WO2008044995A1

WO2008044995A1 - Seed planting unit, planting device, carrying device and method of planting seeds

Info

Publication number: WO2008044995A1
Application number: PCT/SE2007/050727
Authority: WO
Inventors: Anders Landström
Original assignee: Lappland Design Ab
Priority date: 2006-10-10
Filing date: 2007-10-09
Publication date: 2008-04-17
Also published as: FI20090186A; FI124428B; SE531883C2; CA2666459C; SE0602132L; CA2666459A1

Abstract

A seed-planting unit (10) of a growth medium has the form of a cylindrica! body that is intended to accommodate a number of seeds (16), The unit (10) is arranged to be handled in a stack (20) formed from several such cylindrical bodies and is intended to be planted in ground (60) for the germination and growth of the seeds with the aid of a planting arrangement (30), which has a planting channel (32) for the accommodation of the stack (20) in a manner that allows sliding and the release of one unit (10) at a time into the ground during planting.

Description

Seed planting unit, planting device, carrying device and method of planting seeds

TECHNICAL AREA The invention concerns a seed-planting unit, a planting arrangement for such a seed-planting unit, a carrier and a method for the planting of seeds.

BACKGROUND

When reforesting cleared ground and scarified areas, either saplings are planted or seeds are sowed in the ground. The planting of saplings is relatively time- consuming and thus expensive, since the saplings require a lot of space and must be handled individually. Conventional sowing of seeds normally has the disadvantages of low germination capacity and the requirement to return to the site when the tree has started to grow in order to monitor the saplings and, possibly, to thin the growth.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

One aim of the invention is to remove the disadvantages specified above and to provide a seed-planting unit, a planting arrangement and a method that can provide a high seed germination capacity for the seeds, and a rapid and simple planting process without the need of a subsequent check.

This is achieved through the characteristics that are specified in the attached claims.

According to an examination of the invention, the seed-planting unit comprises a growth medium in the form of a cylindrical body intended to accommodate a num- ber of seeds and with the ability to be handled in a stack composed of a number of the said units. The unit is intended to be inserted into the ground for the germination and growth of the seeds with the aid of a planting arrangement that has a planting channel for the accommodation of the stack in a manner that allows sliding and the release of one unit at a time into the ground when planting. It is thus always possible, in contrast to the case for saplings, to stack the seed-planting units since they have the form of a cylindrical body, and this facilitates considerably their storage, handling and final planting. The body keeps the seeds dry and prevents them starting to germinate until they are placed in the ground. It also protects the seeds from, for example, subsequently being eaten by birds. The growth medium in the form of the cylindrical body can furthermore provide a good, predetermined growth environment for the seeds when the body is placed into the ground, and this ensures a high germination capacity.

If the stack of units is surrounded by a container in the form of a tube, the units can be held securely in place in the stack during storage and transport. The stacks can also in this way be rapidly loaded into the planting tube. The container can be designed also to prevent the penetration of moisture. It can be possible to seal the opposing open ends of the tube by covers, which are removed at the planting of the units. The seed-planting unit can furthermore demonstrate an upper part that is poor in nutrients for the accommodation of the said seeds, and a lower part that is rich in nutrients in order to provide nutrition for the said seeds after the planting. The germination capacity of the seeds and their growth ability can in this manner be improved.

A planting arrangement according to the invention can have a channel for the accommodation of the stack of units in a manner that allows sliding and a planting means at a lower end of the channel and arranged such that it can be driven down into the ground during a planting operation, and in the ground release a lower seed- planting unit, which has been released from the stack.

The planting means in one embodiment can comprise a pair of jaws arranged such that when the ground interaction unit is driven down the jaws surround the lower, released seed-planting unit, to be subsequently opened in order to release the seed-planting unit in the ground.

It is appropriate that the planting arrangement have also a lock arranged to hold fixed a unit immediately superior to the lower unit during the operation of plant- ing, in order to allow the lower unit to be released from the stack.

The channel in the planting arrangement can be arranged also to accommodate the said tubes that contain the stack in a manner that allows sliding.

