Seedling tray loading device

Abstract

The present invention relates to a seedling box loading device for smooth transport of pallets loaded with seedling boxes containing sown seeds. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the seedling box loading device comprises a seedling box supplying section for transporting seedling boxes containing sown seeds, and a pallet transporting section for transporting pallets on which the seedling boxes are loaded. In one embodiment, the seedling box supplying section comprises a seedling box parallel transporting section to which seeded seedling boxes are transported, a clamp unit located above the seedling box parallel transporting section for gripping the seedling boxes aligned on the seedling box parallel transporting section and transporting them to a loading conveyor unit, and a clamp unit transporting section for moving the clamp unit up and down and back and forth.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a seedling box loading device, and more particularly to a pallet loading device for seedling boxes that automatically loads seedling boxes onto the top of a pallet to facilitate storage and transportation of seedling boxes that are supplied in sequence, thereby enabling an operator to easily transport a pallet loaded with seedling boxes using a forklift or hand lift, etc.

[0002] In particular, the present invention relates to a clamp unit for moving seedling trays in a loading device for seedling trays.

[0003] Such a seeding machine loads seedling boxes, supplies soil and seeds into the seedling boxes, and then discharges the seedling boxes containing the seeds from the seeding machine and transports them to a germination site. Meanwhile, in order for workers to move the seedling boxes discharged as described above to a designated location, workers have traditionally either moved the seedling boxes one by one or stacked and moved multiple seedling boxes by hand, but such work has the problem of significantly reducing work efficiency. [Background technology]

[0004] A seeder is used to easily and accurately sow seeds and apply additional fertilizer to furrows that have been created for cultivating paddy crops such as rice seeds and field crops such as onions and leeks. Such a seeder loads seedling boxes, supplies soil and seeds into the seedling boxes, and the seedling boxes with the seeds sown are discharged from the seeder and transported to the germination site. Meanwhile, in order for workers to move the seedling boxes discharged as described above to a designated location, workers have conventionally performed tasks such as moving the seedling boxes one by one or stacking and moving a large number of seedling boxes by hand, but such tasks have a problem in that work efficiency is significantly reduced.

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, the applicant has previously filed a patent application and had it registered. This technology is known as Patent Document 1, which describes a seedling box stacking device that is equipped to supply soil and seed-sown seedling boxes through a conveyor and stack them.

[0006] However, in Patent Document 1 proposed by the present applicant, the speed at which the worker moves the stacked seedling boxes slows down, and the number of stacked seedling boxes that need to be moved increases, causing problems such as the worker having difficulty moving a certain number of seedling boxes, and there is also the problem that the worker has to keep a close eye on the seedling box stacking device in order to move a certain number of seedling boxes.

[0007] Furthermore, in Patent Document 1 proposed by the applicant as described above, workers must manually move the stacked seedling boxes to designated locations or load them onto pallets, which requires a lot of labor and poses the constant risk of safety accidents, such as workers being injured while moving the seedling boxes.

[0008] Also, a seedling box transport device is proposed in Patent Document 2. In Patent Document 2, the seedling boxes are pulled out one by one from the sowing machine and supplied to the loading frame, lined up and aligned in a certain number on the loading frame by the movement control unit, and then positioned on the transport bed by the transmission transport unit, and the discharge transport unit pulls the transport bed to move sequentially on the transport frame and transported to the germination chamber. In this way, the seedling boxes pulled out one by one from the sowing machine are transported while being lined up and aligned in a plane on the loading frame. However, in the seedling box transport device disclosed in Patent Document 2, the seedling boxes pulled out from the sowing machine are transported to the transport frame in an aligned and single-layered structure on the loading frame, and then discharged. In this case, when transporting the seedling boxes arranged in a single layer on the loading frame to the next process, the work process is delayed by several processes, and in order to arrange a certain number of seedling boxes on the loading frame, the loading frame must have a certain area or more, so a large installation space is required. Furthermore, since the seedling boxes are arranged in a single layer on the loading frame, utilization is significantly reduced compared to the large area of ​​the loading frame, resulting in reduced work efficiency and production efficiency.

[0009] Therefore, there is a demand for a pallet loading device for seedling boxes which overcomes the above-mentioned problems. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0010] [Patent Document 1] Korean Patent No. 10-1740876 [Patent Document 2] Korean Patent No. 10-1039193 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0011] The present invention has been invented to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, and provides a loading device for seedling boxes which stacks seedling boxes which are supplied in sequence and transports and loads a large number of stacked seedling boxes onto the top of a pallet waiting to be transported, thereby enabling an operator to easily transport the pallet loaded with seedling boxes using a forklift or hand lift, etc. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] One embodiment of the present invention provides a seedling tray loading device for facilitating the transportation of pallets loaded with seedling trays containing seeds.

