Plant cultivation device

Abstract

To provide a plant cultivation device enabling reduction of labor involved in seed sowing.SOLUTION: A plant cultivation device comprises a pot for accommodating granular or powdery cultivation soil and a sowing tool for sowing seeds into the cultivation soil accommodated in the pot. The sowing tool has: an upper part including an inclined part with an inclined surface, sloping downward from the peripheral part to a through hole formed at the central part, and a projecting part protruding downward from the peripheral part; and a tubular lower part extending downward from the central part, with its lower end inserted into the cultivation soil. The upper part has an outer diameter that is adjustable in the radial direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a plant cultivation device. [Background technology]

[0002] There are known plant cultivation devices having tools for sowing seeds into a medium for growing plants. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a plant cultivation device including a seed-seeding tray on which a plurality of cultivation sponges with notches in the depressions for placing seeds are arranged, and a seed-planting tool that is arranged on the seed-seeding tray and has protrusions on its underside for pushing the seeds into the notches in the cultivation sponges. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-136358 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The technology described in Patent Document 1 uses a cultivation sponge as a culture medium, but if you want to sow seeds in a culture medium that is granular or powdery cultivation soil such as soil, it is not possible to make incisions in such fluid cultivation soil, making it difficult to sow seeds in granular or powdery cultivation soil and cultivate plants using the technology described in Patent Document 1.

[0005] Therefore, when seeds are to be sown in a predetermined sowing position in granular or powdered cultivation soil contained in a pot, one possible method is to place the seeds in a hole formed in the cultivation soil. However, since placing the seeds outside the hole may result in loss of the seeds, it is necessary to ensure that the seeds are placed in a hole of approximately the same size as the seed. However, when sowing seeds in this way, there is a problem in that in order to ensure that the seeds are placed in the holes in the cultivation soil, manual work such as picking up the seeds with tweezers or the like is required, which can be time-consuming.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made to solve such problems, and aims to provide a plant cultivation device that can reduce the effort required for sowing seeds. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A plant cultivation device according to one embodiment comprises a pot for containing granular or powdered cultivation soil, and a sowing tool for sowing seeds into the cultivation soil contained in the pot. The sowing tool has an upper part including an inclined portion having a slope that slopes downward from the periphery toward a through-hole formed in the center, and a protruding portion that protrudes downward from the periphery, and a cylindrical lower part that extends downward from the center and whose lower end is inserted into the cultivation soil, and the outer diameter of the upper part is adjustable. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] The present disclosure provides a plant cultivation device that can reduce the effort required for sowing seeds. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1A and 1B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view showing an example of a plant cultivation device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a method for sowing seeds using the plant cultivation apparatus shown in FIG. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Embodiment 1 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments. For clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings have been simplified as appropriate. In the embodiments, identical or equivalent elements are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0011] FIG. 1 shows a plan view and a cross-sectional view of an example of a plant cultivation device according to a first embodiment. The upper side of FIG. 1 shows a plan view of the plant cultivation device 100. The lower side of FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of the plant cultivation device 100. The plant cultivation device 100 shown in FIG. 1 is a device that cultivates plants by sowing plant seeds S in cultivation soil C1 for growing the plants. As shown in FIG. 1, the plant cultivation device 100 has a pot 10 and a seeding tool 20.

[0012] The pot 10 contains granular or powdered cultivation soil C1. As the cultivation soil C1, soil, sand, soil, etc. can be used. The type of cultivation soil C1 may be selected appropriately depending on the plant to be cultivated.

[0013] The pot 10 is a box-shaped container with a bottom and an open top. The pot 10 is made of, for example, synthetic resin or ceramic. The pot 10 has, for example, a substantially circular shape in plan view. The pot 10 has a bottom wall 11 and side walls 12 rising from the radial outer edge of the bottom wall 11. The pot 10 contains cultivation soil C1 in the internal space formed by the bottom wall 11 and the side walls 12. The bottom wall 11 of the pot 10 has a substantially circular shape in plan view. The side walls 12 have, for example, a tapered shape that widens outward as they extend upward in cross-section. The opening edge 12a, which is the upper end of the side walls 12 of such a pot 10, has a substantially annular shape in plan view. Here, the opening edge 12a is the portion that surrounds the opening of the pot 10.

