The present disclosure relates generally to automated horticultural potting systems, and more specifically to a system, apparatus, and method for efficiently dispensing individual horticultural pots from a bulk supply, thereof.
Horticultural containers (commonly referred to as “pots”) come in many different shapes, sizes, and can be comprised of various different materials. Commercial growers of potted flowers, trees and shrubs (commonly referred to as “plants”), for example, utilize many sizes and shapes of pots, typically comprised of plastic. In some instances, limited production runs and labor availability can drive up costs and limit production for the growers. Further, the seasonal nature of the horticulture industry can lead to extreme variability of labor requirements, based on the time of a growing cycle for a particular plant. As such, automation of planting or transplanting operations for said plants can be economically beneficial.
Conventional pot dispensers employ gravity to vertically drop each of the plurality of pots 10 onto a dispensing surface that is situated at a distance from a pot stack 14. Dropping the individual pots by such a distance, however, can deleteriously induce static electricity between the pots 10, whereby the static electricity can lead to failures in dispensing, such as a sticking together of multiple pots, or improper positioning of the individual pot on the dispensing surface.
Such conventional pot dispensers also typically demand a uniform shape of the pots 10 and can require a rim 16 (also called a lip) that separates the individual pots within the pot stack 14. Pots 10 with such attributes can be expensive, when even available. Conventional pot dispensers that separate pots 10 from the rims 16 or lips on the pots can also have difficulty when individual pots in the pot stack 14 are non-uniformly spaced or pressed together due to packaging or shipment. Such a lack of uniformity in spacing between pots 10 in the pot stack 14 can lead to separation issues, whereby separator blades that separate the individual pots from one another do not having enough space for the pot separation process, thus potentially causing de-stacking failures and unacceptable downtime.
Further, some conventional pot dispensers can demand thick-walled pots that are comprised of a substantially thick plastic in order to operate properly. Such thick-walled pots are often more expensive than thin-walled pots, thus increasing costs for generally no other reason than for accommodating the conventional pot dispenser.
Due to their vertical gravity-fed nature, most conventional pot dispensers typically have difficulty maintaining high dispensing speeds, and as such, may not be able to dispense pots at speeds to match downstream production rates. Conventional pot dispensers can also incur extensive setup time when changing from one size or shape of pot to another. Downtime associated with such setup time can deleteriously affect efficiency and increase costs, and may even eliminate the viability of utilizing the conventional pot dispenser for short production runs.
Some other pot dispensers are known to employ suction to remove the individual pots from the stack of pots. However, due at least in part to variabilities in pot shapes, radiuses and drainage holes in said pots, for example, such suction systems can require extensive setup, and may result in failure, thus leading to costly downtime.
The present disclosure thus provides various systems, apparatuses, and methods for dispensing individual pots from a stack of pots in a reliable and efficient manner that overcomes the deficiencies of the conventional systems heretofore known.
Accordingly, the following presents a simplified summary of the disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of the invention nor delineate the scope of the invention. Its purpose is to present some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
In accordance with various example aspects of the disclosure, a horticultural container dispensing system is provided, wherein the system comprises a gravity-fed pot supply source having a plurality of pot paths disposed along a predetermined incline. The plurality of pot paths, for example, are linearly spaced from one another, wherein the gravity-fed pot supply source is configured to support a plurality of pot stacks along each of the plurality of pot paths. Each of the plurality of pot stacks, for example, comprises a plurality of pots in a nested configuration along the respective pot path. The gravity-feed pot supply source, for example, can comprise one or more roller conveyors disposed at the predetermined incline, wherein the predetermined incline is less than approximately 30 degrees from horizontal.
A pot provisioning apparatus, for example, has one or more retention members configured to selectively release a respective end-most one of the plurality of pots from a remainder of the plurality of pots in each of the plurality of pot stacks at a release location along the respective pot path. A pot engagement apparatus comprising a plurality of pot gripper devices respectively associated with the plurality of pot paths is further provided, wherein each of the plurality of pot gripper devices is configured to selectively engage an internal surface of the end-most one of the respective plurality of pots at the release location.
