Pivoting Conveyor Lifting System for Sod Harvesting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current sod harvesting conveyor systems face issues with high maintenance costs and reduced productivity due to quick wear and tear of hydraulic actuators and slow lifting mechanisms, which affect the speed and efficiency of sod stacking.
Innovation Solution
A conveyor lifting system that maintains consistent tension and length by pivoting components to lift the conveyor's top surface towards the stacking head, using a combination of fixed and pivoting components, and optional springs or actuators to facilitate quick and stress-reduced lifting and lowering of slabs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If bump bed rails are raised and lowered quickly to lift slabs off the conveyor, then the slab removal speed increases, but the hydraulic linear actuator seals wear out quickly and fail
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting system transitions from a static conveyor to a dynamic one that can change its shape during operation. The conveyor support structure includes fixed components and pivoting components that allow the conveyor to dynamically adjust its configuration, lifting the top surface towards the stacking head while maintaining continuous support for the slabs.
Solution Approach 2:
The conveyor support structure is divided into multiple segments including fixed components and pivoting components. This segmentation allows different parts of the conveyor to move independently, with the pivoting components enabling localized lifting without requiring the entire conveyor to move or requiring high-speed actuation.
2Ease of operation
If the entire conveyor is lifted to the capture position, then the stacking operation can be performed, but the lifting operation is slow and requires slabs to be spaced far apart
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of lifting the entire conveyor uniformly, the system applies lifting locally only where needed. The pivoting components are positioned to lift the top surface of the conveyor at the capture position, allowing the stacking head to access slabs without requiring the entire conveyor to be elevated. This localized approach maintains productivity by allowing closer slab spacing.
3Speed
If large forces are applied to lift the conveyor quickly, then the lifting speed increases, but large actuators with high peak fluid flows are required which drop system pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The pivoting components are designed to pivot along an arc that utilizes gravity as a counterweight. As the conveyor is lifted, the pivoting components naturally follow a curved path that reduces the peak lifting force required, allowing smaller actuators to achieve the same lifting effect without requiring high peak fluid flows that would drop system pressure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the geometric parameters of the lifting path by using pivoting components that move along an arc rather than a straight vertical line. This parameter change in the lifting trajectory reduces the peak forces required during lifting, enabling the use of smaller actuators while maintaining lifting speed.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention extends to a lifting system for lifting a portion of a conveyor. The lifting system maintains the length of the conveyor while changing the shape of the conveyor to lift the top surface of the conveyor belt towards a stacking head. This design facilitates the quick lifting and lowering of slabs of sod while minimizing the stress on the sod harvesting machine.