Cultivator Sweep Neck and Wedge Coupling Without Adapters
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing quick-change systems for agricultural sweeps require time-consuming adapter installation and are limited by adapter-specific sweep profiles, leading to wear and breakage due to screw holes.
Innovation Solution
A quick-change system featuring a neck with lugs and a removable wedge that directly couples to cultivator shanks, eliminating the need for adapters and using a tool for easy disassembly, allowing for universal fit and reduced wear.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If adapters are used to couple sweeps to cultivator shanks, then the assembly process is standardized, but the assembly time increases and the system becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the adapter component from the assembly system entirely. The sweep neck is designed with lugs that fit directly into holes in the cultivator shank, eliminating the need for intermediate adapters. This extraction of the adapter simplifies the system and reduces assembly time while maintaining standardized coupling through the lug-and-hole interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the sweep coupling function directly with the cultivator shank by integrating the lug features into the sweep neck itself. This merging eliminates the separate adapter component, reducing the number of parts and assembly steps while achieving the same coupling function through direct engagement between the sweep lugs and shank holes.
2Ease of operation
If adapters are used for quick-change systems, then sweep replacement is simplified, but the system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the adapter component from the quick-change system, allowing sweeps to be coupled directly to cultivator shanks through lugs fitting into holes. This eliminates the need for separate adapter assemblies while maintaining the quick-change capability through the simple lug-and-hole interface combined with a retaining mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The sweep neck with lugs is designed to be universally compatible with cultivator shanks that have corresponding holes. This universal lug-and-hole interface can accommodate different sweep types and shank designs without requiring specific adapters, simplifying the system while maintaining ease of operation across various configurations.
3Strength
If screw holes are used to secure sweeps to adapters, then the sweeps can be firmly attached, but the sweeps become prone to breakage at the hole locations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a retaining mechanism (such as a retaining clip, cotter pin, or locking feature) as an intermediary element that secures the sweep to the cultivator shank without requiring screw holes through the sweep body. The lugs provide the primary attachment, and the retaining feature prevents disengagement, eliminating stress concentrations that would lead to breakage at hole locations.
4Ease of manufacture
If adapters are required for sweep installation, then the coupling mechanism is established, but the installation time and labor increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the adapter from the coupling process, allowing sweeps to be installed directly onto cultivator shanks through lugs fitting into holes. This extraction eliminates the time-consuming step of mounting adapters onto each shank before attaching sweeps, significantly reducing installation time and labor while maintaining a secure coupling mechanism.
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
Enables rapid and robust attachment of sweeps to cultivator shanks, reducing assembly time, minimizing wear, and preventing breakage, while accommodating various shank designs and reducing costs.
Implementation Method 1
a removable wedge configured to be inserted between the side flaps and the cultivator shank and to hold the cultivator shank against the inner surface of the neck
Data Source
AI summary
Quick-change system for a sweep comprising a sweep with a neck and a removable wedge, wherein the neck serves to couple the sweep to a cultivator shank and comprises an inner surface with at least one lug that fits in at least one hole of the cultivator shank, and side flaps configured to clasp the cultivator shank, the removable wedge being inserted between the side flaps and the cultivator shank and holding the cultivator shank against the inner surface of the neck, so that the combination of the lug fitted in the hole of the cultivator shank and the removable wedge inserted in the neck makes it possible to retain and fasten the sweep to the cultivator shank.