APPARATUS FOR ARRANGING AT GIVEN POSITIONS ONE ARTICLE OF SMALL SIZE AT A TIME FROM A BULK OF THESE ARTICLES, IN PARTICULAR PLANT SEEDS

Abstract: An apparatus is described for arranging automatically at given positions, one article of small size at a time from a bulk of these articles, in particular plant seeds, so as to prevent them from damages during picking thereof, also ensuring that each position will be occupied by only one article at a time. This apparatus, which is preferably modular as it comprises a plurality of distributing units placed side by side and in parallel to each other, is provided with each of these units having a chamber designed to contain a multiplicity of said articles, at least one flexible blade being mounted in said chamber for collecting, in rotation, a portion of the bulk of articles and causing the same to fall down at a first position of a nozzle movable between this position and a storage position, and having an orifice of a cross-section area smaller than the average cross-section size of the articles to be distributed, being alternately connected with suction means and a pressurized air source.

Description: The present invention relates to an apparatus for arranging at given positions one article of small size at a time from a bulk of these articles, in particular plant seeds. Machines are known which can take one article at a time from a mass of articles having all a small size and the same nature, and then project the same towards a given location, such as according to previous Italian patent applications No. 46858 A/82 and No. 21122 A/85 in the name of the present applicant. These machines especially employed to sow seedbeds or sowing pans or trays woth seeds of small and very small size, so as to require up to about 15,000 units to form a mass of 1 g (e.g. in the case of petunia seeds), show however some drawbacks. It is true that the late patent application No. 21122 A/85 was an attempt to solve the problem of possible damages to the seeds as they are taken, by avoiding that the picking nozzle will plunge heavily downwards into the bulk of seeds, but instead causing it to be covered up by the bulk itself during a downward movement while passing through the bulk container bottom. However the danger of damages still exists and in addition the possibility cannot be excluded that more than one seed at a time will be taken by the nozzle and carried to the deposit location, what should be avoided because seedlings need to grow spaced apart of a sufficient distance for having a normal growth. Therefore an object of the present invention is that of providing an apparatus of the said type which does not show the above-mentioned drawbacks as it is based on the principle of having, in place of a nozzle moving within the bulk of seeds in order to take one at a time, a situation according to which the seeds themselves move to "meet" a stationary nozzle at a predetermined picking position, and only one of them is drawn by the nozzle, more precisely the first one that causes the end orifice of the nozzle, wherein a slight vacuum is generated, to be at least partially closed. The apparatus according to the invention, which will be described in the following by exclusive reference to the distribution of seeds, could also be used in connection with articles of other nature having however size and density similar thereto and is characterized by comprising at least one distributing unit substantially formed of a channel-shaped container chamber within which there is mounted, on a rotatable shaft, an element provided with peripheral flexible blades of such a length to touch the bottom of said chamber for collecting some of the mass of seeds on said bottom and causing the same to fall down again at a front portion of said chamber, where is mounted a picking and carrying nozzle which is movable between a first position, substantially coincident with the vertical line of drop by gravity of the seeds upon their release from said blades during rotation thereof, and a second position of discharge for the seed kept thereon at each time, there being provided suction means to produce a slight vacuum in said nozzle, being connected therewith through a manifold alternately to a pressurized air source; the electrovalves for connecting said manifold with the vacuum or the pressurized air being controlled by cam means synchronized with the movement of said nozzle which is in turn controlled by the shaft of said rotating element with blades, provided with an actuating motor. According to a preferred embodiment, the blades on said rotating element are provided in number of two, diametrally opposed and, in order to occupy said first position at each time