Abstract:
There is provided a plant-transplanting device that, with a simple structure and at a low cost, realizes speedy and stable transplantation, prevents damage to a plant, and is easily automated. A plant-transplanting device  100  that transplants a seedbed B from a plant holder  110  to a cultivation pallet  120  includes a holder retaining mechanism  130,  a pallet retaining mechanism  140  for retaining the cultivation pallet  120  below a holder retaining position of the holder retaining mechanism  130,  and a lowering mechanism  150  for lowering the seedbed B retained by a holder seedbed retaining part  111  downward and inserting the seedbed B into a pallet seedbed retaining part  121.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a plant-transplanting device that transplants a seedbed from a plant holder to a cultivation pallet. 
       BACKGROUND ART 
       [0002]    In the prior art, there is known an automatic planting device for a hydroponic seedling, which includes a seedbed transfer conveyor that transfers a seedbed by performing intermittent rotation and lateral reciprocation, a planting panel transfer conveyor that is provided below the seedbed transfer conveyor and transfers a planting panel by performing the intermittent rotation, several transfer opening/closing holders that are positioned above the front end part of the seedbed transfer conveyor, hold and separate several seedbed pieces positioned collectively in the front end row of the seedbed on the seedbed transfer conveyor, and transfer the seedbed pieces forward, several insertion opening/closing holders that are positioned in front of the several transfer opening/closing holders, hold and lower the seedbed pieces transferred by the transfer opening/closing holders, and plant the seedbed pieces by inserting same into holes of the planting panel on the planting panel transfer conveyor, and an operation mechanism that is coupled to the seedbed transfer conveyor and causes the seedbed transfer conveyor to intermittently reciprocate in a lateral direction by the width of the seedbed piece of the seedbed (see, e.g., Patent Literature 1). 
       CITATION LIST 
     Patent Literature 
       [0003]    Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-4699 
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     Technical Problem 
       [0004]    In the automatic planting device in Patent Literature 1, as a step before the seedbed is set in the automatic planting device, a step of taking the seedbed out from a nursery container that is filled with water in order to germinate seeds of a plant planted in the seedbed is required. However, since the seedbed is formed of a sponge-like material and is soft, it is difficult to automate the step of taking the seedbed out from the nursery container and the step needs to be carried out manually, so there is a problem of a workload being heavy and the seedbed being easily contaminated by sweat and various germs adherent to a human body. 
         [0005]    In addition, since the seedbed is handled by using the insertion opening/closing holder to grasp one block of the seedbed from above, there is a problem in that the insertion opening/closing holder, when grasping the seedbed, may damage a sprout of a plant that juts out laterally from the seedbed. 
         [0006]    The present invention has been devised to solve these problems, and an object thereof is to provide a plant-transplanting device that, with a simple structure and at a low cost, realizes speedy and stable transplantation, prevents damage to a plant, and is easily automated. 
       Solution to Problem 
       [0007]    The present invention is a plant-transplanting device for transplanting a seedbed from a plant holder, in ;which a plurality of holder seedbed retaining parts that pass through the plant holder in a vertical direction are disposed in a horizontal direction, to a cultivation pallet that has a pallet seedbed retaining part that passes through the cultivation pallet in the vertical direction, the plant-transplanting device including a holder retaining mechanism for retaining the plant holder, a pallet retaining mechanism for retaining the cultivation pallet below a holder retaining position of the holder retaining mechanism, and a lowering mechanism for lowering the seedbed retained by each of the holder seedbed retaining parts downward and inserting the seedbed into the pallet seedbed retaining part, whereby the above problem is solved. 
       Advantageous Effects of Invention 
       [0008]    According to a first aspect of the present invention, by adopting the configuration in which the seedbed held by the plant holder is transplanted into the cultivation pallet, when the seedbed is set in the plant-transplanting device, it is only necessary to set the plant holder that holds a plurality of the seedbeds in the plant-transplanting device, and hence it is not necessary to directly handle the soft seedbed, and it is possible to improve handling ease of the seedbed. 
