Combine Harvester Distributor Orientation for Even Sieve Loading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for distributing threshed crops to the cleaning system of a combine harvester face challenges in handling uneven terrain and varying crop outputs, leading to increased grain loss due to uneven loading of the cleaning system sieves.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a crop material distributor and sieves that are pivotally movable and controlled by actuators, with grain sensors and a control system to adjust the distributor's angular orientation and sieve leveling, ensuring even distribution across the cleaning system, even when the combine is tilted.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the cleaning system is levelled relative to side slope using conventional mechanisms, then the combine can operate on uneven terrain, but crop material distribution on the sieve remains concentrated on one side due to uneven threshing system output
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies dynamics by making the preparation floor tiltable independently of the cleaning system sieve. The preparation floor can be tilted laterally to redirect crop material flow from the threshing system, while the sieve remains level for proper cleaning operation. This dynamic adjustment allows the system to adapt to uneven terrain while maintaining even material distribution across the sieve, preventing grain loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention segments the levelling function into two independent components: the preparation floor and the cleaning system sieve. Each can be controlled independently - the preparation floor handles terrain adaptation and material distribution, while the sieve maintains its level position for optimal cleaning. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by allowing each component to perform its specific function without compromising the other.
2Device complexity
If a single preparation floor is used for both terrain accommodation and material distribution, then the structure is simpler, but it cannot adequately address both uneven terrain and uneven threshing system output simultaneously
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the levelling function into two separate but coordinated components: the preparation floor and the cleaning system sieve. The preparation floor handles terrain accommodation and material distribution by tilting laterally, while the sieve maintains a level position for proper cleaning operation. This segmentation allows the system to address both uneven terrain and uneven threshing output simultaneously without compromising structural feasibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The preparation floor is made dynamically tiltable independent of the sieve position. This dynamic capability allows the floor to redirect material flow from uneven threshing output while the sieve remains stable for cleaning. The independent control of each component enables the system to adapt to varying conditions without increasing overall system complexity.
3Reliability
If the threshing system outputs crop material unevenly, then the cleaning system becomes overloaded on one side, but adjusting the cleaning system for terrain does not correct the distribution imbalance
Solution Approach 1:
The preparation floor acts as an intermediary between the threshing system and the cleaning system sieve. It receives unevenly distributed crop material from the threshing system and, through lateral tilting, redistributes it evenly across the sieve surface. This intermediary function corrects the distribution imbalance before material reaches the sieve, ensuring reliable cleaning operation and preventing grain loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The preparation floor's independent lateral tilting capability allows it to dynamically redirect material flow to compensate for uneven threshing output. By adjusting the floor angle, the system can balance material distribution across the sieve regardless of terrain conditions or threshing variations, maintaining reliable cleaning performance and minimizing grain loss.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method and system for controlling distribution of crop material to a cleaning sieve (24) of an agricultural combine (10), for reducing grain loss, including while the combine is tilted sidewardly relative to horizontal, involving controlling the angular orientation of a distributor (22) disposed between a threshing system (16) of the combine and the sieve (24), for distributing a mat of the crop material onto the sieve (24) evenly across an extent thereof. The angular orientation of the distributor (22) can be set in advance of tilting of the combine, to adjust for a variety of conditions, including uneven outputting of the crop material from the threshing system, and the set orientation can be automatically maintained or actively adjusted to control a desired operating parameter such as grain loss, even as the combine is variously tilted and the angular orientation of the sieve (24) relative to the combine is independently adjusted to maintain the sieve (24) horizontal.