During a method according to the invention for the planting tree seeds, seed- planting units of a growth medium in the form of cylindrical bodies that can be stacked are provided, each one of which bodies contains a number of tree seeds. A stack of the units is placed into a planting channel of a planting arrangement. During planting, the units are inserted individually from the channel into holes in the ground that have been created by the planting arrangement. Other characteristics and advantages of the invention are made clear by the patent claims and the following detailed description of embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 shows a seed-planting unit according to the invention;

FIGURE 2 shows a stack of seed-planting units according to the invention, at a lower scale;

FIGURE 3 shows, in partially broken-away view, a tube-formed container for a stack of seed-planting units according to FIGURE 2; FIGURES 4A-C show three steps during a planting operation with a manual planting arrangement according to the invention;

FIGURE 5 shows a carrier for tube-formed containers with seed-planting units according to the invention;

FIGURES 6A-D show a mechanised planting arrangement according to the in- vention; and

FIGURE 7 shows a modified embodiment of the planting arrangement according to FIGURES 6A-D.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS The seed-planting unit 10 of briquette-nature shown in FIGURE 1 has the form of a cylinder with plane top and bottom surfaces. It is not necessary that the cross- section be circular: it may have also any freely chosen form, such as square.

The unit 10 has in the example shown an upper part and a lower part 18 of growth medium. It is intended that the upper part 12 accommodate a number, such as 3-6, tree seeds 16, such as conifer tree seeds, and it may consist of, for example, mull and lime that are poor in nutrients, in order to give the seeds 16 a neutral nutrition that is not so forceful that it may disturb the germination. The invention can just as well be used for other types of seed, although the seeds here have been described as tree seeds. The seeds 16 are inserted into holes, pits or depressions 14 in the upper surface of the upper part 12. The depressions 14 are depressed down a certain depth, such as 4 mm, which gives protection for the seeds and a rapid germination of the seeds. This is important in regions with short summers, such that the seeds do not fall behind in the competition with other plants. The seeds are placed in the briquette 10 after it has been compressed, such that the seeds are not damaged. The seeds can subsequently be covered with a thin layer of growth material, and sealed such that they cannot fall out. The units can, furthermore, be colour-coded in association with the sealing operation, such that it will be easier to see where they have been planted and to keep track of the tree species. The lower part 18 can consist of, for example, growth agent, lime, and crystals that retain moisture, in order to give the seeds 16 the optimal nutrition and moisture level after the commencement of the germination process and the growth, after the unit 10 has been inserted into the ground. The upper part 12 and the lower part 18 are compressed to their final form in, for example, a metal tube, in a manner not shown in the drawings.

The units 10 are stored, transported and planted in a serial arrangement in the form of stacks 20 (FIGURE 2). In the embodiment in FIGURE 3, a stack 20 of units 10 is placed in a manner that allows sliding in a container in the form of a tube 22 that is sealed at its open ends by means of covers 24 (only one of which is shown). The tube 22 may be manufactured from a material for one-time use such as paper- board, which in turn may be laminated with plastic foil in order to prevent the units 10 with the seeds 16 absorbing moisture inside the tube 22 during storage.

FIGURES 4A-C show schematically a lower part of a planting arrangement 30. The arrangement 30 in the example that is shown has a channel 32 for the accom- modation of a tube 22 of the type described above filled with seed-planting units 10. The channel 32 may have a closed cross-section, but the channel 32 in the example shown has instead an open side - the left side in FIGURES 4A-C - in order to save material and possibly also to allow the tube 22 to be filled from a sideways direction into the channel 32. When the lower cover 22 has been removed, the units 10, which have been drawn with dashed lines in FIGURE 4A₁ are allowed to slide down in the tube 22 approximately to the position shown, where a lower unit 10 is located inside a space within a pair of closed jaws 38, 40 of a ground interaction unit 36 of the planting arrangement 30. The planting arrangement 30 in FIGURE 4A has been driven down into the ground 60, which has preferably been previously scarified, such that the ground interaction unit 36 is located at an appropriate depth of planting.

The jaws 38, 40 of the ground interaction unit 36 have been opened in FIGURE 4B. Although it is possible to open the jaws 38, 40 in many different ways through the use of appropriate mechanisms and adjustment units that exert a force, the jaws are opened in the example that is illustrated by means of an operating arm 46. The operating arm 46 is attached to pivot at a joint 48, in a manner that is not illustrated in detail, with a stationary part of the planting arrangement 30, and it is fixed attached at one side of the joint 48 with one jaw 40, of the jaws 38, 40. The arm has at the other side of the joint a pedal 50 that when depressed pivots the arm 46 around the joint and with a leverage effect pivots the jaw 40 up, such that a gap opens between the jaws 38, 40.

When the planting arrangement 30 is subsequently lifted up from the ground 60, the seed-planting unit 10 will pass through the gap between the jaws 38, 40 and remain on the bottom of the planting hole 62 that has been formed by the jaws 38. 40.

