WO2016105183A1

WO2016105183A1 - A harvesting and pruning apparatus for oil palm trees or the like

Info

Publication number: WO2016105183A1
Application number: PCT/MY2015/050146
Authority: WO
Inventors: Johari ENDAN
Original assignee: Zip And Zap Sdn Bhd
Priority date: 2014-12-26
Filing date: 2015-11-30
Publication date: 2016-06-30
Also published as: MY183740A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a harvesting and pruning apparatus for oil palm trees comprising: a sickle unit (100); and a pole unit (200) connected to the sickle unit (100); characterized in that the pole unit (200) is connected to a reciprocating means unit (300) to provide reciprocating motion of the pole unit (200) to harvest and prune the oil palm, coconut trees, or the like. The present invention provides a lightweight apparatus since the mechanism of the sickle unit (100) is simpler-yet-effective.

Description

A HARVESTING AND PRUNING APPARATUS FOR OIL PALM TREES OR THE LIKE

The present invention relates to an apparatus for cutting fresh fruit bunches and fronds for harvesting or pruning of oil palm trees or the like.

Oil palm plantation is one of the vital sources of economic activities that substantially contribute revenues to Malaysia. Almost every part of the oil palm has its usage or benefits, but the most important part is the fruit itself. The fruits of the oil palm from the fresh fruit bunch (FFB) require specific labour skills and cut to prune and harvest the FFB from the tree to lorry for further processing. To conduct that, it requires a specific harvesting and pruning apparatus.

One of the examples of the prior arts is WO2013012310 which states the present invention is about an apparatus that has a gear and transmission system that converts rotational force to linear force driven by an electrical motor 200. An electrical motor 200 is proposed to replace the ineffective shaft inside the pole 120. The electrical motor 200 will produce rotational motion that connected to gears. These gears 160 is designed to increase the torque that produced by the motor 200 to certain value of ratio. The con-rod 167 in the gear system 160 converts the rotational motion to linear motion which will activate the sickle system 180 to move up-down in its longitudinal direction, thus performing the cutting force. The system consists of four main components which are electrical motor 200, gears system 160, and sickle system 180.

Despite having the same objective which is to prune or harvest, it is found that however users could not perform the pruning or harvesting using the prior art effectively over the time as the prior art is heavy. This is due to many features were involved in the mechanism of the prior art, especially the gear system and the sickle system.

Therefore there is a need for an invention which could overcome those drawbacks in order to increase productivity in the given sector.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a harvesting and pruning apparatus for oil palm trees, or coconuts, or the like comprising: a sickle unit (100); and a pole unit (200) connected to the sickle unit (100); characterized in that the pole unit (200) is connected to a reciprocating means unit (300) to provide reciprocating motion of the pole unit (200) to harvest and prune the oil palm, coconut trees, or the like.

Preferably, the pole unit (200) further comprising: a pole (201) having a pin hole or a screw thread at one end to connect to the sickle unit (100); and a steel plate connector (400) attached at another end of the pole (201), the steel plate connector (400) is the part of the pole unit (200) that is connected to the reciprocating means unit (300).

Preferably, the sickle unit (100) further comprising: a sickle blade (101); a shaft (103) having a rest at one end and a pin hole at another end for connecting the pole unit (200); and an offset connector plate (105), the offset connector plate (105) is attached at the rest by screws, configured to interconnect between the sickle blade (101) and the shaft (103).

Preferably, the reciprocating means unit (300) further comprising: a portable reciprocating machine (301); a screw nut attached at the portable reciprocating machine (301) and a sliding sleeve (303) having a screw thread to attach to the reciprocating machine (301) via a screw nut, wherein the pole unit (200) is inserted through the sliding sleeve (303) and the steel plate connector (400) is attached to the reciprocating machine (301) so that the pole unit (200) reciprocates through the sliding sleeve (303) during operation.

Preferably, all units are made of hardened stainless steel or the like.

The above provision is advantageous as it provides lighter harvesting and pruning apparatus especially at the top which is the sickle unit (100). The present invention also provides simpler-yet-effective mechanization to perform that would increase productivity and requires minimal maintenance.

Fig.1

illustrates an embodiment of a harvesting and pruning apparatus of the present invention.

Fig.2

illustrates a sickle unit (100) of a harvesting and pruning apparatus of the present invention.

Fig.3

illustrates a pole unit (200) of a harvesting and pruning apparatus of the present invention.

Fig.4

illustrates a steel plate connector (400) of a harvesting and pruning apparatus of the present invention.

Fig.5

illustrates a reciprocating means unit (300) of a harvesting and pruning apparatus of the present invention.

Generally, the present invention relates to a harvesting and pruning apparatus for oil palm trees, or coconuts, or the like comprising: a sickle unit (100); and a pole unit (200) connected to the sickle unit (100); characterized in that the pole unit (200) is connected to a reciprocating means unit (300) to provide reciprocating motion of the pole unit (200) to harvest and prune the oil palm, coconut trees, or the like. This provision is illustrated in Figure 1.

