Multistage Impact Mill for Combine Harvester Residue Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current hammer mills and cage mills used for devitalizing weed seeds in crop residues have limitations in throughput capacity, energy efficiency, and integration into harvesters, while existing technologies fail to effectively handle fibrous materials and maintain consistent output size distribution under varying conditions.
Innovation Solution
A multistage hammer mill design with concentric milling stages, adjustable screen arrangements, and integrated sensors for monitoring and control, enabling efficient devitalization of weed seeds and processing of fibrous materials with improved throughput and energy efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a single-stage hammer mill is used for weed seed devitalization, then the device complexity is low, but the productivity and manufacturing precision are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The hammer mill is divided into multiple processing stages (primary impact zone with outer screen, secondary impact zone with inner screen) arranged concentrically. Each stage performs specific size reduction functions, allowing the system to handle larger throughput while maintaining consistent output particle size distribution through staged processing rather than single-stage overload.
Solution Approach 2:
The mill employs nested concentric screens where an inner screen is positioned within the outer screen structure. The inner screen processes material that passes through the outer screen, creating a nested processing arrangement that maximizes space utilization and enables multi-stage processing within a compact configuration, thereby increasing productivity without proportionally increasing device complexity.
2Manufacturing precision
If screen size is reduced to improve output particle size consistency, then the manufacturing precision improves, but the productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The screening function is segmented across multiple concentric screens with different aperture sizes. The outer screen has larger apertures that allow higher throughput while the inner screen has smaller apertures that ensure consistent fine particle size. Material progresses through stages, with each screen capturing particles of specific size ranges, thus achieving both high throughput and consistent output size distribution simultaneously.
3Force
If high impact speeds are used to improve weed seed devitalization effectiveness, then the destructive force increases, but the energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The impact process is segmented into multiple zones with progressively increasing impact forces. The outer screen zone provides initial impact at moderate speed, while the inner screen zone delivers higher impact forces to already-fragmented material. This staged approach ensures weed seeds receive sufficient devitalization force while avoiding the need to accelerate the entire rotor to excessively high speeds, thereby reducing overall energy consumption compared to single-stage high-speed impact.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the mill processes fibrous crop residue materials, then the versatility improves, but the reliability and manufacturing precision deteriorate due to material variability
Solution Approach 1:
The multi-stage screening system processes fibrous materials through sequential size reduction stages. Each screen is optimized for specific particle size ranges and can handle different material types. The concentric arrangement allows fibrous crop residues to be progressively broken down and classified, maintaining reliable and consistent operation across varying material conditions by distributing the processing load across multiple stages rather than overwhelming a single stage.
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 multistage hammer mill enhances throughput capacity, maintains consistent output size distribution, and effectively processes fibrous materials by utilizing adjustable screen arrangements and integrated sensors for real-time monitoring and control, improving the efficiency and integration into agricultural machinery.
Implementation Method 1
the impact mechanism located in the primary impact zone and arranged to impact material entering the primary impact zone and accelerate the impacted material in a radial outward direction
Implementation Method 2
Impact mills use high impact speeds generated by rotating elements to pulverise material
Data Source
AI summary
Described herein is a combine harvester having at least one impact mill for devitalising weed seeds in a crop while the crop is being harvested by the combine harvester and a power take off shaft. The impact mill of the combine harvester includes an inlet for material to enter the mill, an impact mechanism arranged to rotate about a rotation axis, an outlet for discharge of impacted material, a drive system coupled to the power take off shaft, one or more torque sensors, and a data processor arranged to process information provided by the one or more torque sensors wherein the data processor is programmed to calculate throughput of material processed by the impact mill. Also described herein is an impact mill system capable of mounting on a combine harvester for devitalising weed seeds in a harvested crop.