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US 12,302,810 B2Granted
Apparatus and method for planting plant cuttings
AssigneeIG Specials B.V.
InventorWim Van Der El
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
There is provided a pick-and-plant head for planting plant cuttings in a cultivation medium. The pick-and-plant head is provided with a grasper comprising opposed grasping surfaces for grasping a portion of a cutting between them and with an abutment that abuts a cutting. The grasper and abutment are moveable relative to one another and are arranged so that during release of a cutting from the grasper the abutment passes between the opposed grasping surfaces and the cutting is abutted by the abutment.
Claims11
A method of planting plant cuttings in a cultivation medium comprising:
- providing a scattered plurality of cuttings upon a supply surface of a cuttings supply system;
- identifying by way of pattern recognition, at least one cutting amongst the plurality of cuttings as suitable for individual pick-up;
- picking said identified at least one cutting from the supply surface in a substantially horizontal orientation with a pick-and-plant head on a robotic arm;
- rotating the picked at least one cutting into a substantially vertical orientation with a plantable end of the at least one cutting facing downward;
- providing the cultivation medium;
- and
- planting the picked at least one cutting, that has been rotated into the vertical orientation, into the cultivation medium,
- wherein the planting further comprises releasing the picked at least one cutting from the pick-and-plant head on the robotic arm, wherein said pick-and-place head comprises a ram, and, during the releasing, abutting the picked at least one cutting with a distal end of said ram to secure the picked at least one cutting in the cultivation medium.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.