Irrigation Tower Drive Nesting for Narrow Wheel Track
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing irrigation support towers have a wide wheel track that damages crops and contributes to rutting, with exposed components susceptible to theft, vandalism, and environmental damage.
Innovation Solution
A wheeled support tower with a tubular base beam housing drive shafts and centre drives, minimizing wheel track width by integrating drive components within the base beam, and using swivel brackets to reduce exposure and enhance security.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the centre drive, drive shafts and couplings are all located on one side of the base beam, then the machine can be assembled and operated, but the wheel track width increases which damages crops and contributes to rutting
Solution Approach 1:
The patent relocates the centre drive and drive shafts from a lateral arrangement (on one side of the base beam) to a vertical arrangement (within the tubular base beam structure). This dimensional change allows the drive components to be positioned without increasing the horizontal wheel track width, thereby eliminating crop damage while maintaining operational functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent nests the centre drive and drive shafts within the tubular base beam structure. The drive components are housed inside the hollow tubular sections of the base beam, similar to nested dolls, which eliminates the need for lateral space and reduces the overall wheel track width to minimal dimensions
2Device complexity
If the centre drive and drive shafts are exposed, then the machine structure remains simple, but the components become susceptible to theft, vandalism and environmental damage
Solution Approach 1:
The centre drive and drive shafts are nested within the tubular base beam, which serves as a protective housing. This nesting arrangement simultaneously provides structural integration and security protection, eliminating the need for separate protective enclosures while preventing theft and environmental damage to the components
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the protective housing function with the structural base beam itself. The tubular base beam serves dual purposes: providing structural support and housing the drive components for protection. This consolidation eliminates separate protective structures, maintaining simplicity while enhancing security and reliability
3Manufacturing precision
If the wheel box is mounted on a swivel bracket for toe-in adjustment, then the wheel tracks properly in a circular path, but the wheel can be easily set at incorrect angles and the machine becomes less stable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a swivel bracket that allows dynamic adjustment of the wheel box angle. The bracket enables precise toe-in adjustment for proper circular tracking while maintaining the ability to lock or secure the wheel at the correct angle, providing both adjustability and stability when properly configured
Solution Approach 2:
The swivel bracket allows change in the wheel box angular parameter to achieve proper toe-in for circular tracking. By adjusting this angular parameter precisely, the system achieves accurate wheel tracking while the ability to secure the adjusted position maintains machine stability during operation
Data Source
AI summary
A wheeled support tower for a travelling irrigation machine is provided. A tower frame includes at least two legs and a base beam interconnecting lower ends thereof and at least two wheels located towards two extremities of the base beam. The base beam that houses at least two drive shafts therein, and preferably the legs, are of a tubular construction. One or more center drives for rotating the drive shafts are also located within a housing forming part the base beam. The two legs and base beam may be arranged to form a generally triangular support tower. The drive shafts may be coupled to wheel boxes each of which houses a driving gear arrangement for an associated wheel hub. The wheel boxes are in a lower vertical position than the lower ends of the legs and fall at least partially within the width of the legs in plan view in the normal operative position thereof.