Excavator-Mounted Rake With Foldable Wings For Waterway Clearing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for removing vegetation from water systems like irrigation canals, ponds, and lakes are labor-intensive, use risky chemicals, or damage the soil or bottom of the waterway, failing to efficiently manage vegetation growth that impedes water flow.
Innovation Solution
A vegetation removal system featuring a rake with foldable wings that can be connected to an excavator, allowing for compact transportation and storage, equipped with sensors for situational awareness and automated guidance to ensure safe and efficient removal of vegetation while maintaining water flow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual labor or excavator bucks/backhoes are used to clear vegetation, then vegetation removal is achieved, but the process becomes labor intensive and removes soil or bottom of the waterway
Solution Approach 1:
The rake is divided into multiple tines or teeth that are spaced apart, creating gaps that allow water and silt to pass through while intercepting vegetation. This segmentation enables selective removal of vegetation while permitting beneficial materials to continue flowing through the system.
Solution Approach 2:
The rake teeth are designed with specific local properties - they are rigid enough to catch and remove vegetation but have spacing that creates localized openings for water and silt passage. This local quality differentiation allows the same structure to perform multiple functions: vegetation removal and sediment preservation.
2Productivity
If a large vegetation removal rake is used, then vegetation removal capability is improved, but transportation and storage become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The rake is designed with foldable wings that can transition between extended and retracted positions. During operation, the wings are extended to maximize vegetation removal capability. During transportation and storage, the wings are folded back along the main rake body, transforming the structure into a compact configuration that is easier to handle and store.
Solution Approach 2:
The foldable wings are designed to nest along the length of the main rake body when retracted. This nesting arrangement allows the entire rake structure to be compacted into a smaller overall length, facilitating transportation and storage while maintaining the full extended width when needed for operation.
3Productivity
If the rake remains connected to the excavator during transportation, then productivity is improved by avoiding unloading and reattachment, but the rake occupies space and requires secure positioning
Solution Approach 1:
The rake incorporates hydraulic or mechanical actuators that enable dynamic adjustment between extended operational position and retracted transportation position. This dynamic capability allows the rake to remain attached to the excavator throughout transportation while occupying minimal space, and to quickly transition to the working position upon arrival at the job site.
Solution Approach 2:
The rake includes self-positioning features such as automatic locking mechanisms or gravity-assisted positioning systems that ensure proper orientation and secure attachment during transportation without requiring additional manual intervention. This self-service capability simplifies the attachment process and reduces the complexity of positioning requirements.
4Reliability
If sensors are added to provide situational awareness, then safety and accuracy are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system is designed to perform multiple functions: GPS sensors provide both location tracking and navigation guidance, while orientation sensors simultaneously monitor rake angle, position, and potential hazards. This multi-functionality reduces the overall number of separate sensor systems needed, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while maintaining comprehensive safety and accuracy capabilities.
Data Source
AI summary
This invention provides for a vegetation removal system capable of removing vegetation from irrigation canals, rivers, ponds, lakes, marshes and other water systems where the growth of vegetation impedes the flow of water, access to water or there is a desire to remove unwanted vegetation. The vegetation removal system comprises a rake system that allows for the removal of the vegetation while letting the water and silt or mud flow through the rake and substantially remain as part of the bank or bottom of the body of water. The invention also allows for the folding of the vegetation removal rake into a compact form by folding the outboard wings over on top of the main rake section. Sensors attached to the vegetation removal system can provide situational awareness for the operator as well as determine the position orientation of the rake when the rake is submerged or working near obstacles.