Conveyor Coupling With Through-Holes for Grain Fouling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Agricultural combine conveyors often experience fouling by crop material, which can lead to time-consuming manual clearing and hinder easy engagement and disengagement of conveyor components, particularly when pivoted away from the drive elements.
Innovation Solution
A conveyor system with a chain and paddle conveyor, a gearbox, and a coupling mechanism featuring teeth with through-holes to allow grain passage, along with a spring-loaded design to automatically expel trapped grain, ensuring smooth engagement and disengagement without manual intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the conveyor is pivoted away from the conveyor drive for cleaning and repair access, then ease of operation is improved, but grain fouling occurs between the mating drive elements
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the harmful factor (grain) from the coupling area by providing a passage that allows grain to be removed from between the mating drive elements. The passage acts as an extraction channel that actively removes the contaminant rather than allowing it to accumulate during pivoting operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The passage serves as an intermediary structure between the first and second coupling elements. It provides a dedicated pathway that mediates the interaction between grain and the coupling elements, allowing grain to pass through rather than becoming trapped between the mating surfaces.
2Reliability
If manual clearing of grain from coupler elements is performed, then reliable operation is improved, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically clearing grain through the passage during normal operation. The grain itself is used to clear the passage as it flows through, eliminating the need for external manual intervention. The structure serves itself by using its own operational flow to maintain cleanliness.
Solution Approach 2:
The passage enables continuous clearing action during grain flow. Rather than requiring periodic stoppages for manual clearing, the system maintains continuous operational flow where grain continuously passes through the passage, continuously preventing fouling accumulation.
3Reliability
If the conveyor is designed to tolerate grain fouling, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the coupling structure by providing a dedicated passage separate from the main coupling elements. This segmentation allows the grain flow path to be separated from the torque transmission path, enabling the coupling elements to tolerate fouling while the passage remains clear for grain passage.
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
The system effectively tolerates grain fouling, automating the clearing process and ensuring reliable operation by using a spring force to expel grain between coupling elements, facilitating easy engagement and disengagement of conveyor components.
Implementation Method 1
a spring coupled to the auger and to the second coupling element, wherein the spring applies a spring force to the second coupling element in a direction toward the first coupling element
Data Source
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AI summary
A conveyor and conveyor drive for filling a combine grain tank includes a chain and paddle conveyor in a housing (114) that feeds an intermediate chamber (116), a gearbox with a first coupling element (208), the first coupling element (208) having teeth (230) with holes therethrough to permit the expulsion of grain from between the first coupling element (208) and a second coupling element (210) that is connected to a pivoting auger conveyor (104).