DEVICE FOR THE TREATMENT OF SUBSTRATE BODIES WITH PLANTS

Abstract

A device (1) for administering a fluid to substrate bodies provided with a plant includes a frame (2), at least one position station provided on the frame (2) for one or more substrate bodies and at least one fluid device at the position station for urging the fluid into the substrate body, wherein the fluid device includes at least one fluid dispenser, a source (5) of fluid and a conduit (15) for fluid situated in between them, as well as pressure element (6) for supplying a dose of fluid under pressure to the fluid dispenser.

Claims

1-59. (canceled)

60. A device for administering a fluid to one or more substrate bodies provided with a plant, comprising: a frame; at least one position station, provided on the frame, for the one or more substrate bodies provided with the plant rooted therein, wherein the substrate body has an upper face; and at least one device for fluid, placed at the position station, for dispensing the fluid into the substrate body, at one or several places below an upper face of the substrate body, wherein the device for fluid comprises at least one fluid dispenser, at least one source of fluid and a conduit for fluid situated in between them, as well as pressure means for supplying a dose of fluid under pressure to the fluid dispenser.

61. The device according to claim 60, wherein the fluid dispenser has been positioned for dispensing the fluid through the upper face of the substrate body.

62. The device according to claim 60, wherein the fluid dispenser comprises an injection device, wherein the injection device is an injector, which comprises an injector needle having a distal end, wherein the injector comprises means for moving the distal end of the needle to inside of the substrate body and retracting said distal end free from the substrate body.

63. The device according to claim 62, wherein the needle is closed at the distal end face which is oriented towards the substrate, wherein near said end face the needle has been provided with obliquely or radially oriented discharge openings.

64. The device according to claim 60, wherein the source of fluid is filled with a pumpable hydro gel.

65. The device according to claim 60, wherein the source of fluid is filled with water.

66. The device according to claim 60, further comprising a conveyor for conveying the one or more substrate bodies provided with a plant to and/or from the position station, in particular a conveyor, such as a belt conveyor, conveying through the position station.

67. The device according to claim 66, wherein the device for fluid comprises two fluid dispensers, positioned on opposite sides of the position station, and wherein both fluid dispensers have been positioned on either side of the conveyor, and preferably have been arranged for introduction into the substrate body according to directions having opposite directional components.

68. The device according to claim 60, wherein the device for fluid has a fluid dispenser for the hydro gel and for the water, and wherein the fluid dispenser can selectively be brought in fluid connection with the source of hydro gel and with the water source.

69. The device according to claim 60, further comprising a fluid dispenser for hydro gel and a fluid dispenser for water.

70. The device according to claim 69, further comprising a first device for fluid having at least one fluid dispenser for water and a second device for fluid having at least one fluid dispenser for hydro gel, wherein a position station may have been provided at each device for fluid.

71. The device according to claim 70, further comprising a conveyor for conveying the one or more substrate bodies provided with a plant to and/or from the position station, in particular a conveyor, such as a belt conveyor, conveying through the position station, wherein the fluid dispenser of the one device for fluid, preferably the first, when considered in conveyance direction of the conveyor, has been placed upstream of the fluid dispenser of the other device for fluid, preferably the second.

72. A method for administering a fluid to one or more substrate bodies provided with a plant rooted therein, wherein the substrate body has an upper face, comprising: placing a substrate body on a position station; after placing the substrate body on the position station, dispensing the fluid, in a predetermined dose, under pressure to the substrate body at one or several places below the upper face of the substrate body; and after the dispensing step, removing the substrate body from the position station.

73. The method according to claim 72, wherein the dose of fluid is dispensed from an injector needle which, from a position situated external of the substrate body, with the needle end is urged to inside the substrate body and after dispensing the dose of fluid is retracted from it again.

74. The method according to claim 72, wherein the dose of fluid is introduced through the upper face.

75. The method according to claim 72, wherein the dose of fluid comprises a dose of hydro gel.

76. The method according to claim 75, wherein both a dose of hydro gel and a dose of water is dispensed, in particular dispensing water prior to dispensing the hydro gel to the substrate body.

77. The method according to claim 72, wherein the dose of fluid is water.

78. The method according to claim 77, wherein the substrate body is moved by a conveyor, such as a belt conveyor, to the position station and is moved away by it from there, preferably in a same conveyance direction and wherein at the location of a first position station the water is introduced into the substrate body and at the location of a second position station situated downstream therefrom in conveyance direction, the dose of hydro gel is introduced into the substrate body.

