Nutrient soil mixing and dispensing device

Abstract

The utility model discloses a kind of nutrient soil mixing and dispensing device, it is related to agricultural automation equipment technical field, for realizing the automatic, even spreading and mixing of soil and additive (such as earthworm) on nutrient soil automatic production line.The device mainly includes two opposite horizontal telescopic conveying devices, tray rack slide rail being set between the discharge end of the two and tray rack being slidably installed on slide rail.Telescopic conveying device inside is driven sliding side plate reciprocating motion along guide rail by servo motor, realize the dynamic telescoping of conveyor belt working length, and tray rack moves along track in Y axis, cooperate the alternate telescoping of conveyor belt in X axis and lay material, realize the even charging of material in tray.The device effectively solves the accumulation problem caused by fixed conveyor belt blanking, improves material mixing uniformity and operation efficiency, and is suitable for the automation production of plug seedling, pot planting and soil remediation etc.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of agricultural automation equipment technology, specifically to a mechanism for automatically and uniformly spreading and mixing soil and additives (such as earthworms) on an automated production line for nutrient soil. Background Technology

[0002] In modern tray seedling cultivation, potted plant planting, and soil remediation, it is often necessary to mix the base soil with biological additives (such as earthworms) or nutrient additives to enhance soil fertility and activity. Traditional methods often involve pre-mixing before filling or relying on manual spreading, which has significant drawbacks: pre-mixing not only increases process and equipment costs but also limits the uniformity of mixing, especially for live biological additives (such as earthworms), where prolonged mechanical mixing may damage their activity; manual spreading is inefficient, and uniformity is difficult to guarantee, easily leading to localized material accumulation or missing parts in the tray, affecting the consistency of subsequent cultivation results.

[0003] In existing automated equipment, the method of directly dumping materials onto pallets using a fixed conveyor belt is quite common. Although most equipment achieves automatic feeding, the material often accumulates in a fixed position on the pallet, forming small hills, and cannot achieve uniform distribution. This not only requires a subsequent leveling process, but more seriously, when two or more materials need to be added simultaneously (such as soil and earthworms), the fixed drop point causes different materials to be layered or locally concentrated within the pallet, failing to achieve real-time, uniform mixing, directly affecting the homogenization effect of the final nutrient soil. For example, patent CN101965791A discloses a soil-laying mechanism for automated seedling covering, in which soil in the soil box passively and fixedly falls onto the seedling tray below through the opening of the toothed plate. The uniformity depends on the opening design and cannot be actively and variably spread on the pallet surface. Therefore, there is an urgent need for an automated device that can integrate material conveying, dynamic mixing, and automatic uniform spreading functions to improve the efficiency and quality of nutrient soil cultivation. Utility Model Content

[0004] The main objective of this invention is to provide a device that, through the telescopic movement of a telescopic conveyor and the movement of the pallet frame guide rail in the y-axis direction, spreads materials at different positions on the pallet, preventing materials from piling up in the same location and thus achieving uniform distribution of materials within the pallet. A further objective of this invention is to use two opposing telescopic conveyor belts working alternately to dynamically cross and mix materials from both ends in the central area of ​​the pallet, overcoming potential unevenness issues during mixing and improving the mixing effect.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: two telescopic conveyor devices 1 are arranged horizontally opposite each other; a pallet frame slide rail 2 is set on the ground between the discharge ends of the two telescopic conveyor devices 1, with its direction perpendicular to the conveyor belt transport direction; a pallet frame 3 and a pallet 4 are set on the pallet frame slide rail 2; the telescopic conveyor device 1 includes a conveyor belt 11, a driving wheel 12, a fixed driven wheel 13, a moving driven wheel 14 and an adjusting roller 15 to form a U-shaped conveyor chain.

