Agricultural Spreader Sensor Vibration Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Agricultural spreading devices face issues with spreading fan sensors becoming dirty and incrustated, leading to inaccurate readings and reduced functionality, especially under unfavorable conditions, requiring frequent manual cleaning.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a vibration exciter to clean the spreading fan sensors independently of contamination, along with heating the sensors to prevent moisture-induced issues, ensuring reliable operation without manual cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If spreading fan sensors are used to monitor material distribution, then measurement precision is improved, but the sensors become contaminated and require frequent cleaning
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a vibration exciter that generates mechanical vibrations to clean the sensor surface of contaminations and encrustations. The vibration exciter is coupled to the sensor housing and produces vibrations in a frequency range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz, effectively removing dirt and maintaining measurement accuracy without manual intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor system performs self-cleaning through the integrated vibration exciter, eliminating the need for external manual cleaning operations. The system automatically removes its own contaminations during operation, making the sensor maintenance-free and improving ease of operation while preserving measurement precision.
2Reliability
If cleaning units are added to remove sensor contamination, then sensor reliability is improved, but the cleaning units themselves become dirty and malfunction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the cleaning function from complex mechanical cleaning units (brushes, wipers, nozzles) and implements it through a simplified vibration exciter. This vibration-based approach eliminates the complex mechanics of traditional cleaning units while achieving effective contamination removal, thereby improving reliability without adding device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical cleaning systems (brushes, wipers, pneumatic nozzles) with a vibration-based cleaning system. The vibration exciter uses oscillatory mechanical energy to remove contaminations without requiring complex mechanical structures, fluid systems, or moving parts, thus simplifying the overall device while maintaining sensor reliability.
3Measurement precision
If manual cleaning is performed regularly, then measurement precision is maintained, but productivity is reduced due to operational interruptions
Solution Approach 1:
The vibration exciter operates continuously or periodically during spreading operations to maintain sensor cleanliness without interrupting the spreading process. This ensures continuous measurement precision while eliminating productivity losses associated with manual cleaning interruptions, as the cleaning function is integrated into the normal operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor system automatically cleans itself through the vibration exciter during operation, eliminating the need for manual intervention and operational interruptions. This self-maintaining capability preserves measurement precision continuously while maximizing productivity by keeping the spreading operation uninterrupted.
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 vibration exciter effectively removes dirt and incrustations, while heating ensures the sensors remain dry, maintaining accurate readings and extending operational readiness without the need for frequent manual cleaning.
Implementation Method 1
the sensor is at least partially subjected to a vibration exciter in order to ensure operation of the sensor independent of contamination and/or deposits
Implementation Method 2
the sensor is at least partially subjected to a heating medium in order to ensure operation of the sensor independent of contamination and/or deposits
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5a~5b
AI summary
The disclosure relates to a method for spreading material with an agricultural spreader (1), which has at least one spreading element (2) for generating a spreading fan (F) and at least one spreading fan sensor (3) for monitoring the distribution of the spreading material within the spreading fan (F), wherein the spreading fan sensor (3) is at least partially subjected to a vibration exciter (9) to ensure sensor operation independent of contamination and/or deposits. Further subject matter of the disclosure relates to a spreader (1) and a spreading fan sensor (3).