Pollen collector

Abstract

To provide a pollen collector which can efficiently collect pollens of high-height fruit trees by a simple method without requiring heavy-weight large-sized accessories.SOLUTION: A pollen collector 10 includes a flower bud take-in body 11 having a cylindrical part 12 for taking in a branch having flower buds, and a vibrator 14 arranged at the cylindrical part 12, and vibrating the cylindrical part 12. When compared with the case that a vacuum is used, light-weight pollens can be mainly collected by the vibration of the vibrator 14, thereby, pollen sorting work can be eliminated or reduced. In addition to this, pollen collection work of a user can be alleviated with no need to carry accessories such as a compressor in an orchard. The pollen collection work of the user can be also alleviated with no need to lay a sheet for the pollen collection in the orchard.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a pollen collector. More specifically, it relates to a pollen collector for collecting pollen from fruit trees such as olive trees.

Background Art

[0002] Many varieties of olive trees have strong self-incompatibility and are said to "hardly bear fruit when only one tree is planted". Many varieties of fruit trees such as apple, pear, quince, plum, Japanese apricot, and apricot fall under such fruit trees with high self-incompatibility. Although fruit farmers of course plant many fruit trees, in these varieties, in the case of pollination using natural wind from one tree to another, the yield varies from tree to tree depending on the wind direction, and the yield also fluctuates from year to year. Therefore, artificial pollination is carried out to avoid such situations.

[0003] Many fruit trees such as olive trees are tall, and for artificial pollination, instead of the method of pollinating each flower manually with a brush or the like, a method is adopted in which pollen is collected and then ejected toward the tree for pollination. For this reason, it is necessary to collect a large amount of pollen for artificial pollination.

[0004] In Patent Document 1, a picking machine that can achieve high efficiency in leaf picking work is disclosed, and it is described that this picking machine can also be used for pollen collection. In addition, Patent Document 2 discloses a flower bud collecting machine including a rotating shaft portion and a plurality of knocking-off portions provided perpendicular to the rotating shaft portion.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] However, since the picking machine of Patent Document 1 cuts flower buds with a rotary blade, petals and leaves other than pollen are collected together with the pollen, and there is a problem that it is necessary to remove these foreign substances that are significantly different in size from the pollen. In addition, since the picking machine of Patent Document 1 sucks foreign substances by vacuum, a compressor is required. Therefore, in an orchard where pollen collection is performed, there is a problem that it is necessary to carry heavy accessory equipment such as a compressor according to the work. Furthermore, in the case of the flower bud collection machine of Patent Document 2, it is premised that the pollen that has been knocked down falls downward. However, on a windy day or the like, there is a problem that the pollen scatters and it becomes difficult to collect the pollen, and there is also a problem that it is necessary to lay a sheet for pollen collection in the orchard to collect the pollen.

[0007] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a pollen collector that can efficiently collect pollen from tall fruit trees in a simple manner without requiring heavy accessory equipment.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] The pollen collector of the first invention includes a flower bud intake body having a cylindrical portion for taking in a branch having a flower bud, and a vibration device provided in the cylindrical portion for vibrating the cylindrical portion. The cylindrical portion of the flower bud intake body has a cylindrical shape and the inner diameter of one end is larger than that of the other end. A lid portion for preventing the scattering of pollen is provided at the end of the cylindrical portion having the larger inner diameter. and a notch for positioning a branch having the flower bud is provided in the lid portion It is characterized by that. The pollen collector of the second invention is characterized in that, in the first invention, the lid portion is composed of two substantially semi-circular plate-shaped members. The 3 pollen collector of the invention is the first invention or the second inventionIn this case, a battery for operating the vibration device is connected to the vibration device by an electric wire, and the battery is provided separately from the flower bud intake body.

Advantages of the Invention

[0009] According to the first invention, since the pollen collector includes the flower bud intake body and the vibration device provided in the cylindrical portion, light pollen can be mainly collected by the vibration of the vibration device as compared with the case of using a vacuum, and the pollen sorting work can be omitted or reduced. In addition, there is no need to carry auxiliary equipment such as a compressor in the orchard, and the pollen collection work of the user can be reduced. Furthermore, there is no need to lay a sheet for collecting pollen in the orchard, and the pollen collection work of the user is also reduced in this respect. In addition, since the cylindrical portion of the flower bud intake body has a cylindrical shape and the inner diameter of one end is larger than that of the other end, a branch having a flower bud can be easily inserted into the flower bud intake body, and the pollen collection work can be reduced. In addition, the provision of the lid portion can prevent the scattering of pollen. No. 3 According to the invention, since the battery of the vibration device is provided separately from the flower bud intake body, the weight of the portion that the user who uses the pollen collector has to hold by hand can be reduced, and the pollen collection work can be reduced.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiments shown below illustrate a pollen collector for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the following pollen collector. Note that the size or positional relationship of the members shown in each drawing may be exaggerated for clarity of explanation.

