Rice transplanter

Abstract

To provide a rice transplanter that enables a holding state in which a folded state is held without manual operation.SOLUTION: A rice transplanter comprises: an auxiliary seedling placing table 31B switchable between a use state, in which it extends in the front-rear direction, and a folded state, in which it is folded; and a holding mechanism 40 capable of holding the auxiliary seedling placing table 31B in the folded state. The holding mechanism 40 automatically enters a holding state that holds the auxiliary seedling placing table in the folded state in response to switching to the folded state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a rice transplanter equipped with a spare seedling tray that can be switched between a use state and a folded state. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventional rice transplanters include, for example, those described in Patent Document 1, which are equipped with a holding mechanism (referred to as a "rear holding section" in Patent Document 1) that keeps the spare seedling tray in a folded state. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-092312 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, with conventional rice transplanters, when switching the spare seedling tray from a state in which it is extended in the forward and backward directions to a state in which it is folded, it was necessary to manually operate the holding mechanism to place it in the holding state.

[0005] In this configuration, for example, when a rider gets on or off the rice transplanter, the rider needs to fold the spare seedling tray and place the holding mechanism in the held state, which is inconvenient for the rider.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a rice transplanter that can be placed in a holding state that maintains the folded state without manual operation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The rice transplanter of the present invention is equipped with a spare seedling tray that can be switched between a usage state in which it extends in the forward / backward direction and a folded state, and a holding mechanism that can hold the spare seedling tray in the folded state, and when the holding mechanism is switched to the folded state, it automatically enters a holding state in which the spare seedling tray is held in the folded state.

[0008] According to this invention, when the spare seedling tray is switched to the folded state, it becomes a holding state in which the spare seedling tray is held in the folded state. In other words, manual operation to set it to the holding state is not required, and it is possible to set it to the holding state in which the folded state is held without manual operation.

[0009] In the present invention, the holding mechanism has a main body portion and a protrusion portion extending from the spare seedling tray toward the main body portion, and it is preferable that the main body portion has a locking portion formed into which the protrusion portion enters to become locked when the main body portion is switched to the folded state.

[0010] With this configuration, the main body and the protrusions are mechanically locked together, so that the seedling tray is held in a folded position, eliminating the need for expensive electronic components and reducing manufacturing costs.

[0011] In the present invention, it is preferable that when the portable terminal is switched to the folded state, the protrusion enters the locking portion due to the weight of the main body portion.

[0012] According to this configuration, the latching state is achieved by its own weight, eliminating the need for an actuator driven by electricity or the like, thereby making it possible to keep manufacturing costs down and to simplify the configuration of the holding mechanism.

[0013] In the present invention, it is preferable that the main body portion is formed with a guide portion that guides the protrusion toward the locking portion when switching from the use state to the folded state.

[0014] According to this configuration, the protrusion is guided by the guide portion and the locking portion, so that the protrusion can move smoothly to the locking portion.

[0015] In the present invention, it is preferable that the holding mechanism has a biasing member that biases the main body portion in a direction in which the protrusion portion fits into the locking portion.

[0016] According to this configuration, the biasing member can firmly lock the protrusion with the locking portion.

[0017] In the present invention, it is preferable that the holding mechanism has an operating portion that can be manually operated to release the holding state to a release state.

[0018] According to this configuration, it is possible to easily set the lock to the released state by simply operating the manual operation unit.

[0019] In the present invention, it is preferable that a boarding section is provided on which a passenger can board, the spare seedling tray is arranged on the side of the boarding section, and the operating section is arranged on the boarding section side of the spare seedling tray.

[0020] With this configuration, the operating unit can be positioned in a position that is easily reachable by the passenger when the passenger gets off the passenger section.

[0021] In the present invention, the spare seedling tray is configured to be rotatable between the use state and the folded state, and it is preferable that the holding mechanism has a regulating section that regulates further rotation of the spare seedling tray in the folded state.

[0022] With this configuration, since the holding mechanism is provided with a restricting portion, it is possible to eliminate the need for a separate mechanism for restricting further rotation of the spare seedling tray in the folded state, which results in reduced manufacturing costs and man-hours.

[0023] In the present invention, a front spare seedling tray is provided which is located in front of the spare seedling tray and rotatably supports the spare seedling tray, and it is preferable that when in the held state, the angle of the front spare seedling tray relative to the spare seedling tray is greater than 90 degrees.

