Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Background of the Invent on
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to transplanting apparatus for
planting tree seedlings, lettuce, as well as other partially matured plants,
and pertains more particularly to apparatus for transferring the items to
; be planted from a tape supply into a furrow ormed as the apparatus advances
along the ground.
2~ Description of the Prior Art
Various machines have been contrived for planting or transplanting
small plants of various types. The prior art machines with which I am
acquainted have met with varying degrees of success. One particular trans-
planting machine that has proved reasonably successful is described in United -
States Patent No. 3,719,158 granted on March 6, 1973 to Herbert C.O. Roths
titled "Transplanting Machine". However, the machine is more complicated
than need be, requiring a number of synchronized movements that render it
quite intricate and costly.
Summary of the Invention
According to the present invention there is provided transplanting
apparatus comprising a mobile frame adapted to traverse a strip of soil to be
planted, first and second discs rotatably carried on said frame, said second
disc having at least an annular flexible portion adjacent its periphery, means
on said frame for rotating said discs in unison about a generally horizontal
-` axis, means for separating said first and second discs at an upper angular
location to provide an opening which, when viewed from above, has a closed
end in the direction said discs rotate, supply means including holding means
for holding the plants to be transplanted, feeding means for transporting the
holding means and the plants held thereby so as to successively introduce
portions of said plants into said opening and advance said plant portions in
a straight line toward the closed end of said opening, and release means for
successively releasing plants from said holding means at the closed end of
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said opening to drop the plants directly into -the opening for i.mmediate
gripping thereof by the annular portions of said discs that are at that time
forming the closed end of said opening for transfer to a lower angMlar loca-
tion, and means for separating said first and second discs at said lower
angular location for releasing said plants at said lower an~ular location
into a furrow.
A preferred embodiment of my invention comprises a mobile frame on
which a pair of plant ~ransfer discs are mounted for rotation in unison on a
. horizontal axis, the discs being in a side-by-side relation, although slightly
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spaced at their centers. One disc is rigid and the other flexible. Near
the topJ more specifically at the eleven o'clock position, a member extends
inwardly between the two discs so as to flex the flexible disc away from the
rigid disc at this upper location, thereby forming a continuously open V-
shaped space or void into which the leaf end of the plants to be transplanted
are successively delivered from a tape supply. At the top or twelve o'clock
position a second member bears against the outer surface of the flexible disc
and presses this disc toward the rigid disc to close the V-shaped opening
formed by the first member. At the bottom or six o'clock position the flex-
: 10 ible disc is flexed away from ~he rigid disc by a third memberJ which extends
inwardly between the two discs, to successively release the plants that have
been transferred from the upper location to the lower location, the plants
being delivered root first into a furrow formed as the apparatus traverses a
strip of ground to be planted. As the discs rotate, a fourth member acts
against the outside of the
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do~m~.~ardl l! traveling s-~.ent oi~ th~ ~lexible disc to ~ress .i'
2Gainst t:~e rigid disc to assure revention o~ the plant3 as
they are being transferred-fro~ the u~per location ~o the
lower location~
A supply tape composed of -~arious soft elastomeric
blocks secured to a flexible 9 but nonstretching, backing strip
provides slits lnto ~hich the various plants can be lnitlall~
l.nsertedO The supply tape is fed ~ast the up~er location and
Plexed so as ~o open the slits as each slit passes abo~e the
discs~ HoweYer9 as each plant arrlves, it ~irst advances
through the open space continuously provided between the discs .
- ~ as t:hey ap-oroach the top or twe~Ye o'clock position, and as
. ~ the open space becomes progresslvely narrowerS the periphery o~
the ~lexible dlsc ls pressed against the rigid dlsc at khe.
twelve o 7 clock position with the stem of the plant clasped
therebetween~ khe timing being such that the discs literally
- pull the pla~t from the supply ta~e a-. the moment the slit open~
;~ ~ to rele2se 'che plarltO
The speed ol the supply tape may be changed in order
to chang~ the rate at whlch the pl~nts are deli~ered to the
transfe~ discs and thereby deposit the plants at appropriatel~r
selected svacin~s in the furro~J. A furrow opener precedes the
tran~;fer discs and a pair o:E packing irheels trall behind the
. discs so that the apparatus achie~/es ~ com~letely automated
transplanting of various plants.
