JPH07308126A - Apparatus for potting shaped seedling - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an apparatus capable of automatically potting each shaped seedling from a shaped seedling tray into a small pot. CONSTITUTION:This apparatus for potting a shaped seedling into a small pot is obtained by installing a shaped seedling tray carrying conveyor 1 and a small pot tray carrying conveyor 2, horizontally arranged parallel on the right and left sides and mutually intermittently driven in the opposite directions, a seedling gripping hand 3, a seedling gripping hand lift 4, a seedling gripping hand slider 5 for transversely moving the seedling gripping hand 3 from a shaped seedling tray (A) onto a small pot tray and returning the seedling gripping hand 3 onto the shaped seeding tray, a device for opening the seedling gripping hand capable of changing the transverse arrangement pitch of seedling chucks 30 into that of the small pot and the shaped seedling, an earthing device 7, having an earthing cylinder arranged at the bottom thereof just on the small pot and standing across the intermediate part of the small pot tray carrying conveyor so as to enable the lifting and lowering and an irrigator 8 standing across the small pot tray carrying conveyor 2 in the front in the conveying direction of the small pot tray carrying conveyor of the soiling device 7. The sequential control on the devices is performed according to a predetermined program.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for automatically potting flowering plants grown in a molded seedling tray, molded seedlings (also referred to as plug seedlings or cell seedlings) such as horticultural plants, into small bowls in a seedling raising plant or the like. It is a thing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some flowers and garden plants are immediately transplanted to the main field, but most of them are transplanted once or twice during seedling raising.
At times, it is normal to perform three transplants (temporary transplants). That is, initially, seedlings are grown in a small area that is easy to manage using a molded seedling tray, and as the seedlings grow, they are transplanted into small pots before being damaged by dense planting, so-called potting. The molded seedling tray is a tray made of a synthetic resin plate in which cells having square corners or round holes are arranged vertically and horizontally in a rectangular shape having a desired equal pitch, and about 120 to 25 per sheet.
There are 0 cells. And the pot raising work involves pulling out the seedlings one by one from the above-mentioned molded seedling tray so as not to damage the seedlings, standing them in the center of the small bowl, filling the soil, and watering it. Is going. In addition, as for only soil filling, pot filler machines that fill empty pots with soil have become widespread in Europe and the United States.

[0003]

By the way, recently, for example, as can be seen in the case of Kasumi, which has been said to be difficult to grow in the past, the technique for growing seedlings has improved and mass production of molded seedlings has become possible. . However, since there is no suitable device for potting a large amount of seedlings, potting requires a large number of personnel. Therefore, there is a need for a suitable bowl raising device.

The reason why there is no suitable potting device is that the potting work is mechanized with high efficiency without damaging the flexible seedlings, that is, the seedlings growing in the cell are taken out from the molded seedling tray. , To transfer the taken out seedlings to a small bowl, stand in the center of the bowl, put an appropriate amount of soil, and mechanize the appropriate operation of watering the small bowl with soil.
Because there were technical difficulties. An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned technical difficulties and to provide an efficient potting apparatus by automating each step of the potting operation by sequence control.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the following means and device are adopted in the pot for raising a molded seedling of the present invention. In other words, (a) Place the tray and the small bowl tray horizontally, align the center lines of the laterally-aligned molded seedlings and small bowls on one line, and intermittently convey the molded seedlings and small bowls in the opposite vertical directions. Molded seedling tray conveyors equipped with a small bowl tray conveyor and a proximity sensor that detects molded seedlings on one side of the central part, which are installed side by side.

(B) The seedling chucks for grasping and releasing the formed seedlings in one row of the formed seedling tray are arranged in one row above the central portion of the formed seedling tray conveyer via the crossbar rail and arranged side by side. The seedling gripping hand that can convert the pitch to the seedling arrangement lateral pitch of the molding seedling tray and the small bowl arrangement lateral pitch of the small bowl tray, and the seedling chuck is provided in front of the molding seedling tray transport conveyor transporting direction, and the seedling gripping hand is provided. Seedling holding means consisting of a raising and lowering seedling holding hand lift,

(C) An upper part of the seedling gripping hand lift is attached, and a seedling gripping hand slider that slides laterally so as to be able to return from above the molded seedling tray to above the center of the small bowl tray conveyer, and the arrangement lateral pitch of the seedling chucks, Formed seedling transfer means comprising a seedling holding hand opening device that expands and contracts to a small bowl array lateral pitch and a molded seedling array lateral pitch, respectively, during the lateral slide,

(D) The machine bowl of the conveyor is erected upright across the center of the small bowl tray conveyor, and the earth dropping cylinder is provided at the bottom just above the small bowl arranged in the small bowl tray.
Along with raising and lowering in synchronization with the operation of the seedling grasping hand lift, a soil filling device that soils from a soil falling tube into a small bowl for a certain period of time when descending,

(E) A irrigation device which crosses above the small bowl tray conveyer and is provided in front of the earthing hopper in the conveying direction of the small bowl tray conveyer, detects a small bowl placed on the small bowl tray, and irrigates for a certain period of time. And (f)
In order to raise the formed seedlings, a means for sequence-controlling the above (a), (b), (c) and (d) is adopted in accordance with a predetermined program.

As the proximity sensor provided on the molded seedling tray transport conveyor, it is preferable to use an electrostatic capacitance type sensor having a good seedling sensing performance. Also, in order to prevent the molded seedling tray from lifting up from the conveyor when grasping and pulling up the molded seedling, the molded seedling tray transport conveyor has front and rear trays in front of and behind the seedling chuck as viewed in the transport direction. It is effective to provide a presser foot and to provide a tray roll-in prevention plate at the end of conveyance so that the conveyor does not turn over together with the conveyor when the conveyor turns over at the end of conveyance. Further, it is effective to separate the seedlings having drooping leaves that the rear tray retainer is provided with a divider plate juxtaposed to the cell vertical partition surface of the molded seedling tray.

The seedling chuck described above is suitable if the fingers of an air chuck are fitted with sandwiching claws so as not to damage the seedlings. The seedling holding handlift above is one in which rodless air cylinders with sliding carriers with magnetic proximity switches at the upper and lower ends are erected inside the trapezoidal frame, and the lower limit stopper is provided on the bottom plate of the trapezoidal frame. Then, it is effective for grabbing the seedlings and positioning them accurately. In addition, the seedling holding hand slider described above, rodless air cylinders with sliding carriers with magnetic proximity switches at both left and right ends are installed upright on the machine frame of the conveyor crossing over the small bowl tray conveyor. If it is provided along the upper side of the gate-shaped machine frame and provided with limit stoppers at both ends, it is effective to accurately stop the seedling chuck.

Further, the seedling holding hand opening device described above is provided with a rodless air cylinder with a sliding carrier disposed on the left and right inside the crossbar rail, and a limit switch for contacting the sliding carrier on the upper surface of the crossbar rail. Are installed directly above the left and right ends of the left and right rodless air cylinders with sliding carriers, the lateral arrangement pitch of the seedling chuck exactly matches the lateral arrangement pitch of the molded seedling tray and the lateral arrangement pitch of the small bowl. It is effective in setting the seedlings in the center of the small bowl.

If the above-mentioned small bowl tray conveyor is driven intermittently by using an intermittent rotation type air actuator as a drive source and is also provided with an electromagnetic brake, intermittent conveyance can be assured and a transfer pitch can be set every time. It's effective to keep things in good order.

The sequence control means sequentially advances / stops the seedlings and the small bowls one row at a time in accordance with the above (a),
(B) Grab and raise seedlings, (c) Lateral transfer of seedlings to a small bowl and expansion of seedling spacing to a horizontal array pitch of small bowls, (b)
At the same time as descending the seedling to the small bowl by (), soiling the small bowl for a certain period of time by (D), opening the seedling by (B), simultaneously raising the seedling chuck of (B) and the soil putting device of (D), by (C) It is preferable that the seedling chucks are moved back to the molded seedling tray transfer conveyor and the horizontal arrangement pitch is reduced to perform a cycle operation.
Considering the case where the seedlings are not immediately irrigated by (e) for a certain period of time, it is preferable to separate the irrigation from the sequence control and operate independently.

[0015]

[Function] The potting device for molded seedlings configured as described above is a small bowl tray equipped with a small bowl in which a molded seedling tray on which seedlings have been grown is placed on a molded seedling tray transport conveyor (hereinafter referred to as molded seedling tray conveyor). Is placed on a small bowl tray conveyor (hereinafter abbreviated as small bowl tray conveyor), and when the intermittent rotation type air actuator is operated, both conveyors move and stop the molded seedlings and small bowls one row at a time in opposite directions. The seedlings and the small bowls are repeatedly conveyed intermittently at time intervals, and the center lines of the lateral array are aligned. At this time,
The electromagnetic brake securely stops the small bowl tray conveyor.

The seedling chuck of the seedling gripping hand is temporarily stopped one row before the position where the seedlings of the molded seedling tray are gripped, and the proximity sensor provided on one side of the central portion of the molded seedling tray conveyor detects the seedlings. Then, the sequence control means operates in response to the signal from the proximity sensor, and the seedling chuck first descends with the sandwiching jaws open, and then the molded seedling tray conveyor advances one horizontal row of the molded seedlings and stops. .

Next, the seedling chuck closes the claws and grabs the seedlings to rise, and while laterally transferring above the small bowl tray conveyor, the spacing between the seedlings is increased to the lateral arrangement pitch of the small bowls. Move down and put a small bowl in the soil for a certain period of time. Next, when the seedling chuck releases the seedlings, both the seedling chuck and the soil filling device rise, and the seedling chucks are returned horizontally on the forming seedling tray transfer conveyor, so that the lateral arrangement pitch becomes the lateral arrangement pitch of the seedlings on the forming seedling tray. Reduce the size and then return to the state of raising the bowl. This device repeats the above in sequence and automatically raises the formed seedlings into small pots. Further, when the irrigation device detects a small bowl placed on the small bowl tray, it irrigates the molded seedlings raised by a single operation.

In the above-mentioned pot raising action, the magnetic proximity switches provided on the upper and lower ends of the rodless air cylinder with a sliding carrier for the seedling holding hand lift can accurately control the lifting amount of the seedling holding hand. And operates as a sequence control switch. Similarly, the magnetic proximity sensor attached to the seedling gripping hand slider and the rodless air cylinder with sliding carrier of the seedling gripping hand opening device is sure to increase and decrease the lateral movement amount of the seedling holding hand and the lateral arrangement pitch of the seedling chucks, respectively. It also works as a sequence control switch. .

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4, 1 is a molded seedling tray conveyor, 2 is a small bowl tray conveyor, and both are horizontally arranged side by side. Reference numeral 3 is a seedling holding hand, and 4 is a seedling holding hand lift, both of which constitute seedling holding means and are horizontally provided above the central portion of the small bowl tray conveyor.
Reference numeral 30 is a seedling chuck, and LS1 is a proximity sensor for detecting a formed seedling. For LS1, a capacitance type proximity sensor capable of sensing an object other than a metal in order to sense a molded seedling was used.
Reference numeral 5 is a seedling holding hand slider, and 6 is a seedling holding hand open device, both of which constitute molded seedling transferring means. 7
Is a soil filling device, 8 is a watering device, 9 is a sequence control box, and 10 is a pneumatic control box.

The molded seedling tray conveyor 1 and the small bowl tray conveyor 2 are both chain conveyors, and chains 12 and 21 are arranged side by side inside the conveyor machine frame 11 and the conveyor machine frame 20, respectively. F1 and F2 are the transport directions of the molded seedling tray conveyor and the small bowl tray conveyor, respectively. Below, on the left and right and front and back on the conveyor,
Unless otherwise specified, the above-mentioned transport directions F1 and F2 are used, respectively.
It is the display as seen in.

The conveyor frame 20 includes upper and lower vertical girders 22,
23 parallel to the left and right (see Fig. 2), and an appropriate number of horizontal girders 24
Also, a pedestal 25 having a seat plate 26 attached to the lower end portion so that the height can be adjusted is framed in a rectangular shape, and the seat plate 26 lays it horizontally on the floor surface G. In addition, the conveyor frame 2
No. 0 has chain 21 and 21 with small bowl tray 27
Can be placed horizontally. Conveyor frame 11
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, is mounted horizontally on brackets 28 and 29, which are horizontally projected on the right side of the conveyor machine frame 20 when viewed in the F1 direction, via height adjusting bolts 210, 210, A known molded seedling tray A can be removably placed on the inside via chains 12, 12.

