Round Baler Drop Floor Mechanism for Dual Chamber Blockage Clearance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern round balers with stop/start types face challenges in unblocking feeding rotors, as existing drop floor devices only clear blockages in one bale forming chamber, limiting the efficiency and reliability of crop feeding to both chambers.
Innovation Solution
A round baler with a drop floor device and crop deflector system that allows for adjustable feeding paths by rotating and pivoting, enabling the unblocking of both bale forming chambers through a multidimensional movement, ensuring continuous crop feeding and bale formation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a standard drop floor device is used to clear blockages, then the feeding path to one chamber is cleared, but the feeding path to the other chamber remains blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The drop floor device is divided into two independent drop floor sections, each capable of being lowered independently to clear blockages in different bale forming chambers. This segmentation allows the system to address blockages in either chamber or both chambers simultaneously, resolving the limitation of single-chamber coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The drop floor sections are made movable and independently controllable, allowing dynamic adjustment of the feeding path clearance based on which chamber experiences blockage. The system transitions from a static, single-position drop floor to a dynamic, multi-position system that adapts to different blockage scenarios.
2Reliability
If the drop floor device is lowered to increase feeding path volume, then blockage is cleared, but the feeding path size becomes too large for normal operation
Solution Approach 1:
The drop floor sections are designed to be movable between a raised position for normal operation and a lowered position for blockage clearance. This dynamic positioning allows the system to maintain optimal feeding path size during normal operation while providing sufficient volume when blockage occurs, resolving the contradiction between these two operational states.
Solution Approach 2:
The drop floor device operates periodically, transitioning between raised and lowered states based on operational needs. During normal operation, the drop floor remains raised; when blockage is detected or anticipated, it is lowered temporarily to clear the blockage, then raised again for continued normal operation.
3Reliability
If a single bale forming chamber is used, then the drop floor device can clear blockages effectively, but productivity is limited compared to multiple chambers
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the bale forming process into multiple independent chambers, each with its own drop floor section. This allows simultaneous operation of multiple chambers, increasing productivity, while maintaining the blockage clearance effectiveness of individual chambers through independent drop floor control.
Solution Approach 2:
The multi-chamber system with independent drop floor sections provides universal functionality, allowing the baler to process crop material through multiple parallel pathways, thereby increasing overall productivity while each chamber maintains the reliable blockage clearance capability of the traditional single-chamber design.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present disclosure refers to a round baler for forming a bale from a crop product, the baler comprising a first bale forming chamber provided with a first bale forming mechanism,a second bale forming chamber provided with a second bale forming mechanism, and a feeding mechanism, comprising a pickup device, a feeding rotor device, and a drop floor unit, and a feeding path provided between the pickup device and the first and second bale forming chamber,wherein the drop floor unit is comprising a drop floor device and a crop deflector device pivotably connected to the drop floor device, and wherein, for adjusting the size of the feeding path at least in a feeding path section adjacent to the drop floor device, the drop floor device is pivotable between a plurality of different positions in each of which the feeding path section is open for conveying the crop through the feeding path section. Further, a method for unblocking a feeding path in a round baler, is provided.