Referring to Figure 2, the sickle unit (100) further comprising: a sickle blade (101); a shaft (103) having a rest at one end and a pin hole at another end for connecting the pole unit (200); and an offset connector plate (105), the offset connector plate (105) is attached at the rest by screws, configured to interconnect between the sickle blade (101) and the shaft (103). The design of the sickle unit (100) is peculiar than the ordinary sickle, as the cutting point of the blade is brought closer to the centre of the pole with the deployment of the offset connector plate (105). This is due to the fact that the present invention deploys medium stroke pull, as it reciprocates just about 1½ inch only, instead of the long stroke pull like the ordinary sickle. This also provides more stability, sturdier condition to users while performing the harvesting or pruning.

As illustrated in Figure 3, the pole unit (200) further comprising: a pole (201) having a pin hole or a screw thread at one end to connect to the sickle unit (100); and a steel plate connector (400) attached at another end of the pole (201), the steel plate connector (400) is the part of the pole unit (200) that is connected to the reciprocating means unit (300). The steel plate connector (400) is connected with the reciprocating means by way of a pin as the steel plate connector (400) comprising a steel plate having a pin hole, as illustrated in Figure 4.

As illustrated in Figure 5, the reciprocating means unit (300) further comprising: a portable reciprocating machine (301); a screw nut attached at the portable reciprocating machine (301) and a sliding sleeve (303) having a screw thread to attach to the reciprocating machine (301) via a screw nut, wherein the pole unit (200) is inserted through the sliding sleeve (303) and the steel plate connector (400) is attached to the reciprocating machine (301) so that the pole unit (200) reciprocates through the sliding sleeve (303) during operation.

The portable reciprocating machine (301) can be a reciprocating saw or any equipment which having similar reciprocating mechanism. In one embodiment, a reciprocating saw like Bosch GSA 18 V-LI is used. The screw nut is fixed to it to set the sliding sleeve (303) before the pole unit (200) is fixed through the sliding sleeve (303) to connect to the reciprocating part of the saw. During operation, the reciprocating saw is remained switched off until the sickle blade (101) is placed at the part of the tree that is going to be pruned or cut for harvesting. The switch is pressed on only for a few second and then it cuts. It is just a medium stroke and it happens for a few seconds only. This procedure also applies to any other brands of the reciprocating saw such as Die Walt, Makita, etc.

The reciprocating saw can be turned back into sawing equipment by dismantling the screw nut and detaching the steel plate connector (400).

The present invention is about a reciprocating pole, with or without the reciprocating means unit. Therefore in another embodiment, the sickle unit (100) and the pole unit (200) is fixed and the pole (201) is brought to the part of the tree that is going to be cut and a medium stroke force is applied.

All of the units of the present invention are made of hardened stainless steel, which ensures durability, and robust performance.

The minimal features of the present invention contribute the overall lightweight of the present invention, thus avoiding fatigue to the users, which indirectly increases productivity over a time period.

Although the invention has been described with reference to particular embodiment, it is to be understood that the embodiment is merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present invention. It is therefore to be understood that numerous modifications may be made to the illustrative embodiment that other arrangements may be devised without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

A harvesting and pruning apparatus for oil palm trees, or coconuts, or the like comprising: a sickle unit (100); and a pole unit (200) connected to the sickle unit (100); characterized in that; the pole unit (200) is connected to a reciprocating means unit (300) to provide reciprocating motion of the pole unit (200) to harvest and prune the oil palm, coconut trees, or the like.
A harvesting and pruning apparatus for oil palm trees, or coconuts, or the like as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the pole unit (200) further comprising:a pole (201) having a pin hole or a screw thread at one end to connect to the sickle unit (100); and a steel plate connector (400) attached at another end of the pole (201), the steel plate connector (400) is the part of the pole unit (200) that is connected to the reciprocating means unit (300).
A harvesting and pruning apparatus for oil palm trees, or coconuts, or the like as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the sickle unit (100) further comprising: a sickle blade (101); a shaft (103) having a rest at one end and a pin hole at another end for connecting the pole unit (200); and an offset connector plate (105), the offset connector plate (105) is attached at the rest by screws, configured to interconnect between the sickle blade (101) and the shaft (103).
A harvesting and pruning apparatus for oil palm trees, or coconuts, or the like as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the reciprocating means unit (300) further comprising: a portable reciprocating machine (301); a screw nut attached at the portable reciprocating machine (301) and a sliding sleeve (303) having a screw thread to attach to the reciprocating machine (301) via a screw nut, wherein the pole unit (200) is inserted through the sliding sleeve (303) and the steel plate connector (400) is attached to the reciprocating machine (301) so that the pole unit (200) reciprocates through the sliding sleeve (303) during operation.
A harvesting and pruning apparatus for oil palm trees, or coconuts, or the like as claimed in any precedent claim, wherein all units are made of hardened stainless steel or the like.