Flexible Harvesting Container for Continuous Unloading
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current crop harvesting methods do not allow for continuous operation of combine harvesters due to the need for waiting for trucks and equipment to arrive for off-loading, limited storage capacity, and interruptions during unloading, which reduces efficiency and increases costs.
Innovation Solution
A system using a continuously constructed flexible container, such as a plastic sheet, for in-field storage and traceability of harvested products, allowing continuous collection and sealing of products with minimal interruption, and equipped with traceability devices like RFID tags for tracking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional harvesting methods with trucks and off-loading equipment are used, then harvested product can be transported and stored, but the combine must wait for equipment arrival and unloading interruptions reduce efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the storage function from traditional truck-based systems and integrates it directly into the combine harvester through an internal storage bin. This allows the combine to continue harvesting without waiting for external equipment, eliminating waiting time and improving productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary storage bin as a buffer between the harvesting mechanism and external transport. This intermediary allows continuous harvesting operations while decoupling the combine from dependency on truck arrival schedules, resolving the time loss contradiction.
2Productivity
If the combine carries larger onboard storage to reduce trips, then unloading frequency decreases, but the combine's mobility and field access are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a flexible, collapsible storage bin that can be compressed during unloading operations. This flexible structure provides large storage capacity when needed while maintaining a compact profile during transport, resolving the contradiction between storage size and mobility.
Solution Approach 2:
The storage bin is designed to dynamically change its volume - expanding during harvesting to maximize storage capacity and compressing during unloading to minimize space occupation. This dynamic adaptation allows the combine to optimize between productivity and mobility at different operational phases.
3Productivity
If continuous harvesting is implemented without interruption, then productivity increases, but product storage capacity and management become limited
Solution Approach 1:
The storage bin is segmented into multiple compartments or zones that can be independently managed and emptied. This segmentation allows the combine to continue harvesting into full compartments while others are being unloaded, enabling continuous operation and effectively increasing total storage capacity management.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary unloading actions in advance by partially emptying the storage bin before it reaches full capacity. This preliminary action prevents complete filling, maintaining headroom for continuous harvesting operations and avoiding interruptions caused by full storage conditions.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A system for collecting a harvested product includes a continuously constructed flexible container (102) for collecting the harvested product. A sealing device (304) is coupled to the continuously constructed flexible container (102) to allow the container to be sealed in discrete increments. Further, the system includes a traceability device (102) operationally coupled to each of the discrete increments of the continuously flexible container (102) to allow the harvested product included within each increment to be tracked. The continuously constructed flexible container (102) is dispensed from a harvesting machine (404) onto a field when the harvesting machine (404) is moving in a generally forward direction, thereby providing for in-field storage of the harvested product.