Seedling box supply device and seedling transplanter equipped with same

Abstract

To provide a seedling box feeder for automatically feeding and collecting seedling boxes with respect to a seedling transplanter, and a seedling transplanter including the seedling box feeder.SOLUTION: A seedling box feeder 21 comprises: transfer means 33 capable of transferring seedling boxes between a seedling box receiving part of the seedling transplanter and a standby position; and a movable seedling rack 31 including a plurality of seedling boxes placed thereon and capable of sequentially moving the plurality of placed seedling boxes via the standby position. The seedling box feeder 21 causes the transfer means 33 to transfer empty seedling boxes 13 from the seedling box receiving part to the standby position or transfer the seedling boxes storing groups of seedlings in paper tubes from the standby position to the seedling box receiving part, and causes the movable seedling rack 31 to move the empty seedling boxes from the standby position or move the seedling boxes storing the seedling groups to the standby position, thereby to automatically, sequentially collect the empty seedling boxes from the seedling transfer part and feed the seedling boxes storing the groups of seedlings in paper tubes to the seedling box receiving part. This configuration can reduce labor of workers.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a seedling tray supplying device that supplies seedling trays to a seedling transplanter that plants paper tube seedlings in a field, and a seedling transplanter equipped with the same. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a seedling transplanter that automatically separates a row of paper tube seedlings from a group of paper tube seedlings housed in a seedling box while traveling in a field, and then plants each of the paper tube seedlings in the field. In such a seedling transplanter, when a seedling box becomes empty during transplanting work in the field, an operator must manually collect the empty box and set a new seedling box. In addition, Patent Document 1 discloses a seedling transplanter that automatically supplies multiple seedling boxes to an operator in sequence from a seedling box placement section, and the operator manually supplies the group of paper tube seedlings in the supplied seedling boxes to a supply conveyor and manually removes the empty seedling boxes, thereby assisting the operator. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-229992 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the field, when transplanting seedlings, workers must retrieve several hundred empty seedling boxes from the transplanter and set the seedling boxes in the transplanter each day, and since each seedling box containing paper tube seedlings weighs approximately 25 kg, there is a problem that the worker is burdened greatly. In addition, while the system described in Patent Document 1 can reduce the worker's labor to some extent, the worker must manually remove the empty seedling boxes, so the work is still time-consuming and burdensome for the worker.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to provide a seedling tray supplying device that can automatically supply and collect seedling trays, thereby reducing the labor required by operators, and a seedling transplanter equipped with the same. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the seedling box supplying device of the present invention is a seedling box supplying device that supplies seedling boxes to a seedling transplanter that separates a row of paper tube seedlings from a group of paper tube seedlings stored in seedling boxes and sequentially transplants each paper seedling tube of the separated row of paper tube seedlings into a farm field, and is characterized in that it is equipped with a transport means that can transport the seedling boxes between the seedling box receiving section of the seedling transplanter and a waiting position, and a movable seedling table on which a plurality of the seedling boxes can be placed and which can move the placed seedling boxes sequentially through the waiting position. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, by using a transport means to transport empty seedling boxes from the seedling box receiving section to a waiting position, and seedling boxes containing groups of paper tube seedlings from the waiting position to the seedling box receiving section, and by using a movable seedling stand to move empty seedling boxes from the waiting position and to move seedling boxes containing groups of seedlings to the waiting position, empty seedling boxes can be automatically and sequentially collected from the seedling box receiving section and seedling boxes containing groups of paper tube seedlings can be supplied to the seedling box receiving section. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic plan view of a seedling transplanter to which a seedling tray supplying device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the seedling transplanter shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] 2 is a schematic front view of a movable seedling table of the seedling tray supplying device shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the movable seedling table shown in FIG. 3. [Diagram 5] 2 is a schematic front view of a transport means of the seedling tray supplying device shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view of the transfer means shown in FIG. 5. [Figure 7] 6A and 6B are diagrams showing the operating state of a crane unit of the transfer means shown in FIG. 5, in which (a) is a schematic front view of the crane unit in an open state, and (b) is a schematic front view of the crane unit in a closed state. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a seedling separating section and a seedling transporting section of the seedling transplanter shown in FIG. [Figure 9] 6 is a diagram showing the transport operation of the empty seedling box by the transport means shown in FIG. 5. [Figure 10] 6 is a diagram showing a seedling tray transport operation by the transport means shown in FIG. 5. FIG. [Figure 11] 5 is a diagram showing the operation of the movable seedling table shown in Figures 3 and 4.

