JP2015226508A - Nursery box stacking equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a seedling raising box stacking apparatus which performs stacking work appropriately and efficiently while preventing unevenness of soil or seeds in a seedling raising box.SOLUTION: A seedling raising box stacking apparatus sequentially supplies a seedling raising box C to a seedling raising box stacking position on a pallet P so that they are stacked. The seedling raising box stacking apparatus is provided with: a seedling raising box chuck 8b which picks up to hold the seedling raising box C at a seedling raising box pick-up position; a robot arm 8a which moves the seedling raising box chuck 8b provided for a tip part between a seedling raising box pick-up position and the seedling raising box stacking position; and a turning mechanism 97 which turns the seedling raising box chuck 8b with respect to the robot arm 8a about an axis in a vertical direction. The apparatus is configured to move the seedling raising box C from the seedling raising box pick-up position to the seedling raising box stacking position while turning the seedling raising box C by the action of the robot arm 8a and the turning mechanism 97.

Description

  The present invention belongs to the technical field of a seedling box stacking apparatus that stacks seedling boxes on a stacking base such as a pallet, a carriage, or a seedling bench.

  A nursery box chuck that picks up and holds the seedling box in the raising position of the nursery box, and the nursery box chuck provided at the tip of the nursery box pickup position and the raising box stacking position on the pallet that is a stacking base. There is a seedling box stacking device that is configured to move the seedling box in parallel by the operation of the robot arm from the seedling box picking position to the seedling box stacking position. This seedling box stacking device is configured to stack seedling boxes at a plurality of seedling box stacking positions on a pallet, and among the plurality of seedling box stacking positions, the seedling box stacking position far from the seedling box picking position It starts with the procedure of stacking nursery boxes in order. In addition to transporting empty pallets to the seedling box stacking position, a seedling box transporting conveyor is provided for transporting the pallet on which the seedling boxes are stacked, and the transported empty pallet corresponds to the seedling box stacking position. A pallet stopper for receiving and stopping at the stop position is provided, and when the stacking operation of the seedling boxes on the pallet is completed, the pallet stopper is lowered and retracted to a state where the pallet can be conveyed by the seedling box carry-out conveyor. (See Patent Document 1).

JP-A-2005-75535

  The seedling box stacking device of the above background technology increases the moving distance of the seedling box when stacking the seedling box to the seedling box stacking position far from the picking position of the nursery box, and the efficiency of the stacking work is reduced accordingly. It becomes a factor. In order to improve the stacking work efficiency, there is a method to increase the moving speed of the seedling box from the raising position of the nursery box to the stacking position of the nursery box. It becomes a factor that soil and seeds are biased.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a seedling box stacking apparatus that performs stacking work appropriately and efficiently while preventing unevenness of soil and seeds in the seedling box.

In order to solve the above problems, the following technical measures were taken.
That is, the invention according to claim 1 is configured by sequentially feeding the seedling boxes (C) to the seedling box stacking position on the stacking substrate such as the pallet (P), the carriage (77) or the seedling bench (B). A seedling box stacking device for picking up and holding a seedling box (C) in a raising position of the seedling box and holding the seedling box chuck (8b) provided at the tip thereof. A robot arm (8a) that moves between the pick-up position and the seedling box stacking position, and a rotation that rotates the seedling box chuck (8b) about the vertical axis with respect to the robot arm (8a). The mechanism (97) is provided, and the seedling box (C) is moved while rotating by moving the robot arm (8a) and the rotation mechanism (97) from the seedling box picking position to the seedling box stacking position. A nursery box stacking device was used.

  Further, the invention according to claim 2 is configured such that the seedling boxes (C) are stacked at a plurality of seedling box stacking positions on the stacking base body, and an outer seedling box among the plurality of seedling box stacking positions is arranged. The seedling box stacking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the seedling box stacking apparatus is configured to operate in a procedure of stacking the seedling box (C) to the center seedling box stacking position in preference to the stacking position.

  In the invention according to claim 3, a part of the seedling box chuck (8b) rotated by the rotation mechanism (97) or a structure attached to the seedling box chuck (8b) can be obtained in a plan view. 8b) is a protruding portion provided to protrude to one side with respect to the nursery box (C) held by the rotating mechanism (97), and the rotation mechanism (97) moves the nursery box chuck (8b) in the forward direction from the state of the raising position of the nursery box. When the nursery box (C) is stacked at the outer nursery box stacking position, the protruding portion is opposite to the center nursery box stacking position. The seedling box stacking device according to claim 2, wherein the rotation mechanism (97) is rotated in the direction.

  In addition, the invention according to claim 4 is a stacking substrate in which empty seedling boxes (C) that are not stacked are transported to a seedling box stacking position and the seedling boxes (C) are stacked. Is provided with a nursery box carry-out conveyor (4), and a stopper (18) for receiving and stopping an empty stacked substrate to be conveyed at a stop position corresponding to the nursery box stacking position is provided. Any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, in the middle of the stacking operation of the nursery box (C) on the stacked substrate, the stacked substrate is retracted to a state where it can be conveyed by the nursery box carry-out conveyor (4). The seedling box stacking device described in item 1 was used.

  According to the invention described in claim 1, since the nursery box (C) is moved to the nursery box stacking position by rotating the robot arm (8a) and the rotating mechanism (97), the nursery box is moved in parallel. Compared with moving to a seedling box, it is possible to suppress the unevenness of soil and seeds in the seedling box (C) and to improve the stacking work efficiency of the seedling box (C).

  According to the invention of claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1, the nursery box (C) is stacked in the center of the nursery box stacking position in preference to the outer nursery box stacking position. Therefore, compared with the configuration in which the seedling boxes (C) are stacked in preference to the outer seedling box stacking position, it is possible to prevent the weight balance on the stacking base from being greatly collapsed, and thus on the stacking base. It is possible to prevent the stacked seedling box groups from being inclined obliquely, and the seedling boxes (C) can be stacked in an appropriate stacking posture on the stacking base.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 2, the rotating mechanism (97) is rotated in a direction in which the protruding portion is opposite to the center nursery box stacking position. Therefore, when stacking the seedling boxes (C) at the outer seedling box stacking position, the protruding portion can be prevented from interfering with the adjacent seedling boxes (C) already stacked, and the adjacent seedling box groups The stacking posture can be prevented from being deteriorated, and the seedling boxes (C) can be stacked in an appropriate stacking posture on the stacking substrate. As a result, the adjacent nursery box stacking positions can be arranged close to each other, so that a large number of seedling boxes (C) can be stacked on a stacked substrate of a limited area, and the seedling boxes (C) are stacked. The work efficiency can be improved.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, in addition to the effect of the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 3, the stacking operation of the seedling box (C) on the stacking substrate is completed. Compared with the case where the stopper (18) is retracted in a state where the stacked seedling box groups are high, the seedling box group on the stacked substrate is in a relatively low state, so that the stopper (18) is retracted. In this way, it is possible to prevent the stacked seedling boxes from being tilted obliquely by vibration or impact transmitted to the stacking base, and the seedling boxes (C) can be stacked in an appropriate stacking posture on the stacking base. . On the other hand, compared with the case where the stopper (18) is retracted from the empty stacking base before the seedling boxes (C) are stacked, the stacked seedling boxes (C) have a certain weight on the stacking base. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the stacking base from being displaced due to vibration or impact transmitted to the stacking base by retracting the stopper (18), and the seedling box ( The occurrence of poor stacking in C) can be prevented, and the nursery box (C) can be stacked properly.

Plan view of stacking equipment Perspective view of seeding seedling box stacking robot (A) Front view of first nursery box stacking device, (b) Side view of first nursery box stacking device (A) Front view of seedling box chuck, (b) Side view of seedling box chuck Top view of nursery box chuck The figure which shows the form of the nursery box in which the step was formed in the outer surface part The figure which shows the form of the seedling box where the step is not formed in the outer surface part Plan view showing various stacking equipment Side view showing operation of cart transport device Layout diagram of sowing facility Overall side view of sowing equipment Overall side view of vegetable seeding equipment Overall plan view of the sowing facility showing the transfer conveyor for rice and the transfer conveyor for vegetables Top view showing a nursery bench The top view which shows the state which conveys the seedling bench with a seedling box carrying-out conveyor Plan view showing main supply conveyor and stock conveyor Plan view showing part of the nursery box feeder Side view showing part of the greening room Side view of nursery box transshipment device Top view of nursery box transshipment device Front view of nursery box transshipment device Top view showing a greening trolley Side view showing the main part of the stacked lift section Side view showing the operation procedure of the gripping part separating tool in an easy-to-understand manner

One embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The following embodiment is merely an embodiment and does not restrict the scope of the claims.

