ITUB20156300A1 - ? Seeder machine? - Google Patents

Description

"Seeding machine"

DESCRIPTION

The invention generally refers to the field of sowing machines used to insert seeds into earth cubes.

Very often the seedlings, for convenience of transport and storage efficiency, are sold as sprouts planted in a cylinder and / or cube of soil with a special niche to accommodate the seed. Dedicated machines take care of inserting a seed into each cylinder or cube (almost always sowing a container with many cubes side by side at the same time), making it fall by gravity from a tank through and into a plurality of ducts (see for example GB 0 189387) .

Since for each seed there must be a conduit that leads it to the relative cube, a seed conveyor is mounted on the machine, see eg. http://wvvw.conic-svstem.com/wp/aallerv/emp-3Q1-enq?lanq=en. All the inputs and outputs of the conveyor are coplanar with each other, and the inputs have a shorter center distance than the outputs because the cubes occupy a flat surface greater than the injection points of the seeds inside the conveyor.

The conveyor is built with a bundle of pipes bent in a different way and assembled one by one, with a very long and complicated operation, also because each pipe, in order to obtain the desired curvature without bottlenecks or irregularities, is composed of two pipes shorter ones inserted into each other. Therefore, the conveyor not only has very few degrees of design freedom and is not very sophisticated (being built by putting together commercial pipes), but its ability to efficiently convey the seeds is limited by the difficulties of working the pipes used to build it.

Obtaining at least one of these problems by improving the state of the art is the main purpose of the invention.

Another object is to obtain a conveyor member of the aforesaid type which is easier and less expensive to construct.

Another object is to obtain a conveyor member of the aforesaid type which is more efficiently configurable.

Another object is to obtain a sowing machine of the aforesaid type which is easier and less expensive to equip.

Another object is to obtain a sowing machine of the aforesaid type which is more efficiently configurable.

One or more purposes are achieved by what is defined in the attached claims, in which the dependent ones define advantageous variants.

A first aspect of the invention relates to a seeding machine for depositing seeds into small cylinders and / or cubes of earth, comprising

a seed conveyor organ formed by rigid conduits placed side by side able to guide seeds as they fall from a withdrawal mechanism towards the earth cubes,

where one or each duct of the conveyor is a single and monolithic piece.

This includes the variant for which the conveyor member

(i) is constructed by assembling one duct at a time or a plurality of ducts gathered in a block, preferably assembled in monolithic parts which are symmetrical to each other and then assembled.

With such a conveyor member it is much easier to mount or fix or replace the conveyor member on the machine.

If the conveyor is built with a few pieces each consisting of many ducts, it is no longer necessary to assemble the pipes one by one, but a conveyor member can be composed having tens or hundreds of ducts with only one piece or at most a limited plurality of pieces, where each piece comprises a plurality of rigid conduits. The number of pieces is dictated eg. the type of application or the degree of complexity of the conveyor. To switch to a different variety of seeds and / or sow with a different type of cubes, simply remove the conveyor from the machine, which, by grouping many ducts, ensures short downtime. The time and cost savings are evident.

Preferably in the conveyor the inlets of the ducts are all coplanar and / or the outlets of the ducts are all coplanar, so as to be easily adaptable to flat parts of the machine.

Preferably in the conveyor, the inlets of the ducts have a shorter distance between centers than the outlets, to distribute the seeds over a greater area.

To simplify its construction or maintenance, preferably the conveyor member is composed of monolithic and juxtaposed pieces, each piece comprising only a duct or, more advantageously, a plurality of rigid ducts. In particular, these pieces can all be the same or with a structure that is mirrored to each other, so as to compose an overall conveyor member having tens or hundreds of ducts with only a few parts.

Preferably the conveyor member, a said duct or a said piece are constructed by means of additive printing, eg. 3D printing or STL technology (ste rheolito grafi a), in order to simplify its construction and have many degrees of freedom on its final shape. In this context, then, the conveyor can be made of plastic material, in particular photopolymer or a material from the group: ABS, PLA, nylon, HIPS. In the first case, laser 3D printing is used, in the second case the three-dimensional extrusion of a molten wire.

