Asymmetric Conveyor Disk Spacing for Thin Crop Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional mowing and intake devices with conveyor disks struggle to effectively convey thinner and softer plant stalks, such as grains or grasses, due to insufficient support and conveying effect.
Innovation Solution
A conveyor system with coaxially arranged conveyor disks, where two disks are closely spaced and a third is more distantly spaced, providing a larger guide surface, and additional disks and strippers are used to enhance crop handling, with specific tooth configurations and stripper designs to ensure efficient crop removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional conveyor disks with equal spacing are used, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the conveying effect is insufficient for thinner and softer plant stalks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by spacing the first two conveyor disks closer together than the spacing between the second and third conveyor disks. This asymmetric arrangement creates a larger guide surface area between the first two disks, providing better support for thinner and softer plant stalks during conveyance, thereby resolving the contradiction between conveying effectiveness and structural simplicity.
2Area of stationary object
If conveyor disks are spaced closely together, then the guide surface area increases for better plant support, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The asymmetric spacing arrangement creates an enlarged guide surface between the first two closely spaced conveyor disks, providing enhanced support for thin plant stalks. This targeted increase in surface area at the critical conveyance zone resolves the contradiction by prioritizing plant support where needed most, rather than uniformly increasing complexity across all disk spacings.
3Productivity
If additional conveyor disks and strippers are added, then crop removal efficiency improves, but the device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the crop removal function by introducing strippers that work in conjunction with the asymmetrically spaced conveyor disks. The strippers are positioned to engage with plants in the intermediate space between the first two conveyor disks, dividing the overall conveying and removal process into distinct functional zones. This segmentation improves crop removal efficiency for thin stalks while keeping each component relatively simple to manufacture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by concentrating the enhanced conveying and stripping functionality in the region between the first two closely spaced conveyor disks, where thin plant stalks require the most support. The asymmetric spacing and stripper placement create a specialized zone for handling delicate crops, while other parts of the conveyor system maintain simpler, more manufacturable designs.
Data Source
AI summary
A conveyor (16) includes a plurality of conveyor disks (20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30) that are arranged coaxial to one another and are rotatable about a common central rotational axis, wherein teeth are distributed around the edge of said conveyor disks. A first conveyor disk (20), and a second conveyor disk (22) situated directly adjacent to the first conveyor disk (20), are spaced apart by a smaller axial clearance than that between the second conveyor disk (22) and a third conveyor disk (24) that is situated directly adjacent to the second conveyor disk (22) and arranged on a side of the second conveyor disk (22) that faces away from the first conveyor disk (20).