[0006] Preferably, the drive wheel 12 is located at the lower end of the U-shaped conveyor chain, and the conveyor belt 11 is fitted onto the drive wheel 12. Two fixed driven wheels 13 are fixedly arranged vertically inside the outer ring of the U-shaped bend, forming two right-angle bends on the outer ring of the conveyor belt 11. A moving driven wheel 14 is set at the other end of the outward extension of the U-shaped conveyor chain, and the conveyor belt 11 is fitted onto the moving driven wheel 14. Two moving driven wheels 14 are arranged vertically inside the fixed driven wheels 13, forming two right-angle bends on the inner ring of the conveyor belt 11, finally returning to the drive wheel 12. A servo motor 5 is installed on the side of the drive wheel to drive its rotation. This U-shaped conveyor chain layout is compact, with a reasonable transmission path, effectively utilizing space while ensuring stable tension and smooth operation of the conveyor belt during expansion and contraction, thus improving the reliability and service life of the equipment.

[0007] Preferably, the driven wheel 14 and the adjusting roller 15 are both fixed on the sliding side plate 16. The sliding side plate 16 cooperates with the guide rail 17 and can reciprocate in a straight line, thereby realizing the extension and retraction of the effective working length of the conveyor belt. The cooperation design between the sliding side plate and the guide rail ensures the linearity and precision of the extension and retraction movement, reduces swaying and deviation during the movement, thus ensuring the accuracy of the discharge port position and making the material spreading more uniform and controllable.

[0008] Preferably, a transmission structure is provided below the guide rail 17, including a transmission wheel 18 at each end of the same straight line, and a transmission belt 19 is fitted on the transmission wheel 18. The upper part of the transmission belt 19 is fixed to the bottom plate of the sliding side plate 16 with screws. This transmission structure is simple and reliable, directly driving the sliding side plate through the transmission belt. The power transmission is direct and the response is rapid, which helps to achieve fast and precise control of the telescopic movement.

[0009] Preferably, a servo motor 5 is mounted on the side of one of the drive wheels 18 to drive its rotation. Using a servo motor facilitates precise control of telescopic displacement, speed, and acceleration, allowing for flexible adaptation to different spreading patterns and process requirements, thus improving the equipment's automation level and adaptability.

[0010] Preferably, baffles 22 are provided on both sides of the outermost conveying area of ​​the U-shaped drive chain; scrapers 23 are inclinedly arranged on the return path of the conveyor belt below the driven wheel 14. The baffles effectively prevent the material from scattering and splashing during the conveying process, ensuring the complete conveying of the material; the scrapers can continuously remove residual material adhering to the conveyor belt, keep the belt surface clean, and prevent cross-contamination and weighing errors.

[0011] Preferably, the conveyor belt 11 is equipped with support rollers 21 on the return path at the lowest side of the U-shaped transmission chain and below the outwardly extended portion. The support rollers 21 effectively support the transmission belt, reduce sagging and frictional resistance caused by the belt's own weight and load, lower transmission energy consumption, improve transmission efficiency and service life, and ensure the smoothness of the transmission process.

[0012] Preferably, the telescopic conveyor 1 is mounted on a support frame 24, and the support frame 24 is equipped with casters 25 at the bottom for easy movement and positioning of the entire machine. The support frame 24 provides a stable installation foundation, and the bottom caster design allows the entire device to be moved and positioned flexibly according to production needs, enhancing the mobility and site adaptability of the equipment, and facilitating production line layout adjustments and maintenance.

[0013] Preferably, two platforms for placing pallets 4 are arranged side by side on the pallet rack 3; the pallet rack 3 is mounted on the pallet rack slide rail 4 and reciprocates along the slide rail perpendicular to the telescopic conveyor 1. The reciprocating motion of the pallet rack 3 along the slide rail, in conjunction with the telescopic conveyor, achieves uniform spreading of materials in a two-dimensional direction within the pallet plane, fundamentally avoiding the problem of fixed-point accumulation.

[0014] Preferably, a weight monitoring device 26 is installed at the bottom of the pallet rack slide rail 2. Once the weight is detected to be within the specified range, the conveyor belt 11 stops operating. The weight monitoring device enables quantitative control of materials, ensuring the accuracy of the material ratio in each pallet. This provides a reliable guarantee for production standardization and product quality consistency. At the same time, automated control reduces manual intervention and improves production efficiency.

