Sulky type seedling transplanter

Abstract

To provide a sulky type seeding transplanter equipped with a preliminary seedling-loading device capable of improving work efficiency, in order to solve problems that a method for moving an empty seedling box to an empty box rail from a preliminary seedling tray on which seedling boxes are mounted, requires lifting and moving the empty box by an operator who gets on the transplanter, resulting in low work efficiency in a conventional seedling transplanter in which a preliminary seedling-loading device provided on a traveling body is equipped with the preliminary seedling tray and the empty box rail dedicated for returning the empty seedling box to the operator who performs auxiliary work in a furrow.SOLUTION: In a sulky type seedling transplanter provided with a preliminary seedling mount device 6 equipped with a preliminary seedling tray 38 and an empty box rail 70 on a travel vehicle body, a movement mechanism 71 for moving a seedling box N on the preliminary seedling tray 38 to the empty box rail 70.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a riding seedling transplanter equipped with a spare seedling carrying device on a traveling body. [Background technology]

[0002] There is a spare seedling loading device attached to the traveling vehicle body that is equipped with a spare seedling loading platform and a dedicated empty box rail for returning empty seedling boxes to workers who are assisting in the ridges (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-072873 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The method of moving empty seedling boxes from the spare seedling carrier onto the empty box rail required an operator on board the machine to lift and move the empty seedling boxes, which was inefficient.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and has as its object to provide a riding seedling planting machine equipped with a spare seedling loading device that can improve work efficiency. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The invention described in claim 1 is a ride-on seedling transplanter having a spare seedling carrying device 6 equipped with a spare seedling carrying platform 38 and empty box rails 70 on a running body 2, and a moving mechanism 71 for moving the seedling box N on the spare seedling carrying platform 38 to the empty box rails 70.

[0007] According to the invention of claim 1, the moving mechanism 71 is provided to move the seedling boxes N of the spare seedling carrier 38 to the empty box rails 70, so that the efficiency of the seedling supplying work can be improved.

[0008] The invention described in claim 2 is a riding seedling transplanter described in claim 1, which is a moving mechanism 71 that rotates the loading member 73 on which the seedling box N of the spare seedling loading platform 38 is placed from a loaded state in which the seedling box N is placed to an inclined state inclined toward the empty box rail 70, and moves the seedling box N to the empty box rail 70.

[0009] The invention described in claim 3 is a riding seedling transplanter described in claim 2, in which the mounting member 73 has a protrusion 73c that protrudes downward from its pivot axis 73a, and the protrusion 73c is connected to an operating device 75 provided on the front side of the empty box rail 70 by an operating connector 76.

[0010] The invention described in claim 4 is a riding seedling transplanter described in claim 2 or claim 3, in which one end of the link member 74 is connected to the middle part of the mounting member 73 by a pivot shaft 74a, the other end of the link member 74 is freely movable along the base 72 of the spare seedling mounting table 38, and one end of the link member 74 protrudes from the pivot shaft 74a so that when the mounting member 73 is in a mounting state in which a seedling box N is placed on it, it is positioned below the upper surface of the mounting member 73, and when the mounting member 73 is rotated by the pivot shaft 73a and in an inclined state inclined toward the empty box rail 70, it protrudes above the upper surface of the mounting member 73 and forms a box pushing-up section 73d that pushes up the seedling box N placed on it. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a side view of a riding rice transplanter according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a front view for explaining the operation of the third auxiliary seedling carrier. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a front view for explaining the operation of the third auxiliary seedling carrier. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

[0013] <Overall structure> Figure 1 is a side view of a riding rice transplanter equipped with a fertilizer applicator, which is a typical example of the riding seedling transplanter of the present invention. This riding rice transplanter 1 with a fertilizer applicator has a seedling planting unit 4 attached to the rear of a traveling body 2 via a lifting link device 3 so that it can be raised and lowered, the main body of the fertilizer applicator 5 is located on the upper rear side of the traveling body 2, and spare seedling loading devices 6 are located on both the left and right sides of the front of the traveling body 2. Note that the left and right directions when looking forward in the riding seedling transplanter are referred to as left and right, respectively, and the forward and backward directions are referred to as front and rear, respectively.

