JPH11346567A - Seedling extraction mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] In the conventional opening and closing mechanism of a seedling extraction claw of a temporary planting device,
Because the camshaft protrudes downward, soil and dust etc. attached to the leaves of the seedlings adhere to the camshaft, the camshaft wears out, the claws become unable to open sufficiently, and the cell-shaped seedlings may be grasped. There was something I couldn't do. SOLUTION: In a seedling extracting section 4 for transferring cell-formed seedlings from a cell-formed seedling tray 13 to a seedling transfer / transportation device 2, a claw bracket 37 can be moved up and down by an actuator, and a pair of right and left claws are attached to the claw bracket. Holder 40
The upper and lower portions are pivotally supported, the extraction claws 5 are attached to the lower portions of the claw holders, the cam followers 45 are respectively provided on the upper portions, and a wedge-shaped cam 47 is provided above the two cam followers. The lifting claw can open and close the extraction claw.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for sowing seeds such as flowers and vegetables in a cell-shaped seedling tray, and temporarily planting the cell-shaped seedlings having a size of about 2 to 6 leaves after germination from the cell-shaped seedling tray. In a temporary planting apparatus for temporarily planting in a tray or a temporary planting pot (commonly called a vinyl pot), the present invention relates to a configuration of a extracting claw for extracting a cell-formed seedling from a cell-forming seedling tray and inserting it into a cup of a seedling transfer / transportation device and an opening / closing mechanism thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, seeds such as flowers and vegetables are sown in each pot of a cell-formed seedling tray in which a concave pot is formed in the shape of a plurality of rows and a plurality of rows of boards, and the leaves after germination are grown. 2
When the size becomes about 6 pieces, it has been practiced to temporarily plant in a pot of a temporary planting tray slightly larger than the pot of the cell-formed seedling tray so that the pot can be planted by the transplanter. Extraction nails are used to extract cell-formed seedlings from the pot of the cell-formed seedling tray. The cell-molded seedlings extracted by the extraction nails are temporarily placed in a seedling transfer cup, transported once, and transferred to the seedling transfer cup. And temporarily planted in a temporary planting tray. The structure of this extraction claw is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-322.
No. 393.

The seedling extraction claw of this temporary planting device projects a camshaft and a pair of claw bodies below the head support, and the claw bodies are urged in a closing direction by a spring, and are moved from the claw bodies toward the camshaft. When the cam follower is protruded, the cam follower is brought into contact with the cam shaft and opened, and when the claw body is lowered by a cylinder or the like, the cam follower is also slidably contacted while descending, and the claw body is closed at the lower end. Then, when raised, the camshaft is inserted between the pair of cam followers to open.

[0004]

In the opening / closing mechanism of the seedling extracting claw of the conventional temporary planting device, since the camshaft protrudes downward, soil and dust attached to the leaves of the seedling adhere to the camshaft. If the cam follower slides in contact with soil or the like on the camshaft, the camshaft will be worn, the diameter of the camshaft will be small, the claws will not open sufficiently, and the cell-formed seedlings will not be able to be grasped. It could even hurt. Further, since the cam shaft is formed in a rod shape and the cam followers are configured to abut on both sides thereof, the position of the cam shaft is more likely to be shifted toward the tip of the cam shaft,
If the cam shaft and the cam follower were displaced, they could be closed before the claw body was stabbed in the root mortar, or could fall off during transportation due to a small amount of closing. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the assembly accuracy so that the axis of the camshaft and the axis of the cam follower coincide with each other, which is a factor of cost increase.

[0005]

The problem to be solved by the present invention is as described above. Next, means for solving the above problem will be described. In other words, in the seedling extraction unit that transfers the cell-formed seedlings from the cell-formed seedling tray to the seedling transfer and transfer device,
The claw bracket can be moved up and down by an actuator. A wedge-shaped cam is provided in the upper part between the two, and the removal claw can be opened and closed by raising and lowering the cam.

In addition, the claw bracket can be moved up and down by an actuator, and the claw bracket pivotally supports a middle part of a pair of right and left claw holders, and a removal claw is attached to a lower portion of each claw holder. The upper part and the lower end of the pawl opening / closing rod are pivotally connected by a pair of links, and the extraction pawl can be opened and closed by raising and lowering the pawl opening / closing rod.