[0013] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the seedling box loading device comprises a seedling box supplying section for transporting seedling boxes containing seeds, and a pallet transporting section for transporting pallets on which the seedling boxes are loaded.

[0014] In one embodiment, the seedling box supply section comprises a seedling box parallel transport section to which seeded seedling boxes are transported, a clamp unit located above the seedling box parallel transport section for grasping the seedling boxes aligned on the seedling box parallel transport section and transporting them to a loading conveyor unit, and a clamp unit transport section for moving the clamp unit up and down and back and forth.

[0015] In one embodiment, the pallet transport section comprises a supply conveyor unit for allowing an empty pallet to enter and move, a loading conveyor unit for transporting the pallet via the supply conveyor unit to a location for loading seedling boxes, and a discharge conveyor unit for discharging the pallet once the seedling box loading operation is completed.

[0016] In one embodiment, the clamp unit is a kind of gripper and is configured to grip both ends of a seedling raising box containing seeds, and the clamp unit is moved up and down and forward and backward by the clamp unit transport unit to grip and transport the seedling box. The clamp unit is largely composed of a gripper for gripping the seedling box, a lower sensing contact part for sensing the descent of the gripper, and a weight balance for reducing the load on the gripper.

[0017] In one embodiment, the gripping portion is composed of a first gripping portion and a second gripping portion, and is structured to grip the seedling box at both ends of the seedling box. The first and second gripping portions are structured to open and close from left to right by the movement of a rack and pinion based on the drawing. The rack and pinion are a pair, one for the front and one for the back, based on the drawing, and both have the same structure. The rack and pinions are connected by an interlocking shaft and are configured to be interlocked simultaneously. For convenience, the pair of rack and pinion units are referred to as a first rack and pinion unit and a second rack and pinion unit, and each rack and pinion unit is composed of an upper rack, a lower rack, a pinion arranged between the upper rack and the lower rack and rotating, and a drive cylinder.

[0018] In one embodiment, a support stand is provided below the first and second gripping parts to enter the lower part of the seedling box and assist in stable gripping of the seedling box when the gripping parts are in the closed state and grip the seedling box. Meanwhile, the support stand is structured to support the seedling box even from below, allowing for stable support, but when the gripping parts are opened, a part of the lower part of the seedling box may get caught on the support stand and come out with the gripping parts. To prevent this, a box separation bar is provided in the gripping parts, and when the gripping parts are opened, the box separation bar moves toward the inner space between the two gripping parts, preventing the seedling box from getting caught on the support stand and coming out with the gripping parts.

[0019] In one embodiment, the box separating bar comprises a first guide bar that performs linear motion in response to the movement of the rack, a second guide bar that is arranged perpendicular to the first guide bar but is linked to the movement of the first guide bar, and a structure that converts the forward and backward linear motion of the second guide bar into a rotational motion of the box separating bar through a hinge. Therefore, the box separating bar rotates in response to the movement of the rack, but when the gripping parts are opened, the box separating bar enters the inner space between the two gripping parts to prevent the seedling boxes from coming out after being caught on the support base, and when the gripping parts are closed, the box separating bar moves toward each gripping part so as not to interfere with the gripping parts' gripping of the seedling boxes.

[0020] In one embodiment, a lower sensing contact part is attached to the bottom surface of the first and second gripping parts. The lower sensing contact part is for stopping the descent of the gripping parts when the gripping parts descend and contact a pallet or the like, and is composed of a lower contact part, a bracket, a shaft, and a bracket sensing part. The lower contact part is arranged in a state of being suspended from the bottom of each gripping part by its own weight or the elastic force of a spring, and when the lower contact part contacts an object such as a pallet as the gripping parts descend, the lower contact part, the shaft, and the bracket are stopped from descending by the ground reaction force, and the gripping parts including the bracket sensing part continue to descend for a certain distance, and the gripping parts stop descending only when the bracket sensing part senses the bracket. In addition, the lower contact portion has a plurality of protrusions that protrude toward the inside of the gripping portion and is configured to sense the size of the pallet and seedling boxes, and the lower contact portion is configured to be inclined and bent toward the outside to act as a guide, allowing the gripping portion to easily perform the opening operation without getting caught on the top of the pallet or stacked seedling boxes.

[0021] In one embodiment, the pallet transport section comprises a supply conveyor unit for receiving and moving an empty pallet, a loading conveyor unit for transporting the pallet via the supply conveyor unit to a location for loading seedling boxes, and a discharge conveyor unit for discharging the pallet when the seedling boxes have been loaded. The supply conveyor unit, the loading conveyor unit, and the discharge conveyor unit are each equipped with a contact sensor for detecting the pallet and generating a signal for the next operation.

