Hydraulic Leveling for Multi-Wing Agricultural Implement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Multi-wing agricultural implements often experience uneven penetration depths due to wing sections becoming out-of-level during operations, requiring time-consuming adjustments to maintain even engagement with the ground.
Innovation Solution
A hydraulic leveling system with a central frame, inner-wing, and outer-wing sections, utilizing actuators and valve assemblies to adjust the orientation of outer-wing sections relative to inner-wing sections, ensuring level alignment through a folding valve and pressure regulating valve, controlled by a computing device for precise hydraulic fluid distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If wheel positions or ground engaging tools are manually adjusted to maintain level alignment, then ground engagement evenness is improved, but operation time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses sensors to automatically detect the orientation of wing sections and controls hydraulic actuators to maintain level alignment without manual intervention. The implement self-regulates its levelness through feedback from orientation sensors, eliminating the need for operators to manually adjust wheel positions or tool settings during field operations.
Solution Approach 2:
Orientation sensors continuously monitor the angle of wing sections relative to the ground, providing feedback signals to a control system. The controller processes this data and automatically adjusts hydraulic actuators to maintain desired level alignment, creating a closed-loop control system that responds in real-time to changes in terrain and load conditions.
2Manufacturing precision
If manual adjustments are made to maintain level alignment, then ground engagement evenness is improved, but the frequency and complexity of adjustments increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses sensors to automatically detect the orientation of wing sections and controls hydraulic actuators to maintain level alignment without manual intervention. The implement self-regulates its levelness through feedback from orientation sensors, eliminating the need for operators to manually adjust wheel positions or tool settings during field operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical adjustment operations with an automated hydraulic control system. Instead of operators physically adjusting wheel positions or tool settings, electronic sensors and hydraulic actuators automatically maintain level alignment, substituting complex manual mechanical operations with an integrated sensor-actuator control system.
3Device complexity
If outer-wing sections are allowed to drop under load, then structural simplicity is maintained, but penetration depth evenness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Orientation sensors continuously monitor the angle of wing sections relative to the ground, providing feedback signals to a control system. The controller processes this data and automatically adjusts hydraulic actuators to maintain desired level alignment, creating a closed-loop control system that responds in real-time to changes in terrain and load conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the orientation of outer-wing sections in response to changing load conditions during operation. Rather than being fixed or statically adjusted, the hydraulic actuators continuously modify wing section angles to maintain level alignment as loads vary, transforming a static structural problem into a dynamically controlled solution.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system automatically maintains the outer-wing sections at a desired orientation relative to the inner-wing sections, ensuring consistent ground engagement and reducing the need for frequent adjustments, thereby enhancing operational efficiency and reducing wear on tools and frame sections.
Implementation Method 1
A wide range of farm implements have been developed and are presently in use for tilling, planting, harvesting, and so forth. Tillers, for example, are commonly towed behind tractors
Implementation Method 2
the leveling valve is configured to allow the hydraulic fluid to be directed to the actuator at a selected leveling pressure less than the supply pressure to maintain the outer-wing section at a desired orientation relative to the inner-wing section
Data Source
AI summary
A system for hydraulically leveling a multi-wing agricultural implement having a pressure regulating valve and a folding valve fluidly coupled in parallel between a supply line, configured to provide a supply pressure of hydraulic fluid, and an actuator, configured to move an outer-wing section of the implement between a transport position and a fully-extended position. Specifically, when fluid is supplied to the actuator via the pressure regulating valve, only a portion of the supply pressure is allowed through the pressure regulating valve to the actuator such that the outer-wing section may pivot towards a position where the outer-wing section is substantially level with the inner-wing section. When hydraulic fluid is supplied to the actuator via the folding valve, the outer-wing section is actuated towards the transport position. When hydraulic fluid is supplied to the actuator via the leveling valve, the outer-wing section is leveled relative to the inner-wing section.