Header Side Sections with Pivotal Arms for Uneven Terrain
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing header designs for agricultural machines, such as combine harvesters, suffer from low flexibility and increased load on the finger bar due to rigid connections, leading to inflexibility and increased bending and torsional forces, which result in uneven crop intake and inefficient operation on uneven terrain.
Innovation Solution
A header design featuring a flexible knife bar with supporting arms that pivot about two rotational axes, allowing for vertical and twisting motion, coupled with a conveying device like an endless belt, and a lever arrangement to adjust the header height, reducing load on the finger bar and improving ground contour tracking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the finger bar arrangement is rigidly attached to the supporting arms, then the structural connection is strong, but the flexibility is reduced and bending and torsional forces increase on the finger bar
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting arms are made pivotable about a horizontal axis, transforming the rigid connection into a dynamic one that can adapt to ground contours. This allows the finger bar to deflect vertically in response to terrain variations while maintaining structural integrity through the pivot mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The degree of freedom of the supporting arm is changed from fixed to pivotable, allowing the system to adapt to varying ground conditions. This parameter change enables the finger bar to undergo deflection motion while reducing bending and torsional forces through the pivot mechanism.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the supporting arms are rigidly arranged, then the structure is stable, but the finger bar cannot track ground contours effectively and steps form
Solution Approach 1:
The pivotable connection allows the supporting arms to dynamically adjust their position in response to ground contours. This dynamic capability enables the finger bar to track uneven terrain effectively, preventing step formation while maintaining structural stability through the pivot mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The header is divided into modular sections (middle section and side sections) with independent supporting arms. This segmentation allows each section to independently track ground contours, improving overall adaptability while maintaining structural stability through the distributed pivot connections.
3Device complexity
If only one degree of freedom is provided for the supporting arm, then the structure is simple, but the load on the finger bar increases due to bending and torsional forces
Solution Approach 1:
The pivotable connection introduces a degree of freedom that allows the supporting arms to move dynamically in response to ground contours. This dynamic motion reduces bending and torsional forces on the finger bar by allowing vertical deflection, while the pivot mechanism itself absorbs the mechanical stress.
Solution Approach 2:
The pivot connection acts as an intermediary element between the rigid frame and the finger bar. It mediates the forces by allowing controlled motion, reducing the transmission of bending and torsional forces to the finger bar while maintaining structural integrity.
Data Source
AI summary
A header for an agricultural machine includes a middle section disposed on a main frame and two side sections adjacent the middle section, a flexible knife bar extending across the width of the header and a conveying device behind the knife bar and designed at the side sections as an endless belt disposed adjacent to the middle section for transporting crop cut by the knife bar laterally. The side sections have supporting arms pivotably disposed on the main frame to support the knife bar of a side section and are rigidly connected to the knife bar. Each supporting arm is connected to the main frame permitting swivelling about a first rotational axis in the vertical direction and about a second rotational axis extending perpendicular to the first.