The molded seedling tray A in FIG. 1 has a depth of 40 mm.
23 square cells in the vertical direction with a pitch of 26 mm.
It is made of a well-known quadrangular plastic plate in which 11 rows and a total of 253 rows are arranged vertically and horizontally with a horizontal pitch of 25 mm. The small bowl tray 27 has small bowl holes 211 into which a small bowl for raising a general bowl is detachably attached in a vertical pitch of 101.6 mm in five rows.
It is made of a thin steel plate in which 11 rows are arranged in a horizontal pitch of 100 mm, and 55 pieces in total are arranged in a vertical and horizontal directions. A handle 271 is fixed in an inverted U shape along both left and right edges of the upper surface. The small bowl hole 211 is
The hole diameter is such that, when the small bowl is fitted, the upper surface of the small bowl projects from the upper surface of the small bowl tray 27 substantially in the same plane as the upper surface of the molded seedling tray A.

The chains 12 and 21 described above are both roller chains having a pitch of 25.4 mm, and the vertical pitch at the center of the small bowl hole corresponds to four pitches of the roller chain 101.
It is 6 mm. The vertical pitch of the cells A1 of the molded seedling tray A is 26 mm, which is very close to one pitch of the roller chain.

FIG. 5 is a development view schematically showing the rotating mechanism of the molded seedling conveyor 1 and the small bowl tray conveyor 2. In FIGS. 2 and 5, reference numeral 212 denotes an intermittent rotation type air actuator, and the rotation thereof rotates the conveyor driving shaft 217 from the sprocket 213 through the chain 216, the sprocket 214, and is fixed to both ends of the conveyor driving shaft 217. The installed sprockets 218, 218 are adapted to rotate in the transport direction F2. In the figure, 215 is a tension wheel, and 219 is a bearing that horizontally supports the conveyor drive shaft 217.

The lever 220 shown in FIG. 2 rotates together with the air actuator 212, and 221 is a bearing plate. A stopper 222 on which the lever 220 rotates and abuts is fixedly provided in the upper middle of the bearing plate 221. The lever 220 makes contact with the stopper 222 to ensure that the air actuator 212 is stopped. Further, the electromagnetic brake 213 is attached to the left end of the conveyor drive shaft 217.
To provide. To further explain with reference to FIG. 9, the air actuator 212 is of a known type that rotates 90 degrees and automatically returns, a magnet is attached to the tip of the rotating arm 234, and the magnetic proximity switch LS2 is provided. A signal is sent to the sequence control box 9 by detecting the approach of the magnet, the electromagnetic brake 213 is operated via the electric wire 235 connected to the box 9, and the conveyor driving shaft 217 is surely stopped. 236 and 237 in the figure
Is an air hose of the air actuator 212.

In FIG. 5, the small bowl tray conveyor 2 is
The chain 21 is provided between the sprockets 226 and 226 fixed to both ends of the conveyor driven shaft 225 horizontally supported by the bearings 224 provided at the conveyor transport start ends of the conveyor machine frame 20 and the aforementioned sprockets 218 and 218. , 21
(See Fig. 1) Also, the chains 21, 2
1 has projections 227 protruding at predetermined intervals (see FIG. 9), and the projections 227 abut the back side front portion of the small bowl tray 27 so that the small bowl tray 27 is connected and conveyed. Figure 1,
A contact sensor 238 in FIG.
During rotation, the protrusion 227 is contacted to detect the feeding of the small bowl tray.

As shown in FIG. 5, the chain 12 of the molded seedling tray conveyor 1 is provided with bearings 102 provided on the left and right sides of the conveyor starting end of the conveyor machine frame 11 and bearings 104 provided on the left and right sides of the conveyor ending part, respectively. A shaft 101 and a conveyor driven shaft 103 are horizontally supported, and chains 12, 12 are horizontally wound around sprockets 105 and 106 fixed to both ends of both shafts. And the chain 1
2 and 12 are the conveyor driven shaft 101 and the conveyor driven shaft 2
It rotates through the reverse rotation mechanism 228 driven by 25 and rotates in the transport direction F1.

The reverse rotation mechanism 228 comprises the conveyor driven shaft 2
25, the gear 229 is fixed to the left end, the intermediate shaft 230 is reversely rotated by the gear 231 meshed with the gear 229, and the sprocket 232 fixed to the intermediate shaft 230 is fixed to the left end of the conveyor drive shaft 101. Sprockets 108
Is rotated by a chain 233. The left end of the conveyor drive shaft 101 is fixed to the center of the sprocket 108. Then, the molded seedling tray conveyor 1 and the small bowl tray conveyor 2 have a width of one row of the molded seedling tray A of 25.4 mm and one row of the small bowl tray conveyor 2 respectively.
The rotating mechanism of the chains 12 and 21 is configured so that the chains 12 and 21 are simultaneously advanced by 1.6 mm each. 1 to 3
239 and 241 are chain covers and 240 is a gear cover.

In FIGS. 1 and 5, reference numeral 109 denotes a horizontal rail, which is horizontally mounted between the left and right chains 12 so as to be fitted into the groove between the cell partition walls formed on the back side of the molded seedling tray A. (See FIG. 11). Forming seedling tray A by horizontal rail 109
Does not shift during transportation. The horizontal rails 109 are provided with 3 to 5 per molded seedling tray, and the molded seedling tray is connected and placed on the molded seedling tray conveyor 1. The one that fits into the partition at the tip of any molded seedling tray has a narrower front-to-back spacing than the others.

The molded seedling tray conveyor 1 will be further described with reference to FIGS. 6, 7 and 11. Since the seedlings in the cell A1 have roots, the seedling chuck 30 holds the seedlings as described later. When pulling up, the molded seedling tray may be pulled up together. In order to prevent this, a front tray retainer 13 and a rear tray retainer 14 are provided across the intermediate portion of the conveyor frame 11. Front tray presser 13
The rods 16 are arranged in a horizontal crossbar shape and fixed to a square bar 15 that crosses above the conveyor frame 11, and the rear tray retainer 14
Is a frame plate 17 that crosses over the conveyor frame 11 behind the front tray retainer 13 and has divider plates 18 arranged side by side in the form of horizontal bars.

As shown in FIG. 11, the rear tray retainer 14 is provided in front of the seedling chuck 30, and the front tray retainer 13 is disposed slightly offset from the seedling chuck 30 in the F1 direction, and at the same time as the rod 16. Divider plate 18
Is in sliding contact with the upper surface of the cell partition of the molded seedling tray. Reference numeral 110 denotes a tray bottom receiving plate, and in order to horizontally convey the molded seedling tray A in the F1 direction, the bracket 111 is provided below the rear tray retainer 14 so that the bottom surface of the molded seedling tray moves forward while sliding on the upper surface. It is fixed to the conveyor frame 11 via. Reference numeral 112 is a cross beam of the conveyor frame 11.

Referring to FIG. 8, the molded seedling tray conveyor 1 is provided with a tray 12 so that the molded seedling tray A is prevented from being entrained around the chain 12 at the end of conveyance by the downward reversal of the chain 12. An entrainment prevention plate 113 is provided. This tray entrainment prevention plate 113 is fitted into the cell partition vertical groove on the back surface of the molded seedling tray A, and as the molded seedling tray is conveyed, it is lifted and separated from the horizontal rail 109 to prevent entrainment. There is.

31 in FIGS. 1 and 4 is a crossbar rail and 3
1a is a removable dustproof cover. FIG. 10 shows the inside with the dust cover 31a removed. Figure 1
At 0, the crossbar rail 31 has a front cross beam 32,
The rear cross girders 33 are arranged in parallel in the front-rear direction, and the bottom plate 34 and the side plate 35 are fixed to each other to form a box shape. The seedling holding hand slider 6 is provided inside, and the seedling holding hand slider 3 is attached to the seedling holding hand slider 6. further,
The crossbar rail 31 is horizontally attached to the seedling holding hand lift 4, and left and right swings are stopped by braces 40 and 41 (see FIG. 19).

Reference numeral 36 denotes a seedling chuck guide lay, which is fixedly provided in the central portion of the rear transverse girder 33 and is used for transplanting seedlings into a small bowl fitted in the small bowl hole 211 of the small bowl tray 27. Make it slightly longer. Further, the seedling chuck guide rail 36 has an upper and lower end surface having a triangular cross section, and the V groove wheel 37 engages with the triangular portion to roll (see FIG. 14).

Further referring to FIG. 12, the seedling chuck 30 horizontally penetrates the lower end of the seedling chuck mounting plate 38 and is fixed by a tightening band 39 fixed to the mounting plate 38. The seedling chuck mounting plate 38 has such a width that when adjacent ones come into close contact with each other, the lateral pitch of the seedling chucks 30 becomes the lateral array pitch of the molded seedlings of the molded seedling tray A.
Two V-grooves 37 were provided above and below each seedling chuck mounting plate 38 so that the seedling chuck mounting plates 38 did not swing horizontally with respect to the seedling chuck guide rails 36.
As a result, the seedling chuck 30 also has no horizontal shaking, and the seedling can be vertically placed in a small bowl. In the case of the embodiment, the molded seedling tray A has cells arranged in 11 columns, so that there are 11 seedling chuck mounting plates 38 and 44 V groove wheels 37.

The seedling holding hand opening device 6 is shown in FIG.
0, as shown in FIG. 13, rodless air cylinders (hereinafter abbreviated as rodless air cylinders) 42 and 43 with sliding carriers of the same shape from the center to the left and right on the bottom plate 34 of the crossbar rail 31 are respectively mounted on the bracket 45. ,
The rod-less air cylinder is fixed with a seedling chuck mounting plate 38 at both left and right ends on a sliding carrier (hereinafter abbreviated as carrier) 44 of the rodless air cylinder. The guide rail 36 travels, and the gap between the seedling chucks 30 expands and contracts. Rodless air cylinder 4
When the piston head is moved inside the cylinder by air pressure, the carrier 44 slides on the outside of the cylinder by magnetically following the piston head.

Further, the seedling holding hand opening device 6 will be described. As shown in FIG. 13, the center seedling chuck mounting plate 38a has its upper end protruding higher than the other (see FIG. 13), and the front transverse beam 33 is attached. The protrusion 48 fixed to the central portion is fixed with a bolt 47. Then, L-shaped brackets 49 are provided on the seedling chuck mounting plates 38 at the left and right ends respectively so as to project outward, and L-shaped pieces 50 fixed outwardly to the carrier 44 are connected to the L-shaped bracket 49 with bolts 51. Therefore, when the carrier 44 of the rodless air cylinders 42, 43 moves outward, the lateral pitch of the seedling chucks 30 on the left and right sides of the center seedling chuck mounting plate 38a increases, and when the carrier 44 moves inward, the lateral pitch changes. to shrink. Reference numeral 58 denotes a flexible connecting body, and as shown in FIG. 16, the tip portions are respectively coupled to the adjacent seedling chuck mounting plates 38 to regulate the extension of the lateral pitch of the seedling chuck 30.

In FIG. 10, limit switches LS7A, 7 are provided to limit the stroke of the carrier 44.
B and LS8A, 8B are arranged on the upper surface of the crossbar rail 31, and all seedling chucks 30 (11 in the embodiment).
Has been expanded and contracted to the specified size. The contacts of each of the limit switches project inside the crossbar rail 31, and when the carrier 44 contacts, the solenoid valve SV4 shown in FIG. 28 operates and the air hoses 52 and 53 shown in FIG.
, 54 and 55 are switched to send air,
Carrier 44 for rodless air cylinders 42 and 43
Is designed to work inward and outward. Figure 10
Reference numeral 56 is a throttle valve.

14 to 17 show a part of the seedling holding hand 3 and the seedling holding hand opening device 6 in detail. The seedling chuck mounting plate 38 has brackets 5 whose front ends are parallel to the seedling chuck mounting plate 38 at both upper edges of the front surface.
7 are provided in a protruding manner, and both ends of the flexible connector 58 are joined to the tips of the adjacent members. The embodiment uses a chain. Then, as described above, when the mutual spacing of the seedling chucks 30 is reduced to P3 (see FIG. 16) of the cell lateral array pitch of the molded seedling tray, the flexible coupling body 58 bends, and when the seedling chucks also extend straight, The lateral compatibility interval of 30 is regulated to the pitch P4. P4 is
The horizontal arrangement pitch of the small bowls arranged in the small bowl tray.

In the seedling chuck 30, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, thin spring steel plate sandwiching claws 61 and 62 are fixed to the outside of the left and right fingers 60 of the known air chuck 59,
When the fingers 60, 60 are closed by receiving air from the flexible air hose 64 connected to the tail end of the air chuck 59, the molded seedling N is sandwiched by the tips of the sandwiching claws 61, 62. Further, in the air chuck 59, the finger 60 is automatically opened by the elasticity of the spring 63 when the air is released. Therefore, when the seedling chuck 30 is deflated, the sandwich nail 6
1, 62 are also opened like a chain line so that the molded seedling N can be released.