[0014] The sowing tool 20 is detachably attached to the pot 10. FIG. 1 shows the plant cultivation device 100 with the sowing tool 20 removed from the pot 10. The sowing tool 20 sows seeds S in cultivation soil C1 contained in the pot 10. The sowing tool 20 is a funnel-shaped tool for sowing seeds S at predetermined sowing positions in the cultivation soil C1 contained in the pot 10. FIG. 1 shows seeds S sown at the sowing position by the sowing tool 20. The sowing tool 20 has a planar shape that corresponds to the planar shape of the pot 10. Therefore, if the pot 10 is approximately circular in plan view, the sowing tool 20 also has an approximately circular shape in plan view. The sowing tool 20 has an upper part 23 including an inclined portion 21 and a protruding portion 22, and a cylindrical lower part 24.

[0015] The inclined portion 21 has a tapered shape that narrows inward as it extends downward in a cross-sectional view. A peripheral edge portion 21a on the radially outer side of the inclined portion 21 has a substantially annular shape in a plan view. The peripheral edge portion 21a is a portion that surrounds an opening on the upper surface of the inclined portion 21. The peripheral edge portion 21a preferably extends radially outward. The inclined portion 21 is provided with an inclined surface 21b that slopes downward from the peripheral edge portion 21a toward a through hole 25 formed in the center. The through hole 25 is formed in the radial center of the inclined portion 21 (inclined surface 21b) in a plan view (hereinafter simply referred to as the center of the inclined portion 21). The through hole 25 is an opening on the lower surface of the inclined portion 21. The shape of the through hole 25 is, for example, substantially circular in a plan view. The through-hole 25 may have a diameter that allows the seeds S to pass through, but from the viewpoint of sowing the seeds S at the sowing position more accurately, it is preferable that the through-hole 25 has a diameter slightly larger than the maximum diameter of the seeds S.

[0016] The protrusion 22 preferably protrudes from the radially outer edge of the peripheral portion 21a. The peripheral portion 21a and the protrusion 22 form a hook-shaped locking portion in a cross-sectional view. The locking portion of the sowing tool 20 attached to the pot 10 is locked to the opening edge 12a by the inner peripheral surface of the protrusion 22 arranged on the outside of the opening edge 12a abutting against the outer peripheral surface of the opening edge 12a. The sowing tool 20 can be fixed to the pot 10 by the locking portion being locked to the opening edge 12a.

[0017] The upper portion 23 has an adjustable outer diameter in the radial direction. Since this structure can be easily formed, it is preferable that the upper portion 23 have a bellows structure that is expandable and contractible in the radial direction. For example, the bellows structure can adjust the outer diameter of the upper portion 23 by contracting the bellows structure in the radial direction to reduce the outer diameter of the upper portion 23, or by expanding the bellows structure in the radial direction to increase the outer diameter of the upper portion 23. In this way, the seeding tool 20 can be easily fixed to the pot 10 regardless of the outer diameter of the opening edge 12a by adjusting the outer diameter of the upper portion 23 according to the outer diameter of the opening edge 12a. Therefore, the seeding tool 20 can be applied to pots 10 of any size. The upper portion 23 may have a structure other than a bellows structure as long as its outer diameter in the radial direction is adjustable.

[0018] The lower portion 24 is disposed below the upper portion 23. The lower portion 24 has a generally cylindrical shape extending in the vertical direction. The interior of the lower portion 24 communicates with the interior of the inclined portion 21 via the through-hole 25. The interior of the lower portion 24 communicates with the outside via an opening on the lower surface of the lower portion 24. Therefore, the lower portion 24 guides the seeds S received into the lower portion 24 from the inclined portion 21 downward via the through-hole 25, and expels the seeds S from the interior of the lower portion 24 to the outside via the opening on the lower surface of the lower portion 24.

