Twisted Fruit Harvester Conveyor Path for Vine Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional fruit harvester conveying systems often damage grapevines by gripping and breaking them as they travel rearwardly and upwardly, leading to increased Material Other than Grapes (MOG) collection, reduced product cleanliness, and potential jamming.
Innovation Solution
A conveying system with a twisted travel path and buckets that rotate outwardly to disengage from the plant after picking, utilizing a twisted track profile and support members to prevent vine damage, ensuring the buckets do not grip or tear the vines during the harvesting process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional conveying systems with buckets travel rearwardly and upwardly along a straight path, then the buckets can effectively collect and transport picked fruit, but the buckets grip and break grapevines causing plant damage
Solution Approach 1:
The conveying system transitions from a static straight path to a dynamic twisted path that changes orientation along the conveyor's length. The buckets follow a three-dimensional twisted trajectory that allows them to collect fruit effectively while rotating outward to release vines, making the system adaptable to the dual requirements of fruit collection and vine protection
Solution Approach 2:
The conveyor path is extended from a two-dimensional plane into three-dimensional space by introducing a twisted profile. This adds a rotational dimension to the bucket movement, allowing them to not only move fruit rearwardly and upwardly but also rotate outward to disengage from vines, solving the contradiction between effective fruit collection and vine damage prevention
2Productivity
If buckets are designed to grip vines for effective picking, then crop material is successfully removed from vines, but vine damage occurs and MOG increases
Solution Approach 1:
The twisting action is built into the conveyor path design itself, so that as buckets naturally follow the twisted trajectory during their normal operation, they automatically perform the vine-release action. This preliminary design of the path geometry eliminates the need for additional mechanisms and ensures vines are released before buckets complete their upward travel
Solution Approach 2:
The conveying system's own operational movement along the twisted path generates the vine-releasing action. The buckets' natural progression through the twisted three-dimensional path causes them to rotate outward and release vines autonomously, without requiring separate actuation systems or additional energy input
3Reliability
If a twisted travel path is implemented to prevent vine damage, then plant damage is reduced, but the conveying system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The twisted path is implemented using curved and inclined surface elements that guide the conveyor along a smooth three-dimensional trajectory. The use of continuous curved surfaces rather than sharp angles or complex mechanical joints simplifies the overall structure while achieving the desired twisting motion to prevent vine damage
Data Source
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AI summary
A conveying system (30) for a fruit harvester (10) that includes at least one conveyor (32) traveling along a travel path that comprises a first path section which defines a first longitudinal axis (A1) and a plurality of buckets (34) connected to the at least one conveyor (32). The first path section is at least partially twisted such that the at least one conveyor (32) and the plurality of buckets (34) along therewith twist relative to the first longitudinal axis (A1) of the first path section.