Plant cutting device

Abstract

To provide a plant reaper capable of more efficiently reaping plants than ever.SOLUTION: The apparatus has a panel-holding means (supporting member) for holding the culture panel 100, a cutting means 53 and a moving means 55 for moving at least either the culture panel or the cutting means. The cutting means 53 is positioned below the bottom surface of the cultivation panel 100 held by the panel holding means, and the cultivation panel 100 can be moved toward the cutting means 53 by the moving means 55. The cultivation panel 100 is provided with a plurality of holes, plants 40 are held in the holes, and roots 41 are exposed from the holes. The cultivation panel 100 is moved toward the cutting means 53 and passed over the cutting means 53 to cut the roots 41 of the plant 40.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for harvesting plants such as leafy vegetables grown by hydroponics or the like. [Background technology]

[0002] A plant cultivation device for hydroponically cultivating leafy vegetables such as lettuce is known (for example, Patent Document 1). The plant cultivation device described in Patent Document 1 can be installed in a limited space such as an underground tunnel or underground shopping mall, and is said to be able to cultivate plants such as vegetables and fruits without pests or using pesticides. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-023336 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, when harvesting hydroponically grown leafy vegetables, the stems of the leafy vegetables are cut and the harvested parts, such as the leaves, are harvested, as in conventional methods. Traditionally, when harvesting leafy vegetables, the vegetables have been cut and harvested manually, one by one, using human eyes and senses. That is, a lettuce or other vegetable is held in one hand, and the stem is cut with scissors in the other. The scissors are then placed down and the lettuce is trimmed. The excess base is then removed with the scissors. This resulted in problems such as time-consuming harvesting, and when the harvest yield was large, more manpower was required, resulting in poor harvesting efficiency.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a plant harvesting device that can harvest plants more efficiently than conventional devices. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An embodiment for solving the above problem is a plant harvesting device having a panel holding means for holding a cultivation panel, a cutting means, and a moving means for moving at least either the cultivation panel or the cutting means, wherein the cutting means is located at a position below the bottom surface of the cultivation panel held by the panel holding means, the cultivation panel can be moved relatively toward the cutting means by the moving means, the cultivation panel has a plurality of holes in which plants are held, and the roots are exposed from the holes, and the plants can be cut by moving the cultivation panel relatively toward the cutting means and passing it over the cutting means.

[0007] It is desirable that the entire cultivation panel passes over the cutting means, but it is also possible that a portion of the cultivation panel does not pass over the cutting means. In the plant harvesting device of this aspect, the cutting means is located at a position below the bottom surface of the panel, and the cultivation panel moves relatively toward the cutting means to pass over the cutting means. Here, the cultivation panel has a plurality of holes in which plants are held, and the roots of the plants are exposed from the bottom of the cultivation panel. Therefore, when the cultivation panel passes over the cutting means, the roots and stems of the plants come into contact with the cutting means, and the roots and other parts of the plants are cut off.

[0008] In the above-mentioned aspect, it is desirable that the cutting means is fixed and the cultivation panel is moved toward the cutting means by the moving means.

[0009] In the plant harvesting device of this aspect, the cultivation panels are moved to remove roots, etc., so that the cultivation panels can be easily replaced.

[0010] In each of the above-mentioned aspects, it is desirable that the cutting means has a plurality of cutting members arranged in a row, each of which has a pair of blades arranged opposite each other, and that the pair of blades are open toward the cultivation panel and have closed ends.

[0011] The plant harvesting device of this aspect has cutting members arranged in rows, so that it can cut the roots of a plurality of plants. The cutting member employed in the plant harvesting device of this embodiment has a pair of blades arranged opposite each other, with the pair of blades opening toward the cultivation panel and closed at the ends. Therefore, the roots or stems of the plants are received in the opening and gradually move toward the back. The cutting member employed in this embodiment has a pair of blades arranged with the ends closed. Therefore, the roots or stems of the plants have nowhere to escape and come into contact with the blades and are cut.

[0012] In each of the above-mentioned aspects, it is desirable that the cultivation panel holds plants in multiple rows and columns, the panel holding means has support members that support the spaces between the rows or columns, the cultivation panel is moved linearly on the support members by the moving means, and the roots of each row or column pass between the support members as the cultivation panel moves.

[0013] According to this aspect, the cultivation panel moves toward the cutting means while being held by the support members, so the conveying panel does not bend even when the plant is heavy. Furthermore, the support members of the panel holding means support the rows or columns of plants, leaving gaps below the exposed roots. Therefore, when the cultivation panel moves relative to the cutting means, the roots exposed from the conveying panel do not come into contact with the support members and move in a dangling state from the conveying panel. Therefore, the roots reach the cutting means while maintaining their dangling state. This allows the plant's roots to be neatly cut.

