Agricultural Baling Machine Driveline Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Agricultural baling machines face inefficiencies due to high inertia and mechanical resistance in their drivelines, leading to difficulties in initiating plunger movement and potential damage from high power peaks, as well as vibrations and energy losses from universal joints used to accommodate height and angle variations.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an S-shaped input driveline with a transmission system that connects the rotary input shaft and flywheel shaft at different heights and angles, reducing the need for universal joints and incorporating a brake within the housing to manage rotational components, thereby enhancing power transfer efficiency and reducing vibrations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If universal joints are used to accommodate height and angle variations in the driveline, then the driveline can connect components at different positions, but vibrations and energy losses occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes universal joints from the driveline system entirely, replacing them with a cardan shaft that directly connects the PTO shaft to the input shaft at different heights and angles. This extraction of the problematic universal joint component eliminates the associated vibrations and energy losses while maintaining the necessary adaptability through the cardan shaft's inherent flexibility.
2Device complexity
If the plunger is positioned at rest causing an unfavourable conrod transmission angle, then the machine structure is simplified, but plunger movement becomes difficult to initiate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a starter motor that applies preliminary rotational force to the input shaft before the plunger begins its reciprocating motion. This preliminary action overcomes the unfavourable conrod transmission angle and high mechanical resistance at rest, enabling smooth initiation of plunger movement without complicating the overall driveline structure.
3Reliability
If a heavy flywheel is used to manage high power peaks, then power delivery to the plunger is stabilized, but the system's mechanical resistance and inertia increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the heavy mechanical flywheel with an electric motor that directly couples to the input shaft. This substitution maintains power delivery stability through the motor's inherent rotational inertia and torque characteristics while significantly reducing the overall weight and mechanical resistance of the system. The electric motor provides smooth, controlled power delivery without the need for a massive mechanical energy storage device.
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 solution allows for more efficient power transfer, reduces vibrations, and improves the compactness of the baling machine design, enabling better handling of varying angles and heights without the need for multiple universal joints, thus enhancing operational reliability and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a brake (58) located inside the housing (79) and arranged to act on a rotatable component of the input driveline
Implementation Method 2
a rotatable flywheel (28) mounted on a flywheel shaft (29)
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
An agricultural baling machine (10) includes a rotary input shaft (27) connected by way of an input driveline to a rotatable flywheel (28) mounted on a flywheel shaft (29); and a drive converter (31) that converts rotation of the flywheel (28) to reciprocal rectilinear motion of a plunger (23) in a bale-forming chamber (22) forming part of the baling machine (10), in a manner compressing plant matter in the bale-forming chamber (22). The input driveline transfers rotary drive between the input shaft (27) and the flywheel shaft (29). The rotary input shaft (27) is disposed at a lower height in the baling machine (10) than the flywheel shaft (29) and the input driveline includes a transmission (38) having driveline components that engage one another in a drive-transferring manner connecting the rotary input shaft (27) and the flywheel shaft (29).