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~r~ ef Description o~ the Dra7,~rinGs
~ igure 1 is an elevational view of one side o~
transplæn.~ing apparatus ex~mpli~ying my invention;
Pigure 2 is a perspective view taken from the
opposits side appearing in Figure l;
Figure 3 ls an enlarged perspective view Q~ a por-
tion o~ the apparatus seen în Figure l;
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Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken in the
direction of line 4-4 in Flgure l;
Figure 5 ls a horizontal sectlonal view taXen ~n the
dlrectlon of llne 5-5 ln Fi~ure 1~
Figure 6 is a bottom plan view taken in the dlrectlon
of line 5~5 in Figure 19
Figure 7 is- an enlarged detail view constituting
portion of Figure 5, and
~ igure 8 is another detail vlew5 this view looking
downwardly at the two discs in ~he direction o~ line 8-8 in
Flgure 1 ~or ~he purpose of depicting ~he V~shaped open-Ln~ into
which the plants are successively delivered.
2a Description of the Preferred Embodiment
Transplantlng apparatus illustrating m~ invention
has been denoted generally by the reference numeral 10~ The
apparatus 10 comprlses a ~rame 12 composed o~ laterally sp2ced
side mer..bers 14 9 160 As the description progresses~ ~t wi}-
become e~ident that the apparatus 10 can be sufficiently narrow
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that parallQl or multiple ro~s only one ~oot apart can be
transplanted. In other words~ the side members 14~ 16 can
be quite close together without detractin~ from the efficien~
operation and proper functioning of the various components
hereinafter describedO Although the apparatus 10 can be self-
propelled (and this is desirable when transplanting rows ha~ing
a narrow spaclng~g it i9 simpler to assume that it is towed
. or pulled by a tractor (not shown); there~ore, a drawbar 1
extends forwardly from the ri~ht or front end o~ t~e frame ~-2
SU~DOrting the ~orward end of the frame 12 is a
~round~engaging drive wheel 20 journaled ~or rotation on a
shaft Z2 extending between the spaced side members 14, 16.
~he shaft 22 has a drive sprocket 24 keyed thereto.
A chaln 26 ls ~n mesh with the drl~e spro~ket 24~ the
.15 chain 26 extending rearwardl~ so as to rotate a plant transfer
mechanism 28~ More speclPically~ the transfer mechanism ~8 in-
cludes a horisontal shaft 30 having its ends jou~naled ~or ro-
kation in the spaced side members 14, 16 of the frame 12~ the
shaft 30 having a drlve sprocket 31 secured thereto~
Playlng an important role in the practiGin~ o~ my
lnvention and constituting an integral part of the trans~er
mechanism 28 ls a ri~ld disc 32g preferably of s~eel, mounted
on the shaft 30 and a flexible disc 34, praferably of reinfor~ed
rubberg also mounted on the same shaft 30. The disc 34 is
slightly largar in diametQr than the disc 32. A tubular spacer
or slee~Je 35 ~'igure 7) about 1-1/2 inches lon~ encircles t~
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shaft 30 bet.~een the dis^s 32, 34 to keep ~hem separated or
spaced a?ar,, at their cent,ers or hu-~s. A oortion of' the
shaft 30 is threaded and the two dl~cs 32 ~ 34 are cla~ed
in their slightly spaced relation by tT~Jo nu~s 36. In practice~
two pins (not shown) extend through th_ discs 32, 34 to
prevent any relati~e rota~ion therebetween. In this wa~, the
dlscs 32, 34 are rotated in unison by means o~ the chain 26
and the sproclcèts 245, 310
As c~n be most readlly appreciated from Figure 3,
the trans~er mechanism 28 further compri~es an upstanding s~an-
dard 379 pre~erably of rectangular tubing~ Nelded at its lower
end to the slde member 14 of the frame 12. The standard 37
carr~es ak its upper end a vertically ad~ustable bracke~ 38
ha~ln~ a slot 40 therelnO Bolts 42 extend through hole~ in
the standard 37 and the slot 40 so as to malntain the bracket
38 at an appropriate elevation. The bracket 38 supports a
horizontal plate 44.