[0015] Beneficial Effects: This invention cleverly combines material conveying, dynamic mixing, and uniform spreading functions through the alternating extension and retraction of two opposing telescopic conveyor belts. It not only effectively solves the problem of material piling up at the central tipping point caused by traditional fixed conveyor belts, achieving uniform material distribution within the tray, but also achieves a superior uniform mixing effect compared to premixing through the dynamic convergence of material flows at the center of the tray. Simultaneously, the automated control and quantitative feeding functions significantly reduce labor intensity and improve the standardization and efficiency of the nutrient soil cultivation process. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is a top view of the overall structure of this utility model.

[0017] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the telescopic conveyor device.

[0018] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of the telescopic conveyor.

[0019] Figure 4 This is a structural diagram of the pallet rack and slide rail.

[0020] In the diagram: 1-Telescopic conveyor, 2-Pallet rack slide rail, 3-Pallet rack, 4-Pallet, 5-Servo motor, 11-Conveyor belt, 12-Drive wheel, 13-Fixed driven wheel, 14-Moving driven wheel, 15-Adjusting roller, 16-Sliding side plate, 17-Guide rail, 18-Transmission wheel, 19-Transmission belt, 21-Support roller, 22-Baffle, 23-Scraper, 24-Support frame, 25-Cast wheel, 26-Weight monitoring sensor. Detailed Implementation

[0021] Example 1: As Figure 1 As shown, the nutrient soil mixing and dispensing device of this utility model consists of two horizontally arranged telescopic conveyor devices 1, a tray frame slide rail 2 laid between the discharge ends of the two telescopic conveyor devices 1, and a tray frame 3 slidably installed on the slide rail. The entire device has a reasonable layout and compact structure, which can adapt to the space constraints of modern seedling workshops or soil remediation plants, while also possessing high flexibility and scalability.

[0022] The telescopic conveyor device 1 is a key structure for achieving precise fabric distribution. For example... Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, its core is a U-shaped conveyor chain with dynamically adjustable effective working length. This conveyor chain is precisely constructed from a high-strength rubber conveyor belt 11, a drive wheel 12, fixed driven wheels 13, moving driven wheels 14, and adjusting rollers 15. The drive wheel 12 is located inside the telescopic conveyor device 1 at the lower end of the U-shaped conveyor chain and is driven by a high-performance servo motor 5 mounted on the side. The servo motor uses closed-loop control and possesses high torque and precise speed adjustment capabilities, providing smooth and precisely adjustable power to the entire conveyor belt 11, ensuring the continuity and stability of material transport. Two sets of fixed driven wheels 13 are fixed at the turning points of the U-shaped conveyor chain, ensuring that the conveyor belt 11 forms a right-angle turn at these points. The driven wheel 14 and the adjusting roller 15 are mounted together on a high-strength sliding side plate 16. The sliding side plate 16 is provided with precision-machined slots or sliders to form a horizontal sliding fit with the linear guide rail 17. The guide rail 17 is made of ball or roller type, which has the characteristics of high rigidity, low friction and long service life. It can accurately limit the movement trajectory of the moving structure and ensure the smoothness and accuracy of the extension and retraction process.

[0023] like Figure 3 As shown, the power source for the telescopic function is located below the guide rail 17. A transmission system consisting of two drive wheels 18, a synchronous drive belt 19 fitted on them, and a servo motor 5 driving one of the drive wheels 18 is responsible for driving the sliding side plate 16 to perform linear reciprocating motion on the guide rail. A portion of the upper side of the drive belt 19 is rigidly connected and fixed to the bottom of the sliding side plate 16 by high-strength stainless steel screws. The two drive wheels 18 are located on the same horizontal straight line below the sliding side plate 16. The drive wheel driven by the servo motor is the driving wheel, and the other is the tensioning driven wheel. The drive belt 19 is fitted at both ends, providing uniform, smooth, and horizontal power to the sliding side plate 16. When the servo motor 5 receives a command from the control system, it drives the transmission wheel 18 to rotate via a precision reducer, which in turn drives the synchronous transmission belt 19 to move. This ultimately pulls the sliding side plate 16 and its driven and adjusted rollers 14 along the guide rail 17 to move horizontally. This causes the extended end of the U-shaped conveyor chain to push out or pull back, changing the effective conveying length of the top horizontal bearing section of the conveyor belt 11, thus achieving precise positioning and telescopic movement of the discharge port in the X-axis direction. To ensure a smooth, low-noise, and efficient transmission process and extend the life of the transmission belt, multiple low-resistance support rollers 21 are spaced below the load-bearing section of the transmission belt 19 to effectively support the belt and prevent excessive friction or vibration due to its own weight.

