Method and apparatus for transporting seedlings in a planting machine

Abstract

The invention relates to a seedling transportation process and apparatus (1) for a transplanting machine to be mounted on a planting vehicle. It includes a seedling tray transportation section that comprises means (35) for guiding and removing an empty tray (36) from the apparatus and means (28) for feeding and advancing an adjacent new tray (29) carrying the seedlings (2) along a path into the apparatus. It comprises also means (30) for positioning said new tray in view of the picking-up of said seedlings per row (32) from said new tray by a row of picking means (34) mounted in a seedling transfer device (3) for depositing the seedlings onto a first horizontal conveyor (4) in the apparatus (1). The means for guiding and removing an empty tray (36) include guiding rails (35) for temporarily supporting the opposite side edges of said empty tray, which rails are pivotably mounted in the neighbourhood of their outer edge to enable said tray (36) to be removed on a support (37) and to actuate abutment means (59) for the front side of the adjacent new tray (29).

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.