Cutting Edge Technology.
A Bicycle Based Crop Harvester - Innovation in technology for rural agricultural development.
The majority of rural Indian farmers operate on a small scale, by tedious manual labour. It follows that farmers suffer from the non-affordability of high-tech equipment used for harvesting and processing of rice, wheat, and other varieties of grain crop.
There hence arises a need to develop an inexpensive multipurpose implement that can be constructed from available materials and resources, with appropriate usage of existing infrastructure. The device would need to be environment friendly, and suitable for use in absence of fuel or external power, as is the situation in developing countries. It must be efficient at both harvesting and processing crops, while being easy to maintain. Such a device ought to be user friendly, intuitive in learning to use, and ergonomic.
There hence arises a need to develop an inexpensive multipurpose implement that can be constructed from available materials and resources, with appropriate usage of existing infrastructure. The device would need to be environment friendly, and suitable for use in absence of fuel or external power, as is the situation in developing countries. It must be efficient at both harvesting and processing crops, while being easy to maintain. Such a device ought to be user friendly, intuitive in learning to use, and ergonomic.
Fundamentally a bicycle based crop harvester, this device is aimed at extending the common bicycle through simple mechanical objects, to cut and thresh crops. The mechanism identified has a blade periodically cutting down crops for harvesting, as the bicycle moves. The entire process is powered by the pedalling the bicycle, proving indeed to be a fruitful application of pedal power.
|
When the farmer pedals the modified bicycle (turned tricycle), a secondary chain and gear mechanism rotates a camshaft bearing a specialized drop cam. The cam raises the follower, and hence the cutting frame to the required height. Thereafter, the frame falls under the effect of gravity, onto a cutting board. This force is used as a cutting stroke to harvest crops. A modified front wheel brake cable pulls in a shaft that bends the crops onto the cutting board for horizontal cutting. |