[0023] FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, a seedling transplanter to which the seedling tray supplying device according to the present embodiment is applied will be described. In the attached drawings, the positions of the top, bottom, left, right, etc. of the drawings will be determined according to the orientation of the symbols in the drawings. In the following description, for convenience, the left direction (left side) in Figures 1, 2, 4, 8, and 11 will be defined as the forward direction (front side) or the forward direction, and the right direction (right side) will be defined as the rearward direction (rear side) or the backward direction.

[0010] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the seedling transplanter 1 is connected to a tractor 4 via a connecting frame 7 and is towed while traveling in a field 2, planting paper tube seedlings 19 in the field 2. The seedling transplanter 1 includes a seedling separation section 23 that separates a paper tube seedling row 17 (see Figure 8) from a paper tube seedling group 15 (see Figure 8), a seedling transport section 25 that receives seedling boxes 11 and transports the paper tube seedling group 15 stored in the seedling boxes 11 to the seedling separation section 23, and a seedling box supply device 21 that supplies the seedling boxes 11 containing the paper tube seedling group 15 to the seedling transport section 25. The seedling transplanter 1 also includes a seedling transfer section 27 that individually transfers the paper tube seedlings 19 (see Figures 2 and 8) of the paper tube seedling row 17 supplied from the seedling separation section 23 to the seedling planting section 29, and a seedling planting section 29 that plants the paper tube seedlings 19 in a planting furrow (not shown) in the field 2.

[0011] (Seedling box feeding device) 1 and 2, the seedling box supplying device 21 automatically supplies seedling boxes 11 (see FIG. 10, etc.) containing paper tube seedlings 15 to a seedling transporting section 25 and collects empty seedling boxes 13 (hereinafter referred to as empty seedling boxes 13, see FIG. 9, etc.) from the seedling transporting section 25. The seedling box supplying device 21 includes a movable seedling table 31 on which a plurality of seedling boxes 11 and empty seedling boxes 13 are placed, and a transporting means 33 for transporting the seedling boxes 11 and empty seedling boxes 13.

[0012] As shown in Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 11, the movable seedling tray 31 is disposed on the side of the seedling transport section 25 and supported by the support frame 9. The movable seedling tray 31 includes a mounting table 41 extending in the front-rear direction of the seedling transplanter 1, a moving mechanism 43 for moving the mounting table 41 in the front-rear direction of the seedling transplanter 1, a motor 45 as a drive source of the moving mechanism 43, a movable rail 47, and a fixed rail 49. The mounting table 41 is concave so as to guide and hold the seedling box 11 in the left-right direction in Fig. 4 (the forward and backward directions of the seedling transplanter 1), and includes a plurality of positioning parts 55 (rollers) for holding the seedling box 11 at a predetermined interval along the longitudinal direction of the mounting table 41. The positioning parts 55 are disposed on the mounting table 41 at a predetermined interval, and hold the seedling box 11 by engaging with the recesses in the bottom of the seedling box 11. The mounting table 41 is provided with a connecting metal fitting 51 for transporting at the center of the bottom on the front side (left side in FIG. 4) which is connected to a second chain 65 (see below) of the moving mechanism 43. In addition, the mounting table 41 is provided with a reinforcing frame 53 for preventing the mounting table 41 from bending, so as to sandwich the connecting metal fitting 51 for transporting.

