Adjustable Crop Conveyor Discharge Angle for Windrow Formation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional crop conveyors in windrowers rely on belt speed to control crop placement, which can affect windrow formation and crop orientation, leading to non-uniform windrows and increased tangling, making it difficult to feed crops into harvesters or balers, especially with wider headers.
Innovation Solution
A crop conveyor system with a pivot joint in the frame allows for angular adjustments of the conveyor system, enabling independent control of crop placement and trajectory without affecting windrow formation, using a combination of belt speed and angular adjustments to handle conventional and increased loads.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If belt speed is increased to control crop placement, then crop discharge speed is improved, but windrow formation and crop orientation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor frame is made dynamically adjustable through a pivot joint mechanism that allows the discharge end to be tilted at different angles relative to the horizontal. This dynamic geometric adjustment enables independent control of crop placement position without relying solely on belt speed, thereby resolving the contradiction between discharge speed and windrow formation quality.
2Productivity
If belt speed is increased to handle wider headers, then crop throughput is improved, but crop tangling and windrow uniformity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The pivot joint mechanism allows dynamic adjustment of the discharge angle to optimize crop distribution across the windrow. By adjusting the geometric configuration rather than solely increasing belt speed, the system can handle wider headers and higher throughput while maintaining uniform windrow formation and reducing crop tangling.
3Device complexity
If a fixed conveyor frame is used, then device complexity is reduced, but adaptability to different crop loads and header widths deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The pivot joint mechanism provides a relatively simple dynamic adjustment system that enables the conveyor frame to adapt to different crop loads and header widths. The geometric adjustment through angle changes allows one conveyor system to handle multiple operating conditions without requiring completely different configurations, thus maintaining low complexity while improving adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
A windrower with a header has a conveying medium with first and second portions connected with a pivot joint and moveable across a plural rollers configured to receive crop material from the header and direct the crop material to a side of the windrower to form a windrow on the ground to the side of the windrower. In an operational position and with the frame selected to one of the predetermined angular adjustments, the conveying medium discharges the harvested crop material at an angle of trajectory determined by the selected angular position of the second portion. The windrower harvests crop with the header, receives the mowed crop on the conveyor system, adjusts a rate at which the mowed crop is discharged from the conveyor system, and adjusts an angle of trajectory at which the mowed crop is discharged from the conveyor system.