Steerable Rear Axle for Agricultural Harvester Transport
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Agricultural harvesters face challenges in achieving a wider body configuration while maintaining adequate steering clearance, as existing solutions either provide limited additional space or reduce the harvester's productivity by using smaller wheels or reducing weight.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a rear axle arrangement with steerable wheels that can be simultaneously extended or retracted under computer control, using various actuators and sensors to optimize wheel positioning for minimal interference with the harvester body, allowing for greater width and productivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the harvester body is made wider to increase productivity, then the productive equipment space is improved, but the wheel steering clearance deteriorates causing wheel interference with the side of the vehicle
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the wheel position adjustable rather than fixed. The wheels can be dynamically repositioned along the longitudinal axis of the harvester body using actuators (hydraulic cylinders or electric motors). During field operations, wheels are positioned outward to maximize steering clearance and avoid interference with the widened body. During road transport, wheels are retracted inward to minimize the overall width and comply with legal limits, thus resolving the contradiction between wide body for productivity and sufficient clearance for steering.
2Ease of operation
If smaller wheels are used to provide steering clearance, then the wheel interference with side of vehicle is reduced, but the harvester weight and production capacity are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using smaller wheels that would permanently reduce weight and capacity, the patent employs larger wheels that can be dynamically repositioned. The wheels are mounted on adjustable axles that allow them to be moved inward during transport and outward during field operations. This dynamic positioning system enables the use of larger, higher-capacity wheels without compromising steering clearance when needed, thus avoiding the weight and capacity reduction that would result from permanently smaller wheels.
3Device complexity
If fixed wheel position is used to simplify the structure, then the device complexity is reduced, but the ability to optimize for both road transport and field operations deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamic adjustability to the axle arrangement, allowing wheel positions to be changed between field operations and road transport modes. This is achieved through actuators (hydraulic cylinders or electric motors) that move the wheels along the longitudinal axis. The system includes sensors to detect wheel position and control units to manage the adjustment process. While this increases structural complexity compared to a fixed arrangement, it provides the versatility to optimize for both wide-body field operations and narrow-profile road transport, directly addressing the contradiction between simplicity and adaptability.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4
AI summary
An agricultural harvester rear axle arrangement for an agricultural harvester (10) having a body (12), the arrangement comprising left and right rear wheels (18, 20); means for supporting the wheels for rotation about a generally vertical steering axis (38, 40, 78, 94) and for supporting the wheels for extension and retraction from the body of the combine (26, 28, 30, 90); actuator means for steering the wheels (38, 40, 70, 72, 94) and for extending and retracting the wheels (34, 36, 70, 72); an electronic controller (50) coupled to the actuator means to steer, extend and retract the wheels.