[0024] On both sides of the horizontal bearing section at the top of the U-shaped conveyor chain, height-adjustable baffles 22 are installed. The baffles are usually made of stainless steel or engineering plastics, forming a continuous guide chute, which effectively prevents powdery or granular materials from spilling, generating dust, or scattering laterally during high-speed conveying, ensuring that all materials are accurately conveyed to the discharge port.

[0025] On the return conveyor belt 11 path below the driven and driven wheels 14, a polyurethane scraper 23 is installed at an angle. The scraper blade maintains moderate contact pressure with the surface of the conveyor belt 11, which can continuously and effectively scrape away impurities such as damp soil, organic residues, or slime adhering to the belt surface. This design keeps the belt surface clean, prevents cross-contamination between different materials, and avoids weighing sensor errors and equipment imbalance caused by residue accumulation.

[0026] The entire telescopic conveyor 1 is elevated to a height suitable for manual or mechanical operation (typically approximately 0.8-1.2 meters) by a sturdy steel or aluminum profile support frame 24. Each of the four corners of the support frame 24 is equipped with swivel casters 25 (at least two casters with brakes), allowing the entire device to move flexibly and be precisely positioned according to the production line layout, enhancing the equipment's versatility and the flexibility of workshop layout.

[0027] The pallet rack slide rail 2 adopts a high-precision linear module, driven by a servo motor 5, which rotates the lead screw through a coupling, causing the pallet rack 3 to move precisely along the Y-axis (perpendicular to the conveyor belt's extension direction). High repeatability ensures the pallet stops accurately at each preset station. The pallet rack 3 has two platforms, capable of simultaneously supporting two standard pallets 4. This design allows for loading operations at one station while the other station performs empty / full pallet exchange, improving production cycle time and continuity, and significantly enhancing overall operational efficiency. The pallet rack has a robust structure, typically constructed from welded square tubing or assembled profiles, with a corrosion-resistant surface treatment. High-sensitivity weight monitoring sensors 26 are integrated at key load-bearing locations at the bottom of the pallet rack 3 to monitor the total weight of the materials within the pallet 4 in real time.

[0028] A complete working cycle of the device is as follows: At the start of the work, the discharge ends of the two telescopic conveyors 1 are both in the retracted state, leaving a gap between the discharge ports so that the pallet frame 3 and the pallets 4 on it can move without obstruction. The robotic arm (or manually) places an empty pallet 4 on the work station of the pallet frame 3.

[0029] Next, the loading process begins. The left telescopic conveyor 1 is activated, and the conveyor belt 11 starts operating, transporting the material from the material storage area to the discharge port. Simultaneously, its telescopic drive motor operates, pushing the sliding side plate 16 to reciprocate along the guide rail 17 in a preset direction, dynamically and evenly conveying and spreading material A onto the tray 4. When the weight of material A in the tray reaches a preset value, the weight detection device sends a signal to the control system, and the telescopic drive motor reverses, retracting the discharge end to its initial position. Immediately afterward, the right conveyor belt starts, similarly driving the movable part to spread another material B into the tray 4, and then spread it on top of the material B layer. This operation achieves the first spatial cross-linking and layered mixing of the two materials. At this time, the drive motor of the tray frame slide rail 2 operates, driving the tray frame 3 and the tray 4 on top to move a preset distance along the Y-axis, aligning the discharge port of the telescopic conveyor 1 with the area where the previous spreading operation failed to achieve spreading.

[0030] The next step is the repeated spreading process, where the central control system precisely plans the location of the spreading points to ensure that material A and material B are evenly and alternately distributed throughout the entire plane of tray 4. This "alternating spreading along the X-axis and stepping movement along the Y-axis" mode fundamentally avoids material accumulation at fixed points, achieving truly uniform surface distribution.

