Planting Material Conveyor Elements for Precise Row Spacing

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing planting material dispensing devices, such as potato planters, suffer from significant scattering and improper spacing of planting material components, leading to inefficient use of soil and reduced crop growth.

Innovation Solution

The device incorporates conveying elements that are movable relative to the carrier element, allowing them to transition between first and second positions parallel to the deflection axis, ensuring precise placement of planting material components along the transverse direction.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conveying elements are arranged at lateral offset to ensure reliable pickup, then pickup reliability is improved, but placement precision deteriorates causing significant scattering

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepickup reliabilityVSAvoidplacement precision

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The conveying elements are made movable relative to the carrier element, allowing dynamic adjustment between pickup position (lateral offset) and dispensing position (aligned). This enables the system to optimize for both pickup reliability and placement precision at different stages of the conveying cycle.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The conveying cycle is segmented into distinct phases: pickup phase where elements are laterally offset for reliable material acquisition, and dispensing phase where elements are aligned for precise placement. This temporal and spatial segmentation allows optimization of each phase independently.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Device complexity

If conveying elements are fixed in position, then device complexity is reduced, but placement accuracy deteriorates leading to insufficient or excessive spacing

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveconveyor structure complexityVSAvoidcomponent spacing precision

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The conveying elements are made movable relative to the carrier element, allowing dynamic adjustment between pickup position (lateral offset) and dispensing position (aligned). This enables the system to optimize for both pickup reliability and placement precision at different stages of the conveying cycle.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The position parameter of the conveying elements is changed dynamically during operation. Elements transition from a laterally offset position during pickup to an aligned position during dispensing, optimizing both material acquisition and placement precision without requiring complex additional mechanisms.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Ease of operation

If conveying elements remain in first position throughout circulation, then ease of operation is improved, but crop yield deteriorates due to scattering and poor spacing

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveconveyor operation simplicityVSAvoidcrop yield

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The conveying elements are made movable relative to the carrier element, allowing dynamic adjustment between pickup position (lateral offset) and dispensing position (aligned). This enables the system to optimize for both pickup reliability and placement precision at different stages of the conveying cycle.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The conveying elements are preliminarily positioned at lateral offset during the pickup phase to ensure reliable material acquisition, then automatically transition to aligned position before the dispensing phase to ensure precise placement. This preliminary positioning strategy maximizes both pickup reliability and placement precision.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS12477974B2Device for separating planting material

Publication Date: 2025.11.25 GRIMME LANDMASCHINENFABRIK SE & CO KG

AI summary

A device comprising a hopper forming a storage space, and at least one conveyor device configured for placing a row of the planting material. The conveyor device comprises at least one carrier element rotating in operation in a direction of rotation and about a deflection axis, and a plurality of conveying elements arranged on the carrier element, which, in operation, each run through the storage space for receiving a planting material component being in a first position relative to the carrier element, and through a dispensing area for dispensing the planting material component. At least a first one of the conveying elements, particularly at least half of the conveying elements, is mounted so as to be movable relative to the carrier element from the first position into a second position at least proportionally parallel to the deflection axis.