Crop Supply Chamber Deflection System for Continuous Baling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional agricultural balers experience downtime of 10-15 seconds when ejecting wrapped bales, reducing overall harvesting efficiency, and previous designs of pre-chambers face difficulties in directing and storing crop material effectively, leading to inconsistent bale shape and density.
Innovation Solution
A harvester with a crop supply chamber that stores material during bale wrapping and ejecting, using a deflection system and control surface to manage crop flow, allowing simultaneous storage and incorporation of new material to form uniform bales, with a movable control surface and hydraulic actuator to alter storage volume and direct crop material between the supply chamber and bale chamber.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a conventional baler is used to eject wrapped bales, then the bale ejection function is achieved, but the harvesting efficiency decreases due to 10-15 seconds downtime
Solution Approach 1:
The crop supply chamber pre-stores crop material before it is needed in the bale chamber. This preliminary storage allows the bale chamber to receive material continuously without interruption during bale ejection, eliminating the 10-15 second downtime in conventional balers and maintaining harvesting efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system divides the crop storage function into two separate chambers: the crop supply chamber for pre-storing material and the bale chamber for active baling operations. This segmentation allows independent operation of each chamber, enabling continuous material supply to the bale chamber even when the bale is being ejected from the supply chamber.
2Productivity
If a pre-chamber is added to store crop material, then continuous harvesting is enabled, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The crop supply chamber and bale chamber are merged into a single integrated baling mechanism with shared structural components, drivetrain, and control systems. This combining approach enables continuous harvesting functionality while avoiding the complexity of completely separate systems, as the chambers work together within a unified mechanical framework.
3Quantity of substance
If crop material is directed into the pre-chamber, then material storage is achieved, but the manufacturing precision of bale shape and density becomes inconsistent
Solution Approach 1:
The deflection system acts as an intermediary mechanism that controls the flow of crop material from the supply chamber to the bale chamber. By precisely regulating material transfer timing and rate, the deflection system ensures consistent material delivery to the bale chamber, maintaining uniform bale shape and density while enabling continuous material storage in the supply chamber.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses dynamic control of the deflection system to adjust material flow timing based on the baling cycle phase. The deflection system dynamically opens and closes to synchronize material release from the supply chamber with the bale chamber's readiness, ensuring consistent material delivery rates that produce uniform bale quality regardless of storage capacity variations.
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
Enables continuous harvesting with reduced downtime, producing high-quality bales of uniform shape and density by efficiently managing crop material flow and storage, enhancing overall harvesting efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a deflection hydraulic actuator, operably connected to the controller and capable of rotating the deflection panel around the pivot point
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A
AI summary
The disclosure relates to a harvester (300) capable of continuous baling of crop material, particularly to a harvester comprising a crop supply chamber (200, 321) positioned in front of a bale chamber (340), capable of storing crop material during the wrapping of a bale of harvested crop material, and a deflection system (330), capable of allowing crop material to enter into the bale chamber. The crop supply chamber further comprises a supply inlet (203, 323) at the bottom of the crop supply chamber and a movable control surface (204, 324) positioned within the crop supply chamber.