Weed Puller Apparatus with Articulated Body and Sensing Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing weed puller technologies struggle to precisely remove unwanted crops from the soil with minimal disturbance to cultivated crops, and they often require chemical agents that can contaminate soil and water.
Innovation Solution
A weed puller apparatus with an articulated body connected to a field weeding machine, featuring a central portion and left and right portions with articulated joints, allowing for precise control and minimal disturbance. The apparatus includes rollers and a feed reel mechanism to engage and pull weeds, with a crop level sensing control to maintain the apparatus at the correct height.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If chemical agents are used for weed control, then weed removal effectiveness is improved, but soil and water contamination increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces chemical weed control with a mechanical system consisting of rotating rollers and grasping elements that physically extract weeds from the soil. The mechanical apparatus uses rotational motion and friction to grasp and pull weeds, eliminating the need for chemical agents that cause contamination.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts weeds from the soil using mechanical means, separating the unwanted plants from the cultivated crop through physical removal. The system grasps weed stems and pulls them upward, extracting only the weeds while leaving the crop intact.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If mechanical weed pulling is used, then soil contamination is reduced, but precision in removing only weeds without disturbing crops decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs crop level sensing control that provides local information about crop height and position. The system adjusts the weed pulling mechanism locally based on sensed crop locations, ensuring precise differentiation between weeds and crops in different areas of the field.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention incorporates crop level sensing control means that continuously monitor crop positions and provide feedback to the control system. This feedback loop allows the apparatus to automatically adjust its operation to maintain the weed pulling elements at the correct height, preventing crop damage while effectively removing weeds.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If traditional mechanical weed control is used, then chemical contamination is reduced, but disturbance to cultivated crops increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical weed control methods that cause crop disturbance with a refined mechanical system. The new system uses rotating rollers with grasping elements that selectively engage weed stems without contacting crop plants, achieving mechanical weed removal with minimal crop disturbance.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces crop level sensing control as an intermediary between the mechanical weed pulling mechanism and the field operations. This intermediary system senses crop positions and mediates the operation of the weed puller, ensuring that mechanical actions are coordinated to avoid crop disturbance.
Data Source
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AI summary
A weed puller apparatus comprises a body configured for mounting on a vehicle, with the body extending longitudinally and horizontally across a path of movement of the vehicle as it moves through a crop to be weeded, the body including: a first rotating member extending along a longitudinal axis, the apparatus being configured to maintain the first rotating member at approximately a height of the crop along its length; and a second rotating member disposed above and ahead of the first rotating member in the path of movement of the vehicle as it moves through the crop, the second rotating member comprising an outer surface configured to engage weeds extending to a height above that of the crop and to draw such weeds between the first rotating member and the second rotating member so that the weeds are uprooted and dispensed from between the first and second rotating members.