[0031] Weight monitoring sensor 26 feeds weight data back to the control system in real time. When the total weight of the material in tray 4 reaches the preset value, the system immediately issues a command to stop all conveyor belts. After receiving the "loading complete" signal, the robotic arm transfers the fully loaded tray 4 to the static cultivation area, awaiting the subsequent cultivation process. At the same time, the robotic arm places a new empty tray 4 on the workstation of tray rack 3. The system then begins loading material into tray 4, forming continuous production.

[0032] Example 2: This invention demonstrates irreplaceable advantages in the specific process of earthworm nutrient soil cultivation. Traditional earthworm soil preparation typically employs a pre-mixing method, where soil and earthworms are stirred in a mixer before being poured into a cultivation container. This method significantly damages the activity of earthworms and has limited mixing uniformity. Earthworms require a considerable amount of time to redistribute after being introduced into the soil, increasing soil treatment time and impacting production efficiency and quality. In practical applications, this device is integrated as a core unit into an automated production line. Its upstream connection is to a mud storage pipe, through which untreated soil is placed at the feed end of a conveyor belt via a mud discharge mechanism. Its downstream connection is to the end of the return conveyor belt of the earthworm screening mechanism, transporting the recovered live earthworms to the feed end of the right-side telescopic conveyor 1, forming a complete earthworm recycling process.

[0033] In this application scenario, the workflow of this invention is basically the same as that described in Embodiment 1, but its synergistic effect is more significant. Through the control program, the earthworm spreading points and soil spreading points can be intentionally staggered and partially overlapped. This design ensures that the earthworms are not evenly dispersed after being placed in the tray, but rather relatively concentrated in certain areas. Earthworms have a natural instinct to burrow deep into the soil; this initial "non-uniform" distribution actually encourages them to move more actively in search of food and to explore their environment, thus achieving a deeper and more natural uniform mixing driven by biodynamics. The weight monitoring sensor 26 ensures the accuracy of the material ratio in each tray, providing a reliable guarantee for production standardization and product quality consistency.

[0034] In this embodiment, three production lines operate side-by-side, with a truss spanning the three lines for transporting, stacking, and destacking pallets 4. Pallets filled with materials (soil + earthworms) are moved by a robotic arm to a palletizing area for stacking. After stacking, the earthworm racks are transported to a suitable environment for processing. The pre-mixed materials in the pallets provide an ideal environment for the earthworms to begin working immediately. The earthworms' burrowing, foraging, and excretion behaviors can occur instantly, significantly shortening the adaptation time for earthworms in traditional processes and effectively reducing the overall production cycle of the nutrient soil.

[0035] After the mixed soil has been processed, it is transported to the destacking area, where a robotic arm dumps it onto the feed inlet of the earthworm screening mechanism. Here, the mixed soil is separated from the earthworms in a drum-type screening mechanism. The processed nutrient soil is exposed through a funnel at the bottom of the screening mechanism and transported out of the production line. The earthworms fall onto a return conveyor belt and are sent back to the telescopic conveyor 1 from the previous step, ultimately achieving the recycling of earthworms. At the same time, the dumped tray 4 is also sent back to the stacking area by a conveyor belt for the next round of stacking.

[0036] The baffles 22 installed on both sides of the uppermost load-bearing section of the U-shaped conveyor chain effectively prevent spillage, dust, and side leakage, especially of soil and earthworms, during the conveying process. The polyurethane scraper 23, which is installed at an angle on the return conveyor belt 11 below the driven wheel 14, can continuously scrape off the damp soil or organic impurities adhering to the belt surface, keeping the belt surface clean and preventing cross-contamination and weighing errors.

[0037] The entire telescopic conveyor 1 is elevated to a suitable operating height via a sturdy support frame 24. The support frame 24 is equipped with swivel casters 25 with brakes at its base, allowing the entire device to move and position flexibly according to the production line layout, thus enhancing the equipment's versatility.

