Angled Boom Tree Shaker with Pivot Joint for Visibility and Damage Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tree shakers often damage tree bark and the equipment due to rigid booms that obstruct operator visibility, leading to inefficient and costly operations.
Innovation Solution
A tree shaker with a mobile vehicle and a boom offset at an angle, featuring a lockable and unlockable boom pivot, allowing for improved visibility and reduced damage by enabling precise conformation to the tree during engagement and disengagement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the boom is rigid and extends forwardly from the vehicle, then the shaker can effectively grasp and shake the tree, but the operator's visibility is obstructed and tree damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The boom is designed with a pivot joint that allows it to dynamically adjust its angle relative to the vehicle longitudinal axis. The boom can pivot between a first angle during approach (improving visibility) and a second angle during engagement (optimizing shaking effectiveness). This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between visibility and effective tree engagement.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the angular parameter of the boom relative to the vehicle longitudinal axis based on operational phase. By adjusting the boom angle from the first angle during approach to the second angle during engagement, the system optimizes both visibility and shaking effectiveness at different stages of operation.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the boom is rigid and extends forwardly, then the shaker structure is simple, but the conformation to the tree is suboptimal leading to increased damage
Solution Approach 1:
The pivotable boom allows the shaker head to dynamically conform to different tree positions and orientations. The boom can adjust its angle to optimize the shaking action on the tree while maintaining effective engagement, thereby improving adaptability without significantly increasing structural complexity.
3Productivity
If the boom is rigid and fixed, then the structure is stable, but the engagement process is slow and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The pivotable boom enables faster engagement by allowing the shaker head to quickly adjust its position relative to the tree. The system can transition between different boom angles to rapidly achieve optimal engagement position, improving productivity while adding only minimal structural complexity through the pivot mechanism.
4Reliability
If the boom is rigid and extends forwardly, then the device is straightforward to operate, but the shaking action causes excessive damage to both tree and equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The pivotable boom allows the system to optimize the shaking action by adjusting the boom angle during engagement. This dynamic adjustment ensures that the shaking force is applied most effectively to dislodge fruit while minimizing unnecessary stress on both the tree and equipment, thereby improving reliability and reducing damage.
Data Source
AI summary
A tree shaker for harvesting fruits, nuts, and other tree-borne products includes a mobile vehicle and a boom attached to the vehicle and offset at an angle with respect to a longitudinal axis of the vehicle. A boom pivot is provided along the length of the boom. The boom pivot is lockable such that when the boom pivot is unlocked the boom is free to pivot around the boom pivot, and when the boom pivot is locked the boom is fixed around the boom pivot.