Horticulture apparatus

• US 3,913,758 A
• Filed: 06/15/1973
• Issued: 10/21/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Carl R. Apthorp III, Paul G. Faircloth
• Original Assignee: Carl R. Apthorp III, Paul G. Faircloth
• Inventors: Faircloth, Paul G., Apthorp, Carl R. III
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheridan, Robert G.
• Application Number:
  US05/370,391
• Time in Patent Office: 858 Days
• Field of Search: 214/38B,38BA,38BB,38D,84,152,515,516,517,16B 193/35R,35C 47/17 104/48
• US Class Current: 414/373
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 9/143 Equipment for handling produce in greenhouses
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 40/25 Greenhouse technology, e.g. cooling systems therefor

Abstract

A horticulture apparatus for handling plants within a greenhouse, or the like, in which the plants and containers are loaded upon pallets which in turn are loaded upon wheeled carts and moved to supporting racks within a greenhouse. The pallets are then transferred from the carts to the racks. The carts and racks each have parallel roller tracks spaced at a predetermined distance for the pallets to roll upon. The pallets each have cylindrical runners on the bottom thereof in parallel spaced relationship to ride in the parallel spaced tracks of the carts. The pallets can be easily slid from the carts to the support racks and back onto the carts and the carts also have a locking system for preventing the pallets from rolling off the cart tracks during movement of the carts and the cart and rack tracks have arcuate end portions for aligning the pallets when shifting the carts therebetween. The cart frame may also be divided with the top part and cart tracks for the runners to slide in so that a more precise alignment can be had between the cart pallet tracks and the support rack tracks. The carts are made to be spaced uniformly with a plurality of carts pulled by a single vehicle which can stop at marked points for unloading a plurality of pallets onto a plurality of spaced and marked off support racks for each stop of the towing vehicle.

Claims

1. A greenhouse transporting system comprising in combination:

a. a cart having a frame;

wheels connected to said frame for said frame to roll on;

a pair of tracks in parallel spaced relationship with each other and fixedly attached to said frame;

each said track having rollers thereon and at least one guide member;

b. a pallet for loading plant containers upon, said pallet having a pair of runners attached thereto in parallel spaced relationship with each other by a distance to ride upon said rollers on said cart tracks;

c. a pallet support rack having a supporting frame and having a pair of tracks in parallel spaced relationship with each other, each track having rollers thereon and at least one guide member and being spaced from said pallet runners to ride upon the rollers thereon; and

d. said cart frame having a first portion slidable on a second portion for aligning said cart roller track with said rack roller tracks;

whereby a cart can have its tracks aligned with said support rack tracks and said pallets pushed from said cart to said rack and from said rack to said cart.

2. The transporting system in accordance with claim 1 in which said cart has a pallet locking means attached to said frame for holding a pallet on said cart while being transported on said cart and said locking means being disengageable for removing said pallet from said cart.

3. The transporting system in accordance with claim 2 in which said pallet locking system has a pair of swinging arms movable to a position on either side of said cart to block said pallets from rolling on said roller tracks.

4. The transporting system in accordance with claim 3 in which cart rolling tracks are open at each end whereby said pallet can be moved off either side of said cart.

5. The transporting system in accordance with claim 1 in which said cart roller track guides and said support roller track guides each have curved ends to guide slightly misaligned pallets from one to the other.