Bulb Pick-and-Place Reorientation for Low-Damage Hydroponic Placement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for placing bulbs in hydroponic systems are labor-intensive and prone to mechanical damage, especially when using manual handling, and existing automation techniques are inaccurate and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method for accurately picking and placing bulbs using a pick-and-place head that grips bulbs at opposed ends of a minor axis, reorients them, and places them into holders, utilizing a grasper with rotatable grasping surfaces and a transfer-receptacle to optimize orientation and reduce mechanical damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual handling is used to place bulbs, then labor intensity is high, but mechanical damage to bulbs is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical handling with an automated pick-and-place system that uses controlled mechanical gripping and positioning mechanisms. The system employs a grasper with adjustable fingers to gently hold bulbs and a positioning mechanism to place them upright in trays, eliminating the rough handling associated with manual operations while reducing labor intensity through automation.
2Productivity
If automated picking and placing is implemented, then productivity increases, but precision and reliability of placement are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates sensors and control systems that monitor the position, orientation, and status of bulbs during the picking and placing process. The system uses feedback from these sensors to adjust the positioning mechanism in real-time, ensuring that bulbs are placed with high precision and correct orientation while maintaining high throughput through automated operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The pick-and-place head is designed with dynamic, adjustable components including a grasper with movable fingers that can adapt to different bulb sizes and shapes, and a positioning mechanism that can dynamically adjust placement location and orientation. This dynamic design allows the system to maintain high precision across varied bulb types while operating at high speed.
3Productivity
If bulbs are placed without proper orientation control, then placement speed increases, but growth efficiency is reduced due to incorrect orientation
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary orientation assessment and adjustment before final placement. The pick-and-place head includes mechanisms to detect bulb orientation and automatically correct it during the picking process, ensuring that bulbs are always placed in the correct upright position with shoots facing upward. This preliminary action guarantees orientation consistency without slowing down the overall placement speed.
Data Source
AI summary
There is discussed a method of picking and placing bulbs, in which bulbs are supplied on a supply surface of a bulbs supply system; the bulbs being identified and picked from the supply surface with a pick-and-place head; wherein the bulbs are reoriented about a minor axis before being placed.