Transplanter
First Claim
1. A transplanter for transplanting a plug seedling grown in a cell of a plug seedling tray containing a plurality of cells to a transplanted seedling tray or a pot, said transplanted seedling tray containing a plurality of cells, said transplanter comprisinga plug seedling carrying means for carrying the plug seedling tray,a transplanted seedling carrying means spaced from the plug seedling carrying means for carrying the transplanted seedling tray or the pot,a seedling transfer mechanism disposed across the plug seedling carrying means and the transplanted seedling carrying means for transferring the plug seedling from a position above the plug seedling tray to a position above the transplanted seedling tray or the pot, the seedling transfer mechanism including an endless chain or belt passing above the plug seedling carrying means and the transplanted seedling carrying means and circulating in a plane inclined with respect to a horizontal plane, the endless chain or belt being provided with cupped receptacles on the outer peripheral surface of the endless chain or belt, the cupped receptacles having upwardly directed openings for containing plug seedlings to be spaced a predetermined distance apart,a seedling picking-out mechanism for picking out the plug seedling from the cell of the plug seedling tray and depositing it into one of the cupped receptacles of the seedling transfer mechanism, anda seedling planting mechanism for retrieving the plug seedling from the cupped receptacle and planting it in the transplanted seedling tray or the pot.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A transplanter(10) for transplanting a plug seedling(G) grown in each cell(14a) of a plug seedling tray(14) to a certain size to a transplanted seedling tray(15) or a pot comprising a plug seedling carrying means(12) for carrying the plug seedling tray(14), a transplanted seedling carrying means(13) spaced at a certain distance from the plug seedling carrying means(12) for carrying the transplanted seedling tray(15) or the pot, a seedling transfer mechanism(30) disposed across the plug seedling carrying means(12) and the transplanted seedling carrying means(13) for transferring the plug seedling from the position above the plug seedling tray(14) to the position above the transplanted seedling tray(15), the seedling transfer mechanism(30) including an endless chain or belt(35) passing above the plug seedling carrying means(12) and the transplanted seedling carrying means(13) and circulating in a plane made at a certain angle with respect to a horizontal plane, the endless chain or belt(35) being provided at its outer peripheral surface with receptacles(36) for containing plug seedlings(G) to be spaced at a predetermined distance with respect to each other, a seedling picking-out mechanism(50) for picking out the plug seedling(G) from the cell(14a) of the plug seedling tray(14) and introducing it into one of the receptacles(36) of the seedling transfer mechanism(30), and a seedling planting mechanism(90) for picking out the plug seedling(G) from the receptacle(36) and planting it in the cell(15a) of the transplanted seedling tray(15) or the pot. The thus constituted transplanter becomes compact, and the transplanting operation can be carried out rapidly.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A transplanter for transplanting a plug seedling grown in a cell of a plug seedling tray containing a plurality of cells to a transplanted seedling tray or a pot, said transplanted seedling tray containing a plurality of cells, said transplanter comprising
a plug seedling carrying means for carrying the plug seedling tray, a transplanted seedling carrying means spaced from the plug seedling carrying means for carrying the transplanted seedling tray or the pot, a seedling transfer mechanism disposed across the plug seedling carrying means and the transplanted seedling carrying means for transferring the plug seedling from a position above the plug seedling tray to a position above the transplanted seedling tray or the pot, the seedling transfer mechanism including an endless chain or belt passing above the plug seedling carrying means and the transplanted seedling carrying means and circulating in a plane inclined with respect to a horizontal plane, the endless chain or belt being provided with cupped receptacles on the outer peripheral surface of the endless chain or belt, the cupped receptacles having upwardly directed openings for containing plug seedlings to be spaced a predetermined distance apart, a seedling picking-out mechanism for picking out the plug seedling from the cell of the plug seedling tray and depositing it into one of the cupped receptacles of the seedling transfer mechanism, and a seedling planting mechanism for retrieving the plug seedling from the cupped receptacle and planting it in the transplanted seedling tray or the pot.
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19. A transplanter for transplanting a plug seedling grown in a cell of a plug seedling tray to a transplanted seedling tray or a pot, said transplanted seedling tray containing a plurality of cells, said transplanter comprising
a plug seedling carrying means for carrying the plug seedling tray, a transplanted seedling carrying means spaced from the plug seedling carrying means for carrying the transplanted seedling tray or the pot, a seedling transfer mechanism disposed across the plug seedling carrying means and the transplanted seedling carrying means for transferring the plug seedling from a position above the plug seedling tray to a position above the transplanted seedling tray or the pot, the seedling transfer mechanism including an endless chain or belt passing above the plug seedling carrying means and the transplanted seedling carrying means and circulating in a plane inclined with respect to a horizontal plane, the endless chain or belt being provided with cupped receptacles on the outer peripheral surface of the endless chain or belt, the cupped receptacles having upwardly directed openings for containing plug seedlings to be spaced a predetermined distance apart, and a sensor means for determining whether the plug seedling in a cupped receptacle is of a desired size, a seedling picking-out mechanism for picking out the plug seedling from the cell of the plug seedling tray and depositing it into one of the cupped receptacles of the seedling transfer mechanism, and a seedling planting mechanism for picking out the plug seedling judged by the sensor to have a desired size from the cupped receptacle and planting it in one of the cells of the transplanted seedling tray or the pot.
Specification