Auger Robot Traversal for Collapsing Hazardous Granular Sheer Faces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Bulk stored granular materials pose safety hazards for humans due to entrapments, vertical projections, and unstable slopes, necessitating human intervention that can lead to falls, entanglements, and health risks.
Innovation Solution
A robotic device with an auger-based drive system that traverses and manages granular materials, performing tasks such as slope adjustment, mapping, and removing vertical projections, reducing the need for human entry into hazardous environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If human intervention is used to manage bulk stored granular materials, then tasks can be performed manually, but safety hazards increase due to entrapments, vertical projections, and unstable slopes
Solution Approach 1:
A robotic device serves as an intermediary between human operators and the hazardous granular material environment. The robot performs tasks such as traversing unstable slopes, removing vertical projections, and managing material flow, thereby eliminating direct human exposure to entrapment risks and physical hazards while maintaining operational capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces human mechanical intervention with an automated robotic system equipped with specialized components including auger-based drive systems, articulated flaps, and material management tools. This substitution eliminates human vulnerability to hazards while preserving the ability to perform complex manipulation tasks in the granular material environment
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a robotic device with auger-based drive system is used, then safety is enhanced by reducing human entry, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic device integrates multiple functions into a single platform: the auger-based drive system provides both propulsion and material manipulation capabilities, the articulated flap serves as both a structural component and a material management tool, and the system can perform multiple tasks including traversal, slope adjustment, and vertical projection removal. This multi-functionality reduces the need for multiple specialized devices while maintaining safety
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic system incorporates self-capable features such as autonomous navigation on unstable granular surfaces, self-adjusting mechanisms for maintaining stability on slopes, and automated material flow management. These self-service capabilities reduce the need for external control systems and simplify the overall system architecture while enhancing safety through reduced human intervention
3Object-affected harmful factors
If vertical projections are removed from granular material piles, then safety is improved by eliminating entrapment hazards, but the structural stability of the pile may be affected
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system employs dynamic, adaptive approaches to vertical projection removal rather than rigid, fixed-method extraction. The articulated flap and auger mechanisms adjust their operation in real-time based on the local geometry and material properties, gradually reducing projections while monitoring pile stability. This dynamic approach allows safe removal of hazards while maintaining overall structural integrity through controlled, adaptive material redistribution
Data Source
AI summary
A piled granular material management robot comprises an auger-based drive system, a memory, and a processor. The auger-based drive system is configured to move the piled granular material management robot about atop a surface of a piled granular material in a bulk store. The processor is coupled with the memory and the auger-based drive system and is configured to direct a traversal, by the piled granular material management robot, about a portion of the surface abutting an edge of a base of a sheer face of the piled granular material which projects vertically upward from the surface, such that the traversal of the portion erodes a segment of the base, by agitation with an auger of the auger-based drive system during the traversal of the portion, and incites a gravity induced collapse of a section of the sheer face.