The arrangement 30 has a lock 42 in order to prevent further units 10 exiting from the planting arrangement 30 at each planting operation as described in FIG- URES 4A-C. Although many different types of lock are possible, the lock in the example shown in the drawings comprises a locking hook 42 that, when the gap between the jaws 38, 40 opens in the manner described above, holds the unit that is located immediately above the lowermost unit 10 in place in the channel below the lower end of the tube 22 through a force of pressure onto an opposite side of the channel 32. The force of pressure is achieved by a tensile spring 44 that acts between the arm 46 and the locking hook 42. The spring 44 may be placed under no tension in the position shown in FIGURE 4B (and A) such that a new unit 10 falls down into the space between the closed jaws 38, 40 after each planting operation. The new lowermost unit 10 can be guided by a surrounding tube in the space be- tween the jaws 38, 40 such that it does not become obliquely positioned and risk falling onto its side in the planting hole 62.

The planting arrangement 30 can have at its upper end, not shown in the drawings, a, for example, transverse handle. The handle can be used, in addition to being used to carry and handle the planting arrangement, to release the ground interaction unit 36 from the open position shown in FIGURE 4B. When the pedal is depressed, a lock, not shown in the drawings, may be activated, which lock holds open the ground interaction unit 36 without the pedal 50 needing to be subject to a downward force. The lock can be arranged such that it is released through, for example, a Bowden cable, through turning of the handle. FIGURE 5 shows a carrier 90 for containers 22 for seed-planting units according to the invention. It is intended that the carrier 90 be carried in the manner of a rucksack with the aid of support straps 96, 96 by a person, not shown in the drawings, who places the seed-planting units using a manual arrangement such as the arrangement 30 shown in FIGURES 4A-C. The carrier 90 consists of a frame construction that limits a vertical holding compartment 92 for several lying containers 22. Closed end pieces 94, 94 of the frame construction prevent the containers from sliding out sideways from the carrier 90. As FIGURE 5 also makes clear, the bottom of the compartment 92 may be turned such that the lowermost container 22 is turned each time towards the user and is free of hinder by at least one of the end pieces 94, 94, whereby the lowermost container can be removed by the user each time from the carrier 94 without hinder, when the planting arrangement 30 (FIGURES 4A-C) is to be loaded with a new container 22. This can also be achieved in other ways, for example, by the end pieces 94, 94 being shortened at their lower ends. The upper open end of the compartment 92 can, as is made clear by FIGURE 5, be opened out such that it allows accommodation of the containers 22 next to each other.

FIGURES 6A-D show schematically a mechanised planting arrangement 70 that may be mounted on an off-road vehicle such as a scooter, not shown in the drawings. The arrangement is lowered down into the ground 60 in the planting situation as shown in all of FIGURES 6A-D, such that a scarifier device in the form of a tooth 72 excavates a hole or a ditch 64 in the ground when the arrangement 70 is driven by the vehicle, not shown in the drawings, in the direction to the left in FIGURES 6A- D. The arrangement 70, furthermore, has a channel 74 corresponding to the channel 32 in the embodiment shown in FIGURE 4, for the accommodation of a stack of seed-planting units 10 or of a tube 22 (FIGURE 3) with units 10. The lowermost unit 10 in the stack can fall down into a opening 78 in a shuttle 76 that can move forwards and backwards, when the shuttle is located at its rearmost position as shown in FIGURE 6A. The shuttle is driven by an actuator 80. When the shuttle is driven forward to its forward location as shown in FIGURE 6B, the unit 10 falls down through the opening 78 and into a planting tube 82 that is located in the ditch 64 behind the excavation tooth 72. The enlarged region of FIGURE 6B shows that the planting tube 82 in the embodiment that is illustrated has an elastic constriction 84 that prevent the unit 10 from falling down into the ditch immediately after it has been pushed forwards by the shuttle 76. The unit is instead fed through the planting tube and down into the ditch by a piston 88 of an actuator 86, as is shown in FIGURE 6C. The planting arrangement 70 subsequently returns to the position shown in FIGURE 6D, which corresponds to the initial position shown in FIGURE 6A.

