JPH0650428U - Seedling positioning and transport mechanism of automatic grafting device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] The seedling positioning of an automatic grafting device that automatically positions the cotyledon expansion direction and the hypocotyl up and down direction of scion seedlings and rootstock seedlings in the grafting process of the grafting device. A transport mechanism is provided. [Configuration] Cotyledon expansion direction positioning mechanism that directs the cotyledon expansion directions of the scion seedlings and rootstock seedlings to the prescribed directions, and the cotyledon seedlings and rootstock seedlings whose cotyledon expansion directions are fixed are supported by the cotyledon expansion bases, respectively. And a mechanism for positioning and conveying.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a seedling positioning and conveying mechanism for an automatic grafting device that automatically positions the cotyledon expansion direction and the hypocotyl up and down direction of scion seedlings and rootstock seedlings in the grafting work process of the grafting device. .

[0002]

[Prior art]

 In recent years, most of the seedlings of fruit and vegetables cultivated in facilities such as glass rooms and greenhouses use grafted seedlings. The grafting work for making the grafted seedlings is carried out manually by using some auxiliary equipment. In view of such a current situation, the applicant of the present invention, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-61429, separately holds a scion seedling and a rootstock seedling, which are saplings, so as to sandwich the hypocotyl with a gripping hand, and respectively. We proposed a device that cuts plants at predetermined positions, joins the cut surfaces, fixes them with clips (fixing means), discharges them onto a conveyor, and automatically manufactures and stores grafted seedlings. ing.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 By the way, in the grafted seedling production device described above, although most of the work is automated, not all work steps are automated. For example, positioning of seedlings (sprouting seedlings and rootstock seedlings) in the cotyledon expansion direction is not possible. It was done manually and was not automated. Therefore, there is a problem that it requires a lot of labor and affects work efficiency and work accuracy. The present invention has been made to solve the above problems.

[0004]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has a cotyledon deployment direction positioning mechanism for directing the cotyledon deployment direction of a scion seedling and a rootstock seedling to a predetermined direction, respectively, and a cob with a defined cotyledon deployment direction. The present invention is characterized in that a mechanism for supporting and positioning and transporting tree seedlings and rootstock seedlings at the cotyledon deployment base is provided.

[0005]

[Action]

 With the above configuration, the seedling positioning and transporting mechanism of the automatic grafting device of the present invention makes the cotyledon development direction of the scion seedling and the rootstock seedling respectively toward the predetermined direction by the cotyledon spreading direction positioning mechanism, and the scion seedling and the stand Since each tree seedling is supported and positioned by the cotyledon expansion base, the cotyledon seedling and rootstock seedlings are automatically positioned in the cotyledon development direction and the vertical axis of the hypocotyl, and manual work is omitted. Efficiency and work accuracy can be improved.

[0006]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of the entire automatic grafting apparatus 1. The automatic grafting apparatus 1 includes a seedling supply unit 2,2, a seedling take-out transfer unit 3,3, a cotyledon expansion direction positioning unit 4,4, and a cotyledon expansion base. Positioning / conveying units 5, 5, gripping / conveying units 6, 6, cutting units 7, 7, adhesive unit 8, grafted seedling discharging unit 9, pot seedling tray collecting unit 10 and the like are provided, and movement of each of these units is controlled. The section 11 controls the sequence by a programmable controller. Further, although not shown, an air compressor is provided.