         [0009]    With this, also in the step of taking the seedbed out from the nursery container that is performed before the seedbed is set in the plant-transplanting device, it is only necessary to take the plant holder that holds a plurality of the seedbeds from the nursery container, and hence automation is facilitated and, with the facilitation of the automation, it is possible to prevent the seedbed from being contaminated by sweat and various germs adhering to a human body. 
         [0010]    In addition, by transferring the seedbed without holding the soft seedbed from above, it is possible to prevent damage to a plant that juts out upward from the seedbed. 
         [0011]    Further, by adopting the configuration in which the seedbed is inserted into the pallet seedbed retaining part by lowering the seedbed, even in the case where the sprout of the plant juts out from the top of the seedbed and spreads laterally, it is possible to prevent the sprout of the plant from being held between the pallet seedbed retaining part and the seedbed, and it is possible to reliably prevent the sprout of the plant that juts out from the top of the seedbed from being damage or contaminated by bringing a lowering member of the lowering mechanism into contact with the undersurface of the seedbed. 
         [0012]    According to a second aspect of the present invention, the lowering mechanism has at least one lowering member that is movable in the vertical direction, and the lowering member has a holding part that holds the seedbed, whereby, even in the case where the seedbed serving as a transplantation target and the seedbed positioned adjacent to the seedbed as the transplantation target are partially joined together or the case where the lowering member is not in contact with the seedbed properly, it is possible to hold the seedbed using the holding part when the seedbed is lowered, and realize reliable transplantation of the seedbed. In the case where the plant-transplanting device is configured such that part of the seedbed is held by the holding part, it is only necessary to compress and deform part of the seedbed instead of deforming the entire seedbed, and hence it is possible to realize a stable transplantation operation and prevent leakage of a liquid such as water penetrated into the seedbed to the outside of the seedbed. 
         [0013]    According to a third aspect of the present invention, the plant-transplanting device includes a moving mechanism for moving the plant holder and the cultivation pallet relative to each other in the horizontal direction, whereby it is possible to adjust the positional relationship between the holder seedbed retaining part and the pallet seedbed retaining part in the horizontal direction using the moving mechanism, and hence it is possible to improve flexibility in the design of the plant holder and the cultivation pallet such as the size of each of the plant holder and the cultivation pallet and the position of formation of each of the holder seedbed retaining part and the pallet seedbed retaining part. 
         [0014]    According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a first pitch between the holder seedbed retaining parts and a second pitch between the pallet seedbed retaining parts in a longitudinal direction are set so as to satisfy an expression nP 1 =mP 2  (where P 1  is the first pitch, P 2  is the second pitch, n is an integer of 1 or more, and m is an integer of 1 or more) , whereby it is possible to transplant a plurality of the seedbeds collectively with one lowering operation in the longitudinal direction, and hence it is possible to realize speedy transplantation. 
         [0015]    According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a third pitch between the holder seedbed retaining parts and a fourth pitch between the pallet seedbed retaining parts in a lateral direction are set so as to satisfy an expression oP 3 =pP 4  (where P 3  is the third pitch, P 4  is the fourth pitch, o is an integer of 1 or more, and p is an integer of 1 or more), whereby it is possible to transplant a plurality of the seedbeds collectively with one lowering operation in longitudinal and lateral directions, and hence it is possible to realize the speedy transplantation. 
         [0016]    According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, by providing a holder table for placing the plant holder, it is possible to easily retain the plant holder using the holder table and, by forming a plurality of guide holes in the holder table with an arrangement pattern identical to that of the plurality of the holder seedbed retaining parts, it is possible to reliably prevent the seedbed positioned adjacent to the seedbed serving as the transplantation target from being lowered together with the seedbed as the transplantation target when the seedbed is lowered. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing an initial state of a plant-transplanting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing a state in which a plant holder is moved to a seedbed lowering position. 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  is a front view of the plant-transplanting device. 
