Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Equipment for trans~erring balled seedlings
The invention relates to equipment and method
for transferring balled seedlings into substrate. The
invention is adapted for use in especially planting
seedlings from growing honeycom]bs into pots or honey-
combs having bigger pigeonholes.
Fox example indoor plants are generally ger-
minated to plant stage in honeycombs having several
pigeonholes. Plants germinated are then transferred to
grow further in separate pots. Today potting is
normally carried out in a manner that pots are trans-
ferred by a conveyor, substrate is put into pots, a
hole is made in substrate for the ball to be planted
and the ball is placed in the hole by hand simul-
taneously compacting the ball into the substrate. Due
to the fact that the procedure is thus to large extent
carried out manually, expenses turn in this manner
rather high.
The objective of this invention is thus to
create a system, which can be taken advantage of when
transferring balled seedlings automatically from the
honeycombs into the substrate, especially into separ-
ate pots.
The invention is described in independent
claims. Some oP its embodiments are described in
dependent claims.
In the invention it is essential that the
balled seedling is brought into a plant cup having a
form narrowing from the top downwards and an open
bottom as well as walls flexible sidewards. In this
cup the ball is then transferred downwards held by the
walls. When the cup reaches its bottom position the
flexible walls yield and the ball moves through the
cup into the substrate below.
The ball can be brought into the cup by a
special pushing device or just dropped in it.
The ball transferred into the substrate might
need compacting around it. For this purpose there can
be a special compacting device mounted in the equip~
ment.
The ball can in principle be transferred trough
the cup only by moving the cup quickly enough and
stopping the movement in a manner that the kinetic
energy of the ball makes it possible to push the walls
sidewards. Preferably, however, there is a special
release device for transferring the ball from the cup
into the substrate. Most convenient for the purpose
there are pushing devices to be found in the release
device, which pushing devices simultaneously act as
compacting devices for the ball.
In the schematic representation of the descrip~
tion
Fig. 1 is a plant cup of an equipment according
to the invention in its bottom position when trans-
ferring the plant into the substrate,
Fig. 2 is a plant cup of an equipmant according
to the invention in its bottom position when trans-
- 25 ferring the plant into the substrate, the equipment
additionally having a compacting device,
Fig. 3 is a front view of an equipment accord-
ing to the invention, in which equipment there is
additionally a pushing device for bringing the plant
into the cup as well as a release device for trans-
ferring the plant from the cup and compacting it,
Fig. 4 is a side view of an equipment according
to Fig. 3,
Fig. 5 shows transferring procedure of the
balled seedling from the cup in an equipment according
to Fig. 3,
Fig. 6 shows compacting of the balled seedling
into the substrate in an equipment~according to Fig.
3 and
Fig. 7 shows releasing oE pushing and compact-
ing devices from around the plant compacted.
In the following the invantion will be de-
scribed in more detail in reference to the accompany-
ing drawings.
In Fig. 1 there is a plant cup 1 to be seen. It
consists of four strips 3 outwards flexible connected
f downwards in a collar 2~ The top parts of the strips
form a cone narrowing downwards and the bottom parts
face directly downwards. When the strips are in
position of rest, the opening in the bottom of the cup
is smaller than the diameter of the ball to be plant-
ed. The cup is attached by a horizontal arm into a
pneumatic cylinder 4 to be able to move vertically.
When the cup 1 is in its top position, a cone-
shaped, in its cross profile quadratic balled seedling
5 is brought from the top in it. The ball is placed
in the cup in a manner that it does not go through the
cup but stays stuck in it compressed by the strips.
Then the cup is brought by the cylinder 4 in its
bottom position. During the movement the shoots are in
shelter inside the cup. Speed of the movement and
deceleration are chosen in a manner that the strips in
the cup yield due to steady-state force directed to
them by the ball, and thus the ball falls through the
cup into the substrate 7 in the pot 6, in which
substrate there is a hole made beforehand for the
ball.
The equipment is adapted for use in potting
machine, in which both bringing the balled seedlings
from the honeycomb into the cup and transferring the
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pots under the equipment are carried out automatical- ~
ly . , '
In the equipment as shown in Fig. 2 there are -
additionally compacting devices 8 to be found, which
press the ball 5 obliquely from the top tight into the
substrate 7. The compacting is carried out most
conveniently in the stage, when the shoots are still
in shelter inside the cup 1.
In principle the ball 5 can be brouqht into the
cup 1 by dropping. In the ~quipment according to the ~ `
Fig. 3 and 4 there is additionally a special pushing
( device 9 for bringing the ball 5 into the cup 1'.~ ~ -
In the pushing device 9 there are two pushing
plates 10 to be found, one of which settles in front
of the ball 5 brought on top of the cup 1' and the~ -~
other behind it. The bottom edge of the pushing plates
is horizontal and settles against the top surface of
the ball. The plates face obliquely upwards out- and
respectively backwards. Thus there is formed a free
space between the plates for the shoots and the ball
can be pushed from its side between the plates without
damaging the shoots. The top edges of the plates are
connected in an air cylinder 11, by which the plates ;
can be moved vertically. The balled seedling is
brought between the plates by a swinging fork 12, in
spikes of which the ball is stuck from a honeycomb
lying on its side (see e.g. public patent application
FI 874803, which corresponds to US-patent 4893571).
When the ball is in its position between the plates,
the plates are pushed downwards, and thus the ball re~
leases from the spikes and settles in the cup.
In the cup 1' there are similar kind of flex-
- ible strips 3 as in the cup 1 described above. In the
sides there are, however, strips 3' lacking the ver-
tical bottom part. The ball is pushed into the cup 1'
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so deep that the top surface of the ball is broughtbeneath the bottom edge of the side strips 3'.
In the equipment according to the Fig. 3 and 4
there is additionally a special release device 13 for
releasing the ball 5 from the cup 1' at the descent
point of the ball. The release device acts simul-
taneously as a compacting device.
There is a cross beam 15 sliding in its ends
along vertical rails 14 in the release device 13. In
the cross beam on both sides of the cup 1' there are
rotating elements 17 mounted in bearings in axles 16
in cross direction of the beam. In the rotating
element there is an arm facing sidewards, an arm
headed forwards in its end and a push arm in its end
headed obliquely down- and inwards. In the rotating
elements there are drillings in cross direction, in
which there is a boom 19 attached in its ends, which
boom is slightly thinner than the drilling. The boom
is connected for moving to a vertical arm 20 of a
separate air cylinder. Sliding friction between the
boom and the rails is bigger than rolling friction of
axles.
After the cup 1' has reached is bottom posi-
tion, the release device 13 is started to be pushed
downwards from the boom 19 by the arm 20. Then the
rotating elements 17 rotate slightly inwards in a
manner, that the slide parts 18 settle from the sides
onto the surface of the ball 5 beneath the shoots
(Fig. 5). Only after that, after rotating resistance
has increased, the cross beam 15 starts moving down~
wards and the slide parts push the ball out from the
cup and push it into the substrate lFig. 6). The slide
parts also compact the ball into the substrate. When
the release device has reached its bottom position, it
starts moving up again. Also in this stage the rota~
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ting elements rotate first thus removing the slide
parts from under the shoots and only after this the
rotating elements start moving upwards with the cross
beam. In the manner described above can also the com~
pacting be carried out without damaging the shoots.
The invention can naturally also be realized in ~-
other manners than described in the drawings. -
~ he flexible walls of the plant cup can be made
e.g. of several yarns or strips turning against spring
force. Most convenient for round balls is a cup round
in its cross profile.
For example a pneumatic spray jet can be used
for transferring the ball from a gripping device into
a cup.
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