The seedling supply unit 2 is provided with a pair of left and right belt conveyors 12, 12 that are moved by motors 13, 13 in the direction of the arrow. In FIG. 1, the left side is for the scion seedling A and the right side is for the stand. It is for tree seedling B, and rootstock seedling B is provided at a certain height lower than that for scion seedling A. Both of the conveyors 12 and 12 are symmetrical and have substantially the same configuration, so one of them (on the side of the scion seedling A) will be described with reference to FIG. On the belt conveyor 12, a pot seedling tray 14 is placed in which the spikelet seedlings A cultivated one by one in a tapered pot are pushed out from the pot and pushed upwards. Move in the direction of the arrow. In the pot seedling tray 14, 6 rows × 8 rows, that is, 48 saplings A of seedlings are housed at regular intervals. Then, when the row A of the scion seedlings comes to the position of the seedling take-out / conveying unit 3, the position is detected by the photoelectric switches 15 and 15, and the movement of the pot seedling tray 14 is stopped. The pot does not have to be tapered unless it falls out of the tray 14.

The seedling take-out / transportation unit 3 is composed of a pot seedling pushing-up mechanism 16 and a seedling take-out / transportation mechanism 17. As shown in FIG. 3, the pot seedling pushing-up mechanism 16 is pushed up to a predetermined height in contact with the pot bottom surface of the scion seedling A on a support base 19 which moves up and down by an air cylinder 18, and in that state Six pot seedling pushers 20, 20 ... on which the tree seedlings A are placed and supported are provided so as to push up one row of the seedling seedlings A in the pot seedling tray 14 at an interval of one row of the seedling seedlings A. ing. These pot seedling push-up tables 20, 20 ... sequentially change so that the height at the right end is the lowest and the height at the left end is the highest in FIG. 3, and the difference between them is about 1 mm. Is. The reason for slightly changing the height of the pot seedling push-up table 20, 20, ... is that when the seedling take-out / conveying mechanism 17 takes out the seedling A from the right end in order and conveys it toward the cotyledon expansion direction positioning section 4. This is to prevent the pot bottom of the next seedling from coming into contact with the pot seedling push-up table 20 from which the seedling has already been taken out.

As shown in FIG. 4, the seedling taking-out / transporting mechanism 17 can be moved in the left and right direction by the expansion and contraction operation of the air cylinder 21, and the stems of the scion seedling A and the rootstock seedling B are provided at a predetermined height at the tips. It has a gripping hand 22 that is clamped at a position, and a linear motor 23 is used to move the scion seedling A and the rootstock seedling B that are clamped by the gripping hand 22 and taken out to the cotyledon expansion direction positioning portions 4 and 4. ing.

As shown in FIG. 5, the cotyledon expansion direction positioning unit 4 has a turntable 25 rotated by a stepping motor 24, and the seedling take-out / conveyance mechanism 17 conveys the turntable 25 onto the turntable 25. The scion seedlings A or rootstock seedlings B are placed. Photoelectric sensors 26, 26 are provided above the turntable 25 so that when the turntable 25 is rotated by the rotation of the turntable 25, the cotyledon L, The direction of L deployment is detected. When the developing directions of the cotyledons L, L are detected, the driving rotation of the stepping motor 24 is stopped, and the developing directions of the cotyledons L, L of the scion seedling A or the rootstock seedling B are set in a predetermined direction. It is supposed to stop. At this time, the development directions of the cotyledons L, L of the scion seedling A and the rootstock seedling B are set so as to intersect (orthogonal) at the time of joining and fixing. The reason for crossing is that the grafted seedlings, which are fixed by making the cut surfaces of the scion seedling and the rootstock seedling face each other, are in a state where the cotyledon expansion direction of the scion and the cotyledon expansion direction of the rootstock intersect. By having a positive effect on the growth of the grafted seedlings later.

As shown in FIG. 6, the cotyledon expansion base positioning and transporting section 5 is capable of moving the lifting hand 27 having a gap slightly wider than the thickness of the hypocotyls of the scion seedling A and the rootstock seedling B back and forth by an air cylinder 28. The suspension hand 27 and the air cylinder 28 are supported by a rodless cylinder 29 so that the rodless cylinder 29 can move along the guide rail 30. Then, the hypocotyl of the scion seedling A or the rootstock seedling B placed on the turntable 25 of the cotyledon development direction positioning unit 4 with the development direction of the cotyledons L, L set to a predetermined direction is inserted by the hanging hand 27. Then, the cotyledons L, L are hung and supported in a state where the expanded bases of the cotyledons L are positioned and conveyed to the outer peripheral position of the gripping / conveying unit 6. When the hypocotyl of the scion seedling A or the rootstock seedling B is inserted from the turntable 25 by the suspension hand 27 and moved, the turntable 25 is slightly lowered to move the scion seedling A or the rootstock seedling B. May be hung.