           [0020]      FIG. 4  is an explanatory view showing a seedbed. 
           [0021]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing the plant holder. 
           [0022]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing a state in which the plant holder is attached to the seedbed. 
           [0023]      FIG. 7  shows a top view and a side view of the plant holder. 
           [0024]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view showing a cultivation pallet. 
           [0025]      FIG. 9  shows a top view and a side view of the cultivation pallet. 
           [0026]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view showing a holder table. 
           [0027]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view showing a lowering member in a state in which claw parts are spaced apart. 
           [0028]      FIG. 12  is a perspective view showing the lowering member in a state in which the claw parts are in contact with each other. 
           [0029]      FIG. 13  is an explanatory view showing a transplanting flow. 
       
    
    
     REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 
       [0000]    
       
           100  Plant-transplanting device 
           110  Plant holder 
           111  Holder seedbed retaining part 
           112  Perforated plate part 
           112   a  Vertical through hole 
           120  Cultivation pallet 
           121  Pallet seedbed retaining part 
           121   a  Upper tapered part 
           130  Holder retaining/moving mechanism 
           131  Holder table 
           131   a  Perforated plate part 
           131   b  Guide hole 
           11   c  Frame part 
           132  Lateral linear actuator 
           133  Longitudinal linear actuator 
           140  Pallet retaining mechanism 
           141  Pallet table 
           141   a  Guide hole 
           150  Lowering mechanism 
           151  Supporting part 
           152  Lowering member 
           12   a  First holding member 
           152   a ′ First claw part 
           152   b  Second holding member 
           152   b ′ Second claw part 
           152   c  Base part 
           152   d  Support stand 
           152   e  Rotational driving part 
           152   f  Advance/retreat driving part 
           153  Lateral linear actuator 
           154  Longitudinal linear actuator 
           160  Frame 
         B Seedbed 
         S Plant sprout 
         P 1  First pitch (pitch between holder seedbed retaining parts in a longitudinal direction) 
         P 2  Second pitch (pitch between pallet seedbed retaining parts in the longitudinal direction) 
         P 3  Third pitch (pitch between holder seedbed retaining parts in a lateral direction) 
         P 4  Fourth pitch (pitch between pallet seedbed retaining parts in the lateral direction) 
       
     
       DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
       [0068]    Hereinbelow, a plant-transplanting device  100  as an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. 
         [0069]    As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the plant-transplanting device  100  includes a plant holder  110 , a cultivation pallet  120 , a nursery container (not shown), a holder retaining/moving mechanism  130 , a pallet retaining mechanism  140 , a lowering mechanism  150 , a handling mechanism (not shown) that moves the plant holder  110 , and a frame  160  that supports the individual parts such as the holder retaining/moving mechanism  130 , the pallet retaining mechanism  140 , and the lowering mechanism  150 , and transplants a seedbed B held by the plant holder  110  to the cultivation pallet  120  that is larger in size than the plant holder  110 . 
         [0070]    The seedbed B in the present embodiment is formed of urethane or the like, and is formed into a mat-like shape in which a plurality of seedbeds E 1  each having a seed and seedling accommodating part B 2  are coupled to each other longitudinally and laterally, as shown in  FIG. 4 . Each seedbed E 1  is partially coupled to the adjacent seedbed E 1  at the central portion of each side of the seedbed E 1  with a coupling part B 3  that extends along a thickness direction of the seedbed B. Note that the specific form of the seedbed B 1  is not limited to the form described above, and the specific form thereof may be any form. 
         [0071]    The plant holder  110  is formed of a material having adequate strength such as metal. As shown in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 7 , the plant holder  110  has a perforated plate part  112  that has a plurality of vertical through holes  112   a,  and a plurality of retaining pins  113  that are attached to the lower surface of the perforated plate part  112  and extend in a vertical direction, and holds the seedbed B by inserting the plurality of the retaining pins  113  into slits of the seedbed B, as shown in  FIG. 6 . The plurality of the retaining pins  113  are disposed in a lattice shape when viewed in the vertical direction, and spaces defined by the plurality of the retaining pins  113  and the plurality of the vertical through holes  112   a  function as a plurality of holder seedbed retaining parts  111  that pass through the plant holder  110  in the vertical direction and are able to individually retain the seedbed B. 
