Rotary Plant Stripper with Counter-Turning Rollers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manual harvesting of buds or fruit from plant stems is tedious, time-consuming, and painful, necessitating a more efficient and painless method.
Innovation Solution
A plant stripper with a housing containing a face plate, bladed rollers, and a motor and gear system that counter-turns the rollers to grip and pull stems through a gauged plant hole, separating buds or fruit from the stem, accompanied by a guide tray for collecting the stripped produce.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual harvesting is used, then the process is simple and requires minimal equipment, but it is tedious, time-consuming, and painful
Solution Approach 1:
The plant stem serves itself as the stripping tool by passing through the gauged hole, where the hole's geometry automatically separates buds from the stem without requiring additional cutting mechanisms or complex device components
Solution Approach 2:
The harmful manual actions (cutting, gripping, pulling) are extracted from the system and replaced by the passive mechanical action of the gauged hole, which performs the separation function solely based on the stem's passage through it
2Loss of time
If manual cutting with scissors is used, then the equipment is simple, but the process is time-consuming and painful for the operator
Solution Approach 1:
The manual mechanical system (hands gripping, scissors cutting) is replaced by an automated mechanical system (motor-driven rollers gripping and pulling), eliminating operator discomfort while increasing harvesting speed
Solution Approach 2:
The gauged hole performs the separation function automatically as the stem passes through it, eliminating the need for manual cutting actions and associated operator discomfort
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
Facilitates timely, efficient, and painless harvesting of buds or fruit by automating the separation process, reducing manual labor and associated discomfort.
Implementation Method 1
motor and gear system for counter turning the rollers
Implementation Method 2
gripped by the counter turning rollers so that continued counter turning of the rollers pulls the stems or plants through the plant hole
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a plant stripper for separating buds or fruit from the stems or branches of a plant. In one embodiment, the plant stripper is defined by a housing that contains a face plate, bladed rollers, and motor and gear system for counter turning the rollers. In operation, a plant stem bearing buds or fruit may be provided through a plant hole in the face plate and gripped by the counter turning rollers so that continued counter turning of the rollers pulls the stems or plants through the plant hole of the face plate. Suitably, the plant hole is gauged so that only the stem may pass through the hole but not the buds or fruit whereby the buds or fruit of the plant are stripped from the plant via action of the stem through the plant hole. In one embodiment, the plant stripper features a guide tray for catching stripped buds or fruit and guiding the same to a collection bin.