As shown in FIG. 1, the gripping / conveying unit 6 is composed of a scion seedling gripping / conveying unit 6A and a rootstock seedling grasping / conveying unit 6B, each of which is supported so as to rotate in the arrow (opposing) direction. While each of them makes one rotation, the scion seedling A or the rootstock seedling B, which is suspended by the suspension hand 27, is taken over and rotated, and the seedling is cut at a predetermined position by the cutting unit 7, The respective cut surfaces are made to face each other, and the facing portions are joined and fixed by the adhesive portion 8.

[0016] The scion seedling gripping / transporting section 6A and the rootstock seedling gripping / transporting section 6B have substantially the same configuration except that the rotation direction and the height are different. Explain. In FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the scion seedling gripping / conveying unit 6A rotatably supports a rotary shaft 33 through bearings 32, 32 in a cylindrical support portion 31a of a circular fixed disk 31. The scion seedling conveying rotary disk 34 is fixed to the upper end of the shaft 33, and the output shaft of a stepping motor 36 is connected to the lower end of the rotary shaft 33 via a coupling 35. The scion seedling transfer turntable 34 has a protrusion at a position that divides the circle into three equal parts about the rotation shaft 33, and the double-opening hands 37 and 38 are opened at the equal positions, respectively, when they protrude outward. It is provided so that it is closed when returned by a return spring 41 that is stretched between a spring locking piece 40 provided on the scion seedling conveying rotary disc 34.

On the other hand, an arcuate cam 43 having one end pivotally supported by a pin 42 is provided at two locations on the outer peripheral portion of the fixed disk 31, and the other end of the cam 43 is provided on the fixed disk 31. The cylinder (air) cylinder 44 allows displacement between a position where the fixed disk 31 extends outward and a position where the fixed disk 31 retracts inward. Then, the cam rollers 45 provided at the bases of the double-opening hands 37, 38 are brought into rolling contact with the cam 43, and the double-opening hands 37, 38 are reciprocally moved to open and close to grasp or release the scion seedling A. I have to. Urethane rubber 46 is attached to the facing seedling holding surfaces of the double-opening hands 37, 38 so that the hypocotyl of the scion seedling A will not be damaged when held.

Then, the stepping motor 36 of the scion seedling gripping / conveying unit 6A and the rootstock seedling gripping / conveying unit 6B intermittently rotates by 1/3 rotation, and the cotyledons are expanded at each intermittent stop position. The scion seedling A and the rootstock seedling B, which are supported by the hanging hand 27 of the base positioning and transporting section 5, are held by the hands 37 and 38 and taken over, and then the scion seedling A is held by the hands 37 and 38. And the rootstock seedling B is cut from a predetermined position by the cutting part 7, and at the position corresponding to the attachment part 8, the cutting seedling A is on the upper side and the rootstock seedling B is on the lower side. I try to join them. The rotation of the stepping motor 36 is not limited to the intermittent rotation of ⅓, but may be continuously rotated if synchronized with another mechanism.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cutting unit 7 includes a scion seedling cutting unit 7A and a rootstock seedling cutting unit 7B, and the scion seedling gripping / transporting unit 6A of the gripping / transporting unit 6 and the rootstock seedlings. The scion seedling A and the rootstock seedling B, which are carried by being held by the hands 37 and 38 of the gripping / transporting unit 6B and rotated, and whose movement is intermittently stopped, are still held by the hands 37 and 38. Each is cut from a predetermined position.

