Robotic Sleeving Device for Potted Plants
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manual sleeving of potted plants is a time-consuming, labor-intensive process that increases costs and reduces efficiency in preparing plants for transport and sale.
Innovation Solution
A robotic device with upper and lower arms equipped with gripping units, capable of rotating and moving along a vertical shaft, allows for simultaneous handling and sleeving of multiple plants, utilizing a sleeving unit to insert plants into bag-shaped sleeves while minimizing damage to leaves through air jets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual sleeving is used, then plant handling is simple, but the process is time-consuming and labor-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic device is divided into multiple independent functional modules: upper arms for picking and sleeving, lower arms for supporting and loading, a vertical shaft for rotation, and a sleeving unit. Each module operates semi-independently, allowing parallel processing of multiple plants while maintaining manageable complexity in each segment.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic device integrates multiple functions into a single system: picking plants, rotating positions, inserting sleeves, supporting plants, and loading sleeved plants. The upper and lower arms work together to perform both picking and supporting functions simultaneously, reducing the need for separate devices and improving overall productivity.
2Productivity
If multiple plants are processed simultaneously, then productivity increases, but coordination complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The upper arms and lower arms are merged into a coordinated system that operates in unison. The upper arms perform picking and sleeving operations while the lower arms simultaneously support and load plants, allowing two plants to be processed in parallel without requiring separate robotic systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The lower arms prepare the loading position in advance by positioning themselves at the loading area while the upper arms are still performing sleeving operations. This preliminary positioning allows immediate loading once the sleeving is complete, minimizing idle time and maximizing concurrent processing efficiency.
3Extent of automation
If robotic automation is implemented, then labor costs decrease, but initial investment and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic device is designed to perform complete sleeving operations autonomously without continuous human intervention. The system automatically picks plants, rotates to appropriate positions, inserts sleeves, supports processed plants, and loads them for transport, providing full automation while keeping the mechanical structure relatively simple through modular design.
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 robotic device significantly reduces the time and labor required for sleeving, enhancing efficiency and cost-effectiveness by performing multiple operations concurrently, including gripping, releasing, and sleeving plants, while maintaining plant integrity.
Implementation Method 1
minimizing damage to leaves through air jets
Data Source
Figure 1a
Figure 1b
Figure 2
AI summary
The present invention relates to a robotic device (11) for sleeving potted plants (10). The robotic device (11) comprises a vertical shaft (2), at least two upper arms (3, 4) arranged on the vertical shaft (2), each one of the at least two upper arms (3, 4) having a gripping unit (6) for gripping and releasing potted plants (10), a first picking area (100) located at a first position radially outwards from the vertical shaft (2), a sleeving area (200) located at a second position radially outwards from the vertical shaft (2), and a sleeving unit (5) arranged at the sleeving area (200). The at least two upper arms (3, 4) are rotatable between the first and the second position about the vertical shaft (2), wherein the at least two upper arms (3, 4) are arranged to be movable along the vertical shaft (2).