[0022] In one embodiment, the contact sensor comprises a sensor dog and a sensing unit. The sensor dog is a member that acts like a kind of cam that comes into contact with an object to be sensed. When the pallet moves and pushes the sensor dog, the sensor dog moves in a certain direction, and the sensing unit recognizes this and detects that the pallet has been contacted. The supply conveyor unit and the loading conveyor unit are provided with stopper cylinders that stop the progress of the pallet as necessary when the contact sensor detects the pallet. The stopper cylinders protrude upwards and stop the progress of the pallet and stop it at a predetermined position according to a signal from the control unit, or they descend to allow the pallet to continue moving. Of course, it is also possible to repeatedly operate and stop each conveyor unit of the pallet transport unit according to a signal from the contact sensor.

[0023] In one embodiment, the supply conveyor unit and the loading conveyor unit are provided with pallet width direction guides. The pallet width direction guides are provided on both sides of the supply conveyor and function to properly align the pallet to the center of the conveyor. In addition, the width of the pallet width direction guide can be adjusted to be applicable to pallets of various sizes. The width of the pallet width direction guide is adjusted by the rotation of the pinion, with two rack gears, upper and lower, respectively, being connected to the pinion around one pinion. In the drawing, when the pinion rotates clockwise, the upper rack moves to the right and the lower rack moves to the left, respectively, to increase the width, and when the pinion rotates counterclockwise, the width is reduced. The multiple pallet width direction guides provided in the supply conveyor unit and the loading conveyor unit operate by the rack and pinion as described above, and all the multiple pinions are connected through a connecting shaft to operate simultaneously.

[0024] The loading conveyor unit is located between the supply conveyor unit and the discharge conveyor unit, and is located at a position adjacent to the end of the parallel transport section for transporting seedling boxes, where the seedling boxes containing seeds are loaded onto the pallets that have actually been supplied. The loading conveyor unit is equipped with a plurality of pallet detection sensors for determining the position where the seedling boxes are loaded onto the pallet.

[0025] In one embodiment, a contact sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a pallet and generating a control signal, and a stopper for preventing the advancement of the pallet are disposed at the end of the discharge conveyor unit. A loaded pallet enters the discharge conveyor unit in the loading conveyor unit and moves to the position of the contact sensor at the end, whereupon the operation of the conveyor is stopped by a signal from the contact sensor and the pallet is stopped at a predetermined position by the stopper. In this state, the pallet loaded with seedling boxes is moved by a forklift or the like. Effect of the Invention

[0026] The seedling box loading device according to the present invention described above easily stacks seedling boxes which are supplied one after the other, and transports and loads a large number of stacked seedling boxes onto the top of a pallet waiting to be transported, allowing an operator to easily transport the pallet loaded with seedling boxes using a forklift or hand lift, etc. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0027] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall perspective view of a seedling tray loading device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 2 is a diagram showing the entirety and each part of a gripping part according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 3] 2 is a diagram showing the entirety and each part of a gripping part according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4] 2 is a diagram showing the entirety and each part of a gripping part according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 5] 2 is a diagram showing the entirety and each part of a gripping part according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 6] 2 is a diagram showing the entirety and each part of a gripping part according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 7] 2 is a diagram showing the entirety and each part of a gripping part according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 8] 2 is a diagram showing the entirety and each part of a gripping part according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 9] 1 is a diagram showing a weight balance according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 1 is a diagram showing a weight balance according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] 1 is a view showing a seedling tray parallel transport unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] 1 is a view showing a seedling tray parallel transport unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] 1 illustrates a supply conveyor unit without a pallet installed according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] FIG. 2 is a top view of a feed conveyor unit with a pallet mounted thereon according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a pallet width direction guide according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16] 1 is a diagram showing a state immediately before a pallet for loading seedling boxes according to an embodiment of the present invention enters a loading conveyor unit. [Figure 17] 1 is a diagram showing a state in which a pallet enters a loading conveyor unit to load seedling boxes according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18] 1 is a diagram showing a state in which seedling boxes are loaded onto a pallet in a loading conveyor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 19] 4 is a diagram showing a state in which seedling boxes are all loaded on a pallet in a loading conveyor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 20] 4 is a diagram showing a state immediately before a loaded pallet enters a discharge conveyor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0028] In order to clarify the technical concept of the present disclosure, the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In describing the present disclosure, if a detailed description of related known functions or components is deemed to unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present disclosure, the detailed description will be omitted. In the drawings, components having substantially the same functional configurations are given the same reference numerals and symbols as much as possible, even if they are displayed in different drawings. For convenience of description, an apparatus and a method will be described together when necessary. Each operation of the present disclosure does not necessarily have to be performed in the order described, and may be performed in parallel, selectively, or individually.