As shown in FIG. 9, the scion seedling cutting section 7A is attached to the output shaft 48a of the stepping motor 48, and a cutting blade holder 50 is provided at the tip of a rotating arm 49 that rotates counterclockwise. A cutting blade (safety razor in this embodiment) 51 is attached to the holder 50. This cutting blade 51 is used for one half of each piece, that is, for four times. Further, the rotating arm 49 is provided with a hypocotyl retainer (roller in the embodiment) 52 which is located on the front side of the cutting blade 51 in the rotational direction and which presses the hypocotyl of the scion seedling A. On the other hand, an air cylinder 47a is provided supported on the outer circumference of the fixed disk 31 and the tubular support portion 31a of the scion seedling gripping / conveying section 6A, and the hands 37 and 38 grip the piston of this air cylinder 47a. A hypocotyl support 47 for supporting the hypocotyl of the scion seedling A by the cutting device 7A is provided. A balancer 54 is provided at the other end of the rotary arm 49.

As shown in FIG. 10, the rootstock seedling cutting portion 7B is attached to the output shaft 55a of the stepping motor 55, and a cutting blade holder 57 is provided at the tip of a rotating arm 56 that rotates clockwise. A cutting blade 58 is attached to 57. Further, the rotating arm 56 is provided with a cotyledon holder (roller) 59 which is located on the front side in the rotation direction of the cutting blade 58 and which presses the cotyledon portion of the rootstock seedling B. On the other hand, a disc-shaped cotyledon portion posture regulating body 60 for supporting the cotyledon portion of the rootstock seedling B held by the hands 37, 38 is provided above the seedling transfer rotary plate 34 of the rootstock seedling gripping / transporting section 6B. There is. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a vertical rotary shaft that reciprocally swings by a rotary actuator is provided, and the hypocotyl of the scion seedling A held by the rotary shaft and held by the hands 37, 38 is cut by the cutting device 7B. A hypocotyl support 53 is provided for supporting when performing. Although not shown, an attenuated virus may be applied to the cut part of the seedling or the cotyledon to impart disease resistance.

As shown in FIGS. 13 to 16, the adhesive portion 8 is configured such that a rotating disk 61 provided in a horizontal state is attached to an output shaft 63 of a stepping motor 62 so as to be intermittently rotated in a direction of an arrow. A large number (10 in this embodiment) of cassette-shaped clip accommodating cases 64, 64 ... Made of transparent synthetic resin are detachably provided on the outer peripheral portion of the rotating disk 61. A detachable grip 65 allows it to be attached to and detached from the output shaft 63 of the stepping motor 62. The clip accommodating case 64 has a clip stopper (not shown) at the lower end, and accommodates 30 clips vertically stacked in the case. The lower part is inserted into the clip case fitting hole 61a provided in the rotary disk 61. When inserted, the clip stopper is released and the clip falls under its own weight. A clip receiving disc 66 is fixedly installed on the lower side of the rotary disc 61 to support the lower surface of the clip falling from the clip housing case 64, and when the clip comes into the clip drop hole 66a provided in the clip receiving disc 66. It is designed to fall. Although not shown, the presence or absence of a clip is detected by a clip detection sensor to control the rotation of the rotary disc 61.

The clip drops from the drop hole 66a to a predetermined position on the slide block 74. A clip pusher 69 that is moved back and forth by an air cylinder 68 is provided behind the slide block 74, and the clip is dropped onto the clip supply base 70. An air cylinder 71 having a long stroke is attached to the rear of the clip supply base 70, and a clip pushing rod 76 is connected to a piston 72 of the air cylinder 71 via a coupler 73 and slides on a supporting portion 75 provided on a slide block 74. It is supported as much as possible. A sharp cam 77 is attached to the clip pushing rod 76 at the upper side thereof.

