Hemp Picking Machine With Segmented Conveyors for Uniform Harvesting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fiber plant harvesting machines struggle to efficiently pick and process long fiber plants like hemp due to issues such as non-uniform supply, damage, and incomplete collection, especially in fields with sparse planting or adverse weather conditions, leading to inefficiencies and increased maintenance costs.
Innovation Solution
A self-propelling vehicle equipped with a processing unit featuring a support frame, main and auxiliary conveyor belts with adjustable guide rollers, and a cutting unit that gradually grips and transports fiber plants, ensuring uniform collection and minimizing damage by allowing a longer gripping time and adjustable angles for different plant lengths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional conveyor belts and pressing rollers are used to pick fiber plants, then the picking mechanism is simple, but long fiber plants like hemp cannot be picked up uniformly and controlled manner, resulting in non-uniform supply and plants remaining in the field
Solution Approach 1:
The picking mechanism is divided into multiple picking elements arranged in series, each with its own conveyor belt and pressing roller combination. This segmentation allows different sections to handle different stages of the picking process, improving both efficiency and reliability by distributing the workload and providing multiple contact points for long fiber plants
Solution Approach 2:
A guide element is introduced as an intermediary component between the fiber plants and the picking mechanism. This guide element directs and positions the fiber plants before they enter the picking zone, ensuring proper alignment and contact with the conveyor belt and pressing roller, thereby achieving uniform and controlled picking
2Force
If great forces are exerted on the stems of fiber plants during picking to pull them from the ground, then the picking force is sufficient, but the fiber plants break or are damaged and the base parts remain behind in the ground surface
Solution Approach 1:
The guide element performs a preliminary action by directing and positioning the fiber plants before they reach the picking zone. This preliminary guidance ensures that the plants are properly aligned and reduces the sudden shock and force required during picking, thereby minimizing breakage and damage while maintaining sufficient picking force
Solution Approach 2:
The picking mechanism uses a dynamic combination of conveyor belt motion and pressing roller pressure rather than a static force application. The conveyor belt gradually feeds the plants into the picking zone while the pressing roller applies controlled pressure, creating a dynamic picking action that reduces plant damage while maintaining effective force
3Device complexity
If conventional picking machines are used for long fiber plants like hemp, then the machine structure is simple, but it is difficult to pick up long fiber plants when they are dry or when present in small amounts, resulting in plants remaining behind in the field
Solution Approach 1:
The picking mechanism is designed with universal components that can handle various conditions - the guide element and multiple picking elements work effectively whether plants are dry or moist, abundant or sparse. This multi-functional design maintains simple overall structure while improving collection completeness across different field conditions
Solution Approach 2:
The conveyor belt provides continuous motion throughout the picking process, constantly feeding plants into the picking zone and transporting picked plants away. This continuous action ensures that picking operations proceed without interruption, improving collection completeness by preventing plants from being left behind due to intermittent or batch processing
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 solution enables efficient and uniform picking and processing of long fiber plants, reducing damage and ensuring complete collection, even in sparse fields, thereby improving operational efficiency and reducing maintenance costs.
Implementation Method 1
When the fibre plants are for instance gripped by guiding them between a running conveyor belt and a rotating pressing roller or pulley
Data Source
AI summary
A hemp machine for processing hemp includes a self-propelling vehicle including a vehicle chassis and a hemp picking unit mounted on the vehicle chassis for the purpose of picking the fiber plants. The hemp picking unit includes a first picking element embodied to pick the lower part of the fiber plants and a second picking element embodied to pick the upper part of the fiber plants. The second picking element has a cutting unit for cutting the fiber plants at a position between the upper and lower part of the fiber plants.