Development of a bulk cargo fruit sampler

Abstract

The design of an agricultural machine or equipment can be considered of great complexity, due to the interactions between the operator, the machine, the product and the environment. There is a lack of available technologies for collecting fruit in bulk cargo at any time from transport to industries. A limiting factor is the loading of fruits that are at the base of the cargo. This study was carried out to develop a detailed design of a bulk cargo fruit sampler that can collect fruits in any position of the x, y and z axes. A methodology was applied and adapted to execute the design. This methodology was divided into the following stages: design planning, informational design, conceptual design, preliminary design and detailed design. The variant considered the most appropriate was selected for the preliminary design and detailed design. The concepts were divided into chassis or support, sample collector and support for sample removal. The removal of fruits was carried out to maintain as much of their interaction with the environment outside the collector as possible. With the conclusion of the detailed design, it was possible to file, at the National Institute of Industrial Property, the patent for the collector of fruit samples in bulk cargo. Results obtained from fruits in the collector were used in doctoral theses.