  First, the sowing facility will be described. The stacking facility 1 provided in the sowing facility is provided with a sowing seedling box supply conveyor 2 as a sowing seedling box supply device for supplying the sowing seedling box, and in parallel with the conveyor 2, the seedling box transporting conveyor 4 is arranged in parallel. Is arranged.

  The end of a sowing conveyor 42 of a sowing facility 41, which will be described later, is connected to the starting end of the sowing and seedling box supply conveyor 2, and the seedling boxes sowed from the sowing conveyor 42 to the sowing and seedling box supply conveyor 2 are supplied one by one. Is done. The sowing seedling box supply conveyor 2 transports the sowed seedling box in a state in which the longitudinal direction thereof faces the transport direction. A first seedling box stacking device 6 that stacks seedling boxes that are transported one by one in two stages when seeded with rice seeds (rice cake) is seeded in an intermediate part of the sowing seedling box supply conveyor 2 and two stages. And a second seedling box stacking device 7 that stacks the nursery boxes conveyed in four stages.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the first seedling box stacking device 6 is arranged on both sides of the seedling box conveyance path of the sowing seedling box supply conveyor 2, and the lift chain 6 c is placed on the lower lift sprockets 6 a, 6 b, 6 a, b. , 6c are wound around and lift claws 6d, ..., 6d, ... are attached to the lift chains 6c, 6c at predetermined intervals. Further, on the upper part of the nursery box conveying path, the sending chains 6g, 6g are wound around the front and rear sending sprockets 6e, 6f, 6e, 6f, and the sending chains 6g, 6g are sent at predetermined intervals to feed the claws 6h. , ..., 6h, ... are attached.

  When the first seedling box C is in a predetermined position, the lift claws 6d, 6d support the bottom of the seedling box and lift it by one pitch, and then when the second seedling box is in the predetermined position, The raising claws 6d, 6d are lifted by one pitch, and the seedling boxes are stacked while being supported by the lifting claws 6d, 6d. When the seedling boxes are stacked in two stages in this way, the feeding chains 6g and 6g are operated, and are pushed out by the feeding claws 6h and 6h to be sent out to the lower conveyance side.

  Since the basic structure of the second seedling box stacking device 7 is the same as that of the first seedling box stacking device 6, the description of the configuration and operation thereof is omitted. Accordingly, the seeded seedling boxes that have been seeded in four stages are supplied to the terminal portion of the seeding and seedling box supply conveyor 2.

  At the terminal portion of the sowing seedling box supply conveyor 2, sowing seedling box pick-up positions A1, A2 are set. In the sowing seedling box pick-up positions A1 and A2, the seedling boxes C before and after being continuously conveyed by the sowing seedling box supply conveyor 2 are picked up simultaneously. The seedling box transporting conveyor 4 is set with sowing seedling box stacking positions B1-1, B1-2, B1-3, B1-4, B2-1, B2-2, B2-3 and B2-4. Yes. Then, the seedling box at the sowing seedling box pick-up position is stacked at the sowing seedling box stacking position by the sowing seedling box stacking robot 8 which is a sowing seedling box stacking device.

  In one set of sowing and raising seedling box pick-up positions A1 and A2, the seedling boxes C are arranged in the front and rear directions where the longitudinal direction is in the front-rear direction, but the sowing and seedling box stacking positions B1-1, B1-2, and B1 -3, B1-4, B2-1, B2-2, B2-3, and B2-4 are 8 rows in total, 4 rows in the front and back, 2 rows in the left and right, with the longitudinal direction of each seedling box C facing left and right Is arranged. Therefore, the pair of seedling boxes C whose longitudinal direction taken up at the sowing and raising seedling box pick-up positions A1 and A2 is directed in the front-rear direction are rotated 90 degrees by a rotation mechanism 97 described later, and the longitudinal direction is directed in the left-right direction. It is configured to pile up. That is, the set of seedling boxes C picked up at the sowing and raising seedling box pick-up positions A1 and A2 are stacked in a total of four rows of seedling and raising seedling box stacking positions arranged in the conveying direction of the pallet P by the nursery box carrying-out conveyor 4.

  The sowing and seedling box stacking robot 8 has four stages through a rotating mechanism 97 that is rotated around a rotating shaft 97a in the vertical direction by a rotating motor at the tip of a robot arm 8a that can be bent at an intermediate portion. Two sets of seedling box chucks 8b, 8b that can hold and hold both ends of the stacked seedling boxes in the longitudinal direction are provided. While the seedling box C is rotated by the rotation mechanism 97, the entire robot arm 8a is rotated up and down, and the bending angle of the robot arm 8a is changed, so that the seedling box chucks 8b and 8b are picked up by the sowing position. The vertical position is adjusted while moving between the sowing and seedling stacking positions. The rotating shaft 97a is disposed between the pair of seedling boxes C held by the seedling box chucks 8b and 8b in a plan view and at the center in the short direction of the seedling box C.

  A chuck operating cylinder 98 for operating the seedling box chucks 8b, 8b and a pressure gauge 99 for detecting the pressure in the chuck operating cylinder 98 are provided in the seedling box chucks 8b, 8b. Accordingly, the chuck operating cylinder 98 and the pressure gauge 99 are configured to rotate together with the seedling box chucks 8b and 8b by the operation of the rotating mechanism 97, and the seedling box chucks 8b and 8b are disposed at the sowing seedling box pick-up position A1, When in A2, it is located on the robot arm 8a side (opposite to the seedling box carry-out conveyor 4 and the pallet P) from the sowing position A1 and A2 for sowing. The chuck actuating cylinder 98 and the pressure gauge 99 are structures attached to the seedling box chuck 8b, and are provided so as to project to one side with respect to the seedling box held by the seedling box chuck 8b in plan view. It becomes. A part of the seedling box chuck 8b may be the protruding portion.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the seedling box chuck 8 b includes a pair of gripping claws 31, 31 that are opened and closed by a chuck opening / closing cylinder 30. Grip the sides by sandwiching them from both sides. The lower end portion of the gripping claw 31 has a hook shape, and the hook-shaped portion 31a is hooked to the bottom of the bottom seedling box when gripping. Also, two pairs of front / rear position restricting bodies 33 that are moved in the front / rear direction by the front / rear drive means 32 and left / right position restricting bodies 35 that are moved in the left / right direction by the left / right drive means 34 are provided. Prior to gripping, the front and rear positions and the left and right positions of the seedling box are corrected to be appropriate. For this reason, the holding claws 31 can accurately hold the seedling box C.

  For the seedling box C (see FIG. 6) in which the step Ca is formed on the outer surface, the gripping claws 31 and 31 are temporarily provided so that the lower side of the step is supported by the hooked lower end of the gripping claws 31. After grasping the nursery box, the grasping claws 31 and 31 are slightly raised, and the hook-shaped portions 31a and 31a are engaged with the lower surface of the step Ca. On the other hand, for the seedling box C ′ (see FIG. 7) in which no step is formed on the outer surface, the horizontal length of the hook-shaped part 31a is lengthened, and the hook-shaped part 31a, It operates so that 31a may be inserted in the bottom of a seedling box. By changing the control program, it can be applied to any seedling box C, C ′.

  First and second seedling box stoppers 11 and 12 for stopping the seedling box are provided at the sowing and seedling box pick-up positions A1 and A2 of the sowing and seedling box supply conveyor 2, respectively. The first seedling box stopper 11 is provided in a fixed state, and the second seedling box stopper 12 is configured to be retractable below the conveying surface of the sowing seedling box supply conveyor 2.

  The seedling box carry-out conveyor 4 is configured to carry the seedling box stacking pallet P supplied by the pallet supply device 16 on a pair of belts. The pallet P has a space in which a total of eight seedling boxes are arranged with the short direction in the transport direction.

  In the nursery box carry-out conveyor 4, the positions where the seedling boxes on the pallet P are arranged are the sowing seedling box stacking positions B1-1, B1-2, B1-3, B1-4, B2-1, B2-2, B2. A first pallet stopper 18 that stops the pallet P at the pallet stop position that coincides with -3 and B2-4, and a second pallet stopper 20 that stops the pallet P at the end portion are provided. The first pallet stopper 18 is configured to be retractable below the conveying surface of the seedling box carrying-out conveyor 4, and the second pallet stopper 20 is provided in a fixed state.

