Silage Agent Dosing via Knock Sensor Synchronization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing silage harvester technologies face challenges in accurately dosing silage agents during the harvesting of dried grass, leading to inefficient compression and uneven distribution, resulting in suboptimal silage quality and excessive agent wastage.
Innovation Solution
A silage agent dosing system utilizing a knock sensor and bandpass filter to synchronize the dispensing of silage agent with the chopping process, ensuring precise timing and uniform distribution by injecting the agent into the material stream only when the grass is chopped short, thereby minimizing wastage and improving compression.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a simple can-based silage agent dispensing system is used, then the device complexity is low, but the dosing precision and distribution uniformity deteriorate when harvesting dried grass
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the simple mechanical can-based dispensing system with an electronically controlled pump system. The pump is controlled by a control unit that receives signals from sensors detecting the chopping process, enabling precise timing and dosage control. This substitution of mechanical systems with electronically controlled systems resolves the contradiction by providing high dosing precision while maintaining reasonable device complexity through automated control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback control system where sensors detect the chopping process (such as vibrations or material flow) and send signals to the control unit, which then adjusts the pump operation accordingly. This feedback mechanism ensures that silage agent is dispensed at the correct moment and in the correct amount, achieving high dosing precision and distribution uniformity while the control system manages the complexity automatically.
2Quantity of substance
If silage agent is dispensed early to ensure coverage, then the distribution coverage is improved, but the agent wastage increases due to blowout through exhaust pipe
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses sensors to detect the chopping process in advance and triggers the dispensing system to prepare for agent release. The system performs preliminary detection of material flow and timing, then activates the pump at the optimal moment just before or as the material reaches the injection point. This preliminary action ensures complete coverage without premature dispensing that would cause wastage through the exhaust pipe.
Solution Approach 2:
The feedback control system continuously monitors the chopping process and material flow, adjusting the dispensing timing in real-time. This ensures the silage agent is released at the precise moment when material is present to receive it, achieving full coverage while preventing agent blowout and wastage through the exhaust pipe.
3Manufacturing precision
If pump type silage dispensers with high pressure injection are used, then the dosing precision is improved, but the device complexity and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs an electronically controlled pump system that can be precisely regulated through electronic control. This allows high dosing precision to be achieved while the complexity is managed through automated electronic control rather than complex mechanical linkages. The electronic control system can precisely regulate pump operation, pressure, and timing without requiring complex mechanical adjustment mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a controllable pump system where dosing parameters such as pressure, flow rate, and timing can be dynamically adjusted through electronic control. This allows the system to achieve high dosing precision by changing operational parameters rather than through complex mechanical design, and enables adaptation to different harvesting conditions without increasing structural complexity.
4Quantity of substance
If continuous dispensing of silage agent is performed, then the distribution coverage is improved, but the agent wastage and environmental harm increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic or intermittent dispensing of silage agent based on detected chopping cycles and material flow. The pump operates in synchronized pulses corresponding to the chopping rhythm rather than continuously, releasing agent only when material is present. This periodic action ensures complete distribution coverage while preventing agent blowout and environmental harm during periods when no material is being processed.
Solution Approach 2:
The feedback control system monitors material flow and chopping activity in real-time, activating the dispensing system only when material is detected and deactivating it when material flow stops. This feedback-based on-demand dispensing ensures complete coverage of all processed material while eliminating continuous dispensing that would cause agent wastage and environmental harm.
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 effectively reduces silage agent wastage, enhances silage quality by ensuring even distribution, and creates a safer working environment by eliminating airborne agent fumes, while also optimizing agent consumption and operational efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
A knock sensor arranged to sense vibrations, which occur when the blades process the straw-shaped crop against the counter-blade, is mounted for the counter-blade or for its attachment
Implementation Method 2
The chopping unit also comprises a turbo unit which blows the finely chopped material through a high exhaust pipe
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
An arrangement and method for dosing silage agent of a harvester (1) for straw-shaped crop used mainly in agriculture equipped with a collecting unit (6) for collecting straw-shaped crop such as dried grass in strands (9) and a chopping rotor (41) equipped with blades (42) which together with a counter-blade (40) cut the straw-shaped crop (9) short and with a silage agent dispenser and an operating unit and where a knock sensor (99) detects the vibrations which occur when the blades (42) cut the straw-shaped crop against the counter-blade (40) and that this information is used by the operating unit to start the silage agent dispenser (100) when the chopping knives begin to disintegrate the crop.