Form 2
THE PATENT ACT 1970
(39 OF 1970)
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10 and rule 13)
1. TITLE OF THE INVENTION
"PEDAL OPERATED SUGARCANE BUD CHIPING MACHINE"
2. APPLICANT(S)
A) Applicant (1) and (2)
a) Name : Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Central Institute of
Agricultural Engineering
b) Nationality: Indian
c) Address: Nabibagh, Berasia Road, Bhopal - 462038 (Madhya Pradesh)
A) Applicant (3) and (4)
a) Name : Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Sugarcane Breeding Institute
b) Nationality: Indian
c) Address: Coimbatore - 641 007 (Tamil Nadu)
3. PREAMBLE TO THE DESCIPTION

COMPLETE
The following specification (particularly) describes the nature of invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:
This invention relates with the development of a device for chipping
die sugarcane bud chips from the sugarcane called as "pedal operated
sugarcane bud chipping machine". It has been developed at Industrial Extension Project, Regional Centre, Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering (CIAE), Bhopal in collaboration with Sugarcane Breeding Institute (SBI), Coimbatore. It consists of (i) outer frame (ii) bud chipper to chip the buds (Hi) cane holder to hold the cane (iv) pedal and linkage mechanism for operating the bud chipper and
(v) a collecting basket to collect the chipped buds. A sitting stool is

provided so that, to enable the operator to sit, if required and operate
the bud chipping machine. About 500- 550 sugarcane bud chips can
be taken per hour by a single operator. With the help of another
person feeding the cane, more than 700 bud chips can be taken. By
conventional hand chipping only 125-150 bud chips can be taken per
hour.

4. DESCRIPTION:
B) Prior Art
This invention relates to the development of a machine to chip out the sugarcane buds from sugarcane and use the bud chip as planting material. In this technique, the bud along with a portion of the nodal region is chipped off and planted in raised bed nurseries or in polybags filled with Farm Yard Manure (FYM) or rotten press mud, soil and sand at 1:1:1 proportion or in protrays. Seed material required under this technique is only 1 to 1.5 tonnes per hectare and the cane after taking chips can be sent for milling/jaggery making. Raising a nursery from sugarcane bud chips and transplanting them in main the field was found to be more economical in terms of seed production and crop yield
The number of buds required peT hectare is 24,700 ( at a spacing of 90 x 45 cm) bud chips and the time required for making these buds (assuming that every bud takes about 30 seconds to be chipped off manually), is about 205 hours per hectare. Thus there is an urgent need for mechanization of this operation. Hence there is a need to develop suitable equipment for bud chipping operation
The existing knowledge of the field
The existing method of removing sugarcane buds is either by using a sharp knife or hand operated sugarcane bud chipping machine with low capacity. There are chances of damage to the fingers while the sugarcane bud chipping is in progress.
The pedal operated sugarcane bud chipping machine developed by the Scientists of Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Regional Centre and Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore would augment the efficiency in taking more bud chips with ease.
The drawbacks and/or difficulty in the existing known art
The present operation, which is carried out manually using knife, is usually done in unhygienic manner and there is no control to avoid contamination in manual handling. Also, some hand operated device for removing sugarcane bud chips have been developed, which is slow in operation and low in output. Moreover, it is tedious in operation as the person has to sit down and operate the equipment in bending position.

The requirement of removing the drawbacks and/or difficulty
Since the number of sugarcane bud chips required is to an extent of about 25000 per hectare, and complete operation has to be done quickly and efficiently under controlled working conditions, the pedal operated sugarcane bud chipping machine should make the operation easier and hygienic. To achieve this and to reduce the human drudgery, a safe and faster mechanism for sugarcane bud chipping is the need of the hour.
B) Novelty of the invention
The removing of sugarcane bud chips is done manually by using sharp knife or a hand operated sugarcane bud chipping device. The hand operated device consists of a platform, semicircular chipping blade, linkage system and hand operated handle. But here the worker has to sit down on the floor and the equipment in an uncomfortable posture. also the force applied by hand is limited as compared to that by the leg- For a continuous operation, two persons are needed to operate the device, one to feed the sugarcane in the device and second person for operating the lever.
The pedal operated sugarcane bud chipping mechanism that has been developed chips off the sugarcane bud in the required position. It consists of outer frame, bud chipper blade, adjustable guide to hold the cane based on the cane thickness, pedal for operating the bud chipper, collecting basket to collect the chipped buds. The whole system is leg operated, enabling a single operator to feed the sugarcane into the equipment and operate the lever by actuating the chipping knife by pressing the pedal with leg. The scooped sugarcane buds are collected in the collecting tray placed below the machine hygienically avoiding contamination. A sitting stool is provided so that, if required the operator can sit and operate the bud chipping machine. The equipment is unique in design and very useful in removing of the sugarcane bud chips with ease.
C) Inventive steps
This invention relates to development of a machine to chip out the sugarcane buds along with small portion of cane and use the bud chip as planting material. By this technique, the bud along with a portion of the nodal region is chipped off. The removal of sugarcane bud chips is presently done manually by using a sharp knife or a hand operated sugarcane bud chipping device. The need to develop a machine, to make it leg operated , to