A carriage apparatus, for example, is configured to selectively translate the plurality of pot gripper devices between the release location and a dispense location. Each of the plurality of pot gripper devices, for example, is configured to selectively disengage the internal surface of the end-most one of the plurality of pots, respectively, at the dispense location.
In one example, the one or more retention members comprise a stop ledge and a stop ledge actuator, wherein the stop ledge is configured to translate between a first position and a second position via the stop ledge actuator. In the first position, for example, the stop ledge limits a translation of the respective end-most one of the plurality of pots beyond the release location along the respective plurality of pot paths. In the second position, for example, the stop ledge generally permits the translation of the respective end-most one of the plurality of pots beyond the release location along the respective plurality of pot paths.
The one or more retention members, for example, are further configured to selectively retain a position of the remainder of the plurality of pots of each of the plurality of pot stacks when the end-most one of the plurality of pots from each of the plurality of pot stacks is respectively released. For example, the one or more retention members can further comprise a pot stack backstop, a pot stack holder, and a pot stack holder actuator. The pot stack holder, for example, is configured to translate between a third position and a fourth position via the pot stack holder actuator. In the third position, for example, the pot stack holder is extended toward the pot stack backstop and limits a translation of the remainder of the plurality of pots along the respective plurality of pot paths. In the fourth position, the pot stack holder is retracted from the pot stack backstop and generally permits the translation of the plurality of pots along the respective plurality of pot paths.
In accordance with a first example embodiment, the pot provisioning apparatus comprises a pot provisioning cassette selectively operably coupled to the gravity-fed pot supply source. The pot stack holder and the pot stack holder actuator, for example, are operably coupled to the pot provisioning cassette.
One or more of the pot stack backstop and the pot stack holder actuator, for example, are selectively positioned with respect to the pot provisioning cassette based on a predetermined configuration of the plurality of pots, such as a size or a shape of the plurality of pots.
In one example, a cassette coupling apparatus associated with the pot provisioning cassette can be further provided. The cassette coupling apparatus, for example, can comprise one or more of a cassette pneumatic coupling, a cassette electrical coupling, and a cassette mechanical coupling, whereby the pot provisioning cassette can be selectively operably coupled to the gravity-fed pot supply source via the cassette coupling apparatus. For example, one or more quick-release devices can be provided to selectively secure the pot provisioning cassette to the gravity-fed pot supply source. One or more of the stop ledge actuator and pot stack holder actuator, for example, can comprise one or more of a pneumatic actuator and an electric actuator, whereby the cassette coupling apparatus further operatively couples the pot provisioning cassette to the gravity-fed pot source via the one or more quick-release devices.
The pot engagement apparatus, for example, can comprise a gripper assembly selectively operably coupled to the carriage apparatus, wherein the plurality of pot gripper devices are selectively operably coupled to the gripper assembly based on the predetermined configuration of the plurality of pots and the plurality of pot paths.
In a second example embodiment, a controller is provided and configured to control one or more of the pot provisioning apparatus, the pot engagement apparatus, and the carriage apparatus. The controller, for example, is configured to selectively control a variation in one or more of the third position and the fourth position and to control the translation of the pot stack holder between the third position and the fourth position via a control of the pot stack holder actuator. For example, the pot stack holder actuator can comprise a pot stack holder servomotor.
In another example, the controller is configured to selectively control a variation in one or more of the first position and the second position and to control the translation of the stop ledge between the first position and the second position via a control of the stop ledge actuator. The stop ledge actuator, for example, can comprise a stop ledge servomotor.
In another example, the pot provisioning apparatus further comprises a pot stack backstop actuator configured to selectively position the pot stack backstop in a fifth position and a sixth position based on the predetermined configuration of the plurality of pots. The pot stack backstop actuator, for example, can comprise a pot stack backstop servomotor, wherein the controller is further configured to control the fifth position and sixth position via a control of the pot stack backstop servomotor.