         [0072]    As shown in  FIG. 7 , the holder seedbed retaining parts  111  are disposed in a rectangular lattice shape with a first pitch P 1  in a longitudinal direction and with a third pitch P 3  in a lateral direction when viewed in the vertical direction. Note that the pitch mentioned in the present invention means a pitch between the centers of holes or members. 
         [0073]    Note that the specific form of the plant holder  110  may be any form as long as a plurality of the holder seedbed retaining parts  111  that pass through the plant holder  110  in the vertical direction are disposed in a horizontal direction. 
         [0074]    The cultivation pallet  120  is formed of synthetic resin or the like (mainly foam polystyrene) and, as shown in  FIG. 8  and  FIG. 9 , the cultivation pallet  120  has a plurality of pallet seedbed retaining parts  121  each having the shape of a circular hole that pass through the cultivation pallet  120  in the vertical direction and retain the seedbed B. Each pallet seedbed retaining part  121  has an upper tapered part  121   a  of which the diameter is increased in an upward direction on the side of the upper surface of the cultivation pallet  120 . 
         [0075]    As shown in  FIG. 9 , the plurality of the pallet seedbed retaining parts  121  are disposed in a hexagonal lattice shape when viewed in the vertical direction. In the case where a pitch between those of the plurality of the pallet seedbed retaining parts  121  that are positioned adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction is assumed to be a second pitch P 2 , the first pitch P 1  of the holder seedbed retaining part  111  and the second pitch P 2  of the pallet seedbed retaining part  121  are set so as to satisfy an expression nP 1 =mP 2  (where n is an integer of 1 or more, and m is an integer of 1 or more). With this, it is possible to transplant a plurality of the seedbeds B collectively with one lowering operation in the vertical direction, and hence it is possible to realized speedy transplantation. The second pitch P 2  is larger than the first pitch P 1 . 
         [0076]    In addition, as shown in  FIG. 9 , in the case where a pitch between those of the plurality of the pallet seedbed retaining parts  121  that are positioned adjacent to each other in the lateral direction is assumed to be a fourth pitch P 4 , the third pitch P 3  of the holder seedbed retaining part ill and the fourth pitch P 4  of the pallet seedbed retaining part  121  are set so as to satisfy an expression oP 3 =pP 4  (where o is an integer of 1 or more, and p is an integer of 1 or more). With this, it is possible to transplant a plurality of the seedbeds B collectively with one lowering operation in the lateral direction, and hence it is possible to realize the speedy transplantation. The fourth pitch P 4  is larger than the third pitch P 3 . 
         [0077]    The nursery container (not shown) is a container that is filled with water, and is for accommodating the plant holder  110  that holds a plurality of the seedbeds B to germinate seeds of a plant planted in the seedbed B. Water tightness is required of the nursery container (not shown), and the nursery container may be provided with a handle for automation or the like. 
         [0078]    The holder retaining/moving mechanism  130  retains the plant holder  110  and moves the plant holder  110  in the longitudinal and lateral directions. As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the holder retaining/moving mechanism  130  has a holder table  131  on which the seedbed B held by the plant holder  110  is placed, a lateral linear actuator  132  that moves the holder table  131  in the lateral direction, and a longitudinal linear actuator  133  that moves the holder table  131  in the longitudinal direction. 
