Clip-Fastening Vineyard Tool With Motorized Sliding Arm
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for tying or twisting agricultural items, such as grape vine canes, to support structures like wire trellises in vineyards are labor-intensive, time-consuming, and lack consistency, leading to unreliable securing and potential impact on vine health and grape quality.
Innovation Solution
Agricultural tool equipped with a motor, magazine for clips, and a sliding arm that moves between retracted and deployed positions, utilizing a gear system and Scotch Yoke mechanism to attach clips to both the agricultural item and the support structure, ensuring reliable and efficient fastening.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If manual tying or twisting methods are used to secure agricultural items to support structures, then the process can be performed with simple tools, but the labor cost and time consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The tool is designed to perform the tying operation automatically once positioned. The sliding arm mechanism self-activates to wrap the tie material around the agricultural item and support structure, eliminating the need for continuous manual manipulation and enabling a single operator to service multiple plants sequentially
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical tying operations with an automated mechanical system. A motor drives the sliding arm through a gear train to perform the wrapping motion, substituting human labor with an electromechanical system that increases productivity while maintaining operational simplicity
2Device complexity
If manual tying methods are used, then the tool complexity remains low, but the consistency and reliability of securing agricultural items deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The sliding arm is designed to move dynamically through a controlled range of motion, transitioning from a retracted position to a deployed wrapping position and back. This dynamic motion ensures consistent tension and wrapping pattern applied to each agricultural item, improving reliability while the overall mechanism remains mechanically simple
Solution Approach 2:
The gear train mechanism provides mechanical feedback that ensures the sliding arm completes its wrapping cycle consistently. The interlocking gears prevent partial or inconsistent wrapping motions, ensuring each agricultural item receives the same securing treatment, thereby improving reliability without adding complex control systems
3Device complexity
If manual walking through vineyard is required to perform tying tasks, then no complex positioning system is needed, but the time consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tool is designed as a modular attachment that can be mounted on existing agricultural machinery such as vineyard rowers or tractors. This segmentation allows the tool to leverage the positioning capability of the host vehicle, eliminating the need for independent positioning systems while dramatically reducing the time to reach and secure each agricultural item
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention concerns an agricultural tool (100) including a motor (106), a magazine (144) to house one or more clips (146), and a sliding arm (114) to be moved by the motor (106) between a retracted position and a deployed position. The sliding arm (114) moves between the retracted position and the deployed position to attach a clip (146), from among the one or more clips (146), to the agricultural item of interest (A) and the support structure (5) to fasten or attach the agricultural item of interest (A) to the support structure (5).