Further, a pair of beaks 78, 78 are rotatably supported at the tip end of the slide block 74 via shafts 79, 79, and the beaks 78, 78 are provided at the base ends thereof. The rollers 80, 80 are provided, and a return spring 81 is installed between the rollers 80, 80. The slide block 74 is movable to the opposite positions of the scion A and the rootstock B where the tip of the beak 78 is cut from a predetermined position to the left and right sides of the clip, and also serves as a guide for the clip. A coil spring 82 is wound around the clip pushing rod 76. 11 and 12, the scion seedling A and the rootstock seedling B gripped by the hands 37 and 38 of the scion seedling gripping / conveying section 6A and the rootstock seedling gripping / conveying section 6B are shown in FIG. Further, after cutting with the rootstock seedling cutting portion 7B, both cutting surfaces of the scion A and the rootstock B are made to face each other and attached by a clip C.

In the grafted seedling discharging section 9, as shown in FIG. 17, a discharge cylinder 84 equipped with a discharge hand 83 for gripping a grafted seedling (grafted seedling) and moving it in the horizontal direction moves vertically. The scion seedling A and the rootstock seedling B supported by the air cylinder 85 and gripped by the hands 37 and 38 of the scion seedling gripping / conveying section 6A and the rootstock seedling gripping / conveying section 6B are the scion seedling cutting section. After being cut by 7A and the rootstock seedling cutting section 7B, both cut surfaces are stopped so as to face each other, and they are arranged so as to face the position where they are bonded by the clip C. The air cylinder 85 is supported by the body frame 86. In addition, the discharging hand 83 grips the root side of the seedlings grafted by fixing the cutting facing positions of the scion A and the rootstock B with the clip C, and discharges them. Below the grafted seedling discharging position of the grafted seedling discharging section 9, a guide plate (chute) for guiding the discharged grafted seedlings to the container is provided, although not shown. A belt conveyor may be provided instead of this guide plate (chute).

As shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, the pot seedling tray collecting section 10 is an empty tray for scion seedlings in which all the scion seedlings A and the rootstock seedlings B have been taken out by the seedling taking-out and conveying section 3. The tray 14A and the rootstock seedling tray 14B are further fed by the belt conveyor 12, placed on the support rails 88 and 89, and the tray tip detection sensor 87 detects the tray tip. Both ends of the support rails 88 and 89 are supported by a pair of support pins 90, 90 ... so as to be movable in the horizontal direction with respect to the body frame, and the middle portions of the support rails 88 and 89 are supported by the body frame. The piston of the air cylinder 91 is connected.

Then, the tray 14A for scion seedlings and the tray 14B for rootstock seedlings are placed on the support rails 88 and 89, and when the tips of the trays are detected by the tray tip detection sensor 87, the air cylinder 91 is provided. Contracts, the support rails 88 and 89 move to the outside to release the support for the scion seedling tray 14A and the rootstock seedling tray 14B, and the scion seedling tray 14A and the rootstock seedling tray 14B drop. Then, it will be collected. The collected scion seedling tray 14A and rootstock seedling tray 14B are used for accommodating grafted seedlings for growth, or for growing scion seedlings A or rootstock seedlings B and transferring them to the belt conveyor of seedling supply unit 2. Used to supply 12,12.

Next, the operation of the automatic grafting device having the above configuration will be described. The scion seedling A and the rootstock seedling B are supplied to the belt conveyors 12, 12 of the seedling supply unit 2 in a state of being housed in a pot seedling tray 14 and grown as pot seedlings. For pot seedlings, replace defective seedlings with healthy seedlings in advance. When the pot seedling trays 14 and 14 move in the direction of the arrow and the row of seedlings A and the seedlings of rootstock B come to the position of the seedling take-out / transport unit 3, the photoelectric switches 15 and 15 detect the row of seedlings at that position. The movement of the pot seedling tray 14 is stopped.

