JPH0488927A - Automatic grafting method and apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform an automatic grafting in high taking ratio and grafting efficiency by cutting the stalks of scion and a stock with a cutter, joining the cut faces with each other, putting a piece of a heat-shrinkable tube on the joint part and shrinking the tube with heat. CONSTITUTION:The stalk of a positioned stock is slantly cut with a cutter and the lower part of the cut face is clamped with a stock chuck. A piece of a heat-shrinkable tube is supplied on the stock chuck and put on the stalk of the stock. A cut face of a scion held with a scion hand is directed parallel to the cut face of the stock stalk and the scion is inserted into the heat- shrinkable tube. The tube is shrunk by heating with hot air and then cooled to complete the automatic grafting.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a grafting method and apparatus for automatically grafting a scion onto a rootstock.

[Conventional technology]

Grafting imparts disease resistance to plants, regulates tree vigor, promotes fruit set,
This is a technology that is widely used for the purpose of increasing sales and improving quality.

Traditionally, grafting was done manually, but it required a lot of labor and time, so automation of grafting has been promoted as a means to solve this problem, and has already been published in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-25
Automatic grafting device described in Publication No. 2228, JP-A-2-107
An apparatus for producing grafted seedlings has been proposed as described in Publication No. 125.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, both automatic grafting equipment and grafted seedling manufacturing equipment position the scion and rootstock separately and overlap their cut surfaces, making it difficult to overlap them accurately. This method involves fixing using fixing media such as or tape, or supports such as grafting clips, so even if these fixing means are installed, it is difficult to ensure that the scion and rootstock are in close contact with each other, making it difficult to hold and fix the scion. It is difficult and has disadvantages such as damaging the stems of the scion and rootstock.

Furthermore, it was necessary to remove the above-mentioned fixing device after the graft was established.

The present invention aims to solve this problem, and uses a grafting tool (Japanese Patent Application No. 1-190671) that naturally falls off as the plant grows to tightly bond the joint surface between the scion and the rootstock. To provide an automatic grafting method with a high rooting rate that can hold and fix joints by holding and fixing joints, and an automatic grafting device that can perform the method efficiently and automatically.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the automatic grafting method of the present invention involves cutting the stem of a positioned rootstock diagonally with a cutter, gripping the lower part of the cut surface of the stem with a rootstock chuck, and A piece of heat-shrinkable tube is supplied on top and placed over the top of the stem of the rootstock, and the stem of the scion held by the scion hand is cut diagonally with a cutter, and the cut surface of the scion is cut as above. The scion is inserted into the heat-shrinkable tube piece so as to be oriented parallel to the cut surface of the stem of the rootstock, hot air is supplied to the heat-shrinkable tube to cause it to shrink, and then cold air is supplied to the heat-shrinkable tube. The automatic grafting device that implements this method includes a rootstock transfer unit that transfers and positions the rootstock to the cutting position and the grafting position, and a rootstock transfer unit that cuts the stem of the rootstock that is positioned at the cutting position. a rootstock gripping joint having a cutter and a rootstock chuck that grips the lower part of the cut surface of the rootstock positioned at the grafting position; A heat-shrinkable tube supply section that covers the top of the rootstock, a scion arm that grips and supplies the positioned scion with a scion hand, and a scion arm that holds and supplies the scion at an angle to the stem of the scion held by the scion hand. a scion supplying section having a scion cutter for cutting, and supplying the scion supplied from the scion supplying section to the heat-shrinkable tube, and stacking the cut surface of the scion and the cut surface of the rootstock. It consisted of a wood transfer section and an air supply section that supplied cold air after supplying hot air to the heat-shrinkable tube that covered the cut surfaces of the scion and rootstock.

[Effect]

The automatic grafting method using the automatic grafting apparatus configured as described above is as follows.

The stem of the rootstock, which has been positioned at the cutting position by the rootstock transfer plate of the rootstock transfer unit, is cut obliquely by the cutter and is transferred to the grafting position.

The rootstock positioned at the grafting position is held below the cut surface by the rootstock chuck of the rootstock gripping joint.