overcome the laborious manual method using hand operated bud chipping device which is
unsafe and unhygienic was the basis for this invention. Keeping these problems in mind, a
machine for removing of sugarcane bud chips in a hygienic and efficient manner has been
developed jointly by Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Regional Centre, Coimbatore
and Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore.
The details of the essential features of the invention are:
The capacity of die machine is about 500-550 bud chips per hour
The machine consists of following parts: (Figs 1 & 2); (Plates 1, 2, 3 & 4)
a) Outer frame to hold all the functional parts and cover
b) Chipping blade, semi circular in shape (45mm diameter and 60mm length)
made of stainless steel to chip out the sugarcane buds from sugarcane
c) A wooden platform on which the sugarcane buds are chipped off
d) Holder for holding the sugarcane, from which the buds are to be removed
e} Pedal operated linkage mechanism: It comprises of a pedal, which could be operated by using leg. The applied power is transmitted to the chipping knife through the spring loaded linkage mechanism.
f) An adjustable guide mechanism to guide the sugarcane to the chipping zone so
that the sugarcane bud chips of required size are obtained.
g) Plastic collecting tray for collecting sugarcane bud chips in a hygienic and
efficient manner h) A guard screen placed between operator and chipping up zone for safety of the
operator. i) Sitting stool for operator to sit and operate the bud chipping machine Functioning of the equipment
1. The healthy sugar cane, free from attack of insects and diseases of about 6-8 months
age are selected (Usually the buds from the bottom up to, 0.60 m are avoided). The canes are placed in the cane holder which can hold about 40-50 canes.
2. The sugarcane from which the buds are to be removed is placed on the wooden platform below the chipping blade and the cane guided by the cane guide plate for chipping by the blade on the platform.
3. The chipping blade is operated with the help of the leg operated pedal which is activated through a series of linkage mechanism.

4. The required cutting force is created by the combination of the force exerted by the pedal and the pressure obtained due to the linkage mechanism and the spring holding the cutting blade.
5. The stainless steel blade is activated in to and fro motion (with a stroke length of 100 mm) enabling the sugarcane bud to be removed during the downward stroke. Thus when one stroke is completed, one bud is removed from the sugarcane. Since the position of the alternate sugarcane buds are at 180°, the cane has to be turned by 180° on the guide and platform before the next stroke is performed.
6. There is a sugarcane guard screen made of M.S mesh of 2x2 mm and placed in between the operator and bud chipping zone, so that the buds fall into the collecting tray placed below the chipping zone. This guard provides safety to the operator and avoids the possibility of direct contact between the operator and the extracted sugarcane buds. .
7. The removed sugarcane buds are collected in a plastic tray placed below the cutting zone thereby avoiding direct contact of the operator and the buds. This enables hygienic collection of sugarcane bud chips which could increase the germination percentage.
8. An adjustable stool is also provided with the machine, so that the operator can sit and operate the equipment, thus avoiding the long standing period during the operation.
Advantages of the invention
1. The machine is portable and handy to transport to the field.
2. Any unskilled person can operate the device.
3. Drudgery of operation is greatly reduced when compared to manual hand method.
4. The sugarcane bud chipping operation is hygienic in nature.
5. Operators can safely and comfortably remove the sugarcane bud chip both in standing and sitting position.
6. One operator chops off about 500-550 sugarcane bud chips per hour as against 150 bud chips by hand chipping.
7. The cost of the unit is approximately Rs. 2750/- only,
8. Saving in labour over conventional method is up to 80 per cent
9. Saving in cost over conventional method is up to 27 per cent.

5. CLAIMS:
t. We claim that the pedal operated sugarcane bud chipping machine is pedal operated (operated by leg) which enables easy removal of the bud chips from sugarcane
2. We claim that the power is transmitted from the pedal to the chipping blade by a mechanical linkage mechanism, which activates the sugarcane bud chipping blade.
3. We claim that the coil thickness and number of coils in the spring, activating the chipping blade, is optimized for efficient chipping of the sugarcane buds, without damaging the sugarcane buds and the germination percentage obtained is on par with manual bud chipping.
4. We claim that semicircular blade which is used for chipping the sugarcane bud chips, is designed to remove the sugarcane bud chips without damaging the eyes of sugarcane buds.
5. We claim that semicircular blade which is used for chipping the sugarcane bud chips, is made of high quality stainless steel material and hygienically safe for removing the bud chips.
6. We claim that provision is made for holding the cane at an appropriate position so that the optimum size of bud chips are obtained by the machine
7. We claim that a adjustable guide is provided which guides the sugarcane on die wooden platform from which the sugarcane buds are to be chipped off, by the chipping blade during downward stroke.
8. We claim that the sugarcane bud chipping machine can be effectively used to remove the sugarcane bud chip by a single person both in standing and sitting position safely.
9. We claim that one operator can take out about 500-550 sugarcane bud chips per hour when selected cane is fed into the pedal operated sugarcane bud chipping machine.
10. We claim that the a collection tray is provided at the bottom of the equipment to collect the bud chips in an hygienic and efficient manner