Staggered Soil Shaping Disks for Residue Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Agricultural tillage implements face reduced performance due to residue buildup on ground engaging tools, which affects soil conditioning and moisture distribution, and spacing tools further apart can lead to soil valleys and increased compaction.
Innovation Solution
A staggered arrangement of ground engaging tools with uniform spacing between rows and non-uniform spacing of soil shaping disks to reduce residue buildup and improve soil uniformity, allowing for efficient tilling and moisture distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If ground engaging tools are positioned closer together, then soil conditioning ability is improved, but residue buildup on tools increases
Solution Approach 1:
The implement is divided into multiple rows of ground engaging tools (first row, second row, third row) with different spacing configurations. Each row segments the soil treatment function, allowing tools to work in a coordinated sequence that maintains close spacing for effective soil conditioning while the staggered row arrangement prevents residue from accumulating on all tools simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs asymmetric spacing where the first row has a first spacing pattern, the second row has a second spacing pattern, and the third row has a third spacing pattern. This asymmetric arrangement ensures that tools in different rows are not aligned, creating an offset pattern that reduces residue buildup while maintaining effective soil conditioning coverage.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If ground engaging tools are spaced further apart, then residue buildup is reduced, but large valleys form in the soil
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a single-row configuration to a multi-row three-dimensional arrangement. By adding the vertical/dimensional aspect of multiple rows spaced at different distances from each other, the system can use closer spacing in each row to prevent valleys while the overall row spacing manages residue accumulation, effectively solving the contradiction through dimensional expansion.
Solution Approach 2:
Different rows are assigned different spacing characteristics tailored to their specific functions. The first row may use closer spacing for primary soil engagement, while subsequent rows use adjusted spacing to fill valleys and redistribute soil, creating local variations in spacing that collectively achieve both uniform soil shape and reduced residue buildup.
3Device complexity
If uniform spacing is used between all tools, then implement structure is simplified, but moisture distribution becomes uneven
Solution Approach 1:
The patent deliberately introduces asymmetric spacing patterns across different rows to improve moisture distribution. By varying the spacing between rows and positioning tools at different offsets, the configuration creates overlapping soil treatment zones that ensure more uniform moisture distribution throughout the soil profile, accepting increased structural complexity for the benefit of improved soil composition stability.
Data Source
AI summary
In an embodiment, an agricultural implement includes at least a first row of ground engaging tools, each of the tools spaced a first distance apart from one another, and a second row of ground engaging tools disposed behind the first row of ground engaging tools, each of the second row of ground engaging tools spaced a second distance apart from one another. The implement also includes a row of soil shaping disks disposed behind the second row of ground engaging tools, wherein a spacing between each of the soil shaping disks is not uniform and corresponds to whether the spacing is behind the first row of ground engaging disks or behind the second row of ground engaging disks.