[0014] In each of the above aspects, it is desirable that the moving means pushes the cultivation panel toward the cutting means.

[0015] According to this aspect, the transport panel can be moved with a simple structure.

[0016] In each of the above-mentioned aspects, the plant is held in the hole of the cultivation panel via a holding member, and the holding member has a cup-shaped main body holding portion that mainly holds the leaves and / or stems of the plant, and a root holding portion that mainly holds the base of the roots, and it is desirable that the root holding portion is attached to the hole.

[0017] According to this aspect, the plant can easily maintain an upright posture when cutting the roots, and the roots can be cut cleanly. [Effects of the Invention]

[0018] According to the plant harvesting device of the present invention, harvesting can be performed more efficiently than in the past. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a plant harvesting device according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the cultivation panel is omitted. [Figure 2] 2 is a perspective view of the plant harvesting device of FIG. 1 with a cultivation panel placed thereon. FIG. [Figure 3] 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. [Figure 5] (a) is a perspective view of the cultivation panel, (b) is a perspective view of the cultivation panel holding a plant, and (c) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a hole. [Figure 6] 10(a) and 10(b) are perspective views showing the state in which the cultivation panel is moved and sandwiched between the cutting members and cut. [Figure 7] 7(c) and 7(d) are perspective views showing the state in which the cultivation panel is moved and sandwiched between the cutting members and cut, following FIG. 6. [Figure 8] 10(a) to 10(d) are explanatory diagrams showing the state in which the cultivation panel is moved and cut by the cutting means. [Figure 9] 10(a) to 10(c) are perspective views of modified examples of the cutting member. [Figure 10]1A and 1B are perspective views of a holding member employed in an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a view from above and FIG. 1B is a view from below. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the holding member shown in FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is a plan view of the holding member shown in FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sponge medium. [Figure 14] 14(a) is a plan view of the sponge medium of FIG. 13, and FIG. 14(b) is a bottom view of the sponge medium of FIG. [Figure 15] FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a state in which a sponge culture medium is attached to a holding member. [Figure 16] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a hole in a growing panel with a plant held therein. [Figure 17] This shows an example in which an introduction conveyor is installed upstream of the plant harvesting device shown in Figure 1 to introduce cultivation panels carried out from the plant cultivation device, and (a) to (e) are explanatory diagrams showing the state in which the cultivation panels move from the introduction conveyor to the plant harvesting device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] The following describes embodiments of the present invention, but the invention described in the claims is not limited to the embodiments described below. The plant harvesting device 50 of this embodiment harvests plants 40 cultivated in a plant cultivation device (not shown). In the following description, the front-to-rear relationship is as shown in Figure 1, with the side of a panel holding section (panel holding means) 52 (described later) being the "front side" and the side of a panel pulling section 56 being the "rear side." The direction perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction is the lateral direction. The plant cultivation device (not shown) plants seeds or seedlings in a cultivation panel 100 as shown in Fig. 5(a), cultivates them hydroponically, and grows the plants as shown in Fig. 5(b). The plant harvesting device 50 of this embodiment removes the cultivation panel 100 holding the grown plants from the plant cultivation device (not shown) and separates the plants 40 from the cultivation panel 100.

[0021] The cultivation panel 100 is a plate-shaped member made of polystyrene foam or other resin, and has a large number of holes 101 formed in a matrix. In this embodiment, the holes 101 are arranged in five rows and four columns. Each hole 101 penetrates the cultivation panel 100 from top to bottom. The cross-sectional shape of each hole 101 is as shown in FIG. 5(c), with a conical portion 105 on the upper side and a cylindrical portion 106 on the lower side. The cross-sectional shape of the hole 101 is not limited, and the hole 101 may be cylindrical or conical in shape. It may also have a step in the middle.

[0022] The holes 101 are provided at regular intervals. In this embodiment, the cultivation panel 100 has five rows of holes 101 arranged horizontally, and there is a bed-containing area 103 between the holes 101 in each row. The bed-containing area 103 extends in the column direction.

[0023] A plant 40 is held in each hole 101. In this embodiment, a holding member 1 as shown in FIG. 10 is attached to the hole 101 during the cultivation process, and the seeds are sown in the holding member 1 and grown. As shown in FIGS. 10 to 16, the holding member 1 has a cup-shaped main body holding portion 2 and a root holding portion 3. The main body holding portion 2 mainly holds the leaves and stems of the plant 40. The root holding portion 3 mainly holds the base of the roots 41 of the plant 40.