In the seedling chuck 30, the sandwiching claws 61 and 62 are normally open, and the signal from the above-mentioned proximity sensor LS1 is sent to the sequence control box 9, as shown in FIG.
The solenoid valve SV6 is operated to send air to sandwich the seedling, and after a certain time, the air escapes and the spring 63 sandwiches the sandwiching claws 61, 6
2 automatically returns to the open state and releases the seedlings. To pinch the soft seedlings without damaging them,
Pressure reducing valve 10 provided with air pressure in air pressure control box 10
0 (see FIG. 28) 6 kgf / cm ^{2 to} 7 kgf / cm
^It is good to set it to ² .

The procedure for mounting the proximity sensor LS1 on the conveyor frame 11 will now be described. Proximity sensor LS1
Is exactly 1 horizontal from the position where the seedling chuck 30 sandwiches the molded seedling.
The conveyor frame 11 is positioned so that the mounting direction is in the F1 direction and the tip is swung so as to detect the molded seedlings in front of the row.
It is attached to the right outer side of. That is, in the sequence control of the device of the present invention, first, the above-mentioned sandwiching claws 61, 6 are
The seedling chuck 30 in which No. 2 is open descends according to the signal of the seedling detection of LS1. Next, in the space where the sandwiching claws 61, 61 are open, the molded seedling tray conveyor 1 is placed on the side 1 of the molded seedling tray.
The seedlings in the row are sent to a position where they are sandwiched by the seedling chucks 30 and stopped. In this way, the raising of seedlings begins.

When the molded seedling tray is fed as described above, the rear tray retainer 14 described above not only prevents the molded seedling tray from floating, but also the divider plate 1
, 18 pass on both sides of the seedling, causing the leaf to hang down so that the seedling is vertically held by the seedling chuck 30 (see FIG. 11).

Next, the seedling holding hand 4 and the seedling holding hand slider 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. In the seedling holding hand 4, the rodless air cylinder 68 is vertically fixed on the upper surface of the bottom plate 66 of the trapezoidal frame 65, and the crossbar rail 31 is fixed laterally on the rear surface of the carrier 69. Also, the seedling holding hand opening device 6 is integrally lifted and lowered by the rodless air cylinder 68. The rodless air cylinder 68 is
It is a double-acting type that receives air from an air pressure source via air hoses 71, 72. A lower limit stopper 70 is provided upright on the bottom plate 66 so that the height can be adjusted. The upper end of the stopper 70 contacts the lower end surface of the carrier 69 and regulates the lower limit of the crossbar rail 31.

LS3 and LS4 are magnetic proximity switches for restricting the lift amount of the rodless air cylinder 68, and are connected to the external terminal block TB (see FIG. 29) of the sequence control box 9 via electric wires. There is. L
Signals from S3 and LS4 are sent to the sequence control box 9, the solenoid valve SV2 shown in FIG. 28 is operated according to a predetermined sequence control program, and the rodless air cylinder 68 raises and lowers the crossbar rail 31. Is designed to

The trapezoidal frame 65 has a ceiling plate 67 fixed thereto, and an air hose 73 for receiving air from an air pressure source at one end thereof.
The air pipe 73 connecting a is horizontally fixed on the ceiling plate 67 in a left-right symmetrical manner. To the air pipes 73, the air hoses 64 for supplying air to the seedling chuck 30 described above are individually connected to the seedling chuck 30.

The seedling holding hand slider 5 crosses the conveyor machine frame 20 and projects one end above the conveyor machine frame 11, and a gate frame 74 is erected on the conveyor machine frame 20 in parallel with the crossbar rail 31. A rodless air cylinder 75 is installed right below the upper side (see FIG. 3). The right end of the rodless air cylinder 75 is the conveyor frame 20.
It is arranged so as to be slightly on the right side of the vertical center line. The ceiling plate 67 of the seedling holding hand lift 4 is horizontally attached to the carrier 76 of the rodless air cylinder 75. Further, at both left and right ends of the rodless air cylinder 75, limit stoppers 7 for restricting left and right moving positions of the magnetic proximity switches LS5 and LS6 and the carrier 76 are provided.
7, 78 are provided so that the amount of protrusion can be adjusted inward.

Then, as shown in FIG. 18, when the carrier 76 is moved to the right side, the vertical center line of the small bowl hole 211 of the small bowl tray 27 placed on the small bowl tray conveyor 2,
The front and rear positions of the seedling holding hand slider 5, the limit stopper 78, and the magnetic proximity switch LS6 stop the carrier 76 so that the sandwiching claws 61 and 62 of the seedling chuck 30 described in FIG. I have decided the position. Also, if you move to the left as shown in Fig. 3,
With the magnetic proximity switch LS5 and the limit stopper 77, the position where the seedling chuck 30 holds the seedlings is directly above the seedlings on the tray for forming seedlings.

As shown in FIG. 19, air hoses 79 are connected to both ends of the rodless air cylinder 75 so that the carrier 76 can be moved left and right by air pressure. The electric wire 80 connected to the LS5 is connected to the sequence control box 9 and the illustration is omitted.
Is connected to the sequence control box 9 similarly to the LS5. Rodless air cylinder 75 is LS5, LS6
28, the solenoid valve SV3 shown in FIG. 28 is sequence-controlled, and the carrier 76 is moved left and right at a time predetermined by a program.

Next, the soil putting device 7 will be described with reference to FIGS. 20 and 21, the column 8
Reference numerals 2 and 83 have substantially the same shape, and are opposed to the left and right sides of the central portion of the conveyor machine frame 20 and are erected slightly forward of the seedling holding hand slider 5 (see FIG. 2), so that a slight gap is formed between the inside and both sides. Through the soil hopper 81 to the conveyor frame 20
It is provided so that it can be moved up and down orthogonally to. 84 is a spacer between the pillars 82 and 83. Reference numeral 87 is a wire mesh frame for removing small stones and the like when the soil is put into the soil hopper 81.

Further, the pillars 82 and 83 are formed with fishing-up portions 701 and 702 at the tops thereof, respectively, and sprocket 703 and 704 are axially supported inside thereof, respectively, and projectingly provided on the upper left and right sides of the earthing hopper 81. Fishing chain 7 having one end connected to the chain connecting pieces 716, 716
05 and 706 are wound around the sprockets 703 and 704.

The chains 705 and 706 are shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), (b), and FIG. 23, the piston rods 713 of the double-acting air cylinders 711 and 712 are pivotally attached at one end 714 to the other end of a lever plate 717. The double-acting air cylinders 711 and 712 are the same ones having magnets (not shown) in the pistons, and are erected on the upper surfaces of the inner bottom portions of the pillars 82 and 83 so as to face each other in the left and right directions. In addition, magnetic proximity switches LS9 and LS10 are provided on one of the double-acting air cylinders 711 at the upper and lower sides according to the amount of elevation of the soil hopper 81. The lever plate 717 is pivotally attached to the lever fulcrum mounting plate 715 by a lever fulcrum pin 718, and is provided so that the earthing hopper 81 is raised and lowered via a chain 705 (the same applies to the chain 706) by raising and lowering the piston rod 713. .

Further, at the bottom of the soil hopper 81, a soil falling cylinder 93 is provided so as to project downward directly above the small bowl B on the small bowl tray. The soil falling tube 93 has an outflow port 94 fixed to the tip end so as to be replaceable (see FIG. 26). That is, if the soil falling cylinders 93 have different opening diameters of the outflow ports 94, the soil dropping cylinders having different outflow amounts can be formed without changing the main body. Further, a die cast product of a corrosion resistant aluminum alloy was used for the earth falling cylinder 93. 726 is a hanging bolt, and the front and the rear of the soil falling cylinder 93 are fixed to the lower bottom portion of the soil hopper 81. L shown in FIGS. 1 and 22
S11 is a level sensor provided near the bottom of the soil hopper 81, and detects an abnormality when the amount of soil in the soil hopper becomes lower than the sensor position.

Reference numerals 720 and 721 shown in FIG. 23 denote rollers projecting from both side plates of the soil hopper 81. As shown in FIG. 24, these rollers 720 and 721 are provided with their directions orthogonal to each other, and the soil-filling hopper elevating guide 710 (709) fixed along the rear surface of the pillar body 82 (similar to the pillar body 83) in the conveyor transport direction. When the outer circumference of the rollers 720, 720 rolls on the side wall of the groove rail 727 formed in a square groove, and the outer circumference of the roller 721 rolls on the bottom of the groove, the soil hopper 81 moves up and down. It is designed to prevent swinging back and forth and left and right. Sunahachi, soil filling device 7
The earth dropping cylinder 93 keeps the upright state directly above the small bowl so that the small bowl can be surely filled with soil.

In FIGS. 20 and 21, the soil hopper 8 is used.
The reference numeral 1 designates the rotating mechanism of the earthing auger 98 on the rear upper surface when viewed in the small bowl conveying direction. That is, the reduction motor 85 with a brake is horizontally provided at the left end portion of the rear upper surface of the soil hopper 81, and the bearing 89 and a suitable number of bearings 90, 90 are arranged in a horizontal line on the rear upper surface of the soil hopper 81. The horizontal rotary shaft 92 and the auger shaft 95, which are arranged and pivotally supported by the bearing 90, are connected to one that interlocks via a bevel gear pair 91. Reference numeral 86 denotes a capacitor, which is connected to TM2 of the control box 9 shown in FIG. 29 because the deceleration motor 85 with a brake is timed by a timer. Reference numeral 707 is a gear cover that covers the above-described rotation mechanism.

Then, the horizontal rotary shaft 92 is bent and the flexible joint 8
8, the lower end of the auger shaft 95 is connected to the output shaft of the motor 85 (not shown), and the bottom plate 724 and the partition wall 725 are located on the front side in the transport direction F2 as shown in FIG.
Pocket 723 formed on the entire length of the soil hopper 81
Is axially supported by an intermediate bearing 96 provided on the bottom plate 724 of
The lower end portion projects below the bottom plate 724. Earthing auger 9
8, the upper end of the auger shaft 95 is connected to a coupling 97 fixed to the lower end of the auger shaft 95 so that the auger shaft 95 rotates. Reference numeral 99 is an agitator provided on the auger 98. An emergency switch 708 in FIG. 20 is connected to the electromagnetic contactor of the control box 9 to stop the operation of the entire apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 1, the irrigation system 8 has a water supply pipe 801 and a irrigation pipe 804 as main parts. As shown in FIG. 2, the water supply pipe 801 is provided with a solenoid valve 802.
And a spill pipe 803 and a manual cock 810. The water supply section pipe 801 is configured such that a hose 805 is started up from a terminal section and water is supplied to the water supply section pipe 804. As shown in FIG. 27, the irrigation section piping 804 has columns 808 standing upright on left and right upper vertical girders 22 of the conveyor machine frame, and a horizontal girder 807 is horizontally installed on the upper end thereof.

Then, the horizontal beam 807 is attached to the pipe fixing band 8
09 is fixed in an appropriate number, and the lower pipe 811 is fixed with this band 809
Is fixed, and the small bowl tray conveyor 2 is crossed orthogonally and upright. A PVC pipe is used for the irrigation part pipe 804, and a nozzle 806 is provided on the lower surface of the lower pipe 811 so as to project downward in accordance with the horizontal arrangement pitch of the small bowl holes 211 of the small bowl tray 27. Further, photoelectric sensors LS12 are provided on the upper surfaces of the upper vertical girders 22 on the left and right of the conveyor machine frame 20 in proximity to the columns 808, the passage of the small bowl is detected, and the solenoid valve 802 is operated via the sequence control box 9 to irrigate the water. start,
Controlled stopping. Further, the irrigation time was controlled by providing a timer TM1 in the box 9 (see FIG. 29).

Next, FIG. 28 shows an operation circuit diagram for pneumatic control of this apparatus. In the figure, 10 indicates an air pressure control box, and the pressure reducing valve 100 controls the air pressure sent to the seedling chuck 30 to 5
The pressure is reduced to ˜6 kf / cm ² . For the other rodless air cylinders 42, 43 and 6875 and the double acting air cylinders 711 and 712, the air pressure is 6 to 7 kgf.
The pressure is reduced to / cm ² . 212 is an intermittent rotation type air actuator, 802 is a flooding device solenoid valve, 7 is a soil filling device, 3 is a seedling holding hand, 4 is a seedling holding hand lift,
5 is a seedling holding hand slider, and 6 is a seedling holding hand open device.

All SVs in the figure are solenoid valves.
The LS12 is a photoelectric sensor of the irrigation system. The LS 11 is a level sensor that detects the amount of soil in the soil hopper 81. LS2 to LS6 and LS7A, 7B and LS8
A and 8B are magnetic proximity switches for sequence control. FIG. 29 is a front view of the sequence control box 9, and the device names are as shown in the figure.

