Pneumatic Element with Rigid Base for Self-Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Agricultural tools with pneumatic elements, such as tires and rollers, face clogging issues when working in sticky conditions, leading to reduced performance and premature wear, and require a balance between deformation for soil loosening and rigidity to withstand operational forces.
Innovation Solution
A pneumatic element comprising an uninflated tire with a tread and sidewalls connected to a rigid, annular base, where the tire is made of flexible material for deformation and self-cleaning capabilities, and the base is made of a rigid material for stability, ensuring good circumferential rigidity and surface flexibility, with the tire overmolded onto the base for cohesion and reduced adhesion to sludge.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the tire is made more flexible to increase deformation capacity for self-cleaning, then the tire can loosen mud and clean itself better, but the tire loses rigidity needed to withstand operational forces and shocks
Solution Approach 1:
The pneumatic element is divided into two distinct parts: a flexible tire portion and a rigid base portion. This segmentation allows each part to have optimized properties - the tire can deform freely for self-cleaning while the base provides structural rigidity to withstand operational forces.
Solution Approach 2:
The pneumatic element combines materials with different mechanical properties - a flexible elastomeric material for the tire and a rigid material for the base. This composite construction resolves the contradiction by allowing each material to perform its optimal function without compromising the other.
2Strength
If additional reinforcing parts are added to increase rigidity, then the element can withstand forces and shocks better, but the manufacturing cost increases and replacement becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The base and tire are merged into a single integrated pneumatic element where the tire is mounted directly on the rigid base. This eliminates the need for separate reinforcing parts and simplifies manufacturing, while still providing the necessary rigidity through the base structure.
Solution Approach 2:
By combining rigid base material with flexible tire material in a single integrated component, the design achieves necessary strength without requiring additional reinforcing parts, thereby reducing manufacturing complexity and cost.
3Strength
If the tire is made more rigid to withstand operational forces, then the element can resist shocks and forces better, but the tire loses ability to deform and clean itself
Solution Approach 1:
Dividing the pneumatic element into flexible tire and rigid base segments allows the tire to maintain high deformability for self-cleaning while the base provides the structural rigidity needed to withstand operational forces, resolving the contradiction between these two requirements.
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional single-piece construction is used, then manufacturing is simpler, but the element is heavier and less efficient at self-cleaning
Solution Approach 1:
The design segments the pneumatic element into tire and base portions that can be manufactured separately and then assembled by mounting the tire on the base. This maintains manufacturing simplicity while enabling the tire to be optimized for self-cleaning through appropriate material selection and geometric design.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides effective self-cleaning and improved operational performance by maintaining tool integrity and resistance to shocks, while being lighter and less expensive to manufacture than conventional designs.
Implementation Method 1
increasing the capacity of tires to deform to encourage the separation of soil or sludge... the tire to collapse on itself during operation, thus loosening the mud which has accumulated on this tire
Implementation Method 2
The material of the base can in particular be chosen from materials that are not very sensitive to the adhesion of sludge or treated for this purpose
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
An agricultural implement component (3) comprises an uninflated tire (9) with a tread (9-1) and a pair of sidewalls (9-2), each connected to the tread (9-1) at a first end portion. The component (3) further comprises a rigid base (7), generally annular, through which the tire (9, 103) is mounted on a rotating support (2, 101) of the agricultural implement. The sidewalls (9-2) are each overmolded onto a peripheral portion of the rigid base (7, 107) at a second end portion, opposite the tread (9-1).