Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The present invention rela~es to a planting device for planting of
plants comprising a frame to be connected to a traction vehicle, a
support arm carried by said frame and extending essentially paral-
lel to the direction of movement of the traction vehicle, said
support arm being vertic~lly displaceably supported by the frarne, and
planting means supported by the support arm displaceably in the
direction of movement of the traction vehicle, and a plant feeding
means arranged to move between a delivery point of a plant distribu-
tion magazine and said planting means for transferring a plant from
said magazine to said planting means.
Planting devices are previously known in which a vertically movable
planting means which makes a planting hole in the ground and drops
therein a plant to be set is mounted on a support arm carried by
a frame. This support arm is mounted in the frame so that the support
arm is pivotable in a vertical plane by means of an actuator between
a raised retracted position and a lowered planting position (Swedish
Patent Specification 378,167 and Finnish Patent Specification 53,391).
Due to such a link construction, the support arm can be held on a
suitable level above the ground surface in relation to the planting
means and, when necessary, be lifted upwards-backwards in a vertical
plane to keep clear of any obstacles on the driving path of the
vehicle.
Various plant feeding mcans have been used for transferring plants
to be set one by one from a plant distribution magazine to a plant-
ing means. The purpose of the fecding mcans is to receive a plant
to be set from the delivery opening of the magazinc, to transfer the
planttoaplantingtube of the planting means and to drop the plant
into ~he planting tube. It is previously known to use as a plant
feeding means a hose which connects the delivery opening of the
magazine to the planting tube and through which the plant moves
into the planting tube. However, the hose permits only the transfer
of certain plants, for example, by means of pressure air, otherwise
the transfer speed remains too low. Also various articulated arm
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constructions have been developed to carry out the trarSfer of plants.
Because the position of the delivery opening oF the plant distribu-
tion magazine is fixed, whereas the location of the plantiny tube
may vary not only in the vertical direction but also in the lateral
direction depending on the retracting movements of the support arm
carrying the planting means, the known articulated arm constructions,
however, function in an unreliable manner, wherefore the reception
of plants from the magazine and their delivery to the planting tube
do not always take place with a sufficient precision. In addition,
the articulated arm constructions are lax, heavy and long and do
not permit high speeds of movement.
In the planting device disclosed in the Finnish Patent Specification
53,391 the opening of the planting tube can, in fact, be positioned
under the feeding pipe from the magazine, when a new plant is to be
fed into the planting tube, but this requires that the planting
means and the support arm are turned to the upper position for the
duration of the plant feeding stage.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a planting
device which eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks and wllich
20 . permits the transfer of plants to be set always from the same place
in the traction vehicle always to the same place in the planting
device irrespective of the position of the planting means in rela-
tion to the traction machine. This object is reached by means of
a planting device according to the invention which is characteriz-
ed in that the plant feeding means is arranged displaceably along
the same path of movement as thc frollt cnd of the support arm
supporting the planting mcans, and in ~hat said path of movement
is journalled in said frame pivotally around a vertical axis passing
through said delivery point of the plant distribution magazine.
The planting device according to the invention is based on the
idea that the plant feeding means is arranged to move along the
same path of movement as the front end of the support arm supporting
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the planting means, whereby the planLing means and the plant feeding
means maintair ~heir mutual position irresprctive of the elevational
and lateral retracting movements of the planting means. By means of
arranging the pivot axis of the lateral pivoting movement of the
support arm and, accordinyly, also of the path of movement of the
plant feeding means vertically below the delivery point of the
plant distribution m3gazine, the plant feediny means will always
automatically position itself below said delivery point irrespective
of the retracting movements of the planting device. The construction
of the plant feeding device will be sturdy and simple and permitting
high speeds of movement.
Preferably the plant feeding means is mounted for movement along
the support boom on which the support arm is displaced in a verti-
cal plane between a lowered planting position and a lifted retracted
position and which support boom is journalled on the frame pivotally
around a vertical axis. In this way, both the plant feeding means
and the front end of the the support arm move along the longitudinal
axis of the support boom, whereby a plant cup carried by the plant
feeding means can be simply arranged to always reach in the lowered
position of the plant feeding means a position exactly above the
: upper end of the planting tube of the planting means irrespective
of the elevational and lateral position of the support arm.
The invention will be described in more detail in the following
with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a side view of one preferred embodiment of the planting
device according to the invention and of the rear part of a traction
vehicle, with the plant feeding means located in a lowered feeding
positlon,
Figure 2 is a top view of the planting device,
Figure 3 is a similar view to Figure 1 with the plant feeding means
located in a raised receiving position,
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Figure 4 is a schematic view oF a second embodiment of the planting
device, and
Figure 5 is a schematic view oF a third embodiment of the planting
device.
The planting device shown in Figures 1 to 3 of the drawing generally
comprises a frame 1, a support boom 2, a support arm 3, and a plant-
ing means 4, and a plant feed-ing means 5. The planting device is
intended to be mounted on the rear part of a traction vehicle 6,
such as a tractor or plant setting machine. The direction of move-
ment of the traction vehicle is indicated by the reference A.
The case-like frame 1 is journalled by means of a vertical pivot
pin 7 between ears 8 supported by the traction vehicle so that the
frame can restrictedly pivot in the manner indicated by the arrow
B (Figure 2) around the pivot pin 7. The ears 8 are arranged so that
the pivot pin is located vertically below a delivery opening 10 of
a plant magazine 9 mounted on the traction vehicle.
In the frame are mounted guide rollers 11 supporting and guiding a
curved support boom 12 so that the support boom is displaceable in
a vertical plane along an arc-shaped path of movement C coinciding
with the longitudinal axis of the support boom. The support boom
is displaced upwards and downwards by means of a fluid motor 13
through a wire 14 fastened to the support boom for absorbing
shocks appljed to the planting device.
To the lower end of the support boom is rigidly fastened a rear-
wardly directed support arm 15 forming a guide for a carriage 16
moving along said arm. The carriage supports a vertical planting
tube 18 displaceable upwards and downwards by means of a hydraulic
cylinder 17 and a guiding paw 19 fixedly connected to the carriage.
A hydraulic cylinder which returns the carriage from the rear end
of the support arm to the front end thereof is indicated by the
reference numeral 2 0 .
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To the outside of the curved support boom 12 are fastened curved
rails 21 which are parallel to the longitudinal axis of the support
boom. A sledge 22 is mounted to move along said rails. An arm 24 is
pivotally journalled by means of a shaft pin 23 to the sledge. The
outer end of said arm is pivotally supports a plant cup 25. A
spring 26 keeps the arm in the basic position shown in Figure 1 in
relation to the sledge. A link chain 27 extends around a chain wheel
28 fastened to the cup and around a chain wheel 29 fixedly connected
to the sledge. To the inner end of the arm 24 is fastened a guide
cam 30. The support boom is provided with a transfer chain 31 extend-
ing around a chain wheel 32 journalled in the upper end of the
support boom and around a chain wheel journalled in the lower end and
rotated by a fluid motor 33. The sledge is fastened to this chain.
The sledge is displaced by means of the chain on the rails 21 along
the longitudinal axis of the support boom, whereby the cup 25 in a
corresponding manner moves along a path of movement E defined by a
circular arc. At the upper end of the path of movement the guide
cam of the arm 24 contacts a guide 25 fastened to the frame and
forcing the arm to pivot in relation to the sledge so that the cup
moves along a curved path of movement F to a position below the
delivery opening 10 of the plant magazine. The chain 27 then pivots
: the cup into a vertical position.
As the vehicle advances and the guiding paw 19 follows unevennesses
in the ground, the guiding paw raises or lowers the support arm 15
via the carriage 16, whereby the support boom 12 rigidly fastened
thereto in a corresponding manner moves upwards and downwards on
the guide rollers 11. The guiding paw and plant setting tube are
in this way able to move aside for a considerable distance in the
vertical direction even if they are located right in the front end
of the support arm.
The guiding paw and the planting tube form in a manner known per se
a planting hole in the ground, drop a plant into the hole and com-
pact the plant while the carriage stays immovable in relation to
the ground and the carriage moves towards the rear end of the support
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arm due to the fact that thc support arm is continuously pulled
forwards. Thereafter the hydraulic cylinder 20 returns the carriage
to the initial position shown in Figure 1. At the same time, the
fluid motor 33 has moved the sledge 22 to the upper position in
which the cup is located under the delivery opening 10 of the plant
magazine and has received a plant to be set froM said magazine and
has thereafter returned the sledge to the initial position shown in
Fi9ure 1 in which the plant is dropped into the planting tube 18.
It will be noted that the cup can by means of the shown construction
in its upper receiving position always be positioned exactly below
the delivery opening 10 of the magazine and in its lower delivery
position always exactly above the planting tube 18 irrespective of
the elevation of the support arm 15.
The alternative embodiment shown in Figure 4 differs from the pre-
ceding one only in that the support boom 112 is straight. Corres-
ponding parts are indicated by the same reference numerals as in
the preceding embodiment.
The alternative shown in Figure 5 differs from the one shown in
Figures 1 to 3 in that the curved support boom 212 is immovable in
20 . the vertical plane and is journalled at its upper end in ears 8 on
the frame 201 and that the support arm 15 is rigidly fastened to the
sledge 22 which, in turn, is mounted on the support boom for move-
ment along its curved longitudinal axis. In this embodiment, the
guide rollèrs 11 and the relieving means 13 are mounted in the
sledge 202.
The embodiment shown in Figure 5 can be modified in a manner similar
to Figure 4 by replacing the curved support boom 212 with a straight
support boom.
It will be noted that also in the embodiments shown in Figures 4
and 5 the plant cup and the uppercndoftheplanting tube can be
caused to move along the same path of movement E due to the fact
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that the front end of the support arm and the sledge of the plant
feeding means move along a common path of movement C on the support
boom.
The drawings and the related specification are only intended to
S illustrate the idea of the invention. In its details the device
according to the invention may vcr~/ within the scope of the claims.
