JP3675568B2 - Soil supply equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a soil culture supply device used to supply and fill soil culture in each pot of a seedling tray for growing seeds such as vegetables.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, this seed soil supply device is continuously driven when filling the pot with the hopper for storing the soil, and continuously transporting the stored soil in the hopper to a receiving position where the pot receives the pot. It includes a conveyor for transporting the soil to be dropped, and a conveyor for pot transport that is continuously driven in the same direction as the conveyor for transporting the soil when filling the pot with the soil, and transports the pot continuously to the soil receiving position. ing. In addition, a diffusion brush for supplying and dropping the soil while uniformly spreading the soil into the pot is provided near the soil receiving position of the pot on the downstream side in the soil feeding direction of the conveyor for soil transportation, and the pot transportation. On the downstream side of the conveyor, there are a pressure reducing roller for suppressing the soil that has fallen into the pot, and a filling brush for uniformly pressing the soil compressed by the pressure roller to a predetermined height in the pot and filling it. Each is provided.
[0003]
During the filling of the soil into the pots, the soil transporting conveyor and the pot transporting conveyor are continuously driven in the same direction while being stored in the hopper by the soil transporting conveyor. The soil is transported to the soil receiving position of the pot, and the soil falling at the receiving position is dropped and supplied into the pot transported by the pot transporting conveyor while being diffused by the diffusion brush. The pressure is reduced by the roller, and the soil in the pot is pushed to a predetermined height by the filling brush, so that the soil is filled without causing air accumulation in the pot.
[0004]
Moreover, the soil filled in the pot is filled in a uniform state without cutting the soil supplied to the pot with the filling brush at a position where the pot is full, and no air is trapped in the pot.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, as described above, when filling the soil into each pot while continuously driving the soil-conveying conveyor and the pot-transporting conveyor respectively, the soil is transported by the soil-conveying conveyor. Since the amount of soil to be dropped and supplied to the pot is likely to be uneven, the amount of soil filled in each pot is likely to be inaccurate even though diffusion brushes, pressure reducing rollers and filling brushes are provided. Since the soil transported by the soil transport conveyor overflows from the pot and the amount of soil spillage increases, it is necessary to frequently perform soil splicing to the hopper, resulting in poor workability. There was also inconvenience.
[0006]
In addition, since each pot is filled with the amount of nourishment of the pot height filled with the filling brush, it is inconvenient to handle the filled pot.
[0007]
The main object of the present invention is to always fill a certain amount of soil into each pot, reduce the amount of soil spilled from each pot, and frequently perform soil piecing to the hopper. An object of the present invention is to provide a soil supply device that can improve the workability by eliminating the need to perform such operations.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 includes a hopper 11 for storing the soil, a soil transporting conveyor 13 for sending the soil stored in the hopper 11 to a dropping position, and a soil transporting device. A pot conveying conveyor 2 that sequentially receives pots P that receive the soil that has fallen from the conveyor 13 to a receiving position is provided. The pot conveying conveyor 2 includes an intermittent feeding mechanism 28 that intermittently sends each pot P to the receiving position. In addition, the soil conveyance conveyor 13 is provided with an intermittent feed mechanism 19 for dropping a certain amount of soil into each pot P sent to the receiving position once.
[0009]
The invention according to claim 2 is provided with a sensor 4 for detecting that the soil stored in the hopper 11 has come to the fall position.
[0010]
The invention according to claim 3 is provided with a guide body 5 that regulates the length in the width direction of the transport surface of the soil transporting conveyor 13 at least on one side above the soil transporting conveyor 13. Yes.
[0011]
In the invention according to claim 4, the pot conveying conveyor 2 has a width direction dimension in which a plurality of pots P can be arranged in the width direction, and falls into each of the plurality of pots P arranged in the width direction at the receiving position. A distribution body 6 is provided that distributes and supplies the soil that falls from the position.