Further, the upper end of the claw bracket is fixed to the lower end of a rod provided in the vertical direction, and a stopper is provided on the upper end of the rod so as to be able to contact the support. And a pair of links between the upper part of each claw holder and the lower end of the claw opening / closing / elevating rod, and the lifting / lowering of the claw opening / closing / elevating rod. This enables the opening and closing and lifting of the extraction claw.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of a temporary planting apparatus equipped with a seedling extracting mechanism according to the present invention will be described. 1 is an overall front view of the temporary planting device, FIG. 2 is an overall plan view of the temporary implanting device, FIG. 3 is a right side view of the temporary implanting device, and FIG. 4 is a left side view of the same.

The overall structure of the automatic temporary planting device will be described. A frame base 1 on which caster wheels for movement are arranged is provided at a lower part. On the frame base 1, a seedling tray conveyor 10 and a temporary planting tray conveyor 11 are arranged on the left and right in parallel in the front-rear direction. A seedling transfer / transportation device 2 that crosses the seedling tray conveyor 10 and the temporary planting tray conveyor 11 in a direction perpendicular to both conveyors is provided at substantially the front and rear central portions. Pillars 3a and 3b are erected before and after between the seedling tray conveyor 10 and the temporary planting tray conveyor 11, and the seedling extracting unit 4 is arranged on the right side of the frame 3c provided between the upper ends of the pillars 3a and 3b. The planting section 7 and the perforated section 8 are arranged on the left side. A control box 12 is provided at the rear.

[0010] A cell-formed seedling tray 13 is placed on the seedling tray conveyor 10, and the cell-formed seedlings grown in the recesses on the cell-formed seedling tray 13 are conveyed from the rear to the front. During the transport, a plurality of cell-formed seedlings are simultaneously extracted by the extraction claws 5, 5... Of the present invention arranged in parallel with the seedling extraction section 4, and are transported upward to transport the seedling transfer cup 9 of the seedling transfer transport device 2.・ Insert 9 ... The seedling transfer / transportation device 2 is placed around a chain (or belt) 20 around a seedling transfer cup 9.9.
Are arranged at regular intervals, and the chain 20 is rotated around the top, bottom, left, and right of the seedling tray conveyor 10 and the temporary planting tray conveyor 11 of the frame base 1. The seedling tray conveyor 10 and the temporary planting tray conveyor 11 are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveyor, straddling both conveyors of the conveyor 10 and the temporary planting tray conveyor 11. The temporary planting tray 14 is placed on the temporary planting tray conveyor 11 and is transported rearward. During the transportation, the planting claw 6 of the planting section 7 causes the seedling transfer and transport device 2 to move.
The cell-molded seedlings in the seedling transfer cups 9, 9... Are taken out, conveyed downward, inserted into the holes drilled by the perforated portions 8 on the temporary planting tray 14, and planted.

The seedling extracting unit 4 is guided by a guide hole of a guide plate 21 provided on the side surface of the frame 3c, and expands and contracts the moving cylinder 16 so that the seedling transfer and transfer device 2 is moved.
Of the seedling tray conveyer 10 with respect to the seedling transfer / conveyance device 2 so as to move in an arc between the upper part of the seedling tray 13 and the upper part of the cell-formed seedling tray 13 at the same time. Arranged on the process side (rear), cell-formed seedlings on the cell-formed seedling tray 13 are extracted and transferred to the seedling transfer cup 9.

The seedling extraction section 4 has extraction claws 5.5.
A switching mechanism is arranged for adjusting the pitch of the cell forming seedling tray 13 to the pitch of the concave portion of the cell forming seedling tray 13 and the pitch of the seedling transfer cups 9, 9,... The body 22 is provided with a later-described extraction claw 5, a lifting cylinder 23, an opening / closing cylinder, an opening / closing mechanism of the present invention, and the like.

The planting section 7 is guided by a guide hole of a guide plate 24 provided on the left side surface of the frame 3c, and expands and contracts the moving cylinder 17 so that the upper part of the seedling transfer / transportation device 2 is temporarily planted. The planting unit 7 is moved in an arc shape between the upper and lower sides of the tray 14 at the same time, and the planting unit 7 is disposed on the post-process side (rear side) of the temporary planting tray conveyor 11 to transfer the cell-formed seedlings in the seedling transfer cup 9. The planting claws 6 hold the planting tray 6 and plant it in the pot of the temporary planting tray 14. During the downward planting operation, a recess is formed on the temporary planting pot by the perforated portion 8. The planting section 7 is provided with a pitch switching mechanism in the same manner as the seedling extracting section 4 so that the pitch of the seedling transfer cups 9, 9,... I have.