Further, FIG. 30 is an external front view of the sequence control box 9. The control contents of the cos and PB switches are as shown in the figure. 9a is an abnormality indicator light, (1) is a power source, (2) is an air actuator 212 for driving the conveyor, (3) is a seedling holding hand lift 4, (4) is a seedling holding hand slider 5, and (5) is The watering device 8, (6) is the seedling holding hand opening device 6,
(7) indicates double-acting air cylinders 711, 712, (8) is a spare, (9) indicates a deceleration motor 85 with a brake, and (10) indicates an abnormality in the empty soil hopper 81 (detected by LS11). It is a thing.

FIG. 31 is a block diagram of the control electric circuit. The program is read into the ROM and stored in the CPU. The LS on the right side is the sequence control box 9 in FIG.
Connected to the external terminal block TB. The operation portion on the right side is the same as that shown in FIG. 28, and the operation of the deceleration motor that rotates the 901 patrol light shown in FIG. 3, the electromagnetic brake 213 for the conveyor, and the auger shaft 95 of the earthing device 7 already described. To control.

FIG. 32 is a time cycle diagram under sequence control. One cycle was set to 17 seconds. In the figure,
3. The reason why the seedling chuck was closed for 1 second was to wait for the seedlings sent by the molded seedling tray conveyor to settle down before sandwiching the seedlings. Also, 5. 3 lateral movement of seedling chuck
The time was set to 2 seconds because the seedlings sandwiched by the seedling chucks moved laterally at a slow speed without lateral shake. 10. Seedling chuck sideways, after the seedling chuck has released the seedlings, so speed up,
It is 2 seconds.

FIG. 33 shows the pot raising work by this apparatus in the order of steps. As for brackish water, it is not always necessary to do it at the same time, so it is operated independently. Sunflower, photoelectric sensor L of pass sensor
The small bowl is detected in S12, and the brackish water is independently operated separately from the sequence control.

FIGS. 34A to 34D are schematic views showing the operation in the above steps. In the figure, this device shows that the seedling chuck is placed close to the surface of the molded seedling tray from above so that the stem can be pinched immediately after it comes out of the soil so as not to damage the seedling. There is. Further, as shown by the line aa in the figure, it is also shown that the upper end surface of the small bowl is made to be the same as the surface of the molded seedling tray.

Next, Table 1 shows initial conditions for automatic operation corresponding to the initial state shown in FIG. Table 2 shows the items and functions of the driving operation.

[0067]

[Table 1]

[0068]

[Table 2]

[0069]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above, it has the following effects.

Since the forming seedling tray conveyor and the small bowl tray conveyor can be installed in the right and left directions so that they can be installed in the opposite directions so that the installation area can be reduced, a pot raising device that can be used even in a small area nursery plant is provided. Can be provided. Seedling feeding and small bowl feeding, seedling chuck, seedling grasping hand, seedling grasping hand lift, seedling grasping hand slider, seedling grasping hand open device, soil filling device, conveyor driven air actuator were all used as pneumatic equipment. Contamination of seedlings due to leaks is completely eliminated and the working environment can be made clean. Further, since the air chuck is used as the seedling chuck, it is possible to raise the seedling without damaging the seedling by adjusting the air pressure.

Seedling holding hand, seedling holding hand lift,
By providing means for sequence control of seedling holding hand slider, seedling holding hand open device, and soil filling device, simply raising and lowering the formed seedling tray and the small bowl tray to the conveyor respectively, the rest automatically raises the formed seedling pot. Since the work can be automated, it is possible to provide a potting device that can process a large amount of seedlings with high efficiency.

By providing the front tray retainer and the rear tray retainer on the molded seedling tray conveyor, it is possible to prevent the molded seedling tray from being pulled up together even when the seedlings having roots in the cell are pulled up by the seedling chuck. You can Further, since the tray entrainment prevention plate is provided at the transfer end of the molded seedling tray conveyor, the tray can be automatically lifted from the conveyor and separated. Therefore, since the interruption of the work is almost eliminated, the pot raising work can be performed with high efficiency.

Further, since the rear tray retainer is provided with the divider plates arranged side by side, even a seedling with slightly dropped leaves can be raised upright and placed in a small bowl. Also, it is possible to raise the pot with good accuracy.

Conventionally, in the case of Kasumi grass, about 20 workers were required to manually raise about 20,000 seedlings in 7 hours. The bowl raising device of the present invention is used in one cycle 17
In a second, the seedlings in the horizontal row of the molded seedling tray can be potted at a time in a small bowl, so that half the number of staff required to pot about 25,000 seedlings in 7 hours.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a part of the whole plant for raising a molded seedling according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a right side view of the pot raising device.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the pot raising device.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the pot raising device.

FIG. 5 is a development view schematically showing a rotation mechanism of a molded seedling tray and a small bowl tray conveyor.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view of an essential part of the central portion of the molded seedling tray transport conveyor.

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 6B.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of a main part taken along the line AA of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an essential part of a small bowl tray transfer conveyor drive unit.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a main part of the seedling holding means.

FIG. 11 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the main part of the center portion of the molded seedling tray transport conveyor during work.

FIG. 12 is a front view of a part of the seedling holding means viewed from the transfer direction of the molded seedling tray transfer conveyor.

FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of a seedling holding hand opening device.

FIG. 14 is a side view in which a part of a main part of the seedling holding means is vertically cut.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of the essential part of the seedling holding means.

FIG. 16 is a rear view of a part of the seedling holding means as viewed in the transfer direction of the molded seedling tray transfer conveyor showing the mode in which the pitch of the seedling chuck is closed.

FIG. 17 is a rear view of a part of the seedling holding means as viewed in the transfer direction of the molded seedling tray transfer conveyor showing the mode in which the pitch of the seedling chuck is opened.

FIG. 18 is a front view of the pot raising device showing a mode in which the seedling holding means is moved to the small bowl tray side.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a seedling holding hand and a seedling holding hand slider portion.

FIG. 20 is a partially cutaway front view of the soil filling device.

FIG. 21 is a partially cutaway plan view of the soil filling device.

FIG. 22 (a) is a left side view of a portion provided with a soil filling device.

FIG. 22 (B) is a right side view of a portion provided with the soil filling device.

FIG. 23 is a right side view showing an elevating mechanism of the soil putting device.

FIG. 24 is a perspective view in which a part of the left side of the soil filling device is disassembled.

FIG. 25 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the line C-C of FIG. 20.

FIG. 26 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a soil falling tube portion of the soil depositing device.

FIG. 27 is a perspective view of a main part of the irrigation system.

FIG. 28 is an operation circuit diagram for pneumatic control.

FIG. 29 is a front view showing the inside of the control box.

FIG. 30 is an external front view of the control box.

FIG. 31 is a block diagram of a control electric circuit.

FIG. 32 is a time cycle diagram of the pot raising device.

FIG. 33 is a block diagram showing a work process.

FIG. 34 (a) is a schematic view showing the operation of the work process from the initial state.

FIG. 34B is a schematic view showing the operation of the work process following FIG.

FIG. 34C is a schematic view showing the operation of the work process following FIG.

FIG. 34D is a schematic view showing the operation of the final work process following FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Molded seedling tray transfer conveyor 2 Small bowl tray transfer conveyor 3 Seedling gripping hand 4 Seedling gripping hand lifter 5 Seedling gripping hand slider 6 Seedling gripping hand open device 7 Soil filling device 8 Watering device 9 Sequence control box 10 Pneumatic control box 13 Front tray presser 14 Rear tray retainer 18 Divider plate 30 Seedling chuck 31 Crossbar rails 42, 43, Rodless air cylinder with sliding carrier 68, 75, Rodless air cylinder with sliding carrier 59 Air chuck 70 Lower limit stopper 81 Soil hopper 93 Soil drop Cylinder 212 Intermittent rotation type air actuator A Formed seedling tray B Small bowl N Formed seedling LS1 Capacitance type proximity sensor LS2, LS3, LS4, LS5, LS6 Magnetic proximity type switch LS7A, LS7 B, LS8A, LS8B Limit switch LS9, LS10 Magnetic proximity switch LS11 Level sensor LS12 Photoelectric sensor

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] June 16, 1992

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 1

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Figure 1]

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Fig. 19

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

FIG. 19

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] June 18, 1992

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 5

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Figure 5] ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] June 22, 1992

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Full text

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Document name] Statement

[Title of Invention] Potting device for molded seedlings

[Claims]

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for automatically potting flowering plants grown in a molded seedling tray, molded seedlings (also referred to as plug seedlings or cell seedlings) such as horticultural plants, into small bowls in a seedling raising plant or the like. It is a thing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some flowers and garden plants are immediately transplanted to the main field, but most of them are transplanted once or twice during seedling raising.
Sometimes three times also is common to carry out the transplantation (temporary planting). That is, initially, seedlings are grown in a small area that is easy to manage using a molded seedling tray, and as the seedlings grow, they are transplanted into small pots before being damaged by dense planting, so-called potting. The molded seedling tray is a tray made of a synthetic resin plate in which cells having square corners or round holes are arranged vertically and horizontally in a rectangular shape having a desired equal pitch, and about 120 to 25 per sheet.
There are 0 cells. And the pot raising work involves pulling out the seedlings one by one from the above-mentioned molded seedling tray so as not to damage the seedlings, standing them in the center of the small bowl, filling the soil, and watering it. Is going. In addition, as for only soil filling, pot filler machines that fill empty pots with soil have become widespread in Europe and the United States.

[0003]

By the way, recently, for example, as can be seen in the case of Kasumi, which has been said to be difficult to grow in the past, the technique for growing seedlings has improved and mass production of molded seedlings has become possible. . However, since there is no suitable device for potting a large amount of seedlings, potting requires a large number of personnel. Therefore, there is a need for a suitable bowl raising device.

The reason why there is no suitable potting device is that the potting work is mechanized with high efficiency without damaging the flexible seedlings, that is, the seedlings growing in the cell are taken out from the molded seedling tray. , To transfer the taken out seedlings to a small bowl, stand in the center of the bowl, put an appropriate amount of soil, and mechanize the appropriate operation of watering the small bowl with soil.
Because there were technical difficulties. An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned technical difficulties and to provide an efficient potting apparatus by automating each step of the potting operation by sequence control.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the following means and device are adopted in the pot for raising a molded seedling of the present invention. Sunawachi, (b) placed horizontally shaped seedling preparative <br/> rate and small bowl tray to match the on clear distinction of transversely aligned center line of the forming seedling and small bowl, mutual reverse molded seedlings and bowls in vertical direction A small bowl tray transfer conveyor, which is provided on the left and right for intermittently transferring laterally one row at a time, and a molded seedling tray transfer conveyor equipped with a proximity sensor that detects the molded seedling on one side of the central part,

[0006] (b) gripping the molded seedlings horizontal row of molded seedlings tray, the seedling chuck to open, as well as arranged in horizontal row above the center of the forming seedling tray transporting conveyer via the cross bar rails, sequence Seedling arrangement of forming seedling tray horizontal pitch and small bowl arrangement of small bowl tray A seedling holding hand that can be converted to a horizontal pitch, and a seedling holding hand that is provided in front of the forming seedling tray conveying conveyor conveying direction with respect to the seedling chuck. Seedling holding means consisting of a seedling holding hand lift for moving up and down,

(C) An upper part of the seedling gripping hand lift is attached, and a seedling gripping hand slider that slides laterally so as to be able to return from above the molded seedling tray to above the center of the small bowl tray conveyer, and the arrangement lateral pitch of the seedling chucks, Formed seedling transfer means comprising a seedling holding hand opening device that expands and contracts to a small bowl array lateral pitch and a molded seedling array lateral pitch, respectively, during the lateral slide,

(D) The machine bowl of the conveyor is erected upright across the center of the small bowl tray conveyor, and the earth dropping cylinder is provided at the bottom just above the small bowl arranged in the small bowl tray.
Along with raising and lowering in synchronization with the operation of the seedling holding hand lift, a soil filling device provided with a soil hopper that is soiled from a soil falling cylinder into a small bowl for a certain time when descending,

(E) A irrigation device which crosses above the small bowl tray conveyer and is provided in front of the earthing hopper in the conveying direction of the small bowl tray conveyer, detects a small bowl placed on the small bowl tray, and irrigates for a certain period of time. And (f) means for sequence-controlling the above (a), (b), (c), and (d) in accordance with a predetermined program in order to raise the formed seedlings.