a blade has reached a position at which the mass of seeds collected by the same blade starts to fall down, the nozzles make a double rotation in two opposite directions by an angle of e.g. 180° at each complete revolution of said rotating element. In a particular embodiment such a rotating element or body may be formed of a single rubber moulding, integral with the blades, possibly comprised of two parts with semi-circular shape having two distinct centres, spaced apart and mutually aligned on the diametral plane defined by said blades. As it will be better seen later on, the apparatus of the invention preferably comprises a given number (up to ten or more) of distributing units as defined before, arranged side by side, whose rotating bodies are mounted on the same shaft mechanically linked to a cam controlling the resulting alternate oscillation, in two opposite directions, of a shaft parallel to the first one, on which the nozzles are mounted, each corresponding to an associate distributing unit. Another cam actuates the operation of the electrovalves for controlling the connection of the nozzle feeding manifold with either the vacuum or the pressurized air. These and further objects, advantages and features of the present invention will be clear to those skilled in the art, by the following detailed description of an embodiment thereof, given by way of non-limiting example with reference to the annexed drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a diagrammatic plan view of the apparatus according to the invention showing only some of the distributing units arranged side by side which form the apparatus, partially in cross-section; Figures 2a and 2b both show a cross section view taken along line II-II of Fig. 1, in two successive operating steps of the apparatus; and Figure 3 shows a preferred embodiment of the rotating body with collecting blades. With reference to the drawings, the apparatus of the invention comprises a multiplicity of distributing units 1, 1′, ... arranged side by side and mutually spaced apart by lateral walls 11 which are joined each other by a front wall 12 being connected or integral to a channel-shaped bottom wall 12′, as it is better seen in Figs. 2a and 2b. With this arrangement each distributing unit defines a container chamber 10, closed at the bottom, capable of containing a given quantity of seeds S to be distributed and arranged one at a time. Within each chamber 10, which can be open to the outside at the upper and front portion, a generally disc-shaped body 4 is fixedly mounted on a shaft 2 which in turn is rotatably supported at its ends by the side walls 11 being parallel thereto. The periphery of the body 4 has substantially the same distance from the bottom 12′ of the chamber also during the rotation. In Figs. 2a, 2b the rotating body has been represented with a circular cross-section and having a distance from the bottom 12′ of the container chamber which is slightly decreasing in the direction of rotation of the shaft 2, as shown by arrow F. However the shape of the rotating disc 4 could be different, such as an eccentric of the type shown in Fig. 3, in which case it is formed of two portions of semicircular cross-section integrally joined along a diametral plane in a staggered manner having the centres 0, 0′ of the two semi-circumferences spaced apart from opposite sides of the axis 2. In any case the rotating body 4 is provided on its outer periphery with at least one blade 6, designed to "sweep" the seeds S gathered on the bottom 12′ and to bring them upwards, along the rising portion of its path, then causing the same to fall down during the phase of descent. These blades 6 will be flexible to improve the collection of seeds from the bottom of chamber 10 and, also to this purpose, the periphery of rotating body 4 and the bottom wall 12′ (the latter. up to the zone where it joins the front wall 12, or better the rear portion thereof) will be shaped so as to help seed collecting by having a m utual distance which is gradually decreasing in the direction of rotation F until nearly the lowest point of the bottom 12′, and then is kept substantially constant along a certain length of the rear wall 12 before increasing at departure of the rotor body from the latter. Since the blades 6, 6′ are preferably in number of two, diametrally opposite, as shown in the drawings, a possible peripheral shaping, if it is the case of the eccentric type like in Fig. 3, will have to be repeated thus forming radial projections which with the aid of the flexible blades enhance the collecting action by "picking out" in the bulk on the bottom 12′. The rotating bodies 4 of every distributing unit 1 are of course all mounted on