinders (24) and (24) are contracted, and the first sensor (25) is used to raise the seedlings. When the box (1) is detected, the first air cylinder (21) is contracted to release the locking piece (23a)...
・Lift and hold the seedling growing box (1) in a state where it is locked to the raised seedling growing box (1).
1) When the second sensor (26) detects that the seedling box (1) in the holding state is dropped by extending the second air cylinders (24) and (24), It is designed to be stacked.

In this device, when the seedling growing box (1) falls, a force is applied to the moving seedlings 1f (1) (lower seedling growing box (1)) to suppress their movement. Since the device (17) is composed of metal rollers (17a), the lower seedling growing box (1) slides on the rollers to soften the impact.

Incidentally, when the seedling raising box (1) falls, the lower seedling raising box (
Make sure to stop receiving the seedling box (1) when 1) is stable.
As shown in Figure 3, the roller (17a) is wider than the width of the seedling box (1).
)... has been set thicker, and the locking piece (23
a)... are arranged in the gaps between the respective rollers (17a)... so as not to come into contact with the rollers (17a)...

In addition, in order to perform the above-mentioned operation, the compressed air supply section (D)
is a compressor (29) and two solenoid valves (30),
(30) and pressure regulating valves (31), (31),
Each solenoid valve (30), (30) is connected to the control device (
28).

Of the pressure regulating valves (31) and (31), the one installed in the supply system for the solenoid valve (30) that controls the first air cylinder (21) is not connected to the seedling box (1) during lifting operation. It is used to reduce the operating speed of the first air cylinder (21) so as not to give too much impact to the air cylinder, and the second air cylinder (24), (24)
The pressure installed in the supply system for the solenoid valve (30) that controls the second air cylinder (24) is set to such a level that the cylinder will not be damaged when the cylinder reaches its stroke end. 24) so as not to reduce the operating speed too much.

Also, the first, second, and third sensors (25), (26)
, (27) are each constructed of a photosensitive type having a light emitting part (L) and a light receiving part (S), and as shown in FIG.
, the second sensor (25), and (26) are set to have their light beam directions non-parallel so as not to interfere with each other, and in this device (B), the detection position of the first sensor (25) is set to the second sensor (26). The detection position is slightly deviated to the upper side of the conveyor.

In addition, the third sensor (27) is configured to move the seedling box (1) detected by the first sensor (25) so that the final seedling box (1) is not held in the lifted state as described above when finishing the work.
) is the final one, and in this device (B), the first sensor (25) and the third sensor (27)
The first air cylinder (21) is allowed to contract at the timing when the seedling boxes (1) and (1) are detected at the same time (if the third sensor (27) does not detect the seedling box (1), the first air cylinder (21) is lifted). ), and this third sensor (27
) is placed at an appropriate position with reference to the raised seedling box (1) in order to avoid false detection.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the first air cylinder (21) and the locking piece (
23a) ... together with a system equipped with a lifting mechanism (E
), and the second air cylinder (24) and the system operated by this second air cylinder (24) are collectively called a drop mechanism (F).

In addition, when lifting with this equipment W (B), the conveyance speed of the roller conveyor (4) is set higher than the conveyance speed of the conveyor belt (7) of the seeding processing mechanism (A) so as not to cause interference between the seedling boxes. This device (B) has a seedling box (1
) are supplied, each seedling box (1), (1)
An appropriate interval is formed between the two.

[Another example]

In addition to the embodiments described above, the present invention includes, for example, only one pair of locking pieces, or a plurality of first air cylinders.
Various implementations are possible, such as including a microprocessor in the control system, and the apparatus of the present invention can also be used to improve the efficiency of manual stacking work.

Incidentally, although reference numerals are written in the claims section for convenient comparison with the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the structure shown in the accompanying drawings.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the device for stacking two seedling boxes according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view of the device, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the device and the conveyance system, and FIG. A longitudinal sectional front view of the device;
FIG. 4 is a side view of the seeding plant, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the control system. (1)...Seedling box, (1a)...Bottom, (21)...First air cylinder, (23)
a)... Locking piece, (24)... Second air cylinder, (31)... Pressure regulating valve, (D)...
... Compressed air supply section, (E) ... Lifting mechanism, (F) ... Falling mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Claims] The lifting mechanism (E) that lifts up the seedling raising box (1) after sowing that is sent in the horizontal direction has a locking piece that projects from both sides of the seedling raising box (1) to the lower side of the seedling raising box (1). (
23a)... and a first air cylinder (21) for moving the locking piece (23a) upward, and the locking piece (23a) is moved upward by the operation of the lifting mechanism (E).
23a) The seedling box (1) is lifted up with the... brought into contact with the bottom surface (1a) of the seedling box, and the next seedling box (1) is sent below it, and the raised seedlings are raised at the right timing. A dropping mechanism (F) for dropping the box (1) includes a second air cylinder (24) that operates the locking pieces (23a) in a direction to separate them from each other, and A single compressed air supply section (D) that supplies compressed air to each of the first air cylinder (21) and the second air cylinder (24), and the first air cylinder (21).
, a pressure regulating valve (31) that adjusts the supply pressure of compressed air to at least one of the second air cylinders (24).
A two-tiered device for stacking seedling boxes, which is equipped with: