Case of study: Methodology for the creation of a prototype that transports fruits and vegetables

Abstract

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (F.A.O.) stated that rural areas represented by 43.844% of the world's population (World Bank estimates) depend on agriculture for their day-to-day livelihoods. However, poor connectivity and limited or in some cases restricted access to national and international markets result in small agricultural enterprises with low technology equipment and weak infrastructure, affecting livelihoods and food security. In this sense, the agricultural sector has been accumulating lags in productivity and competitiveness, so that in the least favored countries it is progressively losing sustainability. Therefore, it is imperative the invention of a technology that allows transporting, storing, and protecting fruits and vegetables in the field in a safe way and also that is more economically affordable, environmentally friendly, and attractive to the farmer. For the realization of this research, the phases and interactions of the mechanical design process were carried out, which allowed identifying the need, defining the problem, and subsequently, the creation of a patent, the construction of the modeling, and prototyping of the main concept of the patent. For this purpose, this article presents the methodology used for the creation of the patent, prototype, and the results obtained in the stages of design and construction. As a result of this research, the methodology applied for the creation of a device is presented, applied to a case study, which can serve as a reference for the definition of devices for other cases.