  In this stacking facility 1, photosensors PH1 to PH11 for detecting the presence or absence of a seedling box are provided at appropriate positions, and the operation of each part is controlled based on the detection result. Hereinafter, the operation will be described.

  The seedling box C sowed by the sowing equipment 41 to be described later is taken over from the conveyor of the sowing equipment to the sowing seedling box supply conveyor 2. When the first nursery box is transported to the first nursery box stacking device 6 and PH1 is turned on, the lift chain of the first nursery box stacking device 6 operates to lift the nursery box. When the second seedling box reaches the lower side of the first seedling box stacking device 6 and PH1 is turned ON again, the next lift claw lifts the second seedling box and stacks the two seedling boxes. The first seedling box stacking device 6 repeats the above operation and stacks the seedling boxes in two stages.

  When the two-stage seedling box is conveyed to the second seedling box stacking device 7 and the PH2 is turned on, the lift chain of the second seedling box stacking device 7 is activated to lift the seedling box. When the next two-stage nursery box reaches the lower side of the second nursery-box stacking device 7 and PH2 is turned on again, the next lift claw lifts it up on the two-stage nursery box. Stack nursery boxes. The second seedling box stacking device 7 repeats the above operation and stacks the seedling boxes in four stages.

  The four-stage seedling box is transported toward the sowing seedling box pick-up positions A1, A2. Then, on the front side of the transport to the first and second seedling box stoppers 11 and 12, deceleration sensors PH3-1, PH4-1 and stop sensors PH3-2 and PH4-2 are respectively provided from the upper transport side of the seedling box. In order. In the initial state, the second seedling box stopper 12 is in a state of being retracted below the conveying surface of the sowing seedling box supply conveyor 2, and the first set of seedling boxes is used as a deceleration sensor on the first seedling box stopper 11 side. When PH3-1 detects, the conveying speed of the sowing seedling box supply conveyor 2 is reduced to a predetermined speed, and then the stop sensor PH3-2 immediately before the first seedling box stopper 11 detects the seedling box C and then the predetermined speed. After the time, the sowing seedling box supply conveyor 2 is stopped. When the second set of seedling boxes is detected by the deceleration sensor PH4-1 on the second seedling box stopper 12 side, the conveying speed of the sowing seedling box supply conveyor 2 is reduced to a predetermined speed, and then the second seedling box stopper 12 is set. After a predetermined time after the stop sensor PH4-2 immediately before the detection of the seedling box C, the seedling box supply conveyor 2 is stopped.

  Thereby, since the seedling box C hits the seedling box stoppers 11 and 12 in a state where the conveying speed is decelerated, the impact at the time of the collision with the seedling box stoppers 11 and 12 is suppressed, so While preventing popping out and the like, the stop position of the seedling box C by the seedling box stoppers 11 and 12 is stabilized. Moreover, by setting it as the structure which stops the sowing seedling box supply conveyor 2 after predetermined time, since the stop sensors PH3-2 and PH4-2 provided in the position just before the seedling box stoppers 11 and 12 detect the seedling box C. The nursery box C can be reliably conveyed until it abuts against the seedling box stoppers 11 and 12, and the stop position of the seedling box C by the seedling box stoppers 11 and 12 is further stabilized. By properly stabilizing the stop position of the seedling box C in this manner, the seedling box C can be picked up accurately by the sowing seedling box stacking robot 8, and troubles in the picking work can be prevented.

  As described above, when the four-layered seedling boxes are supplied to the picking positions A1 and A2 and the sowing seedling box supply conveyor 2 is stopped, the stacking robot 8 performs a predetermined operation, and the seedling boxes at the picking positions are set. It stacks in the appropriate position on the nursery box carrying out conveyor 4 mentioned later. Specifically, the two nursery box chucks 8b, 8b are moved to the pick-up position with the nursery box chucks closed, where the nursery box chuck is closed and the nursery box is grasped, and then the nursery box chuck that holds the nursery box is carried out of the nursery box. It moves to an appropriate position on the conveyor 4, where the nursery box chucks 8b, 8b are opened to operate to release the nursery box.

  When the robot arm 8a is actuated to move the seedling box chucks 8b, 8b from the picking position of the sowing seedling box supply conveyor 2 to an appropriate position on the seedling box carry-out conveyor 4, the stop sensors PH3-2 and PH4-2 are used. If any of the above is ON, the whole seedling box stacking apparatus is stopped as “abnormal”. When both of the stop sensors PH3-2 and PH4-2 are OFF, it is determined as “normal”, and the second seedling box stopper 11 is retracted below the conveying surface of the sowing seedling box supply conveyor 2. Make it. As a result, the sowing seedling box supply conveyor 2 is in an initial state, and the four-stage seedling boxes are respectively supplied to the pick-up positions A1 and A2 as described above.

  The pallet supply device 16 supplies the pallet P to the seedling box carry-out conveyor 4 when the photosensor PH7 is OFF. Then, when the nursery box carry-out conveyor 4 is transported by driving the carry-out motor 17 and the pallet P moves to the pallet stop position, the first is in a state protruding above the transport surface of the nursery-box carry-out conveyor 4. It is received by one pallet stopper 18. As a result, the photosensors PH7 and 8 are turned on, and the stacking robot 8 starts stacking the seedling boxes on the pallet P at the seeding and seedling box stacking position. When the first pallet P is supplied, when the photosensors PH7 and 8 are turned on, the drive of the carry-out motor 17 is stopped and the operation of the nursery box carry-out conveyor 4 is stopped. . The stacking of the seedling boxes by the stacking robot 8 is executed as follows.

  First, the first set of seedling boxes is located on the center side in the transport direction of the pallet P by the seedling box carry-out conveyor 4 and the position on the lower transport side (2 rows from the lower transport side among the four seeding seedling box stacking positions) Eye position) Placed on B1-1, B2-1. The second seedling box is placed on the first seedling box. Similarly, the nursery boxes are stacked until the predetermined number of stages (30 stages) is reached.

  Next, the nursery box is positioned on the center side in the conveyance direction of the pallet P and on the upper side of the conveyance (the position of the third row from the lower conveyance side among the four rows of seedling breeding box stacking positions) B1-2, B2. -2 and stack the seedling boxes until the predetermined number of stages (30 stages) is reached. At this time, the rotation mechanism 97 is sowed so that the protruding portion composed of the chuck actuating cylinder 98 and the pressure gauge 99 does not interfere with the seedling boxes at the adjacent stacking positions B1-1 and B2-1 that have been stacked first. While moving from the seedling box pick-up position A1, A2 to the sowing seedling box stacking position B1-2, B2-2, it is rotated 90 degrees clockwise in plan view. In order to pick up the next seedling box, when returning from the sowing seedling box stacking position B1-2, B2-2 to the sowing seedling box picking position A1, A2, the rotating mechanism 97 rotates counterclockwise 90 degrees in plan view. Then return to the original posture.

  Next, the seedling box is moved to the position closest to the conveyance lower side in the conveyance direction of the pallet P (the position of the first row from the conveyance lower side among the four rows of seedling breeding box stacking positions) to B1-3 and B2-3. The seedling boxes are stacked until the predetermined number of stages (30 stages) is reached. At this time, the rotation mechanism 97 is sown from the sowing seedling box pick-up positions A1 and A2 so that the protruding portion does not interfere with the seedling box at the adjacent stacking positions B1-1 and B2-1 that have been stacked first. While moving to the box stacking positions B1-3 and B2-3, it rotates 90 degrees counterclockwise in plan view. In order to pick up the next seedling box, when returning from the sowing seedling box stacking position B1-3, B2-3 to the sowing seedling box picking position A1, A2, the rotation mechanism 97 rotates 90 degrees clockwise in plan view. Then return to the original posture.

  Next, place the seedling box on the most transporting side position in the transporting direction of the pallet P (the position of the fourth row from the transporting lower side among the four rows of sowing seedling box stacking positions) to B1-4 and B2-4 The seedling boxes are stacked until the predetermined number of stages (32 stages) is reached. At this time, the rotation mechanism 97 is arranged sowing seedling raising seedlings from the sowing seedling raising position A1, A2 so that the protruding portion does not interfere with the seedling raising boxes at the adjacent stacking positions B1-2, B2-2. While moving to the box stacking positions B1-4 and B2-4, it rotates 90 degrees clockwise in plan view. In order to pick up the next seedling box, when returning from the sowing seedling box stacking position B1-4, B2-4 to the sowing seedling box picking position A1, A2, the rotating mechanism 97 rotates counterclockwise 90 degrees in plan view. Then return to the original posture.