79. The method according to claim 72, wherein the fluid is dispensed using at least two injector needles, which two injector needles are urged into the substrate body according to directions having opposite directional components, wherein the two injector needles preferably are inserted simultaneously into and preferably are retracted simultaneously from the substrate body.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0065] The invention will be elucidated on the basis of a number of exemplary embodiments shown in the attached drawings, in which:

[0066] FIGS. 1A and 1B show an end view and a top view, respectively, of an example of a device according to the invention;

[0067] FIGS. 2A-C show a number of stages in the use of the device of FIGS. 1A and 1B, in top view and in end view, respectively; and

[0068] FIG. 3 shows a top view of a device according to the invention, that has been designed in a double fashion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0069] The device 1 in FIGS. 1A and 1B comprises a frame 2 and a belt conveyor 3 extending through it, which conveyor is driven in the direction D. On both sides of the conveyance path thus formed, two screens 30a,b have been arranged on the frame 2. Within the screens 30a,b pot guides 4a,b have been arranged on both sides of the conveyance path, the guides being supported parallelogram-style by rods 28a,b, the angle of which being adjustable in the horizontal plane so that the pot guides 4a,b can be moved towards and away from each other in directions F, for setting the width of the passage 5, attuned to the diameter of the plant pots to be treated, so that they are centred on the belt conveyor. Alternatively, instead of the guides 4a,b it is also possible to use a guide on a part of the conveyor 3 that is situated upstream, that can be adjusted in position transverse to the conveyor, against which guide the plant pots find abutment in a centred position on the belt conveyor.

[0070] Also positioned on both sides of the conveyance path are two pot stoppers 21a,b, the angle of which can be set, for attuning to the pot size, and that each comprise a pneumatic cylinder 22a,b having a piston rod 23a,b that can be extended/retracted in directions C, and which are connected to a pressurised air source (not shown) via tubes 25a, 26a and 25b, 26b. The distal ends 24a,b of the piston rods 23a,b form stops for a plant pot.

[0071] At a higher level, two cylinders 9a,b have been arranged on both sides on the frame 2. They have been attached to vertical plates 16a,b which in top view have been placed at an angle (in this case of 90 degrees) to the conveyance direction D, which plates are optionally adjustable in terms of height location (see the vertical slots), and which have been provided with circle segment-shaped adjusting slots 17a,b for adjusting screws 18a,b. The adjusting screws 18a,b have been arranged at the outer ends of the pneumatic cylinders 9a,b, the other ends of which at the location of hinges 27a,b, have been attached to the plates 16a,b, as a result of which the cylinders 9a,b are able to rotate in directions B and can be adjusted in position at an acute angle .

[0072] The cylinders 9a,b comprise the piston rods 10a,b that are extendable/retractable in directions A and have been connected to a pressurised air source (not shown) via tubes 14a, 15a and 14b, 15b. Fluid dispensers 8a,b have been attached to the distal ends of the piston rods 10a,b, They comprise needle holders 13a,b having hollow needles 11a,b with closed, sharp distal ends 12a,b, wherein close (for instance 1 cm) behind the closed end surface a number of discharge holes that are oriented sidewards, have been provided in the circumferential wall of the needle. Via tubes 7a,b, the needle holders 13a,b have been connected to a pump 6, for instance, in particular for hydro gel, a peristaltic pump or a membrane pump, for pumping, pressing fluid coming from a reservoir 5 kept at overpressure, through tubes 7a,b to the needles 11a,b, so that a dose of liquid under the pressure can be discharged out of them.

[0073] In the figure the needles 11a,b can be moved back and forth in a vertical plane that is transverse to the conveyance direction D. In another embodiment, the needles can be moved back and forth in vertical planes that are at an (acute) angle to the conveyance direction D, as schematically shown in FIG. 1B.

[0074] Below the cylinder 9a or 9b a photocell (not shown) is positioned in the bottom area of the pots, which is oriented in transverse direction to detect the presence of a plant pot.

[0075] The pneumatic operation of the cylinders 9a,b and 22a,b and the operation of the belt 3 is driven from a central, programmable control unit 100. In there the control can be adjusted to the pot height and the pot diameter, as well as the desired stroke length of the needles 11a,b. The angles and , as well as the distance S, can be set manually. In one embodiment said angle can be set, for instance by rotation about a vertical hinge line of the plates on which the cylinders 9a,b have been arranged.

[0076] Furthermore, the central, programmable control unit 100 drives the pump 6, and the size of the dose of fluid to be dispensed can be entered in there.