[0029] The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are selected as general terms currently widely used as much as possible while taking into consideration the function of the present disclosure, but this may vary depending on the intention or precedent of a person skilled in the art, the emergence of new technology, etc. In addition, in certain cases, there are terms arbitrarily selected by the applicant, and in such cases, the meanings are described in detail in the description of the corresponding embodiments. Therefore, the terms used in this specification must be defined based on the meanings that the terms have and the overall content of the present disclosure, not just the names of the terms.

[0030] Throughout this disclosure, singular expressions may include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Terms such as "include" or "have" are intended to specify the presence of a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof, and should be understood not to preclude the presence or additional possibility of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof. In other words, throughout this disclosure, when a part "includes" a certain component, this does not exclude other components, but means that other components may be further included, unless otherwise specified to the contrary.

[0031] A phrase such as "at least one" modifies the entire list of components and not each of the components of the list individually. For example, "at least one of A, B, and C" and "at least one of A, B, or C" refer to A only, B only, C only, both A and B, both B and C, both A and C, all of A, B, and C, or combinations thereof. In addition, terms such as "... unit" and "... module" used in this disclosure refer to a unit that processes at least one function or operation, which may be embodied in hardware or software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0032] Throughout this disclosure, when a part is described as being "connected" to another part, this includes not only when it is "directly connected" to another part, but also when it is "electrically connected" to another part via another element in between. Furthermore, when a part is described as "including" a certain component, this does not exclude other components, but means that it may further include other components, unless otherwise specified to the contrary.

[0033] As used throughout this disclosure, the phrase "configured to" may be used interchangeably with, for example, "suitable for," "having the capacity to," "designed to," "adapted to," "made to," or "capable of," depending on the context. The term "configured to" does not necessarily mean only "specifically designed to" hardware. Instead, in some contexts, a "system configured to" may mean that the system is "capable of" with other devices or components. For example, a "processor configured to perform A, B, and C" may mean a dedicated processor for performing the operations (e.g., an embedded processor) or a general-purpose processor (e.g., a CPU or application processor) that is capable of performing the operations by executing one or more software programs stored in memory.

[0034] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the seedling box loading device 1 is composed of a seedling box supplying section 10 for transporting seedling boxes B containing seeds, and a pallet transporting section 20 for transporting pallets on which the seedling boxes are loaded.

[0035] The seedling box supply section 10 is composed of a seedling box parallel transport section 100 to which seedling boxes B containing seeds are transported, a clamp unit 200 located above the seedling box parallel transport section 100 for grasping the seedling boxes B aligned in the seedling box parallel transport section 100 and transporting them to the loading conveyor unit 600, and a clamp unit transport section 300 for moving the clamp unit 200 up and down and back and forth.

[0036] The pallet transport section 20 comprises a supply conveyor unit 500 for allowing an empty pallet P to enter and move, a loading conveyor unit 600 for transporting the pallet P via the supply conveyor unit 500 to a location for loading the seedling boxes B, and a discharge conveyor unit 700 for discharging the pallet P once the loading of the seedling boxes B has been completed.

[0037] The clamp unit 200 of the seedling box supply section 10 is a kind of gripping section and is configured to grip both ends of a seedling box containing seeds, and in order to grip and transport the seedling box, the clamp unit 200 is moved up and down and forward and backward by the clamp unit transport section 300. The clamp unit 200 is roughly composed of a gripping section 210 for gripping the seedling box B, a lower sensing contact section 230 for sensing the descent of the gripping section, and a weight balance section 240 for reducing the load on the gripping section.

[0038] In one embodiment, the gripping part 210 is composed of a first gripping part 211 and a second gripping part 212, and is structured to grip the seedling box B at both ends of the seedling box. The first and second gripping parts are respectively connected to racks at the upper and lower parts based on the pinion.

[0039] The first and second gripping parts are structured to be opened and closed to the left and right by the movement of racks 213, 214, 215, 216 and pinions 217, 218 based on the drawing. The racks 213, 214, 215, 216 and the pinions 217, 218 are formed as a pair of front and rear racks based on the drawing, and both the front and rear racks have the same structure. The pinions 217, 218 are connected by an interlocking shaft 219 and configured to be interlocked at the same time. For convenience, the pair of rack and pinion units are called a first rack and pinion unit 221 and a second rack and pinion unit 222, and each of the rack and pinion units 221, 222 is composed of an upper rack 213, 215 and a lower rack 214, 216, pinions 217, 218 arranged between the upper rack and the lower rack and rotating, and driving cylinders 223, 224.