In the seedling take-out / transport unit 3, first, the pot seedling push-up mechanism 16 operates to push up one row of the scion seedling A and the rootstock seedling B by the pot seedling push-up bases 20, 20, ... Then, the seedling take-out / transport mechanism. 17 is activated. Then, one seedling A and one rootstock B are sequentially taken out from the front side of the seedling row by the seedling taking-out / transporting mechanism 17 and transported to the cotyledon expansion direction positioning unit 4. When one row of scion seedlings A and rootstock seedlings B is exhausted, the pot seedling lifting bases 20, 20 ... Are lowered, the belt conveyors 12, 12 are driven by the photoelectric switches 15, 15, and the next row of seedlings is switched by the photoelectric switch 15. , 15 detect and stop the movement, one pot of seedlings is pushed up by the pot seedling push-up table 20, 20, ..., And the seedling take-out / transportation mechanism 17 transports the plants one by one.

In the cotyledon expansion direction positioning unit 4, the turntable 25 is rotated by the stepping motor 24, and the photoelectric sensor 26 is rotated in the process of rotating the scion seedling A and the rootstock seedling B placed on the turntable 25. , 26 detect the developing directions of the cotyledons L, L, at which time the driving rotation of the stepping motor 24 is stopped, and the developing directions of the cotyledons L, L of the scion seedling A and the rootstock seedling B are determined. At this time, the development directions of the cotyledons L, L of the scion seedling A and the rootstock seedling B intersect with each other (orthogonal) so as to intersect (orthogonal) at the time of joining and fixing. The cotyledon seedling A and the rootstock seedling B, on which the developing directions of the cotyledons L, L are set on the turntable 25, have their hypocotyls suspended by the suspension hand 27 of the cotyledon deployment base positioning and conveying section 5. It is held and supported, moves along the guide rail 30 by the rodless cylinder 29, and is conveyed to the outer peripheral position of the gripping / conveying unit 6.

In the gripping / transporting unit 6, the hands 37, 38 of the scion seedling gripping / transporting unit 6 A and the rootstock seedling gripping / transporting unit 6 B are suspended and supported by the suspending hand 27 and stopped. The seedling A and the seedling B are taken over and gripped. The stepping motor 36 rotates 1/3, and the cuttings 7 cut the scion seedlings A and rootstock seedlings B held by the hands 37 and 38 from the predetermined positions. At the corresponding position, the cuttings A face up and the root B face down so that the cut surfaces face each other and come close to each other.

In the cutting unit 7, the cutting blades 51 and 58 attached to the respective tips of the rotating arm 49 rotating counterclockwise and the rotating arm 56 rotating clockwise rotate the seedling A and the rootstock B. Is disconnected. At the time of cutting the scion seedling A and the rootstock seedling B, the hypocotyl pressers (rollers) 52, 59, the hypocotyl support body 53, the cotyledon posture regulating body 60, etc. are provided. The root side is cut off with the cutting surface obliquely downward, and the rootstock seedling B is cut with one of the cotyledons L and the growing point with the cutting surface obliquely upward. The two cutting surfaces face each other by the rotations of the scion seedling gripping / transporting portion 6A and the rootstock seedling gripping / transporting portion 6B, and are brought close to each other and stopped. It should be noted that application of an attenuated virus to cut parts of seedlings or cotyledons imparts disease resistance.

In the adhesive portion 8, the rotary disc 61 is intermittently rotated by the stepping motor 62, and the clip accommodated in the clip accommodating case 64 is moved by its own weight from the clip drop hole 66 a of the clip receiving disc 66 to the slide block 74. To fall. The presence or absence of this clip is detected by the clip detection sensor and controls the rotation of the rotary disc 61. The air cylinder 68 extends and the clip is pushed out by the clip push-out body 69 and drops onto the clip supply table 70. In the clip supply table 70, the clip pushing rod 76 is moved forward by the air cylinder 71 to push the clip forward.