Next, the opening and closing mechanism of the seedling extracting section of the present invention will be described. 5 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a first embodiment of the opening and closing mechanism of the seedling extracting nail, FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of a mounting portion of the seedling extracting nail, FIG. 7 is a front sectional view thereof, and FIG. FIG. 9 is a front view showing the second embodiment of the pawl opening / closing mechanism, FIG. 9 is a front view thereof, FIG.
FIG. 1 is a side view, partly in section, showing a third embodiment of the opening and closing mechanism for the seedling extraction nail.

A plurality of extraction heads are mounted on the seedling extraction section 4 in parallel, so that a plurality of cell-formed seedlings can be transferred at the same time. One of the extraction heads will be described from the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 6, and FIG.
0 is fixed at the upper end and protrudes downward. The seedling presser 30 is formed in a “く” shape when viewed from the side, and the lower end is arranged so as to overlap the middle of the elevating trajectory of the extraction claw 5 when viewed from the side, and the cell-formed seedling is inserted into the seedling transfer cup 9. And remove the claw 5
When pulling up the seedling, the top of the root pot of the cell-formed seedling is pressed by the tip of the seedling holder 30 so as not to be lifted.

The head support 22 has a claw lifting rod 3
1 and the pawl opening / closing rod 32 are penetrated and supported slidably up and down,
A cam follower 33 composed of a roller is provided at the upper end of the pawl elevating rod 31 and is fitted to a cam 34 fixed to a lower end of a piston rod of a pawl elevating cylinder (not shown, 25 in FIG. 8) as an actuator. A cam follower 35 composed of a roller is provided at an upper end of the rod 32, and is fitted to a cam 36 fixed to a lower end of a piston rod of a pawl opening / closing cylinder (26 in FIG. 8) (not shown) as an actuator. Therefore,
By driving one claw lifting / lowering cylinder, a plurality of pulling claws of the seedling extracting unit 4 can be raised and lowered at the same time, and by driving one claw opening / closing cylinder, a plurality of pulling claws of the seedling extracting unit 4 can be opened and closed at the same time.

The lower end of the pawl elevating rod 31 is inserted into a mounting hole provided at the upper end of the pawl bracket 37 and can be fixed by a thumb screw 38 so as to be detachable. Pivot shafts 39, 39 are provided on both lower sides of the claw bracket 37, and the upper and lower portions of the claw holders 40, 40 are pivotally supported,
The upper ends of the extraction claws 5.5 are inserted and fixed to the lower portions of the claw holders 40, and project the extraction claws 5.5 downward in parallel. 41, 41 are the set screws. Further, recesses 40a, 40a are formed in the lower portions of the claw holders 40, 40 so as to face each other, and a spring 43 is housed in the recesses 40a, 40a.・ The lower end of 5 is opened.

Support shafts 44 are supported in the front-rear direction above the claw holders 40, and rollers 45 serving as cam followers are rotatably supported at the tips of the support shafts 44. Stopper screws 46, 46 for determining the opening positions of the extraction claws 5, 5 are disposed on the claw holders 40, 40 below the rollers 45, 45, and the claw bracket 37 is provided.
Is in contact with And the left and right rollers 45
An opening / closing cam 47 is disposed above the position between the opening and closing 45, and the opening / closing cam 47 has a wedge-shaped lower portion and an upper portion fixed to the lower end of the claw opening / closing rod 32.

Therefore, when the pawl opening / closing cylinder is extended to lower the pawl opening / closing rod 32 and the opening / closing cam 47, the lower portion of the opening / closing cam 47 enters between the rollers 45, 45.
Spread the rollers 45 and 45 to the left and right,
Numeral 0 rotates around the pivots 39 and closes the lower portions of the extraction claws 5.5. Since the holder-side shaft and the roller-side shaft of the support shaft 44 are eccentric so that they can be freely fixed in the rotation direction, the adjustment is performed so that the roller 45 or the cam 47 is securely closed even if worn. be able to.
Conversely, when the pawl opening / closing cylinder is reduced and the opening / closing cam 47 is raised, the pulling pawls 5.5
Is opened.

The mounting portion of the head support 22 is disposed so as to be inclined with its front lower than the elevating cylinder 23, and the extraction claws 5.5 are provided on the seedling transfer cup 9 (pot of the cell-formed seedling tray). The seedling transfer cup 9 is inserted along the inner surface of the seedling transfer cup 9 by being inclined in accordance with the inclination of the inner surface (about 10 degrees from the vertical in this embodiment), and the lifting cylinder 23 is provided in the vertical direction. Therefore, the cell-formed seedlings are raised and lowered in the vertical direction.

