Cover Material Laying Apparatus with Adjustable Carrying Unit
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for laying and fixing wide cover materials like fibre webs or plastic films on cultivated areas are labor-intensive and inefficient, as they require manual handling and can only accommodate films of specific widths, leaving gaps in the covered area.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus where the cover material is laid by machine, using a vehicle-mounted carrying unit that aligns the material with a grooving share and press wheel, allowing the film to extend partly in the direction of movement and partly perpendicular to it, enabling fixation along one edge with subsequent fixation of the opposite edge, allowing wider coverage and simultaneous laying on both sides of the apparatus.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual handling and scooping soil is used to fasten cover material edges, then the cover material can be secured, but it takes a long time and requires considerable manual and physically hard work
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the cover material's own weight and the soil's natural properties to secure itself. The edges of the cover material are pulled into grooves formed by the shares, and soil is pushed over the edges to hold them in place automatically during forward movement, eliminating the need for manual fastening operations
Solution Approach 2:
Manual mechanical operations (scooping soil by hand, placing sandbags) are replaced by a mechanical system consisting of grooving shares that cut grooves and press wheels that push soil over the cover material edges, automating the fastening process
2Productivity
If narrow single layer webs are laid by machine with simultaneous edge fixation, then laying speed improves, but only films with limited width matching the apparatus can be laid and a relatively large part of the field is not covered due to gaps between webs
Solution Approach 1:
The apparatus is configured to lay cover material in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement, allowing wide webs to be deployed across the field width rather than laying narrow webs in parallel rows, thereby eliminating gaps and covering the entire field area
Solution Approach 2:
The apparatus can handle cover material of various widths by adjusting the carrying unit position, making it universally applicable to different web dimensions and eliminating the limitation of fixed-width apparatus
3Ease of operation
If the apparatus straddles the area to be covered with fixed width, then simultaneous edge fixation is achieved, but only webs with the same limited width as the apparatus can be laid
Solution Approach 1:
The carrying unit position is made adjustable along the apparatus, allowing the system to adapt to different web widths dynamically. This enables the same apparatus to handle various cover material dimensions while maintaining automatic edge fixation capability
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
This approach significantly reduces the time and effort required for covering large areas, enabling wider cover materials to be used and covering larger areas with fewer gaps, as only one edge needs to be fixed initially, allowing for efficient and rapid deployment of cover materials.
Implementation Method 1
a first grooving share with a leading edge and a trailing edge arranged at the first side of the apparatus, a first press wheel arranged behind the first grooving share in relation to the direction of movement
Implementation Method 2
the apparatus includes a first grooving share with a leading edge and a trailing edge arranged at the first side of the apparatus, a first press wheel arranged behind the first grooving share in relation to the direction of movement
Implementation Method 3
The edges of the film are thereby laid and fixed concurrently with the movement of the apparatus
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
A method and an apparatus for laying and/or fixing cover material, such as a fibre web or plastic film, on a cultivated area, where an apparatus is propelled in a direction of movement, where the apparatus has a first side and a second side, where the apparatus while moving act on cultivation medium, typically soil, such that a groove is formed in parallel with the direction of movement near the first side of the apparatus, where an edge of the cover material is moved down into the groove, and which is peculiar in that an edge of the cover material is forced down into the groove during movement of the apparatus such that the cover material lies over the cultivated area and extending away from the apparatus, and that the apparatus brings the removed soil entirely or partially back into the groove, preferably upon the edge, for fixing the cover material.