Actuator Mounting for Adjustable Tread Width Sprayers
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional high-clearance sprayers with adjustable tread widths experience increased wear rates in slider wear pads due to bending moments caused by actuators being mounted outside the frame rails, leading to inefficiencies and maintenance challenges.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates actuators mounted internally within the frame cross members, with mounting plates that secure them concentrically, reducing bending moments and stress, and allowing for easy access and maintenance by switching between mounted and unmounted positions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If actuators are mounted outside the frame rails, then the tread width adjustment function is achieved, but bending moments increase causing accelerated wear of slider wear pads
Solution Approach 1:
The actuators are relocated from an external mounting position to an internal mounting position within the frame cross members. This spatial repositioning changes the dimensional arrangement of the system, allowing the actuators to push and pull the axle sliders through the hollow cross members without creating external bending moments on the slider assemblies.
Solution Approach 2:
The actuators are nested within the hollow frame cross members, with the actuator assemblies contained inside the tubular structure of the frame. This nesting arrangement allows the actuators to be integrated into the frame structure itself, eliminating the need for external mounting and reducing the leverage that causes bending moments.
2Reliability
If actuators are mounted inside the frame cross members, then bending moments are reduced, but access for maintenance becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The frame cross members are segmented with removable end caps that can be detached to provide access to the actuators mounted inside. This segmentation allows the frame structure to be opened at specific locations for maintenance purposes, then closed back up to restore the protective enclosure and reduce bending moments during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame cross members are designed with pre-configured access points and removable end caps that are prepared in advance for maintenance operations. This preliminary design consideration ensures that when maintenance is needed, the actuators can be accessed efficiently without requiring complex disassembly procedures.
Data Source
AI summary
An agricultural machine such as a high clearance sprayer is provided with a frame capable of supporting wheels at a variable tread width. The frame includes a first cross member and a second cross member, both of which have slider receivers formed in an outer edge of either side of the frame. The machine also includes a first axle slider for a first side and a second axle slider for a second side. Each axle slider includes a pair of axle slider legs configured to be telescopically inserted into and out of the respective slider receiver, as well as a main slider body extending between the pair of axle slider legs. The axle sliders are configured to support a pair of wheels on either side of the frame. Additionally, actuators are mounted within the cross members that enable the telescopic movement of the axle sliders relative to the cross members.