As the proximity sensor provided on the molded seedling tray transport conveyor, it is preferable to use an electrostatic capacitance type sensor having a good seedling sensing performance. Also, in order to prevent the molded seedling tray from lifting up from the conveyor when grasping and pulling up the molded seedling, the molded seedling tray transport conveyor has front and rear trays in front of and behind the seedling chuck as viewed in the transport direction. It is effective to provide a presser foot and to provide a tray roll-in prevention plate at the end of conveyance so that the conveyor does not turn over together with the conveyor when the conveyor turns over at the end of conveyance. Further, it is effective to separate the seedlings having drooping leaves that the rear tray retainer is provided with a divider plate juxtaposed to the cell vertical partition surface of the molded seedling tray.

The seedling chuck described above is suitable if the fingers of an air chuck are fitted with sandwiching claws so as not to damage the seedlings. The seedling holding handlift above is one in which rodless air cylinders with sliding carriers with magnetic proximity switches at the upper and lower ends are erected inside the trapezoidal frame, and the lower limit stopper is provided on the bottom plate of the trapezoidal frame. Then, it is effective to exactly no position to tell a seedling. In addition, the seedling holding hand slider described above, rodless air cylinders with sliding carriers with magnetic proximity switches at both left and right ends are installed upright on the machine frame of the conveyor crossing over the small bowl tray conveyor. If it is provided along the upper side of the gate-shaped machine frame and provided with limit stoppers at both ends, it is effective to accurately stop the seedling chuck.

Further, the seedling holding hand opening device described above is provided with a rodless air cylinder with a sliding carrier disposed on the left and right inside the crossbar rail, and a limit switch for contacting the sliding carrier on the upper surface of the crossbar rail. Are installed directly above the left and right ends of the left and right rodless air cylinders with sliding carriers, the lateral arrangement pitch of the seedling chuck exactly matches the lateral arrangement pitch of the molded seedling tray and the lateral arrangement pitch of the small bowl. It is effective in setting the seedlings in the center of the small bowl.

If the above-mentioned small bowl tray conveyor is driven intermittently by using an intermittent rotation type air actuator as a drive source and is also provided with an electromagnetic brake, intermittent conveyance can be assured and a transfer pitch can be set every time. it is effective for those with no deviation.

The sequence control means sequentially advances / stops the seedlings and the small bowls one row at a time in accordance with the above (a),
(B) Grab and raise seedlings, (c) Lateral transfer of seedlings to a small bowl and expansion of seedling spacing to a horizontal array pitch of small bowls, (b)
At the same time as descending the seedling to the small bowl by (), soiling the small bowl for a certain period of time by (D), opening the seedling by (B), simultaneously raising the seedling chuck of (B) and the soil putting device of (D), by (C) It is preferable that the seedling chucks are moved back to the molded seedling tray transfer conveyor and the horizontal arrangement pitch is reduced to perform a cycle operation.
Considering the case where the seedlings are not immediately irrigated by (e) for a certain period of time, it is preferable to separate the irrigation from the sequence control and operate independently.

[0015]

[Function] The potting device for molded seedlings configured as described above is a small bowl tray equipped with a small bowl in which a molded seedling tray on which seedlings have been grown is placed on a molded seedling tray transport conveyor (hereinafter referred to as molded seedling tray conveyor). Is placed on a small bowl tray conveyor (hereinafter abbreviated as small bowl tray conveyor), and when the intermittent rotation type air actuator is operated, both conveyors move and stop the molded seedlings and small bowls one row at a time in opposite directions. The seedlings and the small bowls are repeatedly conveyed intermittently at time intervals, and the center lines of the lateral array are aligned. At this time,
The electromagnetic brake securely stops the small bowl tray conveyor.

The seedling chuck of the seedling gripping hand is temporarily stopped one row before the position where the seedlings of the molded seedling tray are gripped, and the proximity sensor provided on one side of the central portion of the molded seedling tray conveyor detects the seedlings. Then, the sequence control means operates in response to the signal from the proximity sensor, and the seedling chuck first descends with the sandwiching jaws open, and then the molded seedling tray conveyor advances one horizontal row of the molded seedlings and stops. .

Next, the seedling chuck closes the claws and grabs the seedlings to rise, and while laterally transferring above the small bowl tray conveyor, the spacing between the seedlings is increased to the lateral arrangement pitch of the small bowls. Move down and put a small bowl in the soil for a certain period of time. Next, when the seedling chuck releases the seedlings, both the seedling chuck and the soil filling device rise, and the seedling chucks are returned horizontally on the forming seedling tray transfer conveyor, so that the lateral arrangement pitch becomes the lateral arrangement pitch of the seedlings on the forming seedling tray. Reduce the size and then return to the state of raising the bowl. This device repeats the above in sequence and automatically raises the formed seedlings into small pots. Further, when the irrigation device detects a small bowl placed on the small bowl tray, it irrigates the molded seedlings raised by a single operation.

In the above-mentioned pot raising action, the magnetic proximity switches provided on the upper and lower ends of the rodless air cylinder with a sliding carrier for the seedling holding hand lift can accurately control the lifting amount of the seedling holding hand. And operates as a sequence control switch. Similarly seedling grasping hand slider and enlargement of the lateral array pitch of the lateral movement Ryo及 beauty seedlings chuck seedlings gripping magnetic proximity sensor also seedling grasping hands were attached to sliding dengue carrier with rodless air cylinder of the hand open device, respectively ensures reduction It also works as a sequence control switch .

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4, 1 is a molded seedling tray conveyor, 2 is a small bowl tray conveyor, and both are horizontally arranged side by side. Reference numeral 3 is a seedling holding hand, and 4 is a seedling holding hand lift, both of which constitute seedling holding means and are horizontally provided above the central portion of the molded seedling tray conveyor. Reference numeral 30 is a seedling chuck, and LS1 is a proximity sensor for detecting a formed seedling. For LS1, a capacitance type proximity sensor capable of sensing an object other than a metal in order to sense a molded seedling was used. Reference numeral 5 is a seedling holding hand slider, and 6 is a seedling holding hand open device, both of which constitute molded seedling transferring means. Reference numeral 7 is a soil filling device, 8 is a watering device, 9 is a sequence control box, and 10 is an air pressure control box.

The molded seedling tray conveyor 1 and the small bowl tray conveyor 2 are both chain conveyors, and chains 12 and 21 are arranged side by side inside the conveyor machine frame 11 and the conveyor machine frame 20, respectively. F1 and F2 are the transport directions of the molded seedling tray conveyor and the small bowl tray conveyor, respectively. Below, on the left and right and front and back on the conveyor,
Unless otherwise specified, the above-mentioned transport directions F1 and F2 are used.
It is the display as seen in.

The conveyor frame 20 includes upper and lower vertical girders 22,
23 parallel to the left and right (see Figure 2)
Also, a pedestal 25 having a seat plate 26 attached to the lower end portion so that the height can be adjusted is framed in a rectangular shape, and the seat plate 26 lays it horizontally on the floor surface G. In addition, the conveyor frame 2
No. 0 has chain 21 and 21 with small bowl tray 27
Can be placed horizontally. Conveyor frame 11
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, is mounted horizontally on brackets 28 and 29, which are horizontally projected on the right side of the conveyor machine frame 20 when viewed in the F1 direction, via height adjusting bolts 210, 210, A known molded seedling tray A can be removably placed on the inside via chains 12, 12.

The molded seedling tray A shown in FIG. 1 is a well-known square plastic in which a square cone cell A1 having a depth of 40 mm is arranged in a vertical direction in 23 rows at a pitch of 26 mm and 11 rows in a horizontal pitch of 25 mm, and a total of 253 pieces are arranged vertically and horizontally. It is made of board. Small bowl tray 2
7 is a thin steel plate 211 in which a small bowl for a general bowl raising is detachably fitted, 5 rows in a vertical pitch of 101.6 mm, 11 rows in a horizontal pitch of 11 rows, 55 rows in a vertical and horizontal rectangular array. A handle 271 is fixed in an inverted U shape along the left and right edges of the upper surface. The small bowl hole 211 has a hole diameter such that when the small bowl is fitted, the upper surface of the small bowl projects from the upper surface of the small bowl tray 27 substantially in the same plane as the upper surface of the molded seedling tray A.

The chains 12 and 21 described above are both roller chains having a pitch of 25.4 mm, and the vertical pitch at the center of the small bowl hole is 101.6 which corresponds to four pitches of the roller chain.
mm. The vertical pitch of the cells A1 of the molded seedling tray A is 26 mm, which is very close to one pitch of the roller chain.

FIG. 5 is a development view schematically showing the rotating mechanism of the molded seedling tray conveyor 1 and the small bowl tray conveyor 2. In FIGS. 2 and 5, reference numeral 212 denotes an intermittent rotation type air actuator, and the rotation thereof rotates the conveyor driving shaft 217 from the sprocket 213 through the chain 216, the sprocket 214, and is fixed to both ends of the conveyor driving shaft 217. The installed sprockets 218, 218 are adapted to rotate in the transport direction F2. 21 in the figure
Reference numeral 5 is a tension wheel, and 219 is a bearing that horizontally supports the conveyor driving shaft 217.

The lever 220 shown in FIG. 2 rotates together with the air actuator 212, and 221 is a bearing plate. A stopper 222 on which the lever 220 rotates and abuts is fixedly provided in the upper middle of the bearing plate 221. The lever 220 makes contact with the stopper 222 to ensure that the air actuator 212 is stopped. Further, the electromagnetic brake 223 is provided at the left end of the conveyor drive shaft 217.
To provide. To further explain with reference to FIG. 9, the air actuator 212 is of a known type that rotates 90 degrees and automatically returns, a magnet is attached to the tip of the rotating arm 234, and the magnetic proximity switch LS2 is provided. A signal is sent to the sequence control box 9 by detecting the approach of the magnet, and the electromagnetic brake 223 is operated via the electric wire 235 connected to the box 9 to surely stop the conveyor driving shaft 217. 236 and 237 in the figure
Is an air hose of the air actuator 212.

In FIG. 5, the small bowl tray conveyor 2 is
Between the sprocket 226, 226 fixed to both ends of the conveyor driven shaft 225 horizontally supported by the bearing 224 provided at the conveyor transport start end of the conveyor machine frame 20 and the aforementioned sprocket 218, 218, the chain 21 is provided. , 21
Is wound horizontally ( see FIG. 1). Also, the chain 21,
The protrusion 21 has protrusions 227 provided at predetermined intervals (see FIG. 9). The protrusions 227 abut the front portion of the back side of the small bowl tray 27, and the small bowl tray 27 is connected and conveyed. Reference numeral 238 in FIGS. 1 and 3 is a contact sensor,
When the 21 rotates, the protrusion 227 is contacted to detect the feeding of the small bowl tray.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 5, the chain 12 of the molded seedling tray conveyor 1, the bearing 104 provided on the left and right bearings 102 and the conveyance start end portions provided on the left and right conveyance termination portion of the conveyor machine frame 11, respectively The conveyor driving shaft 101 and the conveyor driven shaft 103 are horizontally supported, and the chains 12 and 12 are horizontally wound around sprockets 105 and 106 respectively fixed to both ends of the both shafts. And the chain 1
2 and 12 are the conveyor driven shaft 101 and the conveyor driven shaft 2
It rotates through the reverse rotation mechanism 228 driven by 25 and rotates in the transport direction F1.

The reverse rotation mechanism 228 comprises the conveyor driven shaft 2
25, the gear 229 is fixed to the left end, the intermediate shaft 230 is reversely rotated by the gear 231 meshed with the gear 229, and the sprocket 232 fixed to the intermediate shaft 230 is fixed to the left end of the conveyor drive shaft 101. Sprockets 108
Is rotated by a chain 233. The left end of the conveyor drive shaft 101 is fixed to the center of the sprocket 108. Then, the molded seedling tray conveyor 1 and the small bowl tray conveyor 2 have a width of one row of the molded seedling tray A of 25.4 mm and one row of the small seed tray tray 2 respectively.
The rotation mechanism of the chains 12 and 21 is configured so that the chains 12 and 21 are simultaneously advanced by 1.6 mm. 1 to 3, 239 and 241 are chain covers, and 240 is a gear cover.

In FIGS. 1 and 5, reference numeral 109 denotes a horizontal rail, which is horizontally mounted between the left and right chains 12 so as to be fitted into the groove between the cell partition walls formed on the back side of the molded seedling tray A. (See FIG. 11). Forming seedling tray A by horizontal rail 109
Does not shift during transportation. The horizontal rails 109 are provided with 3 to 5 per molded seedling tray, and the molded seedling tray is connected and placed on the molded seedling tray conveyor 1. The one that fits into the partition at the tip of any molded seedling tray has a narrower front-to-back spacing than the others.