[0024] With this configuration, even when the front spare seedling tray is in the held state, it is easy to access the front spare seedling tray, making it easier to perform tasks such as removing seedling mats from the front spare seedling tray. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0025] [Figure 1] FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 4 is a side view showing the configuration of a holding mechanism. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a view showing the configuration of the holding mechanism as viewed from the rear in the front-rear direction. [Figure 4] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating the operation of the holding mechanism when switching to the folded state. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, the direction of arrow F in the drawings will be referred to as "front," the direction of arrow B as "rear," the direction of arrow L as "left," and the direction of arrow R as "right." Furthermore, the direction of arrow U in the drawings will be referred to as "up," and the direction of arrow D as "down."

[0027] [Overall configuration of riding rice transplanter] Below, we will explain a riding rice transplanter, which is one example of a rice transplanter. As shown in Figure 1, the riding rice transplanter has a link mechanism 4 supported at the rear of a traveling body 3 that has right and left front wheels 1 and right and left rear wheels 2. The link mechanism 4 extends rearward and is configured to be rotatable up and down. The link mechanism 4 is provided with a hydraulic cylinder 5 that operates to raise and lower the link mechanism 4.

[0028] A fertilizer applicator 7 that supplies fertilizer to the rice field surface is provided at the rear of the traveling vehicle body 3. A hopper 8 that stores fertilizer is provided on the upper part of the fertilizer applicator 7.

[0029] As shown in Fig. 1, a transmission case 9 is disposed at the front of the vehicle body 3. A support frame 10 extending forward is connected to the transmission case 9. An engine (not shown) is supported on the support frame 10. A hood 11 covering the engine is provided at the front of the vehicle body 3.

[0030] A floor 12 on which passengers can walk extends from the right and left sides of the hood 11 to the rear side of the hood 11, and a boarding section 14 in which passengers can board is provided. A driver's seat 15 in which passengers can sit is located at the upper rear part of the floor 12.

[0031] A pair of front and rear support pillars 16 are fixed to the traveling body 3 and extend in the vertical direction forward of the driver's seat 15 of the traveling body 3. The front support pillar 16 stands upright upward from the support frame 10 of the traveling body 3. The rear support pillar 16 stands upright upward from a portion of the traveling body 3 above the front wheels 1.

[0032] The support pillars 16 are provided on the left and right sides. An upper connecting member 17 is connected across the upper parts of the right and left support pillars 16. An antenna unit 18 capable of acquiring position information of the traveling vehicle body 3 using a satellite positioning system is provided on the upper connecting member 17 at a portion located in the left-right center of the traveling vehicle body 3. A representative example of a satellite positioning system (GNSS: Global Navigation Satellite System) is the GPS (Global Positioning System).

[0033] [Configuration of spare seedling tray] A plurality of spare seedling trays 30 capable of holding seedling boxes containing seedling mats (hereinafter referred to as "seedlings" and "seedling boxes") are arranged on the upper right and left sides of the traveling vehicle body 3. The plurality of spare seedling trays 30 are provided on the left and right support posts 16, respectively.

[0034] On both sides of the traveling vehicle body 3, a plurality of spare seedling trays 30 are provided, including a lower spare seedling tray 31 located at the lowest level, an upper spare seedling tray 32 located at the highest level, and a front spare seedling tray 33 which is positionably configured to be located between the lower spare seedling tray 31 and the upper spare seedling tray 32 and in front of the lower spare seedling tray 31.

[0035] On the floor 12, there are right and left passages between the hood 11 and the right-hand side of the multiple spare seedling trays 30, and between the hood 11 and the left-hand side of the multiple spare seedling trays 30. Passengers can move from the traveling vehicle body 3 to the ridge or get on the traveling vehicle body 3 from the ridge by passing through the right or left passage.

[0036] [Configuration of the lower stage spare seedling tray] In this embodiment, the lower spare seedling tray 31 is composed of a first spare seedling tray 31A fixed to the support 16 and a second spare seedling tray 31B (corresponding to the "spare seedling tray" of the present invention) rotatably supported at the rear end of the first spare seedling tray 31A. The second spare seedling tray 31B is disposed on the side of the boarding section 14.

[0037] 2, the first spare seedling tray 31A includes a first frame 31Aa and a first main body 31Ab supported by the first frame 31Aa and capable of placing seedling trays thereon. The first frame 31Aa is fixed to the support 16.

[0038] The second spare seedling tray 31B comprises a second frame 31Ba and a second body 31Bb supported by the second frame 31Ba and capable of holding seedling trays. The front end of the second frame 31Ba is supported by the rear end of the first frame 31Aa so as to be rotatable about an axis extending in the width direction of the second frame 31Ba. This configuration allows the second spare seedling tray 31B to be switched between a use state in which it extends in the front-rear direction and a folded state.