  In the above description, the procedure for performing the stacking operation at the next stacking position after completing the stacking of the seedling boxes at each stacking position has been described. It is also possible to repeat the operation of sequentially stacking 8 sheets) and then sequentially stacking a set number of sheets again at each stacking position. Further, the set number may be one.

  Further, the control device starts the operation of supplying the seedling box C to the sowing seedling box stacking positions B1-1 and B2-1, and after a predetermined time (the sowing seedling box stacking positions B1-1 and B2-1). 1), the first pallet stopper 18 is lowered and retracted. In addition, it is good also as a structure which descend | falls and retreats the 1st pallet stopper 18 resulting from having piled up the set number of seedling boxes.

  When seedling boxes are stacked in a predetermined number of stages at all sowing seedling box stacking positions, the first pallet stopper 18 is lowered and the unloading motor 17 is driven to operate the seedling box unloading conveyor 4. .

  The pallet P in which the seedling boxes are stacked in a predetermined number of stages has the pallet P of the nursery box carry-out conveyor 4 when the photosensor PH11 is OFF and no pallet is present at the end of the nursery box carry-out conveyor 4, that is, the pallet take-out position. It is fed to the end portion (pallet removal position) and stopped by the second pallet stopper 20. If the above conditions are not satisfied, the system waits at the sowing seedling box stacking position. As the pallet P is transported to the terminal end of the nursery box transport conveyor 4, the next pallet P is transported together on the nursery box transport conveyor 4, but the previous pallet P is turned off when the photosensor PH8 is turned off. When it is detected that the first pallet stopper 18 has completely passed through, the first pallet stopper 18 protrudes upward, and the first pallet stopper 18 receives the next pallet P. At this time, since the distance from the seeding and seedling box stacking position to the terminal portion (pallet unloading position) of the seedling box transporting conveyor 4 is longer than the distance from the pallet supply device 16 to the seeding and seedling box stacking position, the next pallet Even after P reaches the first pallet stopper 18 (seeding and raising seedling box stacking position), the nursery box carry-out conveyor 4 continues to operate until the previous pallet P reaches the second pallet stopper 20 (pallet extracting position). Therefore, when the next pallet P reaches the first pallet stopper 18 (seeding nursery box stacking position) and the photosensors PH7 and 8 are turned on, even if the nursery box carry-out conveyor 4 is operating, the stacking robot 8 starts the stacking of the seedling boxes on the pallet P in the sowing seedling box stacking position.

  At this time, since the seedling box carrying-out conveyor 4 is operating, the pallet P in the seeding and raising seedling box stacking position is received by the first pallet stopper 18 and stopped while sliding against the seedling box carrying-out conveyor 4. However, it is easy to receive vibration from the nursery box carrying-out conveyor 4, and there is a possibility that the stacking of the seedling boxes on the pallet P by the stacking robot 8 may be inappropriate due to the vibration. Therefore, a fixing device 19 is provided that can fix the pallet at the sowing seedling box stacking position, and the fixing device 19 pushes the pallet P at the sowing seedling box stacking position from both the left and right sides with respect to the conveying direction. The vibration of the pallet P is reduced. In this fixing device 19, the pallet P reaches the first pallet stopper 18 (seeding seedling box stacking position), the photosensors PH7 and 8 are ON, and the carry-out motor 17 is driven to raise the seedling box It operates only when the carry-out conveyor 4 is operating. Accordingly, the seedling boxes can be appropriately stacked on the pallet P, and the seedling boxes can be stacked on the pallet P even when the previous pallet P is transported to the pallet extraction position by the seedling box transporting conveyor 4. As a result, the work efficiency of the seedling box stacking work is improved. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, by setting the pallet take-out position to a desired position by extending the nursery-box carry-out conveyor 4 according to the layout of the facility, the pallet take-out position from the sowing seedling box stacking position is set. Even if the distance is extremely long, the work efficiency of the stacking work is not reduced. For example, as shown in FIGS. 8 (2) and (3), the pallet unloading position is set from the column h so that the column h of the building of the facility does not get in the way of removing the pallet P from the nursery box carry-out conveyor 4. Separate the pallet take-out position from the stacking robot 8 so that the pallet P can be taken out from both the left and right sides (stacking robot 8 side) of the nursery box carry-out conveyor 4, and set the pallet take-out position to a desired position. Can do. Conventionally, the distance from the sowing and seedling box stacking position to the pallet extraction position has to be shortened in consideration of work efficiency, so the degree of freedom in setting the pallet extraction position has been low. Alternatively, it is necessary to stop the stacking work while the nursery box carry-out conveyor is operated, and there is a possibility that the work efficiency of the stacking work of the nursery box may be reduced. Alternatively, it is necessary to divide the seedling box carry-out conveyor into a part up to the sowing and seedling box stacking position and a part up to the pallet extraction position and operate them separately, which may increase the cost of the entire apparatus and increase the cost. was there.

  Further, when the pallet P reaches the first pallet stopper 18 (seeding seedling box stacking position) and the photosensors PH7 and 8 are ON, the carry-out motor 17 is driven and the seedling box carry-out conveyor 4 is operated. When it is in a state, the drive speed of the carry-out motor 17 is reduced to an ultra-low speed, the operation speed of the nursery box carry-out conveyor 4 is made extremely low, and vibration from the nursery box carry-out conveyor 4 is suppressed, The stacking work is started. Thereby, the stacking of the seedling boxes on the pallet P can be appropriately performed as described above, and the work efficiency of the stacking work of the seedling boxes is improved. In this embodiment, the fixing device 19 and the control of the operation speed of the seedling box carry-out conveyor 4 are used in combination as a configuration for suppressing the transmission of vibration to the pallet P at the seeding and seedling box stacking position. Only one may be adopted.

  In addition, when the pallet P carrying the seedling box group is fed into the terminal part (pallet extraction position) of the seedling box carry-out conveyor 4, the pallet P is picked up by a forklift and taken out in the extending direction of the nursery box carry-out conveyor 4, and a germination chamber Transport to 48.

  By the way, FIG. 9 shows the trolley | bogie conveyance apparatus 76 provided instead of the above-mentioned seedling box carrying-out conveyor 4. By providing this cart conveying device 76, a seedling box stacking device configured to stack seedling boxes on the budding cart 77 instead of the pallet P described above is provided. The carriage conveying device 76 includes a carriage pusher 78 that abuts the budding carriage 77 from the rear side and pushes the budding carriage 77, and is driven by an endless belt conveying belt 78 a that is operated by driving of the carrying-out motor 17. The pushing tool 78 is moved in the front-rear direction to move the budding carriage 77. Two carriage pushers 78 are attached to appropriate positions of the conveyor belt 79. Further, stoppers (stopper pins) 79 and 80 that come into contact with the front side of the budding carriage 77 to restrict the advancement of the budding carriage 77 are provided so as to protrude from the left and right sides of the moving path of the budding carriage 77. Pins 79 and 80 are a first stopper 79 that regulates the advancement of the budding cart 77 at the sowing and seedling box stacking position and a second stopper 80 that regulates the advancement of the budding cart 77 before the sowing and seedling box stacking position. It is provided in two places. The left and right guide rails 81 for guiding the left and right wheels 77a of the budding carriage 77 to guide the movement of the budding carriage 77 are provided.

  Therefore, when the photosensor PH7 is OFF and the budding carriage 77 is not present at the starting end of the carriage conveying device 76, the budding carriage 77 is manually supplied to the starting end of the carriage conveying device 76 (the starting end of the guide rail 81). Then, by driving the carry-out motor 17, the transport belt 78 a is operated to move the cart pusher 78 forward, and the emergence cart 77 is received by the first stopper 79. As a result, the photosensors PH7 and 8 are turned on, and the stacking robot 8 starts stacking the seedling boxes on the budding cart 77 at the seeding and seedling box stacking position. When the first budding carriage 77 is supplied, the driving of the carry-out motor 17 is stopped and the operation of the carriage pusher 78 is stopped when the photosensors PH7 and 8 are turned on. . When the stacking of the seedling boxes onto the budding cart 77 by the stacking robot 8 is completed, the first stopper 79 is retracted and the carry-out motor 17 is driven to operate the cart pusher 78, so that the budding cart is operated. 77 is carried out. At this time, when the photosensor PH8 is turned off and it is detected that the previous budding carriage 77 has completely passed the position of the first stopper 79, the first stopper 79 protrudes to receive the next budding carriage 77. The separation distance between the two cart pushers 78 is longer than the longitudinal length of the budding cart 77, and the next budding cart 77 passes the position of the first stopper 79 after the first budding cart 77 completely passes through the position of the first stopper 79. The budding carriage 77 is supplied. The second stopper 80 protrudes and acts when the stacking robot 8 is performing the stacking operation so that the next budding cart 77 is not supplied to the sowing seedling box stacking position. In addition, when stacking seedling boxes on the seedling carriage 77, the fixing device 19 always presses and fixes the seedling carriage 77 at the sowing seedling box stacking position from both the left and right sides during the stacking operation. The budding carriage 77 is prevented from moving arbitrarily by the operation of the stacking robot 8.

