Pick-Up Attachment Tilting Rotor for Central Raking Height Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pick-up attachments for harvesting machines require manual and decentralized adjustment of the raking height, which is time-consuming and often not performed frequently enough, leading to reduced crop yield, increased contamination, and machine wear due to improper raking height settings.
Innovation Solution
A pick-up attachment with a tiltable pick-up rotor connected to guide elements that can be adjusted centrally from the driver's cabin, using actuators to change the raking height based on ground conditions, ensuring optimal crop pickup without manual intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual decentralized adjustment of guide elements is used, then raking height can be adjusted, but adjustment time increases and operational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple guide elements (first and second guide elements on both left and right sides) into a unified adjustment system controlled by a single actuator. This merging allows centralized control where adjusting one guide element automatically adjusts all others, eliminating the need for manual decentralized adjustment of each element separately, thus reducing adjustment time and operational complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical adjustment mechanisms with an automated actuator system. The actuator uses electrical or hydraulic actuation instead of manual mechanical operation, enabling remote control from the driver's cabin and eliminating the need for the operator to physically access and adjust each guide element manually, thereby reducing adjustment time and improving ease of operation
2Productivity
If raking height is not adjusted frequently, then operation is simpler, but crop contamination increases and yield decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates sensors that continuously monitor ground conditions and raking height, providing feedback to the control system. This feedback mechanism enables automatic adjustment of the guide elements based on real-time conditions such as ground contours, crop height, and terrain variations, ensuring optimal raking height is maintained without requiring manual intervention, thus preventing crop contamination and yield losses while reducing adjustment frequency
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-adjustment through the actuator and sensor integration. The pick-up attachment automatically monitors its own operating conditions and adjusts itself without external manual intervention. The actuator responds to sensor inputs to maintain optimal raking height autonomously, eliminating the need for frequent manual adjustments and ensuring continuous optimal performance for maximizing crop yield
3Adaptability or versatility
If decentralized adjustment of guide elements is used, then each element can be independently adjusted, but operator stress increases and handling complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the adjustment control of multiple guide elements into a single centralized control mechanism. The actuator controls all guide elements simultaneously through a unified system, eliminating the need for the operator to independently adjust each element. This consolidation maintains adjustment flexibility for adapting to different ground conditions while significantly reducing operator stress and handling complexity by providing single-point control
Data Source
AI summary
A pick-up attachment for a harvesting machine, preferably for a field chopper, includes a pick-up rotor having pick-up tools for picking crop up from the ground. The pick-up rotor is connected to at least one guide element that rests on the ground and takes on the guidance of the pick-up rotor and guides it to the ground. The pick-up attachment can be tilted toward the ground and away from the ground by an angle that can be predetermined, about an axis of rotation transverse to the direction of travel, so as to set the raking height, in such a manner that the contact point of at least one guide element shifts during tilting, and thereby the position of at least one region of the pick-up rotor and thus the distance of at least one pick-up tool situated in this region or of the raking point from the ground changes.