[0039] A spring member 36 is provided across a stay 34 extending upward from the rear end portion of the first frame 31Aa and a stay 35 extending upward from the front end portion of the second frame 31Ba.

[0040] When the second spare seedling tray 31B is manually switched from the use state to the folded state, the spring member 36 extends once, but when the switching operation toward the folded state is further performed, the spring member 36 urges the second spare seedling tray 31B toward the folded state. The urging force of the spring member 36 assists the switching operation of the second spare seedling tray 31B to the folded state, making it easy to manually switch the second spare seedling tray 31B.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 1, the front spare seedling tray 33 is supported by a state change mechanism 38 so as to be rotatable relative to the first spare seedling tray 31A.

[0042] [Configuration of holding mechanism] As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the lower spare seedling tray 31 is provided with a holding mechanism 40 capable of holding the second spare seedling tray 31B in a folded state.

[0043] The holding mechanism 40 is composed of a lever member 41 supported by the first frame 31Aa of the first preliminary seedling tray 31A, and a protrusion 42 provided on the second frame 31Ba of the second preliminary seedling tray 31B.

[0044] The lever member 41 is rotatably supported on the stay 34 via an axis member 37. The lever member 41 has a main body portion 41a made of a plate-shaped member and an operating portion 41b that can be held by a rider. The lever member 41 (operating portion 41b) is arranged on the riding portion 14 side of the second spare seedling tray 31B in the left-right direction.

[0045] One side of the main body 41a is supported by the stay 34 via the shaft member 37, and the other side of the main body 41a is provided with an operating part 41b. An elongated hole 43 through which the protrusion 42 is inserted is formed on the operating part 41b side of the main body 41a.

[0046] The long hole 43 is formed in an L-shape having a first long hole portion 43a extending in a straight line from the operating portion 41b side to the stay 34 side, and a second long hole portion 43b extending from the stay 34 side end of the first long hole portion 43a in a direction perpendicular to the first long hole portion 43a.

[0047] The protrusion 42 is composed of a rod-shaped member fixed to the stay 35. The protrusion 42 is configured to extend from the stay 35 of the second spare seedling tray 31B toward the main body 41a. Whether the second spare seedling tray 31B is switched to the use state or the folded state, the protrusion 42 moves within the long hole 43 while remaining inserted through the long hole 43.

[0048] The spring member 36 is provided across the protrusion 42 and the shaft member 37 .

[0049] [Operation of the retention mechanism when switching to the folded state] As shown in Fig. 2, when the second spare seedling tray 31B is in the use state indicated by the two-dot chain line in Fig. 2, the protrusion 42 is located at the end of the first long hole portion 43a on the second spare seedling tray 31B side (hereinafter referred to as the "rear side"). When the second spare seedling tray 31B is switched from the use state to the folded state, the protrusion 42 moves toward the stay 34 side of the first long hole portion 43a (hereinafter referred to as the "front side").

[0050] As shown by the two-dot chain line in Figure 4, when the second preliminary seedling tray 31B is in the folded state, the protrusion 42 abuts against the front end of the first slot 43a. This restricts further rotation of the second preliminary seedling tray 31B in the folded state. In other words, the protrusion 42 and the front end of the first slot 43a function as a restrictor that prevents the second preliminary seedling tray 31B from rotating beyond the folded state.

[0051] Here, the front end of the first elongated hole portion 43a of the protrusion 42 is also the lower end of the second elongated hole portion 43b. In other words, when the folding bag is in the folded state, the protrusion 42 is located at the lower end of the second elongated hole portion 43b. As shown by the solid line in Figure 4, the weight of the main body portion 41a (lever member 41) causes the lever member 41 to rotate, and the protrusion 42 enters the second elongated hole portion 43b.

[0052] In other words, the second elongated hole portion 43b functions as a locking portion into which the protrusion portion 42 enters to lock in place, and the first elongated hole portion 43a functions as a guide portion that guides the protrusion portion 42 toward the locking portion when switching from the use state to the folded state.

[0053] The operation of the holding mechanism 40 described above locks the protrusion 42 and the second elongated hole 43b. This restricts the rotation of the second preliminary seedling tray 31B, and the holding mechanism 40 enters a holding state, maintaining the second preliminary seedling tray 31B in its folded state. This configuration allows the second preliminary seedling tray 31B to automatically enter the holding state by switching it to its folded state. At this time, as shown in FIG. 1, the angle θ of the second preliminary seedling tray 31B relative to the first preliminary seedling tray 31A is greater than 90 degrees. Note that "automatically" includes not only maintaining the holding state through some kind of electronic control, but also the mechanism naturally transitioning to the holding state without requiring additional manual operation during folding.