[0013] The moving mechanism 43 includes a driving sprocket 57, a transport sprocket 59, a driven sprocket 61, a first chain 63 wound around the driving sprocket 57 and the transport sprocket 59, and a second chain 65 wound around the transport sprocket 59 and the driven sprocket 61. The motor 45 and the transport sprocket 59 are attached to a frame 56. The transport sprocket 59 and the driven sprocket 61 are rotatably attached to a fixed rail 49 by a stay 48. The driving sprocket 57 is located on the front side of the movable seedling table 31 and is connected to the drive shaft 45a of the motor 45 (see FIG. 3). The transport sprocket 59 is located above the driving sprocket 57 and is composed of two sprockets, with the first chain 63 wound around one sprocket 59a and the second chain 65 wound around the other sprocket 59b. The driven sprocket 61 is located on the rear side of the movable seedling table 31 (see FIG. 4). With this configuration, the driving force of the motor 45 is transmitted in sequence to the driving sprocket 57, the first chain 63, one sprocket 59a of the transport sprocket 59, the other sprocket 59b, the second chain 65, and the driven sprocket 61. As a result, the transport connection fitting 51 connected to the second chain 65 moves due to the rotation (forward or reverse) of the second chain 65. As a result, the mounting table 41 becomes movable in the front-rear direction of the seedling transplanter 1.

[0014] The movable rail 47 and the fixed rail 49 are combined with each other to form a slide rail, which supports the mounting platform 41 attached to the movable rail 47 and stabilizes the movement of the mounting platform 41. The movable rail 47 is a crank-shaped rail extending in the front-rear direction of the seedling transplanter 1, and includes a longitudinal wall 47a, an upper leg 47b, and a lower leg 47c. The movable rail 47 is provided in a pair on the left and right so as to be disposed between the connecting transport fitting 51 and the reinforcing frame 53. The longitudinal wall 47a of the movable rail 47 includes upper and lower rollers 67a, 67b provided at a predetermined interval along the longitudinal direction of the movable rail 47 on the surface facing the reinforcing frame 53. The upper leg 47b of the movable rail 47 is attached to the bottom surface of the mounting platform 41.

[0015] The fixed rail 49 is a U-shaped rail extending in the front-rear direction of the seedling transplanter 1, and includes a longitudinal wall 49a, an upper leg 49b, and a lower leg 49c. The fixed rail 49 is provided in a pair between the connecting and conveying fittings 51 and the reinforcing frame 53, and guides the movable rail 47. The longitudinal wall 49a is provided with rollers 69 provided at a predetermined interval along the longitudinal direction of the fixed rail 49 on the surface of the lower leg 49c side facing the connecting and conveying fittings 51. The upper leg 49b and the lower leg 49c are arranged to extend toward the connecting and conveying fittings 51. The upper leg 49b overlaps the lower roller 67b of the movable rail 47, and is arranged between the upper and lower rollers 67a, 67b of the movable rail 47. The lower leg 49c is attached to the support frame 9.

[0016] As shown in Figures 2, 5, 6 and 7, the transfer means 33 grasps the seedling boxes 11 and empty seedling boxes 13 and transfers them between the placement position P1 of the seedling conveying section 25 and the waiting position P2 of the movable seedling table 31, and is provided so as to straddle the seedling conveying section 25. Here, the placement position P1 of the seedling conveying section 25 is the position where the seedling boxes 11 are placed on the receiving conveyor 145 (see below) of the seedling conveying section 25 (see the dashed line in Figure 8). The waiting position P2 of the movable seedling table 31 is the position where the crane unit 75 grasps the seedling boxes 11 on the movable seedling table 31, and is the position where the placement table 41 moving in the forward and backward directions is stopped at a predetermined position (see the dashed line in Figure 11). The transport means 33 may be operated by an operator depending on the condition of the seedling box 11, i.e., the remaining amount of paper tube seedlings 15 in the seedling box 11 placed on the seedling conveying section 25, or a sensor may be provided to detect the condition of the seedling box 11 and operation may be controlled by a control device depending on information from the sensor.

[0017] The transport means 33 includes a transport support part 71 provided on the main frame 3 of the seedling transplanter 1, a guide part 73, a crane unit 75 for holding the seedling box 11, a lifting unit 77 for raising and lowering the crane unit 75, and a moving unit 79 for moving the crane unit 75 in the left-right direction relative to the traveling direction of the seedling transplanter 1. The transport support part 71 is provided on the upper part of the main frame 3 of the seedling transplanter 1 and supports the guide part 73. The guide part 73 guides the crane unit 75 in the left-right direction and includes a chain rack type rail 81 (chain rack rail) extending in the left-right direction of the seedling transplanter 1 and a pair of auxiliary rails 83, 83 extending in the left-right direction of the seedling transplanter 1 to stabilize the movement of the crane unit 75. The crane unit 75, the lifting unit 77, and the moving unit 79 are attached to a support member 85 (see FIG. 2) and configured as an integrated unit.