[0024] 16, the holding member 1 has the root holding portion 3 inserted into the hole 101 of the cultivation panel 100, and the main body holding portion 2 exposed at the top of the cultivation panel 100. The roots 41 of the plant 40 are exposed downward from each hole 101 of the cultivation panel 100. Details of the holding member 1 will be described later. As described above, the cultivation panel 100 has holes 101 arranged in 5 rows and 4 columns, so the plants 40 are arranged in 5 rows and 4 columns.

[0025] 1, the plant harvesting device 50 of this embodiment has a frame 51, a panel holding section (panel holding means) 52 that holds the cultivation panel 100, cutting means 53 with a blade, moving means 55 that pushes and moves the cultivation panel 100, and a panel pulling section 56. In addition, a root-setting container 67 is installed below the cutting means 53.

[0026] The frame 51 is a rectangular parallelepiped frame made of steel. The inner width of the frame 51 is slightly larger than the outer width of the cultivation panel 100, and the side walls 57 of the frame 51 function as guides when moving the cultivation panel 100.

[0027] The panel holding portion 52 is provided at the upper end of the frame 51. The panel holding portion 52 used in this embodiment is composed of four support members 60 arranged in the longitudinal direction of the frame 51. In this embodiment, the support members 60 are round rods made of resin. The support members 60 have a low coefficient of friction with respect to the cultivation panel 100. The support members (round rods) 60 are installed at regular intervals. As shown in Figure 3, when the cultivation panel 100 is attached to the plant harvesting device 50, the support members 60 are located at positions corresponding to the bed-covered area 103 of the cultivation panel 100. In other words, the support members 60 are members that support the spaces between the rows of the plants 40.

[0028] The cutting means 53 is plate-shaped and has five cutting portions 58 on one side. In this embodiment, the cutting means 53 is composed of one support plate 66 and five cutting members 61. That is, the cutting means 53 has five cutting members 61 attached in a row to the support plate 66. As shown in FIG. 4, the cutting members 61 are generally "V" shaped. That is, the cutting members 61 are plates that are wider on one side and narrower on the other, with a large slit 62 opening on the wider side. Therefore, the cutting member 61 appears to have two plate-shaped portions 63 joined at their bases at a certain angle apart. Linear blades 65 are formed on opposing sides of the plate-shaped portions 63. Therefore, the cutting member 61 has a pair of opposing linear blades 65, which are inclined so that one side is open and the other is closed.

[0029] In this embodiment, the cutting members 61 are attached to a support plate 66. The number of cutting members 61 and the attachment intervals thereof are equal to the number of plants 40 and the holding intervals thereof.

[0030] 1, 2, and 8, the moving means 55 pushes and moves the cultivation panel 100 using a toothed belt 70. That is, the moving means 55 is configured by two toothed belts 70 suspended in parallel with a gap between a driving roller 71 and a driven roller 72. Both the drive roller 71 and the driven roller 72 are fitted with toothed pulleys (not shown) at both ends, and a toothed belt 70 is suspended around the toothed pulleys (not shown) of the drive roller 71 and the driven roller 72. The drive roller 71 is a motor-incorporated roller with a motor and a reducer built into the roller body, and when the motor is running, the roller body rotates, causing the two toothed belts 70 arranged in parallel to run. A contact block 73 is attached to the toothed belt 70, and when the toothed belt 70 runs, the contact block 73 moves linearly.

[0031] As described above, the moving means 55 is configured with two toothed belts 70, each comprising the drive roller 71 and the driven roller 72. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the drive roller 71 and the driven roller 72 that make up the moving means 55 are arranged with a considerable gap between them. The two toothed belts 70 connect the ends of the drive roller 71 and the driven roller 72, and are spaced apart by a considerable gap. Therefore, the planar shape of the moving means 55 is a rectangular frame made up of a drive roller 71, a driven roller 72 and two toothed belts 70, and the center is widely open.

[0032] In this embodiment, two pull-in rings 76 are attached to the drive roller 71 of the moving means 55. The pull-in rings 75 are tire-like rings made of rubber or the like, and are attached integrally to the drive roller 71. The outer diameter of the pull-in rings 75 is larger than that of the toothed pulley as shown in FIG. 1, and the rearmost part of the outer diameter of the pull-in rings 75 is above the upper surface of the toothed belt 70. The pull-in rings 75 rotate integrally with the drive roller 71.

[0033] The panel take-up section 56 has idle rollers 75 arranged in parallel.

