Offset Pickup Tines for Round Balers

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional round balers with wide pickups have a 'dead area' between the pickup tines and the rotor, leading to crop accumulation and plugging issues, especially with light crops, which is not adequately addressed by angling tines, resulting in manufacturing, inventory, and maintenance challenges.

Innovation Solution

The implementation of offset mounted pickup tines, where rotor tines are positioned on the leading edge and auger tines on the trailing edge of the tine bar, reducing the dead area by bringing the rotor tines closer to the rotor while maintaining clearance for the auger tines, using a common design for both types of tines to simplify manufacturing and maintenance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If pickup tines are angled rearward to reduce dead area, then crop transfer improves slightly, but manufacturing complexity increases due to requiring two different tine designs

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecrop transfer efficiencyVSAvoidtine design variety

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of angling the tines backward to reduce dead area, the patent inverts the approach by positioning all tines vertically (perpendicular to the tine bar) and using offset mounting to achieve the same effect. This simplifies the tine design while maintaining improved crop transfer efficiency.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent makes all pickup tines identical in design, allowing a single universal tine to serve both the function of reducing dead area and maintaining structural simplicity. This eliminates the need for different tine designs for different positions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Reliability

If rotor tines are positioned closer to the rotor to eliminate dead area, then crop accumulation reduces, but clearance requirements for auger tines become more difficult to meet

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveplug preventionVSAvoidtine clearance maintenance

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent resolves the clearance conflict by transitioning from a horizontal positioning problem to a vertical positioning solution. By mounting tines vertically on offset locations of the rotating tine bar, the design achieves both close rotor proximity and adequate auger clearance simultaneously in different spatial dimensions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

3Ease of manufacture

If conventional pickup tine configuration is used, then manufacturing is simpler, but dead area causes crop plugging especially with light crops

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetine manufacturingVSAvoidcrop flow continuity

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces asymmetry in the mounting positions of the tines on the rotating tine bar. The rotor tines are mounted at an offset location that positions them closer to the rotor during operation, creating an asymmetric configuration that eliminates dead area while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through standardized tine components.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #4Asymmetry

Data Source

PatentUS8096102B2Offset pickup tines to improve feeding pick up

Publication Date: 2012.01.17 BLUE LEAF I P INC

AI summary

An pickup comprising offset pickup tines for the feeding of balers or harvesters. The tines are mounted to a rotating tine bar and arranged such that a plurality of elongate tines are connected to the trailing edge of the tine bar at the end portions and a plurality of elongate spaced-apart rotor tines are connected to the leading edge of the tine bar at the central portion.