[0077] The cylinders 9a,b and their operation means, the fluid dispensers 8a,b, the pump 6 and the supply 5 are part of the device for fluid 40, in this case provided with two fluid dispensers for the same fluid.

[0078] In operation, the plant pots P that are almost entirely filled with a substrate body L, in this example potting compost body L in which a plant V is rooted, are supplied one after the other on the belt conveyor 3 in direction D. Prior to that, the central control unit 100 has been adjusted to the plant pots in question and the wanted treatment.

[0079] In FIG. 2A the plant pot P has arrived between the guides 4a,b. The piston rods 23a,b have been extended for by means of the pot stops 24a,b keeping the plant pot P centred relative to the fluid dispensers 8a,b at the position station I on the belt 3.

[0080] In FIG. 2B the plant pot P has ended up against the stops 24a,b and is situated at the position station I. The photocell has detected the plant pot P. If the pots have rough bottoms the setting may such that based on said detection, the control unit 100 stops the belt 3. This will not be required if the bottoms of the pots are smooth. Based on the detection by the photo cell, the control unit 100 ensures actuation of the cylinders 9a,b to extend the needles 11a,b and penetrate the potting compost body L via its upper face, down to for instance of the height of the potting compost body below said upper face. The depth to which the needle ends 12a,b are brought depends on among others the root structure and the type of plant, as well as the further plans regarding the potted plant in question, such as the duration of the periods of storage, transportation and sale and the conditions during those periods.

[0081] As soon as the needle ends 12a,b have been taken to the correct place, the control unit 100 activates the pump 6, as a result of which the set dose of fluid is pumped, pressed, to the needles 11 a,b via conduits 7a,b, and is injected out of the needle ends 12a,b into the potting compost body L, see FIG. 2C. Immediately after having dispensed the dose the cylinders 9a,b are operated to retract the needles 11a,b again so that the needle ends 12a,b are free from the plant pot P, including plant V. Prior to that, the cylinders 22a,b are operated to bring the stops 24a,b out of the conveyance path of the plant pot P. If the conveyor belt has stopped, the stops may already have been retracted before that.

[0082] As needles penetrate the potting compost body from opposite sides and are also retracted from there, there may be question of a horizontal balance of forces in a vertical plane transverse to the conveyance direction D. Furthermore, this enhances the spreading of the fluid in the potting compost body. When inserting the needles from both sides the plant pot, when considered in transverse direction, will be able to remain in its place.

[0083] If the needles have been set in advance at a said angle , they extend in the direction D with a directional component, as are result of which it may be advantageous to already continue conveyance in the direction D while retracting the needles.

[0084] The plant pot P is conveyed onwards by conveyor 3 in direction D, to a location of placing it on a trolley, for transportation to a location of storage or sale. The cylinders 23a,b are operated again immediately after passage of the plant pot P to form a stop for a next plant pot P.

[0085] Supply of plant pots P can be controlled, so that upon release of a plant pot treated with fluid a next plant pot P arrives within the guides 4a,b.

[0086] The fluid that may be dispensed in this example, for instance is a low viscosity liquid, such as water, for instance in a dose of 275 ml in 1 second, for 1 litre of potting compost. In that case the pump 6 can be simple, such as a plunger pump.

[0087] The device can be made suitable for dispensing a specific dose of hydro gel from the needle ends 12a,b. The gel has been made/kept sufficiently streamable, in particular liquid for pumping, pressing to and dispensing from the needles 11a,b. The pump, such as a peristaltic pump, can then be used for reducing the viscosity, as a result of a kneading action on the gel. Influencing the viscosity of the hydro gel by influencing its temperature is another option. After a day of using the device, the conduits between pump and needles can be rinsed with water (not shown) in order to clear those conduits from hydro gel. The next day the pump will fill the conduits with hydro gel again, which will then have been made less viscous by the pump. The hydro gel remains properly pumpable in periods of changing the plant pot. The dose of hydro gel may for instance be 217 ml for one litre of potting compost.

[0088] For controlling the quantity of hydro gel dispensed, the device according to the invention can be provided with a weighing device, with which the weight of the content of hydro gel in the reservoir can be monitored, and on the basis of which the dispensing can be controlled: the predetermined dose is then related to its dose weight in the reservoir, and when the measured weight of the stored mass in the reservoir has decreased by the dose weight, dispensing is stopped. By way of example a weighing device 60 has been schematically depicted in FIG. 1A. It provides data regarding the weight of the reservoir 5 to the control unit 100.

[0089] The hydro gel may be wanted if timed-release of doses of water to the roots is required and evaporation from the potting compost body has to be kept within limits as much as possible. In that way the plants may last through a longer period in storage, transport and sale.