  Thereby, when stacking seedling boxes on the budding cart 77, there is a possibility that the misplacement of the budding cart 77 may occur during the stacking operation. However, since the budding cart 77 can be fixed as described above, The loading operation can be performed properly, and the seedling boxes can be stacked on the emergence cart 77. In addition, by stacking the seedling boxes on the germination carriage 77, the seedling boxes can be supplied together with the germination carriage 77 into the germination chamber 48, and the nursery box can be easily transported.

  FIG. 10 is a layout diagram of a sowing facility in which the above-described stacking facility 1 is installed. This seedling facility has a seedling box storage on the second floor, and the seedling box C of the seedling box storage is sequentially supplied one by one to the seeding equipment 41 installed on the first floor by the seedling box supply device 40. The seeding equipment 41 has the structure shown in FIG. 11, and a bed soil supply device 43 for padding and leveling by putting floor soil into the seedling box along the seedling box transport conveyor 42 for transporting the seedling box C in a certain direction, for paddy rice Irrigation device 44, paddy rice seeding device 45 for sowing seed pods on floor soil, soil covering supply device 46 for covering soil, and vegetable irrigation device 47 are provided. The seedling boxes sowed by the sowing equipment 41 are stacked on the pallet P by a predetermined number of stages by the stacking equipment 1, and an empty seedling box is placed thereon. Then, it is carried into the budding chamber 48 by a forklift and budding.

  The seedling box supply device 40 lowers the empty seedling boxes stacked by a predetermined number (20 sheets) from the seedling box storage area on the second floor of the seedling facility by an elevator 91 with a lug, and supplies it to the first floor. On the second floor of the seedling raising facility, a main supply conveyor 93 that conveys the stacked empty seedling box groups to the vicinity of the elevator 91, and the empty seedling box groups that are conveyed by the main supply conveyor 93 by the operation of the cylinder 92a. A nursery box supply tool 92 that is pushed out and supplied to the elevator 91 is provided. When the seedling box supply tool 92 is not in operation and there is no seedling box group at the pushing position of the seedling box supply tool 92 (the end portion of the main supply conveyor 93), the main supply conveyor 93 is operated to supply the seedling box. The seedling box group is supplied to the pushing position of the tool 92 (the end portion of the main supply conveyor 93). In addition, a plurality of stock conveyors 94 that can carry and supply an empty seedling box group to the main supply conveyor 93 are crossed and connected at two locations on the main supply conveyor 93. Photoelectric seedling box group sensors 95 for detecting a seedling box group are provided at two intersections with the stock conveyor 94 in the main supply conveyor 93, respectively. When the main supply conveyor 93 is not in operation and the seedling box group sensor 95 detects that there is no seedling box group at the intersection, the stock conveyor until the seedling box group on the stock conveyor 94 is supplied to the intersection. 94 is operated, and the stock conveyor 94 is stopped when the seedling box group sensor 95 detects the seedling box group.

  The main supply conveyor 93 includes a main conveyor 93a having a long straight path, a curve conveyor 93b having a bent path, a counter conveyor 93c having a straight path, and a final conveyor 93d extending to the position of the seedling box supply tool 92 by the straight path in order from the upper transfer side. Each conveyor is driven to convey. In the main conveyor 93a, it conveys at a fixed speed | rate (for example, 1.0 m / s) in the state which closely contacted the seedling box group. The subsequent curve conveyor 93b is transported at a higher speed (for example, 1.2 m / s) than the main conveyor 93a, and the nursery box groups are smoothly transported along the bent path with an interval between successive nursery box groups. Let The next counter conveyor 93c conveys at a high speed (for example, 1.2 m / s) following the curve conveyor 93b. The last final conveyor 93d is transported at a lower speed than the curve conveyor 93b and the counter conveyor 93c at the same speed (for example, 1.0 m / s) as the main conveyor 93a, and a continuous seedling box group is brought into close contact with each other to supply the seedling boxes The tool 92 is conveyed to the pushing position. As a result, while the curved conveyor 93b and the counter conveyor 93c smoothly convey the bent path with a space between the seedling box groups at a high speed, the feeding speed of the seedling box group is reduced by the final conveyor 93d, thereby raising the seedling box Since the continuous seedling box groups are brought into close contact with each other at the pushing position of the supply tool 92, it is possible to prevent the seedling box groups from being inclined obliquely (particularly, to be inclined toward the upper transfer side of the main supply conveyor 93), and to supply the seedling box. The seedling box group can be properly pushed out by the tool 92. In addition, it is desirable to set the conveyance speed of the final conveyor 93d (main conveyor 93a) to be smaller (slower speed) than 95% of the conveyance speed of the curve conveyor 93b and the counter conveyor 93c.

  Further, a seed meal supply conveyor 51 that automatically supplies seed meal from the seed meal container 50 to the rice seed sowing apparatus 45 is provided with a decrease in the seed meal stored in the rice seed sowing apparatus 45. This seeding facility is provided with a plurality of soaking tanks 52. After the seed pod container 50 in a state where seed pods are accommodated is submerged in the soaking tank 52 filled with water, seed seeding is promoted by promoting soaking. Is supplied to the rice seeding device 45. In this soaking process, seeds can be disinfected by filling the soaking water tank 52 with a disinfecting solution such as electrolytic water or a chemical solution.

  By the way, the sowing facility 41 is configured to be able to attach and detach the paddy rice transport conveyor 60 provided in the middle of the seedling box transport conveyor 42 including the paddy rice irrigation device 44 and the paddy rice sowing device 45. Instead of the part 60, a vegetable conveyor 61 for the same length as this can be mounted. The vegetable conveying device 61 is provided with a vegetable seeding device 62, and the vegetable seeding device 62 is a seedling raising device provided in the vertical and horizontal directions of the seedling tray T to be conveyed instead of the seedling box C in the seedling box conveying conveyor 42. It is configured to sow in the pot. When the vegetable conveyor 61 is mounted and seeded with vegetables, the vegetable irrigation device 47 is actuated to cover the soil with the soil covering supply device 46 and then irrigate. Further, when sowing the vegetable seeds, it is necessary to lower the sowing efficiency as compared to the case of paddy rice seeds in order to perform appropriate spot sowing with the vegetable seeding device 62, and the operating speed of the entire sowing equipment 41 including the nursery box transport conveyor 42 Switch to low speed. In vegetable seeding, not only the seedling tray but also individual seedling pots arranged vertically and horizontally can be transported by the seedling box transport conveyor 42 and seeded in the individual seedling pots.

  Thus, since the rice conveyor and the vegetable sowing can be switched by exchanging the rice conveyor conveyor 60 and the vegetable conveyor 61 of the same length, this switching becomes easy, so that rice sowing and vegetable sowing The floor soil supply device 43 and the covering soil supply device 46 can be shared. Moreover, since it is not necessary to mount any one of the rice seeding device 45 and the vegetable seeding device 62, the sowing equipment 41 can be configured to be short, and the installation space of the sowing equipment 41 can be reduced. . Conventionally, a paddy rice seeding device and a vegetable seeding device are provided in series on a seedling box conveyor, and both seeding devices are selectively driven to switch between rice seeding and vegetable sowing. However, since both the sowing devices must be provided, the sowing equipment becomes long, and the installation space of the sowing equipment may be increased.

  Further, in the paddy rice transport conveyor section 60, the paddy rice irrigation device 44 is disposed at the upper end of the nursery box transport and the paddy rice seeding device 45 is disposed at the lower end of the seedling box transport lower side, so The interval a with the seeding device 45 is wide. As a result, after the irrigation by the irrigation device 44 has sufficiently penetrated into the seedling box, it can be seeded in the seedling box by the paddy rice seeding device 45, and the seeds that have been sown by sowing in a state where the water has floated move and the seedling box moves In sowing, uneven sowing can be suppressed, and sowing can be made uniform. When the paddy rice transport conveyor unit 60 is installed, the interval b between the paddy rice seeding device 45 and the covering soil supply device 46 has a length equal to or longer than one seedling box, and the paddy rice seeding device 45 cannot properly sow. When this occurs, the seedling box can be taken out from the seedling box transport conveyor 42 at this interval b.

