Plant husbandry – Sap buckets
Patent
1991-01-03
1996-02-06
Raduazo, Henry E.
Plant husbandry
Sap buckets
47901, 111105, A01G 3100
Patent
active
054888026
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Typically cell chains useful in the application of the present invention may be of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,443. These cell chains comprise a plurality of adjacent in line cells each adapted to receive a seed or seedling with a propagating medium, the cell chain consisting of rigid lengths of a number of such cells hinged together in a manner enabling the chain to be fed as desired in a single line of cells or to be stored with the rigid lengths arranged side by side nesting into one another to minimise the storage area required.
As will be readily recognised, seedlings or plants can only be grown in one sized container or pot for a certain period of time and thereafter they must be potted up or transferred to larger containers or pots. There are a number of difficulties in achieving this in an automatic or mechanised manner without labour intensive work. These problems include the ability to handle and control the movement of the plants or seedlings to be transferred. Common difficulties that occur are due to the fact that seedlings themselves differ in appearance, some have long stalks and high foliage and others have low foliage with virtually no stalks. Further, with some plants the root structure tends to flow between adjacent containers making it difficult to remove one plant at a time to be transferred. Other difficulties include the ability to control movement of the containers into which the plants or seedlings are to be transferred, the preparation of the growing medium in the new containers to receive the plants or seedlings, the ability to recognise where seedlings might not have propagated or perhaps have propagated incorrectly such that they wold not survive or would not produce useful or saleable plants, and the ability to automatically transfer the plants or seedlings in a manner such that there are no gaps left in the new containers bearing in mind not all the original containers will have appropriate plants for further propagation.
The objective of the present invention is to provide improved apparatus in a plant or seedling transplanting mechanism which will overcome or mimimise at least some of the aforementioned difficulties. A preferred objective is to provide a plant or seedling transplanting mechanism capable of efficiently transplanting seedlings from a cell chain into a second array of containers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for preparing a container adapted to receive a transplanted seedling or the like, said device comprising a conveying mechanism to transport the containers with a propagating medium therein past a mechanism for producing a plant receiving recess in the propagating medium, said plant recess producing mechanism comprising a first member having a substantially annular surface which can be pressed down against the propagating medium arranged beneath the mechanism and a second member arranged to project downwardly through said annular surface to produce said plant receiving recess. Conveniently said first and second members may be moved independently and preferably by air actuated cylinders.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for indexing a cell chain past a transplanting station in a seedling transplanting mechanism, said device comprising a guide track defining a predetermined path of travel of said cell chain and an element selectably engageable with upwardly facing openings of the cell chain to effect movement of the cell chain along said guide track, said engagement element being moved in the longitudinal direction of the guide track by a first actuating means and being selectably raised or lowered by a second actuating means into or out of engagement with the cell chain, said engagement element further including a pair of spaced downwardly directed projections adapted to locate in spaced upwardly facing openings of said cell chain.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, appa
REFERENCES:
patent: 3842533 (1974-10-01), Mayer
patent: 4947579 (1990-08-01), Harrison
patent: 4947582 (1990-08-01), Visser
patent: 4998945 (1991-03-01), Holt
patent: 5048434 (1991-09-01), Forster et al.
Raduazo Henry E.
William Hi-Tech International Pty. Ltd.
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