Fruit Clipper Pivot Assembly with Sealed Roller Bearing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fruit clippers struggle to make precise cuts near the stem without damaging the fruit or requiring inefficient second cuts, and they often need frequent maintenance due to dust and sap ingress.
Innovation Solution
A clipper design featuring a pivot connection assembly with a sealed roller bearing and torsion spring, along with adjustable gripping handles and a unique blade configuration, allows for precise cutting and reduced maintenance needs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the cut is made close to the fruit stem, then the efficiency is improved and second cuts are eliminated, but the risk of damaging the fruit rind or button increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting blade is segmented into multiple sections: a first cutting surface for initial engagement, a second cutting surface for completing the cut, and a third cutting surface for final precision cutting near the stem. This segmentation allows the cut to progress gradually from a distance toward the stem, enabling precise control to avoid fruit damage while maintaining high efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide slot in the first head portion preliminarily positions and guides the stem before the actual cutting action occurs. This preliminary positioning ensures that subsequent cutting surfaces engage the stem at the correct location and angle, enabling precise cuts close to the stem without risking fruit damage.
2Productivity
If the stem is cut too close to the fruit, then efficiency is improved, but sharp cut-buttons may puncture adjacent fruit during packing
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting edges are designed with different local qualities: the first and second cutting surfaces provide the primary cutting action, while the third cutting surface provides a refined, precise cut close to the stem. This local quality differentiation ensures that the final cut surface is smooth and free of sharp edges, eliminating the harmful cut-buttons that could puncture adjacent fruit during packing.
3Ease of manufacture
If the pivot connection assembly is exposed, then ease of manufacture is improved, but dust and sap ingress reduces pivoting efficiency and requires frequent maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The roller bearing is nested within the pivot connection assembly, with the outer race positioned inside the head opening and the inner race on the screw. This nesting arrangement protects the pivoting components from direct exposure to dust and sap, maintaining reliability without significantly complicating the manufacturing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The roller bearing acts as an intermediary element between the screw and the head opening, providing a protected interface that maintains pivoting efficiency. The bearing shields the critical pivoting surfaces from contaminants while enabling smooth rotation, thus preserving reliability without requiring complex sealing 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 clipper achieves clean, efficient stem cutting with reduced maintenance requirements and accommodates various hand sizes and preferences, minimizing damage to the fruit and extending the clipper's lifespan.
Implementation Method 1
whose outer race has a tight fit with a head opening and whose inner race has a tight fit with a cylindrical portion of a screw (of the pivot connection assembly)
Implementation Method 2
A torsion spring of the pivot assembly can have opposite ends positioned in respective openings in interior lateral surfaces of the handle portions
Data Source
AI summary
Clipper for lemons and other fruits. The clipper can have a pair of operating arms, a pivot assembly for the operating arms, a lower central open-position abutment mechanism, hand grips with adjustable and alternative left and right-hand strap mounting, and an out-of-the-way abutment arrangement to define a clipper open position. The pivot assembly can include a dust-free rotation structure and an out-of-the-way torsion spring. Gripping handles for clippers and the like are also disclosed.