Pawl-type release coupling for a spacing device for potted plants

Abstract

Device for being able to receive and lift up plant pots and for being able to leave said plant pots at a mutual distance from one another on a floor, which device comprises a receiving slot with retaining means (2), which are to be actuated by a rotatable actuating shaft (3), so as, in a first state, to retain the plant pots in the receiving slot and so as, in a second state, to open up the receiving slot. According to the invention, the retaining means (2) are coupled to the actuating shaft (3) via a pawl-type release coupling (1, 5, 6, 7) which, with the rotation (8) of the actuating shaft, releases the retaining means such that, on account of gravitational force and possibly spring force, it drops downwards in order in this way to close off the receiving slot.

Description

[0001] Title: Pawl-type release coupling for a spacing device for potted plants

[0002] Description

[0003] The invention relates to a so-called spacing fork or spacing device for potted plants, which is to be understood as being a device intended and configured for being able to receive and lift up one or more rows of plant pots and for being able to, during movement of the device in a longitudinal direction of the rows of plant pots, leave said plant pots at a (wider / greater) mutual distance from one another on a floor.

[0004] An earlier patent of the applicant, Dutch patent NL1041694, has disclosed a device for receiving rows of plant pots and for being able to, during movement of the device in a longitudinal direction of the rows of plant pots, leave said plant pots at a mutual distance from one another on a floor. The device comprises a receiving slot provided with retaining means which are to be brought into a first or second state by actuating means and which are configured such that,

[0005] (a) in the first state, they extend inwards into the receiving slot in order, during said movement of the device, to retain the plant pots against displacement in the longitudinal direction of the receiving slot due to contact of the plant pots with the floor, and,

[0006] (b) in the second state, they open up the receiving slot in order, during said movement of the device, to allow the plant pots to move in the longitudinal direction of the receiving slot as a result of contact of the plant pots with the floor.

[0007] In the device known from NL1041694, the retaining means are coupled to an actuating shaft, which is rotatable into a first and a second state, in such a way that, once the actuating shaft is brought into its first state, the retaining means, which are coupled fixedly to the actuating shaft, are brought into their first (downward) state too. In practice, this sometimes causes a problem since it can occur that a plant pot ends up below the downwardly rotating retaining means, whereby, because the retaining means is connected fixedly to the (for example hydraulically driven) rotation-controlled actuating shaft, the plant pot is crushed or damaged by the descending retaining means, as a result of which the normal process has to be interrupted.

[0008] It is an object of the present invention to afford a solution to the problem indicated in the previous paragraph by providing, according to the invention, a device of the above-described type in which, however, unlike in the device known from NL1041694, the retaining means are coupled to an actuating shaft, which is rotatableinto a first and a second state, in such a way that, for the blocking of the receiving slot in said first state, by means of a pawl-type release coupling and / or by way of the rotation of the actuating shaft, they are released so as, on account of gravitational force and / or spring force, to rotate downwards in order to close off the receiving slot.

[0009] The fact that, through use of the present invention, the retaining means, when being brought (downwards) into the blocking state (the first state), is not coupled fixedly to the rotation-controlled actuating shaft, which is driven by for example hydraulic control, but is merely released in order to perform the downward movement on account of its own weight (and possibly an extra weight or an auxiliary spring in the downward direction), whereby it is achieved that, if a plant pot is still situated below (that is to say within the region of) the retaining means, although the retaining means will end up on the plant pot, it does not “push through” (on account of the force of the driven rotation-controlled actuating shaft) and crush or damage the plant pot, whereby the process does not need to be interrupted due to damage.

[0010] The invention will now be discussed in more detail on the basis of the following description of the figures, in which:

[0011] Figure 1 schematically shows an exemplary embodiment of a pawltype release coupling between a retaining means and the actuating shaft;

[0012] Figure 2 shows a more detailed exemplary embodiment of a device according to the invention.

[0013] Figure 1 schematically shows an exemplary embodiment of a pawl-type release coupling (or clutch) 1 between a retaining means 2 and a rotatable actuating shaft 3 which is part of a device (not shown in any more detail) for receiving rows of plant pots and for being able to, during movement of the device in a longitudinal direction of the rows of plant pots, leave said plant pots at a mutual distance from one another on a floor, as set out in detail in patent NL1041694. The device described therein comprises a receiving slot provided with retaining means which are to be brought into a first or second state by actuating means and which are configured such that,

[0014] (a) in the first state, they extend inwards into the receiving slot in order, during said movement of the device, to retain the plant pots against displacement in the longitudinal direction of the receiving slot due to contact of the plant pots with the floor, and,(b) in the second state, they open up the receiving slot in order, during said movement of the device, to allow the plant pots to move in the longitudinal direction of the receiving slot as a result of contact of the plant pots with the floor.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment disclosed in patent NL1041694, the retaining means are coupled fixedly to a rotatable actuating shaft which acts as a component of the actuating means, this having the disadvantage that plant pots can be crushed or damaged due to the downward movement of (one or more of) the retaining means, as is explained above.