[0012]
[Action and effect of the invention]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the pot conveying conveyor 2 is intermittently driven by the intermittent feed mechanism 28 during the soil filling operation into each pot P, and the pot P is nourished by the pot conveying conveyor 2. The pot P is waited at the receiving position after being intermittently transferred to the receiving position for receiving the soil dropped from the transfer conveyor 13. After that, the soil conveyance conveyor 13 is intermittently driven by the intermittent feed mechanism 19, and a certain amount of the soil dropped from the hopper 11 onto the soil conveyance conveyor 13 along with the intermittent drive is transferred to the receiving position. It is dropped and filled in the waiting pot P. After the pot P is filled with the soil, the pot conveying conveyor 2 is intermittently driven again by the intermittent feeding mechanism 28, and the next pot P is conveyed to the receiving position and waits. The soil transporting conveyor 13 is intermittently driven again by the intermittent feed mechanism 19, and a certain amount of soil is dropped and filled in the next pot P by the soil transporting conveyor 13. While repeating the driving of the soil transporting conveyor 13 and the pot transporting conveyor 2 as described above, a certain amount of soil is dropped and filled in each pot P, so that the pot P can be filled to a full extent. A constant amount of soil can always be filled accurately without filling the soil, and the intermittent transport amount of the soil by the soil transport conveyor 13 can be adjusted according to the capacity of the pot P. By doing so, the amount of soil spilled from the pot P can be reduced, and it is not necessary to frequently perform soil continuation to the hopper 11 and workability can be improved.
[0013]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the sensor 4 for detecting that the soil stored in the hopper 11 has come to the falling position is provided, the soil filling operation into each pot P is started. Then, when the soil that has fallen and supplied from the hopper 11 onto the soil transporting conveyor 13 is transported to the dropping position by the conveyor 13, the sensor 4 detects that the soil has been transported to the falling position. And the pot conveyance conveyor 2 can be started based on the detection result, and the pot P can be conveyed to the receiving position of a soil culture. That is, at the time of careful work in each pot P of the soil, the soil transported by the landing transport conveyor 13 is changed from the first pot P transported by the pot transport conveyor 2 to the final pot P. In order to uniformly fill the whole of each pot P with the soil without filling the pot P with a blank portion that is not filled with the soil, the hopper 11 in advance at the start of the first filling operation. It is necessary to transport the soil stored in the soil to the dropping position by the soil transporting conveyor 13, and therefore the soil supplied by dropping from the hopper 11 onto the soil transporting conveyor 13 is transported to the dropping position. Is detected by the sensor 4, and based on the detection result, the pot conveying conveyor 2 is started, and alignment is performed so that the first pot P is located at the receiving position. Can the soil conveyer 13 and the pot conveyer 2 to respectively perform automatic operation by intermittently driving.
[0014]
According to invention of Claim 3, the guide body 5 which regulates the width direction length of the conveyance surface of this soil conveyance conveyor 13 at least to one side above the nutrient conveyance conveyor 13 is changeable. Therefore, even when filling the pot P with different width dimensions, the length in the width direction of the transport surface in the soil transporting conveyor 13 is adjusted by the guide body 5 in accordance with the width dimension of the pot P. By adjusting, the soil that is conveyed by the conveyor 13 can be surely dropped and filled in the pot P. As a result, the pot P of any width can be filled with the soil, The versatility of the soil supply device can be enhanced.
[0015]
According to invention of Claim 4, since the pot conveyance conveyor 2 has the width direction dimension which can arrange the some pot P in the width direction, it is simultaneously fed to the some pot P arranged in the width direction. While the soil can be filled, when the soil is dropped and supplied from the soil transport conveyor 13 to each pot P, the distribution body 6 provided at the soil receiving position of each pot P The falling soil from the conveyor 13 can be supplied to each pot P while being sorted, and the soil can be filled in each pot P reliably and uniformly.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The soil supply device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 conveys a soil supply unit 1 for supplying soil and a seedling tray T in which a plurality of pots P are arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions to the soil supply unit 1. A pot conveying conveyor 2 and a support 3 that supports the soil supply unit 1 and the pot conveying conveyor 2 are provided.