[0038] This invention cleverly integrates material conveying, dynamic cross-spreading, and preliminary mixing into a compact workstation by using two opposing telescopic conveyor belts that alternately extend and retract, combined with precise pallet frame movement and automatic weighing feedback. Its advantages lie not only in effectively solving the material accumulation problem caused by traditional fixed material drop points and achieving a highly uniform distribution of material within the pallet on a two-dimensional plane, but also in its unique spreading method, which provides a gentler and more efficient mixing environment for added materials. Automated control and quantitative feeding significantly reduce labor intensity, minimize human error, and improve the standardization, production efficiency, and final product quality consistency of seedling or soil remediation operations. The device has a reasonable structural design and strong expandability, adapting to different material characteristics, pallet sizes, and formulation ratios by adjusting control parameters, making it a promising candidate for widespread application in modern agricultural automation.

Claims

1. A nutrient soil mixing and dispensing device, characterized in that: Two telescopic conveyor devices (1) are set horizontally in opposite directions; A pallet rack slide rail (2) is installed on the ground between the discharge ends of the two telescopic conveyor devices (1), with the direction perpendicular to the conveyor belt transport direction. A pallet rack (3) and a pallet (4) are installed on the pallet rack slide rail (2). The telescopic conveyor (1) includes a conveyor belt (11), a driving wheel (12), a fixed driven wheel (13), a moving driven wheel (14), and an adjusting roller (15) forming a U-shaped conveyor chain.

2. The nutrient soil mixing and dispensing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drive wheel (12) is located at the lower end of the U-shaped conveyor chain. The conveyor belt (11) is fitted onto the drive wheel (12). Two fixed driven wheels (13) are fixed inside the outer ring of the U-shaped bend, so that the outer ring of the conveyor belt (11) fits onto it to form two right-angle bends. A moving driven wheel (14) is set at the other end of the U-shaped conveyor chain that extends outward. The conveyor belt (11) fits onto the moving driven wheel (14). Two moving driven wheels (14) are set inside the fixed driven wheel (13), so that the inner ring of the conveyor belt (11) fits onto it to form two right-angle bends. Finally, it returns to the drive wheel (12). A servo motor (5) is installed on the side of the drive wheel to drive the drive wheel to rotate.

3. The nutrient soil mixing and dispensing device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The driven wheel (14) and the adjusting roller (15) are both fixed on the sliding side plate (16). The sliding side plate (16) cooperates with the guide rail (17) and can reciprocate in a straight line.

4. A nutrient soil mixing and dispensing device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, A transmission structure is provided below the guide rail (17), including a transmission wheel (18) at each end of the same straight line, a transmission belt (19) is fitted on the transmission wheel (18), and the upper transmission belt (19) is fixed to the bottom plate of the sliding side plate (16) by screws.

5. The nutrient soil mixing and dispensing device according to claim 4, characterized in that, A servo motor (5) is installed on the side of the shaft of one of the drive wheels (18) to drive the drive wheel (18) to rotate.

6. A nutrient soil mixing and dispensing device according to claim 1 or 5, characterized in that, Baffles (22) are provided on both sides of the outermost conveying area of ​​the U-shaped transmission chain; scrapers (23) are inclinedly provided on the return path of the conveyor belt under the driven wheel (14).

7. A nutrient soil mixing and dispensing device according to claim 1 or 5, characterized in that, The conveyor belt (11) is equipped with support rollers (21) on the return path at the bottom of the U-shaped drive chain and below the outward extension.

8. A nutrient soil mixing and dispensing device according to claim 1 or 5, characterized in that, The telescopic conveyor (1) is installed on the support frame (24), and the bottom of the support frame (24) is provided with casters (25).

9. A nutrient soil mixing and dispensing device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, Two platforms for placing pallets (4) are arranged side by side on the pallet rack (3); the pallet rack (3) is installed on the pallet rack slide rail (2) and moves back and forth along the slide rail perpendicular to the telescopic conveyor (1).

10. A nutrient soil mixing and dispensing device according to claim 9, characterized in that, A weight monitoring device (26) is installed at the bottom of the pallet rack slide rail (2). After the weight is detected to be within the standard, the conveyor belt (11) stops working.

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