-~ At thls time~ attention is directed ko a~ openln~
-:~ or f`lexing unit indlcated generally by the refer~nce numeral
460 The un_t 46 includes a spacer block 48 secured to the
unflerslde o., the horizontal plate 44 by means o~ an anchor
bolt 50, A straight rod 52 is welded to the underslde of
: the spacer ~lock 48 and proJects in opposite dirertions ~here-
from. An ~nverted U-sha~ed rod 54 composed o~ leg portions
54a~ 5l1b and a connectlng bi~ht ~ortion 54c has its leg por-
tlon 511~ ~Jelded to one pro~est~n~ end o, the rod 5~ so that
the bight 54c curves over the peri~h~ral edge of the flexible
disc 3l' in order khat the leg 54b ex~ends downwardly betr.~e~n
the con~ronting annular portions o~ the two discs 32, 34.
The memb2r or leg 54b bears against the inner surface of the
flexible disc 34 at the eleven o~clock position so as to
flex ~he ~lexible disc 34 away fro~. the rigid disc 32 to pro-
vide an open space tlater referred to by the reference numeral
21~) for a purpose presenkly to be made mani~est, Th~ other
end of the stralght rod 52 carrles an integral presser shoe 56.
0 Thus 9 while khe ~eg 54b spreads or separates *he ~lexible disc
.
34 aw2y from the rigid dlsc 329 the presser shoe 56 bears
againsk khe outer surface of the ~lexible disc 34 at khe twel~
o~clock posltion ~o as ko urge the dlsc 34 agains~ the rigid
disc 32O Here agaln3 the reason for this will soon be ex-
plainedO
Whereas the opener or flexing unit 46 ~s located at
substantially the eleven o'clock position, a~ already ex~
plai~ed, a lower opening or flexin~ unit 58 is located so a~ ~o
separate or open the discs 32, 34 a~ substantially the si~
o~ clock ~osition. The unit 58 includes an angle iron 6~ ad-
~ustably secured ko the side member 14 by a pair of bolts 6
extend~ng inwardly through two horizontal slots 64 in~o ~pped
hole~ pro~Jided in the ~ertical flan~e of the member 60~ ~lded
to the horizontal flange of khe mem~er 60 ls a ~urved rod 66
that flexes the botkom marginal por.,ion of the flexible disc 34
away from the rigid disc 32. Althou~h not complekely apparen~
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at ~his par~icular s~a~e of the description~ the lo~rer unir 58
e.fects a release of the plants that are trc~ns~erred ~rom the
twelve otclock or upper location to the si~ orclock or lo-~rer
location.
Referring now to what will be termed a closing unit
72, it will be discerned ~hat it includes an upper angle iron
74 and a lo~,Jer angle iron 76, the horizontal flanges o~ these
~ngle irons 74~ 76 being welded to the side member 14 of the
~rame 12. Each vertical flange of the angle members 74~ 76
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has a hor~zontal slot 78 formed therein. It will be noted
that an arcuate presser rod 8Q subtends a su~starl~ial arc e~c-
~end~ng generally from the one or two o'clock pos:ition to
about the :~ive o~cïock positionO The presser rod 80 has an
~ upper threaded stud 82 and a lower threaded stud 84 which are
.. : '5 recei~ed in the slots 78 of the angle irons 7~ and 76, therebelng a nut 86 on the stud 82 and a nut 88 on th~ stud 84 so
as ko olamp the arcuate presser rod 80 in a pre~erred radially
located positionO The ~resser rod 80 functions ~o urge the
~ flexible dlsc 311 toward the rlOid disc 32 during the ma~or
., 20 portion of the downward travel of the discs 32~ 34. OP course,
the presser shoe 56 initiates the closing aGtion; the arcuate
rod 80 continues it for the remalnder o~ the downward tra~rel~
Ref'errirlg now to the plant s~pply mechanism indicated
general:l.y by the refererlce numeral 90, it will ~e seen that it
1 ncludes a rear mast or support 92 that extends ~er.,ically
upT,Yardly 4he side 16 OL the f`rame 12. Carried at the up~er end .
o~ the mast 92 is a ta~e suppl~- reel 94 ~aving a ~ub 96 thereon.
