Farm Machine Safety Device Automatic Power Interruption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Farm machines, such as straw balers, often experience jamming due to material accumulation, leading to dangerous situations when operators attempt to clear jams without stopping the machine, as existing safety devices require manual intervention and do not automatically prevent power transmission restart.
Innovation Solution
A safety device with an automatic apparatus that detects rotation rate differences between the working shaft and drive unit, triggering a movable actuation element to interrupt power transmission after a preset delay, ensuring safe operation and preventing sudden restarts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the operator manually operates the retention element to interrupt power transmission, then safety is improved, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The safety device automatically detects jamming conditions through rotation rate sensors and autonomously actuates the movable retention element to interrupt power transmission, eliminating the need for manual operator intervention while maintaining safety
Solution Approach 2:
The manual mechanical operation of the retention element is replaced by an automatic control system that uses rotation rate detection and electronic control to actuate the retention element, substituting mechanical manual operation with an automated control mechanism
2Ease of manufacture
If the safety device requires manual intervention, then ease of manufacture is improved, but productivity and time consumption worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically detects and responds to jamming conditions without requiring operator intervention, allowing the machine to clear jams autonomously and resume operation, thereby maintaining productivity while keeping the manufacturing complexity manageable
3Loss of time
If the operator waits for automatic jam clearing, then time is saved, but safety deteriorates if the drive unit remains active
Solution Approach 1:
The movable retention element is automatically actuated to interrupt power transmission immediately upon detecting a jamming condition, before the operator needs to intervene, thereby preventing dangerous restarts and ensuring safety while allowing time for safe jam clearance
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors rotation rates of both shafts and uses this feedback to automatically detect jamming conditions and trigger the safety mechanism, creating a closed-loop control system that responds dynamically to operational conditions
Data Source
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AI summary
A safety device for farm machines provided with an apparatus (3) for treating materials of the type of agricultural products, equipped with at least one rotating working shaft (4) which faces the ground and is proximate thereto and is provided with means (5) for treating the materials. The device (1) comprises at least one movable element for actuating the interruption of the transmission of power from a drive unit of the working shaft (4) to the working shaft (4) itself; the actuation element is movable from a passive configuration, for free power transmission, to an active configuration, for interruption of power transmission, and vice versa. The safety device comprises an automatic apparatus for the timed actuation of the transition of the actuation element from the passive configuration to the active configuration. The automatic apparatus comprises at least first means for detecting the rotation rate of the working shaft (4) and second means for detecting the rotation rate of a driving shaft, comprised in the drive unit. The detection means are controlled by an electronic unit for the control and actuation of a mechanism (21) for the movement of the actuation element and the electronic unit is provided with a module for comparing the rotation rates for the timed sending, after a preset delay time monitored by a respective timer, of the command for transition of the movable element from the passive configuration to the active configuration, following the detection of a variation between the rates that exceeds a preset reference parameter, which represents a jamming of the working shaft (4). The delay time is shorter than the time estimated for manual intervention by an operator to remove the jam.