[0034] Next, the positional relationship of each member will be described. The panel holding portion (panel holding means) 52, the cutting means 53, the moving means 55, and the panel taking-up portion 56 are all attached to the frame 51 near the upper end thereof. As described above, the frame 51 is a rectangular parallelepiped, and its planar shape is rectangular. A front half region 80 of the frame 51 is provided with a panel holding section (panel holding means) 52, cutting means 53, and moving means 55. A rear half region 81 of the frame 51 is provided with a panel taking-up section 56.

[0035] The moving means 55 is disposed in a longitudinal region that occupies most of the front half region 80 of the frame 51, as shown in FIGS. The drive roller 71 and the driven roller 72 of the moving means 55 are located at both ends of the front half region 80 of the frame 51, and the toothed belt 70 of the moving means 55 is located near both side surfaces of the frame 51. As described above, the planar shape of the moving means 55 is a rectangular frame made up of the drive roller 71, the driven roller 72 and the two toothed belts 70, and the center is widely open.

[0036] In this embodiment, a panel holding portion (panel holding means) 52 and cutting means 53 are provided in a rectangular area 83 surrounded by the drive roller 71 and driven roller 72 of the moving means 55 and the two toothed belts 70. That is, the panel holding portion 52 is located in the front area of ​​the rectangular area 83, and the cutting means 53 is located behind it. The panel holding section 52 is made up of a plurality of support members (round bars) 60 installed at regular intervals. The cutting means 53 is installed in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the support members (round bars) 60, and the pair of linear blades 65 of each cutting member 61 both open toward the panel holding section 52 side (front side). The embedding container 67 is arranged below the cutting means 53 .

[0037] Next, the height relationship between the panel holding portion (panel holding means) 52, the cutting means 53, and the moving means 55 will be described. 1 and 2, the panel holding portion (panel holding means) 52, the cutting means 53, and the moving means 55 are all located near the upper end of the frame 51. However, these members are all located slightly lower than the upper end surface 68 of the side wall 57 of the frame 51. As described above, the panel holding portion (panel holding means) 52 is made up of support members (round bars) 60 installed at regular intervals. The height of the upper surface of the cutting means 53 is equal to or lower than the height of the upper surface of the support member (round bar) 60. In this embodiment, the height of the upper surface of the cutting means 53 is the same as the height of the upper surface of the support member 60. The height of the upper surface of the toothed belt 70 of the moving means 55 is lower than the height of the upper surface of the support member 60. However, the contact block 73 provided on the toothed belt 70 protrudes above the upper surface of the support member 60.

[0038] Next, the operation of the plant harvesting device 50 will be described. When harvesting plants 40 from the cultivation panel 100, the cultivation panel 100 is placed on the plant harvesting device 50 as shown in Figures 1, 2, and 8(a). Specifically, the cultivation panel 100 is placed on the panel holding portion (panel holding means) 52 of the plant harvesting device 50. At this time, the abutment block 73 of the moving means 55 is moved toward the front end of the frame 51 as shown in Figure 8(a). 1 and 2, the inner width of the frame 51 of the plant harvesting device 50 is slightly larger than the outer width of the cultivation panel 100, and the support members (round bars) 60 constituting the panel holding portion (panel holding means) 52 are positioned slightly lower than the upper end surface 68 of the frame 51. Therefore, the cultivation panel 100 is placed on the panel holding portion 52 while being surrounded by the frame of the frame 51. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the upper ends of the support members (round bars) 60 support the spaces between the rows of the plants 40 (the bed-covered area 103), with little interference with the roots 41.

[0039] In this state, the moving means 55 is driven to rotate the drive roller 71, causing the toothed belt 70 to run and the contact block 73 provided on the toothed belt 70 to move toward the cutting means 53. As a result, the contact block 73 comes into contact with the end face of the cultivation panel 100 and pushes the cultivation panel 100, moving the cultivation panel 100 toward the cutting means 53 and passing over the cutting means 53. Furthermore, there is no support member (round bar) 60 below the root 41, and the root 41 moves through a gap extending in the front-to-back direction sandwiched between the support members (round bars) 60, so the root 41 moves while maintaining a hanging state.

[0040] As the cultivation panel 100 passes over the cutting means 53, the roots 41 of each plant 40 approach the cutting section 58 as shown in FIG. 6(a), and as shown in FIG. 6(b), the roots 41 of each plant 40 held by the cultivation panel 100 enter the opening 62 of the cutting member 61. Then, as the cultivation panel 100 moves further, the roots 41 enter the depth of the cutting member 61 as shown in FIG. 7(c). The opposing linear blades 65 of the cutting member 61 are arranged in a roughly "V" shape, and the spacing between the opposing linear blades 65 becomes narrower the further back the roots 41 go, so the roots 41 come into contact with one of the linear blades 65. Because the depth of the cutting member 61 is closed, the roots 41 that reach the deepest part have no escape route and are cut off as shown in FIG. 7(d).

