Produce Unloading Assembly Using Air Jets for Irregular Shapes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional fruit and vegetable conveyance and unloading systems struggle with handling fragments and oblong products with heterogeneous shapes and dimensions, leading to operational inefficiencies and hygiene issues due to clogging and damage to components.
Innovation Solution
An assembly with axially symmetrical supporting elements and pressure-driven nozzles that intercept and redirect fragments and oblong products using upward and lateral jets, ensuring reliable unloading and preventing downstream disruption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional box trucks with rigid floors and walls are used for transporting produce, then structural strength and stability are improved, but produce quality deteriorates due to bruising and mechanical damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies flexible inflatable walls and floor made of elastomeric material that can be inflated to provide structural support and deflated to reduce mechanical stress on produce. The flexible membrane structure maintains necessary strength during transport while reducing bruising compared to rigid conventional walls.
Solution Approach 2:
The inflatable structure transitions from a deflated state during loading/unloading to an inflated state during transport, providing dynamic adaptability. This allows the walls to be soft and flexible when produce is vulnerable and rigid and supportive when produce needs protection from movement.
2Productivity
If conventional box trucks with fixed floors are used, then loading and unloading speed are improved, but produce quality deteriorates due to direct ground contact causing contamination and moisture loss
Solution Approach 1:
The inflatable floor acts as a flexible barrier between produce and the truck's rigid floor, preventing direct contact that causes contamination and moisture loss. The floor can be easily deployed and removed, maintaining fast loading/unloading while protecting produce quality.
3Stability of the object's composition
If conventional box trucks with rigid structures are used, then structural stability is improved, but produce quality deteriorates due to condensation and rot from moisture accumulation
Solution Approach 1:
The inflatable walls create a sealed, flexible enclosure that prevents moisture accumulation and condensation while maintaining structural stability during transport. The flexible membrane allows for better moisture management compared to rigid conventional walls.
4Strength
If conventional box trucks with fixed configurations are used, then structural integrity is improved, but adaptability deteriorates due to inability to accommodate different produce types and sizes
Solution Approach 1:
The inflatable walls can be adjusted in height and configuration to accommodate different types and sizes of produce. The structure transitions from a fixed rigid form to a dynamically adjustable flexible form, maintaining structural integrity while improving adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The inflatable structure is divided into separate modular walls that can be independently adjusted and configured. This segmentation allows the walls to be adapted to different produce requirements while maintaining overall structural integrity through the interconnected inflatable system.
Data Source
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AI summary
An assembly for the conveyance and unloading of fruit and vegetable products, which comprises: - means for cyclic movement along a predefined advancement trajectory (B) of at least one series of axially symmetrical supporting elements (2) for fruit and vegetable products (A), which are arranged aligned along the trajectory (B) with the longitudinal axis of symmetry (C) transverse to the trajectory (B); at least some pairs of consecutive elements (2) are configured to define respective seats (3) for corresponding products (A), which can be arranged substantially above respective interspaces (4) between corresponding consecutive elements (2), resting along the lateral surfaces thereof, - at least one station (5) for unloading the products (A) in transit, which comprises at least one primary dispenser (6) of fluid under pressure, equipped with at least one first nozzle (7). The first nozzle (7) is arranged at a vertical elevation that is lower than the vertical elevation of a predefined unloading point (E) of the trajectory (B) and is configured to point a first jet (D) of the fluid substantially toward the unloading point (E).