Feed Rake Gearbox Switching for Stable Piston Press Torque
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing piston presses experience fluctuations in drive torque due to the need to tension a return spring during each gathering stroke movement, leading to strain on the drive motor and potential blockages that prevent the switch to the filling stroke movement.
Innovation Solution
A piston press design with a feed rake gearbox that includes a first and second gearbox output, allowing operation in multiple modes, including a gathering stroke movement and a filling stroke movement, with a clutch mechanism to selectively engage and disengage the second gearbox output, ensuring consistent drive power distribution and synchronized movements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a return spring is used to act on the control arm in the direction of the end stop, then the control arm can be fixed to the end stop after each gathering stroke movement, but the drive torque fluctuates greatly causing strain on the drive motor and potential blockages
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the return spring from the system entirely. Instead of using a spring to return the control arm to the end stop position, the invention uses a clutch mechanism that actively engages the second gearbox output to the first gearbox output, providing a positive mechanical connection that eliminates the need for spring tensioning and associated torque fluctuations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the elastic mechanical system (return spring) with a more rigid mechanical connection system (clutch engagement). The clutch mechanism provides a direct, stable mechanical link between the two gearbox outputs, eliminating the variable elastic forces introduced by the spring and resulting in stable drive torque.
2Ease of operation
If the feed rake is driven via a two-armed lever with a crank, then the feed rake can perform gathering stroke movement, but the drive torque fluctuates during the movement cycle
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a multi-functional gearbox output system where the first gearbox output can be selectively engaged or disengaged from the second gearbox output. This allows the same mechanical system to provide both gathering stroke movement (first output engaged) and filling stroke movement (second output engaged), with the clutch mechanism ensuring stable torque transmission in each mode.
3Productivity
If the second gearbox output is always engaged, then drive power is continuously distributed to both outputs, but this causes unnecessary complexity and potential interference with the gathering stroke movement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic engagement system where the clutch mechanism can selectively connect or disconnect the second gearbox output from the first gearbox output based on the operational mode. During gathering stroke movement, only the first output is engaged; during filling stroke movement, the second output is engaged. This dynamic control simplifies the system by engaging only the necessary outputs for each function.
Data Source
AI summary
A piston press. The piston press includes a press piston arranged or positioned movably between end positions in a pressing channel, a feed channel, a feed rake gearbox, and a feed rake. The feed rake may be moved driven in the feed channel via a first gearbox output of the feed rake gearbox in order to perform a gathering stroke movement in a first operating mode, which compresses the harvested material in the feed channel, and a filling stroke movement in a second operating mode, which may displace the harvested material from the feed channel into the pressing channel. The feed rake gearbox has a second gearbox output and may be switched to drive only the first gearbox output in one of the operating modes and to distribute drive power to both outputs in another of the operating modes.