Residue Guide Plate Toggle Latching for Combine Harvesters
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manual operation of deflection doors in combine harvesters requires separate unlatching and latching for each door, which is cumbersome and prone to movement and vibration during operation, especially when processing crop residue.
Innovation Solution
Each door is supported on a pivot shaft with a crank arm and connected by a resilient element, such as a gas strut, allowing a toggle action to hold the doors firmly in stable positions and prevent vibration, with sensors to monitor and indicate door positions for operational safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If manual latching mechanisms are used for each door, then the device complexity is reduced, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to requiring separate unlatching and latching for each door
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the latching functions for both doors into a single integrated latching mechanism. When the operator moves one door, the latching mechanism automatically latches or unlatches both doors simultaneously through mechanical coupling, eliminating the need for separate manual latching operations for each door.
Solution Approach 2:
The latching mechanism is designed to automatically perform the latching and unlatching actions without requiring separate manual intervention for each door. The mechanical linkage system self-adjusts and self-latches based on the door positions, reducing the operator's workload.
2Device complexity
If simple manual handles are used for door operation, then the device complexity is reduced, but the reliability deteriorates due to door movement and vibration during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The latching mechanism is designed to engage the doors in their stable end positions before operation begins. The doors are pre-positioned and latched at the stable positions, ensuring they remain firmly held during the harvesting operation and preventing unwanted movement or vibration.
3Ease of operation
If separate latching mechanisms are used for each door, then the ease of operation is improved for independent door control, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the latching functions for both doors into a single integrated latching mechanism. When the operator moves one door, the latching mechanism automatically latches or unlatches both doors simultaneously through mechanical coupling, eliminating the need for separate manual latching operations for each door.
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 simplifies the latching process, ensuring doors remain stationary and stable in their positions, reducing operator intervention and preventing vibrations, while providing reliable sensor signals for operational alerts and safety measures.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient element connects the two crank arms to one another in such a manner that each door, independently of the position of the other door, is urged by the resilient element to remain in one of two stable end positions
Implementation Method 2
The damping effect of the gas strut will prevent the door from slamming into its new position after the over-centre position has been passed and will also assist in suppressing vibration of the doors
Data Source
Figure 1A~1C
Figure 2A~2C
AI summary
The invention is concerned with a combine harvester having a threshing mechanism for separating harvested crop into grain and crop residue and a guide mechanism for directing the flow of crop residue from the threshing mechanism along one of three paths, the guide mechanism comprising two deflection doors (94, 96) that can each take up one of two positions. Each of the doors of the guide mechanism is supported on a pivot shaft (94b, 96b) fitted with a crank arm (94c, 96c) and a resilient element (200) connects the two crank arms to one another in such a manner that each door, independently of the position of the other door, is urged by the resilient element to remain in one of two stable end positions and passes through an unstable over-centre position when moved from one stable end position to the other.