Pivoting Implement Frame for Agricultural Transport
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing agricultural implements, such as planters, face limitations in transport configuration due to length restrictions, making it difficult to navigate public highways and pass under infrastructure like bridges, as they require significant length adjustments which can lead to operational inefficiencies and clearance issues.
Innovation Solution
Agricultural implement with a telescoping tongue and a lift and rotate mechanism, featuring a center toolbar and pivotally connected wings that can fold 180 degrees, allowing for increased width and length adjustments to accommodate more row units, enabling easier transportation and field operation while maintaining a compact profile for road travel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the planter width is increased to accommodate more row units, then the productivity increases, but the transport length increases making it difficult to navigate public highways
Solution Approach 1:
The planter is divided into a center toolbar and multiple pivotally connected wing sections (left and right wings, each potentially having inner and outer sections). This segmentation allows the wings to be independently folded relative to the center toolbar, enabling the planter to maintain a compact transport length while accommodating a large number of row units across increased width when deployed.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a single-dimension (length) constraint to a multi-dimensional solution by utilizing width expansion through pivotal wing sections. The wings can pivot between a deployed position (increasing width for productivity) and a folded position (reducing length for transport), effectively using spatial dimensionality to resolve the contradiction between productivity and transportability.
2Length of moving object
If the planter is designed to fold vertically to reduce width for transport, then the clearance under infrastructure is improved, but the wing length is limited by power lines and bridges
Solution Approach 1:
The wing sections are designed with pivotal connections that enable dynamic reconfiguration. The wings can pivot forward approximately 90 degrees or fold vertically, providing multiple transport configurations. This dynamic capability allows the planter to adapt to different clearance requirements while maintaining full wing length capability for productivity when deployed in the field.
Solution Approach 2:
By dividing the wing structure into multiple pivotally connected sections (center toolbar, left/right wings, inner/outer wing sections), the invention enables incremental folding that reduces vertical height without necessarily limiting the total wing length. Each segment can be independently positioned to achieve the required clearance while preserving the full row unit capacity.
3Length of moving object
If the planter uses forward folding scissor-like action to reduce width, then the transport width is reduced, but the wing length is limited by the telescoping tongue length
Solution Approach 1:
The pivotal connection system provides dynamic folding capability where wings can fold forward in a scissor-like action independent of tongue extension. This allows the full wing length to be utilized for productivity while achieving compact transport width through controlled pivotal movement, removing the constraint imposed by telescoping tongue length.
Solution Approach 2:
The wing sections are pre-configured with pivotal connections that enable forward folding action before transport. This preliminary structural arrangement allows the wings to be folded into a compact configuration that reduces transport width while maintaining the full extended length capability for field operation, independent of tongue length limitations.
Data Source
AI summary
A lift and rotate style agricultural implement with forward folding wings is provided. The agricultural implement includes a center frame that may be operatively configured to be lifted and rotated approximately 90 degrees when switching between a field configuration and a transport configuration. Furthermore, the wings may include an inner portion and an outer portion, wherein the outer portion may be operatively configured to be rotated or pivoted approximately 180 degrees relative to the inner wing portion when switching between a field configuration and a transport configuration. The inner and outer wing portions may be connected by a hinge and the outer wing may be pivoted about the inner wing portion by a cylinder.