[0018] The crane unit 75 includes a frame 87, a clamping arm 89 for clamping the seedling box 11, and a clamping motor 91 that can rotate forward or backward and is a drive source for opening and closing the clamping arm 89. The clamping arm 89 is attached to the frame 87 by a mounting pin 101. Both ends of The clamping arm 89 is formed by hooks 93, 93 rotatably attached to the hooks 93, 93, and a rack 95a (see FIG. 2). The clamping arm 89 is equipped with a movable bar 95 that can be moved up and down by the clamping motor 91, and connecting bars 97, 97 whose one end is rotatably connected to the hooks 93, 93 by a mounting pin 102 and whose other end is rotatably connected to the movable bar 95 by a mounting pin 103. The clamping motor 91 is supported by the frame 87, and a pinion 99 (see FIG. 2) is attached to its drive shaft (not shown). R The pinion 99 meshes with a rack 95a of the movable bar 95. As a result, when the pinion 99 is rotated by the driving of the clamping motor 91, the movable bar 95 having the rack 95a meshing with the pinion 99 can move up and down.

[0019] Here, the opening and closing operation of the clamping arm 89 will be described with reference to Fig. 7. As shown in Fig. 7(a), by raising the movable bar 95 by the clamping motor 91, the connecting bars 97, 97 rotate about the mounting pin 103, and the tips of the connecting bars 97, 97 (the sides connected to the hooks 93, 93) move in a direction approaching each other. At this time, since the central parts of the hooks 93, 93 are rotatably attached to the frame 87 by the mounting pin 101 and one end (the side opposite to the claw part of the hook 93) is rotatably connected to the tips of the connecting bars 97, 97 by the mounting pin 102, the claw parts rotate about the mounting pins 101, 101 in a direction moving away from each other. As a result, the clamping arm 89 is opened (open state). On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 7(b), by lowering the movable bar 95 by the clamping motor 91, the connecting bars 97, 97 rotate about the mounting pin 103 as an axis, and the tips of the connecting bars 97, 97 (parts with the mounting pin 102) move in a direction away from each other. At this time, the hooks 93, 93 rotate about the mounting pins 101, 101 as an axis in a direction in which their claws approach each other. As a result, the clamping arm 89 is in a closed state.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 5, the lifting unit 77 includes a lifting motor 105 capable of rotating forward or backward, a large gear 107 (spur gear, see FIG. 2) attached to a drive shaft 105a of the lifting motor 105, a small gear 109 (pinion gear, see FIG. 2) meshing with the large gear 107, and a rack bar 111 having a rack 111a meshing with the small gear 109. One end (lower end) of the rack bar 111 is connected to the frame 87 of the crane unit 75. With this configuration, the large gear 107 and the small gear 109 rotate when driven by the lifting motor 105, so that the rack bar 111 having the rack 111a meshing with the small gear 109 can move in the up and down direction. As a result, the crane unit 75 connected to the rack bar 111 can be raised or lowered.

[0021] The moving unit 79 includes a moving motor 113 capable of rotating in the forward or reverse direction, a sprocket 115 attached to a drive shaft 113a of the moving motor 113 and meshing with the chain rack rail 81, a grooved roller 117 that rolls along a pair of auxiliary rails 83, 83, and a frame 120 that supports the moving motor 113 and the grooved roller 117. The grooved roller 117 is made up of a plurality of upper rollers 117a and a plurality of lower rollers 117b (two in the figure) that sandwich the auxiliary rail 83, and is rotatably attached to the frame 120 by a mounting pin 118. With this configuration, the sprocket 115 is rotated by the drive of the moving motor 113, so that it moves along the chain rack rail 81 and the grooved rollers 117, 117 move along the pair of auxiliary rails 83, 83, and the crane unit 75 can be moved in the left-right direction.

