Modular Weed-Mower Head With Displaceable Tubular Segments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing weed-mower heads face challenges with time-consuming and difficult wire replacement and maintenance, leading to inhomogeneous weeding, reduced efficiency, and high costs due to fixed wire lengths and low versatility.
Innovation Solution
A weed-mower head design featuring disc-shaped modules with rotating peripheral annular members and retaining means allows for easy wire elongation and replacement, enabling quick access and adjustment of wire lengths, and modular configuration for varying use scenarios.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If wires are wound around the shaft and protrude through a fixed tubular element, then the weed-mower head structure is simple and robust, but wire replacement and maintenance become time-consuming and difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The tubular element is divided into a first tubular portion and a second tubular portion that can be displaced relative to each other along the shaft. This segmentation allows the second portion to be moved away from the shaft, providing easy access to wire ends for maintenance while maintaining the overall simple structure during normal operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The tubular element transitions from a fixed structure to a dynamic one where the second tubular portion can be displaced along the shaft axis. This dynamic configuration enables easy wire access when needed while maintaining structural simplicity during normal weed-mowing operations.
2Manufacturing precision
If all wires must be elongated and rewrapped whenever one wire breaks, then wire length uniformity can be maintained, but maintenance time and operational downtime increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The tubular element is segmented into two displaceable portions, allowing individual wire access without affecting other wires. This enables maintenance of a single broken wire while leaving other wires undisturbed, maintaining length uniformity through selective replacement rather than complete rewrapping of all wires.
Solution Approach 2:
The second tubular portion is extracted or displaced from its normal position to expose the wire ends. This extraction allows direct access to individual wires for elongation or replacement without requiring access to all wires simultaneously, significantly reducing maintenance time.
3Ease of manufacture
If a fixed-size tubular element is used, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the versatility of the weed-mower head for different applications is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The tubular element's ability to change configuration through displacement of its portions provides adaptability. The same simple structure can accommodate different wire lengths and configurations by displacing the second tubular portion, enabling versatility for different applications without complex manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The displaceable tubular portion design creates a universal weed-mower head that can function with various wire lengths and configurations. The same structure serves multiple purposes: normal operation with wires protruding through both portions, and maintenance mode with the second portion displaced, providing multi-functionality without increasing manufacturing complexity.
4Productivity
If the weed-mower head is designed for continuous operation, then productivity is maximized, but the difficulty of wire maintenance reduces overall operational efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The dynamic displacement capability of the second tubular portion allows rapid transition between operational modes. The weed-mower head can maintain continuous productivity because wire maintenance can be performed quickly by simply displacing the second tubular portion, minimizing interruptions to the continuous operation cycle.
Solution Approach 2:
The design enables easy self-service maintenance where the operator can access and maintain wires without specialized tools or complex procedures. By displacing the second tubular portion, the operator can independently perform wire elongation or replacement, maintaining productivity without requiring external service intervention.
Data Source
Figure 1a
Figure 1b~1c
Figure 2a~2b
AI summary
A weed-mower head applicable to a vehicle (V) for weeding the areas (B, B') on the edges of a forwarding surface (R) thereof bounded by boundary elements against which the weed- mower head is susceptible to impact, comprising: a support shaft (10) defining a longitudinal axis (X) mutually connectable with motor means (M) to rotate thereabout, a plurality of working wires (20) which are susceptible to be radially arranged with respect to the axis (X) upon rotation of the shaft (10) and a plurality of disc-shaped modules (30) coaxially coupled with the shaft (10) and side-by-side flanked each other along the axis (X), each module (30) internally including at least one of the working wires (20). The modules (30) are mutually engageable to form a substantially unitary tubular body (40) susceptible to integrally rotating with the shaft (10), the modules (30) being mutually disengageable to allow a user to selectively access to one thereof to act on the corresponding at least one working wire (20).