DESC:COTTON PLUCKING MACHINE

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to cotton harvesting and more particularly, to a handheld cotton plucking machine.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cotton harvesting is a manual labor dependent process in India. The nature of the process is precarious and time consuming making the harvesting process expensive. There are large in size cotton harvesters available in the western country markets to cater to cotton fields of thousands of acres. However, such machines are not suitable to harvest cotton in marginal fields of one to five acres.

Efforts are seen in the art to provide an improved cotton-picking machine. Reference may be made to CN109076781B that discloses a portable cotton picking equipment which comprises a shell, a battery, a handle, a switch, a picking module, a motor, a cotton collecting box, a filter screen and an air exhaust device. The picking module includes an active roller, a driven roller, a steel belt, a rubber belt, a steel needle and a connecting rod. By setting the connecting rod, a gap is formed between the rubber belt and the steel belt under the action of the connecting rod, the steel needle is driven to retract into the rubber belt, so that the cottons on the steel needle are separated, the rubber belt wraps the steel needle tightly, so that no cotton staple is left on the steel needle. However, prolonged use of the machine causes winding of the cotton on the needle and the belt on which needles are mounted resulting in formation of what looks like a cotton bed. This causes machine jams and requires frequent cleaning.

Indian patent application no. IN201621028606 discloses a portable cotton picking device that comprises a casing having a left casing and a right casing, a picker assembly assembled therebetween the left casing and the right casing, a motor, a gear assembly and an electrical circuit that are operatively in connection with the picker assembly. The picker assembly includes a front picker drum and a rear picker drum that are held in place using a plurality of ball bearings and are adapted for harvesting cotton from the cotton plants, a picker strip secured onto the picker belt for dislodging the cotton from the cotton bolls and a knockdown plate operatively configured with the picker strip and positioned behind the rear picker drum. However, prolonged use of the machine causes winding of the cotton on the picker strip and formation of threads that causes machine jams and requires frequent cleaning.

There are several hand-held cotton-picking machines imported from China available in the India market. These cotton picker machines have a single drum with cotton picking strips. This drum is rotated at 4000 RPM with the help of DC motor and timing pulleys. As the drum rotates, the machine user takes this machine near to the cotton boll that is to be plucked. The strips mounted on the drum enter the cotton boll and snatches the cotton boll from the tree leaving the shell as it is on the tree. During this process, the cotton staples get entangled around the drum and also enter the gap between the drum and its mounting bracket. This results in jamming the machine. As the machine jams, there are chances of motor and electronic circuit failure. To avoid machine failure, the user has to clean the machine frequently and overall efficiency and capacity of cotton plucking decreases substantially. Therefore, a small in size, battery operated, handheld cotton plucking machine suitable for Indian agriculture scenario is need of the hour.

Accordingly, there exists a need to provide a handheld cotton plucking machine that facilitates nonstop working and prevents problem of cotton getting entangled and stuck in the machine to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a unique mechanism for cotton plucking that facilitates nonstop working of the machine thereby giving the best efficiency and output to a user.

Another object of present invention is to prevent cotton getting entangled and stuck in the machine that in turn prevents frequent cleaning of the machine thereby improving overall efficiency thereof.

Yet another object of present invention is to eliminate problem of frequent machine failure due to jamming of cotton resulting an overload on a motor and electronic circuit thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention provides a cotton plucking machine (hereinafter, “the machine”). The machine comprises an upper drum and a lower drum mounted vertically on a bracket, and triangular shape rubber sleeves (hereinafter “sleeves”) mounted on the upper drum and the lower drum for catching and pulling cotton from a cotton boll. Particularly, the upper drum and the lower drum are attached to the bracket with the help of side plates having bores to hold spindles of the drums with ball bearings. The upper drum and the lower drum include an integrated shaft that comes out of drum body on both sides. The upper drum gets the motion from a motor with the help of a driven pulley mounted on the drum shaft and a driver pulley mounted on a motor shaft. The motion from the driver pulley is transferred to the driven pulley using a timing belt. The lower drum rotates in opposite direction of the upper drum and gets a motion with the help of two spur gears. Particularly, one spur gear is mounted on the upper drum, opposite side shaft of a driver pulley shaft while another spur gear is mounted on the lower drum on the same side, both spur gears are engaged with each other resulting in the upper drum giving an opposite direction rotational motion to the lower drum. The motor is driven and managed by a printed circuit board.