Then, the heat-shrinkable tube piece supplied from the heat-shrinkable tube supply section is supplied onto the rootstock chuck, and the heat-shrinkable tube piece is placed on top of the rootstock.

On the other hand, in the scion supply section, the positioned scion is gripped by the scion hand and fed, the stem of which is cut diagonally by a scion cutter, and then fed to the scion transfer section, and further,
The scion is fed into the heat-shrinkable tube piece on the rootstock chuck by the scion transfer unit, and the cut surface of the scion is overlapped with the cut surface of the rootstock.

Next, hot air is sent to the heat-shrinkable tube piece by the air supply section, and the heat-shrinkable tube piece contracts, and the scion is held and fixed to the rootstock with the joint surfaces of the scion and rootstock in close contact. Ru.

Next, cold air is supplied by the air supply section to return the heat-shrinkable tube piece to normal temperature.

The rootstock that has been grafted is carried out by the rootstock transport section, and the rootstock that has been newly positioned at the grafting position is grafted in the same manner.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view of the automatic grafting device, FIG. 2 is a side view of the automatic grafting device, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of essential parts of the automatic grafting device.

As shown in FIG. 1, a rootstock transfer section A is provided approximately at the center of the pedestal 1.

The rootstock transfer part A is a bed 3 fixed to the cross beam 2 of the frame 1.
, a cylinder 4 attached to the end of the bed 3, and a cylinder 4 connected to a piston rod (not shown) of the cylinder 4,
A movable base 5 that slides a movable base 5, and a movable base 5 that is fixed to the tip of a piston rod (not shown) of a cylinder provided inside the movable base 5 so as to be movable up and down, and 3 that are provided at equal pitch intervals on the upper surface.
It is composed of a rootstock transfer plate 7 (see FIG. 3) having pot support parts 6a to 6c, and a rootstock positioning base 8 disposed above the rootstock transfer plate 7. , four pot positioning holes 9a to 9d and grooves 10 passing through the holes 9a to 9d are provided at the same pitch as the pot supporting parts 6a to 6c.

The hole 9a for positioning the pot forms the loading position for the pot 11 of the rootstock. When the pot 11 of the rootstock is inserted into the hole 9a and the rootstock transfer plate 7 is raised, the pot support part 6a is placed in the pot.

To lift the wooden pot 11, the rootstock transfer plate 7 is moved to the right to position the pot support part 6a in the hole 9b, and then the rootstock transfer plate 7 is lowered to move the rootstock pot 11 to the rootstock cutting position. It fits into the hole 9b.

Therefore, the rootstock transfer plate 7 is raised, the cloth is moved, and it is lowered.

By repeating the movement to the left, the pot 11 of the rootstock is sequentially transferred and positioned to the hole 9a which is the carry-in position, the hole 9b which is the rootstock cutting position, the hole 9c which is the grafting position, and the hole 9d which is the carry-out position. (See Figures 4 and 5).

A rootstock grip joint B is provided above the holes 9b and 9C.

The rootstock gripping joint B is provided with two arms 13 and 14 that are accessible to each other, and at both ends of the arms 13 and 14 are rootstock chucks 15 and 16 that open and close above the holes 9b and 9c, respectively. The cutter 17 moves while rotating.
After the rootstock chuck 15 grips the stem of the rootstock 12 positioned in the hole 9b, the cutter 17 moves back and forth on the rootstock chuck 15 to cut the stem of the rootstock 12 diagonally. It is supposed to be done.

An intake hole 18 is provided at the right end of the two arms 13 and 14, and the intake hole 18 communicates with a blowhole (not shown) that opens toward the rootstock chuck 16.

A heat-shrinkable tube supply section C is provided above the chuck 16.

The heat-shrinkable tube supply unit C includes a tube supply pipe 20 that guides the supply of a long heat-shrinkable tube 19, a pair of feed rollers 21 provided below the tube supply pipe 20, and a pair of feed rollers 21 below the feed rollers 21. and a tube supply pipe 24 that guides the heat-shrinkable tube 23 cut into a certain length by the tube cutter 22 downward. 16 and covers the stem of the rootstock 12 held by the rootstock chuck 16.

