Mounted Crop Cleaning Unit Using Airflow and Drop Sieve Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing agricultural mounted implements fail to effectively clean crops of foreign particles such as raw ash, sand, and stones, which are present even after picking up, necessitating additional cleaning processes, and can harm animals or reduce the suitability of crops for use as bedding or animal feed.
Innovation Solution
An agricultural mounted implement with a pickup, a fan, a cleaning unit, and a conveyor system that uses airflow and a drop sieve to separate and remove foreign particles while conveying the crop, driven by an auxiliary vehicle drive, ensuring efficient and gentle cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a pickup unit is used to gather crops, then the crop can be collected from the ground, but foreign particles such as raw ash, sand, and stones are also collected and remain in the crop
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning process is segmented into multiple stages: a first cleaning stage using a fan and air distribution tray to remove light foreign particles, and a second cleaning stage using a conveyor unit and drop sieve to remove heavier particles. This multi-stage segmentation allows each component to specialize in removing specific types of contaminants, thereby improving overall cleaning quality while maintaining gathering efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
Airflow is introduced as an intermediary medium between the pickup unit and the crop processing system. The fan generates airflow that passes through the air distribution tray to separate foreign particles from the crop before the cleaned crop is conveyed forward. This intermediary airflow mechanism enables effective particle removal without direct mechanical contact that could damage the crop.
2Manufacturing precision
If additional cleaning processes are added to remove foreign particles, then crop cleaning quality improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple cleaning functions are merged into a single integrated cleaning unit. The fan, air distribution tray, conveyor unit, and drop sieve are combined in one modular assembly that can be attached to the vehicle. This merging approach achieves high cleaning quality while avoiding the complexity of separate standalone cleaning systems, as all components work together in a coordinated manner within a single unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning unit is designed with multi-functionality to handle various types of foreign particles (raw ash, sand, stones) through different mechanisms (airflow for light particles, gravity screening for heavier particles). This universal design allows the same cleaning unit to effectively clean different crop types and remove diverse contaminants without requiring multiple specialized devices, thereby improving cleaning quality while controlling system complexity.
3Ease of operation
If foreign particles remain in the crop, then the crop can be used directly, but animal welfare is compromised and machine wear increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning unit performs preliminary cleaning action immediately after crop gathering, removing foreign particles before the crop is stored or used. The fan and air distribution tray separate light particles, while the conveyor unit and drop sieve remove heavier particles, ensuring the crop is cleaned in advance. This preliminary cleaning prevents animal injury risks and reduces machine wear in subsequent handling operations, while still allowing direct use of the cleaned crop.
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 implement achieves high-quality cleaning of crops for animal feed and bedding by removing foreign particles, allowing for direct use without further processing and minimizing machine wear, while being structurally simple and economically efficient.
Implementation Method 1
an airflow is sucked in by the fan, passed under the first air distribution tray, and blown out counter to gravity through the first air passage
Implementation Method 2
a drop sieve held congruently under the conveyor unit on the mounting frame
Data Source
AI summary
An agricultural mounted implement for the cleaning of harvested material, which cleaning is mobile and operated on a vehicle, said implement having an implement frame, a fan, and a cleaning unit. The cleaning unit has a pick-up for picking the harvested material to be cleaned; a first air distributor base connected to the fan via an air conveying channel and has a first air passage; a conveyor unit via which the cleaned harvested material is ejected from the cleaning unit; and a drop sieve which is mounted on the implement frame so as to be congruently below the conveyor unit. During operation, the fan sucks in an air flow, guides it under the first air distributor base and blows it out through the first air passage counter to the force of gravity such that the harvested material picked by the pick-up is transported to the conveyor unit.