TY - JOUR
T1 - Quantitative evaluation of a rotary blueberry mechanical harvester using a miniature instrumented sphere
AU - Yu, Pengcheng
AU - Li, Changying
AU - Takeda, Fumiomi
AU - Krewer, Gerard
AU - Rains, Glen
AU - Hamrita, Takoi
N1 - Funding Information:
This project was funded by the United State Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crop Research Initiative (Award No. 2008-51180-19579). Authors would like to thank Mr. Gary Burnham and Tim Rutland’s technical support. We also appreciate the assistance provided by Mr. John Ed Smith and Mr. Robert D. Stanaland during the field tests. The Triple R. Farm, the Allen Blueberry Farm, and the DHL farm provided mechanical harvesters and blueberry bushes for the field test, to which we are grateful. The authors appreciate useful comments provided by Dr. Harald Scherm. We thank Oxbo International Inc. for leasing a rotary harvester to us for preliminary tests on the early stage of this study.
PY - 2012/10
Y1 - 2012/10
N2 - Southern highbush blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum interspecific hybrids) are predominantly for the fresh market and, with a few exceptions, are hand harvested. Though mechanical harvesting systems are available for processed blueberries, low harvest efficiency and high fruit damage have limited their use for picking blueberries for fresh market. To improve the current machine harvester design, it is apparent that the interaction between the machine harvester and fruit should be well understood. The goal of this study was, therefore, to provide such an understanding by using a custom-made miniature instrumented sphere. The miniature Berry Impact Recording Device (BIRD) was used to measure the mechanical impacts created by a rotary mechanical harvester during fruit harvesting. A closeup video recorded the harvesting to pinpoint critical control points where most impacts were created. The results showed that the catch plates on the rotary harvester accounted for over 30% of all mechanical impacts imposed on the BIRD, followed by the empty fruit collection box (lug) (>20%). Impacts created by the conveyer belt and shaking rods combined accounted for only 25% of mechanical impacts. Thus, the most significant reduction in bruising could be achieved through modifications in the catch plates and lugs. The impact of three contacting surfaces (the catch plates, conveyer belt, and steel tunnel) on the harvester and three commercial padding materials (Cellular Silicone, Slow Rebound, and No Bruze) were evaluated. Harvester surface evaluations revealed that the catch plate was the hardest surface. Among the three padding materials evaluated, the Cellular Silicone provided the best cushioning. This study proved the efficacy of using a customized miniature instrumented sphere in measuring mechanical impacts created by various machine parts during harvesting. It provided a better understanding of how the berries interact with different machine parts of a rotary harvester.
AB - Southern highbush blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum interspecific hybrids) are predominantly for the fresh market and, with a few exceptions, are hand harvested. Though mechanical harvesting systems are available for processed blueberries, low harvest efficiency and high fruit damage have limited their use for picking blueberries for fresh market. To improve the current machine harvester design, it is apparent that the interaction between the machine harvester and fruit should be well understood. The goal of this study was, therefore, to provide such an understanding by using a custom-made miniature instrumented sphere. The miniature Berry Impact Recording Device (BIRD) was used to measure the mechanical impacts created by a rotary mechanical harvester during fruit harvesting. A closeup video recorded the harvesting to pinpoint critical control points where most impacts were created. The results showed that the catch plates on the rotary harvester accounted for over 30% of all mechanical impacts imposed on the BIRD, followed by the empty fruit collection box (lug) (>20%). Impacts created by the conveyer belt and shaking rods combined accounted for only 25% of mechanical impacts. Thus, the most significant reduction in bruising could be achieved through modifications in the catch plates and lugs. The impact of three contacting surfaces (the catch plates, conveyer belt, and steel tunnel) on the harvester and three commercial padding materials (Cellular Silicone, Slow Rebound, and No Bruze) were evaluated. Harvester surface evaluations revealed that the catch plate was the hardest surface. Among the three padding materials evaluated, the Cellular Silicone provided the best cushioning. This study proved the efficacy of using a customized miniature instrumented sphere in measuring mechanical impacts created by various machine parts during harvesting. It provided a better understanding of how the berries interact with different machine parts of a rotary harvester.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.compag.2012.06.005
DO - 10.1016/j.compag.2012.06.005
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84864131971
SN - 0168-1699
VL - 88
SP - 25
EP - 31
JO - Computers and Electronics in Agriculture
JF - Computers and Electronics in Agriculture
ER -