[0041] In this embodiment, the height of the upper surface of the cutting means 53 is the same as the height of the upper surface of the support member (round bar) 60. Because the height of the upper surface of the support member (round bar) 60 is the same as the height of the bottom surface of the cultivation panel 100, the height of the upper surface of the cutting means 53 is the same as the height of the bottom surface of the cultivation panel 100. Therefore, the cutting member 61 acts to scrape off the bottom surface of the cultivation panel 100. The roots 41 of the plant 40 are often fibrous roots, but the base is relatively hard and relatively difficult to bend. In this embodiment, the height of the upper surface of the cutting means 53 is the same as the height of the bottom surface of the cultivation panel 100, so the cutting means 53 comes into contact with the base of the plant 40. As described above, the base of the plant 40 is relatively hard and relatively difficult to bend, so the roots 41 are less likely to escape when the cutting member 61 hits them, and the roots 41 are cleanly cut off. The excised roots 41 fall into the root-holding container 67. After passing through the cutting means 53, the cultivation panel 100 enters the panel collection section 56 and is collected by an operator.

[0042] In the embodiment described above, the height of the cutting means 53 is set to be the same height as the bottom surface of the cultivation panel 100 held by the panel holding means. Here, the bottom surface of the cultivation panel 100 is the surface where the roots 41 are exposed. For example, if the bottom of the cultivation panel 100 is concave, the central side of the bottom surface is concave, and the roots 41 are exposed from the concave surface, the surface where the roots 41 are exposed is the bottom surface. In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the height of the cutting means 53 was set to the same height as the bottom surface of the cultivation panel 100 held by the panel holding means 52, but the height of the cutting means 53 may be lower than the height of the bottom surface of the cultivation panel 100, or may be lower than the bottom surface of the cultivation panel 100. However, if the height is too low, the roots 41 will escape when cut, so the difference between the two is preferably 2 cm (centimeters) or less, and more preferably 1 cm or less.

[0043] In the embodiment described above, the cutting means 53 is configured by attaching a plurality of substantially "V" shaped cutting members 61 to the rear surface of the support plate 66. That is, the support plate 66 and the cutting members 61 are separate members. The present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the cutting portion may be formed by directly forming a blade or curved blade on one side of the plate. That is, multiple roughly "V" shaped notches may be formed on one side of the plate, and the opposing sides of the notches may be sharpened by cutting.

[0044] Furthermore, the cutting section 58 in the above-described embodiment is configured by opposing linear blades in an inclined position, but the configuration of the cutting section is not limited to this. For example, the cutting section may be configured by a pair of circular blades such as cutting means 85 shown in Fig. 9(a). It is desirable that at least one of the circular blades rotates by power. Furthermore, a plurality of plants may be simultaneously treated with a long blade such as the cutting means 86 shown in Figure 9(b). It is desirable that the blade be moved laterally by power. It is also possible to adopt a clipper-like cutting means such as the cutting means 87 shown in Fig. 9(c). As shown in Fig. 9(c), two blades are overlapped, and one or both of them move laterally. An ultrasonic cutter can also be used as the cutting means.

[0045] In the embodiment described above, the cultivation panel 100 moves toward the cutting means 53, but the cutting means 53 may move toward the cultivation panel 100. Of course, both may move.

[0046] In the embodiment described above, the entire cultivation panel 100 passes over the cutting means 53, but it is not necessary that the entire cultivation panel 100 passes over the cutting means 53. For example, there may be cases where the overall width of the cultivation panel is wide, plants are planted only in the center of the cultivation panel, and the cutting means 53 is installed only in the area corresponding to the roots 41. In this case, only the center of the cultivation panel passes over the cutting means 53. Furthermore, if the total length (length in the direction of travel) of the cultivation panel is long and there are no plants at the end of the direction of travel, the area where the plants are present may simply pass over the cutting means.

[0047] The means for moving the cultivation panel 100 is not limited to a mechanism using a toothed belt 70, but may also use a propulsion force such as a screw, or may move the cultivation panel 100 using a cylinder or the like.