In another example, the controller is further configured to control the pot engagement apparatus and the carriage apparatus. The carriage apparatus, for example, can comprise one or more of a linear actuator and a rotary actuator, wherein the controller is further configured to translate the plurality of pot gripper devices between the release location and two or more dispense locations via a control of the one or more the linear actuator and the rotary actuator. The carriage apparatus, for example, can comprise a carriage servomotor, wherein the controller is configured to selectively translate the plurality of pot gripper devices along two or more axes between the release location and two or more dispense locations via a control of the carriage servomotor. Each the plurality of pot gripper devices, for example, can be further configured to selectively disengage the internal surface of the respective end-most one of the plurality of pots at the two or more dispense locations via a control of the plurality of pot gripper devices by the controller.
The carriage apparatus, for example, can comprise one or more of a linear actuator, a rotary actuator, and a linkage configured to translate the plurality of pot gripper devices between the release location and two or more dispense locations.
In various examples, the stop ledge and pot stack holder are configured to selectively translate in respective planes that are linearly offset from one another. The pot stack holder, for example, can comprise a friction plate having an engagement surface configured to frictionally engage an outer surface of one or more of the plurality of pots in each of the plurality of pot path. The friction plate, for example, can comprise a foam material for frictionally engaging the outer surface of the respective one or more of the plurality of pots.
In other examples, the plurality of pot gripper devices are configured to concurrently place each end-most one of the plurality of pots proximate to a dispense surface at the dispense location, wherein the dispense surface comprises one or more of a conveyor apparatus and one or more carrier trays. The one or more carrier trays, for example, can comprise two or more rows of receptacles associated with the two or more dispense locations.
In accordance with another example, the pot engagement apparatus further comprises a pneumatic release apparatus, wherein the pneumatic release apparatus comprises a pressurized gas source, a nozzle associated with each of the plurality of pot gripper devices, respectively, and a gas actuator. Each nozzle, for example, is selectively fluidly coupled to the pressurized gas source via the gas actuator. The gas actuator, for example, is configured to selectively respectively supply a burst of gas from the pressurized gas source through the nozzle toward the respective end-most one of the plurality of pots at the dispense location, thereby aiding in dispensing the end-most one of the plurality of pots at the dispense location.
In another example, each of the plurality of pot gripper devices comprises two or more gripper members operably coupled to a gripper actuator. The gripper actuator, for example, is configured to selectively translate the two or more gripper members between an engagement position and a disengagement position, wherein the two or more gripper members engage the internal surface of the respective end-most one of the plurality of pots in the engagement position, and wherein the two or more gripper members disengage the internal surface of the respective end-most one of the plurality of pots in the disengagement position.
The two or more gripper members, for example, can each comprise a respective contact surface, wherein each respective contact surface generally conforms to a contour of a respective portion of the internal surface of the plurality of pots. The gripper actuator, for example, can further comprise a pneumatic actuator configured to selectively pneumatically translate the two or more gripper members between the engagement position and the disengagement position.
To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the disclosure comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention. These embodiments are indicative, however, of a few of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed. Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the drawings.
The present disclosure is directed generally toward a system, apparatus, and method for efficiently dispensing horticultural containers from a bulk supply of said horticultural containers. Accordingly, the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals may be used to refer to like elements throughout. It is to be understood that the description of these aspects is merely illustrative and that they should not be interpreted in a limiting sense. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. It will be evident to one skilled in the art, however, that the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. Further, the scope of the disclosure is not intended to be limited by the embodiments or examples described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, but is intended to be only limited by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.
It is also noted that the drawings are provided to give an illustration of some aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure and therefore are to be regarded as schematic only. In particular, the elements shown in the drawings are not necessarily to scale with each other, and the placement of various elements in the drawings is chosen to provide a clear understanding of the respective embodiment and is not to be construed as necessarily being a representation of the actual relative locations of the various components in implementations according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Furthermore, the features of the various embodiments and examples described herein may be combined with each other unless specifically noted otherwise.