Note that using additive printing to create parts of or the entire conveyor element gives the designer many degrees of design freedom and allows the conveyor element to be modeled in unthinkable or impossible ways with the bundle of single pipes. In particular, the rigid ducts can have a tapered or conical shape at their entrance, and then become cylindrical, with a diameter suitable for the seed in use, in order to center it in the niche of the peat or soil cube. Or the rigid ducts may have a spiral shape, or a shape suitable for depositing flat and / or elongated Decurbitaceae type seeds, making it possible to control the orientation of the seed in the niche of the cube.

Preferably the machine includes a frame and guides (eg linear) on the frame intended to receive the entire conveyor organ and to guide it towards a work site inside the frame. In this way it is possible to assemble and remove the conveyor with a few simple maneuvers.

To further simplify assembly, the conveyor element preferably includes handles, to transport or handle it with greater practicality.

To simplify assembly, the machine can comprise a mobile element for anchoring the conveyor member to the frame, and in particular the conveyor member can comprise a locking and / or centering element to the frame which can be engaged by the mobile anchoring element . Eg. the movable element can comprise a pin or a pliers or a movable arm with respect to the frame, and / or the locking and / or centering element to the frame can be a hole or a corresponding concavity or groove.

The conveyor (or its parts) may include an identification code (e.g. a transponder) readable by a sensor placed on the machine. Thus the machine can recognize, eg. via software, the type or model of conveyor, and react accordingly.

Preferably the pick-up mechanism comprises or consists of a perforated plate which is provided with suction holes for seeds, the plate being pivoted to the frame by means of a rotatable support (preferably around a horizontal axis) by means of e.g. slewing rings, preferably equipped with electric drive motors. This ensures precision of movement and avoids the known bulky pneumatic pistons which create instability in the machine and allow only two positions for the pick-up mechanism. This solution can be implemented on a machine of the aforementioned type regardless of the presence of the conveyor according to the invention.

Preferably, the rotatable support is configured to rotate at least about 180 degrees around a horizontal axis, even more preferably so as to reach a position in which it is external to the frame and protruding from the frame. In this way the perforated face of the plate connected to it can rotate about 180 degrees, assuming at least three angular positions in sequence:

- horizontal with the holes facing downwards, in which the plate releases the seeds into the conveyor;

approximately vertical or slightly offset from the vertical, in which seeds are deposited on the holes of the perforated plate by a device for depositing seeds;

- horizontal with the holes facing upwards, where the plate can be easily replaced.

Advantageously, and more preferably, the rotatable support is configured to rotate by an angle greater than 180 degrees, e.g. about 190 to 200 degrees around a horizontal axis. In this way, in addition to the aforementioned three positions, the perforated face of the plate can rotate until it becomes inclined with respect to a horizontal plane with the holes facing upwards. In this fourth position the seeds can slip and / or roll on the plate, eg. to be collected in a conveyor guide suitable to direct them into a collection container, in case of change of variety of seeds or replacement of the plate.

The solution concerning the rotatable support can be implemented on a machine of the aforementioned type regardless of the presence of the conveyor according to the invention or of the rotation washers.

Preferably, a drawer or main seed tank is mounted or associated movably and / or slidably on the perforated plate or on the pick-up mechanism, for scattering and arranging the seeds on the plate. One problem is to reload seeds into the main drawer or tank safely and efficiently. Advantageously, the machine can comprise an auxiliary seed tank which is mounted on a movable member, where the movable member can be moved

(i) to bring the auxiliary seed reservoir to a first position in which it is in correspondence with the main seed tray or reservoir for unloading seeds therein, and

(ii) to bring the auxiliary seed tank to a second position where it is away from the main seed drawer or tank, in particular it is outside the machine frame.

Eg. the movable member can be a rigid arm, which at one end supports the auxiliary tank mounted and at the other end is hinged to the frame of the machine, preferably around a vertical axis.

An advantageous option is that the arm can rotate on itself around its longest longitudinal axis, so as to tilt the auxiliary tank and drop the seeds.

Another advantageous option is that the auxiliary tank comprises a box-like casing having two openings, one of which is slit-shaped and preferably placed at the edge of a funnel-shaped portion. It is thus possible to conveniently load the seeds through one opening, and unload the seeds through the other when the auxiliary tank rotates.

