Device for stacking individual seed containers

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for stacking individual seed containers (1), which have a container base (5) and a container opening (6) opposite the container base (5) and surrounded by an edge flange (7), with a frame (2) receiving the stack of seed containers (1) with their container bases (5) facing upwards. According to the invention, in order to create advantageous handling conditions, the individual seed containers (1) are inserted into receiving openings (4) of a common support frame (3) in each stacking layer, which has a cover plate (8) on its underside which can be moved in the longitudinal direction of the stack, and which covers the container opening (6) of the seed containers (1) engaging under the support frame (3) with their edge flanges (7), and the support frames (3) are guided in the frame (2) in a freely moveable manner in the direction of the stacking height, with said frame being provided with a lower through-opening (10) for the support frames (3) and a releasable blocking means (12) for the lower through-opening (10).

Description

[0001] Device for stacking individual seed containers

[0002] Technical area

[0003] The invention relates to a device for stacking individual seed containers, which have a container bottom and a container opening opposite the container bottom and enclosed by an edge flange, with a frame receiving the stack of seed containers with the container bottoms facing upwards.

[0004] State of the art

[0005] For breeding purposes, seed is sown on hundreds of plots, with a separate seed sample being provided for each plot. The seed samples are therefore fed to the plot sowing machines used for this purpose in separate packaging units. In the area of ​​the sowing machines, each packaging unit must be opened individually so that the seed samples can be sown individually on the respective plot after being taken from the packaging unit intended for a specific plot. For this purpose, the packaging units are combined into handling units in which the packaging units assigned to the individual plots are arranged according to the plot sequence planned for sowing. Such handling units can comprise magazine plates with rows of chambers for the individual seed samples.These magazine plates, which rest on a table with the chamber opening facing down, are conveyed by a conveyor to a separating device located below a discharge opening provided in the table, so that the rows of chambers are emptied row by row as they pass over the discharge opening. A disadvantage, however, is that the size of these magazine plates is limited by the machine, and any necessary replacement of the seed sample in one chamber usually requires emptying all chambers and thus refilling them with the corresponding seed samples.

[0006] To avoid these disadvantages, it has already been proposed (EP 2 361 008 A1) to store the individual seed samples in separate seed containers, each of which is sealed with a lid. These seed containers can be stacked on top of each other in a rack with the bottom facing upwards, so that the lid of the next seed container rests on the bottom of each seed container. The rack can accommodate such stacking columns created by the stacking of seed containers in rows, thereby significantly increasing the number of seed containers that can be combined in such handling units.To remove the seed hoppers, the frame, which is open at the bottom and rests on a support for the stacking columns, is aligned with a removal device that lowers the column stack located in the area of ​​the removal device by one seed hopper. This allows this seed hopper to be fed to a device for opening and folding the lid, so that the seed sample is discharged from the seed hopper along the lid to a singling device on the seed drill. However, the disadvantage is the effort involved in providing seed hoppers with appropriate lids and in opening the lids of the seed hoppers.

[0007] Description of the invention

[0008] The invention is therefore based on the object of designing a device for stacking individual seed containers in such a way that, despite the possibility of combining a larger number of seed containers into a handling unit, advantageous conditions for easy removal of the seed samples from the seed containers of the handling unit can be created.Starting from a device of the type described at the outset, the invention achieves the stated object in that the individual seed containers for each stack layer are inserted into receiving openings of a common support frame which has on its underside a cover plate which can be pushed off in the longitudinal direction of the stack and which covers the container opening of the seed containers which engage below the support frame with their edge flanges, and in that the support frames are mounted in the frame so as to be freely displaceable in the direction of the stack height, which is provided with a lower passage opening for the support frames and a releasable lock for the lower passage opening.

[0009] Since these measures enable the frame to accommodate a multi-layer stack of individual seed hoppers, the conditions are met for storing a comparatively large number of seed hoppers in a handling unit without having to use seed hoppers with their own lids. The use of the seed hoppers in one stack layer in a common support frame not only allows individual seed hoppers to be replaced, but also allows these seed hoppers to be covered together by a cover plate assigned to the support frame. This cover plate is provided on the underside of the support frame and covers the container openings of the seed hoppers, so that the seed samples from the individual seed hoppers rest on the cover plate. To empty the individual seed hoppers in a support frame one after the other, all that is required is a relative displacement between the support frame and the cover plate in the longitudinal direction of the stack.Since the seed samples rest on the cover plate, the seed samples fall out of the seed containers due to gravity as soon as the cover plate is withdrawn from the container opening, because the seed samples resting on the cover plate are first carried along with the cover plate to the container wall and are then held back by the container wall against further carriage by the cover plate.

[0010] To ensure this emptying process layer by layer, the support frames are guided freely in the frame in the direction of the stack height and can exit the frame through a lower opening. Before the device is installed in a seed drill, the lower opening of the frame must be fitted with a removable lock to prevent the support frames with the seed hoppers from exiting downwards from the frame. When the lock is released, the cover plate of the support frame of the lowest stack layer can be supported on a revolving conveyor, with the aid of which the cover plate is moved relative to the support frame, which is held against displacement by the frame, which is held rigidly in the seed drill.After the seed hoppers of the lowest support frame in the stack have been emptied, this support frame is removed with the empty seed hoppers either lengthwise or crosswise, so that the support frame stack drops by the height of one stack layer, and the now lowest support frame is in the position to empty its seed hoppers. As soon as the cover plate of this support frame is engaged by the conveyor, the emptying process for the seed hoppers of this support frame is repeated.

