Internal Motor Rollers for Compact Plant Bucking Machine
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional bucking machines for separating plant flowers from stems are large, heavy, and pose safety hazards due to external motor drives, making them difficult to move and handle effectively.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates internal motor rollers with DC motors housed within the rollers, eliminating the need for external drive motors and transmissions, and includes handles for portability, a compact form factor, and safety features like an open ejection bay and emergency shutoff switch.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If external motor drives with belts or transmissions are used, then the bucking machine can be powered effectively, but the machine becomes larger, heavier, and more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The motor is nested inside the roller housing, with the motor shaft directly coupled to the roller. This integration eliminates the need for external belts, chains, or transmissions, reducing mechanical complexity while maintaining effective power delivery to the rolling elements
Solution Approach 2:
The motor and roller are merged into a single integrated unit where the motor housing and roller housing are combined. This merging eliminates multiple separate components (external motor, belt, pulley, shaft) and reduces overall system complexity while maintaining the necessary power transmission function
2Power
If external motor drives are used, then the bucking machine can be powered, but safety hazards increase due to exposed moving parts
Solution Approach 1:
The motor is nested inside the roller housing, completely enclosing the motor components within the roller structure. This eliminates exposed motor parts and drive mechanisms that could catch clothing, hair, or hands, thereby removing the safety hazards associated with external motor drives
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potential harm of exposed mechanical drive parts into a benefit by integrating the motor inside the roller. This integration maintains effective power transmission while eliminating the dangerous exposed components, transforming a safety hazard into a safer design
3Productivity
If conventional bucking machines are used, then effective flower separation can be achieved, but the machines are difficult to move and handle
Solution Approach 1:
The motor and roller are merged into a single integrated unit, eliminating the need for separate external motor mounting structures, belts, and transmissions. This reduction in components decreases the overall weight and size of the machine, making it easier to move and handle while maintaining effective flower separation capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and eliminates the heavy external motor and transmission components from the system. By integrating the motor inside the roller, the design removes unnecessary external mechanical linkages, reducing the overall mass and improving portability while preserving the essential flower separation function
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 provides a safer, more reliable, and portable bucking machine that can be easily moved and used on various surfaces, with internal motor rollers reducing the risk of injury and mechanical failure while enhancing operational efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a first roller having a first motor disposed inside the first roller, and a second roller having a second motor disposed inside the second roller
Data Source
AI summary
A bucking machine with internal motor rollers includes a frame and first and second rollers mounted on the frame. Each of the first and second rollers includes an internal housing inside the roller, and a motor is disposed inside the internal housing within each roller. Each motor is completely housed inside the roller such that external motors are not necessary to drive rotation of the rollers. Each motor roller is connected to a motor control via a cable that provides power and instructions to the motor. A stem on a plant is inserted into a bore in a debudding cone such that the stem is received between the first and second rollers and is pulled through the machine. As the stem is pulled through the machine between the first and second rollers the flower is separated from the stem by engagement with the debudding cone.