Plant Support Bracket With Alignment Wire
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing support systems for plants in orchards often fail due to incorrect installation of supporting brackets, leading to slippage and instability, especially in transverse and longitudinal directions.
Innovation Solution
A support system comprising a vertical alignment wire with a hanging hook portion and supporting brackets that capture the alignment wire and plant, ensuring vertical orientation and secure attachment to horizontal support cords, thereby reducing installation errors and slippage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If traditional supporting brackets are used without alignment wires, then the device complexity is reduced, but the manufacturing precision and installation accuracy deteriorate leading to slippage and instability
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment wire acts as an intermediary element between the support cord and the supporting bracket. It provides a precise reference line that guides the bracket into correct positioning, eliminating installation errors without requiring complex bracket designs. The wire serves as a mediator that transmits the vertical alignment reference from the support cord to the bracket.
Solution Approach 2:
The support system is divided into separate functional components: the alignment wire that provides vertical reference, the supporting bracket that captures the plant, and the support cord that provides horizontal support. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the wire for precision alignment and the bracket for secure plant capture.
2Reliability
If supporting brackets are made more secure to prevent slippage, then the reliability improves, but the ease of operation and installation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment wire is pre-installed on the support cord before the supporting bracket is attached. This preliminary action establishes the correct vertical alignment reference in advance, making the subsequent bracket installation straightforward and ensuring proper positioning without requiring complex adjustment procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment wire serves as an intermediary reference that simplifies bracket installation. Instead of requiring the bracket to be directly and precisely positioned on the support cord, the wire provides an easy-to-attach reference line that guides the bracket into correct positioning, making installation simpler while maintaining reliability.
3Reliability
If the alignment wire curve is made more complex to ensure secure support cord engagement, then the reliability improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment wire incorporates a curved portion that forms a hook shape to engage with the support cord. This curvature provides secure engagement through geometric interlocking, ensuring the wire remains properly positioned on the support cord without requiring complex fastening mechanisms or additional components.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is a supporting bracket component of a support system for temporarily supporting a plant via a fixed a fixed structure of vertical poles which support at least one substantially horizontal support cord, the support system comprising: a substantially vertical alignment wire having a top end and a bottom end; a curve greater than 180° in the top end of the vertical alignment wire forming a hanging hook portion configured to be selectively supported by one of the support cords; at least one supporting bracket coupled to one of the substantially horizontal support cords and capturing the alignment wire and the plant; wherein the alignment wire maintains vertical orientation of the plant substantially above the point at which the plane protrudes from the ground.