[0040] For convenience, the first rack and pinion unit 221 is defined as consisting of a first upper rack 213, a first lower rack 214 and a first pinion 217, and the second rack and pinion unit 222 is defined as consisting of a second upper rack 215, a second lower rack 216 and a second pinion 218.

[0041] The opening operation of the grippers 211 and 212 will be described. In order to open the grippers, the first gripper 211 must move leftward and the second gripper 212 must move rightward with reference to FIG. 3, and the first pinion 217 must rotate counterclockwise (although not shown in FIG. 3, the second pinion 218 must also rotate counterclockwise). For this purpose, when the first lower rack 214 advances rightward by the operation of the first driving cylinder 223, the first pinion 217 rotates counterclockwise and, in conjunction with this, the first upper rack 213 makes a linear motion leftward, the first gripper 211 connected to the first upper rack 213 moves leftward, and the second gripper 212 connected to the first lower rack 214 moves rightward, and as a whole, the grippers perform an opening operation. In the case of a closing operation in which the gripping parts retract, the opposite operation is performed to the above, but as the first lower rack 214 connected to the first driving cylinder 223 moves leftward, the first pinion 217 rotates clockwise, and in conjunction with this, the first upper rack 213 makes a linear movement to the right, the first gripping part 211 connected to the first upper rack 213 moves to the right, and the second gripping part 212 connected to the first lower rack 214 moves leftward, so that as a whole, the gripping parts retract to perform the closing operation.

[0042] Also, the operation of the upper gripper has been described with reference to FIG. 3 and based on the first rack and pinion unit 221, but the second rack and pinion unit 222 also performs the same operation as the first rack and pinion unit 221.

[0043] A pair of rack and pinion units 221, 222 are linked and interlocked by an interlocking shaft 219. Although each rack and pinion unit 221, 222 can operate independently, they are designed to operate simultaneously to perform a gripping operation by the gripper. However, a time difference occurs in the operation due to an error including an operation time difference of the drive cylinders 223, 224 of each rack and pinion unit 221, 222. In that case, if one of the rack and pinion units operates first, a deviation occurs between the rack and pinion units, making it difficult to perform a smooth gripping operation. Taking such a point into consideration, even if an error occurs in the operation of one of the drive cylinders and one of the rack and pinion units operates first, the other rack and pinion unit also operates in conjunction with it, making it possible to perform a smooth gripping operation.

[0044] In one embodiment, a support base 225 is provided below the first and second gripping parts to enter the lower part of the seedling box and support the seedling box downward when the gripping parts 211, 212 are closed to grip the seedling box, thereby helping to stably grip the seedling box. Meanwhile, the support base 225 is structured to support the seedling box from below, so that stable support is possible, but when the gripping parts 211, 212 are opened, a part of the lower part of the seedling box may get caught on the support base 225 and come out of the gripping parts. To prevent this, a box separation bar 226 is provided at the gripping parts, and when the gripping parts 211, 212 are opened, the box separation bar 226 moves toward the inner space between the two gripping parts, preventing the seedling box from coming out of the support base.

[0045] In one embodiment, the box separating bar includes a first guide bar 227 which moves linearly in response to the movement of the first and second upper racks 213, 215, and a second guide bar 228 which is arranged perpendicular to the first guide bar but which is linked to the movement of the first guide bar. The linear movement of the first guide bar converts the box separating bar 226 into a rotational movement through a cam structure 229. Therefore, the movement of the upper racks 213, 215 causes the box separation bar 226 to rotate, but when the gripping parts 211, 212 are opened, the box separation bar 226 enters the inner space between the two gripping parts, and even if a seedling box is hanging on the support base, the movement of the seedling box is restricted by the box separation bar, preventing it from following suit, and when the gripping parts 211, 212 are closed, the box separation bar 226 moves toward the respective gripping parts 211, 212 so as not to interfere with the action of the gripping parts 211, 212 in gripping the seedling box B.

[0046] In one embodiment, a lower sensing contact part 230 is attached to the bottom surface of the first and second gripping parts 211 and 212. The lower sensing contact part 230 is for stopping the descent of the gripping parts 211 and 212 when the gripping parts 211 and 212 descend and come into contact with a pallet P, etc., and is composed of a lower contact part 231, a bracket 232, a shaft 233 and a bracket sensing part 234. The lower contact portion 231 is disposed in a state of being suspended from the bottom of each gripping portion 211, 212 by its own weight or the elastic force of a spring 235, and when the lower contact portion 231 comes into contact with an object such as a pallet P / the top surface of stacked boxes as the gripping portion descends as shown in FIG. 6, the lower contact portion 231, shaft 233 and bracket 232 stop descending due to a reaction force from the ground / top of the boxes, and the gripping portion including the bracket sensing portion 234 continues to descend a certain distance, and only when the bracket sensing portion 234 senses the bracket 232 do the gripping portions 211, 212 stop descending.

