Asparagus Harvester Cutting Roller Without Field Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing harvesting machines for elongated plants, such as green asparagus, suffer from incorrect activation of cutting mechanisms due to unreliable detection systems, particularly in adverse field conditions, leading to inefficient and inaccurate cutting operations.
Innovation Solution
A harvesting machine with an in-feed device, gripping device, and a separating device featuring a roller with a cutting mechanism that moves along the plant from a starting to an end position, eliminating the need for detection means by ensuring consistent contact and activation at the end position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If detection means such as microswitches are used to activate the cutting mechanism, then the cutting operation can be triggered, but the detection becomes unreliable under adverse field conditions (mud, weather) leading to incorrect cutting operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the detection means (microswitches) from the system entirely. Instead of using sensors to detect the plant and trigger cutting, the invention uses the physical presence of the plant itself to mechanically activate the cutting mechanism through the roller contact system, eliminating the unreliable detection layer.
Solution Approach 2:
The plant being harvested serves its own function of triggering the cutting mechanism. As the roller moves along the plant and contacts it, the plant's own presence and position activate the cutting action at the appropriate moment, without requiring external detection systems.
2Extent of automation
If detection means are used to determine when to cut, then cutting activation is possible, but the system becomes more complex and requires additional components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the detection means and associated control electronics from the system. The automation is achieved not through electronic sensing and control, but through a simplified mechanical contact system where the roller's movement along the plant naturally triggers the cutting mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the electronic detection and control system with a purely mechanical activation system. The roller's mechanical contact with the plant directly triggers the cutting mechanism through mechanical linkage, eliminating the need for sensors, electronics, and complex control logic.
3Reliability
If the roller moves along the plant from starting to end position, then consistent cutting activation is achieved without detection means, but the device requires precise positioning and control of the roller movement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a dynamic roller positioning system that automatically adjusts the roller's position and movement based on the plant's presence. The roller moves from a retracted starting position to an active end position along the plant's length, with its motion dynamically controlled by the harvesting machine's forward movement and the plant's position in the gripping device.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses implicit feedback from the plant's physical presence and position in the gripping device to control the roller's movement. As the plant is gripped and moved through the separating device, the roller's position and activation are automatically adjusted based on the plant's location, ensuring consistent cutting without requiring complex positioning systems.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a harvesting machine for harvesting elongated plants, for example such as green asparagus, wherein the harvesting machine, moving in a direction of travel, is provided with at least one in-feed device with which a plant is to be fed into the harvesting machine, at least one gripping device following the in-feed device with which the plant fed in is to be gripped, as well as at least one separating device with which a part of the gripped plant to be harvested is to be separated from another part of the plant.