[0017]
The support body 3 includes four leg portions 31 erected on the front and rear, left and right in the transport direction of the tray T by the transport conveyor 2, and a rectangular support frame disposed on the upper side of each leg portion 31. 32, and the pot conveying conveyor 2 is supported between the front and rear portions of the support frame 32. On the lower side of each leg 31, there are provided caster wheels 33 supported so as to be able to turn freely in the vicinity of each leg 31, and a grounding rod 34 that can be expanded and contracted with respect to each leg 31. When using the soil supply device, as shown in FIG. 1, the grounding rods 34 are advanced downward from the respective leg portions 31 to fix the entire support 3 to the ground, and when the soil culture supply device is moved. In other words, the respective grounding rods 34 are retracted to the upper side of the respective leg portions 31 to ground the respective caster wheels 33 so that the respective caster wheels 33 can freely move and travel. In the figure, reference numeral 35 denotes a connecting rod for connecting the front and rear leg portions 31, 31.
[0018]
The pot conveying conveyor 2 is free to rotate between a pair of front and rear rollers 21 and 22 that are rotatably supported by a front and rear portion between the support frames 32 via a support member, and an intermediate upper and lower portion between the rollers 21 and 22. Two intermediate rollers 23 and 24, and one wide conveyor belt 25 looped endlessly between the rollers 21 to 24. The conveyor belt 25 is attached to the support frame 32. The first motor 26 attached to the lower side through a support 36 is interlocked and connected. Further, in order to send the seedling tray T to the soil supply unit 1, a feeding unit 27 that is slightly longer than the tray T is provided on the upstream side of the soil supply unit 1 in the conveyor belt 25. Provided. Further, a pair of left and right guide plates 37 are attached to the lateral sides of the conveyor belt 25 on the upper side of the support frame 32 provided on the support 3 via support rods 38, and the conveyor belt is supported by the guide plates 37. The nursery tray T conveyed at 25 is guided.
[0019]
The soil supply unit 1 includes a hopper 11 for storing the soil, a case 12 having a large outer shape integrally formed in a lower part of the hopper 11, and a hopper 11 inside the case 12. It is provided with a soil transporting conveyor 13 that is opposed to the soil discharge outlet and is provided in parallel with the pot transporting conveyor 2, and this conveyor 13 is freely rotatable at the front and rear portions of the casing 12. A pair of front and rear rollers 14 and 15 to be supported, and a conveyor belt 16 that is looped endlessly between the rollers 14 and 15, and the conveyor belt 16 is disposed in the rearward direction of the housing 12 in the soil conveyance direction. The second motor 17 is provided in conjunction with the second motor 17. Further, a shooter unit 18 is provided in the casing 12 for dropping and supplying the soil transported by the conveyor belt 16 into the pots P of the tray T downstream of the conveyor belt 16 in the soil transport direction. Is forming.
[0020]
The pot conveying conveyor 2 is provided with a intermittent feeding mechanism 28 for intermittently feeding each pot P of the seedling tray T to the receiving position of the soil dropped from the soil conveying conveyor 13. The soil transporting conveyor 13 is provided with a intermittent feeding mechanism 19 that drops and supplies a certain amount of soil to each pot P sent to the receiving position each time. In the embodiment of FIG. As the intermittent feeding mechanisms 28 and 19, servo motors are used for the first and second motors 26 and 17 which are driving sources of the pot conveying conveyor 2 and the soil cultivating conveyor 13, respectively. By performing digital control, the pot transport conveyor 2 and the soil culture transport conveyor 13 are driven intermittently. In addition, as each said intermittent feed mechanism 28 and 19, you may make it intermittently drive the said conveyor 2 for pot conveyance and the conveyer 13 for soil conveyance mechanically using a ratchet mechanism etc., for example.