the same shaft 2 which extends itself across the apparatus by passing through pairs of adjacent side walls 11, and at the same moment the blades 6, 6′ will have the same orientation on all the rotating bodies 4, whereby the operations of collecting and discharging seeds S will be accomplished at the same time for all units 1. As diagrammatically shown in Fig. 1, a main motor M causes the unidirectional rotation of shaft 2, which in turn, such as by a usual toothed gearing generally designated 20, drives a shaft 3 parallel to the shaft 2 and frontally mounted with respect thereto in the direction of rotation of arrow F. The drive is preferably transmitted by means of a cam 13 so designed to cause rotation of the shaft 3, alternately in two opposite directions, by a determined angle from an axial vertical plane. This can be obtained e.g. by forming the cam 13 hollow and providing an associate roller mounted for rotating on a spindle integral with an arm 22 which is adapted to drive with a vertical traverse, as dictated by the cam profile, a rack 23. The latter, being slidably guided along a rod 23′, can in turn cause a pinion 24 to rotate, which is directly mounted on the shaft 3 and meshes with said rack so as to define a predetermined gear ratio. All this kinematic system forms in this case the drive unit 20. Nozzles 5, one for each distributing unit, are mounted on the shaft 3 and, as a consequence of the above mentioned oscillating motion of said shaft, they move alternately from a first position such as shown in Fig. 2a to a second position as represented in Fig. 2b. In the embodiment shown the oscillation of the shaft 3 and thereby of the nozzles 5 is about 180°, and has to be completed in both the opposite directions of the alternate motion between two passages in succession of the same blade. This means that in the case as shown of two blades, 6 and 6′, at each complete revolution of the rotating body 4, and thereby of the shaft 2, the shaft 3 will have to accomplish the to and fro oscillation twice, hence with a double frequency. Therefore the gearing system 20 will have such a gear ratio as to multiply the rotational speed by the number of blades 6, 6′ on the periphery of body 4, while reversing each time the rotation direction. Furthermore the cam 13 will be so shaped to give shaft 2 the necessary oscillation amplitude in synchronism with the rotation of body 4, in particular with the position of blades 6, 6′. The nozzle 5 will be in fact at the above-mentioned first position, where it is struck by the falling mass of seeds S, when one of the blades begins its descending path, whereas the nozzle will have to clear such a position upon passage of the blade, then reaching the second position of Fig. 2b at which it discharges the seed caught in the first stage into a small stationary hopper as will be better explained in the following. Subsequently the nozzle will come back to the first position while the next blade is approaching with its mass of seeds which shortly thereafter will start to fall down by gravity about the nozzle 5 and so on. The nozzles 5 are in practice formed of small tubes or needles protruding from the shaft 3 and communicating with the hollow inside thereof 7 which substantially provides a manifold alternately connected with a vacuum source A and a pressurized air source C as diagrammatically shown in Figs. 2a and 2b. Known electrovalves V control the connection of A or respectively C with the manifold 7 and are actuated synchronously with the operating cycle of the apparatus, such as by microswitches 16 provided on cams 15, 15′ rotating with the shaft 2 and preferably mounted at the end thereof which is opposed to the end on which the cam 13 is mounted for the actuation of the mechanical drive of the shaft 3. As readily results from the foregoing description, the operation of the apparatus according to the invention is the following: the bulk mass of seeds to be individually distributed by arrangement in each seat or location P of a tray T for seedlings to be transplanted, upon filling thereof with soil, is abundantly fed into each chamber 10 relating to the various distributing units 1, 1′ etc. in a number corresponding to the number of locations P provided transversely on the tray T which at the same time is caused to move forward in a longitudinal direction, as it is for example positioned on a conveyor belt (not shown). Once motor M starts to run, the rotating bodies 4 start their rotation at a not too high speed, such as of about 30 r.p.m. in order to avoid that an excessive centrifugal force may scatter the seeds S outwardly. In the meantime also the shaft 3 oscillates, as it is synchronized to bring nozzles 5 to the so-called