Mower Conditioner Free Water Control via Sensor Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for conditioning cut crops rely on manual, subjective assessments to determine the amount of free water, leading to suboptimal quality due to either over- or under-conditioning, which affects drying time and crop quality.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that uses sensors to measure the free water content in cut crop material and adjusts operating parameters of a mower conditioner, such as roller pressure and gap, automatically to optimize the free water content, leveraging electronic processing and communication to ensure objective and continuous assessment and adjustment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual subjective assessment is used to determine free water content, then the system is simple and easy to operate, but the manufacturing precision and reliability of free water control deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical assessment system with an automated sensor-based measurement system. Sensors objectively measure free water content in crop material, eliminating subjective human judgment. The electronic processing element automatically processes sensor data and controls conditioning mechanisms, substituting manual operation with automated electronic control to achieve precise free water content management.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service by automatically measuring free water content, processing the data, and adjusting conditioning parameters without requiring continuous manual intervention. The automated feedback loop allows the system to self-regulate the conditioning process based on real-time sensor measurements, improving precision while reducing operational complexity.
2Device complexity
If manual adjustment of conditioning mechanisms is used, then the device complexity is low, but the productivity and quality optimization deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback control system where sensors continuously measure free water content in the crop material, and the electronic processing element uses this feedback to automatically adjust conditioning mechanism parameters. This closed-loop feedback enables real-time optimization of the conditioning process, significantly improving productivity and quality by eliminating delays associated with manual assessment and adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by proactively measuring free water content before conditioning and automatically adjusting parameters in advance to achieve optimal conditioning outcomes. This prevents over-conditioning or under-conditioning by preparing the appropriate conditioning parameters based on real-time material moisture assessment.
3Manufacturing precision
If automated sensor-based control is implemented, then the manufacturing precision of free water content control improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex manual assessment and adjustment procedures with integrated sensor and electronic control systems. Although automated sensors and electronic processing elements add components, they eliminate the need for manual expertise and repeated adjustments, achieving net simplification while dramatically improving free water content control precision through objective measurement and automated regulation.
4Productivity
If automated adjustment of operating parameters is used, then the productivity and quality optimization improves, but the ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The automated system performs self-service by independently measuring free water content, processing data, and adjusting conditioning parameters without requiring operator intervention. This eliminates the need for operators to understand complex conditioning parameters or perform manual adjustments, actually improving ease of operation while maximizing productivity through continuous automated optimization.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and computer-implemented method for sensing an amount of free water in cut crop material and automatically adjusting an operating parameter of a mower conditioner to optimize the amount of free water. A sensor located at the exit of a conditioning mechanism measures an actual free water content value of the material as it exits the conditioning mechanism, a processor compares the actual value to maximum and minimum values, and if the actual value is outside this range, automatically adjusts an operating parameter, such as a gap between pairs of conditioning rollers, a pressure exerted by the rollers, or a speed of the mower conditioner, to optimize the actual value. Another sensor may be located at the entrance of the conditioning mechanism. The processor may take into account an operator-selectable value weighting the actual free water content versus a dry down time when adjusting the operating parameter.