[0021]
Further, in the embodiment shown in the figure, the rotational drive directions of the first motor 26 and the second motor 17 are opposite to each other, and the soil transporting conveyor 13 driven by the second motor 17 is used in the hopper 11. The soil is transported in the direction of arrow A and dropped downward from the shooter 18. On the other hand, the seedling tray T is moved by the pot transporting conveyor 2 driven by the first motor 26 in the direction of arrow B opposite to arrow A. The soil is dropped into the pots P and dropped from the shooter 18. According to this configuration, the shooter unit 18 can be positioned on the upstream side in the transport direction of the pot transporting conveyor 2, so that the pot secured on the upstream side in the pot feeding direction of the shooter unit 18 and the pot transporting conveyor 2. Without providing a dead space that does not directly contribute to the filling of the soil with the feeding section 27 of P, the length from the shooter section 18 to the pot feeding section 27 can be shortened, The entire apparatus can be reduced in size.
[0022]
Further, in the case 12 provided in the soil supply unit 1, near the downstream side of the soil conveyance conveyor 13, the soil that is dropped and supplied from the hopper 11 onto the conveyor 13 is conveyed by the conveyor 13. A sensor 4 is provided for detecting that a drop position has been dropped. Specifically, as clearly shown in FIG. 3, as the sensor 4, a limit switch 41 attached to the inner wall of the housing 12 and a pivot support within the housing 12 near the downstream side of the soil feed conveyor 13 are supported. Using a shutter 43 supported so as to be able to swing back and forth via a shaft 42, and a cam plate 44 supported on a pivot shaft 42 so as to rotate following the swing of the shutter 43, it is conveyed by the conveyor 13. When the cultivated soil reaches the shutter 43 and the shutter 43 is swung, the cam plate 44 is rotated following the shutter 43 and the limit switch 41 is operated by the cam plate 44. It is detected that the soil to be conveyed has come to the drop position.
[0023]
In addition, a guide body 5 that can change the length in the width direction of the soil transporting surface of the conveyor 13 is provided on at least one side in the width direction above the soil transporting conveyor 13. In the fourth embodiment, a pair of left and right guide bodies 5 and 5 are disposed on both sides in the width direction on the downstream upper side of the conveyor 13, and a substantially L-shaped support plate 51 is bolted to the outside of each guide body 5. In addition, two long holes 52 and 53 with the upstream side of the conveyor 13 as a fulcrum are formed in the front and rear portions on the bottom wall side of each support plate 51, respectively, and above the long holes 52 and 53. The fixing brackets 54, 54 are screwed toward the wall portion of the housing 12 from the top. Then, by loosening each of the fixing brackets 54 and moving the guide bodies 5 along the long holes 52 and 53, the guide bodies 5 are positioned in parallel on both sides of the conveyor 13 in the width direction. The solid line state of the figure and the imaginary line state of the figure where the conveyor downstream side of each guide body 5 is inclined toward the center in the width direction of the conveyor 13 can be adjusted.
[0024]
Further, the above-mentioned swing supply device uses a seedling tray T in which a plurality of pots P are arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions, and the pot conveying conveyor 2 has a wide width capable of transporting the seedling tray T. In order to evenly supply the soil fallen from the soil transporting conveyor 13 into each row of pots P arranged in the width direction of the seedling tray T, as shown in FIG. A front view schematic triangle in which the dropped soil from the conveyor 13 is evenly distributed and supplied to the upper portion of the body 12 facing the connecting portion of each pot P on the locus of soil fall of the conveyor 13 in the body 12. The plurality of distribution bodies 6 having a shape are supported so as to be able to swing through the shaft rod 61 so as to straddle the connecting portions of the pots P.
[0025]
Next, the operation of the above soil supply device will be described. When the soil is filled in the pot P of the seedling tray T, first, when starting the work, it is dropped and supplied from the soil outlet of the hopper 11 provided in the soil supply unit 1 onto the soil transporting conveyor 13 The cultivated soil is conveyed to the drop position by driving the conveyor 13. At this time, the sensor 4 is disposed near the downstream side of the soil transporting conveyor 13, and when the soil transported by the conveyor 13 reaches the drop position, the soil pushes the shutter 43 of the sensor 4. Then, the limit switch 41 is actuated by the cam plate 44, so that the conveyor 13 is stopped by the output from the limit switch 41, and the soil on the conveyor 13 waits at the dropping position. Thus, the conveyor 13 can be automatically and reliably stopped.
