Apparatus for separation and transplanting paper tube seedlings from a continuous paper tube seedling assembly

An apparatus for separating and transplanting continuous paper tube seedlings from a continuous paper tube strip assembly having a plurality of vertical paper tubes having an open top and bottom and each having a seedling which has been nursed therein, each of said tubes being connected to the adjacent tube by means of a connecting portion to form a strip of tubes, said strip being assembled into a row state by folding right and left, alternatively, at every preselected length thereof, each of said connecting portions having a separating line therein at which it is desired to separate individual tubes prior to transplanting, said separating lines having a separation-guide-portion provided at the upper or lower end or both ends of each said separating line, said separation-guide-portion comprising a continuous unjoined portion of 20-70% of the height of said connecting portion, the remainder of said separating line having a plurality of joined portions distributed thereon between unjoined portions, the apparatus comprising:

• a seedling tube feed means for continuously pulling the strip of tubes out of the row state and for guiding said strip of tubes in a linear direction, said seedling tube feed means comprising at least one pair of rotating bodies mounted vertically and each roller of each pair being rotated in the opposite direction than the other roller of each pair and being covered with an elastic body on the periphery thereof:
• a seedling tube separating means for separating individual tubes from the strip of tubes at the separating lines thereof, said seedling tube separating means comprising a pair of rollers mounted downstream of said seedling tube feed means in the direction of linear movement of the strip of tubes, said pair of rollers being a pair of obliquely mounted cylindrical rollers, said cylindrical rollers having a peripheral speed faster than that of said rotating bodies and being covered with an elastic body on the peripheries thereof, and wherein each roller rotates in the opposite direction from the other, whereby an instantaneous mechanical pulling force is applied to the connecting portion of said paper tube seedlings through a nipping action thereby causing tearing-off thereof from the separation-guide-portion;
• guide means for guiding the separated seedling tubes into the ground, said guide means comprising:
• a seedling dropping tube, having a receiving mouth at the top and an outlet at the bottom thereof, said seedling dropping tube being mounted below and immediately downstream of said seedling tube separating means, for receiving seedling tubes separated thereby, and
• seedling control means beneath the outlet of said seedling dropping tube for controlling the orientation of the seedling tubes received from said seedling dropping tube such that the seedling tubes land in the ground at a predetermined angle;
• and
• opener means for furrowing the ground when the apparatus progresses.