[0016] According to the present invention, the retaining means 2 - as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 - are coupled to the actuating shaft 3, which is rotatable into a first and a second state, in such a way that, for the blocking of the receiving slot in the first state (see Figure 1c), by means of a pawl-type release coupling 1, they are released by way of the rotation of the actuating shaft 3 so as, on account of gravitational force and / or possibly (auxiliary) spring force, to rotate downwards (see arrows 4 in Figures 1b, c) in order to close off (to block) the receiving slot.

[0017] In the exemplary embodiment in Figures 1 and 2, the pawl-type release coupling 1 comprises a coupling bush 5 which is freely rotatable around the actuating shaft 3 and which is provided with a pawl-type release slot 6 in which a shaft-entrained pawl 7 attached to the actuating shaft 3 can move. Figure 1a shows the state in which the respective retaining means 2 is in a raised position (whereby the receiving slot is open for receiving potted plants), it being fixed in said position since the shaft-entrained pawl 7 on the actuating shaft 3 is in a raised position at the end of the pawltype release slot 6, whereby the coupling bush 5 cannot move / drop downwards (see cross x). Once the actuating shaft 3 is rotated (see arrow 8 in Figure 1b), the shaft-entrained pawl 7 connected to the actuating shaft 3 is rotated to the other end of the pawl-type release slot 6, whereby the retaining means 2, on account of gravitational force (in other words due to its own weight), possibly (assisted) by a spring (not shown), moves / drops downwards (see Figure 1c), that is to say provided the retaining means 2 is not hindered on its downward path of movement by, for example, a plant pot or some other obstacle (see above). If it is, then the retaining means 2 does not, as in the embodiment of patent NL1041694, continue to be forced to move further by the driven actuating shaft (with all the associated consequences), but rather the retaining means 2 remains at rest on or against the respective plant pot or other objectthat crosses its movement path without causing damage whereby the process would inconveniently have to be interrupted.

[0018] Figure 2 shows a more detailed exemplary embodiment of a device according to the invention, comprising the components already discussed above, all of these being received in an elongate frame 9, in which there is received a series of retaining means 2 actuated by the rotatable actuating shaft 3, the latter being a component of a device like that addressed and described further in the stated earlier patent NL1041694 in the name of the applicant.

[0019] Figure 2 also shows that the retaining means 2 are preferably slightly upwardly curved or bent, this having the following advantages over a straight, nonbent embodiment of the retaining means:

[0020] * when a retaining means is in a raised position, it takes up less space between the pots;

[0021] * during the retention of the pot, the retaining means retains the pot at a higher point (in relation to the ground), whereby there is less chance of the pot tilting during the displacement over the ground;

[0022] * if the pot has protuberances or indentations, the curved or bent retaining means 2 prevents itself from coming between the protuberances or entering an indentation of the pot.

[0023] The present invention thus affords a solution to the problem of preventing a plant pot from ending up below the downwardly rotating retaining means whereby, during the spacing process, plant pots can be crushed or damaged by a descending retaining means, as a result of which the normal process would have to be interrupted.

Claims

CLAIMS1. Device intended and configured for being able to receive and lift up one or more rows of plant pots and for being able to, during movement of the device in a longitudinal direction of said one or more rows of plant pots, leave said plant pots at a mutual distance from one another on a floor,wherein, for being able to receive each row of plant pots, the device comprises a receiving slot which is open on at least one side, wherein each receiving slot is provided with one or more retaining means (2) which are to be brought into a first or second state by means of actuating means and which are configured such that, - in the first state, they extend inwards into the receiving slot in order, during said movement of the device, to retain the plant pots against displacement in the longitudinal direction of the receiving slot as a result of contact of the plant pots with the floor, and,- in the second state, they open up the receiving slot in order, during said movement of the device, to allow the plant pots to move in the longitudinal direction of the receiving slot as a result of contact of the plant pots with the floor,wherein the one or more retaining means (2) are coupled to an actuating shaft (3), which is rotatable into a first and a second state, in such a way that, for the blocking of the receiving slot in said first state, by means of a pawl-type release coupling (1 , 5, 6, 7) and / or by way of the rotation (8) of the actuating shaft, they are released so as, on account of gravitational force and / or spring force, to rotate downwards in order to close off the receiving slot.

2. Device according to Claim 1, wherein the one or more retaining means (2) are of upwardly curved or bent form.

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