Baler Throughput Sensing Using Floor Load and Rotor Speed
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current agricultural balers lack real-time feedback on hay intake, making it difficult for operators to adjust speeds and parameters accurately, leading to inefficiencies and potential clogging due to varying hay amounts and operating conditions.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a material throughput sensing system that uses load cells, pressure sensors, and displacement sensors to measure the force and speed of hay being conveyed, providing real-time data to operators and potentially adjusting tractor speeds autonomously through Tractor Implement Management systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If the operator moves too fast, then horsepower requirements increase, but the pickup headers or pressure-exerting belts become overloaded resulting in clogging or unevenly distributed bale
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback system using sensors (load cells, pressure sensors, displacement sensors) to monitor hay intake rate in real-time. This feedback is provided to the operator through a display, enabling the operator to adjust travel speed to match actual throughput capacity, thereby preventing overload conditions that cause clogging while optimizing horsepower utilization.
2Productivity
If the operator travels too slow, then efficiencies decrease, but moving too fast causes overload and clogging
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system continuously monitors throughput and provides real-time feedback to the operator, enabling dynamic adjustment of travel speed. This allows the operator to maintain optimal speed that maximizes productivity while preventing overload conditions, effectively resolving the contradiction between moving fast for efficiency and moving slow to prevent clogging.
3Ease of operation
If current balers operate without throughput feedback, then operators cannot accurately determine operating speed, but adding sensing systems increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds a relatively simple sensing system comprising load cells, pressure sensors, and displacement sensors that directly measure physical quantities related to throughput. These sensors are integrated with the existing baler structure and provide straightforward feedback to the operator, making the increase in device complexity acceptable in exchange for dramatically improved ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the operator's manual estimation and trial-and-error approach to determining operating speed with an automated sensing and measurement system. This substitution of mechanical/sensory estimation with electronic sensing provides accurate throughput data without requiring complex operator judgment or experience.
4Loss of time
If the operator continuously adjusts speeds to accommodate varying hay amounts, then time is lost in adjustments, but without adjustment, clogging occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The real-time feedback system enables the operator to make quicker, more informed speed adjustments by providing immediate information about throughput conditions. This reduces the time needed for trial-and-error adjustments while maintaining effective clogging prevention, as the operator can respond more rapidly to changing conditions with accurate data.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensing system effectively monitors and reports throughput conditions autonomously, allowing the operator to make adjustments based on objective data rather than continuous manual monitoring. This self-monitoring capability reduces the operator's cognitive load and time spent on adjustments while maintaining reliable clogging prevention.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This system allows for precise control of hay intake, optimizing baling efficiency by adjusting speeds and parameters in real-time, reducing the risk of clogging and improving overall baling performance.
Implementation Method 1
measuring, with a first sensor associated with the floor, force data during the conveying, the force data comprising at least one of: a force exerted on the floor
Implementation Method 2
measuring, with a first sensor associated with the floor, force data during the conveying, the force data comprising at least one of: a pressure applied to the floor
Implementation Method 3
measuring, with a first sensor associated with the floor, force data during the conveying, the force data comprising at least one of: a displacement of the floor
Implementation Method 4
measuring, with a second sensor associated with the rotor, speed data comprising a speed of the rotor during the conveying
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods and systems for sensing a throughput of cut organic material conveyed through agricultural equipment such as an agricultural baler or the like. The system may include, and the method may be performed at least in part using, agricultural equipment including a feed mechanism that conveys the cut organic material through the agricultural equipment. The feed mechanism includes a rotor, a floor near the rotor, and a sensor that measures data proportional to a force exerted on the floor. The system includes a processor that correlates data proportional to the force exerted on the floor to a rate at which the cut organic material is conveyed through the feed mechanism.