Forage Conveyor Control for Gap-Free Replenishing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing animal forage handling arrangements face challenges in efficient replenishing due to gaps forming between previously loaded and newly loaded forage on the conveyor, which complicates metered dispensing and requires manual reversal to align forage properly.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a control unit that uses sensors and timers to control the conveyor's movement, stopping it when a loading condition is met, allowing for efficient loading and reversing to prepare for new forage, and prioritizing conveyor movements to ensure timely and accurate loading without manual intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the conveyor is reversed manually to align forage when replenishing the buffer table, then the forage can be loaded without gaps, but this requires manual intervention and increases the time required for replenishing
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor system performs self-positioning by automatically reversing when sensors detect that forage needs to be replenished. The control system autonomously controls the conveyor to move in reverse direction to align the forage properly at the dispensing end, eliminating the need for manual reversal operations while maintaining proper forage alignment.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual mechanical operation of reversing the conveyor by the farmer is replaced with an automated control system using sensors and a control unit. The system detects the need for replenishment and automatically reverses the conveyor mechanism, substituting human mechanical intervention with an automated electromechanical system.
2Productivity
If the conveyor continues moving during forage replenishment, then continuous operation is maintained, but gaps form between previously loaded and newly loaded forage
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor operates in periodic cycles: moving forward to transport forage, then reversing when replenishment is needed. The control system detects when forage level drops below a threshold and triggers a reverse cycle, creating a periodic pattern of forward and reverse movements that maintains both continuous operation and proper forage alignment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses sensors to detect the forage level on the conveyor and provides feedback to the control unit. When the sensor detects that forage needs replenishment, the control unit receives this information and automatically initiates the reverse movement of the conveyor to prevent gaps, ensuring proper alignment before new forage is loaded.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of controlling an animal forage handling arrangement that includes a first forage dispensing arrangement having a first conveyor, a first separator adapted to separate and distribute forage, and a first dispensing end portion and a first loading end portion. The arrangement further includes a control unit, the control unit adapted to control a driving of the first conveyor and includes a first forage presence sensor arranged at the first loading end portion. The method includes starting the first conveyor to move an upper side of the first conveyor towards the first loading end portion, and, to prepare the first conveyor to be loaded with forage, stopping the first conveyor when a loading condition is fulfilled.