In such a configuration, the process of extracting the cell-formed seedlings from the cell-formed seedling tray 13 and transferring them to the seedling transfer and transfer device 2 will be described. When transported and stopped below the seedling extraction unit 4, the moving cylinder 16 is reduced to position the seedling extraction unit 4 above the cell forming seedling tray 13, and the lifting cylinder 23 is extended to extend the claw lifting cylinder. With the extraction claws 5.5 open, insert them into the recesses of the cell molded seedling tray 13 and then extend the claw opening / closing cylinder to close the extraction claws 5.5 as described above and The pot is sandwiched, the lifting cylinder 23 is contracted and lifted to lift the cell-formed seedling, pull it out of the cell-forming seedling tray 13, extend the moving cylinder 16, and simultaneously operate the pitch switching switching mechanism. Moving to match the pitch of the seedling transfer cup 9 carries a cell molded seedlings seedling transfer conveying device 2 upper position while capturing.

Then, the elevating cylinder 23 is extended to insert the cell-formed seedling into the seedling transfer cup 9, the opening / closing cylinder is reduced to expand the extraction claws 5, 5, and the claw elevating cylinder is reduced and raised. At this time, the upper surface of the root pot of the cell-formed seedling is held down by the lower end of the seedling holder 30, so that the cell-formed seedling is not lifted with the rise of the extraction claws 5, 5, and the cell-formed seedling is transferred to the seedling transfer cup. 9 inside. Then, the lifting cylinder is reduced to raise the extraction claws 5, 5,..., And the moving cylinder 16 is reduced and moved to a position above the cell-formed seedling tray 13, where it is captured and transferred in the same manner as described above. The sheet is conveyed to the loading and conveying device 2, and the above operation is repeated.

Next, a second embodiment of the seedling extracting section 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8, 9 and 10. FIG. Extraction claw 5 of the first embodiment
5, the seed presser 30, the claw lifting cylinder 25, and the claw opening / closing cylinder 26 have the same configuration. Instead of the roller 45 and the opening / closing cam 47, the lower end of the claw opening / closing rod 31 and the upper end of the claw holder 40 are connected by a link. I have. That is, the link 50/5 of the same length is provided at the lower end of the claw opening / closing rod 31.
1 is pivotally supported by a shaft 52, and the links 50 and 51
Are pivotally supported on the upper ends of the claw holders 40 by shafts 53.

In such a configuration, when the pawl opening / closing cylinder 26 is extended to lower the pawl opening / closing rod 32, the lower portions of the links 50 and 51 are opened as shown in FIG. The lower part of the extraction claws 5 is closed by rotating about the pivots 39. Conversely, when the pawl opening / closing cylinder 26 is reduced, the link 50
51 is closed, the extraction claws 5.5 are opened, and the spring 4
The urging force of No. 3 keeps it open without rattling.

Next, a third embodiment of the seedling extracting section 4 will be described with reference to FIG. In the third embodiment, the claw lifting / lowering cylinder and the claw opening / closing cylinder of the second embodiment are operated by one cylinder, and the other structure is the same as that of the second embodiment. That is, one end of a link 50/51 having the same length is pivotally supported by the shaft 52 at the lower end of the claw opening / closing rod 32, and the other end of the link 50/51 is pivotally supported by the shaft 53/53 on the upper end of the claw holder 40/40. An edge 31a is provided at the upper end of the pawl elevating rod 31 'to serve as a stopper, and the cam follower 35' at the upper end of the pawl opening / closing rod 32 is connected to the cam at the tip of the piston rod of the pawl opening / closing and elevating cylinder.

In this configuration, when the claw opening / closing / elevating cylinder is extended to lower the claw opening / closing rod 32, as shown in FIG. When the claw lifting rod 31 ′ is inserted into the recess, the edge 31 a of the claw lifting rod 31 ′ comes into contact with the upper surface of the head support 22, and the claw opening / closing rod 32 is further lowered, the link 5
The lower part of 0.51 is opened, and as shown in FIG. 10, the claw holders 40 rotate about the pivots 39 to close the lower parts of the extraction claws 5.5. Conversely, when the claw opening / closing / elevating cylinder is reduced, the lower portions of the links 50 and 51 are closed, and the extraction claws 5.5 are opened, held open without rattling by the urging force of the spring 43, and ascended. It is done. Incidentally, the spring 43 can be omitted. The transfer process of the seedling extraction unit 4 in the second embodiment and the third embodiment is the same as in the first embodiment.