  Further, in the vegetable conveyor 61, the vegetable seeding device 62 is disposed at the upper end of the conveyance, and when the vegetable conveyor 61 is mounted, the interval d between the vegetable seeding device 62 and the covering soil supply device 46 is set. It is configured to be wide. At this interval d, the operator can check whether the seeding pot is properly seeded by the vegetable seeding device 62, and if not properly seeded, the seedling tray or seedling pot at this interval d Can be taken out from the nursery box conveyer 42.

  When seeding vegetable seeds with the sowing equipment 41, the first and second seedling box stacking devices 6 and 7 are not stacked. For example, seedling trays T are placed one by one sowing seedling raising box pick-up positions A1, A2 Transport to. Then, the seedling bench B is supplied by the seedling box carry-out conveyor 4, and the seedling tray is supplied to the seedling bench B by the sowing seedling box stacking robot 8 in a flat shape. The seedling bench B is configured to be able to place a total of 24 seedling trays T in six rows in the vertical direction and four rows in the horizontal direction. The seedling bench B is conveyed by the seedling box carry-out conveyor 4 to the position facing the sowing seedling box pick-up positions A1, A2 and stopped, and the seedling box carry-out conveyor 4 is stopped, and the seedling bench is raised by the sowing seedling box stacking robot 8 Two seedling trays are supplied in order from the opposite side of B to the robot 8. When the supply of the seedling trays by two by the sowing seedling box stacking robot 8 is repeated four times to complete the supply of the vertical two rows (eight in total), the pressing tool 64 of the pressing device 63 is inserted into the seedling bench B. Then, the seedling tray T in the seedling bench B is pressed against the seedling bench moving side by the pressing tool 64, and the gap between the seedling trays in the first row and the second row is reduced. When the seedling box C for paddy rice is placed on the pallet P, the space between the adjacent seedling boxes C is opened and the holding claws 31 of the sowing seedling box stacking robot 8 are present. Although the two sets of seedling box chucks 8a and 8b are spaced apart from each other, the seedling tray T can be arranged on the seedling bench B without a gap by mounting the pressing device 63.

  Then, the pressing tool 64 of the pressing device 63 returns to the original position, and the seedling box unloading conveyor 4 is driven to move and stop by the distance of two seedling trays, and the sowing seedling box stacking robot 8 is the same as described above. To supply two vertical rows (a total of eight), and the pressing device 63 closes the gap between the seedling trays. This operation is performed once again, and the seedling tray T is arranged on the entire surface of the seedling raising bench B. Similarly, the seedling tray is supplied to the seedling bench B which is sequentially conveyed by the sowing seedling box stacking robot 8. At this time, the control program for the sowing seedling box stacking robot 8 and the seedling box carry-out conveyor 4 is switched to perform the above-described operation. In the case of vegetables, there is generally no need to stack the seedling trays T. Therefore, the operating speed of the first seedling box stacking device 6 and the second seedling box stacking device 7 is set to double the speed. The seedling trays T are not stacked in the seedling box stacking device 6 and the second seedling box stacking device 7.

  Thus, since the seedling tray stacking robot 8 and the seedling box carry-out conveyor 4 can be shared and the seedling tray can be supplied to the seedling bench B, there is no need for much switching work such as moving the apparatus. The versatility of the stacking facility 1 is improved. In addition, instead of the above-described seedling bench B, a stacking cart that can stack seedling trays is transported by the seedling box carry-out conveyor 4 so that the seedling tray supply height matches the shelf height of the stacking cart. If the stacking robot 8 is automatically operated, the seeding tray stacking work can be performed by sharing the sowing seedling box stacking robot 8 and the seedling box carry-out conveyor 4.

  By the way, in paddy rice seedlings, the seedling boxes sprouted in the germination room 48 are stacked on the greening cart 146, and the greening carts 146 are carried into the temperature-controlled greening room to grow seedlings to a predetermined size. You can grow seedlings until you do. In the greening room, the greening carts 146 are arranged with a space left and right, and watering is performed on the seedling boxes accommodated in the greening carts 146 from the side of the greening carts 146 by irrigation pipes 146 suspended from above in the gaps. To do. The irrigation pipe 66 is provided with an infinite number of water ejection holes, and irrigates the entire width of the greening carriage 146 simultaneously. The upper portion of the irrigation pipe 66 is connected to a main pipe 67 extending in the left-right direction, and the back-and-forth moving garter 68 that fixes the main pipe 67 moves back and forth, thereby irrigating all the greening carts 146 arranged in the front-rear direction. .

  The seedling box group sprouted in the budding room 48 is supplied to the seedling box transfer device 143 together with the pallet P or the budding carriage 77 when transferring to the greening carriage 146. The seedling box transshipment device 143 releases the stacking of the seedling boxes in the stage lifting section 144 and the stage lifting section 144 for lifting the stacked seedling boxes by the height of one seedling box. A seedling box transporting unit 145 for transporting the seedling box and a stacking unit 147 for stacking the seedling boxes transported by the seedling box transporting unit 145 on the greening cart 146. The boxes are stacked on the greening carts 146. The seedling box transshipment apparatus 143 simultaneously lifts the three rows of seedling box groups by the stage lift unit 144, the seedling box transport unit 145, and the shelf unit 147. The stacking is canceled at the same time, and the three nursery boxes from which the stacking has been canceled are stacked on the greening cart 146.

  The stage stack lift unit 144 scoops and feeds the group of seedling boxes stacked on the pallet P or the emergence cart 77 by the fork 148 to the lift position 149, and receives the signal from the seedling detection sensor 104 described later. The nursery box group is lifted by the height of one nursery box. The fork 148 is configured to move up and down by forward and reverse rotation of a fork lifting motor (not shown). The seedling box transporting unit 145 includes a roller conveyor 150 that transports the seedling box from the stage lift unit 144 to the shelf unit 147 and the top of the seedling box group at the lift position 149 of the stage lifting unit 144. And a seedling box transfer device 151 for holding the seedling boxes on the left and right sides and feeding them onto the roller conveyor 150. The nursery box transfer device 151 picks up the uppermost nursery box at the lift position 149 of the stack lift part 144 from above with the pressing tool 152 while lifting it up and down with the front and rear gripping parts 153, and moves the nursery box to the rear After moving laterally above the roller conveyor 150, the seedling box is lowered and supplied onto the roller conveyor 150 to release the gripping portion 153. The raising / lowering, lateral movement, and gripping operation or release of the gripping portion 153 are performed by gripping portion lifting / lowering cylinders, gripping portion lateral movement cylinders, and gripping cylinders provided in the gripping portion 153, respectively. Accordingly, the seedling box re-transition device 143 releases the stage stack of the seedling box group in the stage lift section 144 and conveys the seedling boxes to the shelf section 147. The roller conveyor 150 is always driven to transport the seedling box. Then, when the fork 148 lifts the group of seedling boxes to a predetermined height by the fork 148 where the remaining number of the seedling boxes stacked is a predetermined number, the stage lifting unit 144 lifts the seedlings from the fork 148. The upper take-up lug 154 takes over the group of boxes, and as with the fork 148, all the seedling boxes are lifted by the height of one seedling box until the seedling box transfer device 143 eliminates all the seedling boxes from the stacking lift 144. It is supposed to be. Accordingly, after the fork 148 has taken over the seedling box group to the take-up lug 154, the next nursery box group is lifted in stages while the take-up lug 154 lifts the seedling box group by a predetermined height. The unit 144 is configured to operate so as to be supplied to the lift position 149. The take-up lug 154 is provided at an appropriate position of the endless belt, and is raised by the action of a take-up lug operating motor (not shown).

  The stacked lift unit 144 is provided with a photoelectric seedling detection sensor 104 for detecting the seedling in the uppermost nursery box of the seedling box group. The seedling of the uppermost nursery box in the seedling box group that is raised by the seedling detection sensor 104 is provided. When a predetermined height at which the seedling detection sensor 104 is disposed is reached, the operation of the fork raising / lowering motor or the take-up lug operating motor is stopped via the control device to While stopping the raising operation, the gripping part raising / lowering cylinder is actuated to lower the gripping part 153 to start the operation of the seedling box transfer device 151. The seedling detection sensor 104 is configured to detect an object by irradiating light in the lateral direction (horizontal direction). Further, the control device has a timing change adjustment dial (which can change a delay time from the detection of the seedling by the seedling detection sensor 104 to the stop of the operation of the stack lift unit 144 and the start of the operation of the seedling box transfer device 151). (Not shown).

