Planting – Plant setting
Patent
1996-12-05
1999-09-21
Carone, Michael J.
Planting
Plant setting
111103, 111114, A01C 1102
Patent
active
059540028
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The subject of the present invention is a device for quickly pricking out plants.
It relates to the industrial field of agricultural machinery, and is intended for the high-speed automatic transfer of very young plants with root balls.
In the devices for automatic pricking-out which are known to date, the root ball together with the seedling which is to be pricked out is generally introduced from above into a positioning element the purpose of which is either to convey the plant above the place where it is to be planted, or to hold it temporarily in order to allow a conveyor system to convey the planting zone under the seedling which is then ejected from the positioner element by a mechanical, pneumatic or some other means into a cavity or pre-hole prepared beforehand for this purpose.
For example, Patent No. FR 90 05172, by the same inventor, describes such a device which consists of a vertical positioner into which the young plant is introduced simply under gravity, and of a blowing head which fits over the positioning element and allows air or gas to be injected into it when the assembly comes above the pricking-out place. With this system, it sometimes happens that the seedling falls down beside the positioner or topples over, which as often as not means it has to be removed.
This method exhibits the additional drawback of causing a substantial amount of time to be wasted. This is because before it is possible to reach the final phase of pricking-out, it will have been necessary to extract the plant using means which as often as not present risks of mutilating the leafy or root part and to transport it to its final place.
Another patent filed, still by the same applicant, under No. FR 91 13350 describes an opening vertical positioning element formed of two parts separated by an axial vertical seedling which can move away from each other, said positioner being associated, on the one hand, with a vertical push rod which can introduce into it from below the young plant with its root ball when it is open, appropriate automatic means then causing it to close so as to hold onto the seedling and, on the other hand, with a mechanical ejector which drives the plant downward into the planting zone by pressing on the root ball by means of rods the ends of which have a bulbous portion.
In service, this second system has revealed a significant shortcoming. As they move vertically downward, the rods of the ejector before reaching the root ball brush against the leafy part, which is often damaged.
The device according to the present invention, which may be considered as an improvement to Patent No. FR 91 13350, has as its objective to overcome these drawbacks. It actually makes it possible to avoid any waste by eliminating any risk of mutilating the leafy part, while providing a very high rate of pricking out.
It consists of a positioning element including a vertical internal passage in which the seedling with its root ball, introduced from above or from below, can be temporarily immobilized by appropriate means before it is driven out downward toward the planting zone by virtue of rods penetrating the positioner laterally via slots provided for this purpose so that they press directly on the root ball without touching the leafy part of the seedling.
In the attached diagrammatic drawings, given by way of nonlimiting examples of embodiments of the subject-matter of the invention:
FIG. 1 represents, in perspective, a conically tapered positioner associated with an upper ejector with a vertical movement provided with a sliding sleeve intended to bring the rods closer together when their ends are even with the upper part of the root ball,
FIGS. 2 and 3 show, in vertical axial section, the same positioner with the rods in the up and in the down position respectively,
FIG. 4 represents, in elevation, a cylindrical positioner with a moving element for immobilization, with lateral ejector with pivoting movement,
FIG. 5 is a transverse section on arrows A--A of FIG. 4,
FIG. 6 represents, in elevation, a positioner with a mobi
REFERENCES:
patent: 3078816 (1963-02-01), Poll
patent: 4869637 (1989-09-01), de Groot
patent: 5121955 (1992-06-01), Visser
patent: 5160235 (1992-11-01), Bikow
patent: 5241917 (1993-09-01), Ferrand
patent: 5557881 (1996-09-01), Bouldin et al.
Carone Michael J.
Pezzuto Robert
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