In accordance with the present invention, when the drums rotate in opposite directions two high points of the sleeves come near of each other causing pinching action to catch the cotton and pulling it away from the cotton boll. Further, this cotton gets released as two high points of sleeve gets away letting the cotton boll fall in the machine cavity. This unique mechanism prevents cotton thread entanglement, further preventing formation of what looks like a cotton bed around the drums. As there is no entangling of cotton around the drums, this mechanism facilitates nonstop working of the machine as there is no need to clean the machine frequently, thereby giving the best efficiency and output to a user. The upper drum and the lower drum are positioned in such a way to have optimum gap therebetween thereby ensuring the process of catching of cotton boll, snatching the cotton boll from the flower and releasing the snatched cotton boll in the machine cavity within fraction of a second thereby preventing the problem of cotton getting entangled and stuck in the machine and also eliminates problem of frequent machine failure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent when
the disclosure is read in conjunction with the following figures, wherein
Figures 1a-1c show a cotton plucking machine, in accordance with the present invention;

Figures 1d shows an exploded view of the cotton plucking machine, in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2a shows a bracket of the cotton plucking machine, in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2b shows a side plate of the cotton plucking machine, in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 3 shows an arrangement of the components of the cotton plucking mechanism, in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 4a is a side cross section view of a drum and a triangular shape rubber sleeve, in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 4b is a cross section view of the drum and the triangular shape rubber sleeve, in accordance with the present invention;

Figures 4c-4d show the drum with the triangular shape rubber sleeve, in accordance with the present invention; and

Figure 5 shows an arrangement of the drums, in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The foregoing objects of the present invention are accomplished and the problems and shortcomings associated with the prior art, techniques, and approaches are overcome by the present invention as described below in the preferred embodiments.

The present invention provides a handheld cotton plucking machine that is equipped with two drums having triangular shape rubber sleeves. The drums are provided with an optimum gap therebetween. The machine of the present invention utilizes a unique mechanism for cotton plucking that facilitates nonstop working thereof thereby giving the best efficiency and output to a user. The machine of the present invention prevents problem of cotton getting entangled and stuck therein that in turn prevents frequent cleaning of the machine thereby improving overall efficiency thereof. The machine of the present invention also eliminates problem of frequent machine failure due to jamming of cotton resulting an overload on a motor and electronic circuit thereof.

If the specification states a component or feature “may” “can”, “could”, or “might” be included or have a characteristic, that particular component or feature is not required to be included or have the characteristic.

As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

The present invention is illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings, throughout which reference numbers indicate corresponding parts in the various figures. These reference numbers are shown in bracket in the following description and in the table given below.
Table:
Ref. No. Component name Ref. No. Component name
2 Left-hand side casing 40 Triangular shape rubber sleeves
4 Right-hand casing 50 Printed circuit board
6 Integrated handle 60 Motor
8 On/Off switch 70 Driven pulley
10 Main casing 75 Timing belt
12 Bracket 75a Belt casing
14 Side plates 80 Driver pulley
16 Ball bearings 85 Gears
20 Upper drum 85a Gear casing
25 Integrated shaft 90 Battery
30 Lower drum 100 Cotton plucking machine

Referring to figures 1a-5, a cotton plucking machine (100) (hereinafter referred to as “the machine (100)”) in accordance with the present invention is shown. The machine (100) comprises a main casing (10), an upper drum (20), a lower drum (30), triangular shape rubber sleeves (40) (hereinafter “sleeves (30)”) and a printed circuit board (50) (hereinafter “PCB (50)”).

The main casing (10) is formed by fitting a left-hand side casing (2) and a right-hand casing (4). All the components/parts of the machine (100) are enclosed in the main casing (10). The main casing (10) includes a cavity (not numbered) to pass cotton towards a cotton collection bag, and an integrated handle (6) for carrying the machine (100) and to provide a stronger grip for longer work sessions. The main casing (10) also includes an On/Off switch (8) mounted thereon.

The upper drum (20) and the lower drum (30) are mounted vertically on a bracket (12). The drums (20, 30) are attached to the bracket (12) with the help of side plates (14) having bores. The bores hold spindles of the drums (20, 30) with ball bearings (16). Particularly, internal diameter (ID) of the ball bearings (16) is fitted on the drum spindles and outer diameter (OD) of the ball bearings (16) is fixed in the bores of the side plates (14) which are then mounted on the bracket (12) with the help of fasteners. This entire assembly becomes a picking mechanism of the machine (100). The bracket (12) holds the picking mechanism and the main casing (10) and also locates the drums (20, 30) for efficient operating. The side plates (14) are used as closing cap/casing for the drums (20, 30) and bearings to protect from dust.

As shown in figure 4d, each drum (20, 30) includes an integrated shaft (25) passing through the ball bearings (16) to give smooth and free rotating movement that adds to the machine efficiency. Both drums (20, 30) have a side with a square shaft on one of its sides. The upper drum (20) and the lower drum (30) are positioned in such a way to have optimum gap therebetween thereby ensuring the process of catching of cotton boll, snatching the cotton boll from the flower and releasing the snatched cotton boll in the machine cavity within fraction of a second thereby preventing the problem of cotton getting entangled and stuck in the machine (100). In the context of the present invention, high points of the drums (20, 30) are offset but the distance between drums is 2 mm to 4 mm to pick or pinch the cotton. As shown in figures 4a-4d, the sleeves (40) are mounted on the upper drum (20) and the lower drum (30). The drums (20, 30) rotate about axis thereof to rotate the sleeves (40) mounted thereon.