The molded seedling tray conveyor 1 will be further described with reference to FIGS. 6, 7 and 11. Since the seedlings in the cell A1 have roots, the seedling chuck 30 holds the seedlings as described later. When pulling up, the molded seedling tray may be pulled up together. In order to prevent this, a front tray retainer 13 and a rear tray retainer 14 are provided across the intermediate portion of the conveyor frame 11. Front tray presser 13
The rods 16 are arranged in a horizontal crossbar shape and fixed to a square bar 15 that crosses above the conveyor frame 11, and the rear tray retainer 14
Is a frame plate 17 that crosses over the conveyor frame 11 behind the front tray retainer 13 and has divider plates 18 arranged side by side in the form of horizontal bars.

As shown in FIG. 11, the rear tray retainer 14 is provided in front of the seedling chuck 30, and the front tray retainer 13 is disposed slightly offset from the seedling chuck 30 in the F1 direction, and at the same time as the rod 16. Divider plate 18
Is in sliding contact with the upper surface of the cell partition of the molded seedling tray. Reference numeral 110 denotes a tray bottom receiving plate, and in order to horizontally convey the molded seedling tray A in the F1 direction, the bracket 111 is provided below the rear tray retainer 14 so that the bottom surface of the molded seedling tray moves forward while sliding on the upper surface. It is fixed to the conveyor frame 11 via. Reference numeral 112 is a cross beam of the conveyor frame 11.

Referring to FIG. 8, the molded seedling tray conveyor 1 is provided with a tray 12 so that the molded seedling tray A is prevented from being entrained around the chain 12 at the end of conveyance by the downward reversal of the chain 12. An entrainment prevention plate 113 is provided. This tray entrainment prevention plate 113 is fitted into the cell partition vertical groove on the back surface of the molded seedling tray A, and as the molded seedling tray is conveyed, it is lifted and separated from the horizontal rail 109 to prevent entrainment. There is.

31 in FIGS. 1 and 4 is a crossbar rail and 3
1a is a removable dustproof cover. FIG. 10 shows the inside with the dust cover 31a removed. Figure 1
At 0, the crossbar rail 31 has a front cross beam 32,
The rear cross girders 33 are arranged in parallel in the front-rear direction, and the bottom plate 34 and the side plate 35 are fixed to each other to form a box shape. The seedling holding hand slider 6 is provided inside, and the seedling holding hand slider 3 is attached to the seedling holding hand slider 6. further,
The crossbar rail 31 is horizontally attached to the seedling holding hand lift 4, and left and right swings are stopped by braces 40 and 41 (see FIG. 19).

[0034] 36 is a seedling chuck guide rail, and parallel in fixed to the center portion of the rear cross beams 33, for porting seedlings small bowl which is fitted into the small bowl hole 211 of the small bowl tray 27, the lateral width of the small bowl tray 27 Make it slightly longer. Further, the seedling chuck guide rail 36 has an upper and lower end surface having a triangular cross section, and the V groove wheel 37 engages with the triangular portion to roll (see FIG. 14).

Further referring to FIG. 12, the seedling chuck 30 horizontally penetrates the lower end of the seedling chuck mounting plate 38 and is fixed by a tightening band 39 fixed to the mounting plate 38. The seedling chuck mounting plate 38 has such a width that when adjacent ones come into close contact with each other, the lateral pitch of the seedling chucks 30 becomes the lateral array pitch of the molded seedlings of the molded seedling tray A.
Two V-grooves 37 were provided above and below each seedling chuck mounting plate 38 so that the seedling chuck mounting plates 38 did not swing horizontally with respect to the seedling chuck guide rails 36.
As a result, the seedling chuck 30 also has no horizontal shaking, and the seedling can be vertically placed in a small bowl. In the case of the embodiment, the molded seedling tray A has cells arranged in 11 columns, so that there are 11 seedling chuck mounting plates 38 and 44 V groove wheels 37.

The seedling holding hand opening device 6 is shown in FIG.
0, as shown in FIG. 13, rodless air cylinders (hereinafter abbreviated as rodless air cylinders) 42 and 43 with sliding carriers of the same shape from the center to the left and right on the bottom plate 34 of the crossbar rail 31 are respectively mounted on the bracket 45. ,
The rod-less air cylinder is fixed with a seedling chuck mounting plate 38 at both left and right ends on a sliding carrier (hereinafter abbreviated as carrier) 44 of the rodless air cylinder. The guide rail 36 travels, and the gap between the seedling chucks 30 expands and contracts. Rodless air cylinder 4
When the piston head is moved inside the cylinder by air pressure, the carrier 44 slides on the outside of the cylinder by magnetically following the piston head.

Furthermore, when explaining the seedling grasping hands open device 6, as shown in FIG. 13, the center of the seedling chuck mounting plate 38a is higher projected than the upper end of the other, in the central portion of the front Hoyokoketa 33 The bolt 48 is fixed to the fixed protrusion 48. Then, the seedling chuck mounting plates 38 at the left and right ends are L-shaped.
Each of the brackets 49 is provided so as to project outward, and the carrier 4
4 L-shaped piece 50 fixed outwardly to L-shaped bracket 49
It is connected with a bolt 51. Therefore, when the carrier 44 of the rodless air cylinders 42 and 43 moves outward, the seedling chucks 30 on the left and right sides of the center seedling chuck mounting plate 38a are moved.
The lateral pitch of the carrier extends, and the lateral pitch decreases as the carrier 44 moves inward. Reference numeral 58 denotes a flexible connecting body, and as shown in FIG. 16, the tip portions are respectively coupled to the adjacent seedling chuck mounting plates 38 to regulate the extension of the lateral pitch of the seedling chuck 30.

In FIG. 10, limit switches LS7A, 7 are provided to limit the stroke of the carrier 44.
B and LS8A, 8B are arranged on the upper surface of the crossbar rail 31, and all seedling chucks 30 (11 in the embodiment).
Has been expanded and contracted to the specified size. The contacts of each of the limit switches project inside the crossbar rail 31, and when the carrier 44 contacts, the solenoid valve SV4 shown in FIG. 28 operates and the air hoses 52 and 53 shown in FIG.
, 54 and 55 are switched to send air,
Carrier 44 for rodless air cylinders 42 and 43
Is designed to work inward and outward. Figure 10
Reference numeral 56 is a throttle valve.

14 to 17 show a part of the seedling holding hand 3 and the seedling holding hand opening device 6 in detail. The seedling chuck mounting plate 38 has brackets 5 whose front ends are parallel to the seedling chuck mounting plate 38 at both upper edges of the front surface.
7 are provided in a protruding manner, and both ends of the flexible connector 58 are joined to the tips of the adjacent members. The embodiment uses a chain. Then, as described above, when the mutual spacing of the seedling chucks 30 is reduced to P3 (see FIG. 16) of the cell lateral array pitch of the molded seedling tray, the flexible connecting body 58 is bent, and when the straight joints 58 are also extended straight, as shown in FIG. it is to regulate the mutual interval seedlings chuck 30 to the pitch P4 as. P4 is the horizontal arrangement pitch of the small bowls arranged in the small bowl tray.

In the seedling chuck 30, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, thin spring steel plate sandwiching claws 61 and 62 are fixed to the outside of the left and right fingers 60 of the known air chuck 59,
When the fingers 60, 60 are closed by receiving air from the flexible air hose 64 connected to the tail end of the air chuck 59, the molded seedling N is sandwiched by the tips of the sandwiching claws 61, 62. Further, in the air chuck 59, the finger 60 is automatically opened by the elasticity of the spring 63 when the air is released. Therefore, when the seedling chuck 30 is deflated, the sandwich nail 6
1, 62 are also opened like a chain line so that the molded seedling N can be released. Also, eliminate the entanglement of the leaves of the molded seedlings.
The seedling chucks 30 adjacent to each other,
The tips of the sandwiching claws 61 and 62 that come into contact with each other when opened
It is possible to prevent the leaves from getting in from the tips of the claws.
preferable.

In the seedling chuck 30, the sandwiching claws 61 and 62 are normally open, and the signal from the above-mentioned proximity sensor LS1 is sent to the sequence control box 9, as shown in FIG.
The solenoid valve SV6 is operated to send air to sandwich the seedling, and after a certain time, the air escapes and the spring 63 sandwiches the sandwiching claws 61, 6
2 automatically returns to the open state and releases the seedlings. To pinch the soft seedlings without damaging them,
Pressure reducing valve 10 provided with air pressure in air pressure control box 10
0 (see FIG. 28) is 6 kgf / cm ^{2 to} 7 kgf / cm ^2.
It should be set to.

Here, the procedure for attaching the proximity sensor LS1 to the conveyor frame 11 will be described. Proximity sensor LS1
Is exactly 1 horizontal from the position where the seedling chuck 30 sandwiches the molded seedling.
To sense the shaping seedlings column front, in the position waved tip mounting direction in the direction F1, in which mounted on the right outer side of the conveyor machine frame 11. That is, in the sequence control of the device of the present invention, first, the seedling chuck 30 in which the above-mentioned sandwiching claws 61 and 62 are opened is lowered by the seedling detection signal of LS1. Next, in the space where the sandwiching claws 61, 61 are open, the molded seedling tray conveyor 1 sends the seedlings in the horizontal row of the molded seedling tray to the position where they are sandwiched by the seedling chucks 30 and stops.
In this way, the raising of seedlings begins.

When the molded seedling tray is fed as described above, the rear tray retainer 14 described above not only prevents the molded seedling tray from floating, but also the divider plate 1
, 18 pass on both sides of the seedling, causing the leaf to hang down so that the seedling is vertically held by the seedling chuck 30 (see FIG. 11).

Next, the seedling holding hand 4 and the seedling holding hand slider 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. In the seedling holding hand 4, the rodless air cylinder 68 is vertically fixed on the upper surface of the bottom plate 66 of the trapezoidal frame 65, and the crossbar rail 31 is fixed laterally on the rear surface of the carrier 69. Also, the seedling holding hand opening device 6 is integrally lifted and lowered by the rodless air cylinder 68. The rodless air cylinder 68 is
It is a double-acting type that receives air from an air pressure source via air hoses 71, 72. A lower limit stopper 70 is provided upright on the bottom plate 66 so that the height can be adjusted. The upper end of the stopper 70 contacts the lower end surface of the carrier 69 and regulates the lower limit of the crossbar rail 31.

LS3 and LS4 are magnetic proximity switches for restricting the lift amount of the rodless air cylinder 68, and are connected to the external terminal block TB (see FIG. 29) of the sequence control box 9 via electric wires. There is. L
Signals from S3 and LS4 are sent to the sequence control box 9, the solenoid valve SV2 shown in FIG. 28 is operated according to a predetermined sequence control program, and the rodless air cylinder 68 raises and lowers the crossbar rail 31. Is designed to

The trapezoidal frame 65 has a ceiling plate 67 fixed thereto, and an air hose 73 for receiving air from an air pressure source at one end thereof.
The air pipe 73 connecting a is horizontally fixed on the ceiling plate 67 in a left-right symmetrical manner. To the air pipes 73, the air hoses 64 for supplying air to the seedling chuck 30 described above are individually connected to the seedling chuck 30.

The seedling holding hand slider 5 crosses the conveyor machine frame 20 and projects one end above the conveyor machine frame 11, and a gate frame 74 is erected on the conveyor machine frame 20 in parallel with the crossbar rail 31. A rodless air cylinder 75 is installed right below the upper side (see FIG. 3). The right end of the rodless air cylinder 75 is the conveyor frame 20.
It is arranged so as to be slightly on the right side of the vertical center line. The ceiling plate 67 of the seedling holding hand lift 4 is horizontally attached to the carrier 76 of the rodless air cylinder 75. Further, at both left and right ends of the rodless air cylinder 75, limit stoppers 7 for restricting left and right moving positions of the magnetic proximity switches LS5 and LS6 and the carrier 76 are provided.
7, 78 are provided so that the amount of protrusion can be adjusted inward.

Then, as shown in FIG. 18, when the carrier 76 is moved to the right side, the vertical center line of the small bowl hole 211 of the small bowl tray 27 placed on the small bowl tray conveyor 2,
The front and rear positions of the seedling holding hand slider 5, the limit stopper 78, and the magnetic proximity switch LS6 stop the carrier 76 so that the sandwiching claws 61 and 62 of the seedling chuck 30 described in FIG. I have decided the position. Also, if you move to the left as shown in Fig. 3,
With the magnetic proximity switch LS5 and the limit stopper 77, the position of the seedling chuck 30 for holding the seedling is formed.
It is directly above the molded seedling in the cell A1 of the seedling tray A.

As shown in FIG. 19, air hoses 79 are connected to both ends of the rodless air cylinder 75 so that the carrier 76 can be moved left and right by air pressure. The electric wire 80 connected to the LS5 is connected to the sequence control box 9 and the illustration is omitted.
Is connected to the sequence control box 9 similarly to the LS5. Rodless air cylinder 75 is LS5, LS6
28, the solenoid valve SV3 shown in FIG. 28 is sequence-controlled, and the carrier 76 is moved left and right at a time predetermined by a program.

