A novel progressively delivered fruit bagging apparatus

Abstract: Bagging fruit on the trees in the orchard is a challenge to the fruit industry in China and many other countries due to the heavy labor requirement and low efficiency of the current fruit bagging methods. In this study, we developed a novel semi-automatic apparatus for bagging fruits to overcome these disadvantages. This apparatus adopts a mechanism similar to 'overrunning clutch' using the self-locking principle between nut and bolt to achieve the paper bags being progressively delivered by a screwed pipe and slid out individually. Such apparatus is of simplicity in design and efficiency in operation with a low cost. It does not require a battery or any of other sources of power to complete the process. This article describes the design and operation procedure of this apparatus in details. To our knowledge, this is the first apparatus to complete the fruit bagging process using the paper bags with rubber bands and plastic rings based on the new mechanism of operation.