On the side of the rootstock chuck 16, an air supply section is provided which has an air supply end 25 connectable to the intake hole 18 and has a built-in heater.

A scion supply section E is provided at the top of the pedestal 1.

The scion supply unit E includes a mounting table 28 on which a large number of pots 27 of scions 26 are arranged and placed, a scion hand 30 having claws 29 for gripping the stems of the scions 26, and a scion hand 30. It has a saddle 31 that moves up and down, a scion arm 32 that moves the saddle 31 back and forth and left and right, and a scion cutter 33 that cuts the stem of the scion diagonally while being held by a scion hand 30 and moving. Then, the scion 26 positioned on the mounting table 28 is gripped by the claws 29 of the scion hand 30 and supplied to the next scion transfer section F.

The scion transfer unit F includes a scion transfer hand 35 having a claw 34 that opens and closes, and a cylinder 36 that raises and lowers the scion transfer hand 35 (
When the scion transfer hand 35 grasps the scion 26 transferred from the scion hand 30 in the raised position and descends, and opens the claws 34 in the lowered position,
The stem of the scion 26 is inserted into the heat-shrinkable tube 23 on the rootstock chuck 16.

An automatic grafting method using the automatic grafting device configured as above will be explained.

The pots 27 of the scion 26 are positioned and lined up on the mounting table 28, and the pot 11 of the rootstock 12 is inserted into the hole 9a which is the carry-in position,
When automatic operation starts, the rootstock transfer plate 7 rises and the rootstock 1
The second pot 11 is lifted by the pot support section 6a.

Next, when the rootstock transfer plate 7 moves laterally by one pinch and then descends, the pot 11 of the rootstock 12 that has been lifted is inserted into the hole 9b which is the rootstock cutting position.

The rootstock transfer plate 7 further moves laterally in the opposite direction by one pitch and returns to the origin.

Since the rootstock transfer plate 7 is stopped for a certain period of time after returning to the origin,
The pot 11 of the next rootstock 12 is inserted into the empty hole 9a.

The rootstock transfer plate 7 repeats the above operation again, and the pot 11 of the rootstock 12 is sequentially moved from hole 9a which is the carry-in position, hole 9b which is the rootstock cutting position, hole 9c which is the grafting position, and hole 9d which is the carry-out position. will be transferred to.

When the pot 11 of the rootstock 12 is transferred to the hole 9b, the rootstock chuck 15 grips the stem of the rootstock 12, and then the stem is cut diagonally by the cutter 17 and transferred to the hole 9C.

The stem of the rootstock 12 transferred to the hole 9C is gripped by the rootstock chuck 16, and the heat-shrinkable tube 23 cut to a predetermined length is supplied onto the rootstock chuck 16 from the heat-shrinkable tube supply section C. It covers the top of the rootstock 12.

On the other hand, the scion hand 30 of the scion supply unit E grasps and transfers the scion 26 on the mounting table 28, and the cutter 33 cuts the stem of the scion 26 diagonally during the transfer.

The scion hand 30 opens its claws 34 and stops in front of the scion transfer hand 35 which is waiting in the raised position.
When the claws 34 of the scion hand 30 close, the claws 29 of the scion hand 30 open to transfer the scion 26, and the scion transfer hand 35 holding the scion 26 descends, and the cut surface of the scion 26 is placed on the stand. It almost contacts the cut surface of the rootstock 12 held by the wooden chuck 16.

Since the cutting angles of the scion 26 and the rootstock 12 are matched,
The cut surfaces of both are naturally aligned, and the heat-shrinkable tube 23
Since the inner diameter of the scion 26 is considerably larger than the diameter of the stem of the scion 26,
The stem of the scion 26 is inserted into the heat-shrinkable tube 23 on the rootstock chuck 16 without being damaged.