[0047] The lower contact portion 231 has a plurality of protrusions 236 protruding toward the inside of the gripping portion 210 and is configured to be detectable according to the size of the pallet P and the seedling boxes. The lower contact portion 231 is also configured to be bent at an incline outward to act as a guide, so that the gripping portion 210 can easily perform the opening operation without getting caught on the pallet or the top of the stacked seedling boxes.

[0048] Meanwhile, the spring 235 may be disposed by being sandwiched on the outside of the shaft 233 .

[0049] Next, the lifting and lowering operation of the clamp unit 200 and the weight balance part 240 will be described. As shown in Figures 9 and 10, in order to lift and lower the clamp unit 200, the force generated by the lifting servo motor 241 is transmitted through pulleys 242, 243 and belt 244 to finally a ball screw 245, and the rotation of the ball screw 245 causes the gripping parts 211, 212 connected to a linear motion lifting LM guide structure 246 to perform lifting and lowering motion. When the gripping part 210 grips and lifts and moves a number of seedling raising boxes B containing seeds, a large load is applied to the clamp unit 200. In the present invention, in order to reduce the load on the lifting servomotor 241 and to prevent the gripping parts 211, 212 from suddenly dropping when the lifting servomotor 241 fails, an air cylinder 247 is connected to the lifting LM guide structure 246 so that a constant load is always applied by air pressure, thereby reducing the load on the lifting servomotor 241 when the gripping parts 211, 212 are lifted or lowered. Meanwhile, the clamp unit transport part 300 for lifting and lowering the clamp unit 200 and moving it back and forth is a two-axis LM guide made up of LM guides.

[0050] On the other hand, the seedling box parallel transport section 100 is located below the gripping section 210 and is the route along which the seedling box B with seeds sown is transported to the gripping position by the gripping section 210. The seedling box parallel transport section 100 is provided with a detection sensor 101 at a predetermined gripping position for detecting the entry of a seedling box, and determines the gripping position by the gripping section. On the other hand, the seedling box parallel transport section 100 is located in contact with the loading conveyor unit 600.

[0051] Next, the pallet transport section 20 will be described. As shown in Fig. 1, the pallet transport section 20 is composed of a supply conveyor unit 500 through which an empty pallet enters and moves, a loading conveyor unit 600 which transports the pallet via the supply conveyor unit 500 to a location for loading seedling boxes, and a discharge conveyor unit 700 which discharges the pallet when the seedling box loading operation is completed. The supply conveyor unit 500, the loading conveyor unit 600, and the discharge conveyor unit 700 are equipped with contact sensors LS which detect the pallet and generate a signal for the next operation.

[0052] The contact sensor LS is composed of a sensor dog SD and a sensing unit D. The sensor dog SD is a member that acts as a kind of cam that comes into contact with an object to be sensed. When the pallet moves and presses the sensor dog SD, the sensor dog SD moves in a certain direction, and the sensing unit D recognizes this and senses that the pallet has come into contact. The supply conveyor unit 500, the loading conveyor unit 600, and the discharge conveyor unit 700 are provided with stoppers ST / stopper cylinders SC that stop the progress of the pallet as necessary when the contact sensor LS detects the pallet. The stoppers ST / stopper cylinders SC move upward and protrude to stop the progress of the pallet, or move downward to allow the pallet to proceed, according to a command from the control unit that receives a signal from the contact sensor LS. Of course, it is also possible to make each conveyor unit 500, 600, 700 of the pallet transport unit 20 repeatedly operate and stop according to a signal from the contact sensor LS.

[0053] The supply conveyor unit 500, the loading conveyor unit 600, and the discharge conveyor unit 700 are basically structured such that a chain 512 is wound around a chain sprocket 511, and the rotation of the chain sprocket 511 moves a pallet placed on the chain 512.

[0054] The supply conveyor unit 500 and the loading conveyor unit 600 are provided with a pallet width direction guide 800. The pallet width direction guide 800 is provided on both sides of the supply / loading conveyors 500 and 600, and serves to properly align the pallet in the center of the conveyor. In addition, the width of the pallet width direction guide 800 can be adjusted to accommodate pallets of various sizes. The width of the pallet width direction guide 800 is adjusted by the rotation of the pinion 801, with two rack gears 802 and 803, one above and one below, being respectively coupled to the pinion 801. In the drawing, when the pinion 801 rotates clockwise, the upper rack 802 moves to the right and the lower rack 803 moves to the left, respectively, to increase the width, and when the pinion 801 rotates counterclockwise, the width is reduced. As described above, the multiple pallet width-direction guides 800 provided on the supply conveyor unit 500 and the loading conveyor unit 600 operate using racked pinions, and all of the multiple pinions 801 are connected via a connecting shaft 804 so as to move in unison with each other.