[0012] (Configuration of Pollen Collector 10 According to the First Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows a front view of a pollen collector 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a plan view of a flower bud intake body 11 that constitutes the pollen collector 10. The pollen collector 10 according to the present embodiment has a form similar to a typical funnel, that is, a form including an inverted conical main body portion and a tubular portion called a "leg" extending from the tip of the cone. The flower bud intake body 11 has an inverted conical main body portion, that is, a cylindrical portion 12 for taking in a branch having a flower bud, and a leg portion 13 extending from the tip of the cone. In addition, in the present embodiment, a vibration device 14 is provided in the cylindrical portion 12. This vibration device 14 vibrates the cylindrical portion 12.

[0013] The flower bud intake body 11 is configured to include the cylindrical portion 12 and the leg portion 13 as described above. These cylindrical portion 12 and leg portion 13 are each manufactured as separate parts and then joined to form the flower bud intake body 11. The cylindrical portion 12 and the leg portion 13 are made of translucent vinyl chloride. However, the materials of these members are not limited to this, and any material such as other industrial plastics, wood, or metal may be used without problem. Since the cylindrical portion 12 and the leg portion 13 are made of vinyl chloride with a small specific gravity, even if the flower buds for pollen collection are at a high position, the user 31 (see FIG. 3) of the pollen collector 10 can easily hold the leg portion 13 with one hand and perform the operation, reducing the work. Note that the cylindrical portion 12 and the leg portion 13 are preferably semi-transparent or transparent. This is because the user 31 can confirm how much pollen has been collected during pollen collection.

[0014] The cylindrical part 12 is preferably in an inverted conical shape. When the cylindrical part 12 has a cylindrical shape and the inner diameter of one end is larger than that of the other end, a branch with a flower bud can be easily inserted into the flower bud intake body 11, and the pollen collection work can be reduced. Note that the shape of the cylindrical part 12 is not limited to the inverted conical shape. For example, a cylindrical shape with the same inner diameter at both ends, or any number of pyramidal or prismatic shapes is also acceptable.

[0015] A vibration device 14, which is a vibration generating device, is provided on the cylindrical part 12 of the flower bud intake body 11. The vibration device 14 is provided outside the cylindrical part 12. However, it is also acceptable if the vibration device 14 is provided inside the cylindrical part 12. The vibration device 14 preferably operates electrically. In addition, the specific configuration of the vibration device 14 is not particularly limited. For example, a motor with an unbalanced body provided on the rotating shaft, an ultrasonic motor, etc. are applicable. Note that the vibration device 14 may also be driven by compressed air.

[0016] The vibration device 14 is electrically connected to a battery 17 by an electric wire 16. This electric wire 16 has a length of about 1 to 2 m, for example, and the battery 17 is provided separately from the flower bud intake body 11. When the user 31 of the pollen collector 10 uses the pollen collector 10, especially when the flower bud for pollen collection is located at a particularly high position, the user 31 holds the foot part 13 of the flower bud intake body 11 with one hand. At this time, if the battery 17 is provided on the flower bud intake body 11, the weight of the battery 17 is added to the flower bud intake body 11. In this embodiment, the battery 17 can be fixed, for example, to the belt around the user 31's waist so that the weight of the battery 17 is not added to the flower bud intake body 11. That is, "provided separately from the flower bud intake body" described in the claims means "separated so that the weight of the battery 17 is not added to the flower bud intake body 11".

[0017] In this embodiment, two vibration devices 14 are provided on the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 12, and these two vibration devices 14 are provided so as to be equally spaced in the circumferential direction. However, the number of vibration devices 14 is not limited to two, and there may be one or three or more.

[0018] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the pollen collector 10 according to this embodiment, a lid portion 15 is provided at the end of the cylindrical portion 12 of the bud intake body 11 where the inner diameter is larger. As shown in FIG. 2, the lid portion 15 is configured to include two substantially semi-circular plate-shaped members. These two lid portions 15 are opened and closed around the rotation center at the end of the lid support portion 21 shown in FIG. 1 by two first hinges 22 and one second hinge 23. The lid portion 15 located on the right in the drawing of FIG. 1 is opened by rotating counterclockwise around the end of the lid support portion 21. Conversely, the lid portion 15 located on the left in the drawing of FIG. 1 is opened by rotating clockwise around the end of the lid support portion 21.

[0019] In this embodiment, a rubber material 15a is provided on the outer periphery of the lid portion 15, so that the cylindrical portion 12 and the lid portion 15 are in close contact as much as possible, suppressing the scattering of pollen. Also, as shown in FIG. 2, the lid portion 15 is provided with notches 18 for the branches of fruit trees, respectively.