Next, the soil putting device 7 will be described with reference to FIGS. 20 and 21, the column 8
Reference numerals 2 and 83 have substantially the same shape, and are opposed to the left and right sides of the central portion of the conveyor machine frame 20 and are erected slightly forward of the seedling holding hand slider 5 (see FIG. 2), so that a slight gap is formed between the inside and both sides. Through the soil hopper 81 to the conveyor frame 20
It is provided so that it can be moved up and down orthogonally to. 84 is a spacer between the pillars 82 and 83. Reference numeral 87 is a wire mesh frame for removing small stones and the like when the soil is put into the soil hopper 81.

Further, the pillars 82 and 83 are formed with fishing-up portions 701 and 702 at the tops thereof, respectively, and sprocket 703 and 704 are axially supported inside thereof, respectively, and projectingly provided on the upper left and right sides of the earthing hopper 81. Fishing chain 7 having one end connected to the chain connecting pieces 716, 716
05 and 706 are wound around the sprockets 703 and 704.

The chains 705 and 706 are shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), (b), and FIG. 23, the piston rods 713 of the double-acting air cylinders 711 and 712 are pivotally attached at one end 714 to the other end of a lever plate 717. The double-acting air cylinders 711 and 712 are the same ones having magnets (not shown) in the pistons, and are erected on the upper surfaces of the inner bottom portions of the pillars 82 and 83 so as to face each other in the left and right directions. In addition, magnetic proximity switches LS9 and LS10 are provided on one of the double-acting air cylinders 711 at the upper and lower sides according to the amount of elevation of the soil hopper 81. The lever plate 717 is pivotally attached to the lever fulcrum mounting plate 715 by a lever fulcrum pin 718, and is provided so that the earthing hopper 81 is raised and lowered via a chain 705 (the same applies to the chain 706) by raising and lowering the piston rod 713. .

Further, at the bottom of the soil hopper 81, a soil falling cylinder 93 is provided so as to project downward directly above the small bowl B on the small bowl tray. The soil falling tube 93 has an outflow port 94 fixed to the tip end so as to be replaceable (see FIG. 26). That is, if the soil falling cylinders 93 have different opening diameters of the outflow ports 94, the soil dropping cylinders having different outflow amounts can be formed without changing the main body. Further, a die cast product of a corrosion resistant aluminum alloy was used for the earth falling cylinder 93. 726 is a hanging bolt, and the front and the rear of the soil falling cylinder 93 are fixed to the lower bottom portion of the soil hopper 81. L shown in FIGS. 1 and 22
S11 is a level sensor provided near the bottom of the soil hopper 81, and detects an abnormality when the amount of soil in the soil hopper becomes lower than the sensor position.

Reference numerals 720 and 721 shown in FIG. 23 denote rollers projecting from both side plates of the soil hopper 81. As shown in FIG. 24, these rollers 720 and 721 are provided so that the directions thereof are orthogonal to each other, and the small bowl tray of the column body 82 (the column body 83 is also the same).
Over conveyor inside the conveying direction after surface soil insertion hopper was fixed along the lifting guide 710 (709 is also the same), the roller 720 and the side wall of the groove rail 727 formed in the cross angle grooves,
The outer periphery of 720 rolls and the outer periphery of the roller 721 rolls on the groove bottom, so that the earthing hopper 81 is prevented from swinging back and forth and left and right. That is, in the soil filling device 7, the soil falling cylinder 93 is kept upright above the small bowl so that the small bowl can be reliably soiled.

In FIGS. 20 and 21, the soil hopper 8 is used.
The reference numeral 1 designates the rotating mechanism of the earthing auger 98 on the rear upper surface when viewed in the small bowl conveying direction. That is, the reduction motor 85 with a brake is horizontally provided at the left end portion of the rear upper surface of the soil hopper 81, and the bearing 89 and a suitable number of bearings 90, 90 are arranged in a horizontal line on the rear upper surface of the soil hopper 81. The horizontal rotary shaft 92 and the auger shaft 95, which are arranged and pivotally supported by the bearing 90, are connected to one that interlocks via a bevel gear pair 91. Reference numeral 86 denotes a capacitor, which is connected to TM2 of the control box 9 shown in FIG. 29 because the deceleration motor 85 with a brake is timed by a timer. Reference numeral 707 is a gear cover that covers the above-described rotation mechanism.

Then, the horizontal rotary shaft 92 is bent and the flexible joint 8
8, the lower end portion of the auger shaft 95 is connected to the output shaft (not shown) of the motor 85 via the intermediary of FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 7, the bottom plate 724 and the partition wall 725 on the front side in the transport direction F2 are pivotally supported by the intermediate bearing 96 provided on the bottom plate 724 of the pocket 723 formed in the entire length of the soil hopper 81, and the lower end is also supported by the bottom plate 724. Protruding below. Sat insertion auger 98, the upper end portion connected to the coupling 97 which is fixed to the lower end of the auger shaft 95, that have to be rotated with the auger shaft 95. Reference numeral 99 is an agitator provided on the soil auger 98 (see FIG. 26) . An emergency switch 708 in FIG. 20 is connected to the electromagnetic contactor MC of the control box 9 shown in FIG. 29 to stop the operation of the entire apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 1, the irrigation system 8 has a water supply pipe 801 and a irrigation pipe 804 as main parts. As shown in FIG. 2, the water supply pipe 801 is provided with a solenoid valve 802.
And a spill pipe 803 and a manual cock 810. The water supply section pipe 801 is configured such that a hose 805 is started up from a terminal section and water is supplied to the water supply section pipe 804. As shown in FIG. 27, the irrigation section piping 804 has columns 808 standing upright on left and right upper vertical girders 22 of the conveyor machine frame, and a horizontal girder 807 is horizontally installed on the upper end thereof.

Then, the horizontal beam 807 is attached to the pipe fixing band 8
09 is fixed in an appropriate number, and the lower pipe 811 is fixed with this band 809
Is fixed, and the small bowl tray conveyor 2 is crossed orthogonally and upright. A PVC pipe is used for the irrigation part pipe 804, and a nozzle 806 is provided on the lower surface of the lower pipe 811 so as to project downward in accordance with the horizontal arrangement pitch of the small bowl holes 211 of the small bowl tray 27. Further, photoelectric sensors LS12 are provided on the upper surfaces of the upper vertical girders 22 on the left and right of the conveyor machine frame 20 in proximity to the columns 808, the passage of the small bowl is detected, and the solenoid valve 802 is operated via the sequence control box 9 to irrigate the water. start,
Controlled stopping. Further, the irrigation time was controlled by providing a timer TM1 in the box 9 (see FIG. 29).

Next, FIG. 28 shows an operation circuit diagram for pneumatic control of this apparatus. In the figure, 10 indicates an air pressure control box, and the pressure reducing valve 100 controls the air pressure sent to the seedling chuck 30 to 5
The pressure is reduced to ~ 6 kgf / cm ² . For the other rodless air cylinders 42, 43, 68, 75 and the double-acting air cylinders 711, 712, the air pressure is 6 to 7 kg.
The pressure is reduced to f / cm ² . 212 is an intermittent rotation type air actuator, 802 is a flooding device solenoid valve, 7 is a soil filling device, 3 is a seedling holding hand, 4 is a seedling holding hand lift,
5 is a seedling holding hand slider, and 6 is a seedling holding hand open device.

All SVs in the figure are solenoid valves.
The LS12 is a photoelectric sensor of the irrigation system. The LS 11 is a level sensor that detects the amount of soil in the soil hopper 81. LS2 to LS6 and LS7A, 7B and LS8
A and 8B are magnetic proximity switches for sequence control. FIG. 29 is a front view of the sequence control box 9, and the device names are as shown in the figure.

Further, FIG. 30 is an external front view of the sequence control box 9. The control contents of cos (command switch) and PB switch (push button switch) are
It is as shown in the figure. 9a is an abnormality indicator light,
(1) is a power source, (2) is an air actuator 212 for driving the conveyor, (3) is a seedling holding hand lift 4,
(4) is a seedling holding hand slider 5, (5) is a watering device 8, (6) is a seedling holding hand opening device 6, (7)
Is a double-acting air cylinder 711, 712, (8) is a spare,
(9) is a deceleration motor with a brake 85, and (10) is for displaying an abnormality of the sky of the soil hopper 81 (detected by LS11).

FIG. 31 is a block diagram of the control electric circuit. The program is read into the ROM and stored in the CPU. Each LS on the left side is connected to the external terminal block TB of the sequence control box 9 in FIG. In addition to the components shown in FIG. 28, the actuation unit on the right side includes the 901 patrol light shown in FIG. 3, the electromagnetic brake 213 for the conveyor described above, and the soil rotating the auger shaft 95 of the soil filling device 7.
Insert auger motor (deceleration motor with brake shown in Fig. 20)
Control unit 85) .

FIG. 32 is a time cycle diagram of sequence control. One cycle was set to 17 seconds. In the figure, 3.
The reason why the seedling chuck was closed for 1 second was to wait for the seedlings sent by the molded seedling tray conveyor to settle down before sandwiching the seedlings. Also, 5. The reason why the lateral movement of the seedling chuck was set to 3 seconds was that the seedlings sandwiched between the seedling chucks were laterally moved at a slow speed without lateral shake. 10. Seedling chuck sideways
After the seedling chuck released the seedlings, the speed was increased to 2 seconds.

FIG. 33 shows the pot raising work by this apparatus in the order of steps. In the figure, the processes connected with + symbols are the same.
It shows what happens at times. As for brackish water, it is not always necessary to do it at the same time, so it is operated independently. That is, a small bowl is detected by the photoelectric sensor LS12 of the pass sensor, and the brackish water is independently operated separately from the sequence control.

FIGS. 34A to 34D are schematic views showing the operation in the above steps. In the figure, this device shows that the seedling chuck is placed close to the surface of the molded seedling tray from above so that the stem can be pinched immediately after it comes out of the soil so as not to damage the seedling. There is. Further, as shown by the line aa in the figure, it is also shown that the upper end surface of the small bowl is made to be the same as the surface of the molded seedling tray.

Next, Table 1 shows initial conditions for automatic operation corresponding to the initial state shown in FIG. In Table 1, set each switch of part 10 to the neutral position.
And the left return position. This is
In dynamic driving, it is not necessary to operate each switch, but
To avoid erroneous switch operation when switching to dynamic operation
Therefore, the three-stage switching switch of cos3 to cos6 in FIG.
Set the switch to the "off" neutral position and set cos2, cos7 and
And cos8 are switched in two stages, respectively, "return" on the left side,
It indicates that it is set to “open” and “off”. Table 2 shows the items and functions of the driving operation.

[0067]

[Table 1]

[0068]

[Table 2]

[0069]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above, it has the following effects.

Since the molding seedling tray conveyor and the small bowl tray conveyor can be installed in the right and left directions so that they can be reversed from each other and the installation area can be reduced, a pot raising device that can be used even in a small area nursery plant is provided. Can be provided. Seedling feeding and small bowl feeding, seedling chuck, seedling grasping hand, seedling grasping hand lift, seedling grasping hand slider, seedling grasping hand open device, soil filling device, conveyor driven air actuator were all used as pneumatic equipment. Contamination of seedlings due to leaks is completely eliminated and the working environment can be made clean. Further, since the air chuck is used as the seedling chuck, it is possible to raise the seedling without damaging the seedling by adjusting the air pressure.

Seedling holding hand, seedling holding hand lift,
By providing means for sequence control of seedling holding hand slider, seedling holding hand open device, and soil filling device, simply raising and lowering the formed seedling tray and the small bowl tray to the conveyor respectively, the rest automatically raises the formed seedling pot. it is possible to be Rukoto the work, it is possible to provide a potted equipment that can handle a large number of seedlings with high efficiency.

By providing the front tray retainer and the rear tray retainer on the molded seedling tray conveyor, it is possible to prevent the molded seedling tray from being pulled up together even when the seedlings having roots in the cell are pulled up by the seedling chuck. You can Further, since the tray entrainment prevention plate is provided at the transfer end of the molded seedling tray conveyor, the tray can be automatically lifted from the conveyor and separated. Therefore, Ri interruption of work is little, it is possible to perform potting work with high efficiency.

Further, since the rear tray retainer is provided with the divider plates arranged side by side, even a seedling with slightly dropped leaves can be raised upright and placed in a small bowl. it can be a pair Shi accuracy better potted into.

Conventionally, in the case of Kasumi grass, about 20 workers were required to manually raise about 20,000 seedlings in 7 hours. The bowl raising device of the present invention is used in one cycle 17
In a second, the seedlings in the horizontal row of the molded seedling tray can be potted at a time in a small bowl, so that half the number of staff required to pot about 25,000 seedlings in 7 hours.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a part of the whole plant for raising a molded seedling according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a right side view of the pot raising device.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the pot raising device.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the pot raising device.