         [0079]    Thus, by providing the moving mechanism that moves the plant holder  110  and the cultivation pallet  120  relative to each other in the horizontal direction, it is possible to adjust the positional relationship between the holder seedbed retaining part  111  and the pallet seedbed retaining part  121  in the horizontal direction using the moving mechanism, and hence it is possible to improve flexibility in the design of the plant holder  110  and the cultivation pallet  120  such as the size of each of the plant holder  110  and the cultivation pallet  120  and the position of formation of each of the holder seedbed retaining part  111  and the pallet seedbed retaining part  121 . Note that the specific form of the holder retaining/moving mechanism  130  is not limited to the form described above, and the specific form thereof may be any form such as a hand arm that retains and moves the plant holder  110 . 
         [0080]    As shown in  FIG. 10 , the holder table  131  has a perforated plate part  131   a  that has a plurality of guide holes  131   b  that pass through the perforated plate part  131   a  in the vertical direction, and a frame part  131   c  that rises from four sides of the perforated plate part  131   a.  Each guide hole  131   b  is formed to have a size that allows the seedbed B and holding members  152   a  and  152   b  of a lowering member  152  to pass through the guide hole  131   b.  The plurality of the guide holes  131   b  that are equal in number to the holder seedbed retaining parts  111  of the plant holder  110  are provided with an arrangement pattern identical to that of the holder seedbed retaining parts  111  thereof. Thus, the holder table  131  of the present embodiment has a function of retaining the plant holder  110  and a drag prevention function of preventing the seedbed B positioned adjacent to the seedbed B serving as a transplantation target from being lowered together with the seedbed B as the transplantation target with the lowering operation. Note that the plant holder  110  may be directly retained by the lateral linear actuator  132  and the longitudinal linear actuator  133  without providing the holder table  131 . In addition, the shape of the guide hole  131   b  may be any shape such as a rectangular shape and, in the case where the shape thereof is circular, the behavior of the seedbed B to be lowered is stabilized. 
         [0081]    As shown in  FIG. 13 , the pallet retaining mechanism  140  retains the cultivation pallet  120  in a fixed state below the plant holder  110  retained by the holder retaining/moving mechanism  130 , and has a pallet table  141  on which the cultivation pallet  120  is placed. The pallet table  141  is fixed to the frame  160 . 
         [0082]    As shown in  FIG. 13 , the pallet table  141  has a plurality of guide holes  141   a  that pass through the pallet table  141  in the vertical direction. The plurality of the guide holes  141   a  that are equal in number to the plurality of the pallet seedbed retaining parts  121  are disposed with the arrangement pattern identical to that of the plurality of the pallet seedbed retaining parts  121  when viewed in the vertical direction. 
         [0083]    The lowering mechanism  150  lowers the seedbed B retained by the holder seedbed retaining part  111  downward, and inserts the seedbed B into the pallet seedbed retaining part  121 . 
         [0084]    As shown in  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 3 , the lowering mechanism  150  has a supporting part  151 , a plurality of the lowering members  152  that are supported by the supporting part  151 , a lateral linear actuator  153  that moves the supporting part  151  in the lateral direction, and a longitudinal linear actuator  154  that moves the lateral linear actuator  153  in the longitudinal direction. The plurality of the lowering members  152  are supported by the supporting part  151  in a state in which the plurality of the lowering members  152  are arranged in a row in the lateral direction, and are supported so as to be movable in the lateral direction and the longitudinal direction by the lateral linear actuator  153  and the longitudinal linear actuator  154 . 
         [0085]    As shown in  FIG. 3  arid  FIG. 11 , the lowering member  152  includes a first holding member  152   a  and a second holding member  152   b  that constitute a holding part that holds the seedbed B, a base part  152   c  that has a support stand  152   d  and a rotational driving part  152   e,  and an advance/retreat driving part  152   f  that is constituted by a linear actuator that drives the base part  152   c  such that the base part  152   c  is able to advance or retreat along the vertical direction, the rotational driving part  152   e  rotates the first holding member  152   a  and the second holding member  152   b  relative to each other about a predetermined rotation axis to thereby hold the seedbed B using a first claw part  152   a ′ formed in the first holding member  152   a  and a second claw part  152   b ′ formed in the second holding member  152   b,  and the advance/retreat driving part  152   f  drives the base part  152   c  such that the base part  152   c  advances or retreats in the vertical direction to thereby transfer the held seedbed B in the vertical direction. 
