Adjustable Harvester Reel Tine Bars for Cutterbar Flex Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Reel-cutterbar interference in agricultural harvesters leads to damage of plastic tines and cutterbars due to upward flexing, resulting in costly replacements and harvester downtime.
Innovation Solution
An agricultural harvester header with adjustable tine bars, equipped with sensors and actuators, uses a computer to control the position of tine bars relative to the cutterbar, preventing contact by retracting the tines when the cutterbar flexes upward and returning them to the deployed position when safe.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the cutterbar is made flexible to accommodate terrain variations, then the harvester can operate over uneven ground, but the cutterbar may flex upward and contact the reel tines causing damage
Solution Approach 1:
The reel tine bars are made dynamically adjustable between deployed and retracted positions. When the cutterbar flexes upward (detected by sensors), the actuator retracts the tine bars to prevent contact. When the cutterbar returns to normal position, the tine bars are deployed again. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by allowing terrain adaptability while preventing damage.
Solution Approach 2:
Sensors monitor the position of the cutterbar or components fixed to it, providing feedback to the control system. When upward flexing is detected, the system activates the actuator to retract the tine bars. This feedback mechanism enables the system to respond to cutterbar position changes and prevent harmful contact, resolving the contradiction between flexibility and damage prevention.
2Ease of manufacture
If plastic reel tines are used to reduce weight and cost, then manufacturing costs decrease, but the tines are more susceptible to damage from cutterbar contact
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically retracts the plastic tines when cutterbar upward flexing is detected, preventing contact that would cause damage. This allows the use of lighter, cheaper plastic tines while maintaining durability through active protection, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing ease and strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides protective action before damage can occur by retracting the tines in advance when cutterbar upward movement is detected by sensors. This preemptive protection allows vulnerable plastic tines to be used without actual damage, resolving the contradiction between cost and durability.
3Strength
If metal reel tines are used to increase durability, then resistance to damage improves, but the cost of replacing damaged tines and repairing cutterbars increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses lightweight plastic tines with active retraction protection. When cutterbar upward flexing is detected, the tines are retracted to prevent contact. This dynamic protection allows use of cheaper plastic tines while avoiding the high replacement and repair costs associated with metal tines, resolving the contradiction between strength and loss.
Solution Approach 2:
Sensors provide feedback on cutterbar position, enabling the system to retract tines before contact occurs. This feedback-controlled protection prevents damage that would lead to costly replacements and repairs, resolving the contradiction between durability and loss.
4Productivity
If the reel tine bars are kept in the deployed position for continuous crop guidance, then harvesting productivity is maintained, but contact with the cutterbar can occur causing downtime
Solution Approach 1:
The reel tine bars dynamically switch between deployed and retracted states based on real-time cutterbar position. They remain deployed for continuous crop guidance (maintaining productivity) but retract when cutterbar upward flexing is detected (preventing damage and ensuring operational continuity). This resolves the contradiction between productivity and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
Sensors continuously monitor cutterbar position and provide feedback to control the actuator. This enables the system to maintain tines in the deployed position for productivity while automatically retracting them when contact risk is detected, ensuring operational continuity and resolving the contradiction between productivity and reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
In an agricultural harvester header for an agricultural vehicle including a frame, a reel attached to the frame and having a plurality of reel tine bars, a cutterbar attached to the frame and positioned beneath the reel, an actuator for moving the reel tine bars between a deployed position and a retracted position, a sensor for sensing a position of the cutterbar, and a computer, a method for returning the reel tine bars to the deployed position includes (i) receiving, at the computer, signals from the sensor, (ii) recording a sensed position of the cutterbar when the actuator moves the reel tine bars to the retracted position, and (iii) activating the actuator to return the reel tine bars to the deployed position as a function of when the cutterbar returns to the recorded sensed position.