FIG. 5 is a development view schematically showing a rotation mechanism of a molded seedling tray and a small bowl tray conveyor.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view of an essential part of the central portion of the molded seedling tray transport conveyor.

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 6B.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of a main part taken along the line AA of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an essential part of a small bowl tray transfer conveyor drive unit.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a main part of the seedling holding means.

FIG. 11 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the main part of the center portion of the molded seedling tray transport conveyor during work.

FIG. 12 is a front view of a part of the seedling holding means viewed from the transfer direction of the molded seedling tray transfer conveyor.

FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of a seedling holding hand opening device.

FIG. 14 is a side view in which a part of a main part of the seedling holding means is vertically cut.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of the essential part of the seedling holding means.

FIG. 16 is a rear view of a part of the seedling holding means as viewed in the transfer direction of the molded seedling tray transfer conveyor showing the mode in which the pitch of the seedling chuck is closed.

FIG. 17 is a rear view of a part of the seedling holding means as viewed in the transfer direction of the molded seedling tray transfer conveyor showing the mode in which the pitch of the seedling chuck is opened.

FIG. 18 is a front view of the pot raising device showing a mode in which the seedling holding means is moved to the small bowl tray side.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a seedling holding hand and a part of the seedling holding hand slider.

FIG. 20 is a partially cutaway front view of the soil filling device.

FIG. 21 is a partially cutaway plan view of the soil filling device.

FIG. 22 (a) is a left side view of a portion provided with a soil filling device.

FIG. 22 (B) is a right side view of a portion provided with the soil filling device.

FIG. 23 is a right side view showing an elevating mechanism of the soil putting device.

FIG. 24 is a perspective view in which a part of the left side of the soil filling device is disassembled.

FIG. 25 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the line C-C of FIG. 20.

FIG. 26 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a soil falling tube portion of the soil depositing device.

FIG. 27 is a perspective view of a main part of the irrigation system.

FIG. 28 is an operation circuit diagram for pneumatic control.

FIG. 29 is a front view showing the inside of the control box.

FIG. 30 is an external front view of the control box.

FIG. 31 is a block diagram of a control electric circuit.

FIG. 32 is a time cycle diagram of the pot raising device.

FIG. 33 is a block diagram showing a work process.

FIG. 34 is a schematic view showing the operation of the work process from the initial state.

FIG. 35 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the work process following FIG. 34.

FIG. 36 is a schematic view showing the operation of the work process following FIG. 35.

FIG. 37 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the final work step following FIG. 36.

[Explanation of symbols] 1 molded seedling tray transfer conveyor 2 small bowl tray transfer conveyor 3 seedling gripping hand 4 seedling gripping hand lift 5 seedling gripping hand slider 6 seedling gripping hand open device 7 soil filling device 8 irrigation device 9 sequence control box 10 pneumatic control Box 13 Front tray retainer 14 Rear tray retainer 18 Divider plate 30 Seedling chuck 31 Crossbar rail 42, 43, Rodless air cylinder with sliding carrier 68, 75, Rodless air cylinder with sliding carrier 59 Air chuck 70 Lower limit stopper 81 Sat insertion hopper 93 soil falling tube 212 intermittently rotary air actuator A molding seedling tray B small bowl N molded seedlings LS1 capacitive proximity sensor LS2, LS3, LS4, LS5, LS6 magnetic proximity type switch H LS7A, LS7B, LS8A, LS8B Limit switch LS9, LS10 Magnetic proximity switch LS11 Level sensor LS12 Photoelectric sensor

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] June 25, 1994

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Correction target item name] All drawings

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Figure 1]

[Fig. 2]

[Figure 3]

[Figure 6]

[Figure 8]

[Figure 4]

[Figure 5]

[Figure 7]

[Figure 9]

[Figure 10]

[Figure 22 (a)]

FIG. 25

FIG. 11

[Fig. 12]

[Fig. 13]

FIG. 14

FIG. 15

FIG. 16

FIG. 26

FIG. 27

FIG. 17

FIG. 18

FIG. 19

FIG. 20

FIG. 21

[Figure 22 (b)]

FIG. 23

FIG. 24

FIG. 28

FIG. 29

FIG. 30

FIG. 31

FIG. 32

FIG. 33

FIG. 34

FIG. 35

FIG. 36

FIG. 37

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] Brief description of the drawing

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a part of the whole plant for raising a molded seedling according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a right side view of the pot raising device.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the pot raising device.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the pot raising device.

FIG. 5 is a development view schematically showing a rotation mechanism of a molded seedling tray and a small bowl tray conveyor.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view of an essential part of the central portion of the molded seedling tray transport conveyor.

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 6B.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of a main part taken along the line AA of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an essential part of a small bowl tray transfer conveyor drive unit.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a main part of the seedling holding means.

[Fig. 11] Vertical cross-sectional view of the main part of the molded seedling tray conveyor at the time of work Page (4/6)

FIG. 12 is a front view of a part of the seedling holding means viewed from the transfer direction of the molded seedling tray transfer conveyor.

FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of a seedling holding hand opening device.

FIG. 14 is a side view in which a part of a main part of the seedling holding means is vertically cut.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of the essential part of the seedling holding means.

FIG. 16 is a rear view of a part of the seedling holding means as viewed in the transfer direction of the molded seedling tray transfer conveyor showing the mode in which the pitch of the seedling chuck is closed.

FIG. 17 is a rear view of a part of the seedling holding means as viewed in the transfer direction of the molded seedling tray transfer conveyor showing the mode in which the pitch of the seedling chuck is opened.

FIG. 18 is a front view of the pot raising device showing a mode in which the seedling holding means is moved to the small bowl tray side.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a seedling holding hand and a part of the seedling holding hand slider.

FIG. 20 is a partially cutaway front view of the soil filling device.

FIG. 21 is a partially cutaway plan view of the soil filling device.

FIG. 22 (a) is a left side view of a portion provided with a soil filling device.

FIG. 22 (B) is a right side view of a portion provided with the soil filling device.

FIG. 23 is a right side view showing an elevating mechanism of the soil putting device.

FIG. 24 is a perspective view in which a part of the left side of the soil filling device is disassembled.

FIG. 25 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the line C-C of FIG. 20.

FIG. 26 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a soil falling tube portion of the soil depositing device.

FIG. 27 is a perspective view of a main part of the irrigation system.

FIG. 28 is an operation circuit diagram for pneumatic control.

FIG. 29 is a front view showing the inside of the control box.

FIG. 30 is an external front view of the control box.

FIG. 31 is a block diagram of a control electric circuit.

FIG. 32 is a time cycle diagram of the pot raising device.

FIG. 33 is a block diagram showing a work process.

FIG. 34 is a schematic view showing the operation of the work process from the initial state. Page (5/6)

FIG. 35 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the work process following FIG. 34.

FIG. 36 is a schematic view showing the operation of the work process following FIG. 35.

FIG. 37 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the final work step following FIG. 36.

[Explanation of symbols] 1 molded seedling tray transfer conveyor 2 small bowl tray transfer conveyor 3 seedling gripping hand 4 seedling gripping hand lift 5 seedling gripping hand slider 6 seedling gripping hand open device 7 soil filling device 8 irrigation device 9 sequence control box 10 pneumatic control Box 13 Front tray retainer 14 Rear tray retainer 18 Divider plate 30 Seedling chuck 31 Crossbar rail 42, 43 Rodless air cylinder with sliding carrier 68, 75 Rodless air cylinder with sliding carrier 59 Air chuck 70 Lower limit stopper 81 Soil hopper 93 Soil drop tube 212 Intermittent rotation type air actuator A Molded seedling tray B Small bowl Page (6/6) N Molded seedling LS1 Capacitive proximity sensor LS2, LS3, LS4, LS5, LS6 Magnetic proximity Contact switch LS7A, LS7B, LS8A, LS8B Limit switch LS9, LS10 Magnetic proximity switch LS11 Level sensor LS12 Photoelectric sensor

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A device for raising a molded seedling from a molded seedling tray to a small bowl, comprising: (a) placing the molded seedling tray and the small bowl tray horizontally, and aligning the horizontal array centerlines of the molded seedling and the small bowl in line. The molded seedlings and small bowls in the vertical direction and in the opposite direction to the horizontal 1
Formed seedling tray transfer conveyor equipped with a small bowl tray transfer conveyor and a proximity sensor on the one side of the central part, which are arranged side by side for intermittent transfer row by row, and (b)
The seedling chucks that grab and release the formed seedlings in one horizontal row of the formed seedling tray are arranged in one row above the center of the formed seedling tray transfer conveyor via the crossbar rail, and the array lateral pitch is the formed seedling tray. Seedling arrangement horizontal pitch and seedling holding hand that can be converted to small bowl arrangement horizontal pitch of small bowl tray,
A seedling gripping means provided with a seedling gripping hand lift for raising and lowering the seedling gripping hand, and (c) an upper portion of the seedling gripping hand lift, which is provided in front of the seedling chuck in the forming seedling tray conveying conveyor conveying direction, is formed. The seedling gripping hand slider that slides horizontally from above the seedling tray to above the center of the small bowl tray conveyer, and the array lateral pitch of the seedling chucks are expanded to the lateral pitch of the small bowl array and the lateral pitch of the molded seedling array during the lateral sliding. And (2) a molding seedling transfer means comprising a shrinking seedling holding hand-opening device, and (d) a small earth bowl on the bottom of which is erected upright on the machine frame of the conveyor, crossing over the center of the small bowl tray conveyor. It is installed just above the small bowl placed on the tray, and moves up and down in synchronization with the operation of the seedling holding hand lift, and at the time of falling, the soil is dropped. A soil-filling device for soiling from a cylinder into a small bowl for a certain period of time, and (e) a bowl that crosses above the small bowl tray transfer conveyor and is provided in front of the small bowl tray transfer conveyor with respect to the small bowl tray transfer conveyor. A irrigation device that detects small bowls placed on a tray and irrigates for a certain period of time, and (f) in order to raise the formed seedlings, according to a predetermined program, (a), (b), (c),
(D) sequence control means, and a potted plant for molding seedlings. 2. The potting device for molded seedlings according to claim 1, wherein the proximity sensor of the molded seedling tray conveyer conveyor is of a capacitance type. 3. A molded seedling tray transfer conveyor, wherein front and rear tray retainers are provided in front of and behind the seedling chuck, respectively, and a tray roll-in prevention plate is provided at a transfer end portion as viewed in the transfer direction. 1. A potting device for molded seedlings according to 1. 4. The potting device for molded seedlings according to claim 1, wherein the rear tray retainer is provided with a divider plate arranged in parallel with the cell longitudinal partition surface of the molded seedling tray. 5. The potted plant for molded seedlings according to claim 1, wherein the seedling chuck is sandwiched between fingers of an air chuck and a claw is attached. 6. The seedling holding hand lift has rodless air cylinders with sliding carriers, which are provided with magnetic proximity switches at the upper and lower ends, respectively, and is erected in the trapezoidal frame, and the lower limit stopper is provided on the trapezoidal frame bottom plate. The potted device for molding seedlings according to claim 1, which is a shaving. 7. A gate, in which a seedling holding hand slider has rodless air cylinders with sliding carriers having magnetic proximity switches at both left and right ends, and which is erected on a conveyor machine frame across the upper side of a small bowl tray conveyor. The potting device for molded seedlings according to claim 1, which is provided along the upper side of the forming machine frame and provided with limit stoppers at both ends. 8. The seedling holding hand opening device has rodless air cylinders with sliding carriers arranged on the left and right inside the crossbar rail, and a limit switch that abuts the sliding carrier on the upper surface of the crossbar rail. 2. The potting device for molded seedlings according to claim 1, wherein the rodless air cylinders are provided right above the left and right ends, respectively. 9. A small bowl tray conveyer is intermittently driven by using an intermittent rotation type air actuator as a drive source, and
The potted device for molding seedlings according to claim 1, further comprising an electromagnetic brake. 10. The sequence control means sequentially advances / stops the seedlings and the small bowls side by side in one row, according to (a).
(B) Grab and raise seedlings, (c) Lateral transfer of seedlings to a small bowl and expansion of seedling spacing to a horizontal array pitch of small bowls, (b)
At the same time as descending the seedling to the small bowl by (), soiling the small bowl for a certain period of time by (D), opening the seedling by (B), simultaneously raising the seedling chuck of (B) and the soil putting device of (D), by (C) 2. The pot of the molded seedling according to claim 1, wherein the seedling chuck is moved back to the molded seedling tray conveyor and the horizontal arrangement pitch is reduced, and the irrigation is independently operated for a certain period of time by (e). Lifting device.