The solution concerning the movable member can be implemented on a machine of the aforementioned type regardless of the presence of the conveyor member according to the invention or of the rotation washers or of the rotatable support.

A second aspect of the invention relates to a method for making a seed conveyor member that can be mounted on board a sowing machine to insert seeds into earth cubes, the conveyor member being formed by rigid ducts placed side by side able to guide the seeds as they fall. from a withdrawal mechanism towards the earth cubes,

characterized by the fact of making one or each duct of the conveyor as a single and monolithic piece.

In harmony with the aforementioned characteristics of the machine, and maintaining similar advantages and / or variants, the method presents these preferred options:

- in the conveyor the duct inlets are all coplanar and / or the duct outlets are all coplanar; and / or

- in the conveyor the inlets of the ducts are made with a shorter center distance than the outlets; and / or

- monolithic and juxtaposed pieces are made, each piece comprising a plurality of rigid conduits or only a rigid conduit, subsequently composing them to form an overall conveyor member having a plurality of conduits; and / or

- the conveyor is built using additive printing, and / or

- the conveying organ is equipped with handles; and / or

- the conveyor member is anchored to the machine frame; and / or

- the conveyor is identified by means of a code readable by a sensor placed on the machine. Other technologies to create the conveyor are for example plastic injection molding or the removal of material from a block of material.

A third aspect of the invention refers to the use of additive printing to create a seed conveyor to be mounted on board a sowing machine to insert seeds into earth cubes,

the conveyor organ being formed by rigid ducts placed side by side designed to guide the seeds as they fall from a withdrawal mechanism towards the earth cubes.

A fourth aspect of the invention refers to an isolated seed conveyor organ that can be mounted on board a sowing machine to insert seeds into earth cubes. The conveyor organ is formed by rigid ducts placed side by side designed to guide seeds as they fall from a withdrawal mechanism towards the earth cubes, and in particular the conveyor organ, or one or each of its ducts, is a single and monolithic piece.

The conveyor organ considered in isolation from the machine can include all the variants defined above and in the description below. In particular, the conveyor may include assembled monolithic symmetrical parts, and / or

it can comprise only one piece or at most a limited plurality of pieces, where each piece comprises a plurality of rigid conduits; and / or

it has the inlets of the ducts which are all coplanar and / or the outlets of the ducts which are all coplanar; and / or

has the inlets of the ducts that have a shorter center distance than the outlets; and / or

it is composed of monolithic and juxtaposed pieces, each piece comprising a single rigid conduit or a plurality of rigid conduits. In particular, these pieces can all be the same or with a structure that is mirrored to each other, so as to compose an overall conveyor member having tens or hundreds of ducts with only a few parts; and / or

it is built through additive printing.

By additive printing (ie the production in layers or additive process) here we mean the progressive construction of a piece obtained by gradually accumulating quantities of material attached to each other, in any case without using the cavity of a mold. This includes stereo lithography methods (SLA, which is based on the polymerization of a liquid resin by a laser) or methods that use materials to be melted or softened to produce layers, e.g. selective laser sintering (SLS) and fused deposition modeSng, FDM, or liquid materials then hardened. Another method included here is material extrusion 3D printing, where the printer creates the model one layer at a time, or Digital Light Processing (DLP), which uses a tank of liquid polymer exposed to the light of a DLP projector: the exposed liquid polymer hardens.

A rigid conduit here means an uninterrupted and one-piece conduit which in use guides a seed from the sampling mechanism to its deposition in the earth cube. In other words, a single rigid duct extends between an inlet and an outlet of the conveyor.

The advantages of the invention will be clearer from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the machine, referring to the attached drawing in which

Fig. 1 shows an axonometric view of a sowing machine;

Fig. 2 shows a side view of the machine of figure 1;

Fig. 3 shows an axonometric view of the machine of figure 1 in a different operating configuration;

Fig. 4 shows the machine of Fig. 3 in side view;

Fig. 5 shows the machine of figure 1 in side view;

Fig. 6 shows the machine of Fig. 5 in a different operating configuration;

Figures 7 and 8 show the machine of Figure 1 in different operating configurations;

Figs. 9-11 show the machine of Figure 1 in different operating configurations;

Fig. 12 shows an axonometric view of a conveyor member for the machine of Fig. 1; Fig. 13 shows a side view of the organ of figure 12:

Fig. 14 shows a bottom view of the organ of figure 12.