[0022] (Seedling separation department) As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 8, the seedling separating section 23 is provided on the subframe 5 of the seedling transplanter 1. The subframe 5 is provided on the upper part of the main frame 3 of the seedling transplanter 1. The seedling separating section 23 separates (peels off) the first row of paper tube seedlings 17 from the group of paper tube seedlings 15 on the conveying path 153 of the seedling conveying section 25. The seedling separating section 23 includes a separating device 119 that separates (peels off) the first row of paper tube seedlings 17 from the group of paper tube seedlings 15 on the conveying path 153, and a seedling pressing device 121 that presses down the second row of paper tube seedlings 17 of the group of paper tube seedlings 15 on the conveying path 153. In addition, the mechanism by which the separating device 119 separates the first row of paper tube seedlings 17 from the group of paper tube seedlings 15 is similar to the separating devices and seedling holding devices in conventional seedling transplanters (e.g., Patent Publication 09-275718, Patent Application 2020-72878), so only a general description of the separating device 119 and the seedling holding device 121 will be given.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 2, the separating device 119 includes a seedling separating plate 123 that is brought into contact with the front side of the first paper tube seedling row 17 of the paper tube seedling group 15, and a plurality of seedling separating needles 125 that are engaged with the paper tube seedling row 17 brought into contact with the seedling separating plate 123. The seedling separating plate 123 is provided on an operation frame 127 that is operated by a robot arm (not shown). The seedling separating needles 125 are provided on a rotating frame 129. The rotating frame 129 can be rotated around an axis 131 relative to the operation frame 127 by driving an electric motor (which can also be replaced with a hydraulic motor, not shown). The plurality of seedling separating needles 125 extend in a curved manner so as to follow an arc centered on the axis 131, and are arranged in a row in the left-right direction at intervals equal to the intervals between adjacent paper tube seedlings 19 in the paper tube seedling row 17.

[0024] 2, the seedling holding device 121 includes a plurality of seedling holding needles 133 inserted inside each paper tube seedling 19 in the second paper tube seedling row 17 of the paper tube seedling group 15 on the conveying path 153, and a lifting mechanism 135 for raising and lowering the seedling holding needles 133. The lifting mechanism 135 includes a lifting member 137 in which the plurality of seedling holding needles 133 are arranged in a row in the left-right direction at intervals equal to the intervals between adjacent paper tube seedlings 19 in the second paper tube seedling row 17, a link section 139 whose front end is provided with the lifting member 137, and a seedling holding cylinder section 141 rotatably connected to the rear end of the link section 139.

[0025] (Seedling transport section) As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 8, the seedling transport section 25 has two lines (see Figure 1) for transporting the paper tube seedlings 15, and includes a supply conveyor 143 provided at the front end of the transport frame 149 (the front side of the seedling transplanter 1), a receiving conveyor 145 provided at the rear end of the transport frame 149 (the rear side of the seedling transplanter 1), and a transfer conveyor 147 provided between the supply conveyor 143 and the receiving conveyor 145. The supply conveyor 143, the receiving conveyor 145 and the transfer conveyor 147 form a transport path 153 for the paper tube seedlings 15. The supply conveyor 143 and the transfer conveyor 147 are driven belt conveyors, and the receiving conveyor 145 is a seedling box receiving section (corresponding to the loading position P1 described later) that receives the seedling boxes 11, and is a driven roller conveyor. The supply conveyor 143, the receiving conveyor 145, and the transfer conveyor 147 are driven by a drive source (not shown, for example, an electric motor). A pair of auxiliary conveyor belts 151, 151 are provided on the conveyor frame 149 at both the left and right ends of the supply conveyor 143 and the transfer conveyor 147 to guide the paper tube seedling group 15 on the supply conveyor 143 and the paper tube seedling group 15 on the transfer conveyor 147.