[0014] <Running vehicle 2> The running vehicle body 2 is a four-wheel drive vehicle equipped with a pair of left and right front wheels 10, 10 and a pair of left and right rear wheels 11, 11 which are drive wheels, and a transmission case 12 is arranged at the front of the vehicle body, and front wheel final cases 13, 13 are provided on the left and right sides of the transmission case 12, and the left and right front wheels 10, 10 are respectively attached to left and right front wheel axles which protrude outward from each front wheel support part of the left and right front wheel final cases 13, 13 which can change the steering direction.

[0015] In addition, the front end of the main frame 15 is fixed to the back of the transmission case 12, and rear wheel gear cases 18, 18 are supported so as to be able to roll freely, with a rear wheel rolling axis set horizontally in the center of the rear end of the main frame 15 as a fulcrum, and rear wheels 11, 11 are attached to the rear wheel axles that protrude outward from the rear wheel gear cases 18, 18.

[0016] The engine 20 is mounted on the main frame 15, and the rotational power of the engine 20 is transmitted to the transmission case 12 via a belt transmission device and the HST 23.

[0017] The rotational power transmitted to the transmission case 12 is changed in speed by the transmission inside the case 12, and then separated into traveling power and externally taken out power. Part of the traveling power is transmitted to the front wheel final cases 13, 13 to drive the front wheels 10, 10, and the remainder is transmitted to the rear wheel gear cases 18, 18 to drive the rear wheels 11, 11. The externally taken out power is transmitted to a planting clutch case provided at the rear of the traveling body 2, and then transmitted to the seedling planting section 4 by a planting transmission shaft 26.

[0018] The top of the engine 20 is covered by an engine cover 30, and a seat 31 is installed on top of that. In front of the seat 31 is a front cover 32 that houses various operating mechanisms, and above that is provided a handle 34 for steering the front wheels 10, 10.

[0019] The left and right sides of the lower ends of the engine cover 30 and front cover 32 form horizontal floor steps 35. Part of the floor step 35 is lattice-shaped, so that mud on the shoes of an operator walking on the step 35 falls back into the field. The rear part above the floor step 35 forms a rear step 36 that also serves as a rear wheel fender.

[0020] The lifting link device 3 has a parallel link configuration and includes one upper link 40 and a pair of left and right lower links 41, 41. The bases of these links 40, 41, 41 are rotatably attached to a link base frame 42, which is shaped like a portal when viewed from behind and is erected at the rear end of the main frame 15. A vertical link 43 is connected to the tip of each link. A connecting shaft 44, which is rotatably supported on the seedling planting unit 4, is inserted and connected to the lower end of the vertical link 43, and the seedling planting unit 4 is connected to the connecting shaft 44 so that it can roll freely around the connecting shaft 44. A lifting hydraulic cylinder 46 is provided between the link base frame 42 and the vertical link 43. By hydraulically extending and retracting the cylinder 46, the lifting link device 3 rotates up and down, raising and lowering the seedling planting unit 4 while maintaining a substantially constant posture.

[0021] <Seedling planting section 4> The seedling planting section 4 has a six-row planting configuration and is equipped with a transmission case 50 that also serves as a frame, a seedling carrier 51 that carries mat seedlings and moves back and forth from side to side, supplying seedlings one by one to the seedling outlet 51a of each row, and transporting the seedlings downward by a seedling feed belt that supplies all of the seedlings in a horizontal row to the seedling outlet 51a, and a seedling planting device 52 that plants the seedlings supplied to the seedling outlet 51a in the field.

