Periodic Dumping In Piles Patents (Class 171/7)
  • Patent number: 5209305
    Abstract: An apparatus for removing tobacco transplant seedlings from a plant bed by being connected to a tractor and pulled thereacross. An undercutter bar is provided at the front of the apparatus for undercutting a ribbon of soil which is then received by a conveyor defining an upwardly extending and a horizontally extending portion. A shaker mechanism provided beneath the conveyor serves to dislodge soil and smaller transplant seedlings from the seedlings as the seedlings are transported from the front to the rear of the automated apparatus. A boxing mechanism is provided at the rear of the automated apparatus which serves to fill containers with the transplant seedlings and then to deposit the filled containers upon the ground as the apparatus is pulled across a plant bed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 1991
    Date of Patent: May 11, 1993
    Assignee: North Carolina State University
    Inventor: Raymond C. Long