When the clip C is pushed out by the clip pushing rod 76, the slide block 74 advances by the coil spring 82, and when the slide block 74 stops moving by the stopper, the clip C opens along the slide block 74. While moving forward, at the same time, the cam 77 separates the rollers 80, 80 of the beaks 78, 78 from each other against the elastic force of the return rib 81. As a result, the tips of the beaks 78, 78 come close to each other, and the cut surfaces of the scion seedling A and the rootstock seedling B are brought close to or joined to each other, and the extruded clip C holds them to bond and fix the cut surfaces. , Grafted seedlings are completed.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11 and FIGS. 12A to 12C, the cut stalk A and the rootstock B held by the clip C face each other in the vertical direction. In the case of Cucurbitaceae, the so-called unilateral cutting cutting method is used. At this time, if the cotyledon of the rootstock B hangs down as shown in FIG. 12 (b), the clip C cannot be hung, so by providing the cotyledon posture regulating body 60 as shown in (c). The clip C is prevented from hanging and the clip C is surely hooked. When there are no more clips stored in the clip storage case 64, this is detected by the clip detection sensor, the rotary disc 61 is rotated, and when the clip stored in the next clip storage case 64 is detected, the rotary disc 61 is detected. The rotation is stopped and the clip is supplied. Replace the clip storage case 64 that has no clips with a clip prepared separately.

The grafted seedlings formed by being clipped by the clip C are held by the hands 37 and 38 of the gripping / conveying unit 6 while the discharge hands 83 of the grafted seedling discharging unit 9 are extended by the discharge cylinders 84. Then, the hands 37, 38 are released from being pinched. Then, the discharge cylinder 84 contracts to move the grafted seedling by the discharge hand 83, and when the grafted seedling reaches a predetermined position due to the expansion of the air cylinder 85, the discharge hand 83 opens to discharge the grafted seedling.

In the pot seedling tray collecting section 10, all of the scion seedlings A and the rootstock seedlings B have been taken out by the seedling taking-out and transporting section 3 and emptied to become a seedling seedling tray 14A and a rootstock seedling tray 14B. Are further fed by the belt conveyor 12 and placed on the support rails 88 and 89. Then, when the tips of the tray 14A for scion seedlings and the tray 14B for rootstock seedlings are detected by the tray tip detection sensor 87, the piston of the air cylinder 91 is contracted, and the support rails 88 and 89 are supported by the support pins 90, 89. The tray 14A for scion seedlings and the tray 14B for rootstock seedlings are dropped and collected. The collected tray 14A for rootstock seedlings and the tray 14B for rootstock seedlings are reused for growing grafted seedlings and for growing and supplying rootstock seedlings A and rootstock seedlings B.

In the automatic grafting device 1 described above, the seedling supply section 2, 2, seedling take-out transfer section 3, 3, cotyledon expansion direction positioning section 4, 4, cotyledon expansion base positioning transfer section 5, 5, gripping / transfer section 6, A series of operations of 6, the cutting units 7 and 7, the bonding unit 8, the grafted seedling discharging unit 9, the pot seedling tray collecting unit 10 and the like are sequence-controlled by the programmable controller in the operation control unit 11.

[0036]

[Effect of device]

 As described above, according to the seedling positioning and conveying mechanism of the automatic grafting device of the present invention, the cotyledon expansion direction positioning mechanism for directing the cotyledon expansion directions of the scion seedling and the rootstock seedling to the predetermined directions, and the cotyledon expansion direction. Since a mechanism for supporting and positioning the scion seedlings and rootstock seedlings that have been determined by the cotyledon expansion base is provided, the cotyledon expansion direction of the scion and rootstock seedlings and the vertical position of the hypocotyl are automatically determined. It is transferred to the next stage work section, and the work of manually positioning the cotyledon development direction and the hypocotyl up and down direction is omitted, and the efficiency of the grafting work and the improvement of work accuracy are achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view in which a part of the entire automatic grafting device is omitted.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a belt conveyor and a pot seedling tray of a seedling supply unit.