[0055] The loading conveyor unit 600 is located between the supply conveyor unit 500 and the discharge conveyor unit 700, and is located at a location adjacent to the end of the seedling box parallel transport section 100, where the seedling boxes containing seeds are loaded onto the pallets that have actually been supplied. The loading conveyor unit 600 is equipped with multiple pallet detection sensors 601, 602 for determining the location on the pallet where the seedling boxes are loaded.

[0056] 16 to 19, the pallet enters the loading conveyor unit 600 and moves to the position of the pallet detection sensor 601. When the pallet is detected, the operation of the conveyor is stopped by the control of the control unit, and the movement of the pallet is stopped by the first loading stopper cylinder 603 (FIG. 17). When the operation of the pallet is stopped by the first loading stopper cylinder 603, a predetermined number of seedling boxes are loaded on the upper right end of the pallet as shown in FIG. 18. When the loading of the predetermined number of seedling boxes is completed, the conveyor is operated again, and the pallet moves in the forward direction again to the position of the pallet detection sensor 602, where the operation of the conveyor is stopped, and the movement is stopped by the second loading stopper cylinder 604. Then, when the operation of the pallet is stopped by the second loading stopper cylinder 604 as shown in FIG. 19, a seedling box is loaded on the upper left end of the pallet as shown in the drawing. Once the predetermined number of seedling trays have been loaded, the pallet moves again in the forward direction toward the discharge conveyor unit 700.

[0057] Finally, a contact sensor LS for detecting the presence or absence of a pallet and generating a control signal, and a stopper ST for stopping the progress of the pallet are disposed at the end of the discharge conveyor unit 700. The loaded pallet enters the discharge conveyor unit 700 from the loading conveyor unit 600 and moves to the position of the end contact sensor LS, after which the operation of the conveyor is stopped by the signal from the contact sensor LS and progress is stopped by the stopper ST, and in this state the pallet loaded with seedling boxes can be moved by a forklift or the like.

[0058] The control unit 900 is configured to control the seedling box supply unit 10 and the pallet transport unit 20, senses the position of the pallet for loading seedling boxes, determines whether to move it, and if the pallet is in a predetermined position, determines whether to load seedling boxes and outputs a signal for loading. In addition, it activates an alarm in the event of abnormal operation and outputs a control signal to stop operation.

[0059] Next, the overall operation of the seedling tray loading device according to the present invention will be described.

[0060] A pallet is supplied for loading the seedling boxes with seeds. The pallet advances through the supply conveyor unit 500, and is aligned in the center of the conveyor by the pallet width direction guide 800 that matches the size of the pallet to be loaded. The pallet that passes through the pallet width direction guide 800 and is aligned in the center advances to the stopper cylinder SC of the supply conveyor, and at this time, the position of the pallet is detected by the second contact sensor 502. In this state, if it is recognized that there is no pallet on the loading conveyor unit 600, the stopper cylinder SC located at the end of the supply conveyor unit 500 descends, and the pallet advances to the loading conveyor unit 600 and advances to the first loading stopper cylinder 603, and the pallet is detected by the pallet detection sensor 601. If the pallet is moved to the predetermined seedling box loading position, the seedling box is loaded through the conveyor of the seedling box parallel transport unit 100 located on the side of the loading conveyor unit 600. The seedling boxes advance to the position of the stopper 102 of the seedling box parallel conveyor 100, and the process is repeated until a certain number of seedling boxes are supplied to the seedling box parallel conveyor 100. When the seedling boxes and the pallet are prepared, the gripper 210 of the clamp unit 200 starts to operate, and the clamp unit 200 descends so that the gripper 210 can grip the seedling boxes. When the clamp unit 200 descends, the lower sensing contactor 230 accurately determines the height of the gripping position. The seedling boxes gripped by the gripper 210 are loaded onto the front part of the pallet waiting on the loading conveyor unit 600. When loading onto the front part of the pallet is completed, the pallet moves to the position of the second loading stopper cylinder 604, and at this time, the position of the pallet is recognized by the pallet sensing sensor 602. After the pallet has moved in this manner, seedling boxes are loaded into the remaining space of the pallet. The loaded pallet is moved to the location of the stopper ST of the discharge conveyor unit 700, and thereafter, the pallet is moved to a predetermined location by a forklift or the like.