The reel 94 is rotatably mounted on a pin 98 extending from
the up?er end of the mast 92. A drag is im~osed on the reel
94 through the agency of a fric~ion brake 100 tFigure l) moun~ed
on an arm 102 which is attached to the mast 92. The pl~nt
supply mec~anism 90 further includes a guide or a deflection
roller 104 mounted on a pln 106 carried at the free end ~f ~n
arm 108 extending ~rom a lower portion o~ the mast 92.
- A post 110 has its lower end welded to the ~rame
. side member 14~ The support 110 has attached t~ its upper
end a U shaped member 112 providing a pair o~ laterally spaced
gulde plates 114 for twistl~g the plant supply tape still ~o
be referred to. Larger plates for guiding the leaves 7 ~hile
stlll held by the supply tape have been omitted ~or reasons
o~ clarity in that they merely guide or direct the lea~ ends
- of the plants to be transplanted into the trans~er mechanlsm
28~ more speclfically between the discs 32 and 34. How~ver~
even though lts omlssion would perhaps make the dr~w~n~ simpler5 :
a channel-shaped member 115 has been illustraked prnvi.din~
a pair o~ laterally spaced plates 116 that guide the roo~ end~
of the plants while held between the discs 32~ 34 a~ th~ plant~
are being transferred downwardly. The plates 116 are secured
dlrectly to ~,he side members 14, 16.
~ Continulng wlth the description of' ~he plan~ ~uppl~
m_chanism 90~ it will now be explained tha~ it fur~her includes
a pair ol t~.pe flex~ng or diverting rollers 118, l~G mounted on
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vertical pins 122, 124, respectively, that e~tend upwardly
from the previously mentioned horizontal plate 44.
A for.~ardly disposed mast or support 126 has its
lower end secured to the side member 16. Partway up the
mast 126 i5 Journaled a transverse shaft 128 having a hexa-
gonal portion for remova~ly keying a sprocket 130 on the sha~t
128 and about which the previously m~ntioned chain Z6 passes.
Also carried on the shaft 128 is a taae dri~e roller 132
. and a pulley 134~ Secured to the mast 126 benea~h the shaft
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: lO 128 ~s an inclined arm 138 carryi~g at ~ts opposite ends a
palr of deflect;1ng or guide rollers 140, 142 mourlted on trans~
verse plns 144~ 146~ respectively9 attached ~o the arm 138.
Still con~lnulng wlth the descrlption of the plan~
supply mechanism 90~ attentlon is now called to a rewind reel
148 having a hub 150, the hub 150 being journaled on a shaf~
~52 extending from the upper end o~ the mast 126. Also on ~he
. . . . ~ shaft 152 is a pulley 1540 A rewind drive belt 155 ~with
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slipplng tension to accommodate for taXe-up speed chan~;es Or
- the rewind reel 1489 the reel 148 rotating faste~t dur~ng ~}~e
initial rewind~ne of the tape yet to be speciflcally rePerred
to) e~etends about the pulleys 134~ 154 so as to ro~ate ~he
rewind reel 148 when the shaft 128 îs rota~ed ~ia the sprocke~
130 and chaln 26~
Havlng mentioned the spro~ket5 24, 31 and 130, ~he
chain 26 being entrained about all three o~ ~he~e sprocke~s3 ~t
: should noT.~ be ~olnted out that the relative s~e of t~e sprockets
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can be c~n~ed in order to provid~ dî~fer~nt speed ~ariation~
for a purpose soon to become clea-~r. MQre speci~ically, ~t
is planned ~hat the sprocket 130 be changed, the substitut~on
having been lacili~ated ln practi^e by having a hexagonally
configured opening therein which ~Lts over the hexaæonal
portion of the shaft 128~ Because OL the in~ended change ~n
the size of the sprocket 130, plus the ~act that any slack in
the chain 26 should be taken up~ there i9 employed a spring
loaded idler sprocket 158 mounted on the ~rame 12. Th~ sprocket
lQ . 1~8 simply ~unctions to keep the cha.in 26 taut so no need is
seen ~or detailing the wa~ in which it i~ mounted and ~he
manner in whioh i~ is spring loaded.