         [0086]    Note that, in the present embodiment, the individual lowering members  152  are configured so as to be able to operate (an opening/closing operation of the claw parts and the advance/retreat driving in the vertical direction) independently of each other and, in the case where all of the lowering members  152  are configured so as to perform the same operation at the same time, the rotational driving part  152   e  and the advance/retreat driving part  152   f  may be provided so as to be shared by the plurality of the lowering members  152 . 
         [0087]    In addition, in the present embodiment, the plurality of the lowering members  152  are provided, but it is only necessary to provide at least one lowering member  152 . 
         [0088]    In the case where the lowering members  152  that are equal in number (nine) to the pallet seedbed retaining parts  121  in the lateral direction are arranged in a row, it is not necessary to provide the lateral linear actuator  153  that moves the supporting part  151  in the lateral direction. 
         [0089]    Further, in the case where the lowering members  152  that are equal in number to the plurality of the pallet seedbed retaining parts  121  are disposed with the arrangement pattern identical to that of the plurality of the pallet seedbed retaining parts  121  when viewed in the vertical direction, it is not necessary to move the lowering member  152  in the horizontal direction, and hence it is not necessary to provide the lateral linear actuator  153  and the longitudinal linear actuator  154 . 
         [0090]    The handling mechanism (not shown) moves the plant holder  110  to the holder table  131 , and sets the plant holder  110  on the holder table  131 . The specific form of the handling mechanism (not shown) may be any form such as a mechanism having a holding claw or a supporting arm. 
         [0091]    Next, the transplanting flow of the seedbed B in the present embodiment will be described based on  FIG. 13 . 
         [0092]    First, after moving the lowering member  152  to a position below the seedbed B serving as the transfer target, the lowering member  152  is moved upward, and the seedbed B is held by the claw parts  152   a ′ and  152   b ′ of the lowering member  152 . 
         [0093]    Next, the lowering member  152  is moved downward while the seedbed B is held, and the seedbed B is thereby inserted into the pallet seedbed retaining part  121 . 
         [0094]    Next, the holding of the seedbed B by the claw parts  152   a ′ and  152   b ′ is released, and the lowering member  152  is retreated downward. 
         [0095]    In the plant-transplanting device  100  of the present embodiment obtained in this manner, by moving the plant holder  110  having a small size, it is easy to secure movement space as compared with the case where the cultivation pallet  120  having a large size is moved, and hence it is possible to save space. 
         [0096]    In addition, the lowering mechanism  150  has a plurality of the lowering members  152 , whereby it is possible to transplant a plurality of the seedbeds B collectively with one lowering operation, and hence it is possible to realize transplantation that requires a short length of time. 
         [0097]    Further, by providing the handling mechanism (not shown) that moves the plant holder  110  to the holder retaining/moving mechanism  130 , it is possible to avoid direct contact of a human hand with the plant holder  110  when the plant holder  110  is set in the holder retaining/moving mechanism  130 , and prevent the seedbed B from being contaminated by sweat and various germs adhering to a human body. 
         [0098]    Thus, the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various design changes can be made without departing from the present invention described in the claims. 
         [0099]    For example, in the embodiment described above, the description has been made on the assumption that the cultivation pallet is installed in the fixed state, and the plant holder and the lowering mechanism are moved in the horizontal direction, but the specific embodiment is not limited thereto and, for example, the plant holder may be installed in the fixed state, and the cultivation pallet and the lowering mechanism may be moved in the horizontal direction. 
         [0100]    In addition, in the embodiment described above, the description has been made on the assumption that the lowering member has the holding part (the first holding member and the second holding member) for holding the seedbed, but an engaging part that engages with the seedbed may be provided in the lowering member without providing the holding part in the lowering member. In the case where the holding part is provided in the lowering member, the specific form of the holding part is not limited to the form described above.