High-speed transplanter
AssigneeCelanese Corporation
InventorPercy A. Penley
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A high-speed transplanter is described for mechanical transplanting of seedlings in grow blocks formed into easily handled modules. The transplanter includes cutting blades for separating the modules into files, delivery tubes for downwardly moving the files into spaced-apart positions above furrows, wheels for pulling off individual blocks and placing them at zero ground speed within the furrows, and an assembly for detecting dud blocks (having no seedling) and advancing a file by an extra block length to provide a seedling block for the wheels. This system depends on the probability that finding two non-germinated seeds in consecutively linear sequence is much lower than the percentage of non-germinated seeds within a pattern of randomly distributed seeds.
Claims27
In a high speed transplanter for transplanting seedlings grown in grow blocks which are arranged on said transplanter as a plurality of files of seedling blocks which contain at least one seedling and of dud blocks which lack a seedling, wherein said transplanter comprises a frame which is rotatively supported by wheels and a block movement means, including a delivery tube, for advancing said plurality of files, longitudinally aligned and disposed end-to-end, rearwardly and downwardly toward a furrow in soil therebeneath, the improvement for replacing each said dud block with a following grow block which is statistically likely to be a seedling block, whereby planting efficiency can be increased by producing a more perfect stand, comprising:
- A. a seedling sensing means for sequentially detecting the presence of a seedling in each seedling block of said plurality of files;
- B. a signaling means, connected to said seedling sensing means, for indicating a dud block in which said presence is not detected;
- and
- C. a block advancement means for additionally advancing any said file, in which said each dud block is indicated, through a distance equalling the length of at least one block, whereby a selected following block is planted in addition to said dud block.
Using a high speed transplanter comprising a frame which is rotatively supported by wheels, a method for transplanting seedlings grown in grow blocks as a plurality of seedling blocks which contain at least one seedling and of dud blocks which lack a seedling and for replacing each said dud block with a following grow block which is statistically likely to be a seedling block, whereby planting efficiency can be increased by producing a more perfect stand, said method comprising:
- A. handling said seedlings as conjoined grow blocks, firstly as components of trays, next as components of sequentially disposed cakes, and thirdly, as components of files after longitudinally cutting said sequentially disposed cakes to form said files;
- B. delivering said files rearwardly and downwardly through a plurality of delivery tubes that are attached to said transplanter and curvingly and smoothly diverge and descend to positions in a selected spatial relationship to a plurality of furrows over which said high speed transplanter is traveling;
- C. sensing the presence of said seedlings in each said grow block that is passing through each said delivery tube and thereby detecting the absence of a seedling in each said dud block;
- D. signaling the presence of each said dud block to a holding-back-and-feeding means for additionally feeding said blocks;
- E. advancing at least one additional said grow block when said signaling is received;
- F. detaching said at least one additional grow block from the succeeding blocks;
- G. moving said at least one additional grow block to said furrow and depositing it therewithin at zero speed in relation thereto;
- and
- H. firming soil about said at least one additional grow block.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.