It is also to be understood that in the following description, any direct connection or coupling between functional blocks, devices, components, circuit elements or other physical or functional units shown in the drawings or described herein could also be implemented by an indirect connection or coupling. Furthermore, it is to be appreciated that functional blocks or units shown in the drawings may be implemented as separate features or circuits in one embodiment, and may also or alternatively be fully or partially implemented in a common feature or circuit in another embodiment. For example, several functional blocks may be implemented as software running on a common processor, such as a signal processor. It is further to be understood that any connection which is described as being wire-based in the following specification may also be implemented as a wireless communication, unless noted to the contrary.
The present disclosure provides one or more systems, apparatuses, and methods for dispensing individual pots from a stack of a plurality of pots (also called a pot stack) in a reliable and efficient manner that overcomes the deficiencies of the conventional systems heretofore known. The present disclosure is particularly suited to dispensing individual pots into so-called “carrier trays” that are used by horticultural growers. For example, as illustrated in
In accordance with a first embodiment of the present disclosure, one example of a horticultural container dispensing system 200 is provided in
In general, as illustrated in
The plurality of pot paths 206, for example, are disposed along a predetermined incline 214 from horizontal, as illustrated in
In accordance with one example, a pot provisioning apparatus 224 is illustrated in
In one example, the one or more retention members 226 comprise a stop ledge 234 and a stop ledge actuator 236, wherein the stop ledge is configured to translate between a first position 238 (e.g., shown in
The one or more retention members 226, in another example, are further configured to selectively retain the remainder 230 of the plurality of pots 210 of the plurality of pot stacks 208 along the respective plurality of pot paths 206 when the end-most one 228 of the plurality of pots from each of the plurality of pot stacks is respectively released, as discussed above. For example, the one or more retention members 226 further comprise a pot stack backstop 244, a pot stack holder 246, and a pot stack holder actuator 248. The pot stack holder 246, for example, is configured to translate between a third position 250 (e.g., illustrated in
In the third position 250, for example, the pot stack holder 246 is extended toward the pot stack backstop 244 and limits a translation of the remainder 230 of the plurality of pots 210 along the respective plurality of pot paths 206. In the fourth position 252, the pot stack holder 246 is retracted with respect to the pot stack backstop 244 and generally permits the translation of the plurality of pots 210 along the respective plurality of pot paths 206 with respect to the pot stack holder and pot stack backstop. In accordance with one example, the stop ledge 234 and pot stack holder 246 are configured to selectively translate in respective planes that are linearly offset from one another. In some examples, the pot stack holder 246 may be configured to lift the pot stack 208 toward the pot stack backstop 244, as illustrated in the example shown in
In accordance with the first embodiment, the pot provisioning apparatus 224, for example, further comprises a pot provisioning cassette 254 illustrated in
For example, based on the predetermined size or shape of the plurality of pots 210, the pot stack backstop 244, for example, is selectively positionable with respect to the frame 256 in order to provide gravity-fed translation of the plurality of pots 210 between the pot stack backstop and the pot stack holder 246 when the pot stack holder is in the fourth position 252 shown in
In one example, the pot provisioning cassette 254 is configured to be selectively removed from the base pot dispenser 202, as illustrated in
According to another example, a cassette coupling apparatus 260 is further provided, wherein the cassette coupling apparatus comprises one or more of a cassette pneumatic coupling, a cassette electrical coupling, and a cassette mechanical coupling, and wherein the pot provisioning cassette 254 can be selectively operably coupled to the gravity-fed pot supply source 204 via the cassette coupling apparatus in a quick and efficient manner. For example, quick-connect couplings (not shown) may be implemented in the cassette coupling apparatus 260 for any respective pneumatic, electrical, or mechanical connections between to the selected pot provisioning cassette 254.
As illustrated in
In accordance with another aspect, the horticultural container dispensing system 200, such as shown in
A carriage apparatus 272 is further illustrated in
For example, the carriage apparatus 272 is configured to translate the plurality of pot gripper devices 270 through a plurality of positions 275A-275D. The carriage apparatus 272, for example, is configured to rotationally and/or linearly translate the plurality of pot gripper devices 270 along or about one or more of the x, y, and z-axis). For example, when the carriage apparatus 272 positions the plurality of pot gripper devices 270 at position 275A associated with the release location 232 of
Any number of quick-connect couplings 279, for example, may be further implemented in conjunction with the carriage apparatus 272 illustrated in
As illustrated in
In the engagement position 286, the two or more gripper members 282, for example, engage the internal surface 278 of the end-most one 228 of the plurality of pots in the pot stack. While not shown, in the disengagement position, the two or more gripper members 282 disengage the internal surface 278 of the end-most one 228 of the plurality of pots in the pot stack, whereby the two or more gripper members do not significantly contact the internal surface and allow the end-most one of the plurality of pots to move relative to two or more gripper members.