In the figures, equal numbers indicate identical or conceptually similar parts, and terms such as vertical, horizontal, top, etc. they refer to normal conditions of use. In order not to crowd the drawings, not all elements are the same marked.

A sowing machine 10 comprises a frame formed mainly by side walls 12 and a base 14, to form a sort of box. A conveyor belt 16 is mounted inside the coaxial openings of the walls 12 with which a box or tray V, containing cubes of earth to be sown, is transported and positioned, inside and in the center of the frame, in correspondence with a sowing area 18. To the walls 12 two oscillating arms 22 which support the sides of a perforated plate 20 are hinged around a horizontal axis X. The plate 20 has holes through which some anus is sucked, so as to adhere and retain a seed that is near or over a hole. A movable seed tank 30 is mounted sliding on plate 20, able to slide over plate 20 (see arrow F) orthogonally to the X axis.

Above the belt 16 a conveyor member 80 can be mounted (see figs. 12-14), inserted e.g. in guides 98 which are linear and C-shaped. See Figures 1 and 6.

The member 80 (not always shown in the figures so as not to complicate them) comprises a perforated upper surface 82 whose holes or inlets 83 each communicate with a relative duct or tube 86, which leads to a respective lower hole or outlet 85. Each outlet of each tube or duct 86 reaches a through hole of a lower plate 84. The set of ducts or tubes 86, and optionally the plate 82 and / or 84, is produced by 3D printing in a single shot. Connected to the plate 84 are the bases of vertical bars 90, in turn connected at the top to a frame 88 which surrounds the bundle of pipes or tubes 86. The frame 88 comprises openings or handles 92, to be handled, and holes 94 for centering on the frame. In one or more of the holes 94 a pin of a linear actuator 58, located for example on the guides 98. The frame 88 includes protruding side flaps 96 for insertion into the guides 98 (other fixing methods are also possible).

Plate 82 has less closely spaced holes than plate 84, so the seeds can be distributed over a larger area.

Thanks to the oscillation of the arms 22, eg. moved by means of electric fifth wheels R with hollow hub, the plate 20 can rotate to come into contact with the plate 82 (fig. 6), or move to a position away from the plate 20, in particular becoming approximately vertical (fig. 1 and 5) rotating by an angle beta (see fig. 5) of about 100-110 degrees with respect to the horizontal W. By rotating further backwards by about 180 degrees (i.e. moving away from the organ 80 in the center of the frame), the plate 84 can get in a horizontal position and detached from the member 80 (fig. 15) for the change of the conveyor member 80, and / or with an overall rotation of about 190-200 degrees it can put itself in an inclined position of an alpha angle of 10-20 degrees with respect to the horizontal H (fig. 4 and 16) for unloading the seeds (beta angle = 190-200 degrees). The figs. 6, 5, 15, 16 show in sequence the angular position of the plate 20 and of the arms 22. Outside a wall 12, next to an opening 60 in the wall 12 itself, a movable arm 50 is mounted which comprises at the its free end a bucket 70. One end of the arm is rotatable about a vertical axis Y and about a longitudinal axis Z.

The bucket 70 is generally a container for seeds to be transferred S into the tank 30. In particular the bucket 70 comprises (see fig. 7 and 8) a receptacle 72 for seeds S which communicates with the outside through an opening 74 of seed loading and through a seed distribution slot 76 placed at the end of a funnel-shaped part 78 adjacent to receptacle 72.

OPERATION

For sowing, the machine 10 operates as follows.

The organ 80 is fixed to the frame by activating the locking, in particular by pushing the pin of the actuator 58 into the hole 94.

In the configuration of fig. 5, with the arms 22 approximately vertical and rotated by an angle beta of approximately 100 degrees with respect to the horizontal position W of fig. 6, the tank 30 is positioned at the top end of the stroke on the plate 20. In the plate 20 the air depression is activated (for example with a vacuum pump) and then the tank 30 goes down and passes over the plate 20 (arrow F) releasing on top of the seeds, which remain attached to it thanks to the suction coming from the holes of the same.