[0048] In the embodiment described above, the plant harvesting device 50 is installed as a single unit, but a continuous harvesting line or cultivation line may be constructed by providing processing devices or conveyor lines before and after it. For example, an introduction conveyor or transport device may be provided upstream of the plant harvesting device 50 to introduce cultivation panels carried out from the plant cultivation device, and the cultivation panels may be automatically placed on the plant harvesting device 50. A packaging device for packaging the harvested plants may also be provided adjacent to the plant harvesting device.

[0049] Figure 17(a) shows a harvesting line 91 in which an inlet conveyor 90 is installed upstream of the plant harvesting device 50. The cross-sectional position in Figure 17 differs from that in Figure 8, and the plant harvesting device 50 is shown with the retraction ring 76 attached to the drive roller 71 of the moving means 55 and the support member 60 of the panel holding section 52.

[0050] The introduction conveyor 90 is a roller conveyor with multiple rollers 91 arranged in parallel. The rollers 91 of the introduction conveyor 90 are rotated by a motor (not shown). The introduction conveyor 90 connects the plant cultivation device (not shown) and the plant harvesting device 50. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 17(b), the cultivation panel 100 taken out from the plant cultivation device (not shown) is placed on an introduction conveyor 90 and transported to the vicinity of the plant harvesting device 50.

[0051] Then, the rollers 91 of the introduction conveyor 90 push the tip of the cultivation panel 100 into the plant harvesting device 50 as shown in FIG. 17(c). Here, in the plant harvesting device 50 of this embodiment, the drive roller 71 of the moving means 55 is located on the most upstream side, and two pull-in rings 76 are attached to the drive roller 71. Therefore, when the moving means 55 is driven and the rollers 91 of the introduction conveyor 90 push the cultivation panel 100 into the plant harvesting device 50, the tip of the cultivation panel 100 rests on the retraction ring 76 and is retracted into the plant harvesting device 50 by the retraction ring 76.

[0052] As the cultivation panel 100 advances, as shown in FIG. 17(d), the rear end of the cultivation panel 100 separates from the rollers 91 of the introduction conveyor 90, and the propulsive force from the rollers 91 of the introduction conveyor 90 disappears. However, the growing panel 100 is still on the retraction ring 76 of the plant harvesting device 50 and moves forward to rest on the support member 60 of the panel holding portion 52, as shown in FIG. 17(e).

[0053] Next, the holding member 1 will be described. As shown in Figures 10 to 12, the holding member 1 has an overall shape like a wide-mouthed funnel, is thin, and has a structure that is open at the top and bottom. The holding member 1 is composed of a main body holding portion 2 that supports the plant 40, and a root holding portion 3 to which a culture medium made of a water-absorbent material is attached. The main body holding portion 2 and the root holding portion 3 of the holding member 1 are molded integrally, without being separated. When viewed from the front, the height of the entire holding member 1 is approximately 30 to 40 mm. The holding member 1 is a molded product made of resin such as polypropylene or polyethylene.

[0054] The main body holding portion 2 constitutes the upper part of the holding member 1. The main body holding portion 2 has an overall cylindrical or bowl-shaped shape, is surrounded by a first peripheral wall 5, and is open at the top and bottom. The inner diameter of the main body holding portion 2 increases from bottom to top. When viewed from the front, the height of the main body holding portion 2 is approximately 15 to 20 mm. When viewed from above, the main body holding portion 2 has an annular peripheral portion 6 at its upper end. The diameter of the peripheral portion 6 is approximately 50 to 60 mm. The corners of the peripheral portion 6 are rounded to prevent damage to the plants it supports.

[0055] The main body holding portion 2 has a first internal space 7 surrounded by a first peripheral wall 5. A plant 40 is placed in the first internal space 7. A plurality of openings 8 are provided in the first peripheral wall 5. The openings 8 connect the inside and outside of the first peripheral wall 5. In this embodiment, eight openings 8 of the same shape are provided, and these openings 8 are arranged at equal intervals around the circumference of the first peripheral wall 5. The shape of the openings 8 is a trapezoid with a short lower base and a long upper base. The length of the lower base of the trapezoid is about 5 mm, and the length of the upper base is about 10 mm. The height of the trapezoid is about 15 mm. The lower base of the openings 8 is adjacent to the root holding portion 3. The upper base of the openings 8 is adjacent to the peripheral portion 6.

[0056] When unfolded, the portion of the first peripheral wall 5 other than the openings 8 (remaining peripheral wall portion 10) has a horizontal ladder-like shape. The portion of remaining peripheral wall portion 10 sandwiched between adjacent openings 8 (corresponding to the rungs of the ladder) is strip-shaped or rectangular. The width (length of the short side) of this strip-shaped or rectangular portion is about 5 mm, and the length of the long side is basically the same as the height of the trapezoidal openings 8, about 15 mm.