[0019] The lower portion 24 may preferably have an adjustable length in the vertical direction. Since this structure is easily formed, the lower portion 24 may have, for example, a bellows structure that is expandable and contractable in the vertical direction. For example, the bellows structure can adjust the length of the lower portion 24 by shortening the bellows structure in the vertical direction when it is desired to lengthen the length of the lower portion 24, or by extending the bellows structure in the vertical direction when it is desired to shorten the length of the lower portion 24. In this way, the seed sowing tool 20 can adjust the length of the lower portion 24 according to the depth of the pot 10, thereby easily sowing seeds S at a sowing position set to any depth regardless of the depth of the pot 10.

[0020] Note that the lower portion 24 may have another structure, such as a connecting structure in which multiple tubular (in this embodiment, substantially cylindrical) parts are connected in the vertical direction, instead of the bellows structure, as long as the length of the lower portion 24 is adjustable. When the lower portion 24 has such a connecting structure, the length of the lower portion 24 can be adjusted by increasing or decreasing the number of tubular parts in the connecting structure.

[0021] The lower portion 24, at least the lower end of which is inserted into the cultivation soil C1, forms a hole H (see FIG. 2) with a depth corresponding to the length of the lower end in the radial center of the cultivation soil C1 contained in the pot 10 in a plan view (hereinafter simply referred to as the center of the cultivation soil C1). Furthermore, the lower portion 24, at least the lower end of which is inserted into the cultivation soil C1, blocks the movement of the cultivation soil C1 toward the hole H with its outer circumferential surface.

[0022] The upper part 23 of the sowing tool 20 has an inclined surface 21b that slopes downward from the peripheral part 21a of the inclined part 21 toward the through-hole 25 formed in the center, so that the seeds S can be guided radially inward so as to approach the center of the cultivation soil C1 contained in the pot 10. The lower part 24 of the sowing tool 20 extends in the vertical direction, so that the seeds S can be guided downward so as to approach the sowing position set at a predetermined depth in the cultivation soil C1 contained in the pot 10.

[0023] Next, a method for sowing seeds S using the plant cultivation device 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a method for sowing seeds using the plant cultivation device shown in Fig. 1.

[0024] First, as shown in S1 of FIG. 2 , the worker attaches the seeding tool 20 to the pot 10. When attaching the seeding tool 20 to the pot 10, the worker adjusts the outer diameter of the upper part 23 so that the protrusion 22 is positioned radially outward of the opening edge 12a, and then inserts the lower end of the lower part 24 into the center of the cultivation soil C1 contained in the pot 10. If the length of the lower part 24 is adjustable, it is recommended that the length of the lower part 24 be adjusted in advance according to the sowing position before attaching the seeding tool 20 to the pot 10. When the seeding tool 20 is attached to the pot 10, the lower part 24 forms a hole H in the center of the cultivation soil C1 that is deep enough to reach the sowing position, and the lower part 24 blocks the movement of the cultivation soil C1 toward the hole H. The cultivation soil C2 beside the hole H is part of the cultivation soil C1 that is blocked by the outer circumferential surface of the lower part 24.

[0025] Next, as shown in S2 in FIG. 2, the worker places the seeds S on the inclined surface 21b of the sowing tool 20. When placing the seeds S on the inclined surface 21b, the worker can place the seeds S by hand. Furthermore, regardless of where the worker places the seeds S on the inclined surface 21b, the seeds S can easily move to the through-hole 25. Therefore, by using the sowing tool 20, the possibility of losing the seeds S when the seeds S are placed in a position away from the through-hole 25 is reduced. The black arrow in FIG. 2 indicates the direction in which the seeds S move.

[0026] As shown in S2 and S3 in Figure 2, the seed S placed on the inclined surface 21b moves under its own weight down the inclined surface 21b toward the through-hole 25, enters the through-hole 25, and then falls through the lower part 24 to easily reach the sowing position in the cultivation soil C1 contained in the pot 10.