[0022] A center float 55 is provided in the center of the lower part of the seedling planting section 4, and side floats 56, 56 are provided on both the left and right sides of it. When the machine is advanced with these floats 55, 56, 56 in contact with the muddy surface of the field, the floats 55, 56, 56 glide over the muddy surface while leveling it, and the seedling planting device 52 plants seedlings in the leveled area.

[0023] Each float 55, 56, 56 is attached so that it can rotate freely, allowing the front end to move up and down in response to the unevenness of the topsoil surface of the field. During planting work, the up and down movement of the front part of the center float 55 is detected by an angle-of-attack control sensor (not shown). In response to the detection result, the hydraulic valve that controls the lifting hydraulic cylinder 46 is switched to raise and lower the seedling planting section 4, thereby maintaining a constant planting depth for the seedlings.

[0024] The seedling planting section 4 is equipped with a soil leveling rotor 27, which is an example of a soil leveling device.

[0025] <Fertilizer 5> The fertilizer application device 5 uses a delivery section 61 to deliver a fixed amount of granular fertilizer stored in a fertilizer hopper 60, and guides the fertilizer by a fertilizer application hose 62 to fertilizer application guides 63 attached to both the left and right sides of the floats 55, 56, 56, and then drops the fertilizer into a fertilizer area formed near the side of the seedling planting row by a furrow-making body 64 provided in front of the fertilizer application guide 63.

[0026] Air generated by a blower driven by an electric blower motor is blown into the fertilizer application hose 62 via an air chamber 59 that is long in the left-right direction, and the fertilizer in the fertilizer application hose 62 is forcibly transported by wind pressure.

[0027] The feeding section 61 is driven by the rotational driving force of an electric motor transmitted through a pair of eccentric gears or non-circular gears.

[0028] Therefore, because the delivery unit 61 is driven by an eccentric gear or a non-circular gear, the rotational driving force (torque) changes between large and small values. When the driving force is large, it is larger than that of a drive transmission mechanism in which the driving force does not change, such as a drive directly connected to an electric motor or a circular gear, and when the load increases due to fertilizer clogging or the like, a large torque can be secured in the low-speed range of the eccentric gear or non-circular gear, allowing fertilizer to be delivered appropriately.

[0029] In addition, when stopping the drive of the payout unit 61 (stopping the electric motor), the control device controls the eccentric gear or non-circular gear to stop in the low speed range (high torque range), thereby ensuring high torque when the payout unit 61 starts to drive.

[0030] Alternatively, a one-way clutch is provided in the transmission system between the eccentric gear or non-circular gear and the reel-out unit 61 so that the reel-out unit 61 is not driven when the electric motor is reversed, and when the drive of the reel-out unit 61 is stopped (the electric motor is stopped), the control device reverses the electric motor and controls it to stop in the low speed range (high torque range) of the eccentric gear or non-circular gear, ensuring a large torque when the reel-out unit 61 starts to drive.

[0031] An eccentric gear or non-circular gear is arranged between the electric motor and the fertilizer applicator 5, and the electric motor is provided between the eccentric gear or non-circular gear and the center of the traveling body 2. In other words, since vibration occurs due to the characteristics of the eccentric gear or non-circular gear, the electric motor, which has a large mass, is arranged close to the main frame 15 at the center of the traveling body 2 in order to reduce the effect of this vibration.

[0032] <Auxiliary seedling loading device 6> A pair of spare seedling carriers 6, 6 are provided on both the left and right sides of the front of the traveling body 2 for carrying replacement seedlings supported by a support frame 49.

[0033] As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the spare seedling carrying device 6 is composed of three upper and lower tiers, each with a movable link member 39, consisting of a first spare seedling carrying tray 38a on the top tier, a second spare seedling carrying tray 38b on the middle tier, and a third spare seedling carrying tray 38c on the bottom tier.