The two or more gripper members 282, for example, each comprise a respective contact surface 288, wherein each respective contact surface generally conforms to a contour of a respective portion 290 of the internal surface 278 of the respective plurality of pots. For example, for the round configuration 280 of the pot 210 shown in
In another example, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
For example, as illustrated in
In the example illustrated in
Further, in another example, the gripper assembly 294 and the pot provisioning cassette 254 of
In accordance with another example, the pot engagement apparatus 268 further comprises a pneumatic release apparatus 297, as illustrated in the example shown in
In a second example embodiment, a horticultural container dispensing system 300 is provided as an advanced pot dispenser 302, as shown in the example provided in
In accordance with one example, the advanced pot dispenser 302, for example, can be further configured to dispense a plurality of rows of pots into a respective plurality of tray receptacles per cycle. The plurality of rows, for example, can be co-linear or parallel, and can be associated with a plurality of pot trays, as will discussed further, infra. While a co-linear arrangement of the plurality of rows of pots can be advantageous for placement of the bulk pots along a single plane, it is understood that the present disclosure is not to be limited by such an example.
In accordance with one example aspect, the advanced pot dispenser 302 of
The controller 304, for example, can comprise a touch screen 312 for user input, and/or various input controls 314, such as buttons, switches, etc., to allow for a user to control the horticultural container dispensing system 300. Accordingly, while not shown, the controller 304 can comprise various circuitry, programming, display, input devices, input power, etc. to allow for automated programming of the advanced pot dispenser in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.
The pot provisioning apparatus 306 of
The controller 304 of
In another example, the pot provisioning apparatus 224 of
For example, for a first configuration of pots 210 of
In accordance with another example, as mentioned above, the controller 304 is further configured to control the pot engagement apparatus 308 and the carriage apparatus 310. For example, the carriage apparatus 310 shown in
In one example, the carriage apparatus 310 illustrated in
The present disclosure further provides, in another example, one or more feedback devices 330 (e.g., limit switches, proximity sensors, etc.), whereby the one or more feedback devices provide positional information associated with one or more of the pot provisioning apparatus 306, pot engagement apparatus 308, and the carriage apparatus 310 of
The present disclosure thus advantageously permits a modification of pot sizes in a quick and easy manner. Exchanging components of the horticultural container dispensing systems 200, 300, for example, can be provided within a safety cage that can be further interlocked for operational safety. An operator, for example, can open the safety cage and remove a limited number of connectors between the pot handling manifold and respective single-tray dispenser or multiple-tray dispenser (e.g., one or more of compressed air fittings, electrical connections, mechanical connections, etc.) to reconfigure the respective system via a selective coupling and decoupling of various components discussed above.
The present disclosure is not to be limited by the number, orientation, or configuration of the pots, carrier trays, manifolds, or configurations of the example apparatus, and a multitude of other variations are considered to fall within the scope of the present disclosure, as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill upon viewing the present disclosure.
Although the disclosure has been shown and described with respect to a certain embodiment or embodiments, it should be noted that the above-described embodiments serve only as examples for implementations of some embodiments of the present disclosure, and the application of the present disclosure is not restricted to these embodiments. In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described components (assemblies, devices, circuits, etc.), the terms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component which performs the specified function of the described component (i.e., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary embodiments of the disclosure. In addition, while a particular feature of the disclosure may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several embodiments, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other embodiments as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application. Accordingly, the present disclosure is not to be limited to the above-described embodiments, but is intended to be limited only by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/054,475 filed Jul. 21, 2020, the contents of all of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63054475 | Jul 2020 | US |