[0026]
After performing the above preparatory work, the pot transporting conveyor 2 transports the pot P of the seedling tray T to the receiving position for receiving the soil dropped from the soil transporting conveyor 13 and moves the pot P to the receiving position. Position. After that, the soil conveyance conveyor 13 is intermittently driven by the intermittent feed mechanism 19, and a certain amount of the soil dropped from the hopper 11 onto the soil conveyance conveyor 13 along with the intermittent drive is transferred to the receiving position. It is dropped and filled in the waiting pot P. After the pot P is filled with the soil, the pot conveying conveyor 2 is intermittently driven again by the intermittent feeding mechanism 28, and the next pot P is conveyed to the receiving position and waits. The soil transporting conveyor 13 is intermittently driven again by the intermittent feed mechanism 19, and a certain amount of soil is dropped and filled in the next pot P by the soil transporting conveyor 13. While repeating the driving of the soil transporting conveyor 13 and the pot transporting conveyor 2 as described above, a certain amount of soil is dropped and filled in each pot P, so that the pot P can be filled to a full extent. A constant amount of soil can always be filled accurately without filling the soil, and the intermittent transport amount of the soil by the soil transport conveyor 13 can be adjusted according to the capacity of the pot P. By doing so, the amount of soil spilled from the pot P can be reduced, and it is not necessary to frequently perform soil continuation to the hopper 11 and workability can be improved.
[0027]
Further, when the soil is transported by the soil transporting conveyor 13 as described above, a pair of left and right guide bodies 5 are provided on both sides in the width direction of the conveyor 13, and each guide body 5 has a width of the conveyor 13. 4 can be adjusted in the range of the solid line state of FIG. 4 positioned parallel to both sides in the direction and the virtual line state of FIG. 4 where the conveyor downstream side of each guide body 5 is inclined toward the width direction center of the conveyor 13. Therefore, even when the soil is filled in the pots P of the various seedling trays T having different width dimensions, the guides 5 are used to transport the soil on the conveyor 13 for the soil culture according to the width dimensions of the seedling tray T. By adjusting the length in the width direction of the surface, the soil that is conveyed by the conveyor 13 can be surely dropped and filled in each pot P. As a result, the seedling tray T having any width dimension can be obtained. Also in the pot P And be filled in the soil, it is possible to enhance the versatility of the iodo supply. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the guide body 5 is inclined and adjusted in the width direction of the soil culture transport conveyor 13 by the long holes 52 and 53 provided in the support plate 51 and the fixing brackets 54 and 54. Although the width direction length of the conveyance surface in the conveyor 13 can be adjusted according to various seedling trays T having different dimensions, in the present invention, a plurality of guide bodies 5 having different inclination angles are prepared in advance. Alternatively, each of these guides 5 may be replaced according to the width dimension of the seedling tray T.
[0028]
Furthermore, the above-mentioned swing supply device uses a seedling tray T in which a plurality of pots P are arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions, and the pot conveying conveyor 2 is a wide one that can transport the seedling tray T. However, the upper part facing the connecting part of each pot P on the soil dropping trajectory of the soil conveying conveyor 13 has a substantially triangular shape in front view so as to straddle the connecting part of each pot P. Since the plurality of distribution bodies 6 are provided via the shaft rod 61, the fall soil from the conveyor 13 can be supplied to the pots P through the distribution bodies 6, and the respective distribution bodies 6 can be supplied. It is possible to reliably and uniformly fill the pot P with the soil. In addition, since each of the sorting bodies 6 is supported so as to be able to swing through the shaft rod 61, even when using various seedling trays T having different pitch intervals of the pots P, the pitch intervals of the pots P By adjusting the swing of each sorter 6 in accordance with this, it is possible to reliably and uniformly fill the soil in the pots P of the various seedling trays T, and to increase the versatility of the soil supply device. . In the embodiment of FIG. 5, each of the allocating bodies 6 is supported through a shaft 61 so as to be able to oscillate, and each of the allocating bodies 6 is adjusted according to the pitch interval of each pot P. Thus, the soil is surely and uniformly filled in each pot P. However, in the present invention, a plurality of types having different dimensions in the width direction are prepared as the respective sorting bodies 6, and The split 6 may be replaced according to the width dimension of the seedling tray T.
