Claims:I/We claim;
1. A self-adjustable 360o support system for soft stem trees to avoid damage caused due to cyclone consists of;
a) A split collar (101) which is fixed at the central position of the stem to hold the stem portion of the tree and has multiple holes (102) at its outer surface to facilitate the location of the clamps;
b) A Top leg (103) are connected to the collar at its periphery, when the wind strikes the tree with high velocity, the split collar (101) receives the load from the stem and transfers to the ground through an upper (103) and a lower leg (107).
c) A split-type base support (108) can be fixed easily to any tree and used to transmit the wind load from the top leg (103) and the split collar (101) to the ground through the upper (103) and lower legs (107);
d) The bottom legs (107) are telescopic in nature and are connected to the base support (108) through clamps;
e) The two halves of the base support (109) are connected through bolt and nuts and to prevent the toppling of the base support (108) from high velocity wind velocity, spikes (110) are provided at the base to enhance the frictional support;
f) A liner is used to hold banana trees of different diameters so that it can be adjusted as per the diameter of the tree.
2. The self-adjustable support system for soft stem trees to avoid damage caused due to cyclone as claimed in claim (1), the shape of the self-adjustable support is axis-symmetric and is suitable for providing mechanical support in all the 360o of the tree.
3. The self-adjustable support system for soft stem trees to avoid damage caused due to cyclone as claimed in claim (1), the clamping region in the collar (101) and tree stem of the attachment is adjustable whereas the same support can be used for trees with various height.
4. The self-adjustable support system for soft stem trees to avoid damage caused due to cyclone as claimed in claim (1), the bottom outer leg (106) is a hollow tube carries bottom inner tube (105) to slide up and down for height adjustments also transmits load to the base ring (108).
5. The self-adjustable support system for soft stem trees to avoid damage caused due to cyclone as claimed in claim (1), a design calculations were made to calculate the breaking strength of the soft stem tree stem for various growth (4, 8 and 12 months old) positions and wind velocities.
6. The self-adjustable support system for soft stem trees to avoid damage caused due to cyclone as claimed in claim (1), higher counter weights and spikes (110) have been added to the base frame (108) to avoid the toppling or uprooting of the attachment.
, Description:The present invention generally relates to an agricultural device. More specifically, the invention describes a supporting device to provide perfect balance to the trees of various stages using the space available around each tree to avoid cyclone damage.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A healthy tree is able to move (flex) in the wind, which is exactly what prevents it from breaking apart during a storm. But even the healthiest (sound) trees are susceptible to wind injury.
During strong or severe wind storms, full tree canopies can act as a sail in the wind. When wind speeds are excessive, storms can cause entire trees to uproot. This is more likely to occur when soils are wet and the tree’s roots are unable to securely anchor themselves in the soil.
On the other hand, trees that are not structurally sound (trees with included bark, decay or root injury) are more likely to experience structural failures. When identified in time, these deficiencies can often be prevented through the installation of artificial support such as cabling and bracing or by a procedure known as hazard reduction pruning.
Inventions that describe the support system for the trees to avoid injuries and damages during natural wind related disasters have been described in varied capabilities in the past.
A Chinese patent CN103798005A titled “Banana plant anti-wind planting method” describes the vertical bars are used as fixtures, the banana plants and the vertical bars are fixed together, then the vertical bars are connected through ropes or cross bars, and the vertical bars of a whole banana field are bound to form a whole.
A French patent FR2680077A1 titled “Staying device to prevent banana trees from falling over” describes a staying device which is made up of a set of four members such as, a collar, positioned around the trunk of the banana tree, equipped with four hooks, with ropes for connection between collars. Moreover, the present invention uses the interconnected rope and collar mechanism to support the tree.
In the currently existing systems, winds of 30 miles per hour will break the stalks attaching the leaves, winds of 40 mph can break the main stem and winds of 60 mph can topple whole stands of banana plants. If the soil around the plants is soaked by rain, the trees can uproot in lighter winds. After a storm, toppled or leaning trees may cause severe monitory loss to the farmers.
There are already several solutions which are not proven to be effective in this regard. Most of them are conventional with the usage of sticks and ropes. They might be advantageous since the cost involved is less but there is a disadvantage that if a tree breaks, it destroys the whole structure. Also, in our attachment there is no usage of rigid legs, as it may fail to withstand the high wind current and instead of bending, it may cause failure, to both the tree and the attachment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The following summary is provided to facilitate a clear understanding of the new features in the disclosed embodiment and it is not intended to be a full, detailed description. A detailed description of all the aspects of the disclosed invention can be understood by reviewing the full specification, the drawing and the claims and the abstract, as a whole.
The objective of the present invention is to make a stabilizing attachment which supports the banana tree around 360˚ direction thereby preventing it from Falling or breaking during cyclone.
The aforementioned aspects along with the objectives and the advantages can be achieved as described herein.
Another objective of the present invention is to design and develop a novel supporting mechanism which will transfer the entire wind load into the ground.
In an aspect of the present invention, the support device provides 360o support to the banana tree as the direction of wind velocity cannot be predicted.
Another aspect of the present invention, develops a support system which will use the available space around the banana tree and safeguard the roots during installation and will not affect the roots of the tree.
Further in accordance with the present invention, the supporting mechanism which will exert less reaction force between the contact regions of the tree and the supporting structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description of the invention which follows when considered in light of the accompanying drawings in which:
Fig. 1 illustrates the supporting structure for soft stem tree;
Fig. 2 illustrates the components of banana tree support structure;
Fig. 3 illustrates the split collar and bottom inner leg of banana tree support structure;
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The principles of operation, design configurations and evaluation values in these non-limiting examples can be varied and are merely cited to illustrate at least one embodiment of the invention, without limiting the scope thereof.
The embodiments will be described in detail with corresponding marked references to the drawings, in which the illustrative components of the invention are outlined. The embodiments disclosed herein can be expressed in different forms and should not be considered as limited to the listed embodiments in the disclosed invention. The various embodiments outlined in the subsequent sections are construed such that it provides a complete and a thorough understanding of the disclosed invention, by clearly describing the scope of the invention, for those skilled in the art.
It must also be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Although any systems and methods similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the present invention, the preferred, systems and methods are now described.
Primarily in order to find the load acting on the tree during cyclones, parameters such as, wind speed, direction and duration are selected based on statistical data, here tree is considered as a cylinder, Height of the tree is decided by considering average heights of a fully grown tree, Leaf of the tree is measured and its area is calculated by considering it as a trapezoidal area. The dimensions of the support structure are calculated by assuming a fully grown banana tree. The following parameters were considered for the design calculation.
Sl.No Parameters Specifications
1 Wind speed 200 kmph
2 Height of the tree 4.8768 m
3 Area of the leaf (trapezoidal) 0.7832242 m2
4 Diameter of the tree d1 = 0.16m, d2 = 0.32m
5 Surface area of the stem 4.903 m2
6 Weight of the fruit 500N (50kg)