[0027] Next, as shown in S4 of FIG. 2, the operator removes the seed sowing tool 20 from the pot 10. To remove the seed sowing tool 20 from the pot 10, the operator simply moves the seed sowing tool 20 upward to release the engagement between the opening edge 12a and the engagement portion. This allows the seed sowing tool 20 and the pot 10 to be easily separated. When the seed sowing tool 20 is removed from the pot 10 in this manner, the lower part 24 is pulled out of the cultivation soil C1, and the cultivation soil C2 that had been blocked off at the side of the hole H collapses and moves into the hole H, automatically covering the soil. This completes the sowing of the seeds S using the plant cultivation device 100. In this way, the plant cultivation device 100 can sow the seeds S at the sowing position in the cultivation soil C1 and cultivate the plants.

[0028] As described above, the plant cultivation device 100 according to this embodiment includes a pot 10 that contains granular or powdered cultivation soil C1, and a seed sowing tool 20 that sows seeds S into the cultivation soil C1 contained in the pot 10. The seed sowing tool 20 has an upper part 23 that includes an inclined part 21 with an inclined surface 21b that slopes downward from a peripheral part 21a toward a through-hole 25 formed in the center, and a protruding part 22 that protrudes downward from the peripheral part 21a, and a cylindrical lower part 24 that extends downward from the center and whose lower end is inserted into the cultivation soil C1. The outer diameter of the upper part 23 is adjustable.

[0029] According to the plant cultivation apparatus 100 of this embodiment, the outer diameter of the upper portion 23 can be adjusted according to the outer diameter of the opening edge portion 12a of the pot 10, so that the seed sowing tool 20 can be easily attached to a pot 10 of any size, thereby reducing the effort required for sowing the seeds S. Furthermore, according to the plant cultivation apparatus 100 of this embodiment, the seeds S can be reliably sown at the sowing position by the simple task of placing the seeds S at any position on the inclined surface 21b of the seed sowing tool 20 attached to the pot 10. When placing the seeds S, there is no need to target a specific position, such as the through-hole 25, so manual work such as picking the seeds S with tweezers or the like is not required, thereby reducing the effort required for sowing the seeds S. Furthermore, according to the plant cultivation apparatus 100 of this embodiment, the seeds S can be covered with soil by removing the seed sowing tool 20 from the pot 10, thereby reducing the effort required for sowing the seeds S.

[0030] Furthermore, according to the plant cultivation device 100 of this embodiment, the seeds S can be reliably sown at the sowing position using the simple seed-sowing tool 20. Therefore, the cost of cultivating plants can be reduced compared to when the seeds S are sown using a complex configuration that combines, for example, a device or tool that places the seeds S in depressions formed in a cultivation sponge for growing plants, and a device or tool that presses the seeds S placed in the depressions of the cultivation sponge into notches formed in the depressions.

[0031] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications can be made as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. For example, the above-described embodiment exemplifies the pot 10 and the seeding tool 20 each having a substantially circular shape in a plan view, but the shapes of the pot 10 and the seeding tool 20 are not limited to this as long as the locking portion of the seeding tool 20 can be locked to the opening edge portion 12a of the pot 10. For example, both the pot 10 and the seeding tool 20 may be elliptical or polygonal in a plan view. [Explanation of symbols]

[0032] 10 pot 11 bottom wall 12 side wall 12a opening edge 20 Seeding tool 21 Inclined portion 21a Peripheral portion 21b Inclined surface 22 Protrusion 23 Upper part 24 Lower part 25 Through hole 100 Plant cultivation equipment C1, C2 Cultivation soil H hole S type

Claims

[Claim 1] A pot for containing granular or powdered cultivation soil; A seeding tool for sowing seeds into the cultivation soil contained in the pot; and The sowing tool comprises: an upper portion including an inclined portion having an inclined surface that slopes downward from a peripheral portion toward a through-hole formed in a central portion, and a protruding portion that protrudes downward from the peripheral portion; A cylindrical lower portion extending downward from the central portion and having a lower end inserted into the cultivation soil; and The plant cultivation device has an adjustable outer diameter in the radial direction of the upper portion.

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