Rotatable Receiving Units for Bouquet Stem Twisting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for twisting a bundle of plant stems into a bouquet are laborious and lack control over the relative height of the flowers, with previous devices requiring cumbersome stem alignment through gratings that restrict proper height adjustment.
Innovation Solution
A device featuring first and second rotatable receiving units with radial accessibility for bouquet components, allowing for easy introduction and separation, and driven mechanisms to rotate and twist the stems while maintaining control over the bundle's height and orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If stems are inserted through two openings in gratings to achieve automatic twisting, then automation is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to cumbersome alignment requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The device divides the receiving area into multiple separate receiving spaces (first receiving space, second receiving space, third receiving space) arranged radially around the rotation axis. Each space can independently receive and hold stems, allowing them to be inserted separately without complex alignment requirements. The segmentation of the grating structure into multiple independent spaces enables automated twisting while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The grating structure acts as an intermediary mechanism that facilitates stem insertion and positioning. The multiple receiving spaces in the grating provide intermediate holding positions for stems during the twisting process, enabling automated operation without requiring precise manual alignment of stems through openings.
2Manufacturing precision
If gratings with fixed openings are used to determine flower alignment, then manufacturing precision is improved, but adaptability deteriorates as relative height control becomes restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The device employs rotatable receiving units that can rotate around a central axis, dynamically adjusting the positions of stems during the twisting process. This dynamic rotation allows the system to maintain precise alignment control while adapting to different height requirements for various flowers, resolving the contradiction between fixed alignment precision and height adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention adds a rotational dimension to the traditional grating structure. Instead of fixed two-dimensional openings, the receiving spaces are arranged radially and can rotate, introducing a third dimension (angular position) that enables both precise alignment and adjustable height control for different flower types.
3Ease of operation
If multiple receiving spaces are arranged radially around the rotation axis, then ease of operation is improved for stem insertion, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The grating structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides radial receiving spaces for easy stem insertion, acts as a support structure during rotation, and defines the twisting geometry. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity despite the improved ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the receiving function, support function, and twisting function into a single integrated grating structure. The receiving spaces are formed as integral parts of the rotatable receiving unit, combining multiple functions that would otherwise require separate components, thus limiting device complexity while maintaining ease of stem insertion.
Data Source
AI summary
For forming a “wheatsheaf” bunch of flowers, a bundle of stems is twisted. For that purpose, use is made of a first and second rotatable receiving unit which keep flowers or groups of flowers separated from each other transversely to the axial direction relative to a rotation axis of the receiving unit. A multiplicity of stems are introduced in lying orientation in axial direction relative to the rotation axis into the receiving units, with a part of each bouquet component extending over a distance between the first and second rotatable receiving unit. The first receiving unit is rotated between the feeding of different bouquet components, while the second receiving unit rotates substantially along with the first receiving unit. Thereupon, a relative rotation angle between the first and second receiving unit is changed to twist the bundle of stems. After changing of the relative rotation angle, the bundle in the twisted condition is gripped and/or bound and taken out of the receiving units.