Single Top Beam Folding Corn Head Mainframe Design
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional folding corn head mainframes face issues such as warping and distortion due to high heat during welding, requiring additional machining, high stress concentrations, and impeded visibility due to wide and heavy dual beams, as well as crop debris accumulation.
Innovation Solution
A folding corn header mainframe with a single center top beam and lower profile wing portions, reducing width and weight, improving visibility, and simplifying manufacturing by minimizing welding and machining, while using compact hinge assemblies to reduce stress and debris accumulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If dual top beam mainframe structure with plate and bushing weld fabrication is used, then structural strength is improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase due to high heat warping requiring additional machining operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the mainframe into modular components: a center portion with center top beam and wing portions with lateral top beams, connected through hinge assemblies. This segmentation allows independent fabrication of components with fewer critical welds, reducing warping issues and machining requirements while maintaining structural strength through the hinge connections.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a rigid dual top beam structure that requires extensive welding and machining to maintain tolerance, the patent inverts the approach by using a single center top beam with pivotally attached wing portions. This allows the structure to accommodate thermal distortion through controlled pivoting motion rather than requiring precise welded tolerances.
2Stability of the object's composition
If dual top beam mainframe structure is used, then structural stability is improved, but visibility is impeded due to large width and weight
Solution Approach 1:
The mainframe is segmented into a center portion and wing portions that can pivot independently. The wing portions with lateral top beams positioned forward and lower than the center top beam reduce the overall width and fore-aft footprint, improving operator visibility to the road and field while maintaining structural stability through the hinge connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent repositions the lateral top beams of the wing portions to be both forward and lower than the center top beam, utilizing three-dimensional spatial arrangement. This dimensional change reduces the horizontal width and weight profile impeding visibility while maintaining vertical structural support and stability.
3Strength
If plate and bushing weld fabrication is used, then joint strength is improved, but stress concentration increases in highly loaded areas
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge assembly is segmented into multiple components: hinge body, hinge pin, and retaining members. This segmentation distributes the high loads and stress concentrations across multiple connection points and structural elements rather than concentrating them at a single welded joint, reducing stress concentration while maintaining joint strength.
4Strength
If dual top beam configuration is used, then structural rigidity is improved, but manufacturing time and cost increase due to additional machining operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the mainframe into a center portion and wing portions that can be fabricated separately with fewer critical welds and no post-weld machining. The hinge assemblies serve as pre-fabricated connection components, allowing parallel manufacturing of modules that are quickly assembled, significantly reducing total manufacturing time while maintaining structural rigidity through the hinge connections.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A header for a harvester includes a hinge assembly, a center portion having a single center top beam that spans laterally relative to a longitudinal centerline of the header, and a wing portion having a single lateral top beam that is arranged forward of and lower than the single center top beam. The wing portion is attached to the center portion by the hinge assembly wherein the wing portion is pivotable between an unfolded position wherein the wing portion extends laterally away from the longitudinal centerline and a folded position wherein the lateral top beam nests forward of and below the center top beam. A cradle member may be attached to the center portion, the cradle portion receives the lateral top beam when the wing portion is in the folded position. The hinge assembly positions the lateral top beam forward of and below the center top beam in folded and unfolded positions.