The wind load during cyclone condition was calculated as follows.
1 Material Galvanized Iron
2 Yield Strength, σy 500 N/mm2
3 Wind speed, V 200 kmph = 55.556 m/s
4 Diameter of the tree, d 0.32 m => Radius, r = 0.16 m
5 Height of the tree, h 16ft = 4.877 m
6 No of Leaves 10 (assumed)
7 Area of leaves 0.783224 * 10 = 7.83224 m2
8 Surface area of the tree 2πrh 2*π*0.16*4.877
= 4.903 m2
9 Total area, A 7.83224 + 4.903 = 12.735 m2
10 Density of air, ρ 1.161 kg/m3
11 Wind Force = ½ ρAV
= ½ * 1.161*12.735*55.5562
= 22817.24 N

The total force acting on the tree is calculated as below,
Self-Weight 500 N (assumed)
Total Load Self-Weight + Wind Force
= 500 + 22817.24 = 23317.24 N

Bending stress induced in the banana tree has been calculated by assuming the tree as a cantilever beam subjected to uniformly varying load.
1 Uniformly Varying Load, P Total Load/Height
= 23317.24/4.877
= 4781.062 N/m
2 Section modulus, Z = π/32 * d3
= π/32 * 0.323
= 3.216990877 * 10-3 m3
3 Bending Moment, M = 1/2*h*P*2/3*h
= 1/2*4.877*4781.062*2/3*4.877
= 3790.605881 Nm
4 Bending stress, σb = M/Z
= 3790.605771/(3.216990877 * 10-3)
= 11.783 * 106 N/m
= 11.783 N/mm2
Breaking occurs at 1/3rd of the height from the ground which is 2/3rd from the leaf end.
5 σb = 2/3 * 11.783
= 7.855 N/mm2