FIG. 3 is a partial side view of a seedling supply section and a seedling take-out and transport section.

FIG. 4 is a partial front view of a seedling take-out / transport unit.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a cotyledon deployment direction positioning unit.

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of a cotyledon unfolding base positioning and transporting unit.

FIG. 7 is a partial plan view of a gripping / conveying unit.

FIG. 8 is a partial side sectional view of a gripping / conveying unit.

FIG. 9 is a partial side view of a gripping / conveying unit and a cutting unit (for scion seedlings).

FIG. 10 is a partial side view of a gripping / conveying unit and a cutting unit (for rootstock seedlings).

FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional view of a grip / transport unit and an adhesive unit.

FIG. 12 (a) to (c) are explanatory views when adhering cut seedlings.

FIG. 13 is a partial plan view of an adhesive portion.

FIG. 14 is a partial side view of an adhesive portion.

FIG. 15 is a partial rear view of the adhesive section.

FIG. 16 is a plan view (a), a side view (b), and a bottom view (c) of the clip pushing mechanism.

FIG. 17 is a side view of a grafted seedling discharging section.

FIG. 18 is a front view of a pot seedling tray recovery unit.

FIG. 19 is a plan view of a pot seedling tray recovery unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Automatic Grafting Device 2 Seedling Supply Section 3 Seedling Extraction Conveying Section 4 Cotyledon Expansion Direction Positioning Section 5 Cotyledon Expansion Base Positioning Conveying Section 6 Grasping / Conveying Section 6A Hot Seedling Grasping / Conveying Section 6B
Rootstock seedling gripping / transporting section 7 Cutting section 7A Scion seedling cutting section 7B Rootstock seedling cutting section 8 Adhesive section 9 Grafted seedling discharging section 10 Pot seedling tray collecting section 11 Operation control section 12 Belt conveyor 13 Motor 14 Pot seedling tray 14A Hoto seedling tray 14
B Rootstock Seedling tray 15 Photoelectric switch 16 Pot seedling push-up mechanism 17 Seedling take-out / transport mechanism 18, 21, 28, 68, 71, 85, 91 Air cylinder 19 Support stand 20 Pot seedling push-up table 22 Grasping hand 23 Linear motor 24 36, 48, 55, 62 Stepping motor 25 Turntable 26 Photoelectric sensor 27 Suspending hand 29 Rodless cylinder 30 Guide rail 31 Fixed disk 31a Cylindrical support 32 Bearing 33 Rotation axis 34 Hoboki seedling rotary transport board 35 Coupling 37 , 38 Double-handed hand 39 Guide roller 40 Spring locking piece 41 Return spring 42 Pin 43 Cam 44 Pin (air) cylinder 45 Cam roller 46 Urethane rubber 47, 53 Hypocotyl support 49, 56 Rotating arm 50, 57 Cutting blade holder 51, 58 Cutting blade (safety razor) 2,59 Embryonic shaft retainer (roller) 54 Balancer 60 Cotyledon part posture regulating body 61 Rotating disc 63 Output shaft 64 Clip accommodating case 65 Detachable grip 66 Clip receiving disc 69 Clip extruding body 70 Clip supply table 72 Piston 73 Piston rod 74 Slide Block 75 Support portion 76 Clip push rod 77 Cam 78 Beak 79 Shaft 80 Roller 81 Return spring 82 Coil spring 83 Discharging hand 84 Discharging cylinder 86 Machine frame 87 Tray tip detection sensor 88, 89 Support rail 90 Support pin

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A cotyledon expansion direction positioning mechanism for directing the cotyledon expansion directions of a scion seedling and a rootstock seedling to predetermined directions, and a cotyledon seedling and a rootstock seedling in which the cotyledon expansion direction is fixed, respectively. A seedling positioning and transporting mechanism for an automatic grafting device, which is provided with a mechanism for supporting and positioning and transporting the base.