A seeding system that minimizes waste of seed film production equipment and the water it contains.

Abstract

Provided is a seed film production apparatus and a seeding system that minimizes waste of water including the same. The seed film supply apparatus according to the present invention includes a cutting and adhering part that enables the formation of germination gaps for the adhesion of seeds on a biodegradable film supplied from a mulching film supply part; a seed supply part that enables the input of seeds onto the germination gaps formed through the cutting and adhering part; and a mulching film laying part that spreads the biodegradable film with seeds attached thereon on agricultural land and covers the biodegradable film with soil scattered by a soil scattering part. The cutting and adhering part includes a cutting actuator, a rotating plate rotatably coupled through the cutting actuator, a cutting blade part coupled to the rotating plate, an adhesive supply part coupled to the cutting blade part to supply an adhesive, and an adhesive roller that transfers the adhesive supplied from the adhesive supply part to the side of the germination gap formed on the biodegradable film.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a technology for producing a seed film by adhering seeds to a biodegradable film while minimizing damage to the seeds using a seed applicator, spreading drip irrigation water and the seed film on agricultural land using a laying machine, covering the top with soil to fix the seed film to the agricultural ground, and sowing while being precise in drip irrigation and utilizing the ability to supply water near the roots of crops and the evaporation suppression function of the biodegradable film. The present invention also relates to a seed film production apparatus for cultivating agricultural crops and a sowing system that minimizes waste of water including the apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] Agriculture consumes 70% of the clean water withdrawn worldwide, such as groundwater and river water. Paddy and wheat farming consume 70% of the water consumed for crop cultivation worldwide. Rice and wheat are the staple foods of the largest number of people, and not only the production volume but also the amount of irrigation water consumed per 1 kg of production is enormous. According to the water footprint published by UNESCO, 3000 liters of water are required to produce 1 kg of rice, and 1350 liters of water are required to produce 1 kg of wheat. If the temperature in the atmosphere rises due to global warming, an increase in irrigation water is inevitable. Saudi Arabia, which cultivates wheat in a hot and dry climate, consumes about 2000 liters of water per 1 kg of wheat production, using 50% more irrigation water than the world average. Considering the research finding that the possibility of severe drought increases 20-fold as climate change intensifies, the need for irrigation water saving technology is increasing.

[0003] For these reasons, there have been many efforts to conserve water in wheat and rice cultivation. A 2011-14 study by ICAR (Institute of Agricultural Engineering) in the Bhopal region of India found that approximately 310 liters of water were consumed to cultivate 1 kg of wheat using drip irrigation, which is a 77% reduction compared to the global average water footprint of 1350 liters / kg. Netafim cultivated rice using drip irrigation and not only achieved higher yields than existing rice cultivation methods, but also used 70% less water. Drip irrigation has been reported to be the most efficient of all irrigation methods, achieving up to a 100% increase in yield and up to 40-80% water savings (Burney·2009; Lodhi·2014; Kumari·2014).

[0004] However, even with drip irrigation, evaporation in farmland cannot be prevented, leading to the development of irrigation methods that further reduce water waste by mulching the drip irrigation system with film. Q Jia (2021) compared drip irrigation with soil coverage to drip irrigation with film mulching, finding that soil evaporation with only soil coverage (without film mulching) was 2.4 times higher than with film mulching. Furthermore, drip irrigation under film mulching increased crop yield and water use efficiency by approximately 20% and 30%, respectively, compared to non-mulched drip irrigation (W Zhang, 2022). Such drip irrigation methods under film mulching are widely applied in cotton cultivation in the Xinjiang region of China. However, this method was not applied to regions outside of Xinjiang, China, or to crops other than cotton in Xinjiang. The main reasons for this were the large amount of labor required to install drip irrigation under the film while mulching, and the serious environmental pollution caused by residual plastic film after farming. [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0005] The present invention provides a seed film production apparatus and a sowing system that minimizes water waste, which produce seed films by attaching seeds to a biodegradable film using a seed attachment device, and spread the seed films and drip irrigation water on the farmland using a spreading machine, thereby supplying water to the vicinity of the roots through drip irrigation and minimizing water waste by suppressing evaporation with the biodegradable film. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the seed film supply device according to the present invention includes: a cutting and bonding section that enables the formation of germination gaps for seed attachment on a biodegradable film supplied from a mulching film supply section; a seed supply section that enables the insertion of seeds into the germination gaps formed through the cutting and bonding section; and a mulching film laying section that spreads the biodegradable film to which seeds are attached on farmland and covers the biodegradable film with soil scattered by a soil scattering section. The cutting and bonding section is characterized by including a cutting actuator, a rotating plate rotatably coupled through the cutting actuator, a cutting blade section coupled to the rotating plate, an adhesive supply section coupled to the cutting blade section for supplying adhesive, and an adhesive roller that transfers the adhesive supplied from the adhesive supply section to the germination gap side formed on the biodegradable film.