[0020] (Method of using the pollen collector 10 according to the first embodiment) FIG. 3 shows an explanatory diagram of the use of the pollen collector 10 according to this embodiment. Also, FIGS. 4 and 5 show first and second enlarged explanatory diagrams of the use of the pollen collector 10 according to this embodiment. This explanation is made assuming the case of collecting pollen with the pollen collector 10 for olive trees.

[0021] First, the user 31 fixes the battery 17 to the belt and connects the electric wire 16 to the vibration device 14 which is a vibration generating device. In addition, the user 31 attaches a bag (not shown) for collecting pollen to the foot portion 13 of the flower bud intake body 11. Then, among the olive branches, the collection target branch 30 having flower buds is taken into the cylindrical portion 12 of the flower bud intake body 11 as shown in FIG. 4. At this time, the user 31 has opened one lid portion 15.

[0022] Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the user 31 positions the olive collection target branch 30 at the notch portion 18 of the lid portion 15, and closes the open end of the cylindrical portion 12 with the lid portion 15. In this state, the user turns on a switch (not shown) attached to the battery 17 to activate the vibration device 14, and vibrates the cylindrical portion 12 to collect the pollen of the collection target branch 30.

[0023] The bag for collecting pollen contains not only pollen but also flower petals and the like. However, in the pollen collector 10 according to the present embodiment, since pollen is mainly collected, it can be directly used in the next pollen ejection operation.

[0024] Next, the user 31 mixes the collected pollen and the colored powder, and performs pollination by ejecting the pollen onto another olive tree different from the olive from which the pollen was collected.

[0025] Since the pollen collector 10 includes the flower bud intake body 11 and the vibration device 14 provided in the cylindrical portion 12, compared with the case of using a vacuum, mainly light-weight pollen can be collected by the vibration of the vibration device 14, and the pollen sorting work can be omitted or reduced. In addition, there is no need to carry auxiliary equipment such as a compressor in the orchard, and the pollen collection work of the user 31 can be reduced. Furthermore, there is no need to lay a sheet for collecting pollen in the orchard, and the pollen collection work of the user 31 is also reduced in this respect.

[0026] (Configuration of the pollen collector 10 according to the second embodiment) FIG. 6 shows a front view of the pollen collector 10 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The difference between the pollen collector 10 according to the present embodiment and the first embodiment lies in the configuration of the vibration generating device. The description of the same points as those in the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0027] In the present embodiment, the vibration generating device is integrated with a vibration device 14 and a small battery 14a, and is provided in the cylindrical portion 12 in this integrated state. In FIG. 1, the vibration generating device has a cylindrical shape, and its axis is arranged along the outer surface from one end to the other end of the cylindrical portion 12. The small battery 14a is a secondary battery. For example, in FIG. 6, a connector is provided below the vibration generating device, and it can be charged from this connector. Also, an on / off switch 14b for operating the vibration device 14 is provided below the vibration generating device, and the user 31 can start and stop the vibration device 14 by this on / off switch 14b.

[0028] Since the small battery 14a is integrated with the vibration device 14 and provided in the cylindrical portion 12, the manufacturing cost of the vibration generating device for generating vibration can be suppressed, and the cost of the entire pollen collector 10 can be suppressed. In addition, since the electric wire from the vibration generating device can be omitted, the user 31 is not distracted by the electric wire during work, and the burden on the user 31 can be suppressed.

Industrial Applicability

[0029] Regarding the pollen collector 10 of the present invention, the method of use has been described with respect to olive trees, but the use target is not particularly limited to olives, and it can be used for general plants targeted for artificial pollination.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0030] 10 Pollen collector 11 Bud intake body 12 Cylindrical portion 14 Vibration device 15 Lid portion 16 Electric wire 17 Battery

Claims

1. A flower bud capturing body having a cylindrical portion for capturing a branch having a flower bud, and a vibration device provided in the cylindrical portion for vibrating the cylindrical portion, and is configured to include, the cylindrical portion of the flower bud capturing body is cylindrical and has a larger inner diameter at one end than at the other end, a lid portion for preventing the scattering of pollen is provided at the end of the cylindrical portion having the larger inner diameter, the lid portion is provided with a notch portion for positioning the branch having the flower bud, characterized by a pollen collector.

2. The lid portion is configured to include two substantially semi-circular plate-shaped members, characterized by the pollen collector according to claim 1.

3. a battery for the operation of the vibration device, is connected to the vibration device by an electric wire, the battery is provided separately from the flower bud capturing body, characterized by the pollen collector according to claim 1 or 2.

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