; A supply tape has been indicated generally by the ~ :
reference numeral 1600 More speciLi cally~ the tape supply
1~ includes a flexible nonstretching belt or backing strlp 162
~o which sof~ ~oamed elastomer~c ~locks 164 are adhesi~ely
secured provlding a multiplicity o~ slits 1667 there be~rlg one
such slit 166 between each two blocks 164~ ~Gtually~ a lQng
strip of the resilient and readily compressible elastomRri~
~0 ~aterial is initially bonded to the belt 162 and cut at de~
sired intervals to form the slits 166~ This supply ~ape 160
.~ /S~
is general~y similar to khat re~erred to in Patent No~ T~J~Y
here~n earller menkioned~ Ho~JeYer~ its cons~ru~tion ~s ~i~pler
in that the grommetted sprocket holes used for ~.he synch~onized
advance~ent o~ the tape needed fo- the tr~nsplantln~ m~chine o~
Pakent 3~719~158 are not required -.~.~en prackicing the inst~n~ .
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. invention.
The function of the su~ly tape 160 is to furn~sh
partially grown plants 170 in a serial sequence to the
. transfer mechani~m 280 It will be helpful to assign the
- 5 referenoe n~meral 170a to the root end o~ the plants 170 and
~he reference numeral 170b to the leaf end thereo~. The
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root ends 170a are inserted lnto the slits 166 by bending the
belt or backing skrip 162 suf:ficiently to open the slits.
However, when th~ tape 1~0 is strai~ht or substantially so,
; 10 the adJacent blocks 164 gently squee~e or press against the
root ends 170a so as ko hold them~ -
~ apparakus 10 further comprises a furrow opening
unit 172~ The unit 172 includes a plow structure 173 havlng
a forwardly d~ sposed ~rertical edge 174 that separates or
penetrates the soil to form the furrow or trench as the
apparatus 10 ls advanced across the ~ield to be planted~ The
plow struc~ure 173 has a closed V shaped bottom 17~ f'ormlng
a slot 17~ and laterally spaced panels 177 that straddle the
more forward ~egments of the dlscs 32, 34 to prevent the
furrow fro~ caving in until the plants 170 have been dropped
therein~
The furrow opening unit 172 has an arm 178 extend~ng
~orwar~ly from the plow structure 173 and by means o~ a hole
in the arm the forward end of the plow structure 173 can be
anchored to a bracket 1829 the upper end of' the bracket 182
~ being welded to the ~ide member ~ OI the frame 12.
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A vertical adjustment of the forward end of the plow structure
173 is realized via a series of vertically extending holes 184
in the bracket 182 and a pin 186 that is inserted through the
most appropriate holes 184, thereby determining the depth at
which the plow structure 173 travels in forming the furrow.
Toward the rear of the plow structure 173 is a pair of
upwardly extending plates 188. The upper ends of the plates 188
can be adjustably ~although not shown as so being) attached to :~
the side members to vary the depth at which the rear of the plow
173 extends.
A furrow closing unit 196 is also employed. It ~:
includes a pair of angled brackets 198, there being one de-
` pending from the side member 14 and the toehr from the side
; member 16. As perhaps best viewed in Figure 3, a series of
horizontally disp~sed holes 200 and a series of similar holes
202 are formed in the two side members 14 and 16. Bolts 204
and 206 are positioned ln selected holes 200 and 202 so as to
orient properly the brackets 198 in a fore and aft direction with ~ :
respect to the discs 32 and 34. The brackets 198 are shaped so
that axles 208 angle outwardly and downwardly to rotatably sup-
port canted soil packing wheels 210 having soil. engaging rims
212 which press the spread-apart soil back into the furrow to
complete the transplan:ting of the plants 170. As will become
apparent from the operational description now to be given, it
is important to position the packing wheels 210 with respect to
the discs 32 and 34 so as to assist with the release of the root
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ends 170~ of the pl~nts 170 from the transfer mechanism 28.