The gripper 153 is provided with a separating tool 100 for separating the seedling box at the lower stage from the seedling box to be gripped. The separating tool 100 is moved up and down by a separating cylinder 100a. When the gripper 153 grips the uppermost seedling box of the seedling box group and moves up to pick up the seedling box, the pulling tool 100 descends at the same speed as the ascent of the gripper 153. Then, the lower nursery box is pressed from above to prevent the lower nursery box from being lifted. When the gripping part 153 reaches the rising end, the separating tool 100 is also lifted and separated from the lower nursery box and returned to the original position. Thereafter, the nursery box is moved laterally by the gripping part 153 and supplied onto the roller conveyor 150.
A lift position sensor for detecting the lift position of the fork 148 is provided, and based on the detection of the lift position sensor, the remaining number of the seedling boxes stacked by stacking the seedling boxes by the grip portion 153 is equal to or more than the set number. If there is, the separating tool 100 is operated as described above, and if it is less than the set number, the separating operation of the lower seedling box is not performed without operating the separating tool 100. Thereby, by operating the separating tool 100 only near the upper stage of the stacked seedling box groups, the roots and buds grow vigorously and entangled with the upper and lower seedling boxes, making it difficult to separate the nursery boxes, The seedling box can be accurately pulled apart and taken out, and in the seedling box that has no root or bud elongation other than the vicinity of the upper stage and is easy to separate, the separating tool 100 is not operated, so that unnecessary operations can be omitted. The work efficiency can be improved.

  The roller conveyor 150 is provided with seedling box stoppers 155 on the upper transfer side and lower transfer side, and the seedling boxes conveyed to the seedling box stopper 155 come into contact with each other so that the seedling boxes are placed on the roller conveyor 150 at a predetermined level. It is configured to stop at the position. The nursery box stopper 155 can be moved out and with respect to the nursery box conveyance path of the roller conveyor 150, and is configured to retreat upward so as to pass the nursery box. A total of four seedling boxes can be stopped simultaneously at two positions on the roller conveyor 150 by the seedling box stoppers 155 on the upper and lower transport sides.

  The shelf 147 corresponds to the greening cart lifting / lowering unit 159 provided on one side of the roller conveyor 150 and the seedling box stopper 155 on the opposite side of the roller conveyor 150 from the greening cart lifting / lowering unit 159. And the extrusion apparatus 160 provided in the conveyance upper side and conveyance lower side is respectively provided and comprised. In the greening cart lifting and lowering unit 159, the greening cart 146 is moved up and down so that each of the shelves 157a on which a plurality of seedling boxes provided at predetermined intervals above and below the greening cart 146 are at the same height as the roller conveyor 150. It has become. Accordingly, the shelf stacking portion 147 is raised by the pushing device 160 with the seedling box stopper 155 in the state where the greening cart 146 is raised and lowered by the greening cart lifting unit 159 so that the shelf 157a and the roller conveyor 150 are at the same height. The nursery box on the roller conveyor 150 stopped by the above is pushed into the shelf of the greening cart 146 so that the nursery boxes are stacked. In addition, a total of four seedling boxes conveyed by the roller conveyor 150 are simultaneously pushed into the shelf 157a of the greening cart 146 by the extrusion device 160.

The greening cart 146 includes a total of four wheels 157b with casters, and is configured such that four seedling boxes C are placed on a shelf 157a having the same height. When stacking seedling boxes on the greening cart 146, first, the greening cart 146 is raised to the uppermost position where the lowest shelf 157a of the greening cart 146 reaches the height of the roller conveyor 150, and the nursery box stopper 155 and the extrusion device 160 are operated, and the greening cart 146 is intermittently lowered at every vertical pitch of the shelf 157a in the greening cart lifting unit 159, and four nursery boxes are sequentially formed from the lowest shelf 157a of the greening cart 146. The racks are stacked and stacked up to the uppermost rack 157a to complete the stacking on the greening cart 146. As a result, a total of four seedling boxes can be placed on one shelf 157a at the same time, and the empty greening cart 146, which is light before the stacking, can be raised at a high speed. Will improve. Moreover, since the greening cart 146 descends every time it is stacked, it is possible to prevent the greening cart 146 that has increased in weight due to the stacking from falling from a high position, and safety is improved.
On the roller conveyor 150, a stop nursery box sensor is provided at a position immediately before the upper transfer side of the position of the nursery box C pushed out by the extrusion device 160 (the position of the nursery box C received by the nursery box stopper 155). A deceleration seedling box sensor is provided closer to the conveyance side than the box sensor. When the deceleration seedling box sensor detects that the next nursery box has arrived even though the extrusion device 160 has not completed the extrusion operation, the conveying speed of the roller conveyor 150 is reduced and the nursery box has arrived. When this is detected by the stop nursery box sensor, the roller conveyor 150 is stopped to prevent a trouble that the next nursery box interferes with the preceding nursery box or the operating extrusion device 160. Note that when the operation of the extrusion device 160 is completed while the roller conveyor 150 is stopped, the roller conveyor 150 is restarted. When the roller conveyor 150 is stopped by the detection of the stop nursery box sensor, the gripping unit 153 waits at a position above the roller conveyor 150 immediately before moving the nursery box to be gripped to the roller conveyor 150, The operation of the gripper 153 is resumed after a predetermined time since the conveyor 150 is restarted. Thereby, the conveyance pitch of the nursery box on the roller conveyor 150 is prevented from becoming extremely narrow, and troubles in the nursery box transshipment work are prevented.

  The greening cart lifting / lowering unit 159 includes a greening vehicle mounting frame 161 on which the greening vehicle 146 is placed, a lifting motor 162 for moving the greening vehicle mounting frame 161 up and down, and driving of the lifting motor 162. As a result, an elevating chain 163 that operates up and down is provided. The greening stand mounting frame 161 can enter the dug portion 165 dug below the floor surface 164 of the facility, and the upper surface can be made the same height as the floor surface 164. Therefore, when the wheel 157b is rotated by manually pushing the greening carriage 146 and the greening carriage 146 is moved and placed on the greening stand mounting frame 161, it is not necessary to move the greening carriage 146 in the uphill and in the horizontal direction. Therefore, the greening carriage 146 can be easily moved. Further, the greening vehicle mounting frame 161 has a quadrangular frame shape with a hole 161a opened in the central portion in plan view, and is below the four wheels 157b on the outer periphery of the greening cart 146 in plan view. It is configured to support the greening carriage 146 in contact with the side. The greening carriage lifting / lowering unit 159 is in contact with the outer periphery of the greening carriage 146 that is placed on the greening carriage mounting frame 161 and moves up and down so that the greening carriage 146 does not move back and forth and right and left. A total of eight guide rollers 166 are provided. The greening carriage guide roller 166 is provided above the upper end of the greening carriage 146 when the greening carriage 146 is at the lowest position and below the extrusion device 160 close to the extrusion device 160 in the vertical direction. It is possible to accurately position the nursery box insertion shelf by the extrusion device 160 without being disturbed when the greening cart 146 is carried in and out of the unit 159. The raising / lowering chain 163 is provided at each of the four corners of the front / rear and left / right sides of the greening stand mounting frame 161, and the greening stand mounting frame 161 can be suspended and supported by the four lifting chains 163. It has become. The raising / lowering motor 162 is driven to drive the raising / lowering chain 163 to move the greening table mounting frame 161 up and down.

  Means for transporting the greening cart 146 on which the seedling boxes are stacked by the nursery box transshipment device 143 to the greening room by means of manually pushing the greening cart 146 and conveying it by the moving cart for greening 167 automatically. Can be transported to. The greening cart 167 is driven by a total of four wheels, that is, left and right idle wheels 168 and front and rear drive wheels 169 provided at the left and right centers of the vehicle body. This greening carriage 167 includes a lifter 170 that moves up and down relative to the vehicle body, a control panel 171 that controls the drive of the lifter 170 and the drive wheel 169, and a battery for driving the lifter 170 and the drive wheel 169. (Not shown) and bumpers 173 at the front and rear ends of the vehicle body. When the lifter 170 is lifted, the lifter 170 comes into contact with the center of the left and right of the greening cart 146 from below. The greening carriage 146 is transported by supporting the greening carriage 146 with the wheels 157b of the 146 floating from the floor surface 164 and running.