The planting tube 82 has been replaced by a rotating arrangement 100 in the embodiment according to FIGURE 7. The arrangement 100 comprises a pair of dia- metrically opposing pieces of tube 102, 102, each one of which houses an actuator 104 with a piston 106. Each unit 10 is fed into the outermost end of the pieces of tube 102 by the piston 88 of the actuator 86 that was described in association with FIGURE 6. The pieces of tube 102, 102 are driven anti-clockwise in FIGURE 7 by a motor 108, in synchrony with the forward driving speed of the planting arrangement 70. The excavation tooth 72 in this embodiment is mounted on a guide rail 110 that covers, when each piece of tube 102 rotates from its highest position, at which it receives a seed-planting unit 10, the outer surface of the piece of tube 102, such that the unit 10 does not fall out from the piece of tube 102 before it is directed vertically downwards. The piston 106 of the actuator 104 pushes the unit 10 out, at this down- wardly directed position, such that it leaves the planting arrangement in a safe manner and is placed at the bottom of the ditch without any risk that the unit 10 tumbles around and is placed with the wrong side downwards, given that it is of the type described above in association with FIGURE 1 having two distinct parts.

The detailed description given above is primarily intended to facilitate under- standing, and no limitations of the invention are to be derived from its interpretation. The modifications that will be obvious for one skilled in the arts when reviewing the description can be carried out without deviation from the innovative concept or the scope of the attached patent cla

Claims

1. A seed-planting unit (10) c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that a growth medium in the form of a cylindrical body that can be stacked, which growth medium is intended to accommodate a number of seeds (16), is arranged to be handled in a stack (20) formed from several such cylindrical bodies and is intended to be planted in ground (60) for the germination and growth of the seeds with the aid of a planting arrangement (30, 70), which planting arrangement comprises a planting channel (32, 74) for the accommodation of the stack (20) in a manner that allows sliding and the release of one unit (10) at a time into the ground during planting.

2. The seed-planting unit according to claim 1 , whereby the stack (20) of units (10) is surrounded by a container in the form of a tube (22).

3. The seed-planting unit according to claim 1 or 2, whereby the tube (22) demonstrates opposite open ends that can be sealed by covers (24).

4. The seed-planting unit according to any one of the preceding claims, compris- ing an upper part (12) that is poor in nutrients for the accommodation of the said seeds (16), and a lower part (18) that is rich in nutrients in order to provide nutrition for the said seeds (16) after the planting.

5. A planting arrangement for a seed-planting unit according to any one of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i s e d by a planting channel (32) for the accommodation of the stack (20) of units (10) in a manner that allows sliding, and a planting means (36, 72, 82) at a lower end of the channel (32) and arranged to be driven down into the ground (60) during a planting operation in order to release into the ground a lower seed-planting unit (10) released from the stack (20).

6. The planting arrangement according to claim 5, whereby the planting means (36) comprises a pair of jaws (38, 40) arranged to surround the lowermost, released seed-planting unit (10) when the planting means is driven down into the ground and thereafter to be opened in order to release the seed-planting unit (10) into the ground.

7. The planting arrangement according to either claim 5 or 6, comprising a lock (42) arranged to hold fixed a unit (10) immediately above the lowermost unit (10) during the planting operation in order to allow that the lowermost unit (10) is released from the stack (20).

8. The planting arrangement according to claim 7, whereby the lock comprises a locking hook (42) arranged to be activated by an operating device (46) for the ground interaction unit (36).

9. The planting arrangement according to claim 5, comprising a shuttle (76) ar- ranged to transfer a lower seed-planting unit (10) to a planting tube (82) during the planting operation.

10. The planting arrangement according to claim 9, comprising a constriction (84) in the planting tube (82) and an actuator (86) in order to press the lowermost seed- planting unit (10) past the constriction during a planting operation and release it into the ground.

11. The planting arrangement according to any one of claims 5-8, whereby the channel (32) is arranged to accommodate a container (22) that contains the stack (20) of units (10).

12. The planting arrangement according to any one of claims 5-11, whereby the channel (32) has a cross-section that is at least partially open.

13. A carrier (90) for seed-planting units according to any one of claims 2-4, c h a r a c t e r i s e d by a rucksack construction that comprises a vertical compartment (92) for the accommodation of the said containers (22) lying one above the other and arranged to allow withdrawal in a sideways direction each time the lower- most container of the said containers (22).

14. A method for planting seeds, c h a r a c t e r i s e d by the provision of seed-planting units (10) of a growth medium in the form of cylindrical bodies that can be stacked, each one of them containing a number of seeds (16), the placing of a stack (20) of the units (10) into a planting channel (32, 74) of a planting arrangement (30, 70) in a manner that allows sliding; and the placement of the units (10) individually from the planting channel (32) into planting holes (52, 64) in the ground created by the planting arrangement (30).