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In preparing my transplanting appa~atus 10 ~or use,
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the plants 170 are placed in the various slits 166 between
~ 5 the resilient blocks 164 o~ the supply tape 160. The loaded
- tape 160 is then coiled on the supply reel 94 and the leading
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end o~ the tape ~s brought around the idler roller ~04. Ad-
vancement of the tape 160 ~ s manually contlnued~ the tapebeing
- placed between the two tape ~lexin~; rollers 118, 120. Fromthe rollers 118~ 120 it ls threaded around the drive roller 12
past the ~wo guide rollers 140 and 142~ and finally upward-y
- ~-o the hub 150 of the rewlnd reel 1480 m è foregolng result~
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in a stretch o~ several feet of tape beyond the tape ~lex~n~
rollers 118 D 120 wh~re the ~arious plants are released ~hat
need not have any plants contained in the slits 166 in thi~
Iength o~ tapeG
Depending upon the variety and size of the plants
170g the furrow openin~ unlt 172 should be mounted to pro~id~
B the proper depth of ~urrow a the po ltian o~ the~ s ~ and
~1~8 readily permittlng thiso
Yarious ad~ustments can be readily made as ~ar as
the plant krans~er mechanism 28 is con~erned. In this regard,
the members 54 (together w1th the member 56~ ~ 7a and 80 c~:~
the unlts 469 58 and 72 are individually ad~ustable to achieve
a timed plant transfer and also so khat planks of di.feren~
: lengths and varieties can be trans~lanted. More specifically,
- it is im~ortant that t,he shoe 56 close the V-shaped o~enir.O
214 (Figure 8) at the top just as the plants 170 are being
released from the supply ~ape 160.
Furtherg since ~he plants 170 should be held by the
. discs 32, 34 at thelr stQms 3 that is between the root ends
170aand the leaf ends 170bg members 56 and 80 should be properly
positioned so that this holdlng action is achieved. Acco.rdingly,
~, e ~ e ~
it ~ollows that the ~efflb~s 54 ~ should be lnserted be
tween the dlscs 32 and 34 to a ~reater or lesser distance de-
pendlng on whether the plant 170 has relatl~ely long leaves
170b and/or relatively long roots 170a. Also, the arcua~e
member 80 of the closln~; tmit 72, which presses against ~he
outer side of the Plexible dtsc 34~ should bear against the
most approprlate arcuate portion o~ the flexible disc 34 ~o
as to effect a gentle grlpping o~ the plants ad~acent the
disc peripheries thereby causing less dama~e to the plant$
during their downward travel while belng trans~erred from ~he
upoer locatlon where they are received to the lower locati~n
where they are relea~edO As best under~tood from Figllre 7~
the membe~ 80 ls radial.l~ positi.oned somewhat inwardl~ ~rom
th2 periphery of the ~îexible dlsc 34 so as to preserve ~he .
flared o~ dlverging space acco~odatin~ the leaves 170b.
Once ~he several member units ~-~i ,. 58 and 72 have ~een
properly po~itlonedg when the a~paratus 10 is towed by a trac~or
~not sho~.rn, although the a~paratus can be sel~-propelled ~s al-
ready indicated), then various movements automaticall y occur.
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It will ~ hel~ul9 it is belie~d3 to assign arr3rls to the~e
movements. Therefore, the ar:~o.~ la~eled 220 denotes khe di-
rection of travel of the a~aratlls 10 across bhe stri~ of soil
. to be plantedO The a~ro-~ 222 in~icates the direction in whlch
.~5 the supply reel 94 rot2tes9 where s the arro~.T 224 denote5
- the direction in which the rewi~.d r~e7 148 rotates. The di
rection in whlch the supply tapQ 160 moves is indicated by ~he
reference nu.meral 2260 T.'ne direction in which the chain 26
; moves has been indicated by the reference numeral 22~, the chaln
26 causlng the dlscs 32 and 34 to rotate in the direction oY
t he arrow 2 3 0 O
Inasmuch as the member 54, more speci~ica~ly its
:Leg 54b, belonging to the unit 46 extends downwar~ly between
the two di scs 32 and 34 ~ ack uallJ bearing a~ainst the inner ~ur-
~5 face of the ~nnular portion of the flexible disc 34 ad~acent
: its periphery~ it flexes the annular portion ou~wardly away
~rom the rl~d disc 320 mls re3ults ln the forma~ion of the
.~ V-shaped open space labeled 214 in Flgure 8. From Figure 2~
. it is believed evldent that the tape~flexing rollexs 118 and
120 deflect ~he t~pe 160 in a direction to open ~he ~arious
slits 166 as they pass above the space or openin~; 214, more
precisely d~ q~ckly over ~,he end o~ the openin~; 214 ~eing
closed by ~he presser sh~e 5~ should be recognized that
entrance to the space or openinO 214 is cons~antly kept open
by vir.,ue o f the de:Elect~ ve aci,ion exerted agains~ the ~lexlble
disc 34 by ~he leg 5LIbo However~ th~ shoe 5O bears a~;alnst the
outer side of the flexible disc 34 so as to press the disc 34
closed Just as the slits 166 o~en, thereby Gently pulling t;ne
leaf ends 170b from the tape 160.