[0034] The movable link member 39 has its central portion pivoted freely to the upper end of the support frame 49 by a link pivot shaft 67, the second spare seedling carrier 38b is pivoted to the movable link member 39 by a pivot shaft 68b slightly above the link pivot shaft 67, the first spare seedling carrier 38a is pivoted to the upper end of the movable link member 39 by a pivot shaft 68a, and the third spare seedling carrier 38c is pivoted to the lower end of the movable link member 39 by a pivot shaft 68c.

[0035] By rotating the movable link member 39 around the link pivot shaft 67, the system can be switched between a stacked state (state in Figures 1 and 2) in which the first spare seedling tray 38a, the second spare seedling tray 38b, and the third spare seedling tray 38c are arranged one above the other in three layers, and a flat state (state in Figure 3) in which the first spare seedling tray 38a and the second spare seedling tray 38b rotate forward and the third spare seedling tray 38c rotates backward, so that the first, second, and third spare seedling trays 38a, 38b, and 38c are arranged on the same plane overall.

[0036] In addition, left and right seedling box guides 80L and 80R are provided at the front end of the third spare seedling carrier 38c, which extend toward the rear end of the second spare seedling carrier 38b when the first, second and third spare seedling carriers 38a, 38b and 38c are in a flat state, allowing the seedling boxes N to be slid appropriately from the second spare seedling carrier 38b to the carrier member 73 of the third spare seedling carrier 38c.

[0037] Furthermore, the first, second and third auxiliary seedling carriers 38a, 38b and 38c, each consisting of three upper and lower stages, can be switched to a single flat stage in the front and rear directions while the seedling trays are still placed on them.

[0038] When rearranging the first, second and third spare seedling carriers 38a, 38b and 38c in a stacked state in three layers or in a flat state on the same plane, the moving link member 39 is operated by an electric motor. In this case, it is good for work efficiency if the operation switch for the electric motor is provided in two places, one on the operator's side and the other on the side of an assistant who is located in a separate place around the seedling transplanter.

[0039] The first, second and third spare seedling carriers 38a, 38b and 38c are collectively referred to as the spare seedling carrier 38.

[0040] The outer sides of the first, second, and third spare seedling carriers 38a, 38b, and 38c are provided with first, second, and third empty box rails 70a, 70b, and 70c, respectively, as divided empty box rails on which seedling boxes N are placed and slid vertically. The first, second, and third empty box rails 70a, 70b, and 70c are collectively referred to as the empty box rails 70.

[0041] The first empty box rail 70a, the second empty box rail 70b, and the third empty box rail 70c are configured so that seedling boxes N can be placed on them in a horizontally long and upright state.

[0042] As shown in Figure 3, when the first spare seedling carrier 38a, the second spare seedling carrier 38b and the third spare seedling carrier 38c are lined up in the front-to-back direction and arranged on the same plane in a flat state (rice planting work is carried out with them lined up in the front-to-back direction and arranged on the same plane), the first empty box rail 70a, the second empty box rail 70b and the third empty box rail 70c are connected in the front-to-back direction, and the seedling box N can be stood upright and slid from the rear end to the front end on the first empty box rail 70a, the second empty box rail 70b and the third empty box rail 70c.

[0043] In addition, the third spare seedling carrier 38c is provided with a moving mechanism 71 on its outer third empty box rail 70c (rear end of empty box rail 70) that rotates and moves the empty seedling box N placed on the third spare seedling carrier 38c upright.

[0044] The moving mechanism 71 will be described in detail below mainly with reference to FIGS.

[0045] The moving mechanism 71 is equipped with a flat plate-shaped mounting member 73 on which the seedling trays N are placed, and a link member 74 connected to the middle of the mounting member 73 by a rotating shaft 74a.

[0046] The mounting member 73 is pivoted by a front-to-back pivot shaft 73a to the outer end of a base 72 that forms the frame of the third spare seedling mounting platform 38c, which is pivoted by a pivot shaft 68c to the lower end of the movable link member 39, and is provided with an outer wall 73b on the outer end side that guides the seedling box N in the front-to-back direction.