[0029]
Further, in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the shooter unit 18 is located downstream of the pot P soil receiving position of the pot conveying conveyor 2, that is, downstream of the shooter unit 18 of the soil supply unit 1. A vibrator 7 equipped with a vibration plate 71 that vibrates the pot P loaded with the soil from the top and bottom with the seedling tray T is arranged. By leveling the soil in the pots P, air pools are generated in each pot P while simplifying the configuration and reducing the overall configuration compared to conventional methods using diffusion brushes, pressure reducing rollers, and filling brushes. The soil can be filled in a uniform state without having to do so.
[0030]
Furthermore, in the same figure, a recovery device 8 having a recovery plate 81 for recovering soil that has spilled on the conveyor belt 25 is disposed on the end side of the conveyor belt 25 provided in the pot transfer conveyor 2 in the transfer direction. Even when a part of the soil fallen and supplied from the soil supply unit 1 to the pot P may be spilled on the conveyor belt 25, or when the vibratory tray 7 vibrates the seedling tray T Even if a part of the soil loaded in the pot P spills on the conveyor belt 25, the soil is recovered and reused by the soil recovery device 8.
[0031]
Further, a hoisting machine 9 for returning the soil collected by the recovery device 8 to the hopper 11 of the soil supply unit 1 is disposed on the front side of the pot transporting conveyor 2 in the pot transporting direction. The hoisting machine 9 faces the lower side of the recovery plate 81 in the recovery device 8, and stores a storage portion 91 that stores the soil recovered by the recovery plate 81, and lifts the soil in the storage portion 91. A lifting conveyor 93 having a motor 92 to be raised and a shooter 94 for supplying the cultivated soil lifted by the lifting conveyor 93 to the hopper 11 are provided. The hoisting machine 9 is provided with a pair of traveling wheels 95 on the lower side of the storage portion 91, and can be moved by the wheels 95.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view of a soil supply device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of a main part.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan sectional view of a main part.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of a main part.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Hopper 13 ... Land conveyance conveyor 19 ... Intermittent feed mechanism 2 ... Pot conveyer 28 ... Intermittent feed mechanism 4 ... Sensor 5 ... Guide body 6 ... Sorting body P ... Pot

Claims (4)

A hopper (11) for storing the soil, a soil transportation conveyor (13) to be sent to a dropping position for dropping the soil stored in the hopper (11), and a soil dropped from the soil transportation conveyor (13) A pot conveying conveyor (2) for sequentially sending the pot (P) for receiving the ink to the receiving position,
The pot conveying conveyor (2) includes an intermittent feeding mechanism (28) for intermittently sending each pot (P) to the receiving position, and the soil culture conveying conveyor (13) is sent to the receiving position. A soil culture supply device characterized by comprising an intermittent feed mechanism (19) for dropping a certain amount of soil every time it is sent to each pot (P). The soil supply device according to claim 1, further comprising a sensor (4) for detecting that the soil stored in the hopper (11) has come to a falling position. The guide body (5) which regulates the width direction length of the conveyance surface of this soil conveyance conveyor (13) so that change is possible at least in one side part above the conveyor for soil culture conveyance (13) Item 1 or 2 soil supply device. The pot conveying conveyor (2) has a width direction dimension in which a plurality of pots (P) can be arranged in the width direction, and at the receiving position, each of the plurality of pots (P) arranged in the width direction from the drop position. The soil supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a sorting body (6) that distributes and supplies the falling soil.

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