Oblique Flow Distributor for Even Crop Residue Spreading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current crop residue spreaders in agricultural combines often result in uneven distribution of straw and other residues across the field, leading to issues like clumping, uneven field warming, and habitat creation for pests, due to their inability to adjust for varying wind conditions, crop types, and moisture levels.
Innovation Solution
A crop residue flow distributor with a flow guide and adjusting mechanism that allows for oblique edge orientation and fore/aft movement, enabling precise control of residue distribution by altering the shape of the flow path beneath the spreader, ensuring even coverage across the field.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If a vertical spreader with rotary impellers is used to discharge crop residue sidewardly, then the residue can be propelled a distance equal to about one half the width of the combine header, but the coverage becomes uneven in the sideward direction with thicker residue toward outer regions and thinner residue near the center
Solution Approach 1:
The flow distributor divides the crop residue flow into multiple segments using separate flow guides for center portion residue and side portion residue. This segmentation allows independent control and optimization of residue distribution in different lateral zones, addressing the uneven coverage pattern by treating center and side regions separately.
Solution Approach 2:
The flow distributor implements local quality by providing different flow guide configurations for different lateral zones. The first flow guide handles center portion residue with specific angular orientation, while the second flow guide handles side portion residue with different orientation, optimizing residue distribution characteristics for each local region.
2Device complexity
If the spreader configuration is fixed, then the device structure is simple, but the spreader cannot adapt to varying wind conditions, crop types, moisture levels, and header widths
Solution Approach 1:
The flow distributor incorporates adjustable flow guides that can be positioned at different angular orientations relative to the combine header width. This dynamic adjustability allows the spreader to adapt to varying conditions including different header widths, wind patterns, and crop residue characteristics while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The flow distributor design provides multi-functionality by handling both center portion residue and side portion residue through a single integrated system with adjustable flow guides. The same basic flow guide structure can be adjusted to accommodate different crop types, moisture levels, and environmental conditions, making the system universally applicable across varying operational scenarios.
3Device complexity
If the flow guide edges are oriented perpendicular to the impeller rotation axis, then the flow path is simple, but the oblique shaped space beneath the discharge opening cannot effectively control the second portion of residue flow for even distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The flow guide edges are oriented at oblique angles relative to the impeller rotation axis rather than perpendicular, creating asymmetric flow paths. This asymmetry generates the oblique shaped space beneath the discharge opening that effectively controls and directs the second portion of residue flow, improving distribution precision while maintaining reasonable flow path complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An adjustable flow distributor for a spreader of an agricultural combine operable for discharging a flow of straw and other crop residue in a sideward direction for deposition over a field, the flow distributor including an edge portion oriented at an oblique angle to a reference such as a back plate of the spreader, defining an oblique shaped space therebetween, the edge portion being pivotally adjustable in the fore and aft direction for controlling the portions of the flow of crop residue deposited beneath the spreader and discharged sidewardly therefrom, respectively, for instance, so as to better and more evenly distribute the crop residue over a swath of an agricultural field from which the crop was harvested, particularly a region of the swath in proximity to the spreader and/or chopper.