first position shown in Fig. 2a as soon as one of the collecting blades 6 starts its downward path, to receive all around itself a hail of freely falling seeds S. At the same time the electrovalves V, operated by the controls 16 according to the position of the cams 15, 15′, cause the manifold 7 to be in communication with the vacuum source A thus giving rise to a suction action at the inside thereof. This suction action is also present at the various nozzles 5 with a slight suction force near their orifices, that is however sufficient to modify the falling path of the seeds in the vicinity of an orifice, which then will reach the latter. The diameter of this orifice has been calculated previously as a function of the average size of the seeds S to be accommodated and should be less than such a size, e.g. with a ratio of about 2/3 with respect thereto, so that the first seed which adheres on the nozzle port will obstruct the same totally or leave a minimum portion clear, if any, the suction force of which will be inadequate to cause another seed to be attracted, whereby any possibility of catching two or more seeds at a time is prevented. At this stage, as already stated above, the nozzle 5 reaches the discharge position of Fig. 2b and allows the blade 6 to pass during the continued rotation of the latter, while the valves V are in the meantime switched onto C in order to allow a weak blow of pressurized air suitable to balance to zero the previous vacuum in a very short time. Thereby the seed falls into the hopper 9 and therefrom to an underlying conduit 19, in practice thrustless but only due to its own weight. Thereafter while the blade 6 in the bottom zone 12′ starts again to collect the seeds S just fallen and the opposite blade 6′ is going to reach the top of its path with a load of previously drawn seeds, nozzle 5 returns to its first catching position, possibly passing through an intermediate step wherein, before being communicated with A, manifold 7 is instantly connected to C for receiving a very short blow of pressurized air having a greater intensity than during the step of seed discharge This has the purpose of clearing the very small orifice of the nozzle from possible impurities (dust, fragments, etc.) among the seeds. Then the cycle is repeated, while it should be appreciated that the forward feeding speed of the tray T is related to the rotation speed of shafts 2, 3, as it has to be fed forward by one line of sowing locations P at each oscillation period of the shaft 3, that is of 60 cycles/min according to the example above of 30 r.p.m. for the shaft 2 of rotating bodies 4, whereby the forward movement would be of one line at each second. Of course the transverse size of the apparatus cannot be too much greater than that of the tray T thereunder, whereby the number of units 1, 1′ provided side by side cannot be higher than a given value, as the minimum size of each unit is usually larger than a seedling pan P. Therefore the apparatus can be designed as formed of a plurality of assemblies of distributing units provided with a plurality of shafts in parallel each other, by making use of the same general controls for all the units and having the guide conduits 1a for the seeds from the hopper 9 to each location P shaped accordingly. With such an arrangement the apparatus keeps a reduced axial size without negatively affecting the productivity i.e. the forward movement speed of the tray T. It should also be appreciated that the special modular mounting of the units arranged side by side to form the apparatus of the invention allows to modify the number of the units themselves, by increasing or decreasing the same (according to the width of tray T) by means of a simple operation of replacing the rotation shafts upon disassembly and re-assembly of the frame cross members 17 such as tie rods and the side end plates 18 through bolts. It is clear that with the apparatus of the invention not only more than one single seed cannot be deposited at the same location, but the seeds are also guaranteed to be prevented from damages. The processing of the seeds occurs in fact without any shocking mechanical action thereon, both in the step of collection by means of a flexible blade, and during their free fall when the seeds themselves "look for" the nozzle onto which they will adhere with no strong hit, whereas according to the prior art it was the latter, with its greater mass and inertia, which acted on the seeds, thus giving rise to considerably higher mechanical forces. Obviously this apparatus can be also used for the distribution and location, and differentiated positions, of single articles not being seeds, taken from a bulk mass of these articles.

