Vine Tying Clip With Mechanical Interlocking Fasteners
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vine trellis clips face challenges in scalability, waste generation, and environmental pollution due to complex production methods and material usage, particularly in maintaining taut wires subjected to transverse forces.
Innovation Solution
A transverse clip with a parallelepipedic shape featuring complementary female and male fixing means allows for easy assembly into a continuous bar without glue, facilitating automatic installation and reducing waste, while a stapling device with a distribution channel and drive wheel enables efficient clip placement and detachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If tear-off connecting tabs are used to connect successive staples in a continuous band, then the staples can be produced from rolls of material, but the production is difficult to control and generates a lot of waste
Solution Approach 1:
The clip is designed with a transverse separation plane that divides it into two symmetrical half-clip portions. These portions can be separated after installation, with one portion remaining on each wire. This segmentation eliminates the need for continuous bands with connecting tabs, thereby reducing material waste while maintaining ease of production from rolls of material.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the connecting tabs and continuous band structure from the staple system. Instead of using continuous bands with tear-off tabs, individual clips are produced directly from rolls of material, and the clips are then separated into symmetrical portions. This extraction eliminates the waste associated with connecting tabs while preserving the manufacturing efficiency of using rolls of material.
2Reliability
If glue binders are used to assemble staples into continuous rolls or bars, then the assembly is reliable, but the cost increases and environmental pollution occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the chemical bonding method (glue) with a mechanical interlocking system. Complementary fixing means consisting of protrusions and recesses are integrated into the clip structure, allowing clips to be assembled into continuous bars through mechanical engagement alone. This substitution eliminates the need for glue binders, reducing cost and environmental pollution while maintaining assembly reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The fixing means are formed as integral parts of the clip structure itself, creating a composite design where the clip body and fixing mechanisms are unified. This integrated approach eliminates the need for separate glue binders, reducing material complexity, cost, and environmental impact while ensuring reliable mechanical assembly of continuous bars of clips.
3Extent of automation
If a reciprocating pusher is used to position clips, then automatic installation is enabled, but the pusher must be mechanically coupled to the drive wheel
Solution Approach 1:
The reciprocating pusher operates in periodic cycles, moving forward to position clips and then returning to its starting position. This periodic motion is synchronized with the continuous movement of the drive wheel, allowing the pusher to be mechanically coupled in a simple manner. The periodic nature of the pusher's action enables automatic installation while keeping the mechanical coupling straightforward and manageable.
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 solution provides a simple, ecological, reliable, and cost-effective method for holding taut wires, reducing waste and environmental impact, and enabling efficient automatic installation of trellis systems.
Implementation Method 1
the pusher presses said clip and detaches it from the bar by cutting the male means at its base
Data Source
Figure 1~5
AI summary
The present invention relates to a clip (3) for supporting two taut wires (1, 2), particularly for vine tying, having a substantially parallelepiped shape defined by a pair of substantially parallel vertical surfaces (31, 32) connected by a pair of vertical longitudinal surfaces (33, 34) and a pair of horizontal transverse surfaces (35, 36), each clip (3) having a wire (1, 2) insertion cleft (4) extending from one of the longitudinal surfaces (33, 34) of the clip (3) to an inner section (5) for catching the wires (1, 2). The invention is remarkable in that it comprises at least one female fastening means (81) placed on one of the vertical surfaces (31, 32) and at least one dividable male fastening means (82) placed on the other vertical surface (31, 32) facing said female fastening means (81), said fastening means enabling the fastening of identical clips therebetween to form a continuous rung (10) of clips.