JPH0449896Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] <Industrial application field> The present invention is a plant cultivation device that cultivates plants by moving them, and by reversing the course during growth, it is possible to perform planting work and harvesting within the cultivation room. This invention relates to a plant cultivation device that allows work to be performed efficiently on the same side and reduces wasted space.

<Prior art> A fan-shaped hydroponic tank is used to expand the spacing between plants in the direction of propagation and in the direction orthogonal to the direction of propagation as the plants grow, but the shape of the cultivation chamber is usually square or square. Rectangular and fan-shaped hydroponic tanks waste space, and in greenhouse horticulture and plant factories, equipment costs per unit space are large and cannot be ignored.

In order to solve this problem, it is conceivable to turn around the course of the plant during its growth.

For example, the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-271931 is explained using FIG. 4. The plants are connected by a plant transfer device 38 from planting to harvesting, and are moved sequentially as the plants grow. The method is to use Rotary 37 to turn around in half the required number of days.

<Problem that the invention aims to solve> In the past, people often relied on humans to turn around plants during their growth, from planting to harvest. The method of using a rotary to turn back the course of the plants and carriers in half the required number of days can reduce manpower. However, rotaries are expensive and have their limits when it comes to turning the paths of many plants at once. In addition, the spacing required by the plant is usually different in the first half and the second half of the required number of days, so
If you turn back after half the required number of days, if you decide the stock spacing according to the first half, the stock spacing for the second half will be insufficient.
Also, if you decide the plant spacing according to the second half,
This results in wasted space in the first half.

As mentioned above, in the conventional rotary type,
When the number of plants increases, the number of rotaries increases and costs increase. Furthermore, since the path of the plant is not turned back at an intermediate point during the transfer of the plant, there is a problem in that space is wasted.

<Means for solving the problem> This invention will be explained below based on the drawings. In FIG. 1, 1 and 2 are hydroponic liquid tanks, 3 is a plant holder, and 4 is a carrier on which a plurality of plant holders are mounted. You can proceed to B. The carrier that has reached B is then lifted up by the crank 25 and moved to C in order to turn around its course, and is again advanced from C to D by the carrier drive body 11'.

Next, the folding drive will be explained. In order to turn the course of the carrier, a bevel gear 19, a turning cam 20, a turning crank drive body 21,
Chain 22, sprocket 23, crankshaft 2
4. The driving force is transmitted through the crank 25, and the semicircular movement of the crank 25 moves the carrier to the hydroponic liquid tank 2 on the return trip. If the position at which the carrier's course is turned back is selected to be an intermediate position in the transport distance of the carrier 4, effective use of space can be achieved.

<Function> Carrier 4 carrying the plant body returns to position B
When approaching, the auxiliary rail 17 attached in advance to the tip of the crank 25 is waiting on the extension of the carrier running rail 9, the carrier is moved onto the auxiliary rail 17 by the carrier driver 11, and then the carrier is moved onto the auxiliary rail 17. The carriers are transferred to the adjacent hydroponic liquid tank 2 for the return trip, but at this time, the other carriers arranged on the outward and return trips are not restrained by the carrier drive body and are on standby. After the carrier reaches the return trip hydroponic liquid tank 2, the carrier drive body 1
At step 1', the carrier is moved from the auxiliary rail 17 onto the traveling rail 9', and at this time the carrier on the return trip hydroponic liquid tank 2 also advances one step at a time to the next step. Regarding the crank 25, return to the outbound hydroponic liquid tank 1 again,
This series of movements allows the carrier to be smoothly driven and turned around.

<Example> An example of the present invention will be described below. In FIG. 1, the plant holder 3 in which the plant has been planted is mounted on the carrier 4, and as the plant grows, the carrier 4 is pushed by the carrier drive unit 11, and the carrier 4 is transferred in the direction B and turned back. Reach point B.