[0057] From the viewpoint of breathability, the larger the ratio of the total area of ​​the openings 8 to the first peripheral wall 5 (openings 8 + remaining peripheral wall portion 10), the better, for example, 20% or more. The ratio may be 30% or more, 40% or more, or 50% or more. The upper limit of the ratio is not particularly limited as long as the strength of the main body holding portion 2 is maintained, but is, for example, 90%. The upper limit of the ratio may be 80%, 70%, 60%, etc. In other words, the ratio is the ratio (%) of the total area of ​​the openings 8 to the total area of ​​the inner surface of the first peripheral wall 5.

[0058] The base holding portion 3 constitutes the lower portion of the holding member 1. The base holding portion 3 is tubular, specifically cylindrical, surrounded by a second peripheral wall 12, and is open at the top and bottom. The root-holding part 3 has a second internal space 15 surrounded by a second peripheral wall 12. A culture medium is placed in the second internal space 15. The upper side of the root holding part 3 is connected to the lower side of the main body holding part 2. This allows communication between the first internal space 7 of the main body holding part 2 and the second internal space 15 of the root holding part 3. When viewed from the front, the height of the root holding part 3 is approximately 8 to 12 mm.

[0059] When the root holding part 3 is viewed from the bottom, there is a ring-shaped peripheral edge part 16 at the lower end of the second peripheral wall 12. The peripheral edge part 16 is provided with a ring-shaped protruding part 17 that protrudes toward the second internal space 15. Because the protruding part 17 protrudes inward, when the sponge culture medium 20 described below is attached, the sponge culture medium 20 is stably fixed. Instead of the ring-shaped protruding part 17, a claw that protrudes toward the second internal space 15 may be provided on part or the entire peripheral edge part 16.

[0060] Because the base holding portion 3 is cylindrical, when the holding member 1 is viewed from above or from the bottom, the diameter of the lower end of the main body holding portion 2 (first peripheral wall 5), the diameter of the upper end of the base holding portion 3 (second peripheral wall 12), and the diameter of the peripheral edge portion 16 (hereinafter, these may be referred to as diameter D1) are the same. The diameter D1 is approximately 20 to 30 mm. The protruding length of the protrusion 17 is approximately 3 to 5 mm. The shape of the base holding portion 3 may be a tube other than a cylindrical shape, for example, the top and bottom surfaces may be oval, or may be polygonal, such as triangular or rectangular.

[0061] A culture medium made of a water-absorbent material is attached to the root-holding portion 3, typically a sponge culture medium 20. As shown in Figure 13, the sponge culture medium 20 has an overall rectangular parallelepiped shape. As shown in Figures 14(a) and 14(b), the top and bottom surfaces of the sponge culture medium 20 are square. When viewed from the front, the height of the sponge culture medium 20 is approximately 30 mm. The length of one side of the flat or bottom surface (square) of the sponge culture medium 20 is approximately 20 to 25 mm, and the length L of the diagonal is approximately 33 to 38 mm.

[0062] As shown in Figure 14(a), bottomed holes 21 are provided on the top surface of the sponge culture medium 20. Plant seeds can be placed into the holes 21, with the top surface serving as the sowing surface. On the other hand, as shown in Figure 14(b), cross-shaped incisions 22 are formed on the bottom surface of the sponge culture medium 20. The depth of the incisions 22 reaches the bottom of the holes 21, and the holes 21 and the incisions 22 are connected. Plant roots 41 extend through the incisions 22. The diameter of the holes 21 is about 10 mm, and the depth is about 10 to 15 mm. The length of each cross of the incisions 22 is about 10 mm, and the depth is about 10 to 15 mm.

[0063] The sponge material is preferably one that has excellent water absorption properties and is suitable for plant root growth, such as urethane sponge.

[0064] The diagonal length L of the top and bottom surfaces of the sponge culture medium 20 is slightly larger than the diameter D1 of the peripheral portion 16. Therefore, when the sponge culture medium 20 is attached to the root-holding portion 3, the sponge culture medium 20 is slightly compressed and press-fit into the root-holding portion 3. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 15 , when the sponge culture medium 20 is attached to the root-holding portion 3, the lower side of the sponge culture medium 20 protrudes from the second internal space 15 of the root-holding portion 3 and is exposed. At this time, the upper side of the sponge culture medium 20 is press-fit into the second internal space 15, while the exposed lower portion expands radially in a plan view or a bottom view. Furthermore, the protruding portion 17 of the root-holding portion 3 presses and bites into the sponge culture medium 20. In this embodiment, the sponge culture medium 20 is press-fit into the second internal space 15 of the root-holding portion 3, and the protruding portion 17 presses against the sponge culture medium 20. This stably fixes the sponge culture medium 20 to the root-holding portion 3 and prevents it from easily falling off. On the other hand, the sponge culture medium 20 is flexible and therefore can be attached to and detached from the root-holding part 3.