[0061] The above description of the present disclosure is merely an example, and a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains will understand that the present disclosure can be easily modified into other specific forms without changing the technical idea or essential features of the present disclosure. Therefore, the above-described embodiment should be understood to be illustrative in all respects and not limiting. For example, each component described as a single type may be implemented in a distributed form, and similarly, each component described as a distributed type may be implemented in a combined form.

[0062] The scope of the present disclosure is indicated by the claims set forth below rather than the above detailed description, and all modifications and variations derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalent concepts should be interpreted as being included within the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A seedling box loading device comprising a seedling box supplying section (10) for transporting seedling boxes (B) containing seeds, and a pallet transporting section (20) for transporting pallets on which the seedling boxes are loaded, The seedling box supply section (10) includes a clamp unit (200) for gripping the seedling boxes containing seeds at both ends, and a clamp unit transport section (300) for moving the clamp unit (200) up and down and back and forth, The clamp unit (200) includes a gripping part (210) that grips a seedling box, and a support stand (225) that is located below the gripping part (210) and that, when the gripping part (210) grips the seedling box, enters the lower part of the seedling box to support the seedling box from below and assist in gripping, The gripping unit (210) is composed of a first gripping unit (211) and a second gripping unit (212), and the first gripping unit (211) and the second gripping unit (212) are composed of an upper rack, a lower rack, a pinion arranged between the upper rack and the lower rack and rotating, and a drive cylinder for driving the pinion, When the gripping part (210) is opened, a part of the lower part of the seedling box is caught on the support base (225) and is provided with a box separation bar (226) to prevent the box from coming out of the gripping part. The box separation bar (226) is linked to a first guide bar that performs linear motion in response to the movement of the upper rack, and the linear motion of the first guide bar rotates the box separation bar through a cam structure.

2. 2. The seedling tray loading device according to claim 1, wherein a lower sensing contact part is attached to a bottom surface of the gripping part.

3. The seedling box loading device as described in claim 2, characterized in that the lower sensing contact portion consists of a lower contact portion, a bracket, a shaft, and a bracket sensing portion, and the lower contact portion is arranged in a suspended state at the lower portion of the gripping portion by its own weight or the elastic force of a spring.

4. The seedling box loading device described in claim 3, characterized in that a plurality of gripping parts (210), consisting of the first gripping part (211) and the second gripping part (212), are arranged in a row, and the pinions of the plurality of gripping parts (210) are connected to each other by an interlocking shaft (219) so that the plurality of gripping parts (210) are interlocked.

5. A seedling box loading device comprising a seedling box supplying section (10) for transporting seedling boxes (B) containing seeds, and a pallet transporting section (20) for transporting pallets on which the seedling boxes are loaded, The seedling box supply section (10) includes a seedling box parallel transport section (100) to which the seedling boxes (B) containing seeds are transported, a clamp unit (200) located above the seedling box parallel transport section (100) for gripping the seedling boxes (B) aligned on the seedling box parallel transport section (100) and transporting them to a loading conveyor unit (600), and a clamp unit transport section (300) for moving the clamp unit (200) up and down and back and forth. The pallet transport section (20) comprises a supply conveyor unit (500) for receiving and moving an empty pallet (P), a loading conveyor unit (600) for transporting the pallet (P) via the supply conveyor unit (500) to a location for loading the seedling boxes (B), and a discharge conveyor unit (700) for discharging the pallet (P) when the loading of the seedling boxes (B) is completed. The supply conveyor unit (500) and the loading conveyor unit (600) are provided with a pallet width direction guide (800), The clamp unit (200) moves up and down by an LM guide structure. The clamp unit (200) is a seedling tray loading device characterized in that it further includes a weight balance section connected to an air cylinder in the LM guide structure to reduce the load on the lifting servo motor that drives the LM guide and to prevent the gripping part of the clamp unit from suddenly dropping in the event of a failure of the lifting servo motor.

6. 6. The seedling tray loading device according to claim 5, wherein the seedling tray parallel transport section (100) is provided with a detection sensor for detecting the entry of the seedling tray and determining the gripping position.

7. The seedling box loading device described in claim 5, characterized in that the supply conveyor unit (500), the loading conveyor unit (600) and the discharge conveyor unit (700) are equipped with contact sensors (LS) for detecting the presence or absence of a pallet, and a stopper cylinder (SC) is provided for stopping the progress of the pallet in response to a signal from the control unit (900).

8. The seedling box loading device according to claim 5, characterized in that the pallet width direction guide (800) has two upper and lower rack gears (802, 803) respectively connected to one pinion (801) centered on the pinion (801), and the width of the pallet width direction guide (800) is adjusted by the rotation of the pinion (801).

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