In an implementation according to one of the embodiments of the present invention, the upper drum (20) is driven with the help a motor (60), a driven pulley (70) mounted on the integrated shaft (25) and a driver pulley (80) mounted on a motor shaft as shown in figures 1b and 3. Both the pulleys (70, 80) are connected with a timing belt (75) to generate the drive. The timing belt (75) transfers the motion from the driver pulley (80) to the driven pulley (70). The motor (60), particularly DC motor, rotates the upper drum (20) at a desired RPM thereby helping to provide the best RPM possible during the cotton-plucking process. The other side of the upper drum (20) has a gear (85) which is engaged with a gear (85) attached to the lower drum (30) thereby giving the lower drum (30) an opposite drive. The lower drum (30) is driven with the help of the gears (85) as shown in figure 1c. The lower drum (30) gets a motion, but in opposite direction with the help of the gears (85) provided on the mechanism. Particularly, two spur gears (85) are engaged in a manner to generate an opposite drive to the lower drum (30). The timing belt (75) and the gears (85) are concealed and protected by a belt casing (75a) and a gear casing (85a). The belt casing (75a) is used to avoid accidents and to reduce noise. The gear casing (85a) is used to avoid accidents, reduce noise and also used to avoid dust.

The PCB (50) is mounted in the main casing (10) and connected to the DC motor (60), a battery (90) and the On/Off switch (8) through cables. The PCB (50) is used to turn on and off the DC motor (60), monitor battery level and disconnect the load when the battery is low, provide overload protection, and battery level LED indicators. The battery (90) facilitates the non-stop working of the machine (100) for about 6-7 hours. The (100) machine is provided with a separate battery charger.

Again referring to figures 1a-5, in an operation, as the drums (20, 30) rotate and taken near to the fully blossomed cotton boll, the sleeves (40) mounted on the drums (20, 30) catch the cotton from the cotton boll, snatch it through the optimized gap between the drums (20, 30) and leaves the cotton shell as it is on the tree. Thus, the rotating drums (20, 30) placed above and below of each another create a pulling mechanism that actually catches the blossomed cotton from a cotton ball and pulls the caught cotton smoothly. Here, the shape of triangular rubber sleeves (40) plays an important role replicating an action of fingers of a hand catching and pulling the cotton from a cotton boll. When the drums (20, 30) rotate in opposite directions two high points of the sleeves (40) come near of each other causing pinching action to catch the cotton and pulling it away from the cotton boll. Further, this cotton gets released as two high points of sleeve gets away letting the cotton boll fall in the machine cavity. This entire process happens within a second or two as the drums (20, 30) are rotating at a speed of 2800 RPM. This process continues to pick every cotton boll available.

In accordance with the present invention, the sleeves (40) are used to pick or pinch cotton from the shell and drop the picked cotton into the collection bag via an integrated shell in the main casing (10). Because of the drums (20, 30) and the sleeves (40) mounted thereon the machine's use and cotton collection efficiency are increased, and cleaning efforts are reduced. Particularly, the cotton collection efficiency of the machine (100) is approximately 6 kg per hour. However, it is understood that the machine can be optimized to increase the cotton collection efficiency. Thus, the unique picking mechanism of the machine (100) prevents cotton thread entanglement, further preventing formation of what looks like a cotton bed around the drums (20, 30). As there is no entangling of cotton around the drums (20, 30), this mechanism facilitates nonstop working of the machine (100) as there is no need to clean the machine frequently, thereby giving the best efficiency and output to a user.

ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION

1. The machine (100) utilizes a unique mechanism for cotton plucking that facilitates nonstop working thereof thereby giving the best efficiency and output to a user.
2. The machine (100) prevents problem of cotton getting entangled and stuck therein that in turn prevents frequent cleaning of the machine (100) thereby improving overall efficiency thereof.
3. The machine (100) eliminates the problem of frequent machine failure due to jamming of cotton resulting an overload on the motor and electronic circuit thereof.
4. Being simple and compact, the machine (100) is easy to use and light in weight.

The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the present invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the present invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is understood that various omission and substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstance may suggest or render expedient, but such are intended to cover the application or implementation without departing from the scope of the present invention. ,CLAIMS:We claim:

1. A cotton plucking machine (100) comprising:
an upper drum (20) and a lower drum (30) mounted vertically on a bracket (12), each drum (20, 30) having an integrated shaft (25) coming out of drum body on both sides; and
triangular shape rubber sleeves (40) mounted on the upper drum (20) and the lower drum (30) for catching and pulling cotton from a cotton boll,
wherein, the lower drum (30) rotates in opposite direction of the upper drum (20).

2. The cotton plucking machine (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper drum (20) and the lower drum (30) are attached to the bracket (12) with the help of side plates (14) having bores to hold spindles of the drums (20, 30) with ball bearings (16).

3. The cotton plucking machine (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper drum (20) and the lower drum (30) are positioned to have optimum gap therebetween.

4. The cotton plucking machine (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper drum (20) gets the motion from a motor (60) with the help of a driven pulley (70) mounted on the integrated shaft (25) and a driver pulley (80) mounted on a motor shaft.

5. The cotton plucking machine (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein motion from the driver pulley (80) is transferred to the driven pulley (70) using a timing belt (75).

6. The cotton plucking machine (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lower drum (30) gets a motion with the help of two spur gears (85).
7. The cotton plucking machine (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the motor (60) is driven by a printed circuit board (50).