[0047] Furthermore, at the outer end of the mounting member 73 than the pivot axis 73a, a protrusion 73c is provided that protrudes downward below the pivot axis 73a, and this protrusion 73c is connected by an operating wire 76 as an operating connector to an operating device 75 that is freely rotated forward on the first auxiliary seedling mounting platform 38a, which is the frontmost in a planar state when the first, second, and third auxiliary seedling mounting platforms 38a, 38b, and 38c are arranged on the same plane.

[0048] The link member 74 has a rotating shaft 74a at its outer end that is pivotally connected to the middle part of the mounting member 73, a sliding movement shaft 74b at its inner end that slides left and right on the top surface of the base 72, and an inner wall 74c at its inner end that guides the seedling box N in the front and back directions.

[0049] The outer end of the link member 74 is located below the upper surface of the mounting member 73 when the mounting member 73 is in a loaded state in which it is placing a seedling box N, and when the mounting member 73 rotates on the pivot shaft 73a and is in an inclined state in which the inner side is inclined toward the third empty box rail 70c located above, it protrudes above the upper surface of the mounting member 73 and becomes a box pushing-up portion 73d that pushes up the seedling box N placed on it.

[0050] Therefore, when the operating device 75 is rotated, the operating wire 76 is pulled, and the mounting member 73 rotates around the pivot axis 73a from the mounting state in which the seedling box N is placed, and the inner side becomes inclined at an angle of 40 degrees or more toward the third empty box rail 70c located above, and at the same time, the box pushing-up portion 73d protrudes above the top surface of the mounting member 73 and pushes the seedling box N placed thereon to a position higher than the outer wall 73b, and the seedling box N slides down and moves onto the third empty box rail 70c (the rear end of the empty box rail 70).

[0051] <Rice planting work> By operating the electric motor's activation switch, the left and right auxiliary seedling carrier devices 6 are switched to a flat position in which the first, second, and third auxiliary seedling carriers 38a, 38b, and 38c are arranged on the same plane. At this time, the first, second, and third empty box rails 70a, 70b, and 70c are connected in the front-to-rear direction, allowing the seedling box N to be slid from the rear to the front along the first, second, and third empty box rails 70a, 70b, and 70c in a horizontally upright position. The operating device 75, mounted on the first auxiliary seedling carrier 38a so that it can be rotated forward, is positioned so that it can be operated from the front of the machine.

[0052] The operator, seated in the seat 31 of the riding rice transplanter 1, operates the machine and places the front of the riding rice transplanter 1 on the ridge or road.

[0053] A worker on the ridge or road places the seedling boxes N containing raised seedlings placed on the ridge or road on the first spare seedling carrier 38a at the front, which is arranged on the same plane, pushes it towards the rear of the machine body, and slides it to the third spare seedling carrier 38c at the rear.

[0054] An operator on board the machine uses a seedling rescue board to remove the seedlings with mat-like soil from the seedling tray N that has been slid to the third spare seedling tray 38c and supplies them to the seedling tray 51 in the seedling planting section 4. At that time, the empty seedling tray N placed on the third spare seedling tray 38c is placed horizontally on the rear end of the first, second, and third empty box rails 70a, 70b, and 70c, which are connected in the front-to-rear direction, and then slides forward.

[0055] However, when the overall workability is taken into consideration, it is inefficient for an operator on board the machine to place the empty seedling boxes N placed on the third spare seedling tray 38c upright on the rear end (third empty box rail 70c) of the first, second and third empty box rails 70a, 70b, 70c, which are connected in the front-to-back direction.

[0056] Therefore, an operator standing on the ridge or road operates the operating tool 75 located at the front end of the machine body to pull the operating wire 76, rotating the loading member 73 of the third auxiliary seedling loading platform 38c around the pivot axis 73a from the loading position in which the seedling box N is placed, so that the inner side is tilted at an angle of 40 degrees or more toward the third empty box rail 70c located at the top, and at the same time, the box pushing-up portion 73d protrudes above the top surface of the loading member 73 to push the loaded seedling box N up to a position higher than the outer wall 73b, causing the empty seedling box N to slide down and move onto the third empty box rail 70c (the rear end of the empty box rail 70).