[0065] Figure 16 shows the state of a plant grown on the holding member 1. In this example, lettuce is cultivated as the plant. In the holding member 1, the lettuce grows in contact with the sponge medium 20 and the first peripheral wall 5. As it grows, the lower leaves of the lettuce come into contact with the first peripheral wall 5 and become densely packed. In this case, holding members with conventional structures have poor ventilation in the densely packed areas, making the lower leaves susceptible to damage. However, in this embodiment, openings 8 are provided in the first peripheral wall 5, which provides high ventilation to the densely packed areas of the lower leaves. As a result, damage to the lower leaves is reduced. Furthermore, the presence of the openings 8 reduces the contact area between the lower leaves and the holding member 1 (particularly the first peripheral wall 5), which also reduces damage to the lower leaves.

[0066] As described above, the holding member 1 of this embodiment is used by inserting it into a cultivation panel 100 having through-holes 101. Then, the holding member 1 is inserted into each hole 101, and hydroponics is performed on the cultivation panel 100. As the plants grow, the holding member 1 is transferred to another cultivation panel 100 having wider intervals between the holes 101, and hydroponics is continued.

[0067] The size of the holding member 1 described above is suitable for growing lettuce, for example. The size of the holding member 1 can be changed as appropriate depending on the type of plant to be cultivated. Furthermore, the plant to be cultivated is typically a leafy vegetable, but is not limited to this. The leafy vegetable may be either a head-forming vegetable (lettuce, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, etc.) or a non-heading vegetable (spinach, Japanese mustard spinach, etc.).

[0068] In this embodiment, the openings 8 provided in the first peripheral wall 5 of the main body holding part 2 are trapezoidal in shape and there are eight of them, but the shape and number of the openings 8 are arbitrary. When there are multiple openings 8, they may all have the same shape, or some of them may have different shapes.

[0069] In this embodiment, the material of the holding member 1 is a resin such as polypropylene, but it may be other materials.

[0070] The inventions according to the embodiments described above can be substituted or combined as long as no contradiction occurs. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments can be freely substituted or added to each other in terms of components as long as they fall within the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0071] 1: holding member, 2: main body holding part, 3: root holding part, 40: plant, 41: root, 50: plant harvesting device, 51: frame, 52: panel holding portion, 53: cutting means, 55: Moving means, 56: Panel taking-up unit, 58: Cutting unit, 60: Round bar, 61: cutting member, 62: notch, 65: straight blade, 85: cutting means, 86: Cutting means, 87: Cutting means, 100: Cultivation panel, 101: Hole, 103: Bed area

Claims

1. The cultivation panel is provided with a panel holding means for holding the cultivation panel, a cutting means, and a moving means for moving at least one of the cultivation panel or the cutting means, the cutting means being located at a position below the bottom surface of the cultivation panel held by the panel holding means, and the moving means being able to move the cultivation panel relatively toward the cutting means; The cultivation panel has a plurality of holes in which plants are held, with roots exposed through the holes; A plant harvesting device characterized in that it is possible to cut plants by moving a cultivation panel relatively toward a cutting means and passing it over the cutting means.

2. 2. The plant harvesting device according to claim 1, wherein the cutting means is fixed, and the cultivating panel is moved toward the cutting means by the moving means.

3. The cutting means has a plurality of cutting portions arranged in a row, The plant harvesting device described in claim 1, characterized in that the cutting section comprises a pair of blades arranged opposite each other, the pair of blades being open toward the cultivation panel and closed at the end.

4. The cultivation panel holds plants in multiple rows and multiple columns, The plant harvesting device described in claim 1, characterized in that the panel holding means has support members that support the spaces between the rows or columns, the cultivation panels are moved linearly on the support members by the moving means, and as the cultivation panels move, the roots of each row or column pass between the support members.

5. 2. The plant harvesting device according to claim 1, wherein the moving means pushes the cultivation panel toward the cutting means.

6. A plant is held in the hole of the cultivation panel via a holding member, The holding member has a cup-shaped main body holding portion that mainly holds the leaves and / or stems of the plant, and a root holding portion that mainly holds the base of the roots, 6. The plant harvesting device according to claim 1, wherein the root holding portion is attached to the hole.

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