[0026] (Seedling Transfer Department) As shown in FIG. 2, the seedling transfer section 27 includes a seedling feed conveyor 155 that receives the first paper tube seedling row 17 separated from the paper tube seedling group 15 on the conveying path 153, and a planting supply conveyor 157 that supplies the paper tube seedlings 19 of the paper tube seedling row 17 transported by the seedling feed conveyor 155 to the seedling planting section 29. The seedling feed conveyor 155 transports the paper tube seedling row 17 to the planting supply conveyor 157. The planting supply conveyor 157 is composed of a pair of left and right endless belts (not shown) that extend vertically, and sequentially sandwiches the leading paper tube seedling 19 from the paper tube seedling row 17 on the seedling feed conveyor 155 and sends it to the seedling planting section 29.

[0027] (Seedling planting department) As shown in Fig. 2, the seedling planting section 29 includes a furrow cutter 159 that is provided on the lower part of the main frame 3 and forms a planting furrow (not shown) in the field 2, a planting disk 161 that plants the paper tube seedlings 19 in the planting furrow formed by the furrow cutter 159, and a pair of left and right pressure wheels 163 (only the left pressure wheel is shown in the figure) that are provided on the main frame 3 and fix the paper tube seedlings 19 to the field 2. The seedling planting section 29 is a conventional clamping planting method (for example, JP 2001-286204 A) using the planting disk 161 made of two rubber plates, and the paper tube seedlings 19 transported from the planting supply conveyor 157 are clamped between the two rubber plates and dropped into the planting furrow in the field 2. The paper tube seedlings 19 dropped into the planting furrow are fixed in the field 2 by a pair of left and right suppression wheels 163 (which appear to be floating in the air in Figure 2, but are actually on the ground).

[0028] Next, the operation of collecting the empty seedling boxes 13 (13A) and supplying the seedling boxes 11 (11A) by the seedling box supplying device 21 according to one embodiment will be described. Note that in the following description, a case will be described in which the seedling boxes 11 are placed in two layers on the placement table 41 of the movable seedling table 31. As shown in Figs. 9 and 11, in the operation (recovery operation) of transferring the empty seedling box 13A in the seedling conveying section 25 to the placement table 41 of the movable seedling tray 31, the empty part of the placement table 41 of the movable seedling tray 31 where the empty seedling box 13A can be placed is placed at the waiting position P2 (see the dashed line in Fig. 11(a)). Furthermore, the moving motor 113 of the moving unit 79 is driven to move the crane unit 75 along the guide section 73 from the waiting position P2 straight sideways (to the left in Fig. 9), and the crane unit 75 (clamping arm 89) is moved above the empty seedling box 13A (see Fig. 9(a)). Then, the lifting motor 105 of the lifting unit 77 is driven to lower the clamping arm 89 to a predetermined position. After lowering it to the predetermined position, the clamping motor 91 is driven to open the clamping arm 89 (see Fig. 9(a)). Then, the clamping arm 89 is lowered again to a position where the hooks 93, 93 are caught in the handle holes 13a of the empty seedling box 13A (see FIG. 7(a)). The opening operation of the clamping arm 89 may be performed when the clamping arm 89 is positioned above the empty seedling box 13A, or may be performed while the clamping arm 89 is lowering.

[0029] Then, the clamping motor 91 is driven to close the clamping arm 89 and hook the hooks 93, 93 of the clamping arm 89 into the handle holes 13a of the empty seedling box 13A, gripping the empty seedling box 13A (see FIG. 9(b)). In this state, the lifting motor 105 is driven to lift the clamping arm 89 to a predetermined position (see FIG. 9(c)). After that, the clamping motor 91 is moved to the right along the chain rack rail 81 and the pair of auxiliary rails 83, 83 of the guide section 73 to above the standby position P2 of the movable seedling table 31 (mounting table 41) (see FIG. 9(d)).

[0030] Then, after the clamping arm 89 is positioned above the waiting position P2, the lifting motor 105 is driven to lower it to a predetermined position and place it on the mounting table 41 (see Figures 9(e) and 11(b)). The clamping arm 89 is then opened to release the grip on the empty seedling box 13A, and thereafter the clamping arm 89 is raised to a predetermined position (see Figure 9(f)). This completes the transfer of the empty seedling box 13A.