To assure retention o~ the plants 170, the arcuate
rod 80 of the closing unit continues the pressural action in-T-
- tiated by the shoe 569 doing so through an arc or an~le ex-
tending do-rnwardly to the lower location where the plants are
releasedO Inasmuch as Figure 5 is taken in the dlrection of
llne 5~5 of ~lgure 1~ lt can be seen that the periphery o~ the
~10 dlsc 34 is being pressed toward the di5c 32 to hold ~he plan~s
-~ 170 .at thelr stems between their root and leaf ends. The
inventio~ permlts only enough pressure to be app~led to hold
the particular type of plant 17Q being transplanted~ Conse-
quentlyg ~he peripheries of the discs 32, 34 need not ac~uall~
1 5 kouchg as is believed e~rident from F~ures 5 and 7 (and also
; to a degree from Figura 89 although a plant does not appear
ln thls particular view) a instead, they need onl~ contact the
plant stems with suffIcient ;firmness to assure their retentior
, . . .
during the do-:rnward transfer phase of the operation~
Once the plants 170 reach ~he lower lo~ation~ the
,
:rod or ~inger 66 o~ the lower opening unit 5~ ~lexes ~he ~lexi~le
disc 3~ awa~y lrom the rlgld disc ~ust enough to elimln~t:e ehe
holding pressure that has been exerted by the rQd 8~ up to th~ 5
point. This releases ~he plan~s 17~ more spec~ically~ ~heir
leaf ends 17~b which ar~ now free to be pulled from betT~reen the
discs 32~ 34. ~he plants 170 are pulled downwardly ~rom ~he discc
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32, 34 by the furrow closing unit 196 ln ~hat the rims 212
of the packing wheels 210 immediately press the soil dis-
placed by the furro~J opening unit 172 back into the furrow
and against the root ends ~70aO This t~med action is
achieved by properly positioning the packin~ ~heels 21~ in
relatlon to the discs 32, 34, so that thelr canted rims 212
press the soil firmly around the root ends 170aO ~he ad~us~
; able brackets 198 are movable fo~ardly or rearwardly to ~hift
the wheels 220 into the ~ought after optimum relation with the
~0 . di~cs 329 3l~ .D as ehould be readlly understandable ~ ~onsequentlg~
th@ plants ï70 are tran~p:Lanted in an upright ma~ner~
~nasmuGh a~ plants 170 should be spaced during the
transplanting thbreof at intervals or spacings mos~ appropriate
to the partlcular varie-ty of plant, the apparatus 10 lllustrati
my lnventlon lends itself readlly to obtainin~; ~he ~est spacing
between pïants as they are placed in ~he furrow~ In this re-
gardg the sprocket 130~ be~ng remova~le ~rom the ~haft 12~,
can be chan~;ed,~ a larger or s~naller sprocke~ alterlnæ the speed
at which the kape 160 is advanced i n relation to the for~
speed o~ the apparatus 10 in the directlon o~ the arrow 220
and hence de~ermlnlng the number of plants ~70 deli~ered to
the transfer mechanism 28 during a ~i~en interval o~ t~mÆ. Con-
sequently3 lt is not necessary to chan~e to a di~ferent plant
supply tape 160 with dif~erent slit spaclngs.
Consequently, my apparatus lO is quite versatile and
ls susceptible to ~arious alterations which make it suitable for
~ /5
the effective and efficient tra~spl~nting of different ~aristies
of plantsg with minimal amount of dam~ge to fragile plants 3 such
as bibb lettuce, and virtually no damage to rough plants, 5uch
as tree seedlings. Because of its extreme simplicity and
ru~gedness~ the apparatus 10 functions well in the ~ield, re~
:~ sulting in very little downtime for maintenance and repairs.
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