  Accordingly, when the greening cart 157 is transported to the greening cart lifting / lowering unit 159 by the greening moving cart 167 in order to stack the seedling boxes on the empty greening cart 146 in the greening cart lifting / lowering unit 159 of the seedling box transshipment device 143. The greening carriage 167 supporting the greening carriage 157 transports and stops the greening carriage 157 to a predetermined position of the greening carriage lifting / lowering unit 159, descends the lifter 170, and the greening carriage of the greening cart lifting / lowering unit 159 The wheel 157b of the greening carriage 157 is placed on the in-vehicle placement frame 161. At this time, since the greening carriage 167 is housed in the hole 161a in the central portion of the greening table mounting frame 161 in a plan view, the greening table can be moved even if the greening table mounting frame 161 is moved up and down. The in-vehicle placement frame 161 and the greening movable carriage 167 are configured not to interfere with each other.

  As a result, the seedling boxes are stacked on the greening cart 146 while the greening cart 167 is stopped at the position where the greening cart 146 is transported, and stops when the stacking of the seedling boxes on the greening cart 146 is completed. The greening cart 146 can be carried out of the greening cart lifting / lowering unit 159 by the greening cart 167. Therefore, when carrying out the greening cart 157 from the greening cart lifting / lowering unit 159, it is not necessary to move the greening cart 167 to the greening cart lifting / lowering unit 159, and the greening cart 146 having completed the stacking can be carried out immediately. The work efficiency of the work for carrying out the greening cart 146 can be improved. Moreover, since the stacking work to the greening cart 146 can be performed in the state where the greening cart 146 is carried into the greening cart lifting / lowering unit 159 by the greening cart 167, the stacking work to the greening cart 146 is performed after the greening cart 146 is carried in. This can be done immediately and the work efficiency of the above-mentioned stacking work can be improved.

  As described above, the seedling box stacking apparatus sequentially supplies the seedling boxes (C) to the seedling box stacking position on the stacking substrate such as the pallet (P), the cart (77), or the seedling bench (B). A seedling box stacking device for picking up and holding a seedling box (C) in a raising position of the seedling box and holding the seedling box chuck (8b) provided at the tip thereof. A robot arm (8a) that moves between the pick-up position and the seedling box stacking position, and a rotation that rotates the seedling box chuck (8b) about the vertical axis with respect to the robot arm (8a). A mechanism (97) is provided, and the seedling box (C) is moved while rotating by moving the robot arm (8a) and the rotating mechanism (97) from the seedling box picking position to the seedling box stacking position. .

  As a result, the seedling box (C) is moved while being rotated by the operation of the robot arm (8a) and the rotation mechanism (97) to the seedling box stacking position, which is compared with the case where the seedling box is moved in parallel. Thus, it is possible to suppress the unevenness of soil and seeds in the seedling box (C), and it is possible to improve the stacking work efficiency of the seedling box (C).

  Further, the seedling boxes (C) are stacked in a plurality of seedling box stacking positions on the stacking base, and the center is given priority over the outer seedling box stacking position among the plurality of seedling box stacking positions. The seedling box (C) is stacked at the stacking position of the seedling box, and the seedling box (C) is sequentially stacked at a position symmetrical to the center of the stacking base.

  Therefore, since the nursery box (C) is stacked in the middle nursery box stacking position in preference to the outer nursery box stacking position, the nursery box (C) is set in priority in the outer nursery box stacking position. Compared to the stacking configuration, the weight balance on the stacking substrate can be prevented from being greatly lost, and as a result, the seedling boxes stacked on the stacking substrate can be prevented from tilting obliquely. The nursery box (C) can be stacked in an appropriate stacking posture.

  A seedling box (8b) that holds a part of the seedling box chuck (8b) rotated by the rotation mechanism (97) or a structure attached to the seedling box chuck (8b) by the seedling box chuck (8b) in plan view ( C) is a projecting portion that projects to one side with respect to C), and the rotation mechanism (97) rotates the nursery box chuck (8b) in both the forward direction and the reverse direction from the state of the raising position of the seedling box. When the seedling box (C) is stacked at the outer seedling box stacking position, the rotation mechanism (97) is configured so that the protruding portion is opposite to the center seedling box stacking position. Is configured to rotate.

  Therefore, since the turning mechanism (97) is rotated in the direction in which the protruding portion is opposite to the center nursery box stacking position, the nursery box (C) is stacked at the outer nursery box stacking position. , The protruding portion can be prevented from interfering with the adjacent nursery boxes (C) already stacked, the stacked posture of the adjacent nursery boxes can be prevented from being deteriorated, and the seedling boxes (C ) Can be stacked in an appropriate stacking posture. As a result, the adjacent nursery box stacking positions can be arranged close to each other, so that a large number of seedling boxes (C) can be stacked on a stacked substrate of a limited area, and the seedling boxes (C) are stacked. The work efficiency can be improved.

  In addition, it conveys an empty stacking base on which the seedling boxes (C) are not stacked to a seedling box stacking position, and also transfers a seedling box carrying conveyor (C) for transporting the stacked bases on which the seedling boxes (C) are stacked. 4) provided, and provided with a stopper (18) for receiving and stopping an empty stacked substrate to be conveyed at a stop position corresponding to the seedling box stacking position, and the stopper (18) is a seedling box on the stacked substrate. In the middle of the stacking operation of (C), the stacking substrate is retracted to a state where it can be transported by the nursery box carry-out conveyor (4).

  Therefore, the stacking substrate is compared with the case where the stacking operation of the seedling boxes (C) on the stacked substrate is completed and the stopper (18) is retracted in a state where the stacked seedling boxes are raised. Since the upper nursery box group is in a relatively low state, the stacked nursery box group can be prevented from tilting obliquely due to vibration or impact transmitted to the stacking substrate by retracting the stopper (18), The seedling boxes (C) can be stacked in an appropriate stacking posture on the stacking substrate. On the other hand, compared with the case where the stopper (18) is retracted from the empty stacking base before the seedling boxes (C) are stacked, the stacked seedling boxes (C) have a certain weight on the stacking base. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the stacking base from being displaced due to vibration or impact transmitted to the stacking base by retracting the stopper (18), and the seedling box ( The occurrence of poor stacking in C) can be prevented, and the nursery box (C) can be stacked properly.

Claims (4)

A nursery box stacking device that sequentially supplies and stacks seedling boxes (C) to a seedling box stacking position on a stacking substrate such as a pallet (P), a carriage (77) or a seedling bench (B), The nursery box chuck (8b) that picks up and holds the seedling box (C) in the raising position of the nursery box, and the nursery box chuck (8b) provided at the tip of the nursery box pickup position and the raising box stacking position A robot arm (8a) that is moved between the robot arm and a rotation mechanism (97) that rotates the nursery box chuck (8b) about an axis in the vertical direction with respect to the robot arm (8a). A seedling box stacking device configured to move the seedling box (C) while rotating it from the pick-up position to the seedling box stacking position by the operation of the robot arm (8a) and the rotation mechanism (97). The seedling box (C) is stacked in a plurality of seedling box stacking positions on the stacking base, and the center seedling is given priority over the outer seedling box stacking position among the plurality of seedling box stacking positions. The seedling box stacking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the seedling box stacking apparatus is configured to operate according to a procedure of stacking the seedling boxes (C) to the box stacking position. A seedling box (C) in which the seedling box chuck (8b) holds a part of the seedling box chuck (8b) rotated by the rotating mechanism (97) or a structure attached to the seedling box chuck (8b) in a plan view. The pivot mechanism (97) pivots the nursery box chuck (8b) in either the forward direction or the reverse direction from the state of the raising position of the nursery box. When the seedling box (C) is stacked at the outer seedling box stacking position, the rotation mechanism (97) is rotated in the direction in which the protruding portion is opposite to the center seedling box stacking position. The seedling box stacking device according to claim 2, wherein the device is configured to be moved. A nursery box carry-out conveyor (4) for transporting an empty stacked substrate on which the seedling boxes (C) are not stacked to a nursery box stacking position and carrying out the stacked substrate on which the seedling boxes (C) are stacked A stopper (18) is provided for receiving and stopping an empty stacked substrate to be transported at a stop position corresponding to the seedling box stacking position, and the stopper (18) is a seedling box (C) on the stacked substrate. The seedling box stacking according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the stacking base is retracted to a state in which the stacking base can be transported by the seedling box carry-out conveyor (4) in the middle of the stacking operation. apparatus.

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