[0031] On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 10 and Fig. 11, in the operation (supply operation) of transferring the seedling box 11A containing the paper tube seedling group 15 placed on the movable seedling stand 31 to the receiving conveyor 145 (seedling box receiving section) of the seedling conveying section 25, after collecting the empty seedling box 13A, the motor 45 of the movable seedling stand 31 is driven to move the mounting table 41 to the rear side of the movable seedling stand 31, and the seedling box 11A containing the paper tube seedling group 15 is placed at the waiting position P2 (see Fig. 10 (a)). Then, the lifting motor 105 is driven to lower the clamping arm 89 placed on the seedling box 11A containing the paper tube seedling group 15 to a predetermined position. After the clamping arm 89 reaches the predetermined position, the clamping motor 91 is driven to open the clamping arm 89. Thereafter, the clamping arm 89 is again lowered to a position where the hooks 93, 93 are hooked onto the handle holes 11a of the seedling box 11A (see FIG. 7(a)), and the clamping motor 91 is driven to close the clamping arm 89. As a result, the clamping arm 89 grips the seedling box 11A (see FIG. 10(b)).

[0032] Then, with the clamping arm 89 gripping the seedling box 11A, the lifting motor 105 is driven to raise the clamping arm 89 to a predetermined position (see FIG. 10(c)). After that, the moving motor 113 is driven to move the clamping arm 89 leftward along the chain rack rail 81 and the pair of auxiliary rails 83, 83 of the guide section 73, and position it above the placement position P1 (see the dashed line in FIG. 8) of the seedling conveying section 25 (see FIG. 10(d)).

[0033] Then, the lifting motor 105 is driven to lower the clamping arm 89 until the seedling box 11A is placed on the receiving conveyor 145 (see FIG. 10(e)). With the seedling box 11A placed on the receiving conveyor 145, the clamping arm 89 is opened to release the seedling box 11A from its grip, and then the clamping arm 89 is raised to a predetermined position (see FIG. 10(f)). This completes the transfer of the seedling box 11A.

[0034] Here, when the seedling box 11A containing the paper tube seedlings 15 is supplied to the receiving conveyor 145 and then becomes empty, the moving mechanism 43 moves the mounting table 41 to the front side of the seedling transplanter 1, and the location where the first seedling box 11A was mounted is positioned at the standby position P2, in order to mount (recover) the empty seedling box 13B (seedling box 11A) on the mounting table 41 again. Then, the above-mentioned empty seedling box 13A is similarly recovered, and the empty seedling box 13B is placed on the first empty seedling box 13A (see FIG. 11(d)). As a result, the empty seedling box 13B can be recovered.

[0035] When the seedling box 11B containing the next group of paper tube seedlings 15 is to be supplied to the receiving conveyor 145, the moving mechanism 43 moves the mounting table 41 to the rear side of the seedling transplanter 1, and the place where the seedling box 11B is placed on the mounting table 41 is placed at the waiting position P2 (see FIG. 11(e)). Then, the supply operation of the first seedling box 11A described above is performed in the same manner, so that the next seedling box 11B is supplied to the receiving conveyor 145. In this way, by repeating the above-mentioned collection operation and supply operation, the empty seedling box 13 on the receiving conveyor 145 is collected on the mounting table 41, while the multiple seedling boxes 11 containing the group of paper tube seedlings 15 placed on the mounting table 41 can be sequentially supplied to the receiving conveyor 145 (see FIG. 11(f)).

[0036] Here, the seedling box 11 recovery and supply operations by the above-mentioned seedling box supplying device 21 are described for one series of the seedling conveying section 25, which consists of two series (the series on the right in Figures 9 and 10). However, in the other series of the seedling conveying section 25 (the series on the left in Figures 9 and 10), the crane unit 75 can be moved to the other series side of the seedling conveying section 25 and the above-mentioned recovery and supply operations can be performed using the movable seedling table 31 (the left side in Figures 9 and 10), so that empty seedling boxes 13 can be recovered and seedling boxes 11 can be supplied to the other series of the seedling conveying section 25 as well.