Next, the power transmission mechanism will be explained. In FIG. 2, turn the motor 28 or manual handle 30 to connect the reducer 31, transmission sprocket 32,
Power is transmitted to the carrier transfer cam 13 via the transmission chain 33 and the transmission shaft 12, and the carrier drive body 11 is operated. The folding device can also use the same power as the carrier transfer cam 13, and the bevel gear 1 for driving the folding device can be used.
The folding cam 20 is operated via 9. As shown in FIG. 3, the rotation of the folding cam 20 causes the crank drive body 21 to reciprocate from side to side,
The crankshaft 24 is actuated by the chain 22 and sprocket 23, and the two cranks 25 are rotated by half a rotation. Auxiliary rails 17 are fixed to both ends of a horizontal link connected to the tip of the crank 25, so that the carrier 4 can be driven onto the rails 9. During this time, the folding cam 20, which is still rotating, begins to operate the crank 25, and the auxiliary rail 17 is transferred to the hydroponic liquid tank 2 together with the carrier 4. Since the two cranks 25 are of equal length and kept parallel, the carrier 4 is always in a horizontal state during the transfer. To explain the movement of the carrier and the carrier drive body before and after turning back, the carrier drive body 11 of the hydroponic liquid tank 1 and the carrier drive body 11' of the hydroponic liquid tank 2 are on standby while the carrier 4 is being transferred. Auxiliary rail 17
When the carrier reaches the hydroponic liquid tank 2, the carrier drive body 11' of the hydroponic liquid tank 2 pushes out the carrier from the auxiliary rail 17 in the direction D as shown in Fig. It is returned to the culture tank 1 and becomes the initial state. The transfer cam 13 and the turning cam 20 can be operated by one power, and by rotating them in synchronization, the carrier 4 is transferred from the planting point A to the direction B, and then to the turning point B. After reaching there, they are continuously transferred to the hydroponic liquid tank 2, then transferred in the direction D, and then moved to the harvesting point D. The number of days required from the planting point to the harvesting point is 15 to 30 days for saladana, depending on the growing environment.

Since the plant holder 3 is always mounted on the carrier 4 from planting to harvesting, even if there are multiple plant holders 3, it is easy to turn them back at once, and the turning back can be easily automated. realizable.

When a predetermined number of carriers 4 have completed turning back in a day, the motor 28 can be automatically stopped by a limit switch, a stepping relay, and a reset switch, respectively.

In this embodiment, a chain 22 and a sprocket 23 are used as means for transmitting force between the crank drive body 21 and the crank 25, but a rack and pinion may be used in other embodiments.

<Effects of the invention> It is now possible to transfer multiple carriers loaded with multiple plants from one hydroponic tank to another, automating the turning process during plant growth. is measured.

Therefore, planting and harvesting can be performed from one side, thereby saving work space and improving work efficiency. Furthermore, by folding back the radial plant cultivation device, it is possible to reduce wasted space within the cultivation chamber.

Furthermore, when the folding device is operated in synchronization with the carrier drive body that sequentially transports the carrier, the transfer and foldback can be performed alternately and sequentially using one power source without stopping the power of the carrier drive body. This makes it possible to automate the transfer and return operations using a simple device.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a plant cultivation device according to an embodiment of the invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view showing a power transmission mechanism according to an embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 3 is a folding device which is the main part of the invention. The front view of FIG. 4 shows a folding plant cultivation device using a conventional rotary. In the figure, 1... Hydroponic liquid tank 1, 2... Hydroponic liquid tank 2, 3... Plant body holder, 4... Carrier,
9, 9'...Rail, 11, 11'...Carrier drive body, 12...Transmission shaft, 13...Transfer cam, 1
7... Auxiliary rail, 19... Bevel gear, 20... Cam for folding, 21... Crank drive body for folding, 22... Chain, 23... Sprocket,
24...Crankshaft, 25...Crank, 28...
... motor, 30 ... manual handle, 31 ... speed reducer, 32 ... transmission sprocket, 33 ... transmission chain, 36 ... plant body, 37 ... rotary, 38 ... plant transfer device.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A plurality of carriers 4 each having a plurality of plant body holders 3 whose bottoms are immersed in a hydroponic solution are arranged in a row in the horizontal direction are transported in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the plants are arranged. In a device for growing and cultivating from planting to harvest, a hydroponic liquid tank 1, which is the forward path of the carrier, and a hydroponic liquid tank 2, which is the return path of the carrier, are arranged facing each other, and the carrier is maintained horizontally at an intermediate position of the transfer distance. It has a course turning device that moves from an outbound path to a return path and turns around the traveling direction of the carrier, and the path turning device includes a bevel gear 19, a turning cam 20, and a crank drive body 21 that converts the rotational motion of the cam into reciprocating motion. , a plant characterized in that it is combined with a crank 25 that converts reciprocating motion into rotary motion again, lifts the carrier at the end point of the hydroponic liquid tank 1 on the outward journey, and transports it to the starting point of the hydroponic liquid tank 2 on the return journey. Cultivation equipment.