Agricultural Wheel Structure for Manual Handling on Soft Soil
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Solution Overview
Problem
Agricultural wheels often require cumbersome manual installation and removal, especially in soft soils, and prior designs lack structural reinforcement, leading to potential imbalance and structural weakness at lug bore apertures.
Innovation Solution
A single wide tire design with gussets and a handle for manual manipulation, positioned away from lug bore radii to enhance rigidity and balance, and a central disc with radially oriented flanges for improved structural integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a dual tire configuration is used, then the wheel provides sufficient structural support, but the wheel becomes cumbersome to remove and install manually
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel is divided into separate components: a central disc, a barrel, and gussets that connect them. This segmentation allows the wheel to be lighter and easier to handle while maintaining structural integrity through the strategic placement of reinforcement elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The wheel uses a composite structure combining a central disc, barrel, and gussets made from appropriate materials to achieve both lightness and strength. The gussets act as reinforcement elements that provide structural support without requiring a heavy dual tire configuration.
2Strength
If gussets are positioned at lug bore radii, then structural reinforcement is maximized, but access to lug nuts becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The gussets are positioned at specific locations between the lug bore radii rather than at all radii, providing localized reinforcement where structurally necessary while leaving other areas open for access to lug nuts. This selective placement optimizes both strength and accessibility.
3Ease of operation
If a handle is affixed to the wheel for manual manipulation, then ease of installation is improved, but wheel balance is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The handle is extracted as a separate component that can be attached to the wheel assembly. It is positioned away from the center of gravity and from lug bore radii, providing manual manipulation capability while minimizing impact on balance and structural integrity. The low rotational speed of agricultural wheels reduces the functional impact of the imbalance.
Data Source
AI summary
An agricultural wheel having strengthening gussets affixed between the disc in barrel that avoid an imaginary radius between the center of the wheel through each lug bores. A handle is provided on a surface of the barrel that similarly avoids attachment points along the radii through which the lug bores are formed.