Then the arms 22 rotate and bring the plate 20 into contact with the plate 82 (Fig. 6). By interrupting the suction, each seed from plate 20 falls into a respective duct 86, to be deposited in a guillotine plate (not shown) which opens in the presence of a box or tray V. Thus the seeds come out of the holes of the plate 84 and are they deposit in the respective earth cubes contained in the crate or tray V arrived on the underlying belt 16 (see fig. 6).

Once that tray is unloaded, another one arrives and the sowing process begins again after the plate 20 has moved away from the plate 82 again for re-loading of the seeds (fig. 5).

When the tank 30 is empty it must be refilled with seeds.

The bucket 70, loaded with seeds S, from the position external to the frame (fig. 9) is moved inside the frame, to bring it in front of the plate 20 placed vertically, by rotating the arm 50 90 degrees around the Y axis (fig. 10). Now the X and Z axes are coplanar and approximately parallel.

Then, by rotating the arm 50 around the Z axis (e.g. by about 90 degrees) the seeds S move by gravity from the receptacle 72 to part 78 and fall into the tank 30.

With reverse movement then the arm 50 is withdrawn outside the frame.

Note that the loading of the receptacle 72 with seeds S through the opening 74 can take place outside the frame, in complete safety and away from the internal moving parts.

When it is necessary to change the plate 20, the arms 22 (fig. 15) are rotated towards the outside of the frame (beta angle = approximately 180 degrees) to bring the plate 20 approximately horizontal and protruding from the frame, where the plate can be easily replaced 20 or the organ 80, or the machine 10 can be inspected. When it is necessary to change the variety of seeds S, that is to unload the tank 30, the arms 22 are rotated by about 190 degrees towards the outside of the frame (fig. 16) to bring the plate 20 more inclined than in the previous case. The seeds slide on plate 20 to its lower edge B, where they are conveniently collected.

Claims (10)

"Seeding machine" CLAIMS 1. Sowing machine (10) for depositing seeds (S) into small cylinders and / or cubes of earth, comprising a seed conveyor (80) formed by rigid conduits (86) placed side by side able to guide seeds as they fall from a withdrawal mechanism (20, 22) towards the earth cubes, where one or each rigid duct is a single and monolithic piece. 2. Machine according to claim 1, in which in the conveyor: the inlets (83) of the ducts are all coplanar and / or the outlets (85) of the ducts are all coplanar; And the inlets of the ducts have a shorter center distance than the outlets, e each conduit extends from an inlet to an outlet. 3. Machine according to claim 1 or 2, in which the conveyor member is composed of monolithic and juxtaposed pieces, each piece comprising a single rigid duct or a plurality of rigid ducts. 4. Machine according to claim 1 or 2 or 3, comprising a frame (12) e guides (98) on the frame intended to receive the entire conveyor organ and guide it to a work site inside the frame. 5. Machine according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a movable element (58) for anchoring the conveyor member to the frame. Machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the pick-up mechanism comprises or consists of a perforated plate (20) equipped with suction holes for seeds, the plate being pivoted to the frame by means of a rotatable support (22) configured to rotate at least about 180 degrees around a horizontal axis (X). A machine according to claim 6, wherein the rotatable support is configured to rotate by an angle greater than 180 degrees, e.g. from 190 to 200 degrees approximately, around the horizontal axis (X). 8. Machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a main seed tank (30) is associated with the pick-up mechanism, the machine including an auxiliary semi tank (70) which is mounted on a movable member (50), where the movable member can be moved (i) to bring the auxiliary seed tank (70) to a first position in correspondence with the main seed tank (30) to discharge seeds therein, and (ii) to bring the auxiliary seed tank (70) to a second position where it is away from the main seed tank (30), in particular it is outside the machine frame. 9. Method for making a conveyor (80) of seeds that can be mounted on board a sowing machine (10) to insert seeds (S) into earth cubes, the conveyor organ being formed by rigid conduits (86) placed side by side designed to guide the seeds as they fall from a withdrawal mechanism (30) towards the earth cubes, characterized by making one or each duct (86) as a single and monolithic piece, 10. Use of the additive press to make a seed conveyor (80) that can be mounted on board a sowing machine (10) to insert seeds (S) into earth cubes,