[0054] [Operation of the retention mechanism when switching to the use state] As shown in Figure 2, when switching the second spare seedling tray 31B to the usage state shown by the dotted line in Figure 2, the occupant grasps the operating portion 41b and operates the lever member 41 to the side (hereinafter referred to as the "upper side") where the protrusion portion 42 releases the locked state from the second long hole portion 43b.

[0055] By operating the lever member 41 upward, the protrusion 42 is positioned at the lower end of the second elongated hole portion 43b. In this state, when the second spare seedling tray 31B is switched to the use state, the protrusion 42 moves toward the rear end of the first elongated hole portion 43a.

[0056] In other words, when the second preliminary seedling tray 31B is in the holding state in which it is kept folded, the holding state is released by manually operating the operating part 41b, and as a result, the second preliminary seedling tray 31B can be switched to the use state.

[0057] [Another embodiment] Hereinafter, another embodiment in which the above embodiment is modified will be exemplified.

[0058] (1) In the above embodiment, when the folding device is in the folded state, the lever member 41 rotates due to its own weight, and the protrusion 42 enters the second elongated hole portion 43b. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. The folding device may be configured to include a biasing member that biases the main body 41a (lever member 41) in the direction in which the protrusion 42 enters the second elongated hole portion 43b.

[0059] (2) In the above embodiment, the protrusion 42 on the second frame 31Ba of the second preliminary seedling tray 31B is inserted into the elongated hole 43 formed in the main body 41a of the lever member 41, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, a rod-shaped member provided on the lever member 41 may be inserted into an elongated hole formed in a plate-shaped member provided on the second frame 31Ba of the second preliminary seedling tray 31B.

[0060] (3) In the above embodiment, the lever member 41 (operating portion 41b) is arranged on the boarding portion 14 side of the second preliminary seedling tray 31B, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the lever member 41 (operating portion 41b) may be arranged on the opposite side of the second preliminary seedling tray 31B from the boarding portion 14 side.

[0061] (4) In the above embodiment, the protrusion portion 42 and the front end portion of the first long hole portion 43a are described as having a configuration that functions as a regulating portion to prevent the second spare seedling tray 31B from rotating beyond the folded state, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and the configuration may not have the function as a regulating portion.

[0062] The configurations disclosed in the above embodiments (including other embodiments, the same applies hereinafter) can be applied in combination with configurations disclosed in other embodiments, unless a contradiction arises. Furthermore, the embodiments disclosed in this specification are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these, and can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the purpose of the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0063] The present invention can be applied to a rice transplanter. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 14: Boarding section 31A: First spare seedling tray (front spare seedling tray) 31B: Second spare seedling tray (spare seedling tray) 40: Holding mechanism 41a: Main body 41b: Operation section 42:Protrusion 43a: First long hole part (guide part) 43b: Second long hole part (locking part)

Claims

1. A spare seedling tray that can be switched between a usage state extended in the front-rear direction and a folded folded state, A holding mechanism capable of holding the spare seedling tray in the folded state is provided, The rice transplanter is configured such that, by switching the holding mechanism to the folded state, it automatically assumes a holding state in which the spare seedling tray is held in the folded state.

2. The holding mechanism has a main body and a protrusion extending from the spare seedling tray toward the main body, The rice transplanter according to claim 1, wherein the main body portion is formed with a locking portion into which the protrusion portion fits when the main body portion is switched to the folded state.

3. The rice transplanter according to claim 2, wherein when the rice transplanter is switched to the folded state, the protrusion enters the locking portion due to the weight of the main body.

4. The rice transplanter according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the main body portion is formed with a guide portion that guides the protrusion portion toward the locking portion when switching from the use state to the folded state.

5. The rice transplanter according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the holding mechanism has a biasing member that biases the main body portion in a direction in which the protrusion portion enters the locking portion.

6. The rice transplanter according to claim 1, wherein the holding mechanism has an operating unit that can be manually operated to a release state to release the holding state.

7. A boarding section is provided where passengers can board, The spare seedling tray is arranged on the lateral side of the boarding section, The rice transplanter according to claim 6, wherein the operating unit is arranged on the side of the spare seedling tray that faces the riding unit.

8. The spare seedling tray is configured to be rotatable between the use state and the folded state, The rice transplanter according to claim 1, wherein the holding mechanism has a restricting portion that restricts further rotation of the spare seedling tray in the folded state.

9. A front spare seedling stand is provided, which is located in front of the spare seedling stand and rotatably supports the spare seedling stand; 2. The rice transplanter according to claim 1, wherein the angle of the spare seedling tray relative to the front spare seedling tray is greater than 90 degrees when in the holding state.

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