The split collar (101) is used to hold the stem portion of the tree. Generally, it will be fixed on those regions where the tree experiences higher bending stresses. Clearance will be provided between the outer surface of the tree and inner surface of the collar so as to minimize the reaction force at the contact interface. During high wind velocity, the banana tree experiences severe multi axial bending load which will try to topple the tree or uprooting. Since the tree is firmly fixed at the base with the help of soil, the failure can be expected anywhere between the top and bottom portion of the stem based on the height of the tree.
The collar is fixed at the central portion of the stem because mostly failure occurs at the middle of the stem portion. The collar consists of grooved slots or holes (102) at its periphery so that the upper leg (103) can be fixed anywhere in the collar. This is mainly to enhance the load transfer from the tree to the supporting attachment. The upper leg (103) transfers the load to the ground with the help of bottom leg (107) and base support (108). The bottom leg (107) is telescopic in nature and attached to the base support (108). This is mainly to transfer the non-uniform wind load to the ground.
In order to avoid toppling of the base support from the ground, metallic spikes (110) are introduced at the base. The spikes (110) ensure the perfect gripping of the attachment with the ground and provides 360o support to the banana tree without disturbing the roots of the banana tree. Irrespective of the direction of the wind velocity, the present attachment provides support to the banana tree. The non-uniform reaction force which may generally acts on the base support due to inclination of the tree can be balanced by adding counter weights.
The following components are involved in the design and development of support attachment,
Base support (108)
Split Collar (101)
Liner
Top leg (103)
Bottom outer leg (106)
Bottom inner leg (105)
Connecting links
The schematic arrangement of the base support (108) is illustrated in Fig. 2(a). The base support (108) is used to transmit the wind load to the ground through the upper (103) and lower legs (107). The bottom legs (107) which are telescopic in nature are connected to the base support (108) through clamps. The base support (108) is split type so that it can be fixed easily to any tree. The two halves of the base support (109) are connected through bolt and nuts. In order to prevent the toppling of the base support from high velocity wind velocity, spikes (110) are provided at the base to enhance the frictional support.
The schematic of the split collar (101) is illustrated in Fig. 2(b). It is used to hold the banana tree on those regions where failure of the stem is expected. When the high velocity wind strikes the banana leaf, it acts as a cantilever beam subjected to point load. The deflection of the tree is higher at the leaf region and bending stress is higher at the base. Since the soil support available at the base region is higher, failure is shifted to the stem portion. The split collar (101) is approximately located in the stem portion based on the height of the tree. It consists of multiple holes (102) at its outer surface to facilitate the location of the clamps. Top legs (103) are connected to the collar at its periphery. When the wind strikes the tree with high velocity, the split collar (101) receives the load from the stem and transfers to the ground through upper (103) and lower legs (107). The two halves of the collar can be joined easily using bolt and assembly.
Based on the parameter calculation, the collar (101) has been designed.

1 Inner diameter = 0.32 m
2 Outer diameter = 0.36 m
3 Height = 0.25 m
4 Area of Collar = 2πrh
= 2*π*0.16*0.25
= 0.251 m2
5 Load on the structure = σb * Area of Collar
= (7.855 * 106) * 0.251
= 1971605 N

The schematic representation of the liner is illustrated in Fig. 2(c). The liner is used to hold banana trees of different diameters. The liners are available in different sizes so that it can be adjusted as per the diameter of the tree. It is also made of split type.
Based on the parameter calculation, the liner has been designed.
Liner 1
1 Inner diameter = 0.28 m
2 Outer diameter = 0.32 m
3 Height = 0.25 m
Liner 2
1 Inner diameter = 0.25 m
2 Outer diameter = 0.32 m
3 Height = 0.25 m

The schematic representation of the top leg (103) is illustrated in Fig. 3(a). Top leg (103) is used to connect the collar with inner leg (105) of the bottom leg (106). The wind force exerted from the collar is transmitted to the ground through the top leg (103) only. The position of the top leg (103) in the collar can be adjusted. Provisions have been given to fix the top leg (103) with collar and bottom inner leg (105).
Based on the parameter calculation, the top leg has been designed.
1 Inner diameter = 35 mm
2 Outer diameter = 40 mm
3 Length = 1000 mm

The schematic representation of the bottom outer leg (106) is illustrated in Fig. 3(b). The bottom outer leg (106) is a hollow tube carries bottom inner tube (105) to slide up and down for height adjustments and also transmits load to the base ring. It is also connected in such a way that it can be adjusted according to the height of the tree. This leg (106) is provided with clamps at one end and kept open on other side for the inner legs (105) to slide.
Based on the parameter calculation, the bottom outer leg (106) has been designed.
1 Inner diameter = 35 mm
2 Outer diameter = 40 mm
3 Length = 600 mm

The schematic representation of the bottom inner leg (105) is illustrated in Fig. 3(c). It is the leg (105) which slides up and down for height adjustments of the banana tree. This leg (105) is provided with clamps at one end and open on other side to be fitted inside the bottom outer leg (106). The main objective of the telescopic bottom legs (107) is to facilitate transfer of unequal wind forces to the ground.
Based on the parameter calculation, the bottom inner leg (105) has been designed.
1 Inner diameter = 31 mm
2 Outer diameter = 35 mm
3 Length = 500 mm

The connector has been designed of 10mm diameter and 60mm length whereas the base ring has inner diameter of 1.2m and outer diameter of 1.5m.