Carrot Tipping Machine Radial Guide Orientation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mechanized vegetable treatment apparatuses face difficulties in aligning elongate vegetables like carrots consistently for precise topping and tailing, regardless of their orientation upon entry.
Innovation Solution
A machine featuring a continuous belt running on an inclined oval track with radially arranged guides and rotating blades, ensuring carrots are cut consistently at both ends, regardless of their initial orientation, using a combination of gravity and centrifugal force to guide and cut the vegetables into desired segments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a conventional conveyor belt with holders is used to transport vegetables, then the vegetables can be moved through the machine, but it is difficult to align them mechanically so that they are consistently oriented for cutting
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the operational parameters of the conveyor system by introducing an inclined plane (changing the angle parameter) and utilizing gravitational force (changing the force field parameter). This allows the carrot guides to automatically self-align carrots through gravity-assisted sliding, eliminating the need for complex mechanical alignment mechanisms while achieving consistent orientation for cutting
2Adaptability or versatility
If the machine is designed to handle carrots in any orientation, then versatility is improved, but the complexity of the guiding and cutting mechanism increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the cutting process into two distinct phases: first cutting one end of the carrot on the upper run of the inclined belt, then flipping the carrot orientation and cutting the other end on the lower run. This segmentation allows each cutting station to be simple and specialized, while the system as a whole handles multiple orientations through the sequential process
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic elements including the moving inclined belt system and rotating cutting blades. The belt continuously moves carrots through the cutting zones, and the blades rotate to perform cutting actions. This dynamic approach allows the machine to adapt to carrots in different orientations without requiring complex static alignment mechanisms
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The machine reliably tops and tails carrots, ensuring consistent cutting regardless of orientation, facilitating efficient production of uniformly sized carrot pieces.
Implementation Method 1
the carrots will always slide to the lower end of the guide. When a carrot is introduced to a guide on the upper run, it will slide down the guide until one end lies against a fence at the lower end of the guide
Implementation Method 2
The belt will then advance the guide around one of the pulleys which results in the what was the lower end of the guide becoming the upper end. The carrot will then slide down the guide under the influence of gravity (and possible centrifugal force)
Data Source
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AI summary
Vegetables, especially carrots, have both ends trimmed by this machine. The machine has an inclined table 10 which forms a track and product guides 26 in the form of troughs are attached to a belt 22 so that the guides travel around the table when the belt is driven around the track. The guides are arranged with their long dimensions extending radially as they travel around the track. Carrots 28 are fed into the trough-like guides at the upper side of the track and slide down the guides until they reach a stationary fence 34. The guides than travel past a blade 36 which cuts off one end. As the guides continue to travel around the track, they change orientation so that the end of each guide which was at the top is then at the bottom, and the carrot slides to the other end of the guide before passing a second blade 42 where the opposite end is cut off. The second blade may be one or a number of parallel blades so that the carrot can be cut into segments of desired length before those segments fall out of the machine at 60 into a collection chamber.