[0011] Advantageous design conditions arise when the support frames accommodate the seed hoppers in at least two adjacent rows. If necessary, several of these devices can be arranged side by side in a plot seeder.

[0012] However, not only is it possible to arrange devices according to the invention side by side, but also to expand their storage capacity by connecting at least two racks one above the other. For this purpose, the rack, which is provided with an upper passage opening for the support frames, can have a receptacle for an identically constructed rack on its upper side. Due to the upper passage opening for the support frames, two racks arranged one above the other form a structural unit whose function corresponds to that of a single rack, but can accommodate twice the number of seed containers.

[0013] Brief description of the invention The drawing shows an example of the subject matter of the invention.

[0014] Fig. 1 shows a device according to the invention for stacking individual seed containers in a partially opened side view,

[0015] Fig. 2 this device in a bottom view,

[0016] Fig. 3 a support frame with two adjacent rows of seed containers in a plan view and

[0017] Fig. 4 shows a section along the line IV-IV of Fig. 3 on a larger scale.

[0018] Way to implement the invention

[0019] A device according to the invention for stacking individual seed containers 1 has a frame 2 that accommodates the seed containers 1 in a multi-layer stack. The arrangement is such that the seed containers 1 are inserted layer by layer into a common support frame 3, which for this purpose is provided with receiving recesses 4 adapted to the outline of the seed containers 1. As can be seen in particular from Fig. 4, the seed containers 1 are inserted into the support frame 3 with their container base 5 pointing upwards, wherein the container opening 6 opposite the container base 5 and open downwards is provided with a circumferential edge flange 7 that engages below the receiving recess 4 of the support frame 3.

[0020] The seed containers 1, each inserted in layers into a common support frame 1, are closed by a common cover plate 8, which is guided on the underside of the support frame 2 in two guide rails 9 so as to be displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the stack, according to the exemplary embodiment thus transversely to the longitudinal direction of the seed containers 1, which are arranged next to one another with their long sides.

[0021] The seed containers 1, which can be filled with seed samples with the container opening 6 facing upwards, are inserted into the respective support frames 3, which for this purpose assume a position with the underside facing upwards. The cover plate 8 can then be pushed into the guide rails 9 before the support frames 1 with the inserted, filled seed containers 1 are turned into the use position with the container openings 6 facing downwards and inserted into the frame 2, which accommodates these support frames 1 so that they can be freely displaced vertically. Since the frame 2 has through openings 10, 11 for the support frames 3 on both the underside and the top, the support frames 3 with the seed containers 1 can be inserted into the frame 2 through the upper through opening 11.The lower passage opening 10 of the frame 2 must be provided with a releasable lock 12 to prevent the support frame 3 from accidentally discharging from the frame 2 due to gravity. According to the exemplary embodiment, this lock 12 consists of a web 13 bridging the passage opening 10, which can be moved from a locked position secured by means of anchors 15 engaging in slots 14 along the slots 14 into an unlocked position and then released from the frame 2.

[0022] When using a device according to the invention for stacking individual seed hoppers 1 in a plot seed drill, the frame 2, freed from the barrier 12, is inserted into a holder above a device for emptying the seed hoppers 1, whereby the support frame stack, which is freely movable in the frame 2, sinks onto a support. This support is provided with a conveyor for the cover plate 8 of the lowest support frame 3 in the stack, so that the cover plate 8 can be pushed out of the guide rails 9 of the support frame 3 with the aid of the conveyor. This releases the container openings 6 one after the other in the longitudinal direction of the stack, so that the individual seed samples fall off the cover plate 8 one container at a time and can be discharged into a subsequent singulating device.

[0023] If, after all seed hoppers 1 of the lowest support frame 3 have been emptied, this support frame with the empty seed hoppers 1 is removed from the frame area in the longitudinal direction of the stack or transversely thereto, the support frame stack sinks one stack layer onto the support into the starting position for emptying the seed hoppers 1 of the now lowest stack layer. Emptying can thus be initiated by sliding the cover plate 8 out of the support frame 3, which is now the lowest in the stack, and carried out in the manner described.

[0024] In Fig. 1, the dot-dash line indicates that the device's capacity can be doubled by connecting two identical frames 2. For this purpose, the frames 2 are provided on the top with a receptacle 16 for the underside of an attached frame. This results in a structural unit with the same function, but twice the height, so that twice the number of support frames with inserted seed hoppers can be stacked in such a structural unit and emptied one after the other without any additional measures.

Claims

Patent claims 1 . Device for stacking individual seed containers (1) which have a container bottom (5) and a container opening (6) opposite the container bottom (5) and enclosed by an edge flange (7), with a frame (2) receiving the stack of seed containers (1) with upwardly facing container bottoms (5), characterized in that the individual seed containers (1) are inserted in receiving openings (4) of a common support frame (3) for each stack layer, which has on its underside a cover plate (8) which is displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the stack and covers the container opening (6) of the seed containers (1) which engage below the support frame (3) with their edge flanges (7), and in that the support frames (3) are guided in the direction of the stack height so as to be freely displaceable in the frame (2), which is provided with a lower passage opening (10) for the support frames (3) and a releasable lock (12) for the lower passage opening (10).

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the support frames (3) accommodate the seed containers (1) in at least two adjacent rows.

3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the frame (2) provided with an upper passage opening (11) for the support frame (3) has on its upper side a receptacle (16) for an identical frame (2).

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