[0007] The seed supply unit includes a seed supply hopper, a seed supply hose connected at the lower part of the seed supply hopper for transferring seeds to the germination gap formed on the biodegradable film, a seed supply nozzle connected to the lower end of the seed supply hose, a seed recovery hose connected at the upper part of the seed supply hopper for collecting seeds that have leaked out from the germination gap formed on the biodegradable film, and a seed bowl located at the lower end of the seed recovery hose for temporarily storing seeds that have detached from the germination gap formed on the biodegradable film.

[0008] The adhesive supply unit includes an adhesive supply body, an adhesive supply path disposed at the bottom of the adhesive supply body and functioning as a path for the movement of the adhesive, and a roller ball attached to the lower end of the adhesive supply path.

[0009] The mulching film laying unit includes a drip hose supply unit, a fertilizer dispenser that rotates and supplies a predetermined amount of fertilizer to the drip hose, a plurality of roller members for integrally positioning the seed film on the upper part of the supplied drip hose, and a rotor that enables the scattering of soil to facilitate the scooping up of soil from the farmland onto the seed film spread on the farmland. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] The seed film production apparatus and seeding system that minimizes water waste according to the present invention produce seed films by supplying seeds to a biodegradable mulching film through an incision and adhesion section while minimizing seed damage. Then, the seed films are laid on the ground using a soil scattering section and a mulching film laying section, and covered with soil to fix the seed films equipped with drip irrigation to the ground. Through this, water is supplied to the vicinity of the crop roots via drip irrigation, and water evaporation is suppressed by the biodegradable film, thus minimizing water waste during crop cultivation. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This shows a seed biodegradable film production apparatus including an incision and adhesion section and a seed supply section. [Figure 2] This shows the incision and adhesion portion that constitutes the present invention. [Figure 3] This shows the incision and adhesion portion that constitutes the present invention. [Figure 4] This shows the seed supply unit that constitutes the present invention. [Figure 5] This shows the mulching film laying section that constitutes the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below and can be embodied in a variety of different forms, and these embodiments are provided merely to complete the disclosure of the present invention and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the scope of the invention. The same reference numerals in the drawings refer to the same elements.

[0013] When assigning reference numerals to the components of each drawing, care must be taken to assign the same reference numeral to identical components whenever possible, even if they are shown in other drawings. Furthermore, when describing the present invention, if it is determined that a specific description of a related known configuration or function may obscure the gist of the present invention, such detailed description will be omitted.

[0014] The following describes an apparatus for supplying seed film by supplying a mulching film, which is a plant-derived biodegradable film supplied by one embodiment of the present invention, with an environmentally friendly adhesive applied through the cut-and-bond section, and then using a seed attachment section to minimize damage to the seeds.

[0015] An embodiment of the present invention provides a seed film supply device which includes a cut-and-adhere section 10 that enables the formation of germination gaps for seed attachment on a biodegradable film 1 supplied from a mulching film supply section 2, a seed supply section 50 that enables the insertion of seeds into the germination gaps formed through the cut-and-adhere section 10, and a mulching film laying section 60 that spreads the biodegradable film with attached seeds on farmland and covers the biodegradable film 1 with soil scattered by a rotor 70, which is a soil scattering section. In the present invention, a device including the cut-and-adhere section 10 and the seed supply section 50 is called a seed biodegradable film production device.

[0016] A germination gap is formed in the biodegradable film 1 supplied from the mulching film supply unit 2 through the cut and adhesive unit 10, and adhesive is supplied. Then, seeds are supplied onto the germination gap through the seed supply unit 50, and the film is wrapped around the mulching film collection unit 3. During this process, multiple rotating rollers 4 enable the smooth transport of the mulching film.

[0017] Subsequently, a drip hose 62 is embedded in the lower part of the mulching film, to which seeds have been supplied through the mulching film laying section 60, via multiple roller members 64 and 65. Fertilizer is then supplied to the mulching film via the fertilizer spreader 80, and soil is dispersed via the rotor 70.

[0018] This invention produces a mulching film based on a plant-derived biodegradable film. It is desirable that the adhesive supplied to the mulching film be environmentally friendly and does not generate VOCs.