[0037] According to the seedling transplanter 1 to which the seedling tray supplying device 21 according to the embodiment is applied, the following operational effects can be obtained. The crane unit 75 of the transport means 33 can grasp the seedling box 11 and move fully automatically between a placement position P1 where the seedling box 11 is placed on the receiving conveyor 145 of the seedling transport section 25, and a waiting position P2 where the empty seedling box 13 is placed on the placement table 41 of the movable seedling table 31, thereby reducing the labor of the worker.

[0038] Furthermore, according to the seedling transplanter 1 to which the seedling box supply device 21 is applied, the placement table 41 of the movable seedling table 31 is appropriately positioned at the standby position P2 in response to the collection of empty seedling boxes 13 and the supply of seedling boxes 11, so that the crane unit 75 can transfer the seedling boxes 11 and empty seedling boxes 13 to the receiving conveyor 145 or the placement table 41 only by moving up and down and left and right using the lifting unit 77 and the moving unit 79. This allows the number of operating steps of the crane unit 75 to be reduced and the transfer of the seedling boxes 11 and empty seedling boxes 13 to be accelerated, thereby improving work efficiency.

[0039] In the seedling transplanter 1 to which the seedling box supplying device 21 according to the above embodiment is applied, one crane unit 75 supplies seedling boxes 11 to the seedling transport section 25 consisting of two lines and retrieves empty seedling boxes 13 to the mounting table 41 of the movable seedling table 31, but it may be configured with two crane units 75, one for each line, i.e., two crane units 75. This can further improve the work efficiency.

[0040] In addition, in the seedling box supplying device 21 according to one embodiment, the movable seedling trays 31 are arranged on both sides of the two seedling transport sections 25, but may be provided on only one side of the seedling transport sections 25.

[0041] Furthermore, in the seedling box supplying device 21 according to the embodiment, the seedling transporting section 25 is composed of two lines, but it may be a single line. In this case, for example, movable seedling tables 31 may be provided on both sides of the seedling transporting section 25, and one of the movable seedling tables 31 may be used to place seedling boxes 11 containing paper tube seedlings 15 to be supplied to the receiving conveyor 145, and the other movable seedling table 31 may be used only to collect empty seedling boxes 13.

[0042] In the seedling tray supplying device 21 of the above-mentioned embodiment, the seedling trays 11 and empty seedling trays 13 placed on the mounting table 41 of the movable seedling tray 31 are placed in two tiers, but the number of tiers may be changed as appropriate to one tier, three tiers, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1... seedling transplanter, 11... seedling box, 13... empty seedling box, 15... paper tube seedling group, 17... paper tube seedling row, 19... paper tube seedling, 21... seedling box supply device, 31... movable seedling stand, 33... transport means, 145... receiving conveyor (seedling box receiving section), P1... placement position, P2... standby position

Claims

1. A seedling box supplying device that supplies seedling boxes to a seedling transplanter that separates a paper tube seedling row from a group of paper tube seedlings stored in a seedling box and sequentially transplants each paper tube of the separated paper tube seedling row into a farm field, a transfer means for transferring the seedling tray between a seedling tray receiving portion of the seedling transplanter and a standby position; A seedling box supplying device comprising: a movable seedling table on which a plurality of seedling boxes are placed and which can move the plurality of seedling boxes placed thereon sequentially through the waiting position.

2. The transport means includes a crane unit for holding the seedling tray, a lifting unit for lifting the crane unit, and a guide section for guiding the crane unit, the guide section extending in a direction perpendicular to the movable seedling tray, 2. The seedling tray supplying device according to claim 1, wherein the crane unit moves from the standby position along the guide portion.

3. 3. The seedling tray supplying device according to claim 1, wherein the movable seedling tray is configured to be movable in the forward and backward directions along the traveling direction of the transplanter.

4. 4. The seedling tray supplying device according to claim 1, wherein the movable seedling tray is configured to carry the seedling trays in a two-tiered configuration.

5. A seedling transplanter that separates a row of paper tube seedlings from a group of paper tube seedlings stored in a seedling box and sequentially transplants each paper seedling tube of the separated row of paper tube seedlings into a farm field, characterized in that it is equipped with a seedling box supply device described in any one of claims 1 to 4.

Images