Next, the air supply section moves so that the air supply end 25 connects to the intake hole 18, and the air supply end 25 is connected to the intake hole 18, so that the air supply end 25 is connected to the air intake hole 18, and the
Hot air at 0 to 250°C heats the heat-shrinkable tube 23 for a few seconds, and the shrinking heat-shrinkable tube 23 holds the scion 26 and the grafted part of the rootstock 12 with compressive force, and then the hot air is changed to cold air. The heat-shrinkable tube 23 is cooled to room temperature, and then the claw 34 opens and the scion transfer hand 35
rises.

When the grafting is completed, the rootstock chuck 16 is opened, and the pot 11 containing the grafted seedling is transferred from the hole 9C to the hole 9d, which is the carry-out position, and further carried out from the hole 9d.

As described above, automatic grafting is performed one after another,
Grafted seedlings are produced every few seconds to tens of seconds.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it produces the following effects.

(1) Specifically, the time required for grafting one tree is from several seconds to
Since the process is completed in more than 10 seconds, the time required for grafting is extremely shortened, and the production cost of grafted seedlings is reduced.

The operator can simply carry in and out the pots of seedlings, and is relieved from excessive labor.

(2) Since the joint between the scion and the rootstock is inserted into a heat-shrinkable tube with a large inner diameter, it will not be damaged by hitting the heat-shrinkable tube during insertion.

Furthermore, when the heat-shrinkable tube shrinks, it holds the scion and the rootstock, so that the grafted portion is securely attached.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 5 show embodiments of the present invention, with Figure 1 being a front view of the automatic grafting device, Figure 2 being a side view of the automatic grafting device, and Figure 3 being a perspective view of essential parts of the automatic grafting device. , FIG. 4 is a front view of the rootstock transfer section, and FIG. 5 is a plan view of FIG. 4. A... Rootstock transfer part, B... Rootstock gripping joint part, C...
・Heat-shrinkable tube supply section, D... Air supply section, E
...Scion supply unit, F...Scion transfer unit, 1... Frame, 4... Cylinder, 5... Moving table, 7... Rootstock transfer plate, 9a to 9d...・Hole, 11... Rootstock pot, 12
... Rootstock, 15, 16... Rootstock chuck, 17...
・Cutter, 21...Feed roller, 22...Tube cutter, 23...Heat-shrinkable tube, 26...
Scion, 27... Pot, 28... Mounting stand, 29... Claw, 30... Scion hand, 32... Scion arm, 33
...Scion cutter, 34...Claw, 35...Scion transfer hand, 36...Cylinder.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) Cut the stem of the positioned rootstock diagonally with a cutter, grip the lower part of the cut surface of the stem with a rootstock chuck,
A piece of heat-shrinkable tube is supplied onto the rootstock chuck and placed over the top of the stem of the rootstock, and the stem of the scion held by the scion hand is cut diagonally with a cutter. Insert the scion into the heat-shrinkable tube piece with the cut surface parallel to the cut surface of the stem of the rootstock, supply hot air to the heat-shrinkable tube to shrink it, and then supply cold air. An automatic grafting method characterized by: (2) A rootstock transfer unit that transports and positions the rootstock to the cutting position and the grafting position, a cutter that cuts the stem of the rootstock positioned at the cutting position, and a cut surface of the rootstock positioned at the grafting position. a rootstock gripping joint having a rootstock chuck that grips the lower part of the rootstock; and a heat-shrinkable tube supplying section that supplies a heat-shrinkable tube piece onto the rootstock chuck and covers the top of the rootstock with the heat-shrinkable tube piece. a scion supply unit having a scion arm that grips and supplies the positioned scion with a scion hand, and a scion cutter that obliquely cuts the stem of the scion held by the scion hand; A scion transport section supplies the scion supplied from the scion supply section to the heat-shrinkable tube and overlaps the cut surface of the scion and the cut surface of the rootstock, and the cut portion of the scion and the rootstock. An automatic grafting device comprising: an air supply unit that supplies hot air to the coated heat-shrinkable tube and then supplies cold air to the coated heat-shrinkable tube.