[0019] The incision and bonding section 10 includes an incision actuator 11, a rotating plate 12 rotatably connected through the incision actuator 11, a cutting blade section 20 connected to the rotating plate 12, an adhesive supply section 30 connected to the cutting blade section 20 for supplying adhesive, and an adhesive roller section 40 for transferring the adhesive supplied from the adhesive supply section 30 to the germination gap side formed on the biodegradable film 1.

[0020] The cutting actuator 11 has a cylinder portion 11a and a cylinder load 11b that is retractably coupled to the cylinder portion and reciprocally movable on a single axis. That is, in response to an operating signal from the control unit, the cylinder load 11b performs an outward or inward movement along the cylinder portion 11a, thereby enabling a change in the position of the rotating plate 12.

[0021] The rotating plate 12 has a triangular shape that gradually narrows toward the rear from both ends of the plate surface where the cutting blade part 20 and the adhesive roller part 40 are joined, and the upper end of the cylinder rod 11b is rotatably joined to the rear tip end.

[0022] The cutting blade part 20 has a blade support part 21 that is extended and joined to the rotating plate 12 at one upper side and a cutting blade 22 that is arranged along the vertical direction at the outer end of the blade support part 21.

[0023] The adhesive supply part 30 includes an adhesive supply body 31 that is fixed along the vertical direction to the blade support part 21, an adhesive supply path 32 that is arranged at the lower part of the adhesive supply body 31 and functions as a moving path for the adhesive, and a roller ball 33 that is attached to the lower end of the adhesive supply path. The roller ball 33 has a function similar to the ball arranged at the tip of a ballpoint pen, and enables the supply of the adhesive in the adhesive supply path 32 to the adhesive roller part 40 through contact with the roller ball 33 when the adhesive roller part 40 rotates. Through this, the adhesive supplied onto the outer peripheral surface of the adhesive roller part 40 is supplied to the side of the germination gap formed on the biodegradable film by the rotation of the adhesive roller part.

[0024] The adhesive roller part 40 includes a roller support part 41 that is extended and joined to the rotating plate 12 at one lower side and an adhesive roller 42 that is rotatably joined on the roller support part 41 and supplies the adhesive supplied through the roller ball 33 of the adhesive supply part to the side of the germination gap formed on the biodegradable film.

[0025] The seed supply unit 50 includes a seed supply hopper 51, a seed supply hose 52 connected to the lower part of the seed supply hopper 51 for transferring seeds to the germination gap formed on the biodegradable film, a seed supply nozzle 53 connected to the lower end of the seed supply hose 52, a seed recovery hose 54 connected to the upper part of the seed supply hopper 51 for collecting seeds that have leaked out from the germination gap formed on the biodegradable film, and a seed bowl 55 located at the lower end of the seed recovery hose 54 for temporarily storing seeds that have detached from the germination gap formed on the biodegradable film.

[0026] If some of the seeds supplied to the biodegradable film through the seed supply nozzle 53 detach, the structure allows for timely recovery of the seeds by dropping them into a seed bowl 55 located below the seed supply nozzle 53.

[0027] The overall process for producing seed films by attaching seeds to biodegradable films is as follows:

[0028] First, at the start, the cutting and bonding section 20, which was initially lower on the right side, rotates via the cutting actuator 11 to a vertical position. The cutting blade 22 creates germination gaps while unwinding the biodegradable film roll wound from the mulching film supply section 2, and environmentally friendly adhesive is applied through the adhesive supply section 30 to the germination gaps formed by the cutting blade section. At this time, the adhesive is supplied through a rollerball 33, which is a tubular structure with a ballpoint pen design. Seeds are supplied by air transport through a seed supply hose 52 and a seed supply nozzle 53 to minimize seed damage.

[0029] Seeds are dropped onto the adhesive application area through the adhesive supply unit 30 and adhere to it, and any seeds that have not yet adhered are collected again by air inflow through the seed bowl and seed collection hose.

[0030] The mulching film laying section 60 includes a drip hose supply section 61, an upper alignment roller 63 that performs a primary pre-alignment operation on the drip hose 62 that is laid out from the drip hose supply section, a fertilizer dispenser 80 that rotates and supplies a predetermined amount of fertilizer to the drip hose, a fertilizer supply pipeline 67 that houses the drip hose 62 inside while being connected to the lower end of the fertilizer dispenser 80, a plurality of roller members 64, 65 for integrally positioning the seed film on top of the supplied drip hose, and a rotor 70 that enables the scattering of soil so that soil from the farmland can be easily scooped up onto the seed film spread on the farmland.

[0031] The multiple roller members 64 and 65 include a touch roller 64 that guides the initial lamination between the drip hose 62, which is fertilized through the fertilizer supply pipeline 67, and the supplied seed film, and a spreading roller 65 that stably spreads the bond between the laminated seed film and the drip hose on the farmland.

