Harvester Header Safety Device for Road Transport
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing protective devices for agricultural machine attachments are time-consuming to assemble, disassemble, and transport, especially when transitioning between harvesting and road transport operations, and often require manual handling and storage, which can be cumbersome and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
An agricultural machine attachment with a safety device that is adjustable from a field operating position to a safety position, where it projects in front of the cutting, guiding, and conveying elements during transport, allowing road users to safely support themselves without touching the hazardous components, and is automatically triggered during transitions between harvesting and transport modes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If protective devices are mounted on an external chassis for transporting the attachment, then road user safety is improved, but the time required for assembling and disassembling the protective device increases
Solution Approach 1:
The safety device is merged with the attachment body itself, forming an integrated structure where the safety device is a permanent part of the attachment. This eliminates the need for separate mounting and dismounting operations, reducing time loss while maintaining safety functionality during road transport.
Solution Approach 2:
The safety device is designed to be dynamically positionable relative to the attachment body, allowing it to be moved between a retracted position during field operations and an extended protective position during road transport. This dynamic capability maintains safety while minimizing interference with harvesting operations.
2Reliability
If the safety device is positioned in front of the cutting, guiding, and conveying element during field operations, then road user safety is improved, but the intake of the crop is impeded
Solution Approach 1:
The safety device is designed with dynamic positioning capability, allowing it to be retracted or positioned behind the cutting elements during field operations to avoid impeding crop intake, and extended or positioned in front during road transport to protect road users. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between safety and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The safety device is segmented into movable sections that can be independently positioned relative to the attachment body, allowing optimal placement during different operational modes (harvesting vs. transport) to simultaneously maintain safety and productivity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the safety device is manually assembled and disassembled, then adaptability to different operational modes is improved, but the complexity of handling the protective device increases
Solution Approach 1:
The safety device incorporates automatic or semi-automatic positioning mechanisms that respond to operational mode changes, reducing the need for manual assembly and disassembly operations. This maintains adaptability while significantly reducing handling complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The attachment system includes self-positioning features where the safety device automatically moves to appropriate positions based on operational conditions, eliminating or minimizing manual intervention and reducing handling complexity while maintaining operational adaptability.
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a header for harvesting stemmy crops, comprising at least one cutting, guiding, and/or conveying element for cutting, guiding, and/or conveying the crop. This element projects beyond the header body at a front face located in the direction of travel. A safety device is arranged on the header for the protection of road users during road transport of the header. This safety device is adjustable from a field operating position to a safety position in which it is positioned in front of the cutting, guiding, and/or conveying element in the direction of travel. The present invention further relates to an agricultural machine with such a header. The present invention further relates to a method for transferring such a header from a harvesting operation configuration to a road transport configuration or vice versa.