Progressive Separator Vanes for Combine Harvester Threshing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Combine harvesters face challenges in reducing power consumption and crop loss during the threshing process, despite advancements in adjustable rotor vanes that control crop material speed through the threshing chamber.
Innovation Solution
A threshing and separating system with a movable vane system in the rotor cage, where vanes are adjustable between parallel and acute angled positions, progressively increasing the angle from the front to the rear of the threshing cage, optimizing crop flow and separation efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If adjustable pitch vanes are used to control crop material speed through the threshing chamber, then throughput is improved, but power consumption and crop loss increase
Solution Approach 1:
The vane pitch is made dynamically adjustable during operation, allowing the operator to optimize the balance between throughput and power consumption based on crop conditions. The vanes can be rotated to different pitch angles to control the speed at which crop material travels through the threshing chamber, enabling real-time adaptation to varying operational requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the pitch angle parameter of the vanes to control crop material flow characteristics. By adjusting the pitch angle, the system modifies the speed and flow pattern of crop material through the threshing chamber, thereby optimizing throughput while managing power consumption and crop loss.
2Productivity
If adjustable pitch vanes are used to control crop material speed through the threshing chamber, then throughput is improved, but crop loss increases
Solution Approach 1:
The dynamically adjustable vane pitch allows the operator to optimize the balance between throughput and crop loss based on crop conditions. By adjusting the pitch angles, the system controls the speed and residence time of crop material in the threshing chamber, preventing excessive speed that would cause grain to be thrown from the concave and reducing crop loss while maintaining high throughput.
3Productivity
If crop material travels quickly through the threshing chamber, then throughput is improved, but separation efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Different vanes are assigned different pitch angles to create localized flow control zones within the threshing chamber. This allows specific regions to optimize for either throughput or separation efficiency depending on the operational requirements, with forward vanes potentially having different pitch characteristics than rear vanes to manage crop material flow and separation at different stages of the threshing process.
Data Source
AI summary
A threshing and separating system for a combine harvester includes a threshing cage and a plurality of movable vanes mounted to the threshing cage. The threshing cage partially surrounds a threshing rotor. The plurality of movable vanes are moveable between a first position in which all of the vanes of the plurality of movable vanes are substantially parallel with one another and a second position in which an acute angle is defined between each pair of adjacent vanes of the plurality of movable vanes. The acute angles progressively increase in the rearward direction of the threshing cage such that the acute angle between adjacent vanes at a forward end of the threshing cage is less than the acute angle between adjacent vanes at a rearward end of the threshing cage.