[0032] The process of laying biodegradable film with seeds attached to it on farmland using a laying machine towed by a tractor (T) is as follows:

[0033] First, the drip hose 62, which is detached from the drip hose supply unit 61, is pre-aligned, and a certain amount of fertilizer is transmitted to the drip hose 62 via the fertilizer spreader 80.

[0034] As the seed film is spread across the farmland, the drip irrigation hose is buried beneath the seed film. At this time, the drip irrigation hose 62 is positioned below the seed film via the lower touch roller 64, after passing through the upper alignment roller 63.

[0035] The seed film and drip hose are laid together as a single unit and pass through the unfolding roller 65 simultaneously. Fertilizer is applied to the underside of the seed film using band application.

[0036] The seed film, which is layered on an irrigation hose, is spread across the farmland, and then covered with soil scooped up from the farmland via a rotor. At this time, a soil scattering plate is placed perpendicular to the rotor's rotation direction to facilitate soil scattering and make it easier to scoop up soil from the farmland.

[0037] The seed film production apparatus according to the present invention produces seed films by supplying a mulching film, which is a biodegradable film derived from plants, with an environmentally friendly adhesive applied through the cut and adhesive portion, and then supplying it using a seed attachment device in a state where damage to the seeds is minimized.

[0038] The above description is merely illustrative of the technical concept of the present invention, and those skilled in the art will be able to make various modifications and variations without deviating from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed herein are for illustrative purposes only, not to limit the technical concept of the present invention, and the scope of the technical concept of the present invention is not limited by such embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention must be interpreted by the claims, and any technical concept within an equivalent scope must be interpreted as being included within the scope of the rights of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 1: Biodegradable film 10: Incision adhesive part 11: Incision Actuator 12: Rotating plate 20: Cutting blade section 30: Adhesive supply unit 40: Adhesive roller section 50: Seed supply section 51: Seed supply hopper 52: Seed supply hose 53: Seed supply nozzle 54: Seed collection hose 55: Seed Bowl 60: Mulching film laying section 61: Intravenous drip hose supply unit 62: IV drip hose 63: Upper alignment roller 64: Touch Roller 65: Deployment Roller 67: Fertilizer supply pipe 70: Rotovator 80:Fertilizer

Claims

1. A cut-and-adhere section that allows for the formation of germination gaps for seed attachment on a biodegradable film supplied from a mulching film supply unit, A seed supply unit that allows seeds to be inserted into the germination gap formed through the aforementioned cut and adhesive portion, It includes a mulching film laying section that spreads a biodegradable film to which seeds are attached on farmland and covers the soil scattered by the soil scattering section onto the biodegradable film, The cutting and bonding section includes a cutting actuator, a rotating plate rotatably coupled through the cutting actuator, a cutting blade section coupled to the rotating plate, an adhesive supply section coupled to the cutting blade section for supplying adhesive, and an adhesive roller for transferring the adhesive supplied from the adhesive supply section to the germination gap side formed on the biodegradable film. The seed supply unit includes a seed supply hopper, a seed supply hose connected at the bottom of the seed supply hopper for transporting seeds to the germination gap side formed on a biodegradable film, and a seed supply nozzle connected to the end of the seed supply hose. The unit is configured to minimize seed damage by supplying seeds from the seed supply hopper to the germination gap side by air through the seed supply hose and the seed supply nozzle. The mulching film laying unit includes a drip hose supply unit, a fertilizer dispenser that supplies fertilizer through drip hoses supplied from the drip hose supply unit, a plurality of roller members that guide the biodegradable film with the seeds attached to it to be laid on the farmland simultaneously while integrally laminating it on the upper part of the supplied drip hoses, a rotor that scoops up soil from the farmland and scatters it onto the biodegradable film with the seeds attached to it to cover it, and a soil scattering plate positioned perpendicular to the rotation direction of the rotor that scoops up the soil scooped up by the rotor that scatters it onto the biodegradable film with the seeds attached. The seed supply unit includes a seed collection hose connected to the upper part of the seed supply hopper for collecting seeds that have leaked out through germination gaps formed on a biodegradable film, and a seed bowl located at the lower end of the seed collection hose for temporarily storing the collected seeds and supplying them back to the seed supply hopper. Seed film supply device.

2. The seed film supply device according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive supply unit includes an adhesive supply body, an adhesive supply path disposed at the lower part of the adhesive supply body and functioning as a path for the movement of the adhesive, and a roller ball attached to the lower end of the adhesive supply path.

Images