Claims: An apparatus for arranging at given positions one article of small size at a time from a bulk of these articles such as plant seeds (S), characterized by comprising at least one distributing unit (1, 1', ...) substantially formed of a channel-shaped container chamber (10) within which there is mounted, on a rotatable shaft (2), a disc-shaped body (4) provided with peripheral flexible blades (6, 6') of such a length to touch the bottom (12') of said chamber (10) for collecting some of the mass of seeds (S) on said bottom (12'), and causing the same to fall down again at a front portion of said chamber (10), where a picking and carrying nozzle (5) is mounted which is alternately rockable with a 180° to and fro rotation between a first position, substantially coincident with the vertical line of drop by gravity of the seeds (S) upon their release from said blades (6) during the rotation thereof, and a second position of discharge for the seed kept thereon at each time, there being provided suction means (A) to produce a slight vacuum in said nozzle (5), being connected therewith through a manifold (7) alternately to a pressurized air source (C); electrovalves (V) for connecting said manifold (7) with vacuum (A) or pressurized air source (C) being controlled by cam means (15, 16) synchronized with the rocking movement of said nozzle (5) which is in turn controlled by the shaft (2) of said rotating body (4) with blades, provided with an actuating motor (M). An apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the nozzles (5) of all the distributing units (1, 1', ...) are all mounted on one common shaft (3) parallel to said shaft (2) by which it is driven, through a cam (1 3) mounted on the latter and a drive assembly (20), with an oscillating periodic movement, alternately in both directions, by a given angle with respect to a vertical axial plane of said shaft (3), the end positions of which correspond, respectively, to said first and second position of the nozzle (5). An apparatus according to claim 2, characterized by the fact that said manifold (7) is formed at the inside of said shaft (3) being hollow and said means for controlling the electrovalves (V) are microswitches (16) mounted on cams (15, 15') which are connected for rotation to said shaft (2) at the end thereof which is opposed to the end where said cam (13) is mounted. An apparatus according to claim 2, characterized by the fact that said blades (6, 6') on said rotating body (4) are in number of two, diametrally opposed, and the synchronization between shafts (2) and (3), controlled by the cam (13) and drive (20), is such that with the nozzle (5) at said first position, one of said blades (6, 6') begins the descending portion of its path, when the mass of seeds (S) collected by it starts to fall by gravity, with the shaft (3) and thereby each nozzle (5) oscillating twice in both opposite directions by the said angle at each complete revolution of said shaft. An apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, wherein said manifold (7) and thereby each nozzle (5) are connected with said vacuum source (A) when the nozzles (5) are at said first position, and with said pressurized air source (C) when they are at said second position. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein at an intermediate position between said first and second positions said manifold (7) and each nozzle (5) are connected with said pressurized air source (C), the pressure of air blown at such a position being higher than that corresponding to said second position. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said rotating body (4) is formed as an integral moulding of rubber, together with the blades (6, 6'), comprised of two portions with semicircular cross-section, the centres of which are symmetrically spaced apart with respect to the central rotation axis and aligned on a diametral plane defined by said blades. An apparatus according to one or more of the preceding claims, comprising a plurality of said distributing units (1, 1', ...) positioned side by side and modularly assembled by means of tie rod cross members (17) and side end plates (18) to be disassembled and re-assembled, with said shaft (2) passing through the side walls (11) of each of said units. An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein each of said second positions of the nozzles (5) is associated with a small hopper (9) and conduit (19) for guiding the seed (S) when let to drop from the nozzle (5) for its positioning at a seedling seat or location (P) associated with each conduit (19) and distributing unit (1), among a multiplicity of these locations (P) arranged to form a matrix of lines and rows in a tray (T) underlying said apparatus and suitable to move forward by one line at each operating cycle of the apparatus which corresponds to an oscillation of each nozzle (5). An apparatus according to claim 9, the size of which in a transverse direction to the forward movement of said trays (T), substantially equal to the length of shafts (2,3), corresponds to the size of a number of distributing units (1, 1'...) arranged side by side, which is a submultiple of the number of locations (P) forming each line of the tray (T), whereby a multiplicity of assemblies of said units are provided being combined in the same apparatus, with common controls in parallel, all with the same transverse size and suitable to arrange at the same time single seeds, one in each location (P) through shaped guiding conduits (19) having different lengths. An apparatus according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that each of said nozzles (5) has an end orifice of lower size than the seeds (S), with a diameter equal to or less than 2/3 of the average diameter size of the seeds.

Inventors: FORMICA, CLAUDIO, ORIOLI, GIACOMO
Applicants: IMAC ITALIA S.N.C. DI ORIOLI G. & FORMICA C.
Application year: 1987
Main classification: A01C7
IPC codes: A01C7, B65G47