[0090] It is possible that only a hydro gel is introduced. It is also possible to introduce water as well as hydro gel.

[0091] Prior to introducing the dose of hydro gel, water can be introduced into the substrate body, which is then (pre)moisturized with it, which is particularly advantageous if the substrate is relatively dry. In a first period the plant can then use the introduced water and in a second period the water contained in the hydro gel. The first and second period may partially overlap each other.

[0092] Dispensing water and hydro gel may, in an exemplary embodiment, take place using the same device, wherein in addition to a first reservoir for water a second reservoir, for the hydro gel, has been connected to the pump 6, and both reservoirs, via valves operated by the control unit, can selectively be brought in fluid connection with the pump 6. The plant pot P is then twice subjected to an administration of fluid, at the same position station I, first for water, then for hydro gel, each time from both sides. Parts of the device, in particular the conduits, pump, discharge holes, can then be suitable for dispensing water as well as hydro gel. It is also possible to provide a pump for each reservoir, and providing valves between the injector needles and both pumps for bringing the injector needles in fluid connection with the one pump/reservoir and with the other pump/reservoir.

[0093] The consecutive administration of water and hydro gel can alternatively take place using the one dispenser 8a for water and shortly after that using the other dispenser 8b for hydro gel.

[0094] Alternatively, it is possible to have two sets of fluid dispensers in one and the same device, for instance a set of needles, such as needles 11a,b, for administering water, inserted from above, and a set of needles that are piercing the pot wall from the side and, subsequent to the dispensing of water, dispense hydro gel in the potting compost body L. In order to prevent gel from running back out of the tunnel the needles have made in the potting compost body, said needles may be inserted downwardly inclined, for instance at an angle of 10 degrees to the horizontal. In this case a separate pump for the hydro gel can be provided.

[0095] Alternatively, a double fashion arrangement of two similar devices for fluid according to the invention can be opted for, with first a device for dispensing water and directly downstream therefrom a device for fluid for dispensing hydro gel. In that case, each device for fluid can be more specifically suited to the fluid in question. This is schematically shown in FIG. 3, with device 101 comprising the device for fluid 140a for dispensing water to a potted plant P1 at a position station I and a device for fluid 140b for dispensing hydro gel to a potted plant P2 at position station II. In FIG. 3 similar parts have been provided with identical numbers increased by 100 (water) and 200 (hydro gel), respectively. Both devices for fluid are driven by a joint, programmable control device, with which the other parts, such as conveyor belt 103, can also be controlled.

[0096] In general, the needles of the fluid dispensers can be positioned for penetration of the substrate body via its upper face, alternatively via its side face or the pot sidewall or alternatively via its bottom wall, optionally via holes, if any, in the bottom wall. In the latter case the belt conveyor can be configured with a slit space below the pot bottom wall for at the location of the position station providing room for moving the needles up and down. If it is desired to dispense the fluid via said bottom holes, detection means, such as a sensor or a camera, may be present for detecting the position of a hole and means can be present for rotating the plant pot for bringing said hole in line with the path of the fluid dispenser.

[0097] If so desired the cylinders 9a,b and the pump 6 can be controlled such that fluid is dispensed in steps or gradually at several depths in the substrate body. For instance the needle ends 12a,b can first be inserted at a largest depth, and subsequently be retracted while dispensing the fluid in steps or continuously.

[0098] In case of a plant having leaves covering the upper face, the device according to the invention can be provided with a means for temporarily moving said leaves out of the way and keeping them out of the way so that a free target surface at the upper face is provided to the fluid dispensers.

[0099] Instead of plant pots that can be handled individually, plant pots supplied in groups on or in trays can also be treated. In case of for instance a tray with 23 plant pots, with two pots adjacent to each other in transverse direction, of each pair of pots the right-hand pot can be treated by fluid dispenser 8a and the left-hand pot by fluid dispenser 8b. The tray can then be treated in three steps. In that case, use can for instance be made of three pairs of stoppers that are operational at a distance of one pot pitch from each other, consecutively, controlled by the control unit.

[0100] The invention is/inventions are not at all limited to the embodiments discussed in the description and shown in the drawings. The above description is included to illustrate the operation of preferred embodiments of the invention and not to limit the scope of the invention. Starting from the above explanation many variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention will be evident to an expert. Variations of the parts described in the description and shown in the drawings, are possible. They can be used individually in other embodiments of the invention(s). Parts of the various examples given can be combined with each other.