[0027]

As described above, the present invention has the following advantages. That is, as in claim 1,
In the seedling extracting section for transferring the cell-formed seedling from the cell-formed seedling tray to the seedling transfer / transportation device, the claw bracket can be moved up and down by an actuator, and the claw bracket pivotally supports a vertically intermediate portion of a pair of left and right claw holders. Then, a removal claw is attached to the lower part of each claw holder, a cam follower is provided on each upper part, a wedge-shaped cam is provided above the two cam followers, and the removal claw can be opened and closed by raising and lowering the cam. The extractor nail is lowered by driving, the extractor nail is inserted into the recess of the cell molded seedling tray, and the cam can be lowered to open and close the extractor nail, and adhere to the cell molded seedling for opening and closing operation above the nail holder. Soil and dust, etc. adhered to the opening / closing operation portion and do not adversely affect the opening / closing operation. Further, even if the opening / closing operation portion is slightly worn, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the removal claw is not closed only by biasing the cam downward.

In addition, as described in claim 2, the claw bracket can be moved up and down by an actuator, and the claw bracket pivotally supports a vertically intermediate portion of a pair of left and right claw holders, and a pulling claw is provided at a lower portion of each of the claw holders. attachment,
The upper part of each claw holder and the lower end of the claw opening / closing rod are pivotally connected by a pair of links, and the extraction claw can be opened and closed by raising and lowering the claw opening / closing rod. It was possible to open and close reliably.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the upper end of the claw bracket is fixed to the lower end of the rod provided in the vertical direction, and a stopper is provided at the upper end of the rod so as to be able to contact the support.
A pair of left and right claw holders are pivotally supported on the claw bracket in the upper and lower directions. Extraction claws are respectively attached to the lower portions of the claw holders, and a pair of links are provided between the upper part of each claw holder and the lower end of the claw opening / closing and lifting rod. In addition, the lifting and lowering of the claw opening / closing and lifting rod enables the opening and closing and lifting of the removing claw, so that the lifting and lowering and opening and closing of the removing claw can be performed with one actuator, thereby reducing the number of actuators and reducing costs. I was able to do it.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall front view of a temporary planting device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall plan view of the temporary planting device.

FIG. 3 is a right side view of the temporary planting device.

FIG. 4 is a left side view of the same.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing the first embodiment of the opening and closing mechanism of the seedling extraction claw.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of a mounting portion of the seedling extracting claw.

FIG. 7 is a front sectional view of the same.

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a second embodiment of the opening and closing mechanism of the seedling extraction claw.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the same.

FIG. 10 is a front view of the same closed state.

FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a third embodiment of the opening and closing mechanism for the seedling extraction claw.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing a state where the seedling extracting nail is lowered.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Seedling transfer / transportation device 4 Seedling extraction section 5 Extraction claw 13 Cell forming seedling tray 31 Claw lifting rod 32 Claw opening / closing rod 37 Claw bracket 40 Claw holder 47 Opening / closing cam 50/51 Link

Claims (3)

[Claims] In a seedling extracting section for transferring cell-formed seedlings from a cell-formed seedling tray to a seedling transfer / transportation device, a claw bracket can be moved up and down by an actuator, and the claw bracket can be moved up and down by a pair of left and right claw holders. Pivot the middle part, attach a removal claw to the lower part of each claw holder, provide a cam follower at the top, provide a wedge-shaped cam above both cam followers, and open and close the removal claw by raising and lowering the cam A seedling extraction mechanism characterized by the following. 2. A seedling extracting unit for transferring cell-formed seedlings from a cell-formed seedling tray to a seedling transfer / transportation device, wherein a claw bracket can be moved up and down by an actuator, and a pair of right and left claw holders The middle part is pivotally supported, and extraction nails are respectively attached to the lower parts of the nail holders. The upper part of each nail holder and the lower end of the nail opening / closing rod are pivotally connected by a pair of links. A seedling extraction mechanism characterized in that it can be opened and closed. 3. In a seedling extracting section for transferring cell-formed seedlings from a cell-formed seedling tray to a seedling transfer / transportation device, an upper end of a claw bracket is fixed to a lower end of a vertically provided rod, and a stopper is provided at the upper end of the rod. In addition to being provided so as to be able to contact the support, the claw bracket pivotally supports the middle part of the pair of left and right claw holders in the upper and lower directions, and the extraction claw is attached to the lower part of each claw holder, and the claw bracket is opened and closed with the upper part of each claw holder. A seedling extracting mechanism, wherein a lower end of the lifting rod is pivotally connected to a lower end of the lifting rod by a pair of links, and the opening and closing and lifting of the extraction nail can be performed by raising and lowering the claw opening / closing and lifting rod.