Segmented Fork Fingers for Stable Plant Pot Displacement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for lifting and displacing plant pots in a pattern are complex, unreliable, and prone to tipping over, especially on uneven ground surfaces, requiring manual intervention and are susceptible to damage from weather and heavy use.
Innovation Solution
A device comprising at least one first fork with elongated parallel fingers and at least one second fork with movable fingers, allowing vertical movement to lift and displace plant pots robustly and accurately, with an alternating pattern of contact areas on the second fingers for stable placement on uneven surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a complex device with transport belts and chains is used to place pots in a pattern, then the pots can be displaced according to a pattern, but the device becomes fragile and unreliable, especially on uneven ground surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The device divides the fork into multiple independent fingers (at least three fingers) that can move and position independently relative to each other. This segmentation allows each finger to adapt to uneven ground surfaces individually while maintaining the overall pattern placement function, eliminating the need for complex transport belts and chains.
Solution Approach 2:
The fingers are designed to be movable with respect to each other in at least a vertical direction, allowing dynamic adjustment of finger positions to accommodate uneven ground. This dynamic capability enables the device to maintain stability and reliability on varying terrain while still achieving precise pattern placement.
2Productivity
If a forklift with fixed fork is used to lift pots, then lifting is efficient, but the pots cannot be placed in a specific pattern and must remain in their arrival arrangement
Solution Approach 1:
The single fixed fork is segmented into multiple independent fingers that can be positioned and moved relative to each other. This allows the device to maintain the efficient lifting capability of a single fork while gaining the pattern placement capability by selectively positioning individual fingers to pick up and place pots in desired patterns.
Solution Approach 2:
The fingers are made movable with respect to each other, allowing the system to dynamically switch between lifting mode (all fingers moving together for efficient transport) and pattern placement mode (individual fingers positioning independently for pattern formation).
3Device complexity
If manual displacement of plant pots is used, then the device is simple, but the work is cumbersome and imprecise, unable to achieve structured equidistant patterns
Solution Approach 1:
The simple manual process is enhanced by segmenting the fork into multiple independent fingers that can be precisely positioned and moved individually. This segmentation enables accurate pattern placement by allowing each finger to be positioned at precise locations, achieving structured equidistant patterns that are impossible with manual handling.
4Productivity
If pots are placed close together during transport, then transport efficiency is improved, but the pots cannot be placed in a pattern at the destination without additional displacement work
Solution Approach 1:
The movable fingers allow the device to perform both functions: during transport, all fingers move together to efficiently handle pots in close formation; at the destination, the fingers can be repositioned independently to place pots in patterned arrangements. This dynamic capability eliminates the need for separate displacement operations, saving time and effort.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a device (100) for lifting and/or displacing a plurality of objects, in particular plant pots (115), more in particular plant pots (115) having a substantially frustoconical shape, relative to a ground surface, comprising at least one first fork (101), comprising at least two elongated mutually spaced apart and substantially parallel first fingers (103), comprising a plurality of first contact areas (113, 114) for abutting against at least one object to be displaced, at least one second fork (102), comprising at least two elongated mutually spaced apart and substantially parallel second fingers (104), comprising a plurality of second contact areas (113, 114) for abutting against at least one object to be displaced, wherein the at least two second fingers (104) and the at least two first fingers (103) are movable with respect to each other in at least a vertical direction. The invention further relates to a fork lift provided with the same.