[0057] Then, a worker on the ridge or road places the seedling boxes N containing the raised seedlings placed on the ridge or road on the first spare seedling carrier 38a at the front, which is arranged on the same plane, pushes it towards the rear of the machine body, and slides it to the third spare seedling carrier 38c at the rear.

[0058] Then, the worker on board the machine uses a seedling rescue board to remove the seedlings with mat-like soil from the seedling box N that has slid to the third spare seedling carrier 38c and supplies them to the seedling carrier 51 in the seedling planting section 4, and pushes the rear end of the empty seedling box N that has moved to the third empty box rail 70c (rear end of the empty box rail 70) toward the front of the machine, causing it to slide to the front end of the first, second, and third empty box rails 70a, 70b, and 70c.

[0059] A worker standing on the ridge or road takes out an empty seedling box N that has slid to the front end of the first, second and third empty box rails 70a, 70b and 70c and places it on the ridge or road.

[0060] In this way, a worker on the ridge or road operates the operating device 75 located at the front end of the machine to rotate the loading member 73 of the third spare seedling loading platform 38c around the pivot axis 73a from a loading state in which a seedling box N is placed, so that the inner side is inclined at an angle of 40 degrees or more toward the third empty box rail 70c, which is located at the top, and at the same time, the box pushing-up part 73d protrudes above the top surface of the loading member 73 to push the loaded seedling box N up to a position higher than the outer wall 73b, causing the empty seedling box N to slide down and move onto the third empty box rail 70c (the rear end of the empty box rail 70), thereby improving the balance of seedling supply work between the worker on board the machine and the worker on the ridge or road, and improving overall work efficiency. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 2 Running vehicle 6. Spare seedling loading device 38 Spare seedling tray 70 Empty Box Rail 71 Moving mechanism 72 Foundation 73 Mounting member 73a Pivot shaft 73c protrusion 73d Box lifting part 74 Link member 74a Rotating shaft 75 Operating tools 76 Operation linkage (operation wire) N seedling box

Claims

1. This riding seedling transplanter is provided with a spare seedling loading device (6) equipped with a spare seedling loading platform (38) and empty box rails (70) on a traveling body (2), and is characterized in that it is provided with a moving mechanism (71) for moving the seedling boxes (N) on the spare seedling loading platform (38) to the empty box rails (70).

2. 2. The riding seedling transplanter according to claim 1, characterized in that the moving mechanism (71) rotates the loading member (73) on which the seedling box (N) of the spare seedling loading platform (38) is placed from a loaded state in which the seedling box (N) is placed to an inclined state facing the empty box rail (70), and moves the seedling box (N) to the empty box rail (70).

3. A riding seedling transplanter as described in claim 2, characterized in that the mounting member (73) has a protrusion (73c) protruding downward from its pivot axis (73a), and the protrusion (73c) is connected to an operating device (75) provided on the front side of the empty box rail (70) by an operating connector (76).

4. 4. The ride-on seedling transplanter of claim 2, wherein one end of the link member (74) is connected to the middle of the mounting member (73) by a pivot shaft (74a), and the other end of the link member (74) is freely movable along the base (72) of the spare seedling mounting table (38), and wherein one end of the link member (74) protrudes from the pivot shaft (74a) so as to be positioned below the upper surface of the mounting member (73) when the mounting member (73) is in a mounting state in which a seedling box (N) is placed on it, and when the mounting member (73) is rotated about the pivot shaft (73a) and in an inclined state inclined toward the empty box rail (70), a box pushing-up section (73d) protrudes above the upper surface of the mounting member (73) to push up the seedling box (N) placed on it.

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